Dear Andrea, circa 2007: You decided to wait until your 30s to have children. Good for you! You don't understand it yet, but one day you will be "that mom." The one who lets her kids watch TV for hours so she can get the house ready for a party. The one who gives up on wiping a snotty nose while out in public.

Some families have a chore board or a swear jar -- we have a yelling chart. Some days I have the most blocks on the yelling chart but some days I win the best mommy ribbon. I know my mothering isn't prefect but I'm not failing either. I'm trying.

It's so hard to believe that 15 years ago, your father and I were introduced to someone who would change our lives in the most amazing way possible. Anyhow, what I'm doing here is putting together some things to keep in mind as you go through the next year -- and decade.

I take full accountability for the fact that my kids are hardly ever...nay...are NEVER able to take accountability for their failures. When my son came out of the dressing room, his first words were, "We lost because the refs weren't calling any penalties on the other team." My husband stopped in his tracks, turned to face our little forlorn, sore loser, and said, "No. You lost because you guys stopped skating in the second period."

In general, people don't really want to know the real answer to tough questions about life.

My stay-at-home friends and I are always ready to slay the reputation of our fellow women in the quintessential ploy to be the superior mothers. Why is it that in a male-dominated world, women are so quick to cut each other down, rather than speak up in defense of one another?

I grew up in the era of Tough Love. There was no pretending in my home. My mother called it as she saw it, and what she saw wasn't always pretty. I've spent years meticulously choosing politically correct ways of disciplining my children. Now I know exactly where I went wrong.

Watching The View this morning the controversy whirred around reproductive parts, and what we, as parents, should be teaching our children to call them. The consensus: It just doesn't seem right to hear a little girl referring to her breasts. Boobies is much cuter. Because we're concerned about the cuteness of these body parts on a seven-year-old?

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had a list of all the "dos and don'ts" required for effectively achieving the status of perfect parent. As I swapped my hopes for a career in nursing, and instead chose countless hours of time bonding with my children, in those early days of motherhood when I was stumbling over the educational toys strewn about my home, nobody could have convinced me then that I would become what I am today.

More words were exchanged between us two just the day before. Trying to sort out the tangled web of emotions from the days prior. He, with a hoodie pulled over his face. Me, raw emotions and bundled nerves pleading for answers. Both of us feeling raw and exposed. On a road of good intentions, going nowhere fast.

Lighten up, sister. Consuming yourself with keeping a super-clean house and the kids cutely dressed, you'll lose sight of what's really important. The kids won't remember the clean counters, but they will remember your belly laughs as they ran around the room naked.

The cyber world is new territory and for now, parents must improvise when dealing with these modern obstacles to raising a teen. Between the new culture of sexting and social media sites like Facebook, teen self-worth is in danger. Here's how you can help your child navigate the cyber world.

It's completely normal want to protect your kids when they come home crying because someone was blatantly mean to them. But isn't it true that dealing with these situations helps build character? And if they can't deal with these situations and only rely on us, aren't we setting them up for failure in the future?

When it comes to discipline, many parents have taken a large step backwards, and technology is to blame. In this day and age of smart phone journalism, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook shares, parents have become wary and hesitant of punishing their children in case their actions at any moment are recorded and uploaded to a willing audience in a matter of seconds.

I've been using the power of Santa Claus for a few weeks now, and things are looking good. For maximum effectiveness, the use of Santa and his omnipresence is good for the window directly following Halloween until December 25. During this time, I enjoy the increased attentiveness, dearth of meltdowns and general calm that precedes Christmas day.

We've all heard them. Those annoying phrases that our parents said to us growing up and now that we're parents ourselves, we've decided to inflict them our own kids. The reality is that the true meanings behind these messages that parents tell their kids are often not as straightforward as they appear to be. Following are the top 10 phrases that parents use on their kids, and what they really mean.

I sometimes wonder if I was properly prepared for having five kids, four of whom are little boys. After all, no one handed me the instructions manual that explained what makes boys tick! So, I've decided to write the Cole's Notes version, just for you! Share it if you know someone who also never received the manual!

Our daily routine was very predictable: my son would arrive home from school, he and his siblings would be given a nutritious snack, and then it would be homework time. That's when the tantrums, rage and complaints would begin. Common complaints were that I was SO mean and unfair, or "torturing" him to do his homework! Here are some tips I have used to get my son to do his homework.

I don't really want to mention the horrifying tragedy of Amanda Todd's story, but I will because teen suicide and cyberbullying has to stop. These difficult issues have taken the mom media by storm lately, prompting discussion on how we can all help -- are legislative changes required or will more basic community changes make a difference