Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  I'm actually not sure if it is Halloween or Autumn in general.  I love the colors, the cool air, the changing of the wardrobe, making a costume with my son, carving pumpkins with the kids, going on hayrides – all of which seem to happen in October. I don't love buying candy, the squirrels eating my pumpkins, or the five pounds I consistently add to my thighs from all the candy brought into the house though. How do you feel about Halloween? Tell us in the comments. Halloween is not a simple event in our house. It takes us at least a month to get ready…

School is back in session. It was madness on the morning of the first day of school, in a good way. Since Tuesday, I have no kids in the house until 3:30 p.m. This is the first time I have both boys on the same full-day schedule at the same school. I was hoping to actually relax this morning, clean the house a bit, have lunch out with my husband, and maybe watch some Dr. Oz or Ellen on TV while folding laundry. But relaxing just isn't part of the September plan. Are you feeling the same madness in the first week of school? Tell us in the comments. I have a list that I know most of you out …

I'm jealous. This morning I opened Facebook to find 'first day of school' pictures from friends scattered across the country. It's not fair. Their kids are out of their hair for six hours a day, while I have 22 more days of: "I'm bored. Are we there yet? Can I have a friend over? I don't want to go to the beach. He's looking at me! Where did I put my DS? I don't want to go to the pool again. We never do anything fun. Why do I have to wear sunscreen? Can I play Wii? I don't want to read. Can I go to a friend's house? I need this, I want that! He's touching my toy. There's nothing fun to do …

It's summer break. Time for vacations, fireworks, lazy days by the pool, and, of course, summer reading lists. I know other moms whose kids love reading. They devour books and can finish their reading lists in days. Not my boys. My boys are good readers, but they fight any reading homework tooth and nail. I'm already having nightmares of the fights we'll have at the end of August as I force them to finish their reading lists (and book reports too) before the first day of school.As a mother, I can't let that happen. I have to get them to read using what works best: bribery. Normally, bribery …

Did you know that drowning is the second leading cause of accidental injury-related death in children under the age of 14? Did you know that nine out of 10 children who drown were being supervised by one or more adults? This past weekend alone there were more than a handful of drownings, five of which were children, across the United States.  There are a ton of incredibly scary drowning facts available yet, kids are still drowning every single day, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. When the Rose Tree Woods Swim Club opened on Memorial Day weekend, it was little …

There comes a time in every parent's life when you realize your kids are no longer destroying everything they touch and you can have nice things again. When Teddy stopped spitting up, I had the carpet removed and hardwood floors put down. When the boys finally understood that they weren't to eat on my grandmother's antique chairs, I had them reupholstered. I replaced the couches, I even went with a leather couch in the playroom earlier this year. I finally had two kids who wouldn't destroy the house. It only took eight years. Then two weeks ago, my Facebook 'friends' over at the Delaware …

I survived Spring Break 2012. No, I didn't just get back from a wild week in Cancun. I'm actually referring to surviving my children's spring break. Nine whole days of them, here, all day with me. Talking, begging, crying, fighting, cuddling, needing. Do they let me work? No. Do they mess up the house? Yes. Do they want me to do things with them and have fun with them? Yes. And so do I, of course. I love being with my boys, but there is a price. I got nothing done, I couldn't get my hours in for work, my house is a wreck and there is no food in the house. I was pondering this yesterday when I…

It has been a month since another mom told me that the Hawaiian Punch in my refrigerator is killing my kids. We were talking on the phone. Can you imagine the horror in my face as she told me this while I watched Teddy gulp down a glass of this red 'poison'? I hung up the phone, grabbed the bottle of punch and dumped it down the drain, just as Teddy asked for more. I ran upstairs to the computer and started researching this claim. Was there any truth? Well, yes, apparently, it could be true and, of course, it's not so black and white, or red for that matter. Here are a few things I've learned…

Bouncy seats, minivans with automatic opening doors, drive-thru banking and dining, diaper genies, waterproof sheets, pack and plays with vibrating bassinets, bottles that disinfect in the microwave in seconds–these are just a few 'things' that make a moms life easier. I sometimes sit back and think how my mother handled three kids with none of these accessories that make my life as a mother easier. And yet, life as a mother is still hard. In some aspects, it's harder now than it was, say, 50 years ago. Why is that? Why would I possibly say something like that when I have a million gadgets at…

It's that time of the year when everything seems to be centered around one topic: Christmas. In my household, the boys are busy working on their 15th version of their Christmas letters to Santa Claus. They apparently need a lot of 'things.' My husband and I throw the old 'Santa's watching' statement around as a threat, thinking this will bring on better behavior. I find myself engrossed in catalogs, staring longingly at things I didn't know I needed. Conversations are focused around parties, shopping, cookies and plans for the holiday. I love fighting with the masses at the mall to find the …

Some people, especially non-mothers, laugh at me for my over protectiveness. They call me a 'helicopter mom' and tell me to relax–my kids will be fine and I'm doing a great job. They tell me that I can't stop life from happening to my children. Well, I think and know that they are wrong and the recent headlines from Penn State are proof. I have to protect my children because no one else will. I first heard about the Penn State uproar on Facebook. There were several debates going on among my 'friends' and they were very heated. There was shame and embarrassment, there was anger, betrayal, and …

I'm not a Grinch and I am no "bah-humbug" either, but when my boys came downstairs last week with their completed Christmas lists and demanded envelopes and stamps, I think my coloring was on the shade of green. Christmas talk in mid-October? I hadn't even started Peter's Halloween costume and here he was, standing in front of me, letter to Santa in hand and sugar plums dancing in his head. I'll blame it on my mother-in-law because she's an easy target and, frankly, it is her fault. The boys went to her house for dinner a couple of weeks ago and came home with a toy catalog. Instead of …

It's official: Sick season is here. We're all coughing up a storm here at the Pilko house and as is always the case, the world doesn't stop for a sick mom. You often hear a mom say, “I don't get sick days” and it's completely true. I remember my pre-motherhood days when I would have the luxury of calling in sick to the office. Those days found me lying on my couch, watching movies and napping on and off all day. Sometimes my sick days found me lounging by the pool at my apartment complex. Hey, some days were created to be sick days, especially in early summer. Alas, now I'm a mom and nothing …

Last week I found myself in a typical mommy predicament: I had to be at two places at the same time. I have an easy out for that situation. My husband works from home and he can usually cover for me, but it's not always the case. I had two different events at exactly the same time this past Wednesday night. Which event is more important to me and why? How do parents choose where to be and when? Last year at T-ball practice, I met a mom who was juggling three different sports at the same time. Two children were playing baseball on South Marple Little League grounds, and her third child was …

It's cold. Fall has definitely arrived, in fact, last night I was pretty sure it was going to snow. With the change of weather, also comes one of my least favorite activities: the changing of the wardrobe. I know I'm not alone. This is something all women lament, regardless of the season. It was bad enough when it was just my wardrobe I had to deal with. It is always a huge deal switching out my clothes with each season. I usually find that I gained a few pounds, and my favorite clothes are too tight. Sometimes I get better news and my clothing will be too big. Either way, each wardrobe …

Kids are like a ticking time bomb, at least I think they are. Right now I can kiss, hug, and comfort my boys in public. I can make silly faces or noises and they think it's hilarious. In return, they will give me wide smiles and say, “I love you mom” in front of their friends. But I'm not stupid and I know this won't last. I feel confident in acknowledging the fact that Peter won't be giving me high-fives or blowing me kisses when I drop him off at Paxon Hollow Middle School in four years. I'm pretty sure this public display of loving me back is a grade school-only phenomenon, and I plan to …

Editor's note: September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. In reflection of this and a recent personal event, our local Patch mom shares her honest story of losing her niece earlier this month from brain cancer. Last Sunday on Sept. 11, 2011, my beautiful niece Gabriella Martha Vogel lost her battle with a very rare and aggressive type of brain cancer. She will be forever five. What should have been the start of a very happy, fun-filled summer turned into a nightmare for Gabby and her family on Memorial Day when she was admitted to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) because of …

Do you remember that nightmare you used to have the night before school started? The one where you showed up to school late (and were most likely naked) and when you walked into class, everyone pointed and laughed at you? I hated that dream. I was hoping my kids would never have to have that nightmare. That I would have my act together and be the mom who got them to school on time, shoelaces tied, hair brushed, and homework completed. No nightmares in this house, right? Think again. The nightmare began on Labor Day, the day before school was to start. I pulled out the back-to-school lists (…

Lice is a four-letter word that you don't want to hear about, let alone experience as a mother. When my phone rang last week and my friend told me that her daughter had lice, I had two things run through my head: First: Were we exposed? Should I be checking my boys' scalps? Should I be at CVS right now emptying the shelves of RID?  Second: I don't have time for this. No one does. It's one of those nightmares that parents fear. I quickly snapped out of my selfish thoughts and came back to offer her support and advice. I haven't been through it with my kids, but my niece had a grueling three-…

Last fall I did not sign the boys up for soccer. Yes, you read that correctly. No soccer. No football. No team sports last fall for the boys. My favorite doctor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Broomall was none too pleased about this fact either. Trust me, I got the obligatory lecture about how children need to be active and how important sports are for healthy development. As much as I know how healthy and important sports are, it doesn't take away the fact that Peter and Teddy have no interest in soccer. Peter played soccer for three years. He played during his preschool years…