Tips on Making Family Vacations Educational

By Nathalie Kunin
Nathalie KuninFamily vacations are a time to un-wind, “disconnect” and have fun with your family. They are also wonderful opportunities for learning. Whether your summer plans take you an hour from home or to another continent, travel can be a springboard for learning new skills. Every destination has distinct traits to draw upon – a foreign language, local customs, landmarks or a unique natural setting. Here are some ideas to make your summer vacation a meaningful learning experience.

If you are traveling to a foreign country have your child keep track of foreign exchange rates. Mentally converting the cost of lunch from dollars to another currency is great multiplication and division practice. (more…)

July 4 Treats

By Catherine McCord

Red, White & Blue Pops

Anni DaulterKids running around in swimsuits eating popsicles. That is summer to me. And when those popsicles happen to be red, white and blue? Well, that can only mean it’s the Fourth of July! I vividly remember being a kid, playing with my friends at our local swimming pool and sucking on Bomb Pops (big, red, white and blue rocket-shaped popsicles that seemed all the rage in the 70′s) to cool down in the summer heat. I adored Bomb Pops, looking back, I can’t imagine how much food coloring and sugar I must have ingested over the years. And while those popsicle memories are great, but how can I share them with my own kids without also exposing them to all those unwanted additives and chemicals? There has to be a way to make your own version of those sinfully delicious iced treats — full of eye appealing color — but also healthy at the same time.

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Children and Yoga

Yoga helps children focus, eat healthier and gain more energy.

Catherine McCordOwning a children’s yoga company I often hear, “I wish I had been taught yoga as a child.” Since you can feel the benefits of yoga, even after just a few classes, I understand why someone would make this comment. They are thinking how wonderful it would have been to experience those benefits all throughout life.

Here are eight benefits a child might experience from practicing yoga:

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Keeping Your Brain Active Over the Summer

Tips on preparing for exams and applying to schools.

By Ellen Richards
Catherine McCord

Parents set the tone for their children’s academic success.

Many people mistakenly believe that education begins in high school when students realize the competition involved in gaining admission to college. Parents and students do themselves a huge favor to remember that the earlier one fosters an appreciation for education, the more likely they will achieve academically. (more…)

Getting Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night

By Sharon Vandermerwe
Sharon Vandermerwe

Q: When is a baby ready to be sleep trained?
A: Of course like everything in this life, it varies. My experience has led me to believe that babies are ready to be sleep trained when they are ten to twelve lbs (4.5 to 5.5 kg).

Q: Is the baby’s length of sleep dependent upon whether the baby drinks breast milk or formula before bedtime?
A: There doesn’t seem to be too much of a correlation between the two when it comes to sleep length.

Q: Should a baby be woken up, if they nap for more than a two hour stretch during the daytime?
A: If a baby sleeps for more than a two hour stretch, the baby should be woken up. When babies sleep for longer durations during the day, they have a much harder time differentiating between day and night. (more…)

Mother’s Day Recipes

By Catherine McCord
Catherine McCordMother’s Day is a time to celebrate our mothers and ourselves. Here are a few recipes that are easy for dads and kids to whip up for a special Mother’s Day treat for mom.

The following recipe may actually be one of my favorite weelicious recipes because of how versatile it is: I used the mix to make waffles this morning and the kids actually said they were the best I’d ever made!

This recipe makes a bit more mix than what you would normally find in a box of the pre-made stuff, but that’s a plus, especially if you have a house full of pancake lovers. Just keep the mix in a sealed container and anytime you want to make these, just add an egg, milk, a touch of oil and a scoop of mix for whole wheat pancakes or waffles that are sure to please! (more…)

How Can Women Have It All?

By Angella Nazarian
angellanazarianWe all have heard it when we talk to our girlfriends, somehow in mid-conversation the cursed word slips out—“I feel like I am not good enough”. While in the gym, we are fretting about work, while working we are thinking about how we missed the last bake sale at the kids’ school. We have become our own taskmasters who drive ourselves relentlessly toward an ideal of perfection.

T犀利士
he big question remains: Can women really “have it all”? I tend to categorize myself in the “something’s got to give” camp—multi-tasking and juggling can take us just so far. As a matter of fact, recent studies have shown that our IQ drops by 10 points when we do two tasks at the same time. So, I am calculating that by noon each day, the IQ of women all around the globe has dropped exponentially! (more…)

I Want Botox, but I’m Afraid

Q & A with Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Payman Danielpour and Dr. John Layke about the pros and cons of botox.
Dr. Payman Danielpour and Dr. John Layke

Q: When do I know I’m ready for botox?
A: You should do botox before the formation of frown lines, crows feet or forehead wrinkles.

Q: I don’t want people to know I have botox. How can you make it look natural?
A: At Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Group, we believe helping our patients bring out their natural beauty by enhancing and refining not changing their appearance. We are known for putting less botox than most surgeons. You can always add more but you can’t take it away. (more…)