Living

LEXINGTON, Ky. It's a cool, damp fall afternoon, and a group of 6- and 7-year-olds are practicing soccer in a grassy field in Lexington, Ky.

COSTA MESA, Calif. Debbe Magnusen was convinced she was going to die. She weighed 360 pounds and she was having trouble breathing.

Reading can motivate young and old to explore new places and expand the imagination. Celebrate National Young Reader's Week (Nov. 9-13) by making books and the places that inspire them a part of your week.

The best parenting advice I ever heard was from an older co-worker who'd raised three daughters.

SEATTLE - The effort started, as these things do, with a great deal of idealism.

Not long ago, my stepson brought a flyer home from school. It informed parents that on the evening of Picture Day, the photographers would be back at the school to take family portraits for those who were interested. Of course, the flyer came home the night before this was supposed to happen, so there wasn't much time to plan. Besides, he and his sister would be at their mom's house the night of the photo event, but the notice came to his dad and me, since it was sent home on one of his days with us.

Cary, Ill., mother Laura Weaver juggles a part-time job as a teacher, 3-year-old twins and a 7-year-old son, but she still manages to serve healthy organic dinners on a regular basis.

A few days ago you took me for a drive in our car. Just before you backed out of the garage, you spent a moment adjusting the seat and the mirrors so that it fit you. As you fiddled with the seat control, you probably weren't thinking about the fact that the ride ahead would require an adjustment for me too.

Everyone's heard of the Tooth Fairy. Maybe even the Sugarplum Fairy, of Nutcracker fame. Our household is starting to crowd up with fairies of all sorts. But...does it have to be filled with only the good ones?

Dropping my son off at school one morning, he suddenly and urgently expressed the need to blow his nose. At that very moment, the bell rang. After frantically searching for a tissue to no avail, I took a deep breath, pulled up my sweater, and had him blow his gross green boogies right into my undershirt. I'm well versed in the routine of wiping a nose with my sleeve, rolling up said sleeve, and repeating that all day long (don't ask why I never seem to have tissues on hand). But a full on nose-blowing into my shirt? That moment, for me, punctuated the realization that "I am a mom".

One simple way to serve healthy meals on a budget is to reduce the amount of meat you consume. Even planning one or two meatless meals per week can help families save money without sacrificing taste or nutrition. This week's Featured Family Meal menu and additional side dishes are built around vegetables, milk and dairy foods like cheese and grains instead of meat.

The safest way to keep teens safe is to keep them off the streets and highways. But once they get behind the wheel, they need insurance coverage.

Shonna Martin knows the hard work that goes into owning a bakery.

What if you could embrace your inner Disney princess and be part of the ultimate modern-day fairytale?

It's a dreaded question in many households: what's for dinner?

Walt Disney Company, the parent company of the "Baby Einstein" child development DVDs, is offering refunds to any parent who purchased the DVDs between June 5, 2004 and Sept. 5, 2009.

Many good and knowledgeable youth coaches are run out of coaching because of having to deal with athletes' parents. It gets to the point where it is not worth their time to coach and put up with parents who are unhappy and unreasonable.

Owen the ogre made his first appearance at his grandmother's dining table.

Being a mom is a dirty job especially when duties include diaper changing, face cleaning, and nose wiping. Problems can arise when clean up isn't as clean as expected.

We looked at trailblazing women in Part One of this column - bold and courageous achievers who would prove worthy namesakes for a daughter. Now we turn to those with major accomplishments in the arts - a varied mix of writers, artists, and musicians of the far and fairly recent past - many of whom seem to have appropriately creative names - whether they were born with them or not.