Any tools to make my kids do things on the first ask are gold. I hate being a nag. Here are two of my favorite products to do this: SoaPen are brightly colored 'soap pens,' which kids can use to draw on their hands to make hand-washing fun. No longer are they doing a 5-second rinse. They actually spend a minute washing and even go do it without prompting. Win. For teeth we bought electric toothbrushes. The kids sit there brushing their teeth for minutes every morning now. Now

Today on Instagram stories, we are joined by Toby Lowenfels, a digital marketing consultant. Funny enough, she never made a full meal—with sides and all that—until post-kids. Now she runs DinnerIn20, which gives moms everywhere tips on how to easily get meals on your family's table. There is hope for us all. Below she simplifies meal planning for all of us. I used to dread dinnertime until I made meal planning a top priority. Every Sunday morning, I pour a generous cup of co

During the week, I need my meals to be on the table in under 15-minutes to prevent hangry kids. Here are my go-to carb side dishes that take 10-minutes or less to make: Frozen corn: Microwave it for a few minutes and top with salt, butter, or even cojita cheese Fresh pasta: Cooks in half the time as dried Couscous: Boil water, take off the head, dump in the couscous, and put the lid on it for 5-minutes. Easy. Frozen peas: Microwave for a few minutes. Get fancy by topping with

The average person spends 55 minutes looking for things each day. With kids, I'm sure that number is even higher. (How do my kids' shoes get misplaced every morning??) So today, let's grab some of that precious time back with these tips: Create homes. Designate a place in your home for key items like keys, kid shoes, and your purse. Use technology. Buy a Tile for your keys, so you can find them with your phone. And, use Google Home or Alexa to find your phone by ringing it ev

I'm a questioner (read more about what that means here). One of my faults is spending too much time researching and searching for the 'perfect' answer. This tendency is one of my biggest time sucks. Research shows that people who are Maximizers (trying to get the best possible option) are less happy than Satisficers (people who are OK with 'good enough'). I've adopted a new approach: turning to the experts in my life. Picking a date night location? Ask my foodie friend. Deci

When Chloe started Kindergarten, she stopped wanting to talk about school. She stares at me blankly when I ask, 'How was your day?' I'm sad to be cut off. Luckily, Rowan's school sent home questions for amping up our family conversations, which break through with her. Here are some of my favorites: What was the best thing that happened at school today? What was the worst thing that happened at school today? What was the hardest thing you had to do today? What made you laugh t

My favorite Google ad is Dear Sophie, the touching story of parents who documented their daughter's life by sending her emails to Gmail. If you haven't seen it, prepare for a few tears. Alexis Jhamb—who has the coolest title, GM of Decision Making at Chevron—did something similar. She made an email address for her son, sending him 'letters' about what he's doing and how she feels about him. "It's like a 1-way private conversation with our son. I discovered that when my father

I appreciate how Montessori schools encourage kids to help around the house. My kids especially love vacuuming and cooking. Involving my kids increases my quality time with them and instills our family values of independence and hard work. No one is going to dispute that chores are good for kids, but I was shocked to read a longitudinal study that found the best predictor for young adults' success in their mid-20s was whether they participated in household tasks at 3 or 4. Wa

Today we are joined by Kristi Saturnak, Marketer at Google, for our Day in the Life of a Working Mom Instagram takeover. Follow along here (and follow us on Instagram while you are at it.) You moms are so smart when it comes to outsourcing and making your life easier. Here are some of my favorites from the Mom takeovers. Emily O'Grady, VP of Operations at Assurion, has her Au Pair bath and PJ her kid before she gets home, so they can focus on fun when she gets home. Laura Rod

A messy house grates on me. I'm a firm believer in clear space, clear mind. Clutter stresses me out. That's why I loved Venuebook founder, Kelsey Recht's simple hack: "Just close the door." The kids' rooms are a mess. Close the door. My closet is a disaster. Close the door. The garage needs to be cleaned out. Close the door. Yes, it's a short-term fix, but so often, cleaning can feel like Ground Hog Day, just repeating itself each morning. A day off translates to free time. W

We had an incredible time on our recent European vacation, but even the best family vacations are challenging. Looking back, here's what I would have done differently: Bring a stroller for each kid. I'm a minimalist traveler, but I will probably bring a stroller for each kid until they are seven or so. Kid's legs get tired. Moreover, we could have extended each night by having the kids fall asleep in them while we hung out. Buy kids melatonin. It was only after 2.5 hours of t

My goal for Europe: pack lightly. Two adults, two kids for 10 days with just two small roller bags, two small backpacks, and my purse. Mission on. Here are my tips: Stay places with a washer and dryer. We brought half the clothes and washed along the way. Buy packing cubes. These help keep clothes organized and allow you to stuff way more in each bag. I use one for each kid and two for me. Plan to throw out. I brought old PJs, socks, underwear and sneakers that I left behind

Where did the summer go? Seriously. Chloe starts kindergarten in two weeks. Over the next week, I'll be sharing some family travel tips to help you make the most of our last few weeks of summer. Today: stress-free packing. Here are some top tips: Make a digital, reusuble packing list Share with everyone on the trip, so people can add directly versus telling you. We use Google Keep. Add to it while you are on vacation! It's usually the best time to remember all the items you w

I listen to podcasts (or Audiobooks) all the time -- while I work out, drive, cook or clean. I'm obsessed. Here is my current playlist: GirlBoss Radio with Sophia Amoruso: Sophia interviews ground-breaking women to try to create new definitions of success and extract solid advice that will both inspire and amuse you. GirlBoss is the first podcast I listen to in my queue. Happier with Gretchen Rubin: Gretchen offers small, actionable adjustments for your life to make it a litt

I've spoken to over a hundred working moms at the tops of their fields. My favorite question to ask: "What was your morning like this morning?" I usually get a chuckle and then find out the real deal. In that vein, at Uplift, we're starting a new Instagram Stories series: A Day in the Life of a Working Mom. Each week, a mom will take over our stories to document their day. They'll share their top tips and let you see the messiness, instead of the highlight reel that's the Ins

Today, we are going to focus on you. First off, you are beautiful and have a great butt. Give yourself a little wink next time you pass a mirror. Let's face it, as we get older, maintaining a healthy weight gets harder than when we were 20. When I look at how I lost 45 pounds after Rowan, it was the small changes that added up. Did you know cutting 100 calories a day leads to 10 pounds in a year? Here are five tiny habit shifts to do this without impacting your lifestyle: Hal

I frankly don't know how to parent without the threat of 'no dessert.' So, in the quest to clean up our family's diet, I knew I needed healthy ones. Here are some of my faves: Siggi Yogurt Tubes. Low sugar, high protein. The kids treat them like ice cream pops. Frozen fruit: Blueberries, cherries, and watermelon are our faves. I just put any fruit in the freezer that is about to spoil. Watermelon Pizza: Just cut your melon in a 1-inch round, top with greek yogurt as the "sauc

One of the things I'm most proud of as a parent is the fact that my kids eat and enjoy vegetables. Rowan (my two-year-old) went through a phase where cauliflower was his favorite food. Here is what works for my family. Involve them in the process Have them pick out veggies in the grocery store. They love autonomy and control. Start a veggie garden at home. My kids snack off our cherry tomato bushes. If you don't have a yard, visit a local farm. Make them your sous chefs. My k

This Spring, Joe and I realized our kids were surviving on cheddar Goldfish. They were easy. We were stressed. It happens to the best of us. No judgment here. Our summer resolution: clean up our family snack game. We started a month-long adventure trying out low-sugar, gluten-free snacks with ingredients we recognized. As a busy mom, I needed portable and easy, not just healthy. Here are the winners. Fruit Whole fruit: Apples, bananas, and tangerines were the most portable Ki

The average American woman spends 44 minutes more than her spouse per day on housework.  This imbalance is insane, adding up to over two weeks of waking hours per year. Even crazier is that when a woman outearns her husband (which is 38% of households these days), this gap widens. How do you feel about your household's division? Here are some tips to start the conversation on sharing responsibilities with your partner: Delete, simplify or delegate. Getting things off your com