No more slamming drawers or lids, soft close products will give you a bit more peace and quiet at home. Our dressers may look handsome and provide all the drawer space we need. But are they pleasantly quiet as we use them? If you live in a household with one or two adults, furniture that can't slam may not seem that big a deal. However, if you're in a household with multiple people that include kids, grandparents and pets, soft close products and furniture are silent gifts from heaven. More

We are taking our first big family vacation this fall (off-season prices rock!) and already I am hearing choruses of "how many more days until we go to the beach?" Whether it's a vacation, school break, holiday, or some other special occasion, help your kids keep up with the countdown and visualize the time left with one of these creative calendars. More

One issue brought to light by my family's recent interstate move is the matter of a child's age at the start of the school year. In New York, where they have a December 31 cut-off, my October daughter would have been starting Kindergarten this year. Now that we are in Texas, where one has to be 5 by September 1, she won't start Kindergarten until next year. I have to admit, I'm not entirely crestfallen about the whole thing. Many parents these days intentionally hold their children back to gain advantage in a process known as 'redshirting'. More

The woman at the pool was my parental doppelgänger; we both had four-year-old singletons and two-year-old twins. Our accommodations were managed by the same company and shared grounds, only I was staying at the family-friendly water park lodge and she was staying at the luxury resort down the road. More

Whether your kids have been back at school for two weeks or they don't return til after Labor Day, families are starting to get back into the swing of school. If your kids' math skills have gotten a little rusty over the summer, bring them back gently with some LEGO math. More

Family style dining doesn't have to be all family and no style. Just because your kids have temporarily hijacked adult dinnertime rituals like finished sentences, finished meals and finished dishes, doesn't mean that having kids has to mean eating in a dining room void of style. The families in these homes have terrific, vibrant, fun, stylish AND practical dining rooms. More

Are you tired of rummaging around your diaper bag only to find a pacifier that's covered with a week's worth of cereal snacks, lint and more? Check out this simple trick that makes the most of your takeout. More

The first day of school is a mix of emotions for parents and kids and definitely a moment worth preserving. Last year when my son started preschool I did remember to take a photo of him in his cute little backpack on our front stoop, but it was just an iPhone photo and not that remarkable. I'll still treasure it, but maybe I should step it up this year. More

If you want to start indoctrinating your kids early, then you might want to check out the Anagram toy camera. I'm sure we don't need to tell you what it's modeled after. More

As the first day of school creeps ever closer, take time to think about how you will memorialize it. Of course the camera will be in full effect. But have you given thought to how you will set the picture up? Where is the perfect location? Here is one idea that might just grow on you. More