Next week, the Boy Scouts will hold their National Annual Meeting which, like most events of its kind, is an opportunity to put pressing issues on the table for discussion. And when they do, they’ll make a decision that weighs the future of the organization against the regulations of its past: whether or not to lift an existing ban on gay members. Boy Scouts is one in a thinning crowd of holdouts still practicing this brand of exclusionism. At least on paper, other entities have stepped up to support—or, at the bare minimum, tolerate—the LGBT community. If the Scouts’ powers that be move to accept gay boys, it probably will be less because of some great sweep of sensitivity and more due to public pressure and bias-shaming (because we don’t already have enough terms that have “shaming” tacked onto the end). 

As I was sitting here, going over today's "TO DO" list, I found myself spending a good 30 minutes texting my tween girls (who were riding the school bus on the way to school) and then emailing with their friends' parents in order to RSVP to the many, many social events for them that, in recent years, seem to stack up at the end of the school year. Whew! Suddenly, I felt like their secretary or assistant!

Funny thing about kids and travel: While most moms and dads dream of vacations involving little more than lying on the beach with a frozen drink and a book that doesn't rhyme or involve pictures, kids tend to like getaways with a bit more get-up-and-go. You know, they want to actually do stuff. As opposed to nothing. Sigh.

Luckily there are some super-fun destinations with plenty of stuff to do for kids & grown-ups alike. Whether you prefer to play alongside your children or send them off for some age-specific activities so you can nap under an umbrella uninterrupted, we found a vacation spot to fit every family's needs.

Have you ever been completely annoyed at your own parenting? Occasionally I'll have this kind of out-of-body sensation where while I'm saying something -- and sounding like a grandma from a sitcom -- I'm simultaneously rolling my eyes at myself.

My husband and I recently taught my 6-year-old daughters how to ride bikes. It was an intense and not all that pleasurable experience and it came with a huge self eye roll.

My usually chill kids were incredibly frustrated with themselves for not picking it up immediately and possibly more frustrated with us for not being better teachers.

To be fair, running hunched over alongside a child who is pissed off and covered with tears and snot while simultaneously attempting to not kick their bike's tires or to not get your feet run over, is a lot harder than it looks.

A tragic gun accident in Cumberland County, Kentucky, left a toddler dead. A 5-year-old boy shot and killed his 2-year-old sister with a .22 caliber rifle. Apparently the rifle was leaning in a corner while the children's mother was cleaning house. She stepped outside for a few minutes, which is when her son picked up the firearm and accidentally shot his sister.

It was the 5-year-old's gun, a Crickett "My First Rifle" he'd been given as a gift last year.

I'm under no illusions that my own child behaves like a perfect angel when he goes over to friends' houses for play dates. I really am trying to raise a civilized child, and it's not easy. But man, sometimes when we host a playdate I can't help but wonder if some kids are actually being raised by wolves! Here are 12 kinds of kids we dread having over for a playdate. I just hope to God my son never does any of this when he's out of my sight.

When I walked into the White House Science Fair, I expected to meet incredibly brilliant kids. I was not disappointed. Among the budding scientists President Obama honored were teens who created a bicycle-powered, emergency water sanitation system, and another who developed a low-cost, robotic prosthetic arm. Though, the most impressive presenters may have been the youngest: Evan Jackson, 10, Caleb Robinson, 8, and Alec Jackson, 8. It wasn't just their project that impressed, it was the story of how they got there. There was no science teacher or school administrator who inspired these boys, it was their mothers. Women who work full time with no science background dedicated nights to encouraging their kids to invent something that was in league with much older students. It's just proof that we moms are more powerful than we think when it comes to giving our kids the best chances in life.

If I had to do it all over again just to make money, I think I would run an after-school program for grade schoolers. It's incredible to see the military-like efficiency with which parents and babysitters swoop in at pick-up to extricate their charges and re-route them to their next stops. Gymnastics, piano, fencing, karate, Kumon, soccer, yoga, robotics, tap, voice lessons, Italian ... you name it.

This is not a bad thing, mind you. I think it's great. Why not learn as much as you can always? And the kids love it. Except for one, that is: Mine.

My daughter has decided that after school she wants to do nothing. She is tired of having more classes after her long school day. She doesn't want to be signed up for another semester of ballet -- she's more of a hip hopper anyway -- and passed up architecture and drama, even when her pals were all in.