Of all the historical things in Boston ... they chose this giant macaroniSchedules are about to get nutty. September means school orientation for the kids, school orientation for the parents, no more summer Fridays, wardrobe changes, bus schedules, and just piles of stuff that I am going to have to deal with! Which leaves me to savor our recent family trip (and for that matter, the whole damn summer) as long as I can. Next weekend can't really be Labor Day Weekend, can it?

Toddlers and camping are not mixing as of late, as another toddler's life was cut short when a rattlesnake bite turned out to be deadly.

A family camping at Possum Kingdom Lake, outside of Ft. Worth, Texas, called the sheriff's office after the almost 2-year-old girl was bitten by a rattlesnake. She was taken 70 miles away to Ft. Worth, and later died at the hospital.

As a former Texan, mom, and snake-phobic crazy person, this is pretty much my worst nightmare come true.

I'm at the beach right now, and my fashion consists mainly of swimsuits and inexpensive cover-ups, most of which you've already seen.

Today, though, I'm going to show you my fantasy beach wardrobe, courtesy of my current unaffordable obsession, Blumarine.

Take a look at what I'd be wearing at the beach right now if I were a billionaire with a perfect body.

Why? Because these clothes are so pretty, I can't resist showing them to you!

For example, while I'm not a fan of boyshorts, at the beach this look to the left would be totally appropriate -- modest, even. I picture myself wearing this ensemble as I browse the seaside shops in a quaint and overpriced beach village (i.e., Seaside).

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My kids measuring themselves in anticipationBig amusement parks terrify me. Keeping little ones safe (and next to you) can be a serious challenge. There are people everywhere and, let's be honest, the eye candy all around makes even the adults want to run off in 15 different directions! Getting distracted for just five seconds could end up sending you into panic mode — when you look down and no longer see your kid. All this and you haven't even had to worry about the scary rides yet!

My family went to Hershey Park last week and there were a few things I made sure to do before we went on the Superdooperlooper and immersed ourselves in Chocolate World.

When school was out for the summer, I put away the lunch boxes and let out a sigh of relief that at least that chore was done for awhile. I'm not sure what I was thinking because whether I'm packing them for camps or a trip to the beach, I feel like I'm packing more lunches than ever.

For me, that means sandwiches. Lots of sandwiches. I get bored with plain old PB&J, so I've sought out other creative toddler-friendly sandwich ideas that pack well for summer fun.

Congratulations to our winners: Stormy6669, junib, and msnellen82!

If I could recommend a good beach read for this summer based solely on its cover, my pick would have to be The Starlet.

I mean, seriously. Is this not the best cover you've seen in a long, long time?

Fortunately, the inside of the book is just as marvelous as its cover.

The book opens with Mercy Talbot (a celebutante who bears more than a passing resemblance to Linday Lohan) naked, high on cocaine, and clinging to a fountain in Rome while paparazzi shoot photos below -- and it only gets more surprising from there.

While traveling, smartphones are handy for the obvious reasons: making and taking calls, taking photos, being able to access your itinerary. However, there are a ton of additional applications that can help a mom out in her biggest time of need -- while panicked -- or lost or hungry -- and traveling with kids!

While these apps can't stop carsickness or delayed planes, they can do wonders for avoiding missed exits and alleviating whining and boredom.

Find out how.

Crafting is a great way to pass the time with your kids in summer, but who wants to spend July hiding inside the house?

Sun Prints were a favorite when I was a kid because they were arts and crafts that actually REQUIRED you to be outside.

That's because the sun does all the hard work, darkening the paper around whatever object you place in the center of a Sun Print to essentially create a negative.