LilSugar

How-To: Determine If You Can Afford a Baby

SavvySugar — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:54:19 PDT

When other people ask you if you're ready to have kids, they're generally not referring to whether or not you can afford to raise a child. But that's one factor you can't leave out of your decision to start a family. Scroll though the financial factors to consider when determining if you can afford a baby.

NBC Renews Parenthood and Gives 30 Rock One Final Season

Becky Kirsch — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:28:42 PDT

Good news for Parenthood fans who have been anxiously awaiting news on the bubble show: it's been picked up for a fourth season! NBC has also given the green light to a seventh season of 30 Rock - but it will be the last. The season will also be shortened, giving the show 13 episodes to wrap things up. I'm happy about this news across the board: I've been pulling for Parenthood since the beginning, and it feels time for 30 Rock to be put to bed. How do you feel about this news?

Photo courtesy of NBC

OnSugar Blog: If the World Revolved Around Families . . .

OnSugar Blog — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:16:38 PDT

Lots of moms like to think out loud, and Jo Aaron is one of them. Here is one of the latest posts to her Mommy Brain blog.

While innocently looking for a restaurant suggestion online the other day, I stumbled across an anti-parent, anti-child blog entry that just annoyed me. It was an angry (and narrow-minded, in my opinion) piece about how awful it is when this particular person has to dine with families at his favorite restaurants. He/she literally suggested that families shouldn't be allowed to dine in restaurants at all, and most definitely not the ones that are any good.

Here are my guesses:

#1, this person is somewhere between 21-26.

#2, this person will have a completely different blog in about 5-10 years when he/she has kids of his/her own and realizes that going out for dinner is like parental heroin . . . you know, your fix is having someone else prepare and clean up your meal while all you have to do is watch the kids and make sure they don't drive the other patrons nuts. Because that's the easy part. Right.

So, while I get that I shouldn't be carting my kids off to the Pump Room for a 9PM Saturday night reservation, I don't think it's such a crime to have them enjoy a 5:30PM reservation at a local haunt regardless of how cool and trendy it is this week. Instead of digitally flicking this guy or gal off by replying to his/her post, instead I thought I'd make a list of all of the ways that the world would be a better place for those of us with kids . . . maybe this will drive it home:

If the world revolved around families, there would be no such thing as lines at the grocery store. Instead of spending 15 minutes telling our kids to stop touching everything in the checkout line, like candy, magazines, or batteries, we'd just breeze through the aisles, yell our credit card numbers out to the teller as we beelined to our cars. No fuss, no muss.
If the world revolved around families, there would be a Starbucks with dozens of drive-thru windows and on-duty baristas somewhere between my house and school.
If the world revolved around families, there would be TVs with DVD players and current Disney movies playing in every waiting room in the United States. This includes all airport terminals as well. And speaking of airports...
If the world revolved around families, there would be such a thing as teleportation like on Star Trek (yes, I'm a nerd), so that families would never, never, never, ever have to deal with air travel at all.
If the world revolved around families, no one with kids would ever have to go to the DMV, post office, or emergency room.

Keep reading for more of Jo Aaron's funny observations!

7 Things to Take Advantage of Before Your Baby Starts Walking

LilSugar — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:56:12 PDT

Once you've made the transition into parenthood, you may assume that your prebaby bucket list is a thing of the past. However, there's a brief window of time during which your little bundle of joy - no matter how demanding - will be reliably by your side. Take advantage of this phase before your baby starts walking, and enjoy the relative ease of these seven activities or ways of life!

Source: Flickr User Thomas Leth-Olsen

6 Everyday Life Lessons We Can Learn From Our Kids

LilSugar — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:16:30 PDT

At the risk of sounding like a motivational speaker . . . it's amazing how much wisdom we can garner from our kids. Simply by being themselves, children bring a sense of optimism, innocence, and imagination to everyday life. While there are, of course, perks to being a grown-up too, in the case of these six everyday lessons, there's something to be said for going through life with a child's attitude.

Source: Flickr User RunningTractor

Your Prepregnancy Bucket List

LilSugar — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:27:40 PDT

If you're starting to think about getting pregnant, you've probably heard plenty of advice on all of the things you should be doing: getting your finances in order, taking prenatal vitamins, learning your company's maternity leave policy . . . but what about the fun stuff? The trips you want to take, and the splurges you want to make? We've come up with the ultimate bucket list of all the purely selfish, indulgent things that you should enjoy before you become pregnant, because oh baby, is your life about to change!

The Trip of a Lifetime If there's a vacation destination that you and your significant other have always talked about traveling to, but deemed too expensive, far away, or impractical, now's a great time to splurge and go for it.
Adventures Always dreamed of skydiving, mountain climbing, or taking flying lessons? Take the plunge! Once women become mothers, their mindsets are apt to change, and a sense of responsibility often outweighs that of adventure.
Get in Your Girl Time While being a mom doesn't mean that you'll have to cut ties with your girlfriends, it sometimes does make fitting in plans (especially evening plans) a lot more challenging. Take advantage of this time, and enjoy going out with your girlfriends. Stay out an hour later than you'd planned, have another glass of wine, and enjoy their company.
Culture Vulture If you count leisurely afternoons perusing art galleries or scoring tickets to the hottest show in town as favorite pastimes, soak it up now (and continue to do so once you get pregnant!) Once "me time" means having to hire a babysitter, you may find yourself hesitant to devote three hours of your day to checking out an exhibition or show.
Spread Out Depending on where you live, your soon-to-be nursery space may be the only cherished "free space" in the house or apartment. If you're currently using it as a guest room, take advantage and invite out-of-town friends and family to come spend a weekend before that queen-size bed is replaced by a crib!
Indulge in Something You Deserve Whether it's a spa day, a pair of shoes, or a completely superfluous kitchen gadget, go for it now. Babies need lots of stuff . . . tons of it, in fact. And then there's college savings to start planning for. This may be your last time to spend on yourself without feeling guilty, so treat yourself - just this one time. We promise we won't tell!
Encourage Your Husband to be a Little Selfish as Well If you're thinking about a baby, you're probably not in this alone. The hypothetical little person that you can't stop thinking about is going to have a huge impact on both of you. So encourage your husband or partner to buy the new TV, join that basketball league he keeps talking about, or take a golfing trip with his buddies now.
Sleep Late It may not sound like a tremendous indulgence, but once you have a lil one to worry about, even the best laid plans for a great night's sleep are going to be put to rest. So if your weekend schedule allows it, go ahead, be lazy and love it.

Parenthood Sneak Peek: Jasmine and Crosby's Wedding Album!

Becky Kirsch — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:15:22 PST

Parenthood will close out its third season this week with a very big celebration: Jasmine and Crosby's long-anticipated wedding! Though the on-again off-again couple just reunited in the last episode, it looks like they got their nuptials together fast. Take a look at the sweet photos of their backyard wedding.

Photos courtesy of NBC

Best of 2011: What Parenting TV Show Was Your Fave?

Kate Stahl — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:32:07 PST

You're living through middle-of-the-night diaper changes, homework issues, and sibling rivalry, and so are the families on some of our favorite shows of 2011. The Bravermans deal with weighty issues like autism, infertility, and parent breakups on Parenthood, while the Pritchetts, Dunphys, and Tuckers bring a gut-busting amount of humor to everyday family life on Modern Family. Newcomer Up All Night put a hilarious spin on the life changes that Chris and Reagan Brinkley experience after welcoming their daughter, Amy, and Raising Hope's dysfunctional Chance family does their best to bring up Hope. So which series is the first priority on your DVR? Let us know below.

5 TV Families We'd Like to Spend Thanksgiving With

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:07:12 PST

Thanksgiving is almost here, which means we're all gearing up to watch the parade and chow down on turkey with loved ones. Though no one can replace our nearest and dearest, I always think it's fun to imagine what it would be like to spend the holiday with some of our favorite TV characters. Whether these shows have a family or a group of friends so close they're like family, these are the groups that I wouldn't mind visiting for the holidays.

10 Wacky Baby Products to Leave Off Your Registry

LilSugar — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:03:58 PST

Tinkle tubes? Potty mitts? Nope, these aren't props from an SNL sketch mocking the absurdity of the baby product industry; they're actual items.

After talking about how exhausting new parenthood is, one of the ideas that's constantly hashed out is the sheer amount of stuff that babies require. Some of that stuff is, of course, nonnegotiable: the baby needs somewhere safe to sleep, diapers, bottles, and clothes. Then there's all of the other stuff. Gear our mothers somehow lived without that we've come to rely on - video monitors, white noise machines, and smartphone apps that can do pretty much anything except nurse the baby. Here's where things get a little weird: amidst the many useful and innovative items introduced every year, there are a handful that range from being totally unnecessary to downright bizarre.

Click through for a selection of baby gear that might leave you scratching your head.