It's prom night! My date is 14,000 people and I'm wearing -- wait for it -- a duct tape ball gown. The party is a parallel universe where DJs fly through the air, glow sticks abound and the average height is 3' 6". I'm in a tween scene melee in...

I'm the mysterious lone woman in Cabana 7 at the sparkling Mother of Pearl pool. Surveying the scene, I observe that I'm also the only Phoenician resort guest without a tattoo or drink. I forgo the former and, come 5:00 p.m., rectify the latter. After all, I'm on a "spafari."

This morning I'm a tourist in my own city, walking around the Tidal Basin to witness one of nature's best spring tricks, the blossoming of the cherry trees. At 9 a.m., I am one of hundreds. As the day wears on there will be thousands drawn to the...

20 stuffed animals sitting on empty beds. 20 sets of rain boots never again to splash in puddles. 20 college degrees never obtained.

I'm heartbroken. I'm sickened. I'm devastated.

As a parent, I mourn for these lost angels and grieve for their families.

And as an American, I wonder, how...

I am on a Gratitude Jihad.

For years, Oprah has been extolling the virtues of her Gratitude Journal. I knew I should do this, but the truth was I didn't want to add one more thing to my To Do list.

Then, two weeks ago, I felt really down....

I'm in the middle of a meeting at work when my kids' school calls. Never a good thing.

"Mrs. Bellows, there's been an accident on the playground," says her teacher. "You better get here as fast as you can."

Turns out my 6-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, went running headfirst into the...

Change of plans. Tonight I'm not returning to headquarters to identify and resuscitate leftovers, brief initiates bedtime stories and thwart attempts of sleep enforcers Panda, Froggy or Fruity Blanket from going rogue under the cover of darkness.

No. Tonight I'm on a different mission: World Domination by Decadent Food...

I'm doing something radical, rebellious and perhaps even ridiculous. At the age of 47, I'm throwing myself a birthday party.

Face it, Moms: somehow we've lost our grip on our birthright. In the delivery room, without even realizing, we pass...

I'm not gonna lie: I have a cool job. One perk is going cool places and meeting cool people.

A few weeks ago, I flew out to unsunny So Cal for the fourth annual PTTOW Summit. The ungainly acronym stands for People To Take Over the World;...

We're in Jamaica. Family vacation. No sooner do I flop onto a lounge chair and flip open my Vogue than I hear, "Mom! I'm bleeding!"

I look over at my 6-year-old daughter Mackenzie and notice a stripe of dark blood on her shin. Then the blood starts to...

They say that dreams are a window to the soul -- and for me, that notion was proved true the other night. Deep in sleep, I dreamed that I had just returned from an outing; my parents and daughter were waiting for me, but my son was nowhere to be...

Did you know that butterflies taste food with their feet? Or that an eagle's nest weighs more than a refrigerator? Amazing facts like these from National Geographic Kids magazine show your children that all animals--family pets and wild animals--deserve to be respected and appreciated. May 2-8 is Be Kind to...

For the first time in a while, I'm not thinking about my weight. It's the rest of the country I'm worried about. I'm sitting with Michelle Obama discussing the Fat Attack on America.

Let me explain. I'm actually sitting in on a Town Hall Meeting that...

Who says no one listens to kids? National Geographic Kids magazine certainly does, and we offered them the chance to grade freshman President Barack Obama on how they think he's done this past year. Based on what they said, maybe the President has a few things to learn from this...

Times are tough. Real tough.

As the New York Times recently pointed out, many parents have found themselves out of work and at home--and it ain't good. "For many families across the country, the greatest damage inflicted by this recession has not necessarily been financial, but emotional and psychological," reports...

Opinions are flying.

"C'mon people! Sarah Palin is a pro-lifer and very conservative. What's not to like??? I would have voted for Mr. Maverick regardless."

"McCain only chose this airhead to try and win over the people who would vote for Hillary and it just backfired...

The only way to save the planet is to motivate people in a position to do so. The scary thing is that those in power are understandably busy with other pressing needs--namely IM-ing their BFFs, suffering through PowerPoint presentations, and squeezing in time for soccer practice. For just-as-busy parents, the...