That’s worth dwelling on if a kid asks — especially in light of President Trump’s bizarre victory tour in which he seems to have equated the investigation’s findings with both exoneration (not precisely) and conspiracy (absolutely not). The Mueller report represents normalcy and it’s worth highlighting at a time when nothing seems normal. Donald Trump’s presidency has been something of a minefield for parents. Regardless of party affiliation, parents have spent the past two years having or avoiding difficult conversations....

“As someone who grew up listening to Raffi’s iconic Christmas album, it is such an honor to join him on this beautiful rendition of ‘Silver Bells,’” says Munroe about their latest collaboration. “I love Christmas music and this song has always been one of my favorites. I hope it brings joy and a smile to all who listen this holiday season.” She isn’t alone in her enthusiasm about the release either....

Simone — daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — has become the first ever fourth-generation WWE Superstar. She’s following her great-grandfather, “High Chief” Peter Maivia, her grandfather Rocky Johnson, and her dad, “The Rock,” and as she’s getting set to enter the ring, she shared her chosen stage name – Ava Raine. Since Simone signed to the WWE, people have been curious about what she would use as her stage name....

Silicone wedding bands are a safer wedding band alternative. The danger of a traditional metal wedding ring comes from the difficulty of removal. If you injure yourself and your finger is sliced or swelling, a ring can be torture to take off. Then there’s also the horrifying fact that if you slip and the ring accidentally catches on something — a rock face or, say, wooden framing — you could lose most of your skin....

The decision, based on the case Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, is born out of a case where the city of Philadelphia stopped contracting a religious-based foster care center, Catholic Social Services after they discovered the agency would not approve LGBTQ+ couples to be foster parents. In summary, the city said that CSS was violating their policy that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation; the CSS is saying that the city of Philadelphia is violating their first-Amendment right to freedom of religion....

Morrison had a number of beautiful thoughts on the matter but one passage in particular stands out. In a series of interviews, published in the book Toni Morrison and Motherhood, the author spoke to writer Andrea O’Reilly extensively about her thoughts on parenting and the link between being a mother, being an artist, and discovering your best self. In it, Morrison explained why becoming a parent isn’t restrictive, but instead, deeply liberating....

Yes, each slicing tool is an investment, but a well-made knife can last for ages. If you sharpen it regularly and keep it out of the dishwasher (the high heat can cause long-term damage), your grandchildren might still be using it in a few decades. A good knife should feel well-balanced in your hand (preferences vary from person to person) and keep its edge well. A chef’s knife is essential, since it can handle a wide variety of large- and small-scale prep tasks....

Districts are taking different precautions to prevent outbreaks, and some are more effective than others. Kids and teachers at some schools must wear masks at all times, but other schools either don’t require everyone to wear a mask or aren’t strict about enforcing mask rules. Some have cut class sizes, limited contact between different groups of students, and moved classes outside or to larger classrooms. And some screen students or ask their families’ to screen them for symptoms....

A few months after that Christmas, I had a very sore lower back. I strained it at the gym doing something or other, and instead of resting it, I decided a long bike ride was needed. Wrong. Sitting at my desk attempting to work, I struggled to stand and couldn’t get comfortable. That’s when I remembered that grey square of foam leaning against the wall gathering dust. It was the perfect size, I realized, to fit between my lower back and the chair to take the pressure off....

I’m not even sure how or why I chose Intuit’s Quicken to begin with ⏤ I think it came installed on my laptop. It worked well enough and the more receipts I entered the more committed to it I became. Eventually, we were tied together by years of pay stubs, grocery store receipts, and a giant data file I had little interest in converting to a new program. I upgraded a few times along the way ⏤ jumping around from Basic to Professional to Deluxe, and even switching over from PC to MAC ⏤ but ended up settling on Quicken 2007, which, 11 years later, is what I still use....

The beauty of HIIT is that it’s over (almost) before you know it began — yet the payoff is equivalent to workouts twice as long. In fact, a study by exercise physiologists at the University of New South Wales found that HIIT was just as effective as moderate-intensity aerobic training for weight loss and reducing waist circumference, but required only 40% as much time to complete. And researchers at the University of North Carolina found that HIIT workouts also boost metabolic burn for hours after your workout is over — significantly more than, say, going for a run....

In the University of Michigan study, researchers analyzed 16 years of data for patterns of marital tension that led to divorce. A major correlative factor was the relationship between a husband and his wife’s friends, where increased negativity predicted and increased chance of divorce. It all comes down to, as many things do, a degree of paranoia. “Women are much more likely to discuss marital problems with their friends,” says Stephanie Roth Goldberg, a New York social worker and clinical therapist....

The map was created by Homes.com as a response to the COVID pandemic, which made remote work the new normal and caused many city-dwellers to consider moving to greener pastures sooner rather than later. To determine the top 20 suburbs, they compiled a listing of 50 suburbs based on the U.S. Census’s list of fastest-growing towns in each state and gave each of them a score that was based on nine factors, including median listing price, median square footage, school district score, and race & ethnic diversity levels....

The most surprising bit of information? That Frozen didn’t top the list in every single country. While it did count for the majority of all searches across the globe, it wasn’t the most popular film in terms of countries that were interested in it. Actually, Avatar, yes, Avatar, took the crown in some 28 countries, while Frozen was just a favorite in 16, despite getting the highest number of searches overall....

The Decco Toddler Monitor is a Bluetooth-enabled motion sensor that hangs on the doorknob to your child’s room. When it senses the door open, it sends an alert to the iPhone app (no Android app yet, unfortunately). Simple as that, you know your kid is on the run and headed for the sewer pipe. Decco Toddler Monitor’s smartphone app can monitor up to three devices (from three different phones), so you can also throw one on the front and back doors depending on your child’s age and/or level of precociousness....

This happens all the time. Every month, actually. But lately, the stereotypical discomfort, mood swings, and cravings for Snickers ice cream bars have brought with them a sense of disappointment. We’re TTC. That’s “trying to conceive” for those of you who aren’t intimately familiar with the peculiar modern lingo now associated with fertility conversations. There are so many of these acronyms — IUI, “Intrauterine insemination”; BFP, “Big fat positive”; POAS, “Pee on a stick”; PUPO, “Pregnant until proven otherwise”— that you’d be forgiven for assuming the entire enterprise is spearheaded by the Department of Defense....

The phrase financial gurus give to the part of your income that’s more want-based than need-based is “discretionary spending” or “discretionary income”. And for many of us, understanding that difference – and, more importantly, doing something about it — is the lynchpin of a sound financial plan. In more concrete terms, discretionary income is the amount of your paycheck left over after accounting for income taxes and all those other necessities that eat away at your checkbook — things like home payments, electric bills and groceries....

It’s not that my family and I weren’t happy. I suppose we were as happy as any other middle-class family with two working parents. Which is to say, we weren’t as happy as our social media posts would imply, but we were doing fine. Between the stress and the chaos of parenting and work, there were the occasional moments of mirth and the odd hours-worth of smiles. But I wanted to be happier....