This weekend, Target (you know, that place where you buy diapers and bathroom cleaner and toys and the occasional dress or shirt) presents Arts & Wonder, a free family event with free general admission to six of San Francisco's leading museums and free art activities and performances.

This weekend-long marathon of free family fun kicks off Friday, July 16, 2010 from 5–8:45 pm at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, where you can turn Target's canine mascot Bullseye into a work of Andy Warhol-inspired "Pup" art and watch a ballet performance celebrating the work of Impressionist painter Edgar Degas. General admission and activities and performances are free, but if you want to see the Birth of Impressionism exhibition (highly recommended!) you'll have to get a special timed ticket—$15 for adults, $10 for children 6–17, and free for kids 5 and under.

With the recent surge in whooping cough cases, we asked local pediatrician and frequent Marin Mommies contributor Dr. Steven Martel to answer some questions our readers had about this potentially serious illness.

The re-emergence of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, has garnered much media attention due to the recent epidemic.

Pertussis is a highly contagious, vaccine preventable disease caused by a particular bacterium. The disease spreads via respiratory droplets which result from sneezing or coughing onto surfaces. The disease usually begins with symptoms that are similar to the common cold, particularly runny nose and fever. Over the course of 7–10 days the affected person develops a spasmodic, difficult to control cough which can make it hard to breathe. The infection’s characteristic “whoop” cough is responsible for its common name. However, the “whooping” sound is uncommon in infants. The cough usually lasts for about 6 weeks.

Last summer we undertook a road trip to the Gold Country. About a three-hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, it's a fun long weekend or day trip that's steeped in California and American histroy. We had such a good time that when it came time to decide upon a road trip destination this year, we unanimously to head up there again. Like last time (which we wrote about here and here), our home base was the Gunn House Hotel in downtown Sonora, from where we explored the surrounding area, including Columbia State Historic Park. This time we made sure we went up in time to check out the annual Columbia Diggins 1852, a Gold Rush reenactment event held each year the weekend after Labor Day. 

Summer's almost here, school's out (or is about to be), and this means that it's time to come up with some cool summertime snacks for active young children. Our friend and fellow Marin mom Michelle Stern of What's Cooking has provided us with some fun, easy, healthy, and tasty summer recipes and snack ideas.

You can find more of Michelle's recipes, plus other informative posts on nutrition, food, and family, on her What's Cooking Blog. Michelle also offers cooking classes, cooking-themed birthday parties, and summer camps.

Marin Mommies presents a guest article by child behavior specialist and Montessori teacher Terese Bradshaw.

Does this sound familiar? Mom has told 2-1/2 year old, Sarah not to run out into the street, but she does it anyway. Mom firmly tells her “No”, but Sarah just gives Mom that devilish little look that seems to say “You can’t make me” and tries to run away. What’s a parent to do? Some parents might believe punishment, like a time-out, slap on the hand or spanking would solve the problem. They believe that these punitive measures would teach the child a lesson. Other parents might believe that explaining to the child the dangers of the road will prevent them from running out into the street. None of these methods are very effective or helpful with a toddler. I am often asked “How do I get my toddler to stop a dangerous behavior like running out in the street or taking off in the store?” First we must understand the world from our child’s perspective. Renowned parenting author Jane Nelsen, of the Positive Discipline series of books, shares her insight into the world of the young child:

There are many factors that go into the decision to grow your family, and affordability is usually one of them. To determine whether or not a second child is financially feasible, you need to consider the costs of raising that child from birth through financial independence, which is hopefully when they graduate college. Here are a few of the largest expenses to evaluate.

Does Size Matter?
Housing-related costs (mortgage, insurance, and property tax) are the largest expenses for most families. In planning for Baby #2, ask yourself if you need (not want) to move to accommodate your growing family.

In this guest article, Mill Valley naturopathic doctor Lisa Brent offers some insight into how stress affects moms' lives and how we can cope with it.

We love our children. They bring joy, love, and many gifts to our lives. We devote ourselves to our kids and we cherish our bond with them above all others.

At the same time, the work of caring for another human being can cause a significant amount of stress for women. The demands of motherhood impact many areas in our lives: our time, our sleep, our finances, our emotional lives, our relationships and more.

Motherhood also brings with it a whole new set of worries. We can become anxious about our children’s safety as well as about their behavior and social development. We often fret that we are not going a good enough job. Mothers are bombarded by advice and theories from experts about the right approach to motherhood. Much of this advice can be conflicting and may not fit with our particular child’s needs. This often leads us to question ourselves and become stressed out by the consequences of making a mistake. And every new stage in our children’s lives presents us with a brand new set of challenges.

Help make your kids' snacking a nutritionally smart strategy! Nutritionist Amber Wilson, MS, RD, offers some tips on healthy alternatives to junk food.

Michelle Obama and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver have embarked on a mission to improve the health of our children. While we wait for a nutrition makeover of school lunches, there’s no better time to look at what our kids are eating outside of school. According to a study published in the March issue of Health Affairs, snacking accounts for 27 percent of children’s daily calories. The 30,000 children surveyed in the study snacked an average of three times per day on candy, chips and other junk food, and this unhealthy snacking added almost 600 calories each day to the children’s diets. But all it takes is a little bit of planning and creativity to make snack time both healthy and fun for your kids.

Snacking, when done smartly, is a good strategy for children because they have small stomachs and are unable to eat large meals at one time. Healthy snacks give kids energy between meals, and also help to focus attention and regulate mood. Focus on fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains when choosing snacks for your kids and limit their consumption of sugary, high-fat junk food. Look through your pantry and throw out the cookies, chips, candy and soda.

Rarely do couples sit down with each other after they marry to agree on a new set of guidelines for how to manage and talk about money as a couple. Add a child to the mix, and what seemed like small differences in spending and saving become amplified and a major source of tension in the relationship.

No one likes to fight about money, so why does it happen? Most often, it is caused by a communication breakdown and lack of understanding about one another’s past relationship with money. If left unchecked, financial pressures can become too big to handle. The reality is that money is one of the top reasons for divorce.

Instead of focusing on the past and mistakes already made, couples can break the cycle by following the steps below to ensure that they have a non-judgmental platform on which to build a positive financial dialogue for the family.