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.

Marin Mommies presents another guest article by Marin parent coach, infant/toddler sleep researcher, and family therapist Angelique Millette. She works throughout the Bay Area and across the country supporting families and helping them meet life's challenges. You can learn more about her and her services at www.angeliquemillette.com.

So your baby has colic or reflux. Or your baby fights sleep, is fussy, and high-needs. You are not alone! Research shows that early on, up to 25 to 35% of babies may have a more difficult time with sleeping. Possible reasons include digestive issues like reflux, when babies food may come back up just as they are going down to sleep or as they are sleeping. Also, temperament has been shown to play a role in how babies settle to sleep. Difficult-to-soothe or high-needs babies may need a lot more parent help to go from active play or alert time to sleep time. These babies may be very curious and alert and may simply need more "wind down" time in order to fall asleep. And for some babies, they may have more difficulty regulating sleep. These can be colic babies or colic/reflux babies but also some premature babies and babies who may have had medical interventions or procedures at/around birth or early postpartum. For these babies, sleep may present a real challenge. Because sleep cycles and patterns develop over time and with parents help, these babies are going to need a lot more help and time to regulate settling to sleep and sleep patterns.

One of our favorite places for a family outdoor outing is Point Reyes National Seashore, and it's a favorite with many other families in Marin, too. Guest author Stacey Padrick-Thompson writes about her recent hike on Tomales Point Trail.

My husband and 3-1/2 year old daughter recently hiked a section of the Tomales Point Trail at the northern tip of Point Reyes. Just the drive there is itself worth the time, especially while the hills are still green and wildflowers still blooming (the best flowers are in April and May). At points on our drive, with beauty surprising us around each bend in the road—gorgeous hills cascading down into the ocean, cows, sheep, and horses lazily grazing on the lush green grass, and birds soaring above, and then below, us as we crested the hills in our car—I was swept back to driving the Ring of Kerry in Ireland.

Get ready to dance in the aisles at the Marin Symphony Family Concert, taking place on Saturday, May 8 at 3 pm in the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium at Marin Center in San Rafael. The theme of this family-friendly concert is “Once Upon a Symphony”. The great poems, tales, and stories of childhood come to musical life in this one-hour concert introducing children to the sights and sounds of orchestral music. KDFC radio host Hoyt Smith narrates a program featuring Ravel’s Ma Mere L’Oie (Mother Goose), Dukas’ setting of Goethe’s poem The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, excepts from the Harry Potter film scores by John Williams, plus much more. The symphony's traditional "instrument petting zoo" follows.

If you haven’t been to one of the Marin Symphony’s Family Concerts yet, you really owe it to yourself to check one out. We've attended them and had a great time. As an added bonus, they were able to try out orchestra instruments at the "instrument petting zoo" in the Marin Center’s Redwood Foyer after the concert, which was really neat.

Looking to build strength, tone muscle, and improve aerobic fitness in an outdoor setting, all while helping raise money to fight breast cancer? Fitpink is a Marin-based organization that provides “all outdoors” small-group training for women who are looking to get fit and help a great cause.

Fitpink was founded by Novato resident Ian Tonks, who was inspired by his passion for fitness and interest in women’s causes. A native of England, Ian holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Northumbria and an MBA in strategic leadership from Dominican University of California. He has more than 20 years of professional experience as a leader in youth sports programming, development, and fundraising, and has worked with athletes in several professional sports leagues, including Major League Soccer and the NFL.