My neighbor and I walked our dogs yesterday and enjoyed a beautiful sunny afternoon out of the house. I really love these walks, not only for the exercise, but also for the therapy I get while we are out there. It seems that whenever you get two moms together, much of the discussion that is had is about what is going on with the kids.

On this particular outing, the topic of discussion was about how our sons could earn money. Before we left for the walk, my 13 year old asked me if he could clean the garage or wash my car to earn some extra cash. Of course I wanted to accommodate his request, but wondered if these were not tasks he should perform just because he is a member of the family?

There has always been the argument out there that kids should not be paid to do chores around the house; rather they should do these things because they are expected to be a contributing member of the family. But, there aren’t that many jobs out there for a 13 year old. I’d love some feedback on this. Should kids get paid to do household chores and how can young teens earn some extra money?

On a recent Today Show episode, I watched a segment about mom’s and playgroups. I had to chuckle a bit because it so reminded me of years gone by when I too had little ones and longed for the companionship of the afternoon playgroup.

Anyway, the segment was about how a group of California moms used the playgroup arena as their time to unwind and enjoy a glass of wine with their friends as their children played. The issue here was whether moms should drink alcohol while caring for their children.

There were two distinct sides to the argument; the mom who felt totally entitled to indulge herself while watching her child play and the mom who felt that it was irresponsible for moms to impair themselves at all while caring for a child.

The discussion was quite lively as you can imagine, but I have to say, I sided with the mom who wanted to enjoy a glass of wine with her friends, while still being a responsible parent. When my kids were little, the days were very long and with a traveling husband, sometimes the only adult interaction I got was on the playground with my girlfriends. We did enjoy a glass of wine on occasion and I never felt that I was being irresponsible or a “bad” mom. What are your thoughts on this issue?

Is there any holiday that escapes America’s over-the-top commercialism and expense? I am on the rampage to simplify Valentines Day! I refuse to spend tons on money on candy and cards that will be tossed away. So move over Martha Stewart… the next few weeks we’re going to be spreading the glue over those inexpensive little pastel hearts, and pasting them to red construction paper hearts. And lots of poem writing for grandma and grandpa, and writing “love coupons” to promise to do something nice for each member of the family. I can feel the love already… and I love saving money.