I grew up during the years of Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, and Batman. Saturday mornings were for bowls of cereal in front of the television, watching cartoons until my parents got up and cleaning day started. But for me, this era had a huge drawback. You see, I was a girl. And if there was anything little girls couldn't do in the 80s, it was to enjoy superheroes (or so it seemed to me at the time). My brother and the neighbor boy wanted to play Ninja Turtles? Well, maybe I c

When my kids were little, they had some of the best not-toys. These were what we called everyday objects that, for one reason or another, our children became attached to and played with. Wooden spoons, doorstops. My daughter once wanted to take a nap with an empty jar of Peter Pan Peanut Butter. This is totally normal for toddlers exploring their universe. They are learning, comparing, manipulating, and absorbing everything about the world around them, and that's FANTASTIC. I