Sisters Kristie Fatscher and Valerie Monroy brought together their talents in glam and business to start a totally fabulous - and fun - party and event company. Here, they dish on what it's like to run their own business, how they juggle family and work, and offer advice for other ambitious moms.

Have you ever imagined the benefits to your child of having a classroom-credentialed childcare provider instead of a nanny or mother-in-law — but assumed the costs would be prohibitive?

Imagine a place where your children can learn how to assemble an interactive robot and make it move, design their own videogame, or produce a short computer animation.

NURTURING GRATITUDE (Compassion & Empathy) IN KIDS

How easy it is, amidst the turkey, stuffing, and huge family gatherings, to lose sight of the “thanks” in Thanksgiving. How blatant, during the upcoming holiday season, is the consumerism of our contemporary culture.

The World’s a Stage—on a Brooklyn Campus

Not all kids are ready for full-length theatrical performances, but exposing kids regularly to family-friendly productions helps.

Last year, when Nicole Mastrell’s youngest child, 5-year-old Oscar, started kindergarten, the Ossining mom began contemplating returning to work.

If you’re looking to introduce your young child to the wonders of musical education, here are some options throughout the borough:

If you’re looking to introduce your younger child to the wonders of music, here are some options throughout the borough.

According to statistics compiled by the Washington D.C.-based Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the average age of computer and video game players is 30 years old. Which means that many of the games on the market are geared toward adults — and a portion of those include content that is inappropriate for children. Smack in the middle of the holiday gift-buying season, with our kids — many game-savvier that we are — clamoring for the newest and hottest options out there, how can we be sure what we’re buying is suitable and safe?

Peter Applebome always imagined himself as a Little League dad, but when his son, Ben, developed an interest in the Boy Scouts, Applebome followed him, and in 1999, they became members of Troop 1 in Chappaqua. Over the next three years, Applebome found himself river rafting in the rain, cheering for Ben during a snow-less Klondike Derby, eating mystery one-pot stews by a soggy campfire, and learning to love the array of offerings — some traditional, others more subtle — of the Scouting life.

How often do we take that most precious gift, our eyes - and our children's eyes - for granted? Yet our children's eyes, more often than our own, are subject to several common eye conditions.

If land management, soil erosion, community restoration, forestry and other important environmental issues aren't part of your high-schooler's curriculum, maybe they should be. They can be through Envirothon, the largest high school environmental education program and competition in the nation.

The only plan I've made for this rapidly approaching and highly touted New Year's Eve is not to travel. I'm sure our family will mark the occasion with deserved significance, but for the moment, the notion of the year 2000 remains an impersonal, though, yes, momentous, concept.

Just as death is a part of life, grief is an experience everyone must undergo at some time. Parents are often caught offguard by the hurt and pain of their grieving children and the need to provide comfort and guidance.

Unfortunately though, I find that years of buying for my own children have left me with little insight into picking the perfect present for the other youngsters in my life.

For international adoptions Couples considering international adoption now have one less hurdle to overcome, thanks to a bill recently passed by the House of Representatives to reverse a potentially dangerous regulation requiring internationally adopted children to be immunized abroad.

Planning a week-long family vacation in Arizona, I worried that our teenage daughters would be bored by too much scenery and not enough friends. I worried that I’d scheduled our trip to the desert for August, the hottest month of the year. And I worried that after a few days marveling at intensely scenic vistas, we’d all wonder what to do next.

If you ask Laura Numeroff what her favorite characters are, she’ll probably tell you a moose, a pig, and, of course, a mouse. When you ask her what they’re up to, she’s going to tell you about her latest children’s book, If You Take a Mouse to School, and she might even mention its well-loved predecessors, If You Take a Mouse to the Movies, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, and the one that started it all, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.