We hit a lot of bumps on the road before we got a happy ending in our journey with daycare providers and nannies -- from terrible nannies, accident-prone sitters, and trips to the emergency room. Daycare providers aren't doing us a favor. We pay for the service so we have a right to receive that service. Always trust your instincts. When you do find that service that works for you, I can tell you that it is wonderful to be able to trust someone and feel that our children are being well taken care of.

Because of the problems we have had with nannies, we decided that this time, we would try daycare. We didn't have a lot of options because we were living in a very small town in Michigan so we tried those that were available. One was like a baby prison, and another kept on imposing their personal beliefs on us, even at the risk of our children's health. As a result of these daycare challenges, we realized that we had to go back to nannies.

We thought there were less likely to be incidents if we had nannies to care for our babies at home. We found out the hard way that's not the case. One nanny we had didn't really care for Emmy that much, resulting in lots of 'accidents.' Another was always too busy fighting with her boyfriend to really take care of my babies. Our first attempts at having nannies to take care of our babies have left me with a certain level of anxiety.

My five-year-old son, Bug, has an incredible amount of energy which he only seems to lose when it's time to do his share of house chores or when it's time to ride his bike. His boundless energy often affects me, Dad, his sisters, and even his dog. We've also had our fair share of visits to the emergency room because of his energy. So, being 53, I really appreciate our afternoon naps. It's a timeout for him as much as it is for me.

I've heard a lot of horrifying stories involving kids with anaphylactic allergies. It's hard to accept that you don't have your child's safety under control no matter how hard you try. It's been especially hard on Emmy since she had a very severe case of tree-nut allergy. At 9 years old, she feared that she wouldn't be able to lead a normal life. Fortunately, awareness, maturity, and sensitivity on the part of her friends, and a lessening threat from tree-nuts has allowed her to see a much brighter future.

We didn't realize what an uphill social battle Emmy's tree-nut allergies was going to become. People think that when your child has an anaphylactic allergy, it's just a regular allergy, even after you explain what it is. They think you're overexaggerating when you tell them it's a matter of life and death. Some people will even tell you how to handle the situation based on non-medical sources they find because the way you live is inconvenient for them. It's a challenge that we live with every single day.

It's definitely a challenge for a parent to have a child with tree-nut allergies. Any life-threatening allergy can radically change life for everyone in the family. The food we eat, the way we travel, the things we buy -- everything changes. And even as our children grow older and they become more conscious of the threats and of what it means to remain safe, our anxiety as parents does not diminish because we want them to be safe and lead happy, normal lives.

Hello Mama Crew!

I wanted to believe that age was a just number! My body had a different answer...

Have you noticed that sometimes you go to bed feeling great and wake up achy? I mean, what happened?! Did your mattress turn to stone overnight? I know mine has done that on occasion! So how do you deal with it when you are a busy older mom? Tune in today to find out how I cope.

I've been thinking a lot about the fact that I'm too old not to be an empty-nester. It's hard to be caught in that place where you're too old to hang around with young parents, but have children that are too young to allow you to do what older parents do. My kids keep me active. They keep me heart-healthy. There are a lot of things that I wouldn't have even attempted if it hadn't been for my kids. They push me out of my comfort zone and that allows me to explore the world once again with fresh eyes.

My desire for becoming a mother was so great that I never stopped to think about what it would be like to be an older mom. When I did become a mom, I realized that my situation was different from other moms with kids the same age as mine. Even before I had children, I've always been considered weird so I've learned to live with the challenges despite the fact that other younger moms thought I was weird. But through all these challenges, I was still able to get the family that I wanted and love.