Kathy Landin

The Elf on the Shelf—whether you find him cute, annoying or somewhere in between, he's everywhere these days, making the holiday season even more complicated for parents. We did a little investigating on this elusive creature that has become a phenomenon, and discovered a few things we didn't expect.

When your kids go back to school, it’s almost like you go back to school, too. Teachers and childhood development professionals agree that when a child’s parents are involved in his education, he learns more and gets better grades. That means, you have just as big a responsibility in his schoolwork as he does.

Somehow another summer has flown by and the kiddos are headed back to school again. Sure, that means vacations are over, the house will be empty and days at the pool are numbered. But what it also means is that it’s time to shop for supplies.

Wake up. Sound the alarms. Father’s Day is on Sunday. It seems like we talk about Mother’s Day for a month before it actually happens, but Father’s Day just sneaks up on us every year. If this has happened to you and you aren’t prepared with a gift, it’s not too late.

Moms do a lot for us. Even after we are no longer their responsibility, they are still doing things for us that we take for granted. We should be celebrating these great ladies every single day of the year, not just on Mother’s Day.

It’s just about the sweetest thing when your husband and kids give you a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Mother’s Day. A thoughtful husband will get them from a store. A thoughtful kid will get them from your yard. Either way, the sentiment is adorable and always well received.

It’s May and that means that soon we’ll be celebrating our Mexican heritage, much like we all celebrate our Irish heritage in March…even when we have neither. Cinco de Mayo is a great excuse to leave work early, eat tortilla chips and drink more tequila than sanity allows, but is it starting to feel just a little bit like the same old thing?

You might not know his name, but you definitely know his work. Thomas Kinkade painted quaint scenes of cottages, cobblestone paths and warm, glowing windows, seemingly lit as an invitation to come inside. He had mass appeal that made him a household name and the target of disapproval from art critics. Kinkade passed away unexpectedly on Friday at the age of 54.

The number of obese children in the US has tripled since 1970. About one out of every three kids in America is severely overweight. This data means that obesity-related diseases that are usually only found in adults are being diagnosed more frequently in children and that these kids need to lose weight.

Somewhere along the way, an egg-toting, gift-giving rabbit became associated with the Easter holiday. We assume that soon after, sadistic parents decided that it would be fun to make sure any likeness of this generous rabbit should be creepy and frightening so they can take pictures and video of their children being completely freaked out.

Not many of us escaped lottery fever last week as the Mega Millions jackpot skyrocketed to about $640 million. Everyone wanted to get in on the action and we know one firefighter who is very happy his fellow firefighters decided to try their luck.

If you’ve been searching for your family history, the search just got a little bit easier. For the first time ever, the results of a US census are available online and can be accessed by and shared with anyone on the internet.