Every mother has heard the dreaded bug phrase more than she can count. When I was a new mom, I wanted to make sure my daughter enjoyed insects. Her dad is a scientist and agrees that creatures of all shapes and sizes are to be admired not feared. I searched the Internet, asked parents, read books and discovered many ways to ensure your children love insects.

1. Read books about insects

Reading an animated insect book can help take the scariness out of insects for young children. If they can see a happy smile on a spider or fly, it becomes a friend. I love the Miss Spider books. My favorite is the "Miss Spider's Listening Walk."

2. Create an insect craft with your kids

After reading a good insect book ask your child what her favorite insect was and have her draw it on a piece of paper. There are also free insect coloring pages you can print.

3. Play an outside search game

. Get outside and help your kids find insects. You can download free insect bingo cards and use them on your nature walk. When you find an insect watch it for a minute or two and talk about how it walks, eats, or flies. Don't be afraid to take a walk at night and allow your child to discover that the night brings on different types of insects such as crickets.

4. Teach them about dangerous insects

Your kids will need to understand that not all insects are safe to get close to or touch. Teach them how bees and wasps sting for their protection and that some spiders are poisonous.

5. Let them discover the world of metamorphosis

Butterflies are one of nature's wonders. There are small butterfly gardens you can buy that are equipped with butterfly eggs and milkweed. All you have to do is sit back and watch the magic. My daughter's preschool released their butterflies and threw a butterfly party. It was one of my daughter's fondest memories of preschool.

6. Explore the parts of different insects

. Give your child a magnified glass and teach him about the different parts of insects. Have him draw or talk about what he learned at the dinner table. Let your kids teach you and watch their excitement grow.

7. Eat your own insects

Get in the kitchen and create chocolate cookies that look like Ladybugs or s'mores that resemble a spider. Halloween is around the corner. There are wonderful examples of "edible insects" you can make for your aspiring scientist to eat. Your child will also have a great story to tell her friends.

8. Model your interest

Children learn how to react to things in their lives by watching how adults and older siblings react. When you see an insect, show how interested you are in watching it as it moves. If you don't know what kind of insect you are looking at, go home and research it with your child.

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Here are some tips for helping your daughter love her body:

Never let your daughter hear you degrade your own body

. Do not vocalize what you do not like about your body. Young girls especially look up to their mothers as one of the most beautiful women they know. They are supermom's who can fix their hurts, cook dinner and make them feel better. Degrading our own body shatters that supermom image and your daughters begin to look at their own bodies in negative ways.

Let your daughter love her body

Encourage your daughter to look into a mirror and discover what she loves about herself. Vocalize what you love about your daughter and make sure you are sincere.

Teach your daughter that aging is not a curse

Help your daughter learn about nutrition, physical activity and that, as we age, we should always take care of our bodies. If you are married, talk about how you love your spouse more as time goes by.

Allow her dad to brush and style her hair

. Dad may not know how to do the stylish braids, but he can give her wonderful memories. Encourage Dad to ask about her dreams and aspirations. A little girl sees her dad as one of the strongest people she knows and loves having him take time from his busy life to gently brush her hair.

Encourage your daughter to get messy and play sports

. Parents often treat their girls with kid gloves. What they really need is a chance to play in the mud, get a few bruises and learn that physical exercise is more important that looking like Hollywood.

Limit the teenage movies and magazines

It can be hard to feel beautiful if you have multiple images of what you are "supposed" to look like. It also distorts the fact that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. When examining a fashion magazine all the models look the same and are presented as empty clothing racks.

Educate your daughter that being fit is more important than being slim

Eating disorders hospitalize thousands of teenage girls who should be out enjoying physical activity not hospital feeding tubes. Teach your daughter the effects of eating disorders and how it can cause permanent damage to her body. It can even affect her ability to bear children later in life. Encourage her to find a sport she enjoys and emphasize the benefits of being fit, not slim.

Don't force her to smile

Allow your daughter to voice how she is feeling. Women often smile to cover up how they are really feeling and miss the chance to get help when needed.

Let your daughter have her own style

Don't try to turn your daughter into a mini you. Conversely, if you are smaller than your daughter don't wear the clothes she has outgrown. Let her be herself and find her own fashion.

Love her for who she is

Never tease or make fun of your daughter if she is a little overweight or underweight. Love her for who she is and remind her how important she is to you.

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Deadlines, alarm clocks, kids screaming and constant demands are daily reminders that our lives are chaotic, depressing at times and never ending. Sometimes the only peace we have is when the clock chimes 11 p.m., the house is quiet and we crash onto our pillow for at least a few moments of rest. Yet, that 11 o'clock hour brings us a brief moment of happiness because we are at least grateful the day is finally over.

How can we capture that brief moment of happiness and make it last? The answer is gratitude. Science has proven with multiple studies that the simple act of gratitude can greatly impact our level of happiness. In a sweet and short video clip calledĀ The Science of Happiness - An Experiment in Gratitude producers put gratitude to the test. The video proves that expressing gratitude can increase our levels of happiness by as much as 14 percent. We all could use a little more happiness in our lives. Here are a few ideas on how we can incorporate gratitude into our lives.

Write a letter of gratitude

. Take a few moments to write a simple thank you note to someone who has influenced your life in a positive way. Better yet, call them on the phone and read to them what you wrote like participants in the video did.

Count your blessings

. Even when we feel the world collapsing, find something you are grateful for. Every time I place another bandage on another scrape or cut I find myself being grateful I have a child that can run and play.

Keep a journal of gratitude

This journal can only be used for the things you are grateful for. Everyday write at least one sentence about what you are grateful for. Yes, simply writing that the day is finally over counts.

Share the positive first

At the end of every day when we greet our loved ones share what went right for at least five minutes and then explain the bad. The first few moments we greet loved ones dictates how the rest of the evening will go so start with the positive. I made this change in my house about five years ago and I have seen the difference in how happy our evenings are.

Go on a walk

A breath of fresh air does everyone good. While you are walking be grateful for your senses. Enjoy the breeze on your skin, smell of flowers, and the beauty of the trees. At the end of your walk, take out your gratitude journal and write down what you saw, heard and smelled. Your level of happiness will increase and your heart will thank you for the exercise.

Just breathe

. Take deep breaths in and out. Imagine all the negative leaving your body as you exhale and positive happy vibes coming in as you inhale. Yoga practitioners use this technique and it works.

By implementing these simple acts into our lives we will begin to see that our lives are full of rich blessings and our families are a little more precious to us. Our happiness is in our hands.

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The next few weeks I toured several other daycare centers. Some were close to work and others were close to home. The crying stopped, but my heart still sank every time I left another potential daycare or babysitter. I had my top choice, but there was a long waiting list and the chances of getting in were slim.

I worked up until the day before I was to have my C-section delivery. I wanted to save my maternity leave for when my daughter was here. I loved the next few weeks with my daughter. I loved being home with her even though I was sleep deprived. I knew she was safe with me.

A few days before I was to go back to work my top choice called and said they had a spot for my daughter. I was relieved and thankful that my husband and mother-in-law could stay with her for a couple of weeks before the daycare center year started. I learned many things that helped me cope with returning to work after maternity leave that I wished someone had shared with me.

Be open with your employer

They will help in every way possible if they know what your plans are. Make contact with your HR department or person and find out who will be handling your maternity leave. My HR person was in my office and knew how to make sure I received the maximum amount of paid maternity days.

Plan ahead

Start looking for potential babysitters, daycare centers or nannies at the start of your third trimester. By this time your boss knows your situation and may let you leave work early on some days if you explain what you are doing.

Make a list of what is important to you in a daycare center

I found that I did not want television in the daycare. I wanted plenty of outside time and the ability to drop in during lunch or anytime to check in with my daughter.

Don't be afraid to cry

It may take a few days, weeks or even months to get over the guilt of leaving your baby with someone else. I found that if the daycare sent me pictures of her smiling it helped me feel less guilty knowing she was happy.

Find women who have gone through this before

I discovered it made it easier knowing that I wasn't just emotional and that my feelings were shared. On really hard days I found that if I chatted for just a few minutes with others in my situation it made things better.

Know you are not a bad mother for leaving your child

I felt as if I was one of the worst mothers for leaving my child. I found that sometimes family members or friends may say stupid things to you that only make you feel worse, but in their own way they are trying to help. My father often asked me how awful it must be to leave my baby with strangers. I felt as if I was on the defense trying to explain the hours I put into searching for the right place.

Make the most of the time you do have with your kids

It's not about the amount of time you spend with your kids it's about the quality of time you spend with them. I tried not to have the television on when I was with her and I tried to make sure I sat down and played with her every moment I could spare.

Plan for pumping

If you are planning on using a breast pump when you go back (which is what I did), make sure you explain it to your boss beforehand. By law employers have to have a place for you to pump and give you breaks to do so. Showing up after you come back and demanding a time and place to pump is not a wise choice.

Share your emotions with your spouse

This is a team effort and he can be a listening ear.

Involve your spouse as much as possible

He can help with the preparation for daycare or the arrival of nanny each day. Every night you will have to have prepared meals and snacks for your child. Work together to prepare it. If at all possible share the pickup and drop off routine.

Evaluate your situation every few months

Don't be afraid to let care providers know if something needs to change. If you want, stay at home with your child then start searching for ways to make it possible.

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