A few years ago the World Health Organization calculated that sexual intercourse takes place 42 billion times each year or 1,300 times per second. I would hate to hazard a guess to what percentage of those active couples are using birth control.

I am one of those hyper-vigilant birth control types. Every pregnancy has been planned and the children are spaced according to my calculation of lesser-sibling rivalry (and in case you were wondering; no, that didn’t work.) And so I continue to be shocked by some of my mommy friend’s lackadaisical attitude towards birth control.

A friend of mine on discovering she was pregnant for the third time said to me: "we were just two tired people having sex, who knew I could get pregnant?" I knew and so did she, exhaustion is not a good method of birth control if you still have enough energy to do the deed.

I am a big proponent of the chaos in my house. I create it through indecision, inactivity and an incompetence in the domestic arts (the cleaning half). My husband is the opposite he is decisive, a doer and a domestic diva (except for cooking). Once the second baby arrived on the scene, it was obvious that we needed a third person to help balance my messiness and my husband’s need for neatness.

Enter our nanny. She smoothes out our rough edges and makes the whole family happier. She takes good care of the kids and can play games for hours, she takes care of me by remembering where I put my sunglasses and keys and she takes good care of my husband by controlling the chaos in the house so he can relax when he gets home. She makes our transitions easier and our family run better.

When it comes to labour every mom-to be is searching for a feeling of control. And the first place they look is to their caregiver options – Midwife? Family Doc or Obstetrician?

Through my three pregnancies I was in the care of: a midwife, high-risk perinatologist, family doctor and an O.B. And they were all great, because I learned that it isn’t the initials after the name that matters; it is the chemistry between you. You need a good working relationship with your caregiver so that you feel safe enough to ask them all the stupid questions that you want.

My first choice was a midwife but my first pregnancy turned high-risk and we leapt up the care ladder from a midwife to a high-risk doctor. I ended up with a cesarean at 37 weeks and a healthy newborn and my husband got to keep his wife and baby.

During my second pregnancy, I was adamant about being a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and after much thought I decided that a combination of a family doctor and a doula was going to give me the best care and the greatest feeling of being in control.

Day 12 in the world of puppydom and my dog trainer has already showed me up as a parent. She’s pretty good with the puppy, too but it is her interaction with my kids that I find the most interesting.

Her sheer positivity mixed with the way she sets up clear boundaries had my kids following her around like a pied piper. It also reinforces some parenting lessons in one short hour and reminds me that indeed, kids are like puppies. Maybe animal training and people training isn’t that different.

Amy Sutherland studied animal behaviour and applied animal training techniques to her husband with amazing results and then he turned around and started using them on her. Her book, What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage: Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers is based on a widely-circulated article in the NY Times.

Here are some things that I have learned from the puppy trainer, and it works goes for kids, puppies, husbands, wives, possibly any sentient being in your midst ...

Warning: To those with mothers-in-law from hell, stop reading here. I have a mother-in-law that turns the stereotype on its head. She is non-judgmental, supportive and has never once made me feel that I “stole” her son from her. Sorry, no mother-in-law jokes in this post.

When my husband and I started dating back in1984, I’m not sure that his mother took me too seriously. I was a giggly 15-year old girl who travelled in a pack of other like-minded teens. I’m not sure when I started taking my boyfriend’s parents too seriously either. They were sort of shadowy figures who lent us the car and occasionally fed us as we passed through the door.

Sometimes in the darkest hour of the night do you panic? Not irrational stranger panic, but the fear that comes from loving a child so deeply that you can see their personal challenges magnified beyond reason. I know every parent experiences some form of this, but for those of us who are parenting kids who are slightly-off-the-grid those nighttime skirmishes may be a familiar feeling.

Some kids seem to be more challenging than others, these kids are often seen as difficult, or as Alyson Schafer puts it “discipline-resistant”. These are kids who seem more highly sensitive to the world around them and can be discombobulated by the smallest incident and they can turn family life on its head in an instant.

As a mother of a somewhat “challenging child”, I can tell you that nature plays an important role (and yes, I realize nurture factors in here too). Our first-born is different temperamentally than his siblings, but also different than other kids. And those differences can make him hard to parent, but more importantly they make it hard to be him.

It wasn’t until I was checking out of the grocery store today that I realized that I was in sweatpants, sweatshirt, my pajama tank top and no undergarments.. Thank goodness for puffy coats and hats.  I have no good excuse for my outfit. It was just a slightly more hectic than usual morning because my hubby was away and I drove all three kids to school and didn’t see the need to get dressed before hopping in the car. The only problem is that once I dropped the kids at school I realized a friend was coming over and I wanted to make a salad for lunch so I dropped in on my neighbourhood store and voila there I was standing at the cash with no bra on (which I realize for some mothers is not an issue but I should not be in public without some harnessing equipment).

I wish I could say that it was a first time event. But I would be lying. Before kids I would not dream of being seen in public without being fully dressed but now those last few minutes of lying horizontal is a worthy trade-off to two minutes in my closet. 

A few years ago the school boards in Toronto decided that the playgrounds were not safe, tore them down and re-built them with child safety regulations in mind -- and injury rates in the new playgrounds decreased by 49%. Obviously a lot of thought went into the new playgrounds but I wonder if they could have also upped the fun quotient along with the safety.

We just got back form the happiest place on earth, if you are under the age of 15 and live north of the border, that is. Yes, Great Wolf Lodge. For the unintiated Great Wolf Lodge is an indoor waterpark/hotel in Niagara Falls (and 11 other locations in the U.S.).  It is nirvana for the kids.

Waterslides? check

Talking trees and animatronic animals? check

Bunk beds with its own TV? check

Overly nice service by people who use the word wolf in every greeting? check

Kids in pajamas at mealtimes? check

Arcade with tickets and redeemable prizes? check

Junk food? double check

No rules? triple check

A fake log cabin on steroids with terrible food and waterslides would never have been my idea of fun in the pre-kid universe,but it is a great weekend because the kids are so deliriously happy. By the way, Great Wolf did not sponsor my trip and in no way gave me any SWAG.

Did your kid go to school without breakfast today? Well, one in five kids walked through the school doors hungry today – and will mostly be hungry again tomorrow. Sitting in a classroom with an empty stomach can have long-term effects -- we know that kids who don’t eat well also have problems learning, sitting, and getting along with their buddies in the schoolyard. And yet, so many kids are sitting in their classes hungry.

For some families skipping breakfast is the tough trade-off between having dinner and having breakfast, others are finding the morning rush the obstacle to a morning meal. Some parents may not realize how important breakfast is or that a bowl of cereal is not a good way to start the day –  a nutritious breakfast needs to have protein, carbs and hopefully some dairy in it.

Breakfast Clubs of Canada is a national organization that ensures kids start off the day with a healthy breakfast, in a non-judgmental environment.