Every once in a while, a nation gets inspired. And who better than a guitar-wielding, super-geek astronaut with a groovy 'stache?

Chris Hadfield returned to Earth on Monday night, but hopefully his legacy will inspire kids and adults to continue to look to the stars.

Chris Hadfield may just be the coolest astronaut that has ever lived. He doesn't have a catch phrase and a golf club, but communicated the simple pleasures and beauty of the earth while suspended in orbit for five months, 2,336 orbits, 146 days and 16 sunrises and sunsets per day. 

"We are late. Let's go!"

"Who needs to pee?"

"Homework?"

"Get off the screen."

"You guys are addicted to screens. This has to change."

"Fruit or yogurt are your only choices."

"This is not working."

"I love you."

"I really love you."

If my kids were going to make a video about the things I say the most, I am sure those sentences would be in it. But what would be more interesting are the things that I don't realize I say all the time. The things I don't know I repeat ad nauseum.

This teen made a What Parents Say video (following in the Sh*t Everyone Says meme):

I have a text group chat with friends on my phone that would burn my kids' ears off; we complain, we gossip, we joke and it is not for public consumption. Now that all three of my kids can read, I have to shield my phone from them so they don't lose their innocence too early.

That is, until I got a Windows 8 Phone -- the Nokia Lumina 920. [I was given the phone to test along with some other bloggers for a month during the busiest time of the year in a #holidayswap].

There are a lot of bad toys out there. Some toys are obviously bad; like the McJob cash register for instance. Others sneak up on you in their badness just because they fall apart too much, or are too noisy. Some toys aren't bad per se, but turn your kids into little monsters.

Usually every parent learns to hate a specific toy for no reason other than that it is annoying to them personally. The Campaign for A Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) takes on the larger task of appointing the worst toy of the year to one toy that steals the fun out of childhood by making play something that is screen-based, sedentary, or just plain icky.

Of the five nominees for the TOADY (Toys Oppressive and Destructive to Young Children), this year's winner is:

Five teens in Brampton, Ontario were suspended for tweeting allegedly disparaging remarks about their science teacher.

The tweets were sent on their private time and off of school property. When the Catholic school heard about the tweets, nine girls received varying levels of punishment with five of them being suspended. (The tweets were between friends, which makes them less public to the entire world but visible to anyone who followed both sides of the conversation.)

The principal said that she hopes everyone learned a lesson from this incident.

A major crisis in our house last night: my sons' Minecraft server got griefed.

If you know what I'm talking about, then welcome to the club of parents of crafters. If you don't, you soon will. Minecraft is a an open-ended video game that appeals to kids aged 5-105. It may be the first online game that teachers, parents and kids like with equal abandon. There are over 36 million registered users worldwide. It may be the hottest thing to hit home computers, well, since the Internet. 

Until the addiction sets in, that is. 

What would most moms save in a fire?

1. Engagement ring
2. Smartphone
3. Passports

If you guessed engagement ring, you would be wrong. According to a new study entitled: "The Truth About Moms" by McCann Central almost 50% of women would save their smartphone over their other possessions listed. I do love my Blackberry, but I'm not sure I would sacrifice my antique ring that I adore.

The international study also highlighted some interesting facts about how mothers use technology worldwide.

My kids are really into the Power Rangers right now. They are watching all of the different series from beginning to end on Netflix, and even my 12-year-old will cruise by to check-in. I used to despise this badly-acted show and its horrible special effects - now I love it. Strong female characters? Check. Discussions about responsibility and power? Check. Did I mention girls who kick some butt? Double check.

Compared to some of the disrespectful, sexist shows out there on the channels aimed at kids, I will take some Megazord action anyday. 

Would you know the signs if your child was depressed?

As a parent, I think I would. But then I hear stories from other parents about how they thought the isolation was temporary or they thought it was just a stage. But it wasn't. 

Despite how connected our kids are, they still have the age-old feelings of being all alone in the world. They need sounding boards to discuss what they are going through. And usually, their parents are not the ones they want to talk to and their friends don't always make things better.

But if you knew your child needed help, would you be embarrassed if they saw a therapist? Would you be embarrassed if you knew they called Kids Help Phone?

My son lost his phone. Nothing cuts to the heart of a tween's psyche more than losing his phone which tethers him to his social life.

Nothing except also losing his iPod which he also did, the week before he lost his phone.