Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Philadelphia, PA

Lately I've found parenting to be a mite, shall we say, challenging. In other words, some days are all sunshine and giggles, and other days I end the day when my daughter goes to bed feeling as if I've been pummeled with a large, very hard board for hours on end. Toddlers are always a challenge, and my daughter is smack in the middle of her terrible twos and BOY is she pushing my buttons on a daily basis.

These days I've turned to some parenting books to help me see the light at the end of the tunnel--and I don't mean the calming glow of her college dorm room, but the day-by-day joy that is being a mom. Here are a few of the books that have helped me make sense of this thing called being a mom.

1. Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Karcinka. Every time I mention how high energy my daughter is--literally every time--someone asks me if I've read this book. I have a copy that a blog reader was kind enough to send me and I do pick it up but it brings me comfort mostly because my daughter is no where (yet) near as difficult to manage as the kids that are the sort of "case studies" for the book. I know, that's not what you thought I'd say, right? I'm sure the book has valuable advice, but for me mostly I just realize how easy my kid actually is to handle when I read it.

2. 1 2 3 Magic by Thomas Phelan. Now, this book is practical. I love the one, two, three thing and the techniques in this book have been very effective in getting my daughter to comply with our rules. But I will say this--counting will only work if you actually follow through. We follow through with time-outs and they work great at changing the dynamic of the moment.

3. Blogs. Okay, so it's not a book. But I follow about 150 different parenting blogs (I know, I know, it's a lot) and good GOD they help me get through the hard times. Knowing I'm not alone makes me feel so much more relaxed about being a mom, and I can always get the feedback I need. One of the best blogs out there for parents in my opinion is the advice blog Ask Moxie. Not only does Moxie hand out awesome advice herself, but if you read the comments you'll find a huge amount of helpful feedback. Full disclosure: the author of Ask Moxie and I are friends, and we've met in person a couple times. But that doesn't mean she's not awesome. :)