I have recently dug pretty deep into my soul and have re-evaluated myself as a wife, a mother, a sibling and a friend. It happened when I least expected it. It's amazing how the choices of others can so profoundly affect a person who is not directly involved in a situation.

Since I've spent time re-evaluating myself, I've learned an important lesson; It's not right for us to judge others. Simply stated, I know, but I can fully attest to the deep emotions that are stirred when faced with judgment.

I'm starting to realize the importance of the many roles I play. This Mother's Day I will reflect on my own life and how I can be a better mom, wife, daughter, sibling and friend.

It's incredible to see the world through the eyes of a child. However, as I type this, I am sitting in Hong Kong with a sick 4-year old daughter. We've been on the go in Asia for a good 10 days, with about 10 more days to go. We've been on planes, trains, taxis and ferries and it's no wonder that she picked up a stomach bug. I go on long holidays expecting that one of us might fall ill. I feel guilty, there's no doubt about it, but I still believe international travel is important. And, up until today, we all were having a blast. Here is why I do it:

1. Kids can adapt: Travel has helped my daughter adapt to overall changes in her environment. She was a baby that required a very strict routine. As she's gotten older, travel has helped her to become more flexible, because she has to be. She bounced out of bed at 4am excited for our flight, whereas I needed 3 cups of coffee. She's great in hotels, can sleep on long haul flights, and fights jet lag like a champ.
2. It's fun: I

There are a lot of ways I try to protect my child and when there's a good teachable moment, I take it. I've told her what to do if she ever gets separated from me and her dad. And yes, I've had discussions with her about how her body belongs to her and only her, and what to do if anyone ever touches her in an uncomfortable way, and what to do if anyone ever tries to lure her towards their car. I make her practice saying "No - get away from me! I don't know you," in a loud voice.

There are other ways to harm children though. And others ways a loud voice can come in handy.

Recently the schools superintendent in our district said -- publicly -- that the biggest problem in our under-performing Jersey City schools was "bad" girls.

I could feel my blood pressure rising. It's not just because I am the mother of a girl, or even that I was once a student in the Jersey City public schools. When Dr. Charles T. Epps put down the girls in our town, he put them all down and he told

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that we are on our fourth attempt at implementing a regular allowance. Yes, we've been down this road many times before. However, we are ready to give it another go and this time we've made some changes.

Gone are the work charts, stickers, and weekly wages. We've moved on to something different. Our new and improved process involves teamwork, a couple of jars and some pennies. Our new tactic is the Appreciation Jar and here is how it works……

My four kids have been paired into cleaning teams. Each pair has their regular chores. You know, the ones that every kid should do just because they are a part of a family. Like make his/her bed, clean his/her room, take out the trash, etc. The kids each have 3-4 regular jobs that fall into this "Just Because" category (which they do not receive any compensation for).

How they earn their money is by doing chores (without being asked) that are outside of their regular weekly duties. And each time they

I have four kids so you had better believe that laundry is one of those never-ending chores that is always threatening to overwhelm me. Even though i would like to just keep buying new clothes for the kids instead of washing their old ones, I recognize that this isn't the best solution to my problem.

Here are a few things I have learned in my years of laundry experience that are allowing me to keep the laundry monster from rearing its ugly head, at least most of the time!

• Keep a separate basket for lights and darks: With only a few reminders my kids (and husband!) can remember to throw their whites or lights into one basket and darks into another. This reduces the amount of time it takes to get ready to wash a load of laundry. Even the kids don't remember every time, there is still a lot less time involved in sorting a few mistakes than in sorting everybody's dirty clothes into different piles. This makes it easier to accomplish my next tip...

• A daily dose is easier to

Now that the Easter Bunny has hopped away to sleep off the chocolate buzz, I bet you're left with a whole mess of eggs. I'm not talking the plastic variety. I mean hard boiled eggs that are either vibrantly magenta or a rough shade of puce from too much color mixing. I have a fridge full of hard boiled eggs that don't look particularly appetizing on their own. Here are some ideas to use up those eggs in ways tastier than a pinch of salt and dash of pepper can do.


Egg Curry. This dish is family favorite and staple, even when it's not Easter. It's easy to whip up and tastes even better the next day.


Potato Salad. I like mine with some chopped hard boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, chopped pickles, red onions, and apple cider vinegar mixed with a tish of plain Greek yogurt and Dijon mustard.


Salad Nicoise. I don't follow the traditional French rules here. I pile some spinach in the middle of a large platter and top it with good quality tuna in olive oil. Then I add little piles of goodies

I have a confession to make. No, it's not about my reptile feet. I hope you're sitting down for this one.

I just tried Nutella for the first time last year. What.

Stop yelling.

For some reason, Nutella wasn't ever on the table of this Asian American growing up in South Central. Spam sandwiches, yes. Fancy spread made with hazelnuts and a 'hint of cocoa'? Not so much. I don't think I'd even heard of it until a few years ago, and even then I figured it was just some other mutant form of peanut butter. You know, peanut butter with different nuts or something like that. Hey, calm down.

So last year I finally gave in and bought a jar just to see what all the fuss was about. So that I wouldn't be left out at gatherings when the talk turned to Nutella and all it's amazing qualities. Seriously, I've seen people's eyes glaze over when they start talking about this stuff, saying things like, "If Nutella were a man I'd never say no to sex." And I'm all, "C'mon, people, it's just a hazelnut

My daughter enjoys making a recipe, by herself, from start to finish. She's almost 4 years old so the recipes have to be quick and involve no heat or sharp knives. This no bake cookie recipe isn't going to be sold on the streets of Paris, but it's tasty and not as unhealthy as other options. The dough is pliable enough to form whatever shape your child desires. We chose fruit because the addition of the whole clove brings them to life.

Ingredients:
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 3oz packet of gelatin
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (you may not need all)
30 whole cloves (for decoration, remove before eating)
Colored sugar crystals
Gallon sized Ziploc bag

Parents will need to: Get out ingredients, bowls and utensils. Open condensed milk can and any other unopened packages (for younger kids).

Directions:
1. Smash approximately 1 1/2 packets of graham crackers in Ziploc bag to make crumbs.
2. Pour