How Facetime, Skype, and other technologies help working parents stay connected to home. By Sierra Filucci, Common Sense Media editor

I'm a full-time working mom and one of growing number of female primary breadwinners in the United States. One of the perks of my work is that I occasionally get to travel to different parts of the country for conferences or meetings. But these trips, as well as the days I spend at work when my kids are home for the summer, can be hard on my family.

But, luckily, I'm a working mom in the age of Facetime, Skype, and other apps that can help me stay in touch with my kids.

When I was a kid, my mom would call me after school to make sure I got home OK and wasn't watching too many soap operas while I waited for her to get off work. But as most parents know, a phone call can be tricky with kids -- especially younger ones who haven't mastered the art of conversation.

Video-chatting with my kids while I'm on a layover in Detriot helps keep us in touch, even if my kids don't have a lot to say. Often the conversations will go

Celebrate Flag Day with a craft and a treat.Flag Day, the holiday that recognizes when Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States, takes place annually on June 14th. It's also the perfect day to warm up your patriotic crafting and cooking skills, and generate some summertime fun with your kids. Here's a fun way to commemorate Flag Day with your kids and celebrate the red, white and blue (with matching paint, glitter, chocolate and sprinkles):

A Flag Day craft: Sparkly star decorations

This simple craft is easy for kids of any age, and the end result is a versatile America-themed decoration that can be hung from trees, displayed in windows, decorate your front door (or bedroom doors), or be attached virtually anywhere that needs some red, white and blue spirit.

Begin by collecting cardboard pieces, easily taken from disassembling cereal boxes or shoe boxes. Prior to crafting, cut out stars for kids to use as patterns, then let kids trace stars of different sizes on the cardboard. After cutting

Every mom needs I am the first person to say that it's important for mom to be happy and healthy in order for the babes to also be happy and healthy. But, I'm kind of falling behind - everyday life takes over and mama time and TLC takes a back seat. For instance, despite putting it on my to-do list every single day, I have yet to get out and exercise and - why yes! I will have that Coke Zero for breakfast. I know! Terrible, but its the reality of a busy mama.

With all that said, you can image that having ME time is nearly impossible. I work straight through the day then it's dinner time and well… you get the point. So I've learned to sneak in ME time in very unusual and creative ways.

Here are 10 ways I sneak in some relax time - I take what I can get!

1. I wait until my husband gets home and I go to the supermarket - ALONE! I know, its not fun and it has to be done, but going alone is like being on vacation in Hawaii for me. I walk up and down the aisles, singing along to Michael Bolton or whatever soft

Photo: Oprah.com

"Instill in your kids the idea of visualizing who they want to be. My mom used to do this with me all the time; she would point to the Romper Room hostess and say, 'You have the personality for that.' She had these specific career ideas for me that I thought were hilarious." -- Jenny Rosenstratch, author of Dinner: A Love Story

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Photo: Oprah.com"Mothering is partly the daily practice of living my own life, so that my daughter is free to live hers." -- Sil Reynolds, coauthor of Mothering & Daughtering: Keeping Your Bond Strong Through the Teen Years

Photo: Oprah.com"Calm down, people. I used a special baby shampoo that I later learned had carcinogens in it, and I freaked. Then I found out that it causes cancer only if you feed several bottles of it to your child every hour." -- Jenny Lawson, author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Photo: Oprah.com"Get outside! Have a picnic, climb a tree, make a fort, watch the clouds move through the sky.