Tori Spelling

We're excited to bring you a new post from mother and actress Tori Spelling! Every other week, we bring you the best parenting and lifestyle advice from ediTORIal by Tori Spelling, which is Tori's daily blog about everything from food and fashion to parenting and relationships. This week, Tori shares her friend's experience raising a child with Down Syndrome.

Today I am grateful and honored to bring you a second guest blog from my friend Lisa. As you may remember, her son Blake was born with Down Syndrome, so in honor of National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Lisa has so generously shared the next part of her journey with us. The lessons that she has learned over the past year are not limited to those who might have children with special needs. Everything that Lisa has experienced is something that all of us can relate to, and the deeper understanding of motherhood that she can lay claim to I truly admire. Take it away, Lisa . . .

Related: Hattie Cat's Birthday Cake Bake-Off

Sometimes in life you have to experience things as opposed to relying on words, opinions, or "facts" to get the picture. Growing up, I was always one who had to "learn the hard way" and suffer the consequences of my actions to get the lessons, and I am grateful that this is still the case. A little boy named Blake rocked my world May 13, 2011, when he was born with Down Syndrome (Read our full story here). The last 17 months have literally transformed me as a person and a mother. Not only was I blessed with a baby boy who has a "little something extra" in the chromosome department; I have also become part of an amazing community whose foundation is built on the principals of Support, Inclusion, Respect, and Love. I feel the true key to change is education and information, and in honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I would like to share five things I have learned in the last year about being a mother of a child with Down Syndrome.

• It's All Relative: I naturally found myself playing the comparison game between my son and daughter. I think I naturally felt the urge to compare as I saw/felt no difference between my two children, as I remember Kaleigh doing all the things I witness Blake do. An example of a comparison was teething patterns/time; my daughter got her first teeth at 4 months and Blake at 10 months. At first I could not help making comparisons and have recently realized that it is all relative and incomparable. Each child will reach milestones on their own timeline and do their own thing.
• Great Expectations: If you want to set yourself up to fail, getting caught up in your own expectations is a good way to go. I have had to curb my natural expectations in all situations when it comes to my son's development (and my daughter's, too). I would find myself frustrated or disappointed when he/she did not meet the expectations I had. I guess it was just my natural instinct as a mother (and a human being) to have such expectations for my children. I have learned to take a step back and realize that my expectations are irrelevant to my children's lives, and I need to enjoy them each day, expectations aside.

Keep reading to see the rest of Lisa's reflections on raising her son with Down Syndrome.

We're excited to bring you a new post from mother and actress Tori Spelling! Every other week, we're bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle advice from ediTORIal by Tori Spelling, which is Tori's daily blog about everything from food and fashion to parenting and relationships. Tori is currently resting following complications after the delivery of her fourth child last month, so her blog is sharing her husband Dean's thoughts on spending quality time with your kids. We wish Tori a speedy recovery!

While Tori is still resting and recuperating, we thought we'd share some thoughts from Dean on how to make each of your kids feel special. Dean recently posted a blog on his website on the topic, and we think it's such great advice on how he spends quality time with each of his kids that we wanted to make sure all of you saw it! Here are some of Dean's pointers for making time for each of your kids:

Related: The McDermotts' Matching Pedicures

My five kids are each so different, not just in terms of age and interests, but personality too. They're each special in their own way, and I'm equally proud of all of them. While I love nothing more than spending an entire day with the whole family, I'm conscious of making sure each of my kids feels special. Whether you have one kid or a whole brood, like Tori and me, here are some ideas for getting quality time with your kids and making them feel special:

1. Set a weekly "dad" date. Go for a bike ride, walk the dog (or goat!), have lunch at your kid's favorite restaurant, or get a pedicure together — whatever your kid likes to do.
2. Choose group activities that everyone can participate in — whether you're crafting, cooking, or playing at the park, make sure there's something fun to do for each member of your family.
3. If you have babies in the house, let your older kids share in the baby-raising experience. Not only will they be taking some of the work off your hands, they'll learn to be responsible and will take pride in caring for their younger siblings. There's nothing sweeter than hearing one of your older kids reminisce about caring for a younger sibling when he/she was a baby.
4. Make it a ritual to have group story time before bed. Let your kids pick the story. Agreeing on a story everyone can enjoy is a great exercise in compromising and sharing.
5. As much as possible, cook kid-friendly meals together, like my gourmet mac 'n' cheese. Make sure to keep knives and other dangerous kitchen implements away from your younger kids. Instead, let them stir, or measure ingredients. Your older kids can help with the prep work — just make sure you teach them basic kitchen safety and proper knife-handling technique first. Again, make the menu-planning a collaborative process. Your kids will get excited about making something they chose, and they'll be learning an important life skill!

How do you spend quality time with your kids?

— Dean

More great reads from Tori Spelling:
Saturday Fun: Tie Dye With the Kids
Liam Loves Finn
NY Fashion Week: My Fave American Designers
Liam's First Day of Kindergarten
DIY Jewelry TuTORIal

• Tori Spelling rushed into surgery after post-C-section complications — Celebrity Baby Blog
• British woman gets 8 years in jail for aborting 40-week pregnancy — The Stir
• Drew Barrymore can't wait for motherhood — Celebrity Baby Scoop
• How to pick the perfect baby name — FitPregnancy
• Doctors warn parents about gel ball dangers — Parenting
• 5 lessons learned from baby's first trip to the ER — The Bump
• A guide to household cleaners for families dealing with asthma — BabyCenter Blog
• 5 ways to help easily frustrated preschoolers — Circle of Moms
• What one teacher overheard in her preschool — HuffPost Parents

Source: Instagram user torianddean

We're excited to bring you a new post from mother and actress Tori Spelling! Every other week, we're bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle advice from ediTORIal by Tori Spelling, which is Tori's daily blog about everything from food and fashion to parenting and relationships. This week, Tori takes a look back at her four pregnancies.

As my fourth pregnancy is nearing the end I have bittersweet feelings. I can't wait to meet and hold my little man or lady, and definitely I won't miss having to pee four times a night or hearing my now pliable pelvic bones move and crunch when I try to pull myself out of bed in the morning. But, there's so much I will miss.

I'm guessing this will be my final pregnancy and that brings tears to my eyes. I love being pregnant. It's such a special time in a woman's life. I love looking at my enormous baby belly and knowing that I am doing the most important job of my life . . . making life. I'm a human incubator and it is such an honor. I also love feeling my baby kick and play and move inside of me. After doing this three times before it still amazes me. I pull up my top every time I feel movement and gaze in awe as my belly ripples back and forth, and I can see what appears to be small rolling mountains of little hands and feet travel across my stomach. I love never feeling alone and I love how everyone smiles at a pregnant woman no matter what mood they are in. I love how everyone calls me 'Mama' and how my husband rubs my belly and tells me I'm the sexiest woman he's ever seen. I also have so much fun dressing my baby bump. I usually opt for vintage and make it a mission to show myself and other preggers that you can totally look stylish at any point during pregnancy.

Related: Tori Spelling on Naming Her Kids

Like I said, I'm in love with pregnancy. Funny enough, if you had asked 21-year-old Tori if she would one day be the mama of four, she probably would have laughed at you on her way out the door to go have whisky sours and dance at The Roxbury on Sunset with Shannen Doherty and Brian Austin Green. I mean . . . I always knew I wanted kids but I never could have predicted that I'd want such a large family and how much I would love being pregnant, and then taking care of and raising babes.

I live for my children. I beyond enjoy every single moment with them. I love the big moments like watching them talk and walk for the first time and even the small things like watching them discover their toes or hearing Liam say, "Mom, Mom, Mom" 50 times in a row. I even love when Stella says, "Mom I pooped," and I walk into the bathroom to find her off the toilet, grasping her ankles with her naked butt in the air, awaiting a wipe.

I know all of these moments are fleeting. They won't last forever. Just like my pregnancy. So I'm enjoying my last moments as a pregnant woman. I know very shortly it will be over and just a memory. I hope I can hang onto that amazing feeling I feel as an honored pregger and can remember forever the enjoyment I got out of it. Actually I know I'll remember the enjoyment I got out of it as I watch my four beautiful babies grow into adults and have babies of their own. Yes, these moments can't last forever, but the greatest part is that new moments with them will be created for the rest of our lives together. And where pregnancy is concerned, hopefully I will forget the dry nipples, constant heartburn, and constipation!

And since this will most likely be my last pregnancy, I wanted to dedicate the entire week on ediTORIal to blogs about pregnancy and being a mama. And to make sure that I never forget how I felt during this fourth pregnancy, my family and I are going to be filming some very special home videos for all of you guys documenting the final weeks before babe arrives! I'll be posting these videos to ediTORIal, so stay tuned!

What's your favorite thing about being pregger?

More great reads from ediTORIal:
Tori's pregnant pool party
Tori's advice to her 21-year-old self
Dean's delicious grilled pizza
Manicure moment: true nail art
TuTORIal: DIY shrinky dinks

We're excited to bring you a new post from mother and actress Tori Spelling! Every other week, we're bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle advice from ediTORIal by Tori Spelling, which is Tori's daily blog about everything from food and fashion to parenting and relationships. This week, Tori tells us why she's proud of her baby bump, even in a bikini.

Spoiler Alert: Yep! I'm wearing my BUMP PROUD again in a bikini, so if you don't want to look, then leave my site now!

Related: Hattie's first pedicure

A few months back, I caught a lot of flak on two separate occasions for bearing my baby bump in a bikini and monokini while spending the day poolside with my family. Apparently people online have some strong opinions about showing your pregnant body and what’s appropriate to wear. I got a lot of comments like these:

"Too much showing. Not suitable for a pregnant mom with a 7-month-old."

"Ewww. She’s pregnant! Cover that bump up! No one wants to see that!!"

"NOT motherly AT ALL. In future years, she will surely regret that unflattering picture. COVER up, girl!"

"That suit is barely suitable for a nonpregnant woman, let alone a pregnant one!"

"Have a little more modestly when you’re pregnant!!! Geez!!!"

"I mean, it’s OK for a younger girl to wear something like that, but a mom of (soon-to-be) four, having a baby bump, that suit doesn’t seem, ahem, 'suitable'"

"She’s pregnant and wearing this? She’s just trashy and looks like a hooker!"

I have to say, I’m super proud of my bump. Why should I be embarrassed and cover up something that’s the greatest gift a woman can experience? A pregnant woman in any shape or size is beautiful! Pregnancy is an amazing journey, and we preggers should be able to show it off. I call it BUMP PROUD! Embrace your growing curves and burgeoning belly.

More momvo after the break.

We're excited to bring you a new post from mother and actress Tori Spelling! Every other week, we're bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle advice from ediTORIal by Tori Spelling, which is Tori's daily blog about everything from food and fashion to parenting and relationships. This week, Tori shares her husband Dean's new omelet muffin recipe.

Having a husband who is so handy in the kitchen is a blessing on its own, but when he gets the kids involved, I'm extra grateful. Cooking is a great skill to learn at any age and a fabulous way to keep the kids busy during the long summer days. Not to mention kids, at least mine, are more apt to try new things if they feel involved in the process!

Related: Liam's Burger Bliss

His Omelet Muffins are super kid-friendly and delicious to boot (you know I love my savory cupcakes!) — they're a huge hit in the McDermott household. Plus they're convenient for the parents because the recipe calls for ingredients you always have in your house.

Keep reading for the recipe and more tips from Tori!