Kathy Landin

The Elf on the Shelf—whether you find him cute, annoying or somewhere in between, he's everywhere these days, making the holiday season even more complicated for parents. We did a little investigating on this elusive creature that has become a phenomenon, and discovered a few things we didn't expect.

Christmas is a time for joyous giving and families coming together and singing and eggnog. But we all know that on some level it’s all about the presents.

Wake up. Sound the alarms. Father’s Day is on Sunday. It seems like we talk about Mother’s Day for a month before it actually happens, but Father’s Day just sneaks up on us every year. If this has happened to you and you aren’t prepared with a gift, it’s not too late.

Even though you love your kids dearly and want to spend time with them, the months that kids are out of school can be the longest of the year for any parent. The key to a peaceful summer household is keeping the kids busy and entertained.

We all like to share our opinions and “likes” all over the internet, so the geniuses at Pinterest created a way for us to just clip, collect and post the things we see and love, and then share those seemingly interesting things with anyone who’s…well, interested.

This seems like your standard traffic stop, in any country. There’s a vehicle pulled over and the closed-circuit camera in the officer’s cruiser starts rolling. But that’s just about where the “routine” part of the stop ends.

Usually when a person is graduating from college, she’s thinking about what kind of job she’ll get after school. This woman gets a surprise offer during graduation and suddenly has a different job to think about — the new and unexpected job of planning her wedding.

The thought of a 250-year-old sandwich is enough to turn your stomach. But, worse than that is the thought of having no sandwiches at all. That’s why we  should all join the town of Sandwich in celebrating the 250th anniversary of the invention of the sandwich.

In an announcement made earlier this month, the US Postal Service told customers that as of May 16, they will no longer ship electronics like iPads, Kindles, smartphones and other devices containing lithium batteries overseas. This means that people who want to ship electronics to troops serving abroad will have to pay a premium to go through private shipping services.

Moms do a lot for us. Even after we are no longer their responsibility, they are still doing things for us that we take for granted. We should be celebrating these great ladies every single day of the year, not just on Mother’s Day.

This morning, legendary hairstylist Vidal Sassoon passed away in his home at the age of 84, according to a Los Angeles police department spokesperson. The renowned salon kingpin died of “apparent natural causes.”

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1863 – Confederate General Stonewall Jackson dies, eight days after being accidentally shot by his own troops (More info) 1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western US, is completed with the driving in of a golden spike in Promontory Summit, UT (More info)