Last week in Moms Talk, Jennifer Croll asked "Why do you love Los Gatos?" It is so nice to take a moment to reflect upon the things we like and appreciate! Many people wrote in to give props to Larry Walker and The Alarm Company and rhapsodize about our community. Here's what a few people had to say: Pete Kleis Larry Walker is a superstar. The Alarm Company is really well run and their customer service is unmatched. Alexis Yaeger I love LG! It's a hop skip and jump to the 'big city' if you are so inclined. Or you can just stay home in this truly wonderful small town, with kind, helpful people…

Last week in Moms Talk, Jennifer Croll asked an important question: “How do you teach children charity?” Here’s what one commenter had to said and my own response: Jeanne Rajabzadeh I think it is each parent's responsibility to teach our children about giving to those in need. There are many volunteer opportunities throughout the year for parent to teach this valuable lesson. Also a great bonding time for parent and child. Dyan Chan I think the best way to teach children charity is by modeling it. Las Palomas is a great idea, and I'm looking forward to getting involved! Meanwhile, last week …

Last week, Jennifer Croll asked “what does it mean to have a heart?” Here’s what some of our readers had to say: Stephanie Bennett Having a heart means teaching your children to have a heart and leading that example as a parent. With a little (okay, quite a bit) of encouragement from me, my children asked all of their birthday party guests to bring a donation of baby food, formula or a canned food item which they would donate to Sacred Heart. They collected many grocery bags full of baby food, formula and other food products and learned a valuable lesson. They didn't need any material goods; …

Last week on Moms Talk, Maaliea Wilbur posed the question, "Is breastfeeding  appropriate in public settings? Here’s what some folks had to say: Gwen Reandeau Breastfeeding in public should be tolerated, depending on the situation. I would think the mother would rather be in her car feeding her child rather than expose herself to public scrutiny. Dyan Chan I think breastfeeding in public is appropriate. It can easily be done discreetly to minimize embarrassment to both the mother and passers-by. I imagine most mothers would prefer to breastfeed in a private place, but when baby is hungry, she…

Thank you to Moms Council member Chigiy Binell for last week’s question: “should you separate holiday time from school time and still give [your children] gifts?” It seems that people were busy prepping for or celebrating the holidays and didn’t have time to respond. I was caught up in the holiday rush as well, but was stopped short by an email, which read in part: “I need your help. Kyle Crawford is the four-year-old son of a close high school friend and one of our son’s classmates at Serendipity Preschool in San Mateo. Last week Kyle was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. He is now …

Last week in Moms Talk, Maaliea Wilbur asked “What traditions do you and your family look forward to each year?” Here’s what the rest of the Moms Council had to say: Chigiy Binell, 11:43am on Thursday, December 1, 2011 Maybe you could sit down with your husband and ask him what were the traditions that he remembers that meant the most to him and then pick the ones that meant the most to you and start from there. As your daughter grows up she can tell you, and she will, what she wants to do at Christmas time. Dyan Chan, 8:40am on Friday, December 2, 2011 Some of my childhood family traditions …

In the past several weeks, parents all over the Los Gatos Union School District have been talking about the Lexington Elementary School construction project and the ramifications of decisions about this project on all schools in the district. Everyone I’ve talked to agrees that the Lexington community deserves a new, safe school—I heard one parent describe “Lex” as “the stepchild of the district, always being pushed to the back burner.” From what I can gather, she’s right: the other three elementary schools, Blossom Hill, Daves and Van Meter, and Raymond J. Fisher Middle School were all …

Although my children were born into a world touched by the devastation and terror of 9/11, they have been untouched by hatred or violence of any kind. So as we approached the 10th anniversary of the worst terror atttack in the history of the country, I was torn. I felt the weight of the anniversary and wanted to do something to recognize the importance of what happened. What to do? Protect their innocence or open their eyes? I decided to talk to them about it. So on 9/11, I asked them what they had heard about the deadly attacks a decade ago. I shared with them what I had learned about the …