By day, they may be all business behind an office desk. But by night, they know how to let loose. LN recently caught up with some local working dads who use their garage bands as an after-hours outlet.

Parents make lots of sacrifices for their kids: soccer games, recitals, braces and the family truckster. Fortunately, family vehicles have progressed since Chevy Chase's Vacation in a Ford station wagon.

A truly great song can break and warm your heart simultaneously. Despite her age—or perhaps enhanced by it—7-year-old cancer patient Arianna has created just that while in the hospital. The opportunity wasn’t a musical miracle: It was Maryville University’s Kids Rock Cancer.

You relax as the chair warms and massages your back. Soothing colors surround you, and calming music fills your ears. No one can interrupt this 30 minutes just for you. No phone calls, no demands, no guilt about just being still and doing nothing—with your mouth wide open.

Having lived and worked in St. Albans for 22-years, Melinda McCarthy has seen the area grow from a rural retreat to a much more active community. “My kids are grown now, and my oldest son lives in Chicago and hasn’t been back here for years,” she says. “He came home not long ago and said, I can’t believe all the stuff they have now, why didn’t they have all of this when we were growing up? If you’ve been here before and you think you’ve seen St. Albans, you haven’t: You need to come back. Everything has changed—but the beauty remains constant.”

Steve Scorfina, antique 'picker,' was once the lead guitarist for legendary rock band REO Speedwagon, and later, the iconic ‘70s St. Louis band, Pavlov’s Dog.

The work-life balance: Every professional knows the phrase, and every employee tries to find that harmonious level of give and take to somehow manage it all. For parents, this may be an even bigger challenge. But at the law firm of Carmody MacDonald, the support is there for employees to thrive in the courtroom, as well as at home. 

Imagine this life if you will: You are a senior in high school. You can throw a fastball 90-plus miles per hour. You are a starter on a very good basketball team. And you also happen to be one of the better quarterbacks in the Midwest.

If you’ve ever been through it, you have true sympathy for others. Trying to soothe a colicky baby is one of the greatest initial trials of parenthood. One day your baby starts to cry—and he keeps on crying. For weeks. And then...it stops as mysteriously as it began.

Following graduation from college, I spent four years in medical school, then three years in a pediatric residency. This was long before medical student and resident work hours were restricted, so I spent up to 100 hours each week for many years learning medicine – specifically pediatric medicine. I’ve spent the rest of my life practicing to get it right. After all the time, effort and expense, what have I spent most of my professional time doing? Talking about poop: too much, not enough, too hard, too loose—you name it, some mom, dad or grandma has worried about it, and I’ve discussed it.

Communication is one of the very first skills we learn in order to navigate the world. As infants, we are quick to begin communicating our needs and respond to those around us. However, babies who are born with hearing disorders and children who lose their sense of hearing face a very different communication landscape—one that now involves technology and strategies to help them to communicate with the wider world.

The high cost of raising a child is indisputable, and my wife and I are somewhat in denial about how much we spend on our children’s extra-curricular activities. Sure, we know what it costs to sign up for hockey, and we know the fee for each tennis lesson. It is those incidentals and unexpected opportunities that are difficult to determine. And to be honest, my parental enjoyment of these activities might be diminished if I paid too much attention to these financial expenditures.

When Annie Seal’s daughter was 15, she was diagnosed with an eating disorder. After intensive, comprehensive treatment, she has fully recovered, and is now a junior in college. But there is not always a happy ending for those with this complex illness. For 20 percent of them, it’s a fatal disease, Seal says.

The common wisdom is that people who love their work are those who find the most success. Here, we feature three women who prove that common wisdom right: By following their dreams, each built a business that has seen more success than most of us would dare to dream for. As John Updike once said, “The refusal to rest content—the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one’s obsessions—is what distinguishes artists from entertainers and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of us all.”

Actor, comedian and star banjo player Steve Martin wowed a sold-out crowd during a performance at last weekend’s Illumination Gala.

Throw a full-time job on top of being a mother, and women these days are busy. We spotlighted three working moms who balance high-profile jobs and motherhood with ease and style.

So, I’m an OK mother—Cranky, Whiny and Punch seem to be surviving. Honestly, were I grading my parenting, I would give myself a B, which is weird because I always have been an A student.

Smiling and giggling babies are a common sight at a Baby Boot Camp session in St. Louis. That’s because their moms are thrusting them into the air for shoulder presses, balancing them during yoga poses and swiftly pushing them in strollers through the park.

With hit TV show, The Biggest Loser, bestselling books and 1.6 million people visiting her weight loss website each month, Jillian Michaels has become one of the nation’s most popular experts on healthy eating, exercise and leading an exceptional life. Now, she is sharing her success secrets with audiences across the country through her Maximize Your Life tour, a live show coming May 11 to the Fox Theatre. LN recently spoke with Michaels about her personal health journey and her upcoming show, which aims to help people kickstart their life and fitness goals and achieve health and happiness.

Depending on your age, this time of year can mean many different things. It can mean time to plant your garden or hose off the patio furniture. It can mean time to swimsuit shop or time to make your summer travel plans. However, if you are a high school junior or senior, this time of year means one thing and one thing only: prom. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Some of us spent prom night at home watching horror movies, eating Mint Milanos, and dreaming about how much Tom would regret not asking me after I make my first billion creating a social networking website…theoretically speaking. Nevertheless, most kids that age, whether in groups or on dates, go to their high school prom. It is the 'date' aspect that I now find interesting.

I am blessed with five grandchildren; and two of them are blessed—or cursed—with allergies. I’ve previously discussed food allergies; and this month, we talk about springtime environmental allergies. Once again, I called on my colleague, Mercy Clinic pediatric allergist Dr. Laura Esswein, to share her expertise.