I adjusted my off-the-shoulder sweatshirt covered in splatter paint. Inspired by the movie Flashdance, my sweatshirt did little to distract from the fact that I was a 5’8″ tall twelve-year-old standing alone outside a 7th grade classroom. It was the first day of school and I knew no one. My family had just relocated from [Read More]
Middle School Made Me Resilient and Other Life Lessons from Those Awkward Years
Phew. That’s me wiping my brow because my daughter survived her first year of middle school. Yet, she’s got two more years to endure, so fingers crossed that they treat her kindly. I wrote the post I’m sharing below last year before she started 6th grade. It originally appeared on Your Teen and I’m grateful [Read More]
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One Mom, Two Kids, and Oreo Cookies
It’s summertime and my kids are a tween and a teen. Which means that my life looks like this now: Yup, gone are the summer days where we blew bubbles, drew with sidewalk chalk, and enjoyed days at the pool or lake. Don’t get me wrong. My kids still want to enjoy a fine summer [Read More]
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10 Things I Loved about Chaperoning the Middle School Trip to Toronto
Four years ago I chaperoned my son on his middle school trip to Toronto. It was two jolly days filled with boisterous, obnoxious tween boys who lived life to the fullest every moment and never listened to me (also every moment). So it should come as a complete, total surprise that I decided to chaperone [Read More]
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Why My Teen Won’t Be Getting a Summer Job
When I say my teen won’t get a job this summer, I know what you’re thinking. He’s lazy. Or I spoil him. Or teens today are so entitled. But the truth of why my teen won’t get a job this summer is much more complicated. I can tell you my son, who is turning 15 [Read More]
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A Tail of Two Bad Kitties
My two kitties are rounding the corner and heading towards their first birthdays in July. However, there is a distinct possiblity that they won’t make it. Why? Because they are so bad. Here are all the ways they are destroying my house and cementing their reputations as bad kitties: 1. They wake me up at [Read More]
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To My Teenage Son: What I Really Want for Mother’s Day
Dear Son, I know better than to expect a handmade card from you this year. Or a necklace made out of macaroni noodles or a stone painted with the words, “Mom, you rock!” After all, you are in high school. I will always treasure those cards and gifts from when you were younger, but what [Read More]
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Adventures in Parental Controls
I know, I know. Good parents meticulously scroll their children’s devices and set appropriate time limits, parental passwords, and controls on them. But I’m not the Experienced BAD Mom because I’m good at this gig! Now, my husband and I aren’t letting our teen and tween have free reign with their devices. I know their [Read More]
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3 Magical Disney World Moments
For this year’s spring break, my family headed to Walt Disney World. Those of you who have been around the blog awhile know that we are lucky enough to go each year. Thankfully, this year we did NOT see a hawk pluck ducklings out of the Boardwalk Resort pool and eat them in a gutter [Read More]
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What Would Erma Bombeck Do?
I found myself wondering what the great humorist Erma Bombeck would do if she were in my shoes recently. I had just published a humorous essay on the website Your Teen for Parents. It was a “small moment” essay, one that I wasn’t expecting to light the internet on fire, but one that I hoped [Read More]
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