Experienced Bad Mom

Not Just a Bad Mom, But an Experienced Bad Mom

Middle School Chronicles: A Summer in Quarantine

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I’m pleased to welcome my daughter Sydney to the blog today. Sydney is an 8th grader who wrote the post below about her summer in quarantine. When she’s not writing, Sydney enjoys playing ice hockey, strumming on her ukulele, and baking. Welcome Sydney! “Middle school is easy,” said no one ever. The constant social issues, [Read More]

Gen X Greetings to Use While Social Distancing

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Some days during the pandemic I felt like Ally Sheedy’s character, Allison Reynolds, in The Breakfast Club. I buried my head, refused to talk, and felt scared and skittish. Yet there were days during quarantine when I felt like a totally different John Hughes’ character, Ferris Bueller. I looked for small sources of joy in [Read More]

A Letter to My Teenager’s Car

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Last summer, my teen turned 16 and got his driver’s license. It was definitely a rite of passage for him–and me! He also got a used car, not because his dad and I are bajillionaires, but because we found a car that fit our price range. Now our teen could drive himself to hockey practice, [Read More]

10 Things I Learned in Quarantine

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As things begin to open back up for us here in Michigan (a little slower than most other places), I am feeling a sense of joy and relief. I know we’re not out of the woods, but if I can just go out and about more freely to buy an ice cream cone or a [Read More]

A 1980s American Girl Doll Needs To Exist, Like, Totally

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Samantha. Julie. Kit. Melody. No, these aren’t the names of girls on my daughter’s team. These are the names of girls who live in my basement. Don’t worry, these girls are inanimate. I’m talking about the historical American Girl dolls my tween has collected over the years. According to the official spiel, each doll is [Read More]

Living My Okay-est Quarantine Life

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I don’t know about you, but I’m not baking bread from scratch or learning a new language during this quarantine. No, I’m having my okay-est quarantine life here in Michigan, where we’ve been under a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order since March 15. Here’s what I’ve “accomplished”: I finished Tiger King on Netflix. Very entertaining. [Read More]

My Favorite Workouts You Can Do From Home

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If you’re like me, then you are staying home these days due to the coronavirus. But now you are trying to figure out how to exercise. And maybe you’re a bit tired of walking around the same block. I’ve got your back! That’s because I’ve always enjoyed exercising from home. After all, I don’t like [Read More]

How to Survive Being Housebound with Teens during Coronavirus

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How do you survive the coronavirus pandemic with teens? I’m not talking about the virus itself (check out the CDC for real facts), rather being housebound with teens for three weeks.   Yup, my kids, ages 16 and 13, have no school or activities here in Michigan until at least April 6. They don’t have homework [Read More]

Teens Are Like Cats: Let Me Count The Ways

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It was 11 am on a beautiful Saturday morning. Humming a little ditty about Jack and Diane, I opened the blinds in my teenage son’s room. As the sunlight streamed in, I changed both my volume and my tune, belting out Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi in hopes of waking my sleeping son. [Read More]

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