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]
Real-life Back to School Shopping Tips
Need some real-life back to school shopping tips? Well, let me tell you about a funny thing that happened this back to school season. A reporter from ABC12 in Flint, Michigan found me via my blog. He asked me to show him and his viewers how to save money while back-to-school shopping. Now, I’m NOT a Coupon Queen [Read More]
Thrifty Back-to-School Shopping Tips
Ack! It’s Back-to-School shopping season! How much is this going to cost me? Will I ever find everything I need? I think I’m stressed already. Which got me thinking. What if I could laugh about it instead? Yes, what if I could poke fun at all the craziness of back to school in a little [Read More]
Make Back to School Happy with Creative Kidstuff and The Happi House
When I think of Back to School, many things come to mind: school supply lists, finding out who my kids’ teachers will be, packing lunches again, and STRESS! Yup, Moms and Dads, there is no doubt that this time of year can be a wee bit stressful. But it might also be, dare I say [Read More]
Summer Days Drifting Away
The leaves have begun to turn here in Michigan. It is faint, but noticeable. The mornings are much cooler, too. Fall is knocking on the door and I don’t want to answer. Since I was little, Summer has been my favorite season. It was exciting to be free from the confines of school and weather. [Read More]
The Funny Business of Back to School
As the cast of Grease 2 so eloquently sang once upon a time, we gotta go back to school. (Whoa, whoa, I gotta go… back to school again! ) Whether your kids return to school in July (seems early to me!) or after Labor Day (hello, Michigan!) or somewhere in between (probably most of you), [Read More]