Big Kid
How Our Blind Dog Taught Me About My Teen Daughter
Our slightly cantankerous second dog has unwittingly helped me to be a better mother to my teenage daughter, because they have a lot in common.
Big Kid
Snow Days Just Ain’t What They Used To Be
I have fond memories of snow days in upstate New York, but the rare, “modern” snow day in the south just isn’t as magical as what I remember.
Parenting
It Takes A Village (And Some Cheesecake)
Parenting, much like clutter, will suck up all of the available space in your life if you let it. Don’t just find your Village, participate in it (without the kids).
Education
Graduation is not the goal; it’s the by-product.
To say the high school goal is to graduate is much like saying one’s career goal is to be successful; both are temporal.
Big Kid
Bad Words?
It’s true: sometimes I use curse words. And not-so-very-nice-but-not-exactly-curse words. Now that my kids are teens, how do I handle teaching them about swearing?
Big Kid
Taking Flight in the Cold
Schools are closed today due to “excessive cold,” and it’s all my fault. Sorry, I’m not sorry—because it hasn’t slowed down my autistic son one bit.
Holidays
My Kind Of New Year Celebration
How to embrace a new year when you’re not a resolution-making type? Maybe with some scissors and glue. Seriously!
Big Kid
Please Get Off My Back! (The Perils of Overprotective Parenting)
I vowed never to become an overprotective parent like my mother. Then I had a child.
Big Kid
Finding The Holiday Spirit With Teenagers
Tidings of comfort and joy can feel like a tall order in a household with children who are no longer truly children… but I think it’s still there if you look.
Big Kid
On Being “The House” At Thanksgiving (And Beyond)
This Thanksgiving and beyond, I am grateful that we are “The House” for my teens and their friends. What does that look like?
Family Fun
New (fur)babies are stressful
In the excitement of adding a second dog to our household, I may have forgotten how hard it can be for everyone involved, even when it’s a good thing.
Big Kid
How Not To Drown In The Teen Dating Pool
Watching teens wade into the dating pool is a special kind of agony. Mine may roll their eyes at me, but these are the things I think they need to know.
Big Kid
A Handy Fundraising FAQ, From A Band Parent
You may dread the appearance of a kid with a glossy brochure of wares on your doorstep, but school/activity fundraising is here to stay. Here’s why it matters.
Big Kid
Perfect and Good: Promoting a Healthy Teen Body Image
Recognizing my own negative body image issues and instilling a healthy self-image in my 13-year-old daughter.
Big Kid
Teaching Kids How to Handle Life’s Disappointments
It is inevitable. We all face disappointments in our lives, many times out of our direct control. How we handle those disappointments is up to us. Teaching our children to weather setbacks and failures is one of the more important jobs we face as parents.
Big Kid
Recovering From a Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Morning
The truth is that we all have times when we handle ourselves badly and our kids pay the price. The goal is to find a way to make things right and move on.
Big Kid
Stop Embarrassing Your Teens
It’s not that you’re trying to be embarrassing, really, it’s just that your teenager is obligated to be mortified about your existence. Minimize the pain.
Big Kid
Lunch Boxes Of The Teen And Quirky
Worried that your teen is the only one whose lunch isn’t Pinterest-worthy? Allow me to make you feel a lot better about your life (and lunch) choices.
Big Kid
I Snoop On My Kids Because I Can
As teens leave behind ever-widening digital footprints, do their interactions deserve privacy? I don’t think so, and my kids know where I stand.
Big Kid
Missing From The Family Calendar
Sure, we have a color-coded family calendar hanging in our kitchen… but the events I most wish I could schedule remain maddeningly unpredictable.