My mother once said, "Little children, little problems. Big children..."  Well, you can fill in the rest. Now that my oldest is sixteen I am beginning to understand. 

The Vagina T-shirt: Appropriate School Attire?

Hope you'll check it out.  

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day…. Right?

But think about it... how many times do you skip it? Or even worse, feed your kids something less than healthy and send them off to school?

My good friends at …

Parents have you ever received a call from mall security or the police department letting you know that they just caught your teenager stealing?  If so, you aren’t alone and you aren’t the first parent who has had to deal with this type of behavior.  It is important that you handle the situation in a calm and…

Kids....what will they do next??

Dear Teenaged Darla,

I know you are probably not going to listen to me.  But, I felt the need to write to you. I am you, Darla at thirty. Yes, you live to be thirty and will probably live to be much older. I know you probably don’t believe me, but it’s true. I did want to give you some advice though to make the next decade or so a little easier for you.

I want you to know that things get easier. Life gets calm and the people around you get more stable. You…

All They Need to Know, They’ll Learn From 90210

http://dailyquestionablechoices.wordpress.com/

So it’s not even January, and my niece has already started into prom mania. I suppose your junior year at high school can do that to you. Of course, it might also be due to the fact that she put everything off until the last minute for her Winter Formal last year and ended up going to the dance with a boy she strongly…

Though I love my children dearly (even my two teenagers), their condescending tone can really get under my skin.  It’s like they think I’m an idiot, and they clearly find me embarrassing.  



I don’t get it.  It’s not like I’m showing up at school in dirty sweatpants or revealing short skirts and high heels.  I’ve seen the other moms - I know there are many out there who are more embarrassing than me.  (Really.)

 

That’s why my kids’ attitude bothers me so much.  So lately…

Well, Storm Sandy hit our area pretty hard and I'm sitting in a Target Starbuck's as I write this.  It will be about a week before we will get power at our house again.  Yet, I'm here with my daughter who's thirteen while my sixteen year old is back at the house with my younger two and we're all pretty happy.  We were scared, but pulled together and did everything from cleaning the gutters, moving outdoor furniture and filling pitchers with clean water to gathering candles and firewood in…

Originally published Oct. 27, 2012 at www.pushingonarope.com

I can’t believe I’m typing this, but it’s true: Tomorrow, we take Catherine to her first college open house.

This person:

Catherine, 2 months, lovin’ her…

Some of you may know the TV show “The Doctors” aired on CBS.

I love watching it when I get the chance. I’m just a fan of medical shows which help common people like me understand complex medical terms and conditions and know how to apply their medical advises in real life.

One of their segments last week captured my attention the most because it involved understanding how different a teenager’s brain is from that of their parents and other adults.

This difference…

Just sharing some bittersweet memories of a recent trip to Paris with my daughter who turned sixteen this summer.  

http://thisgirlisgone.blogspot.com/2012/09/parisa-picture-is-worth-thousand-words.html…

Let's face it - teenagers say lots of things we can't repeat! They are testing their independence, their intelligence, and their hormones! But, there are some endearing things they say that still allow us to be a part of their ever-expanding world. Those quips, lyrics and inside jokes are priceless - make note and remember them when you're wrestling over curfews or room cleanings!

Here is the latest list of things my teenagers say. Read carefully, there are subtle…

I'm brainstorming here. I'd like this to be well thought out resonating post of parenting rationalization but the truth is that I'm sitting at my desk shocked by interactions that have taken place between myself and my teenage daughter in the past week, things that have come out of nowhere.

I know that over the past year I've come to a sort of mid-life-crisis in parenting similar to that of the 40 year old man that is mid-life minus the new Porsche and Viagra. My daughter is turning…

I am not even sure what started the screaming match between my daughter and I, but all of a sudden our family dinner turned to tears and snot, grounding and a bunch of things being said – I don't know how it gets so out of control so quickly. She's so sweet and little until she decides she's grown.

I don't understand how you can clearly hatefully disrespect someone and then be like “I didn't do anything wrong” - so while we were sitting there playing the blame game it occurred to me…

It's no surprise that the oldest boy has increased the amount of pressure and stepped up his daily harassment, hoping desperately to sway me into saying, "Yes. You can go get a tattoo, son!"

See, he thinks it was his tactic of never-ending harassment  that worked in his favor several weeks ago, when I finally allowed him to get his ears pierced (after three years of nonstop asking). He hasn't figured out that it wasn't because of his begging, constant pleading and nagging which caused…

If only our teens warned us before the next heartbreaking milestone

I've never really been able to find a clear line between childhood and teenage years. It's more of a blurry smear of Mommy's baby meets snoddy attitude.

If I stop for just a minute and take it all in as it's happening, I can recognize the subtle changes that are taking place before me.

She plays on Facebook more than Webkinz

She wears light pink lip gloss instead of bubble gum flavored chapstick…

I’ve never really been able to find a clear line between childhood and teenage years.

It’s more of a blurry smear of Mommy’s baby meets snoddy attitude.

If I stop for just a minute and take it all in as it’s happening, I can recognize the subtle changes that are taking place before me.

She plays on Facebook more than Webkinz

She wears light pink lip gloss instead of bubble…

Honestly – does your teen text you from inside the house? And if they do – do you text back?



What is happening to the art of conversation? Or at least the ability or desire to converse…