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You are here: Home / Archives for Parenting My Way

Social Media Has Brought Me Closer To My Teens And I’m Not Sorry

March 3, 2019 By Christine 2 Comments

social media

As any parent of teens will tell you, social media and technology are a part of a teen’s everyday life. From texting to snapping, teens are wholly immersed in a media world that still feels foreign to parents of our generation. And, if you are like me, it can often feel like you are struggling […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: social media, teens

I Am The Mom With The Big Mouth So You Don’t Have To Be.

February 24, 2019 By Christine 3 Comments

Big mouth mom.

Recently, I dropped my 15-year-old son off for a weekend away with friends. They were going canoeing and he was excited to spend 48 hours knee deep in water and sleeping on a hammock with his buddies. As I stood with him, waiting for them to pack up their gear, I assessed the group, particularly […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: teens

I Connect With My Teens On Social Media And I Love It

February 17, 2019 By Christine 2 Comments

connect with teens.

As any parent of teens will tell you, social media and technology are a part of a teen’s everyday life. From texting to snapping, teens are wholly immersed in a media world that still feels foreign to parents of our generation. And, if you are like me, it can often feel like you are struggling […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way

7 Mom Habits I Will Never Be Able To Break (And I’m Not Sorry)

February 3, 2019 By Christine Leave a Comment

Mom habits

“Do you have enough money?” “Do you know where to meet me afterward?” “You know not to talk to strangers, right? If you have a problem, look for a mom. Moms always help.” “Did you pee? Maybe you should pee before you go?” He looked at me and rolled his eyes, his patience for my […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way

I Can’t Remember A Time When My Teen Didn’t Wear A Hoodie

January 20, 2019 By Christine 1 Comment

Hoodie sweatshirt

To live with a teenager means you are familiar with the esteem in which they hold their hooded sweatshirts. Just take a walk down any crowded high school hallway and you’ll find that pretty much every teen is wearing some version of a hoodie. In fact, they wear them all day, every day. The fires […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: teenagers

This Is What I’d Tell My High School Self (Spoiler: Chin Hair Is Coming)

October 28, 2018 By Christine 4 Comments

This is what I'd tell my high school self.

A friend tagged me in a post on Facebook and my face stared in disbelief as I read her comments. “Hi everyone! It’s that time! That’s right: it’s been 25 years since we graduated from high school and we are planning a reunion this summer!” That can’t possibly be correct. Twenty-five years? Has it really […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: memories, what the hell

Listen Up, Parents: Success Looks Different On Every Kid, Okay?

October 21, 2018 By Christine 2 Comments

Success looks different for every teenager.

As I sipped hot coffee in a café, I listened to my friend detail the latest in her son’s journey towards college admission. Because her son is interested in attending the same university my son wants to attend in a few years, I was curious to learn the ins and outs of the application process. […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: teens

Teens Can’t Limit Screen Time And It’s Your Fault, Parents (Yes, Really)

October 10, 2018 By Christine Leave a Comment

Teens won't limit screen time if parents don't do it, too.

It starts before the sun has even broken on the horizon. The sleep barely gone from my eyes, I reach for my phone to see what time it is, I tell myself, even though I have a clock on my nightstand. Emails. Texts. Facebook. Instagram. It’s been a mere 8 hours since I last visited my […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: parenting

Sorry, Not Sorry, Kids: I’m Not Paying For You To “Find Yourself” In College

September 9, 2018 By Christine 3 Comments

I'm not paying for you to find yourself.

Hubby and I started saving for the Fruit Loops’ college educations within months of their births. We researched the best ways to invest college funds, started 529accounts for both children and we crunched numbers. We realized pretty early on that it was going to cost some serious cash for our kids to attend a state school, […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: parenting

I Hope My Teenagers Realize How Important Siblings Really Are

September 2, 2018 By Christine 1 Comment

I hope my teenager will always be close.

One of my favorite photos of my kids was taken when my son was four and my daughter was two. They are sitting side by side, with their backs to the camera, playing in the sand on the beach. She’s wearing a pink sun hat and he’s wearing an orange fisherman’s hat. While you can’t […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: parenting

When Your Teen Is Testing Your Patience, It Makes You Miss “Time Out”

August 26, 2018 By Christine 2 Comments

Teens test our patience.

Everyone tells you toddlers are a lot of work. The minute you announce you are pregnant, in fact, people start warning you that the toddler years are fraught with tantrums and noisy outbursts over unpeeled apples and socks that feel funny. Three year olds have just enough vocabulary to make it very clear that they […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: motherhood

If I’m Being Totally Honest, I’m Jealous AF of My Teenagers

August 21, 2018 By Christine 2 Comments

I am jealous of my teens.

As I entered the family room, I marveled at just how much space my teenage son now takes up on the couch. His legs sprawled towards the carpet and his shock of curly, unwashed hair brushed his forehead as his face scowled at the phone in his hands. He’d been there for hours, too: due […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: parenting

I Totally Win At Thrift Shopping (and You Can, Too, With These Five Tips)

June 3, 2018 By Christine 4 Comments

Thrift shopping is fun

When Hubby and I first started out, we had nary a pot in which to piddle. Zip. Zero. Zilch. No moolah boolah whatsoever. In fact, in the now outdated VHS of our wedding ceremony, Hubby can be seen giggling, actually giggling, through the “for richer or poorer” section of our vows. The man had to […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: Suck It

I Met My Writing Hero Thirty Years After We Met At Sweet Valley High

May 11, 2018 By Christine 1 Comment

When I was ten, my family moved to the Lone Star State. For a Yankee girl like myself, the transition was anything but smooth. My clothes were wrong, my accent sounded foreign to the kids at school and I missed my friends terribly. Throw in glasses, braces and a wicked case of acne and, well, […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: memories

The Day A Car Accident Made Me Realize I Was A Douchebag

April 29, 2018 By Christine 1 Comment

You know how sometimes Life tries to quietly teach you a lesson and you ignore it?  And then Life tries a little louder to teach you that lesson and you swat it away like an annoying fly?  And THEN Life yells REALLY REALLY loudly and gets all up in your business and you get all […]

Filed Under: Behind Closed Doors, Parenting Is Hard Enough, Parenting My Way Tagged With: accident, brick wall

Hey, Moms? We Don’t Have To Fight With Each Other

June 17, 2017 By Christine 6 Comments

There’s a battle raging in this country, people. And it’s serious. Serious as a heart attack. No, it doesn’t involve Congress and it does not involve Mexican cartels and the drug trade.  It has nothing to do with guns on the streets or with organic, genetically perfect foods. Nor does it have to do with […]

Filed Under: Parenting Is Hard Enough, Parenting My Way Tagged With: mean moms, moms, swords

News Flash: America Really IS Great And We Are All Pretty Terrific

September 8, 2016 By Christine 5 Comments

America is great

A few weeks ago, I hit the open road with the Fruit Loops. In the wee hours of the morning, with the Fruit Loops snoozing in the back and a hot cup of coffee in my hand, I loaded up the family truckster to visit friends in Minnesota. Yes, Minnesota. Yes, people actually live there. Yes, […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way

The 8 Moms You’ll Meet At The Pool This Summer

July 18, 2016 By Christine 3 Comments

Woman on raft in red bikini in pool

Summer is here which means we are all knee deep in camps, summer reading lists and generalized boredom by about ten in the morning. On the first day of summer vacation, I always have the best of intentions. Really, I do. We will go to the beach! We will see all the museums! We will go to […]

Filed Under: Parenting Is Hard Enough, Parenting My Way Tagged With: moms, pools, summer

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