Category: Parenting

Happy New Year

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Does anyone else feel like they are just coming out of their summer “fog”?   I am.  It seems to take a while to get back in the groove after having no schedule in the summer.  Don’t get me wrong… summer was productive.  It wasn’t just sitting by the pool and sipping drinks….. we got a lot of projects done around the house but it has seriously taken me until MID- October to feel like things are settling into a groove!  Crazy!

So… The reason I said “Happy New Year” is because I think August or September (depending on when your school starts)  should be the NEW YEAR!    It’s a time when we start over…. refresh…. get into a routine again after a summer of being less structured.   Kids go back to school, Mom’s start to get things in order around the house.. and maybe start to take care of themselves again.   Work schedules out of the house seem more relaxed during the summer because everyone is on vacation here and there and Fall, well, everyone is back to business!   Even the calendars you buy at the store either begin in January or  academic calendars begin in EITHER July or August? How confusing!

I seem to place less emphasis on the “new year” in January and seem to feel a lot more inclined to start over and start fresh in September?  How about you?

I begin to eat healthy again after a summer of indulgences…. I begin to exercise again because there is a routine and I begin to organize after a summer of having everyone in the house.   September seems to be MY new year!

So… I am taking it on… Got new glasses to start off the “new me” and I’m back to cooking healthy and eating better!   I’m reflecting on the past with perspective… and dreaming of my future.

Are you ready to see some posts because I took most of the summer off?  What do you want to hear more of?  Here are my passions:  Decorating, entertaining, fashion & accessorizing, product junkie, food and cooking, parenting, travel,  some DIY projects, and Organization and business!   I feel like my years of experience can serve me well as I’m venturing into the “mature adult” phase of my life!  Tell me what you want to hear more of!  I’d love to share!

Half Empty Nesters


So it happened…. we took my son off to college and things changed.

I knew it would… but wasn’t quite sure how.   I have a 16 year old daughter at home so I thought I wouldn’t feel so much change all at once but maybe it’s her age, but she barely needs me anymore.   She does not have her full drivers license yet so the good news is, I’m needed for something for a few more months.

Now you have to understand, I am a glass FULL kind of person and I was finding myself a little down, (I won’t use the word depressed)   My family noticed… and after my daughter and I had a chance to talk through it, we figured out that my role after the past 18 years was changing and I was feeling less important, less needed, less significant in their lives.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a great relationship with my kids so they’ll always need me in some way, but my “mom” role was clearly diminishing.

I feel pretty blessed though because my husband and I have a great marriage and we like hanging out together…but even a few weekends of going out to dinner with each other alone has found us feeling a little lost with all the focus on the kids for so long!  I know this is the new normal… and we are getting to just be together as a couple again, which is great!   I do feel quite a bit of stress thinking about marriages that are not as strong and having to endure this “loss” of kids in the house.   Either a marriage will be ignited in a different way after the kids move away, or the marriage will be so comfortable that no change will occur or… it could be the end of some marriages.. .so NOTE TO PARENTS… nurture that marriage because THIS is coming!

So.. cheers to all those parents who successfully got their kids off to college and beyond… I know a whole new world awaits for us as parents experiencing first jobs… kids not living with us (hopefully) and we hope, eventual marriages, grandkids and more… but we won’t rush that.   For now… we will enjoy this transition the best we can.

We visited my son at college this past week and we fed a bunch of kids breakfast before we headed home…. It’s funny how just simply taking care of our kids in some way gave us such joy!   For them, they probably just appreciated the free meal and a little break from campus, but for us it made us feel so much joy to give them some nurturing… because we won’t get to do that much longer!

Would love to hear from other “empty-nesters” or “half empty-nesters”!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off to College – Part 2

 Oh my goodness!   Just dropped my son off at college this past week and surprisingly no tears!   Yes…. I’m emotional… Yes.. I love him so much… but when I saw how happy he was, I couldn’t help but be happy for him!  I couldn’t help but be at peace!

The first day… all the packing and organizing paid off…. but I was not prepared for having to lug dorm furniture out of the room and disassemble it in order to unroll the rug that had been delivered!  I was a hot sweaty mess!

After several hours of moving stuff around, deliberating and lots of opinions about how his room should be arranged… He was ready to say goodbye to us!   For our sake, it was good that we stayed a few days to enjoy the town, and meet with friends, however, I could see that he was totally ready to let us go…. in fact, we were hindering him from all the things he wanted to do with new friends!

I also know that it had to be easier letting him go to a school that was our alma mater!   We were familiar… and he had grown up with the university.  I knew this was HOME for him!

It’s been a long time preparing… from SAT and ACT prep… applications, decisions, graduation and learning how to be a parent of a college student.  We’ve navigated Bed Bath and Beyond like any pro…. we’ve shopped, we’ve organized and now all that to let them go on and learn how to be “on their own” in what I remember to be the BEST days of my young adult life!

Cheers to all the moms and dads who left their first, second, third or even 6th kid at college!  We did it….. and as much as we want them back…. and we love them… we pray that they find jobs and are self sufficient one day!

It’s a new normal we have to get used to but you know you’ve done well as a parent if they are thriving on their own.   There’s so much for them to learn and experience for the first time.   We did it too!  Remember?  ;-).  Be happy and proud mom and dad!

Today is my sons “first day of school” and I only hope I get a phone call or maybe a photo!   Gosh I miss him and think about him all day but I’m so excited for him.   I hope if you just got your college student off successfully you’re celebrating your success and pat yourself on the back.  A job well done!

 

Dorm Life

Well, my first-born is going to college this fall…. and we just got back from freshman orientation.     I remember college as the BEST 4 years of my young adult life!  So I should be excited for him, right?

There are so many emotions.  I’m proud as can be, I’m excited  for him beginning this new adventure, I’m nervous he won’t get a good roommate, I’m worried he’ll get sick or need that extra nudge to get out of bed every now and then.   I’m sad about leaving him but know he’s going to have so much fun!  He’s ready.   I think I am 🙂     So now I’m overwhelmed with all the lists… the stuff one needs to set up a dorm room and get ready for college.

One idea my girlfriend told me….I thought was fabulous is for the kids to bring beach chairs into the dorm for extra seating.  Chairs can be folded and stored out of the way when kids are not using them.   Oh… I guess they are not “kids” anymore.  Maybe I should say “students”…. but they are still “kids” to me! 🙂

Definitely got gray sheets and towels…. thinking I’ll be lucky if they get washed and gray won’t look as bad if it does not get washed.   Gray should hide most things.    Maybe I should have gotten black?

Boys are definitely easier … my son truly did not want to go shopping at all.  He was, however, excited to get his new computer.

Oh.. tell me this, now is this generational or a boy thing.   I proposed getting him a white board for friends to write messages on like we all had xx years ago 🙂 but he reminded me…”Mom, they can just text me”   Wow, I thought.  Yeah, I guess they can, but what if they don’t know your number?   My son then told me that there is a directory.  Okay… So I guess we really don’t need a white board.  I suppose my son could put a sticky note on his door with his cell number for people to find him.

Finally, what about communication?    I called my mom and dad once a week I think.   With today’s technology… I really want to connect more frequently,  at least via text.     So how much is too much?  How often would you want to connect with your child/young adult/student 🙂

So much is happening to change our life… we’ll have to get used to our “new normal”.  I’d love any advice any parents have out there…. ideas…. anything!   This is my first kid leaving home and I want to be ready!

 

Save Money while Booking your Summer Travel!

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I don’t have a lot of time for garage sales and cutting coupons  BUT….. I do pay attention to good deals and DO try to save money whenever I can!

I just thought I would share a few of my favorite ways to save extra money this summer that COULD turn into some vacation money…. some extra spending money… or just to save!

We travel all year round with dance competitions for my daughter.. so I’m always making hotel reservastions.   If your kid does any travel sport, you are doing the same!   Follow the link below… and JOIN eBates.

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=RwGDrJgzvmhYJWFXtBf3Ug%3D%3D&eeid=26474

THEN, go to the HOTELS.COM link within the site and book your hotels.

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Hotels.com gives you a free night after you’ve used their site for 10 nights of stays in hotels… and

EBATES gives you a rebate on your reservation.   Combine all that with using your rewards Credit card to get cash back, airline miles or whatever,  and you’re getting a better deal!

STAY tuned for MORE ways to find extra money this summer!

Going off to college!

 

It’s so much fun to see your kids grow up to be adults, although scary too!   You’ve raised your kids, taught them morals, ethics, manners, and the value of hard work and they are 18 and going off to college where you have absolutely NO CONTROL!   So hard for a planner like myself and I’m sure for many moms and dads!

You hope all the words you’ve said… the lessons they’ve learned so far are enough to keep them safe and successful going forward!

This moment pictured above is my son test driving “reliable” cars to take to college.  He’s looking at pre-owned (aka “used”)  cars but NEW to him…. something that has low mileage and we hope will last him 4 years of college and slightly into his first job.

It has been a fun journey to research cars that HE loves and WE love and we think we’ve settled on something!  STAY TUNED!

All in just a few weeks he’ll buy his first car, go to prom, graduate and go to Freshman Orientation and move off to college in August!  Crazy how 18 years of raising your child turns into this.   A HUGE EMOTIONAL GOODBYE!

I think I’m ready… but I do expect to miss him terribly!   Only 2 more years until my daughter moves out… Holding on to every minute!

Happy Mother’s Day!

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So this Mother’s day is a little hard for me…. Mom passed away about a year and a half ago… kind of suddenly…   I’m not going to dwell on that though… I want  to just say how thankful I am that we got to spend time together until she was almost 81!  This photo was taken at her 80th birthday party!  So, so glad we planned this for her!    I’m so glad we traveled together… so glad we were lucky enough to have her in our lives while my children were old enough to know her….

For those of you who don’t have your moms around anymore…. I feel your loss!  It’s a club you don’t want to belong to.  I truly believe our mom’s are looking over us!

For those of you who still have your mom, even if she annoys you sometimes, tell her you love her every day.. because the next day, could be the last.

Not all moms are perfect… but they do the best they can.   I hope your mom is perfect…. but in case she isn’t…. KNOW that she loves you!    A mother’s love is unconditional… and hindsight is 20/20.   I wish I knew the things I know now.. but isn’t that always the case…

So all this to say…. I hope you have a VERY happy Mother’s day celebrating YOU, your mother, your mother in law…. and ANY woman who has been LIKE A MOM to you!

The bottom line is “it takes a village” and moms have had a great influence over who we are and who we have become.   Be thankful for what you have learned from that “mom figure” and have made you who you are today!

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

 

Cinco de Mayo! Ole!

I’m ready for dinner already!!!   SUPER easy Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken!  Yum!

Sometimes I don’t get it all together in time and today I prepared ahead!   Ingredients are super simple…. Dinner will be ready on time and perfectly themed for Cinco de Mayo!  I may have to have a margarita or ice cold Corona to go with it!

Enjoy! Click on link below to access the recipe!

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

Cilantro Lime Chicken

 Ole’ 🙂

Surprise Party!

SWEET 16!

My daughter turned 16 last week… and we had already agreed not to have a “Sweet 16” party in the modern sense…. inviting 50 or more kids or something like that.   My daughter wanted something more intimate with some close friends…. but I definitely wanted it to feel special for her.
I find it funny how different boys and girls are too!  My son was totally peplexed by even THIS amount of work to make her 16th birthday special…. as he doesn’t want a party at all…. but then again… he’s almost 18!  🙂
Anyway… I was excited to pull of some fun surprises to make her 16th special.
First… a Surprise Sleepover with close friends….. The girls totally loved being part of the surprise!
Second… Disco lights, fun music with  a club-like theme in the basement complete with CANDY BAR and snacks!
Third… A “photo booth” type set up where the girls could take fun photos of themselves all night!

 

I was told that the HIT of the party was the Candy Bar!   In this sugar averse culture we live in… and trust me… we don’t eat much sugar around here…. THIS was definitely a treat! And of course… it is called SWEET 16 for some reason, right?   Sweedish Fish seemed to be the big hit… just saying.

 

I pulled this surpise off in just a week….. so I went to Oriental Trading Comlpany and ordered the Photo Booth essentials….. mustashes and lips on sticks… “frames” and the little white board bubbles to write captions on…. the girls had fun!  I pulled out some accessories from my costume box such as boas and fun sunglasses and hats and they just took selfies all night!    One friend had a selfie stick…. I think that would have been a good gift for the Birthday Girl too but I didn’t think of that one! 😉    I did take a few of the photos the “old fashioned” way with me taking the photo!
Anyway…. It was a fun filled evening…. Pretty simple to pull off and tons of fun!   I do believe it will be a birtday to remember and THAT is the best thing a Mom can do!
Good luck with your party planning!   Post other fun ideas you’ve tried or wanted to!  I’d love to hear
what you have done!
Theda

Salads taste better when someone else makes them!

SALADS!

I’m not sure why salads taste better when someone else makes them… but they do.    In my never ending quest to eat healthy with variety….. I think this will be my NEW staple side dish!  So simple and delicious!  Wait for it….. Tomato Cucumber salad!
Yep… pretty simple and easy to keep these ingredients in the fridge all summer long!  Whether you get them from the store, farmstand or your own garden… this is simply delicious! If you are a salsa connoisseur you’ll also love this fresh salad!  Add some cilantro and you pretty much have salsa or pico de gallo!
2 chopped Tomatoes
1 cucumber peeled and diced
Red onion to taste
1 TBS lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
I was looking for a non-mayo based salad that was healthy and yummy and stumbled upon this simple treasure!    It’s only 31 calories a serving.  A serving is 1/4 of the recipe!    There’s no carbs… no fat…. it’s a winner!
The ONLY downside is if you don’t like tomatos or cucumbers… but it’s going to be my summer staple for sure!   Enjoy!