recent posts
May 17, 2013
Whoops! National Etiquette Week (May 13-18) ends tomorrow, and I didn't even realize it was happening.
April 30, 2013
You might have heard the news last week about the 4-year-old British girl who was labeled an "iPad addict" and received $20,000/month therapy for her "inconsolable" fits when the tablet was taken away. The story has sparked a lot of debate among parents: Was this little girl really addicted to the extent of needing professional help? How did her parents let it get out of hand? How much tablet/tech/screen time is too much? How can we prevent our kids from getting so hooked on technology?
April 4, 2013
When it comes to planning a child's birthday party, moms know that there are, oh, about 10,000 themes to choose from (that's no exaggeration -- I searched for children's party plates on Amazon, and there were 9,096 results). But we also know that, of the overwhelming number of options, the *one* theme that matters on a child's special day is the one that she chooses based on her favorite toy/show/movie/thing at that point in her life.
March 21, 2013
Have you read about The Great and Powerful... Sheryl Sandberg? She's the Facebook exec who just released a book called Lean In, which aims to start a movement to help women advance their careers and reach the top tier in their business. She's a 43-year-old billionaire mother of two – just like me and you. Ha.
I haven’t read her book, but I've read the articles about her in Time, The New York Times "Motherlode" column, and Cosmo, and I think I get her point: Don't hold back. You can be me. If you want to be. (Which you should.)
And that’s the hang-up...
March 7, 2013
It's snowing outside but I have the spring cleaning itch. You know what would make spring cleaning way better? If we all made some money doing it. Sure, the satisfaction of sparkling surfaces and crisp linens and drapes is great. But what if you could make $100 per person in your household. Hmm... $400 for your family of four's spring break trip (or staycation) sounds pretty great, eh?
I came across this Daily Finance article on making money by selling your stuff. Sure, I've sold a couple of things online, but most of the time, I haul our unwanted stuff to the Good Will...
February 12, 2013
The small town of Sullivan, Indiana, is in the spotlight after a group of teens and parents there called for a "traditional" prom that bans gay students from attending. The group gathered on Sunday at First Christian Church to discuss the idea of separate proms for straight students and gay students at Sullivan High School (an idea the school itself never discussed or condoned).
Two days and hundreds of news articles and Facebook posts later, it seems the idea isn't going over so well.
Diana Medley, an adult member of the group who is a special education teacher (in a...
February 7, 2013
Just overheard in the office: "We're getting two feet of snow -- can't wait to go skiing!" A huge winter storm is brewing, and it's a skier's dream come true. But I hate skiing. And I'm not afraid to say it.
Growing up in the northeast, I dabbled in downhill skiing in high school -- probably too late to get hooked on the popular hobby. I was an avid ice skater throughout elementary school, and felt pretty strong and in control the first few times I strapped on skis. I quickly mastered the bunny hill and decided to tackle the bigger slopes. I didn't have...
January 24, 2013
This whole Manti Te'o hoax and the new MTV show Catfish has put a spotlight on the latest online safety hazard known as "catfishing."
It's hard to summarize the Te'o story, but I'll give it a shot: Te'o, Notre Dame's star linebacker, was a runner-up for the 2012 Heisman trophy and was considered a golden boy on and off the field. He received extra attention and praise this past football season because he was going through hard times in his personal life. His grandmother and his girlfriend reportedly died within hours of each other on Sept. 11, 2012. He played...
January 11, 2013
Quvenzhané Wallis -- who's that? Soon she'll be a household name (even if we're not quite sure how to pronounce it! hint: Kwa-von-za-nay). Yesterday, the 9-year-old star who played the darling and brave "Hushpuppy" in Beasts of the Southern Wild became the youngest nominee for best actress in the history of the Academy Awards.
The (PG-13) film -- a gritty-meets-mystical story set in New Orleans -- also scored a best picture Oscar nod. (Check out a full list of the nominess.) I haven't seen Beasts yet, but it looks amazing! Besides Quvenzhane's strong performance...
January 4, 2013
Just take one look at Pinterest – loaded with ideas on going green, eating organic/made from scratch, and opting for homemade/all-natural products – and you can see that moms know: There’s something in the water (and our foods, cleaners, toys, you name it). We all know families affected by autism, asthma, ADHD, early puberty, food allergies… any number of health and development issues that weren’t so common decades ago.
While mothers across the country face those health and development issues and ask "why?" an EPA report with some possible answers...
8 Printable Thank-You Cards for Teachers
Allison McDonald
Aliki
Jessica Efird
Family Education Staff