It's been just about a month since most college kids have headed off. And its just about the time for them to start missing home, if they haven't already. I'm finding while the first month is hardest on the family left at home, the second is hardest on the one who left. What can you do to support your kid away from home? Here are some strategies my friends and I are finding successful. How To Help Your Kid Transition in College 1. Send them an amazing memory. This summer my son got into hiking and had several gorgeous photos he took of 14'ers. I teamed up with Picture It On Canvas to turn one of those photos of Grey's Peak into an amazing canvas art piece for his dorm room, earning me a "Mom, it's AMAZING. Thank you so much" text. Any mom of an 18 year old knows, that is huge!Not sure what to have put on canvas for your kiddo? Spend some time looking through his or her Instagram account. I love that they can import a picture directly from Instagram! I chose to have this mounted thin-bar on a 16*24 canvas. It is the perfect size for over most dorm style desks. The thin bar makes it light enough to hang with Command poster hanging strips which I left there on move in day. ...
Sometimes Being a Mom Sucks
If you have teens, or have had them, you may be able to relate to why I am up at midnight unable to sleep, no grown up in my life to share this moment with right now so I instead will turn my thoughts to the random abyss I call cyberspace.Teens suck.Teens suck because no matter how many times we assure them that we have been there, right there in their shoes, they feel the need to argue about the differences in our time/space realities. How we could not possibly have experiences similar to theirs when we grew up pre-Internet, pre cell phones, in a time and place where kids got warnings for things instead of adult consequences. And that part is true. Things were different for us but there are still basic adolescent experiences that transcend most time/space warps.They suck because they refuse to believe that when we say no to things or put limitations around things, it isn't because we don't trust them or we are strict or we just want to keep them from growing up. And they suck because, really? That last part IS true. But mostly it's because we want to protect them.Becoming an adult is not all its cracked up to be. It brings harsh realities and tough choices and ...
My Holiday Wish For You
I wish for you a 2013 full of the harmony, peace, love, joy and amazement at the possibilities that each and every ordinary day holds for us.I wish for you 365 days of amazing examples of what we are capable of accomplishing just like this. Thanks for sharing this Kristin. It is exactly what I needed! ...
On Being Happy at 40
In the first surreal moments of my over 40 existence I found myself waking up here in a room fit for a princess.I made my way to this perfectly pink little room in our Orlando vacation home because as it turns out, after close to 19 years of marriage I have discovered my prince charming sleeps more like Shrek. I reverted to my inner child and sought solace from the sleeping ogre.And then I just laid here in bed and stared at the pretty princesses on the wall, thinking about all the dreams I had as a young girl to be one.Well, wake up sister. Cause 40 just reared it's ugly head. I am laughing to myself about all the blog posts I read "40 is the New 30" and even better, "40 is the New 20". Maybe Tinkerbell sprinkled them with some extra special magic fairy dust on them but I am going to get real and say "40 is the New 40".I don't know, maybe it is the end of whirlwind 12 days I have been gone. First on a preview cruise for the new Disney Fantasy Cruise or the ensuing days of theme parking but I am about ready to return home to reality. An over 40 reality.Its really just one day that has passed. But if I said it wasn't a big deal, I would be lying. I am ...
Lazy Summer Days
I live for summer. Me and the heat? Best buds!Oh summer how I have missed you! I am taking off quite a bit of time this summer, relaxing, hanging out, eating well, sitting outside soaking up some much needed vitamin D. We have been through a year of hell around here and I just want some lazy long days of nothingness and everythingness rolled into one.My promise to myself is that I will only blog from my iPad. Which is much, much harder for me than the laptop. This will force me to keep it short and sweet. I can't figure out how to caption out my photos from here. But that poor little hanging strawberry is just so sad looking.I have been kicking off the summer planting, much later this year than in the past and I am keeping all the veggies in containers. The spring just was not as good to me with time as I would have liked.Here is a sneak peek at what is going on over at my house. Hope your summer is kicking off as beautifully as mine. ...