In the midst of this strange season of social distancing and change, money may well be a scary topic for you. Maybe you’re like my family and you’re working through a big loss of income due to the pandemic? Maybe overwhelm and anxiety define your money situation in this season of uncertainty? Maybe you’ve decided to keep your head down and eyes closed, playing the “if I don’t look at it, then it can’t be real game” that our kids played when they were little?
The No Fight Trick to Chores!
I hated doing chores as a kid. Did you?
I remember sitting in the bathroom for 10 minutes letting the shower run so it “sounded” like I was cleaning the bathroom. Oh, the choice words I would have for my kids if I caught them doing that!
How to Help Your Middle Schooler Organize with this Simple Checklist
It’s 6pm on a Thursday and I get a frantic text from a friend. Her daughter goes to the same school as mine.
“Hey, does your daughter have the math test from 2 months ago? The teacher is letting Celina retake it but she can’t find it.”
“Yeah, hold on, let me ask her.”
My daughter does have the test – which she doesn’t hand over right away because she wants to know exactly why she needs it, what it will be used for… third degree basically.
Satisfied with all my answers,she opens her binder to the math section, pulls out the test and hands it to me.
“Thanks,” my friend texts back, “I don’t know what Celina did with it.”
How to Have More Time (when you feel all you do is put out fires)
There never seems to be enough time.
Ever find yourself saying that?
After feeling like you spend all your time putting out fires, how can you feel like you accomplished anything in a day?
I have a question for you.
Organize Your Kid’s School Papers like a Boss
Do you have an unbelievably hard time throwing out your children’s work from school?
Remember when it was a miracle when they could first write their name and now they’re producing work like crazy?
You have papers stacked on the kitchen counter.
Papers flowing out of the office.
Artwork made of macaroni thumbtacked on the walls.
What to do with it all?
How to Teach Kids to Pack Lunch
Back to school means packing school lunch. Honestly, they overwhelm me. If you get as stressed about school lunches as I do, I’ve found an easy way to simplify the entire process and eliminate tons of anxiety in the morning. My six-year-old daughter now packs her own lunch. Here’s how to teach kids how to pack their own lunch.
How a Planner Can Keep You Sane
I make no secret that I struggle with anxiety and depression.
The constant rising feeling of panic I feel in my worst moments.
Combined with the belief that nothing I do will ever make a difference, so why even bother?
Oh ya, these thought patterns are real.
And can I say, they suck.
You might know what I’m talking about.
Not only do my thoughts make me feel horrible, but they also tamper with productivity, make me snap at my kids and overall make me not a nice person to be around.
When they’re at their worst, I rely on a simple system that I set up in my planner.
Is your kid overscheduled? Here’s your fix.
When we started my daughter in piano lessons at 4-years-old, I was excited.
You see, I had always wanted to be able to play piano.
Make no mistake, my parents signed me up for lessons. First through the local parks and rec, then through a private teacher when I got to high school.
I bordered on mediocre – mainly because I never practiced.
In high school, I saw the students who played piano beautifully and secretly envied their skill
They went to summer music camp in Boston, got offered college scholarships – all sorts of recognition. And here I was – too lazy to practice.
When my daughter started piano, I vowed that she wouldn’t be like me.
5 Tips to Help Your Kid Laser Focus on Homework
Does it seem like your child has a lot more homework than you did at her age?
The vocabulary, the spelling, the math homework sheet and then the required 20 minutes of reading… all in first grade??
How can you possibly keep your child focused during it all?
Your perfect after school checklist (that’s completely editable)
I’ve learned one major thing about picking my kids up after school.
I cannot – by any means – ask them in any sort of cheery voice, “How was your day?”
My nine-year-old daughter recently told me that for some reason that question produces this fiery rage inside of her. She can’t explain it, but it makes her so mad.
I asked my husband about it that night and he said that the question has too many expectations attached to it. If someone really wants to know about your day, they will ask you directly with no fake cheer.
The cheer places too much of a burden on having a happy answer in response and that’s all fake.
OK, I get it.
But then, I realize that the response to anything I ask my kids to do after-school is met with groans and whines.
Why? Are your kids like this too?