Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Parents are faced with the dilemma of putting together a great party without wanting to spend their life savings.
Ok. I’ll admit it. This week when I sat down to write "Life in The Mom Lane" I was fresh out of good ideas. As I’ve done on the past I put the call out to some of my mom friends and, much to my surprise, was bombarded with opinions on a rather unexpected topic. Yes, everyone wants to talk about the holidays but, at the same time, there was something else on a lot of minds. It seems that, these days, the pressure to host the perfect birthday party can be overwhelming to say the very least. Gone are the days when, as one of my friends pointed out, “a birthday party was cake after dinner, some streamers over the table and you could invite two friends over to play.” Today parties are becoming more and more elaborate and the expectations for …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
In the blink of an eye, your baby is suddenly a teenager. So how do you handle it?
Moms always comment how fast time flies as we raise our children and this week I can truly vouch for that. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I find that I am the mother of a 13-year-old boy. Yes, it happened, my son went and had a birthday and officially crossed the line to being a teenager. Looking back I’m not truly sure how it happened. It seems like just yesterday I was expecting a baby and, today, that baby is 13 years old. So, I’ve had all these years to prepare myself, but the question remains. Am I really ready for the teenage years? I guess the best answer comes in the form of yet another question. Looking back was I even ready for the first 13 years? Motherhood isn’t the type of job that comes with a manual. Sure there are all sorts of …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
How old is "old enough" for kids to do certain things?
The other day I asked some friends what they thought would be a good topic for the next Life in The Mom Lane. Overwhelmingly, the answer was “how old is old enough” for kids to do certain things. Well, I did visit this subject once before but, with some many requests; I am more than happy to take another look. My initial article was prompted by a discussion with friends after I took my then eleven year old son to see The Dropkick Murphy’s in concert. Was it a good decision to bring him? Well, apparently it was because, since that evening, we have seen the band in concert again and had even more fun than the first time around. Is every eleven-year-old ready to go to a concert with his mom? Probably not. Is every concert appropriate? …
Karyn
5:41 pm on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Bravo for keeping it simple! I contend that bigger and more expensive does not equate with better. My now grown daughter never had elaborate parties but the thought, creativity and participation that went into them is what made them so memorable and I never had complaints from any of the party-goers nor the birthday girl. Parents today can sometimes be their own worst enemy where kids come to … more ›