This Full House Archive

Category: Hope

  • Tips and Tricks To Make Life Easier For You and Your Teen: a guest post by my almost-13yo.

    I've been  busily training for a couple of new jobs (a much needed and very appreciated couple of new jobs!) so my youngest daughter was kind enough to offer her services and guest blog for me, this week.  

    Aaaaand, since I've already failed (miserably!) at posting every day for #NaBloPoMo, I took the kid up on her offer and told her to have at it 🙂

    So, she came up with this, unedited and totally in her words:

    Hope is blogging.

    Hey hi hey
most of you know me as the youngest person in the thisfullhouse family. If you don’t know me then I’m Hope.  I’m turning 13 in two months. If you’re a parent and you have a teen or many teens like the mom of thisfullhouse here are some tips and tricks to make you and your teen's life a lot easier. 

    Remember these are all totally true facts coming from a teen sooooo yeah.

    1. Make sure they have a book to read or get into
I went a couple years thinking I hated books and here I am having 82 books/series I want to read.  This is NOT an exaggeration.

    2. Make sure you have lots of tea and coffee in your house.  If your teen is upset about something tea is the best thing.  One of the best things my sister makes me is chai hot chocolate.  You make chai tea and mix in a little hot chocolate for a new world to be open in front of your very own eyes.

    3. Let them listen to what ever music they want and let them dress how they want.  It doesn’t matter what they dress like or listen to, but if they start to dress a little too badinkadinky let them face the consequences.

    4. Let them learn from their mistakes.  It’s the best way for them to figure out what they’re doing wrong, and fix it themselves.  It will also show you just how responsible we teens can be.  So it’s practically a win-win situation going on.

    5.  On those nights where you just want to be alone with that special someone 😉 schedule a sleepover at your teen’s friend’s house.  The two friends can have fun together and you can be with that special person of yours ;)  Remember at the friend’s house.  If your house you will be bothered for tis and that here and there and be bombarded with millions of questions.  And remember I am a professional.

    6.  Have a certain day to hang out with them just you and your teen.  Make a movie night at your house, or go out for coffee, or go on a walk, a jog, a run, whatever you want.

    7.  Whenever your teen says ‘whatever’ or ‘I don’t care’ just know that they really do care and they are just trying to cover it up or hide it from you to act “cooler”.  This especially happens around friends; don’t worry it happens to every parent you’re not doing anything wrong.

    8. Lastly, GIVE THEM SPACE.  If they are having a problem or trouble with something, no matter what it be, GIVE THEM SPACE.

    Try these tips and see for yourself.  Good luck!

    Yep, the kid is WAY smarter than me. The only thing I would add: yes, you should also totally consider yourselves lucky…if and whenever your teen allows you to take a picture of the back of their head…YO!!!

    ©2003 -2014 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook, a way for you to subscribe to receive This Full House blog post by Email and everything!   

  • How NOT TO take videos of your kid.

    Because if you happen to have a middle-schooler in your house, who also happens to be a member of the middle school's chorus, then you may or may not appreciate the town's Christmas tree lighting ceremony as a REALLY BIG DEAL.

    Hope singing at the tree lighting or at least I am pretty sure it is her

    A really bad picture of our youngest daughter singing at our town's Christmas tree lighting ceremony, last night — at least, I think that it is her — but wait, it gets worse!

    Our youngest daughter has been looking forward to it for many reasons…

    WARNING:  this is where, if you are a parent of a non-grader (i.e. pre-schooler or kindergartener) you might want to scroll down past the next sentence, you'll have to trust me on this one.

    …especially because there will be middle school boys either singing and/or attending the town's Christmas tree lighting and, well, if you have a middle-schooler in your house, who also happens to be female, then…DER…am I right?!?

    Okay, now that we got that squared away: our two oldest daughters have also sung at our town's Christmas tree lighting for the very same reasons mentioned above.

    REMINDER:  if you are a parent of a non-grader, DON'T SCROLL UP!!!

    Aaaaaanyway, point being (because I really do have one, promise!) although I have never sung in a chorus (for obvious reasons, especially to my family), this is NOT my first town Christmas tree lighting ceremony; but you would NEVER know it, judging by my total inability to record the gosh-darned event, without getting it TOTALLY wrong, even with several tries:

     

    Oh, there was more video (just as bad, too!) aaaaaand this is where you should be SUPER-thankful I did not include them here.  You're welcome!

    P.S.: I know, the last caption reads "Wait, did I miss them signing" instead of "singing" but it still fits, because I was SO BUSY trying to video tape my kid singing, I didn't hear a gosh-darned thing.

    P.P.S: We've got $100 worth of T.A. Barron books for young readers (ages 6 – 16) that we're just itching to giveaway, just in time for the holidaze!

    ©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

  • The year we gave thanks for popsicle sticks.

    Happy Thanksgiving 2013

    As a mom of 2 teens, 1 almost-teen (she’s 12, same thing) and a college-aged child (YIKES!) I feel it safe to say that the transition from summer to the start of a new school year is NEVER an easy one. 

    Which is why I would allow my kids the chance to decompress on the playground, even if only for a few minutes, every day afterschool.  It also gave me the chance to stop, enjoy some fresh air and help us each get into the swing of their new schedules, which usually happened around November, just in time for Thanksgiving break.

    I loved whenever my kids would bring their school projects home and we have certainly collected a fair amount of holiday centerpieces over the years.  My youngest was seven-years-old when she made this “Thanksgiving pretty” in class and she was very careful NOT to hand it to me.

    "Wow, this is really very pretty."

    [one beat, two beats]

    "No it isn't!"

    My daughter’s eyes filled up with tears, so I quickly tried to think of something really encouraging to say, without sounding as if I were trivializing her feelings of inadequacy and
yes
I tend to overthink stuff like this, a lot.

    "Uh, yeah, it is SO pretty."

    To be fair, we were in the middle of the school yard, it was the best I could do, at the time.

    "But, it's not how I wanted it to be."

    As the youngest of four, Hope has proved to be a walking contradiction of all the things I know (or, thought I knew) about raising kids.

    [sniff]

    "But, sweetie…my house, my friends, my family, the world…these are very wonderful things to be thankful for!"

    The look on her face screamed…Nuh-uh!

    "NUH-UH!"

    See?!?  Then she placed her hands on her hips: which is a clear signal that my child is about to make a very important point.

    "Because, I have lots more stuff to be thankful for."

    [wipes eyes in sleeve]

    “But, the teacher only gave me 4 popsicle sticks!”

    It may not be the most elaborate of centerpieces, but this particular school project reminded me that (as parents) we sometimes have a hard time not seeing the pretty for the popsicle sticks.

    "Aaaaaaand, I think it's perfect!"

    Have a Prettiful Thanksgiving, everyone 🙂

    ©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

    I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

  • If I have to eat my words, let it be “dessert”!

    Good morning NOTI'm guessing it isn't a morning bird.

    We're on the downside of a Nor'easter that came knocking on our house in the middle of the night (because, of course!) and, with a full plate of stuff that needs to get done before the kids get home from school (it's a half-day, enough said!) I am super-thankful to be awake, with electricity and everything.

    It's still raining cats and dogs and a couple of squirrels (seriously, I think it's their mating season, or something) so my husband, Garth (not his real name) is all, like, "You're driving Hope to the bus stop, right?!?" early this morning.

    Yeah…he's a REAL good dad like that… AND he already took 2 other kids to school, even earlier.

    Fiiiiiiiiine, so I holler down the hallway, "You better hurry up, because I am SO NOT driving you to school!"

    I, on the other hand, do not react well with mornings…no matter what the weather…yo.

    "ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME?!?"

    I've been driving kids to and from school for the last 14 years and experienced many "ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME?!?" moments, but NEVER something like this.

    "I am SO NOT fighting for a parking space…at the school bus stop!!!"

    So, once again, I'm eating my words and driving a kid to school: on the bright side, the middle school parking lot was empty, making the ride totally stress-free.

    "But, the doors don't open for another 11 minutes."

    [eyes go wide]

    "Aaaaaaand, good thing my coat has a hood, right?!?"

    Yeah…we grow real smart kids like that…AND aren't you glad I didn't Facebook this, earlier this morning?!?

    [sound of circkets, chirping]

    Stupid rain, dumbass #NaBloPoMo.

    ©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

    I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

  • Maybe I should just quit reading my own blog, right?!?

    I was cleaning out my blog's archives, the other day (which, admittedly, I don't do very often, because, it's REALLY scary in there) when I came across this picture AND I had a major heart squeeze, right there, in the middle of 2008.

    Together Counts December

    Hope and Doofus-dawg, waiting for the first BIG snowfall of 2008.

    So, I did what any OTHER self-respecting seasoned blogger would do:  posted this warm and fuzzy picture of my youngest kid to Facebook and spread the heart-squeeze, all cyber-like, because…daaaaaaaaangit…they really DO grow up so fast and, well, it's really nice to have something tangible to reflect upon, when I sort of forget how cute my kids used to be.

    Especially now that they're older (me too, daaaaaaaaangit!) it sort of helps us ALL recognize and appreciate little heart-squeezing moments, like this, even more.

    Or, on the other hand, prove to be just another…AHA!!!!…moment, when I sorta finally figure it out…and am all…YEP!!!…I shoulda known this one would be trouble, one day:

    HPNX0164

    Ms. Independent of 2003.

    On the OTHER other hand (because, we could all use a third hand, especially at this time of year, right?!?) Hope is the youngest of four and was pretty much ready to spread her wings and fly…at two years old…and will most likely be the one to get married, while jumping out of an airplane, too.

    Hope's Pink Cowgirl boots

    Don't have a pair of pink cowgirl boots, GET ONE!!!

    Wearing a suh-weet pair of pink cowgirl boots…no doubt…because, really, even Jersey girls love us some pink cowgirl boots…YO!

    She wears her sunglasses, while eating yogurt

    She wore her sunglasses at night, or whenever the heck she wanted to.

    Aaaaaand, last but not least, she would NEVER get caught eating yogurt…without wearing her sunglasses…seriously, who would want to mess wit-dat?!?

    *heart, still squeezing*

    I'm so glad NaBloPoMo is almost over, because it's really, really hard to blog with teens and my heart can't take much more squishing, you know?!?

    ©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

    I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

  • We don’t need no stinkin’ Rainbow Loom vlog!

    Rainbow Loomless BraceletMy youngest daughter and I were cruising the aisles at Michael's (a.k.a. our second home, besides Home Depot and Lowe's, especially at this time of the year) and it didn't take long for me to remember why I try NOT to make it a habit of going into Michael's…with Hope…too much. 

    Her head starts to shake, then both of her arms begin to twitch and, I swear, you could almost hear the electrical wiring in her body crackle, as she starts to make a mental note of all the things we'll need, for all the projects that we could do.

    Then something breaks in her brain, as it becomes all too much and she starts tossing random stuff into the cart.

    "LET'S JUST MAKE ALL THE THINGS!!!!"

    Pretty much like the rest of the free world, Hope is obsesssed with Rainbow Looms and she's been bugging me to get one.  

    Aaaaaaand, just like we are the ONLY family who has NOT gone to Disney, did you know that we are the ONLY family who does NOT have a Rainbow Loom?!?

    "Well, then I think it's a perfect addition to your Christmas list."

    Yeah, that went over just as well as you can probably imagine, however, I am also striving to become the meanest mom on the planet and probably have a HUGE head start on most folks, already.

    "Can I at least have a bag of rubber bands, PLEASE?!?!?!?!?"

    Fiiiiiiiiine, because saying "I SAID NO!!!" to a bag of rubber bands is not the kinda mean I'm striving for, don't judge.

    "But don't you need a Rainbow loom?"

    Translated in my youngest daughter's head as:  I triple-dog dare you to PROVE ME WRONG!!!

    "I don't NEED no stinkin' rainbow loom!"

    Aaaaaaand, she did prove me wrong (I know, act surprised anyway 'kay?!?) and NO she does NOT get her nimbleness from me.  Check it out:

      

    Perhaps I should remind Hope that we are also the ONLY family who STILL watches a box television set; can't wait to see what the kid does with that, right?!?

    ©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

    I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

  • Sinceriously Yours, I.M. Deluded

    Our youngest daughter is turning 12, next month — pausing to allow for the "OH, BUT HOW?!?" and the "MY BAYBEEEEEE?!?" to come through, okay, I'm good now, thanks!!! — and, as fourth in line, MY BAYBEEEEEE (whoops, that one slipped right through, sorry!) she's learned to sit back and observe, as her older siblings get grounded for one reason (or twenty), so that she knows EXACTLY what she can or cannot get away with.

    Aaaaaand, she will test us…in theory…just in case.

    Hope on her 11th Birthday

    I'm just beginning to get used to her turning eleventeen

    Long story, short:  not only have we deluded ourselves into believing that this kid would most likely be the easiest one to raise, we NEVER had a chance.

    Oh, but she's soooooooo cute, right?!?  YES!!!  Also, to her advantage, she's smart and presents a list of reasons why she should be allowed to [enter whatever it is her siblings were NOT allowed, here] which, more often than not, leaves me snort-laughing and, well, when I say we NEVER had a chance, I mostly mean…me.

    For example:  my insisting that she does NOT in fact need to get one of those $$ binders, this late into the school year and then finding an email (sent to my business account, btw) outlining the reasons why she does so need to get one of those $$ binders:

    REASONS WHY I DO SO NEED TO GET A $$ BINDER

    1.) I would be way more organized throughout the year.

    2.) We would save more money with just buying one big binder rather than two smaller ones.

    3.) They have more space and it will allow me to have easy access to everything in my binder.

    4.) As you can see my binders right now are falling apart.

    5.) It would allow me to have more space for every subject, have space for my writing materials, and it would be 1 binder.

    6.) With this binder I won't have to use a book bag.

    7.) This binder would take a lot of weight off of my shoulders, I would carry the binder and my lunch, that’s it!

    8.) You would not have to worry about it breaking because they are really good, and it may even last until 7th grade that saves even more money!

    9.) And did I mention that it saves money???????!!!!!

    10.) All of these reasons make up the binder of my dreams.

    Aaaaaaand, then she included "here are some pictures" with her closing statement:

    I hope you choose to buy this binder with me and as you can see I'm leaning towards the purple color.

    Sinceriously,

    How could I say no, right?!?  RIGHT?!?

    Riiiiiiight, but what if I told you that she ALSO copied her list of reasons why she does so need to get one of those $$ binders and then shared it with me in a Google doc?!?

    You see what I mean?!?  We…okay, fine…I NEVER HAD A FRIGGIN' CHANCE, with this kid.

    [sound of crickets, chirping]

    Aaaaaaand, you are NOT helping.

    [blows bangs out of eyes, drains coffee mug]

    She had me at number 8 (don't judge!) and, now that she has one of those $$ binders (yes, it's purple, dammit), it IS one less thing I can √ off of my list for next year, right?!?

    [what IS it with ALL these crickets, anyways]

    Stupid school supplies, dumbass Google docs.

    © 2003 – 2013 This Full House

    New and improved with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

  • Who Knew Flashcards Could Be Soooo Funny?!?

    50 nifty and very funny states

    The 50 nifty, funny states.

    With all the technology available at their fingertips (even our school district started going paperless, two years ago) it is sort of refreshing to see my kids revert to using low-tech, old school study tools.

    For example:  making up their own vocabulary flashcards.

    What's so funny about vocabulary, or flashcards, you ask?!?  Absolutely nothing, I say.  Unless, I am helping my youngest study for a BIG test on naming the capitals of all 50 states, using flashcards she made up with special keywords (in parentheses) to help her remember and then acts all surprised when I start laughing…real hard…which made it EVEN funnier.

    Okay, fine, I'll show you.  This is some of what comes to the mind, when identifying the capital city of each state, to my 11 year-old:

    • Arkansas: (Arken saw a _______) little rock and it was good.
    • California:  (Sock sack) don't remember the reasoning behind this one and I sort of don't want to, either.
    • Georgia:  (Real housewives) SNORT!!!
    • Kansas:  (Peek at toes) clearly, they're a bunch of toe-peek-ahs, her Jersey is showing.
    • Michigan:  (I like to sing) lan'sakes, so do I 🙂
    • Minnesota:  (Holy) sort of like St. Nicholas, only not.
    • New Mexico:  (Christmas) speaking of Santa, must be his favorite vacation spot.
    • Ohio:  (Found America) still up for debate, but we'll go with it.
    • New Hampshire:  (Another word for wire) took me a while to figure this one out, shuddup.
    • North Carolina:  (Really?)  yes, raleigh.
    • Virginia:  (Bill Gates) he is rich…mon…duh.

    Aaaaaand, the one that made me laugh-snort:

    • Alaska:  (I know) enough said!

    [sound of crickets, chirping]

    Clearly, I have the sense of humor of an 11 year-old and who knew people in Alaska speak so funny?!?

    © 2003 – 2013 This Full House

    New and improved:  with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

  • Don’t Have a Speaking Paper, GET ONE!


    The warm-ish, cold-ish, back to warm-ish, make up your mind, already, ding-dang weather has kicked off Hope’s croup (a.k.a. the creeping crud), which usually means:

    • She will cough the entire night
    • She will lose her voice
    • And then she will throw up

    Lovely, yes?  Don’t worry, she’s used to it.  Me?  Not so much.  I don’t do well with throw up.  Never have.  When it comes to the kids getting sick, Garth (not his real name) has been my go to, as the…ummmm…throw up handler?  Puke wrangler?  Chumming buddy?

    [blank stare]

    The Speaking PaperSoooooo, aaaaanyway, poor thing got sick in school.  On the way home, I asked her if she was able to keep her lunch down.

    “Yes, until I coughed up the goober that got stuck in my throat and my lunch decided to play follow the leader.”

    I love this kid.  She just cracks me up.

    “Aaaaaand, I had to write a speaking paper.”

    Long story, short (you’re welcome!) Hope lost her voice in school and decided it would behoove her teachers that she make a list of common phrases she uses throughout the day:

    • Can I go to the bathroom?
    • Can I get a drink?
    • Can I go to the nurse?
    • Can you repeat that?
    • I don’t understand.
    • Thank you!

    I thought it was soooooo funny (especially, the part where she thought “I don’t understand” not as rude as asking people to repeat themselves!) until I wondered (out loud) what would be on MY speaking paper, to which she answered:

    • Where is your ding-dang coat?
    • What part of “pick up your wet towels” do you NOT understand?
    • The dishwasher IS DIRTY, dangit!
    • Did you do your homework?
    • Get up, you’re going to be late! (may or may not be used separately)
    • What do you MEAN you don’t have ANY homework?
    • Throw me a bone, people!

    Aaaaand, she would have gone on and on…if I hadn’t reminded her that…you know…I would be the one taking care of her, for the next few however long it took for her to get over the creeping crud.

    [blink-blink-blinkety-blink-blink]

    She then pointed to the last bullet of her Speaking Paper and, well, now that I think on it some more, I really SHOULD send a thank you note to her teachers, or flowers, maybe even a box of chocolates, a butt load of cough drops, or something, right?!?

    Cheeky kid.

    © 2003 – 2013 This Full House 

  • Office Supply Heaven (Sort of Like IKEA, for Geeks!)

    Ever since I was a little girl (never mind when and YES they had rubber wheels, on cars and everything, back then!)  I've had this thing for office supplies.  Perhaps, it's because my mom kept her desk in my bedroom (I grew up in a 5 room house, enough said!)  and, every now and again, she would allow me to go nuts with her roller stamp:  PAID, CANCELED, COMPLETED, RECEIVED…URGENT!

    [blank stare]

    I was a senior in high school, when I got my first job working for the board of education as a file clerk and you'd think they'd given me the keys to the geekdom of office supply heaven: I collated, color-coded and stapled the hell out of those nasty little pendaflex folders.

    [sound of crickets, chirping]

    After graduation, I worked as a secretary, then a bookkeeper and moved onto customer service (back when you actually spoke to a live person, I mean)  where I slowly developed a thing for post its, dry erase boards and pens of many, many different colors.

    [shiver]

    Then, I had kids and, well, I recently found a stack of Gooseberry Patch wall calendars dating back to 2003, the year I developed an affinity for mail order catalogs and prettiful wall calendars.

    The thing is, now that my kids are older (me, too, dammit!)  and having spent a small fortune on back-to-school supplies, for the last 13 years, I've grown a bit…ummmmm…stingy when it comes to the kids borrowing (with the intent of never returning)  MY office supplies.

    Related:  ask a teen where he(she) left his(her) coat/hat/scarf/head and you'll get a blank stare, however, he(she) WILL find that extra pack of whatever it is you've been hiding, wherever it is you thought he(she) would NEVER think to look for it.

     So, this morning, I was NOT pleased to find we were ALL out of pens AND needed a new wall calendar….I was THRILLED!!!…YAY!!!!!!!…time to go to the office supply store, i.e. IKEA, for geeks. 

    Office Nerd Heaven

    I love the smell of fresh, new office supplies in the morning!

     I got there before the doors opened (Monday-Friday 8AM-9PM; Saturday 9AM-9PM; Sunday 10AM-6PM)  and even the store manager was all, like:

    "Gooooooooooooood morning, it's a beeeeeeeeautiful day here in geekdom!"

    Flash-forward 2 (give or take 20) hours, later:  I got home and immediately began to re-organize my desk, label folders for 2013 and was about to collate, color-code and staple the hell out of my new and totally nasty little pendaflex folders.

    Then, a family emergency erupted (SIL has a wicked case of the flu, she'll be fine)  and I later came home to find someone…who shall remain nameless…HOPE!!!…wrote all over my brand new wall calendar.

    So, after reprimanding the child (relax, she's a bigger geek than I am)   I reminded my youngest that she has her own calendar (see previous parenthesis)  and then asked her to erase all her bff's birthdays off of MY calendar.

    "I can't!"

    [one beat, two beats]

    "I wrote it in Sharpie!"

    Note to self:  find a better hiding place for the damned Sharpies.

    "I also saw you got new pencils, pens, push pins, binder clips, white-out, tape, staples AND colored chalk, thank you Mommy!!!"

    On the other hand, she's gonna make a great office geek, I am SO proud!

    © 2003 – 2013 ThisFULLHouse