This Full House Archive

Category: Raising Teens, Tweens & Killer Dust Bunnies

Parenting teens: the homework infographic.

NO! I am NOT and have NEVER claimed to be an expert, at anything — other than my insanely awesome ability of leaping tall piles of laundry in a single bound, while listening to 4 different conversations, at once.

However, I can't help but sometimes feel this incredible need to share a few insights on raising kids.

For example: parenting under the influence of teenagers can make even the smartest of people…sound stoopid…most especially, to teenagers.

So, to save other parents (especially, those with younger kids) a few headaches, I have created this little infographic to help you reinforce a more realistic homework ritual:

**passes bottle of [insert favorite brand of pain reliever, here]**

You're welcome.

©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!

January 24, 2014
Open mouth, insert foot, antagonize a phlebotomist.

I am NOT a big fan of needles and I absolutely HATED taking my kids for their shots…EVEN MORE…as fellow needle phobia sufferers (a.k.a. trypanophibia) can well imagine, yes?

If no, it's okay, it simply means I closed my eyes, counted one alligator, two alligators and then cried, right along wit-em.

My son is on a specific type of medication, that requires a monthly blood test, which means I have to take him to a lab and have his blood drawn or…as he refers to as…the place where he bleeds, on purpose…every month.

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January 13, 2014
The Friendship Bracelet

I'm NOT very good at asking for help. Oh, I ask the kids to feed the dog, change the cat litter, pick up the wet towels or take out the garbage…which becomes more of a DEMAND…especially, after asking for the 3rd or 4th time…DAMMIT!

Asking someone (especially, another mom) to do me a solid, not so much (a.k.a. a favor, do me a solid is a phrase I first heard in 1991 on an episode of Seinfeld called "The Jacket", look it up youngins!).

Long story, short (because, this WAS supposed to be a Wordless Wednesday post and, well, since you're already here and everything): yesterday was a bad day and I was feeling more than just a lee-tull overwhelmed with worry…more than usual, what with living in a houseful of teens, I mean…about ALL the things.

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January 8, 2014
Note to self: for the days you feel like you’re not doing a good job, read this blog post!

Two out of four of my kids are not very happy with me at the moment and — especially if you have kids who can use both hands and feet to quantify their age — most parents would be all like…good…it means you are doing your job.

Right. So, I'll just go ahead and file it under "really sucky aspects of raising teens" and be thankful that I'm not required to submit a work performance assessment or self-evaluation or anything.

Because, all we parents have to do is look at our own kids.

Long story, short (you're welcome!): the really, REALLY challenging part of parenting teenagers — besides pretending that it doesn't hurt when your own kids begin to question your parenting skills — is pretending that it doesn't hurt when YOU begin to question YOUR OWN parenting skills.

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December 19, 2013
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.

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!

December 6, 2013
Atlantis Rising & other family-friendly book collections from author T.A. Barron {review & giveaway}

Comments are closed, we have a winner: congratulations Kate (comment #12) I am SO THRILLED to be able to share this awesome collection of books with you, please check your email for further instructions, THANKS!!!

Photo of the author reading with kids via T.A. Barron’s photo stream on Flickr.

As a kid, I loved going to the public library after school, our town’s library was just a few blocks down from my grade school. I can still remember walking through those big wooden doors, pausing only long enough to take in the scent of what must have been millions of worn pages, and immediately feeling at peace.

Personally, getting lost in a book was my escape from the stresses of being a kid. Today, I believe that reading helps us (kids and adults, alike) to understand a little more about the realities of the world we live in, which perhaps can help to improve our minds, as well.

It’s sort of the same feeling I get when reading some of my favorite blogs.

It is my honor and privilege to introduce you to author T.A. Barron, a writer of books for young people (ages 6 through 16) and father to 5 kids…enough said. I am also thrilled to be able to share a wonderful assortment of his books with one of our online friends, just in time for the holidaze.

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December 4, 2013
Quite possibly my best parenting advice, evuh: just do you!

Her future's so bright, we gotta wear shades 🙂

If you were to ask me to choose the most challenging aspect of our college-search journey, besides agonizing over financial packages, my short answer would be: watching my kid agonize over EVERYTHING ELSE, including my agonizing over financial packages.

For my middle daughter, now that it's crunch time (applications for merit and presidential scholarships are due December 1st), it's having to submit a personal essay: specifically, introducing herself to the admissions officers, by sharing with them what SHE feels makes her unique.

"But you're a pretty-terrific kid."

Aaaaand, here's where Heather, along with the rest of her siblings, would typically call "BS!!!" and insist that I'm just saying that, because I am her mother, and I'm supposed to say things like that.

"I don't want to sound arrogant!"

I just stood in the middle of the kitchen and stared at her, in mid-pancake flip, because I had a funny feeling that this was going to turn into one of those self-defining moments that, if done incorrectly, could scar your child for life and…YES!!!…I tend to over think stuff, like that, ALL THE DANG TIME.

"Ummmmmmm…."

See what I mean?!? Often times people mistake me for being a "good listener", when I'm probably just too busy trying to figure out stuff and my kids are already pretty good at answering their own questions for me, anyway.

"Because women get called-out for being over-confident quicker than men do."

Here's the thing: raising kids is hard, raising selfless teens is even harder; but raising up girls is dang near impossible, without being slapped in the head with a double-standard or twenty and this parenting thing is hard…YO!

"Can you come read this for me?"

Thankfully, my kids also know that I work well with the assistance of visual aids.

"OMG!!! You're crying, it's THAT bad?!?"

On the contrary, and I'm not just saying that because I am her mother, here's the part that moved me to tears — shared with Heather's permission:

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November 30, 2013
The year we gave thanks for popsicle sticks.

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!

November 28, 2013
Stupid migraines, dumbass’ologists.

I blogged about helping my in-laws with a few chores around the house and shared this picture on Facebook, of my kids helping their grandparents put up their Christmas tree, when I noticed that one of my kids was missing…just like last time.

It's funny to see how each of them have grown and changed in such a short time — seriously, Glen is nearly 6' 2" tall — realizing that our middle girl was once again sidelined by a migraine…not so much.

Heather has missed a lot of school days over the years, but her migraines have become debilitating and I once again received the dreaded "I've got Heather here in my office, ready to puke her brains out, again" phone call from the school nurse, last week.

Long story, short: her migraines are becoming more frequent and she has a headache almost every single day, so we've made an appointment with a neurologist at the end of December.

I really hate it whenever my kids are hurting, but it seems Heather has drawn the short straw, especially when it comes to dealing with physical ailments that require visiting doctors specializing in anything ending in "ologist".

She is also smack-dab in the middle of the college applications rush, so it's NOT like the girl needs ONE MORE THING to worry about.

Having to wait an entire month to see the neurologist doesn't help, but we're hoping for some positive news and…more importantly…much needed relief from her migraines.

Aaaaaand, then she sends me this text, her first day back at school.

I mean, the poor kid's got enough on her plate, as it is…especially with me being her mother and our having to share a brain and everything…right?!?

[blank stare]

Stupid migraines, dumbass 'ologists.

©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!

November 25, 2013
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.

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:

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.

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 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!

November 23, 2013