This Full House Archive

Tag: new jersey mom bloggers

  • Evolution of Filling Out Back-to-School Forms

    This vlog was actually inspired by a recent conversation on Facebook (beeeeeecause, I get my best ideas from you guys!!!) and dedicated to anyone who's ever had to sit down and fill out eleventy-hundred back-to-school forms:

     

    For those of you who are new to this rite of passage:  this is what having had 4 kids, attending 4 different schools (sometimes at the same time, even) in 13 years will do to you, just so you know.

    Aaaaaand, you're welcome 🙂

    © 2003 – 2013 This Full House With a fan page on Facebook and everything!

  • Dealing with mean girls (and boys) from a teenager’s point of view.

    2 days into the new school year and my youngest has already had to deal with 7th grade (a.k.a. the birthing ground for mean) girls, who seem to be prepping themselves to be catty women when they grow up (if ever), and it’s breaking my heart.

    Unfortunately, it’s easy for us parents to say things like, “they’re just jealous” and “because the new boy talked to you at lunch, first” or “they see you as a threat” because we’ve ALL been there, right?!?

    Aaaaaand, therein lies the rub.

    You see, my kids have a real hard time understanding (or even believing) that their parents may or may not have dealt with mean behavior, at some point in our lives, and that at least one other person in the bathroom/class room/gym/hallway/lunchroom imagined it to be really funny, at the time, too.

    In this case, calling your name out loud, turning their backs and then giggling their little fool heads off or just walking into a room…

    [cue: giggling little fools]

    …then casually glancing down at yourself, wondering if you’ve mistakenly put your pants on backwards or something and, well, as if being 12 years-old wasn’t difficult enough, right?!?

    So, having lived through a couple of mean moments (or twenty) of their own (dammit), I asked my two oldest girls (they are 19 and 17) and my son (he’s 14) for their thoughts on dealing with mean girls (or boys) from a teen’s point of view.

    Because I am very open-minded, not to mention they are MUCH smarter than me, like that! 

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  • Because, I’m Awesome, My Husband Said So!

    I've been blogging for nearly a decade (because 10 years doesn't sound nearly as great as all the gray hairs I've managed to nurture, along the way, YO!) and I've seen lots of good things happen to some pretty terrific people.

    Some really craptastic stuff too, dammit.

    Focusing on the great, the thing I love MOST about blogging communities?  There is almost always someone ready to lift you up and out of [enter whatever has you in a funk, right at this particular moment, right here] by the very simple act of typing three little words:

    "I get it."

    Then again, there are times when the suckage starts to run REAL deep and, well, the damned gerbil refuses to slow down long enough for me to get the words out of my head.

    Never mind, having to worry about good grammar, proper punctuation and my terrible habit of using pretend words.

    See: craptastic.  See also: suckage.

    Besides, there is almost always SOMEONE ELSE who is most probably wading their way through some really craptastic suckage…worse even, dammit…and that someone may be reading this very blog post, right now, thinking:  

    "Duuuuuuuuude, you have NO idea."

    Sooooooo, I try to blog about stuff that perhaps help make OTHER folks (yes, maybe even YOU!) feel a little better about themselves. 

    Today is NOT one of those days.

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  • Did I Ever Tell You About the Spider Eggs in Our Wallpaper?

    I finally caught up with Melisa, today — she's having a tough week — although, she'll tell you everything is okay, no really; she's fine.

    Still, girl could use a virtual hug.  G'head, I'll wait.

    Not for nothing, but having 3 out of 4 of my kids having attended, entering and/or graduating high school, this year (the boy is a freshman, our middle girl is a senior) I feel it safe to say that…YUP!!!…sending off "your youngest kid" to college is a really BIG deal!!!

    Personally, I hate to think what it will be like for Hope, when she's ready to fly the nest, with me still hanging onto her ankles and everything, just saying.

    Aaaaanyway, to help lighten things up a bit, I started telling Melisa this story, but she was running late (okay, fiiiiiiiiine, she said she was running late and I believe her…dammit!) and I was all like…that's okay, never mind…maybe I'll just blog it then.

    Why?  For two reasons: 1) as a cautionary tale and 2) for informational purposes, of the sort of crud that goes on…behind closed walls…especially, when you're not looking.

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  • I Blog, Facebook & Instagram: Therefore, I Remember

    Cape Cod 2013 for Facebook

    I left for BlogHer13 on July 24th and I haven't been home, since.

    Okay, so I was home for a whole entire day and a half, before leaving for our first family summer vacation in, well, forever, giving myself enough time to:

    • unload my suitcases
    • wash clothes
    • drop Doofus-Dawg off at his country canine cousins' house
    • take my teens shopping for last minute vacation-y sort of stuff
    • [deep breath, exhale]
    • clean the house
    • because, coming home from vacation to a messy house is worse
    • and THEN reload suitcases all over again

    In an attempt to ignore the pain in my lower back and the constant throbbing in my pinky toe — long story, short (you're welcome!) I fell down the stairs at Melisa's house and we were both surprised to learn that I had only broken my toe — I tried to focus on stuff to help keep me from passing out while dodging packs of squeeing tweens at Forever 21:  

    • I cannot WAIT to sloooooooooow down and disconnect
    • to not have to worry about stuff other than whether it is low or high tide
    • which directly affects where we park our beach chairs
    • or not, whatevvvvvvvvvvvver

    Guess what?  Disconnecting is harder than you may believe — especially when traveling with teens, or pretending that social media has not become an important part of our life and perhaps not in the way that most people think.

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  • When it Rains, It Pours and Other Stupidly Obvious Things

    You know that awesome feeling, when you've managed to handle some really difficult aspect of your life, sort of like mastering a jigsaw puzzle:  everything falls into place, without banging them with the side of your fist?  

    Yeah, this is NOT one of those times.

    Pouring in Jersey

    Cue vague-blogging:  dude, it's friggin' pouring, the lights are flickering and, well, Imma need BIGGER fists.

    What doesn't help:  when you've got friends and family going through some really difficult stuff (some requiring the use of both fists, at the same time, even) and, well, am I the only one about to go all…HULK SMASH!!!…and then want to try and fix, all the things?!?

    Guess what?!?  We cannot fix all the things, which is a BIG surprise to no one, except me, obviously.

    However, I can share a couple of OTHER stupidly obvious things (that perhaps make no sense to anyone, but me) which made at least one person in my family want to go all…HULK SMASH!!!…on my ass:

    • Me, after Garth (not his real name) wanting to know why I would walk from the pool, to the house, in wet feet, while holding 2 pairs of flip-flops: because they're dirty.
    • Me, after his trying to make sense of previous bullet: I just washed them in the pool.
    • Me, after his giving me a blank stare: the flips flops, I mean.
    • Me, after his wondering why I would worry about the flip-flops and not my feet: because they are not my flip-flops.
    • Me, after my daughters' realizing it was their flip-flops I was holding: you're welcome!

    Just think, that was one conversation and if you giggled or if the side of your mouth turned up, just a little: then my job here is done.

    Moral of the Story: we cannot fix, and sometimes it's even hard to understand, all the things and that's okay.

    However, if that doesn't work or the next time you have a similar…HULK SMASH!!!…moment,  just be really, really glad you are NOT living with me.

    [sound of circkets chirping]

    Oh, look…OVER THERE!!!…there's something really, really shiny in the water.

    [the sound of our bathroom door, SLAMMING]

    Stupid rain, dumbass bladder.

    © 2003 – 2013 This Full House

    With a fan page on Facebook and everything!  

  • This Full House Monstrous Giveaway

    Comments are now closed: sincerest congratulations to Mary Calabrese (comment #49), Jenn Hammond (comment #3) and Melissa Meyer(comment #42)!!! Please check your email for further instructions 🙂

    My husband, Garth (not his real name) and I have been helping prepare our two oldest girls (mostly ourselves) for college.

    Holly and Heather June 2012

    look, we’re smiling (on purpose!), no more braces 🙂

    Holly (our 19yo) has been working full-time since graduation and will start taking classes, towards a teaching degree, in the fall, while Heather is beginning her senior year in high school — emotionally, we’re ready; financially, not so much.

    Then again, with today’s economy, who is, right?!?

    I am very excited to partner with Kellogg’s and their Scare Scholar promotion on Facebook, launched in conjunction with the super-adorable Monsters University movie:  the promotion offers folks the chance to win instant prizes each day and culminate in one grand prize drawing for a $10,000 scholarship in August. 

    Here’s the really fun part:  I get the chance to share three (3) pretty fabulous prize packs (each including a $200.00 gift card and movie tickets) right here, with you…yes, maybe even YOU!!!

    Because, we roll like that.

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  • So, What’s the WORST That Can Happen?

    I have a hard time believing that my husband, Garth (not his real name) and I have been together for 24 years:  we met on a blind date in July of…[reaches for calculator]…1989 and were engaged by November.

    Because any man who hands his date a handkerchief…in the middle of blowing snot during one of the most saddest movie endings in history…and then takes that same handkerchief back from her…all snotted up and everything…is worth hanging onto, verdad?

    Long story, short (you're welcome!):  what makes our relationship work (most of the time) is that Garth (NHRN) is very good at dealing with an emergency.  

    My husband has this awesome ability of assessing almost any situation in a very calm and rational Jedi-type manner, while my approach is much more apocalyptic in nature.

    Which makes me LOTS OF FUN at the end of the world-type disaster movies — World War Z, Walking Dead, I live there, every single day!

    Because, raising teens and a 12-year old who knows MORE stuff than I do, jumping to the worst possible conclusions is about the only exercise I get, these days.

    On the other hand, I am an expert at not sweating small stuff:  because I've already imagined the worst that can happen.

    For example:  hypothetically speaking, say one of our girls were to be asked out on a date, for the first time…like in, EVER!!!…my husband and I would both handle it very, very differently.

    Garth (NHRN):  if I am not home from work, make sure he comes in to meet your mother.

    End of story.

    Me?  Totally different scenario:  okay, so I'm going to visit with your aunt and you're going for sushi and the sushi place happens to be a couple of blocks from your aunt's house, so if you find yourself feeling uncomfortable or the date goes all weird on you, text me and I will call you back with some sort of emergency that requires you to come home right away and…WHAT?!?…why are you looking at me all funny like that?!?

    This is NOT your child and you know we're talking totally hypothetical, right?!?

    [one beat, two beats]

    Fiiiiiiiiiiiine, at least I don't have to worry about what we're having for dinner tonight, the other 3 kids LOVE sushi.

    [sound of crickets, chirping]

    Aaaaaaand, thank goodness we live right on the water, don't even get me started on the subject of seafood sustainability in landlocked states (you're welcome)!

    © 2003 – 2013 This Full House

    With a fan page on Facebook and everything! 

  • Our Stay, Play and Eat Weekend at Morey’s Piers

    #moreyspierscollageMy family and I were very honored to have been invited, as special guests of  Morey’s Piers, to spend the weekend in Wildwood, NJ and meet the famous Morey brothers, in person.  

    Okay, so I was THRILLED!!!  

    I got to revisit some of my favorite childhood memories of summertime(s) past:  when my twin brother and I would spend our days playing on the beach, as my parents sunned themselves while listening to my dad’s favorite doo-wop radio station (WCBS FM 101.1), and then follow the parade of flip flops, begging our parents for “Please, just one more quarter?!?” to play any one of the dozens of carnival games (it was a long time ago, shuddup!) along the 2 miles of boardwalk, at night.

    Okay, great, but what really made this family getaway even MORE fabulous:

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  • Male Bonding, in a Houseful of Females, is Sticky!

    Glen and Garth NHRN

    father & son, discussing manly things ~ june 2007

    I love this picture for so many reasons, but mostly because my son and husband weren't aware of my taking it (which is a great feat in and of itself, especially for a clumsy dork like myself, trust me on this!) and, in my stealthiness, I was able to capture an intimate moment between father and son.

    Don't EVEN get me started on how I just realized that my son still had his baby face in the 2nd grade or how blonde his hair would get by the end of the summer.

    Aaaaand, how the kid was (and still is) an absolute magnet for bug bites — look at his poor leg all bitten up and everything.

    My husband, on the other hand, could stay out for hours and not have to swat at a single bug — except for gnats, because those little suckers are relentless – I swear, the man is a walking, talking insect repellent.

    Aaaaand, he would have you believe it's because of his sour disposition, to which I will gladly call bullsh&t, each and every time AND most of you guys already know, I am married to a saint. 

    Lately, however, I can't say living with the both of them…under the same roof…has been a slice of heaven.


    #moreyspiers

    so close, yet so far

    Don't get me wrong, they are wonderful human beings and both have very soft and squishy hearts (which is good, when you live with a bunch of females); it's just that together, well, they butt heads…a lot…like a couple of enraged mountain goats.

    As if tensions weren't high enough, with a pre-menopausal mother in a houseful of teenage daughters, right?!?

    However, when my daughters and I do battle, it's mostly about their borrowing my clothes without asking or having any intentions of giving them back…cough, cough…HOLLY…cough, cough…or consuming the LAST pod of coffee…cough, cough…HEATHER…cough, cough…and don't EVEN get me started on my youngest daughter's habit of having the last word…WORD, INFINITY! 

    Glen all duded up for the 8th grade dance

    glen all duded up for the 8th grade dance ~ june 2013

    I mean, I get it:  it's like an alpha male sort of thing, right?!?  RIGHT?!?

    [cue pack of hyenas, laughing]

    Riiiiiiiiiight.

    I can't help it — growing up in a house with someone yelling at someone else, all the time — the butting head thing is making me a little crazy.  Okay, crazier than usual.  So does the inevitable radio silence, afterwards.

    This week?!?  Totally nutty — like in, holy crap on a cracker, can we PLEASE have a do-over?!? — the sort of crazy that will keep even a non-pre-menopausal woman up at night…worrying about every little thing she canNOT control…btw, she is also very well aware of that fact…DAMMIT!!!

    Aaaaand, then it hit her…I mean me…like a brick upside the head:  it's NOT them, it's me!

    Or, my stupidly high expectations of wanting to recapture that same intimate moment between the top two on my list of the most important men in my life.

    Rather than just enjoy small, fleeting moments of simply being.

    "Did you have a good time at the dance?"

    Content with understanding that perhaps now they just are NOT meant to include me.

    "Yeah, and Dad is a ninja at drop-offs and pick-ups!"

    Aaaaand, well, I'm okay with that, too.

    "He doesn't curse near as much as YOU do."

    Then again, this male bonding thing…highly overrated…don'tcha think?!?

    © 2003 – 2013 This Full House

    With a fan page on Facebook and everything!