I mentioned I joined an "Advice for New Puppy Owners" Facebook group recently. It's been both interesting and helpful. It's a very active group, and people post questions, discussion, advice, etc. It's been nice to know there are other people "in my same boat", learning as they go and figuring out all this puppy stuff.… Continue reading Overdoing everything
We have a real driver!! I mean he still just has his learner's permit (won't get his real license until next July 2024 when he turns 16), but Ethan can really DRIVE now! Like, competently and comfortably! I haven't said much about this all lately, so I figure I'm due for an update. Overall, Ethan… Continue reading Driving update
I'm having a bit of mental conundrum over here. So, you all know that Ethan has a part-time job now. He has worked at McDonald's since right after he turned 14- he started at the end of August 2022. Over 7 months now! It's been going really well. He seems to like it, or at… Continue reading Work ethic + kids
Ahhh, it's another snow day today!! No school two Thursdays in a row. (It seemed like the forecast was kind of wishy-washy/ unclear as to exactly how much our specific location is going to get, so I wasn't sure what would happen with school. Seems like the bulk of it is coming later in the… Continue reading Time + Control
1) Driving carpool is interesting. I had to pick up Ethan and 3 other 14-year-old boys from basketball yesterday. All of a sudden, I kind of felt like I was driving a van full of men. Out of the blue, their voices are deeper, their conversations are no longer so juvenile.... hmm. This is interesting… Continue reading A list of thoughts: teen related
I AM TIRED. Yesterday was actually an overall good day, but it just felt exhausting. I think because I just did a lot of different things, which made it feel extra long, lots of context switching, etc. I also spent a huge chunk of the early evening literally driving around in circles. Wednesdays have morphed… Continue reading “A day in the life” on a busy Wednesday, driving in circles
I've been thinking recently how grateful I am to know quite a few parents who are a step or two ahead of where we are in the whole parenting journey. Most of these people are more in the "acquaintance" camp, really. A bunch are fellow swim parents- people with older kids on the team. Or… Continue reading Parents who are one step ahead
I did some actual CARDIO at the gym yesterday (the stairmill) after my shoulders/triceps workout. Crazy, I know, because I'm not usually big on traditional cardio. While I climbed stairs, I listened to this recent The Mom Hour episode about household chores. It got me thinking about a couple of things: #1- It would be… Continue reading Kids, Chores and Allowances
Summer vacation is a mere two days away now!! We've been trying to start thinking through our summer screen time plans. I think we might be onto something that will work for us, and it involves the use of the iPhone's "Downtime" feature. We tried to think about what matters to our boys, and discussed… Continue reading Summer screen time plan: Downtime
It's Hot We've entered summer, apparently, here in Wisconsin.... never mind that just last week we seemed firmly on the outskirts of winter. Spring just never showed up this year. It was 90 degrees yesterday. !!!! I heard on the news that it was actually a record high temperature for May 10. I finally caved… Continue reading Heat wave and teens/compromise
GRATEFUL KAE 