New school. New teachers. New friends. New schedule. NEW can be overwhelming. So when I was invited by my daughter to be one of the chaperones for her 8th grade field trip, I was flattered. While I realized that this year has already proven to be dramatically more positive for her than last, I wrongly assumed that the last person a 13 year old would want on a field trip would be her mother. Enter: New cheerful kid. Upon hearing that the field trip would be a walking tour of the Strip District, I did a little dance. (I have [...]

We made a tough call the other night. We stopped helping our 8th grader with homework. Well, OK, we still help, we just don't, well, help. (Come on Atkins, get to the point already, because, we, the readers, are lost.) On any normal day, homework is assigned and brought home. Or isn't. That is issue number one. If homework fails to make it to the house, we don't head back to school to get it (especially because school is now 20 minutes away), nor do we make a big deal about it. Why? Do I want my child to fail? [...]

School is back in session! (And so are the early mornings.) My children started a new school this year, and with it, we added an entirely new evening/morning routine. For all of us. Including Mom. No, we didn't ease into it. We just went cold turkey on Day 1. We also set up some specifics that have to happen the night before, and in the morning before we walk to the bus stop. The kids are responsible for packing their lunches before bed. Not packing a lunch means . . . well, no lunch. Clothes are laid out. Mom does [...]

As I wrote on Facebook earlier this week, "CONFESSION! I wasn't going to do the ALS ice water challenge because, "everyone is doing it", "it's a fad", "people just want attention", blah, blah, blah. And then I realized that my holier than thou attitude - MY cynicism, was NOT what I wanted to sit in this week with all the other happenings in our world. The news has SUCKED, people. Overseas. Here in the U.S. So, you know what? A little ice water over the head to wake me OUT of negativity, and a contribution to help find a cure [...]

I am completely face-palming myself. We moved to Pittsburgh 5 years ago. My sister and her four kids live in the Philly area. I only just discovered Amtrak. To think, over these last 5 years, my kids and I could have been visiting the cousins way more often via a super relaxing train trek that only took over 6 hours, and costing us about the same amount we would pay in gas. 6 hours spent reading. Listening to music. Drinking coffee. Writing. Enjoying my son's enthusiasm for the scenery: "Look! It's beautiful!" "Mom, wetlands!" (For the record, I don't know [...]