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Who among us still have those re-occurring dreams ( more like nightmares ) where you can’t find your classroom , or don’t remember the combination to your locker , or worst yet, taking an exam that might as well be in Japanese? I do, I do!! But I was always relieved when I realized it was all a dream. Even during the dream, I would pray to god it was only a dream. Now, though, I’m wondering if it wasn't really a premonition…. Just when you thought it was over, all the hours stressing over homework and grades, swearing that school was the worst thing EVER ! It’s BAAAACK ! I am here to reaffirm that school IS the worst thing ever! I am totally stressed, and that’s just with the 4th grade work. My oldest (6th grader) just informed me that WE have a project due in two weeks on Greek mythology. "'We', meaning  your class," I hesitantly asked, hoping it came across as an obvious rhetorical clarification. But NOOO, " we " meant the " we" in the...

The moment our boys left for sleep-away camp, everyone just assumed that we packed our bags as well. Sort of, but it wasn’t as if we were secretly awaiting their departure to take advantage of our "empty-nesting." In fact, quite the contrary. I was secretly awaiting their departure to “clean house.” Recognizing that I intentionally stopped working to become a full-time SAHM (stay-at-home-mom), my schedule sort of opened up the minute they boarded the bus. In preparation of that, I planned plenty of projects to fill my time – re-organizing the boys’ bedrooms, their closet and drawers, not to mention kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and playroom; going through (meaning, “ throwing out ”) toys, old clothes, and school projects that were no longer “cute” (hard to believe ); sorting and documenting family photos and finally framing those “selected” family moments that I had planned to do during last summer’s camp time. These were all admirable projects that required focused, unin...

Next Chapter continued..... When our oldest son was first born, I started a journal, entitled, “ So, What have you been doing lately ?”, in an effort to capture his “ firsts ” of everything. Initially, it was a daily ritual as everyday brought truly new developments. Nothing was too mundane to be included - everything from his facial expressions to his body movements, to his mumbles of words, to his sleeping patterns . I wrote and wrote and wrote, capturing every detail - his first foods, his first step, his first haircut, and, yes, even his first poop in the potty - worrying that I would miss something that was too precious to ever forget. We took scores and scores of pictures, capturing the mood of the moment. I continued writing through the birth of our second son, but the “entries” and the pictures became further and further separated by exhaustion, lack of time and lack of desire. We always said it was good that we didn’t have a third child as the poor thing would have no ...

What’s so special about a “ Girls' Night Out?” Well, actually nothing when you compare it to a “girls” week away . There is something that happens when a group of women share an extended amount of time together under a single roof (or for this matter, in a 5 bedroom condominium). When you see someone in their “morning” best, without make-up, before their first cup of coffee, an instant bond occurs, mainly because they have seen you in the same fashion. There’s a code of honor amongst us girls – it’s no different than “What happens in Vegas…” Every year we have the opportunity to spend 4-5 days of unscheduled existence with 8-10 other women. We share rooms, and sometimes, even beds. We share bathrooms, clothes, and even the food on our plates. Our one obvious commonality continues to be love of tennis . With very few exceptions, we all play tennis together and are bonded as a team. I might add, a competitive team , but certainly not as cohesive until we became bonded as ' g...

Next Chapter continued..... Who honestly thinks that “ TIME OUT ” is a good method of punishment? OK, maybe “ punishment ” is not the appropriate word – how’s, “ disciplinary tool .” Whatever. The real issue is whether it works for you --- let me rephrase that - does it work in the way it was designed to be used? I owed it to myself to do a little research on this topic in an effort to better understand the principles behind this tool and perhaps even recognize where we went wrong. So, as with everything else, I Googled it. The consensus was clear – TIME-OUT is said to be a “mild ” form of punishment, the purpose of which is to isolate or separate the child for a short period of time in order to allow the child to calm down…. I get it that TIME-OUT is suppose to eliminate yelling and screaming ( I think on the part of the parent, but doubtful ). I get it that it’s a far less aversive tool than physical punishment ( yeah, yeah, yeah, but is it as effective?), and I get i...