What We Can Learn from the Maddy Middleton Tragedy

  Last month 8-year-old girl Maddy Middleton was abducted, raped and murdered in her Santa Cruz apartment complex. The perpetrator was not a stranger and this was not a random abduction.  The killer was a 15-year-old boy who lived in her building who lured her to his apartment. Her tragic story shook me to the core.… Continue reading What We Can Learn from the Maddy Middleton Tragedy

10 Favorite Memories of High School Summers

High School Summer Memories

I had a mini reunion with 5 high school girlfriends last week and it brought back so many memories of high school summers circa ’88-’92.

It was a life without the internet, laptops or cell phones. Which made me wonder, what did we do!?  Worked on our tans, of course. Oh Lord.

Looking back here are 10 of my favorite memories from my high school summers, I would love to hear some of yours…

Summer Mom Fail

summermomfail

How did it get to be August already?

Going into summer I had all sorts of scholastic plans for my girls to ensure their little brains would not turn to mush over the summer.

They were going to read at least 30 minutes every day.

I was going to print out worksheets from Teachers Pay Teachers for my going-into-1st-grader to do.

I put a summer incentive plan in place to reward good behavior, including reading.

You get the idea.

But this summer so far has gone down more like this.

Both girls have played so much Subway Surfer I am afraid they have killed brain cells.

Not Scary Movies for Kids

Not Scary Movies for Kids 

20 Not Scary Movies for Kids

(Links in post are Amazon Affiliate Links)

Last week I went out to dinner with five of my class of ’92 high school girlfriends I hadn’t seen in years.  Old photos were passed around and we laughed our you know whats off at the styles back then. I think the shoes were the most offensive – does anyone remember Reebok high tops with big scrunch socks?!  How on earth was that ever considered cute? Wow.

We had four hours to catch up and many parenting topics arose, which gives me endless parenting blog fodder. I love it.

This post was inspired when a friend mentioned her kids are so sensitive to “scary” stuff, that she has been forced over the years to find not scary movies for kids her family could watch together.

Of course, what scares a kid can differ from child to child, so these movies listed below are not necessarily scare-proof. However, a great way to check out the details on a movie before you watch it with your kids is www.commonsensemedia.org. The age recommendations for the movies below were taken from that site.

You simply plug in the movie and you can get the full rundown of the story line and ratings on things such as educational value, positive messaging, violence & scariness, and more.

Please add any not scary movies for kids you have discovered in the comments. Would love to keep this list going!

Golden Tote On Sale Tomorrow!

Links to Golden Tote in this post are referral links, meaning I get a little credit of you click through and order a tote. Thank you in advance for supporting my Golden Tote obsession. My husband thanks you too.

GoldenTote

This might sound crazy, but I really hate to shop. Taking the time to go into the stores, digging through racks while trying to hold complaining kids at bay is honestly not my idea of fun. Which is why I am obsessed with Golden Tote, because they do the shopping FOR you!

I get more compliments on my Golden Tote pieces more than any other item of clothing in my closet. Things I wouldn’t have thought to try on, but end up loving. Cute, hip, stylish pieces that put a little extra pep in my mom step.

It’s very easy. Here’s the run down.

1. The totes go on sale the first Monday of every month at 9am PST at www.goldentote.com. Set a reminder in your calendar to ping you and remind you to go online and order yours, because the very cutest pieces can sell out, quick. Shopping early ensures the best selection….