Middle School

Disclosure :: this post contains affiliate links. Watch for Exploding Kittens and Flying Burritos :: Family Game Night Ideas Gone are the days of Candyland and Chutes and Ladders in my house, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Now that my kids are older, family game night has become much more exciting. If your family hasn’t made this a tradition yet or if you’re looking to take things up a notch, here are some games to consider: Exploding Kittens (ages 7 and up): This one is a fan favorite in my house, and despite the name, no kittens are actually harmed. Exploding Kittens is all about strategy, and unless you want to lose, your strategy needs to be to annihilate the competition. To...

9 Ways To Save On School Supplies School supply shopping was once my absolute favorite time of year... and then I became the person footing the bill for school supplies. Suddenly the joy and excitement of walking down an aisle of notebooks, folders, and colorful pens turned into dread. With inflation what it is today, money saving tips are always appreciated, but especially so when you're shopping for multiple kids while also trying to budget for uniforms, shoes, and all the other things that come with the start of a new school year. To save a few bucks this year (and hopefully some anxiety as well), I put together a list of tips when you tackle school supplies this summer! 1. Set...

Inside Out 2 - Why Every Tween (and Parent) Needs to See It When my now twelve-year-old son was a toddler, Inside Out came out in theaters. My "honesty island" would be firing on all cylinders by saying I probably enjoyed the original movie more than my own child. So, when it was announced that Inside Out 2 would be released the same weekend as my toddler's 3rd birthday, taking him to see the sequel for his birthday weekend was a no brainer. I arrived to the theatre expecting a fun, humorous, somewhat light plot line, but I left with a new perspective on my own preteen's complex, new emotions. The Emotions are New (and Complex) to Your Kids Early into the movie,...

Quick Roadtrips & First Concerts :: How To Make Precious Memories On A Single Mom Budget You remember Middle School, it's the time when music really starts to resonate with you and you start to relate to the meaning of all those personal lyrics and you drown yourself and your newly developing hormones in solitude and become one with your favorite artist, wearing your air pods or dancing secretly in your bedroom. Nothing is better than this escape and you start to dream of seeing your favorite artist in concert. Seeing your dream concert isn't as accessible these days with the high cost of concert tickets and the rising cost of living, especially as a single mother, but when my daughter...

Raising Teens :: Not For The Weak "As much as I love raising my big kid I still long for the days that his hands were encapsulated in mine." Raising teenagers is not for the weak. When our children are younger we think those are the hardest days. Sleepless nights, temper tantrums, the works. Y’all know how it is. We’re often met with the sly comments of parents more experienced than us saying “just you wait” and we shrug it off. Caught up in the days we never think we’ll get past. The truth is though, all of those well-meaning naysayers were right. As I enter my third year of raising a teenager, I’ve indeed looked back on parents with toddlers...