Middle School

Barbie, Made For Mothers And Daughters "We girls can do anything, Right Barbie?" That was the slogan I would proudly sing aloud as a little girl playing with my Barbie dolls back in the mid-80’s. If you’re a young Gen X / elder Millennial Mom (a Xennial, if you will), you were probably singing along too.Barbie was not without controversy, but for many of us she symbolized what we hoped to be; beautiful, independent, successful, and happy. Luckily, for little Black girls at that time, Barbie could also be Black! Thanks to Mattel’s Chief Designer of Fashions and Doll Concepts, Louvenia (Kitty) Black Perkins, the first Black Barbie was created in 1979. Barbie was living her best life and she...

Summer Is Almost Over, Are You Ready? Heading back to school means new chaos, new schedules, earlier bedtimes, new homework, new friends, new beginnings. Back to school shopping and uniform purchases, completing summer reading, and keeping your fingers crossed that your kiddos didn’t spend so much time having fun and unexpectedly mushed their academic brains. While this next chapter can be exciting, it is certainly a time of transitions, and you’re probably hyper focused on prepping your little ones with encouragement, expectations, and enthusiasm. But inside of your head, if you’re anything like me, you’re also in need of your own affirmations, strength, and serenity. It's easy to fall into this next school year and, like other years before, unintentionally lose...

Confessions of a Science Loving Mama A little background for you - I have always been good in school. I have always been especially good in science. It just made sense to me. All my other girl friends loved English and Art. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I got good grades in those subjects, but I can’t tell you the difference between and adverb and a preposition if my life depended on it. (That will probably be obvious as you read through this essay so don’t come for me too hard). In high school, my science classes were mostly me and a bunch of boys. When I got to college, nothing about that really changed much. I guess it was...

It’s Back to School Time I always feel a little anxiety as school begins for the fall. My oldest starts first grade!! He was just a baby. A new teacher, a new grade, and so many hopes and dreams. Will the teacher like my son? Will my son like his teacher? Will he enjoy his classes? Am I prepared for the fall? Is my son ready to go? I always have to sit down and make a checklist. I’ll share my list with you. School Uniforms: How many do I have? Do I have enough for the fall and winter? (There will be spaghetti day.) What’s the jacket situation like? Do we need new shoes and a new book bag?...

I took a snapshot of my kids this morning. I intend to keep it close by, so it can serve as a benchmark. We have reached a turning point in our family. We have finally arrived at the point in life that most parents of small kids look to with anticipation for what feels like forever. Diapers have all been thrown away. Bottoms are being independently wiped. Mouths are being fed by utensils independently held the correct way (Well, mostly). As parents, we spend so many years training our children up to get to this point. Every time my kid runs her own bathwater, ties his own shoes, or fixes his own bowl of cereal, I almost want to run around the house with...