• Parenting

    The Hunger Games Premiere Party

    If you give a mouse a cookie it’s nothing compared to giving a teenager a camera. Arielle had some friends over for a spaghetti dinner before the midnight showing of The Hunger Games. I gave her my camera and told her to take some pictures for the blog. I had planned on writing a nice short piece about seniors graduating and making memories with the last few weeks of school they had left. Something sentimental and heartwarming. That’s what I had in mind… and then I saw the pictures. Here’s one picture with everyone smiling. Guess who took it? Yep, me. Right before I disappeared to fold laundry. What a wonderful group of teens. After…

  • Parenting

    Swimming with Cell Phones

    “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” Roald Dahl (1916-1990) I believe that besides teaching my kids to have empathy, be kind, get good grades and learn disciplined working habits I must also teach them to always look for the magic in life. Any parent that has more than one child is aware of how different siblings can be. Siblings that are raised with the same parent or two parents can have very unique personalities. I have one child that is naturally very adventurous, thrives in a crowd, hates being at home for more than one day and enjoys trying any new food as long as it’s…

  • Parenting

    I need you… I don’t need you

    I think one of the most difficult adjustments in parenthood is getting used to my teens needing me but not needing me. When they were little they always needed me to the point of pure mental exhaustion. Some days eight pm. bedtime couldn’t come soon enough. Or a trip in my car alone was like a mini vacation. They were a constant responsibility leaving very little time for me to think about anything else but caring for them. Most days I loved it and some days I wondered what happened to Krista – she got lost in “mom.” Now, things have changed. Here I sit alone in our house on spring…

  • Cooking

    Shepherd’s Pie – Lower Fat

    Today is day 2 of my St. Patrick’s Day extravaganza.Yesterday’s pot of gold was a big hit with the high school crowd and today’s shepherds pie received two thumbs up from Arielle and Eric. I believe I heard Arielle say, “You’re keeping the leftovers in the fridge… right?” And Eric replied with, “Yeah but this is a get up in the middle of the night and sneak some dish.” My heart smiled. It’s nice to know my cooking skills are improving. Even though last night Kai told me the Food Network had the perfect show for me – America’s Worst Cooks. Anyone who lives with teens has to be tough.…

  • Cooking,  Parenting

    No Theme Sunday

    Today’s theme is all about the recent events in my life. In other words there really is no theme throughout the post. My editor husband is going to have a fit but he’s at spin class right now and won’t see this until later today. I’m breaking the rules. I’m such a rebel. It probably has something to do with the fact that I went to bike night and line danced. Bike night as in the kind with loud pipes not squeaky horns. And lined danced as in bumped into people and pretended I knew what I was doing. Having teens means not having to get a babysitter. Eric and…

  • Parenting

    1 In 2,000

    I’m going to begin by issuing a warning to all the men reading this post. You may want to stop right now because from here on I will be discussing feminine issues… you know the kind you don’t want to know about. Yep, I’m going there because this crazy experience I’m about to divulge has taught me two very important lessons. I should know what they are by the time I finish writing this post. To put it delicately, when it comes to the female cycle, I am to-the-day accurate. I diligently keep track and I’m always prepared. I’ve been this way for years. There have been two times in…