Parents Weekend Prep Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Prepare for a Parents Weekend Visit

You might be a seasoned college parent like we are or maybe you're brand new to this phase of parenting, regardless, attending your child's college Parents Weekend is a bit of a milestone event. It's a chance for you to get to step into your student's world, get a peek at their day-to-day life, and reassure both of you that everyone is adjusting. It's also a great time to remind your boys to wash their sheets and towels more often and for the girls to beg for some shopping time...you know, for bonding and stuff! You'll be reminded of how expensive kids are and while you'll roll your eyes at the total as you stock them up on supplies, you'll be grateful for that little squeeze and quiet thank you.
But keeping it totally real, sometimes planning a visit to your child's college campus isn't always simple. Especially if you are like us, and are visiting from out of state. You'll need to navigate hotel bookings and campus schedules and try to manage emotions {yours and theirs}, and there's a lot to think about and keep in mind. After going through this many many times and talking with other parents in the same boat, I've gathered my best tips to help you prepare for a smooth and memorable Parent's Weekend experience.

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Holiday Gift Giving Ideas for Young Adults

The holiday season is here, and finding the perfect gift for young adults can sometimes feel like a challenge. With new trends {the power of TikTok shop!}, changing lifestyles, and unique interests, it's important to choose gifts that resonate and offer something meaningful or useful. Whether you're looking to surprise a college student, a new grad, or a young professional, I've got a curated list of the best gifts to inspire, entertain, and support the young adults in your life. There's something here for every personality and budget!

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10 of the Hardest Things About Becoming an Empty Nester

When you have a house full of young kids constantly vying for your attention, it feels like you'll never have a moment to yourself ever again. You are never alone in your own home. You're always keeping track of multiple schedules and don't get me started on the never-ending grocery runs and last-minute errands you are making because someone just has to have something {poster board at 10 pm anyone?}. But then it all sneaks up on you. The house is empty. The kids are gone, and you are sitting in that empty nest you never thought would clear out. We had kids young, so many of our peers still have kids at home and look at our empty nest with longing. I'm not sure I could tell you how many times I've been asked what it's like or how we are doing as empty nesters. I often can't put it into words if I'm honest. Usually, I just say it's quiet. Sometimes I say that the house stays clean a lot longer. But really, if I had a captive audience that really wanted to know, these are the 10 hardest things I've found about becoming an empty nester.

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Sending Your Child Out of State to College: A Comprehensive Guide from a Mom Who's Done it 3 Times!

Sending your child off to college is a huge milestone in not only the parents life but in their life as well. That toddler who wouldn't let go of you leg and screamed bloody murder when you left them with a sitter, now wants to go to college in a whole different state. It's a lot! As a mom of three, each of my kids chose a school out of state for various reasons. I've learned a few things through the years and have a few tips to offer parents who find themselves trying to help their students navigate their next decisions. With careful planning and consideration, this transition can be a good and rewarding experience for both you and your child. In this blog post, I'll discuss important factors to consider before your child chooses a college out of state and offer practical tips on packing and preparing for their departure and how to stay connected with your kids, even when they are hundreds or thousands of miles away.

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My Teenager Wants to Be a Pilot: Now What?

My youngest son Owen has always been into airplanes. He started drawing and designing them in his school journal when he was in elementary school. While my oldest son was looking at fast cars on the highway, Owen was looking up in the sky identifying aircraft. As parents, we look for ways to support our kids in their passions, and Owen's passion for airplanes just kept growing. He really pushed us to let him apply to an aviation high school out of district and then continued to explore extra curricular programs that would allow him to start flight training about the same time he was learning to drive a car. He narrowed his focus, and he's pursuing a career in commercial aviation. After the pandemic, the flight industry had a little shake up, and we've all heard about the pilot shortages. It's a great time to head into the industry, but where do you even start? Here is what we've learned as parents so far.

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Setting Boundaries for College Students Home on a Visit

Parents know the crash and bangs at all hours of the early morning, making you wonder if you’re being robbed or if that’s your college student getting in from a night out with friends. When your baby comes back home as a new young adult, it can be challenging to have that first initial visit when they come home. And I've found, every break when they boomerang back changes a bit, so these are always ongoing conversations. While things can take a while to adjust fully, here are a few tips for setting boundaries for college students when they come home to visit.

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6 Ways to Get Teens off Screen Time

With everything from drivers ed to classtime going virtual, screen time isn't anything we can avoid. If studies show that teens were spending an average of seven hours per day on screens {not counting homework}, imagine what it must be like now that everything has gone virtual. I'm actually noticing screen fatigue from my sophomore in high school, who is on a screen daily from 9-2:30 for school and again from 6-8:30 for drivers ed. It's a lot. So how can we encourage our teens to seek other activities that are off of a screen? I've got a few ideas up my sleeve that might help.

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Easing the Transition for Kid from Middle School to High School

The step from junior high to high school is a big one. While your kids are already used to the idea of heading to different classes and using lockers, they are also going through puberty, and their coursework is about to get a lot more challenging. Making the transition from middle school to high school is a big jump, so preparing your children for success in high school is important! Here are some tips to help ease the transition from middle to high school.

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4 Ways to Boost Your Child’s Confidence

Confidence is an important attribute in shaping social skills and emotional intelligence. Without confidence, your child may struggle with becoming independent or standing up for themselves when they feel peer pressure. Self-confidence helps with the transition into elementary, middle, and even high school. It can give them the boost to ask the girl or boy they’ve had a crush on since Kindergarten to the dance or later in life it can help them go after their dream job. Every achievement, both big and small are stepping stones to self-confidence and you can help them get there. So how do you help your child boost their confidence? I'm sharing four ways you can help encourage this trait today.

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5 Ways Parents Can Stay Connected with College-Age Kids

This post is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When you have a handful of small children all tugging at your leg, you don't think the day will ever happen when they leave the nest, but they do. And it's what you are working toward as a parent. Sending your high school graduate off into the world as they spread their wings can be a difficult transition. Your home and family will no longer look or feel the same, and your relationship with your child will evolve and change. Sending care packages with Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health products that are familiar to them, or taking the time to enter each other's world through video chat are all great ways to stay connected. 

Transitioning from the day-to-day relationship where you all live in the same home to being miles {sometimes states!} away can be difficult. As parents, we often wonder how we can still stay involved in their lives, and let our kids know they are loved and cared for, without feeling like we are stifling their independence is a delicate dance. Here are 5 tips I have for staying connected with your college-age kids as they leave home.

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Teaching Your Teen to Drive: 4 Ways to Keep Your Cool

Of all the milestones to look forward to, teaching your teen to drive is probably the most frightening and stress-inducing. There’s nothing like barreling down the highway at Mach 1 with a squirrel behind the wheel. Okay, that’s not exactly how it is but you understand the panic-inducing feeling that image has to invoke right?
When listening to other parents talk about teaching their teens how to drive, there is an almost immediate feeling of “thank goodness that’s not me” followed by a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach because eventually, it will be you and keeping your cool when your teen is behind the wheel is just as scary as it is important, to their success and to your sanity. Here are four tips for not keeping your cool while teaching your teen to drive.

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5 Tips for Navigating the Holidays with your Tween or Teen

Parents are acutely aware of how time passes during the holidays; hormonal, moody teens being themselves while parents are intensely aware that the kids are growing older and will eventually leave the nest, maybe only to visit on the holidays. Knowing that our kids are gaining their independence can make it difficult to fully enjoy and navigate the holidays with tweens and teens. So how can we really appreciate the time we have left with our kids at home? How can we create a space that's special for the holidays? I've got 5 tips for navigating the holidays with your tween or teen.

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Matthew 25 Challenge Day 7: One Child at a Time

You did it! You made it to the end of our 7-day text challenge. We were in this together and I'm so glad that you joined me. In case you are new here, read a little bit more about the Matthew 25 challenge.  Now it's time to celebrate! I can't wait to see how this experience has shaped you and your family.  Several years ago, I read a quote by Shane Claiborne, in his book Irresistible Revolution that says "the problem is not that American Christians do not care about the poor. The problem is that American Christians do not know the poor" How true is this! We care when we know. When we hear about true need and crisis, American people are quick to step up and help when they can.

It's so hard to know how we can know about those needs, but I hope that this week's Matthew 25 challenge helped to open your eyes so that you have a larger world view.

Want your final challenge???

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Matthew 25 Challenge Day 6: There is Hope

This week, things on the blog and on my social media are going to be looking a little bit different. It's because this week, we are being challenged together through the World Vision Matthew 25 Challenge. To learn more about the challenge, click here.

"...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me..." Today's challenge is to go on a 30-minute prayer walk around your community. You may be tempted to skip this challenge, but don't miss this! I really think this walk can be encouraging to you. 

Family challenge: bake cookies or some banana bread {this is my mom's banana bread recipe!}, and drop them off for a neighbor on your walk. 

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How to Raise a Confident Daughter

5 Foolproof Ways to Raise a Confident Daughter

It wasn’t all that long ago when my little girl bounded confidently out of her room dressed in ladybug rain boots, a shirt covered in stars that announced something like, “Be Unique!”, and mismatched socks, and declared herself ready for school. Sometimes I really miss those days.

Now, the much more common scenario is my teen frantically declaring that she has “nothing to wear!” despite the huge piles of clothes that liter her floor.  And that’s only the beginning.

Research shows that during the tween years, a girl’s self-esteem drops significantly. The pressure to look a certain way, act a certain way, and perform to a certain level can be overwhelming and even detrimental to our girls. In the early years, she doesn’t know anything about those pressures. But much too soon the weight piled on top of her to meet and exceed the world’s expectations can be crushing.

How can we as parents combat this problem of low self-esteem? What can we do to instill confidence in our once innocent and carefree daughters?

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Our Dog Has Cancer-Starting to Say Goodbye to a Family Pet

I begged and pleaded for a family dog for the better part of three years. I'd pick up lost dogs and what I thought were strays but turned out to be coyotes too many times to count {well, I only tried to "save" a coyote once, I'm not a lunatic!}. But my husband told me that if the Obama's could wait to move into their new home to get a dog, we could too. A few days after moving in, I got a response from an inquiry I placed about a 12 week old golden retriever puppy that was for sale and two days later we brought Sophie home. And now she's dying. Sophie has cancer.

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Where do you find support as a parent?

How and where can you find support as a parent?

From the moment I became a mom I sought out other parents who could help me normalize parenting.  I have been involved in lots of co-ops, play groups, moms Bible studies, MOPS, and on-line pregnancy/parenting support groups.  The ability to talk aloud about what you think only you are experiencing was so helpful to me and those groups helped me get through some difficult times in parenting especially in the early years when you are trying to figure it all out..

One of the hot topics of discussion in parenting circles is how to tackle a weight issue in your child.  Many parents aren't sure how to have this discussion with their children.  A therapist gives some great tips on how parents can open up the dialogue with their kids so that change can occur to promote a healthier lifestyle.

**Tip: Being a good role model is key!**

Another favorite topic of discussion in mom groups that I have been a part of is birthday party celebrations. I've had to ask myself a few times who the party is for. Am I creating a Pinterest worthy celebration for my kids or am I doing it to impress other moms? Check yourself on this one. Your kids probably won't care if the plates, cups and snacks all match a certain theme. I promise!

I remember going all out for my oldest son's first birthday, and yet it's a celebration that he won't remember!  There are whole blogs and websites dedicated to birthday party planning.
I must say I'm grateful that Pinterest wasn't a thing when my kids were little. There are so many great ideas but does the inspiration out weigh the celebration?

And finally, all parents of multiple children struggle with how to incorporate a new baby into the family without making the older children feel left out.  

It was always really important to me to spend one on one time with my older children when there was a new baby in the house.  Even if I was tempted to put a movie on and take a nap when the new baby slept!  My oldest son and I would build trains that would take up the whole downstairs.  My daughter and I would read books together or play kitchen.  We would spend time with the baby monitor plugged in to the garage outlet and ride bikes in the cul de sac.

If I needed to get some cooking or laundry done, I would try to incorporate the things that I needed to get done, and let the older kids be involved in it too.


Where do you find parenting support?  
I think it's best to start looking for help before you think you will need it. Having people around you as a sounding board helps. Many times, those parents in the early years will also last through the teen years too. Keep those friends close, you will need them!

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