Gimme A Break

For years, the schools have been talking about reducing the weight of school bags but I’m beginning to doubt anything is ever going to be done. It’s been all talk and no action.

My girls’ school bags weigh a ton and it’s heavy even for me. It’s crazy to see younger kids with backpacks that are even bigger than them. I’ve gotten the girls to split the load and carry two bags instead of one. Still it’s really bad for their backs.

I think I’m just going to bite the bullet and sign them up for a school locker next year. It’s not cheap but it doesn’t look like we have a choice. More and more students are opting for school lockers so I have to get the girls to book one early.

• locker decisions
• no books for us
• the sign-up dilemma
• not a slinger
• how to reduce back-to-school stress (1)

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I can’t believe this is only the third weekday of the year. Feels like the 300th! Indeed me and the kids are having a tough time snapping back to rigid school routines. The getting up early and endless running is giving me a headache I’ve nursed since Monday. Anyone else having trouble getting back to the grind?

• back to the grind
• where to go on our next vacation?
• two more days to the weekend!
• caffeine withdrawal
• taking the headache out of gift-shopping

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When teens arrive at the crossroads of their lives when they have to decide what course they want to pursue in college, that’s often a tough time for parents too. I mean, we’re the ones who have to be there to answer their questions and to guide them to a decision which we hope will be the right one. Many parents actually decide for their kids on the basis of what career brings the best monetary rewards.

But I think it’s best to leave it to the kids. Whether it’s roughing it out at law school or toying with the idea of cosmetology schools, the important thing is for the child to find something that they’re interested in. No point for them to choose a career that they loathe just because their parents think that’s the best thing for them. Just my two cents.

• interested in teaching?
• pretty isn’t everything
• locker decisions
• an Angelina Jolie
• runaround parenting

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Our weekends used to be all about shopping and eating out. But lately with the economy in the state that it’s in, we’re cutting back just like a lot of you folks. For our family of five, it costs quite a bit to eat out especially since my three teens all have ravenous appetites at this stage. So if we don’t eat out, it means we’re eating in. Eating in means someone’s gotta do the cooking, and if you guessed that someone is me, you’re spot on! Oh no, here comes another weekend, time to play kitchen slave!

• smoky kitchen
• festive mood
• kitchen or car?
• cafe’s open
• if I should need a new kitchen sink

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Being a mom, I’ve learnt to always be prepared. Or try to anyhow. I know we can’t be prepared all the time for all the spills and falls. But it’s good practice to keep some basic medication and medical equipment like thermometers around the house, just in case.

I mean they’re so easily available and you can even order them online at places like Allegro Medical, so why not? In fact, even when we travel or go away on holiday, I always pack a small box of essential medical stuff to bring along.

Sure you can always buy them wherever you’re vacationing at, unless you’re going to the Arctic or something but what if it’s late and the stores are closed?

• just in case
• no one knows the story
• travel at leisure
• my handy travel tips
• interview courses for doctors

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My friend is gritting her teeth and booking plane tickets to New York. There’s just no way in the world she’s going to miss her daughter’s college graduation this summer. She’s been saving for those plane tickets since goodness knows when.

She won’t be traveling alone though. Her in-laws and a group of their friends are going to tag along as well, not specifically for her daugther’s graduation, but it’s more of their yearly pilgrimage to some exotic destination.

Good for you, I told her, because you get to spread the cost when you travel in a group. She’s not too excited about traveling with her in-laws, of course, but then again, if it means she can take advantage of the Charter bus NYC to take them sightseeing, I guess it’s not such a bad idea after all.

The bus charter service is great for sending the old folks off on a daytrip. The bus will take them to amusement parks and other places of interest while she spends some quality time with her daughter.

It’s going to work out great! I hope she has a good trip (she really deserves it!) and traveling in a group helps save her some money in the process.

• before her trip
• our jetset consultant
• New York, New York
• Wicked joke?
• my handy travel tips

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It was a busy day yesterday. I baked muffins and made jelly for my daughter to bring to her friend’s potluck birthday party. Well, surprise party, should I say?

The other girls were planning it. First thing this morning, they were off to set up the party. They were so excited, sneaking around and calling back and forth . They’ve invited the birthday girl to tennis and then they’re going to spring the surprise on her. Should be lots of fun!

• party like it’s 2008
• fullmoon party
• what’s up on The Tennis Channel?
• walrus Saturday
• stretch your creativity with Aqua Dots

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Next week, my neighbor’s kid starts kindy. Man, how is it that kids are starting kindy earlier and earlier? The little guy is only 4, he’s still got a ways to go before being thrown into a cookie cutter classroom, I would think.

I suppose it’s good for the kids to learn something in a playful environment with other kids rather than sit at home and glue themselves to the cartoons on TV.

They’ll learn some song and dance. My kids’ favorite song when he was in kindy was Here we go round the Mulberry Bush, though I doubt any of the kids or even their teacher knows what Mulberry trees even look like.

Whatever the benefits, I would still prefer kids to stay home with their moms for as long as they can. There’s plenty of time for school later so why the rush?

• back to the grind
• spicy breakfast
• Nothing Hill
• nothing like a home-cooked meal
• staying in, eating in

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