Search Results for: blog the ugh days

How to Survive the Holidays with Social Anxiety

The holidays are hectic. While some people do enjoy being extra busy, and more social than typical, those kinds of experiences are difficult for those who have social anxiety. One cannot simply opt-out of all social gatherings. Here are some tips to help people who have social anxiety survive the holidays. WebMD says that social anxiety disorder is also called social phobia. They describe it as “an anxiety disorder in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations.” A person with social anxiety disorder is afraid that he or she will make mistakes, look bad, be … Continue reading →

How School Dress Codes Can Harm Your Daughter’s Education

Does the school your children attend have a dress code? Many of them do. Some schools opt for a specific, very limited, dress code. Others are a little less stringent. While a dress code might annoy your son, school dress codes can harm your daughter’s education. Here are some things for parents to watch out for. Ideally, a school dress code is designed to equalize students. Everyone has to wear the same type of uniform, with limited variations. (Typical variations include skirts for girls and pants for boys). Schools might choose to only allow clothing of specific colors. The goal … Continue reading →

Tips for Salvaging a Rough Morning

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Not every day starts out bright and filled with sunshine. There are going to be some days when kids wake up “on the wrong side of the bed” and are grumpy. Fortunately, there are some things that parents can do to salvage a rough morning – and prevent it from spoiling the rest of the day. Rachel Macy Stafford wrote a piece for Huffington Post Parents called “10 Ways to Salvage a Bad Morning Before Parting Ways”. In it, she has listed 10 ways that a parent can influence a grumpy child to change his or her mood and have … Continue reading →

Advantages of Extended School Days

Would you like your children to attend school for eight hours straight, five days a week? It may sound a bit excessive to some parents. However, there are some school districts that have implemented an extended school day. It turns out that there are several benefits to doing so. Extended school days, which are also called extended learning time, have gained popularity within charter schools. Some charter schools may have a bit more freedom about how long their school day runs than some public schools do. That doesn’t mean it would be impossible for an extended school day to be … Continue reading →

100 Days

Today is the 100th day of school for my child.  To mark the occasion she and her classmates were asked to bring in 100 of their favorite items. Yes, the assignment that parents from coast-to-coast dread each year. It’s even more dreadful when your kid reminds you that she needs said items two hours before they’re due. So, you run around like a nutcase looking for 100 what to cram into a Ziploc bag? Cheerios, LEGOs, coffee beans… blood, sweat, tears? When all is said and done, hopefully you remember to snap a photo of your kid holding up his … Continue reading →

Cheap Laughs

How do you tell the difference between a chili bean and a green bean? The chilly one wears a jacket. Yes, it’s a barrel of laughs around here. My 8-year-old is currently obsessed with jokes, riddles and all things comical.  Her timing and delivery has improved dramatically since her preschool days when she used to give away the punch line at the beginning of the joke. It just goes to prove that you don’t have to spend a ton of money in order to get a good laugh.  There are all sorts of cheap ways you can giggle and guffaw … Continue reading →

Shoes for My Daughter Part I

Since my daughter’s birth, a little over a year ago, I have been buying her shoes.  I never really worried about shoes for my son when he was an infant, but for some reason I felt that my daughter ought to have shoes to go with her cute little outfits, especially her dresses. The first I dress I bought for my daughter after she was born was her Christmas dress.  I bought it only a couple days before Christmas in utter desperation because that outfit that I had bought for this very special occasion was too big.   As luck would … Continue reading →

My Daughter’s Birthday Part II

As I prepared for my daughter’s first birthday party, I wanted her to be able to celebrate with my favorite kind of cake: Chocolate!  She could make the judgment if she liked it as much as I do.  I impose all sorts of things on my daughter, like the ballet theme in her bedroom.  I was also going to impose a “pretty in pink” theme for her birthday party.  I would use a fresh raspberry puree to make a beautiful Italian meringue buttercream frosting for her birthday cupcakes.  However the frosting making and cupcake and special mini birthday cake frosting … Continue reading →

My Daughter’s Birthday Part I

Time goes by far too quickly, I know this to be so true.  The preparations for my daughter’s first birthday began a few days before her birthday as I tried to enjoy the last few days before she turned one and officially becoming a big girl! I was going to throw her a little party with her family, aunts, uncles, cousins (she only has three two of which are her age), and grandparents. I anticipated about fifteen to eighteen extended family members to come to my daughter’s birthday celebration. My daughter’s birthday is a mere nine days before Christmas, so … Continue reading →

12 Days of Housekeeping

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: a steam mop under the tree.   On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me: two Swiffer dusters and a steam mop under the tree.   On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me: three magic erasers two Swiffer dusters and a steam mop under the tree.   On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: four bleach pen gels three magic erasers two Swiffer dusters and a steam mop under the tree.   On the … Continue reading →