so proud!

Well we found out today that our son got an 80 on his midterm in the subject that he wasn't doing well in. I gave him the praise he deserved for working and studying hard but I also had to mention that he could have done better had he put forth this effort all along! I didn't want to burst his bubble but I need him to know that we have faith in him and to point out to him that hard work pays off. I don't want spoiled children that think everything comes easy even when it sometimes does. For example, he can succeed in subject matter that interests him with little effort - but I still want him to give his all. I figure, you just have to know your child. I knew his weakness was time management, not the content. Taking away the electronics and putting the focus on school brought his grades up, but it's still a long process on getting him to be able to budget his own time. I get worried because high school is just around the corner!

midterms, homework and snow days - oh my!

What a crazy winter this is in the East! I've never doubted the Farmers Almanac until now! This was supposed to be a mild winter but we are experiencing a substantial snow storm every week! The kids think it's great but I'm already juggling work and activities and helping my 13 year old get back on track with his school work. Every time there is a delayed opening, early dismissal or full day school closure, it disrupts the constant flow I'm trying to maintain. How are parents supposed to run out of work at a moments notice because all of a sudden the school decides to send the kids home early? Most companies don't close because of snow so it leaves us employees stuck. To make matters worse, since I'm a part-time employee, I don't get paid when I don't work. I don't get personal, vacation or sick days to use for school dismissal emergencies. What is a parent to do?

What to do when your child....

I am struggling with my 13 year old in teaching time management. He is a very smart kid, has the potential to be a straight A student - but only when he cares enough to put effort into his work. This is his last year of middle school and he's blowing it. I have taken away all electronics and limited after school activities and then he starts to do well again. After some time of consistent effort shown, I will slowly give back privileges. My problem is that I hate is that punishment only seems to temporarily solve the problem, what he needs is to learn balance. He needs to learn how to prioritize and to make school top priority. Any suggestions?

Struggling Marriage...

With the kids getting older and demanding more of your time, it's hard to put much focus on your marriage. Many couples resort to date nights, where they get a night out without any interruptions. I'm curious if these date nights actually work being that it's scheduled and repetitive. I would think more spontaneity would be more welcome in a family where the kids' schedules dictate your lives. Who knows?

Battling the insurance company....

On a weekend day, my son came down with strep throat. He was miserable! The trip to the after-care doctor went smoothly, they called in a prescription to the pharmacy close to home that we have used for years. This is where the nightmare began! My husbands insurance through his job requires a HUGE family deductible before the employer starts paying. We met that ridiculous deductible by using a flexible spending account. Any time we needed to pay for co-pays or prescriptions we used our flexible spending account card (fsa). So what is supposed to happen next is that the employers contribution card kicks in. But of course, on a weekend it didn't kick in. My option was to fight with the company who holds the card or pay out of pocket $127.00!!!! So I opted to try and fight the company for an hour or two. You can't get through to a live person - you have to leave a message. Eight messages later, no one called back. We finally decided that we needed to scrounge up the money to pay out of pocket then fight for reimbursement later. Go to the pharmacy - they are closed! Figures! Called the insurance company and prescription company (yes they are separate) and tried to get the prescription at another pharmacy.....strings, strings, strings! They would have to void out the first prescription because it was filled already (yeah like I'm really in the market for a double dose of antibiotics!). Then we would have to call the pediatrician to call in another prescription at another pharmacy. Oh wait, we have to find one that's open on Sunday at 9pm! Then we would have to call the prescription company back for approval, and so on and so forth. We we literally on the phone for more than 5 hours - and sadly nothing can get done until 8am Monday morning. Do these big companies care that my son feels terrible? No they don't.

Reflecting on Motherhood

When they're babies and you've had countless sleepless nights, you think to yourself "when they're older, it will get easier." Then you blink and they're in school. You volunteer for the PTA and collect box tops, soup can labels and other fundraising points until your head explodes! You volunteer to help work the book fairs, class trips, gift shops, and other special events. You attend all the class plays, music concerts and meet the teacher nights. You go shopping at 10pm for poster board for a project you only found out about at the last minute. Then you blink and they're teenagers. They want to drive, and date and don't want to be seen with you. Their homework is more difficult and you scramble to help them with trigonometry that you haven't done in 20 years! You lose sleep filling out college applications and waiting for responses. Then you blink and they're all grown up. We pour our hearts and souls into our children. Once they move out on their own we reflect back to their childhood and would give anything to just hold that precious little baby once more - lost sleep and all!

online writing

So for a couple of years now, I've been writing articles online in several locations. I've managed this and another blog, and managed a facebook fan page for "lilmrsknowitall"! The money comes in in drips and drabs but hey, it's money! I recently was told by a friend about a new writing site called "List My Five". It's just lists and it hasn't been ranked by Google yet but people are making money! So, I figured I'd give it a try! So far it's slow but of course I have my hopes up!