My husband and I figured out an easy and super fun way to get our kids interested in history and I’m going to let you in on our secret. History tours are hiding inside ghost tours. 

Who comes to mind when you hear the name Alex? Taylor Swift or Taylor Lautner? What about the name Carson? Cameron? Morgan or Reese? What about names like Peyton? Dylan, Riley or Jordan? Are they unisex names or names that you think are predominately female? Do you think of Drew Barrymoreor Drew Brees? Blake Shelton or Blake Lively? Consider this: Blake Lively named her daughter, 

What’s the point of Earth Day and doing “good” for the earth? Earth Day represents universal support for the environment, its protection and a reminder to care for the ground and air and water we use. Be eco-friendly, cohabitate responsibly or some nonsense. Yawn. It’s not like I’m going to use this ecosystem for longer than 100 years anyway. Earth was here before I arrived and it’ll be here after I’m gone. 

 Our family four-pack is a happy bunch. We laugh early and often. We are a cheerful and jovial people. We sometimes get asked “What makes your family different? You seem to get along with your teenagers when so many parents struggle to connect with theirs. What’s your secret?” To which my husband replies, “I don’t know any of these people but they won’t leave.” And so it goes. (Har-har.) 

Last summer, my sisters began planning the first ever vacation with just the three of us sans husbands and kids. It was to be an exciting sister adventure — leaving our worries and cares behind and traveling to the Bahamas in February for what my middle sister coined #SistersCruise2019

Parents and teenagers debate many issues but technology and social media usage is one of the hottest, hot buttons I’ve discussed with my parenting friends. The time spent on phones, tablets and computers is overloaded with conflict and many differences of opinions. Social media usage and even how much time parents themselves spend scrolling and posting affect our kids and demonstrate what we value as important. 

 When did we switch from acknowledging our child’s firsts, to focusing on their lasts? At what point did we stop lining their baby book with their first words, first bike ride, first sleepover and move to the last of everything? Last bottle, last night in the crib, last day of elementary school.

Parenting roles aren’t gender specific anymore. Nowadays, it seems that the majority of parents believe that “teamwork makes the dream work.” Responsibilities that once were handled by one parent or the other, now have a blended, all-hands-on-deck approach. 

In our home, we are a community of doers. If a chore needs doing, we just do it instead of waiting for the parent that normally handles the task.

When the kids were around six and eight, we thought they would be old enough to not only enjoy but also remember a Disney Cruise family vacation. 

They remember it, but not for the reasons you’d think. That one magical trip was a defining moment for me as a mother. It is THE vacation I discovered something hidden in their budding personalities. As a parent, you don’t see differences in your children until someone else reveals it.