It has been three LONG years since the Crawley family left our homes and we are counting the days until they return. Yep, back they'll be in a movie next year and they are teasing us with clips to get us ready. Downton Abbey took great pains with everything from elocution to costume to set design to transport us back to the years 1912-1926. It was gorgeous escapism at its very best. Here is what we know: Most of the cast we loved so much are back, including our very favorite, Maggie Smith ... View the Post
Downton Abbey: Counting the Days
Who is to Blame When Kids Lie On Their College Applications
When a college-bound teen fabricates a story about his mother dying for his personal statement, it’s time for us as a society to figure out what drives kids to tell these types of falsehoods. That’s exactly what happened according to an article in The New York Times entitled ‘They’re Not Fact-Checking’: How Lies on College Applications Can Slip Through the Net. A student who was accepted at the University of Pennsylvania wrote his essay about his mother’s untimely death. When someone from the ... View the Post
Did You Know That Motherhood is Cool Again?
It seems to me that motherhood is cool again. Mommyhood’s day has arrived, and it is cool as long as you have the right accessories. There are blogs and vlogs and articles and whole books about mom-ing (not to be confused with motherhood, which is not the same thing). Cool moms are in the movies, cool moms are writing blogs, cool moms are starting their own companies that sell cool mom stuff. Celebrities, being humans, keep reproducing, and we see and hear about their offspring when they are ... View the Post
My Youngest Still Needs to Have the Same Rules My Older Kids Did
It's funny how our kids never remember to take out the trash, or how to put wet clothes in the dryer if they want them dry, but if they have a younger sibling, they remember the exact time they had to go to bed when they were 9, what time their curfew was when they were 15, and how many days old they were when they got their phone so they can remind you the younger sibling has it way easier than they ever did. I've had three kids and with each one I can feel myself relaxing a bit more, ... View the Post
I Was Rejected From My Dream School, Now I’m Here
One year ago today, I received the most heartbreaking letter a high school senior could read. Reading that letter brought me a mix of emotions: shock, anger, stress, and overwhelming sadness, but the emotion I didn’t expect to feel hit me the hardest-relief. For me, waiting for a decision letter was harder than writing an application. I knew which college I wanted to attend when I was a junior, so writing my application was fun and validated my love for the school. Over the past year, ... View the Post
The Case For Staying Home On New Year’s Eve
New Year's Eve is upon us and as I walk around the stores buying things for my kiddos, the fancy heels and dresses always catch my eye. I think about how it might be fun to pick something shiny and new out and spend an evening in the city at a fancy dinner or club and ring in the New Year with friends and good food and wine. Then I remember I've done that before, I've done it as a young girl with my teenage friends, I've done it as a college student, I've done it as a grown woman. It's ... View the Post