“Where are you going for spring break next year?” a friend asked me in late October. It wasn’t an odd question. Back when our kids were younger and still at home we often had spring break plans in motion by the fall. Plus when you live in Minnesota, pretty much all you think about from October to April is escaping the cold. “I have absolutely no idea,” I told her. “I don’t even know if we’ll all be together for Christmas in two months.” I made it sound like it was no big deal, like I was fine ... View the Post
About Michelle Newman
15 Dating Lessons The Bachelor Has Taught My Teen Daughters
For many of you, the New Year means a change in eating and exercise habits and a fresh start. For others, it means the excitement of the football playoffs and the impending Super Bowl. But then there are those of you who look forward to it for one reason and one reason alone: January means the return of The Bachelor. The Return of The Bachelor Hey, I’m not judging. For years The Bachelor season (January to July, for those of you wondering) was my favorite season all year, even trumping summer. ... View the Post
Disney’s New Streaming Service, Here’s Why It’s Crazy Popular Already
If I asked you to name a movie your kids were obsessed with when they were little or a movie that was one of your own childhood favorites, chances are high that answers to both would be a Disney title. My older daughter’s first obsession — Disney or otherwise — was the movie Bambi (don’t worry, we only let her watch until spring, and man, came to the forest). Her first word, just like Bambi’s, was “bird.” Her first best friends resided in The Hundred Acre Wood and on Pride Rock. The first ... View the Post
Parenthood Reunion Commemorates 10 Year Anniversary of Show’s Premiere
Good news, Parenthood fanatics! Just when you thought nothing would fill the Braverman-sized hole in your hearts, the team is getting back together — or, at least part of it. It was just announced that this year’s ATX TV Festival (the TV superfan and industry insider Super Bowl that happens every June in Austin, TX) will include a script reading and discussion panel with some of our most beloved family members. (Yeah, I said family. When you’ve gone through as much as we all have with those ... View the Post
For The First Time Since My Daughter Graduated, I Feel Left Out
I come to the four-way stop and see the sign. It’s one I’m familiar with, because it’s a similar sign to the ones I’ve stuck in the ground at this same corner for years. The sign is advertising the high school’s fall musical, a show that both of my now graduated, grown and flown daughters performed in every year and something that completely consumed our lives the first few months of school. I saw the high school fall musical being advertised and feel left out. I sit stopped at the corner ... View the Post
Halloween Care Package Ideas for Your College Kid
I’ve always suffered from HBDD: Holiday Big Deal Disorder. It’s not that I feel the need to make every holiday or birthday or special occasion a bit overblown, it’s that I want to. Let’s put it this way, if themed decorations are involved, so am I. So when my daughter went to college and I was faced with an entire calendar year of holidays she’d miss out on, I knew there was only one solution: I’d have to get the holiday to her. Sending your college kid a quick, surprise care package box ... View the Post