Tag Archives: Erin

Reader’s Guide to Parenting

Short of a personal trainer, an industrial strength leash, a never empty coffee pot, and an ironclad agreement with the relatives to babysit every weekend, you know what would make this whole parenting thing a whole lot easier? A book or better yet a whole library to tell you what was coming and what to do once you got there. Motherhood doesn’t just change your pants size, your shoe size, and your selection at Victoria’s Secret, Motherhood changes EVERYTHING. And then it keeps on changing. ALL. THE. TIME. You will just get your parenting stride at a stage, and your little darling is sprinting on to the next one. So we took some inspiration from classic books and children’s books to mark some milestones of childhood for you. Think of this as the Cliff’s Notes Reader’s Guide to Parenting. Some fanfare, please . . .

1. War and Peace

The First Year

Now Erin has never actually read this book, but we heard that it concerns Russia. The title conjures what it feels like in the trenches of your first year with a new baby. It’s either bliss. . . or bombs raining down on you. Prepare to be delighted, completely decimated, and so deprived of sleep you could put on your husband’s underwear and think it’s your own or fall asleep mid-sentence. Not that either of these things has ever happened to either of us.

Looking for a short, sweet, simple guide to parenting? We found a whole library of books that provide a Cliff's Note primer to childhood that should make this whole motherhood gig a little easier | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

2. What Do People Do All Day?

The Second Year

Hope you like naming aloud everything you own, see, think, hear, feel, smell, flush down the toilet, etc. because that’s what baby likes. Oh, that’s not for me, you say, my kid’s just chillin’. Well, we say that clearly you have never been at the mercy of a newly mobile but vocabulary-limited tot. YET. They jonez for this stuff like miniature meth addicts cut off from their supplier. Buy every oversized, ridiculously detailed book you can find now to assuage the tiny beasts. Richard Scarry knows. He’s the toddler-whisperer.

Looking for a short, sweet, simple guide to parenting? We found a whole library of books that provide a Cliff's Note primer to childhood that should make this whole motherhood gig a little easier | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Oh, and they run. A lot. This is when they start the sprinting.

3. Where the Wild Things Are

The Third and Fourth Year AKA The Terrible/Terrific Twos and Threes

These kids are adorable but nuts with a little extra nutty on top. Every time we think back to when our houses were ruled by these fickle tyrants, there is a little catch in our throats. We do miss our ladies who dressed as princesses or ladybugs every day and our lads bedecked in boots and capes. But it’s a dog-eat-dog world in the Land of Tod and we’ll give you three guesses who’s their favorite meal. Come to think of it, Lord of the Flies works for this stage too.

4. Interrupting Chicken

The Funny Fabulous Fact-Filled Four Year Old

Erin is 100% convinced that she did not have her attention issues until she had to parent a 4 year old—FIVE TIMES! No sentences are finished, no thoughts completed, no work is done. The four year old runs the place like a miniature Napoleon or Attila the Hun and the only consistent thing he or she is serving up is questions. Note: When the 4 year old inevitably asks you where babies come from or why you and Daddy like to wrestle, deflect, defer, and lie your pants off. You have plenty of time to pay for future counseling.

5. Brave New World

Kindergarten

This stage marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one, so all that sniffling and carrying on you’re going to do is totally justified. Your baby belongs to the great big world now. And it’s a beautiful, terrible, amazing, nauseating, wondrous sight to see.

6. The Call of the Wild

Early Elementary School

Seriously, kids at this age are powered by sheer force of will and their wily, wily ways. If we could harness it, we would solve the world’s energy needs. Oh, yeah, and they are full throttle without the benefit of forethought or reason. Invest in Band-Aids and mecurochrome and wine.

7. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde

Late Elementary School

As a pre-cursor to the full-blown hormonal onslaught headed your way, Mother Nature gives you a little tapas of what’s to come. Honestly, a lot of the angst comes from having one foot in the Land of the Little Kid and the other in the Acreage of Adolescence, but that doesn’t mean that this stage isn’t sometimes going to keep you up at night or wrangling with each other during the day.

8. Something Wicked This Way Comes

Middle School

Too dramatic? Maybe, especially when we both actually enjoy our Middle Schoolers and Erin loves teaching this age group. But storms are a-comin’, so you need to be ready to ride them out when they come AND to enjoy the calm seas in between the blow-ups.

9. Catch-22

Early Teen

Your tongue might actually hurt from all the times you will hold it. Happy, successful parenting with teens is all about choosing your battles, so often times you may get caught in senseless, absurd situations. We’ll take those over the scary stuff that also sometimes comes with the teen years, but none of it is easy. And <sniff>, you do sense your time together is shortening.

10. Great Expectations

Late Teen

Your baby’s getting ready to spread his or her wings, so there is great talk about the future and plans and what happens next. It’s all exciting and scary and nothing at all like what you imagined when you started this journey, oh so many moons ago.

And you will wonder how you got here so fast.

And then you’ll remember. Oh, the sprinting.

jump

Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

-Erin and Ellen

Looking for a Cliff’s Notes version of this #motherhood gig? The Reader’s Guide to #Parenting!

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Inspirational Quotes for Graduates That Aren’t Cheesy

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Nothing centers a speech, or even a graduation card sentiment, like a good quote, but enough with the "reach for the stars" and the "follow your dreams." Check out these inspirational quotes for graduates that aren't cheesy. | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

It’s the season for endings, for new beginnings, and for change. It’s the season for both reflecting on the past and embracing the future. It’s the season for . . . graduation speeches galore. Nothing centers a speech—or even a graduation card sentiment—like a good quote, but enough with the “reach for the stars” and the “follow your dreams.”

Follow the road less traveled and skip the Robert Frost quotes. Be the cool aunt who throws down some Game of Thrones or the Valedictorian who kicks off their speech with a little wisdom from the Terminator. We’ve done the research, now all you have to do is deliver the clever.

We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

-J. K. Rowling

"Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." Nothing centers a speech, or even a graduation card sentiment, like a good quote, but enough with the "reach for the stars" and the "follow your dreams." Check out these inspirational quotes for graduates that aren't cheesy. | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.

-Will Rogers

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

-Arthur Ashe

Nobody else is paying as much attention to your failures as you are . . . to everyone else, it’s just a blip on the radar screen, so just move on.

-Jerry Zucker

Frustration, although quite painful at times, is a very positive and essential part of success.

-Bo Bennett

"Opportunity Dances With Those Who Are Already On The Dance Floor." Nothing centers a speech, or even a graduation card sentiment, like a good quote, but enough with the "reach for the stars" and the "follow your dreams." Check out these inspirational quotes for graduates that aren't cheesy. | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.

-Jackson Browne

"Do. Or do not. There is no try." Nothing centers a speech, or even a graduation card sentiment, like a good quote, but enough with the "reach for the stars" and the "follow your dreams." Check out these inspirational quotes for graduates that aren't cheesy. | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Do. Or do not. There is no try.

-Yoda

"The harder you work, the luckier you get." Nothing centers a speech, or even a graduation card sentiment, like a good quote, but enough with the "reach for the stars" and the "follow your dreams." Check out these inspirational quotes for graduates that aren't cheesy. | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

The harder you work, the luckier you get.

-Gary Player

"Once you've accepted your flaws no one can use them against you." Nothing centers a speech, or even a graduation card sentiment, like a good quote, but enough with the "reach for the stars" and the "follow your dreams." Check out these inspirational quotes for graduates that aren't cheesy. | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Once you’ve accepted your flaws no one can use them against you.

-Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones

"Just remember, you can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets." Nothing centers a speech, or even a graduation card sentiment, like a good quote, but enough with the "reach for the stars" and the "follow your dreams." Check out these inspirational quotes for graduates that aren't cheesy. | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

We know we’ve hit a nice even ten, but we couldn’t resist just one more. Graduates or the graduate in your life might not appreciate it, but if you are of certain age, this will make you smile. Consider it our gift to you.

"When I was your age, we didn't have the Internet in our pants. We didn't even have the Internet not in our pants. That's how bad it was." Nothing centers a speech, or even a graduation card sentiment, like a good quote, but enough with the "reach for the stars" and the "follow your dreams." Check out these inspirational quotes for graduates that aren't cheesy. | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

When I was your age, we didn’t have the Internet in our pants. We didn’t even have the Internet not in our pants. That’s how bad it was.

-Dick Costolo

-Ellen and Erin

Skip Robert Frost and check out these inspirational quotes for graduates that aren’t cheesy.

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Want some more reading about graduation?

Ten Things I Want to Say to My Son Before He Graduates

Advice for My Daughter as She Graduates

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Check out our books, “I Just Want to Be Alone” and “You Have Lipstick on Your Teeth.”

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10 Things to Tell Your Kid Before High School

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If you are one of the many filling out high school course loads for next year, we know you have a laundry list of things to tell your kid before high school. But long before you get into the heavy conversations about expectations and goals, light years before the talks about peer pressure and all its attendant things, and eons before the conversations about college, first things first. Freshman year will work a morphing magic like no other on your sweet child. Even while your head knows that you are now looking up at your darling boy, your heart is gonna be slow to catch up. To avoid a nasty Tuesday morning kick in the feels from the Facebook Memory feature next year, it’s best to remember that kids sprint at extra zulu warp speed through this year. If you want to keep up, you have to be prepared.

Moving from middle school to high school can be daunting. Here are 10 things for parents to talk about with tweens and teens as they move up | Parenting Advice | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

First reaction: deep down soul level joy. I mean, come on, this is GOLD. Second reaction: Dude, where did that baby boy go?

With this sprinting in mind, remember that the easy time you have shared up to now is about to shrink into fleeting, flashing moments too. High school busy is a whole new brand of busy and you won’t believe it until you are living it. But thanks to those pesky hormones, the moments you do have will not all be precious either. So as we just crossed two more kids over into high school, we thought we would share some of the things we talk about when we talk about high school. If you are crossing a kid over into high school, this might help you. Moving from middle school to high school can be daunting. Here are 10 things for parents to talk about with tweens and teens as they move up | Parenting Advice | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

1. TV/Movie High School bears little resemblance to the actual halls you will walk for the next four years.

Our kids, and our girls in particular, feel that media has let them down. There are pressures for sure, but they are not so finely drawn or amped up as when Disney depicts them. Are there cliques? Absolutely. Do they look like Mean Girls? We wish it was that obvious to find the rotten apple in the bunch. The truth is that high school relationships look a lot like adult relationships and sometimes they won’t know when their friend will turn on them. On the other hand, high school friends can be some of the most important ones they’ll ever make. Finding the people who will walk with them as they make that transition from kid to adult might be one of the highlights of their high school years. Or not. Best to set realistic expectations before they even walk through the front door.

2. Plan their escape route before they need one.

The time for solving problems is before you actually have them. We both tell our kids to throw us under the bus if necessary. In Erin’s family, they pull the old “my mom would kill me/won’t let me/said no” trick. Kids bow before a mean, crazy mom. The offenders will back off and your kid gets off scot-free. We also advocate pulling a “sick kid” when the need arises. If our kids are at a party that’s headed south, they can text “sick kid” and they will get a pick-up. All conversations about the situation will be delayed until everyone is “feeling better”.

3. Trust is earned.

Love is unconditional, but trust is not. A casual lie about having cleaned your room when it takes all of three seconds and one whiff to verify that this is in fact not even passingly true? Worse than not cool, it erodes trust. Hit hard on the notion that casual lying when the truth would suit them better makes it really hard to believe them when the stakes are higher.

4. High School is a great time to explore and try new things.

Let them know that they can try new and different things or even put on old familiar ones and take it to the next level. High school is about finding new friends, interests, passions, and most importantly, uncovering who they really are. We are all about encouraging them to try on different hats.

Moving from middle school to high school can be daunting. Here are 10 things for parents to talk about with tweens and teens as they move up | Parenting Advice | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

5. Be your best self.

One of the challenges of parenting teens is that they can look lazy, insolent, disengaged, and apathetic. Don’t get sucked into the labeling trap. These are masks for things like fear and anxiety. Remind teens daily of your expectations and be ready with consequences when they are not met.

6. Safety first.

In both of our homes, we talk candidly about what that means in all aspects of their lives. This includes hard talks about dating, sex, alcohol, and everything else. The stakes are so high that they need honest information from us as well as opportunities to ask questions and get answers. We rely heavily on facts and have adopted “all questions welcomed” policies. With our oldest kids in college or headed there, we are not above giving advice whether they ask for it or not. And we definitely send up prayers like this or this in hopes of graceful passage through this phase of life. Sometimes, we even get a little mushy as the big milestones hit, but that’s a mom’s perogative and we’re taking it.

Before the pretty pictures, about 5,000 conversations need to happen first.

7. Encourage the buddy system.

Two Jiminy Crickets are better than one, so encourage kids to travel in twos everywhere. Boy or girl, there is safety in numbers. In a pair of buddies, usually one of them is able to put the brakes on something unsafe or get help or call foul.

8. The life you are supposed to have will not pass you by.

Good or bad, all of these high school experiences are building the uniquely awesome story that belongs uniquely to them. Even if things don’t always turn out the way they hoped, there is value in the experience.

9. Dream Big, but Work Hard

Frame the future realistically. Some things will come easy for them and others won’t. Ellen’s go-to t-shirt motto is “Hard work beats talent when talent hardly works.” Pretty much sums it up. If you are talented, you need to bring your A game. Every Day. If you have struggles, you can beat them with hard work and determination. Now is a great time to start thinking about post high school plans and plotting steps to make that plan happen.

Moving from middle school to high school can be daunting. Here are 10 things for parents to talk about with tweens and teens as they move up | Parenting Advice | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

10. Get Moving

High school life got your kid down? Boyfriend troubles making you all glum? AP anxiety got the whole family tied up in knots? Take this show on the road. Tell your kids right now that putting one foot in front of the other is the first step to getting over whatever obstacle lies before them. We have no idea why putting one foot in front of the other works, but it does. It is also a great way to get the conversation flowing between you. And chances are when you get your kid talking, it won’t just be about high school or classes or stresses but about what really matters: you and your kid. Moving from middle school to high school can be daunting. Here are 10 things for parents to talk about with tweens and teens as they move up | Parenting Advice | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

In all honesty, high school is a juggernaut on fast forward.

Best of luck in this exciting new phase!

-Erin and Ellen

10 Things to Tell Your Kid before They Go to High School #teens #parenting

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13 Mom Jobs We All Can Relate To

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Being a mother means being a Jacqueline of All Trades . . . whether we want to be or not. But we will have none of that gobbledygook about “competent at many, but master of none” because we rock just about everything. We’re moms, it’s what we do . . . buuuuttttttt . . . do we really have to rock them all by ourselves? Clearing the sink of dishes or scooping the litter box is not high level functioning.

And sure we support the hard party line of giving our kids responsibilities, but you know when the chips are down, the laundry is piling up, and the lunches still need to be packed, mom is the last line of defense.

So what’s a mom to do? Take a deep breath, repeat the mantra “it’s lovely to be needed,” and have a laugh at your own expense. Here, we’ll help you with thirteen spot-on-laughing-through-the-tears mom jobs we all can relate to.

Being a mother means being a Jacqueline of All Trades . . . whether we want to be or not. But even if we can't get a little help, we can at least find the humor in these 13 Mom Jobs We All Can Relate To. | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Labor Union President

Homeland Security

Estate Manager

Groundskeeper

Short Order Cook

IT Specialist

Editor-in-Chief

Distribution Specialist

Interior Decorator

Uber Driver

Timekeeper

Supply Manager

Judge and Jury

What would you add?

Moms can do anything, but do we want to? Laughing-through-the-tears mom jobs we all can relate to.

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10 Ways Blogging Makes Us Better Moms

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As the urban legend goes, blogging makes you a bad parent. Time spent scrolling the internet instead of soaking up Sunshine’s every little ray can never be recouped. Um, by that logic any and every job would make you a bad parent. So there’s that . . . but we’re also pushing back with this: blogging actually has the power to make you an even better parent. Just soak that up for a minute.

If there was such a thing as a parenting genie who would grant our wishes with a rub of a magical sippy cup, we would ask for two things: a mystical rear view mirror and a telescope into the future. With the rear view mirror we could relive those fleeting childhood moments of chubby knees and downy heads. With the telescope, we could gaze into that fuzzy future to see how our every parenting decision impacts our children’s growth into adults. But we don’t need magic because we have something better: blogging! Unconvinced? Let us present our case.

As the urban legend goes, blogging makes you a bad parent. We say, "Nay, nay!" Working in this diverse field improves our parenting every day. | 10 Ways Blogging Makes Us Better Moms | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

1. Improves our Time Management

All parents know time is THE hot commodity. Learning how to use those precious minutes wisely is a better gift to the whole family than a subscription to Netflix (although our kids might not immediately agree). Like most mothers, our schedules were jam-packed . . . and then we decided to blog. The idea of shoehorning a new job into our already overflowing schedules seemed crazy. Right?! Dash away visions of abandoned children sacrificed at the Temple of Blogdom because a miracle happened! Budgeting our time for writing and promotion spurred us to mindfully carve out minutes for what matters most, and to put our phones down during those moments.

2. Develops Us into Better Role Models

Good parenting is telling kids what to do. Better parenting is modeling it. We talk a good talk with our kids about taking advantageous risks to put themselves out there, but it wasn’t until we started blogging that we put the proverbial money where our pie holes are. Putting our words, beliefs, and advice out there for the world to see—and critique—takes a fair amount of hitching up our big girl britches. Blogging makes us doers, not just preachers.

3. Expands Our Horizons

Stepping outside our comfort zone was one thing, but launching into different time zones was unexpected gravy. Conferences and summits and advocacy, oh my! Blogging is not about isolation, but opening up the world in a whole new way. We’ve gotten lost on our way to yoga in Chicago, promoted a foundation in Atlanta, spoken about podcasting in Baltimore, and advocated for global vaccines on Capitol Hill.

Acting as Shot@Life Champions

Don’t start lamenting over our precious little ones left behind. They have actually gotten to tag along on some occasions, been sponsored by our employer to go to a leadership conference, and have been published on a sponsor’s website. Not too shabby.

4. Introduces Us to New Things

Social media may conjure up visions of moms staring at their phones while their kids beg “hey Ma, look at me!” from the monkey bars, but we found that blogging and the attendant social media required, blasted open a window into our kids’ worlds. We were beyond savvy before any of our kids even asked for an Instagram account. The social media boot camp gave us some serious parenting stripes.

5. Gives Us Time to Reflect

Never underestimate the power of the pause. The discipline of writing weekly means we are also processing our lives as parents each week: the good, the bad, and the disappointing. Our blog is not about cute kid stories, but focuses on analyzing our experiences on the parenting crazy train. This “pause button” has prompted us to actually reset our practices at times because no job needs chances for a do-overs quite like parenting.

6. Introduces Us to New Friends

Yes, we have friends in our computers. Yes, we’re sure they’re not trolls of the 50-year-old unshaven Limp Bizkit fan variety because we’ve actually met them. Our internet tribe has some of the most intelligent and kind-hearted women you would ever be lucky enough to have in your corner–professionally and personally. Wherever our kids decide to attend college, they will be within thirty minutes of a blogger friend—no, a surrogate mother. You can’t buy that kind of peace of mind.

BlogU Conference | As the urban legend goes, blogging makes you a bad parent. We say, "Nay, nay!" Working in this diverse field improves our parenting every day. | 10 Ways Blogging Makes Us Better Moms | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Some friends at the BlogU NickMom Prom

7. Gives Us New Ways to Talk to Our Kids

Want to talk about sex, drugs, and alcohol with your kid? Of course you don’t. But if you have a writing deadline, suddenly you can broach touchy topics with very little preamble. Our kids are conditioned to respond without flinching to questions like “Hey, I need to write an article about kids and alcohol, come talk to me!” or “Hey, do you know anyone who abuses cough syrup?”

Interviews notwithstanding, our kids retain rights to their stories and hold the right to veto us sharing them. Our writers’ hearts hurt for the tales we can’t tell, but these discussions stress the importance of maintaining healthy boundaries between private and public lives. For a generation cutting their teeth on social media, and for their moms who need to keep up, this is the greatest prize of all.

8. Encourages Us to Model Good Friendships

We were friends before we were business partners, but blogging took our friendship to a new place. That new place was the world of compromise and generosity. While we think the United Nations would appreciate our skills in diplomacy and cooperation, we know our kids are learning from them every day.

9. Gives Our Kids Fodder for Their Own Memoirs

Our blog is not a baby book, but it is peppered with memories that will last as long as their digital footprint (as long as we keep paying our website hosting bill). In the final analysis, we hope our kids see that blogging is another way we share our experiences not just with each other or the internet, but with them.

10. Gives Us Another Dimension

Hear that noise? It’s us roaring. We’re proudly showing our kids what women can achieve. We have become coders, graphic designers, speakers, advocates, and parenting experts. We’re professionals who have learned to negotiate and put a fair price on what we’re worth as we cobble together an income. Blogging has prodded us to lean all the way in.

2014 Baltimore Listen to Your Mother Cast | As the urban legend goes, blogging makes you a bad parent. We say, "Nay, nay!" Working in this diverse field improves our parenting every day. | 10 Ways Blogging Makes Us Better Moms | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

We were so happy to be a part of the 2014 Baltimore Listen to Your Mother Cast

So basically, blogging has made us happier, more skilled, and more greatly fulfilled moms. To flip that annoying saying to the positive: everybody knows if momma’s happy then everybody’s happy.

The evidence is clear. We rest our case.

Ellen and Erin

Blogging makes us better moms! A case against the bashing of bloggers as inattentive parents.

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How to Be a Champion in 3 Easy Steps

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We know that we are pretty lucky ladies—we have sometimes cooperative hair, mostly helpful guys and often times even appreciative kids. With friends who still take our phone calls and houses that are reasonably clean, we are calling it all good on our end. The fact that we get to blog together on the regular is just icing on an already sweet cake. In this vein, because we are so blessed and we tell our kids to be generous with their time and talents and they are old enough to call us out and make us prove it, we were ever so fortunate that we found the opportunity to become Shot@Life Champions. Besides just finding a cause that jives nicely with our roles as mothers, educator (Erin), and doctor (Ellen), we found a tribe of kind-hearted, like-minded, dedicated volunteers too. We could not be happier that we get to call ourselves Champions now. Lucky, for you, here’s how to be a champion in 3 easy steps. Looking to do some social good with your social media? Need to make a difference? Want to advocate for others? Parent for greater good? How to be a Champion in 3 easy steps | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Step 1: Read this blog about our great experience at the Shot@Life Summit.

If you are going to champion a cause, it’s probably best to know something about it other than Ellen and Erin told me to. You can skip right to Step 2 if you are just looking for the facts. They are laid out there all nice and neat just for you. You can even get more facts here.

This step is about all the intangible gifts we were given through this experience. The Summit is an opportunity for all of those advocating for Shot@Life to come together in Washington, DC. Not just because we traveled to the the historic Capitol Hill and not just because we met with our representatives there, we were wowed by the Summit. While we loved this unique opportunity to be advocates on many levels, we think it was those gifts that were completely unexpected that really made the difference for us.

Things like time with your BFF in a fun city for a beautiful couple of days . . .

Looking to do some social good with your social media? Need to make a difference? Want to advocate for others? Parent for greater good? How to be a Champion in 3 easy steps | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

But we did tell you to. Because The Summit is an inspiring way to get involved with a cause that changes lives around the globe.

Like being inspired by young people who are making a difference in the lives of others when they have barely begin adulting. As parents of young adults and older teens, they reassured us that there is hope for the future of the world and our “almost adulting” kids.

Andrew was part of our group and worked at the Food and Drug Administration. He impressed us with his poise, charisma, and passion for the cause. He is a millennial making a difference.

Things like connecting with interesting and interested people and working together for a common cause . . .

We were so impressed with how far people traveled and what they put on hold to be part of the summit, like this lovely young woman who took a break from her college classes to advocate.

Things like meeting the decision-makers, our congressmen and women, and getting to share our passion for keeping kids everywhere healthy and giving them a great shot at life . . . Looking to do some social good with your social media? Need to make a difference? Want to advocate for others? Parent for greater good? How to be a Champion in 3 easy steps | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms Like getting inspired by who is working with us and how far we have come in ending vaccine preventable deaths worldwide . . .

In the past 20 years, immunization has prevented 20 million deaths globally. We are stronger together.

Like getting to say to our kids that we practice what we preach. In the end, we work for the benefit of other kids because of how much we love ours. The idea that a mom could be denied the privilege of watching her child grow up is one that just doesn’t sit right with us. Looking to do some social good with your social media? Need to make a difference? Want to advocate for others? Parent for greater good? How to be a Champion in 3 easy steps | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Step 2: Get the Facts.

Here’s your first dose of Shot@Life. Just make sure that you follow up to get everything you need to be a true Champion.

Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a vaccine preventable disease. That’s 1.5 million children worldwide, a number that accounts for nearly a fourth of all childhood deaths. That’s a whole lot of Moms without their kids.
Luckily, vaccines are one of the safest, most cost-effective ways to save these kids. The Shot@Life campaign, part of the United Nations, educates, connects, and empowers Americans to champion the global vaccines.
As Sensible Moms, this organization makes as much sense for our purse strings as our heartstrings. For less than $2, a child can be vaccinated against measles and rubella.
For every $1 invested in immunizations, there are $16 in savings in healthcare costs, lost wages, and productivity due to illness.
30 years ago, polio paralyzed 1,000 kids a day. Now the world is nearly polio-free.
Funding for global vaccine programs is less than 1% of the total US budget.

Step 3: Get involved.

While we know that Facebook status updates don’t change the world and tweets don’t move mountains, they can get things moving in the right direction.

Supporting global vaccines is part of our national character. We cannot turn our backs when kids are dying from preventable diseases.

How to use your social media for social good:

You can tweet to your Member of Congress asking them or thanking them for supporting Shot@Life.
You can participate and encourage your friends to participate in Walgreen’s Get A Shot, Give a Shot campaign.
You can share the Shot@Life video on your Facebook page.

You can even channel your inner Erin and Ellen and write a blog post.
You can tweet and retweet any actions that promote Shot@Life with the hashtage #vaccineswork

Sample tweet 1: For World Immunization Week, @UNICEFHaiti’s Cornelia Walther explains her dreams for children in Haiti http://bit.ly/1Vop0j4 #VaccinesWork Sample tweet 2: Why “receiving immunizations is a special affair” in Haiti→http://bit.ly/1Sxvkkt #VaccinesWork

You can even Instagram your support on a college visit. Just saying . . .

Looking to do some social good with your social media? Need to make a difference? Want to advocate for others? Parent for greater good? How to be a Champion in 3 easy steps | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms But social media is not all we can do. If we want to be the spark that ignites the piston and puts the engine of change in motion, we can do a little more. How to do a little more:

Pick up the pen or open a draft in our email. Check out these resources to find your local Congressman or woman then actually send the email or buy the stamp for that letter.
Write that piece for your local paper.
Share the good news with your friends in your home or community.
Get a friend to be a Champion too.

The great news for you if you want to be a Champion is that Shot@Life has lots of resources to help you in your advocacy. From templates for those letters and emails to how to talk to your representatives to videos to share within your community, if you need it to tell the story of Shot@Life, they have it!

So . . .

Looking to do some social good with your social media?

Need to make a difference?

Want to advocate for others?

Parent for greater good?

We love being Champions and know that it is something we all can do!

Easy as 1, 2, 3!

Picture yourself here.

-Erin and Ellen

Have more questions? You can email Shot@life directly.

Become a Champion in 3 Easy Steps. Be part of the solution @ShotatLife #vaccineswork

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Parenting Checklist for Prom

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If you’ve walked through a mall recently, you can sense that something big is just around the corner. Do you see those dress racks in disarray? The shoe department in shambles? The make-up counter mobbed? Prom is a-coming. Prepping for prom? Here's a parenting checklist to help you keep your teen safe, happy, and ready for fun | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms As parents, we need to be ready for the big moment, but it’s more than charging the camera battery, clearing the SD card, and posting for posterity on Facebook. Prom is for the kids, but parents play a big part in what’s truly important in the three ring circus that surrounds this high school milestone. Be the sane and happy ringmaster you need to be with our handy parenting checklist.

1. Budget

Your goal: Get your kid to understand that this is not the pinnacle of his or her life no matter what Sixteen Candles may lead them to believe.

Prepping for prom? Here's a parenting checklist to help you keep your teen safe, happy, and ready for fun | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Boys pretty much just need to decide on the color of the tie and cumberbund and they are good to go.

To this end, set firm limits on what you think is reasonable and appropriate to pay for prom and all its many trappings. Also, ask your child to think in advance about who is paying for what. Just to get the old budget pencil moving in an accurate and realistic direction, make sure you factor in the cost of the following:

Dress or Tux
Shoes
Hair
Make-Up
Tickets
Flowers
Before prom activities
After prom activities
Transportation

Flowers are still a thing. Make sure you order them early in the week and decide who will pick them up. You want this smile at your house. You NEED this smile!

Once you decide what is reasonable, stick to it. No sweet puppy dog eyes to get a little more dough. College is on the horizon. Time to start thinking like a poor college kid.

2. Arrangements

Your goal: Nailing the jello that is a high schooler’s plans to the wall. Get your kiddo to come up with a plan about what is happening when and where–then try, try, TRY! to get them to stick to it. Scratch that: Your realistic goal is to just ride the wave. Prepping for prom? Here's a parenting checklist to help you keep your teen safe, happy, and ready for fun | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms This should come as no surprise to you if you are parenting a teen, but kids like to do things as a pack. This includes getting ready and taking pictures together before prom. What you may not know, if you have not gone through this before, is that these activities sometimes take place in more than one location so your pack becomes a migrating herd.

For your sanity, start asking questions about these pesky little details as soon as your child has Instagrammed that promposal, but sketch up that schedule/Venn diagram/flow chart in pencil with a big ol’ eraser at the ready. Moods, friendships, and dates can shift like the wind. Know full well that you may not have an actual plan on something as simple as where you’re going to take pictures until the day or even hour before.

3. Transportation

Your goal: To not spend the evening yoked to your cellphone tracking your child’s every movement or replaying every after school special you ever saw about prom night.

Thanks for driving, man! I really appreciate it!

Determine long before anyone is buckled in who will be driving, whose car they will be taking, or if they will be renting transportation for the night. Before you scoff at the idea of a limo, remember that while prom should not break the bank, it would be super nice for your own peace of mind to not have anyone driving.

4. Expectations

Your goal: Check yourself. Check your kid.

Not every kid thinks prom is the bomb and that’s ok.

Time to take the emotional temperature of your teen. Not every kid thinks this will be the most amazing night of their life, and even those who do may be sorely disappointed. Find out where your kid is on the scale from overly excited to completely not interested, but make sure your own “prom from hell” stories or regrets are firmly tucked away. The reality of prom today is very different from the made-for-TV versions or the one you had oh-so-many-moons ago. Kids today are more casual about whether or not they bring a date, and there aren’t the same social repercussions for skipping it all together. Don’t let your own history color the story happening in your house right now. The best we can do as parents is to adjust the expectations so they aren’t just realistic, but in line with our own child’s wishes.

5. Modesty

Your goal: To be honest about how you feel about hemlines, necklines, and any other lines.

Prepping for prom? Here's a parenting checklist to help you keep your teen safe, happy, and ready for fun | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

All families make these decisions for themselves, but whether you have a boy or a girl, a conversation about how to respectfully conduct themselves is part of parenting kids to be thoughtful, considerate dates or attendees. We love these Prom Commandments , so let your kids take a gander at these before the big night. This is also a great time to talk to your children about not increasing their risk for skin cancer. Tanning beds are never a good idea.

6. Family

Your goal: To make your child’s special memory a family one.
Prepping for prom? Here's a parenting checklist to help you keep your teen safe, happy, and ready for fun | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

This is a moment in your child’s life. Whether you have a sprawling brood or a travel-sized one, remember to include the siblings in the memory-making, if only to get precious photo gems like these. It’ll be fun to compare them when your youngest get to go to their own proms.

7. Post Prom

Your goal: Be one of the options.

Prepping for prom? Here's a parenting checklist to help you keep your teen safe, happy, and ready for fun | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Some schools have formal post-prom events, but they pale in comparison to the volume and allure of all the other post prom options. If you are so inclined, sing it far and wide that your humble abode is wide open as post-prom central. If you are not up for it, touch base with the angels who are taking that hit for the night. This is definitely an instance where checking in with the other parents is a must.

7. Drinking

Your goal: Be honest. Be thorough. Be heard.

Prepping for prom? Here's a parenting checklist to help you keep your teen safe, happy, and ready for fun | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Now is not the time to shy away from truthful conversations about alcohol. Lay it all out on the table about what you expect, what they might encounter, what the stakes are, and what the consequences could be. Thoroughly discuss legalities, dangers, and how alcohol can lower inhibitions. Seniors need to know that plans for the future like college acceptances and scholarships can all be dashed with a suspension or expulsion.

But you don’t stop there. Craft a strategy for the night with your kid so you can help them out if they get in over their heads. Be their scapegoat and their safe ride with few questions asked.

We have tips for how to get the conversation rolling, but if you take nothing else away, heed this: don’t wait until prom night to start this conversation. The earlier you start talking, the better for you all.

8. Sex

Your goal: Be honest. Be thorough. Be heard.

Prepping for prom? Here's a parenting checklist to help you keep your teen safe, happy, and ready for fun | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Pretty much everything in the drinking section above and then some. But once again, it’s not ideal to start hemming and hawing your way through the birds and the bees on the night of prom. Start this conversation early and if you need some tips to get started, we have them here.

So there you have it . . .

Prom may be just one moment in the life of a high schooler, but there’s a carload of emotional baggage tied into this one lil’ old night. Let this guide provide some reassurance that you have done all you can on your end to make the night safe, happy, and memorable for your teen.

Our parental checklist for #prom will ensure your teen has everything they need for a safe night!

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This is a sponsored post for Ask, Listen, Learn for Alcohol Awareness Month.

They have tons of great resources for taking to your kids!

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There’s More to High School Sports Than Scholarships

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5 Reasons Why There's More to High School Sports Than Scholarships. Sure sports can be about the big college pay-off, but there's much more to universally value about high school sports than just scholarships. | Parenting Advice | Teens | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Both of our high school freshman did something so crazy, so borderline nutty, so outrageous in today’s youth sports culture that we feel like revolutionaries admitting it: they tried out AS NEWBIES for high school teams!

That’s right. With no resume filled with travel teams, regional championships, or even skills beyond rudimentary, Ellen’s daughter tried out for field hockey and Erin’s son tried out for lacrosse. What’s more, they MADE their respective teams. Say what?!

Now we harbor no dreams of Tokyo 2016 for these two, but we’ve both found the experience of being new to a game more beneficial for our kids—and us—than we could have imagined. In fact, we dare say their experiences actually highlight what sports is at its best and most profound. You know we’re both big fans of sports and what they can do for kids. Now, we’re also big fans of stepping out on that ledge and trying brand new ones because there’s much more to them than superstars and scholarships. Here are five great reasons to let your kids try something new.

1. Taking Measured Risks is Good for Kids

Teens love that rush of adrenaline, breaking the mold, and trying out new identities. Learning a new sport provides this without detrimental consequences.

Erin: My son decided two weeks before Christmas that he was going to try out for lacrosse. He took a quick 6 week crash course in lacrosse at the local rec center before try-outs. I think he appreciates lacrosse as much for its newness to him as for the game itself. I appreciate that it gives my hard-playing son a proper outlet for his energy. It doesn’t just keep him off the street, it keeps him off his brothers’ backs, and for that we are all grateful.

Ellen: I have always loved sports because it’s a place to learn the difference between failure and taking the chance to succeed. The most successful athletes often “fail” the most. Michael Jordan revealed, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” I saw my own daughter growing out of her need for perfection—one of the biggest success killers out there—when she jumped into field hockey.

2. New Friends

For our kids and for us. Stepping out of the comfort zone of friends they have been hanging out with for years is great. We get some fringe benefits too: a fresh crop of sideline sitters. Sure, their earnest talk of the best sports camps, trainers, travel teams, and coaches might needle us, but we can just move our seat at the next game.

Erin: My son was convinced before he went to his new high school that he would play tennis, a game he enjoys and actually plays. But he also plays in the band and, in our school, there is a huge overlap between kids in band and tennis. A factor in his decision to try lacrosse wasn’t just the newness of the game, but the fresh faces he would meet there. If high school is largely about trying on the different hats to see which will fit, this is not such a bad strategy, especially at a new school.

Ellen: Girls have cliques. My daughter has been in the same school system for her entire education. Trying a new sport put her with some new girls, and let her see some old faces in a new light. It was a great way to add some freshness to her freshman year.

3. Sports, at its heart, is supposed to be about challenging yourself mentally and physically.

Nothing pushes both of these limits like learning a new sport. The truth is, in our small pond here, we’re not overrun with college scouts. This means the competition level is such that kids have opportunities to try on a new jersey if they want. They can actually reshape their idea of who they are as athletes and people as they give their peers and family a new lens to view them with.

Erin: Lacrosse is hard. My son’s soccer skill set doesn’t really help a whole lot, so there is quite the learning curve. My son is literally falling and failing a little every single day. However, he is also getting better every day. He’s seeing the benefits of following directions. He’s learning from teammates and asking questions about the sport in ways that he just doesn’t have to about soccer with his decade of experience.

Ellen: When, my daughter decided in July to try out for field hockey in August, we went out and got her a stick . . . that she swung like a golf club. I suggested she might want to check out a YouTube video or twenty. And she did. She also spent hours in the backyard putting those YouTube pearls into practice. She knew the game so well by the fall that she became JV co-captain.

4. If you are at the fundamental stage of learning, then you can still have fun.

Sometimes high school sports can be so focused on the “what comes next” stage of things that they lose the joy of the game itself. This is just not true if you are a true beginner. Everything is still shiny and new as you are falling in love with a game.

Erin: My son said, “It’s just like when I was a little kid and someone kicked me a soccer ball. I don’t know exactly what to do with this stick and ball yet, but figuring it out is just fun.”

Ellen: There’s a lot of space for fun when you don’t have the weight of being the veteran leader resting on your shoulders. It allows every pass, dribble, and blocked shot to feel like a victory.

5. New coaches means new potential mentors

Teens benefit greatly from adults who challenge, correct, and compliment them. Sure, parents are great cheerleaders, but we want to fill our kids’ lives with as many fans as we can find. It is so good for the fragile teen ego to hear from a fresh new voice that they “like what they see.”

Erin: My son loves to talk about lacrosse, but his favorite story so far centers around when they were discussing positions to play. The coach asked all the boys where they liked to play. Having barely played, and with no real experience anywhere, my son said, “Wherever you need me to, Coach.” Well, his coach LOVED that, and they started to develop a solid coach and player rapport after that.

Ellen: We’ve had some less than stellar experiences with coaches through the years. I try to take the bad with a grain of salt and craft positive lessons out of them. Sometimes I even succeed. I didn’t know much about the field hockey coaches at the high school, but boy was I pleasantly surprised. My daughter landed in one of the most supportive and positive sports environments in the school. Hooray for good role models! It makes my job that much easier.

There you have it, our reasons why scholarships shouldn’t be parents’ only focus for high school sports. It is fantastic to be that one in 7.4 million superstar to compete in NCAA athletics beyond high school, we’re just gratified there’s so much benefit for mere mortals, too.

-Erin and Ellen

5 great reasons there’s more to value about high school sports than just scholarships.

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Need even more convincing? Read 5 Reasons Youth Sports Are Worth the Time, Sweat and Price Tag.

New sport, no friends to depend on? Read How to Create a Carpool.

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We Got Your Graduation and Father’s Day Gifts Right Here!

Erin’s Story

I have been throwing old jerseys, team shirts, school club shirts, and every other shirt my kids outgrew but still loved with the red hot fire of childhood into storage bins for years. I was saving them for something, I swear. But I lack the crafting gene so I wasn’t quite sure what that something was . . . until Project Repat. A miracle that could clear out my basement, display my memories, show my high school graduate I love him, and give me an end product my void-of-Pinterest-soul could never pull off in a million years? Yes, please!

When my son, who is a freshman in college, went two hundred miles away to school, he barely took any pictures and he had no posters on his wall until one of his friends bought him one for Christmas. He’s not one to be overly sentimental about the things and people he left behind, but when he was home for spring break, his quilt arrived.

His reaction was better than I dreamed . . .

Looking for great Graduation and Father's Day Gifts? How about your memories wrapped up with a side of memorable and cuddly?| Project Repat T-Shirt Quilts for Grads and Dads | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

I mean, really, much, much better than I would have thought . . .

I loved it, because some of those shirts were from when he was just a little guy.

He LOVED it, especially because we were able to include super meaningful shirts like one of his travel soccer jerseys. . .

and his staff shirt from his first job. (Notice you can add polo type shirts!)

He had no trouble telling me how much he liked it.

In fact, he liked it so much, he even packed it up and took it with him. High praise indeed from someone with only one poster on his wall and an itty bitty suitcase.

Meanwhile in Ellen’s household . . .

When we signed on to work with Project Repat, my first thoughts were, “I have a daughter graduating from high school this year! A t-shirt quilt would be the perfect gift!”

What my second thought should have been was “I need to go through t-shirts during the one million hours she is gone from the house during the week.” What I actually did was start sorting through them during the only two hours she was home all weekend. By the way, people ask me to do A LOT of things, but throwing surprise parties is not one of them.

Daughter: “Whatcha doing going through my old (looks into box), really old clothes?”

Ellen: “Looking through your t-shirts to make a memory quilt out of them.” (If only I was in a profession that gave me the skill set to create stories to divert her attention.)

Daughter: “What?”

Ellen: “A t-shirt quilt. You go on Project Repat, pick out the size, pick out the color of Polartec backing you want, prep your t-shirts, mail them in, then get back a beautiful t-shirt quilt to literally wrap yourself up in your memories!”

Daughter: “Sounds cool, but I don’t get the name.”

Ellen: “‘Project Repat’ comes from all the textile jobs they have repatriated back to the United States. Another fun fact, the PolarTec ﬂeece is made out of recycled plastic bottles. In fact, each yard recycles twenty-three plastic bottles that would otherwise end up in landﬁlls. And, AND they use zero water in their production process. Even with all these responsible business practices, Project Repat offers the best price on the planet for this kind of product.”

Daughter: “You filming a commercial?”

Ellen: “I’m just excited about it. Here, look at their Instagram, #projectrepat.”

Follow Project Repat on Instagram! Looking for great Graduation and Father's Day Gifts? How about your memories wrapped up with a side of memorable and cuddly?| Project Repat T-Shirt Quilts for Grads and Dads | Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Daughter: “We have got to make one of those for Dad!”

Ellen: “But I was making it for you! You’re graduating! I already watched this video (ten times) and got inspired (sobbed)!”

Daughter: “But it would be so awesome for Father’s Day! Dad has all of those old fraternity and concert shirts. He would love it. He is soooo hard to buy for. You can make one for me once I’m gone so it can be a surprise.”

Me: (Sniffle, sobby, sob) Whatever, look away!

I have to admit, the girl was right. This is going to be the most awesome Father’s Day gift. Look how delighted they are with it. These blankets are just as much a gift to the giver as the recipient.

And talk about cuddle value. It feels good knowing so many water bottles were kept out of landfills, but the PolarTec just plain feels good, no, GREAT!

We are beside ourselves with how wonderful our blankets turned out. So are you ready to upcycle your old memories into a memorable new gift? Because we have a gift for you!

Sign up here to receive an email from Project Repat with a 30% off coupon code.

One person who signs up will also be randomly chosen to receive a $75 voucher, which can be redeemed with Project Repat to purchase a 16-panel lap blanket at no charge!!

(Project Repat will contact you directly if you are chosen as the winner.)

Click here to get started! Once there, click on “Buy Now” to begin the selection process. Want to see how they do it first? Watch this behind-the-scenes video about the upcycling. Oh and while we still have your attention, Mother’s Day is also a gift giving occasion in May. Just putting it out there. (Wink.)