One college student home, the other not. A teen plus fridge plus car keys equals what? He sleeps ’til two then eats, then since it’s hot, He’s schmoozing, cruising, sitting on his butt… However I have told him it’s okay, He’s weathered countless pressures many months. I know he needs the sleep he stores away; […]
Small House Record (Seventeen!)
Seventeen. The magic number, apparently. One backyard, one clear night, 1100 square feet, and seventeen kids. No, this is not a commercial announcement for a crazy new reality TV show, though maybe it ought to be. No, this time I didn’t “just say no”. I said yes – to… count ’em… seventeen sleeping in my […]
Parenting Teens: Tips from a Professional Post Party Parent
Are you parenting partying teens? Care to hear my ten tips for surviving party chaos? For surviving normal chaos? The planned, the unplanned, the assumed stuff of parenting pandemonium? Yes, it’s Sunday morning. (Insert *sigh* of relief.) Yes, for the moment it’s quiet. (Sigh number two.) No teenagers as yet stirring in the kitchen, after […]
Why Teenagers Should Have Parties… In Spite of Their Parents
Scared to death to let your teenagers have a party? Don’t be. Really. You could say it’s old hat around here (and I don’t mean my gorgeous $2 estate sale hat), but the thought of any teenage gathering is enough to set the parental teeth on edge, the slivers of gray to pop out overnight, […]
Teen Party Planner, the Mad Hatter, Down the Rabbit Hole
Teen party planner “Can I have a few people over?” Excuse me? “Saturday night. Can I have a few people over? We’ll sit outside, in the back.” This was unusual. Four sentences. I realize he can talk, and with animation, but generally only when there’s a girl around, or the girl, the OMG hot blonde […]
Outnumbered! (Teenage parties)
Twenty rambunctious teens. One of you. Now what? Did you promise your teenager a party? Did you get through in one piece? Last year I promised my son he could have a major bash. He’d been doing great in school, had just returned from an overseas academic program, and he wanted to party. All night, […]