Snowy or Rainy Day Activities for Tweens and Teens

Picture this. It’s a blustery, rainy day with nothing to do, or a snowy winter one where the kids are home from school (and you’re home, too!). You’re trying to think of some interesting snowy or rainy day activities geared to your tween or teen so that you can spend an enjoyable day together. Meanwhile, your tween or teen may be thrilled because to them it means a day of lazily hanging out on the couch, mindlessly watching tv or a movie while munching chips, or the opportunity to spend the day online or texting with friends incessantly. If you have other plans for them and would like to take advantage of this togetherness to spend some quality time with your tween or teen, then you need to come up with some interesting snowy or rainy day activities that they think will be fun and that won’t make them want to roll their eyes at you. Although they may love the opportunity to “plug-in” on a lazy day like this, you can connect with them if you offer up some fun activities that will engage your tween or teen and will get them to want to hang out with you instead. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll even get in a decent conversation or two in the process! [Read more]

How to Be a Travel Sports Mom - A Crash Course

So after many years on the sidelines, watching my kids play baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis and softball, I have now turned into the one thing I dreaded most…a travel sports mom.  I managed to make it through 14 years as a mom without acquiring that title, but lo and behold, I couldn’t evade it anymore.

My very determined and driven 11 year old daughter has developed a love of softball.  Give her a few minutes and she’ll run to put her mitt on and throw a few balls with you.  It’s definitely become the thing she most wants to do.  So we let her try out for our local travel softball team and she made the cut.  We’re thrilled for her because that little round ball has become her passion, but now my husband and I must learn to adapt to our lives as ‘travel team parents’. 

Already we see it is a new way of life.  Softball has just by default become THE most important thing on our calendar.  As we learn the ropes of this new role we must play, we have begun to ask other parents that have found themselves in this situation before a few questions about what we can expect over the next year as travel team parents.  This is some of the advice we have received.  We don’t know if this makes us excited or terrified of what lies ahead, but above all else, we just want our daughter to be happy. [Read more]