As a mom of two third grade daughters, I am increasingly grateful for the time I'm able to devote to supervising my kids’ homework. It seems that as my children get older, the time needed from me to be around for my daughters to answer any questions they may have, to track homework due dates and to keep them on track for longer projects, grows. I’ve been able to check my kids’ homework as they complete it and sign off on it nightly. There has even been assignments for me, such as writing down my hopes and dreams for my child for the school year on paper cut-outs of scoops of ice cream and …

In the next week or so, I plan to paint the study nook that I have planned for my daughters. I have successfully dismantled the gigantic, heavy desk that once sat in the space, and just last week, I went to a local paint store (that was having a sale on paints) and bought a can of paint in the light shade of green that my kids picked out. I plan to get two inexpensive desks from Walmart  (in my daughters’  favorite colors, pink and blue) and put up a brightly colored wall decal (on the wall behind the desk) that my daughters picked out. But this time when I paint, I plan to do it right. Back …

Last weekend, my daughters’ soccer team played two games and lost both. When the second of the weekend’s games concluded, one of my daughters said, “I knew we were going to lose.”  That’s most likely because the team has lost all three games of their games this season. But that’s not for lack of skill or effort. My daughters’ coaches have the philosophy that all kids on the team should play, learn the basics of soccer and have fun.   That philosophy means the coaches, like many in the league, don’t just play the top few players most of the time and bench the others. The coaches don’t stick …

The other day, I flicked on the upstairs hall light in my home, only to have the light bulb immediately burn out in a flash of light. I was confused, since I had only changed out the light bulb a few days before. On further inspection, I discovered that I had inserted a 75-watt light bulb in a maximum 40-watt, builder-grade fixture. Apparently, I didn’t see the caution sticker in the cheap fixture, which looks much like one that sells for less than $6 at Home Depot. The risk of putting a bulb of too high wattage in a fixture is that it could cause an electrical fire, and could also damage the…

When my husband and I bought our house years ago, all that stood on our block were trees filled with birds. I liked the quiet and thought it would be a wonderful place to live. Once our house and our neighbors’ homes were built, many of those trees were gone, and I saw how close our house is to the schoolyard behind us, offering little privacy. That schoolyard became even closer to our house when a new classroom wing was added to the school behind our house. Children play in that schoolyard both during the day and in the evening after school, so there is often a lot of kid traffic behind our …

If you were to take a look at my home’s front garden bed, you will find a weedy mess. That’s because in amongst the roses that I love are a variety of weeds that are growing happily, thanks to the frequent watering that I give my rose bushes. Now I have quite a job before me, as I need to dig out a lot of very well-established weeds. Next year I plan to make my life easier. After consulting some gardening books, I have decided to take these actions to minimalize the work I will have to do next year to keep my flowers looking pretty: Apply mulch just after my tulips stop blooming in the spring…

This weekend, I watched 9/11 anniversary coverage on television. I saw taped visual footage of how New York City’s firemen and other first responders rushed into the Twin Towers after the terrorist attacks the day of September 11, 2001, and listened to how many of them lost their lives in attempt to get as many people as possible out of the towers that were about to collapse. Out of the evil and hatred of that day shown the bravery and goodwill of those responders, showing how some people, in the face of danger or tragedy, rise above our everyday life to complete amazing acts of courage and …

On my kids’ second day of school, I headed to the local Barnes and Noble store to pick up test-prep workbooks for my daughters for the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK) tests. As third graders, they will take them for the first time in the spring. I purchased two books for each of them: one that covers mathematics, and another that covers language arts. I plan to have my girls complete a page a night in both textbooks. Their usual homework from school normally only takes about 10 to 15 minutes, with an additional 20 minutes of reading time, so I figured the workbooks won’…

As the school year begins, I am wondering as I have in years past about whether I should insist on making more of my daughters’ school lunches. I let them purchase their lunch most days at school, but am disheartened to see that what they wind up eating is mostly unhealthy things such as chicken nuggets, hamburgers and macaroni and cheese. Of course, my daughters love buying lunch. I guess they are still at an age where that kind of food is very appetizing and fun to eat. If I start insisting that they bring in a lunch more often, I would have to make their lunches more appealing to them – …

After the East Windsor Superfresh closed, I was a little lost. I was used to going to the grocery store and knowing where to find things.  Not knowing where things are in the East Windsor ShopRite and having to deal with the crowds that are usually in that store made shopping not fun. But things are better now because I just happened to notice at ShopRite's courtesy counter, there are listings available for shoppers of what grocery items can be found in which aisle. Now I can shop in an fairly orderly fashion in the store (unless I have to deal with too many people blocking the aisles with …

There’s no motivation like an approaching hurricane. My husband and I haven’t been able to park our minivan in the garage for years. For months, I intended to empty out the garage to create some storage and parking space, but never seemed to have the time. Friday, I somehow found the time. With foreboding forecasts about Hurricane Irene, I desperately wanted to park the van in the garage. So, I put in some backbreaking labor, and about two hours later, our van was in the garage. I got the van in by transferring our lawn mower, snowblower and other outdoor equipment and lawn supplies (…

With Hurricane Irene on its way with fierce winds and rain (the storm is expected to hit our area Sunday), I am planning to stock my house and pantry with essentials, should we be stranded at home over the weekend, or should our home lose power. Along with batteries and bottled water, I intend to load up my fridge and shelves with necessities to get us through the weekend. I’ve planned a few meals centered around low-cost or non-refrigerated items, should our fridge lose power. (So, I won’t be stocking our fridge with expensive cuts of meat for the weekend.) For the menu, I’ve planned meals …

These days, many area parents and elementary school kids are anxiously checking their mailboxes daily, looking for notices from the local school district. These notices will let them know what teachers kids will be assigned to for the upcoming school year. One of my daughters, who is particularly studious, is hoping to get a third grade teacher who is known to be good but tough on her students — my daughter is hoping to have a teacher who will push her to learn more. Meanwhile, my other daughter, who likes school, but can be on the shy side, is hoping to get a teacher who is nice, nurturing …

Now that the summer is nearly over, I am compiling a list of chores to do around the house when the kids go back to school. I am hoping to arrange my work schedule so I will have a few hours here and there during the day to get much needed projects done around the house. A major project I would like to get done is to stain or paint the pressure-treated wooden floor of the brand-new shed that my husband and I had installed in our yard last summer.  (We waited a few months before staining or painting the floor on the advice of our handyman, but then our busy schedules got in the way of getting …

While some moms may be anxiously counting down the days until the first day of school, I am not. I am a mom who loves having her kids at home over the summer. Sure, there have been times when I’ve had to burn the candle from both ends to get in writing time and to get around-the-house chores completed. There have been days when my kids have been cranky or bored, pestering me about what we can do that day. But, I am sure going to feel not just a little sad when they return to school just after Labor Day. I’ve been enjoying my time with my girls, especially as they’ve enjoyed new sights and …

Some 20-plus years after our college graduations, me and a few Bryn Mawr College friends of mine are looking to reconnect and spend a “girls” weekend out without spouses or significant others, or kids. (I put “girls” in quotes, because since we’ve been out of college for at least two decades, we are certainly more than just school-aged girls.) We’ve kept in touch over the years, but since we are spread out between Boston, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., the times we have actually all been in the same place since leaving Bryn Mawr have been few and far between. We have …

It is hard to believe that in about three weeks area kids will be going back to school. While there is still some summer left, it is surprising that the new school year is just around the corner. I have been getting ready for the school year by consulting the K-5 school supply list for my daughters’ school district, East Windsor Regional Schools. I’ve already purchased all the supplies noted on the list, as many stores in the area have been offering them at discounted prices. I’ve also purchased a new pair of school shoes for each of my daughters. I got a pretty good deal on them during a "…

When I was a kid, I simply learned how to swim by spending lots of time in pools and lakes with my friends and family. It was only when I was a teen and already knew how to swim that I took formal swimming lessons, and that was to perfect my strokes. Now that my daughters are 8, I am wondering if I should enroll them in swimming lessons. They took lessons when they were 4, but the pool was so deep for them and the water so cold, that they barely learned anything. My daughters started out this summer with rudimentary swimming skills, swimming only a little under water and doing a pseudo doggie…

When I was in my 20s, was single and had only myself to look out for, my purse was fairly empty. I kept very little with me, only carrying a wallet, a comb and perhaps an eyeliner pencil and some lipstick. (Those were the days before cell phones.) These days, my purse just keeps getting bigger — my husband not so affectionately now calls my purse my bowling-ball bag. That’s because I no longer carry the slim pocketbooks I carried when I was younger. Now, my purse is filled with a Kindle for the time I spend in parking lots waiting to pick up my kids, a little makeup (but I still only carry a …

Last night, my family got together with some family friends to watch the Japanese animated movie, “Spirited Away.”  Directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli, the movie, which was the highest grossing film in Japanese history, is a beautiful tale about a 10-year-old girl who gets lost in a world of spirits while making the move to a new home. When her parents are turned into pigs by a powerful witch, it is up to her to save them with the help of a boy spirit, a river spirit. My daughters are both 8 and our friends’ daughters are 7 and 4, and all four of the girls equally love …