Archive for the ‘Tips and Advice’ Category

Junior Resumes

Thursday, September 12th, 2019

One of the things I’ve done for my kids is to create a resume for each of them and keep it updated over the years.  Even if you’re not in the market for a new job, it’s always a good idea to update your resume on a regular basis to avoid having to try and remember what you accomplished over the years when you do decide to look for a new opportunity.  While kids may not have much in the way of real work experience, they do have other accomplishments to keep track of for when they do look for a job, apply for college, or audition for a part in a show.

My oldest is currently working on college applications and his resume has come in handy as a reference for the experiences and achievements he wants to share with colleges. My daughter actually has two, an academic resume and a performance resume. The latter lists, in detail, her skills, talent, and experience in the world of performing arts while the former includes a summary of her performance experience and training along with her academic accomplishments. They are two very different documents intended for very different audiences. My youngest doesn’t have much to put on his resume yet, having just started middle school, but nonetheless I’ve listed his musical instrument training (piano, trombone, and congas) as well as the sports he has been involved in.

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The Vacation Attraction Planner

Friday, July 21st, 2017

Many families, time and money willing, plan a summer getaway to, well, anywhere else. Whether you’re going to Paris, France or Paris, Texas, if you’re taking the kids with you, you’re going to have to figure out how to keep them entertained. For some destinations, that can be as simple as heading for the hotel pool to splash the hours away or letting them loose to roam the campsite creating their own adventures.

If hanging out at the hotel all day doesn’t tickle your fancy and you’re not headed for the great outdoors, then you’re going to need to come up with some activities and destinations that will keep them interested and engaged. The idea is to prevent the constant wailing and whining of “I’m bored”. So what’s the best way to figure out what your kids will want to see and do? I say ask ’em!

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The Lesson In The Juice

Saturday, March 17th, 2012

In our house, Friday nights are Burrito night.  My oldest son has his dance class and, afterward, he and I go pick up burritos in the mission.  Naturally, after dancing enthusiastically for an hour, he’s worked up a powerful thirst.  Sometimes, therefore, I’ll get an agua fresca — a Mexican fruit drink — for him while our food is being made.  Last night, however, he got a lesson instead.

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In Praise of the Plastic Wastebasket

Monday, February 13th, 2012

In my bedroom, we have a nice wooden wastebasket that, more-or-less, matches my parents’ antique dressers.  It was a good find at Costco some years ago.  For the kids, however, I’m not interested in anything other than an inexpensive plastic wastebasket.  Sure, it’s tacky and cheap looking and maybe even bad for the environment, but there’s a very good reason I wouldn’t have anything else.

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Hot Lunches Without the Headache

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

For a long time, my kids would have nothing to do with sandwiches.  Me, I love a good sandwich — nice sourdough, some garlic sauce, lots of onions — but there’s no telling what your kids will like or dislike.  And mine didn’t like sandwiches.  So we had to come up with something else to put in their school lunches.  If only, we thought, there were some way they could have a nice hot lunch every day at school without us having to show up at lunchtime to cook it for them.  Luckily, we found such a way.

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Homemade Egg McMuffins and Other Turbo Breakfasts

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

It’s no secret: Mornings are not my strong suit.  As the family cook, I’m responsible for meals, including breakfast, which means, if it were solely up to me, breakfast would be relegated to special occasions only in favor of a few minutes’ more sleep.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, for the kids), I am not the chief executive and am under orders to provide the kids with a reasonably healthy breakfast each morning before school.  So here are some of the ways I get food into my kids in the morning when we’re in a hurry.

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