Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 304

One Parent Breaks Down the Myth of The Dream College

It’s mid-December, a season of gift-giving and good cheer. For a subset of parents with high school seniors who are applying to college, however, it is also the time when early admission decisions are being released. This phenomenon doesn’t impact every high school senior: many wait until early Spring to hear from the colleges to which they’ve applied. But for those parents whose children are in the midst of hearing from schools, or are surrounded by other kids who are, it can be a fraught, i...

This Version of “The 12 Days of Christmas (Break)” Will Make College Parents Laugh

To all of those with freshman coming home, perhaps this will sound familiar. For all the chaos, noise, and stress they arrive with, they bring a lot of “stuff” as well, but we wouldn’t have it any other way, would we? I give you, the Grown and Flown family version of “The 12 Days of Christmas Break.”

With our kids home from college, we give you the Grown and Flown version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” (jan j. photography/Shutterstock)

On the first day of Christmas break, my freshman gave...

The Song “Buttercup” By Hippo Campus Saved My Teen and I’m Grateful

Your daughter helped you pick your outfit – black leggings, short boots, a fun top. She is in a lively mood when she meets you at work. She’s chatting, smiling, full of energy that was lacking when she got home from college two days previous for Thanksgiving break. But tonight she’s practically glowing, her makeup carefully done, cheeks shimmering, eyes sparking and outlined with a steady hand. You breathe a sigh of relief as the two of you walk to your Jeep and get on the road to the concert...

Have We Been Looking At Teen Marijuana Use And Behavior Backward?

Marijuana has long been labeled a “gateway drug” for teens, as well as a drug that could lead teens down a path toward delinquent behavior and addiction. With so many states heading toward the legalization of cannabis for medical and recreational use, it is reasonable that parents may be concerned that greater availability could increase the likelihood that their kids could develop habits that may cause behavior problems and negatively impact their futures.

However, a recent study has yielded...

Downton Abbey: Counting the Days

It has been three LONG years since the Crawley family left our homes and we are counting the days until they return. Yep, back they’ll be in a movie next year and they are teasing us with clips to get us ready. Downton Abbey took great pains with everything from elocution to costume to set design to transport us back to the years 1912-1926. It was gorgeous escapism at its very best.

Here is what we know:

Most of the cast we loved so much are back, including our very favorite, Maggie Smith as...

Who is to Blame When Kids Lie On Their College Applications

When a college-bound teen fabricates a story about his mother dying for his personal statement, it’s time for us as a society to figure out what drives kids to tell these types of falsehoods.

That’s exactly what happened according to an article in The New York Times entitled ‘They’re Not Fact-Checking’: How Lies on College Applications Can Slip Through the Net. A student who was accepted at the University of Pennsylvania wrote his essay about his mother’s untimely death. When someone from the...

On Motherhood: Being Tommy Lee Jones

It seems to me that motherhood is cool again. Mommyhood’s day has arrived, and it is cool as long as you have the right accessories. There are blogs and vlogs and articles and whole books about mom-ing (not to be confused with motherhood, which is not the same thing). Cool moms are in the movies, cool moms are writing blogs, cool moms are starting their own companies that sell cool mom stuff.

Celebrities, being humans, keep reproducing, and we see and hear about their offspring when they are...

Did You Know That Motherhood is Cool Again?

It seems to me that motherhood is cool again. Mommyhood’s day has arrived, and it is cool as long as you have the right accessories. There are blogs and vlogs and articles and whole books about mom-ing (not to be confused with motherhood, which is not the same thing). Cool moms are in the movies, cool moms are writing blogs, cool moms are starting their own companies that sell cool mom stuff.

Celebrities, being humans, keep reproducing, and we see and hear about their offspring when they are...

My Youngest Still Needs to Have the Same Rules My Older Kids Did

It’s funny how our kids never remember to take out the trash, or how to put wet clothes in the dryer if they want them dry, but if they have a younger sibling, they remember the exact time they had to go to bed when they were 9, what time their curfew was when they were 15, and how many days old they were when they got their phone so they can remind you the younger sibling has it way easier than they ever did.

I’ve had three kids and with each one I can feel myself relaxing a bit more, lettin...

I Was Rejected From My Dream School, Now I’m Here

One year ago today, I received the most heartbreaking letter a high school senior could read. Reading that letter brought me a mix of emotions: shock, anger, stress, and overwhelming sadness, but the emotion I didn’t expect to feel hit me the hardest-relief.

For me, waiting for a decision letter was harder than writing an application. I knew which college I wanted to attend when I was a junior, so writing my application was fun and validated my love for the school.

Rejected from college (Asdr...