Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 322

All The Things I Think, But Do Not Say

Hello.

My name is Carrie.

I am almost forty-four years old. I am married to a man name Joe, and we have five kids.

As I approach the middle of my fourth decade, I am noticing more and more all the things I think, but I do not say.

First of all, my body is changing—it is getting softer and wider and doing a lot of strange stuff. It seems as though, after ninety million miles on the treadmill and hundreds of yoga classes and decent weights on the bar at CrossFit, it is betraying me. My hips and...

As a Mom, Where Does Worry End and Anxiety Begin?

As I was driving my kids to school the other morning I was asking them about their day and getting nothing in response except for a few mutters. I could feel myself becoming anxious, wondering if anything was going on they didn’t think they could tell me.

I let them know I wanted them to talk to me more because I start to worry about them when I don’t feel connected to what’s going on in their lives.

“Mom, I think you like to worry,” my oldest said. My other two teens started laughing at me a...

Teens Don’t Hate Rules and 4 Other Things This Teacher Wants Parents to Know

Working with teenagers for over 20 years has given me some insight into their attitude about rules. In fact, I’ve been fortunate enough to use some of these insights in my own home with our two teenage sons. When it comes to rules, you might be surprised at some of their reactions.

1. Teenagers Don’t Hate Rules

Believe it or not, teenagers really don’t hate rules. Rules help them get through the roller coaster ride of their day. Rules let them know what’s coming ahead. Our boys have rules whe...

Grown and Flown Fall Style: Chasing the Clouds Away

It was 89 degrees (“feels like 95”) just last week when Mara walked a mile to my house and had to hop in the shower upon her sweaty arrival. So, I figured it would be awhile before I could even think about fall clothes, and then this happened – 3 days later the temp dropped 35 degrees and now it’s windy, rainy, cold and I just pulled out my very vintage (aka OLD) Burberry trench.

(So you may ask – what was Ms. Mara wearing when she stopped by? Super cute and on trend – J. Crew wide-legged tr...

These 10 Gifts Will Help a Sad Empty Nester Snap Out of It

They’re everywhere this time of year.

And I’m not talking about overpriced, Pumpkin Spice beverages.

Turn a corner in the grocery store a little too quickly and you may literally run into a middle-aged woman who is staring at a bag of Pepperidge Farm Mint Milanos with tears silently running down her cheeks,  “What the actual…” you start to think, when she glances sadly over at you and softly whispers, “My baby is gone.” You quickly scoot away, because that’s some seriousish that you don’t nee...

Dear Daughters, a Life and Laundry Checklist

Dear Daughters,

Now you are both teenagers, looking at colleges and going to college, and talking about how you plan to decorate your first apartment.

I hope I’ve done a good job preparing you for life on your own, but I know I’ve missed a lot. This isn’t going to make up for all those misses, but I still want to pass along a few things I think you need to know. Most of these, I’ve told you before, so just look at this as your “what was it mom used to say about. . .” refresher course.

And if...

College Textbooks are Crazy Expensive. Here Are 5 Ways To Save Money

When my husband and I started looking at the cost of college for our teens, we were taken aback. We knew that tuition had risen substantially since our own college years, but it’s still a shock to see tuition numbers that rival many people’s annual salaries.

Then our daughter started college and we added up the cost of her first semester’s textbooks. Holy cow.

I remember college textbooks being expensive in college twenty-something years ago. But my daughter just paid $235 for a Spanish textb...

What Going Away To College Did For My Relationship With My Mom

If you are a mom to a son or daughter who is about to leave your home to go away to college, and you are struggling with your relationship, I want to share something with you.

In high school, I couldn’t stand my mother. We would fight so much it affected my three sisters. She’d push, I’d push 10 times harder. I remember telling her when I left for school I wasn’t going to come home, ever. Not on breaks, not during summer vacation, not ever.

Part of this was to get a rise out of her and see wh...

Everything You Need to Know About Advanced Placement Classes

During my oldest son’s tenure in high school I didn’t pay too much attention to Advanced Placement classes. But when, as a freshman, he was able place out of his college’s language requirement based on his AP score in Spanish, I realized that taking AP classes and doing well in them confers certain benefits. That was eight years ago, and my first real experience with AP classes. Since then I’ve had two more sons go through the school system and I would like to share what I’ve learned about Ad...

Early Decision: No-Brainer or Big Mistake?

You may have heard that applying to college during the binding Early Decision round could give your child a big admission bump. Looking at the Early Decision/Regular Decision stats that Jennie Kent and I release each year, it’s apparent that many institutions have a significantly higher admit rate during this round than during the Regular Decision round.

[Read here: Early Decision/ Regular Decision Acceptance Rates] 

Sorting the “ED to RD Acceptance Ratio” column in our Excel chart, we learn...