Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 374

Best Gift Ideas for the Holidays That are Just for Fun!

What are the holidays without a few, just-for-fun presents for everyone on your list?  Here are our best gift ideas for your teens, college kids, and young adults, too.

We receive small amounts of compensation from purchases made through some of the links on this page.

NEW! Here are all the Grown and Flown top picks for grad and holiday gifts! 

Best Gift Ideas for the Holidays

Pillow Pets [image error]

Soft and cuddly, these stuffed animals unsnap into pillows and are available in dozens of different anima...

Holiday Gifts for College Students That They Will Use Every Day

There’s something deeply satisfying when we see that our kids really love and use the presents we pick out for them. These holiday gifts for college students and young adults are the things they will use, and thank you for, all year long.

We receive small amounts of compensation from purchases made through some of the links on this page which allows us to pay our writers.  Thanks! 

NEW! See all of Grown and Flown top picks for holiday and grad gifts in one place. 

Holiday Gifts for College St...

When Saying “I Don’t Know” is the Best Thing a Parent Can Do

Why?”

The mantra of toddlers everywhere and the bane of toddler parents everywhere.

Although listening to the word “why” on continuous loop can try anyone’s patience, at that innocent stage of the game, the questions were pretty easy to navigate. Crafting an answer from the front seat of the car didn’t even take our full attention. After all, our little people often didn’t have the attention span to absorb whatever retort we gave.

As my kids grew into pre-teens most of the questioning was di...

With My Daughter in College, it’s the Little Stuff I Miss the Most

I’m talking on the phone with my college sophomore. I savor these phone calls because she really prefers texting to actual voice contact. But today she is in a chatty mood because she just met with the career counselor and she had some interesting advice.

She is giving me an overview of what the counselor said when she stops talking to me for a moment to interact with a peer. I hear some muffled conversation followed by my daughter saying, “Thanks!” before returning to our phone call. I put...

What is the True Price of a Dog?

“How much did Fisher cost?” one of my kids asks.   $350? $400?  $575?

That all depends, I think.  The dog cost us $350.  He was neutered, vetted, and transported. But that was a drop in the bucket in April, 2005.

Because by May, the price had gone up considerably.

What’s a Mother’s Day Brunch cost for 12?  Because he ate it all. Right off the dining room table.

But then he’d lay on the floor and let the baby crawl over and lay her head on his stomach so she’d have a comfortable place to drin...

Body Image: What Happens When My Daughter Looks in the Mirror

As a young girl, I was sprouting breasts and hips earlier than all of my friends. Around the age of 12, I started to hate my body. I was bigger and taller than all of my friends, and I wanted to shrink to a “normal’ size. I had a terrible body image.

It certainly didn’t curb my love for shopping though. My mother and I would take long shopping trips and I would secretly wish to find that magic outfit or bathing suit that would make me look the way I thought I should look. At the time, I didn...

Trendy Gift Ideas for the Holidays: Your Kids Will Love These!

Here are trendy gift ideas that will thrill your teens, college kids and young adults this holiday season.

We receive small amounts of compensation from purchases made through some of the links on this page.

NEW! Here are all the Grown and Flown top picks for grad and holiday gifts! 

Trendy Gift Ideas for the Holidays, 2017

23andMe DNA Test Ancestry Personal Genetic Service [image error]

Is your teen or college kid interested in knowing more about their genetics?  This kit is high on our list of trendy gif...

Holiday Gift Ideas for Teens: Fun, Popular, and Practical

Teens are honestly among the hardest to buy gifts for. They have outgrown many toys, and most of them aren’t into household items like cooking supplies and home decor items yet. But with these easy holiday gift ideas for teens, you can do all your shopping from the comfort of your own home.

After all, it is fun to spoil them a little over the holidays and see their inner child come to life. They are still kids and should enjoy that magical feeling as long as they can.

We receive small amounts...

This is What a Working Single Mom Needs Her Kids to Understand

A few nights ago I was up late working. When it was time to shut down my laptop I wasn’t quite tired enough to go to bed, so I decided to run the vacuum because I hadn’t done it yet that day. My three kids were sleeping and I figured they’d be out cold since it was almost midnight, but I was wrong.

The next morning my son asked why I was up so late cleaning and I told him it just made me feel better to have the house clean before I went to bed so I could start fresh in the morning – which is...

Danger in College: I Never Saw This One Coming

It was just before midnight when the phone rang.  With a bit of hesitation and an unsettled feeling in my gut, I reached over to answer it, and could see from the caller ID it was my son.  All I could think was, nothing good comes from late night calls – especially from a child miles away at college. 

And I was right.

It wasn’t good.

In fact, the news was terrifying.  Campus police and the SWAT team were on their way to my son’s dorm suite.  I was 300 miles away and desperately wanted to be...