The Launch

A gentle reminder for parents who are struggling to let go…

‘Twas the night before move-in day…

‘Tis the season! You know…the one where parents of first time college students are both excited and terrified at the same time. Where we are thrilled they have the opportunity to grow their minds and attend institutions of higher learning, yet worry that they won’t know how to do their own laundry. Where we fuss about coordinating comforters and twin

Welcome to PARENT UNIVERSITY!

What to Expect: A Course Catalog for Parents After the little plus sign appeared on the stick oh-so-many years ago, the first thing I did was to go out and buy a pregnancy book. The second was to sign up for childbirth classes. I wanted to know what to expect. As our family grew, so did our quest for parenting

Parents, don’t skip (orientation) class!

Last week I attended two college orientation experiences—the first one as a mom of a rising freshman and the second sitting on a panel of “seasoned” parents and college experts, offering advice to parents of incoming first year students. Why both, you ask? Well, the truth is I am a mom of an incoming freshman at one university and I

Life Skills: How to Organize Paperwork

As the days move closer to our daughter’s college move-in day, I start to get a little worried that we haven’t taught her all the life skills she’ll need when she’s off on her own. She can cook. She knows how to sort laundry. She seems to have a pulse on basic money management. So what are we missing? One

The Best Laid Plans: Grad Party Advice

Anyone who knows me knows I love to throw a party! I get excited over details and food and games and decorations. Pass the crepe paper streamers, please. My theory is that a good party can turn into a great party if you start with a fun theme. Piñata, anyone? You can imagine how thrilled I was when our youngest

Heading out of my comfort zone…again!

As I go out and speak on preparing to successfully launch our children, many people ask if I have any videos to share online. Up until now, I’ve had to say “no.” But thanks to a little thing called iMovie that came with my laptop, I can now say “yes.” Folks, this has stretched me! It is waaaay out of

Bringing home the GOLD!

When I clicked open my email, one subject line immediately caught my eye. It said YOU ARE A FINALIST! Those four words meant I was heading to St. Paul for the 27th Annual Midwest Book awards. I’d be joining other hard-working, passionate, word-loving authors to celebrate independent book publishing and vie for some bling. The celebration was last weekend and I’m thrilled to tell

How to prevent “summer melt” for your high school graduate? Give ’em a nudge!

Many of you know I’m currently a mom of a high school senior. My “baby” will graduate in two weeks and head off to college in the fall. A few months ago, our high school sent out a notice about a program called Summer Nudging. It is sponsored by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education designed to help college-bound students