Category: Family

I feel like we deserve a parade. Or some fireworks. Or at least a roasted marshmallow. Because WE DID IT! Jack finished 5^th grade on Friday and is now officially done with elementary school.

In a way, the past 6 years at our elementary school have felt like forever. But they also feel like they’ve flown by.

I remember taking him for his first day of kindergarten and everything went pretty smoothly… until 2^nd grade. Due to the pandemic, school went online in March 2020 and he didn’t return to the classroom in-person until the end of 3^rd grade in May 2021. He was back to in-person school for all of 4^th grade and it was one of our most challenging years yet.

5^th grade started rough, but we were so thankful to have some exceptional teachers this year. For the first time, I felt like I actually had a team of people at the school who wanted to help Jack succeed.

He finished the year strong and I feel like we are really ready to jump into middle school next year!

Okay, parents of children, pre-teens and teens… I’m doing some information gathering and I can use your help! We are planning to get Jack’s first cellphone (one that actually works as a phone, unlike when we did this) this summer. However, I plan on locking it DOWN so I’d love to know what rules you have for phones in your house and what apps you find helpful for your pre-teen kids.

Why are we getting him a phone now?

He’s starting middle school in the fall and there are days that he will be coming home from school before Travis or I get home. I want him to have a phone for safety, so that he can feel comfortable being home alone. We do not have a landline, so this makes the most sense. Also, many/most middle school kids have phones, so I want to introduce it slowly in a way that is purposeful and controlled by mom and dad.

Rather than wait until the week before middle school, I plan to get him his phone in the summer so he can get used to it and it’s not a ‘shiny new toy’ right before throwing him into 6^th grade.

Let’s Talk Rules

Some rules we are currently considering for Jack’s phone:

• He can use the phone for calling, texting, internet searches, camera/photos/video, and I’m planning to let him have a few games on there.
• He is only allowed to call or text an approved list of family and select friends. No adding new friends’ numbers without clearing it by mom and dad.
• Mom will look at his texts. Keep it classy.
• Phones are put on a charger in mom and dad’s room at a certain time at night and not accessed again until a certain time the next morning.
• No social media. None. He’s 11, so he is underage for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and anything else they come up with.

Let’s Talk Apps

There are a million parental control apps out there, so I’d love to hear your personal recommendations.

So far, I’ve had Life360 recommended to me, which sounds pretty great. It has a free level, which might be fine for us. It allows the three of us to track each other’s locations, so Jack can see if mom or dad is home, and how far away we are if we are still working. There are also “Place Alerts” that we can set, which will send an automated text when Jack gets to pre-determined places, such as school and home.

I’ve also heard about Net Nanny, which allows you to build custom web search filters.

I’m open to hearing about any and all apps that help your family feel comfortable with a pre-teen with a phone!

This year’s Mother’s Day was a little extra exciting… I spent it with my favorite moms at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour in Philadelphia!

Me, my mom, my sisters (Katie and Kelsey) and my bonus sister (Jaclyn) packed up our bags and drove to Philly for the night and it was AMAZING.

There were goosebumps. And tears. And dancing. And singing. And screaming at the top of our lungs.

The show was incredible – Taylor performed for 3 and a half hours straight and looked like a goddess the entire time. And I basically lost my mind when she sang the 10-minute version of All To Well live.

We dressed like the Eras, of course.

We’re representing Red, Lover, and Midnights!

OH and the PEOPLE at the show were amazing too. If you’re planning to go to the tour – be sure to make/bring friendship bracelets. We didn’t have time to bring any ourselves, but Kelsey and I received some adorable bracelets from a girl in line for the bathroom ahead of us.

All in all, a super fabulous Mother’s Day. Even if we did leave all the kids at home!*

*Except the one still cooking in my sister’s belly!