We’ve been back to school for a week now.

I’d love to say we’ve turned over a new leaf as far as planning, getting homework done and proper bedtimes.

However? It’s almost like we never had summer and we’ve somewhat fallen back into the sloppy routines of the end of the school year.

I’m not beating myself up or anything, it’s just maddening when we can’t seem to get the 6 year old in bed at a decent hour, no matter what we do.

To top it off, this week and next week are really, really bad for me at work. Of course, we have several beginning of the year school events that fall during this time.

Normally, we’d divide and conquer to get everyone to and from sports practices etc. or get homework, dinner and baths done even if I’d need to skip lunch to leave work early. But, this is the one time of year my schedule isn’t too flexible, and it’s really putting us in a crunch.

I’m grateful we have friends who can help us out, but it still means I may miss my daughter’s first high school volleyball game and my daughter will have to care for her brothers on a school night during parent’s night since my husband has to work (he teaches at the school) and I have to be the parent.

So, while I’m getting ready for my busy time at work, I’m also mentally getting ready for non-routine events on the home front coming up in the next couple of weeks.

No easy feat when your brain was already filled up with song lyrics and stuff.

I sometimes wonder if I’m giving either category my proper attention.

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LikeSudoku and Kakuro?Want to keep your kids busy? Or maybe work on a few number puzzles with them?

I’ve got two copies of Ultimate Family Puzzlers, Numbers to give away. This is a big book with over 1,000 puzzles in three difficulty levels. So if your family are number geeks (like mine) you’ll get oodles of entertainment out of it. The puzzles suit every age level so they are great for the entire family to join in as well.

Want to win a copy? Leave a comment on this post by Thursday, August 28th. I’ll choose two winners at random and announce the lucky folks the next day.

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The dangers of teens and driving isn’t a new issue. When I was a kid and learning to drive, we were told of the dangers in having other kids in the car with us, or listening to the radio, or taking our eyes off the road. But I never had to deal with cell phones, iPods, or text messaging. Granted, teens today are used to computers and texting while doing something else. They are multitaskers by nature.

An article over at Reader’s Digest gives tips on how people can help teens learn to drive safely. They list things parents can do (such as teaching your kids about the dangers) and things the rest of us can do (like fight for stricter laws about teen driving). The article also starts out with three real life examples on teen driving accidents that resulted in death. As if these stories weren’t enough, acouple statistics in the article stood out to me. Out of 5,600 teens surveyed:

“Only 28 percent said using a cell phone is a risk, and 10 percent said the same about having other teens in the car.”

and

“Only half cited speeding or not wearing a seat belt. Even if teens got the right idea about a behavior-for instance, 87 percent said drinking and driving is dangerous-they didn’t view it as their problem: Only 16 percent said they ever see it happen.”

As a teen,I remember thinking that whatever facts I was told, it wouldn’t happen to me. Whether this is arrogance or naivety (or a little of both), how do you get teens to realize the dangers and take action to prevent it from happening to them? How do you convince your teen that they can’t multitask when it comes to driving?

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Congratulations to Adrienne G., who was the winner of The Firm Cardio Sculpt DVD. Adrienne said her keep fit secret was to “Bike and swim with my kids.” Sounds like a smart way to maintain a healthy lifestyle, Adrienne! And now you’ve got this great DVD coming your way as well.

I hope each of you got a chance to read the comments for this giveaway. I found it very inspiring to see how these busy folks fit in exercise with the rest of their obligations. Some people, like our random winner Adrienne, said they tried to work out with their kids. Other people got up early, some exercised at home. Some didn’t schedule exercise, but just tried to be more active in their day to day errands.

If you find that you need some motivation going forward, be sure to bookmark this post. The comments from our readers will give you the little push you need to get it done. I know they’ve inspired me!

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My oldest child started high school last week.

It’s an exciting time, but it’s also a big change from the grade school routine we’ve known for 9 years (that includes kindergarten, she didn’t flunk or anything). One of the hardest things for me, so far, is that I’m not up on the details of her classes etc. like I was when she was in grade school.

Yes, I know what you’re saying: I shouldn’t be, she’s in high school.

I’m really not a helicopter parent (I don’t think), but I just like hearing about the details about what goes on at school, when the next quiz is, etc. It just gives me some context when I think about what she’s up to during the day.

Maybe it’s just general nosiness?

But, we all know the helicopter parent who berates the coach about their child’s playing time, or the one who calls their college aged child each morning to wake them up.

Ken Haller, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine has some advice for those parents who cross that fine line between involvement and smothering in his article, School Year Resolution for Helicopter Parents: Back Off.

It’s actually good advice for all parents, especially those who have older kids.

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