Family Archives - Everyday Edits

How to Host a College Care Package Party

September 10, 2019

My youngest son just left for college. When I boarded the plane for the 2.75 hours return flight, I went thru a stack of Frontier napkins. My daughter suggested I watch this show for the return flight. These guys made me laugh and cry within each 47 minute episode. It was just what I needed for that flight home. And, I remembered how much fun I had attending a college care package party. So today I want to share how to host a college care package.

How to host a college care package party —

—Suggestion: Always include goodies or a separate care package for your child’s roommate—

The first college care package party I attended was hosted by the mom of one of my daughter’s friends. The party was the perfect way to celebrate this new transition and kick off the semester.

The hostess picked up and assembled large USPS Priority boxes in advance. She remembered the packing tape too! That was why she was the hostess!

In advance of the party, the moms were instructed to purchase small, inexpensive items for each of the girls. Our imaginations limited only to the dimensions of the USPS Large Priority Box.

Suggested care package items included:

tissues
Cracker Jack’s
gum
microwave popcorn
snack sized snacks
hand sanitizer or wipes
seasonal items from the dollar section at Target
lip balm

Suggestion: Always include extra goodies for your child’s roommate.

The hostess served wine and light appetizers. We shared a few tears but ended with lots of laughs and new favorite tradition.

We included notes of good wishes to all the girls. I brought these Hershey kisses with encouraging messages I found here.

This was my daughter’s care package. All I had to do was ship the box!

How to Host a College Care Package

Care package parties are not limited to the beginning of the school year. I made as Easter theme care package the year I son could not come home for the Easter weekend. He was in North Carolina for a college tennis tournament and could not make it home for Easter. I made sure this bunny theme care package was waiting for him.

I tucked a funny Irish blessing card I found in Dublin.

A college care package party was the perfect way to connect with the other moms. It kept our thoughts focused on our daughters’ new adventures!

Good luck to all you first-timers college freshmen parents.

A College Care Package of Kisses

August 26, 2019

Do you remember when your kids were babies (or puppies) and you just could not stop kissing their tiny toes and little bellies? There was a line in Friends where Monica, kissing Rachel’s new baby, made a comment about baby toes were like little tacos. In a blink of an eye, our toddlers (and puppies) grow up and kisses are harder to snatch up! So our jobs as moms is to get creative to share kisses. I decided to have a little fun and send a college care package of kisses to my boys.

The college care package of kisses are a not so subtle way for me to let my boys know I am thinking about them. Without the hovering helicopter. #wink

September is the time when our college kids (young adults) settle into their school routine and find a study/play balance. My lefty attends school in Minnesota and my righty attends school in Ohio.

My lefty is a focused young man who transitioned to college with a balance of academics, social and as a collegiate tennis player.

But, he is still my baby and I just need to send him some kisses!

My righty is a freshman and apprarently does not have cell service on campus. #wink

For these Kisses, I found these cute stickers in the clearance section at Michaels. This is where I make your life so much easier. Skip the printing and formatting hassles. I found these pre-printed Hershey kisses stickers on Etsy.

And, these just are not just for college care packages? Chocolate kisses are perfect for grandparents and relatives who are more than a short drive away. They are a fun way to show someone you are thinking about them.

On a side note, I am keeping busy with plans to take on the boys bathroom.

Boys to College Bathroom |Before |Part 1

June 2, 2019

Do we ever stop calling our boys, boys? That was the question swirling in my head as I took a few photos of the boys’ J & Jack bathroom before the remodel. It is the perfect time for a boys to college bathroom.

Boys to College Bathroom | Before

Some of my funniest childhood memories between my boys took place in the bathroom. How appropriate, right?

Like when my younger son, during his sleepwalking phase, thought the bathroom trashcan was the toilet.

Or the transition from “tubbies” to showers.

Or the scent of Axe body spray lingering long after the boys left for school. As a practical joke, they sprayed Axe into the air vent adjacent to their sister’s bedroom.

She came out screaming that her room smelled like a middle school hallway.

The one constant in the boys’ bathroom were the wet towels on the floor.

Or the empty toilet paper rolls that were too heavy to toss in the trash.

Or the conversations they shared at the end of the day.

My boys own product than me and my daughter combined. Their bathroom counter looks like a Sephora counter at the end of a weekend.

I may need to plan Thanksgiving facials this fall so I can take a new photo. #countdowntothanksgiving

When I made the farmhouse frame around the mirror, my older son could not wrap his head around the “Why?” “Mom, why did you add a frame? What was wrong with just the mirror?

These are the boys’ bathroom memories before we trasition to the boys to college bathroom remodel. I love the memoris, but I am very excited for new flooring (if those floors could talk), new tile and a new vanity.

I love my boys and I am so excited to begin the demo on the boys to college bathroom remodel. It’s not just a transformation of their bathroom it is a celebration of their personal transformations from high school to college.

Travel | Ireland

November 16, 2018

This time last year we returned from Ireland where the hills rolled and the sheep scattered along the hillsides. If Dublin got a little more snow it would be a setting for a Hallmark movie. It was a celebratory trip for my husband and me after paying off a business loan. Ireland was the perfect place to catch our breath and celebrate. It is my favorite country besides the United States!

Dublin was like a scene from It’s a Wonderful Life. Except, in any Dublin pub you are bound to hear a specific swear word used as every part of speech. #thatswearword

But when you add an Irish accent the swear word sounds poetic when used as an adverb, adjective, verb, noun, and preposition. If you know an Irish man or woman (I work with one) or have enjoyed a few Irish guys at a rugby match (my son played rugby in high school) you know that word.

But that word was not offensive with an Irish accent.

We spent the majority of our Ireland trip in Dublin. Walking the Trinity College campus had me on my phone texting my daughter to consider grad school in Dublin and maybe meet a cute Irish boy with an Irish accent. #momstop

Every morning we woke up and found these on the streets.

Did you know this author lived and worked in Dublin? I did not.

And, of course, no trip to Ireland would be complete with a little Guinness. We did a self-guided tour which means we sampled when we wanted and on every floor. I think a tour would have been more fun.

Some of you know I have a thing for clocks. These clocks were in the Guinness museum. The details got a little blurry by the 3rd floor.

And, finally, I loved the message on this awning outside a little cafe.

I Blinked

August 31, 2018

We leave this weekend to take my son (my lefty) to college in Minnesota. With six checked bags and just as many trips to Ikea and Bed, Bath & Beyond it will be a long, humid filled few days. I wanted to share a few moments captured over the years.

Although the photos are my memories the feelings will be familiar; universal. Perspective and gratitude are close to my heart as our middle child begins this new chapter.

Our son is ready for his next chapter. Um.. we will get there too! Trust me I have a huge list of to-do’s when we return from the “drop off” at his mid-west university. But today’s post is about the moment I blinked.

I blinked…

I turned around…

we washed this blue Gap sweat-shirt 3,432 times. Oh and that was a Blues Clues cake. Whatever happened to Steve?

That one time, you asked, “What dat?” when we introduced you and your sister to your forever baby brother. And, then you fought over him with your sister nearly pulling him off the side of the couch.

that hair…..

“Erich, did you just tell your little brother there is no Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Leprechaun in one sentence?”

…the bond with your siblings is just beginning…

that time your sister showed you the benefits of a good skin care regimen …

… never give up… hard work yields lessons that will last a lifetime …

that year you won two state championship titles …

the man who showed you what integrity perseverance and kindness looks like …

If you want to know a man’s character; look at how he treats God’s creatures…

I blinked

I believe in you and love you unconditionally. Unconditionally. Trust your instincts, show kindness and respect to others. Eat, sleep, study and have fun. You will make life long friends in college. Text me once every few days; but no less than every three days. please

I will inevitably have an ugly cry moment when I give you that dorm room hug and goodbye. But, your dad and I will be okay. We certainly don’t want you living at home this fall.

Trust me, I have a list of DIY projects to keep your dad busy between now and Thanksgiving.

You are ready… can’t wait to watch you from the sidelines.