Jan 17, 2024 | Babies, From the Heart, Humor, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Toddlers & Preschool
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon New Year’s resolutions have always felt a bit funny to me. Once each year, immediately after a late night of partying, we all sit around and resolve to make the life changes we’ve failed to make for at least the past ten years. And...
Sep 20, 2023 | Adults, From the Heart, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Single Parenting, Working Parents
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Like many single moms, I never intended to become one. However, sheer will and prayer cannot govern another human being’s choices, so at the age of 42, I found myself the solo parent of three kids. Also, I’m a homeschooling mom...
Aug 26, 2023 | Humor, Moms & Dads, Raising Children, Working Parents
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon I’ve been attempting to write this blog about motherhood for four hours now. Why on earth would a blog take that long to write? Well, motherhood is why. Every time I open my computer, it sets a predictable course of events in motion. I...
Jul 31, 2023 | Elementary Age, Family Time, Food & Nutrition, Humor, Parenting & Family, Pop Culture, Books & Movies, Recipes & Fun Food Ideas, Teens & Tweens
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Our favorite wizard, Harry Potter, celebrates his birthday in July. In honor of his special day, my kids and I set out to make a Potter-themed snack – ideally something other than a pink cake. As it turns out, you can find a wealth of...
Jun 13, 2023 | Arts & Enrichment Activities, Elementary Age, Humor, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Raising Children, Recreation, Teens & Tweens, Working Parents
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon I basically drive a taxi. I mean, its silver, not yellow. But on any given day, I’m pretty sure I traverse the whole Triad. Why? My kids are in extracurricular activities. Swimming, soccer, music, theater – you name it, they’ve...
May 22, 2023 | Education, Homeschooling, Parenting & Family, Raising Children, Single Parenting, Working Parents
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon I’m a solo parent. I work full-time. I also homeschool my kids. Like many aspects of my life these days, it isn’t what I would have chosen. But it’s possible, and you’d be surprised how many people do it. If you’re considering this for...
Apr 25, 2023 | Day Trips, Family Time, Homeschooling, Parenting & Family, Sports, Sports, Art & Enrichment, Vacations & Weekend Trips
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon If you’ve been in North Carolina for longer than a few minutes, you probably know that the town of Chapel Hill is precious to this state. Home to the University of North Carolina, it holds the college memories of generations of...
Apr 1, 2023 | Day Trips, Entertaining, Family Time, Parks & Outdoor Activities
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon The first time I tried to go to Biltmore, my college friends and I were on our way home from spring break at the beach. We noticed the signs on the highway, and decided to stop and see what it was all about. We made it into the line for...
Feb 20, 2023 | Education, Elementary, Elementary Age, Homeschooling, Humor, Moms & Dads, Working Parents
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Science fair. If you were one of the lucky ones who completed one of these projects as a kid, I’m willing to bet your body just gave an involuntary shudder. I was one of the lucky ones in eighth, ninth, AND tenth grade (thanks, private...
Jan 25, 2023 | Babies, Burlington, Elementary Age, Greensboro, High Point, Humor, Kernersville, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Raising Children, Toddlers & Preschool, Winston-Salem, Working Parents
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Feel free to debate me, but I’d argue that “While you were in a meeting…” is the most terrifying sentence opener known to mom. Whatever part two of that sentence is, it is never good. I started working from home and homeschooling...
Dec 13, 2022 | Burlington, By Location, Family Time, From the Heart, Greensboro, High Point, Just for Moms, Kernersville, Parenting & Family, Winston-Salem, Working Parents
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon I had plans for our Thanksgiving weekend. For once, I had a chunk of time off work, and we were going to spend Friday at a museum in either Greensboro or Raleigh before diving into Christmas decorations on Saturday and Sunday. But when...
Nov 23, 2022 | Adults, From the Heart, Holidays, Just for Dads, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Raising Children, Single Parenting, Working Parents
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Ahhh…November. The month of gratitude. Cue the cute social media posts. That are full of gratitude jars, gratitude trees, and gratitude journals for kids who somehow can’t hold a pencil yet. To be clear, I’m not against any of...
Oct 27, 2022 | Day Trips, Family Time, Hiking & Camping, Parenting & Family, Parks & Outdoor Activities, Recreation
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon If you haven’t been to Stone Mountain State Park, you need to plan a visit. Located a little over an hour from most parts of the Triad, it’s a great option for a day trip. While the sheer stone dome on the mountain looks intimidating,...
Jul 30, 2022 | Family Time, Parenting & Family, Recreation, Vacations & Weekend Trips
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Before I had kids, I wondered why people needed “things to do” at the beach. I mean, there’s a beach, right? What else do you need? Now I have kids and I know. If you’ve been to North Myrtle Beach, you know they have plenty of things...
Jun 30, 2022 | Helpful Lists & Directories, Local Resources, Travel & Auto Tips, Vacations & Weekend Trips
By TMoM team member Katie Moosbrugger Whether you’re looking to head to the beach this summer or later this year, we have a great list of recommended family beaches all along the East coast, thanks to TMoM members, readers and fans. We hope these tips &...
Feb 9, 2022 | Humor, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Raising Children
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Pulling my toenails out with plyers, one by one. Lighting my hair on fire. Jumping out of an airplane with a flimsy parachute attached. Fighting a grizzly in the wild with nothing but a stick plucked from the ground nearby. What do...
Jan 21, 2022 | From the Heart, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Raising Children
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Every elderly person in the grocery store says some version of “just like that” when they see me with my tribe of tiny children. “Oh, enjoy these years. They go by so fast.” For seven years now, I’ve been rolling my eyes and...
Jan 13, 2022 | Adults, Books, Supplies & Gear, By Stage, Education, Elementary Age, Family Time, Parenting & Family, Toddlers & Preschool
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon It was a long day, today. One of those days where getting through nightly children’s books seemed like a nearly impossible proposition. When my daughter bounded into bed with the latest saccharine tale about friendly woodland...
Dec 16, 2021 | Holidays, Humor, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Earlier today, I emerged from my home office after engaging in a zoom meeting. I exited with the breathless confidence of a woman who has completed her Christmas shopping ten days early. The “big gift” was, in fact, purchased in July. I...
Nov 17, 2021 | By Stage, Elementary Age, Humor, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Raising Children, Teens & Tweens, Tweens & Teens
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Recently, my mom dropped off a stash of baby things for me to donate to my church. As I scanned the bags of relics that were once integral parts of my life, I realized – with a lump in my throat – that we are no longer in that phase of...
Jul 29, 2021 | Humor, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Raising Children
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon I recently bought a new minivan, and I was insistent that I needed a model with eight seats. I could see the salesman counting and recounting my children: one…two…three. Why on earth would I need eight seats for three kids? Those of you...
May 19, 2021 | Humor, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Every morning when I get dressed, I pull on my athletic leggings that haven’t been worn for athletics in months, throw my hair into a messy bun I hope will look like intentionally-rumpled beach waves to my colleagues on Zoom, and finish...
Apr 22, 2021 | Holidays, Humor, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Raising Children
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon I should preface this by warning you that I’m the last person anyone would ever suggest to write a post about celebrating Earth Day, and it’s not because I don’t care about teaching my kids to value and care for our home. It’s because I...
Feb 12, 2021 | By Location, Day Trips, Greensboro, Local Resources, Non Profits, Parenting & Family, Raising Children, Recreation
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Located right here in the Triad, the International Civil Rights Museum creates an impactful learning experience for children and adults alike. Gracing a quiet side street in downtown Greensboro, the museum is located in the former...
Jan 15, 2021 | Adult Health & Wellness, Adults, By Stage, Health, Humor, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon I found my first gray hair on the morning of my college graduation. I had other things to worry about, so I casually plucked it out and bobby-pinned my hat in place. Over the next few years, the little specks of glitter continued to pop...
Dec 19, 2020 | From the Heart, Holidays, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” the song informed me. My mind formed a few four-letter words in response, because this year, it hasn’t been. The last week has brought our family a heap of uncertainty we didn’t see coming, a...
Dec 16, 2020 | Family Time, Holidays, Parenting & Family
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon This post contains affiliate links. It doesn’t cost any extra for you to purchase from them, but we may receive a small percentage of the sale. True story: I don’t love board games. In fact, I’ve been known to refer to them as...
Nov 18, 2020 | Family Time, Holidays, Humor, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon I need to preface this with a bit of context: I am a strict believer that Christmas décor goes up the day after Thanksgiving. The same holds true for Christmas carols: not a note until Black Friday morning, however early that morning...
Oct 20, 2020 | Humor, Just for Moms, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Raising Children
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon I spend hours of my day in the car. Hours. Every. Single. Day. My kids play sports, and in this weird Covid reality, that means driving back and forth between two locations four times in a given day. I literally spend four hours each...
Sep 22, 2020 | Family Time, Humor, Just for Moms, Local Resources, Moms & Dads, Parenting & Family, Pet Resources, Raising Children
By TMoM Team Member Laura Simon Yep, I got a quarantine puppy. So did approximately 67 percent of America, so please don’t judge. What else are you supposed to do when faced by day after unrelenting day…at home? Besides, I’ve wanted a dog for 15 years. This wasn’t a...
