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Do NOT Reply All

Dear parents of school-age children, It’s not necessary to “reply all” to every single email sent from your child’s teacher… especially if your kid is in the same class as ours. Sincerely, Parents for the Prevention of Reply All Abuse Look, I’m all for open communication, especially when it involves parents and educators, and despite my glaring absence on Facebook, I really do appreciate the advantages associated with digital messaging.  However, when it comes to emails and the “reply all” function, I’m a real hater. I’m not a huge fan of checking emails to begin with, so when I see … Continue reading →

Save Money by Planning Ahead

Dear overachiever mom who attached stuffed animals to the Valentine’s Day cards your kid passed out at school last week:  I don’t hate you.  Never mind, that all my 8-year-old Scotch-taped to her Snoopy Love Day cards were small packages of Skittles.  Not six-inch plush puppies.  I’m sure you never intended to make the rest of us parents feel like inadequate, uninspired, cheap losers. Listen, I considered flexing my creative muscle and having my kid attach snack-sized bags of peanuts to the cards.  Get it?  Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy… the Peanuts gang?  Of course, sending nuts to school in this … Continue reading →

Preparing for Crops

  Weekend scrapbooking crops are the perfect venue to learn new techniques, get inspiration from fellow scrappers and experiment with new tools.  The organized get-togethers are exciting and informative, but they can also be intimidating for newbies. Depending on how large of a crop you attend, you could be looking at scrapbooking with hundreds of other memory book builders.  In order to keep the event running smoothly, there are typically quite a few rules to consider.  When I attended my first crop the following ditty circulated around the ballroom.  It was discovered on Scrapbook.com and speaks to the unwritten rules … Continue reading →

So Not My World

I barely have time to wash my hair in the morning, let alone shave my legs on a daily basis. So, how then is it possible for some moms to find time to post DIY tutorials featuring step-by-step instructions on how to create crocheted cozies for disposable Scotch Tape dispensers on YouTube? Pretty, little, intricately handcrafted covers for 99-cent tape dispensers that are designed to be THROWN AWAY. The tape dispensers that is. Clearly, you want to reuse the cuddly soft cozy you created to warm the cold plastic covering and disguise the unsightly green tartan plaid insert of any … Continue reading →

Protecting Yourself as a Single Parent

This has been kind of a scary week for me. Last Saturday I had the bright idea of taking Logan downtown to walk around Temple Square and see some of the sights of downtown Salt Lake City. We’ve done this on several occasions, attended outside concerts, and browsed along the streets together. But now, I’m afraid I am going to have to think twice the next time I consider traveling downtown just the two of us. We decided to take the Trax Train in order to avoid the stresses of parking in Salt Lake. The ride up wasn’t so bad. … Continue reading →

Are You an Oversharing Mom?

When it comes to social media, are you an oversharing mom? In other words, do your posts and pictures constantly feature your children? Are you always bragging about them? Well if you are a new mom, you just might become the victim of “UnBabyMe,” a tool on Facebook that will eliminate photos of your precious bundle of joy. Users who download this tool can swap out pictures of babies with other photos of their choosing. As of this writing, there are almost 30,000 users who are enjoying the ability to clear out baby pictures. Personally, I love to see pictures … Continue reading →

The Magic of Mail

My daughter loves getting mail. Not email, snail mail. She’s seven years old and doesn’t own a Smartphone, computer or any other digital device which allows her to email her BFFs to LOL about her WAHM. She does it via longhand, instead. While I dread the short walk from the front door to the mailbox for fear of what other bill may be waiting for me there, my kid counts down to the mail carrier’s visit each day. We’re old school here at Casa Cheplic and the United States Postal Service loves us for it. Why? Two words: Pen Pal. … Continue reading →

How I am Building a Business

I recently started a new business. New is not exactly the right term. My business is writing educational unit studies, copywork books, and educational materials. However, the business is not really new. I have written unit studies and sold them in the past. Instead of just randomly selling materials I make here and there, I decided to form it into a business. I only launched this month but I have already seen a profit, have almost 1000 Facebook fans, and making a presence on Pinterest. I am not saying all of this to brag. I have started a few businesses … Continue reading →

Online Popularity Contest

A warning to parents: Excessive use of Facebook = depressed kids. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes that equation to be 100% true. So, all you moms and dads with Facebook obsessed kids: Be afraid. Be very afraid. I am not on Facebook. Consequently, my second grader has no clue that the social networking site exists. Thus, zero exposure to Facebook = darn happy kid. Despite this fact, I will try to remain humble and not turn this post into an exercise in self-validation. Rather, I will just stick to the facts. According to the AAP, a link exists … Continue reading →

Are You Trying to Live through Your Children?

Are you a mom who tries to live through her children? I know of a couple of moms like that. It actually makes me sad to see their children having to be and do what their moms want them to be and do. I think there may be a couple of reasons this happens. The one we are probably most familiar with is the mom who didn’t get to do the very things they are forcing their children to do. So they think that because they missed out on something, the same will happen to their children. But there is … Continue reading →