Category / college

by Kelly Mattei

Hot Adidas Products

Hot Adidas Products.

***Sponsored Ad*** As an Amazon affiliate, I receive commission for items purchased through my links.

Adidas has some hot products and some deals on Amazon this holiday season…something for almost everyone on your list!

  • Adidas Samba. There’s a special deal on the black Samba, a shoe that has been very popular with teens for several years. Get the deal here. Or get the popular white Samba here.

  • Adidas Adicane Slide Sandal. This is a great slide for recovery after sports endeavors, but it’s also the perfect shower shoe for college students and athletes! Get ahead of the game and gift your athlete or future college student with these for a great price! Purchase here.

  • Adidas Men’s Park Street Sneaker. If you have a man on your holiday list who loves a good street sneaker, this Adidas model is stylish and comfortable. He will welcome this gift! It’s offered in several colors. My husband wants black. Purchase here.

  • Adidas Men’s Lite Racer Adapt 7.0 Sneaker. The perfect slip-on sneaker! This is another one my husband would love. Men are all about the slip-on sneakers these days. It’s stylish, comfortable, and priced right! And it slips on!! Get it here.

  • Adidas Alphabounce. Another great slide from Adidas. Some people prefer this style post-workout, and Adidas does this right! It makes a great gift! Get it here.

These are all great gift options from Adidas, a well-regarded brand! Happy Shopping!

by Kelly Mattei

2024 Holiday Shopping Links (so far)

2024 Holiday Shopping Links (so far). These are links to posts we have made since the middle of November. THANK YOU for shopping our links! We are creating more links today. Click each title for link to more information:

HAPPY SHOPPING!

by Kelly Mattei

Christmas Gifts for Future College Students

Christmas gifts for future college students. ***I might receive commission on items purchased through my Amazon links.***

Have a son or daughter preparing to go to college in January or next fall? Christmas is the perfect opportunity to start stocking up on all the dorm or apartment necessities. Here are some items at different price points that will make great gifts:

  • Sleepyhead Mattress Topper. This is a great Early Black Friday Deal on Amazon! Sleepyhead makes what we call the “Mack Daddy” of mattress toppers! Normally priced at $379, the Sleepyhead Twin XL 3-inch Premium Gel Topper, right now, is just under $285. That’s a 25% savings! My daughter used this mattress topper her freshman and sophomore years, and she loved it. If you’ve ever slept on a dorm mattress, you know a mattress topper is a necessity for all college students. Sleepyhead makes a variety of sizes, from Twin to King. To purchase the 3-inch Twin XL Gel version, click here. But Sleepyhead has is offering 25% off all their mattress toppers on Amazon for Early Black Friday! Maybe you’d like one or two for home to extend the life of your home mattresses?! To shop other sizes Sleepyhead offers, click here.

  • Hollywood Vanity Mirror with Lights. My daughter has this vanity mirror. She is a junior, and this was something she knew she wanted in her apartment this year, and she loves it. It was super easy to set up, and it’s something she uses every day. In fact, she will get another one for Christmas…to use at home. With an Early Black Friday Deal on Amazon, it’s 15% off and priced at $84.99. This one is a no-brainer. Get it before it’s gone here.

  • Keurig K-Express Single Serve K-Cup Coffee Maker. If your child doesn’t drink coffee now, he/she likely will when they get to college! Or maybe they enjoy hot tea or hot chocolate? This Keurig Single Cup Coffee Maker is perfect for a small dorm room or even an apartment bedroom. Amazon is offering it at 33% off for an Early Black Friday Deal! Get it here!

  • Clothes Steamer. I hate wrinkled clothes. I hate wearing them, and I hate seeing them. I love ironing. Seriously, I love it. However, my daughter would never drag out and put away an ironing board. Therefore, we sent her to school with a standup steamer her freshman year. She and her roommate used it, but she did tell me later that it took up valuable space in a dorm room, but it never disappeared! If other girls wanted to use it, they had to come to her room, so the steamer couldn’t “walk away.” To see my favorite standup steamer, click here. If you prefer to get a handheld steamer, click here to see Amazon’s Choice. It’s almost HALF OFF! (Make sure your student’s name is on it, because people will “borrow” the handheld version.)

  • Bluetooth Speaker. They need it. College students need their music, and they need to be able to hear it well. My daughter has two different JBL bluetooth speakers, and my husband has one too! They come at different price points, so stick with me from highest to lowest. For big sound, I recommend the JBL Boombox. At Amazon, you can purchase the latest Boombox 3 for $499.95 here, or go for the Boombox 2 for $299.95 (a Black Friday savings of $25%) here. Both offer 24 hours of playtime on a charge, and both are waterproof! The Boomboxes are portable, but a little bulky. For something smaller, go for the JBL Extreme. The latest version, the Extreme 3, is available for Early Black Friday Savings at 24% off here. However, for big price savings without sacrificing quality, you can get the Extreme 2 on an Early Black Friday Deal for as low as $144.99 here. Both offer 15 hours of playtime on a charge!

  • Hulken Bag. When I tell people about Hulken Bags, they look a little confused at first, but when I show them a Hulken Bag, they get it. These bags carry a lot. They are lightweight, and they roll very easily. I keep one in my car, for those times I need to take a lot of returns somewhere. My daughter uses hers when she had a lot of items she needs to take in from the car or to the car. I recommend the medium Hulken Bag, and right now, you can get a great Early Black Friday Deal! These rarely go on sale, but there’s a 20% off coupon on Amazon right now that will save you $22 off the $114 price! That’s a deal! Take advantage of it now here.

  • Cordless Handheld Vacuum. This one is self-explanatory, I think. College students use these to clean up crumbs or small messes, and they use it to suck the dust/dirt out of their laptop keyboards. Come to think of it, I need to use one on my keyboard right now! Amazon’s Choice is the Black and Decker Dustbuster QuickClean you can purchase here.

  • Amazon Fire TV. I purchased this very 32″ TV for our daughter’s bedroom in her apartment, and then I purchased one for outdoor use at our house. Our daughter doesn’t care anything about regular programming. She simply wants to be able to access her streaming apps on a TV screen, and this Amazon Fire TV does the trick! Priced at just $99 right now (normally $139), it’s a deal you can’t beat! Get it here.

  • Air Purifier. Dorm living means lots of people sharing space. An air purifier can work to absorb some of those germs and clean up any dust particles in the air. Lots of people say it is absolutely essential for dorm living. Get Amazon’s Choice here.

  • Lapdesk. These have been around for a long time! I remember using one at home in high school…and maybe before! They’re not terribly expensive, but now you can get 20% off this one on a special Amazon Early Black Friday deal! Get it here.

Happy Shopping for the future college student on your list!

by Kelly Mattei

Safety/Wellness Items I Have Ordered for My College Daughter

Safety/wellness items I have ordered for my college daughter.

As parents, we never stop worrying, do we? Our daughter is a junior in college. A few weeks ago, she fell ill…mono/pneumonia/bronchitis. It was scary when I could hear deep wheezing through the phone, so I jumped on a plane and went down there. She is living in an apartment with three friends, but I was surprised they didn’t have some of the basics for illness/wellness and safety. I’m sharing, so you can double-check that your college student has the necessities if he/she gets sick. Here are some items I ordered or picked up for them while I was there:

  • Thermometer. I swear my daughter had one in her medicine box when she went to school, but it wasn’t there anymore, and none of the roommates could come up with one either. This is an absolute essential. In fact, go ahead and get two of them, because you know one will go missing.There are lots of them out there, but get the one I got from Amazon here. *Also, make sure they have the meds they need if they do get sick: acetaminophen, ibuprofen, cough and cold meds, etc.
  • COVID/Flu Home Test. Y’all, I had the flu in January. I feel pretty sure I acquired it standing in line at Customs when I came home from Mexico City. When I started feeling badly, I thought, “I guess I’ll be going to a germ infested doctor’s office tomorrow to get tested for flu.” But then I checked to see if there is a test on Amazon. There is, and it was delivered to my home overnight. With one sample, it tests for COVID, Flu A, and Flu B. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ITEM! Soon after receiving the test, I knew I had Flu A. After that, I knew I wanted to keep those tests on hand during flu season at my house. I also got one for our daughter at her college house. If she tests positive for flu A or B, she can call her doctor or an online doctor and get Tamiflu. ***Also, encourage your child to get a flu shot!*** Purchase the test here. (While you’re thinking about it, go ahead and order one or two for home…you’ll thank me this flu season if someone gets sick.)
  • Cold Mist Humidifier. As soon as my daughter was diagnosed with pneumonia, I knew she needed a humidifier. When I mentioned it, she said, “The doctor recommended it too.” I actually ordered one at a local drugstore for her to pick up, even though she was sick, just so she could have it quickly. This is one of those things we should just have anyway. Order one at Amazon here.
  • Pedialyte. A proven brand for replacing electrolytes and staying hydrated, Pedialyte makes powder packets that you mix with water. Powder mixes are easier to store than bulky bottles, and these last a long time. They’re good to have on hand for mono, pneumonia, flu, or even stomach issues. Get them from Amazon here.
  • Multivitamin. When I had mono as a teenager, the only things my old-school doctor recommended were lots of rest and a good multivitamin. These college students burn the candle at both ends. Get them a multivitamin, simply because you don’t really know what they’re eating or how much rest they are getting. Get a good one from Amazon here.
  • Ring Doorbell. While I was there, one of my daughter’s roommates mentioned that she would feel a lot safer if they had a Ring Doorbell, so you know I had to get one. I opted for the wireless one for easy installation. It’s not cheap, but it’s the lastest model and easy to install. Get it at Amazon here.
  • Window Alarms. Another safety feature? Window alarms. If your kids have a ground floor bedroom, they might feel safer with window alarms on the windows. For under $30, you get alarms for four windows. Get the ones I purchased here.
  • Portable Safe. I know, the words “portable” and “safe” don’t go together, but this one attached to a fixed item. She doesn’t have any real valuables, but she does have some small items that might walk away if someone didn’t ask to borrow them and forgot to return them. No, I don’t mean her roommates. I mean other people who visit. Sometimes, there are lots of people in their apartment. This safe attaches to the shelving in her closet and has a combination lock. Get it here.
  • She’s Birdie Personal Alarm. You’ve probably seen these before. Highly recommend. At about $30, it does offer a little peace of mind. Get it here.
  • Pepper Gel Spray. If you’re really concerned about safety, pepper gel spray can be a great thing to have. Instead of the old school liquid spray, this won’t blow back on the person spraying it. A friend told me about it over lunch yesterday when she was telling me a story about a guy walking into her daughter’s room! The guy was friends with someone else who lived there, but that’s not OK. Get the pepper gel spray here.***Just make sure they don’t try to board an airplane with it.***
  • Door Security Bar. After the Idaho murders, our daughter became more aware of real dangers. We have door security bars on all our exterior doors at home, but she wanted one for her bedroom door in her apartment. If your child lives somewhere that people might be in and out of the apartment or house at all hours, it could be a good idea to have one of these to secure the door. Get it here.

This list, obviously, is not a complete list of everything they need for health and wellness, but it’s a start! Don’t forget you can likely order groceries for them through Instacart! ***Also, remember to check/replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors! *** Do what you can for your child!

***I am an Amazon Associate, so I am compensate for items purchased through my links.***

by Kelly Mattei

College Nesting?

***I posted this two years ago, in 2022, when I was preparing to send our daughter off to college 450 miles away. If you’re about to send your child off to college, you can do this!***

College nesting?

Nineteen years ago, we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our daughter. She was due on October 11, so in August and September of that year, I was in full-on “nesting mode.” Anyone who has ever expected a baby knows what I’m talking about…that need to get every detail squared away before the baby arrives. Back then, we read all about it in What to Expect When You’re Expecting, so we weren’t surprised when we found ourselves lining drawers and washing everything in sight.

Fast forward 19 years, and I find myself doing the same thing.

Why am I “nesting” for my soon-to-be college freshman?

Why am I nesting for my soon-to-be college freshman? It had never occurred to me that this could happen, but a couple of days ago, as I packed up some IKEA bags with dorm bedding, lighting, and other items, I realized, “I’m nesting.” Unfortunately, I haven’t ever found a book called What to Expect When You’re Sending Your Child to College, so I don’t have any reference. Sure, I have called my friends who have college kids and asked them about it. They all assure me that what I’m doing is perfectly normal…that it’s a way of dealing with the transition. I just wish I could see it in writing somewhere.

Is the transition going to be easy? No. I am beyond excited for our daughter. She is going to enjoy the full college experience at my alma mater. Sure, there will be days she is stressed out or even homesick, but hopefully, I will be able to talk her through it. Or her friends will distract her. Or she will get busy and forget about homesickness. As for me, I don’t know who will talk me through it. I will miss her like crazy. Will I be able to handle it? Yes, of course. No, I’m not planning to move to be near her college. In fact, I have three big vacations planned for the month following her departure. If that doesn’t help take my mind off it, nothing will.

But that’s why this whole college nesting thing happens…for the parents. Any good parent is likely a little worried about their college-bound kid. I’m not worried about her handling the school work. She will figure that out. I know, too, that she will make new friends quickly…especially since she will be living in a dorm. It’s more of a concern about her spinning her wheels trying to get everything else done. I know she can and will do it, but my nesting instinct is making me prepare everything I can for her room. Cold/nausea/pain medications? Check. I don’t want her to have to run out to look for meds if she is feeling poorly. Cleaning supplies/vacuum cleaner? Check. I have no idea how often she and her roommate will clean the bathroom in their dorm room, but I want to make sure the tools are there. Laundry supplies/clothing prep? Check. I have packed a stand-up steamer and laundry supplies, including Static Guard, a wrinkle releaser, an on-the-go spot remover, and a small sewing kit. Basic school supplies? Check. Having a few things in advance won’t hurt. Bins and organizers for the room? Check. They likely won’t be used as planned, but they have them if they want them.

I know she and her roommate will need to go out and get more things after we, the parents, hit the road. It will give them an excuse to get out of the dorm for a little while. Do I think they will end up doubling up on some of the things I have carefully packed and organized for them? Yes, because they won’t even look at a lot of the things I have packed. They won’t even realize they already have rubberbands and paperclips. And that’s OK.

Whether they use the things I have packed or not, I will know I sent her off prepared for most things. She might go out and look for Band-Aids for the blisters on her heels even though I packed them in a medicine box for them. And again, that’s OK. I know those Band-Aids are there for them. That’s why I’m “college nesting,” just like other parents are all over the country right now. Sure, it’s for them, but mostly, it makes me feel better about her departure. By focusing on mundane tasks, I am not focusing on the fact that this child (adult?) I have nurtured and loved for almost 19 years is flying the coop.

She is leaving us and will never live in our house again on a permanent basis. I think that’s the fact I am trying to process while I’m preparing her for the next school year. We are proud parents. We are happy that she is moving into this next phase of life, and we are excited about what it means for us too. But it’s going to be a transition, for sure.

I guess I should get busy packing up some clothes for her today.

by Kelly Mattei

Sorority Rush Resumés

Sorority Rush Resumés.

Every year, between March and July, I see lots of resumés for girls who are planning to participate in recruitment at various schools throughout the south. And every year, I have to tell almost every young lady to add some information, so I’m going to tell you now what type of information needs to be included on the resumé for recruitment. *Also, keep in mind that old-school “rush packets” are not necessary these days. Most alumnae simply want a digital resumé (not all that paperwork!), because they will be submitting them online anyway.

In asking an alumna to write a recommendation, it’s OK for Mom to make initial contact, but the girl needs to do the “official” ask herself. The girl needs to communicate with the alumna directly via phone/text/email. Also, unless the alumna says “no thank you necessary,” it’s a great idea to follow up with a thank you note. Now, onto the resumé information:

First, keep the resumé to one page if at all possible. In fact, I always say, “Just find a way to make it happen. No one wants to flip pages. They should be able to glance at your resumé and see how awesome you are almost immediately.” There are great samples and templates all over the internet. You can purchase templates on Etsy.com or use the Canva templates. It’s not difficult. See some examples at Etsy here. ***If you have already submitted your multi-page resumé, do not panic. It’s not a big deal; it’s just more ideal if it’s one page.***

So what needs to be included? All of these things:

  • Full name along with the name you prefer to be called. For example, you could put “Mary Ann Jones (Mary)”
  • Full street address, including zip code (you’d be surprised at how many don’t include the zip code). If you want, you can add your dorm information for freshman year, but it’s not necessary.
  • Contact info: email address, cell phone number, and any social media accounts
  • Photo: include a headshot photo of yourself near the top of the resumé.
  • Education: This should include the name and city of the high school (or high schools) you attended. Also, include your year of graduation. THEN put the name of the college you will be attending and what your major is, if you know it.
  • GPA and test scores. It needs to be included. If you don’t put your test scores, they assume they are way lower than they probably are.
  • Family information: Parents’ names, colleges attended, and their Greek affiliations, if applicable.
  • Honors/Awards: This is where you list any and all honors you received in high school, beginning with the most significant! They can be school awards, awards from an athletic club sport, musical awards, theatrical awards…any awards. Remember to include Honor Roll (9,10,11,12), any honor societies, any all-conference or all-state athletic awards, and even any superlatives. If your classmates named you as “Most Likely to Succeed,” put it on the resumé! Add any award that makes you stand out! If you received an award from a volunteer organization for “Outstanding Volunteer,” put it on there.
  • Scholarships: List any scholarships you received for college. If you didn’t receive any, no big deal. Just don’t include the category on your resumé.
  • Leadership: List any leadership positions you have held during high school years. Captain of the volleyball team? Add it. Sunday School leader at church? Add it. Camp counselor? Add it. Secretary of student government? Add it. Swim lesson teacher or coach? Add it.
  • Activities: This is where you list your extracurricular activities…pretty self-explanatory. List any sports, clubs, or anything you are a member of.
  • Service: This is where you include information about your volunteer work during high school years. They like to see that you care about your community. Volunteered to coach little kids in soccer? Add it. Volunteered for Meals on Wheels? Add it. Get it?
  • Work Experience: Had a job? List it. Worked at a Christmas tree lot? Add it. Babysitting? List it. Sold items online for extra cash? If you were doing it as a job, you can count it. Add it.

If you haven’t built and distributed your resumé to alumnae who can write recommendations for you, do it today! It’s officially July! Get it done today! And remember: KEEP IT TO ONE PAGE!

by Kelly Mattei

You Are Not Going to College with Your Child

You are not going to college with your child.

Why am I saying that? Well, because it seems lots of parents think they need to be involved with their child’s college experience. I’m here to tell you: you do not need to know anything, Mom. Even if you went to your child’s orientation session (or plan to attend), you don’t need to remember the information. College is your child’s job. It’s not your job. If you keep assisting your child with everything he/she needs to do/know, your child will never learn to do it on his/her own. Stick with me, and at the end of this piece, I will tell you what you can do to make your child’s transition to college more successful.

I think parents became more “helicopterish” with their college students when colleges and universities started offering orientation sessions for parents. No, just no. It makes me sick. I have said before that I went with my daughter two years ago, but I only went because it seemed everyone else was going, and I didn’t want her to feel like an orphan! I skipped out at lunch on the first day and never looked back. I simply couldn’t take it. It made me crazy that parents were asking questions kids should have been asking for themselves. If I had a second child, he/she would be going it alone, and I would feel great about it. You know why? Well, I truly believe those parent sessions are simply babysitting sessions to keep parents busy after they have traveled there. It wasn’t terrible, but I did not need to know the information they were putting out there. Where to park? I don’t care. Where to eat? I don’t care. I have already graduated from college…way back in the 1980s…and I figured it all out myself.

In 1985, my parents didn’t go to orientation with me! No way! I drove myself two hours to the university, found the dorm without a navigation system in my car, learned what I needed to know, made my schedule, and drove myself home…alone. In fact, I don’t recall seeing one parent at orientation at The University of Alabama in 1985!

And while I’m at it, allow me to also remind you that you don’t need to make your child’s academic schedule. Again, he/she needs to learn how to do it on his/her own. I see parents on the parent pages regularly talking about helping their kids make their schedules. What??? I don’t even know what classes my daughter is taking! And my parents never knew what classes I was taking!

Take a deep breath, Mom. Your child can navigate college without you. If you don’t believe that, maybe your child shouldn’t be going too far from home. Mine goes to a school 450 miles away, and it’s the greatest thing I ever did for her…letting her do college on her own. She takes care of herself and handles everything on her own, and we don’t waste our time talking about school. We talk about life and fun things, instead!

So, how can you help your child with the transition to college? I’m not a counselor or psychologist, but I am a mom, so I know a little bit. Here’s what you can do:

  • Help them prepare to outfit their dorm room. Gather what they need, and purchase what you don’t have. (Amazon Prime Days are coming up in mid-July, and there will be lots of dorm stuff on sale…a great time to get good prices! Come back to my site to get information on some special deals!)
  • Answer the phone when they call you…anytime, day or night. That first semester can be difficult, so they might need a sounding board. Be there for them. Be supportive. Be positive and encouraging.
  • Make sure they know what to do in emergency situations.
  • Provide whatever they need.
  • Most of all:

Let your little birdie fly! It might not be easy, but it’s important! They can do this! And you can too!

by Kelly Mattei

Now That Our Kids Are Grown(ish)…

Now that our kids are grown(ish)…

Do you look back and think how silly and unimportant some things were? I do. I do it all the time. There were so many things we thought were life-altering, but they just weren’t. When a friend with a 3rd-grade child said to me recently, “I was horrified that my child didn’t turn in her homework,” I responded, “Really? It doesn’t matter.” When another friend said, “My child doesn’t want to play any organized sports,” I responded the same way.

Don’t get me wrong. I think all kids should play a team sport at least once. It teaches them a lot, but that’s all the preaching I will do on that.

As for the forgotten homework in 3rd grade? A few years down the line, I know it didn’t matter, and hopefully, other moms will see it really didn’t matter for their kids either. I wish I had been able to look at my daughter when she was that age and had forgotten to bring a book home and say, “Honey. It’s OK. I promise it’s not a big deal.” Even if I did say it, the hard part was getting her to realize it too. As long as it’s not a habit, I truly believe it’s not a big deal. Educators might disagree, but whatever.

I was not one who ever knew much about our daughter’s homework. When she was in 3rd grade, another parent asked me, “Is your daughter ready for the Bunnicula test?” I must have looked at her like she had fourteen eyes. “The what?” “The Bunnicula test!” I promise I asked, in less nice terms, “What the heck is a bunnicula??” The other mom informed me it was the book they had been reading for school. I laughed and said, “Oh, honey, I have no idea what she’s reading.” The only thing that might have made that scene better is if I’d been wearing a colorful caftan while smoking a cigarette with one hand and holding a martini in the other…you know, like moms in the 1970s. I might have, inadvertently, hurt that mom’s feelings, but it was the truth. I didn’t keep up with my child’s homework. That was her job. I did, however, go back to the school one time (OK, more than once) to get something she had forgotten. The teachers preached against that, but they didn’t have to see my child stress over it. Plus, if I forgot something somewhere, I could drive myself to get it. She couldn’t, so I took her. Yep, I was that mom. I didn’t want to deal with the stress of listening to my child stress out over it, so I took her back to get the book. And you know what? I would do it again, if only so I could have a peaceful evening at home. But in the overall scheme of things? That book didn’t matter one bit. And that assignment really didn’t either. As long as she wasn’t falling behind in school and wasn’t making a habit of forgetting things, it really didn’t matter.

I know. All parents do things differently. Some are trying to make sure their kids are headed for Ivy League colleges, as I learned quickly when my child entered middle school in sixth grade. At the parents’ meeting at the beginning of the year, lots of parents asked about which math track their kids needed to be on. Others asked about the best “science track” and which classes counted as academic classes and which ones didn’t. I wasn’t one of those. I always just believed she would fall into the right “math track” or “science track” for her, so I wasn’t one of the moms asking those questions. At that meeting, I was one of the moms in the back row trying really hard to stifle an uncontrollable giggle about something a science teacher said…a double entendre she didn’t realize was a double entendre, and the fact that she didn’t realize it made it even funnier to me. I think it was something on a graph, and she called it a “g-spot.” I literally had to walk outside and compose myself. But I knew I had found a kindred spirit among the parents when the middle school admin team was talking about school sports and a mom raised her hand with a question. “Do y’all have a laundry service for the uniforms after games?” I had to peek around heads to see who had asked, because I wanted that mom to be my friend! I didn’t care about the math track and science track! That would work itself out. I wanted to know about the laundry service! Alas, there was no laundry service. In hindsight, I should have invited that mom over to drink wine and do laundry with me. It’s OK, though, because our kids are at the same university, so we can get together on campus for drinks and not even have to worry about laundry!

It’s not all about school, though. Parents worry about sleeping babies and overstimulation. As for worrying about sleeping, I did my fair share of that…not so much worrying about our daughter as I was worried about me. I had a livewire on my hands! She was busy from the time she emerged from the womb and didn’t want to miss a thing! It nearly killed me. I had that baby girl/toddler/small child who would not take a nap. Yeah, she slept at night but not excessively long. I heard people talk about how they trained their babies to sleep 16 or 17 hours a day. I should have just handed them mine so they could see what life with her looked like! And when she started moving around, there was no sitting still…ever. In fact, she still doesn’t sit still for long, and she’s almost 21! I think some kids are just born sleepers and some aren’t. Don’t try to argue with me. You won’t win that argument. Later, I was glad she didn’t sleep during the day or need lots of nap time, because we could just keep moving all day…and we did! Looking back on that now, none of it really mattered in the long run. It was all just a blip on the radar of life.

Growing/raising a child has taught me a lot, and one thing it taught me is that lots of issues are simple blips on the radar of life. It’s sometimes difficult to remember that as something is happening, but it’s true. Yes, there are big problems in life, but a third grader not turning in an assignment is not one of them. Not completing the summer reading isn’t a big deal, either. I look back on how those stupid summer reading assignments ruined parts of summer, and it still makes me a little angry. I felt like the stupid summer reading was an intrusion on my time with my child, and in hindsight, I truly wish I hadn’t made her do it. I wish I had told her not to worry about it, because in the overall scheme of life, it wasn’t going to matter. I wish I had told her to enjoy the long, fun days of summer.

However, I let the summer reading assignments get to me (and her), so I’m telling y’all now:

Enjoy the long, fun days of summer together with your children.

by Kelly Mattei

Sorority Rush Prep Should Be Well Underway

Sorority rush prep should be well underway.

If your daughter is participating in sorority recruitment, especially in the south, you need to be knee deep in preparations by now. If not, it’s not too late, but get busy. I wrote a piece in February called Don’t Sweat Fall Sorority Rush Yet, and in it, I included a timeline of preparation. It’s almost mid-June…let’s gooooooooo! To read the piece I mentioned, click here.

In the piece, the timeline mentions the wardrobe in July. That is when it should be shored up and ready to go. Shop now for rush appropriate dresses. That means you don’t want to be too flashy, too skimpy, or too matronly. Most college-age girls know what is fashionable, but if you wouldn’t wear it in front of your boyfriend’s mother, don’t wear it for rush.

If you haven’t registered for rush or made any required videos, get busy. I’ve mentioned this before: don’t read a script for your video, but have some talking points, making sure you cover any prompts they have requested. Smile and be confident, and use good lighting!

Millions of young women have participated in recruitment over the years; you can do this!

Please send any questions, comments, or concerns. I love getting questions!

by Kelly Mattei

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy.

A few weeks ago, I was in Miami with my husband. We sat outside on the lanai one evening, and before I realized it, the mosquitoes had feasted on my feet and legs. Mosquitoes love me. I’m one of those people.

The next day, my husband caught me singing a song as I walked around. He stopped me and asked, “What are you singing?!?” I said, “Poison Ivy by The Coasters.” He had never heard it, and if you’re under 65 (maybe 70), chances are, you haven’t ever heard it either. I explained to him that, when I was in college, I went to a fraternity cocktail party where they had an old band called The Coasters playing. They sang some songs you might know like Charlie Brown and Yakkity Yak, and they also sang Poison Ivy. But why was I singing Poison Ivy on that day in Miami? I was singing it, because of the mosquito bites on my feet and legs. There’s a line in the song that says, “It’s gonna take an ocean…of calamine lotion…” I was thinking of how I needed some calamine lotion for my mosquito bites, and that made the song pop into my head.

And that’s when my husband told me he had never heard the song. Being the good wife I am, I had to play it for him, so I found it in Apple Music on my phone, cranked up the volume, and danced around the condo while playing Poison Ivy for him. Much to my surprise, he loved it! I still cannot believe he had never heard it, but he says it’s true. We laughed and sang that song for the rest of the trip. Anytime he could catch me off guard and wanted to make me laugh, he would suddenly play that song on his phone.

To see The Coasters play Poison Ivy, click here.

Fast forward a few weeks to last Friday night. One of my dearest friends of all time lives in Florida. She has two grown children, one of whom is a young man who recently graduated from Florida State University. He and two friends were driving from Florida to Maine, where they will be working at a summer camp, and they stayed at our house Friday night. We all laughed and talked while enjoying cocktails, and at some point, my husband played Poison Ivy on his phone. He was trying to make me laugh, and he was successful. I then explained all the background on the story to our young friends, and we all listened to the song together. Yes, alcohol was involved, but that song sort of became the theme of the evening.

They left early the next morning on a six-day drive to Maine, with stops in New Jersey, New York, Boston, and more…quite an adventure! Several times during their travels, I have received texts from my friend’s son. One text, on Monday, was simply a photo of the radio screen in their car with a short message that said, “We’re still listening!” It showed they were listening to Poison Ivy by The Coasters. I replied, “OMG! Maybe y’all can perform some Coasters tunes at the camp talent show!” Wednesday (yesterday), I received a text in which he said, “We were with [the girl traveler’s] great aunt, and she was delighted to hear that we wanted to play Poison Ivy in the car.” I replied with laughing face emojis and said, “I’m dead!” And then, today, I texted to them, “My husband is playing Poison Ivy right now. When it tops the charts again, we are going to take all the credit!” His response? “We already made a pact for it to be one of our most played songs at camp. We’re gonna put everybody on it!”

It’s a catchy tune, my friends. Once you listen to it, it is forever embedded in your brain! Until recently, it conjured up fun memories from college, but now, it also conjures up great memories of Miami with my husband and a fun evening with our guests! I’m thinking it’s going to hit the Top 40 within a few months, simply because we revived it!