Last summer, we were on a family crusade to find and sample as many ice cream shops in the Hopkinton area as we could from June 20 to Sept. 1. We garnered quite a list and packed on a few pounds but it was a very worthwhile adventure! When I asked other moms about the topic, they had so many places, I can’t even quote them all! In town, we have Brigham’s at Hopkinton Drug and The Golden Spoon, which offers an ice cream take-out window. I could also list Dairy Queens in Westborough and Ashland, but we focused on homemade ice cream. (Not so much on soft serve!) Here’s my roundup with the help…
Please excuse my rant, but I’m going to say what each and every parent out there who handles the family calendar is thinking. Enough is enough! It begins with "end of year" and ends with celebration, need the following supplies, makeup game, collection for gift or something similar. The truth is I’ve gone over the edge and I really need to know where to locate a gallon of Calgon right away. You remember the commercials, right? Woman in bathtub surrounded by flowers as she mumbles “Calgon, take me away!” I don’t remember the beginning of the commercial, but in my mind, it must have been …
As parents, we all strive to serve up a healthy meal whenever the family finds the time to gather around the table. For some, dinner is sacred time, when stories are shared as well as highlights of the day. And then there are those of us who, due to practices, games, and schedules beyond our control are forced to serve some meals on the run. The conundrum for all remains the same - getting a meal on the table that meets two requirements: 1. It’s healthy a.k.a. not laden with fat and sodium; 2. AND the kids will eat it! Wars have been waged about sneaking healthy ingredients into dishes or …
September of 2002. Ahhh it was a good year! 2002 was a lovely fall and for us, it brought a new car! On a bright day in September, we drove home our new black GMC Yukon XL. The inside was sparkling clean and we enjoyed that new car smell for a good month I’d say! Back then we only had three kids, but as I drove home I remember saying to them “This car will be different kids. No eating, no drinks except water and you will clean out your stuff every time you exit the vehicle! This one's gotta last a while!” Famous last words. Well, we’ve hit a new record in our house. I have never owned the …
OK. I'm in serious trouble. Any of you who have graced me with your online presence by reading these posts know by now I have five kids. My clan ranges from a 6-year-old Kindergartner to a graduating senior. Yes, I said a graduating senior, as in high school. That’s where my troubled story begins. No, it’s not that my child is wayward. She’s a really good kid truth be told. No, she has not joined the Moonies or any other weird cult except if they have one for slobs. That one she could join with most other 18 year olds I suppose. The trouble is far more simple. She’s leaving us! She is headed …
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mary wrote this and submitted it last week, before Mother's Day. The editor misplaced it, so here it is. As for the suggestions for different moms below, any Sunday can be Mother's Day. Have a happy one! Mary Murphy Disclaimer: I must state that neither the dream nor the reality cited below has ever occurred in my own real life. The actress I play on TV, however, has lived through both! The Dream: It’s Sunday morning. As you leisurely wake up and notice it is 11 am and you’ve not heard a peep, you smell delicious baked goodies wafting into your room. Your well-pressed, smiling…
So I can sum this one up easily by saying we are not a family who embraces firearms. Guns are not the answer. We are not card-carrying members of the NRA. I will never advocate violence to solve problems. I am also the mother of two boys and three girls. The question of nature vs. nurture has always piqued my curiosity. I was raised amongst strong females who encouraged me to do anything boys can do, maybe even better! I embraced that philosophy and outpaced the fifth-grade boys in gym, setting the arm hang record, pull-up record and one-mile distance time. I was a tomboy. Dresses were for …
Spring is in the air and even if you are not expecting, spring is a time when we all do a little nesting - as in clear out the clutter and out with the old! I consider myself to be a pretty organized person, save for the sticky notes plastering my office wall (OK, I’m visual), the dreaded junk drawer and my backpack/mudroom/graveyard (eeek). But as a mom of five, I must control the chaos, not let it control me or, more importantly, my time! While this has become a booming business with organizational experts galore I’d like to share a few of my own time-tested tips that the average parent …
With the Boston Marathon less than a week away, signs of the impending race are beginning to appear around Hopkinton! The unicorn logo, a freshly painted START sign, the “It all starts here” welcoming billboard and of course, the very visible porta- potties usher in the festivities! Runners and fans alike start focusing on the weather forecast, accumulating needed supplies. Then comes the visit from the Kenyans at Elmwood School to get everyone psyched up. With our town playing host to the famed starting line, it seems all of us know someone running the marathon! This story isn’t about who is…
Eek. I just looked at the calendar and I see tax day is right around the corner. Me and my five little tax deductions have a lot of work to do! Luckily, I am fully convinced that figuring out the taxes is well out of my realm of expertise and so, I happily delegate that task to my local accountant. However, each year there are glitches on my end: missing info and forms I need to track down. Or there's info I need to somehow recall from the deep recesses of my brain regarding childcare payments or Fastlane deductions. It just goes to show there is a job out there for everyone. I have zero …
I find it funny how different things can look now that I’m grown up and have to view life through "grown-up" eyes. Really, isn’t there a chapter between our teenage years and adulthood when “they” sit us down and tell us all the little things we need to know? Like exactly what ages you have to take your child for shots. And how to talk the car salesman down on the price of a new Jetta. Or how early you need to get to the school to get a good place in the pick-up line. And what season you have to go to Target to get a winter coat or a bathing suit. It's confusing. And there’s not always logic …
I just heard that Barbara Walters once said, “Most of us have trouble juggling. The woman who says she doesn’t is someone whom I admire but have never met.” Many Hopkinton moms, and moms everywhere, classify themselves as jugglers extraordinaire. They are able to juggle a lot of different things both at home and in the workplace (which manage to merge for me in the home office.) Even though most of us are clear that a day has just 24 hours, some secretly wish for 26 because we still can’t get everything done! And in the current economic climate, moms feel they have more to do, but fewer …
According to Webster, a pet peeve by definition is a particular and often continual, annoyance; complaining, teasing and other annoying behaviors. We all have them. Our kids tend to be the source of many of them. And I’m sure few of us would ever be the root of one for anyone else right? Pet peeves, by their very nature, bring out the worst in people. Why do children find it so delightful to repeat what one person says over and over? Why do they not see that pouring three cups of milk into a cereal bowl every day and wasting two cups is torture for their mother? I decided to ask some of my…
Ten years ago I was nestled in a new home in a new town with a new baby and a new question on my plate: Should I return to my full-time Kindergarten-teaching position in Newton (spending my days with other people's kids) or extend my leave and stay home with my three young children? While it may have been a no-brainer for many, I truly loved my job turning 5-year-olds on to the joys of school. AND I loved being a mom and have always savored the baby stage. With three young children I decided to hedge my bets and extend my leave. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not so good at standing still…
It’s happened to all of us and it’s one of the reasons I love the 2- to 6-year-old age bracket. The “filter free zone” can provide some pretty good entertainment except of course when the joke is on us. When I was teaching Kindergarten I always loved Open House night when parents would say “Oh, Ms. Murphy, we’ve heard so much about you.” To which I would kindly reply with a wink “Oh, but I’ve heard so much MORE about YOU!” This week, I decided to give you a cup of humor to get you through the winter doldrums. I polled the Mom’s Council and all the moms had at least one embarrassing story to …
Well, it’s here … vacation week across the Northeast. When I lived near Harvard Square I used to chuckle every time I saw the travel agency sign with bold letters, Go Away … Often. Many of us are scratching our heads pondering how we could have our kids home again for a full week, only because we are all still recovering from January. Would you believe we had 26 out of 31 days with snow in January? Enough about all that. It’s vacation week and my thoughts are turning to sand, warmth and memories. I wondered if moms were intent on going back to the same vacation spots to create lasting …
Throughout the town of Hopkinton joy, in small bites, was delivered in the form of boxes of Girl Scout cookies last week. I think I’ve ordered Girl Scout cookies every year since I had money in my pocket! I recall one year when my doorbell never rang (OK, I was living in a 10-floor Boston apartment building on Comm. Ave.) and I had to resort to ordering them from a billboard. For the average American, Girl Scout cookie sales and indulgence are part of the fabric of our lives like Opening Day or the first day of summer. So would anyone venture to guess the top flavor sold by Hopkinton Girl …
In an effort to talk about anything but the heaps of snow outside I decided to ask a few moms I know and love their thoughts and feelings about Valentine’s Day. In the words of my less than romantic husband, “Valentine’s Day is a holiday created by Hallmark to sell more cards!” Needless to say, my expectations for raking in the jewels on the 14th are low and if a card arrives I’m good. Truth be told, I actually prefer when he does something nice and unexpected out of the blue to show his love (and sympathy) for all the dishes I wash, laundry I fold and errands I run on behalf of a family of …
Would you like to join our Moms Council, where a small group of Hopkinton moms (and dads) will advise us, as we dedicate coverage to moms and their families every Wednesday? It bugs my wife and stretches credibility when I say this but I used to spend my days looking for socks my grocery-cart riders had kicked off in the store, hearing "no, we don't have public bathrooms" for potty-training children, and sitting on the floor in a circle with other sleep-deprived moms as the kids ate the action figures they were supposed to be playing with. Yes, I was a mom. My wife had a big, corporate day …
