ThiNK Family

Handling PMS During Mother’s Day

Not all women experience PMS (you lucky ladies, you!), but for those who do, it can make for a very difficult time. Years ago I suffered terribly, but no more and today I’m going to share my secret remedy with you.

You can put your Pamprin and Midol away: the PMS I’m referring to is not what you’re thinking, although it does revolve around women…well, mothers that is.  The PMS many may be dealing with this week is Post Mother’s Day Syndrome. In other words, the day didn’t go as planned and now you have to wait a full year to see if your family can get it right next time. So, let me back up just a bit so you can get the whole picture and not think I’m an ungrateful whiner who is only focused on receiving baubles and other such sentimental doo-dahs on this very special day.  That’s hardly the case (well, sort of). I won’t drone on about my six years of infertility and how desperately I waited to celebrate Mother’s Day.  I’ll jump right to the first one…

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ThiNK Family

Nostalgia and the Female Anatomy

I’ve always been one for nostalgia and at last week’s dental appointment for my daughter I took an unexpected trip down memory lane, where I sheepishly relived a little slip of the tongue.

Last week I had the pleasure of taking my six-year0old to the dentist.  Actually, it really was a pleasure, because she loves going to have her teeth cleaned, and I get to sit in the waiting room and relax with a book. (Have you read the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy yet?) While she had her teeth cleaned, I started experiencing a bit of nostalgia.  My first “real” job was working in a dental practice.  It more or less fell in my lap when I was a senior at Narragansett High School.   While most of my friends were slinging orders of burgers and fries at the drive-thru, I was learning all about bicuspids and molars.  One of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Mary Z. Smith, was the reason I was so lucky to get this wonderful opportunity.  She happened to …

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Letter: NK Mom Urges Others to Support Saturday's Rainbow Race

After losing her daughter 10 years ago, one North Kingstown mother is urging others to support mental illness research by joining in the Rainbow Race.

  Dear South County neighbors, I write with a mixture of enthusiasm and sadness as I encourage you to participate in the First Annual Rainbow Race this Saturday, May 5 at 9 a.m. at John and Cindy’s Harvest Acre Farm on Route 138 in West Kingston. This measured 10K Race and 5K Walk covers some of the most picturesque rural areas of Washington County. I first met John and Cindy Duncan at a funeral home in December 2005. Their daughter, Cassie – whom I knew from chaperoning an eighth grade trip to Washington, DC the previous May – had committed suicide. I felt compelled to attend her wake, not just in my capacity as a teacher at the school she had attended, but because I had lost my own daughter, Molly, to suicide four years earlier. In the …

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ThiNK Family

What's Your Crime Scene?

Though I’ve never been arrested (and for that I am grateful because I know our faithful readers love the Patch Police Log) my experience in church last month made me feel criminal.

We’ve all got at least one — some of us a lot more — and if we don’t take the time to finally do something about them, not only will they continually cause us angst and waste our precious time, ultimately they can cost us thousands of dollars!  Oh for heaven’s sake, I’m not referring to our in-laws (really!) I’m talking about good intentions, which will get you nowhere if your don't do something about them. My biggest intention is getting organized. In September, when my kids went back to school, I was hell bent on organizing every square inch of my life. This included everything from my bins of 10-year-old Mary Kay cosmetics to the seat pockets in my car that were still harboring miscellaneous doo dads such as empty juice box cartons, a …

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Tell It Like It Is! Blog On North Kingstown Patch

We know you have something to say, so join the conversation on Patch and share it!

About this time last year, Patch rolled out a new platform for members of the community to be heard. Now, we're making it even easier to get involved in North Kingstown Patch's Local Voices. At Patch, we're devoted to finding ways to make your life as ridiculously easy as possible. So we've changed the way blogging works to make it easier for you to start blogging right away. All you have to do to get started is visit our blogging page and click "Post on Patch." From there, let your typing fingers run rampant (but coherently, please) and when you're done writing and have saved your work, hit submit! Patch is more than a news site. It is a free place to post upcoming events. It's an online conversation about the community. But to keep the …

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Letter: School Committee Members Urge Residents to Support School Programs

Four of the seven school committee members are asking voters to support school programs in next year's budget.

The North Kingstown Town Council will be having several meetings at the end of this month and the beginning of next month to discuss the budget for 2012-2013 beginning July 1, 2012.  The agenda for these meetings has not been set as of this date but the meeting dates are April 30 at 7 p.m. and May 1, if needed, at noon.  Final certification of the budget will be on May 2. So what can we expect this budget will hold for our taxpayers?  This is anyone's guess but we do know that the school budget – if funded at less than the 4 percent increase that has been requested – will result in reductions in many areas.  Some feel that these reductions are just a threat to get the parents’ attention to support the budget. Not so.   Over the last three…

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Letter: State Must Focus on Workforce Development

A letter to the editor from State Senator James Sheehan and State Rep. Donna Walsh advocates for workforce skill and education development.

To the editor, Rhode Island was the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. During the manufacturing era, our workforce was well suited for the abundant opportunities of its day. Today we are undergoing a new revolution towards a knowledge-based, innovation economy. This change requires a paradigm shift in thinking by both policymakers and the people of our state. However, it is telling that, even with the high unemployment rate in Rhode Island, we continue to hear from business owners who are having trouble finding qualified candidates to fill open positions. It is for this reason that a key component of our economic development efforts has been and remains workforce development. Worker training and re-training to ensure that …

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ThiNK Family

Letting Loose in The Dollar Tree

I've made it my mission this year to take advantage of our local resources in order to save money. The Dollar Tree is at the top of my list!

In case you haven’t heard, I’ve gotten a little obsessed recently with couponing.  I wouldn’t call myself an “Extreme Couponer” — yet — but I’m hopeful that someday in the near future I will be able to stand in my garage and fondle my very own stockpile of Rice-A-Roni, toothpaste, and if I’m really savvy, an endless supply of toilet paper, preferably two-ply.  Until that time, however, I’m finding other ways to try and save money. Believe it or not, my latest obsession — hanging out at the local Dollar Tree — has now become a bit more than a way to watch my pennies. Sure, I’ve puttered in and out of these super bargain stores since the first local one opened, and my inner Bargainista was greeted with dozens of gift wrap supplies, plastic …

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ThiNK Family

A 'Mighty' Reason to Never Give Up!

It really doesn’t matter if you’re 25 or pushing 50—if you’re passionate about what your purpose in life truly is, you will ultimately celebrate in a mighty way!

Nearly 10 years ago I experienced one of those defining moments that completely changed my life—and definitely for the better!  It wasn’t the purchase of a grand new home, a dream vacation to Hawaii or discovering that I wouldn’t be publicly stoned after my first attempt at karaoke. (The theme to the Love Boat: go ahead and boo hiss.) Nope, it was something far more important. I was hired by The North Kingstown View and The East Greenwich Monthly as a writer. I had spent my years after college working full time in a local dental practice as the office manager. That was my first “real” job, and I loved all 15 years of it.  Not only did I work in a top-notch, high-quality and interesting environment, I happened to get one of the best perks I…

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Letter: 'It Is Time to Start Working Together'

Council Member Chuck Brennan urges his fellow council members to work with the school department to solve budget problems.

To the editor, I just wanted to pass along my thoughts on Monday night’s school budget hearing. With the exception of the few speakers who routinely complain about everything, what I heard was a community in love with their school department. We all heard from a talented and well-spoken group of high school students and their parents letting us know how grateful they are for all the opportunities they have in our schools. I was happy to hear my neighbor, Jen Johnson, attesting to the quality of our high school after seeing her son attend schools all over the country while his dad served in the US Navy. I can relate to these speakers having had five daughters attend our schools with my youngest, Kaitlin, being a senior this year and in her …

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Govstench

8:45 am on Thursday, April 12, 2012

It probably takes about 10 households to pay the compensation for 1 top step school teacher. If you take that ratio across the town, you can see how expensive public education has become. Granted, the school committee and town council should work more closely togehter and give the poor taxpayer a break. You want everyone to work together? Looks great on paper, but will it happen in this town? …   more ›