MJ Vieweg | RealiTeen

Tia Bandavanis

My name is Tia and I'm very excited to join the Realteen team. I am a fun-loving, caring, and colorful person. I begin and end everyday with a smile. There is only one man in my life and that is my 15 yr. old son John. It's been my job to raise my son from a young age through his teen years. I am a single mom and I feel as though I have done my best to help my son become a responsible young man. I was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in the Maryland and D.C. area. I moved to Jacksonville, North Carolina in 1992. I now consider myself to be a native. I miss family dearly but find ways to visit often. My home and heart is here in Onslow County. This is pretty much due to the fact that I have raised my son here and found it to be a great place to live. I currently teach preschool at a local preschool. I have been teaching for over 20 years. I love children of all ages and could not imagine myself doing any other profession. I enjoy outings with my son to the movies, watching football, visiting local spots such as the Lynwood Park Zoo, going to the beach, and canoeing along our local rivers. I look forward to writing and reading the blogs. I feel this is a great opportunity to explore my parenting role and others. Parenting my teen son has been very rewarding and challenging. However, I have learned that being an effective parent is about learning and growing along with my son!

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I’m MJ Vieweg, one of the original MomTalk Bloggers. Other than a 6-month hiatus, I have been sharing my thoughts on the trials and joys (yes, there are some) of raising teenagers for over two years. I have two teen sons; Max who is nearly 14 and Gus, who is 16. Max is still with me at home, Gus got a chance to fly the coop early and is finishing his high school years at the North Carolina School of Math and Science in Durham. Like any mom, I’d like to have a good relationship with my sons. In addition, I try to parent with a purpose - I want to raise confident, optimistic, and resilient kids. Maybe not so easy to do for a single parent, and not something you can assume will happen even when you think you are doing your best, but certainly worth striving for. Much of what I share on this blog are my experiences trying to secure that good relationship with my boys and encouraging those three traits in them. I believe whole-heartedly in this quote attributed to Jackie Onassis: "If you bungle raising your children, nothing else in life you do really matters." Stop by often, read my posts and share your thoughts!

Team of Two

April 29th, 2012 MJ Vieweg

A team of two can tackle the yard cleanup at my house.

I’m glad I am getting my deck ready for summer. Sure, everything I wrote in a previous post is accurate, yet I have discovered …
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Getting Ready For Summer

April 26th, 2012 MJ Vieweg

Summer's coming - got plans?

The beach will always be my first choice for blissing out, but this summer I am going to relax on my back deck a bit more often!

Summer may not officially start for some …
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A Home-Cooked Meal

April 24th, 2012 MJ Vieweg

Sometimes a simple dinner at home beats a restaurant meal.

I made chicken soup from a neighbor’s recipe for the first time while the boys were both home on Spring Break. I bought an onion, celery, carrots and …
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Right Kid, Wrong Name

April 21st, 2012 MJ Vieweg

My kids wonder why I mix up their names.

It is easy to write about things my kids do that drive me nuts. And many conversations that mothers have amongst themselves deal with the …
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Brotherly Love

April 18th, 2012 MJ Vieweg

Do your teens spend time together?

During Spring Break, both Gus and Max were home with me. Well, sort of. Max was off at Disney with his school band for four days. Gus was with his Beloved. …
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