Olliebop Blog | Inspiration, Ideas and Information for Busy Families | Parenting Teens and Tweens

The Olliebop story began in a yellow house by a stream just outside of Saratoga Springs, NY. Our tween-aged kids were getting older, I was professionally restless, and Ollie and I decided “why not?”. The two of us could hang out together around the laptop between carpool runs; one of us typing and the other acting as foot warmer. {Do we need to say who does what?}

We specialize in fetching finds for families that make life easier, more beautiful, and all around more fun. Ollie and I are happy to share our finds — and we’d love to hear about yours, too.

Please sit with us for a while. We hope you’ll stay!

Why “Olliebop”?

Ollie is our 7 year old yellow lab, and I’m “BOP” {my fun-sounding married initials}. Put the two together and it makes a catchy word. And, the domain name was available which is some kind of miracle these days. In comes the amazing Elisa Sheehan, of Lis Design, and Olliebop became our thang!

Ollie has been spreading unabashed joy and yellow hair around our house for nearly five years. He was a rescue from New Orleans, and we think he’s just about the best gift we ever gave to our family. Ollie gives a warm greeting to all he meets — including our kitten, Pablo, whom he allows to chew on his ears daily.  He’s our poster boy for optimism.

 

And I’m BOP {aka Beth}, 44 year old mom of tweens: Hudson {14} and Ella {12}. I’m married to a wonderful man — my college crush. I’ll call him “Mr. BOP” {partly for some anonymity and also because it’s fun}. This summer will mark our 19th anniversary, with thanks to mutual kindness, his offbeat sense of humor, and a bunch of hard work. Vermont is my beloved home state, and we live in beautiful Saratoga Springs, NY. {You really should visit!}   I am not always optimistic; but my blog is.  The writing I do here is a purposeful reminder to focus on the good stuff.  If you’d like to read more about me and my plans for Olliebop, check out the FAQ.

So, Mr. BOP and I are on-the-go with these two amazing tween-aged kids who are getting bigger by the millisecond. We marvel at them daily, as parents do. Even with their downsides {pause, for a nod to the the whining, bickering, and hormonal outbursts that come with the territory…}, this really feels like a sweet spot in life. As Gretchen Rubin so aptly says in her bestselling book, The Happiness Project,

The days are long, but the years are short.

So, before the two sleeping giants that we tuck in each night get any bigger, I’ve resolved to make the most of it.

And in this spirit, Olliebop was hatched. We offer an upbeat resource on the days you feel you can add some extra flair — or, an escape on the days that you can only fantasize about doing so! We’ll go fetch the best products, tips, tools, and inspiration that we can find and we’ll toss them your way — kind of like sharing a favorite stick. But without the drool.

{Please do drop a line to suggest a post!  We’re all ears.}