I’m sitting in my sister’s beautiful home, listening to my kids and their cousins squeal with laughter as they play in the “bouncy bounce”. All morning they’ve been playing outside in the snow, only to come in to warm up with hot cocoa and marshmallows. The bouncing in the basement is a wonderful […]

Yesterday’s Oprah featured guests who had tried to kill themselves but survived. Their purpose for appearing on the show was to help others who might be feeling as desperate and tell them that they should reach out and ask for help. However, one woman did say that after repeatedly sharing with her mother […]

By the end of last week, I was fried. End-of-year work issues, holiday parties, over-eating, drinking and spending, gift-giving galore, school performances, teacher presents, another month of interrupted, crumby sleep…Talking to my friend, I shared with some embarassment that I was feeling kind of desperate, really bottoming out. Without missing a beat, she […]

Last night I got 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep and I feel like a new person. I still wound up getting out of bed early (4 am) after I put Quinn back to sleep but the difference in how I feel when I have not slept is remarkable. Today/right now, I don’t mind that […]

For many of us, we conjure up the past not just to resolve an issue (which is often healthy and productive), but with a compulsive tendency to re-hash and re-live it because it irritated us (which is a waste of time). The mantra, when it’s over, it’s over, is a reminder to me that […]

A good analogy is that if the anger well becomes too high, there’s a threat that the water will spill over. In real terms it means we might let loose on our kid by doing or saying something we otherwise wouldn’t have. Becoming aware of your internal anger state is a key preventative tactic. If […]

Within each mantra is the simple though powerful opportunity to grasp that there is always another way to see the situation. A way that potentially offers greater peace, comfort, acceptance, and balance than our initial response.

There’s a lot about mothering that is beyond our control. As humans, however, we have an incredible capacity to change the way we think. Altering our thoughts, in turn, powerfully influences the way we feel and act. Really.

Mine are not bad children. In fact, most of the time they are extraordinarily lovely and cooperative. But all children can push our buttons or make us entertain many drastic thoughts toward them. Often, without our full awareness, we devise negative scripts about ourselves or our children that undermine our ability to mother effectively.

Mine are not bad children. In fact, most of the time they are extraordinarily lovely and cooperative. But all children can push our buttons or make us entertain many drastic thoughts toward them. Often, without our full awareness, we devise negative scripts about ourselves or our children that undermine our ability to mother effectively.