“Mom, what do you think I should do?” 

My daughter Caroline just started her first semester at Temple University, Japan. Her night is my day, and vice versa, so I often wake up to messages, pictures, or voice memos from her.  It’s a great way to start the day...

I duct-taped my 3 year old’s car seat buckle.

Yep, you read that right. 

The year was 2006  and we were on vacation in Cape Cod when Claire’s explosive behaviors began. It truly felt like an out of the blue, 180 degree change in our child. The crying, body...

"I don't know but I'll figure it out."

This is what my then 18 year old daughter Caroline told me after arriving in Japan only to find that the Aupair job she had lined up had fallen through.

I world away I was in a bit of mama panic and did what I counsel parents never to do ‍ peppered her...

“My toddler just won’t listen to me! And don’t even get me started on how they don’t follow directions.”

If I had a dollar for every time I heard a parent navigating the toddler years say this…

But here’s the thing.

Hearing isn’t the same as...

I did not have sporty kids,  And I'm not going to lie, I was relieved.  I watched my sister and brother in law, who have three VERY sporty kids, lose their heads juggling the number of practices, games, and tournaments… per sport, per kid, every season of the year. 

...

My three kids were born between 2000 and 2005. Their early years were filled with friends and family wanting to give them digital toys that talked, LeapPads, and hand-me-down Ipods. (remember those?)

And me, politely saying “No thank you. I don’t want them to think of...

How often do you get caught in the trigger trap reaction cycle? It’s so easy to do and hard to break out of! 

Reactions are live-time, high emotion, frustration point solutions. They're short lived, and you have to repeat them over and over and over. And, they often lead to...

You’ve heard this quip, right? It’s along the lines of, put your money where your mouth is and no pain - no gain.  

In plain speak, we tend to take action when we feel invested. 

My daughter loves to sing and she’s blessed with a voice that, if she was willing to share it with the world, everyone would want to hear. 

Seriously, one day I yelled up the stairs and down the hall (as only the mother of a teenager can) Turn that radio down! 

It wasn’t the...

During the infancy of this blog I’m turning the vulnerability spotlight on myself so that you can really get to know me at the deepest level that a blog connection can create. To that end, I’ve been attic diving into old papers, photos, and VHS tapes (yes, you read that right) and...

All I’ve ever wanted to do was be a parent. If you follow me anywhere on line, you already know that. If not, I mean… well the pics say it all. (Yes, my Cabbage Patch Kid had a first and middle name.)

Blood may be thicker than water, but that’s science and this is spirit. ...