Tag Archives: Parenting

Whether you are a fresh-faced teen hitting a university campus for the first time or an older woman headed back to school, surviving college is …

In order to be successful in sports, business or in life, for that matter, it is essential to understand the power of camaraderie and teamwork. …

If only children could turn their hyperactive mood swings on and off like a light switch, right? After all, getting them to do what you …

The path to motherhood is one that holds joy and excitement for most women. However, for some, it is marked with frustration and disappointment. According …

Wow! Life has sure changed in the last year since I’ve blogged. Let’s see, I moved from Virginia Beach to San Antonio, separated from the United States Navy and became a civilian for the first time in ten years, started working towards my Bachelor‘s Degree in Fashion Management and Marketing, and hmmm… oh yeah, I made another human being! Her name is Aysen, and I couldn’t be more excited about her coming into my life.

There is something special about being able to stand in your own space, complete with your own opinions, and accepting others for their individual amazing ways of viewing this world. To be making choices that resonate just with you.

Though I'm not claiming to be an expert in child development, I think having and raising 6 children (3 of which are grown, successful women) puts me in the ball park to at least give a little advice. Raising 5 girls has been a life-changing experience for me. I've seen my strengths and, of course, my weaknesses as they impact my girls. Over the years I've realized there are certain things that girls need to know in order to be strong, happy women. Here are my top 5 lessons to teach your daughter (preferably before she gets to college).

It's Mother-Daughter week and it is also “Triggers” week in my group therapy. Coincidence? I think not. The kicker – my mother (whom I do not have a relationship with) recently contacted me on Facebook. It’s funny when you start making changes in your life, the little things that you try to ignore, rear up their ugly heads. What would the old me do?

From the moment I knew you were inside my womb, I dreamed of how beautiful you would be, how smart, and how loving to the world around you. Your first cry marked the beginning of your incredible journey of life in a world that isn't always kind or loving back. So with the amazing joy I felt at that instant, a fear also gripped my heart. I was afraid of losing you. Every mother feels this bittersweet tug of war in her spirit. I also feared that I would somehow not be a good mother to you, that I would monumentally screw up your life in some obscure way.

Being a woman, who is smack in the middle between structured and unstructured, I tend to see both sides of the to schedule or not to schedule debate. And depending on where you fall on this scale of either beautiful chaos or rigid order, you likely are gazing at the proverbial green grass on the other side. The unstructured woman will long for the day when she actually feels caught up and able to find her sofa, dinner table, and bedroom floor. Where the rigid perfectionist dreams of having time to just enjoy her life, to take off and just do something fun. Well, ladies, you can learn from each other. With a few tricks taken from both extremes, you can find balance and get things d

So the Australian Open tennis tournament is on in Melbourne at the moment, and watching the Australians play and compete got me thinking... We have this thing in Australia called the ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’. Mind you, I think it’s in other places around the globe, but this is my experience of it here. It’s a rather ugly scenario where Australians like to chop down those around them who are standing taller or achieving more than they are, so that everyone appears to be on the same level, average -not making any one look less!

Hi all, I've experienced a grand scale of emotions, events, and dilemmas as a parent of six children, especially now that three of them are teens still at home, and one of them is only 2.5 years old. Yes, you could say my life is interesting, crazy, and even a little stressful. One of the strangest things is having to think about all the different things that they each of them need, like my two teen girls will likely need prom dresses here soon; my 13-year-old son needs baseball garb; and my youngest is itching for one of the outdoor playsets that make home...well, more like the park. That's a lot to think about and plan for, even for the most experienced of moms.

I was reminded today about how lucky I was that my two oldest children (now adults) were not high-strung, rebellious, down-right nasty, or any of those negative personas that make any woman reconsider her motherly throne. But that was like a million years ago.

Let's focus for a moment on all the campaigns that affect our lives, how they help, how they hurt, how they need to be changed. Ask yourself this: what campaign would I start if I had the chance? Really.

You know how they say you thrive in the areas of your life on which you focus most of your attention? I was thinking about how much energy we moms put into the lives of our children.