It adds to the Christmas magic when you have children in the house. Children get so excited anticipating opening presents, being off school and seeing family. But with children also comes drama. I’ve heard more than a few parents worrying about their children being off their schedules for 2 weeks over break. We’ve all been there! When children have too many late nights, too much sugar and not enough structure there is bound to be trouble! Here are some guidelines to help you survive and connect with your kids during winter break! [Read more…]
Love. We all desire to be special to someone. We will give a lot of ourselves to see a relationship work and blossom. However, it’s crucial we recognize the signs of a toxic relationship, so our passion to make a relationship work doesn’t blind us to the truth. Most people believe that they would quickly leave an toxic relationship. Unfortunately, that is not always true since a toxic person can be very manipulative. It can become increasing hard to know when a relationship has gone from one with a few problems to toxic. So let’s review the 5 warning signs of a toxic relationship. 
I love gifts! I love receiving and giving them. Now my husband is slightly more low-key about gifts than I am. But Country Boy does recognize quality. When he purchases an item or puts it on his wish list he only wants the best. After years of watching him I have come to trust his judgement. So I’m pulling together 12 hard-working gifts for the outdoor man in your life, that we have tested, to make gift giving just a little easier this season. Whether you are married to a country boy, a hunter, an outdoors man or a construction worker, your man is sure to love these durable and practical gifts! 
I have a love/ hate relationship with boundaries. I love when I can see my boundaries working and allowing my life to run smoothly. I cherish those sweet moments when it all connects. I rise above my feelings to see the bigger picture and move forward emotionally. Growth is wonderful. Well it’s wonderful when we are at the end of a growth period and can see the finish line! And we can say, “Yes, I made it! I’m awesome!” It’s amazing when we conquer these 4 crucial steps to happiness through healthy boundaries! 
Life is tough! It can knock you down with little or no warning. But even on those days that are hard there are moments that cause you to pause and smile and maybe even have a good chuckle later. So today, we are going to look at some deep wisdom (sarcasm) that I have learned from my trips to the ER. This past year, has been one of the toughest years physically so I want to celebrate a little having made it through the year. I am celebrating my SCADanniversary (1 year from my last SCAD heart attack)! Don’t Wear Skinny Jeans and Other Lessons From the ER is my hurrah for those of us who are learning to survive and thrive despite some medical challenges! 
Snow, the smell of cookies baking and twinkling lights are all things that may remind us of the holidays. So does arguments, stress and busyness. For some the holiday season represents a positive time spent with family, cooking and shopping. While others struggle with anxiety at the thought of being around relatives, the expectations of trying to be happy and all the preparation required as the holidays draw near. Most people land somewhere in the middle. So how can we mentally and emotionally prepare ourselves this year? We want to enjoy and create some joyous holiday memories while still being realistic about our time and what is out of our control? Let’s lean into this question together to develop 6 survival tips to reduce holiday stress. 
It happened when my daughter was still in the church nursery. She was barely talking, and she was already mentioning her two “friends” by name. I was caught off guard by my daughter’s strong desire to find friends. But what started off as cute antics has grown. Those girls are still all friends 11 years later. And fortunately, no one still bites each other any more! Deep friendships are something most of us long to find. Friends can make life so much more fun and the hard times more bearable. Other times our friendships can be a source of great personal anguish. So how to know when to keep or fire that friend is a survival skill we should all attain. It will help us to draw and treasure the right friends and walk away from people who will drain us.
Dreaming of creating a business? Would you love to bring in some additional income, but not sure how to juggle your time as a mom? I want to share with you 3 inspiring mompreneurs for the aspiring creative.
If you look up mommy guilt on the internet there is a lot of information. Feeling guilty as a mom is common. We all want to feel like we are doing a good job and that we are accomplishing this all important job of parenting. For this post though I want to go beyond some of the surface areas to look at the deeper issues below. When we parent from a wounded place we set a pattern of parenting from guilt that hurts our authority as a parent and adversely affects our child in the long run. So let’s ditch the mom guilt and discover 5 ways to break free of parenting from guilt. 