Lights are twinkling in our neighborhoods and holiday music is playing everywhere. The holiday season is here. I was reminded of one of my favorite Christmas songs when I was little, "All I want for my Christmas is my two front teeth...
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Shelly is an active mom and has one daughter in middle school. Shelly came to my office extremely upset. She had just gotten her phone bill. Her 7th grade daughter had sent three thousand texts in the past month and most of them were from midnight...
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Get prepared for the Holidays. The shopping malls have been ready since October with decorations of shiny tinsel, red bows, gigantic wreaths, and white lights. Thanksgiving is almost here and then the busy season hits. If you are not intentional you will be swept away in the...
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(What the hec does that mean?) My family loves to tell stories. One of these stories is about my sister when she was 13. My dad, sister and I were down at Memorial Park in Houston. We had hiked down to Buffalo Bayou. The bayou is...
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I was talking to Chelsea a 15 year old girl a few days ago. She's gorgeous and tall, yet she looked small sitting on my office couch. I asked her what was going on. She looked out the window and said, "Everyone hates me at school....
Read MoreSometimes the answer is no. It has to be, if we are going to protect our daughters. This is not the fun part of being a parent. There she is standing in front of you in her mature grown up body. She tells you, she can handle...
Read MoreHave you ever complained, "My husband won't stop and ask for directions." Then you go on to say, "We wasted an hour driving all over town. If we had stopped-it would have taken us 5 minutes and we'd been there on time." But moms, we're guilty...
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I love the ocean. I enjoy the smell of the ocean, the song of the seagulls and the sound of waves crashing upon the shore. Nothing feeds my soul like the ocean. Last week I took one last trip to the beach before school starts. I...
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'A Mother's Heart' is not talked about in the parenting books. Most parenting books focus on giving you tools and techniques to get through the teenage issues. These books are very helpful but there is more. The more is about mom as a person. Mothers are...
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I don't think the hardest part of being a mom is the physical tasks like running a household, helping with homework, or making sure your daughter is on track. I think the hardest part of being a mom is how it affects our mind, heart and...
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You love your teenage daughter--but do you like her? It's common for moms to worry, obsess, and do their best to love their daughters. But if they're honest, what with the entitled attitude, defiant actions, and impulsive tongue, it's often hard to like them. Bottom line:...
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Do you evaluate if you're "getting it right" as a parent, by how well your daughter's performing? This feels logical. You think, "If my daughter is behaving and performing well, then I am doing great, but if not, I must be failing." Here is the problem...
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I remember when I was 8 months pregnant when an acquaintance came up me and said, Is this your first? I said "YES" in a happy voice. With a smirky grin she said "You just wait!!!!!!!!!" A few years ago someone asked me how old my daughter was...
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Do you remember driving with your kids on the family vacation? It seemed like a good idea, but 30 minutes into the trip the kids are bored and they start bugging you with 2 questions; "Mom, how much longer?" and "Are we there yet?" You...
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Is your happiness dependent on your daughter's happiness? Here's why I asked you this question. Last week a mom told me with a big smile on her face, "I guess it's time to go back to my recovery meeting," I asked her, "Why?" She told me that...
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This is a great question to ask yourself. How do you want this year to be different? The problem is we don't give ourselves time to ask ourselves this question or come up with the answers. Most of us never take the next step, which is...
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Summer is starting to fade away, and the reality hits us. Another school year is upon us. For many mothers the first day of school is a happy day. You get your time and space back. You can relax because you know your daughter is back in...
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What is a thriving home environment? A thriving home environment is all the circumstances, conditions, or factors that enable and encourage your family to thrive. Your daughter can be fabulous, but if she is planted in stressful or negative soil she is not going to thrive. I...
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You know that your daughter needs a good night's sleep, but it's hard to implement. You tell her to go to bed, and she tells you that she has to finish her English paper. And what do you do? You cave. ...
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Current trends show that teens exercise less and sit more. The problem is teenage girls need exercise more than ever. Exercise gets kicked to the curb with screen time (Internet, Facebook, and TV) and demanding homework. Another reason for the decrease in exercise is the super star...
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