Part 1 Early October I thought, "It's not even Halloween. Why is there Christmas decorations up at the shopping center near my house? This did not give me a happy feeling. I felt this oh no feeling. The holiday season is already here. This sounds very...
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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. In a blink of an eye Thanksgiving will be here and then the busy the season hits. If you are not...
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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...
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You want the best for your daughter. You want her in the best school, taking the best classes. You want her involved and developing her abilities and skills. You want her to be challenged and all this is important for her brain development. But there is...
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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. Its brown and murky and God knows what...
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"My daughter won't talk to me." I hear this from many of my moms. Yes it is challenging at times. But there is a way your daughter will talk to you but you may need to change your approach. It's important to evaluate 'how" you try to...
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When was the last time you had that "I Feel Good" energy? The kind of energy where you crank the music up in your car and pretend you're James Browns singing, "I feeeeeeeel good." Have you done any happy dances lately? Do you wake...
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Your daughter is going to push you. Just when you feel you have worked through one issue another one rolls in. This is where it is super important that you are crystal clear about your decisions, boundaries and guidelines for your daughter. Your clarity is so...
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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 love pie. All kind of pies: blueberry, chocolate pecan, peach, apple, blueberry and lemon meringue. I could go on and on. I remember Nana my grandmother making lemon meringue pies. She didn't buy the frozen crust from the grocery store. She would make a homemade...
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What would you like to be different this year? This is a very important question to think about. You really can strategize and set a new tone for the year. If you don't have a plan you are going to default into the same old struggles...
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The streets were bustling this morning. Mothers and fathers were holding hands with their little ones as they walked to the neighborhood elementary school. The cross guards were busy directing traffic, while parents, children and dogs cross the street. It is the first day of school. My...
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Last week Sara came to see me in my private practice. Sara had that spaced out, frazzled look. She said, "I want my life back. I am SOOOOOO ready for school to start." Sara is definitely not alone. This is the time of year mothers are...
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I have a few questions for you. 1. When you go grocery shopping do you tend to go to the same grocery store and buy the same grocery items? 2. Do you drive the same route to work every morning? 3. Do you eat the same thing for...
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Have you ever been in this situation? You are in the passenger seat and someone else is driving. (Maybe your husband) He thought he knew where he was going but you end up driving around in circles. And you say to this person (your husband),...
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What do you expect out of life?  "The other shoe to drop" "Not much" "Someone is going to let me down." "I never get a break." Or for your daughter… "She's going to blow it." "It's too late." "Now what is she up to?" "She is going to wreck the car.' "She is...
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