Give Yourself the Gift of Love This Valentine’s Day

Most of us associate Valentine’s Day with the receiving or giving of gifts to others.  How about making this year one about giving the greatest gift of all?  I’m talking about a gift that begins with you…loving yourself enough to make some important lifestyle changes. Now that the New Year isn’t feeling so new anymore, many of us start to lose grip on the goals and resolutions we set.  The energy and enthusiasm we felt in the beginning of the year to exercise more and eat less has started to wane. In fact, some people might even be suffering from … Continue reading

Why Credit Card Spending Doesn’t Feel Real

It is true. Spending cash is painful to us, while using a credit card doesn’t quite feel real. Oh sure, logically we know that we are spending the money on that new television, iPad or boots, but there is a well-documented disconnect in our brains that makes it much easier to spend when we do it with a credit card. Think I might be wrong? The average household credit card debt through the end of 2012 was $15,422. The average cash debt? That is $0, of course. With cash, you don’t want spend what you don’t have. So why does … Continue reading

What’s Holding You Back?

Logan and I both went to the doctor today. We both have Influenza Type A, which basically means we both have this tiny microscopic germ that has taken over our bodies and left us feeling rather miserable. Not only are we both feeling a little miserable, we’ve also been banned from going back to school for the rest of the week. Logan’s not too concerned about this of course, but I know it will leave me trying to play catch-up in the weeks to come, which as a single mother is rather daunting in and of itself, but to be … Continue reading

Are Your Trust Issues Holding You Back?

After a divorce it is natural to have a few trust issues. The person you put all of your trust in betrayed you and hurt you deeply. It is difficult to open yourself up to the possibility of that kind of pain again. You don’t want to feel vulnerable, and understandably so. Nobody expects you to rush into anything, so give yourself some time to deal with these trust issues now, so that they don’t continue to hold you back in the future. I’ve had a fair number of bad men in my life, as a result it has been … Continue reading

Detoxing your Life

The other day, I was on the phone with my best friend. We were complaining about aches and pains and how we didn’t think it could be stress because we just didn’t feel stressed. Then, we proceeded to complain about different things in our lives for the next 30 minutes. She laughed and said, “But, we aren’t stressed about anything!” Stress can affect our health – both mental and physical. But how can we detox ourselves of poisonous stress? First, ask yourself some honest questions. Do you get irritated easily? Do you always feel like you are rushing from place … Continue reading

Pack Your Bag It’s Time To Go

If you are getting close to your delivery date, it is time to pack your bag for the trip of a lifetime. Before you drag out your suitcase and start tossing in your sunscreen and beach blanket, I should tell you that it’s a different kind of trip. That all important trip to the hospital (if you are planning to give birth at a hospital) where you will give birth to your baby. In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that with both pregnancies I did not pack my bag for the hospital until right before I left. … Continue reading

How Many Times Do I Have To Ask You?

If you have ever had to ask your toddler more than once to do something, you are not alone. I’m pretty sure that there are not many parents out there whose toddlers immediately respond to their every request. It can be very frustrating to ask your toddler repeatedly to do (or not do) something, only to feel like your words fall on deaf ears. There are a few reasons why toddlers do not respond to our requests the first (or second, or third) time. Fortunately, there are also a few things that we can do to encourage our toddlers to … Continue reading

Forcing Yourself to Be Strong

I have a feeling that 2012 will prove to be one of the toughest and most challenging years for me as a parent. Between some serious issues with my daughter (which I will share when the time is right) and my firstborn leaving for the military, it feels like this mommy heart can’t take much more. It has been an emotional past few days as we learned early in the week that our son has his leave date set. He will be departing Tuesday, August 7th for basic training with the Air Force in Lackland, Texas (nearly 1,000 miles away … Continue reading

Balancing Your Time

Childless couples face some different problems than couples with kids, but some of our issues are the same. One problem that I think any married couple has is spending time with one another. The specifics of the problem, however, vary whether or not children are in the equation. It’s well-known that finding time, period, when you have kids is a common conundrum. Finding time to do household chores, take a shower, spend time with your spouse, and still have some alone time can all be troublesome depending how many and what age children you have. Obviously Jon and I don’t … Continue reading

Be Present and Connect With Your Child

I live a busy life. As a single mother with a full time job, I don’t always have the time to do what I would like to do. One of the things that is most important to me is connecting with my daughter. I want to be present for Hailey’s life, I want to be involved, I want her to know that, not only do I care about her, but that I’m interested in her as a person. The challenge is always, how to find the time to really connect with my child. Time is precious but so is a … Continue reading