I LOVE the Christmas season; It gives me strong Christmassy vibes at the first sign of a snowflake. The magic, the smells, the family time, and the joy it brings the kids. Having said that, I also find it to be a stressful time. Like many moms, I feel the burden from the most wonderful time of the year. This is the first year that I have considered Elf on the Shelf. My daughter is now at an age where she’ll hear stories from classmates about the shenanigans their Elves are getting into. As an Elf newbie, I am considering whether I want to bring this relatively new tradition to my family. I just don’t know if I’m one of those families—an Elf family. This time of year, my sanity hangs like a heavy Christmas ornament on a floppy tree branch. The season is labor-intensive and stressful, and busy. You’re…
If you’re like me and have struggled to put your finger on exactly why it’s so damn hard to be and raise a girl or young woman these days, I have the book for you. Girls on the Brink is required reading for anyone desperate to understand the scientific, environmental and social causes that are creating a mental health crisis among girls and young women. Using new brain science to explain how our modern lifestyle is completely at odds with our girls’ unique psychological needs, author Donna Jackson Nakazawa provides crisp, digestible insights and advice that are easy for the layperson or the stressed-out, at her wit’s end parent to understand and put into action. Why do we need this book? It is estimated that one in four adolescent girls suffers from symptoms of major depression. Girls and young women are also twice as likely as their male counterparts to…
The winter brings colder days, shorter days and especially in these 2021 days, we’re experiencing cabin fever and COVID fever, or is it just anxiety? Let’s not get started on homeschooling and the copious amounts of time we’ve spent with our families who, as it turns out, are pretty annoying in high doses!