And a few years ago, I began to write through the stuff that I do (or try to do) to enjoy the day-to-day life with a houseful of tinies. Three years later, it remains one of the most popular series of posts I've ever done at my blog. And now it's an e-book. The book isn't about "advice" or making a one-size-fits-all version of motherhood. It certainly isn't about heaping more guilt or or unattainable standards on anyone. Mothering is very, very hard work. It's constant. It's tiring. I've found that mothering tinies exposed the parts of my heart that I could keep politely hidden from general society. It could break me in the morning, but by evening, I would feel like I've never been more fulfilled or happy in my life. It can also be monotonous (that’s something not too many people will tell you – me? I’ll tell you.) And do you have any idea how many loads of laundry a family of five can generate? (Hint: EPIC AMOUNTS OF LAUNDRY.) But the truth is: I enjoy mothering. I enjoy it a lot. In fact, I love this which surprised me. Even the daily quotidian rhythms of it are good, good, good. I even enjoyed those years when I couldn't leave the house without someone sympathetically commenting "Wow, your hands are full." Not because I have it all figured out and do things right all of the time (I don’t). Not because I’m the best mother in the world (I’m not). Not because my tinies are absolutely perfect and the gold standard of childhood (they’re not - trust me). And not because every day is filled with rainbow-and-unicorns-and-cupcakes (I wish). No, the reason I enjoy mothering tinies on the day-to-day grind is mainly because I do this stuff. And it helps me. I call them Practices because that’s what us Christians have often called spiritual disciplines, but really they’re just things I do over and over again, kneading them like yeast into my life. Everyone has their own "practices." Most of mine come from my own parents but then I picked up a few others from books or friends or mentors. And my practices may not work for you and your family. After all, this is just what worked for me, right then, in that season. As my tinies grow up, my practices shift and change and evolve, as they should. Your own practices will do that, too.

    Based on years of personal research and client feedback, best-selling author, naturopath and health coach Kylie Ansett answers the question;What is the secret to looking and feeling younger? You will learn: • How to have whiter teeth without using chemicals • How to firm and tone your face for free • How to wake early feeling refreshed and energized every day • How to have the energy of a 25 year old without taking a single supplement • Detox methods that will take years off your face and decades off your body • And much, much more! Do you ever hear yourself making the excuse: “I’m too old for that!”? Do you look in the mirror some days and not recognize who is looking back? (Other days you feel just as old as you look!) Every day more grey hairs. And wrinkles. You don’t have as much energy. You’re not as bendy as you used to be. Skin that used to be firm is, well, less firm. Is there a way? Can you recapture the energy, the vitality and the health of your younger days? Can you start looking younger instead of older every day? Is there a way to turn back time? Look at what others have said about 10 Years Younger: Way more than just about looking good. Straightforward and practical advice for anyone who wants to be more conscious about their health, looks and life choices. - Harmony Davis Interesting, heartfelt, practical and humorous. A great reminder of how easy, cheap and effective looking younger can be. An excellent resource to keep us healthy and younger looking. - Deborah Sutton There is something in here for every woman; all the tips are simple, inexpensive and easy to implement. Read this and your body will thank you. - Julie Extremely entertaining, informative and engaging. I felt like I’d just given myself an enjoyable self-pampering session. It is a workout, a spring clean & rejuvenation for the body and mind. - Melia Vlatko-Rulo Both practical and compelling - gives the most amazing ideas for how to look and feel 10 years younger. What I like the best is the 'try it on' approach. Try them all and see what fits - what a brilliant idea! - Jane E Infante A genuine and honest approach to looking younger; and good health is at the heart of it. - Coral For those who can't or don't want to try 'artificial' ways of staying young, this is a really good book. Many techniques are simple and quick, with proven effects on your body and mind. Well written and concise, with good summaries at the end of each chapter. - J This is an upbeat and original book, about aging well. I liked the format this material was presented in, providing passages followed by an action plan. If you don't envision/equate growing older as a steady, downward slide to multiple meds, limited mobility and sagging jowls, give this one a try! - Geraldine Helen Harman Every ingenious tip was made with either ingredients I could easily find in my cupboard, or no ingredients at all, so I could begin straight away. - Taya M A holistic viewpoint, rather than quick fixes, creams and lotions. Age is as much about attitude and the way we see life.

    She’d never hear him again if she didn’t survive the tragedy…Marie Lindstrom was ready to take on the world. After months of research poured into planning a birthday trip to remember, the mother of two beamed with happiness as they touched down in Thailand. And she was positive they were bound for a trek full of lasting memories… until the tsunami wave hit.Terrified by the prospect of losing all she held dear, Marie struggled to keep her head above water after being swept underground and enshrouded in darkness. But even after the catastrophe passed and she embraced what remained, the guilt accompanying her survival proved staggering.Would the soul-wrenching pain tear her apart or be miraculously transformative?No. 204 is Going Home is a heart-shaking memoir about the unbreakable strength of motherhood. If you like honest depictions of disaster, raw emotional transformations, and moving accounts of healing, then you’ll love Marie Lindstrom’s sail through calamity.Buy No. 204 is Going Home to stare into the maw of real-life terror today!

    Fully updated, this new edition includes information on the newest Food Pyramid Guide, sample servings for young children, organic baby food options, when to introduce new solids and which to try first, vegetarian baby food options, handling and storing baby food, safe uses of microwaves, the latest equipment for making baby food at home, foods likely to cause allergies and how long to delay introduction of these foods. More than just a cookbook, Feed Me I'm Yours provides time-saving, trouble-saving, and money-saving tips. It also contains entertaining "edible craft" activities for celebrating birthdays, the seasons and major holidays.

    Scott W. Cohen’s first year as a father, this book is the only one to combine two invaluable “on the job” perspectives—the doctor’s and the new parent’s.The result is a refreshingly engaging and informative guide that includes all you need to know at each age and stage of your child’s first year. Drawing on the latest medical recommendations and his experiences at home and in the office, Dr. Cohen covers everything from preparing for your baby’s arrival to introducing her to a new sibling, to those three basic functions that will come to dominate a new parent’s life. Eat, Sleep, Poop addresses questions, strategies, myths, and all aspects of your child’s development. In each instance, Dr. Cohen provides a thorough overview and a simple answer or explanation: a “common sense bottom line,” yet he doesn’t dictate. The emphasis is on doing what is medically sound and what works best for you and your baby. He also includes fact sheets, easy-to-follow diagnosis and treatment guides, and humorous daddy vs. doctor sidebars that reveal the learning curve during his fi rst year as a dad.Lively, practical, and reassuring, Eat, Sleep, Poop provides the knowledge you need to parent with confidence, to relax and enjoy baby’s fi rst year, and to raise your child with the best tool a parent can have: informed common sense.

    Breastfeeding nightmares, eating dinner with one hand, soft play hell and chronic sleep deprivation - but also the sheer beauty of falling in love again and the amazing discovery of what it's like to have a family - these are all captured in Sketchy Muma's glorious drawings.This is the perfect gift book for both young and experienced parents. Anna Lewis understands the light and shade that comes with motherhood, and it is those universal truths that will connect all those parents who delight in her sketches.

     Now, the author of many best-selling books on raising children has combined his two most successful volumes into a single revised and updated edition for new parents -- and those who need new ideas. John Rosemond's New Parent Power!, presents the renowned family psychologist's complete philosophy and methodology from the original Parent Power! supported by the details of his Six-Point Plan For Raising Happy, Healthy Children. As always, Rosemond delivers with a highly readable and refreshing tone, urging parents to listen to their hearts and their gut.

    Women thirty and older who wish to conceive naturally are often told it is a "bit too late" for easy conception, or they are forced to turn to invasive, expensive treatments. But there is a better way! With How to Concieve Naturally: And Have a Healthy Pregnancy After 30 readers will discover that it's possible to have a healthy pregnancy in your thirties or early forties. Experts Christa Orecchio and Willow Buckley share their vast knowledge of holistic health, nutrition, and fertility in this powerful program that has helped thousands of women conceive naturally and quickly. From a 12-week preconception fertility detox to a postpartum plan to rebalance hormones, this book empowers women to take charge of their fertility at any age. Orecchio and Buckley present the most current research in nutrition and homeopathy to equip women with the wide-ranging knowledge they'll need on each step of the journey to having a baby naturally, from preconception to postpartum.

    What if your baby AND you could thrive together? We cure diseases. We create artificial ears using 3-D printers. We solved how to pee in space. We can figure this out--and now Dr. Darria has done just that. An Ivy league-trained physician and mom of two, Dr. Darria combed the latest in medicine, psychology, and holistic health for answers when her own health crises struck. She now brings those solutions to moms everywhere. For moms who just DontHaveTheTime (or energy), Mom Hacks gives you the specific smallest changes that yield the biggest impact for you and your child. Every hack is a mini super-charged solution with an immediate impact. So you feel good, lose the baby weight, and are more present, while raising thriving children--in an entirely do-able, time-saving, with-you-in-the-trenches way. Her humor and personal stories bring warmth and encouragement when mothers need it most. You can be the mother and woman you want to be, and with Mom Hacks, you don't have to listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. It's time for a new mom world order.

    No parent sets out to hurt their child, but this type of parenting does just that. To raise a happy child that wants to behave, you need to retrain yourself first. You need to change the way you think and react to their behavior. You need to understand your triggers and heal yourself. Only then you can begin to heal your relationship with your children. Making the decision to be a positive parent will benefit your whole family. You will find that your children want to behave and follow your rules. You will be less stressed out by the end of the day. Your house will not feel like a battle zone. Instead, you can create a home full of peace and love for the whole family. This book will show you why strict and permissive parenting do not work. You will learn just how easy it is to embrace a positive parenting style. While learning how to be a positive parent, you will not only heal the relationship with your children but heal yourself along the way. Tags: parenting, positive parenting, good parenting, stop yelling at my son, stop yelling at my daughter, how to be a good parent, parenting advice, parenting tips, parenting, how to teach my kid, stop yelling at my kids.

    Yet as a mother-to-be, you're likely juggling so much that you simply don't have the time-or energy!-to ensure that you're always eating right. That's where this fully updated edition of the pregnancy classic comes in, making it easy to fulfill the needs of you and your baby. Eating for Pregnancy will provide you with all you need to know about nutrition before, during, and after pregnancy.Here are 150 nutrient-rich recipes, more than 30 new to this edition, designed with you and your family in mind. Each highlights "What's in this for baby and me?" and provides handy nutritional breakdowns and meal-planning advice. You'll also find:Tips to help you minimize unnecessary weight gain and keep your nutrient intake highFresh, fast, family-friendly recipes with realistic menu plansThe most up-to-date information on supplements, sources, environmental concerns, and high-risk pregnanciesAn expanded vegetarian section-now with vegan recipesHelpful information for diabetics, including ADA exchanges, recipe tips, and dining-out strategiesA unique Nine-Months-Later section, covering breastfeeding, postpartum depression, and weight loss after pregnancy-with illustrated exercises

    It is easy and helps parents become more successful too! Mother of five and successful entrepreneur Dani Johnson has coached and mentored tens of thousands of clients to become successful and without exception, their biggest stumbling blocks to achievement were the things they learned while they were kids. Dani is uniquely qualified to write this book because of her first hand perspective and experience as a success coach and speaker. The book will help adults discover solutions to why they have struggled throughout their lives to reach the success they desire and also show them how to groom their own kids for success in life. Grooming the Next Generation for Success is jam packed with easy-to-understand and apply principles and proven practices that give parents, and anyone involved with young people, practical ways to raise children who are successful now and will continue to be as adults. Teaching virtues such as respect, honor, obedience, and financial responsibility while young guarantees lifestyle success in adulthood. Instead of fumbling through life, success becomes a natural occurrence rather than an accident that they hopefully run into.

    Pregnant women are told to avoid cold cuts, sushi, alcohol, and coffee without ever being told why these are forbidden. Rules for prenatal testing are similarly unexplained. Moms-to-be desperately want a resource that empowers them to make their own right choices.When award-winning economist Emily Oster was a mom-to-be herself, she evaluated the data behind the accepted rules of pregnancy and discovered that most are often misguided and some are just flat-out wrong. Debunking myths and explaining everything from the real effects of caffeine to the surprising dangers of gardening, Expecting Better is the book for every pregnant woman who wants to enjoy a healthy and relaxed pregnancy.

    Up to 20 percent of the population is born highly sensitive, and now in The Highly Sensitive Child, Aron shifts her focus to highly sensitive children, who share the same characteristics as highly sensitive adults and thus face unique challenges as they grow up.Rooted in Aron's years of experience as a psychotherapist and her original research on child temperament, The Highly Sensitive Child shows how HSCs are born deeply reflective, sensitive to the subtle, and easily overwhelmed. These qualities can make for smart, conscientious, creative children, but with the wrong parenting or schooling, they can become unusually shy or timid, or begin acting out. Few parents and teachers understand where this behavior comes from-and as a result, HSCs are often mislabeled as overly inhibited, fearful, or "fussy,"or classified as "problem children" (and in some cases, misdiagnosed with disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder). But raised with proper understanding and care, HSCs are no more prone to these problems than nonsensitive children and can grow up to be happy, healthy, well-adjusted adults.In this pioneering work, parents will find helpful self-tests and case studies to help them understand their HSC, along with thorough advice on: - The challenges of raising an highly sensitive child- The four keys to successfully parenting an HSC- How to soothe highly sensitive infants- Helping sensitive children survive in a not-so-sensitive world- Making school and friendships enjoyableWith chapters addressing the needs of specific age groups, from newborns through teens, The Highly Sensitive Child delivers warmhearted, timely information for parents, teachers, and the sensitive children in their lives.

    Even when they work long days. Even when their kids' schedules pull them in eighteen different directions. They are not superhuman. They are not from another planet.With simple strategies and common sense, Jenny figured out how to break down dinner—the food, the timing, the anxiety, from prep to cleanup—so that her family could enjoy good food, time to unwind, and simply be together.Using the same straight-up, inspiring voice that readers of her award-winning blog, Dinner: A Love Story, have come to count on, Jenny never judges and never preaches. Every meal she dishes up is a real meal, one that has been cooked and eaten and enjoyed at least a half dozen times by someone in Jenny's house. With inspiration and game plans for any home cook at any level, Dinner: A Love Story is as much for the novice who doesn't know where to start as it is for the gourmand who doesn't know how to start over when she finds herself feeding an intractable toddler or for the person who never thought about home-cooked meals until he or she became a parent. This book is, in fact, for anyone interested in learning how to make a meal to be shared with someone they love, and about how so many good, happy things happen when we do.