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.

    Recent studies show that today’s teenagers are more anxious and stressed and less independent and motivated to grow up than ever before. Twenty-five is rapidly becoming the new fifteen for a generation suffering from a debilitating “failure to launch.” Now two preeminent clinical psychologists tell us why and chart a groundbreaking escape route for teens and parents.Drawing on their extensive research and practice, Joseph Allen and Claudia Worrell Allen show that most teen problems are not hardwired into teens’ brains and hormones but grow instead out of a “Nurture Paradox” in which our efforts to support our teens by shielding them from the growth-spurring rigors and rewards of the adult world have backfired badly. With compelling examples and practical and profound suggestions, the authors outline a novel approach for producing dramatic leaps forward in teen maturity, including• Turn Consumers into Contributors Help teens experience adult maturity–its bumps and its joys–through the right kind of employment or volunteer activity.• Feed Them with Feedback Let teens see and hear how the larger world perceives them. Shielding them from criticism–constructive or otherwise–will only leave them unequipped to deal with it when they get to the “real world.”• Provide Adult Connections Even though they’ll deny it, teens desperately need to interact with adults (including parents) on a more mature level–and such interaction will help them blossom!• Stretch the Teen Envelope Do fewer things for teens that they can do for themselves, and give them tasks just beyond their current level of competence and comfort. Today’s teens are starved for the lost fundamentals they need to really grow: adult connections and the adult rewards of autonomy, competence, and mastery. Restoring these will help them unlearn their adolescent helplessness and grow into adults who can make you–and themselves–proud.

    But why not gain all these in your life? And, how would you go about balancing them all out? One book can give you all the answers : How To Win Your Day. Inside the pages of How To Win Your Day,details on how to conquer each day in your life with more peacefully, embrace your victories and challenges with gratitude,use your will power to overcome those challenges and accomplish all of this with the right attitude. How To Win Your Day can help you take actionable steps to living a better, more fulfilling and successful life. You will also learn: How to create more peaceful and productive days, simply by establishing a proper sleep pattern; How to kill the very foes that impede you from your success with sheer will power; How changing your daily habits can improve your health and your life. How our Attitude plays a very important role in our journey towards success. The power of Just One Step. The most important thing how our Family plays an important role in our professional success. By learning how to manage all the activities we will indirectly learn how to manage our time and give the extra time to the one we love. It might be our family or our passion. And finally what are the problems author faced, while implementing the things told in the book and how he overcame those problems. Along with well thought out advice, tried and true techniques, keen insight into what makes up a day in our lives, as well as dozens of positive affirmations, How To Win Your Day touches all the areas of our life helping to maintain balance in every area of our life. It also includes a FREE Guided Meditation which helps you to have right connection between your body and mind. How To Win Your Day aspires to guide you through trials and tribulations, help see you to your personal best self and get you to the next level of achievement. But, you must be willing to learn these ways and steps, in order to gain the strength you need to claim your success. And, this inspiring book can and will show you how. How To Win Your Day is an answer to your many problems, a guide to your success and a blueprint for a life well lived. Download now and live each day with more confidence and happiness. Scroll to the top of the page and select the buy button.

    Winik's amusing tales of outrageous mistakes, haunting uncertainty, and the never-ending struggle to stay true to her heart strike a powerful chord with creative, impassioned, independent-minded free spirits who know they're different -- and want to stay that way. Winik's seven Rules for the Unruly are: THE PATH IS NOT STRAIGHT · MISTAKES NEED NOT BE FATAL PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ACHIEVEMENTS OR POSSESSIONS BE GENTLE WITH YOUR PARENTS · NEVER STOP DOING WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT MOST LEARN TO USE A SEMICOLON · YOU WILL FIND LOVE Rules for the Unruly shows us how taking risks, living creatively, and cherishing our inner weirdness can become the secret of our happiness and success, not our downfall.

    These are the rules of contemporary wisdom rewritten for our time—the new adages to be passed from woman to woman that represent the best advice about mastering life in our complex twenty-first century era. Illustrated with four-color art throughout.Prudent Advice isn't what your mother taught you--it's more. Delivering 500 mini-lessons meant to educate and entertain, Curtis writes with wit and fresh insight into motherhood wrought from her own experiences and those of her blog followers. Time-honored canons such as "Dress appropriately for work" and "You reap what you sow" mingle with more unconventional prudence such as "Talk to strangers" and "Don't be afraid to get lost." She teaches how to jump-start a battery and make summer squash with goat cheese pasta--everything a mother wants for her little girl.Curtis emphasizes the importance of being ethical, practicing kindness, thinking for oneself, and seeing the beauty in everything and everyone, especially on the inside. This compelling guide also offers poetry, inspirational quotes, and recipes meant to embellish cultural perspective and cultivate a well-rounded, sophisticated woman. Prudent Advice will inspire mothers and daughters to celebrate their differences while unearthing shared core values that bond them together as family.

    All you need is to be encouraged to find your voice and commit yourself to positive values. The stories resonate with positivity and hope for the future, and are infused with the belief that even in the darkest time, light shines ahead to show you the way forward.

    By resisting the temptation of "unnecessary busy-ness", fathers can spend more time at home without jeopardizing their careers.

    You might never again have to hear the words: "Mommy, Ann drooled on me on purpose." You could have the answer for every "It's not fair!" your kids have ever whined at you. Constant sibling squabbling--and the ensuing demand that you pick a side, quick--can wear parents down and totally drain the fun right out of family life. Now in this groundbreaking book, Dr. Anthony Wolf offers a whole new strategy for coping. In a fresh, funny, and straightforward way, Dr. Wolf presents three essential rules for dealing with sibling arguments--rules that, if followed, completely remove the root causes of bickering. From teasing and hitting to rivalries and boundaries, Dr. Wolf addresses a wide range of issues, and he does it with humor and a pitch-perfect ear for actual kid/parent dialogue. This is a book about real children--who they are, what they want, why they act as they do, and what you can do to alleviate the strife between siblings.

    She had, against advice, put all her eggs in the motherhood basket, willfully derailing her successful law career. As teenagers, her precious children did not need her in the hands-on way they previously had. Her husband and she had grown apart because, among other things, they failed to nurture that important relationship. She was depressed and stuck. When she turned 50, she had the distinct feeling that she was on the downward slope of her life. Actuarially speaking, she was. So when she turned 50, her gift to herself was to go on a crusade to make the most of whatever time she had left. She set out to do 50 new things that were significant, at least to her. The list spanned physical challenges, adventure travel, and lifestyle changes. Each taught her something about herself and about how she wanted to lead the next years of her life to come. This work follows the work she did to accomplish those 50 new things and shows readers how to make their own action lists - whether it be joining a knitting club or hiking the Himalayas, every item has significance for each individual and speaks to her needs and desires. The list is the match to spark the fire that will light the years after 50. Readers will hear about Maria's adventures and the rewards of each. Accomplishing new things, learning new skills, deepening personal and spiritual relationships, and seeking out challenges will add the spice to a life that may feel repetitive, insignificant, inauthentic, or just plain boring.

    Thomas W. Phelan, an internationally renowned expert and lecturer on child discipline and ADHD. Completely updated with the latest research and treatment information, All About ADHD is a comprehensive guide to ADHD's symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment in children and adults, including information such as:· The basic symptoms of ADHD and their effects on school, work, home, and personal relationships· The differences in ADHD between boys and girls· Counseling, school interventions, behavior management, and social skills trainingWritten in easy-to-understand language and with a positive, treatment-focused approach, All About ADHD is a must-have resource for parents, teachers, physicians, and mental health professionals.

    But 'Hollywood' articles about pregnancy and fertility at middle age gloss over the tremendous amount of financial, emotional, and physical effort faced by couples struggling to conceive.In this warm, funny, empathetic book, journalist Julie Vargo and literary agent Maureen Regan -- women who have experienced personally almost every aspect of infertility -- give readers a glimpse into what to expect when you're not expecting. Hormones, sperm counts -- nothing is too personal for these two outspoken women!Ranges from technical to humorous and everything in between. What are good, snappy comebacks to the question, 'Why aren't you pregnant?' What is the difference between gonadotropin releasing hormone and progesterone?' Should you freeze your eggs? These questions and many more are answered, and in the tone of a couple of good friends. Between them, the authors have gone through hormone treatments, miscarriages and multiple insemination's -- so they know firsthand the roller coaster ride of trying to achieve pregnancy.With wise advice on how to communicate with doctors, husbands, friends, and mothers, this book is an invaluable guide for all women facing infertility.

    Here's everything you need to know to get your child out of diapers once and for all!The First-Time Parent's Guide to Potty Training features:- An easy, step-by-step, 3-day program for ditching diapers, including nap and nighttime training, day care strategies, and on-the-go potty training - Troubleshooting advice for accidents, backsliding, temper tantrums, and more - Guidance for your child if they're anxious, willful, or simply reluctantYou can potty train your child, and this book will guide you and cheer you on every step of the way.

    On their tender shoulders rests a great nation, a baffling world and a beautiful planet. It is, therefore, my dharma to share what I know so a parent's hand is raised only to protect their child." Penning his thoughts on the art of spiritual and mindful parenting, Om Swami sheds light on many a scenario where parents and children don't always see eye-to-eye. Believing that the right guidance at the right time can make any child recognize their true potential, the author shares some extraordinary insights based on his own knowledge gleaned from experience and various psychological studies that can help steer your child in the right direction. Touching upon parenting challenges, building the right pillars of guidance and nurturing core values, this book has all you need to raise happy, healthy children.

    Chapter 1.The birth you want: what motivates the willing woman?Chapter 2.Reality hurts: birth in the labour-bypass eraChapter 3.It’s a fine line: reframing pain in labourChapter 4.Approaching labour: what pain type are you?Chapter 5.Crisis of confidence: when self-belief crumblesChapter 6.The right support: who will get you through?

    “Just a mom?” There’s no such thing. Motherhood isn’t a second-rate occupation. It is a career that can maximize your talents and strengths to their fullest. Look past the surface of mothering—the endless tasks and frantic pace—to the incredible skills required to raise your children while nurturing your marriage. The truth is clear: You’re a professional in one of the most dignified, demanding, and rewarding fields any woman can find. Upbeat, candid, and engaging, Professionalizing Motherhood will do more than help you radically redefine how you see yourself. It will guide you toward practical development as a career woman who specializes in the home. Jill Savage helps you determine a strategy and set goals for professional training and growth. From the foundational to the practical, you’ll learn about Establishing your mission Developing a network of “coworkers” Discovering your value in Christ How marriage and mothering work together Organizational and homemaking basics Taking care of your personal needs Professionalizing Motherhood casts a fresh and meaningful vision for mothering as a worthy career choice for this season of your life.