Love
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Do You Give Grandkid Presents for Mother’s Day?
Most of us appreciate Mother’s Day more once we become a mom. It was fun to make homemade cards for our moms, but now that we are moms too, we understand how lovely it is to have a holiday that recognizes and honors motherhood. Show your mom how much you and your kids love her by making her adorable and useful gifts. Mothers Day Central suggests easy, attractive and functional gift ideas that grandmas are sure to love. Picture Frames If the outing went well, or if gram is far away, send her a picture for her fridge, desk or brag book. Pick up photo frames from a dollar…
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Encouraging Our Girls in Science and Math
Many people I know had a an unfounded fear of math in school. My fear surrounding math was a factor when I changed my major in college from a Business Major to a Health Science Degree so I wouldn’t have to take the higher level math classes. I don’t regret getting my degree in Health Science as I have just completed my Masters in Nutrition. But I do have to wonder if I had a supportive counselor or teacher encourage me – I might have been able to overcome my fear of math. Stereotypes About Girls and STEM Careers: There are many stereotypes about girls and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)…
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Helping Your Kids Move Past Disappointment
Disappointments stink! Unfortunately they are a part of life that no one can avoid so learning how to handle disappointments is an important skill for your kids to develop. Sometimes when children (and even grownups) fail at something, they label themselves a “failure”. Labels can have a devastating impact on both their self-esteem and their self-confidence. To keep this from happening, teach your children this 3 step process to develop a mindset for handling disappointment: A 3 Step Process for Handling Disappointment: Step 1. First teach your kids how to separate the disappointment from “who they are” by choosing how they talk about the disappointment. Let me explain what I mean…
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Reflections :: Concerning the Topic of Love
On the Topic of Love: When I was approached to write for this site it was concerning the topic of love. Not romantic love. Rather, how to be loving. In a practical, real-life, day after day way. A standing in a non-moving line in the grocery store, getting cut-off on the freeway, or coming home to find out yet again that the internet is down kind-of-way. There is a fundamental ancient meditation practice from India known as Vipassana. It teaches a person to steadily witness from within this moment. A primary principle of Vipassana is a Sanskrit word, Anicha. Western translation of Anicha means changing. Anicha is taught as…
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Parenting :: Swimming the Tide of Autism
This spring marks two years since my son’s Asperger diagnosis. His younger sister has been professionally diagnosed with Asperger’s and nowhere near the spectrum. I am currently in the midst of a divorce with their father, who is a walking billboard for autistic characteristics but refuses my pleas to get evaluated. When April came celebrating Autism awareness, I felt I was already not only quite aware but drowning in a sea of autism. Somehow, I managed to swim the tides for two years unaware of many frequently vicious debates within the autism community. I naively put a blue bulb on our porch on April second, then read such frightening attacks…
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The Happiness Project
Hap-pi-ness n. 1.good fortune: prosperity 2.a state of well-being and contentment: joy 3.a pleasurable satisfaction While perusing through many big-box book sellers’ shelves, you are bound to come across a precipitous amount of self-help guides and list-it journals. You might find some on weight loss or dealing with spouses, but more so than not, you will definitely come across books regarding the most elusive and sought after human condition – happiness. To be honest with you, I haven’t really read many self-help guides in the past, but recently I came across Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project. In fact, I’m not sure I would personally classify it as self-help, rather…