Self Care for Parents: Addressing Depletion

We see it often in parenting literature: in order to be as patient, kind, loving as we want to be as parents, we need to fill our cup.  This series of articles is intended to help parents explore self-care and recognize the pitfalls faced in implementing it.  We’ll begin with a focus on the underlying [...]

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A Missing Key to Addressing Whining and Complaining

A parent’s self care is often a missing piece in parenting advice.  We need to be as loving and respectful to ourselves as we are with our children.  Therefore, when addressing whining and complaining, we must strike a balance between attending to underlying feelings AND setting loving boundaries to avoid negative behavior and communication patterns. [...]

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A Missing Key to Building Children’s Self-Esteem

A client asks, “How can I help my child have good self esteem, when I don’t?” The fact that she can recognize that this is a problem is the first step!  So often, parents, particularly those that have personal histories to heal, focus intensely on helping their children to have the confidence they don’t.  However, [...]

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Conscious Pregnancy; Surrendering to the Mystery

Six years ago on Saturday, my water had broken and I was eagerly awaiting contractions, ready to meet my baby girl.  The way her birth unfolded was a surprise to me and completely out of my control.  Compared to my 40 hour labor with my son, once things got rolling with castor oil she was [...]

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Following bliss: The Birth of a Conscious Parenting Playgroup

It is delciously soul satisfying when you find that sweet spot of meeting a need while also doing what you love.  This is what I feel after each Wonder, Love, and Connection playgroup. For a long time, as I supported mothers in conscious, self-compassionate mothering , I have been aware of the need for a [...]

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Embracing vulnerability; what conscious pregnancy is teaching me about opening our hearts

The thin veil on emotions that one experiences while pregnant is a divine gift.  I have experienced this pregnancy as a time of great shedding; shedding old fears (what if, what if, what if), shedding old limiting beliefs (I can’t possibly mother three, my children can’t handle sharing me, etc.) shedding external things like clutter [...]

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The Boss of Me!: (Re)Claiming Authentic Power

Today, I offered Maya a bite of my sandwich so she could try the sauce.  She made a face that looked like ‘I don’t want to,’ but she didn’t say anything, so I said, “Oh you don’t have to.”  She laughed and said with confidence, “I know I don’t have to take a bite if [...]

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Celebrating Easter’s Renewal with the wisdom of our Children

Every year, on Easter morning we take our children to Oak Canyon Nature Reserve; the woodsy piece of preserved land that we were married in.  As we walk the dirt and oak leaf covered trail, we talk about the new life that is growing all around and within us.  We stop and marvel at the [...]

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3 Steps to Nurturing your Child’s Intuition

Many have heard this story: A little girl who just became a big sister, is found in the baby’s room, leaning over the baby’s bassinet.  She is overheard asking the baby in a whisper, “Tell me what God is like, I’m starting to forget.” Intuition, our natural connection to the divine and wisdom in us, [...]

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Little Body, Enormous Spirit: what my baby (in utero) is teaching me about the power of our souls

With all of my children, I have taken time while they were in utero to connect with their spirits.  With Lucas, in the midst of my anxiety about his health, I connected to a sweet, caring spirit assuring me that all was well.  With Maya, I experienced very clearly the depth of her earthy, wise [...]

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