With the holidays now upon us, you’ve no doubt noticed the increased number of commercials for cars, jewelry, toys, and things that you NEED to buy this gift-giving season. Many of us get sucked into these traps and believe that if we give or receive these things that happiness will follow. This may be true…but only temporarily. Kids are especially susceptible to the lure of stuff during the holiday. I would like to share with you a few ways you can make sure to raise your ch

Let’s be honest. Many people dread the holidays because of their family. Everyone has at least one family member who drives you crazy when you spend more than 20 minutes together. And the holidays are usually the one time during the year where you have to spend an extended amount of time in close proximity. Now, I’m not here to tell you that you have to get along with everyone in your family – that’s probably unrealistic. However, you can enjoy your holiday celebrations in sp

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I am dedicating this blog post to couples looking for different ways to show gratitude for their partners. This post also serves as a reminder that no matter how you do it, showing appreciation for your partner is a necessary part of keeping your relationship healthy. Without regular displays of gratitude, your "love bank" does not gain any deposits (let alone interest!). Continuing to only take withdrawals from this bank will inevita

Picture this: a frazzled mom picks up her toddler and five-year-old from daycare after a long day at work. On the way home, the five-year-old begins to scream about being hungry and wanting dinner NOW! The toddler starts to cry shortly after and joins in about being hungry. With 20 minutes still left in the ride home, the mom reaches her breaking point and screams back, "Fine! We're going to McDonald's!" and pulls into the nearest drive-through to get a couple of Happy Meals,

There are tons of books, resources, classes, friends, family, and internet searching that my husband and I turned to when we knew we were expecting our first child. We prepared ourselves by taking childbirth and breastfeeding classes, getting things together for his room, buying clothes, diapers, wipes, and dreaming about what was to come. I think these things only gave us a small glimpse into what parenthood would really be like. Both of us forgot nearly everything from the

After taking a short break from blogging for two months, I'm excited to be back! I have decided to focus my practice more specifically to address parents of younger children. This means my blog posts will talk about children, parenting, you and your significant other, and strategies on how to improve these relationships. From here on, you can look forward to my blog posts the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month. Today, I'll be addressing whether you and your partner are in a "m

When is the last time you went on a date? A real date? Received flowers or gave a small token of your love to your partner? Dressed up and went to a fancy dinner with a date? Felt like you were the only person in the world your date wanted to spend time with that evening? Let me rephrase: when is the last time you and your spouse went on a date? If you are married, perhaps it's been a long time since you've dated. I'm here to tell you DATING DOES NOT HAVE TO DIE AFTER MARRIAG

For many parents, their relationship as a couple came before their children did. Therefore, it makes sense to nurture that initial connection both before and after adding more members to the family tree. Parenting can be a tricky endeavor, but mixing two peoples' beliefs, parenting styles, families of origin, family histories, individual struggles, and more can be a disastrous combination for family functioning if not done so carefully and with forethought. Dr. John Gottman (

In honor of Father's Day yesterday, I'm posting a video I found made by FamilyShare.com. This little girl has some advice for dads and how to improve their parenting skills from a unique and honest perspective. Enjoy and feel free to comment below about what tips and advice you have for dads. #children #family #father #fatherhood #happy #havingfun #kids #life #parenting

Wow, time flies! It's already week three of my five-week blog series! If your family has expanded to include at least one little one, you can probably relate to this post. Raising children and parenting with your partner is a significant change for your relationship and potentially an area where conflict emerges. Drs. John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman's research about couples who have children has shown that two thirds of parents become unhappy in their relationship wit