On this quiet Sunday, I found myself with the recently-rare opportunity for downtime. With my downtime, I read Brené Brown's Rising Strong, watched two episodes of Oprah's Belief Series with my very spiritual daughter, and even took some time to write.

Here is the page I came across in Rising Strong:

"I should win the Most Likely to Be Asked About…

I just have to share…here are some highlights of the hour-long conversation that my 10 year old daughter (aptly named Faith) and I had after this first episode of Oprah’s Belief series tonight. She has always been an old soul and a deep thinker. She asked many questions while we watched, and when the show ended, she sat silent with wet, red eyes. When I asked her if…

I WAS HIT BY A DRUNK DRIVER LAST NIGHT

Yes, you read that right. I was hit by a drunk driver last night. Thank God I walked away without a scratch, but needless to say, it was pretty scary. As you know well by now, I tend to write through my experiences in order to process them, so this will likely be a long but chocked-full post. Please read on if you…

A time such as this with the repeated violence around schools in our country and elsewhere in the world, I cling to gratitude even more. I just finished walking my dog through our neighborhood before I get ready to speak to a group of parents with Sue DeCaro this evening about conscious parenting. I felt so much joy earlier today when I left the gym that I have a…

Leaving  the grocery store this morning, I noticed a mom holding the hands of her two young children as she waited to cross the parking lot to get to her car. With the amount of information one can glean from a very short observation of another, it appeared that the mom seemed relaxed and peaceful, as did her two children.

As I reflected on this woman's…

I had a HUGE a-ha moment in parenting yesterday and I thought it might help some of you here. Yesterday was an odd day, as both of my sons were out playing/hanging out with their friends and it was just me and my 10 year old daughter home. She was sitting at the kitchen table while I prepared dinner, and the house was (to me, at least) blissfully quiet. "What a perfect setting for her to finish her homework!" I thought. However, as time went on, she kept getting up and playing with her…

I just got back from walking my dog and felt compelled to write to all of you. I have a friend whose friend just lost her beautiful 17-year-old son this week. Another friend is caring for her friend as she gets ready to depart our world. And yet another friend is going through a difficult divorce. And that is only in my small circle. There is so much pain and…

Today is the official release of my new book Connection and Kindness: The Key to Changing the World Through Parenting. Visit …

Yesterday was a paradoxical day that began with me attending the funeral for a friend’s husband who took his own life last week. The service was an absolutely beautiful way to honor this man’s life. My friend did not want to enshroud his death in secrecy, so she was very open and honest about the way his life ended. During his funeral she and their pastor both spoke…

It is back-to-school time and another fall sports season is about to begin. For me, it will be my seventh year coaching youth soccer for my youngest of three children. Based upon the inspiration and ideas of John O'Sullivan, I would like to offer the following tips to parents of young athletes to have a successful sports season:

1. How Can I…

How can you become more successful in your life, business or as a parent? Before we can answer that question, we must first define success itself. The traditional definition of success is basically the American Dream – work hard to build a career, a marriage, a house, a dog, a white-picket fence and 2.5 children. But that definition fails to honor how we…

According to our school calendar, we are solidly over the half-way mark for summer and this week, I started to feel the effects of trying to work from home while my kids are all basically home (with the exception of a few camps). I was mindful not to place too many expectations and items on my work To Do List this summer but even so, I have found that I am not…

We were leaving for church last Sunday, and my 8 year old was playing on his iPod. This is not an unusual occurrence and my son is usually the first one ready each day when we need to leave so it is rarely an issue. But as is usual in the summer, our routine has gotten a bit lax, and he has had a little too much screen time. This has been irritating me…

This week is a busy week for me. My kids finish school tomorrow. The next day – Wednesday – is the first official day of summer break for them and then I leave for a work conference on Thursday. My younger two kids do not particularly love when I travel for work, so last year around this time when I left for my conference, I made some creative plans to help them feel…

Here is my recent interview with John O'Sullivan, author of Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High-Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids. John is originally from New York and graduated in 1994 from Fordham University, where he was a soccer team captain as a senior and a member of the 1990 Patriot League…

Research has shown that yoga has many benefits for us, from better sleep and immunity, to relaxation, easing migraines, and fighting food cravings. Yoga has been a big part of my parenting life (as a wonderful source of stress relief and re-balancing), so I thought it would be fitting to interview the owner of the yoga studio I attend to hopefully get other parents…

This week, Mother's Day is on my mind. Yesterday, I talked about the pressure society places on us to get our moms the "perfect" Mother's Day gift. Today, I want to talk about the perfect gift each mom can give to herself. We live in a fast-paced society that only seems to be speeding up as time goes on and momentum continues to build. But this is not a good thing,…

I have intentionally avoided commenting on the riots that have sprung up around the country in recent times but today, I find it impossible to be quiet, as the events are unfolding in my beloved hometown of Baltimore and my heart is aching. I have friends and family who are firefighters and police officers who put their own safety at risk last night to try to keep…

I just hung up from a conference call with two of my beloved colleagues, Sue DeCaro and Sheila Wenger. We discussed the power of conscious parenting and the positive effects it is having on the parents with whom we work. We are hearing a common theme from parents – they are stressed, overworked, and have very little downtime. They are busy running their kids from one…

I am thrilled that we are just two weeks away from the release of my new book! I am getting so excited. This is very much like waiting for the birth of a baby. So much love has been put into this book, and I am very proud of it. You can visit my website to pre-order the paperbook copy now, or find the…