The Care and Keeping of Your Emotions

I have recently discovered a great book for tween and teen girls -- The Feelings Book: The Care & Keeping of Your Emotions by American Girl.

The Feelings Book will help your daughter understand her emotions and deal with them in positive ways. She'll get tips on how to express her feelings and stay in control, plus get sensitive advice on handling fear, anxiety, jealousy, and grief.

This book is a great resource for our girls ... and their moms, too! It is a great tool to help us guide our daughters through roller coaster emotions.

Because I am noticing more of these types of emotions from my 8-year-old daughter, I recently purchased this and the accompanying journal. I read it cover to cover over the weekend. It brought tears to my eyes to see these topics addressed in such a great, kid-friendly way.

In fact, many topics addressed in this book are things I work on with my adult clients -- likely, because they did not learn them as children. Just wanted to share!

Your Husband, The Thinker

Does your husband ever walk away from you during a disagreement? Does it irk you or make you think he doesn't care about you?

Well, fear no more! In her book, For Women Only, Shaunti Feldhahn reveals the reason your husband walks away is because he loves you!

The simple fact is that men are wired to process thoughts and emotions differently than women.

Women tend to process verbally, but men process internally, and they need time and space to do so. Seven out of ten men said they walk away in the heat of the moment because they are afraid to say something they will regret later.

The graph above shows more about their responses and why they walk away or say they "don't want to talk about it right now" when you are having an argument.

I hope this new information can bring you some understanding about the importance of giving your man some space next time you have a tiff! It will help the disagreement work out better in the long run! To learn more, grab a copy of the book!

Three Keys to Your State of Happiness

Being happy is a state of mind, and it's really not that difficult to achieve if you know what to do. Here is a super-simple 3-step technique to get you started. 

1. Set your intention.
2. Gather your gratitude.
3. Activate your action.

Grab your journal and work with me.

First, set your intention for what you would like to achieve. Are you trying to be a more patient mother? A more loving wife? A more prayerful woman? Write your desire in the present tense, like this, "I am a patient mother."

Next, identify at least three things you can be grateful for. So, if your intention is to be a more patient mother, you could be grateful for each new day to try again, that you were patient once yesterday, and that your child accepted your apology after you were impatient. Don't be afraid to dig here!

Finally, identify one or two things you can do today to be more patient. Maybe you need to take some time for yourself by meditating, taking a yoga class or taking a nap. Then, follow through on your action steps. 

Contact me if you would like more guidance.

Portable Healthy Snack Options

Today's blog is all about give and get! Here's where you give: I'm looking for ideas for healthy snacks for the kids to eat in the car after school on the way to the next activity. (Wow, that's a lot of prepositions.)

Here's where you get: I'm trying something new today -- Peanut Butter, Apple & Granola Wraps! Wish me luck! And post your ideas in the comment section!