1:1 Coaching Call

Transforming the Toddler Years

The Blog

 

“Parenting is really one big, beautiful story and

I love telling it.”

Cara Tyrrell, Founder Core4Parenting
#1 Thing I Wish I'd Done When I Had Littles first time mom mom life motherhood parenthood self care self identity

 Remember who I am. 

Yep, that is the number one thing I wish I'd done when my kids were tiny. 

 

Instead, I turned over every part of myself to them

 

Gave until I had nothing left to give, and then, pushed harder.

Of course our job is to meet their needs when they can't, particularly as in...

Continue Reading...
Resolutions vs. Intention Statements goals intentions mindset mom life self awareness self care toddler mom

Gluten and I hate each other. Okay, that's not entirely true.  It’s more like a double dutch jump rope rhyme:

 

I love gluten but it hates me. When I eat it, I feel icky!

 

I don't have celiacs or even a ‘gluten sensitive’ diagnosis, but I do know my body.

 

When I indulge in gluteny-goodness ...

Continue Reading...
How to Find the Calm inside the Chaos of Motherhood about me mom life motherhood perspective psychology self care

 I just got back from two weeks on the road. I racked up:

  • Three climates
  • two time zones
  • and a whole lot of amazing adventures.

 

I was in Colorado, meeting clients, writing, and exploring the Rocky Mountains.

The mornings started at 24 degrees, the afternoons finished at 60 but felt like 8...

Continue Reading...
Journaling: My Love/Hate Relationship journaling mom life motherhood self care

I have a love/hate relationship with journaling. As in, I LOVE the idea of it: pick the prettiest one, get my special pen, sit in a quiet space, then climb so far into my head that I don’t know what to write, freeze, and end up reinforcing my belief that I’m bad at journaling. 

 

I want to do it. ...

Continue Reading...
Mindset Shifts for Staying Positive When Kids Are Diagnosed with Medical Conditions medical issues mindset mom life parenting

My kids were medical kids. Seriously, Claire's first five years of life were peppered with diagnoses, doctors, specialists and surgeries.

 

After the stillborn loss of our first daughter, I worked hard to keep all her medical struggles in perspective, repeating this mantra daily: At least she’s he...

Continue Reading...
Fostering Body Positivity From Birth conscious parenting emotional awareness mom life motherhood parenting tips self identity sense of self

“Those pants don't really do you any justice.”

 

My (then) best friend said this to me as we were getting ready to go out dancing for the night. 

 

I was 18 years old and had spent adolescence and young adulthood hating my body. I self described as “big-boned” and wondered aloud, so my mom was s...

Continue Reading...
Time Outs vs Time Ins conscious parenting mom life parenting parenting tips raising children time out

How often do you get caught in the trigger trap reaction cycle? It’s so easy to do and hard to break out of! 

 

Reactions are live-time, high emotion, frustration point solutions. They're short lived, and you have to repeat them over and over and over. And, they often lead to punitive discipline, ...

Continue Reading...
Traveling with Toddlers - My Observations of Kids on Planes conscious parenting family mom life parenting tips toddler mom travel

Traveling as adults is stressful enough. But traveling with kids is a different beast.

 

The planning. The packing. How does a tiny little human require so much stuff? And, of course, the changing of routines, food options, and sleep.

 

The first time I took my kids on a plane they were seven an...

Continue Reading...
Feeling Triggered All the Time? The #1 Strategy for Turning Reactions into Responses behavior character conscious parenting emotional awareness emotional regulation mom life parenting tips

 How many emotional triggers do you field in a day? Don’t answer that, because you likely can’t.

 

Your toddlers and preschoolers are master button pushers and trigger your conscious and subconscious reactions, often without even trying.

You want to sit inside a level of self awareness that allow...

Continue Reading...
Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner first time mom foundational skills mom life parenting skill development skills

Why your baby often crawls backwards before forwards.

Dirty Dancing is one of my favorite movies of all time. Seriously, I was ten years old when the movie came out, and spent two years begging my parents to let me watch it, primarily because I loved dancing so much. 

And at the ripe old age of 12...

Continue Reading...
When You Pay, You Play character conscious parenting family foundational skills mom life money parenting parenting wins raising children self care sense of self teaching

You’ve heard this quip, right? It’s along the lines of, put your money where your mouth is and no pain - no gain.  

In plain speak, we tend to take action when we feel invested. 

For example:

Your friend gives you free access to her newest online course and you never login, not even once -

...
Continue Reading...
Welcome to the World Little One! conscious parenting first time mom foundational skills infant mom life newborn sleep sleep soothing

We come into the world as brand new, tiny humans with three basic survival needs: food, shelter and sleep. Shelter represents safety. Food represents nourishment and growth. Sleep is the foundation of it all. 

Your newly born baby isn’t able to control any of these things. 

You, their parent

...
Continue Reading...
1 2