Search Results for: blog stepping over the line

Stepping Over the Line

Have you ever seen Botox gone badly? Last week my daughter and I were watching Celebrity Apprentice. It is now down to rocker Bret Michaels and actress Holly Robinson Peete. However, first they had to undergo some tough interviewing by a former Apprentice winner and comedian Joan Rivers. My daughter was shocked at what she saw. She wanted to know what was wrong with Joan Rivers’ face. I had to explain what too much plastic surgery can do. She is not the only one to go too far in an attempt to look younger. Cosmetic procedures that have gone over … Continue reading →

Diary of an Overweight Hamster

I’ve just completed week three of my journey to weight loss. In some sense, this has been the hardest week yet. The novelty of getting out there and exercising has worn off. The fact that I haven’t seen a dramatic visible difference is discouraging. I’m vowing to go out and get a scale this week, so that I have some sort of bench mark. I may even get up the courage to try on my “cut off the circulation” pants and see if they are more comfortable. I’ve been wrestling with what to call this weight loss diary. I’ve been … Continue reading →

Penn Station’s Proposed Overhaul

If you have ever visited busy Penn Station then you know why some travelers refer to it as “the pit.” I have heard others refer to it as a “cesspool of commuters,” though I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve been to the nation’s busiest train station several times and yes, it’s not as opulent as Grand Central Terminal’s majestic concourse, but it’s not a complete turn off either. Penn Station is home to Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, Long Island Rail Road trains and half a dozen subway lines, which means if you are traveling to and from New York City … Continue reading →

“I Feel Like I’m Falling Apart.” 8 Ways to Cope with Overwhelming Stress

Anyone who has parented a special needs child understands it’s an all-consuming responsibility. As parents (and especially mothers) we have a tendency to pour our whole heart and soul into the special care of our son or daughter. Our instinct to nurture takes over, and we expect to be the “rescuer” who will make everything all better. We run ourselves ragged. We worry; we agonize. We don’t eat right and get enough sleep. And this eventually causes stress to overwhelm our bodies. Stress Took Over My Life In a previous blog I wrote about my own personal battle with stress … Continue reading →

Online Learning

The first distance education program was offered in 1728 in America with schools in Europe (Gilbert 2001, 18). I would imagine that sending papers over the Atlantic would take months. Boy has distance learning come a long way! In today’s information age, online classes for specialized certificates, four year degrees, and masters programs are plentiful. Now students and instructors can live and work in different regions, but can still attend class together in “real-time.” Online learning is evolving and is no longer available only to college level students. Many online schools and courses are now available for the K-12 student … Continue reading →

The Tendency to Overprotect Our Special Needs Kids

As parents of special needs children, we often develop coping strategies to deal with our child’s behaviors. One strategy is the tendency to be overprotective. There’s an obvious reason for doing this. We want to be sure that our son or daughter is safe in an unkind and unpredictable world. People can be cruel, and life is difficult. The child with special needs seems ill-equipped to handle these realities. Therefore, we decide that he or she needs our constant protection. This reasoning makes overprotecting seem like a good thing. However, there are other possible reasons why we might overprotect our … Continue reading →

Your Parenting Style Impacts Your Teen’s Autonomy

One of the many goals of parenting is to raise children who become successful adults. Ideally, teens should develop the skills they need in order to become adults who can function in the “real world”. A study shows that your parenting style impacts your teen’s autonomy and the quality of his or her romantic relationships as an adult. Developmentally speaking, teenagers are at a stage when they are beginning to separate from their family and seek out their own, individual, identity. Little kids typically have a strong desire to seek approval from their parents. Teens, however, are much more interested … Continue reading →

Lowering Expectations in a Marriage

There is a fine line between learning to lower your expectations in a marriage and when to fight for what’s “right.”  Keep in mind that what’s considered right is all about perspective. Your right might not be my right…just as your spouse’s right might not be your right. One of the ways I try to gauge my “rights” is by how critical the issue really is; not how important it should be or I would like it to be.  But looking at it in a realistic and selfless manner. That isn’t easy, believe me.  It requires stepping back from the … Continue reading →

Take Time To Be A Better Mom

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Since Mother’s Day is tomorrow it seems like the perfect time to talk about time for yourself. The hardest thing as a single mother is to find time for yourself but it’s also one of the most important things you can do for you and your children. Life can be overwhelming as a single mother and taking time for yourself can help to ground you and calm you down from the stress of life. Taking time for yourself will allow you to be a better parent in the long run. Stepping back and taking a break can help put things … Continue reading →

Problems of Yesterday

Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one…the only mother who longingly looks back to those days when my children were younger. It’s not that I don’t enjoy my teenaged children. It’s just that the problems of yesterday seemed so much easier to deal with. My husband has been working on getting videos of our children transferred from VHS tapes onto his computer and then onto a disc. So we have been doing a lot of reminiscing. I watch my children laugh and play, twirl and run. It all seemed so carefree back then. But I think what it’s … Continue reading →