Do you love the holidays?
Can't stand them?
Don't care either way?

I've felt all three ways
at different times in my life.

Here's what I love about the holidays:

1) Lights, lights and more lights. 
The dark winter months wear on me. Got cute little lights illuminating a room, or hung on a tree? Sure, I'll take them. It's as good as Vitamin D to me. 

2) Peace on earth and goodwill to all.
Talk of miracles and magic.
For real?
In mainstream culture?
Yes please.
I'll take some goodwill + peace on earth
with my white lights.

3) Christmas crafting.
While receiving gifts is fun,
we try to focus on
giving handmade gifts with love.


And here's what I can't stand about the holidays:

1) Not every one celebrates Christmas.
In fact, most people on earth don't celebrate Christmas. It can be obnoxious and ethnocentric to think Christmas is a given.

2) Can we say consumerism?
From Thanksgiving to Christmas,
1 million additional tons of trash
*a week* ends up in our landfills.
Yuck.
And as much as I love to shop,
and my son does get Christmas gifts,
a Christmas gift from Amazon
isn't how I define my love
for my family-
Christmas or not.

3) Too much pressure. Too many expectations. Too much stress.
Crazy to do lists.
Feelings of depression, loneliness,
and stress increasing over the holidays.
Alcohol and drug abuse increases this season.
Sad, but true.

 
What about you?
What do you love about the holidays?
What can't you stand, or totally stresses you out? 

And join us for Holiday Magic, not madness 2016!

So you can love what you love
this season,
and minimize the rest.

Here's to less stress,
​more FUN + MAGIC.

Join this FREE online event + holiday party for parents!

You birthed those babies of yours.
Or worked very hard to adopt them.
You give 24/7
to raise your children
in the most conscious
way possible
--- and keep them
fed,
clothed,
and educated.

That's some serious MAGIC
of my favorite kind.
​

You use
Mama Magic
everyday.
Taking care of your family.
The house,
the kids,
the work....
and everything else.
Making it all happen.
Doing the impossible.

But that's just the beginning.
The most amazing thing
you can do is soak up
your own 

Mama MAGIC.

The magic of...
Laughing at your own jokes.
Loving yourself like you do 
your closest friend.
Feeding yourself when you're hungry.
Putting your favorite sweater on.
Feeling beautiful from within.
Letting yourself know it's all going to be ok.
Taking an extra long shower or bath.
Calling a friend when you need to talk.

That's the kind of Mama Magic
I'm talking about.
Simple.
True.
Mama Magic that is your birthright.
Overflowing in your goodness.
Opening up to your strength + power.

Right as the holiday season is beginning,
look for the simple ways 
you can access + affirm
your Mama Magic
everyday
in little + big ways.

And stay tuned
for a special offering
to kick off
this holiday season
living true
in 
your
Mama Magic.


All the best,
Megan

​

This message is short and sweet.
Do you know that song,
"Wait for the Beep?"

The jist of this 80's jingle is:
You have to wait for the beep
before you can leave a message
on the answering machine.
Makes sense, right?

This song has been going through my head,
except with the words,
"Wait for the Calm"
because it so applies
to positive parenting.

In order to parent,
discipline, 
or teach your children anything,
you have to be calm.

You gotta wait for the calm
before you speak or act.

When we yell,
react in haste or anger,
or have a parenting tantrum
--- nothing good every comes from it.

Now those times of being triggered
as a parent are going to happen
--- no matter what.
Because we're human.
Believe me, my friends
I know this to be true first-hand.

Taking a bit of space to get calm,
instead of plowing through
with a knee-jerk reaction
can be the hardest thing 
to teach yourself.

Wait for the Calm
is a Golden Rule of Positive Parenting.
But it doesn't mean it's easy!
It takes serious practice and commitment.
As well as developing
serious compassion
for yourself
when you mess up
and parent in anger,
upset,
or frustration.

Positive Parenting
is a process,
and a practice
-- including
Waiting for the Calm.

You got this.

All the best,
Megan

p.s. Wait for the Calm. You gotta wait for the Calm.  Let it get stuck in your head to remind you. :) And have lots of compassion for yourself when you forget this golden rule.

It's been a hard week.
I had some harsh words with an old friend.
My computer broke.
It's in the shop
-- which is a problem
since my online program
is under-way.

Plus all the usual life stuff.
Life is intense sometimes.
Can you relate?

But something else was going on too.
This longing.
It was deep.
An unmet need from forever ago.
And it kept driving me from within.

This strong, unshaking desire
to take care of myself.
It didn't stop.

I usually go way into over-drive.
Work all the time.
Totally over-ride my needs.
I love my life,
but truth is
I feel oppressed by life
more often than I'd like to admit.
(An old pattern from my childhood
that takes a lot of time and compassion
to change.)

This week something different was going on.
I started doing what I *wanted* to do.
I started meeting my needs through my actions.

Like for real.
There was no stopping me.

I went out dancing one night.
Got out for two walks in the woods
with friends, and another jog
on the trails by myself.
I went to a yoga class.
4 acts of self-care in one week!!

It was like the light went on.
Did I have time for all that?
Nope.

But I made time.
And I was more productive,
calmer,
more content and fulfilled
than I've felt
-maybe ever.
And I want more.

Self-care is one of the foundations
of positive parenting.

I could hear a voice echoing
in my head
every time I urged a client
to schedule in that time for themselves.
Was I taking care of myself?

I'm no poser.
I practice what I teach,
and encourage in others.

But I know first-hand the blocks
to self-care are REAL,
especially if you have small children.

Self-care is not just going to happen.
We have to want it.
Open up to it.
Make it happen.
Until you want more and more.
And self-care sustains itself.

It's Wednesday.
Hump Day.

How can you schedule something
in for you today or tomorrow?

Because you deserve it.
You're the gift of your children's lives.
And you deserve all the care 
and celebrating in the world.

What can you do today,
or sometime this week,
just for YOU?

You got this.

All the best,
Megan