Weight Loss and Better Health

Weight Loss and Better Health

I will be 40 next year. That’s a good 20 years of being a grown up, and one thing that has plagued me through my entire adult life is my weight. Ew. Even talking about it makes me cringe and want to run away. But, I’ve committed – to myself more than anyone else – to...
25 Rules for Being a GOOD StepMom

25 Rules for Being a GOOD StepMom

Getting Real with Shadra Bruce I am very lucky to have been involved in the raising of five wonderful children, two of whom are my birth children (an 11-year old son and an 8-year old daughter) and three that I inherited by marrying their father, who retained custody...
Blending Traditions

Blending Traditions

The holidays are coming, sooner than later at this point. We start thinking about Christmas shopping around the time the fireworks stop exploding. It’s the only way to budget with five kids. Holidays can be a wonderful time of year, but for blended families,...
Advice for Adult Stepchildren

Advice for Adult Stepchildren

My aunt and I have been through similar situations. Her dad and mine both lost their wives (our mothers) too soon.  Her dad and mine have both remarried. We are both suddenly being thrust into the world of being adult stepchildren, and having having both been on the...
Rewards of Being a StepMom

Rewards of Being a StepMom

Have you ever had someone discount your role in your children’s life because they’ve just discovered that you are “only” a stepparent? How did that make you feel? Having people discount your contribution to the family simply because you did not...