by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Stepparenting
by Shadra Bruce Becoming a stepparent can be as nerve-wracking as becoming a parent for the first time. It’s not much different: there are expectations, a role to be performed, and a child’s life influenced by your decisions, actions, and behaviors....
by MomsGetReal Guest Contributor | Creating Balance, Let's Talk
Getting Real With Veronica Monique Ibarra I am not a high-strung type-A person. Most of my friends would say I am easy going and relaxed. However, when it comes to my children I transform into Mega Mom or the Mommy Overlord. I’m that mom at the park that has the eyes...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Parenting
Easter is just around the corner, and in our household, the Easter Egg hunt has always been a big deal. We have traditionally had a large group of kids in a wide range of ages participating in the hunt. If there are a lot of children in your family, you know that even...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Toddlers
Getting Real With Wanda Morrissey Everybody sing along: “I got the blues/ the toilet training blues/ my little guy/ just won’t go potty.” That’s been my mantra for the past few weeks. I’m trying to toilet train my 3 year old with absolutely no success. This...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Teens and Tweens
Getting Real With Amy Kelly, Founder and CEO of Parent eSource Remember the good old days before your kids became tweens and teens and actually used to talk to you about their lives without an interrogation? They’re constantly texting, tweeting on Twitter, making new...
by Shadra Bruce | BoobiePower, Let's Talk
From our good friends at the Army of Women: Women who have had a benign breast biopsy are at higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who have not had a breast biopsy. However, there is currently no way to determine which women who have had a benign breast...
by Shadra Bruce | BoobiePower, Let's Talk
I turned 40 last month, and amid the moments of extra close examinations in the mirror to see whether or not I had any new wrinkles, and an even closer examination of my hair – which prompted an almost-immediate trip to the store for Garnier Nutrisse Chocolate...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
Probably one of the more notable challenges of raising kids is adjusting to the various lifestyles and attitudes each member of the parenting team (a married couple, a divorced couple, stepparents) bring to the table. My stepkids were old enough, when their biological...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Making a Difference
All of us associated with MomsGetReal™ believe in making a difference in the world. This can be in small ways, like picking up trash when you’re out for a walk, but it can also be in big ways, by choosing to treat others well, being an actively involved parent,...
by Shadra Bruce | Keeping Marriage Strong
Even in the supposedly enlightened 21st Century, my husband and I face criticism for the lifestyle we’ve chosen. It’s not all that out of the ordinary; it’s simply that I am the primary breadwinner who works full-time (albeit from my home) and Dave...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Love
I said I love you and that’s forever And this I promise from the heart I could not love you any better I love you just the way you are. —Billy Joel Loving without judgment can be hard for parents to do. I’ve seen so many parents be incapable of accepting...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Teens and Tweens
When you marry into a family and inherit teenage stepchildren, you will encounter a different set of challenges than if you marry into a family with younger children. Older children, particularly tweens and teens, are already struggling to establish an identity of...
by Shadra Bruce | Crafts with Kids
Getting Real With Wanda Morrissey As children, most of us had a favourite article of clothing. It was usually a t-shirt; a t-shirt that was worn almost constantly and wasn’t relinquished to the washer without a fight. I know I had a t-shirt like that. I was five or...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Travel
I will always remember the summer vacations that I took with my family while I was growing up. Not only did we get to go to some really neat places, but it was a time when my dad was not working and we were just spending time together as a family. I always looked...
by Shadra Bruce | Doing it Alone, Let's Talk
Getting Real With Shadra Bruce For the last month, I’ve been pulling double duty. I’ve been working full time, but I’ve also been doing all those things that would normally have been done by my husband. He had surgery a month ago, and has been unable...
