Have you ever been stumped when it came to finding your mother something special for Mother's Day?

Mother's Day is a day when we remember our mothers and their impact on our lives. Each year, a tradition unfolds as we dedicate a day to our mothers. Yet, the flower industry is the one that gets the most attention. If you want to give a different and unique gift this year, try essential oils.

Estimated reading: 3 minutes

Every parent is unique; every child is unique. All parents love their children, and all children love their parents—no matter how imperfectly.

But do we truly take stock as parents of how we are imprinting our children through our daily interactions? Are we deliberately teaching them emotional intelligence skills to be resilient when life knocks them around? Or are we too overwhelmed with our lives and families?

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Are you a people pleaser?

I sure was!

Growing up, I majored in pleasing others. I honestly believed as a child and young adult that if people didn’t need me, they wouldn’t want me. So I worked at being indispensable. My pleaser habit was so deeply rooted that I didn’t know I was giving up myself on a regular basis, in every relationship at home and work. And whoa!—the havoc it wrecked in my marriage!

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

This was not advice. This was instruction. “Take care” was right there on page 5, just after the Table of Contents and Mission Statement.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

In our very active and full lives, it is so easy to get caught up in the daily demands of our work or interests and sacrifice love. With the added challenge of technology addiction, couples can be living more like roommates than lovers. Many struggling couples ask me, "Can you fall out of love?" or tell me that they've fallen out of love.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

No way around it: Being a parent is a tough job. And some parenting days are much tougher than others, so you might find yourself yelling unexpectedly, then regret it. Every parent reaches their limit.Our parenting know-how and emotional maturity are challenged every day. Of course, we also experience immense shared joy and a sense of fulfillment, but our children's needs change continually. Every time you think you've got the job figured out, your child shifts to a new developmental stage, far different from the one before. Learning how to redirect children's behavior is crucial for every [...]

Life before kids is such sweet sorrow; I used to take care of myself and exercise, up with the dawn for a refreshing run along the seashore. When my boy was born, I was up with the dawn running back and forth changing diapers. So ended the days of the refreshing oceanside runs.

Then a few months later when he was six months old, I had an epiphany: he wakes up early, I wake up early, why not sit him in the stroller and restart my sorely missed morning exercise routine? The fresh sea breeze was healthy for the both of us, and ever since I've found that we were both in a better mood after our [...]

A clean house or office, free from clutter and perfectly organized—isn’t that the dream?

There are thousands of resources out there with techniques for organizing, tips for decluttering, or a process for cleaning your closet. The list runs the gamut from “150+ Things to Throw Away Today” to “30 Ways to Instantly Declutter” and “The 4-Pile Strategy for Simplifying Your Closet.”

I have another idea: clutter is a mindset.

While adolescents are not a different breed, they might at times seem like it. This portrayal has only been heightened by media and movie portrayals. Teens get stereotyped as hormonal, socially lost, or rebellious.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes