Blog
Where Do You Dump Your Vents?
Venting to your husband about his past life is like opening the wound and pouring salt in it time and time again. I interviewed Tricia Powe and Catherine Bond Doyle back in Feb 2009 and they both advised against using your husband as your venting board when it comes to his ex-wife or his kids. Yes, it’s normal for him to vent to you but not vice versa. Kind of like if I were to vent about my mother but heaven forbid if anyone other than one of my siblings did the same (that’s MY mother you’re talking about and unless you...
read moreJudgement Free Space
Judgement. Oh how we hate to be judged. How we hate to have someone point a finger at us and say, “you’re just a stepmom,” or “you don’t have kids of your own so how could you know,” or “you don’t measure up” or any of the other myriad of judgement statements that stepmoms find so offensive. But guess what. Stepmoms are pointing their fingers back, passing judgement on the bio mom, or the mother-in-law who won’t break off her relationship with her son’s ex-wife. There’s so...
read moreAre You Playing Lose-Lose?
When we, as women, learn to be happy within ourselves, we can’t help but radiate happiness and joy from the inside out. This is what we need to learn. This is what we need to teach other women, especially our daughters. Somewhere along the line I got tired of trying to be everything to everyone. It’s a lose-lose game. I decided to be me for me. And that’s made all the difference in my life. What would happen if you stopped playing lose-lose, too?
read moreVote for Me!
Sweet! I just received this email from Circle of Mom’s Today: Hi Peggy, Your blog The Stepmom Toolbox has been nominated to the Top 25 Moms with Blended Families – 2012 list on Circle of Moms! Our Top 25 honors the great Mom Bloggers. It will be featured in our editorial section, the RoundUp, and promoted through our social media channels, a great opportunity to meet new readers through our audience of 6 million moms. I’m so excited! But of course, I’ll need your votes! And you can vote once a day, every day,...
read moreReduce Stress & Watch Your Marriage Thrive
Stress, stress, stress. The common denominator in nearly every forum post I read is STRESS. I’ve written about stress on numerous occasions. I’ve interviewed stress management and wellness experts. I’ve researched the effects of stress on the human body. Yet here you are, more stressed out than ever. Why? What are doing or not doing? What choices are you making that clearly land you in the same stressed out state over and over again? Sometimes I think stepmoms (in general, not you or you or you) are addicted to the trauma of...
read moreThings I’ve Learned Part II
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my life is that no one is going to take better care of me than me. Not my husband, not parents (they’re responsibility for taking care of me ended when I became a legal adult), not my children, not the people I work with, not my friends, and while my fabulous dog would like to take care of me, he doesn’t have opposable thumbs. A little over a month ago I tipped Mr. Scale at 169lbs. That’s 9 pounds more than I weighed when I gave birth to my daughters in 1984 and 1987...
read moreThings I’ve learned
Find your breathing space Remember, you have a life Take care of you first Self-care isn’t selfish – it’s mandatory Treat yourself how you want others to treat you When you put yourself last, everyone else will, too Don’t worry about what his ex thinks of you – it’s none of your business Don’t worry about what you think others are thinking about you because the truth is, they most likely aren’t thinking about you because they are too worried thinking about what they think others are thinking about them. It’s not the...
read moreWhat Have You Done for YOU Lately?
This just popped into my head. Maybe I’ve been reading comments in too many forums but it seems we’re all guilty of expecting someone else to do something for us. To say thank you To show appreciation To acknowledge the job you’re doing My question is: What are you doing for you? When’s the last time you declared a time out so you could take care of you? To thank yourself To appreciate and honor yourself To acknowledge the job you’re doing To sit in silence? When is the last time you listened to your soul and...
read moreThe Cure For The Stepmom Blues
It’s the number one treatment for fatigue. It’s the best remedy to improve your quality of life. With this treatment alone, 30% overcome depression. This magic cure will help you sleep better, feel better, help you lose weight, prevent heart disease, and so much more. I dare you to watch this 10 minute video and I’d love to hear from you. What do you think? Can you take this medicine? I want to help you take care of yourself. Set goals. See Results. I want to help you be the best you. I dare you to join my 90 Day Body By Vi...
read moreHow I Became A Savvy Stepmom
Savvy means wise. Wisdom comes from experience. Experience often comes from mistakes and a lot of trial and error. Becoming a savvy stepmom is a lot like learning how to drive a stick shift. Yeah. Have you have just stalled out in the middle of an intersection? How nervous did it make you feel? Stepmomdom can be a little or a lot like that. This week my article, “How I Became A Savvy Stepmom” is posted on The Life Change Network. My friend Gloria Lintermans left a must read comment so you don’t want to miss it! Comments are...
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