About Me

Naturally, I was thinking of my sons, then 14 and 16 years old. When it was my turn to have a word with her, I asked what she would recommend for the best education for my sons. Instead of answering, she said, “Let me ask you a question: Are your sons happy?”

“Oh, they’re wildly happy,” I answered, instantly.

She took me by the shoulders, looked in my eyes, and said, “No parent has answered that question with the word ‘happy’ let alone pairing it with ‘wildly.’ Keep doing what you’re doing. By the way, what are you doing? I have parents whose kids are cutting themselves, self-medicating, not talking or listening to them, and some of them are dying.”

I was a bit taken aback. From then on, I contemplated her question - what was I doing? What had I done to parent them?

But let me say it wasn’t always like that. Getting there was nothing short of an unlikely hero’s journey—one where I played both the protagonist and antagonist.

You see, I grew up in a turbulent household where nurturing and guidance were scarce, replaced with anger, criticism, sarcasm and chaos. My childhood was a battle to survive, leaving me with no sense of self-worth and a deep-seated fear of repeating these patterns.

Despite my fears, I yearned to create the loving family I never had. When the time came, I took the plunge, determined to break the cycle and give my children the happy family life of my dreams.

But the desire for a happy family wasn’t enough to make it so, and I had nothing to draw on from my own upbringing.

As any new parent quickly realizes, children don’t come into this life as blank slates. They arrive with their unique personalities and strong tendencies. I mistakenly thought I could shape my children into who I wanted them to be. Instead, I quickly learned that their operating systems were firmly installed, and trying to override them led only to conflict, frustration, and heartaches all around.

With a challenging and strong-willed firstborn, problems emerged quickly. He tended to bully others, particularly his little brother, with both words and muscle. He was kicked out of three preschools. He was defiant and uncooperative no matter what I tried – and I tried everything. My own mother said she could no longer babysit him because he was “just too much.” At my wit’s end, I knew in my heart that there had to be a better way. So, I set out on a journey to become the best parent I could be.

My journey over the past 20 years began with consuming 17 parenting books and a variety of parenting programs - positivity, attachment, Nurtured Heart, 1-2-3 (3.5, 3.75 – lol). You name it, I tried it. Those attempts included homeschooling, unschooling, public schooling, and private schooling. Married hood, single parenthood, nearly-homeless-hood, barely-making-it-hood. Conventional parenting, conservative parenting, lenient parenting.

That keynote speaker’s astonishment at my “wildly happy” answer made me reflect on what I had done differently. It led me to a realization that I had truly come to understand the power of energy in shaping my family dynamics.

What emerged was an authentic parenting path that has nothing to do with an approach or a program, and everything to do with mastering my own energy and learning to direct it to influence the energy of my children.

Another moment came in 2016 when one of my oldest son’s friends confided in me that he was envious of the relationship I had with my son. He didn’t feel the same connection with his own mother, despite his asking and longing for it. That broke my heart because I knew his mother cared deeply for him, but he didn’t feel it.

The most significant moment—the moment I realized without a doubt that it was my energy that would create or kill my dream family life—happened in 2008, when my boys were 5 and 3. My firstborn was wreaking havoc a month into kindergarten. Educators recommended an ADHD evaluation, which led to a diagnosis and a prescription for Ritalin. I was soul-crushed. This child could concentrate on art for hours and play with a focused intensity that an earthquake would not disturb. How could he have ADHD? What was really going on here?

I couldn’t fill the prescription, but I felt guilty for not doing it.

Not long after, I found myself at the pharmacy with two prescriptions—one for him, and one for me, an antidepressant to help me "accept the reality of the diagnosis." I sat in the Walgreens drive-through in tears, feeling scared and heartsick but knowing with certainty that medicating myself and my son wasn’t the answer.
I folded both prescriptions and placed them into the center of my current read, a book called Transforming the Difficult Child. That was the turning point at which I found the courage to forge my own path. (By the way, I’m not anti-medication; just skeptical: some research shows it helps more than harms only 4 percent of those children for whom it’s prescribed).

A few months later, I resigned from my corporate communications position and started working part-time from home. That’s when my inquiry into great parenting began in earnest. I was desperate to learn how to shift the energy of the family, and I knew my energy was the starting point.

Over the years all of my efforts eventually evolved into what I now call my Parenting Plan.

It kept me on track to shift my energy, and my kids’ energy shifted too. Along the way, I also came face-to-face with my childhood wounds and determined to heal each one as it emerged. I was intensely committed to being a better parent than my own, and to learning how to become the parent each child needed to mature into the best, most authentic version of themselves.

Now, except for getting divorced when the boys were 9 and 7, nearly being homeless, and struggling for eight years to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads, it actually worked! 😊

In fact, it did much better than just "work" because by following my Parenting Plan, I learned to master my energy, and direct the energy of my children, and the result was the development of extremely strong relationships with my sons.

As I’m fond of saying, "There is something we can take with us from this life, and that’s our relationships." That’s why I believe the journey is worth it.

I’m not advocating following my exact path; not at all because that wouldn’t be authentic and therefore, it wouldn’t work. I’m offering a shortcut that lets you bypass the struggles I faced to more quickly create the energy-centered relationships that will transform your family life.

I’m here to shorten the journey from Hell to Happy for more families by coaching moms to understand and master their energy. Together, we’ll develop and implement your own unique, authentic Parenting Plan tailored to your needs, your goals, and your family.

That’s the sweet spot—because human beings, life itself, and Earth School are not a one-size-fits-all setup, and neither is great parenting.

Now, if your family life feels like a war zone right now, all of this energy talk might seem like pie-in-the-sky woo-woo rubbish.

Fair enough. So let’s get to first things first: you need immediate relief. Immediate shifts.

Remember, I know what it’s like to feel like you’re out of control, that the kids are running the show, and defying even the most simple requests. Believe it or not, those things are symptoms of how you’re using your energy.

The first thing we’ll do is start using some techniques that take just 5 minutes a day but will provide you with the relief you need to get started on your own and your family’s transformation. Learn more about the whole package here.

If I can help just one mom shift from struggle to joy, find her authentic parenting path, and raise a "wildly happy" child, then my mission is fulfilled. I’m here to save you time, energy, and heartache by empowering you to build the energy-centered relationships that will transform your family life.