"I am terrified to stop doing mostly everything and accept help for fear that if I do, my family will resent me." – 2017 Free Friendly Mirror Challenge Participant

Hello my friend, how are you today?

If you're feeling at all like this long-time listener, today's quickie bonus episode shares all about something that will help!

It's my FREE, 5-Day Friendly Mirror Challenge, in which we are working to smile (instead of cringe) when we look in the mirror.

There's a quick little win for you each day of the challenge…

Each day gives you a new opportunity to feel better when you look in the mirror, because you're feeling a new sense of self-acceptance and self-forgiveness.

Sound good

Click here for details and to sign up - the challenge starts this coming Monday with an email into your inbox each day Monday, February 12 through Friday, February 16…

Cheers! And thanks for listening!

Today we've got help for you, if you're feeling extremely cooped up in these dark months of the year (for the northern hemisphere, anyway)!

I went to the members of the Ninja Parenting Community and the We Turned Out Okay Facebook group to find out how they beat the winter blahs…

This episode is a compendium of their best ideas!
Thank you everyone who contributed, there were some new ones in here that even I didn't know about : )

Key links – including the sign-up for the upcoming FREE Friendly Mirror Challenge – at weturnedoutokay.com/211 – thank you for listening!

Do you sometimes feel that you will drown in a sea of bad news, bad weather, bad everything?

I know I do… and right here at the beginning of the year I am sharing the ways that I have found to stay positive, even while floating on this sea.

Listen to today's episode so that we can stay positive together!

Key links – and there are a TON today – at weturnedoutokay.com/210. Thank you for listening : )

Today's guest has a new book out, The Toddler Survival Guide, that I know you'll love because it is practical, funny, and endearing.

And, as soon as I heard author Heather Spohr's voice on the day of our interview, I knew that it would also be those three things… But it turned out to be a lot more.

We talk about Princess Leia, potty training – and grief. Heather and her husband Mike lost a child to illness, when their daughter was just three years old, and what I love about Heather is her ability to share about the tough stuff while staying extremely positive.

So, listen for the laughs, listen for the connection, and read Heather's new book to remember that you are not alone, if you are (or have ever been) the parents of toddlers.

But also listen for Heather's description of the support that a strong community brings, whether real-world or virtual.

Key links at weturnedoutokay.com/209 – and thank you for listening!

In my recent conversation with Mental Health Counselor and Play Specialist Janine Halloran, we talked about the outrageously high rates of suspensions and expulsions in preschools nationwide.

And one listener wrote soon after to share her child's experience in preschool:

"Such an interesting podcast and alarming pre-K statistics. I can say we saw an opposite thing happening… Several kids were overly aggressive with minimal consequences… My child was being bullied by these aggressive children to the point of not wanting to go to school."

Listener Jessica was kind enough to let me share her thoughts with you, and address her concerns, which might be your concerns as well, in today's episode.

What comes out of it is the realization that many preschool policies on discipline are way out of whack with what kids really need to learn – both the bullies, and the bullied  - to get along in this world.

Key links at weturnedoutokay.com/208, and thanks for listening!

Every January since We Turned Out Okay began, I've shared my goals for the coming year. Not resolutions… which feel to me a little more arbitrary and easier to pull out of… but Goals.

And this year is no exception!

Somehow the idea of glass balls and rubber balls (one of which breaks when dropped, and the other of which bounces) felt really important to share with you, probably because I'm returning from major burnout and got it because I dropped a glass ball, my "health" ball.

So listen in to find out more about glass/rubber balls, the goals I've set and why I set them, and what this year's One Word is!

Notes and links at weturnedoutokay.com/207!

Happy new year!! Next week we'll work on making 2018 be the best year yet – but part of that is looking back at 2017.

Today I'm sharing the three most valuable lessons I learned from 2017, a year that many listeners characterized as pretty awful, but one that held many valuable lessons for me – and in many ways was a good and fun year too.

I also share some changes I've made to the podcast schedule, based largely on the horrific burnout I experienced in December… It's tough to be helpful to you as you work to have a happy family life when I am so frazzled, when I'm attempting to pour from an empty cup.

To keep being able to help you, I've made some changes, and I'm sharing about them today. Click weturnedoutokay.com/206 to read about them!