Visit us in Booth 1351!

Success and Courage

OK so enough about failure let’s talk about success or courage:
As I have said i am very involved in issues concerning women and women’s rights. A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of meeting with an international delegation of women from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Morocco and the UAE. These women are just beginning the fight for women’s rights in their countries. I was so impressed with their courage and determination in these countries where women are still seen and not heard. They have a long road ahead but are determined to have a better place in their society for themselves and their daughters.
We learned during our discussion that though we may be a bit ahead of them in this regard (not nearly enough) the issues and concerns we face as women are not so different regardless of where you live.
Through the wonders of technology we are keeping in touch through Facebook. I am honored to have met them, wish them the best of luck and send them my support.
Carmen

The Elections are finally over!

Regardless of how you voted in these elections or how you feel about the outcome I bet you are glad it’s over! I am very politically active, very involved in women’s issues and very passionate and vocal about my opinions in these areas…much more than my other half--Dr. Rick. (The picture above is from the Miami County Commission for Women.)

This year in particular the election cycle has been hard. My family has been divided on the candidates and some of the issues as have some of my friends so this has put an unusual amount of stress on many of our relationships. Dealing with these issues is hard for all of us but in the case of step families where we combine families that may not have the same opinions on political issues it can be a real challenge. It takes a lot of patience, communication, compromise and love to work through it all but with a little effort it can be done. Luckily for our stepfamily we share similar views on most things in our little unit (or at least I think we do) but the extended family is a different story and it’s been tough…I for one am glad that this election is over, we’ve survived it and now we can all move forward.
I hope this change is a positive one and that our country and families will be unified under this new leadership. Step or not it is family that is most important, it’s time to get over our differences and look forward to better times and a brighter future!

How did this election impact your life?

Have a great day,

Carmen (aka the better half)

Stepparent "Identity"

Stepparent "Identity"

Is there a difference in the way a stepparent is perceived
depending on the childrens' life stage? What I mean by this is,
in my experience, a stepparent that enters the scene when the
kids are older is more likely to be defined as a "step" parent
than one who marries in when the kids are young. There are
obviously other factors too, such as how involved is the
non-custodial biological parent and how equipped is the new stepparent to begin with. But all in all, I wonder if others have experienced a specific distinction based on when you married into the family. Let me know what you think.
Dr. Rick

thestepcardcollection Launches Premier Collection of Quality, Printed Cards

"Just for Stepfamilies"

http://www.thestepcardcollection.com/ the premier online resource for sentiment, occasion and greeting cards for stepfamilies has successfully launched its first collection of quality, PRINTED holiday, occasion and sentiment cards created specifically for stepfamilies.

The first group of 24 high-quality, printed cards (printed on recycled paper) was written by Dr. Rick, illustrated by Belgian Artist Caroline Geys and Designed by Miami-based design team BE IT Designs. "The cards are fresh, spirited, humorous and playful in design and pack the same sentimental and communicative punch as our collection of online cards" said Dr. Rick. For more information on how to get these wonderful cards - please contact us at sales@thestepcardcollection.com. To obtain the full press release please contact: Media contacts: Lisa Silvera/Christopher Hughes info@thinkkingmedia.com.

Are my feelings legit?

I wonder how many children have experienced this situation in their families? Your parents were divorced when you were young and you have been living with your Mom since the split. Your Dad's visits with you started out pretty regularly, but have gotten less and less frequent over the years. Maybe he got remarried and has a new family or maybe the interest is lower. Who knows? Your Mom married this new man a few years back (your stepfather) and it's turned out OK. In fact, your attachment to him is getting greater than your attachment to your biological Dad. Does this present a problem for you? You know--loyalty, commitment, jealousy on either of the Dad's parts? I just want to say that any of these feelings are legit.

Tell me how you're feeling about this. Let's see if we can get a dialogue going with others in this situation.
Dr. Rick