The DHX: The Doughtie Houses Exchange

The Mommy Blog - Not sure what to help your kids or stepkids give to their parent(s) at the other house? Mindy has a good idea: “It’s my favorite gift, ever, and what I suggested to my own children when they asked what they could possibly give Dad with no money and no transportation at [...]

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By Katherine Shirek Doughtie
I am sitting in my bed, late on a Sunday morning, eating cookies that Jill and the kids and I made last night. We played dorky Christmas music, half-decorated the tree and turned off the XBox 360. To top it off I forced the others to watch “It’s A Wonderful [...]

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Inspired by Samara and Lori, we decided to make Christmas cookies together, too. Kathy called me up with the idea and invited me over.

I asked Kathy if she had some candles she could light for more photogenic cooking.

We got a little silly. (Kathy threw herself into the photo shoot. And then she let me post [...]

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No guarantees (unless you yourself have something wonderful up your sleeve), but it’s always possible, and sometimes we don’t see things we’re not prepared to see.

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If you feel like you could use it, find a counselor or a coach to talk you through your plans, fears and hopes for the holidays.
Last year I happened to find hypnotherapist a month or so before the holidays. She gave a lunchtime talk at work on reducing stress during the holidays. Her advice was [...]

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It’s okay to be sad, and it’s okay to let other people see you sad.

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If you’re in a stressful holiday situation, start imagining how you could retell it as a funny story or turn it into a funny blog post.

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Do something creative or generative that you enjoy. Paint a picture (even if you buy a set of kids’ water colors from the grocery store and don’t show the results to anyone), write a poem, write an essay, take a picture, make a sculpture, write a song, learn a new piece of music, make a [...]

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Holidays can be pretty challenging in stepfamilies. (Did I just win the understatement of the year award?) Here’s the deal though: if they’re hard for you, chances are they’re hard for other people in your immediate or extended stepfamily, too. Anyone could be feeling frustrated, awkward or sad: the kids, the kids’ other parent, your [...]

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Try watching a movie this holiday season that will remind you that living in an eclectic, eccentric, sometimes emotionally messy, all-over-the-place family can be pretty darn funny and beautiful.

My favorite wacky family feel-good movie is Little Miss Sunshine. I own it (in fact, Kathy and the kids gave it to me for my birthday) so [...]

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