Life’s a Poodle is about connection. It’s about two friends who stayed connected for over 30 years by exchanging quirky kitschy poodles, and who also happen to have children who learn differently.

We’re not the experts. We’re just two moms who have experienced first-hand the difficulties faced by children who learn differently.

But we are passionately committed to helping all children rise above these challenges.

Something About Mary – Poodle 1

I graduated from Syracuse University with BS in Environmental Design. I had a successful career in retail buying and international product development.

It’s been a long and personal journey with my own dyslexia knowing the importance of accepting and breaking the silence associated with learning differences.   I reached an unbelievable low point as a parent of a child who struggled in school with her dyslexia and now after her own incredible journey she is succeeding in college.

My personal goal is to shift the sigma attached with learning differences by talking to one another.  It’s that simple. I am co-founder of Life’s a Poodle……my passion, and an advocate for kids who learn differently.  I live on an island in the Puget Sound with my beloved husband. My son and daughter are my reason for living. My mother is my hero.

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Something About Sally – Poodle 2

I graduated from Washington State University with a BS in Psych and Social Work.

I met my husband-to-be on the dance floor (doing a version of the Poodle Dance) two weeks before I graduated. I followed my heart and him down to Oregon where I got my M.Ed. in Community Health Education.

I worked in the field for over 12 years before adopting our first child. Five years later we adopted her brother and sister and I put my work life on pause for ten years to be a full-time mom.

In 2003 I became a PCI Certified Parent Coach and in 2004 a partner in Sound Parent. Starting in 2010 I will have an independent parent coaching practice, Parent Well.

I’m passionate about advocating for parents, finding the strengths unique to every family and using those strengths to help families build more positive, lasting relationships.

As co-founder of Life’s a Poodle I get to fulfill my other passion which is to promote the success and dignity of children who learn differently.

Let the Poodling begin!