Elizabeth is raising three children in the mountains of West Virginia, and doing it while piecing together a career in the arts. As a voice instructor with a masters degree from the Boston Conservatory, she knew moving to a rural area would mean finding a different career path than if she stayed in the city. However, with grit and determination, she has been able to remain an artist and a successful businesswoman all while raising her children where she has always wanted. We also talk at length ...
Jul 18, 2017•34 min
Michelle is the mother of three boys who was working a typical desk job but knew she had bigger career dreams. A fitness enthusiast and former dancer, Michelle knew when she saw her gym advertising a yoga instructor training that she wanted to make a change. Changing careers and following your dreams is easier when you don't have children, but how do you make a plan and get trained and change life paths when you have mouths to feed? You do it with a long-term plan, lots of family discussion and ...
Jul 11, 2017•31 min
Sam is a mother of two girls who was diagnosed in her formative years with an anxiety disorder. Managing her disorder through medication, Sam decided when she became pregnant to stop taking her medicine because of the risks to her children. As a superstar career mother and wife, Sam admits that even though she's outgoing and personable, it takes all her energy to be in public and she has had to take a step back to keep her sanity. We talk in this episode about removing stigmas surrounding anxiet...
Jul 04, 2017•28 min
Abigail is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Pediatric Behavioral Therapist and works with children on the Autism Spectrum. She knew early in her college career that she wanted to make a difference in children's lives, and has recently become officially nationally board certified. I asked Abigail to be a guest on the show to talk about what parents should look for, the importance of early intervention and diagnosis, and what a behavioral therapist can do to help the lives of children who ar...
Jun 27, 2017•22 min
Laurie and her husband Dan are both working parents. Laurie, an engineer, has always been a boss lady. However, after her company relocated, she was able to spend some quality time with her young boys while looking for a new job. After she found a new position located over an hour away, her and her husband had to shift family roles and responsibilities, and Laurie had to let go of a lot of "mom perfection" for the new transition. In this episode, we also talk about the power of someone's words t...
Jun 20, 2017•31 min
Monica has spent the majority of her adult life as a wife to a professional rock band trombone player. As a member of the band Reel Big Fish, Monica has watched her husband go from trombone player in a local ska band to playing packed arenas, being a regular on MTV and featured in movies like "BASEketball." However, it wasn't all rock and roll. When Monica and her husband Danny decided to get married and start a family, they had to make big choices about his constant touring and where their care...
Jun 13, 2017•24 min
When Barbara married her husband, David, she became a step-mother to a then three year old daughter, Michelle. Through various circumstances, Barbara and David received full custody of Michelle while raising their second daughter Jaime. Barbara has always had a very special bond with Michelle. Growing up not having the relationship with her own mother that she had always wanted, it put Barbara in the unique position of understanding Michelle and her mother's relationship better. Barbara served a...
Jun 06, 2017•24 min
Lori is a mother of a son about to start kindergarten, as well as a successful blogger, HuffPo Contributor, and Declutter Coach. When her son was diagnosed with a speech delay, Lori says that the initial assessment and testing threw her for a loop, but they have been working hard on getting him on track to start kindergarten. Lori and I talk all about how hard it is to declutter, some strategies for getting rid of all the "stuff", and we also talk about what it is like being a female entrepreneu...
May 30, 2017•29 min
Karlo is a successful photographer who built his business from the ground up, becoming a premiere wedding and commercial photographer in the Mid-Atlantic region. While he built his business, he met and married the love of his life, Amanda. Amanda had a young daughter when the two met, and Karlo worked hard to blend the family and put the well-being of their daughter first. He knew how successful co-parenting should work because he was the product of a blended family and a step-father who underst...
May 23, 2017•39 min
Alie has spent the last 13 years sober. She realized in her mid-twenties that she was powerless to alcohol, and decided to stop drinking completely in order to have a fulfilling life. She got married sober and her children have never seen her drink. In this episode, Alie and I talk about finding sobriety early in life, and how grateful we are that we quit drinking before children. We also talk about how hard it is to "come clean" to new mom friends about our sobriety, and navigating in a culture...
May 18, 2017•39 min
In honor of Mother's Day, I sat down with my mom Jane to talk about what it was like to raise me and my siblings. Growing up poor in Appalachia, my mother showed us through her actions how important family and education were. As the wife of a career police officer, my mother was able to get her master's degree while raising three children and caring for her elderly mother. She hustled working multiple jobs for many years to put food on the table, and she still made time to make homemade baby foo...
May 11, 2017•49 min
SPECIAL EPISODE. Today's show features Jen, a mother who has a disabled son. Her and her husband found out during her mid-pregnancy ultrasound that their son would have major facial deformities, and after consulting experts in the field, had James at a facility three hours from their home to ensure he would live. James has to be hooked up to a ventilator every night in order for him to breathe. It is lifesaving equipment, and it is expensive. James is a "lifetime limit" baby. He hit the million ...
May 04, 2017•39 min
Jenny and her husband have two beautiful boys, but there have been bumps on their parenthood journey. Jenny suffered a miscarriage in her first pregnancy, and felt as though she was not supposed to talk about her loss or even have feelings. Through her second pregnancy, she hoped for a natural childbirth at a birthing enter, but after more than twenty hours and the diagnosis of infection, she rushed to the hospital and had to have an emergency c-section. Also, after suffering from debilitating m...
May 02, 2017•42 min
Maria and her husband are the parents of four children. A military family, they decided early on in their marriage to pursue adoption when they had retired. After months of paperwork and investigation, the family welcomed a baby boy into their home from China. Born with a cleft palate, Maria faced a unique set of challenges bringing him home. As conservative Christians, Maria and her husband decided before their children went to public school that they would home-school instead, and they have be...
Apr 25, 2017•29 min
How do you build your life back after making the biggest mistake you've ever made? How do you do it while being a parent? Rocki is the ultimate tale of redemption. After spending two years in federal prison, Rocki regained custody of her children and built her life back out of the ashes. She met other mothers in prison and shared their love and grief, and became a successful businesswoman, upstanding member of her community and mother following her release. It's an incredible story.
Apr 18, 2017•42 min
Suzanne and her husband raised four artistic, creative, independent children and were preparing to enjoy retirement when they received a phone call that changed their lives. They became foster parents and legal guardians to their three granddaughters while their daughter and son-in-law sought treatment for addiction. The children came to live with them on Suzanne's 60th birthday. She talks about the grief of not knowing how to help their daughter during her darkest days, being overwhelmed and un...
Apr 11, 2017•49 min
Nicole has always felt a strong sense of community and helping those in need. As a member of many boards, a volunteer for many causes, and a champion of people with disabilities, prominent members of the community began asking her to run for elected office. So that's just what she did. While serving her community as a city council member, Nicole found her soulmate (another public servant) and the two have been together ever since. She talks about her very first campaign, the joys and challenges ...
Apr 06, 2017•41 min
Kristin and her daughter we a team of two until she met and married her husband and the family dynamic changed. She was also determined to get her undergraduate degree and then her masters degree even while being giving birth and raising two more daughters. Now a teacher, Kristin is facing the looming responsibility of sending her oldest off to college, knowing that these are the last months her daughter will be home. Her daughter also lived through a horrific incident during school that made th...
Apr 03, 2017•48 min
Lauren had no intention of ever becoming a parent. A successful business owner, she decided early not to have children. Then she met and eventually fell in love with a man who had full custody of his three kids. Wanting to make sure they "did it right," Lauren and her husband took it slow and formed meaningful relationships with his children. Then they married, and everything changed. Lauren talks about the growing pains of marrying a family, and how she made it work raising teenagers not biolog...
Mar 30, 2017•27 min
There are so many paths to becoming a parent. Bre and her husband have been able to become parents thanks to in vitro fertilization. The mother to a daughter and a son, Bre explored IVF after her and her husband went through testing to determine their fertility. Bre has become an advocate for parents who are traveling the road of IVF. She also wrote a blog about her journey, and is active in supporting parents who are in the process of getting pregnant through IVF. Her blog: http://onestepatatim...
Mar 27, 2017•29 min
How does a feminist Naval Officer reinvent herself as a military wife and mother? My guest Maggie has done it with soul searching and lots of humor. Her husband is deployed for months out of the year and she knows that everyday he faces dangerous situations. Although she has traveled the world and given her children many unique adventures, the childcare is solely her responsibility while her husband is deployed. Maggie talks about transitioning from serving her country to raising her children, s...
Mar 23, 2017•41 min
Andee and her husband Bob moved to a new town three days before the birth of their second child. Not knowing many people, they relied on their love for music, theater and church to foster new relationships and become a part of their community. Forty years later, Andee reminisces about raising her children, opening her own tea shop, and how love of music became a common thread in her family.
Mar 20, 2017•24 min
Eric and his wife Jes lost their daughter Seraphina in the summer of 2016. After Jes spoke to me about their loss, Eric wanted to offer his perspective in the hopes that he could help other people in their situation. Eric talks about his beautiful daughter, about the differences in how he and his wife have processed their grief, and what he needs to do to protect and care for his family moving forward. If you or someone you know has lost a child, please visit The Compassionate Friends website to...
Mar 16, 2017•21 min
Jes and her husband Eric are the parents of two children; Django and Seraphina. Seraphina passed away in the summer of 2016 from an asthma attack. The family has been navigating through their grief and their new normal in the months since her death. I am honored and humbled that Jes would share her story, in the hope that it will help other grieving parents through their suffering.
Mar 13, 2017•19 min
Have you ever wanted to make a major life change? Jessica and her husband have done just that. After contemplating a move across the country for nearly a year, she accepted a job in Portland and will be moving her family there. Knowing that their current life wasn't what they wanted for their two year old daughter, Jessica is making brave changes in their location and lifestyle to give their child the life they dream of. She talks to me about her desire to make a better life for her family, and ...
Mar 09, 2017•24 min
Meet our first father!!! Tim is the dad of two daughters - a four year old and a one year old. Tim grew up in the country and as a musician, and is raising two daughters to appreciate music and live in the city. He tells me all about how he handles hair braiding, toenail painting, and princesses.
Mar 06, 2017•20 min
Raven is the mother of a beautiful 19 month old boy. She gave birth to her son when she was 18 years old, and feels that although being a young mother has its own set of challenges, her experience also comes with a lot of joys specific to young motherhood. Raven and her mother are both parents to very young children, and they are enjoying a unique experience of raising babies together. She talks about the fun of experiencing motherhood with her own mother and how giving birth to her son made her...
Mar 02, 2017•27 min
Elizabeth is the mother of three boys, two of whom are on the autism spectrum. Elizabeth struggles with the daily needs of her children, including therapies and three hour trips to see specialists. Although she wouldn't trade her experience or her boys personalities, she talks about her challenges and what she wishes more people understood about her sons' disorder.
Mar 01, 2017•28 min
Shelley has had a hard life. Her father was murdered, her mother went to prison, and she became a young mother. But Shelley knew she wanted an education. After two decades of hard work, grit, and determination, she completed her graduate work in counseling. She talks to me about her struggles and her unwavering resilience to show her children that knowledge truly is power.
Feb 23, 2017•42 min
Mary is the brilliant mother of three grown men who are as interesting as they are fun, and her and her husband are adjusting to life with them out on their own. They are reporters at the family business, the local newspaper, and Mary has written about her boys in the past. She talks to me about enjoying every age and living in the moment.
Feb 21, 2017•33 min
