Hello guys, available to your ears once more. This weeks episode is a mixture; from the outset we're very pleased with ourselves for aligning to our introduction LOL. First off, Leece asks the big question, "how often do you wash your bras?", after which we get into the nitty-gritty, current rigmaroles of *shock horror*, parenting . We deep dive into the new phase for Leece with her eldest son - how that's showing up and what the day to day struggles are. In chatting about this we also answer a ...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 114
Hello! A mix of things to climb into those pretty little earholes today - including our mother's voice!! So, welcome to the roundup of our musings from the past week, namely what we're listening to, learning and so on. Jess is on a semi-podcast buzz at the moment and discovered what she thought was an insightful episode of 'Diary of a CEO' (Steven Bartlett) with 'The Junk Food Doctor'. It's super interesting, but also pretty disappointing in ways, to learn the reality of the food industry. While...
Nov 01, 2023•56 min•Ep. 113
Hello beautiful listeners, we hope you're having a good week so far. Our second recording for the week and here we are. A frustrated and flat Jess who is dealing with quite a bit of shit at the moment - excuse the pun - that we take a bit of a deep dive into (and also push it to the side a bit because, perspective). We're talking about those tricky, prickly situations whereby you and your partner might find yourselves on totally different pages in relation to big ticket life decisions. The trial...
Oct 25, 2023•44 min•Ep. 112
Hello! Well, look at us sneaking in a second episode again, aye!? Just for you! Okay okay it's definitely for us, too, LOL. We're back to waffle into your ear holes about absolutely not much. Today's episode is our weekly catch up and to be honest doesn't cover that much but I'm sure you might get a recipe out of it at the very least. We're debriefing the week that was including Dan's trip (Leece's husband) back home, what that entailed - specifically in the kitchen - a bit about the work-mum-li...
Oct 19, 2023•50 min•Ep. 111
Hey guys, welcome back. Over the past year or so you'd have heard Jess talk about a client who enlisted her help in getting police college fit. This week, we introduce you to Kathie. In just a few days Kathie will find herself at police college, where she will spend more or less the next four months away from her home (and family) to become a cop. We know some of you have been following along with Kathie's progress and have been interested in her career change journey, and today we hear it strai...
Oct 18, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 110
Oct 11, 2023•58 min•Ep. 109
The podcast referenced in this episode can be found here - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0uPpMRWwyDwUQfVyYrL1p8?si=94b0779577234cbe Book: 'Fast like a girl' by Mindy Pelz
Oct 04, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 108
It's 6am in Queensland at the time of recording this weeks episode and both of us are quite proud of our understated tones lol. You know, as per the intro of this episode, when we meet our members or community in person it is the absolute best thing. It means so much to us and your messages about listening to our podcast feel just as good. Thank you for being here - we really mean that. In today's chat we're touching base on a number of topics from hormones to pilates, period discs and men being...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 107
Sometimes we get messages asking for more than one podcast a week. This is absolutely something we'd love to do but also sometimes life won't allow it. BUT, where we can, SURPRISEEEEEE - we're here for a bonus. In today's episode we're discussing feedback on The MIA Tampon, we try a new segment where we've either 'had it' or would 'hit it', and we revisit Leece's pocket money/kids palaver. How we get to 55 minutes in and still feel the need to chat is beyond us but hey, we love it and hope you d...
Sep 21, 2023•56 min•Ep. 106
How much we love and adore Sarah Wallace and her gorgeous family is no secret - and we are excited to welcome her back to the pod. In June of this year, having pretty much never battled a flu, Sarah was knocked for six (an understatement) by what would become pneumonia and septicemia. She was very, very sick and it's been a slow and steady return to health for Sarah and the family, as their little family grows. With son Brando now 4.5 and twin girls Cosette and Sienna now 2.5, the Wallace's feel...
Sep 20, 2023•50 min•Ep. 105
Hello guys! Welcome back. It seems the end of last weeks pod left some of us shook lol. This week, things are little less shook-y. We chat about the week that has been, naturally a bit about fart etiquette, sheet cleaning and coffee (of course), and we also dissect our latest survey a little bit too. Towards the end we are discussing parenting because we all know what an absolute trip that sh*t is and more often than not that trip needs dissecting too. Thank you for being here and for your const...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 104
This episode needs to come with a few warnings because things really took a turn or two. A bit to do with body hair and bodily functions and a bit to do with a lost tampon and a fair bit in between. So today's episode is actually our second recording of the week; the first one didn't make the cut and today's efforts we believe to be better, although perhaps in many cases, "TMI". But you know us by now and I'm sure you'll come to expect a bit of "TMI" from time to time. We chat lots of topics tod...
Sep 06, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 103
As you'll no doubt know, Leece has always been one to wear her heart on her sleeve. One of those, "what you see is *definitely* what you get" sorts. So in today's episode we go into depth about her latest post to social media, the one where she has made 10 different vows to herself, concluding at number 10: 'Love my body. Love my mind. Love myself'. This vow something we know our community can relate to and would also like to be doing more of. Today, we go into detail about these commitments, pa...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 102
Hello, we're back. This week we sought some inspo from the DMs at the last minute, so, in a bid to talk about things other than poo and coffee we end up talking about... poo and coffee. No but after a fair bit of intro chat - which I'm sure you've come to expect - we get into a few different pieces. On what it is that keeps us regularly toileting (poo again, sorry), what we do or think about talking body positive in front of our kids and how to get your kid to sleep in their own bed, by themselv...
Aug 23, 2023•50 min•Ep. 101
We've bitten off a little more than we can chew today. We begin feeling very excited about our new and agreed upon podcast structure, only to learn as the minutes go by that our structure won't really cut it. LOL - listen on to find out why. We're chatting today sans wardrobes (and sans Char sorry - she'll be here soon!) - and so apologise for the slightly more echoey tone. It's amazing right, the power of clothing draped from the humble hanger. Anyway, in today's episode we discuss our current ...
Aug 16, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 100
Hello! Well we promised a bonus episode after our unplanned hiatus last week so here we are (we also promised Char but shh don't tell anyone she'll be on the mic next week). In this episode Leece answers some of the common questions she gets about being a mum to four boys. Well, about being a mum, period, but then also more specifically about the logistics of having four kids ~ four boys ~ and everything that comes with that. So after a little yarn at the start of the episode around dating multi...
Aug 10, 2023•56 min•Ep. 99
Hello! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, no!? Sorry for being MIA for a minute there but naturally, we're back. This week we're waffling away on all sorts - from the dreaded post office trip, supermarket embarrassment and the niggle that is the morning coffee (read, poo) LOL. Sorry if we are TMI, but you'll likely come to expect that to some extent won't you. Thank you for listening and downloading. When or if ever we miss a Sparkle Pod we feel it in our souls; always fun to chinwag and alway...
Aug 09, 2023•54 min•Ep. 98
Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than you. So a few things sparked today's conversation, but for the most part, it's the really kind comments here or there that often have us feeling the need to remind people that social media is not real. OK so to some extent it is REAL - there's a real person behind that profile - but we can forget that it's often very highly curated and very carefully thought out. We like to think we are exactly the same in person...
Jul 26, 2023•48 min•Ep. 97
Every now and then the overwhelm feels huge - we know you relate. Whether it's housework, your job, motherhood, whatever. We start today's chat with a bit of a debrief on that - shout out to the mental load, small gestures and lowering our expectations a bit. We discuss - once again - how when we're busy, the first thing to go is exercise. Why do we do this to ourselves, even when we know it's one of the best things for us? Do we choose sleep, or do we choose exercise? We take a turn to social m...
Jul 19, 2023•54 min•Ep. 96
Hey guys, we're back with some really "tuneful" singing and lots of waffly chat. Are you excited? Same, lol. In this weeks episode we're chewing the fat on all sorts from our song of the moment (a smidge anti-climatic given Jess's mic issue that we didn't know was an issue until post-record), to motherhood, discipline to exercise (yes, again - what can we say? We're passionate), the cost of living, the current supermarket experience and that point at bedtime where someone decides they want to ch...
Jul 12, 2023•57 min•Ep. 95
This chat comes with a trigger warning as we take a deep dive into eating disorders and eating disorder recovery. Today we're excited to introduce our guest, Kristie Amadio, an eating disorder survivor and now Founder and CEO of Recovered Living, a Christchurch based not-for-profit residential facility for eating disorder recovery. A year or so ago we were introduced to Kristie’s Ted Talk where she pulled out some quite outrageous facts about eating disorders and how hard it can be to get help. ...
Jul 05, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 94
Hello! The Sparkle Pod brings you an assortment of waffle this week. From the scrunch bum tight conundrum to Leece's aversion to movie quotations and the story of when Jess was somewhat unintentionally sending AND POSTING (semi) nudes. It's all go today and after a week off from the Pod (sorry and thanks for your understanding), we're thrilled to be here. And, off the back of Jess's closing story, we'd love to hear from you if you guys have ever had a social media 'user error' or anything of the...
Jun 28, 2023•46 min•Ep. 93
Leece and Jess are answering some DMs today. We start with a question about balancing the load between you and your spouse when it comes to things around the home and with kids. A topic we know is relatable for many in our audience and potentially a challenge for many of us - or perhaps even something you often find has its ebbs and flows or is a work in progress. We then move on to fit-tech (aka the 'fit bit') and the often ambitious (or perhaps even glorified) goal around hitting 10,000 steps ...
Jun 14, 2023•57 min•Ep. 92
Hello! In today's episode we're inspired to revisit Jess's history with body dysmorphia. A few things have instigated this chat but mostly it's due to the messages we've been getting reminding us of just how prevalent body dysmorphia is (and all other types of 'issues' along these lines). First of all, we're so happy that many of our members have joined Move it Mama and have now managed to foster a really positive relationship with their bodies and with exercise - by shifting their focus a littl...
Jun 07, 2023•55 min•Ep. 91
Let's go back to circa 2021 and CAVEAT the fact that Jess sang the WRONG song at the end of this pod and she's really shame about it and goodness knows we find live video easier than the pod sometimes lol. In today's episode we go off on so many tangents - which is quite fun - so thank you for the questions that popped into our inboxes! We chat many things; we start with answering the question 'should we be quitting sugar', and move on to questions around reestablishing exercise post sickness/ro...
May 31, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 90
HELLO! We're back - Leece and Jess chewing the fat for the first time in what feels a little too long. Oftentimes we're busy and so this weekly catch up is food for the soul for the both of us. Thank you for being invested in our podcast and for all of your supportive and encouraging words towards us/it. We appreciate it so much. A few musings today starting with what's going on in and around our lives, and moving on to some quick-fire but thought provoking questions, like what we're currently l...
May 24, 2023•54 min•Ep. 89
Danni Carr has a passion for self improvement and self preservation. After years of touring and partying with musician husband Ash Grunwald, the excessive binging started to take its toll and Danni (and Ash) decided enough was enough. When a good friend of Danni's said she was going to take 12 months off drinking, both Danni and Ash didn't hesitate in joining in. What started as a 12 month commitment in 2017 has now turned into 5+ years and Danni has never looked back. Now the host of the podcas...
May 17, 2023•52 min•Ep. 88
Well that was a first! Just sitting in my wardrobe recording a podcast on my own! Recently, I was lucky enough to record a conversation with a lady called Danni Carr. Danni has a popular podcast herself called How I Quit Alcohol. After talking with her, I (typically) overanalysed my chat and didn't love how I conducted it. Once it was finished, it was a typical case of 'oh how I wish I could do that again and do it better and differently!'. Anyway, I thought it would be cool to share with you fi...
May 12, 2023•28 min•Ep. 87
Off the back of a school Mother's Day service today's podcast starts off with some beautiful song lyrics and a dusty eye. It's no surprise to those that listen to The Sparkle Pod that, like many, we grapple with some aspects of motherhood. Regardless of ANY of this we are so blessed and privileged, not only to have become mother's, but also to still have our mother around - which is where the dusty eyes come in at the start of today's chat. We begin with our current motherhood musings and go ont...
May 10, 2023•49 min•Ep. 86
Jess is out of action this week with snot and the rest of it all up in her grill, so in today's podcast we have both Leece and Char in full chinwag status. Leece pulled super-sub Char into her Cambridge wardrobe tonight for a quick Q&A about her first year as a parent. Topics covered include, but are not limited to (lol): the moment Char met Tommy, sleep deprivation, the balancing act between parents and the joy our children bring. This is an episode full of candid and heartfelt conversation...
May 03, 2023•37 min•Ep. 85
