We speak with Aaron Krueger and Erin Kuhn-Krueger about their experience with multiple miscarriages and stillbirth. In this moving and inspiring interview they share their challenges, coping tools, and their strength and determination to become parents. This show is a must if you have experienced pregnancy or infant loss, or if you know someone who is trying to navigate the grief associated with baby loss. This is Part 1 of a two part interview with the Krueger family - Part 2 will air Friday, J...
Jun 06, 2014•41 min
Of course you are the parent and your role is important, but can you sometimes just drop the role and relate to your child as an individual? We break down the the role of parent to redefine what it means to support your child. When your child comes to you with a problem, do you deal with the internal or the external? Most of us deal with the external - focus on how it looks and how to fix it. But do we consider what our child is feeling and experiencing? Instead of trying to "fix" the problem im...
Jun 03, 2014•41 min
Do you want to be happy? Guess what, you've got the tools to do it! Happiness can be cultivated regardless of your childhood or genes - you just need to make it a daily priority! Shawn Achor is a Harvard Professor who teaches a class on how to be happy - research shows it comes from the INSIDE and has little to do with the external experiences. It's not about waiting to be happy until you find success, it's about being happy and then achieving success due to your happiness. Happiness comes from ...
May 27, 2014•46 min
Did you know that May is Williams Syndrome Awareness Month? Williams syndrome is a genetic condition characterized by medical problems, including cardiovascular disease, developmental delays, and learning disabilities. People with Williams Syndrome also tend to have enhanced verbal abilities, highly social personalities and an affinity for music. It effects 1 in 10,000 people worldwide – an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people in the United States. We interview Amy Connell-Donohue, the mother of 11...
May 23, 2014•44 min
Todd and Cathy discuss their disagreement over how "active" their kids should be in extracurricular activities. Keeping kids "busy" is connected to our past experiences and our need for constant productivity. It is essential that we see ourselves and our motives clearly when creating expectations for our children. We also talk about some conscious parent foundational elements including self-awareness, mindfulness, and kindness. Conscious parenting is not a "technique", it's actually a way of liv...
May 20, 2014•44 min
Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb? That's the first line in this epic song. We disect the lyrics and use it to help understand conscious parenting. Roger Water's song (on the show we use the Natalie Maines version) points out that parents can have the best intentions when "protecting" their children, but if done unconsciously, or with lack of self awareness, it can backfire. Full Lyrics to Mother: Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb Mother do you think they'll like the song Mother ...
May 13, 2014•44 min
In honor of Mother's Day, we invited our moms to talk about what we were like as kids. We also talk about the changes that have taken place from the time they were kids (a.k.a. the olden days) to raising us in the 70's - we also discuss how their grandchildren are being raised. We get nostalgic and we have a lot of laughs. We love our moms! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUkE9qaVgmo&list=PLyfsVoKpa6Y3LqyDbc04-6M6V9rJETgt- Our guest Dr. Shefali Tsabary is about to rocket into the Oprah strat...
May 09, 2014•45 min
What's the difference between punishment, discipline, and natural consequences? We discuss a few different events that happened in our house that allowed for natural consequences. Rather than using fear to punish, natural consequences help children understand and integrate a teaching. We also discuss cell phone usage - specifically: What is the correct age to give your access to a phone? What conditions should be put on it? Are we telling our children that we don't trust them if we ask them to l...
May 06, 2014•48 min
Most of us do. Why do we sometimes feel like fakes at work, at home, in the world? Why are we afraid that someone is going to figure out that we really don't know what we are doing? We discuss how this feeling plays into our parenting and how we can practice feeling as "real" as possible. We play a clip (below) from Amy Cudder's Ted Talk on self doubt and how to deal with it. We also discuss our upcoming "The Good Life Virtual Retreat" . What does it mean to live a good life? It means to "shed t...
Apr 29, 2014•45 min
Do we want our kids to be popular? How important is this? What makes our kids popular? Is it athletic ability and physical stature or is it physical attractiveness and attention from the opposite sex? We share our perspective and discuss why parents play a role in how their children are perceived. We also use great 80's movies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, & Revenge of the Nerds to make our "popular" points. We are facilitating our next virtual retreat! I...
Apr 22, 2014•45 min
Typically pessimists respond to problems by believing these three things: It's Personal- They blame themselves for an event that has occurred. It's Permanent- They think it will never get better. It's Pervasive- They assume failure in one area of life means failure in life as a whole and that failure is happening everywhere and can't be stopped. Do we carry some of these traits? Does it affect our parenting? We discuss this and offer options for turning these thoughts around. We also discuss a f...
Apr 15, 2014•44 min
In this compelling interview, our friend Katie Weiss shares her breast cancer experience, starting with the fact that she was diagnosed at 35. Due to her age she is told her lump is probably nothing, but she walks us through the series of incidents that lead to the mind-numbing news that she indeed had breast cancer. Recently separated and with a three-year-old daughter at home, Katie takes us from diagnosis, to chemotherapy and finally recovery. Katie's storytelling is vulnerable, raw, and full...
Apr 11, 2014•57 min
Is it manly to take paternity leave? When Daniel Murphy's (a player on the New York Mets) wife had a baby, he utilized the paternity leave that is allowed under the collective bargaining agreement set forth by Major League Baseball. But why is he being criticized? Is it "man code" to get back to work as soon as the birth is over? If we are a nation of family values, why do we place work over family? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbMFHX5iq We also discuss Todd's blod titled, Am I a Bad Dad? Am ...
Apr 08, 2014•46 min
We discuss 8 different ways to help your children be more mindful: 1. Mindful breathing 2. Past/present/future 3. Take in the joy 4. Quiet time 5. Practice listening 6. Emotional awareness – feeling – asking questions about feelings 7. Gratitude – don’t judge what they are grateful for – role model 8. Do it yourself We also discuss the idea of creeping separateness. This is when we "ignore the cracks" in a marriage. The little things that are done (or sometimes not done) which create distance be...
Apr 01, 2014•44 min
Our friends and neighbors Jeanne and Jeff Plaisted walk the walk. They decided that on their 15th anniversary they were going to do something special. Massages on the beach in Hawaii? Nope. A cruise through the Caribbean? Try again. They decided to make a difference. They stepped away from their day to day life and packed up for a two-week trip to Nicaragua. They were inspired by Spark Ventures, a Chicago-based nonprofit that partners with grassroots organizations to help children in developing ...
Mar 28, 2014•37 min
We all know that most of us are overwhelmed. The question is- what do we do about it? Like most things- it begins with awareness. We get into a discussion based on a book by Brigid Schulte titled -Overwhelmed- Work, Love, & Play When No One Has The Time. We play some clips from an amazing interview she did with NPR's Terry Gross. Some of the highlights include: The idea of "contaminated time" Is there a different set of expectations between men and women when it comes to parenting? We claim ...
Mar 25, 2014•46 min
In this compelling interview, our friend Katie Weiss shares her breast cancer experience, starting with the fact that she was diagnosed at 35. Due to her age she is told her lump is probably nothing, but she walks us through the series of incidents that lead to the mind-numbing news that she indeed had breast cancer. Recently separated and with a three-year-old daughter at home, Katie takes us from diagnosis, to chemotherapy and finally recovery. Katie's storytelling is vulnerable, raw, and full...
Mar 23, 2014•57 min
Todd confesses that he still feels intimidated by powerful women in our society, and he uses Oprah and Hillary Clinton as examples. This leads to a discussion about the campaign created by Sheryl Sandberg called "Banning Bossy" The campaign is designed to empower female leadership by making us more conscious of the words we use to describe young girls as they assert themselves. The confidence gap starts early- Between elementary and high school, girls’ self–esteem drops 3.5 times more than boys’...
Mar 18, 2014•42 min
Why do we get "triggered" by certain people or circumstances? You could call it a "trigger", or you could call it a "thorn". A thorn is when you are disturbed because something you are experiencing feels similar to a negative (or uncomfortable, or unresolved, or painful) experience from the past. Instead of feeling/responding to something in present time, the experience can trigger old pain from the past. That makes the present experience feel like too much to bear, and you may respond in an ina...
Mar 11, 2014•42 min
"Leukemia messed with the wrong girl in November 2011 - my then almost two year old daughter, Maddy. That was when my family's journey with leukemia began...."~Erin and Dan McCarthy Last month, Maddy became a SURVIVOR, after 2+ years of treatment. It was brutal - Maddy had 3 surgeries, over 50 rounds of outpatient chemotherapy (as well as hundreds of chemo meds at home), 10 spinal tap chemo injections, 4 blood transfusions, 12 ER visits, hair loss, 16 body scans, numerous inpatient admissions, a...
Mar 07, 2014•41 min
There are 5 attributes Google, Inc. currently looks for when hiring an employee and guess what? The school you came from and your G.P.A. don't mean that much. In a New York Times article titled "How to Get a Job at Google" Thomas Friedman interviewed Laszlo Bock, the Senior Vice President of People Operations for Google and asks what they look for when hiring employees. Google determined that “G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless. ... We found that they ...
Mar 04, 2014•40 min
How do we react when our children have an emotional response? Yes, there needs to be some boundaries on how our children treat us, but we must also be aware of our own triggers and take responsibility for the energy we bring. We share a recent experience when our daughter had an emotional response (let's just say it wasn't handled perfectly). We also use the ocean as a metaphor to distinguish between fear and respect. The easier and quicker lesson is to teach fear, but is there a more effective ...
Feb 25, 2014•45 min
Our friend Jenny Zabrocki shares her personal stories about her modern family. Jenny and her husband Jon had three biological children and then decided to adopt. They adopted a son, Mesfin, from Ethipoia and a daughter, Iris, from China. She helps us understand the challenges and celebrations surrounding the adoption process. Jenny's very honest and grounded way of sharing her story is an inspiration, and a reminder of how much each of us has to give. Click here to read Jenny's "Live by Family" ...
Feb 21, 2014•30 min
Do you forget names or what you are going to say next? Do you walk into a room and forget why you are there? Don't fear- we can relate, and we also have some ideas to make your brain less mushy. There is a book called "Keep Your Brain Alive" that discusses Neurobics - these are ways to train your brain to stay alert and sharp. Cathy just returned from a vacation and discusses its importance and how we put "fake" importance on our day to day activities. If we can all step back and re-prioritize w...
Feb 19, 2014•43 min
Last Friday night was "pizza & ice cream night" in our house. Nowhere to go, nothing to do other than watch the Olympics, eat some unhealthy but yummy food and spend some quality time together. At least that was the picture I had in my head for the evening. The problem was one of my daughters was not on board with MY plan and instead told me how bored she was and how she wanted to watch "Merlin". I instantly went to a place of judgement thinking- this kid has no idea how good she has it- piz...
Feb 11, 2014•42 min
We sit down with Amy Rodgers Duffin as she explains her tactics for striking that elusive balance of career/mom/wife. Some of the things she explains in this conversation... I am not sure who came up with this term, but to most women, it’s something we dream about, but find it difficult to have. As valuable as a winning lottery ticket, achieving work life balance means that we would actually have the time to meet the expectations of our career AND have enough quality time for ourselves, our fami...
Feb 07, 2014•35 min
When was the last time you asked somebody for feedback? Maybe from your partner, your work, or your kids? We discuss the importance of feedback, specifically how to give it, and how to receive it. We also discuss Phillip Seymour Hoffman's tragic death and how these real life situations can be discussed in the home (for children who are old enough to understand). We end by talking to Kelly Pietrangeli from MyProjectMe.com Her website and Facebook page is for busy moms, and it's all about self car...
Feb 04, 2014•47 min
We talk about personal responsibility as well as Kathy Caprino's blog titled "7 Crippling Parenting Behaviors That Keep Children From Growing Into Leaders" A link to the blog is listed under "resources" below. The 7 beahaviors are: 1. We don’t let our children experience risk 2. We rescue too quickly 3. We rave too easily 4. We let guilt get in the way of leading well 5. We don’t share our past mistakes 6. We mistake intelligence, giftedness and influence for maturity 7. We don’t practice what w...
Jan 28, 2014•48 min
Help is on the way! We interview a truly inspirational person- Jonny Immerman. At 26 years old, Jonny was diagnosed with testicular cancer and began his fight against the disease. Throughout his experience, Jonny was lucky enough to have loving support from his family and friends but had never met anyone his age who was a cancer survivor. He wanted to talk to someone just like him, someone who truly understood, and was intimately familiar with his experience. In short, he was looking for someone...
Jan 24, 2014•19 min
We discuss the importance of the inner world, specifically how this relates to preadolescent/teenage boys. They generally don't ask for help, but that doesn't mean they don't need support. We offer tips and guidance in how to understand and relate to "boy world". We also discuss the "innerscape" and "outerscape" of a person and why "remembering and forgetting" are part of the consciousness process. REMINDERS: Virtual Relationship Retreat- For individuals, couples, friends, or the workplace. Prac...
Jan 21, 2014•40 min
