Confessions of a SuperMom Wannabe

Jessica Patay is a mother, wife, and advocate/cheerleader for Special Needs Mothers.  Because Jessica is passionate about serving, mentoring, and inspiring other Special Needs Moms, she launched and leads a non-profit organization called We Are Brave Together.  WABT provides resources, respite, support groups, mentoring and inspiration for moms caring for children or adult children, any age, with any diagnosis, disability or challenge. She believes in the power of gathering to empower, strengthen and uplift moms in their unique, diverse and difficult journeys.   Jessica calls herself a girlfriend's girlfriend, and we talk about building community, taking care of yourself and other in the midst of overwhelm, and how to even start identifying what we need.   She has such encouragement and wisdom for all of us, no matter what we're going through or what stage we are in.

I'm playing an oldie but goodie. Way back in episode number 6, I talked with the founder and CEO of my favorite jewelry company, Charity Craig. Since then, Charity has become a confidante, an ally, we've even gone into business together.  Charity offers so much more than beautiful, inspirational jewelry. She offers women an olive branch to tell them they're not alone in even their darkest struggles.  I just love this woman, and I know you will too after hearing her story of rebuiling herself when her world fell apart.

Katie Peterson, a domestic engineer, mom of seven, and meal planning genius is the smiling face of Kate’s Creative Kitchen. As a dietitian, she loves to create healthy food (and sometimes not so healthy food) on a budget... calling it Frugalicious! Katie has been teaching others how to make meal planning a successful habit for their families for over 15 years.   I adore Kate's realness and humor. We talked about how to manage meal planning so it's not so overwhelming!

My "fancy" bar is set really, really low. 

Okay, if your littles are around and you're not quite ready to talk about the baby dance, this might be an episode to put in the earbuds or listen when they're not around. While the topic is healthy and clean, this is your warning. Cindy Scharkey is a health care professional leading educational conversations about sexual health. She is passionate about breaking the silence surrounding women’s sexuality and empowering parents with knowledge and confidence to be their child’s sexual health educator. She is married to the love of her life, and they have three adult daughters. Cindy offers sex education and resources through her newsletter, blog and the Permission for Pleasure podcast. Through her workshops and private consultations, she is on a mission to provide the comprehensive sex education that every woman needs. Cindy gives us a survival guide for how to talk to our kids about this subject that can feel scary, overwhelming, and awkward. It's more than just about the Birds and the Bees which, Cindy feels strongly we should abolish that term. She helps us to be prepared for the inevitable questions that will come, how to feel emboldened not to shy away from them, and the HUGE favor we can do for our daughters by talking openly about sex and pleasure.   FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: www.facebook.com/groups/wannabenation   INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thesupermomwannabe   SHOW NOTES: http://supermompodcast.com/cindy 

We need more help to keep up with our busy culture. But I refuse to do THIS...

Bethany Adkins is a former Pediatric Nurse turned stay-at-home mom who has been so passionate about reading and writing that she finally decided to pursue it full time. She encourages her audience at www.theadkinshighlightREAL.com, is the host of The Millennial Mission Podcast, she's writing her first book, and working on releasing her first online course. The core of her message is one simple thing: you have a purpose. Alongside her husband, Corey, they desire to help people step into their God-given purpose. They aim to break the stigmas of millennials and challenge them to rise up as an example for future generations.   Bethany and I tackle the subject of faith and how to teach our kids about it. Regardless of who or what you believe in, faith plays a role in so much of our lives. I believe that we all have faith in something, and we all have personal values that we want to pass on to our kids.   Coming from a very legalistic - like, a lot of rules - Christian background, I don’t want my kids to live under fear or to believe things just because that’s what I believe. It’s tough and challenging, but I really just want them to feel inspired to believe in something bigger and more powerful than themselves.    No matter your religious background, I think we all have similar goals as parents. But how do we even start the  conversation of faith with our kids? How do we teach them or be an example to them? Bethany and I have some thoughts.   Be sure to check out Bethany’s “My Why” journal at bethanyadkins.com/mywhyjournal or you can find it in the show notes at supermompodcast.com

I turn into a crazy person before we leave for a vacation of any length...

Lauren Ellman is a published author + podcast host. In her podcast, on her blog, and in her upcoming book, she explores the intersection of mental health and social media use. She's decided to take a trial and error approach to self-help and shares her insights through her writing. She is a mom, stepmom, fur mom, and wife.  Today we dig into normalizing mental health, how we can help each other, but mostly how we can help OURSELVES. How do we care for ourselves in times of anxiety and depression? How do we talk about it and advocate for ourselves? It's truly a meaningful, rich conversation. If you or someone you love is struggling or has struggled with anxiety and depression, please listen and share. We could all use Lauren's words of encouragement. FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: www.facebook.com/groups/wannabenation INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thesupermomwannabe SHOW NOTES: http://supermompodcast.com/lauren

I nearly PANICKED when this happened last week... This confession session is my most embarrassing one yet! 

Ashley Carbonatto is a domestically underachieving mom-of-three who juggles all the things. She’s a gatherer of people, a welcomer to the outsider, a storyteller to the tired, and an entertainer to the downcast. After leaving a successful career, she re-discovered her voice and renewed purpose in motherhood, but in her own unconventional way. You need homemade frosting? She’s not the one you call. But you need a good story, honest reflection, and a sister in the trenches? Ashley’s your woman. She lives in Washington with her husband & three minions, and always has a bottle of wine to pop open for anyone who stops by.   She’s written a book called More than a mom, and if you know me at ALL, you know I’m passionate about that statement.   It’s so easy to feel like we have to fit into a certain mold when we become moms, and Ashley is here to bust all those myths. From the advice she wishes she had as a new mom, to how we can leave a legacy for our kids, this conversation just felt effortless and like it was two friends catching up on the meaning of life.   Grab Ashley's book on Amazon !

My kids are 15 and 16. I'm running out of time. 

Today I talk with Marlys Monet, a single mom of 3 (and sometimes 4). Marlys found out she was pregnant with her first child at age fifteen. After trying to deny what was happening and life as she knew it unraveling, her story is one that ends in so much hope and love.    When I first read Marlys’ story, I was so inspired by its uniqueness, and I knew I just had to talk with her.   We talk about her open adoption story from start to finish, how she overcame fear and shame in the process, and her unconventional but incredibly joyful motherhood journey.   An important takeaway from this interview for me, is how under served our teen moms are. Speaking from her own experience and how she supports teen moms today, Marlys answers the question of how we can best love and serve our teens who find themselves in a circumstance similar to the one she faced as a young girl.   I hope this interview makes you smile, and that you can just feel the light that Marlys brings to those she comes across.   FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: www.facebook.com/groups/wannabenation   INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thesupermomwannabe   SHOW NOTES: http://supermompodcast.com/marlys   

I often get asked about my introverted-ness and how I can podcast and do public speaking and be awesome. I'm explaining this a bit, and a little mind trick I use when I feel socially awkward.

Okay, I know that you may or may not be on TikTok or maybe you think it’s just for kids. It’s not. I LOVE TIkTok, and one of the first accounts I started following is called The Yeet Baby. To put it simply, it’s a bunch of videos of a one year old named Marleigh, who does fun things with her uncle…and it brings joy to literally millions of people.   I wanted to know about the mom behind this baby-gone-viral, so I reached out to Marleigh’s mom Alexandra to find out what it’s like when your baby goes viral, her reactions, how she deals with negative comments from mean strangers on the internet, and how she handles her baby’s fame.    FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: www.facebook.com/groups/wannabenation   INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thesupermomwannabe   SHOW NOTES: http://supermompodcast.com/yeet 

Tune in to find out the unconventional way we connect with our fifteen-year-old son. I'm not necessarily proud of it, but I'd do it again.

Did your relationship with your partner change when you had kids? Even if you didn’t realize it, it probably did. It can be hard to notice and especially difficult to adjust our relationship and keep the romance alive when our entire being revolves around learning how to keep tiny humans alive.   That’s where Catherine O’Brien comes in. Catherine is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the founder of HappyWithBaby.com. She knows what it’s like to be overwhelmed, out of energy, and out of ideas as a new parent. She created Happy With Baby in order for new and expecting parents to discover the advice she wishes she could have had when managing expectations of parenthood and relationships.   We talk about things that no one told us, you know, that aren’t in the pregnancy books,things that affect yourself, your relationship, and the whole extended family, and three questions we need to be asking ourselves in order to maintain healthy relationships with our partner.   Whether you have a new baby, kids in elementary school, or really any stage of parenthood, I know you’ll take something good away from my conversation with Catherine.   FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: www.facebook.com/groups/wannabenation   INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thesupermomwannabe   SHOW NOTES: http://supermompodcast.com/catherine   

When your kid comes home from a friend's house and talks about all the cool stuff they have....right down to the macaroni and cheese.

Tanya Meessmann, the founder of Girl Shaped Flames, is committed to developing the most confident, courageous and self-assured generation of girls the world has ever seen. The fire she has had in her belly since a teenager has taken her from small-town in Queensland Australia, to topping her degree at Bond University, working at top-tier Advertising Agencies throughout Sydney and London on international brands such as Virgin, MasterCard, Peroni, Nokia, and McDonald’s, then across into a Film Producing career that has seen her produce 9 feature films. Now safely back in her home state of QLD, she has worked with over 3000 teenage girls, their parents and educators through powerful mentoring, inspiring events and transformative courses, specializing in confidence development for high-school girls, inspiring unique career pathways, and courageous parenting. Of course, as a mom of a teenage girl, this is close to my heart. If you don’t have teenagers or even if you don’t have daughters, Tanya has advice that is just gold to those who listen. We talk about how to instill confidence in our kids, the struggles they face, and the ultimate hard work of parenting. Tanya has a marvelous “confidence calendar” for parents to work through with their girls. 30 days of ideas on how to build confidence in your daughter. You can download that for free, here. FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: www.facebook.com/groups/wannabenation   INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thesupermomwannabe   SHOW NOTES: http://supermompodcast.com/tanya 

Join me as I talk about my waffle dreams and the COVID Pandemic stuff that I hope never goes away.