The Good Mom Podcast

Despite my best efforts to avoid it, I became ill with Covid last week after traveling. I don't know of it was the high fever or just being forced to rest (because my body refused everything except that) but I had some realizations and revelations that really helped me get clear about some big things.  I went back a few years and made connections, I reclaimed aspects of myself I want to bring back out, and I made decisions abo...

Reflecting this week on mistakes I made and sometimes still make. I used to think these were about being a mom. I used to connect these to my mom identity by making them mean something about that aspect of me, but I have a new awareness now that these are about my own past pain and the healing I am doing. Mistakes are not bad, mamas. They have message for us and a purpose and we get to frame them in the way that serves us best. We ...

Special Guest Episode: Christy Keating from The Heartful Parent joins me this week for an informative and open conversation about the who, what, when, and why our tweens and teens need to hear about sexual consent from us.  If you've avoided talking to your tweens or teens about sex, this episode will give you some facts and encouragement, plus an easy-to-follow guideline and suggestions for exactly how to actually have the co...

For Pride Month, I want to talk openly about what I've learned as a proud mom of a child in the LGBTQ+ community. First of all, I am learning as I go. I have made some mistakes and caught myself acting from unconscious bias, lack of awareness, fear, and insensitivity, but I've asked questions and I'm continuing to learn more all the time. For the mistakes I've made, I also believe there's one thing we can a...

In this episode my third daughter joins the podcast to talk about her perspective growing up as the youngest in our family.  She shares a topic that has recently come up for her with her therapist around the topic of comparison, and some of the advantages and disadvantages of being the youngest. We also talk about the importance of checking in with each sibling and honoring their experiences and identity as an individual. We wrap u...

If you are not feeling awesome about Mother's Day either before, during or after, this episode will help you reflect and possibly shift perspective, if that's what you want. The concept of being ready to be in "receiving mode" is shared, along with a way to get curious and honest about what's really bothering you about thr holiday for celebrating and honoring moms. If you like this episode, I would apprecia...

This episode is a new format! I am reminiscing about the progress of my very first clients. I share about the mom who discovered that her boyfriend was not problem, the mom who learned how to feel her feelings instead of chasing her self-worth by doing tons of things, the mom who stopped trying to buffer and orchestrate her family's relationships, the mom who was toggling between escapism and guilt but struck a balance by crea...

There is a throughline with all the hardest situations we have faced as family. I have noticed it also with moms and families I have coached. It is simple but not easy to do.  It's facing reality and radically accepting it. It is not our natural tendency to accept unexpected or painful events, especially as moms - but when we do it's the first step to processing emotions and modeling to our kids how to do the same. Avoidi...

The first half of this episode I share a concept from coaching that I use often but was reminded of at my recent coach mastermind event in Austin, which is "don't believe everything you think," and we also review again how counseling and coaching are different. In the second half I am inviting you into my world around weight loss and weight regain (which has been a recurring theme in my life) and inviting you to go o...

Not all moms relate to being a hot mess, but for those of us who do, I salute you.  Seriously, is having our shit together really the goal? In this episode I share some new ways of looking at the "hot mess" persona.  Personally, I learned to just own it in myself and actually love this aspect of myself. I love it in other moms too, especially when no one judges it, either outwardly or inwardly. Let's embrace our hot ...

Anxiety and Fear are just indicators for us to take a pause and think "What am I fearing in this situation?" In this episode we take a step back and rethink how controlling others and our own emotions is our natural tendency as moms, but it has negative impacts and a cost to us and our relationships. The most important take-aways: Trust that we can feel negative emotions and be the whole version of ourselves, give equal a...

You've heard me say before that behavior is communication, but what the heck is actually being communicated?  In this episode I share 4 ways to more accurately determine the real message or cause for maladaptive behaviors. First, do not assume anything other than the person would not be behaving this way if they could help it. second, drop all old stories about behavior. Both of these actions will help clear space for you to u...

Connection is soooo important in building healthy, close, and trusting relationships with our kids. If we've missed some opportunities or just want to do better, it's not too late to begin now.  In this episode, I give you 5 ways that I've noticed have made a huge difference in connecting more deeply with my kids. Here they are:
1. If they reach out for connection, drop what you're doing and accept the offer...

In this episode, I invited my oldest daughter Jenelle to share her reflections of growing up in our often chaotic and stressful home. She shares the role she took on as a "helper" in our family and how although she liked that role at the time she learned later how that role kept her from opening up to share her own emotions out of fear of upsetting me and her dad.  She also opens up about sometimes not feeling recognized ...

On this episode I share three ways that have helped me lately in dealing with uncertainty which produces anxiety and fear. First we have to allow ourselves to actually feel the emotions that are uncomfortable, knowing that we can handle feeling any emotion. Next we can choose which side of the 50/50 of life that we'd like to think will happen in an uncertain future. Lastly we use the strategy of opposites in combination with t...

In our family we have some special things that help us stay close as a family and in our individual relationships. I am sharing one of the things that has always been a "thing" for us. It's called "special time" and I highly recommend you consider trying this one out if any relationships in your family are a little tense. It's simple, doesn't even have to cost anything, and sends a message of love...

Many of you have read my story of hustling for my self-worth on my website, and I have touched on some of the effects of my self-image issues in other podcast episodes. It's something I've wanted to "solve" for decades now, and I decided for 2022 that I would try out a new type of therapy to see if it would make a difference. I am sharing on this episode the therapy I tried and how it's going so far. If you...

Do you think love is the best feeling? Do you think experiencing love is our soul's true purpose? I had an experience when I was around 7 that has me trying to reconcile everything I was taught about love and how it's supposed to work, with the new information I've learned and continue to learn.  Going a little deeper than usual on the podcast this week. Here's where to sign up for our next Moms' Zoom Party...