After Hours With Amanda

Grab a bevie, boo. I got an email from a brand I love explaining why a partnership wasn't the right fit right now, and something about my reaction surprised me. A couple of years ago, I would've made those numbers mean something about me. This time, I didn't. I'm talking about the messy middle of changing directions, why I'm more protective of my tiny queens' stories as the...

I’m walking where Walt walked, trying not to cry off my fake lashes, and unpacking everything I brought home from Disney’s Created in LA. We’re talking creator lessons from Zach King, the Try Guys, Disney storytellers and more—but this one gets much bigger than content. I’m sharing why partners matter, why “no” might really mean “not right now,” why we have to be willing to let an idea change, and...

I’m back, boo—and I have some explaining to do. During our quiet two-month hiatus, I seriously considered ending After Hours With Amanda. Instead, I found myself heading to Disney’s Created in LA and confronting some very loud imposter syndrome along the way. I’m sharing what happened, why the podcast needed room to breathe, the new Dreamers & Believers series, and what it felt like to almost...

Grab your bevie and settle in, because today I’m talking about the question I keep teaching my girls to ask: “Why did they tell me that?” We’re getting into gossip, friendship motives, direct communication, self-talk, comparison, and the difference between trying to control our tiny humans and choosing to have an impact. I also share the advice a therapist gave me when I was scared I wouldn’t know...

Grab your iced coffee because I’m finally sharing my full Disneyland game plan. I’m walking through how our family plans park days, what I pack, where we eat, how I use Lightning Lane and mobile ordering, which rides we hit first, where we stay, and why I still bring a stroller even with bigger tiny humans. I also want to talk about the part no itinerary can control: overstimulation, tired kids, c...

This week, I’m sitting with a realization that made me cry in my car: my daughter is learning to take up space without first checking whether she is too much. Watching her at camp showed me that we really have created something different, even while I’m still untangling the childhood fears that taught me to shrink, scan the room, and control what I could. We’re talking about parenting without proj...

This episode is for the moms in the preteen and teen trenches, or honestly anyone who is realizing that big feelings have a way of calling out old wounds. I’m talking about what I’m learning as my girls get older, especially when attitude, tone, communication, and hurt feelings start showing up in new ways. This one is about not taking everything personally, asking whether I’m responding to my chi...

This week, I’m taking you with me to Pixar and into the very real mom guilt spiral that hit when one of my girls got invited into a special experience and the others didn’t. What started as a magical Disney/Pixar day turned into a bigger parenting reframe about fairness, sibling comparison, and why equal does not always mean the same. This is me learning out loud about intentional parenting, share...

I wrote “Visit Pixar Studios” in my goals for five years, and this year, that dream came true. In this episode, I’m sharing the story behind getting invited to Pixar for Toy Story 5, but really, this is about dreams, faith, motherhood, and learning to keep showing up even when not everyone understands what you’re carrying. I talk about borrowing belief, fear that sounds like wisdom, safe friendshi...

Grab your iced coffee and sit with me for a few minutes, because this one is for anyone who feels behind. I’m talking about the comparison trap, Paige’s little watermelon plant, and what happens when we start comparing our roots to someone else’s tree. This episode is about motherhood, dreams, faith, waiting, and remembering that just because something is taking longer does not mean it is not happ...

Season six is here, and I’m catching you up on life, summer, middle school survival, my solo Disney day, and the very real feeling of not being where I thought I would be by this point in the year. This episode is about the mid year reset we do not always know we need. I’m talking about changing directions, showing up without waiting for motivation, letting go of shame, and remembering that not be...

In this episode, I’m talking about anxiety, timing, dream chasing, and the coffee line analogy that changed how I see waiting. Just because someone else gets the dream before you does not mean yours is not coming. The only way you do not get your coffee is if you get out of line. I’m also sharing about health anxiety, mammograms, meditation, glimmers of gratitude, keeping promises to myself, advoc...

In this episode, I’m talking about the sweetest Disney Pandora surprise, why the Tiana charm felt like a hug from my mom and big J, and how those little glimmers can remind us to keep going when life does not look how we pictured it. Then we get into marriage, miscommunication, keeping score, serving each other when we are both tired, and what it really means to date your spouse like you are still...

In this episode, I’m talking about why our tiny humans are not our mini mes, even when they look like us, sound like us, or remind us of ourselves. This one is about parenting without projecting, seeing their hearts before assuming their intent, and remembering that behavior is often communication, not just a power struggle. I’m also getting into terrible twos, big feelings, labels, inner child mo...

In this episode, I’m talking about a morning where I messed up as a mom, said something that wounded, and realized I could not just wait until the end of the day to repair it. So I used my lunch break, pulled one of the tiny queens out of school, apologized, got Chick fil A, opened blind boxes, and learned something I do not want to forget. This one is about parenting mistakes, repair, preteen emo...

In this episode, I’m talking about fixing your crown, saying dreams out loud, and realizing that sometimes I am the one knocking my own crown off. We’re getting into joyful choices, self confidence, walking, meditation, health PTSD, motherhood, Disney dreams, The Courage to Be Disliked, and why keeping small promises to yourself can rebuild trust in yourself. This is also the episode where I admit...

In this episode, I’m talking about health anxiety, holiday pressure, missed opportunities, Disney dreams, and the measuring stick we sometimes use without realizing it. You know, the one that says, “I wish homework was my biggest problem,” or turns someone else’s hard day into a comparison contest. This one is about parenting tiny humans, listening without keeping score, validating feelings, and r...

In this episode, I’m sitting on my closet floor after a very full week and talking through a realization that stopped me in my tracks: sometimes we do not make ourselves small because someone else is being negative. Sometimes we make ourselves small because we keep choosing everyone else, even when we love doing it. I’m talking about motherhood, marriage, anxiety, asking for help, taking up space,...

In this episode, I’m sharing the very emotional story of taking the tiny queens to Disney World for World Princess Week, and why the message of “create your own world” hit me so deeply. This one is about Disney magic, motherhood, dreams, sidekicks, grief, gratitude, disappointment, and the reminder that we are not meant to do life in isolation. If you have been feeling discouraged, unseen, or like...

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m catching up on life, Disney World, Nat Geo, the toaster saga, working mom rhythms, and some very exciting Florida news with the tiny queens. Then we get into the heart of it: is your communication actually conveying your message? I talk about a parenting moment that reminded me intent and impact are not always the same, why volume matters, and how I’...

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about dreams, comparison, Disney, going back to work, content creation, grief, and learning not to discount the chapters just because I have not reached the title of the book yet. I share what it felt like to attend a Disney event in LA, why that weekend felt like a wink from my mom, and how I realized I have been living pieces of dreams I us...

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m back on the closet floor talking about self worth, validation, motherhood, friendship, dating, and why you should not have to beg someone to pick you. I share some life updates about heading back to work, working mom content, and then we get into the way we sometimes feel like we have to prove our choices are worthy. From motherhood discourse online...

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about decision making, changing your mind, regret, college choices, parenting, self worth, and why I do not think there is always one perfect “right decision.” I share about glamor shots, leaving my management company, learning to trust myself again, and the old belief that if you made your bed, you have to lie in it forever. But you do not....

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about a Disneyland trip that went completely sideways, disappointment, timing, comparison, faith, and the reminder I keep coming back to: you do not want to arrive early. I share what it felt like to watch the tiny queens get sick on a trip I had planned and saved for, how hard it is to hold gratitude and sadness at the same time, and why I s...

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about toddlers, teenagers, the terrible twos, threenagers, and why I think we need to stop labeling tiny people before we actually understand them. This one starts with Christmas break chaos and the Olympic sport of getting school program seats, then moves into parenting, emotional regulation, meltdowns, food preferences, repair, and seeing h...