A For Effort

Having a pet can be a lot of work, especially when there are already kids in the same home as the pet! Every kid begs their parents for a pet, and every parent has to either come up with a good excuse as to why they can't have one, or they cave. Team pro-pet and team no-pet both weigh in to help prepare parents everywhere for that special day when their child calls them at work and begs you to bri...

Could we all thrive a little more in "May-cember" if we adopted the 4-day work/school week? We debate our own pros and cons, as well as the listeners' hot takes on whether or not the 4-day week is a good idea. Megan gives us the insider take from a teacher's perspective, and Amanda is a self-labeled "work ox" (is that a thing?) concerned about members of society becoming "lazy lemmings" (is that a...

Mothers do it all and a little more. This episode is all about how to treat her right. Did you get her the birthstone jewelry she's been hinting about? Did you send her away solo for the weekend? Did you clean up dinner AFTER you made it? No... well that's okay. She'll forgive you after you make it right by sending her away next weekend. Show that woman you appreciate her and give her what she wan...

Gift cards? Stickers? Fancy lunches everyday? We know what the teachers really want because, in this episode, we asked a real life teacher! With nearly 20 years in the classroom, high school teacher Christin LaMourie walks us through Teacher Appreciation Week. The good, the ideal, and the... appreciated efforts. We want to celebrate the incredible work teachers do to educate, inspire, and prepare...

You know that song from The Lego Movie " Everything is Awesome ?" Well that's basically the theme song of this episode. Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team, everything is awesome when you're living the dream.... and by the dream we mean the PARENTING DREAM!!! 

Amanda recently lost her 4 year old. Megan has lost a few of hers... but found them. Amanda ran away as a child. Megan also did, but she hid. In Kids-R-Us. And apparently we are not alone in these shenanigans. All of you have lost your kids as well, but luckily, we've all managed to find them again. This episode has many happy endings. 

With summer right upon us it's time to start thinking about how to keep these kids reading! We tried to make it easy for all of us by having the one and only Aimee Smith join us from "Keep A Book Out." Find her on Instagram @keepabookout. You will not regret this follow. This parent knows what she's doing and it was so fun to hear her book recommendations (which we linked below!) We asked her if s...

Keeping it short and sweet as many of us start Spring Break! This week let's talk about all those things your kids do that just aren't worth talking about. From rewearing dirty clothes, to picking their nose, to backseat bickering. You cannot address it all and you don't want to! We don't blame you because we feel the same way.

We have ALL been lectured or given unsolicited advice at some point or another. And if you've had the courage to say something back, good on you! But some of us (most of us even), don't dare to respond, so we just mutter a chill "oh, uh-huh, k thanks" and walk away only to have a long mental conversation later with all our good responses. You're not alone, we all do it. Today it's your turn to GIV...

We all want to have fun at home, but why is it so hard?? It takes time, it often results in a mess, and my kids will probably end up fighting. But our friend and fellow mom, Kate Mulford, says go for it! You gotta put some work into making memories. And it can be as much work as you want it to be. A dance party is minimal work, all you need is music and some booties to shake. 

It honestly is almost like committing to a reality TV show. Naked & Afraid? Have you seen that one? It's based off the casual act of trying to potty train a kid. They're practically naked and you're afraid. But if you can commit and survive the week, then you win. What do you win? Well you won't have to buy diapers anymore. Maybe you'll treat yourself to a cold beverage of your choice. But the...

They mean no harm, but sometimes you wonder. That brand new TV? Destroyed. Burning down your parents house? Unintentional yes, but definitely next level. We share all your tales of the expensive fixes you've had in your lives and share a few of ours. Again, sorry, mom, for almost burning down the house that one time with the chicken.... 

If you have the privilege of having a child ever be in your home, then chances are high you learned REAL FAST what items you *should have* hidden. Seemingly harmless, boring items, that "surely no kid will find that interesting...." but alas, everything is interesting when you're under the age of 6. So whatever it is, no matter how boring, and especially if it's sticky or permanent or non-washable...

From seasons to familial relations, there are some things that are just too big and too complex for these little growing brains! And we are here for it. It will take a lot of explaining and a lot of patience on your part, but we know you have it in you. And maybe after this episode you'll feel a little more inspired to answer those questions. Press on, dear listener! Podcast Show Notes: Episode -...

We all have one, a rough day of the week. A stressful, jam-packed, high intensity day. And if you don't.... LUCKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. But then on the other hand, there is always that one day of the week you look forward to. The bright spot in your week. Most people say that's Friday, but then there is the minority who says it's Monday. And to those people, we see you, we're standing, and we're applaudi...

We are thrilled to have Monica Packer with us in this episode as we chat all the things we THOUGHT we knew before we had kids. It was only a matter of time though before it became apparent just how little we knew. And boy, did our kids make that apparent. It's because of us that we have as much humility as we have ;) We're thrilled to have a special guest with us today, Monica from About Progress....

Honestly, you already knew this, but we all occasionally need the reminder. It's the small things that really add up to big things. When you get that early morning workout in. When your kids get dressed for school without your prompting. When none of the crayons slip into the washer or dryer... all of it. It's just so refreshing to find sanity in those small things. Introduction: Lately, life has...

We know you love your Honda Odessy and your Toyota Sienna. But does it have a built in vacuum or even better, a built in ROOMBA??? We didn't think so. But thanks to Megan and her ingenuity you will soon be able to find such features in our dream car.... THE VACAY!!! No one knows about it yet, it's not even on the market, but you heard about it here first and because of that you get first dibs when...

It's our annual visit back to the land of "Glad I did, Wish I had, Looking forward to..." In this episode the listeners share what they did in 2023 and what they wish they had done. Frankly it seems like it was an overall good year for you listeners and we hope that positive momentum carries you, crowd surfing style, into 2024. You have some great things to look forward to and we are cheering you...

We asked and you responded: what do parents really want for Christmas?? What do you give the people who have it all?? Well apparently they simply need a thank you note, probably a little caffeine and a few more hours in the day. It's not much to ask for, is it? How hard can it be? Podcast Episode Show Notes:  Introduction: Sponsored by Mariah Carey's Christmas anthem, the official soundtrack of ev...

She walked in with her fresh cut fringe and tan trench coat, and had us all swooning at her accent as she talks the monarchy, fashion and parenting in the UK. Our good friend Caroline McNiven is in the hot seat for this episode and she's answering all our questions! Segment 1: UK Fascination Amanda's summer fling with the UK, wondering why English accents make everything cooler. Megan's Spice Girl...

And this time we actually mean it! There is minimal sarcasm in this episode as we, your hosts, with the help of you, the listeners, sell everyone else on why having kids is so wonderful. If you’re on the fence, we hope this episode gets you off the fence and over to our side of the yard. We got more fun toys over here anyway… Introduction: Sponsored by Mariah Carey's unofficial holiday anthem and...

If your family does not have a family motto yet, do no worry. In this episode we give you many ideas that you might wanna take for a spin with your own family. Megan decided to try "make good choices, but use your discretion!" after recording this and Amanda is going to stop saying "don't be dumb." Progress was made and new mottos are being formed! All thanks so our loyal listeners who have way be...

The Holidays are here and we're going to make the next month easy for you by sharing all of our favorite TJ's products! We've got things for the parents, the kids and the party that you'll inevitably end up hosting! But hopefully it's all made easier and even MORE FUN by heading into the store with our list in hand.  All the products we talk about are listed here: Minty flavored cocoa truffles Tri...

You will not regret listening to this episode. We can promise you that. Brooke Romney is as classy as she is genuine, and as kind as she is sharp. She talks us through all the nuances of teaching kids manners in today's world. Why even take the time to teach them how to talk to adults? Do they need to really look people in the eyes? What's the point of all these lessons? We go through all of this...