I Just Have to Say with Laura Max

If you haven't read the book "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up", you've probably heard of the hit netflix series "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" or at least grown familiar with her now-household sayings and questions like "do this spark joy?" In this very special episode of LMNH, I sit down with Houston's first-ever certified KonMari consultant as we discuss organizing your home, your life and...

Meghan Leahy is the On Parenting columnist for The Washington Post and a certified parenting coach. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, three school-aged daughters, and her two dogs. Leahy has appeared on NPR and ABC, as well as numerous publications. Please visit Meghan at her website www.mlparentcoach.com. IN THIS EPISODE, MEGHAN AND I DISCUSS: Why “expert” advice is hurting us more...

IN THIS EPISODE, DR. MIRMELLI AND I DISCUSS: How conflict can actually help us get closer with our partners/anyone Our primal, primitive insticts and why we’re all fighting on Facebook (and even in public) right now. Finding a good balance between social media and reality Why it’s important to feel like you can share your truth, even in a society that increasingly limits the social acceptability o...

Back-to-school is here, and some parents finally have the time and space to stop, breathe and actually feel some of the emotions of the whirlwind past few months of pandemic parenting. Having spoken to many parents over the past several weeks, I’ve found that many of those feelings are ones of regret, shame and loss as we look back over so many moments being stretched thin, worn out and unable to...

This is a crazy time to be a parent with school-aged children: do we send them back to school or keep them home? Virtual school or none altogether? In this episode, I disclose my personal choices over these issues and more and how I'm coping with the current realities of pandemic parenting.

My two daughters were two totally different babies, and yet, there were five pieces of baby gear that got me through the fourth trimester with each of them that I LOVE recommending to new moms. Tune into this episode to hear what they are + a few more recommendations I have for any mom looking to simplify new motherhood and make the journey a little easier.

There's a difference between choosing the BEST school and choosing the RIGHT school for your unique child. Whether you're looking into public or private options, or trying to pivot in a pandemic, Julie Blumberg of Houston School Options offers substantial advice in this episode for every parent on the school search.

You're tired but there's no time for rest. You know you need to take a break but your kids aren't anywhere close to giving one. What to do next? In this episode, four-time Author, Yogi and Psychologist Suzy Reading offers tangible tools for feeling rested when you can't get proper sleep and filling your tank when circumstances are far from normal. You can learn more about Suzy and purchase her boo...

I've known Brad for over 26 years, and in all of that time, one thing has remained never changed: his perspective, no matter what's going on within or outside of him, is always positive. I caught onto this as a teenager - he was that Dad that was always championing his kids and his family and making the best out of every situation, so much so that I found myself taking mental notes so I could use...

Stephanie Jourdan, Astrologer of Higher Self Communications in Los Angeles, joins me for this one-of-a-kind LMNH episode in which we discuss our current reality, what we have to look forward to, our relationship with the earth, why 2020 was destined to be a year like no other and what astrology can teach us about it all. If you're interested in learning more about Stephanie or utilizing one of her...

In this brief but mind blowing episode of Look Ma' No Hands, Parenting Coach Randi Rubenstein gives us her four-step sibling fighting tool that totally flipped me upside down when I heard it. I was doing almost everything the opposite of what she suggests and I couldn't believe how logical and game-changing her tools were when I heard them. So excited to share her wisdom with you in this episode!

Sibling dynamics in early childhood can be a huge challenge to navigate. From navigating conflict to addressing each child's different needs, Randi Rubenstein comes to the rescue again in this episode where she gives great suggestions on how to validate our children where they're at and be less divisive, helping our kids live more harmoniously with themselves and one another.

So many of the self care practices that are advertised to us cost money, and in a time when self care is so necessary and so many are either out of a job or working on less income than they’re used to, this can feel like a very destructive barrier to healing and grace. Enter Faith Broussard Cade, AKA @fleurdelisspeaks. After a traumatic brain injury, doctors told her she needed to rest in order to...

50 episodes later, these are the top ten ways (and it was hard to choose) that I've been completely transformed as a person and parent since starting this show. When I did my first interview less than a year ago, I never imagined LMNH would take me on the journey it has. The interviews I've conducted have changed the way I parent, live and look at my life - all for the better. In this episode, I'm...

If you're feeling overwhelmed as we find ourselves over three months into an unprecedented global pandemic, allow this episode with Megan Birkel to remind you that you're not alone. Just as we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory, many of us are taking unfamiliar steps for our sanity and in this episode, Megan gets candid about how she's coping with our current crisis, what she's learning and wh...

As we socially distance ourselves to avoid further catastrophe in the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us are suffering silently when it comes to our mental health. Our nation is currently facing a Zoloft shortage and nearly 50% of Americans have anywhere from a mild to severe level of depression. Beyond feeling helpless, many who suffer from depression and anxiety are doing so with an added dose of sha...

Dinner time at our house used to be the most stressful hour of my day. I would call friends, complain, pull my hair out, and walk away feeling more exhausted and drained than the night before. My oldest daughter was what one might call a "picky" eater, and I was terrified she wasn't going to get the nutrition she needed. My anxiety led me to become a less-than-pleasant dinner partner without even...

Joshua Wayne, author of the recently released 40-page-book "The Simple Parenting Guide to Technology" comes on the show for episode 46 to answer all of the questions parents ask most often about how to monitor and navigate their kids' screen time and tech use. His guide covers how to approach screen time and technology for children ages 0-18, and his insight includes why you should let your kid ha...

Kids wait all year to go to camp, so with camps like her own being cancelled all across the country due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Sunni Markowitz decided to open Camp Lantern Creek as a Virtual Camp for girls age 7-17. Camp Lantern Creek teachers life skills like babysitting, lifeguarding, EQ enhancement and more, and there's still time to sign up before the first of three one-week courses begi...

Bri Braggs delivered her four-month-old in a home birth after researching hospital statistics on the maternal death rate of Black women and realizing it would be statistically safer for her to deliver her child in her own home.  Have you ever had to make that kind of decision? I know I haven't. In this very candid episode of "Look Ma' No Hands," I chat with the founder of Fertile Alchemy as s...

When Zoe Blaskey became a mother over four years ago, she discovered what all mothers know: this gig is hard. Beyond that, after many years in recovery, she found many of the things she thought she'd healed within herself were coming back up again. Amongst the conversations about which gin went best with the bedtime routine, she felt she couldn't find the conversation she wanted to have...so she s...

Wine has become a socially acceptable coping mechanism for the overwhelming challenges of motherhood, but is it hurting us more than it's helping us? Clare Pooley, mother-of-three and author of "The Sober Diaries", decided to find out when, five years ago, she poured herself a glass - nay, mug - of red before noon to cure a hangover (a big rule-breaker for her.) She lifted the mug to find it read...

Blogger, influencer and venture capitalist Carrie Colbert had it all. And then she got pregnant. At 40. (And not exactly on purpose.) A year later, she found herself raising her daughter on her own, moving out of a flooded home and forging a new path - one that would NOT include a male counterpart, she swore. It makes sense that at the precise moment she decided to write off men entirely, she foun...

Some couples are thriving in quarantine and others are planning to file for divorce as soon as they can get to the courthouse. What's the real difference between these two scenarios and what can we do if quarantine hasn't been the best thing for our relationship? Sex and relationship therapist Dr. Emily Jamea of Revive Therapy discusses what we can learn and take with us from the success that some...

In Megan's fourth episode on Look Ma' No Hands, she answers YOUR questions on how she maintains a strong and communicative relationship, what she knows about working things out with your spouse when you disagree and the kids are listening, how she's navigating post-quarantine life in Texas and how she dealt with adversity in her past to find confidence in her present. To learn more about Megan and...