Just Ask Your Mom

In the 3rd in our birth order series, we peel back the curtain on the baby of the family. What makes lastborns tick and how might that play out in their marriages and parenting tendencies? Lastborns have advantages and disadvantages that other children in families don't. Plus, they really know how to turn on the charm.

There's more to middle children than being the overlooked, overshadowed kid who gets lost in the shuffle. Middles do find ways to distinguish themselves from other siblings. They're sociable, adaptable, and very loyal friends. As a middle child, how might you react as a parent, or a spouse? Knowing these tendencies about yourself or your chlid can be enlightening and helpful!

The family context we're born into plays a large part in who we become. It's the nurture part of the nature versus nurture equation. Firstborn and Only children not only have parents to themeselves for a good period of time, but they may also bear the first-time stress and doubt of new parents. They're the guinea pigs, the first drafts, and the ones who are oldest and should "k...

From hula hoops to Peloton, this conversation with guest Hannah Skelley covers miles of fitness ground. She's a golf coach and mom of two who also designs her own fitness routines to work with a busy mom's schedule. Join us for the low down on fitness from pregnancy to post-partum and beyond! Check out the vothcenter.com (Voice of the Heart), the counseling center mentioned in this episo...

It may be one of the trickiest and most notorious relationships in the history of families: mother and daughter-in-law. We've been both daughter-in-law and mother-in-law and we think there may be some best practices on both sides that can smooth a potentially rough road.

It's not a dad bod, it's a father figure. ;) We're approaching father's day this week, and our conversation digs into at a couple of very do-able dad things that can make a big difference in your child's life. Moms, feel free to forward this one along as an encouragement to the dads in the trenches with you!

Do you have a target in raising your children? If you don't know where you're aiming, you could wind far from where you intended. If you fail to aim, you aim to fail. We get into some practical life skills and character traits that kids need to learn to become competent, capable adults. Far too often, we underestimate our kids! Here's a link to the " how adult are you " te...

Much of mothering is sheer ordinariness: 2 am feedings, reading Good Night Moon AGAIN, and carpooling to soccer, band, or dance. Maybe we find ourselves yearning for "more," something more exciting or noteworthy. Somewhere along the way, "ordinary" became something to avoid or scoff at. But if we dig a little deeper, it just may be where all the best parts of life are found.

A fun twist on our format, 3 new moms turn the tables on us and WE are in the hot seat. Totally unscripted, this trio fired away with all kinds of topics they wanted answers for. We managed to sweat our way through the minefields and ended up with a fun, spontaneous conversation.

We're poking the bear a little here, questioning the old-fashioned Puritan "work ethic" our culture is bathed in. Where does this come from? As busy moms in a busy world, it's hard to hop off the merry-go-round, but there may be some profound things to learn by trying it out once in a while!

When a grandparent or another family member dies, it's only natural for kids to start asking questions. So how do we respond without confusing them? Perhaps some accounts of near-death-experiences could help. During a heart episode and 3+ minutes without a heartbeat, LaDonna Brown experienced something that she carries with her still and that has erased any fear about what is to come.

We're approaching graduation season, which means celebrating transitions of all kinds: preschool to elementary, elementary to middle school, and high school and college graduations. How are rites of passage important and how do we mark these milestones? From a public school & homeschool perspective, we weigh in on how things went while our kids were in school.

If you've got young children and don't live near family, odds are you'll need a sitter at some point. What do you look for? How do you find one? What do sitters expect and what should you expect in return? In this episode, we talk to two sisters who give us the down low on all that and more!

Join us for our conversation with two seasoned nannies, Merri Aydelott and Mary Hill. They've nannied for multiple families and walk us through what it's like from the Nanny's perspective. What goes into hiring a nanny? What things might you consider? What happens when kids age out of needing a nanny? We learned a lot in this conversation & you will, too!

Our guest, Nellie Harden, a mom to 4 teenaged daughters, talks with us about some of her favorite conversations to have with them to instill self esteem, self worth, and self-confidence. Nellie is an author and speaker and offers courses and resources on navigating the teen years at her site nellieharden.com. 40 Scriptures and Conversations to Have with Daughters Daughter Decoder Masterclass

In this episode, we dive into the pros and cons (and dos and don'ts) of having children AT your wedding, IN your wedding, or being the parent of a child in a wedding party or on a guest list. From simple etiquette know-how to things to consider whether you're a guest or a host, this fun conversation covers it all.

Just before her 40th birthday, Jamie Jackson received a shocking diagnosis. A mom of 3 daughters, Jamie's first concern was wanting to be there to see her kids grow up. Seven years down the road, the future is promising, and Jamie shares with us lessons she's learned about faith, fortitude, and fragility. And also that holing up under your bathroom vanity is maybe not the most solid life...

We may spend a lot of time praying on behalf of our children. We've noticed over the years that our prayers have changed from those for blessings and success to those for resilience and transformation. When our children face the hardest things, sometimes God wants us to pray them through that instead of out of it. In this episode we chew on what that looks like and get curious about why we as...

The word "respect" gets tossed around a lot when kids reach the tweens & teenage years. What does respect look like and how do we raise respectful kids? What if we model and mirror respect with our marriages? Respect is reciprocal. Chances are, if we're feeling disrespected, it might be because we aren't as respectful as we could be ourselves.

Prayer is a two-way conversation, but we often struggle with helping our children to connect with and tune in to a God. This is especially true if it's something we struggle with in our own prayer life. Guest Sara Bryson joins us for a conversation about drawing near to God, hearing from Him, and some ways to help our children do that. If you'd like to sign up for facilitated prayer in p...

Over 6 million parents in the US use day cares for their childcare. What should parents look for and expect in a day care center? Special guest, BJ Smith, owner of several day cares in the middle Tennessee area, gives us the lowdown on what kids are doing in day cares and how they're faring. We learned a lot in this episode and hope you will, too! Tot's Spot Academy is the day care busin...

Part 2 of 2: Guest Kelly McCasland offers some suggestions and observations about what makes young women feel confident and what parents could do to bolster that. We talk feminism, finances, and flat tires and a whole host of other things that #girlmoms need to be tuned into.

Part 1 of 2: Guest Kelly McCasland offers some suggestions and observations about what makes young women feel confident and what parents could do to bolster that. We talk feminism, finances, and flat tires and a whole host of other things that #girlmoms need to be tuned into.

Life with kids is busy, and when you can't find anything and your home's a wreck, that can push a lot of us over the edge. Professional organizer, Gabri Goodwyn, weighs in on tips and methods to take back the reins of your home. From clever ways to deal with items on the spot to better ways to think about how you use your space, this episode will inspire you to finally tackle that junk d...

For this episode, we interviewed a seasoned public high school teacher who raised the question of what exactly IS or SHOULD BE our expectation of safety on school campuses where we send our children for 7-8 hours a day. Schools of today do not look like the ones you as a parent may remember even 10-15 years ago. If you don't yet have school-aged children, this may well be a factor when decidi...