The Busy Vibrant Mom - Strategic Time Management, Home Organization, Productivity, Christian Mom, Christian Parenting, Declutter

You are in for a special treat! This is another episode of Coffee & Tea (with M&E) Real Moms Talking About Real Things.  Join Emily McDermott, the host of Moms Overcoming Overwhelm and I as we talk about what didn’t work this week, how we pivoted, trying to work from home with kids, summer planning, what things we are excited about and so much more! We wanted to provide moms with real life...

When you wake up in the morning, what gets you out of bed? What actually starts your day?  A few days ago, as I was getting going, I found myself thinking about those questions. And if I’m honest, most mornings as moms, our feet hit the floor and our minds immediately fill with to-do lists, responsibilities, and everything we need to manage that day.  For so many moms, it’s not just tasks—it’s the...

Valentine’s Day can sometimes feel like just one more thing on an already full plate. The decorations, the cards, the candy, the class parties—and making sure everything is allergy-friendly and sent in on time—it can add up quickly. Even as kids get older and some of that fades, there’s still pressure to make it special, including trying to plan a romantic evening with your spouse when you’re alre...

Hey have you ever closed your laptop at 5pm, walked into the kitchen, and realized you have no idea what's for dinner? You open the fridge, hoping for inspiration, but everything feels like too much effort — so you order takeout. Again. Yep, me too.  Planning dinner, feeding everyone, and trying to keep meals healthy can feel overwhelming. And now, with the fresh energy of a new year, a lot of us...

You are in for a special treat! This is another episode of Coffee & Tea (with M&E) Real Moms Talking About Real Things.  Join Emily McDermott, the host of Moms Overcoming Overwhelm and I as we talk about what didn’t work this week, how we pivoted, what things we are excited about, and things that made us laugh! We wanted to provide moms with real life examples of time management, organizat...

I’m so glad you’re here today. Since we’re still in January — that season when many of us are setting fresh goals, making plans, and dreaming about what 2026 could look like — we wanted to lean into that ‘new year energy’ and offer some practical support. Last week, we talked about Why Your Goals Don’t Stick and how busy moms can actually achieve their goals in 2026 using SMART planning. We broke...

Do you still have some of that New Year energy? January has a special energy of newness - motivation, dreams, plans, goals, hopes for next year.  This big new energy can help motivate us to make goals, like going to the gym every day, eating healthy, reading more books, getting a new planner, or picking a word for the year.  The only problem with all these new goals or resolutions is that they usu...

Today, we have a special guest, the amazing Dr. Gila Reckess — a parenting coach who specializes in supporting single parents and those raising strong-willed or neurodivergent kids. Gila’s work centers on one of the most powerful but overlooked parenting skills: emotion regulation — for both you and your kids.  If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly on the edge of losing it, or you’re not sure...

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2026. Before we jump in, I want to invite you to take a deep breath right where you are. Let your shoulders drop, unclench your jaw, and remember this: you don’t have to rush into this year already feeling behind.  A new year can come with so much pressure — new goals, new routines, new expectations — and yet what so many of us really want is something much simpler:...

How was your Christmas?  Christmas Day is always so magical, but once the presents are opened and life starts to settle back into normal, I sometimes feel that quiet post-holiday letdown. Do you feel that too?  That’s why I love this in-between time after Christmas. The days between December 25th and early January are actually called Christmastide — that cozy stretch where you don’t quite know wha...

You are in for a special treat! This is another episode of Coffee & Tea (with M&E) Real Moms Talking About Real Things.  Join Emily McDermott, the host of Moms Overcoming Overwhelm and I as we talk about what didn’t work this week, how we pivoted, what things we are excited about, and things that made us laugh! We wanted to provide moms with real life examples of time management, organizat...

Happy December! Wow! The days leading up to Christmas always seem to fly by faster than the Polar Express. But it’s here - tomorrow is Christmas Eve!  How do you like to celebrate Christmas Eve?  What family traditions did you have growing up? What traditions did you start with your kids? Have they changed as your kids have gotten older? In today's episode I wanted to offer you a chance to reflect...

As moms, December can be incredibly overwhelming.  It’s like life is now tossed into a blender and put on high, or we are driving a race car instead of our normal Honda Odyssey.  In the last episode we talked about 10 things I stopped doing in December and why I think you should too. Following the theme of decreasing the stuff on our plate, today's episode is more of a practical episode giving you...

Happy December! This month comes with its own unique energy - it’s busy, magical, fun and overwhelming.  You might feel this way too as your calendar starts to fill up with social events, your to-do list grows in leaps and bounds, and the amount of things you need to remember to bring or buy or be somewhere is absurd! So as this month jumps into full swing I was thinking, what can I take off my pl...

Happy December! Welcome we made it through the gauntlet that was Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and probably a few awkward family moments and conversations over the dinner table. We just got back from our first family trip out to DC for Thanksgiving, and we are so glad to be back home in warm, sunny CA.  So first - take a deep breath.  You did it! Now there’s just Christmas and New Year...

You are in for a special treat! This is another episode of Coffee & Tea (with M&E) Real Moms Talking About Real Things.  Join Emily McDermott, the host of Moms Overcoming Overwhelm and I as we talk about what didn’t work this week, how we pivoted, what things we are excited about, and things that made us laugh! In today's episode we talk about holiday planning, including strategies for man...

I hope you are enjoying Thanksgiving week and looking forward to spending time with family and eating yummy food.  Thanksgiving is such a special time to gather and remember things we are grateful for, and I just wanted to say that I am so very grateful for YOU! The Busy Vibrant Mom podcast is almost five years old! As I look back I am so thankful that you took time out of your busy day to listen....

This is just a short bonus episode to introduce you to the Rest & Reclaim Bundle.  All month we’ve been talking about why your week feels like a race that you can’t win - the constant catching up, the lack of margin, broken routines that keep falling apart.  It’s not you! We as moms try so hard to keep everything together, and work smoothly for us and our family.  We balance responsibilities,...

We are now officially in the busy holiday season, after Halloween, close to Thanksgiving, almost to Christmas and New Year’s.  This season is a mixture of excitement for the holiday season, filled with so many more to do’s.  It's such a fun season, but it can be overwhelming too.  We try to plan and smooth out our week.  If you’ve ever spent a Sunday night mapping out your week, thinking through a...

We’re heading into that season where the calendar fills up fast — class parties, work deadlines, travel plans, time with family, fun events — and somewhere in there, you’re supposed to feel merry and bright and create perfect family memories.  But if you’re anything like me, you might already be feeling that low hum of stress starting to build. The pressure to do everything and curate perfect fami...

If you’ve ever found yourself racing through your week, running late to the school car line, frantically yelling at kids to get in the car, heating up your morning coffee for the third time, and wondering why it always feels like you’re playing catch-up? Then today’s episode is for you.  Most of us feel like we’re barely holding it together (some days more than others, right?).  You’re juggling wo...

As moms we take on a lot over the holiday season, whether that be Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s etc. So what can we do now that will make the holiday season lighter and more enjoyable.  As a natural planner I have found that this is in direct parallel to how I enjoy the holiday season.  The more tasks and to-do items that I can get off my list before Thanksgiving and Christmas the...

More often than not we just have too much in our head.  Too many tasks that we can’t even write them down…that’s when we need to stop.  How do I know? This was me last week.  Maybe it was because we were in a busy season of three kids doing sports, or that I was traveling every weekend and playing catch up during the week, or maybe it was all the things that I take care of and the invisible mental...

You are in for a special treat! This is another episode of Coffee & Tea (with M&E) real moms talking about real things.  Join Emily McDermott, the host of Moms Overcoming Overwhelm, and I as we talk about what didn’t work this week, how we pivoted, what things we are excited about, and things that made us laugh! We wanted to provide moms with real life examples of time management, organiza...

Do you ever just feel exhausted? Your head feels full of to-do items, should do tasks, must do timeline deadline tasks.  In a world full of messages we often miss the fact that we are bombarded with noise, hidden agendas, and constant consumer messaging non stop.  It's hard not to notice when our inbox is overflowing with emails, and we need to sift through to find what is urgent and what is just...