The Mom Hour

Our “Week Of Real-Life Dinners” is beloved around these parts, and we have another installment coming up next month! And while normalizing the pivots and misses (and hastily ordered pizzas) that characterize EVERY family’s real-life dinners is super important, we also know that revisiting the values and ideals that serve as your foundation can help re-energize the meal-planning process. In short:...

Whether you’re trying to scale back to a simpler schedule or ramp up after a pandemic hiatus, adjusting to kids’ activities and extracurriculars is a huge part of settling into a fall routine. In Episode 330 Meagan and Sarah look at this topic with some hindsight (sharing what we learned about ourselves and our kids by trying different activities during the little years), and also through the lens...

Our favorite foods and flavors are WELL-documented on the podcast, but what about the other four senses? Sights, smells, sounds, and textures can all contribute to a boosted mood OR a not-so-great sensory experience. In today’s More Than Mom episode – our first one back after a summer hiatus! – Sarah and Meagan chat about whether our sensory preferences change with the seasons, how our sensitiviti...

Every pregnancy, baby, and birth is unique–and between us we’ve had eight of them! From planned c-sections to hospital births that didn’t go as planned, birthing centers, home births, and water births: we haven’t experienced  everything , but we’ve been through a lot! Coming off of Labor Day (wink wink), Meagan and Sarah are looking back on the births of our eight babies in Episode 329. We an...

Ever wondered how other moms get everybody up, ready, fed, and out the door with all their parts and pieces? We think it’s fascinating to peek behind the curtain at different families’ routines and rituals, so in today’s episode Sarah chats with two moms from our Contributor team. Lisa is a full-time working single mom of four kids (at three schools!) who has great ideas for keeping mornings calm,...

Stress out by mornings? You’re not alone. But good news: we found the source of all solutions for smoother mornings… THIS COMMUNITY. The latest episode in our  House Rules For…  series is full of our listeners’ genius ideas for prepping ahead, managing morning screen time, and how, when, and where Mom Signs All The Things. Whether you have early risers or slow-to-movers, listen to Episod...

Expectations these days feel like … a lot. When your energy is finite and the demands on you feel, well, INfinite, we find it helps to begin with self-awareness. What drains your energy as a mom? When are you naturally at your best? If you’re depleted, is it physical, mental, or emotional energy that’s in shortest supply? And if you’re in a low-energy season – whether it’s a day, a week, a month,...

Every family’s breakfast routine looks different – and that’s OK. Whether you’re all about prep-ahead dishes that fill up hungry kids on weekday mornings, or are just trying to make it out the door in one piece with a cereal bar for the road, we’re here to validate that not every single breakfast needs to look perfect, or tick every nutritional box. Join Meagan and Sarah for Episode 326, a zoom in...

Meagan and Sarah are inviting you in for a good old-fashioned catch-up sesh as we wind down Summer 2021. There’s a bit of everything in today’s episode: updates on our own kid and family milestones, reflections on the second pandemic summer (a few fails, some sweet moments, and everything in between), thoughts on the strange time of year that is mid-August, and some of what’s been keeping us enter...

Today’s guest is a working mom with three kids under five, a career journey punctuated by curiosity and leaps of faith, and a brand new role as Content Manager for The Mom Hour! Please help us welcome Amanda Park to the team, and join us for a conversation that covers her working mom journey through several big industries, how she found The Mom Hour as a listener (and eventually joined our team),...

If you’ve ever fantasized about a week on a tropical island, a whole day in the spa, a winning lottery ticket, or – let’s be honest – even just a hot cup of coffee you get to finish in one sitting, you’re not alone. As busy, tired mamas it’s natural to dream about a life different from the one we’re living. But it’s also helpful, we think, to point those daydreams in a slightly more achieve-able d...

From goody bags to party guest lists, opening gifts and blowing out candles, kid birthdays go deep into your personal family culture and traditions. We firmly believe that there’s no One Right Way to celebrate, but we do know that without some parameters those celebrations can get to be … a lot. In our latest  House Rules For… episode, we’re highlighting our listeners’ smart tips and hacks fo...

Annoyed. Irritated. Short-fused. Anyone else feeling low-level grumpy lately? When it’s not an actual crisis, deep exhaustion, crippling overwhelm, or another significantly hard season of motherhood, it can be tricky to identify the reasons behind–and the strategies to help with–a bad mood. But we know one thing for sure: sometimes it helps to vent a bit. In Episode 322 of The Mom Hour, Meagan and...

From breakfast to snacks, lunch to dinner to even dessert, each day holds plenty of opportunity to introduce new flavors and textures, teach table skills, and introduce micro-doses of nutrition into your toddler’s tummy. Meagan and Sarah cover each meal and the specific strategies they used to keep them interesting, low-stress, and as nutritious as possible, even when a toddler has the attention s...

“Picky” and “toddler” – the two words go hand-in-hand, right? In this episode Meagan and Sarah tackle one of their listeners’ biggest mom-obstacles, sharing tips and tricks to help get those opinionated toddlers to eat more adventurously and healthfully while also offering reassurance that this stage won’t last forever and that there are things you can do to help even the choosiest toddler (occasi...

When it comes to toddlers, one thing is certain: just when you get used to a new stage or phase, it changes. And nowhere is this more true than when it comes to how a toddler eats: from introducing new textures and foods, to weaning, to attempting self-feeding and even learning how to use cups and utensils, toddlers are in a constant state of transition – and so is the way they eat. In this first...

Itty bitty overalls and doll-sized dresses make for adorable first outfits, but dressing babies (and toddlers, and kids) comfortably and stylishly throughout the ages and stages is no easy task. In Episode 321 Meagan and Sarah remember the joys and challenges of dressing our littles while they still let us (most of the time, anyway). Then we move into the realities of clothing our big kids, tweens...

Wildfires, hurricanes, floods and tornadoes; home emergencies, local disasters and national crises. These aren’t things we love to think about, but they do have one thing in common: having a plan and talking about it as a family can bring peace of mind and even save lives. In this month’s Voice interview Sarah chats with Jennifer Pipa, Vice President of Disaster Programs for the Red Cross. With an...

It feels like it’ll be like this forever, but we’re here to tell you: it won’t. In today’s episode Meagan and Sarah take turns sharing big and small transformations our kids have undergone that leave us shaking our heads in total amazement because, at one point in time, we never thought we’d ever see this day. From an ultra-fearful preschooler who turned out to be a super confident kid, to the wil...

Who needs RULES on vacation? Turns out, we do. And we’re not alone. The latest episode in our  House Rules For…  series is all about the rules that keep our families sane when we’re not at home. From road trip snack management to beach house screen time, treats on the airplane to getting out of the gift shop without a meltdown, listen to Episode 319 for hard-earned experience from parent...

Is it EVER appropriate to correct another mom’s car seat buckling technique? A listener wants to hear Meagan and Sarah’s thoughts on whether we feel comfortable offering unsolicited safety tips to other parents. Another mom asks our thoughts on how you distribute your parenting energy evenly when one kid is really struggling and others are “just bopping along”. We also talk about how to get throug...

Meagan and Sarah both live in beach towns – but very different ones. Today’s More Than Mom episode invites you to come to our areas for a visit – and head to the beach! We talk about what it’s like to live in a beach area generally, and in our towns specifically, and offer tips for making a day at the beach fit with your idea of fun (yes, even with kids!). From parking to hotels, what to bring and...

A mom of tweens asks Meagan and Sarah whether we require our own kids to keep their rooms tidy (we have thoughts!); another listener dealing with cultural and generational divides in her family asks our thoughts on how to handle well-meaning grandparent advice. Finally, we coach a new-to-preschool mom on how to begin setting up playdates and social opportunities when you don’t know anyone at the s...

By pure coincidence, BOTH Meagan and Sarah have kids with broken bones right now – so we’re here to talk about it! We discuss the current injury situation in each of our homes, and reflect back on other kid-injuries that have occupied that tricky space in between “rub some dirt on it” and “call the ambulance”. From stitches to sprains, bumps to the head and busted lips, we know raising kids involv...

From bad hair to failed friendships to terrible taste in music, there are some phases of our lives that, in hindsight, were just kind of the worst. Other eras we look back on fondly, whether it was because our social lives were dazzling or our fashion sense just worked. In today’s More Than Mom episode Meagan and Sarah look back at our lives – both before motherhood, and also since becoming a mom...