The Mom Hour

We have MORE little pleasures to share this week! Continuing last week’s discussion, Meagan and Sarah offer ten more small things that are bringing us comfort these days. From minor tweaks to the morning routine to the comfiest pants we’ve found, these are a combination of comforts you can add to your online shopping cart and simple pleasures that don’t cost a thing. Join us! This episode was reco...

Christina's brick and mortar fabric shop pivoted to mobilize mask-making for healthcare workers; Sarah facilitates distance learning for five kids while adjusting expectations for her own wedding celebration and plans to grow their blended family; Kati and her husband alternate day and night shifts at a steel mill and haven't experienced "staying at home" at all. All three are also moms dealing wi...

Stressors right now loom large; but sometimes solace comes in the form of lots of little bright spots. Today Meagan and Sarah compare notes on the little things that bring comfort, humor, and moments of happiness when things are intense in the world. From the silly to the slightly-less-silly, Episode 259 is full of ideas for how to notice--or, let's be honest: purchase--small comforts in a chaotic...

Laura treats COVID-19 patients as a respiratory therapist during incredibly unstable times; Hilary supports the mental health of young adults and is adjusting to delivering services via telehealth; Carla is a social worker serving foster youth in Canada and bears the weight of her caseload while mothering three very young girls. Hear what’s hard, what’s hopeful, and what life is like for Laura, Hi...

Living a creative life with small children underfoot is a challenge in any circumstances; doing it while running a business during a global pandemic is another thing altogether. For this month’s Voices interview Sarah chats with her good friend, fellow podcaster, and all-around good human Ashlee Gadd, founder of the wildly popular Coffee + Crumbs community. Ashlee shares thoughts on quarantine par...

We’ve had lots of time to observe our kids in their natural habitats the last couple months…wherein their “natural habitat” is also OUR HOUSE. Turns out, we’re really glad we’ve passed on some basic life skills to these growing humans, because they’re doing pretty well in a lot of areas. It’s clear, however, that other life skills are still works-in-progress. In Episode 258 Meagan and Sarah take a...

Kathryn is mom to four small girls and an attorney representing the most vulnerable kids in her state; Robyn and her husband are both on the front lines as an Emergency Room RN and a firefighter/paramedic; Kyria teaches social studies at a Bay Area high school and now instructs students from home while the baby (hopefully!) naps. All three are also moms dealing with the everyday challenges of clin...

More than a month into  safer at home , a day in the life of most moms looks nothing like it did before COVID-19. We’re living in close quarters with small humans (and big humans!) whom we love but may be used to getting an occasional break from. We’re parenting through a time of unprecedented stress. And we’re doing it all against a backdrop of Instagram-era expectations that can make us fee...

From making our first “mom friend” to the first time all of our children could stay home alone, today’s episodes celebrates the milestones that mark new phases of motherhood. Inspired by a listener question and the enthusiastic response we received for a whole episode on this topic, in Episode 257 Sarah and Meagan share twelve  mom milestones , moments where we felt like we’d unlocked next-le...

Jessi watched the national shutdown play out from inside the PICU, where she and her husband were quarantined with their newborn twins (who are now home and doing great!); Gillian’s NYC-based medical practice undergoes huge changes while her family grieves a personal loss; Heather’s husband is on the front lines at the grocery store while she juggles working from home while parenting. Hear what’s...

Does a toddler “need” a formal preschool program if it isn’t necessary for childcare purposes? Did we think about kids’ birthday timing when we were planning (or not planning) our pregnancies? How can a physically active toddler channel his energy for good during stuck-inside days? And what are Meagan and Sarah’s most memorable “mom milestones”? In this week’s episode we answer these questions wit...

Casey is the director of an after-school program serving vulnerable communities; Megan teaches English online to students in China and watched their families experience COVID-19 before things got serious in the US; Jayme is weeks away from having her second baby and worries that being married to a hospital physician might separate their family. All three are also moms dealing with the everyday cha...

Join us for conversations with teachers, business owners, healthcare professionals, social workers, partners of first responders, and others who are living, working, and parenting their kids through the COVID-19 global pandemic in a unique or particularly challenging way. The goal of this series is to better understand what people’s lives are like in different industries, careers, and situations d...

Working from home with little kids during COVID-19, moving a baby into a shared sibling bedroom, dealing with cancellation disappointment for both mom and kids, and finding small breaks in the long days of stay-at-home parenting: This week’s podcast episode is dedicated to your listener questions and our advice. Join us! This episode was recorded on April 5, 2020. A NOTE ON EPISODES RELEASED DURIN...

Meal planning is hard enough for busy families; now families are eating nearly all their meals at home, it’s a next-level challenge. So for this month’s Voices interview we’re bringing back cookbook author and  Didn’t I Just Feed You?  co-host Stacie Billis to talk about grocery shopping, what freezes well and when to freeze it, how to minimize food waste while adjusting to a new normal,...

Plans vs. reality. Pretty menus vs. the aftermath of a spontaneous smörgåsbord. Now, more than ever, we find it fascinating to look back at what our families ate for dinner in a given week and how the reality of those meals departed from our best-laid plans. Meagan and Sarah (plus Kelsey from our team) each wrote down our dinners for the past week and we’re here to discuss what worked, what failed...

Tackling digital clutter means working toward a system where there’s a place for everything, and everything is in its place—if that sounds daunting, we get it! Our desktops get messy, too. Join Meagan and Sarah for the final episode in our special series on digital spring cleaning as we talk about file storage, folder systems, that pesky-but-essential “cloud,” and more. Enjoy! This episode is Part...

This week we’re busy spring cleaning…our digital space! In Part 2 of this special series, Meagan and Sarah discuss the state of our email inboxes. From whether we aim for “inbox zero” to how we find that email we know is in here  somewhere , this is both a realistic and an aspirational look at managing information that comes at us via email. Join us! This episode is part of our 3-part series...

With lots of time spent at home these days, we’re motivated to do a little spring cleaning…and not only in our physical space. Join us for a special 3-part series this week, all about getting a better handle on our digital clutter. In Part 1, Meagan and Sarah tackle digital photos—from how we organize and back up the thousands on our phones right now, why on earth we end up with so many screen sho...

It’s been a week of new reality, new schedules, and new opportunities to get to know ourselves as moms. Along with all the stress and changes brought about by current events, we’ve been thrust into a position of radical self-care, of ensuring we’re able to meet the needs of our families while navigating unprecedented times. Join Meagan and Sarah for a thoughtful—and even funny!—conversation about...

Parents everywhere are now the overseers of their kids’ remote learning–in other words:  Apparently we’re all homeschooling now?  In this special bonus episode, Sarah chats with two seasoned homeschooling moms about how they manage schedules, what home learning looks like during stressful seasons, when to add more structure and when to back off, and more. This is the episode you need to...

Activities and products to keep kids busy? Got ’em. Some tips for setting the tone in your home during a stuck-inside season? Check. Updates on how COVID-19 has affected our communities in Southwest Michigan and Southern California? Yep (as of recording date, 3/13). We’re coming to you from a new reality this week, and we hope you’ll join us for some thoughtful discussion and helpful tips for mana...

Do you naturally match up with friends who share your individual quirks and preferences, or are your relationships more a case of opposites attract? In our years-long working relationship and close (but long-distance) friendship, we’ve got a little bit of both going on. Get to know Meagan, Sarah, and our partnership a little better in this fun More Than Mom episodes all about the little and not-so...

Is everyone you know planning a family vacation, or does it sometimes just feel that way? In our experience, there are “vacations” that feel like a lot of work, and other ways to spend school holidays that feel more relaxing and don’t break the bank. In today’s episode (Part One of Two in a series all about planning family travel) we’re talking about what goes into planning a family vacation you’l...

If you’re parenting a child who walks through the world a little–or a lot–differently, or if you’re hoping to raise kids who see differences as opportunities instead of deficits, this conversation is for you. Sarah chats with Debbie Reber, mom of a 15-year-old “differently wired” son and leader of TiLT Parenting, a movement that both celebrates neurodiversity and recognizes the challenges that kid...