The Mom Hour

We love supporting artists, makers, and small businesses, but when it comes time to actually DO the holiday shopping, this can be easier said than done. In the second installment of our Holiday Shopping series, Meagan and Sarah offer specific sites, marketplaces, and buying tips for those who want to shop small and give handmade this holiday season. Join us! This episode is part of our 3-part seri...

List-making, idea-capturing, online-ordering, OH MY. It’s time to get serious about holiday shopping, and between us we’ve got multiple spreadsheets and very different tactics when it comes to organizing, planning, and buying holiday gifts. In the first part in our Holiday Shopping series, Meagan and Sarah tackle all the prep and that goes into our purchasing this time of year. Join us! This episo...

Grab your favorite beverage and cozy up for a catch-all catch-up with Meagan and Sarah! We talk about the season, the weather, our recent travels, and some fun updates from the business! Then Sarah is joined by our resident Books Talk contributor Katie Addiss to talk about holiday books, what we’ve been reading lately, and how we read while traveling–both to ourselves and to our kids. Happy Thanks...

We’re doing a deep dive into all things hair and hairstyling in this week’s More Than Mom episode! From how often we wash to whether we heat-style, covering grays, DIY color, cutting bangs, salon visits, favorite products and more, we have thoughts about it all. Join us! LINKS MENTIONED: Meagan uses the  Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer Hot Air Brush Meagan swears by the  Briog...

How can we capture sweet holiday moments even while they’re happening? What’s the balance between being the family documentarian and truly participating in the magic as it unfolds? In the final installment in our special series on Creating Holiday Memories, Meagan and Sarah offer easy ways to preserve those fleeting moments in writing, photography, video, and more–without stressing about perfectio...

From structured gratitude practices to spontaneous texts, this time of year provides lots of opportunities to appreciate the moments–and the people–in our lives. In this second part in our special series on Creating Holiday Memories, Meagan and Sarah talk about cultivating a habit of gratitude and appreciation–for ourselves as well as with our families. Join us! This episode is part of our 3-part...

Moms are great at planning the holidays. Check-listing the holidays.  Executing  the holidays. But for those of us who want to create lasting holiday memories for ourselves and our families, it starts a much simpler place: noticing small moments of connection, beauty, and magic all around us. In this kickoff to our special series on Creating Holiday Memories, Meagan and Sarah offer our t...

Feeling distracted, forgetful, or just sorta fuzzy? We’ve been there. Listener Erin asked about “mom brain” and how we’ve handled it over the years, as well as how to keep your adult conversation skills from completely atrophying when you’re in a phase of life that doesn’t provide a lot of opportunity for intellectually stimulating discussions. We dive into small talk, how to navigate awkwardness...

Heartburn in pregnancy means babies born with lots of hair; boys are harder when they’re little, girls are harder later on; third babies are super chill: These are just a few myths and supposed truths that beg to be tested by reality. We asked YOU, our listeners, to help us come up with as many mom myths as possible, and in Episode 234 Meagan and Sarah discuss whether they’ve held true for our com...

Meagan and Sarah have been lifting weights this fall! After bemoaning our fitness situation back in late summer, we got (sorta) serious about doing trainer-led workouts–and we found a way to do it “together,” remotely! In today’s More Than Mom episode we’re full of updates, from how sore we are to what changes we’ve noticed after 6+ weeks of weight training. We also discuss where we want to go fro...

Taking your child to see a counselor, therapist, or psychologist feels  heavy …but it doesn’t have to be. As our understanding of childhood mental health expands and the stigma associated with seeking help shrinks, the growth and support opportunities for our kids that exist with the help of a trained professional are worth approaching with curiosity, not fear or sadness. In this month’s Voic...

The road to extracurricular insanity is paved with good intentions…or so the saying goes. Sarah has always resisted the pressure to sign her kids up for multiple sports, clubs, and activities, but somehow Fall 2019 landed the Powers family with a crazy after school schedule. Join Meagan and Sarah as we discuss how it happened, what it revealed, and how it’s all coming to an end this week. Enjoy! L...

From gift giving to special meals, family gatherings and classroom celebrations, creating special birthday traditions for your kids is a multi-faceted affair. Even if you’re not into big parties, there is still plenty to think about–and to keep you busy when multiple kids have birthdays in the same season, as is the case for Meagan’s family. Join us for a thoughtful look at the family culture arou...

Weirdest thing Meagan and Sarah are afraid of? You’ll never guess in a million years (and please tell us if you share our weird fears!). And then there are the more typical things that creep us out, from the minor heebie-jeebies to the big-time stuff that truly terrifies us. Join us for a fun, funny, not-at-all-scary More Than Mom episode all about the things that scare us! LINKS MENTIONED: Meagan...

Roasts, stews, gourd-shaped baked goods, and soups that pair with a storybook read-aloud–we are leaning in hard this fall to cozy seasonal cooking. Join Meagan and Sarah as we discuss what we’ve been feeding our families lately, what we aspire to make and bake this fall, and how we like to bring the season to our table in both the food and décor departments. Enjoy! LINKS MENTIONED: This episode wa...

From cars to houses to groceries to college, there are some functional elements to growing your family that give a lot of couples pause. We’re not here to convince you one way or the other, but we do have experience to share when it comes to going from two kids to three (and then, in Meagan’s case, to four… and five…). We also acknowledge the emotional and psychological implications of parenting a...

Curious what it’s like to run a business with your good friend? Or how we navigate money conversations, time commitments, and growth tension while mothering a collective eight children? Today’s More Than Mom episode pulls back the curtain on our 4-year business partnership (and 7+ year working relationship) with an honest look at how we keep the love alive and what we’ve learned about partnership...

Teaching manners and social graces is about so much more than pleases and thank-yous; it’s years of modeling and coaching with many shades of gray that bring together regional and cultural differences and expectations, and with a line of sight toward courtesy that’s much bigger than any one dinner party or social faux-pas. Join Meagan and Sarah as we confess the manners our kids are still struggli...

Navigating traditional employment while mothering small children brings up so many questions–from negotiating flexible schedules to getting hired while pregnant, promotion challenges and where to pump. In this month’s Voices interview Meagan aims to answer the most common questions in a conversation with Colleen Curtis, head of community at The Mom Project, an organization dedicated to building be...

Do we set family rules that apply to everyone, or adjust our expectations for individual kids’ and their different strengths, struggles, and personalities? Yes. Both. And it’s complicated. We loved answering listener Hannah’s thoughtful question about parenting “fair” versus parenting to each kid’s individual needs, with Sarah discussing how it works with younger families and Meagan shining the li...

Mom-friends are a true gift–but they’re just one type of female friendship we’ve benefitted from over the years. Today we’re talking about building relationships with women we admire – mentors, colleagues, fellow entrepreneurs, and just generally awesome ladies. From where we find them and how we initiate a first friend-date to what kinds of friendships we like to have in our professional circles,...

With kids back in school, we’re looking at taking care of our bodies through regular exercise. Meagan’s already established a new early morning workout routine with some accountability buddies, and Sarah’s ready to start. We talk about what’s worked in the past when committing to a new fitness routine, what obstacles we have to look out for, and how the reasons behind our desire to work out regula...

Time-strapped, mom? You’re not alone. This week Meagan and Sarah look at time management through two different lenses: first, how to find pockets of time in your existing schedule to make small but meaningful improvements to your overall productivity, AND second, how to carve out larger blocks of time for big changes and important priorities, even during busy seasons of life. Join us! LINKS MENTIO...

Fall means football, whether you care a little bit, a ton, or not at all. This inspired us to talk about the way sports fandom relates to family culture in a broader way–from bonding across generations over a favorite team, to navigating marital stress when one partner prioritizes game day over family time. We also look at the positive lessons (and potentially troublesome ones) that kids can learn...

Recently both Meagan and Sarah took trips where they spent significant time alone–like, alone-alone, not  “5 minutes in the bathroom with a kid outside the door”  alone. This got us thinking about alone-ness in motherhood: the quest to get some, how we feel about it when we do get it, and what types of activities we prefer to do alone vs. with others. This conversation also leads us into...