Two Kids and A Career

Bravery. Courage. Self Confidence. Love Yourself. Those words are part of Judi Holler’s daily vocabulary and she wants us to make them part of our daily vocabulary. Judi is a motivational speaker, a best-selling author, a podcast host, a 90’s hip-hop expert, and so much more. On this week’s episode, Jill Devine and Judi dove deep into Judi’s book, Fear Is My Homeboy . Jill loved reading this book...

Meditation can be a scary term because a lot of people feel like they aren’t doing it correctly, so they give up. There’s passive and active mediation and it’s super important to know which one you need to practice based on the moment you are in. Tejal V. Patel joined Jill Devine this week to talk about the different meditation practices available to us and how beneficial meditation is for childre...

Michelle Lynchard was Jill Devine’s final guest on Season 2 and Jill knew Michelle would be the perfect person to kick off Season 3 because everyone could use a little (actually, a lot) of calm in their lives right now. Michelle specializes in helping overwhelmed, busy moms bring more calm to their lives and with the added stress everyone is facing with the quarantine, more mindful practices need...

Michelle Lynchard sent an email to Jill Devine, proposing being a guest on the podcast.  Here’s some of that email: I recently discovered your podcast and I am officially your new fan. :)  I especially loved your episode with Allie Corey and Dana Dean (episode 19).  I love the way you spread the message of “we’re all in this together” instead of “let’s judge other Moms.” I am a Life...

This week's guest is STL Veg Girl . If you live in the St. Louis area, you’re bound to know or have heard of Caryn Dugan, A.K.A. STL Veg Girl. Caryn lost her Dad to cancer in 2008 and 10 weeks after his passing, she was diagnosed with cancer.  She decided to take matters into her own hands and research immune boosting diets and cancer prevention tips.  All searches led to a plant-based d...

The biggest compliment Jill Devine can receive about this podcast is hearing about women talking to other women about how much they love this podcast and how much they can relate to it.  This week’s guest is one of those women.  Arlene Browne is friends with Rachel Sauter (a guest in Season 1, Episode 8).  Rachel told Jill how much Arlene loved the podcast and she would be a perfect...

Allie Corey and Dana Dean are TV personalities on KSDK News Channel 5, an NBC affiliate in St. Louis, Missouri.  They both agree they knew what they signed up for when they chose television as their career, which comes with good and bad opinions by viewers.  Most often, it’s bad opinions and most often, it’s bad opinions by other women.  The two don’t understand why women aren’t lif...

Get ready to laugh (and maybe pee your pants a little bit) during this week’s episode of Two Kids and A Career, as  Cat & Nat  are Jill Devine's guests.  Jill loves their mission “… to bring laughter and a sense of community to women and moms.” Cat & Nat know a thing or two about motherhood; between the two of them, they have seven kids.  They’ve experienced the lo...

“Have a meal with your family.”  A simple, but very important statement made by Chef Liz of Tenacious Eats.  On this week’s episode, Chef Liz gave Jill Devine some great advice on getting Jill’s girls interested in all types of food and the importance of cooking with them.  Chef Liz and Jill also talked about the mom guilt Chef Liz felt while she was a restaurant chef and having to...

Travel does the mind and body good, right?  According to Forbes Travel Guide, women who go on trips more frequently are less likely to become tense, depressed or tired and are happier with their marriages.  Vacationing improves your mood and reduces stress. It also can temporarily help boost productivity.  Lauren Pronger can attest to all the above.  Inspired by her father’s we...

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” John Grogan, American Author Full disclosure, if you aren’t an animal lover or don’t understand how a pet can be considered part of your f...

Four women sharing the same story: each a working mom with emotional toddlers, each trying to handle and cope with their own emotions, and each trying to do their best every single day.   Joining Jill Devine this week, the ladies behind Socially Inspired (formerly Socially Jen & Co): Jen Singleton, Alicia Underwood, and Becky Lairson. As experts of creating a filtered version wi...

This is the second episode devoted to discussing infertility.  Shockingly, it’s only the second episode completely devoted to infertility talk, although most episodes so far have had mention of infertility in one way or the other.  Kate Rodenfels shared her infertility struggles with Jill Devine.  She was able to identify at least five miscarriages she had while trying to get pregna...

Paul Cook is a recovering alcoholic AND he is battling cancer.  Both of those things are difficult to have in your life and could affect you in a negative way, if you let it. Paul talked to Jill Devine about his battle with alcohol and what he has learned from his risky behavior. He’s taking what he has learned and helping others by educating youth and parents about risky behavior and what ca...

On this week’s episode of Two Kids and A Career, a topic that  still  has a negative stigma attached to it is discussed.  That topic is mental health.  Toni Peanick is an entrepreneur. She’s the owner of  The Color Room , a local spa and salon located in Wentzville, Missouri. Being in an industry that focuses on looks, Toni feels the pressure to always look her best a...

Imagine this - Christmas is right around the corner and you can’t afford to buy your child one gift.  You don’t want to disappoint them, so you find something in your house and try to take it back to a store that doesn’t even carry the item you are trying to take back all because you want your child to have a gift under the Christmas tree on Christmas Day.  That was a hard reality for Da...

In Part 2 of Episode 11, Joy Holdmeier talked in detail about her three daughters and how she's raising them to not engage in negative self-image talk.  Two words she constantly uses with her girls are the words STRONG and HEALTHY.  She also tells her daughters not to focus on what someone's body looks like, but what the body is for. Joy and Jill Devine continued the conversation ab...

Joy Holdmeier is the creator of  Go Fit Mom .  She's "motivating & coaching you to become a fit mom, raise a healthy family, and create your happy life".  Joy talked to Jill Devine about Go Fit Mom and the REAL truth behind it.  It's not about a diet or trying to be skinny because those things don't work.  It's about being healthy - body and mind. It’s also about being...

Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley, the Moms behind #IMOMSOHARD , were Jill Devine’s guests this week. These ladies are hilarious, and they aren’t afraid to talk about their parenting fails and wins!  From their bio,  “They laugh about all of the craziness that comes with being a mom and they want you to laugh about it too! From snot to stretchmarks to sleepless nights, Kristin and Jen know...

Jill Devine called upon her animal expert friend, Jamie Case, to help sort out some emotions.  Jamie is the Executive Director at Gateway Pet Guardians and she’s no stranger to this podcast, as she joined Jill in Episode 4. Jill has been having some conflicting feelings about her love for animals, especially her English Bulldog, Apple, now that she has children.  Before Jill’s daughters...

In Part Two of Episode 8, Jill Devine and Rachel Sauter spent most of the conversation discussing the future of social media and what it will look like concerning their daughters.  Both Jill and Rachel agree social media is a necessary evil.  It can be used as a source of good and it’s necessary for both women’s businesses.  However, it can be harmful if you let it.  Both ladie...

Who knew a decision to step inside a local business could change one’s mindset, while creating a friendship at the same time?!?!? Jill Devine has been open about not being a huge fan of boutiques because of the stigma attached to them.  Boutiques are often categorized as overpriced and the merchandise doesn’t typically cater to women of all sizes.  Jill stumbled across a boutique, Leopar...

When Jill Devine was on maternity leave with her youngest daughter, she had a text exchange with one of her "non-mom" friends, Rachel Zimmerman.  The night before their exchange, Jill experienced a weak moment with the baby (one of many) and she told Rachel about it.  Rachel's response wasn't what Jill was expecting and Jill wasn't sure why she didn't expect that kind of response. ...

It’s very easy to assume celebrities have it all and they have zero insecurities.  Why would someone who’s rich and famous dislike the way they look?  Why would someone who is rich and famous be able to be Supermom and handle everything smoothly?  That’s just ridiculous.  Fame and fortune doesn’t make everything easier. Carrie Underwood recently sat down with Natalie Morales an...

It was the first day of school for Michelle Kositzke’s daughter and Michelle doesn’t have fond memories of the day.  As Michelle and her daughter were walking into school, another mother and daughter were walking in.  The other mother verbally judged Michelle behind her back.  Michelle’s daughter heard everything and expressed her confusion.  Michelle knew she had two choices:...