Mom Maintenance

Do you parent differently when you feel watched? An emotional moment or a bad decision can quickly become, “They think my child is a troublemaker—and I’m a bad mom.” In this episode of Mom Maintenance, we’ll explore how those assumed judgments can make us more impatient, defensive, or demanding with our kids. You’ll learn how to separate what someone actually said or did from what you’re afraid th...

Ever been irritated with your husband when he hasn't actually done anything wrong? Maybe he asks what's for dinner, or starts cleaning the kitchen, and suddenly you're defensive. Why? Sometimes the problem isn't what our husbands are saying or doing. It's the conversation we've already had in our own heads about what we think they're thinking about us. For years, I worr...

Ever come home from lunch with friends or playgroup and replay everything you said? Was I too much? Did I sound weird? Do they even want to hang out with me again? In episode 31 of Mom Maintenance, Anna Stice shares how moving from California to Utah as a teenager left her desperately wanting friends—and how she still sometimes wonders what those girls think of her decades later. This episode begi...

What if the thing keeping you from enjoying your life isn’t your actual life—but the picture in your mind of what it should look like? In this episode, we’re talking about the gap between the life we expected and the messy, imperfect life we’re actually living. I’ll share how my own expectations of motherhood created guilt, resentment, and disappointment—and how constantly arguing with reality can...

Have you ever felt like your thoughts were coming so fast that you couldn’t grab onto a single one of them? When thoughts like “I’m failing,” “I can’t handle this,” or “Something has gone wrong” go unnoticed, they can quietly steer our emotions, actions, and results. In this episode, Anna explains how awareness helps us use our agency more intentionally—and how Jesus Christ can anchor us when our...

Have you ever picked up your phone for a quick break, wandered into the pantry for something sweet, or disappeared into a book—only to return to your life feeling even more overwhelmed? That’s buffering: using food, scrolling, shopping, reading, or other distractions to take the edge off an uncomfortable emotion. The activity itself isn’t necessarily a problem. The real question is whether you’re...

Have you ever ended a day completely exhausted—only to look around and wonder what you actually accomplished? Motherhood requires an enormous amount of physical, mental, and emotional work, yet much of it is invisible, unfinished, and rarely acknowledged. This can leave us feeling both inadequate and resentful that no one recognizes how much we’re carrying. In this episode, we explore what changes...

Do you ever get to the end of a busy day and wonder how you did so much but somehow still didn’t do enough? When your to-do list keeps growing, it’s easy to believe you’re always behind. But what happens when “I have too much to do” leaves you wanting to disappear into a book or scroll your phone instead of tackling the next thing? This week on Mom Maintenance, we’re looking at the story you’re te...

School hasn’t even started yet, and somehow you’re already exhausted by all the lunches, practices, forms, carpools, and rushed afternoons waiting for you. In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between having a genuinely full schedule and mentally trying to carry the entire school year all at once. I’ll help you notice the thoughts making your schedule feel even heavier, decide what...

Have you ever felt guilty and assumed it meant you had done something wrong? Or felt someone else’s disappointment and decided you must have failed them? That’s emotional reasoning—when we take the way we feel and turn it into evidence about what is true. In this episode, we’ll talk about why your teenager’s anger doesn’t necessarily mean your boundary is wrong, why being empathetic doesn’t mean y...

Have you ever caught yourself saying things like: "I'm just an anxious person." "I'm always behind." "I'm not organized." "I'm bad with money." "I'm the one who takes care of everyone else." What if those things aren't facts? What if they're simply stories you've told yourself for so long that they've become part...

Have you ever stopped to wonder what's really driving your decisions? In this episode of Mom Maintenance , I share a realization that has been quietly changing the way I see my own life: scarcity. Not just not having enough money—but the fear that there will never be enough. Enough time. Enough energy. Enough patience. Enough opportunities. Enough of you . I'll share some stories from my c...

Have you ever spent days or even months trying to make the "right" decision? Should you volunteer? Change jobs? Quit something you've committed to? Start something new? So often we treat every decision like it will determine the rest of our lives. But what if most decisions aren't nearly as permanent as we think? In this episode, I share a simple framework from James Clear that c...

Who decided who you are? Most of us carry around stories we've been telling ourselves for years: I'm not a good mom. I'm not disciplined. I'm not fun. I'm just a stay-at-home mom. I'm not capable. The problem is, after telling ourselves those stories long enough, we stop questioning them. We mistake them for facts. In this episode, I share some of the stories I've belie...

We've all done it. "I'll feel better when the kids are out of diapers." "When summer gets here." "When life slows down." But have you ever noticed that you get to the next season...and you're still stressed? In this episode, I'm talking about a powerful quote from James Clear and why so many moms feel stuck waiting for a better life. The truth is, ever...

Why does people pleasing feel so exhausting? It's not just because you're doing too much. It's because you're spending your life trying to manage something you don't have access to: other people's thoughts. In this episode of Mom Maintenance, I share how years of trying to be the "good girl" left me disconnected from myself, constantly guessing what everyone else...

Why does motherhood feel so heavy sometimes? What if it’s not just the endless responsibilities… but the constant belief that you’re failing at them? In this episode of Mom Maintenance, I’m talking about the invisible “shoulds” moms carry around every day, the comparison traps that make us feel like we’re never enough, and why guilt may not actually be helping us become better mothers at all. If y...

Feeling overwhelmed as a mom doesn’t always come from your life being “too much.” Sometimes it comes from the constant pressure, guilt, and thoughts running through your mind all day long. In this deeply personal episode, I’m sharing my own story — from becoming the mom I always dreamed of being… to feeling crushed by the fear that I was never doing enough. I talk about: the invisible “good mom” e...

Are your goals motivating you… or quietly making you feel like a failure? In this episode of Mom Maintenance , we talk about why so many moms use goals as evidence that they’re not enough — and how to stop turning growth into self-criticism. Because goals were meant to guide you, not shame you.

So many moms believe being a good mom means being patient all the time, keeping everything together, never needing help, and handling motherhood perfectly. But that standard is impossible — and exhausting. In this episode, we talk about the lie that good moms do it all flawlessly, and what actually makes a good mother instead. Spoiler: it’s not perfection. It’s apologizing after hard moments, lear...

If everything feels harder than it should right now, this episode is for you. If you’re constantly tired, overstimulated, irritated, behind, and wondering what is wrong with you… the answer may be simpler than you think. You may not be failing. You may just be carrying too much for too long with too little support. In this episode, we talk about the invisible load moms carry, why chronic depletion...

Do you ever grab your phone, eat something, get defensive, or stay busy when you’re feeling stressed, guilty, anxious, or overwhelmed? This episode is about why we do that. Most of us aren’t afraid of life—we’re afraid of feeling uncomfortable emotions. So we avoid them without even realizing it. But feelings aren’t dangerous, and they don’t last forever. Today we’re talking about how to stop runn...

The text you don’t send. The thing you don’t say. The conversation you avoid. This episode is about how those tiny moments shape your life—and how a little discomfort might be the doorway to more connection and a fuller life.

You didn’t fail. You just decided you did. In this episode, I’m breaking down the pattern that keeps so many moms stuck in the cycle of: start → mess up → quit → start over. All-or-nothing thinking feels motivating… but it’s actually the reason you keep giving up on yourself halfway through the day. We’ll walk through what this looks like in real life (food, patience, everyday mom moments) and how...

Are you living as the victim of your life… or the hero of your story? In this episode, we’re talking about how your thoughts can quietly trap you in frustration, resentment, and feeling stuck—and how to shift out of that without changing your entire life. Because when you believe your circumstances are causing your feelings, you stay powerless. But when you see what your brain is doing… everything...