Mommas Pearls Show

The Parkland tragedy reverberated throughout our nation and hit close to home. Aung San Suu Kyi's pearl "When you are feeling helpless, help someone" inspired a local teen Charlotte Kerpen, to take action. She's organizing #PortforParkland, a benefit concert hosted here in Port Washington to raise funds for the families affected by the tragedy and aslo for Sandy Hook Promise, to do a small but important part in ensuring this does not happen again. She shares with us the mood amongst her High School peers in the aftermath of Parkland and inspires even the most regular person can stand up, take action and do something for good. Indeed, it's the Emma Gonzalez's, Cameron Kasky's, David Hogg's and the Charlotte's of this world that ensures us that the future is in very good capable grounded hands.  About our Guest: Charlotte Kerpen is a 14 year old High School Student who loves theater, acting and drama and her family. She heralds from a family of entrepreneurs and this apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Charlotte will continue to Work It and inspire her generation. Click for tickets to PortforParkland  #PortforParkland is her first in what I'm sure will be many, inspirational and motivational events. We are proud to supPORT #PortforParkland as our Charitable Partner for the upcoming MomTime Movie Event for "A Wrinkle in Time." Indeed, there are times, events and circumstances which wrinkle our plans and set us on a new course of action.  Listen to how Charlotte is stringing this wrinkle into a positive.

I’m embarking on a 28 Day Self Love & Care Challenge. My friends, it's really been a challenge. On Insta, you'll notice self love & care is a common theme and I saw my beautiful friend Nitika Chopra's Chronic Self Love Challenge. Self love is a core element of her coaching practice. Nitika doesn’t let her chronic illness stop her from being one of the most vibrant and magnetic women on the wellness scene. We're diving into Self Love with the help of our Show Sponsor Luna by Laurie B. We'll catch up with Laurie Bittan,, from our SUMMER FEAST Episode about how she designs her items for your self care practice.  ABOUT OUR GUEST: Nitika Chopra is a certified life coach, wellness entrepreneur, go-to resource for young women around the globe, and a motivational lifestyle guru. Nitika is on a mission to inspire radical self-love. She began her journey as an entrepreneur by founding the popular online magazine Bella Life in 2010. She also hosts the talk show Naturally Beautiful on Z Living about a holistic approach to beauty. Her She is a a luxury beauty brand's on-air beauty expert for QVC. Nitika is passionate, colorful and inspirational. She inspires people to access more self-love by creating a lifestyle reflective of it. www.NitikaChopra.com

RJ Palacio, a best selling, award winning, inspirational author of the globally beloved book, "WONDER" joins us. In a previously recorded  conversation, we polish the pearls of the book, movie (now available on DVD & On Demand by Lionsgate) and the Choose Kind Movement. It all began at an ice cream shop which is another reasy I'm so fond of this momma. She threaded the story of an abnormal child, Auggie Pullman, age 10, who finds himself facing an unkind world. Auggie's mom, Isabel, brilliantly portrayed by Julia Roberts, mindfully creates a support system for Auggie to be empathathetic and brilliant who carries the most hearts forward.  We explore if kindness can be taught, how communities can support and how there are 2 sides to every story. The best advice RJ's momma gave her is the pearl, "Children Live What They Learn." Indeed. Every story deserves to be heard. She's one remarkable Momma.  Guest Bio: RJ Palacio's family resides in the diverse NY borough of Brooklyn. She's a graphic designer/illustrator by day and moonlights as a globally renowned author and mom on a mission to encourage us to Choose Kindness.  Her other published works ~ 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts (August, 2014), Auggie & Me, ( October 2015), The Julian Chapter, Pluto, and Shingaling. Palacio wrote and illustrated her newest picture book, We're All Wonders, which introduces Auggie, kindness, empathy and tolerance—to younger children.

Farm to table is not just a movement it's a direct way to inspire community. Farmigo is one company planting the seeds. I'm happy to spread them. Janet Mermel joins us as a INN Holistic Health Counselor and my local Farmigo Champion to talk about bringing the best of the NY area farms to our community. Jessica Malcolm from Farmigo will talk about the company's mission and all together we'll recap an amazing dinner party we co-hosted bringing friends and the area's best foods to the table!! Farmigo is generously offering our Mommas Pearls community a special first time ordering coupon, enter "FirstOff" on your first order!! About Farmigo: Farmigo is dedicated to creating a healthy alternative food system that provides fresh, local, affordable and sustainable food for generations to come. We envision a community-oriented food system in which people and farmers in the same geographic region are connected, and everyone has access to fresh-from-harvest food. About Janet:Janet Mermel is certified as a Holistic Health Counselor by The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the largest nutrition school in the world, in order to teach mothers how to achieve all of their health goals. She is also Board certified by the American Association for Drugless Practitioners. Drawing on her extensive knowledge, Janet will help you create a completely personalized “roadmap to health”. This customized plan will suit your unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals. You will feel empowered and supported as you embark on your personal journey towards health. 

Winter is Coming. Feeling like you want to hibernate is natural and our guest Lisa Erickson of Mommy Mystic, will guide us through the energies at play as we approach the Winter Solstice to cure your family of the winter blues and invite you to her Meditate Like A Girl event. ABOUT OUR GUEST: Lisa Erickson is an energy worker, writer, meditation teacher and mom to three. Lisa’s primary modality is chakra-based meditation and guided energy work, although she is also a certified mindfulness meditation instructor. Her specialty is Women’s Energetics – women’s subtle anatomy, and practices and tools that women can employ to heal, empower, and awaken themselves. She especially focuses on helping women during critical life passages such as pregnancy, motherhood, and menopause, as well as on healing from sexual abuse and trauma. She is the author of the popular DailyOm course Fall in Love With Your Feminine Power, and the author of the e-book Women’s Energetics: Healing the Subtle Body Wounds of Sexual Abuse and Trauma.  She is the women’s energetics columnist for the online magazine Meditate Like a Girl, and the Buddhism editor for BellaOnline.com. She can be contacted through her popular blog, Mommy Mystic, or her website Enlightened Energetics.

If we are what we eat then why do we not take better care of what's on our plates, in our refrigerators and in our children's lunch boxes? We'll snack on bits of wisdom from my friend, fellow momma and Institute For Integrative Nutrition certified Health Counselor Melissa Halpern. About Our Guest: Melissa Halpern is the CEO & President of Melissa Halpern LLC which provides corporate wellness programs in health and nutritional counseling for businesses and individuals seeking consultation for detoxification, low energy, weight loss and overall optimum health. Melissa also consults with schools on their food and nutrition planning.  She helps educate children about food sensitivities and has had success improving the wellness of developmentally delayed children through proper nutrition. Melissa received her training to practice Health Counseling from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she was trained in more than one hundred dietary theories and studied a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods. Drawing on this knowledge, she helps people create a completely personalized “roadmap to health” that suits their unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals.  Her practice combines the knowledge of traditional philosophies with modern concepts like the USDA food pyramid, the glycemic index, the Zone and raw foods. Melissa believes in a progressive approach to teaching modern health philosophies and refers to herself as a "nutri-tarian".  She is a mother of two, a yogi, snowboarder, singer and loves to travel.

Time is so precious, so fleeting and ultimately what you make of it.

Continuing our discussion on attachment parenting, breastfeeding and healthy boundaries with Ellen Shell, the director of the Le Leche League (LLL). Ellen has worked for 38 years with the LLL and as a lactation consultant to empower women. LLL's mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother. http://www.llli.org

Fifty Shades, Breastfeeding, Gay Marriage, it's like Moms Gone Wild!! What about all of this is natural and what is extremist? We will be exploring the controversy of the latest TIME MAGAZINE cover about attachment parenting and the pros and cons of breastfeeding.

Tis the season to be filled with love and support. Let's go to that happy place where santa's bag is always filled for you.

Mommas Pearls new broadcasts begin with waking up your inner SuperHero! You may be dusting off your superhero mask for Halloween but our natural powers overpower capes, just believethat you are already perfect. Children's Book Author Honi Borden, joins us to talk about the miracles and lessons in her new inspirational children's memoir book, "The Day I Became a Superhero" (published by Balboa Press, a division of Hay House Publishing). In The Day I Became a Superhero, seven-year-old Ommeh faces the toughest day in her life during a fatal car crash with her parents. She is alone and frightened at first, but something miraculous happens when she gets in touch with her inner superhero and her life is changed forever. Honi Borden has an advanced studies in Clinical Counseling from Johns Hopkins University, an entrepreneurial spirit, and loving heart. Honi is an intuitive healer and facilitator of Reconnective® Healing and The Reconnection®,  providing healing from a broader perspective of energy, light and information. She is a nationally recognized holistic wellness and eco-beauty expert with her own line of all natural, toxin-free products called holeco® life and holeco® girls. As an inspirational speaker, Honi provides various holistic workshops and meditations that creates an interconnection between self, the environment and the universe. Honi and her husband Karl have two sons, Kiyan and Nevan, whom she feels are the greatest gifts she has received in this life experience. 

We send our children out into this world on a wing and a prayer. Sometimes it takes a tragedy, like the 8 year old Brooklyn boy, Leiby Kletzky, for us to delve deeper into the mind of our children, how we see our neighbors and into prayer. Independence is something our children crave and must earn in small stints. We are constantly balancing the parenting tightrope and today we'll explore, grieve and ascend.

Life with children aint all peaches and cream, which is why author Adam Mansbach of Go The F*CK To SLEEP is joining us to blow off some steam. Adam so daringly and brilliantly says what every parent is thinking, feeling and wanting to blurt. Profane, affectionate and radically honest, California Book Award - winning author Adam Mansbach verses perfectly capture the familiar and unspoken - tribulations of putting your little angle down for the night. WARNING: There may be some adult language.

Children are our greatest gifts. How can we expand and celebrate this gift in a healthy way? Our guest today, Laura Duksta, a best selling childrens book author, speaker and visionary, will help us expand our conversation with love within our families. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Laura Duksta believes that when people know they are loved, anything is possible. Laura lost all of her hair to Alopecia Areata at the age of 11, a "gift" that showed her that our greatest challenges can become our biggest blessings. Laura knew from a young age that she was meant to travel the world, meet her brothers and sisters and spread the message of love. She is now fulfilling this mission through her books, school programs and inspirational talks. She's the author of the New York Times bestseller, I Love You More and the recently released,You Are a Gift to the World. Laura resides in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  

Do you sound like your mother? Are there repetitive patterns and behaviors throughout your family's generational lines? Intuitive energy healer Natalie Berthold, www.SproutingLove.com guides us through some practices to heal your generational wounds with Family Constellation Therapy. I participated in a group with her a few weeks ago and saw the energy shift before my eyes. Natalie guides participants enter into a "knowing field" and bring light to a needed situation, making entanglements apparent between yourself, your family and ancestry that are holding you back. The orders of love are re-established, to enable you to live a more free, balanced and productive life.   About Our Special Guest: Natalie Berthold is an intuitive healer and Reik Master who uses many healing modalities such as Family Constellation Therapy, Reiki, Mantra Work, EFT, IFT, and many more to help clients get in touch with the root causes. Healing is then facilitated on a cellular level, working to accept and then replace the "issues from the tissues" with love and light. She transfers and transmutes the energy in her patients AND empowers them to continue to participate in their own healing process and to see that they are their own inner guru.  Natalie's work helps with  depression, fatigue, menstruation problems, relationship issues, thyroid problems, asthma, skin issues, joint and muscle pain, addictions and more. Natalie has earned two graduate degrees in education and has traveled extensively throughout the world. E-mail: sproutinglove@gmail.com

Our first attachments are with our parents and family unit. These chords usually run the deepest and sit at our emotional core. The chords are wrapped around the roles we play within the family unit. Our special guest, Joe Frustaci, will help us sort through coping when those chords get cut and the family roles change and how we can heal.

Summer is a time to lighten up. I chopped off 10+ inches of my hair to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. What is it about our external self that so affects our internal state? Joining us is Nichelle Pace Founder and Editor in Chief of StyleMom.com to explore how women and self esteem are tied to beauty and how we can lighten up for summer. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Nichelle has worked in the advertising/marketing and entertainment industry for 15 years working with major brands from Proctor & Gamble, Microsoft/Dell, to Estee Lauder and Nine West. As a mother of two boys, advertising account director, and a proclaimed “fashion junkie”, Nichelle decided to combine her creativity, advertising and marketing background, role as a mom, passion for fashion, and digital media expertise to launch STYLEMOM.  Having heard chatter in the fashion industry, that some feel “moms have given up on fashion”, Nichelle has made it her mission to prove otherwise, and become a voice and evangelist for “fashionista” moms and 30-something women around the globe. Nichelle continues to work with brands independently while steadily building STYLEMOM.com as growing online publication.  

In one weekend hundreds of millions of people were taken from a journey of LOVE to FEAR. The royal wedding and the death of Osama Bin Laden had us swing in polar opposite directions. How do we remain balanced? Halleh Nematzadeh will help us stay grounded while turning our dial into the higher frequencies. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Haleh Nematzadeh is a mover and a shaker. She has a successful conceptual line and style site that has catapulted her success in many fields and now, usage energy healing is just one of them. Upon an intensive two year training and trial and error of working with crystal to start her meditation practice, the unlikely pairing of Haleh Nematzadeh and energy healing began.  Since then Haleh has made it her mission to spread her varied healing techniques. Her readings are quickly becoming a trend among fashion editors, socialites and spiritualists. As for her consistent reinvention, clients enjoy sessions fusing her signature form of ritual, energy balancing and healing techniques, sound and reiki healing, and deep mediation. Haleh is resurfacing working with crystal from a new age modality of the past, to the art of vibration healing, and a rocking modern practice.

As Mothers Day draws near, we take a moment to honor our creators. Expectant mothers are swimming in the creation space. Our guest today, Latham Thomas, founder of Tender Shoots Wellness swims in the creation space and coaches her clients on how to holistically transition into Motherhood. Keeping the creation energy pure and harnessing it throughout your pregnancy and into your life as a mother takes effort. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Born and raised in California, Latham Thomas is a graduate of both Columbia University, where she earned a degree in Visual arts and Environmental science, as well as the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is a certified holistic health counselor, who mixes her passions of plant physiology, botany, holistic nutrition, fitness, yoga, and green cuisine into a lifestyle program that supports the various needs of her clients. Specializing in maternal and child wellness, Latham served as Program coordinator for the Healthy Moms-Healthy Babies project for the B-Healthy organization. She is the co-founder of Panela Productions, a company that educates parents and children about food, through cooking classes, and events. Latham has developed partnerships with Vogue Magazine, Destination Maternity, Jurlique, and Euphoria Spa to produce events for expectant and new moms. Her mission is to green the planet one belly at a time. Latham founded Tender Shoots Wellness, to empower clients to live happy and fulfilling lives by making lifestyle changes that are better for them and for the planet in the kitchen, on the mat and into the world.  

When you look at your home, the space that you share with your family, how do you see it? Is it designed to support your family's individual needs, tastes and preferences or just the parents tastes? How do you work your home space to support your children? This week on mommas pearls we'll be talking to Jeanette Simpson of Kids Space Interiors about how to re-see our homes through the eyes of our children. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Jeanette Simpson, ASID is the owner of KidSpace Interiors, an interior design firm specializing in commercial and residential design of spaces specifically for children. She has eleven years commercial and five years residential design experience plus 25 years project management in areas that include healthcare, hospitality, corporate, retail design, and residential design. Extensive experience with children comes from being a mother of six and grandmother of 15, as well as life-long coach and teacher in the community. Jeanette’s expertise in children’s design is evident in her project portfolio, the numerous articles she has penned, and furniture designed for a high-end children’s furniture company in Santa Ana, California.  

If you could pierce through the veil of time who would you hope to see? Sometimes messages are transcribed through time and space to help us in our lives and to side step events in our future. Such is why when facing 2012 and today's world events plagued by earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis and such we are reaching out through time with the help of author and regressionist Dolores Cannon, to learn from the predictions made by Nostradamus to see how we can clear our future towards the positive enlightened path and how to ascend with the New Earth. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Dolores Cannon, president of Ozark Mountain Publishing, www.ozarkmt.com, is a past-life regressionist and hypnotherapist who specializes in the recovery and cataloging of "Lost Knowledge". Her roots in hypnosis go back to the 1960s. She has been specializing in past-life therapy since 1979. Dolores has become, perhaps, the world's most unlikely expert on the prophecies of Nostradamus. A retired Navy wife from Huntsville, AR, USA, Dolores was nearly fifty years old when she began experimenting with hypnosis and past-life regression. The results were, to say the least, quite spectacular! Working through several different subjects, Dolores was able to establish communication with the living Michel De Notredame, better known as the prophet, Nostradamus. His revelations and their impact on our own time are both fascinating and at times frightening. Dolores has written the three volume set "Conversations With Nostradamus", the series on the translation of Nostradamus' quatrains. This series contains the translation of almost 1000 prophecies, all interpreted for the first time and have been in print since 1989. It is considered the most accurate interpretation of the prophecies ever printed.

If you can create the world of your dreams, what would it look like? Now, why wait, begin painting your life in your favorite colors now. Sophie Chiche, founder of LifeByMe, joins us this week to explore how we can live our best life, now!! ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Sophie Chiche's website lifebyme.com – asks one question: “What’s most meaningful to you?” Every day there’s a new answer from a best-selling authors, moms, Nobel Peace Prize recipients, fishermen, teenagers, prison inmates, media moguls…people…all different kinds, from all over the place. Sophie is a woman who thrives on change, meaning, and a growing collection of funky rings. She likes stories and turning over stones to reveal all there is. She loves intuition and elegant solutions. She likes the way life moves and tries not to get in the way. www.lifebyme.com  

I attended a Chari-tea party at NYC's Plaza Hotel with my daughter to raise awareness for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Kelly Ripa asked us to imagine a world where our young daughters never have to know the words Ovarian Cancer. Joining us this week is an honored guest, Audra Moran, CEO of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund http://www.ocrf.org to talk about the organization latest advances in the battle. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Audra brings over 15 years of non-profit leadership and development experience to OCRF. For the past ten years, Audra served as Vice President for Development and Scientific Affairs at NARSAD, the world's largest charity dedicated to mental health research. She oversaw all programmatic, fundraising, and administrative aspects of an annual $20 million international research grant program. She also served as Program Advisor to the Schizophrenia Research Forum, a major web hub for researchers in schizophrenia and related disorders. In 2008, she led the planning and implementation of a successful 48-site event at which world experts in neuroscience at major universities across North America offered research highlights to the general public, and initiated planning for the same event in 2010. Prior to joining NARSAD, Audra worked for seven years as a rehabilitation counselor at Helen Keller National Center in Sands Point, New York. Audra is active in her community and serves as vice president of the Yonkers Committee for Smart Development (YCSD), a local civic organization advocating for strategic, environmentally-friendly, inclusive development projects in the city of Yonkers. She is also a member of the River Communities Coalition of Yonkers, and has served as a volunteer for the MS Society of America. Audra is a 1991 graduate of University of South Florida where she majored in psychology, and at which she also earned her master's of arts in 1993. She currently resides in Yonkers, New York, with her husband and son.

We continue our time with the divine this week and how to bring it home. When we get overwhelmed and our mind overworked, it’s time to take out the trash. The ultimate spring cleaning sweeps your mind, body and spirit. Utilizing spiritual practices help us with this process and we’ll be chatting one of my favorite spiritual teacher’s Pauline Esposito. How can we utilize spiritual practices such as meditation to enhance your connection to yourself and spirit? We will discuss integrating the messages received in meditation with your family's daily lives. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Pauline Esposito, www.awakeningofthesoul.com  is a healer and spiritual teacher. She has been in private practice for 12 years assisting people with various issues from physical pain to cancer to spiritual awakening. Her own spiritual journey began 23 years ago with the death of a loved one. This devastating experience propelled her into the metaphysical world which helped heal the grief. Something extraordinary was occurring during that time, as the grief was healed, her true purpose on earth was revealed. Married for 15 years to her husband, they adore their 6 cats who constantly keep them on their toes!

There is healing power in music along with a divine inspiration. We are happy to welcome the Mommas Pearls theme song creator and composer David B. Goldberg to discuss his latest modern/classical CD "Absolute Music" and his experiential connection with music. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: David B. Goldberg has been playing music since he can remember and for fifteen years, composed music and wrote various theatre pieces, before taking a break to have a family. After a break of seven years, he is back composing and writing again with his new CD ABSOLUTE MUSIC. He's composed numerous performances of works, including in 1992, ‘The Wellfleet Whale’, a cantata based on Stanley Kunitz’ Poem. Won Premiere of the Year from the Newark Star Leger. Wrote and produced theatre pieces including "Sex Changes Everything", performed at Don’t Tell Mama in 1996 and 1997.

In our present lives, sometimes you hit all the right notes and other times you miss the beat entirely. Today is part two of Music Notes where we continue our conversation with Marlene Cooper-Williams of www.IPlayMusicLive.com about the importance of music in our children's lives. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Marlene has over 4 decades of experience as a music educator and pioneer in musical education, As a constant innovator of new music education programs, her newest venture of “IPLAYMUSICLIVE.COM” allows her teaching staff to continue coming directly to student’s homes on the internet highway. Through Video Conferencing technology, students will be able to receive their lessons in the comfort and privacy of their homes through web-cam. Unlike other organizations attempting this process, Marlene’s total focus is on web-cam teaching, not making it of lesser importance and continually improving this process.

Music is a great way to heal. In light of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Japan we will be holding a light and reminding ourselves how important it is to live in the present. My mom, Gail Litman, joins us to hold a space of healing. In our present lives, sometimes you hit all the right notes and other times you miss the beat entirely. Continuing our celebration of music in our lives today we'll talk about inspiring your children to learn how to play instruments. Joining us is Marlene Cooper-Williams of www.IPlayMusicLive.com ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Marlene has over 4 decades of experience as a music educator and pioneer in musical education, As a constant innovator of new music education programs, her newest venture of “IPLAYMUSICLIVE.COM” allows her teaching staff to continue coming directly to student’s homes on the internet highway. Through Video Conferencing technology, students will be able to receive their lessons in the comfort and privacy of their homes through web-cam. Unlike other organizations attempting this process, Marlene’s total focus is on web-cam teaching, not making it of lesser importance and continually improving this process.

Music touches the soul. Even before we are born we can groove to music. Joining us this week is popular family recording artist Bari Koral. Together we'll explore the wonderful space of music in children's lives. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: The award-winning Bari Koral Family Rock Band, a popular children’s group whose second album “Rock and Roll Garden” won the 2010 Nappa Gold Award, the Parent’s Choice Silver Award, was named among the best kids/family albums of the year by Time Out Kids and was recently featured in the New York Times.

We continue our conversation of the love of indie film making with producer Lorie Marsh and writer/director Jentri Chancey of LOST IN SUNSHINE.

The celebration of the heart continues on Mommas Pearls. Film making is a labor of love and indie film making is a test of wits. Joining us today is Lorie Marsh, producer of the Indie film "LOST IN SUNSHINE". Yet when you have material that you love you want to shepherd it to its highest place. We'll talk about the laborious practice of producing and being a mom! Show note: The conversation continues on FILM NOIR 2!!

As the February fills the air with romance, we'll be celebrating love and music this month. First up we'll summon our soulmates, whether in love or in life. The Law of Attraction is not a Secret, in fact, it's been a universal spiritual law for centuries. Yet we forget how to work with this principal and often work against ourselves. Author and publicist, Arielle Ford, joins us to explore how to harness the true power of this principal and to discuss her book "THE SOULMATE SECRET" www.soulmatesecretbook.com

Every child seeks out adventure, in fact that's what childhood is all about, one big adventure. This week, author Eric Delabarre whose new book, geared towards tweens, "SALTWATER TAFFY" will join us on an adventure! www.whatagreatbook.com

Last week we chatted with the inspiring moms who took their tween age children on a UJA mission to the Gulf Coast Region, this week we are hosting a special show to hear firsthand impressions from their kids! This is a show not to be missed!

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and exploring how we can best serve others, we will be hearing from some moms who took their tween kids with them on a UJA mission to the gulf coast region to participate in the ongoing restoration efforts left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

What does the 2011 astrology chart look like? How are the stars aligning for you and your journey this year? Jungian Astrologer and returning guest, Cathy Pagano joins us to unveil what's in the stars for us this year.

Hellooooo 2011. This year awaken your truth and seek every opportunity to enrich your life and soul. We peer into our lives and see how the 2011 energy can help us achieve this.

As the Hanukkah lights dwindle and the Christmas lights light up the nighttime sky, we honor the true spirit of the holiday season. Every year is a new chance to create new family traditions and remember those of holiday past. How can we bring the holiday magic into our daily lives? Joining us to explore is an honored guest, Rabbi Irwin Zeplowitz. ABOUT OUR GUEST: Rabbi Irwin Zeplowitz (AKA "Rabbi Z") was born in Niagara Falls, New York. Following his schooling at the University of Toronto, he studied at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Jerusalem, Los Angeles and Cincinnati, where he was ordained as a rabbi in 1984. After spending five years as a rabbi at Congregation B’nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim in the Chicago area, Rabbi Zeplowitz came to Hamilton, Ontario, 1989 to serve as the Rabbi of Temple Anshe Sholom, Canada's oldest Reform congregation. In the Summer of 2003 he assumed the position of Senior Rabbi at The Community Synagogue. He is a strong supporter of programs that connect Diaspora Jews to Israel and of an inclusive, embracing Judaism. Rabbi Zeplowitz has lectured and taught as scholar at a number of synagogues, appeared on radio and television, as well as in wide variety of community settings. A popular teacher, he has taught numerous courses for Kolel: An Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning in Toronto, JLearn, a learning initiative of the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of Long Island and at a Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) Adult Study Retreat Rabbi Z is deeply committed to youth and has spent more than twenty years teaching at several Reform movement camps, most recently at URJ Kutz Camp, the teen leadership camp. He, like all our clergy, participates routinely in services for children of all ages. Rabbi Zeplowitz is married to Anne and has three children - Abigail, Deena and Nathan. He resides in Port Washington, New York. He is enjoys gardening, exercise, travelling and reading.

As the temperature drops, the holiday season speeds up and we begin to dole our attention onto family, friends, teachers and others and celebrate their role in our lives over the past year. We also tend to slow down as we ready for hibernation and make our New Years resolutions. Joining us this week is special guest Katja Presnal who will share her own re-commitment to reclaim her healthier self. Katja is a working mom and a social media icon.

When I was thinking about whether I can live without a man/husband and trying to host the radio show, the power went out and answered my ?. So, this is the second redo of our Power of One, Plus one show with special guest Stacey MacGlashan. The typical Modern Family is morphing into, well, just whatever you want your family to be. With advances in reproductive technologies and progressive thinkers who buck traditional societal conventions, now more than ever men and women are opting to be single parents. We are honoring all these brave souls this week and joining us is Stacey MacGlashan, a single mom by choice, author of "Just You and Me, Kid" and a clinical social worker. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Stacey MacGlashan, author of Just You and Me, Kid, is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in therapy with struggling teens and their families. She earned her BA in English literature and communications from the University of Michigan and a MA in journalism from the University of Maryland before pursuing a career as a newspaper reporter and editor for such publications as The New Orleans Times-Picayune. She then earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver and began her current career. She has 40 years of experience being single and two years of experience being a mom.

Wonder what life would be like as a single parent? That is the theme we are exploring this week. Even via some technical difficulties on the broadcast (Cynthia lost power!) Melissa shares some gems about her life growing up as a child raised by a single mother. We will continue with this topic when we have special guest Stacey MacGlashan who is a single mom and author of "Just You and Me Kid" on the show.

Saying thank you can be a scary yet totally easy and liberating thing. Thanksgiving is upon us and it's time to not just say grace at the table but feel grace in each moment of our lives.

We’ll explore the many layers of forgiveness and how it appears as a very common theme in all the major religions. Can you forgive and forget? Can you forgive yourself? Are there any exceptions to the ultimate forgiveness rules? Joining us will be Mommas Pearls resident self love guru, Macha Eindbender. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Macha Einbender is momma, coach, mentor, guide and the ultimate Spiritual Makeover Artist. She is a teacher of Practical Spirituality and Meditation. She is Gabrielle Bernstein’s go to girl for daily ~Ingterviews and her interviews appear on www.HerFuture.com. She holds regular workshops, events and guided meditations and is a spiritual force of nature helping people find the light within them. She is certified in teaching Overcoming Negativity Addiction and is the co-host of Feel It Real Radio with Denise Coates which has been airing for 4 years on blogtalkradio. www.SpiritualMakeoverArtist.com

When you are born into your family, it comes with certain coding and we all seem to start to follow in the pathway of your parents. What happens when your parents are Hollywood Royalty and their BFF’s are Red Skelton and Ronald Reagan and your un-official godfather is Frank Sinatra? Well, we will find out and talk to Cynthia’s longtime client, friend and mentor Stephen Simon, the godfather of Spiritual Cinema and author of the newly published book “Bringing Back the Old Hollywood” available at www.TheOldHollywood.com. This is a show not to be missed! ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Stephen Simon was born into a successful Hollywood family. His father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a producer/director who made films with stars such as Abbott and Costello, Lana Turner, and Red Skelton. He worked as both a producer and an executive at Columbia Pictures under the legendary Harry Cohn, producing films such as Born Yesterday, the 1950 film that garnered a Best Actress Oscar for star Judy Holliday. Sylvan Simon died when Stephen was four years old, an event which compelled Frank Sinatra to become Stephen’s “godfather”. Stephen’s mother Harriet remarried Armand Deutsch, a film producer at MGM who produced films with stars such as Robert Taylor, James Stewart, and Grace Kelly. Armand Deutsch adopted Stephen, changing the young boy’s last name to Deutsch. In 1996, Stephen legally changed his name back to Simon. He went on to produce Academy Award nominee, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, the cult classic SOMEWHERE IN TIME, and produced and directed INDIGO and CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD and co-founded THE SPIRITUAL CINEMA CIRCLE.

As we begin Melissa and I’s birthday month we’re going to get some astrological guidance from Mommas Pearls Jungian astrologer Cathy Pagano http://www.wisdom-of-astrology.com. She’ll give us the cosmic scoop on America’s chart particularly during this election period, as well as our charts for the year.

In honor of Halloween we are hosting our first annual on air Masquerade Ball!! As Colette says "nothing gives more assurances than a mask." The trick to this Halloween treat is that everyone on the show must be disguised as a famous parent - whether living or dead, current or historic, real or fictional. It's gonna be a hoot!

We are just getting our Octoberfest party started! This week we are planning to dive deep into fun with two hot mommas, Elizabeth Mascali and Dawn Sandomeno, whose turned their successful blog www.partybluprints.com into a book 'Plan To Party'. Whats the worse part of any party - the planning stress - well let's table that stress and see why it's important to celebrate with a clear head and open heart.

The last few weeks have been super intense on the show and we are in major need a of a super sized brownie sundae! Before we go gluttoness we want to do it in a conscious, healthful way and take these lessons into the Halloween season. So this week we take a pause to celebrate the sweeter, simpler things in life. Joining us is ALEXANDRA ZISSU. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Alexandra is a writer, editor, speaker, and greenproofer. She's the author of "The Conscious Kitchen" (Clarkson Potter, 2010), and co-author of "The Complete Organic Pregnancy" (Collins, 2006), plus two books due out in 2011 – one with a grass-fed and organic meat butcher, the other, "Planet Home", with the co-founder of Seventh Generation. She has worked for New York Magazine, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Lifetime and Details magazines, The New York Observer and Women's Wear Daily. Over the past decade, her stories have also appeared in The New York Times, The Green Guide, Plenty, Cookie, Bon Appétit, Health, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Self, Child, Time Out New York, Harper's Bazaar and The Huf?ngton Post, among other publications. She speaks often about all things eco-friendly at private ?rms, mothers' groups, schools, non-profits, and industry expos, and greenproofs – consults about conscious living — for individuals and organizations. She lives in New York with her (organic) family.

Facing bullies in the playground is nothing new and we have all had our fair share of being picked on and perhaps calling someone else a bad name. However, there is a rising concern among parents as children, teenagers and even college students like Tyler Clemente, are taking extreme measures as a result of bullying. The playground for our children is expanding from the monkey bars to cyberspace and there seems to be no reprieve. Our special guest Kirk Smalley shares the tragic story of how is 11 year old son Ty, fell victim to bullying in the worst way, he committed suicide. We begin October with this topic and will be moving from the darkness of it into the light throughout the month. PLEASE BE ADVISED THIS IS AN INTENSELY EMOTIONAL SHOW AND MAY NOT APPROPRIATE FOR ALL. THERE IS ALSO A MOMENT OF SILENCE IN THE BEGINNING.

To wrap up our Back To School month, we'll be exploring the many heartbreaks and triumphs of having a special needs child. Overcoming the initial shock, then empowering yourself in order to get the services your child needs. Joining us this week is Kera McCloughlin, a representative from AUTISM SPEAKS and mother of a boy with Autism as well as award winning mommy blogger Ellen whose blog www.LOVETHATMAX.blogspot.com chronicles her journey with her son Max, who has cerebral palsey.

Education. Ever wonder why there are so many subjects and so many schools? Each child's road map for education is unique, regardless of whether the curriculum is the same. To continue our BACK TO SCHOOL month, this week we'll be exploring the road map via Homeschooling. It's a very personal choice and our special guest is a proud mom who is homeschooling 3 children. We'll find out the how, what, where and why. PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!! :)

Now that we are getting into the school spirit let’s have some fun. Some say language is the fundamental stepping stone for children. Ellen Galinsky (Mind in the Making) showed us how important it is to sing song to your baby so they pick up your native language easier but how easily can they learn new languages?? Apparently, it’s easier then you think and we’ll be welcoming award winning filmmaker and mompreneur, Julia Pimsleur Levine, to talk about her line of Little Pim products www.littlepim.com and the cognitive development of children and languages. ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST: Award-winning filmmaker (and mom) Julia Pimsleur Levine created Little Pim to fill a need in the children’s video market for a top-quality, language-learning DVD series for the very young. Working with a team of filmmakers, animators, childhood development experts, linguists and an advising neuroscientist, Julia invested three years to develop the most comprehensive language series designed specifically for this age group.