PG: Parental Guidance (Needed) Podcast

I loved catching up with award-winning journalist, Deborah Norville. I read one of her books years ago, and she inspired me to be in the business. Her children are grown now, but she had some great advice balancing your career and your work life.

Meredith and Roxanne catch up on what the first month back-to-school has been like? Does it feel like you are treading water? Does it feel like you'll never catch up on what you have to do to prepare your kids for school each day and yourself for what you have to do? You are NOT alone. Have some laughs about parenting with Meredith and Roxanne.

Think back to when you were a kid...how did you feel about going back to school? I was always terrified. And I liked learning, and I loved my friends, but back-to-school gave me anxiety. Now, that anxiousness has carried over into adulthood, but I try to hide it from my kids, so I don't pass it on to them. Fester stopped by (my buddy, Fester, from the MJ Morning Show) and we chatted all about how we adjust to back-to-school as parents and co-workers.

Meredith and Roxanne talk about how busy they feel during this time of year and how annoying it can be to other people when you are wearing your "busy badge." It feels like busyness is your excuse. "Sorry. Can't get together. Too busy." It's like you hide behind your busy badge. The conversation quickly went from talking about being busy to binge drinking. And Meredith and Roxanne made some embarrassing confessions.

We hear quite often about adults and their bad airport behavior by adults. This time we have a story to share about a kid gone wild on the luggage conveyor belt. Roxanne catches up with Froggy from the MJ Morning Show. (Mer will be back on the next edition.) Froggy and his wife Kim are raising boys. Rox and Mer only have little girls. What's it like with just little boys to take care of? Are the inmates running the asylum? Oh, no. Froggy and Kim run a tight ship.  

Meredith has a big decision to make about whether or not she should go to a wedding abroad. It is in ITALY. So how can she pass that up?

Roxanne's daughter has a weird tick where she wants her mom to keep repeating the story of Roxanne's night out with Meredith. She asks her to tell it to her at bedtime. "And then what happened, Mom? And then what did you order for dinner? And then what to drink?" Kids get hyper focused on strange things.

This is a very personal topic we got into this week, but it hits on some of the things that are most important to us on PG Parental Guidance Needed: friendships and conversations with kids.  A couple of weeks ago, I lost a best friend to cancer. She was such an incredible person and friend, and I am so blessed to have a once-in-a-lifetime person in my life like her. Jana was a huge part of my children's lives. It was hard to tell them what happened, but we tried to prepare them. They knew she was very sick. I'm trying to let Jana's memory live on by teaching my kids that we can honor her by being like her. Here I've edited together some of my conversations with my daughter about Jana. I don't always know if I'm saying the right things to help her process her grief and feel better, but conversation is always good, right? Not to spoil the podcast, but in case you don't have time to listen to the entire thing, I'll sum up the 3 rules: 1. See your friend as the highest version of themselves and support them in        following their dreams. 2. Love and cherish what they love. 3. Know how best to handle them (when they need to be handled with care or have the sense shaken into them or the crazy shaken out of them). And I love this photo of us because my face looks like I was having some sort of meltdown, and Jana is talking me down from a cliff. The first anecdote I share is about supporting your friend's dreams. Some of it was lost on my six-year-old daughter so I rushed through it a little bit. But I'll give you a few more details. I worked at a small cable news sports station. We mostly covered high school sports, but we were growing and trying to branch out with some professional sports segments. Ever year the Turn 2 Foundation held a big golf tournament in Tampa, and I wanted to cover it for our station. I emailed Sharlee Jeter and requested access so we could put together a feature on the good things she, Derek and her family were doing to help kids. She set up for us to have press passes for the weekend event. On Friday, my boss told me, "Sorry, but we don't have any photographers available for the weekend." I called Jana and defeatedly told her the interviews wouldn't be happening, and I'd have to reach out to Sharlee and tell her there was a change of plans. She thought about it, then called me back, and said, "Roxanne, I have an idea." Her idea was to have my stepdad (who is a photographer) go with me and pose as my videographer. And back in 2006, there was a big difference between a photographer and a videographer. It was the days in our business when we had to have a videographer to operate and carry the big, clunky camera. My stepdad was willing to do it. Amazing! I checked out the equipment and gave him a quick tutorial based on my limited knowledge. When we got to the event at Rattle Fish Grill in Tampa, I was excited to see that we had an amazing set up inside the restaurant (all the other local stations were outside). And we were inside next to ESPN and the YES Network. As I mentioned, I'd given my stepdad a very brief lesson on camera operation, but I'd failed to show him how to set up the tripod. So he's fumbling with it, and we are looking like total imposters and catching side eye from the real reporters and photographers from the big-time networks. I grabbed the tripod and ran to a corner to try to figure it out myself. When I think back to this moment, as embarrassing as it was at the time, I'm filled with tears of laughter. And I'm also thankful Jimmy (my stepdad) was so willing to be my hero. And thanks to Jana, I'm reminded there's always an idea out there to think of to solve a problem and make something big happen. That was a significant assignment. We put together a good interview segment with Derek and his family. The footage was airable, even though the guy shooting the video had never touched a professional TV camera until that night. And that night my (now) husband saw me in person for the first time. I'm sure he couldn't help but be attracted to the mess of a reporter fumbling and bumbling in the corner with her equipment. (How could anyone resist that?) Every time Jana and I talked, if she was brainstorming with me or helping me solve a problem, I knew it was going to be good. She'd say, "Roxanne, an idea just popped into my head..." And it was like, hold on tight. Here we go! We've been devastated to lose Jana, but she made our lives magical while she was here, and I'm very much in recognition of the fact that the friendship I experienced is once-in-a-lifetime, but I want to try to be that kind of friend to my loved ones by following the 3 rules.

Meredith prepares for her girls' trip to Miami. Pack the bikinis and leave the mom guilt behind.

Are you asking yourself, "What am I gonna do all summer to keep my kids entertained?" Don't stress. Less is more. Sometimes it feels like we need to have them occupied every second of the day, but just let them be spontaneous and don't put undue pressure on yourself. Keep summer simple!

You can never go wrong giving Mama jewelry for Mother's Day. Its beautiful, meaningful and sentimental. Totally reflects her. Loved chatting with Julie Weintraub to get some wonderful ideas and to find out about the specials at Gold and Diamond Source.

Have you ever been ghosted by another mom who you've done playdates with? It happened to Meredith. Oh, well. Not all moms are soul mate playdates. We'll muddle thought the rejection together.

Meredith was being grilled by her daughter on where babies come from. She did some quick improv to hold her off, but she'll be asking more questions soon enough. Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

There's nothing more terrifying than shopping with your child or being at a theme park and losing sight of them. Sounds completely irresponsible, but it can happen in a blink. It happened recently to Roxanne. A terrifying two minutes but thank goodness, a happy ending and lesson learned.

Warning! Warning! This podcast turned a little racy! Meredith and Roxanne were talking about something completely and related to children, and then…the topic turned to their sex lives. You've been warned!

No, no!!! These two things have nothing to do with one another. No one broke a bone because of too much tequila. One of Roxanne's daughters might have broken a bone (or maybe not). And Meredith and Roxanne (on a separate occasion) may have done tequila shots.

Meredith and Roxanne try to come up with solutions to deal with school bullies.

Roxanne Wilder chatted with a mother-daughter team like no other. Julie Weintraub and her daughter Emily were on their way to a luncheon and had a chance to share some tips for Valentine's Day...what to buy that special someone to show how much love them. Julie also gave us her philosophy on kids and social media. They also shared the details about our special promotion for an amazing Valentine's Day giveaway on Q105!  

Meredith is wondering why in the world Aubrey is hanging out with the class clowns and acting a little class clownish herself. Hmmm? Maybe the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Meredith and Roxanne have a great time reminiscing about all of their favorite Gasparilla memories and how they are quite indicative of their life progressions...how they experienced Gasparilla pre and post babies. And Meredith has a rare weekend alone with Anthony so Roxanne gives her advice on how she should spend her time.

Welcome to a new season of PG Parental Guidance Needed! We're kicking it off with our chat with the stars of A&E's Zombie House Flipping, Dolmar Cross and Samantha Middleton.

There's so much to get done in December. So many lists to check twice. Meredith and Roxanne talk all about everything holiday related from work parties to Christmas shopping pet peeves.

Will the third time be the charm for Meredith as she tries to schedule Olivia's baptism once again? And Roxanne wonders if her five-year-old is getting to the age where she should have a say as to what her mom posts online about her (i.e., pictures, videos). 

Happy Thanksgiving! Wishing you and your families a dysfunctionality-free holiday. ;) (And if you accomplish that, please let us know how.) Here's one from the archives. We'll catch up with you next week! Meredith has a problem. She wants more quality one-on-one time with Anthony, but he is not too keen on having people who aren't family members watch their children. At what age is it appropriate to let your kids have sleepovers?

Meredith and Roxanne talk about RSV and how it seems to be circulating in the Tampa Bay area. Roxanne's daughter's obsession with "Rose" from the Titanic doesn't seem to be slowing down, even after Halloween when she had a chance to dress as her.

Roxanne wanted to take her kids to Meredith's daughter's birthday, but she took a quick, unexpected trip with her family to Disney World...and (bad mom) didn't actually take them to the parks. Actually, there are plenty of things to do at Disney aside from the big theme parks.

We always like to check in with pediatrician, Dr. Mike Jordan. On this episode he lets us know what to freak out about and what to not worry about when it comes to kids sniffles and bugs.

Meredith gets a chance to tell us all about her family's Disney Cruise. But first...our hearts go out to those who've experienced loss and devastation because of Hurricane Ian. The hurricane was making a track to hit Tampa Bay, and it seems it was nothing more than an inconvenience with school out and businesses closed. Our hearts are with our neighbors in the southern part of the state.

Meredith has a problem. She wants more quality one-on-one time with Anthony, but he is not too keen on having people who aren't family members watch their children. At what age is it appropriate to let your kids have sleepovers?

When did your kids give up their pacifiers? Meredith's daughter is hanging on to hers and Meredith is worried about her getting pacify-er teeth (like Roxanne's daughter did). But good news...They self-corrected!

It's not only a new experience for the kiddos, but it's nerve wracking for parents sending their kids off to kindergarten for the first time. Meredith and Roxanne share what they are anxious about.

What is the expression? The days are long, but the years are fast? When you send your baby off for the first day of kindergarten, it makes you realize how quickly time passes. From the time they are babies until it's time for elementary school can feel like the blink of an eye. Roxanne chats with her morning crew about feeling emotional over the milestones.

Has your child ever had a night terror or a really scary dream? Roxanne's two-year-old woke up completely disoriented, and it was a struggle getting her to realize it was just a bad dream.  

How do you teach your children about processing grief when the family loses a loved one? Should they attend the funeral? Meredith is going through it right now, and Roxanne lost loved ones earlier in the year. And Meredith poses a real head scratcher (that she'd previously posed to her morning show crew). Would you rather cheat on your spouse or rat out your best friend for cheating on their spouse. No fun either way! 

If you ask your friends this question, the answers may run the gamut. Meredith and Roxanne talk about what age they were when their parents had the big bird and bees convo with them. And in a separate conversation, Meredith asks Roxanne if she ever sends Doug any "sexy" pics.

Meredith and Roxanne catch up on all the back-to-school stuff they are behind on. They've both got little ones getting ready to start kindergarten. And they reminisce about how stressful it was trying to make and keep friends in middle school.

We call this the PG podcast, but this one might have to get a PG-13 rating. Meredith and Roxanne chat about how they are getting their grooves back after pregnancy. It's all about finding the time of day that you are in the mood and having a good line of communication with your hubby.

Meredith and Roxanne talk about ways to keep the kids active during the summer. They discuss options for camps. And they also talk about how they are both a little alarmed by how much their five-year-olds enjoy taking selfies.

Is it a challenge trying to get your kiddos excited about reading over the summer? Mer and Rox are facing the same ordeal and trying to come up with ways to make it fun and not a chore.

Do you have kiddos that make special requests when in come to mealtime? Turn their nose up at the food that's put in front of them? Meredith is going through the picky eating phase and is looking for solutions to sneak in some good healthy foods and a little variety.

From spring cleaning to getting out and doing more fun stuff...Meredith and Roxanne chat about how to stay organized (or get organized) and new patterns when it comes to sick kids or sick mamas.

Meredith and Roxanne catch up on Roxanne's trip to the Bahamas, Meredith's friendship with Joey Fatone, and they shared a little more insight on how to decipher family and loved ones' love languages.