Power of Moms Radio

Mom, you are doing the hardest job in the world! Be kind to yourself! In this month when we celebrate love, give a little (actually a lot) of that love to yourself! These three moms share ways they've tossed "mom-guilt" out the window and decided to be compassionate to themselves. Show notes at Powerofmoms.com/season5-episode3

Valentine's Day can be more than just a day to celebrate that "one special someone." Here are three moms' ideas about how couples and families can make this a special day of celebrating their love. Read more at PowerofMoms.com

It's a new year! And with that fresh start, many moms pause and think about their goals for the new year. Though it's a challenge to find that sweet spot between overwhelm and stagnation, here are three moms' ideas for setting realistic and worthwhile goals.

The holiday season can be so much fun! But if we aren't careful it can also become busy, stressful, and overwhelming. These three moms have found ways to truly enjoy the holidays in more simple, deliberate ways.  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com

It's here! The time for giving. Deliberate moms share ways you can give meaningful gifts during the holidays without giving yourself a ton of stress and debt. Show notes at PowerofMoms.com.

In many countries, gratitude gets the spotlight in the autumn with Thanksgiving celebrations. But it's something that can bless our families year-round. Here are three moms ideas for encouraging gratitude in simple ways. Read the full post at PowerofMoms.com.

In a month when we try extra hard to remember to be grateful, here are three moms' ideas for how and why gratitude itself actually blesses our lives.  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/season4-episode16

How does a deliberate mother celebrate Halloween? Here are three moms' ideas about how to bring in the fun and scare out the frightful!  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com

It may seem like every moment of our days are filled with mom-duties, but the truth is that there are little pockets of time (or more, depending on your season of mothering) that you can claim all for yourself. And then when you do have a few minutes for you, what do you deliberately do with them? Here are three moms' ideas for how to wisely use that mom-time.  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com

The media may love a good fight... but moms do NOT! Is it even possible to keep our kids from fighting? Maybe not 100% of the time, but there are lots of ways to drastically reduce the fighting in our homes. Here are three moms' ideas for calling a cease-fire on the fights. Show notes at: powerofmoms.com/season4-episode13

While it doesn't always feel funny at the time, motherhood can be filled with lots of humorous moments! It's healthy to have a good laugh every once in a while and a relief to know that you're not the only mom "that" has happened to. Have a good laugh with three moms who chose to look at the humor in their mothering.  For full show notes please visit https://powerofmoms.com/season4-episode11

Extended family comes with their own set of joys and challenges. How can deliberate mothers connect their family with extended relatives in positive ways?  For full show notes visit https://powerofmoms.com/season4-episode11

Our thoughts are powerful. What we think has the ability to influence what we say and what we do. Here are three mom's insights on how what we think can make all the difference in our life. Find show notes at: https://powerofmoms.com/season4-episode10

Summer Vacation may be staring back at us like a big blank block of days. But with a little planning and a lot of balance, it can be a wonderful time to learn, play, and connect with our families.  This audio contains: Ten Summer Activities for the Entire Family by Allyson Reynolds, Make Summer Learning Fun by Karin Brown, and  Don't Fix the Pains of Summer by Amanda Hamilton Roos. Show notes at: https://powerofmoms.com/season4-episode9.

How do we end up with so much stuff? It can be a challenge to manage all of the things that purposefully (and not so purposefully) end up within our homes. Here are posts that three moms wrote about their experiences with all the "stuff!"  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com

Motherhood can sometimes be an isolating task, and we all need a community of friends to help support us in it. Today we read to you three articles from the Power of Moms blog that share thoughts and ideas for how to create and strengthen your relationships, particularly with other mothers.  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com

Getting the whole family on vacation certainly takes a little bit of effort, but the memories created together can be totally worth it. These moms share some creative ideas for making family vacation an enjoyable experience for everyone.   For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com

Technology for good or for bad is here to stay. It isn't a question about technology being a huge part of our lives, but it is worth the time to consider how we will let technology impact our decisions, and our mothering.  Deliberate mothers make intentional choices especially about how to use the tools we have available to us.  Here are three moms perspectives on how technology has impacted them and their families, and what they are choosing to do about it.  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com.

The family dinner dilemma! We know it's so valuable, but it is not always easy to get a meal on the table. Our authors today share some wisdom and strategies to not just 'get through' the experience, but even enjoy it.   For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com

Enjoy today's audio post- all full of ways to be able to say no, in order to better say yes to what matters most for you! For full show notes, please visit https://powerofmoms.com/4-4.

Motherhood is important and we want to do it well. But sometimes this good desire creates "mommy guilt" when we don't think we're doing it well. These articles share three perspectives on how that guilt creeps in and how to kick it out.

Motherhood can be tough and it can be messy. Included in these articles are ways to help you cope with all the craziness of motherhood, as well as helping assure you that what you are doing right now is enough.  For full show notes, visit powerofmoms.com

Power of Moms authors Andrea Rasband, Kristi Linton and Melissa Fredrick each share a unique and personal experience- adding to the thousands of stories from other deliberate mothers in our community. Their stories are a reminder that patience with ourselves helps us bring love to our families.  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/4-1

Join Dawn Wessman, our Instagram Coordinator, as she reads three timely and well-loved posts about defeating fear, mini catastrophes, and expressing gratitude. See show notes at: https://powerofmoms.com/our-thoughts-matter-defeating-fear-mini-catastrophes-holiday-self-care-audio-posts-season-3-episode-11

Technology has changed so much in the past decade. As a mother juggling so many things, it can feel really overwhelming knowing how to navigate screen time on top of everything else! As deliberate mothers, we know we need to be intentional about how we model technology use and proactive in preparing our children for life in a digital world. But how do we do that? One of our Power of Moms team members, Andrea Davis, has made it her job to help parents learn positive strategies so they can worry less and connect more with their kids. In today’s audio post, Andrea shares Five Strategies to Help Your Family Fight Technology Addiction. Even if you don’t feel like anyone in your family has a technology addiction, these ideas will help if your family is simply slipping into some undesirable screen time habits. For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/3-10

I (April) recently got out of a rut. I’d been feeling tired, frustrated, and ready to “give up” in some ways. (Have you been there?) Here are three questions that helped me get out, and I hope they’ll help you, too! We each have a unique mission, and it’s time to BE who we are. (For Show Notes, see https://powerofmoms.com/its-time-to-be-what-we-believe/)

Do you want to manage your energy—so you can match the appropriate tasks to the appropriate time of day, and ultimately be more present and happy around your family? Today we’re joined by Danielle Porter, a team member here at Power of Moms, who has created a genius way to map her energy. For photos and links, please visit https://powerofmoms.com/3-8/ ‎

We are wrapping up our Holiday Planning Workshop with Lesson 5, where we put our plan into action! We'll show you how to make this happen using paper or digitally. If you want an incredibly organized holiday season--with low stress and lots of support in getting the logistics taken care of, listen to this audio--and then sign up for the support templates, videos, and photos at https://PowerOfMoms.com/Holiday.

Here in Lesson 4 of our Holiday Planning Workshop we've taken the audio from our video lesson, detailing how to organize your brainstorm from Lesson 2 digitally. We teach the steps to follow in Asana, but feel free to use your favorite digital project manager. Prefer paper? Go back to Lesson 3 to learn how to do this same step with Post-it notes! Want the video? Sign up at https://PowerOfMoms.com/Holiday.

Today in our Holiday Planning Workshop Lesson 3 we organize your brainstormed tasks and projects by time frame, using Post-it notes. Listen in to Lesson 4 to learn how to do this same step digitally! The audio explains the steps but if you want more support sign up for the support templates, videos, and photos at https://PowerOfMoms.com/Holiday.

Lesson 2 of our Holiday Planning Workshop will help you get everything out of your mind through an effective brainstorm session, so that you can more clearly see what matters most. If you want an incredibly organized holiday season--with low stress and lots of support in getting the logistics taken care of, listen to this audio--and then sign up for the support templates, videos, and photos at https://PowerOfMoms.com/Holiday.

Today's podcast features Lesson 1 of our Holiday Planning Workshop. Following David Allen's Natural Planning Model (featured in the book Getting Things Done), we're talking about purpose, principles, and outcome visioning. If you want an incredibly organized holiday season--with low stress and lots of support in getting the logistics taken care of, listen to this audio--and then sign up for the support templates, videos, and photos at https://PowerOfMoms.com/Holiday.

Join April and Saren as they discuss how to plan your holidays so you can focus on what matters most!  Enjoy! For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/3-7 For our special workshop with Power of Moms and LearnDoBecome visit learndobecome.com/holiday

We have three EXCELLENT audio posts today from mothers in our community who will help us learn to gauge our progress, get dinner on the table with help from the children, and reduce the "mom guilt" we feel when we can't do it all. Enjoy!!!!  For full show notes, please visit  https://powerofmoms.com/3-6/

Listen in as April reads three of our popular posts about influence, being kind, and playing with our families.  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/3-5

We recently received this question from a Power of Moms Community member that sparked a great discussion at Power of Moms:   "What low stress, Halloween traditions does your family love? We just received an invite to go trick-or-treating. If you love Halloween, you may be counting down, if you're like me, you may feel dread. What activities can my family do, costumes can I use and decorations can I put out to help this holiday feel uplifting and enjoyable for me, not just an expensive, time consuming way to give my kids candy?"   Listen here to an audio recap via Power of Moms Radio, or visit our show notes to read some of the great ideas shared by our community of moms!  Show notes can be found at powerofmoms.com/3-4  

Today we're presenting three great posts from deliberate mothers in our community who have a LOT of wisdom to share! Enjoy Allyson Reynolds' perspective on how to appreciate the "now," Heidi Bartle's fantastic advice about starting hard conversations with our children about mental illness (or other issues you may be dealing with), and Whitney Archibald's detailed report on how she's created incredible structure and purpose inside her home and family. So grateful to have you with us at Power of Moms!  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/3-3

I KNOW it sounds crazy. How on earth can washing dirty clothes and linens be a beautiful experience? And why would we even want it to be beautiful? Isn’t laundry mundane, dirty work that we should do everything in our power to avoid? Ahhh, I understand the angst associated with laundry. Truly. But today I want to change the way you do laundry. And it has nothing to do with the soap you use or the way you fold or how you set up your laundry schedule. For a summary and Show Notes, visit https://powerofmoms.com/laundry-beautiful-experience

I spent a lot of time worrying about "not being enough" for my children (and everyone else) while they were young. But when I asked my 18-year-old what she actually remembered from her years of childhood, it turns out she didn't even NOTICE all the things I was worried about. Come listen to the conversation and take a deep breath! It all works out.  :) For full show notes, see powerofmoms.com/radio/

We all know what it’s like to feel overwhelmed.  I think that’s a daily occurrence for most mothers. But what do we do when we feel like we can barely breathe? A friend of mine once shared some wise, wise words: “Whenever I feel like my family is ‘getting in the way’ of my life, that’s an indicator that I have too much on my plate.” Light bulb moment!   In this audio post, I’ll share with you a strategy that has consistently helped me to manage what’s on my plate–and in the process, find more joy in my family. I’m confident it will help you to do the same. For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/2-22

So we invited Gretchen to join us on Power of Moms Radio to talk about this idea more in depth. When our homes are a mess, it feels impossible to function. But cleaning closets and wiping kitchen counters seems to “make our brains work better” and enables us to breathe more fully. But is the reverse also true? Does inner calm lead to outer order? Does outer order sometimes create a facade of inner calm? Is the word “contributes” the key here? (Meaning there’s more at play than we may realize?) Listen to this podcast full of new perspectives and quick, actionable tips–and then share your thoughts in the comments!

The new school year is just around the corner, and if you already cringing at the thought of your countertops overrun with projects and papers, today's podcast is here to help! For Show Notes, visit https://powerofmoms.com/bonus-school-papers And for a free video from Alia, where she'll teach your children how to use three simple folders and a calendar to keep their desks and spaces clean, sign up at http://LearnDoBecome.com/s4s

Mother Rachel Nielson found Power of Moms when she had a colicky newborn baby and she felt desperate for hope.  In the years since, her challenges as a mother have changed as her children have gotten older, but she has continued to turn to our community for inspiration.  She has also written articles for our website about concrete ways that she finds hope and fulfillment as a mother, even in the hardest of times. In today’s podcast, Rachel reads four of her articles for you: What If I Don’t Like Playing with My Kids? which outlines six strategies for mothers who don’t naturally play The Best Year of My Life?, which describes her first year of motherhood with a colicky newborn and what she learned Anchored by Beautiful Moments, which includes two strategies for savoring the best moments in motherhood Worth Fighting For, which details her own mother’s 13-year-battle with breast cancer and the ways that she taught Rachel to treasure life and the opportunity to be a mother We hope you will listen to this uplifting podcast, full of hope and ideas for getting through the daily struggles of motherhood, big and small! And don’t forget, YOU can write for Power of Moms too!  Guidelines for submitting can be found here.  We’d love to hear from you about what you are learning and how you are growing each day as a mother.  We love this community of women and the hope that we gain from each other.    

If your children bicker and argue (and we’re guessing they do), what do you do about it? In this week’s encore radio show, Saren and April discuss some of their own experiences handling sibling rivalry (some that work, some that don’t!). They talk about when to ignore the arguing, which discipline strategies work best for them, and where they go for additional answers. Once you’ve listened to the podcast, please share your thoughts below! For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/2-19

Do you start ever  start the day as Mary Poppins but end it as Miss Hannigan? Does your temper sometimes get the best of you? Patience is a virtue that every mom struggles with from time to time. When everyone is throwing needs in our direction and our own needs aren’t being met and our house is a mess and our brain is a jumbled of things we’re worried about, it’s so hard to keep our cool! In this week’s episode, Saren and April talk openly and honestly about some methods they’ve found to be really helpful when it comes to simmering down during situations that are about to boil over. For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/2-17

Are you getting worried about summer? Often we want to use this season wisely and well, but be relaxed at the same time. We want to spend time with our kids, but we also don’t want them to drive us crazy! This audio post has three articles with lots of ideas about how to achieve that perfect summer balance!  For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/2-16

We have three more audio posts for you today! "Self Care Is Not Selfish" by Lucille Zimmerman and "When It Feels Hard to 'Enjoy Every Moment'" by Mary Karlee Mullen and "How to Be a Happy Mother When Everything Isn't Perfect" by Heather Saunders. These are designed specifically to help you find more joy in motherhood, but not because every moment will be FUN, but because you'll learn how to take care of yourself, enjoy the "overall" process, and find joy when life most definitely does NOT feel perfect. So glad to have you here at Power of Moms! For full show notes, please visit https://wp.me/p2dC8Q-dU3.

The power of Getting Things Done is now available for teens, and I am excited to share this brand new book with the deliberate mothers of the world! And when I found out that David Allen, Mike Williams, and Mark Wallace were publishing GTD for Teens, I KNEW we needed to bring them onto Power of Moms Radio! Enjoy this interview where we discuss the why behind the movement--plus specific ways you can implement some of the ideas today! Mike even shares a fun summer tradition he has with his kids where they write ideas for an optimal summer on 3 x 5 cards, and then they visually move them from the "dreaming state" to the "done state" on a cork board. Such a great idea!   Enjoy the episode, and then pre-order the book if you're ready for more!   For full show notes, see www.powerofmoms.com/radio/

This week, we're featuring three amazing posts created by deliberate mothers in our community: "Everyone Needs Backup" by Aubrey Degn, "Exercise Therapy" by Sarah Badat Richardson, and "How to Have Difficult Conversations with Your Child's Teacher" by Amanda Hamilton Roos. We're confident that by the end of this podcast, you'll have some creative ideas for managing the challenges in your home, you'll feel more committed to taking care of yourself, and you'll feel more prepared to tackle any difficult issues that may be going on with your child at school. So excited you're with us, and we're grateful to our team of deliberate mothers who made this podcast possible! For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/2-13

Today’s podcast was recorded with my sister Laura as we were sitting on the grass outside of a conference. Laura had shared a beautiful experience with our mom that happened about 20 years ago, and I just KNEW I needed to share it with you.    It’s a simple story, but we hope that as you listen, you will come to more fully understand that there is power from above that is available for us and for our families.    For full show notes, please visit powerofmoms.com/2-12

We all want resilient children. We want them to be able to overcome worry, anxiety, stress, fear, and all those other emotions that we TOTALLY understand. But how do we do that? How do we incorporate that kind of training into our day-to-day lives as deliberate mothers? Today I'm joined by Sarah Boyd, a mother of two, a cancer survivor, an author, and an expert in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. She's sharing three ways we can help our children to have more courage--which you'll love. Plus, Sarah has created a list of her favorite children's books that teach principles of resilience, courage, and kindness. For full show notes, visit powerofmoms.com/2-11