The Mom Hour with Meagan Francis and Sarah Powers h2rw

Laundry is is a constant: it’s truly with us every day, week, and month of the year. In this first episode of 2023, Meagan and Sarah focus in on the laundry systems and strategies that are working (or not) in our homes, plus our favorite products, the grossest things we deal with, what’s great (and weird) about our laundry rooms, and how seasons of life change the challenges of keeping up with the laundry. If you wear clothes – or live with people who do – this episode is for you. About Our Sponsors The Essential Calendar See a whole season at a glance in a stylish poster that hangs on your wall – AND help a mom-owned business and our podcast at the same time! Save 10% with code THEMOMHOUR or use this link: theessentialcalendar.com/themomhour. When you do, we’ll earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. REINVENT The new name for Meagan’s community for midlife moms is: REINVENT – and it also ties in with the name of her new bimonthly magazine! Go to meaganfrancis.com/bonus to get both a 20% discount on an annual hip to the REINVENT Community AND a free issue of REINVENT magazine. Stitch Fix Stitch Fix makes shopping for clothes so easy. Take a style quiz, then Stitch Fix’s expert stylists will find items exclusively for you. Keep what you love and send back what you don’t. Go to stitchfix.com/themomhour to get $20 off your first purchase. Future The Future app is a new way to do one-on-one personal training that’s all about custom workouts and unlimited — whenever, wherever, and however you need it. Visit tryfuture.com/momhour to start your 30-day, risk-free trial of Future today. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Meagan recommends the book Laundry Love: Finding Joy In A Common Chore for a great reference for changing up your laundry game in the new year. (This is an link.) Sarah gives her laundry product MVP award to this flexible laundry basket. Meagan’s MVP award goes to this square laundry basket. If you loved this episode, check out episode 167 from the archives “Loads And Loads (And Loads) Of Laundry! The holidays tend to make our minds go on overdrive. Our contributor Joanne Ruellos Diaz has a great blog post about how to declutter your brain in 2023! Next week’s episode will be all about goal planning for 2023. We hope you’ll us! Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!) See at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As work-from-home moms, we’re perpetually seeking comfort and warmth during the winter months – stopping JUST SHY of living in pajamas 24/7. If your cozy winter wardrobe needs an update or you’re itching to do some post-Christmas shopping, listen to Episode 397 for Meagan’s and Sarah’s cold-weather fashion faves. us! About Our Sponsors Hiya Health Hiya is a daily children’s vitamin that’s stronger, cleaner, and tastier — made from a blend of 12 farm-fresh fruits and vegetables and 15 essential vitamins. For 50% OFF your first order go to hiyahealth.com/MOMHOUR or enter code MOMHOUR at checkout. Athletic Greens AG1 by Athletic Greens is the category-leading superfood product, bringing comprehensive and convenient daily nutrition to every body. The AG1 powder from Athletic Greens is lifestyle-friendly whether you eat keto, paleo, vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free, and contains less than 1 gram of sugar, no GMOs, no nasty chemicals or artificial anything. Go to athleticgreens.com/momhour for a year’s supply of Vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase of AG1. Pinna Pinna is the only audio on-demand streaming service for kids 3-12, with podcasts, audiobooks, and music all in one safe place with no ads, and no staring at a screen. Just listening. Go to pinna.fm/promo and use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for 50% off your first annual payment The Essential Calendar See a whole season at a glance in a stylish poster that hangs on your wall – AND help a mom-owned business and our podcast at the same time! Save 10% with code THEMOMHOUR or use this link: theessentialcalendar.com/themomhour. When you do, we’ll earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Meagan’s Cozy Mentions Meagan’s loving her Vuori pants in a wide-legged drawstring style, a jogger, and a harem pant. Sweater favs? This alpaca wool sweater and cashmere batwing sweaters from Quince! Meagan added this green sweater dress and this date-night dress to her wardrobe paired with Sheertex tights. The Gwen tall boot from Vionic has been Meagan’s ride-or-die this winter (Vionic is a sponsor – get free shipping with code THEMOMHOUR) Meagan got some new Land’s End jammies on recommendation from a friend. Harper Wilde Bliss Bras Sarah’s Cozy Mentions Favorite pants right now are from Lululemon Like New and she manages to exit the home Old Navy jogger-style PJ pants and style them as if they are NOT pajamas. When in the house, she’s 100% in these J Crew Factory Slippers! Current shoe faves are the Breilin Sneaker in Vapor from Vionic (Vionic is a sponsor – get free shipping with code THEMOMHOUR), and the Ecco Women’s Soft 7 Sneaker One of her fav sweaters is close to this one from Lunya. Sarah also has the Cassie Knit Cardi from Jane ( link) For layering purposes, Sarah has had good luck with Target’s Merona line or this Madewell Tank – but could use a few more recommendations! Don’t miss Chaunie’s new blog post Care For yourSELF In 2023 With These 9 Products To Manage Anxiety Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!) See at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Running a full-time independent podcast company keeps us busy – so busy that we don’t often pause to let listeners in to how it all works! As we approach the end of 2022, Meagan and Sarah share what’s up behind the scenes at The Mom Hour. We start with a lightning round of frequently asked questions (how’d we meet? do we fight? how does the podcast make money?) and move into bigger thoughts about our industry as a whole and the current economic landscape. We also take a look back at how we’ve grown over the years (particularly the past two), profess our love for fellow women podcasters whose names you’ll definitely recognize, and share what’s next for The Mom Hour. Enjoy! Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Sarah referenced this episode of Pantsuit Politics which provides some behind-the-scenes information about the state of the podcast industry. Meagan wrote a guide for ing content creators during a recession that’s PACKED with ideas We couldn’t do this without the of our podcast people! We encourage you to check out their podcasts to them! The Lazy Genius Sorta Awesome 10 Things To Tell You The Popcast What Should I Read Next Pantsuit Politics What Fresh Hell: Laughing In The Face Of Motherhood The Girl Next Door Edit Your Life Didn’t I Just Feed You Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!) See at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You’ve got holiday parenting questions, and Meagan and Sarah have answers. In this very merry Listener Questions episode, we tackle things like how to make the magic happen for your littles while traveling and spending Christmas at grandparents, how to coordinate and facilitate sibling gift giving, how to keep a curious kitten (or two) out of the tree (this is our reality this year!) and suggestions for how to handle the post-holiday blues of packing away Christmas. us! About Our Sponsors Troomi Troomi is a safe and affordable phone that grows with your kids, giving you tons of s and built-in features to keep kids safe. Use code THEMOMHOUR at shop.troomi.com for $75 off the purchase of any Troomi device. Ritual Ritual is formulated with key nutrients, including Vitamin D3, to help fill gaps in the diet. Ritual is now available for women, men, and teens, scientifically developed to help different life stages including their bestselling prenatal multivitamin.  Get 10% off your first three months at ritual.com/THEMOMHOUR Vegamour Vegamour is a holistic approach to hair wellness that incorporates clinically tested plant-based ingredients that work in tandem to promote healthy, beautiful hair naturally. Go to vegamour.com/themomhour and use code themomhour to save 20% on your first order Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode We have Gift Guides for just about anyone on our Blog this holiday season. Want more on the Cat V. Christmas Tree Topic? Our Facebook Community had lots of advice for handling a curious kitty interested in the tree. We have more Listener Questions, Holiday Edition Episodes! Check these out from the archives: Episode 79, Episode 134, and 2018 Holiday Edition. Sarah wrote an essay titled “Christmas Trees On The Curb” about the bittersweet feelings of putting away Christmas. Don’t miss our Instagram Live tomorrow! Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!)

Got resentment? Managing anxiety? Filled with hope? You’re not alone. The holidays provide a colorful snack platter of emotions – many of which we experience within a single day (or even moment!). Today it’s our honor to bring you the voices of eight moms, each of whom explores a different holiday feeling: anticipation, overwhelm, nostalgia, grief, anxiety, wonder, resentment and hope. In addition to our contributing voices, Meagan and Sarah also chat about our own hopes and feelings about Holiday Season 2022. Grab a cozy warm beverage and settle in! About Our Sponsors Troomi Troomi is a safe and affordable phone that grows with your kids, giving you tons of s and built-in features to keep kids safe. Use code THEMOMHOUR at shop.troomi.com for $75 off the purchase of any Troomi device. Vionic Vionic has the most ive shoes…ever. Their arch technology is designed for all-day wear, so that your feet can be comfortable no matter where you are going.  Go to vionicshoes.com/themomhour for free shipping. Pinna Pinna is the only audio on-demand streaming service for kids 3-12, with podcasts, audiobooks, and music all in one safe place with no ads, and no staring at a screen. Just listening. Go to pinna.fm/promo and use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for 50% off your first annual payment Hiya Health Hiya is a daily children’s vitamin that’s stronger, cleaner, and tastier — made from a blend of 12 farm-fresh fruits and vegetables and 15 essential vitamins.  For 50% OFF your first order go to hiyahealth.com/MOMHOUR or enter code MOMHOUR at checkout. Links We Mention (Or Should Have) In This Episode We have Gift Guides for just about anyone on our Blog this holiday season! Don’t miss our Instagram live on Wednesday, December 14. It’s all about our fun, fluffy holiday habits! You can read the essay Sarah wrote for The Happiest Home B 2012 (and published in The HuffPost in 2013) about the emotional experience of being a mom and feeling responsible for creating new, family traditions during the holidays. Or you can listen to it here. The following Mom Hour Contributors are featured in this episode Jennifer Carroll, mom to twins from Oklahoma, read her essay, Anticipation Stacy Bronec, mom of 3 from Montana, read her essay, Overwhelm Emily Roark, mom of 3 from Indianapolis, read her essay about Nostalgia Kia Hammond, mom of 4 from Central Pennsylvania, read her essay, Grief Joanne Ruelos Diaz, mom of 2 from New Jersey, read her essay, Anxiety Chaunie Brusie, a mom of 5 from Michigan, read her essay, Wonder Joanna Martin, mom of 3 from Dallas, read her essay, Resentment Sandy Hsu, mom of 2 from from LA, read her essay, Hope Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!) Listen to More Than Mom Holiday Episodes! Hit Play On One Of These Episodes:

“Mom, is Santa Jesus’s grandpa?” If you’ve found yourself in the (somehow surprising?) position of Adult In Charge Of The Holidays, you too might be on the receiving end of kids’ questions about what’s going on, exactly, with all these rituals and traditions. The answers don’t always come easy, because even as adults it’s not always obvious how (or whether) to carry our own family of origin’s traditions into a new generation, how to merge faiths and cultures with our partners, and how to explain it all meaningfully to our kids. In today’s Voices episode, Sarah chats with three of The Mom Hour team about bringing traditions forward from the past, creating new ones that feel right for right now, and navigating interfaith and intercultural dynamics. It’s a vulnerable, nuanced, and sometimes funny topic, and while we don’t pretend to have every aspect represented or covered today, we invite you to us as we learn a little from one another! About Our Sponsors Vionic Vionic has the most ive shoes…ever. Their arch technology is designed for all-day wear, so that your feet can be comfortable no matter where you are going.  Go to vionicshoes.com/themomhour for free shipping. Pinna Pinna is the only audio on-demand streaming service for kids 3-12, with podcasts, audiobooks, and music all in one safe place with no ads, and no staring at a screen. Just listening. Go to pinna.fm/promo and use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for 50% off your first annual payment Storyworth Storyworth is an online service that helps you and your loved ones connect through sharing stories and memories – and preserves them for years to come. Save $10 on your first purchase when you go to storyworth.com/momhour KiwiCo KiwiCo delivers monthly science and art projects that celebrate kids’ natural curiosity. With KiwiCo, kids get to explore different topics each month, from rainbows to rocket ships and everything in between! Get 50% off your first month plus FREE shipping on ANY crate line with code THEMOMHOUR at kiwico.com Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode We have Gift Guides for just about anyone on our Blog this holiday season! Meet our contributors featured in this episode: Catie Parrish, Joanne Rueles Diaz and Katherine DeVries. Catie is a devout coffee drinker. She loves to ground EightO’Clock coffee beans each morning. Joanne shared how much she loves genmaicha tea! Here’s another link to one of her favorites. Catie shared how she incorporates activities in her home throughout the holidays including the Catholic traditions: The Advent Wreath and St. Nicholas Day. Katherine and Sarah both recommend attending The Winter Fantasy Sawdust Festival if you live in Southern California Katherine suggests checking out this kid-friendly, jewish recipe website for all your holiday baking and cooking needs. Catie likes to incorporate this Chocolate Mousse and this Polish Cookie into her family holiday traditions. Joanne’s family and friends Eat 12 Grapes for good luck at midnight to ring in the New Year. Sarah’s family searches for the almond in this Danish Almond Rice Pudding recipe every year on Christmas Eve! Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!)

Planning, shopping, wrapping…Oh My! Today we’re featuring YOUR genius House Rules for gifting and giving this holiday season. We chat creative ways for extending the fun on the big day (without more buying), self care for mom after a wrapping marathon, what Santa brings (and doesn’t), how to handle extended family gift giving, AND gifts from the cat (yep, you read that correctly). us! About Our Sponsors Troomi Troomi is a safe and affordable phone that grows with your kids, giving you tons of s and built-in features to keep kids safe. Use code THEMOMHOUR at shop.troomi.com for $75 off the purchase of any Troomi device. Scholastic Cat Kid Comic Club: Collaborations is out November 29, so pick up a copy today wherever you buy books. Go to Scholastic.com/Pilkey for more information on the latest book in the Cat Kid Comic Club series. Tilly Storm Tilly Storm is an intimacy coach who focuses specifically on busy moms who want to more fully experience pleasure and connection. Whether you’ve lost your libido, want to deepen intimacy with your partner or just want to experience more pleasure in all aspects of your life, Tilly is there for you. Tilly’s free five-day private podcast training at themomhour.com/tilly Skylight Frames With Skylight’s smart family calendar, you can sync all the different calendars your family already uses and display them together on a beautiful, touchscreen display.  Get $20 off your purchase of a Skylight Calendar when you go skylightcal.com and enter code HOUR. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode We have Gift Guides for just about anyone on our Blog this holiday season!10 Quality Puzzle Brands For The Little & Grown-Up Puzzle Lovers In Your Life 8 Kitchen Gadget Gift Ideas For Home Cooks & Hobby Bakers Let The Enneagram Guide Your Gifting This Holiday Season Facilitating Grandma and Grandpa “Thank-Yous” on Christmas Morning from afar can get tricky. We shared lots of ideas for this in a recent episode. We mentioned St. Nicholas Day a few times in this episode. Not familiar with this Day/Tradition? Learn more about it here. Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!) Listen to More House Rules Episodes! Hit Play On One Of These Episodes:

Can’t we all just get along? (Or maybe, more accurately: Can ANYONE, EVER, just get along?) From playground drama to cousin power dynamics, sibling bickering to neighborly awkwardness, there’s no avoiding relationship challenges as families grow, change, and evolve. Today’s episode brings together some of the common questions we’ve gotten from listeners over the years about helping kids learn to play well and fight fair. us! About Our Sponsors Athletic Greens AG1 by Athletic Greens is the category-leading superfood product, bringing comprehensive and convenient daily nutrition to every body. The AG1 powder from Athletic Greens is lifestyle-friendly whether you eat keto, paleo, vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free, and contains less than 1 gram of sugar, no GMOs, no nasty chemicals or artificial anything.  Go to athleticgreens.com/momhour for a year’s supply of Vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase of AG1. Vionic Vionic has the most ive shoes…ever. Their arch technology is designed for all-day wear, so that your feet can be comfortable no matter where you are going.  Use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for free shipping on vionicshoes.com. Skylight Frames With Skylight’s smart family calendar, you can sync all the different calendars your family already uses and display them together on a beautiful, touchscreen display.  Get $20 off your purchase of a Skylight Calendar when you go skylightcal.com and enter code HOUR. Storyworth Storyworth is an online service that helps you and your loved ones connect through sharing stories and memories – and preserves them for years to come. Save $10 on your first purchase when you go to storyworth.com/momhour Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode If you listen and one of the recordings was about your child we’d love to hear from you! Ashley asks for advice about how to handle the dynamics of elementary school friendships from Episode 52. Tessa asks how to help a girl trio of cousins get along without forcing inclusiveness or letting hurt feelings dominate from Episode 73. Rachel sent in a question asking how to help her 14-month-old and 4-year-old get along and play together from Episode 122. What’s a mom to do when the sibling bickering is NON STOP? Sarah, a mom from our listener community, looked to Meagan and Sarah for advice about this painful part of parenting from Episode 288. An anonymous mom looks for advice about how to extract your family from a sticky situation with neighbor friends whose parenting style makes you uncomfortable, which originally aired in Episode 175. Sign up for our email newsletter! Do you have a Listener Question about the Holidays for Meagan and Sarah? Don’t forget to send them in by December 5, 2022. (Voicemails are our favorite!!) Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!)

The toy catalogs have arrived and the lists are being made! It’s normal for kids to wish and want all season long, and it’s ALSO normal for all those “gimmies” to get on parents’ nerves (or make us worry that we’re raising entitled kids!). In today’s episode, Meagan and Sarah talk about what it looks like to help kids cultivate gratitude (it’s a long game, trust us), how to allow them to hope and wish while providing reasonable expectations, and how to model accepting gifts with gratitude and grace. Most of all we’re here to normalize this tension between greed and gratitude in kids: It’s not you. It’s not them. It’s just not YET. us! (Suggestion: Pair this episode with On Greed & Gratitude, Episode 76 from 2016!) About Our Sponsors Ritual Ritual is formulated with key nutrients, including Vitamin D3, to help fill gaps in the diet. Ritual is now available for women, men, and teens, scientifically developed to help different life stages including their bestselling prenatal multivitamin.  Get 10% off your first three months at ritual.com/THEMOMHOUR Stitch Fix Stitch Fix makes shopping for clothes so easy. Take a style quiz, then Stitch Fix’s expert stylists will find items exclusively for you. Keep what you love and send back what you don’t. Go to stitchfix.com/themomhour to get $20 off your first purchase Vegamour Vegamour is a holistic approach to hair wellness that incorporates clinically tested plant-based ingredients that work in tandem to promote healthy, beautiful hair naturally. Go to vegamour.com/themomhour and use code themomhour to save 20% on your first order Lomi Lomi is an electric countertop composter that turns scraps into dirt in under four hours. If you want to reduce food waste and try composting in your kitchen, Lomi makes it easy! Head to LOMI.COM/THEMOMHOUR and use the promo code THEMOMHOUR to get $50 off your Lomi Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode This episode pairs well with an oldie but goodie from the archives: On Greed And Gratitude Sarah’s family does “Appreciation, Aha, Apology” at family meetings. Here’s more on the activity (which she borrowed from an amazing first grade teacher!). Meagan mentioned Nancy Davis Kho’s The Thank You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter Of Gratitude At A Time. (This is an link.) The Little Book Of Joy: 365 Ways To Celebrate Every Day was written by our contributor Joanne Ruelos Diaz and focuses on small ways to notice what is good around you, day by day. (This is an link.) The recent blog post Creating An Experience-Based “Kindness Advent” Tradition With Kids pairs nicely with this episode. We have an Instagram-only episode on Wednesday, November 16, about just how basic we are, which pairs with Sunday’s More Than Mom: Are We Basic? Hope to see you then!

Trader Joe’s. Yoga. Book Club. Cute boots and crunchy leaves. Today Meagan and Sarah just want to know: “Are we basic?” us for a fun More Than Mom episode with deep thoughts on this totally fluffy topic, including a look back at different eras in our lives when we’ve been trend-averse and other times when we’ve embraced mainstream culture. We talk about how it’s not as easy as it sounds to “like what we like” and leave it at that, why Midlife Lady Basic is different from youth culture (duh), and how, at the end of the day, we’re all just humans who like and dislike certain things, right? Enjoy! Troomi Troomi is a safe and affordable phone that grows with your kids, giving you tons of s and built-in features to keep kids safe. Use code THEMOMHOUR at shop.troomi.com for $75 off the purchase of any Troomi device. Vionic Vionic has the most ive shoes…ever. Their arch technology is designed for all-day wear, so that your feet can be comfortable no matter where you are going.  Use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for free shipping on vionicshoes.com. Hiya Health Hiya is a daily children’s vitamin that’s stronger, cleaner, and tastier — made from a blend of 12 farm-fresh fruits and vegetables and 15 essential vitamins.  For 50% OFF your first order go to hiyahealth.com/MOMHOUR or enter code MOMHOUR at checkout. Pinna Pinna is the only audio on-demand streaming service for kids 3-12, with podcasts, audiobooks, and music all in one safe place with no ads, and no staring at a screen. Just listening. Go to pinna.fm/promo and use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for 50% off your first annual payment. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Are you dying to know how BASIC you are (according to Buzzfeed)? Take the quiz and let us know! Sarah shared a quote from Gretchen Rubin about how enthusiasm is a form of social courage. Sarah and Meagan will be talking this topic in the next subscriber-only community on instagram this month. To learn more about our subscriber community hop over to Instagram and click on our subscribe button on our profile page. Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!)

Being sandwiched between the littles and the grandparents who love them isn’t always easy – and there’s no one right way to do it! Today we’re tapping into the tips, advice and wisdom of our community on a topic we’ve had a lot of request for: facilitating and nurturing grandparent-grandkid relationships. In this Episode, Meagan and Sarah share practical things moms can do to facilitate the relationships we want our kids to have with their long-distance and in-person grandparents. We talk through your ideas for using modern technology to help kids connect with grandparents, making time with grandparents extra special, and how to encourage one-on-one bonding with less of a presence from mom and dad. Enjoy! About Our Sponsors Tilly Storm Tilly Storm is an intimacy coach who focuses specifically on busy moms who want to more fully experience pleasure and connection. Whether you’ve lost your libido, want to deepen intimacy with your partner or just want to experience more pleasure in all aspects of your life, Tilly is there for you. Tilly’s free five-day private podcast training at themomhour.com/tilly Athletic Greens AG1 by Athletic Greens is the category-leading superfood product, bringing comprehensive and convenient daily nutrition to every body. The AG1 powder from Athletic Greens is lifestyle-friendly whether you eat keto, paleo, vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free, and contains less than 1 gram of sugar, no GMOs, no nasty chemicals or artificial anything.  Go to athleticgreens.com/momhour for a year’s supply of Vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase of AG1. Lomi Lomi is an electric countertop composter that turns scraps into dirt in under four hours. If you want to reduce food waste and try composting in your kitchen, Lomi makes it easy! Head to LOMI.COM/THEMOMHOUR and use the promo code THEMOMHOUR to get $50 off your Lomi Stitch Fix Stitch Fix makes shopping for clothes so easy. Take a style quiz, then Stitch Fix’s expert stylists will find items exclusively for you. Keep what you love and send back what you don’t. Go to stitchfix.com/themomhour to get $20 off your first purchase. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode You can see all the comments submitted for this episode in our Facebook Community. Are you ready to plan for this year’s Advent? Need a bit of inspiration? Check out these recent blog posts:13 Advent Calendar Ideas For 2022: Celebrating The Christmas Countdown With Kids Creating An Experience-Based “Kindness Advent” Tradition With Kids Trying to find the time to squeeze in a little exercise while working and mommying? Our contributor Chaunie shares how she does it all in the recent blog post, I Bought A Treill Desk And Yes, It’s As Life-Changing As The TikTok Influencers Claim

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for any length of time you know that Meagan’s harbored some serious homesteader fantasies since her early 20s. Nearly 25 years after Meagan’s oldest was born, she’s finally living outside the city limits, and slowly making her “Little House on the Prairie homestead dreams” from long ago come true (well, sort of!). In this episode, Meagan interviews Kendra Martin from the Homesteady Podcast about how she lives off of 100 acres of land with her husband and six children. Kendra shares how she manages to homestead AND homeschool and what their family has in store for their future. Enjoy! About Our Sponsors Vionic Vionic has the most ive shoes…ever. Their arch technology is designed for all-day wear, so that your feet can be comfortable no matter where you are going.  Use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for free shipping on vionicshoes.com. Pinna Pinna is the only audio on-demand streaming service for kids 3-12, with podcasts, audiobooks, and music all in one safe place with no ads, and no staring at a screen. Just listening. Go to pinna.fm/promo and use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for 50% off your first annual payment. Thrive Causemetics Thrive Causemetics makes beauty and skincare lines that are clean, vegan and cruelty-free, and every purchase s organizations that help women thrive. Get 15% off your first order when you visit thrivecausemetics.com/THEMOMHOUR. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Want to learn more about Kendra and her family’s homesteading? Visit their website Homesteady, their Youtube channel, Instagram and podcast. Meagan referenced this Homesteady Podcast Episode with Kendra and Austin’s backstory to the homestead lifestyle. Episode 379, Lessons in Motherhood From Chickens and Kittens is a fun episode where both Meagan and Sarah weigh-in on the animals around their homes these days! Here’s a few photos of Kendra and her family below! We have a new subscriber community built right into Instagram! Listeners of the show can have more intimate conversations with us (and others), along with bonus content. Look for the Subscribe button here. Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!)

Million dollar sick-kid question: “are they going to school today, or not?”! After two fall seasons impacted by pandemic schooling in all kinds of ways, Fall 2022 appears to be The One Where The Children Are Sick ALL THE TIME. In today’s episode Sarah and regular contributor Jayme validate (and commiserate) about the plight of kids picking up every possible virus this fall, and offer practical tips for managing kids home with common childhood illnesses. (In addition to having a toddler and a preschooler, Jayme is also a nurse by training and a physician-spouse, so she comes with some legit background…and lots of real talk.) Hang in there, mamas! You are not alone in your wellness struggles, and hopefully next fall will be a little less hard! About Our Sponsors Scholastic, Inc. Acorn books help build confident readers, and ultimately develop a lifelong love of reading. There’s a series for every reader, with themes like friendship, humor, magic, dragons and even horror-lite. Acorn books are available wherever books are sold! Tilly Storm Tilly Storm is an intimacy coach who focuses specifically on busy moms who want to more fully experience pleasure and connection. Whether you’ve lost your libido, want to deepen intimacy with your partner or just want to experience more pleasure in all aspects of your life, Tilly is there for you. Tilly’s free five-day private podcast training at themomhour.com/tilly Hiya Health Hiya is a daily children’s vitamin that’s stronger, cleaner, and tastier — made from a blend of 12 farm-fresh fruits and vegetables and 15 essential vitamins.  For 50% OFF your first order go to hiyahealth.com/MOMHOUR or enter code MOMHOUR at checkout. KiwiCo KiwiCo delivers monthly science and art projects that celebrate kids’ natural curiosity. With KiwiCo, kids get to explore different topics each month, from rainbows to rocket ships and everything in between! Get 50% off your first month plus FREE shipping on ANY crate line with code THEMOMHOUR at kiwico.com. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Follow Jayme Sherrod on Instagram or learn more about her on our Contributor Page. Want to hear more from Jayme? Check out Voices 75, Getting Outdoors With Kids. Check out these episodes from the archives all about dealing with children and sick days:Sickness, Health & Motherhood: Episode 249 Ugggggggh Sick Days: Episode 75 Did you read the recent blog post Emergency Room Visits with Kids: What I Wish I’d Known, Packed, Said & Done? It includes a few things our contributor Joanne has learned from navigating ER visits with kids. Sarah and Jayme talked at length about how they prefer to treat fevers. Here are two great resources about how to treat fevers in children:Fever In Healthy Children Fever In Children (Beyond The Basics) Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!)

It’s no secret that Meagan and Sarah can both get pretty into about personality tests, particularly the Enneagram. In this fun More Than Mom we have an in-depth conversation about personalities in general (not just the types and tests!), especially as they relates to our significant others (and how they do or do not mesh with ours at times). We discuss how our different personalities play out in our relationships, the ways we reframe our differences, and reflect on our own challenging personality traits. Enjoy! About Our Sponsors CodeWizardsHQ CodeWizardsHQ is the leading online coding school for kids and teens ages 8-18. Their mission is to prepare students for success in the digital world by teaching them how to code. Go to codewizardshq.com and use promo code MOMHOUR for $20 off your first month’s tuition. Pinna Pinna is the only audio on-demand streaming service for kids 3-12, with podcasts, audiobooks, and music all in one safe place with no ads, and no staring at a screen. Just listening. Go to pinna.fm/promo and use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for 50% off your first annual payment. The Essential Calendar See a whole season at a glance in a stylish poster that hangs on your wall – AND help a mom-owned business and our podcast at the same time! Save 10% with code THEMOMHOUR or use this link: theessentialcalendar.com/themomhour. When you do, we’ll earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. MOR Community This fall, Meagan taking her Mother of Reinvention podcast to the next level by launching a private hip community for midlife moms. MOR Community will be a ive space with live chats, exclusive content, encouraging activities, and more! Go to morcommunity.com to learn more! Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Are you unfamiliar with the Enneagram? Here is a free version of the test, and we like the type descriptions and other resources here We have found the Type Combinations and Type Misidentification writeups super fascinating Meagan mentioned the book The Road Back To You: An Enneagram Journey to Self Discovery ( link) Meagan also mentioned the book, The Path Between Us: An Enneagram Journey To Healthy Relationships, to take what you’ve learned about yourself and bring it into your relationship. Sarah turned Meagan onto these daily EnneaThought emails with a short message about your Enneagram type Meagan and Sarah referenced the Myers Briggs Personality Test at 16personalities.com Sarah mentioned Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies. You can take that quiz here. Looking for more details on Meagan and Sarah’s personality types? You may enjoy these episodes from the archives:Personalities Part One: Episode 57 Personalities Part Two: Episode 58 Knowing Yourself As A Mom: Episode 203 Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!)

From Halloween through New Year’s we’re given opportunities to create new traditions and fulfill holiday wishes – sometimes of our own design and, increasingly as kids get older, sometimes at our kids’ behest. This week Meagan and Sarah talk about the bell curve of holiday parenting: the early influence we have over just how things look and what fun is had, the middle dip as we learn to let go and kid-life dominates, and then the later years when we get to reclaim some control and design a season for our own desires. None of it is all-good or all-hard; but it changes over time and we’re here for your pre-holidays 2022 motherhood pep talk – wherever you find yourself on that curve. us! About Our Sponsors Vionic Vionic has the most ive shoes…ever. Their arch technology is designed for all-day wear, so that your feet can be comfortable no matter where you are going.  Use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for free shipping on vionicshoes.com. CodeWizardsHQ CodeWizardsHQ is the leading online coding school for kids and teens ages 8-18. Their mission is to prepare students for success in the digital world by teaching them how to code. Go to codewizardshq.com and use promo code MOMHOUR for $20 off your first month’s tuition. Athletic Greens AG1 by Athletic Greens is the category-leading superfood product, bringing comprehensive and convenient daily nutrition to every body. The AG1 powder from Athletic Greens is lifestyle-friendly whether you eat keto, paleo, vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free, and contains less than 1 gram of sugar, no GMOs, no nasty chemicals or artificial anything.  Go to athleticgreens.com/momhour for a year’s supply of Vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase of AG1. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Meagan wrote on instagram about how shopping for Halloween looks different with older kids. In our Facebook community there was discussion about the elf on the shelf; want to know our thoughts on it? This episode from the archives tells it like it is. We have you covered with Advent Calendar ideas in a recent blog post. Snag them before they sell out! We have a new subscriber community built right into Instagram! Listeners of the show can have more intimate conversations with us (and others), along with bonus content. Look for the Subscribe button here. Check out Sarah’s front yard decorated for Halloween this year (complete with a skeleton in a pool)! Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!)

From bedtime fears to big kid bed transitions, nightwaking big kids and second thoughts about co-sleeping, we’ve covered a lot of sleep challenges over the years. Today we’re bringing together some of the most common pain points our listeners have brought to us about SLEEP, complete with updated commentary and a fresh take on what sleep challenges are like with tweens and teens. us! About Our Sponsors Code Wizards CodeWizardsHQ is the leading online coding school for kids and teens ages 8-18. Their mission is to prepare students for success in the digital world by teaching them how to code. Go to codewizardshq.com and use promo code MOMHOUR for $20 off your first month’s tuition. Vegamour Vegamour is a holistic approach to hair wellness that incorporates clinically tested plant-based ingredients that work in tandem to promote healthy, beautiful hair naturally. Go to vegamour.com/themomhour and use code themomhour to save 20% on your first order! Pinna Pinna is the only audio on-demand streaming service for kids 3-12, with podcasts, audiobooks, and music all in one safe place with no ads, and no staring at a screen. Just listening. Go to pinna.fm/promo and use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for 50% off your first annual payment. Ritual Ritual is formulated with key nutrients, including Vitamin D3, to help fill gaps in the diet. Ritual is now available for women, men, and teens, scientifically developed to help different life stages including their bestselling prenatal multivitamin.  Get 10% off your first three months at ritual.com/THEMOMHOUR Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode We recorded this episode IRL! Check out this Instagram Live from our meetup! If you listen and one of the recordings was about your child we’d love to hear from you! Sarah mentioned her conversation with Dr. Catherine Pearlman on this recent episode. Laura asks for advice about strategies for helping her toddler who is afraid of ghosts and monsters at bedtime which originally aired in Episode 163. Brady asks about her six-year-old waking because he’s scared a few times a month which originally aired in Episode 242. Samantha asks for tips and tricks to make the transition to her one-year-old’s big girl bed easier which originally aired in Episode 111. New mom Amanda asks if Meagan or Sarah have experience co-sleeping and if they have advice on transitioning to a crib which originally aired in Episode 65. Meagan mentioned the books The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night by Elizabeth Pantley and The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Gentle Ways to Stop Bedtime Battles and Improve Your Child’s Sleep by Elizabeth Pantley More sleep challenges we’ve addressed over the years that we didn’t have time for today: In Episode 275, Sarah weighs in on a question about how to use an “okay to wake” clock with a clever three-year-old (skip to 34:00) In Episode 224, a new mom of twins helps us reminisce about infant nap schedules (skip to 30:30) In Episode 211, we discuss how (and whether) to stick to sleep routines while traveling or on vacation (skip to 28:30) In Episode 135 we help tackle the challenge of a toddler who won’t stay in his room at bedtime (skip to 06:50) Sign up for our email newsletter! Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!)

While there’s a lot of value in setting goals and intentions at the start of a new year (and in revisiting and tracking progress throughout the year), sometimes the intentions we set months ago aren’t serving us the way we had hoped. In this More Than Mom episode, Meagan and Sarah revisit what we said we wanted to do and ways we hoped to grow in 2022, reflect on how we’ve done so far, and share how some intentions shifted over time. We also realize that sometimes life surprises us with growth we hoped for…just not in the way we thought it might happen. And that is OKAY. us! About Our Sponsors Scholastic This stunning illustrated edition of Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix brings together the talents of award-winning artists Jim Kay and Neil Packer in a visual feast, featuring iconic scenes and much loved characters as the Order of the Phoenix keeps watch over Harry Potter’s fifth year at Hogwarts. Read it today! Shoott Shoott allows you to book 30-minute photo sessions with professional photographers in locations all over the country. It’s completely free to book, and then when you get your photos in just a few days, you only pay for the ones you love. Find holiday package deals to save money and time on family photos. Book a session at shoott.com with the code THEMOMHOUR for 15% off any orders of 5 or more photos. Vionic Vionic has the most ive shoes…ever. Their arch technology is designed for all-day wear, so that your feet can be comfortable no matter where you are going.  Use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for free shipping on vionicshoes.com. Hiya Health Hiya is a daily children’s vitamin that’s stronger, cleaner, and tastier — made from a blend of 12 farm-fresh fruits and vegetables and 15 essential vitamins.  For 50% OFF your first order go to hiyahealth.com/MOMHOUR or enter code MOMHOUR at checkout. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode: Listen to our first episode on our 2022 intentions and our first check-in earlier this year. Here is Meagan’s first post on instagram about her Less Boozin’ January. Interested in hearing more about Sarah’s reading habits? Here’s a recent More Than Mom: Books Talk! where she discusses just that. Sarah clearly hit the goal of fostering kittens in 2022 (or failed depending on how you look at it!). Meagan wrote a post Flowing Streams, Not Full Cups, about not needing to have a completely full cup to give back. Meagan’s Mother Of Reinvention Community will launch in a few short weeks.

When an article or study claims that a certain parenting approach is “best” or is “matters most,” how does that make you feel as a mom? Meagan and Sarah have thoughts, starting with this: assuming that every family defines “parenting success” the same way is a tricky proposition. In Episode 386 we dive deep into research-based parenting advice and, specifically, how parenting data as published in articles and studies impacts our day to day decision-making as well as our mom-confidence. us! About Our Sponsors Shoott Shoott allows you to book 30-minute photo sessions with professional photographers in locations all over the country. It’s completely free to book, and then when you get your photos in just a few days, you only pay for the ones you love. Find holiday package deals to save money and time on family photos. Book a session at shoott.com with the code THEMOMHOUR for 15% off any orders of 5 or more photos. Athletic Greens AG1 by Athletic Greens is the category-leading superfood product, bringing comprehensive and convenient daily nutrition to every body. The AG1 powder from Athletic Greens is lifestyle-friendly whether you eat keto, paleo, vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free, and contains less than 1 gram of sugar, no GMOs, no nasty chemicals or artificial anything.  Go to athleticgreens.com/momhour for a year’s supply of Vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase of AG1 Thrive Causemetics Thrive Causemetics makes beauty and skincare lines that are clean, vegan and cruelty-free, and every purchase s organizations that help women thrive. Get 15% off your first order when you visit thrivecausemetics.com/THEMOMHOUR. Scholastic Goosebumps celebrates 30 years of fears this October with Slappy’s newest adventure from R.L. Stine! Explore Slappyworld, available wherever books are sold. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Meagan and Sarah referenced both The One Parenting Decision That Really Matters by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz and How to Quit Intensive Parenting by Elliot Haspel articles during this episode. Sarah mentioned Emily Oster, a data scientist and parenting writer, who writes a newsletter called ParentData on data, pregnancy, child rearing and whatever else is on the mind of parents. She’s published a few books that analyze the data behind choices in pregnancy and parenting.  Email us [email protected] if you want to keep going with this conversation! Meagan & Sarah are together in Dallas this week! Be sure to check-in with us on Instagram to catch a glimpse of us IRL. More Than Mom this coming Sunday is all about our 2022 Goals and Intentions! You can catch up on our last Goals and Intentions check-in here.

Whether you love everything about Halloween or mildly dread some of the excess (sugar, stuff, events, oh my!), today’s episode is meant to give you permission to find the traditions and celebrations that work for your family. Regular contributor Joanna Martin is back on the show to interview Sarah about how the Powers family has done Halloween over the years. Later in the episode Sarah chats with Diane Boden, host of the Minimalist Moms podcast about how a scaled-back approach to harvest season works in her family. Happy October, friends! About Our Sponsors Vionic Vionic has the most ive shoes…ever. Their arch technology is designed for all-day wear, so that your feet can be comfortable no matter where you are going.  Use the promo code THEMOMHOUR for free shipping on vionicshoes.com. KiwiCo KiwiCo delivers monthly science and art projects that celebrate kids’ natural curiosity. With KiwiCo, kids get to explore different topics each month, from rainbows to rocket ships and everything in between! Get 50% off your first month plus FREE shipping on ANY crate line with code THEMOMHOUR at kiwico.com. Shoott Shoott allows you to book 30-minute photo sessions with professional photographers in locations all over the country. It’s completely free to book, and then when you get your photos in just a few days, you only pay for the ones you love. Find holiday package deals to save money and time on family photos. Book a session at shoott.com with the code THEMOMHOUR for 15% off any orders of 5 or more photos. The Essential Calendar See a whole season at a glance in a stylish poster that hangs on your wall – AND help a mom-owned business and our podcast at the same time! Save 10% with code THEMOMHOUR or use this link: theessentialcalendar.com/themomhour. When you do, we’ll earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Learn more about our contributor Joanna Martin and follow her on instagram. Sarah’s family reads Pumpkin Soup ( link) by Helen Cooper every year, and then makes this recipe for Butternut Squash Soup with Apple & Bacon. Joanna Martin uses this Roasted Pumpkin Seeds recipe every year during pumpkin carving. Check out Meagan’s essay about Trick-or-Treating Teenagers Sarah’s family loves the Disney Halloween Special Mickey’s House of Villains Sarah mentioned loving the big kid crafts stage, including How to Marble a Pumpkin with Nail Polish from Color Made Happy Diane Boden is the voice behind the top-rated podcast and community, Minimalist Moms, where talks about living a life in the pursuit of less. You can find Diane at her website, on Instagram, and on Facebook. Diane wrote the book Minimalist Moms: Living and Parenting with Simplicity ( link), full of on-the-go minimalist wisdom that teaches busy parents how to embrace simple living, focusing on what matters, and inner calm. Check out a few blog posts from the Halloween Archives:A Lesson Learned From A Costumeless Halloween Five Festive Halloween Activities For Families With Little Kids Books Talk: Our Favorite Halloween Picture Books Continue the conversation: Instagram | Private Facebook Community (be sure to answer the hip questions!) Looking For More Halloween Episodes? Hit Play On One Of These Episodes:

Now that school routines are underway, we’re going deep into the details of lunch packing – with the help of our team! In Episode 385 Meagan and Sarah call on the experience, perspective and real-life lunch packing advice of five moms from around the country, whose lunch-eating kids range in age from two to sixteen. We touch on lunch packing pain points, tried-and-true ideas for each food group, strategies for snacking, and some of our must-have lunch packing accessories. We hope that a peek inside the bento boxes of other families will both validate that you’re already doing a great job (yes, even if you send the same thing every day!) AND infuse your lunch packing with some easy new ideas. Take a listen! About Our Sponsors Hiya Health Hiya is a daily children’s vitamin that’s stronger, cleaner, and tastier — made from a blend of 12 farm-fresh fruits and vegetables and 15 essential vitamins.  For 50% OFF your first order go to hiyahealth.com/MOMHOUR or enter code MOMHOUR at checkout. Shoott Shoott allows you to book 30-minute photo sessions with professional photographers in locations all over the country. It’s completely free to book, and then when you get your photos in just a few days, you only pay for the ones you love. Find holiday package deals to save money and time on family photos. Book a session at shoott.com with the code THEMOMHOUR for 15% off any orders of 5 or more photos. Stitch Fix Stitch Fix makes shopping for clothes so easy. Take a style quiz, then Stitch Fix’s expert stylists will find items exclusively for you. Keep what you love and send back what you don’t. Go to stitchfix.com/themomhour to get $20 off your first purchase. The Essential Calendar See a whole season at a glance in a stylish poster that hangs on your wall – AND help a mom-owned business and our podcast at the same time! Save 10% with code THEMOMHOUR or use this link: theessentialcalendar.com/themomhour. When you do, we’ll earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode Did you enjoy hearing from our contributors on this episode? You can learn more about them here or follow them on instagram to show them the love!Jayme Sherrod Lisa Payne Mandy Yang Joanne Ruelos Diaz Jennifer Carroll Products our contributors just love and use to pack lunches daily.Jennifer uses the Pottery Barn Kids All-In-One Bento Boxes each day for her preschoolers. Mandy packs her daughter’s salad everyday in the Sistema Salad Containers. Lisa loves these Amazon Easy Lunchboxes for her four children. Jayme’s favorite product is the Planet Box Stainless Steal Lunchbox for her two young children. Joann uses Sistema Lunchboxes for her children. Sarah loves these 1 oz plastic containers for sauce or dressing. Meagan wrote a blog back in 2011 where she did a lunch-making challenge! Momables is a lunch-packing subscription service that gives you menu plans and ideas. Don’t forget to check out our Instagram this week to see some visuals that go along with the episode Want More of Our Week of Real-Life Episodes? Hit Play On One Of These Episodes: