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The Mom Hour

The most fun you've ever had with two moms you've never met.

in Episodes on December 1, 2015

Moms Deserve A Magical Holiday, Too: Episode 30

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“Simplify” has become one of the buzziest holiday buzzwords over the last decade, and today Meagan and Sarah are unpacking what that really means in their homes. Whether you really do want to scale back this season or whether, like us, you’re just out to maximize magic and minimize stress, we hope you’ll join us for Episode 30!

Sponsor Spotlight

FOUNDATION FOR ADVANCING ALCOHOL RESPONSIBILITY (RESPONSIBILITY.ORG) LOGO

We are thrilled to welcome back Responsibility.org  as our sponsor!

Check out their website, or search the #HolidayResponsibly hashtag on Twitter to see some of the great research and resources designed to help you make responsible choices when it comes to alcohol this holiday season.

Moms Deserve a MAGICAL Holiday, TOO. (1)

 

Links we mentioned (or should have!) in Episode 30

  • Be The Best Parent You Can Be – FREE online parenting video series beginning this week!
  • 5 reasons I’m not simplifying Christmas this year (updated) – Laura Vanderkam
  • Holiday Episodes of The Home Hour
    • Create a Calmer Holiday with Doña Bumgarner (Episode 44)
    • Saving Money at the Holidays with Amy Clark of MomAdvice.com (Episode 9)
    • Simplifying the holidays with Tsh Oxenreider of Simple Mom (Episode 7)
    • Low-Stress Traditions with Sarah Powers (the first time we ever recorded together! Episode 14)
    • Christmas at Home with Meagan & Sarah (last year’s holiday chat – Episode 46)
    • Living Well on Less with Amy Suardi of Frugal Mama (Episode 5)
    • Blogging and Life with Rebecca Woolf of Girl’s Gone Child (Episode 16)
  • Essays and posts we’ve written on creating holiday joy and enjoying the season
    • Holidays, The Easy Way (a four-part series on The Happiest Home)
    • Why Holiday Traditions Aren’t Mom’s Responsibility (Sarah for The Huffington Post)
    • Believing in Santa, for now (Meagan for The Washington Post)
    • The Reason For The Season? Joy. (Meagan for The Happiest Home)

Happy December, friends! How will you be enjoying the season this year?

Related

Filed Under: Episodes Tagged With: Christmas, holidays & celebrations, self, TMHHoliday

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« Raising Siblings Who Like Each Other: Episode 29
Meagan & Sarah’s December Favorites To Watch / Listen / Read: Episode 31 »

Comments

  1. T says

    December 2, 2015 at 9:59 am

    I have the same issue with wrapping gifts. Spatial reasoning…? Interesting concept. I hadn’t thought of that before – but that might explain my challenge. Great episode ladies!

    Reply
    • Sarah Powers says

      December 7, 2015 at 3:22 pm

      Thanks, T! Glad to know we’re not alone… 😉

      Reply
  2. Erin Allee says

    December 6, 2015 at 5:17 pm

    Meagan and Sarah,
    I want you to know that I love listening to The Mom Hour. I’m the mom of two small children so in Sarah I relate to someone who is in the same parenting stage and with Meagan I’m able to see where I’m going to on this journey. Both of your perspectives are so important to surviving the day to day struggles of raising small children while also keeping the bigger picture in mind. I want to thank you for your thoughtful commentary on so many pertinent parenting topics, for calling it like it is and for encouraging all Moms to cut themselves a break. I can honestly say you have made parenting a bit easier and enjoyable for me.
    Erin Allee
    Fellow hater of fun 🙂

    Reply
    • Sarah Powers says

      December 7, 2015 at 3:22 pm

      Erin, this makes us so happy! Thank you for taking the time to comment, and for listening. xo

      Reply
  3. Nicole says

    May 24, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    Christmas gives me the hives. I love it, but I don’t like doing all the work to “make” Christmas. My husband is not into it.

    I have in years past only put up half of the tree (just leaving out the bottom section of the fake tree). I only make the cookies I like. My son is now into the tree, so last year he put it up (with a little help and supervision). I only cook one meal on Christmas Day. We have breakfast for dinner in Christmas Eve with paper plates.

    I only did the bare minimum last year to make me feel Christmasy, and it was FINE.

    Reply

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I've changed my mind about small animal pet owners I've changed my mind about small animal pet ownership in the last couple of years.⠀
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I've changed my mind about a lot of things, actually. Not all of them involve rodents, but some do.⠀
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I really, really try to honor the experience of saying, "You know, I used to think ______, and it turns out that I've changed my mind about that." I try to say it out loud, and let my kids hear me say it too. Early and often.⠀
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It doesn't even have to be a big deal, really. But I think we sometimes we equate the stickiness of our opinions to the core strength of our values. We worry if we flip flop or falter, if we learn more and adjust course, we'll expose that part of ourselves that wasn't really very sure what we thought to begin with.⠀
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(Everybody has that part, by the way.)⠀
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But I'd so much rather have a mind open to change than a perfect attendance record in a school of thought that doesn't fit me anymore. And for my kids I want a standing invitation for changes of opinions--from their first favorite color to their second best friend to their fourteenth college major.⠀
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(At least that's what I want right now, today. I might change my mind.)⠀
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-Sarah
New episode out now!⠀ ⠀ Whether it's pulling o New episode out now!⠀
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Whether it's pulling out the puke bucket juuuuuussst in the nick of time, or speeding across the room while pregnant to save a toddler from a toppling accident, we all know that feeling of doing what needs to be done in the moment without so much as a conscious thought. Call it quick-thinking, mom-heroics, or just another day in the life of parenting young kids, but these are moments that deserve to be celebrated. In Episode 309 Meagan and Sarah share stories from our own in-the-trenches days -- some truly life-or-death and others just, well, messy -- as a reminder that sometimes you have no idea just how strong, quick, clever, or brave you are until you're called into action.⠀
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Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or right in your browser via the link in our bio!⠀
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#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
New episode!⠀ .⠀ Hobbies outside of everyday w New episode!⠀
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Hobbies outside of everyday work, life, and parenting ebb and flow as your season of life changes, but it's fun to think about what creative pursuits you'll add back in as time opens up. In today's More Than Mom episode Meagan and Sarah speak from the perspective of moms whose kids are getting older, and who are pursuing hobbies in our own (often very different) ways. We talk about what hobbies we're enjoying now, which ones we could imagine trying, in theory, without needing a total life overhaul, and then some "maybe someday" hobbies we can see ourselves enjoying much later on.⠀
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Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or right in your browser via the link in our bio!⠀
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#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
Please help us welcome and celebrate our sponsors Please help us welcome and celebrate our sponsors for the month of April!⠀
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To take advantage of the offers you hear about on the show, search for a sponsor by name at themomhour.com (show notes for each episode have those deals you heard us mention). You can also get a full list of active promo codes by signing up for our email newsletter at the link in our bio.⠀
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Longtime listeners have heard me talk about this o Longtime listeners have heard me talk about this on the podcast, but this phrase - "Tell me more about that" - is one of my parenting go-to's, especially (though not exclusively) when it comes to kids talking about something that happened at school or daycare.⠀
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"My friend was mean to me."⠀
"The teacher doesn't like me."⠀
"The bus is smelly."⠀
"The test was stupid."⠀
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When your kid reports the news from school, try saying "Tell me more about that" in a sort of curious, mildly interested, never shocked, non-attached, and supportive-from-a-distance kind of way. Sometimes they WILL, in fact, tell you a lot more. (If they do, try saying "Tell me more about that" again, and see how much they'll say!) Other times they'll just look at you and change the subject. Either way I have found it so much more effective at getting conversation going about the school day than saying things like:⠀
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"What?! What did she do?"⠀
"Oh, I know that's not true."⠀
"Well, it's only a short ride, right?"⠀
"Why?"⠀
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If your kids are newly back in person, we're betting there are ALL KINDS of emotional adjustments happening these days. Even if it's the thing you've been hoping for all year, that doesn't mean it's not going to be rough going for a while. Hang in there. You can do it. And, while you're here, tell me more about that! I'm listening. -S
New episode, available now wherever you like to li New episode, available now wherever you like to listen! This episode continues last week's conversation about friendships in motherhood (and in a pandemic) - but you can listen in any order. Let us know what you think!⠀
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Conversations around friendship in motherhood often center around those ride-or-die besties that you just can't imagine life without (which, as we discussed last week, isn't always helpful). But as pandemic life has shown us in all kinds of ways, regular interactions with acquaintances, co-workers, fellow school parents, neighbors, and other "friendlies" are also really important to feeling rooted in a community and fulfilled in the friendship space. Today Meagan and Sarah look at these outer-circle relationships and share what 2021 looks like for us, how our listeners feel about the changes brought about by the past year, and what we hope our friendship landscape will look like a year from now.⠀
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Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or right in your browser via the link in our bio!⠀
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#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that other pa The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that other parents have it all figured out.⠀
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In the comments, we'd love for you to finish this sentence: "Right now I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to __________." (e.g.: potty training, figuring out an IEP, parenting a moody tween, handling sibling fights, going back to work, etc. etc. etc.).⠀
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And for this post, when you respond to others' comments, resist the urge to offer advice or promote solutions? A simple "been there" or a "me too" or a "you can do it" can make a huge difference in helping moms feel less alone.⠀
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Can't wait to see what you're all muddling through the messy middle of. We know it's something, for every one of you, and that in and of itself is comforting. -S + M
Here’s a little reminder to make it a normal thi Here’s a little reminder to make it a normal thing to be photographed with your kids. Tell your partner and/or your besties that they are encouraged to snap candid pictures of you being a mom—and then resist the urge to delete them. I don’t know the exact distance of time after which you’ll stop caring about how you look or how messy your house is in the photos, but I do know that after that time as passed you’ll be so glad to have photos like this one. ❤️ -S
We're about two-thirds of the way to our goal of 2 We're about two-thirds of the way to our goal of 2,000 responses! Will you take two minutes and help by filling out our 2021 Listener Survey? Type themomhour.com/survey into any browser (mobile, tablet or desktop), and click through a quick and easy (and anonymous!) questionnaire that helps us understand our audience, plan future content, work with sponsors, and more. Thank you, friends!
I'd taken my shoes off to climb over rocks and wad I'd taken my shoes off to climb over rocks and wade through the current rippling away from the waterfall's basin, forgetting that my tender late-winter feet weren't quite equal to the task.

He perched on a wobbly log, inviting me up for a photo op. I had my own, momentary Mom-version of a toddler's "I do it my SELF!" before accepting his outstretched hands and pulling up to the log, where we both teetered precariously for a moment before mugging for the camera.

Looking at the photos later, I was struck by the role reversals inherent in parenting, how one day the three-year-old whose hand you held - guiding them under and over and around and through - can beat you in an arm-wrestling match, outsmart you in matters of calculus and chemistry, and, if you have one as height-inclined as Will, towers over you by nearly a foot.

You become aware, then, that they're only there - along for the family vacation, at the dinner table, engaged in the text conversation - because they WANT to be, and you're grateful for every moment you put into that relationship and hope you get a chance to invest more, and better, and deeper.

-Meagan
Have you listened to Mother of Reinvention yet? @M Have you listened to Mother of Reinvention yet? @MeaganFrancis’s new interview podcast is in its third week, and Episode 4 drops tomorrow. Search it up, as the kids say, hit subscribe, and get ready for another inspiring interview to drop Thursday!⠀
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(If you’ve listened, which was your favorite conversation?)⠀
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#newpodcast #interviewpodcast #motherofreinventionshow #podcastdebut #newandnoteworthy
New podcast episode!⠀ .⠀ In a year that change New podcast episode!⠀
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In a year that changed nearly everything about how humans connect and communicate, it's no surprise that friendships in motherhood have changed. Some deepened over the past year, as the pandemic gave us new ways to bond (and hard stuff to get real about). Some fell away, strained by distance or differences. And pandemic or no pandemic, not every close friendship is created equal, and they all go through seasons of change. In today's episode, part one of two all about friendships in motherhood, Meagan and Sarah look at "ride or die" friendships (including a critical look at what that even means). We talk about ways close friends can show up for each other when things are hard, how close friendships have adapted over the past year, and what to keep in mind if you're missing or grieving close friendships in your life right now.⠀
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Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or right in your browser via the link in our bio!⠀
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#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
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