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I am so excited to have Jenny Keller, the “Cookie Queen” herself, on the podcast today! I first met Jenny back in the very early days of Chatbooks and before she'd opened herJenny Cookies bakery–we were both sponsoring the Santa's Secret Workshop in West Hollywood–an event bringing together celebrities and their families to celebrate the holiday season while supporting charitable causes. Well,Jenny, always up for a party, was there with her incredible cookies and her infectious smile and as soon as we met we became fast friends! I soon realized that she was also friends with many of the celebrities there as she'd made a name for herself by planning and catering some of their own star studded parties. A lot has happened since then and Jenny's inspiring journey is now taking a dramatic turn and in this episode she shares all the details! She opens up about the ups and downs of running a business while raising a family, how she creates meaningful family traditions, and the unexpected joys of having older kids. And you won’t want to miss her heartfelt insights on capturing the beautiful, messy, and real moments of family life. So join us as we chat about family, memories, and all the sweet in-betweens of motherhood.
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1:30 How Vanessa and Jenny met
7:00 What is a Jenny Cookie and how did that name happen?
14:30 Party and hosting tips and tricks
22:30 How motherhood changes as your kids get older
25:00 Accept that your kids are not going to be your mini me
28:00 Family traditions can be out of the box
35:00 Big changes at Chatbooks
39:00 Family mottos and how to create one
41:30 What is next for Jenny
Summer Adamson is an influencer and advocate for children with Down syndrome, sharing her daughter Jayne's 'extra' with the world, by showing all of the things she can do with her diagnosis. In this episode of The MomForce Podcast, Summer shares how the diagnosis came as a surprise on the day of Jayne's birth. She talks through how she has found support and resources for her daughter. Summer also shares how we all can learn how to reach out and be more inclusive.
Summer recently released a children's book based on Jayne's life called, A Little Extra Jayne. You can follow Summer on Instagram @a_little_extra_jayne. If you want to share the book in your classroom there is a FREE Teacher Resource Guide available for educators. Email [email protected] for the link.
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3:00 Dan and Shay suprise
5:30 The day Jayne was born
10:45 What Summer wishes she had known when learning about Jayne's diagnosis
16:30 How they told Jayne about Down Syndrome
19:00 Jayne's sibling support
24:00 How to be more inclusive
Corrine Stokoe is the founder of fashion deal site Mint Arrow and a mom of five. She lives in sunny Southern California and hosts the Mint Arrow Messages Podcast. I consider Corrine a friend and loved diving deep into the topic of codependency and how it affects relationships. In this episode, Corrine shares her personal journey, revealing the struggles she’s faced with codependency and how it impacted her as a mother and partner. You will learn about the signs of codependency, ways to break free from harmful patterns, and how to foster healthier, more balanced relationships. Tune in to hear Corrine's expert advice and heartfelt stories as she encourages moms to reclaim their independence while maintaining strong, supportive connections with loved ones.
3:15 How Corrine started Mint Arrow and what she feels called to do now.
5:00 What is codependency?
8:10 In-law coping tips
10:35 Running your life around keeping everyone happy
14:15 Why Hollywood is lying to you about marriage
18:05 What do you wish you knew before you got married?
21:05 Needing validation
24:45 Good mother daughter relationships
33:00 Chatbooks reminding you about being a good mom
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Cassandra Curtis, along with her business partner—actress and fellow mom, Jennifer Garner—has built a company that’s revolutionizing the way we feed our kids, with fresh, organic foods that make a difference. But behind the growing Once Upon a Farm brand is a woman who, like all of us, is balancing the beautiful chaos of motherhood, business, and family. In today’s conversation, we’re diving deep into Cassandra’s personal story, her passion for family memories, and the special moments that have shaped both her business and her life as a mom.
2:30 Cassandra's favorite photo
4:00 How Once Upon a Farm began
9:00 How Jennifer Garner joined the company as a cofounder
12:30 The weirdest foods Cassandra has created during product testing
19:00 How Cassandra captures her family narrative
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Phil's my Pharmacist has answered thousands of moms health questions with his 1M+ TikTok audience, but rewind to 2020 and he didn't even have social media. During this episode Phil shares what got him to begin to share his health advice on the internet. We touch on a lot of hot health topics including:
2:00 How did Phil become "Phil's My Pharmacist"
5:00 Why you should talk to your pharmacist
7:00 How do we know who to trust when it comes to our health?
8:00 What about things like red40?
10:30 Phil's favorite video to film
12:00 Supplements, what ones should we actually take?
18:30 ADHD and supplements and the different types
24:30 Different kinds of magnesium
30:00 How to sleep better
36:00 Are probiotics important?
38:30 Weight loss help
40:00 What one item should you have in your house?
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Kelly Oriard and Callie Christensen are the founders of Slumberkins, a brand that’s reimagining how parents approach emotional learning with their kids. As a former family therapist and special education teacher, they have poured their hearts into creating over a dozen characters and stories to help guide kids through emotions, and they are having a big impact on parents too. In fact, they just published a book, All Feelings Welcome, just for parents, to embrace the full range of emotions, so we can break the cycles of burnout and over-pleasing.You're going to love hearing how their journey started, how Slumberkins has grown from it's humble beginnings, to Shark Tank, to an Emmy-nominated TV show. It’s a conversation full of heart, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
5:00 How Slumberkins began
10:30 Being kind to ourselves
17:45 How Chatbooks is part of the Slumberkins story
23:30 How the character Otter is helping military families
24:20 Family transitions during divorce
34:00 Be the friend that captures others motherhood moments
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If you’ve spent time on Instagram or Pinterest then it is likely that you have seen Becki Owens work. She is one of the most sought-after interior designers known for her clean, modern, and inviting design aesthetic that millions have tried to replicate. When we recorded this episode with Becki last year I was so impressed with how down-to-earth she is when there are so many things she could brag about! So let me do some bragging for her… she has an exclusive furniture collection with Sam's Club called "Details by Becki Owens", Becki also partnered with Kuka Home to debut the "Becki Owens Home" collection, she has an ongoing collaboration with Surya, a paint collection with Dunn-Edwards, a line of lighting fixtures with Hudson Valley Lighting, and a line of delicious signature scents with Pura. She has a new product-focused Instagram page called Becki Owens Living that's dedicated to showcasing her own curated collection of home decor and furniture items along with some of her favorite design tips.
So you can see why I was so thrilled to have her on the podcast to have her answer some of your toughest design questions! Like… What to do with a huge blank wall? Or how to swap out your "boob lights" for something a little more tasteful–c'mon you konw what I mean right?! Becki is the best and I know you're going to love learning from her and hearing why, with all she does, motherhood is priority #1!
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10:00 - How Becki got started in the design world
22:00 - What to replace boob lights with in your home
25:00 - What to do with a giant blank wall
30:00 - Becki's dream client
33:00 - Behind-the-scenes as an interior designer is not as glamorous as it looks
35:30 - How Becki decorates for the holidays
41:00 - How Becki Chatbooks and saves her family memories
45:00 - What's next for Becki
I'm willing to bet that struggling with body image and self worth is quite common for many of us. Almost daily I have to remind myself that how my body looks is the least important and interesting thing about me. But when I hear my teenage and young adult daughters body shame themselves I get down right angry. In my effort to find resources to help me help them I came across a book authored by sisters Lexi and Lindsay Kite called "More than a Body. -that book changed me! Both Lexi and Lindsey have PhDs in the study of body image and media from the University of Utah. Their research focused on harmful media messages, and they are considered experts in body image resilience and media literacy so I was thrilled when Lexi accepted my invitation to be a guest on the podcast a couple of years ago.
A little more about Lexi and Lindsay: growing up as twins they faced constant comparisons about their appearance from friends and strangers alike. As the years went by they both found themselves critical of their bodies, so much so that they gave up something they both loved to do - competitive swimming.
Years later the sisters went on to study body image and founded the nonprofit organization Beauty Redefined. For more than 10 years, the Kite sisters have been spreading their “More Than A Body” message.
In this encore episode you will learn strategies for cultivating self-compassion and resilience and ways mothers can model body positivity. I encourage you to listen with your daughters and/ or sisters and talk about your takeaways together. It has created some wonderful, healing conversations in my house.
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6:00 What is body image resilience?
7:00 What to do when you see a photo of yourself you don't like
9:00 Thinking of your body as a project instead of an instrument
11:00 How to face insecurities
17:00 How to talk to daughters about body image
24:00 Media literacy for kids
33:30 Young girls and clothing
38:30 Telling your daughters they are beautiful
52:00 Magical Everyday Moment
Wedding season is here and it is a great time to reminisce on your own love story. In this episode of The MomForce Podcast we are diving into the topic of "Empowering Relationships," with some incredible guests who share their insights on how to strengthen relationships. Hear from influencer and author Sazan Hendrix, professional dancer Jenna Johnson of Dancing with the Stars, design queen Julia Marcum, ballerina extraordinaire Misty Copeland, and entrepreneur and philanthropist Camila McConaughey as they discuss their personal experiences and offer tips to be a better partner. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from these amazing women and enhance your own relationships!
2:00 Forbidden love with influencer and author Sazan Hendrix
5:30 Professional dancer Jenna Johnson on working with her spouse
7:45 Family movie night and date night traditions with Julia Marcum of Chris Loves Julia
9:30 Misty Copeland on growing up with a single mom and how amazing single parents are. And how grateful she is for her supportive partner.
10:40 Camila McConaughey on how she keeps curiousity alive in her marriage with Matthew McConaughey.
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In this episode of The MomForce Podcast titled "The Power of Showing Up," Vanessa Quigley chats with Dr. Tina Bryson, an expert in parenting and child development. They explore the essential role of the "4 S's" – Safe, Seen, Soothed, and Secure – in fostering secure attachments and emotional resilience in children. Dr. Bryson highlights that showing up consistently and empathetically is crucial for a child's development and well-being.
This episode is packed with practical parenting tips and insights into creating strong family bonds, making it a must-listen for anyone looking to enhance their parenting skills.
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More on the research from Chatbooks and HP about strengthening families.
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Dr. Lisa Damour has been a huge resource to me on my parenting journey. She the mother of 2, the host of one of the top parenting podcasts Ask Lisa, and a New York Times bestselling author three-times over–In fact she wrote 2 of my all time favorite parenting books Untangled and Under pressure and I've heard amazing things about her latest book The Emotional Lives of Teenagers. I was so honored to have her as a guest on the Momforce Podcast years ago to talk about the deteriorating mental health of kids and teens these days.
In this encore episode you will see that Lisa is a welcome voice of reason committed to “Untangling Family Life” as she calls it. I love how she's able to explain calmly and rationally how we can best help our kids. In this conversation we talk a lot about stress and I love her nuanced approach–so often we assume it's bad and try to avoid it at all costs. But really, the stresses of life, are not only inevitable but can also be beneficial in certain contexts. especially for adolescents, as it's what helps them learn to navigate challenges and build resilience. I know you will love learning from Lisa and gleaning from her wisdom for your own family.
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