Family Looking Up

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 68. Protect your Marriage NOW: 7 Ways to Strengthen Your Marriage - Guest Georgia Anderson of "Know How Mom". Feb 12, 2019

Show notes

Happy Valentines to all of you who have perfect relationships!

Newlyweds don’t count. They don’t even live on this planet...temporarily.

Those of us with normal relationships know that life is filled with relationship highs and lows. The hope is that we create more highs than lows over time. The imperative word being create.

So, you may wonder, exactly HOW do we create those bonding moments and how do we safeguard our relationships before they are in trouble?

Georgia Anderson, from Know How Mom, is a Gottman trained specialist in strengthening marriage. She joined us to talk about the 7 Principles for making marriage work.

Not only did Georgia share these 7 Principles, she also shared:

What the three most important things are that we can do to manage conflict!

She also shared several free resources that married couples can use to strengthen their marriage!

We hope you’ll listen in and find resources that will help you to better understand, better love, and be better loved by your spouse this week and forever more!

Ep. 67. Finding Rest in a World Full of Clamor: A woman's guide -- Guest Shaunti Feldhahn. Feb 05, 2019

Show notes

If you are anything like me you are exhausted. Parents finding rest is an impossible dream. I honestly don’t remember the last time I really had enough rest.

Having said that, there is more to rest than just sleep. Shaunti Feldhahn is here to talk with us about finding rest, peace, and balance in the busy world that we live in.

Shaunti received her graduate degree from Harvard University and was an analyst on Wall Street before unexpectedly becoming a social researcher, best-selling author and popular speaker. Shaunti’s findings are regularly featured in media as diverse as The Today Show and Focus on the Family, The New York Times and Cosmo. She (often with her husband, Jeff) speaks at 50 events a year around the world. Shaunti and Jeff live in Atlanta with their teenage daughter and son, and two cats who think they are dogs. Today we are going to be focusing on Shaunti’s book Find Rest: A Women's Devotional for Lasting Peace in a Busy Life.

Being a social researcher led Shaunti to look to science to help fill in the blanks of how to actually find the rest (if the answer wasn’t to stop).

Being a woman of faith led her to look to God.

As she started actively looking to both of these sources for guidance she began to see some very interesting correlations between the answers they were each giving. She ultimately found that patterns in science and scripture boiled down to the same 8 elements of finding rest.

Tune in to hear the 8 elements of finding rest and how they can help you too!

Ep. 66. Keep it Simple in the Kitchen: 10 Easy ways to include kids in cooking - Guest Hillary Hess Jan 29, 2019

Show notes

Hillary Hess is the mother of seven kids. That’s as real as it gets, people!

She came on the scene to help us see how to EASILY include kids in cooking in a way that won’t lead to mom having a nervous breakdown before dinner is served. Hillary graduated with a BS in Home Economics with an emphasis in Home and Family. She runs a website and podcast called “Helping of Happiness” where she shares ideas about mothering, teaching, traveling, and cooking. She is a wonderful cook and definitely NOT a “UM”....EXACTLY the kind of person we desperately need to help us!

She shared 10 tips for teaching kids to cook.

To access the full list as well as many links to resources and books, visit our website www.familylookingup.com.

Ep. 65. Why is My Kid Such a Stress Case? Ideas for children with anxiety and other BIG EMOTIONS - Guest Tanya Lindquist. Jan 22, 2019

Show notes

Tanya Lindquist is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a wife, and a mom. She specializes in kids with anxiety and other big emotions like depression. She runs a website called “Family Ninjas” that’s dedicated to providing families happiness and mental health tips. She is also the author of a book called “Duke’s Journey of Courage: A Children’s Picture Book for Learning Skills to Cope With Anxiety”.

We talked with Tanya about what childhood anxiety looks like, how to help your kids to learn coping strategies, what those strategies are, and how to get more help if needed.

For a detailed description of what we discussed, as well as all the links to websites and books referenced, visit our website www.familylookingup.com

Ep. 64. What Extraordinary Moms Do --- You're probably doing it, too! Jan 15, 2019

Show notes

If you were asked to describe an extraordinary mom, what words would you use? Patient, devoted, intentional, energetic, creative, authentic, fun...the list could go on and on.

I’d bet that the list wouldn’t include words and phrases like: flustered, hanging on to sanity by her fingernails, trying and sometimes succeeding, pretty average and utterly exhausted.

Next question: Which words would you use to describe yourself?

If you’re like me, 99% of the time I would be perfectly portrayed by the second description, and for good reason. Not to disparage myself too greatly. For 10 or 15 minutes a day week month I am totally extraordinary. Usually, though, I feel like I’m one stomach flu away from the loony bin.

Well, according to Jessica Dahlquist of the “Extraordinary Moms” and “Everyday Extraordinary” podcasts, all moms are extraordinary...even me. She says that “We need to take on the badge of extraordinary because of what we’ve signed up for in the first place.” Motherhood is not for the faint of heart and should be celebrated in all of its x-ray needing, potty training, baby giggling glory!

Jessica has been on a mission to help moms see their greatness. She, like us, believes that moms are doing better than they think. She believes that “Every person has a story, and (she) loves helping them identify the value they are making in the world.”

Through hundreds of interviews on her podcast, Jessica has identified four common traits that extraordinary moms have.

We explore those four traits as well as plenty of other things in this episode!

Ep. 63. Bagging Bargains at the Grocery Store - Guest Erin Chase of $5Dinners.com. Jan 08, 2019

Show notes

When you read the words “grocery shopping” do you feel anxiety, boredom, the serious beginnings of a headache, frustration, excitement, desperation, or not really anything? Women run the gamut of emotions when it comes to this particular duty.

One of the BIGGEST stresses about grocery shopping for me is the budget . 😰

The eternal struggle of how to feed my family something a step UP from dog food while not breaking the bank. Oh, yeah. Every. Single. Day.

How can we eat healthy food, instead of beige-yellow processed junk, so that we don’t all have to roll into WalMart (to buy bigger pants) without breaking the bank?

Is it really even possible for me to feed six kids and NOT BREAK THE BANK? Answer: No. No it is not. The bank broke when my water broke.

C’est la vie. Apparently it’s not all about me. Whatever.

ENTER ERIN CHASE

Apparently, smarter people than me (shocking) have figured out a way to solve all of these problems! One of these brilliant people is Erin Chase, creator of $5 dinners.com. IMO, she should get the Nobel Peace Prize for what she’s done for families. Erin has shared her brilliant ideas on The Today Show, Rachel Ray, The View, and many more. Somehow we talked her into spending an hour with us to break down the science of affordable grocery shopping---yes, it’s a thing--- for our Mom Squad (insert applause). 👏👏👏

Years ago, Erin needed to save money for her family, and she decided the place where she could cut costs was groceries. Through strategic grocery shopping, meal planning & couponing methods she learned to cut her grocery bill in half. She is now on a mission to help others do the same. Yay Erin!!

So let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how we actually cut the grocery costs without cutting the children out of the family. We hope you enjoy!

Ep. 62. For ALL the Moms That Aren't Unicorns - Guest Dr. Brandie Nemchenko Jan 01, 2019

Show notes

Pregnancy.

I love you. I hate you.

I think that pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject.

I absolutely LOVE the end result of pregnancy…

the baby, obvi.

My Disclaimer

If you are one of those unicorn moms who actually feels better during pregnancy, you have my serious respect, deep jealousy, and slight to moderate hostility. You must understand that you are NOT NORMAL though.

You. Are. A. Unicorn.

For the non-unicorn moms

Growing a baby within me...not a problem. Not a problem unless I don’t enjoy extreme nausea, dry-heaving at the mere mention of any food, actual vomiting ALL DAY LONG, heartburn from water or lack of water, peeing a thimble amount of fluid if I laugh or sneeze or cough, feeling like I have no control over my emotions (Is it normal to cry at cartoons and commercials because their storylines have such DEPTH and character development?), and then turning moments later into a crazed psychopath because someone left their sock on the stairs or didn’t flush the toilet or they expect dinner...again), feeling like my brain is LITERALLY disintegrating since I can’t remember ANYTHING, including my other children’s names. I actually don’t love these parts of pregnancy...too bad for me. It would be a cake-walk if I did. And then there’s the pain.

How can a tiny being hurt me that much??

I have six kids. I have spent 4.5 years of my life pregnant (more actually, when you include miscarriages). I ALWAYS get Sciatica (pain that radiates down your hips and bum and feels like someone has stabbed you with a knife that is on fire) when I’m pregnant. Sciatica and I are the closest of friends (we’ve named our kids after each other). I spent the first three pregnancies hobbling and crying real tears. By the time I was pregnant with my fourth we lived next to my brother-in-law, who is a physical therapist. This man will go straight to heaven when he dies because he SAVED me while I was pregnant. Therapy was my antidote to pregnancy pains. If I had not been related to a physical therapist I never would have known that gestating mommas need therapy and could be helped by it!

Enter Brandie

In our episode this week we talk with Brandie Nemchenko, a pregnancy chiropractor with over fifteen years of experience in treating thousands of pregnant woman. As someone who has experienced years of pregnancy pain, I LOVED so many of Brandie’s comments. My very favorite of which was “Severe pain in pregnancy is NOT NORMAL, it’s COMMON, but NOT NORMAL”. How often do we, as pregnant women, think that all of our suffering is normal so we do nothing about it?!?

What You Don’t Expect When You’re Expecting

Brandie has just written a book called “What You Don’t Expect When You’re Expecting” that we discussed in our episode. Brandie is incredibly down-to-earth and really understands what women deal with in pregnancy. She talked with us at length about:

The most common physical complaints for pregnant women

Ways to prevent common physical complaints during pregnancy

The advantages to a “healthy” pregnant woman from visiting a chiropractor

The importance of recognizing and getting support from others while you are pregnant

Why connecting with other women, and helping each other is vital

This episode is insightful, full of hope, encouragement and laughter. As Brandie said, “Pregnancy should be one of the most special times in your life and remembered for the joy not the pain.” So, whether you are a unicorn mom, or part of the countless masses of pained momma’s that dream of unicorn status, we hope you will enjoy this episode!

Ep. 61. How to Have the MOST Stressful Christmas EVER: Take 2 Dec 25, 2018

Show notes

It's Christmas today!!!!! Merry Christmas Mom Squad! What a year it has been. If your house is like mine, we've been up since the crack of dawn (insert yawn). I look like a junkie with mascara caked under my eyes and my family room looks like a wrapping paper company exploded.

Christmas breakfast has already been made and cleaned up by yours truly (Am I a saint? Why, yes. Yes I am. Thanks for pointing that out). Currently there are kids playing with toys, teens reading new books, and a husband getting frustrated because the toys are not working correctly. All's right in the world! Now is the perfect time for mom to go listen to an episode of Family Looking Up! We decided to add some new content to episode #6 titled, "How to Have the MOST Stressful Christmas EVER!" We hope you will enjoy the episode. I have included the show notes from that episode below.

Ep. 60. How to be a Miserable Mom: 7 Traps that steal your JOY - Guest Tracey Eyster Dec 18, 2018

Show notes

On todays episode we have Tracey Eyster who is the author of Be the Mom, in which she shares advice on how to avoid what she describes as the seven most common “mom traps.”

Here’s what I LOVE about Tracey (other than her accent). Usually when I learn about “mom traps” I feel a LOT of guilt because it’s pretty clear that I have “stuff” that I’m dealing with. Tracey isn’t advocating perfection in motherhood. She knows it’s hard. She says that moms are too hard on themselves. They take on motherhood thinking that they’ve “got this” and when things seem REALLY hard they think that maybe they weren’t cut out for motherhood. She says that’s not true. “It’s normal to have ‘yucky feelings’ and be stressed as a mother. It’s not that motherhood is hard, it is just that motherhood brings out all ‘your stuff’.”

Tracey identified the seven most common “mom traps” in an effort to help her daughter as she embarked on the journey of motherhood. The book is written in an encouraging tone that makes you feel like there is a possibility of learning to avoid these “traps” as we learn to recognize them for what they are. The problem isn’t us. It’s our attitude.

To say that Tracey is fun and easy to talk to is like saying that the Rockies are “biggish”. I cannot begin to say how much we LOVED our conversation with her. Her laugh and wit are infectious (And if you listen closely, so is her accent. Beth unknowingly switched into a Kentucky drawl halfway through the interview!)

Ep. 59. "I'm not anything special": Why the world needs EVERY mom and EVERY child - Guest Sherrine Hayward. Dec 11, 2018

Show notes

I just got home from traveling to hear my nephew speak in church. He is embarking on an 18 month service mission for his church and was asked to speak before he begins. As I was about to listen to this 18 year old boy speak, I expected the depth of...well, an 18 year old boy; a little life experience, definite bravado, some joking with a touch of God-loving faith mixed in...he was about to dedicate a chunk of his life to serving God, after all.

What I got was something very different and very special.

He didn’t sound like an 18 year old. He sounded MUCH wiser. The reason behind this is because of what has happened in this boy’s life. At the age of 12 he was in a terrible bicycle accident which led to a compound fracture in his leg. Medical mistakes led to compartment syndrome which means that the tissue and muscle in his leg were cut off from blood supply and began to die. He nearly lost his leg during this ordeal. Twenty two surgeries and six years later he still has his leg, but is in constant pain each and every day. As he stood and spoke about service and love he spoke with wisdom far beyond his years. I commented to my brother that it’s sadly ironic that we do EVERYTHING within our power to avoid trials like this for ourselves and our children, even though going through these trials are the very thing that makes us more than we ever could have been otherwise.

With that in mind, this week’s episode is probably my favorite that we have aired so far! Our guest, Sherrine Hayward, is incredible in a way that you just can’t be if you have not walked through trials that shape you into something more refined and more wise than you ever could have been without them.

To introduce this amazing lady to you, I want to include an excerpt of a letter Sherrine sent to us describing herself and her son Dayton:

“I am the mother of six children. The oldest is Dayton, and you may recognize him from the Mormon Message, Dayton's Legs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwwxBjpvDVQ

I have five other children younger than him. My children range in ages from 21 to 4 years old. We have always included Dayton in life. Dayton is nonverbal and I care for all of his physical needs. But he communicates with eye blinks. And, we do everything together as a family. He hunts with his dad and runs with me. I race with him and he and I completed an IronMan with my friend. It was an incredible experience. SO hard and not something I ever thought I could do.

Now I am not anything special. Believe me. But I believe in full inclusion in every way. ALL people deserve to be given life. One of my best friends told me once that the only requirement a person needs to have to be fully included is to breathe. I believe this with all of my heart. I think many moms of kids with disabilities are afraid to reach out. They are afraid to include their kids in life. It is hard. But it is so beautiful and they wish for it. It is possible to include these children. Belief in them is all they need and that the world needs.”

I was so touched by Sherrine’s story and her interview is the perfect lead-in to Christmas.

If you want to feel love, encouragement, and wisdom then listen to this interview.

If you want to teach your kids how to love those with challenges, then listen to her wonderful advice.

If you want to know how to be kinder and more loving….more Christian, then listen to this interview.

The thing that stuck out most to me from Sherrine’s letter that I shared above, was the phrase “Now, I am not anything special.”

????

How often do we see ourselves as “not anything special” when we are, in fact, a ray of light in a world full of darkness? To all the moms out there who are “not anything special”, you are doing so much better than you think.

You have sacrificed to be a parent and that alone is a selfless, serious business.

Just because life is not easy and just because we are walking hard paths does not mean that we are doing it wrong. In fact, it probably means that we are doing it right and being stretched into something amazing. As Sherrine said “I would never wish a child with disabilities on my enemy, but I would wish it upon my friend. It is such a blessing!”

I want to thank Sherrine for sharing Dayton with us, and for reminding us that hard does not equal bad. Holland is beautiful!*

*See our website www.familylookingup.com

for more resources including the poem *"Welcome to Holland"

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