What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms

Latest Episodes:

Fresh Take: KC Davis and the Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing May 06, 2022

Show notes

KC Davis is the creator of the mental health platform Struggle Care, where she shares a revolutionary approach to self and home care for those dealing with mental health, physical illness, and hard seasons of life. She is a licensed professional therapist, author, speaker, and advocate for mental health and recovery. Her new book is How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing.

Does just glancing in your messy playroom make you want to lie down and nap? We all get overwhelmed when we see our chaotic houses as endless "to-clean" lists that we never complete. KC Davis has simple and easy-to-implement strategies for making cleaning up functional--and giving you small wins along the way that really count.

In this episode, KC, Amy, and Margaret discuss:

How to take a new perspective on cleaning
The five different categories of things in any given mess
How to involve kids in cleaning house without tears (theirs OR yours)

Here's where you can find KC:

https://www.strugglecare.com/about

Instagram/Facebook: @strugglecare

Twitter: @KCDavisSays

You can purchase KC's book, How to Keep House While Drowning, here.

Special thanks to this month's sponsors:

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BEST OF: Let It Go? Or No? May 04, 2022

Show notes

This week we're revisiting one of our all-time favorite episodes, in which we review listener grudges, large and small, and deciding once and for all if those listeners should let it go, or no.

Letting it go doesn't mean you're wrong to be annoyed. Sometimes you are totally right and you STILL have to let it go.

And sometimes nursing a tiny bonsai grievance for a decade is sort of fun... but that works better when you aren't related to that person.

Sometimes shifting our perspective is the best choice we have.

As Margaret's Aunt Terry likes to say: you can't get pizza from a Chinese restaurant.

Special thanks to this month's sponsors:

Aura Frameturns your family’s past into the perfect gift, bringing all your favorite photos and videos together in one high-resolution display. Get up to $40 off while supplies last by visitingauraframes.com/FRESH.

Beam’s DreamPowder is their sleep-promoting healthy hot cocoa. 99% of people experience better sleep quality when taking Beam Dream! Get $20 off at beamorganics.com with the code FRESH.

Credit Karmahelps you find low-interest personal loans that may well have lower interest rates than your credit cards do now! Head to creditkarma.com/loanoffers to see your personalized offers.

Home.Made. Podcast is a terrific new podcast offering stories about the meaning of home in America. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts!

KiwiCoprojects make science, technology, engineering, art, and math super fun. Get 30% off your first month plus FREE shipping on ANY crate line with code MOTHERHOOD.

Ladderhelps you find life insurance without the hassle! Answer a few questions online to apply for up to $3 million in term life insurance coverage. Go to ladderlife.com/laughing today to see if you’re instantly approved.

Peloton has a workout for every goal, day, and mood: everything from boxing and dance cardio to yoga and meditation. Visit onepeloton.com to learn more.

Renzo’s Vitamins“melty tabs” taste great and give your kids the vitamins they need- without all the sugar of gummies! Go to renzosmagic.com and use the code FRESH to get $5 off.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fresh Take: Iris Chen on "Untigering" Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

Iris Chen was raised in the "tiger parenting" model, and began her parenting journey using similarly authoritarian and strict tactics– until she considered whether there might be another path, an approach to parenting that was rooted in partnership rather than in power. So Iris founded the "Untigering" movement, exploring a more peaceful parenting approach, and wrote the book "Untigering: Peaceful Parenting for the Deconstructing Tiger Parent."

In this episode, Margaret, Amy, and Iris discuss:

Navigating parenting at the intersection of American and Chinese identities
The turning point for Iris when she decided to "untiger"
How we all can practice peaceful parenting in our daily lives

Find Iris on social media @untigering and at https://untigering.com/.

Buy her UNTIGERING book here!

Special thanks to this month’s sponsors:

Beam’s Dream Powder is their sleep-promoting healthy hot cocoa. 99% of people experience better sleep quality when taking Beam Dream! Get $20 off at beamorganics.com/fresh with the code FRESH.

Betterhelp online therapy is affordable, confidential, and effective! Give it a try and see if online therapy can help lower your stress. Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/fresh.

Daily Harvest delivers delicious harvest bowls, flatbreads, smoothies, and more, all built on organic fruits and vegetables. Go to dailyharvest.com/laughing to get up to $40 off your first box!

Firstleaf is a wine club that curates and ships wines that are personalized to your tastes! Get 6 bottles of wine for $29.95, plus free shipping, at tryfirstleaf.com/laughing.

Home.Made.Podcast is a terrific new podcast offering stories about the meaning of home in America. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts!

KiwiCo projects make science, technology, engineering, art, and math super fun. Get 30% off your first month plus FREE shipping on ANY crate line at kiwico.com with code MOTHERHOOD.

Ladder helps you find life insurance without the hassle! Answer a few questions online to apply for up to $3 million in term life insurance coverage. Go to ladderlife.com/laughing today to see if you’re instantly approved.

Mathnasium is the place for online and in-person math education– whether your kids are a little behind, or need to be further challenged. Get your free consultation at mathnasium.com.

Native products keep you feeling and smelling fresh. Get 20% off your first order by going to nativedeo.com/fresh or by using the promo code FRESH.

Parade underwear and loungewear are sustainable, size-inclusive, comfortable and fantastic! Go to yourparade.com/laughing and use the code LAUGHING for 20% off your first order.

Peloton has a workout for every goal, day, and mood: everything from boxing and dance cardio to yoga and meditation. Visit onepeloton.com to learn more.

Renzo’s Vitamins “melty vitamins” taste great and give your kids the vitamins they need- without all the sugar of gummies! Go to renzosmagic.com and use the code FRESH to get $5 off.

Thrive Causemetics beauty and skin care products have clean, skin-loving ingredients– and are truly high-performance. Get 15% off your first order at thrivecausemetics.com/WHATFRESHHELL.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BONUS: What We're Watching, Reading, and Listening To Apr 28, 2022

Show notes

In this bonus episode, Amy and Margaret discuss what they read, watch, and listen to between recording episodes of "What Fresh Hell." It involves stuffy upper class drawing rooms, brushes with death, and being "22."

What We're Watching

"The Thing About Pam" on Peacock
Michael Clayton
"Bridgerton"on Netflix
"Dopesick" on Hulu
"Sanditon" on PBS Masterpiece (Erica's pick!)
"Gilded Age" on HBO (Sarah's pick!)
Les Miserables (2012)
"Station 11" on HBO
Engaged to a Psycho (2020) on Lifetime

What We're Reading:

View Amy's reading list here.

View Margaret's reading list here.

I am I am I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell
The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery by Ross Douthat
Colleen Hoover's books
In Her Boots by KJ Dell'Antonia
The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell'Antonia
Blueprint for a Book by Jennie Nash
The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness by Meghan O'Rourke
"The Stolen Kids of Sara Lawrence" by Ezra Marcus and James D. Walsh
The complete works of J.D. Salinger (Aren't they great???)

What We're Listening To:

Here's our Spotify playlist of our "currently listening" podcasts

"Folklore" and "Evermore" by Taylor Swift

Check out the Audm app for longform journalism in audio format (Margaret's rec)

Check out the Pocket app for saving reading material for later (Amy's rec)

We love our sponsors!

Check out the promo codes available through this month's sponsors here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Which Parenting Rules Can We Break? Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

Who makes the parenting rules? And how bendable are they? From picky eaters to sleep routines to playing outside, we all have to navigate the line between what we supposedly should and shouldn't allow as parents. But sometimes it's okay to break the rules if it works for you and your family. Amy and Margaret dive into the details in this listener-driven episode.

In this episode, Margaret and Amy discuss:

the different types of parenting rules
which parenting rules they have broken
"YOYO" dinners

Other episodes we mention:

Amee Severson on Intuitive Eating

Ask Amy: Helping Kids Deal with Comparison and Envy

Christina Martin on How Children Learn Through Play