In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m sharing the story of the day Disneyland called. This is not just about a Disney Junior event or a brand opportunity. It is about inner child healing, grief, motherhood, dreams, and why Disneyland has always felt like home to me. I talk about the phone call, the Winnie the Pooh table, the Disney Junior Playdate, my tiny queens, my mom and brother Adam, and why this felt like a hug for little Amanda. If you have a soul dream that feels hard to explain, come sit with me for a bit.

00:00 Welcome Back and Disneyland Joy
00:46 The Year My Inner Child Dreams Collided With Work
02:04 Why Disneyland Was the Biggest Dream
03:15 The Snow Globe and Childhood Disney Memories
04:13 Main Street, Family Stories, and Pixie Dust
05:12 When I Learned Disney Worked With Creators
06:22 Why This Was More Than a Brand Opportunity
08:13 The Call From My Manager
12:41 Making the Trip Work in Real Life
14:06 Getting the Disney Junior Event Details
15:43 Arriving at the Hojo
18:06 Lanyards, Scavenger Hunts, and Very Important Pixie Energy
19:00 The Winnie the Pooh Table
21:08 Disney Junior, Doc McStuffins, and the Dance Floor
22:35 The Disney Junior Parade
23:33 Animation Academy and Alice’s Bakery
24:37 Disneyland as a Family Memory
28:26 Sharing Disneyland With My Tiny Queens
29:49 A Hug for Little Amanda
31:57 Winks From Heaven and Winnie the Pooh
34:18 You Never Know Whose Heart You Are Touching
35:26 Do Not Give Up on Your Soul Dream
38:06 One Day the Fairy Godmother Calls
39:12 A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes
40:05 Thank You for Dreaming With Me
41:07 Final Encouragement

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about imposter syndrome, Cinderella, the glass slipper, motherhood, identity, and why you do not have to force yourself into someone else’s version of success. We get into back to school prep, becoming a room mom, content creation pressure, changing my college major five times, negative self talk, faith, tiny queens, and why Cinderella was always Cinderella, with or without the dress. If you have been doubting yourself or trying to fit into a life that does not feel like yours, come sit with me for a bit. The glass slipper was always yours.

00:00 Back on Video and Out of the Closet
01:27 Back to School Brain Prep
02:10 Resetting the Alarm Clock
03:17 School Supplies and Overwhelm
04:17 Becoming a Room Mom
05:09 Imposter Syndrome and Cinderella
06:44 The Cinderella Story Revisited
08:14 The Dress Was Not the Point
09:38 Only Cinderella Fit the Shoe
10:02 Social Media and Feeling Like an Imposter
12:03 Everyone Has a Glass Slipper
14:13 When People Try to Steal Your Shoe
16:03 The Imprint You Leave
17:25 When Your Inner Voice Gets Cruel
18:37 Gus Gus and the Key
19:56 The Slipper Was Always With Her
21:22 You Had It All Along
23:31 The Shoe Analogy Continues
24:21 Trying to Fit Someone Else’s Life
27:09 Trying New Shoes Without Losing Yourself
28:18 Motherhood and the Mold I Tried to Fit
30:17 You Can Be More Than One Version
32:03 Communicating With My Tiny Queens
34:01 There Is Only One of You
35:03 The Pumpkin Was Just the Ride
36:10 Things Do Not Make Us Who We Are
37:15 Why Cinderella Still Matters
38:09 Do Not Lock Yourself Away
39:33 Changing Majors and Choosing Your Own Path
40:35 Final Encouragement

Welcome back to the all new After Hours With Amanda. In this episode, I’m catching up on life, health, fiber, therapy, fall pressure, tiny queens, and the tools I’m learning for emotional regulation and control. We talk about redirecting instead of refereeing, witnessing and walking away when something no longer serves you, not letting someone else’s projection become your reflection, and what Inside Out teaches us about sitting with people in their feelings. If you are heading into a busy season and trying not to carry everything, come sit with me for a bit.

00:00 Welcome to the All New After Hours With Amanda
00:50 Back to School and Summer Sunset
01:41 Swim Season, Therapy, and Catching Up
02:52 Making Time for What Matters
03:49 Health Update, Fiber, and Food Responsibility
06:09 Why I Do Not Do Resolutions
07:09 Scientists of Life
07:53 Heading Into Fall Pressure
09:11 Therapy, Control, and the Illusion of Plans
10:03 Redirect Instead of Referee
12:19 Your Kids Are Not You
14:18 Teaching Problem Solving Without Refereeing
15:17 When Red Flags Keep Showing Up
16:23 Stress, Control, and Holding Too Tight
18:35 Holiday Triggers and Protecting Your Peace
20:10 Not Holding People Accountable for Someone Else
23:10 Projection Is Not Your Reflection
25:45 Cheap Seats Do Not Get a Front Row
26:27 Holding Their Mad With Them
28:16 Witness, Walk Away, and Redirect
29:01 Inside Out and Sitting With Emotion
30:48 Scientists of Life Together
31:13 Final Encouragement

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about time passing, feeling behind, dreams, motherhood, Disneyland, grief, and the version of me who once could not see how the story would unfold. I read from the journal I started when I was pregnant with London, back when I was working retail and aching to be home with her, and I talk about why Disneyland feels like coming home to my mom, Adam, and younger me. If you feel stuck, scared, or like everyone else got the map except you, this is your reminder that time is passing, but it is not leaving you behind.

00:00 Sixteen Days Until Disneyland
01:11 Jeans, Socks, and Parent Jokes
02:54 The Disney Trip Plot Begins
05:39 No Means Not Yet
06:55 Page Joins the Disney Campaign
09:06 Sometimes I Do Not Want to Grow Up
11:39 We Are Going to Disneyland
12:18 Why Disneyland Feels Like Home
13:50 Grief, Cremation, and Having No Place to Visit
15:08 Main Street Memories
16:09 Disney and the Younger Parts of Me
17:31 My Simple Goal Journal
18:37 Reading My Pregnancy Journal
25:45 Missing My Mom While Becoming a Mom
27:10 Time Passing and Working Retail
30:15 Wanting London to Know Me
31:48 Watching the Game When You Know Who Wins
33:27 The Page Turned Six Months Later
34:11 Coming Home Full Time
36:44 The Pressure We Put on Tiny Things
38:04 Time Can Work for You Too
39:38 You Do Not Have to Have the Whole Plan
44:30 Time Is Not Leaving You Behind
45:23 Learning Is Not Getting Everything Right
46:20 It Is All Happening for You
48:27 Final Encouragement

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about dreams, self worth, purpose in pain, and what it means to be refined, not broken. This is a long voicemail about the new podcast sign, dream journals, the Macy’s Day Parade, Disneyland, chronic pain, tiny queens growing up, Whitney Houston, and learning to kick other people’s voices out of your head. I’m not pretending hard seasons are easy, but I do believe future you may look back and say, “Look at us. We made it.” If your inner voice has been loud or your dream feels far away, sit with me for a bit.

00:00 Welcome Back and the New Sign
00:23 Academy Awards and Dreams
01:31 Life Does Not End at 40
02:09 Loving the Process
03:04 Dream Journals and Big Goals
04:02 Disneyland, Dissociation, and Looking Ahead
05:12 Changing Your Mind Is Allowed
07:41 Change Means Growth
08:17 Pain, Fire, and the Uncut Diamond
10:42 Testing, Faith, and Proving It to Yourself
12:04 There Is Purpose in Your Pain
13:32 Bitterness Does Not Heal You
14:09 Empathy After Physical Pain
16:11 You Are Stronger Than You Think
17:40 Whitney Houston and the Greatest Love
18:41 Who Is Living in Your Head?
19:16 Boundaries Are Not Always Simple
20:42 The Village Can Be One Person
22:41 Learning to Love Yourself
23:16 Getting to Know Your Kids Again
25:33 Getting to Know Yourself Again
27:25 The Last First Tooth
30:21 Raising Them to Leave You
32:27 Getting to Know Yourself in Every Stage
34:13 The Diamond Analogy
35:43 Your Best, Hottest Version
36:17 Ten Years Ago Amanda
38:01 The Hard Season Can Still Refine You
39:09 Sing Whitney in the Car
40:49 Shine Light on the Dream
41:55 Planning the Week and Fighting the Inner Voice
43:19 You Are Being Refined
44:02 Calling Out the Lies in Your Head
46:40 Becoming the Future You
47:26 Creating a Safe Space
48:27 Big Dreams for the Podcast
50:33 You Are a Diamond
51:35 One Day, a Live Tour
52:02 Final Encouragement

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about comparison, content creation, women judging women, motherhood, childfree conversations, working moms, stay at home moms, and what we teach our tiny queens when we tear each other down. This is a long voicemail about fake nails, ASMR rage, Comparison Katie, Julie Jealousy, losing my job in 2020, falling into content creation, and why someone else’s life does not have to threaten the value of yours. If comparison has been loud lately, come sit with me for a bit. We are doing our best.

00:00 Rerecording the Lost Episode
00:33 Is Life Better After 30?
01:12 Video Podcast Anxiety
01:28 Fake Nails and Hyperfixation
03:25 Harvest Snaps and ASMR Rage
04:11 Comparison Katie Shows Up
05:02 Content Creation and Job Loss
06:27 Brand Deals, Auditions, and ROI
08:35 Metrics, Money, and Feeling Behind
09:04 Julie Jealousy and Emotional Regulation
10:12 More Is Caught Than Taught
10:36 DINK Life and Tiny Humans
11:39 The Viral Friday Night Video
13:13 Women Judging Women
14:30 Working Moms and Stay At Home Moms
15:27 The TikTok Stitch
16:01 What You Put In Your Brain Matters
17:25 Choosing Not to Engage
20:26 Losing My Job and Finding This Community
21:11 Mom Culture Fighting Itself
22:03 Moms Helping Moms
23:15 Sharing the Hard Without Scaring People
24:25 You Do Not Have to Want Kids
26:19 Making Each Other’s Lives Better
28:09 Stop Measuring Women’s Worth
28:59 There Is a Right Way to Treat People
29:47 The Transcript Cuts Off

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about the illusion of control, the routines that make us feel safe, and what happens when life changes enough that the old systems do not fit the same way. This is a long voicemail about overbooking myself, somatic therapy, emotional hijacking, Starbucks rituals, food routines, In N Out Mondays, motherhood, faith, and learning that structure can support us without becoming the measure of whether we are okay. If your habits have shifted, your body feels different, or you are trying to hold everything together because you love your people, sit with me for a bit.

00:00 An Unintended Episode
00:32 Overbooking Myself Again
01:23 Teacher Features and Mini Golf
02:18 Valentine’s Parties and Garden Class
03:17 Thriving on Chaos
04:01 Somatic Therapy and Inside Out
06:11 When One Emotion Hijacks Everything
07:20 When the Body Holds the Feeling
08:00 Journaling Feels Too Honest
09:15 Reporting Versus Really Feeling
10:38 Family Photos and Full Circle Moments
14:32 Swim, Schedules, and Being Voluntold
15:16 The Illusion of Control
16:33 The Starbucks Ritual
20:31 When the Old Systems Break Down
22:19 Trying Decaf and Feeling Anxiety Rise
25:30 What If This Is Not My Jam Anymore?
26:16 Strawberries, Structure, and Flexibility
28:11 Habits Are Helpful Until They Hijack You
30:49 In N Out Mondays and Holding On
33:08 Faith When Everything Falls Apart
34:38 Control, Birth, and Sacred Moments
36:10 When Systems Become the Bar
37:19 Learning to Slow Down
38:10 Control Can Come From Love
40:24 Shaking Up the Systems
42:10 Parenting the Younger Parts of Me
43:27 Pivoting Without Calling It Failure
44:26 Valentine’s Day and Being Loved

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about restriction versus restraint in parenting, food, iPads, friendships, exercise, marriage, and the way I treat myself. This is not advice. It is me learning out loud about raising tiny humans who can build judgment, confidence, and trust instead of just hearing “no” at every turn. We get into sugar, screens, peer pressure, food fear after surgery, getting back to movement for mental health, and the joy of hearing my tiny queen call me out when I needed it. If you are trying to parent without making everything all or nothing, sit with me for a bit.

00:00 Still Figuring Out the Video Podcast
00:23 Delilah Radio Energy and Mic Noises
01:08 Bodily Functions and Being Real
02:11 Getting Back in the Gym
04:23 Starting a New Kind of Therapy
06:02 Living Again After Surgery
06:28 Catching the Good Old Days
08:07 Past Me, Present Me, Future Me
08:51 Avatar, Toy Story, and Disney Tangents
10:35 Parenting an Almost Ten Year Old
11:18 Friends, Restriction, and Control
13:07 Restriction Versus Restraint
16:16 Teaching Safety Instead of Just Saying No
17:05 iPads, Sugar, and Building Judgment
21:16 Why Peer Pressure Gets Tricky
24:06 Parenting Is Not a Group Project
26:07 Restriction Versus Restraint With Myself
30:43 Marriage Is Not All or Nothing
33:23 Tools for Friendships and Toxic Relationships
35:31 I Trust Your Judgment
37:01 Conversations With My Tiny Queen
40:16 Final Encouragement

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m talking about people over productivity and the way we measure ourselves and each other by what gets done, what gets missed, and which balls get dropped. After months of pain and recovery, I started thinking about how quickly we take things personally instead of asking what might be going on. This is a long voicemail about motherhood, friendship, mental health, hot lunch, tiny queens, boundaries, empathy, and remembering that we are all more than our checkboxes. If you have felt behind, quiet, overwhelmed, or not enough, sit with me for a bit.

00:00 Trying a New Video Podcast Setup
00:44 Mall Walker Energy and Sephora Chaos
02:46 Welcome to After Hours With Amanda
03:28 Feeling the Love After Last Week
04:08 Starting Somatic Therapy
04:35 Why Do I Go on the Defense?
06:21 The Stress of “Can We Talk?”
07:03 Where My Value Comes From
08:34 When the Balls Start Dropping
10:23 Asking What Happened First
12:24 Seeing Our Tiny People More Clearly
13:38 Why Are They Dropping the Ball?
16:10 Chronic Pain and People Over Productivity
18:28 Noticing When Someone Seems Off
21:00 When a Tiny Queen Finally Says the Week Was Hard
23:21 The Village Does Not Have to Be Large
25:07 When People Show Up in the Dark
26:17 Boundaries, Peace, and Collaboration
30:25 Hot Lunch and Letting Go of Mom Rules
33:43 Asking Why Before Moving On
36:03 The Frozen Lake Analogy
38:00 Mental Health Should Not Be Whispered About
41:24 You Are More Than Your Productivity
43:05 Do Something Kind for Someone Else
45:04 People Over Productivity
46:10 Final Encouragement

In this episode of After Hours With Amanda, I’m sharing where I have been for the last four months. This is my personal medical story, not medical advice, about an anal fissure, chronic pain, health anxiety, food fear, advocating for myself, and finally being believed. It is vulnerable, chaotic, and yes, somehow includes the phrase “Botox for my butthole.” I talk about pain, surgery, motherhood, faith, asking for help, and what it felt like to have life stop long enough for me to see how much control I was trying to carry. If you are in something life altering, I hope you feel less alone here.

00:00 Filming the Podcast and Feeling Awkward
01:36 Welcome Back After Four Months
02:18 Trigger Warnings and Why I’m Sharing
03:35 When I Thought It Was Hemorrhoids
04:49 Years of GI Issues and Bathroom Shame
07:19 Suppositories, Burning, and Things Getting Worse
08:26 The Night the Pain Took Over
11:51 Getting Diagnosed With an Anal Fissure
14:53 Creams, Pain, and No Clear Answers
17:15 Fiber Counting and Food Fear
20:14 The 50/50 Phone Call
23:24 Spasms, Baths, and Losing Weight
26:22 The Light Leaving My Eyes
28:02 Disneyland in Survival Mode
35:13 The Appointment I Thought Would Fix Everything
36:11 A Triggering Medical Exam
40:14 Needing a Female Surgeon
44:10 Fighting Insurance and Feeling Unheard
50:18 Advocating for Myself Like I Would for My Girls
52:42 Finally Getting the Appointment
55:01 Being Believed Without Explaining Everything
56:14 Surgery, Botox, and Finally No Pain
01:02:25 Why Validation Matters
01:03:30 Faith, Anger, and Feeling Deserted
01:04:34 Motherhood, Control, and Missing Christmas Programs
01:08:09 Finding Joy in the Small Things
01:09:20 Water, Fiber, and Food Exposure
01:11:27 Life Altering, Not Life Threatening
01:12:45 Final Encouragement