Atomic Moms

#94: Heading towards the last hurrah of summer, we’re letting our hair down, celebrating our sensuality, and re-awakening our sense of wonder. We're also posing one of my favorite mom questions: Why do we struggle to look like we're perfect when the people we love the most are the ones who are fancy free with their imperfections? Our guest Mandy Arioto, mother to three young children, is the president and CEO of MOPs International: "a grassroots movement that believes moms are world influencers.” Mandy has been featured on MSN.com, theknot.com, the nest.com, and Fox. She writes: “Carl Jung suggests that becoming whole means bringing together that which has been torn apart. Whether that is light and darkness, feminine and masculine, conscious and unconscious, we are whole when we embrace both.” You can find her new book "Starry-Eyed: Seeing Grace in the Unfolding Constellation of Life and Motherhood" on atomicmoms.com. P.S. We also talk about ice cream.

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xo, Atomic Moms mom-in-chief Ellie Knaus

Special Thanks:

composer - Jeremy Turner,

post audio mix - Owen O'Neill

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Oprah says of our guest Martha Beck: "She's one of the smartest women I know." In podcast #93 Martha Beck encourages host Ellie Knaus to get honest in every aspect of her life with an INTEGRITY CLEANSE. Of course, Ellie freaks out that everyone will abandon her. Could YOU do it? Wouldn't it be liberating to stop "dancing on eggshells"? We also discuss: the truth about pain, how to handle self-criticism, challenging the voices in our head, what our bodies are really trying to tell us, and how to be compassionate towards ourselves when we're mad at ourselves for how we're being so hard on ourselves (a double whammy and Ellie's longtime favorite conundrum until Martha solves it for us here. Huzzah!)

Martha's bestselling books include: Expecting Adam, Finding Your Own North Star, Steering By Starlight, and Finding Your Way in a Wild New World, and we discuss her new work of fiction: Diana, Herself: An Allegory in Awakening. Martha Beck has three degrees from Harvard. And every month we flip to Martha's column in O Magazine first.

Learn more about her training program at marthabeckinstitute.com

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Sometimes our own parents aren't equipped to teach us how to create a meaningful life. It's our job to figure it out for ourselves and pass it on. MARGAUX BERGEN, an observant and whip smart daughter of a dysfunctional family, wrote down some of her hard earned wisdom to give to her eldest daughter when she went to college. Penguin Press has published these family stories and raw insights in the hybrid memoir/advice book: “Navigating Life: Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me.”

A champion for women leadership around the world, Margaux Bergen has worked with the non-profit Vital Voices. She has held senior communications positions at The Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty, The United Way and the World Bank, and is now with the women-led, conscious journalism site ORBMedia. On Atomic Moms we talk about respectful parenting, the dreaded resume gap, solitude vs. loneliness, and how we can veer away from our dysfunctional family history and find our way back to our essential self. xx Ellie Knaus

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Special thanks to composer Jeremy Turner.

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We're raising a glass to complicated families. *Clink* In episode #91, guest Tracy Barone chats with Ellie Knaus about the fractured mythology of our own family of origin. For example, do we ever really know our parents? What are they not telling us and how has it subconsciously informed who we are?

A mother of reinvention (playwright, film producer, now novelist), Barone also opens up about the identity crisis that plagues so many moms taking a break from the work force and what she learned about herself in the process.

We talk about the Buddhist concept of the child choosing the parent before birth. (We'd love to know: why do you think your kid picked you?)

And for all you creative mamas out there, we pinpoint what it takes to birth your passion project.

Find show notes at atomicmoms.com

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Special thanks to Jeremy Turner for his gorgeous music.

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Separation Anxiety Part 2 with parenting expert Jennifer Waldburger goes WAY DEEP. In this new episode with host Ellie Knaus, we break down the steps for healthy separation, discuss how we can help our children be more independent from us, talk about attachment patterns that can arise generation after generation, share the neurological response of "separation anxiety", and offer tips for saying goodbye at school drop off. Boom! Episode 90.

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You know the lyrics to Frozen's "Let It Go," but how about in Mandarin? In this lighthearted and seriously entertaining 89th Atomic Moms episode, Ellie Knaus and guest co-host Bridget Moloney-Sinclair introduce you to Amber Duke, a big-hearted mama who leans into adventure and embraces motherhood camaraderie. We talk about living in China: the cultural adjustments and the toddler parenting wins. We discuss how Amber's husband quit his Chicago job to become the stay-at-home dad in China (and the partner award goes to...!). And we give a shout out to Amber's online mom group: the F15 Vipers, who prove that Motherhood can lead to the most satisfying friendships across time zones.

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xo Ellie Knaus

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What's the #1 thing you can give your kid? A healthy, loving connection with you. But sometimes it's really hard. Okay. Really effing hard. Luckily, we have some parenting world rockstars here to help. Featuring brand new commentary with host Ellie Knaus and insights from these remarkable guests:

*Erika Christakis: early childhood educator, Yale lecturer, and author of this year's New York Times bestseller "The Importance of Being Little"

*Roma Khetarpal: parent educator, Tools of Growth founder, author of the Nautilus Award winner "The 'Perfect' Parent: 5 Tools for Using Your Inner Perfection to Connect with Your Kids"

*Susan Stiffelman: licensed psychotherapist, credentialed teacher, The Huffington Post's "parent coach", and author of "Parenting without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm, and Connected" and "Parenting with Presence: Practices for Raising Conscious, Confident, Caring Kids" (An Eckart Tolle edition).

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xx Ellie

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For nearly 40 years Atomic Moms guest LIZ PRYOR has kept a tremendous secret. In 1979 she moved into a government run, lock down facility for pregnant teenage girls and secretly gave birth to a child she’d never meet. Liz's new memoir "Look At You Now: My Journey from Shame to Strength," (Random House) explains her affluent and scholarly parents’ decision to send her away and what happens once she gets there. Liz’s siblings, friends, and relatives have not heard the truth until now. On Atomic Moms, we talk about legacy, the adoption, heritage, and shame, divorce, secrets, and second careers. We also ask this charismatic mother of three and "Good Morning America's Advice Guru" to help us with mama "overwhelm".

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#86 Parenting expert and Atomic Moms mentor Jennifer Waldburger answers a million questions in this two-parter with host Ellie Knaus. In this episode Jennifer offers practical tips for both the “rejected” parent and the “preferred ” parent. We discuss what attachment means and the signs of a healthy attachment. And we take a long hard look at our need to be needed and also mommy separation anxiety. Co-founder of Sleepy Planet Parenting and co-director of Mindfulness at Stephen S. Wise School in Los Angeles, Jennifer has co-written “The Sleepeasy Solution” and “Calm Mama, Happy Baby”. Find out more about our guest at sleepyplanet.com. Subscribe on iTunes.com/AtomicMoms so you don’t miss PART TWO of this discussion. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes. It’s immensely helpful. (And afterwards, shoot me an email through atomicmoms.com so i can thank you!)

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Ep #85: Ethan Sawyer returns with an illuminating exercise that can help make our parenting job a little easier and way more harmonious. After a huge response from our “Core Values, College Essays, and Burning Man Babies” episode last fall, the nationally recognized college essay expert shares with our listeners a simple and empowering method for parents to break down problems (big and small) and find solutions… all by themselves. (So much cheaper than therapy! And as always, Ellie is the guinea pig). The parenting friends also laugh about baby sign language, competitive potty training, and the importance of Dumbo’s feather. Visit www.atomicmoms.com to print out the “Feelings and Needs” worksheet and to order “The College Essay Essentials: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Successful College Admission Essay”. Follow @collegeessayguy and @atomicmoms on social media.

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