t’s Friday Wine Down and Ali’s pouring a big one.

This week’s win? Her mum (aka the ultimate MVP) swooping in to take care of the kids for a whole week while Ali’s away working. Seven days of school runs, packed lunches, and referee duty talk about saving the day.

But the whinge? People who cut off their mums, dads, or family over old wounds. Ali’s not talking about toxic situations or self-protection but the way some of us hold onto grudges for decades over simple mistakes. Families are messy, parents screw up, but when does forgiveness matter more than pride?

We chat:

🍷 Why Ali’s mum deserves a damn medal

🍷 The danger of carrying generational grudges

🍷 How to find the balance between boundaries and letting go

🍷 Why family (even the slightly unhinged ones) might just be worth keeping close

It’s a raw, real, wine-in-hand chat that’ll make you laugh, nod, and maybe even call your mum.

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If you’ve ever sat in the car crying because you sent your kid to school with a lunchbox full of beige food, this one’s for you.

In this episode of Big Mum Energy, Ali dives into Glenn Bousen’s brilliantly honest book There Are Worse Mothers Than You a not-so-gentle reminder that even on your worst days, you’re still a bloody good mum.

We talk:

📚 Why mum guilt is baked into motherhood (and how to flip it the bird)

🤣 The hilarious, real-life stories that prove perfection is a myth

💌 A love letter to all the mums who feel like they’re failing but are actually smashing it

🥂 Permission to lower the bar, laugh at the chaos, and embrace being “good enough”

Because at the end of the day your kids don’t need a perfect mum, they just need you.

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Let’s be honest the witching hour is brutal. The kids are feral, the house looks like a bomb site, and somehow you’re meant to pull off a nutritious family dinner without losing your mind. Enter: the slow cooker.

In this week’s Motivational Monday, Ali serves up the gospel of setting it, forgetting it, and actually enjoying your evening without the dinner-time meltdown. We’re talking:

🥘 Why the slow cooker is every busy mum’s best mate

👩‍🍳 Simple hacks to make meals that feel fancy without the stress

🕒 How it frees up your time (and your brain) for the stuff that actually matters

💡 The mindset shift that cooking smarter is not lazy it’s bloody brilliant

So here’s your motivation: dust off that slow cooker, throw the ingredients in, and let it save your sanity. Because feeding your family shouldn’t feel like an Olympic event.

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If you’ve ever packed a suitcase for work or booked a trip and immediately felt the mum guilt hit like a freight train this one’s for you.

In this episode of Big Mum Energy, Ali gets real about the emotional tug-of-war of being a working mum. We’re talking:

💼 The guilt of chasing career goals while raising kids

✈️ How travel, long hours, and being “away” can leave you questioning if you’re failing at motherhood

🧠 Why mum guilt is more about society’s expectations than your actual parenting

💖 How to reframe time away as a lesson in resilience, independence, and showing your kids what hard work looks like

Because the truth is: being a good mum isn’t about being there every second of every day it’s about showing up with love, presence, and purpose when you are there.

So if you’re drowning in guilt for working, traveling, or just needing space from the chaos, pour a wine (or a coffee) and remind yourself you’re not failing, you’re just human.

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Kids have zero filter and sometimes what comes out of their little mouths is equal parts hilarious, terrifying, and downright bizarre.

In this week’s episode of Big Mum Energy, Ali dives into the weird sh*t kids say, with stories sent in straight from our listeners. We’re talking:

😂 Absolute comedy gold that could rival any stand-up show

🤯 The kind of one-liners that make you question what’s going on in their little brains

It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s guaranteed to make you laugh (and maybe sleep with one eye open).

Because if motherhood has taught us anything it’s that kids say the darndest, weirdest, most unhinged things… and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

So pour a wine, pop your headphones in, and get ready to laugh (and cringe) your way through this one.

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This Motivational Monday, we’re talking yoga for the rest of us the tired, busy, slightly feral mums who don’t have time (or Lycra) for a 90-minute hot girl yoga session.

Ali gets real about why she started doing simple stretching not to become a bendy Insta-goddess, but so she could:

Pick up the baby without throwing her back out

Survive folding washing without groaning like a 90-year-old

And maybe, just maybe, feel a little less like a human pretzel after school pick-up

Think of it as yoga, but realistic. No judgment, no chanting, no green juice required — just a reminder that moving your body (even for 5 minutes) is a gift to your future self.

So roll out that dusty Kmart yoga mat, and come stretch it out with me.

Because self-care doesn’t have to be glamorous sometimes it’s just stretching before you snap.

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This week’s Friday Wine Down is a tale of two moods:

The win — Ali actually smashed out her meal prep like a domestic goddess in activewear (yes, we’re shocked too).

The whinge — her poor husband cops it because the kids’ footy team didn’t make the finals… after he sacrificed his evenings, weekends and sanity to coach!

So tonight’s toast is going out to the real MVPs: the volunteers.

The mums running the canteen.

The dads coaching on weeknights after work.

The legends who sacrifice their own time so kids can play the sport they love.

If you’ve ever been filthy at an ungrateful parent, felt the burnout of “doing your bit”, or just want to raise a glass to the people who keep kids’ sport alive this one’s for you.

Because behind every sausage sizzle and sideline cheer squad is a volunteer who deserves a bloody medal (or at least a wine).

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This week on Big Mum Energy, Ali is joined by Kerry Spina Townsville mum, educator and all-round powerhouse for one of the rawest chats yet.

Kerry takes us behind the curtain of her cancer journey, the burnout that nearly broke her, and how stress and anxiety became her unwanted daily companions. But this isn’t a pity party it’s the truth about what happens when life throws you every curveball at once, and how she found a way back.

We get into:

How cancer forced her to stop running on empty

Why burnout and anxiety hit mums harder than we like to admit

The little daily rituals that helped her rebuild her health and her hope

Why saying “I can’t do it all” is actually the bravest move you’ll ever make

Kerry’s been teaching families about values, resilience and emotional wellbeing for 20+ years, but here she’s not the teacher she’s the mum who had to learn the hardest lessons herself.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re one load of washing away from a breakdown, this episode is for you.

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It’s Motivational Monday, and this week’s pep talk is simple but powerful do something for YOU today. Not for the kids, the partner, the boss, or the laundry pile… just for you.

Ali shares why mums are experts at putting themselves last, and how flipping that script even for 20 minutes can change your whole mood (and maybe your whole week). We’ll talk:

• Why self-care gets mistaken for selfishness
• The mental health magic of small daily joys
• How doing something for yourself makes you a better mum, partner, and human

So book that massage, drink your coffee hot, or sit in the car alone listening to a podcast (this one’s a great start). You matter too and today’s the day to prove it.

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It’s Friday Wine Time and we’re raising a glass to that universal mum truth — we’ll deep-clean the walls, reorganise the pantry, and colour-code the spice rack… all to avoid doing the real to-do list.

In this episode, Ali confesses how her week spiralled into a procrastination masterclass, complete with sparkling walls but zero progress on the big-ticket tasks. We unpack:

• Why procrastination feels weirdly productive
• The “busy but not actually getting stuff done” trap
• How mums justify avoiding the boring or scary jobs
• And why wine tastes better when you’re ignoring responsibilities

If your house is spotless but your inbox is chaos, this one’s for you. Grab your glass, lower your standards, and let’s toast to procrastination the unofficial sponsor of mum life.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.