30 | Make Way For Your Entry Way: How to Set it Up for Success

As part of my Clutter Buster Series on these busy and special holiday weeks, I want to bring you content that is quick, applicable and easy to digest. So this short episode will hopefully give you some ideas to declutter, organize, and transform your entryway into the epitome of warm welcome and function!

This episode is all about understanding your family's use of this first impression space and how to maximize it. I kick things off with clutter-busting tips for your entryway, delving into the nitty gritty of what items earn their keep by your door. From essential grab-and-go items like keys and sunglasses to accessories like hats and gloves, I talk strategies on how to decide what stays, what goes, and what would serve best at the door.

If you have ever walked into your own home and felt overwhelmed by the clutter and chaos in your entryway, then you won't want to miss this. Let me help you make your entryway a space that embodies the essence of your home, offering a warm welcome to you and your guests.

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!

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29 | Overcoming Challenges: An Insightful Approach to Special Needs Parenting with Kara Ryska

Ever wonder how the lens through which we view time impacts our daily lives, decisions, and sense of self? We explore this intriguing subject with our guest, Kara Ryska, a special needs mom, professional coach, and podcast host who shares invaluable insights from her personal and professional experiences. Get ready to see time in a whole new light!

As a mother to four children, one of whom struggles with recurring brain tumors and a condition called pan hypopituitarism, Kara has a unique perspective on the trials and tribulations of being a special needs parent. She openly shares her journey, from her son Levi's diagnosis to the impact it's had on their family life. She also talks about her podcast, the Special Needs Mom Podcast, designed to be a beacon of support for parents in similar situations.

We expand the conversation to cover other vital topics, such as the age-old battle with clutter in our homes. I offer her some tips on how to create a 'drop-zone' to manage clutter and the importance of scheduling time to sort through mail and papers. Finally, we discuss the importance of reclaiming our evenings despite the whirlwind of family responsibilities. So, buckle in for a conversation that blends personal stories with expert advice, ultimately helping you navigate life's challenges more effectively.

Kara Ryska is the host and creator of The Special Needs Mom Podcast, a show exclusively focused on supporting mothers who parent children with disabilities and/or medical complexities. Her podcast has created a watering well for moms who often feel alone and in desperate need of support and connection.  The podcast uses a combination of parent interviews and solo episodes to bring a coaching conversation to the world of special needs parenting.

As a professional Life Coach, Kara brings a unique perspective to her coaching work as she pulls from both her ontological coach training and her lived experience as a special needs mom.  Kara is a wife and mother to four children aged six to sixteen, including a child who has survived multiple brain tumors.  These tumors, surgeries, and treatments resulted in multiple rare conditions and lifelong diagnoses. 

Kara’s podcast, coaching program, and community creates a space for moms who often feel alone, overwhelmed, and stuck. Through coaching and community, Kara’s clients experience life-altering transformations and gain access to confidence, power, and peace. You can find more information and connect with Kara at www.kararyska.com or @KaraRyska on Instagram.

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28 | Empowering Healthier Eating Strategies in our Kids

27 | Managing Healthcare for Adults with Down Syndrome: A Special Interview with Dr. Tara Goodwin

Happy Down Syndrome Awareness Month!

To finish out this awesome month, I am delighted to share this enlightening interview with you!

Imagine a world where every health issue faced by an individual with Down syndrome is not simply attributed to their condition. Meet Dr. Tara Goodwin, a medical professional who saw this 'diagnostic overshadowing' firsthand with her son, Patrick, and decided to make a change. Tara's inspiring journey led her from hospital medicine to working with the geriatric community, eventually founding an Adult Down Syndrome Clinic, right here in Dallas. Tara's clinic is one of only a handful of adult clinics in the United States.

Despite the difficulties in funding and operating an adult Down Syndrome Clinic, each week, Dr. Goodwin offers personalized, value-based care to her patients. We discuss what information she needs from the caregiver to do her job in providing the best care, and why it is so much more involved than for a pediatrician. The conversation doesn't stop there as we spotlight the importance of education for providers and caregivers in the Down syndrome community. Standout topics include the recently introduced Adult Down Syndrome guidelines, focusing on nine key areas that require annual evaluation such as dementia screening. We also discuss how certain conditions like sleep apnea and anemia can affect individuals with Down syndrome. Tune in for this enlightening conversation and join us in our mission to bring about better care for the Down syndrome community.

Tara Goodwin, DO grew up in El Paso, Texas before completing her undergraduate studies at Texas Women’s University.  She received her medical degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas in 2001 and completed her residency training at Methodist Hospital of Dallas.  She has been board certified in Internal Medicine since 2004.  Dr.

She and her husband, a fellow physician, have three wonderful children including a son with Down Syndrome.  As a mother of a child with Down Syndrome she remains passionate about the quality of medical care for this community.  She has served on the Board of Directors for the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas , the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee for the Highland Park Independent School District, and is currently serving on and My Possibilities board as well as the board for Park Cities Learning Difference Association.  She is a member of the Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group as well as the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.  She is committed to ensuring that all people with Down Syndrome have access to quality healthcare that meets their specific needs and goals.

How to reach Dr. Goodwin's clinic:

https://questcaremedicalclinic.com/location/dallas/

Questcare Clinics Adult Down Syndrome Clinic

12200 Park Central, Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75251

(469) 804-8323

Book Recommendation:

Stress Less, Accomplish More by Emily Fletcher

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25 | Banishing Burnout In Special Needs Moms

Life can sometimes feel like a never-ending tightrope walk, especially for mothers with special needs children. Stress, exhaustion, and anger have an uncanny way of creeping up when we least expect it. If you ever find yourself numbing out, doom-scrolling on social media, or staying up too late binge-watching the latest season of Yellowstone, you might be experiencing symptoms of burnout. Burnout is something we are all likely to experience at some point in our journey of raising special needs kids. It can keep us from doing what we want and need to do, especially when it comes to getting organized.

That's why I invited the wise and inspiring Lena Suarez Angelino, a licensed clinical social worker and a fellow special needs mom, to join me in a conversation about preventing burnout. Lena paints a clear picture of burnout; the unruly, more hazardous bigger sibling of stress, and how the physical and emotional labor we carry every day can push us closer to the edge.

Lena doesn't simply focus on the problem, she brings to light practical and efficient ways to manage everyday stressors. The key is patience - Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your stress management system. It's a process and Lena gently holds our hand through it, helping us understand that it's okay to take our time. We also discuss that old familiar emotion of anger, characterizing it as a warning sign that we're in need of care and attention. This conversation with Lena was more than enlightening; it was a reminder that you are not alone, that it's okay to struggle and that there are strategies we can adopt to navigate life with more grace and ease. This episode is guaranteed to leave you feeling more empowered and less overwhelmed.

Her book: https://amzn.to/3DGELN0

Her Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604576831757200

Her website: https://lightcollectiveandco.com/

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24 | How Past Trauma Affects Our Organizing Habits Now -- with Tonya Schrougham

Join us for this enlightening story of how one woman's experience in a religious cult and being raised by a mother with a hoarding disorder affected the way she looks at organizing today.

As a wife and mother of 2 young girls with ADHD, Tonya has had to come to terms with her past by acknowledging the beliefs that she grew up with and learning to let those go in favor of new, more open-minded thoughts and beliefs that guide how she organizes her home and raises her two neurodivergent daughters. Specifically, we discuss:

Tonya lives in Indiana just south of Indianapolis with her husband of 10 years, Dustin, daughters, Myka & Eden, 3 rescue pups and 1 rescue cat.  To say life can be chaotic at times is an understatement, but her past prepared her.  After completing an associate degree in nursing, she worked as a nurse for about 12 years before moving to ministry positions in churches.  She completed her Bachelors in Biblical studies which led to an interest in a masters program.  This year finds her completing the final semester of a dual degree program which includes a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Mental Health Counseling. She is now in the process of applying for a doctoral program which she hopes to begin in the spring.  She loves learning, reading, travel, coffee, and chocolates. She especially values the community that learning about others creates and the way it makes her world (and ours) richer. 

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23 | Spotlight on Down Syndrome: Celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month with Casey Jane O'Brien

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22 | The Benefits of Sensory Play with Jennifer Stalley of Meemzy Magic

Yep – that was me. Hi. I was the problem. I was the mom that had anxiety about the energy it took to clean up after those fun but messy crafts and then on top of that, had guilt because I didn’t want to take the time and effort to engage in quite that way, the way I knew would be good for her long term, but would exhaust me in the short term.

Jennifer Stalley is a pandemic parent who genuinely wants to help a mother out! As the Founder and President of Meemzy Magic, a for moms, by a mom company, she has set out to bring sensory play to children around the world and help moms take a load off. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, she spent 15 years in the entertainment industry marketing the biggest entertainment releases of the year, in theaters with Fox and Sony Pictures, streaming at home with Hulu, and in video games at PlayStation. She is a big believer in the power of play, for all ages, on screen and off. 

Takeaways:

1) Sensory play can be a very vital part of your kid's day. It promotes open ended play, independent play, social play, understanding of facial cues, and can reduce anxiety and negative emotions among other benefits.

2) Sensory play doesn't have to mean that you will have the stress and anxiety of having to clean up for days after your kids enjoy their playtime. There are easy ways we can engage our kids' senses without making a complete mess that you are left cleaning up.

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.meemzymagic.com

Social Media Links: 

Free Download of 5 Sensory Activities to Do NowWant 10% off a Meemzy Magic Sensory Kit? Get it here...

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Code: YourSpace

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21 | Getting Our Kids to Sleep with Allison Egidi, Pediatric Sleep Cloach

Unlock the knowledge of how sleep impacts your child's emotional well-being, learning, and overall growth in this enlightening conversation with pediatric sleep coach, Allison Egidi.

Sleep is one of the most important activities you can do to help you stay healthy and that goes even double for our kids. Getting enough sleep helps regulate our moods, repairs and restores our muscles, improves our cognitive functioning ability, and so much more.  All of these are just as or even more important for kids with developmental disabilities. 

In this episode, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the importance of sleep for our special needs children and how we can implement simple strategies now so that the whole family can sleep better at night.

Allison gives suggestions that parents can implement right now to help their child start sleeping better through the night. Specifically, we discuss:

I also share a story of how just one of Allison's suggestions made a big difference in my own daughter's sleep habits this past week!

Allison Egidi is a certified pediatric sleep coach and founder of the business Sleep and Wellness Coach. Her primary area of focus is sleep for newborns through early elementary age children. She offers virtual consultations, online courses, and classes. She also provides parents with weekly educational Content on her podcast “How Long Till Bedtime.”

Live from the Denver Podcast Movement Conference this past month, this is a special episode recorded in a sound booth outside the conference hall. So yes, it is going to sound just a bit different than my usual recordings in my podcloset at home!

How to connect with Allison:

How Long 'Til Bedtime Podcast: https://sleepandwellnesscoach.com/podcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sleepandwellnesscoach/ 

Her website: https://sleepandwellnesscoach.com/

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20 | Getting Creative About Art with Suzanne Finan

Let's explore how we can help our kids get more creative, express their feelings and enjoy the process of making art, without losing the functionality of your home to a glitter bomb and paint everywhere.

In this episode, beloved art teacher, Suzanne Finan helps us think about how we can encourage our kids to use everyday items and activities to inspire the creative outflow of art from our special needs kids. She shares how she helps her special needs students make beautiful art by breaking down steps, utilizing adaptive equipment and using non judgmental yet encouraging language around the pieces they create. We also talk about keeping that spark for creativity alive while still having some kind of control over the functionality of your home.

Specifically, we discuss:

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