Everything Always

Welcome back to another fabulous episode of the Everything Always podcast! Summer here, and today I’m speaking with Rochelle Long, MA, LMHC, an expert who counsels couples and families through all kinds of challenges like divorce, separation, new marriages, life changes, and co-parenting.

Although we often talk about co-parenting, there is another way: Parallel parenting. If you and your ex have a high-conflict relationship, parallel parenting may be best for you and your children.  In either case, the relationship with the other parent should be strictly business. Focus on what’s best for the children and make decisions when in a rational – not emotional – state.

Rochelle will also go into the ugly truth about parental alienation. Unfortunately, even though parental alienation rarely has substance or is validated, it can seriously damage hearts and relationships. Listen in to hear how to better navigate blended family life, and learn the telltale signs of parental alienation so you can re-focus on what is best for your children.

01:00 – 05:00 - Introducing Rochelle Long, her journey, and the topics for today’s show

05:00 – 17:00 - Parallel parenting vs. co-parenting and parental alienation

17:00 – 24:00 - The complexities that arise in blended families and some tips to navigate them

24:00 – 36:00 - Examples of parental alienation and how Rochelle deals with it

36:00 – 40:00 - The steps she takes to heal parental alienation

40:00 – 42:00 – Contact Rochelle and get her free eBook here

Welcome to the Everything Always podcast! Summer and Mike here, and today we’ve got two special guests on the show. They are doing family in an unconventional but extremely loving and supportive way. Aaron and Linnea Weikleenget have been together for 10 years – since his kids were babies – and now have a child of their own.

They had their child 6 years into the relationship and travel a lot – which has offered challenges when co-parenting with his ex. However, they have a great relationship with her which has allowed for flexibility and understanding when their schedule unexpectedly changes. They’ve worked towards this, and it really required an understanding between Linnea and Aaron’s ex.

Aaron and Linnea have some great insight into blended family life and touch on the experiences they’ve had while balancing his 2 pre-teens and their four-year-old. Linnea also discusses what it was like to start a relationship with a man that had two babies from a previous relationship when she wasn’t exactly ready to play mom. Listen in to learn more about Aaron and Linnea, and see what tips you can glean to navigate your own blended family experience.

00:45 – 05:30 - Introducing today’s guests: Aaron and Linnea

05:30 – 10:00 – How their co-parenting works and how they separate the “adult stuff”

10:00 – 18:00 – The evolving dynamics of their blended family

18:00 – 22:00 – Challenging moments when first navigating their new family

22:00 – 29:00 – When one child is home full-time and the others aren’t

29:00 – 37:00 – Starting a relationship and prioritizing with a new partner and his/her kids

Welcome back to the Everything Always podcast! Today, we have a guest on the show that will have all you step-parents nodding in agreement – Ashley Coleman. Ashley is the content manager and writer for stepmomming.com and has a ton of great insights about the step-parenting experience.

Ashley has two step-daughters, no kids of her own, and is a certified life coach. She’s also pursuing her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and works at a large university in Virginia.  She is a busy woman, but this hasn’t stopped her from consistently sharing invaluable advice, information, and resources with the Stepmomming community.

On today’s episode, we touch on a ton of things that we step-parents can relate to. Specifically, Ashley discusses coping with second-wife insecurities, dealing with small parenting differences, and handing big-ticket parenting decisions. Whether you bring kids into the relationship or not, this episode is sure to provide some perspective to your new parental role.

01:00 – 09:00 - Introducing Ashley Coleman, her background, and her journey

09:30 – 18:30 - How to cope with second-wife insecurities

18:30 – 28:00 - How to deal with small parenting differences

28:00 – 33:50 - Being empathetic towards the other parents and breaking the “step” stigma

33:50 – 39:30 - Letting the biological parents deal with the big-ticket parenting decisions

39:50 – 47:00 –Taking responsibility and being accepting of the whole package

Summer and Mike here for another fun episode of the Everything Always podcast! Today, we’ve a special guest on the show – Mike’s best friend, college roommate, and our officiant – Kyle McGregor.  Kyle was in a relationship with someone who had an 8-year-old, and the relationship ended eight years later when the (not-so-little) girl was 16.

When Kyle met his ex, he didn’t meet her daughter until 6 months into the relationship. This was a good thing and allowed for his ex to determine whether he’d stick around before bringing her daughter into the mix.  And, over the next eight years, as his relationship matured with his ex, he bonded with her daughter.

When things didn’t work out, his relationship with both ended and it was extremely hard. If you’re a step-parent, dating someone with a kid, or parent who is thinking of bringing someone new into your kid’s life, tune in. There are some important lessons we can all take away from Kyle’s story.  

01:00 – 10:00 – Introducing today’s topic and guest

10:00 – 18:00 - Kyle’s experience when dating his ex and getting to know her daughter

18:00 – 25:00 - What happened when Kyle’s relationship went south

25:00 – 35:00 - The lessons Kyle learned through his experience

35:00 – 43:00 - Being empathetic, being emotionally mature, and looking inward

43:00 – 48:00 – Summarizing the takeaways of Kyle’s story

Summer here for another episode of the Everything Always podcast! Welcome back! Today, I’ve got my dear friend, Kelsey Holohan, on the show to discuss blending families when one partner doesn’t have any kids. Kelsey has three kids and her soon-to-be husband doesn’t, so this brings up some interesting advantages – and challenges.  

She’s been with Jeff for 6 years, so her kids have come to see him as another dad. At first, this brought some hard feelings from the kid’s biological dad, but over the years, things changed. The fathers acknowledged what the other brought to the table – and now the kids get to feel secure and happy with all their adults.  

We hope this conversation sheds some light for parents, step-parents, and adults coming into a relationship with or without kids. It’ll never be perfect, but the goal is to create a peaceful environment for the kids while strengthening the bond with our new partner. So, tune in, hear what Kelsey is going through, and take away some valuable insight to consider in your own life.

00:45 – 5:00 - Introducing Kelsey and today’s topic

5:00 – 11:00 - The challenges that come with having a new dad

11:00 – 18:30 - Unique situations when a step-parent has no biological kids

18:30 – 27:00 - Balancing a relationship with your ex and new partner  

27:00 – 31:00 - Being confident in your parenting choices with your new partner

31:00 – 36:30 - Shifting from person to parent in the kid’s eyes

It’s another perfect day for the Everything Always podcast with Mike and Summer! Today we’re going to talk about something we all go through: Change! Although things are always changing, we’ve got some bigger-than-normal changes happening in our life right now that make this the perfect topic for today’s episode.

So, how do we deal? Change can be scary or exhausting but, really, it’s all about how you deal with it because change is always going to be there – whether you like it or not. Sometimes change is controlled – and sometimes it isn’t. But if you know in your heart it’s necessary, act and push past the fear that’s holding you back.

Easier said than done, right? Well, we’ve created a four-step process to effectively deal with change that can help. See how you can use it – whether it be in business, life, health, or your relationships – to manage change and improve your life. Get comfy and listen in to hear why not coping isn’t a coping mechanism, how to manage what you can control, and what a difference patience and a plan can make. 

1:00 – 5:00 - Introducing today’s topic: Change

5:00 – 8:30 - Embracing discomfort, taking positive action, and how we manage change

8:30 – 16:00 - Proper coping, clarity, and choosing the feeling you want to have

16:00 – 22:30 - Creating a vision and remaining patient 

22:30 – 26:30 - A recap: Cope, choose your feelings, have patience, and accept/make a plan

26:30 – 31:00 – Some exciting new things for Everything Always

Hello everyone! Mike and Summer here, and welcome back to the Everything Always podcast! Today, we got our daughters together to talk about their blended family experience. Before the show, they gave us some topics they wanted to talk about so we parents could learn from their perspective. 

Our kids went through their own set of challenges when we blended our families, and that can be easy to forget when we’re busy battling our own struggles as the adults. Our girls are closer than ever – which wasn’t always the case – but, like any other relationship, theirs will continue to grow and evolve.

The girls talked a lot about empathy – especially with each other and the youngest siblings of the group. We also chatted about their initial feelings of awkwardness and fear when navigating the relationship with their new step-parent. Join us to hear from another side – the kid’s side – of the blended family experience.

01:00 – 5:30 – Introducing our girls and the beginnings of our blended family

5:30 – 9:00 - The most challenging part of being in a blended family

9:00 – 13:00 - The ins-and-outs of the step-sister experience; drifting apart then back together

13:00 – 18:30 - Advice from our daughters – “be easy on the other side”

18:30 – 20:30 - Awkwardness and initial fears our kids had

20:30 – 23:00 - What our girls think about marriage and healthy relationships

23:00 – 29:00 - Sharing issues and protecting the younger siblings

It’s another beautiful day for an Everything Always podcast with Summer and Mike! Today, we’re going to dive into blended family house rules. This will probably speak to step-parents the most because we know it can be challenging to set rules with your step-kids while trying to maintain (or create!) a bonded relationship.

How and when should you discipline a step-child? Is there a way to maintain peace in the home without being a pushover? How do you keep an effective disciplining style and avoid backlash? These are common challenges that send step-parents into panic-mode, but the good news is that there is a way.

We aren’t perfect, but we have learned some house rule do’s and don’ts along our journey. Things like family meetings, being a team, and establishing clear rules has helped us avoid some major meltdowns in our house. Listen in to learn the do’s and don’ts of blended family house rules so you can better align with your spouse, establish peace, and make your home a loving and supportive space for parents and kids alike.

03:00 – 08:00 - Introducing today’s topic, why it’s important, and our experience

08:00 – 13:30 - Establishing a relationship before implementing disciplinary action

13:30 – 18:00 - Family meetings, house rules, and creating a team

18:00 – 25:00 - Aligning with the bio-parent and being a parental figure/role model

25:00 – 28:00 - Creating balance, avoiding blame, and fighting away from the kids

28:00 – 30:30 - Handling backlash and taking each opportunity to make things better

Welcome to the Everything Always podcast! Summer here, and today we’ve got a special guest on the show. Samantha Waltz is the author of a book I recently read called “Blended: Writers on the Stepfamily Experience”. It calls on her experience as a stepparent, family therapist, and teacher of classes and workshops on parenting and child development.

The book features thirty writers who know what blending is like first-hand, and their stories truly capture the complexities of the journey. Oftentimes, people are afraid to put their situations and challenges out there, but these authors bore it all so we could relate and learn. 

Samantha has some great wisdom to share with us about prioritizing, managing expectations, and communication. She also has a Facebook page for the book so we can continue the conversation and connect with others on a similar journey. Listen in to learn more about Samantha, her book, and her tips on how to navigate the stepfamily experience.

00:45 – 06:00 - Introducing today’s guest: Samantha Waltz

06:00 – 20:00 – The book’s stories and Samantha’s personal experience

20:00 – 23:30 - Putting ego aside to appreciate our children’s parents

23:30 – 26:00 - Samantha’s biggest take-away from the book

26:00 – 32:00 - Scheduling and seeking harmony

32:00 – 38:00 - Communicating and acknowledging feelings

Summer here for another episode of the Everything Always podcast! Welcome! Today, I’m going to talk about some things you should know before blending your families. What I mean by “blending” is when you officially turn your, and your new partner’s, families into one by co-living and co-parenting.

To be honest, when Michael and I officially merged our families into one, there were some things we did wonderfully – and some things we could’ve done better. Now we want to share the five main things to be clear on before blending.

We hope this list saves you some trouble and allows your family to blend as beautifully and seamlessly as possible. By building a foundation for your family, your kids will feel so much more love, confidence, and security. So, grab a pen and listen in to find out the five main things to establish before blending families. 

00:45 – 03:00 – Introducing today’s topic: The 5 things to establish before blending

03:00 – 06:00 - Making your relationship a priority

06:00 – 10:00 - Empowering the kids and creating a secure space

10:00 – 12:00 - Being on the same page about finances

12:00 – 13:30 - Understanding the living situation

13:30 – 18:00 - Building tradition as a new family