Episode Summary:

In this episode, Chris and Johnna interview RN, Nurse Aeromatherapist, mother to three and special needs mom, Kami Schaal. Kami discusses her experience in the medical field and how she used that, her motherly intuition, and her faith to guide her through the journey of an autism diagnosis; and how seeking alternative methods to medication like a specialized diet ended up serving her whole family. 

Listen in to hear how God’s plans are bigger than our own - how an autism diagnosis has created a faith-filled family, a hugging prophet, and siblings who are going to change the world.

Topics Covered:

• Pregnancy complications
• When doctors can’t figure out the diagnosis
• Journey to special needs diagnosis
• Special needs parenting
• Life with a child who has autism, as well as neuro-typical children
• When physicians prescribe medication as a first step 
• Knowing you have the right to speak up for yourself and your child in a doctor setting
• Healing through nutrition
• Antibiotic crisis
• Diets that heal
• Elimination diet
• Gut healing
• Fighting divorce even when odds are not in your favor
• Being respectful of your spouse’s coping mechanisms
• Navigating autism and a relationship facing the trials of special needs
• What to do when you suspect a developmental delay in your child
• When God’s plans are bigger than our own - how an autism diagnosis has created a faith-filled family, a hugging prophet, and siblings who are going to change the world 

Resources Mentioned:

The Feingold Diet

https://www.additudemag.com/treatment/the-feingold-diet/

The Rain Barrel Effect

Where to find Kami:

https://theessentialcouple.com/manage-the-meltdown

FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/familywellnesswarrior/

INSTAGRAM - @theessentialcouple

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Chris and Johnna interview licensed therapist and coach, Bridget Boursiquot (LICSW), on the struggles of anxiety and overwhelm and how to cope with and manage them. Bridget specializes in relationship issues, life transitions, and anxiety/stress and she offers actual techniques that she uses in her own practice during this episode.

Topics Covered:

• Anxiety
• What is anxiety?
• Everyday worry vs. diagnoseable anxiety
• How to recognize when you have anxiety
• Coping mechanisms for overwhelm
• Normalizing anxiety
• Asking for help
• Focusing on what you can control
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Self-care
• Grounding Techniques
• Changing your state
• Connecting with your spouse through communication
• Bids for connection
• Taking any guilt out of self-care
• Expectations
• Negative self-talk
• Workable self-expectations
• Creating balance in your life
• Brain dump technique
• Intent vs. Impact
• Gratitude

Resources Mentioned:

Where to find Bridget- www.Bridgetohealthyself.com

 fb.me/bridgetohealthyself

https://www.instagram.com/bridgetohealthyself/

https://twitter.com/Btohealthyself

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetohealthyself/

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 781-277-7273

Episode Summary:

In this episode Chris and Johnna dive into the second three of the six types of self-care they deem as necessary to beginning to become the best version of yourself. 

*For the first three types of self-care, refer back to episode 31!

Topics Covered:

• Is self-care selfish or necessary?
• Intellectual self-care
• How taking care of your intellect helps to grow you as a person
• Different forms of Social self-care and how to do them
• The importance of community
• Types of personal self-care and the importance of implementing them

Resources Mentioned:

• The Success Principles – Jack Canfield
• The Compound Effect – Daren Hardy
• Tony Robbins
• The Profit – Marcus Lemonis
• Project Evo
• 16 Personalities Test - https://www.16personalities.com/
• Kimpton Monaco Pittsburgh - https://www.monaco-pittsburgh.com/?&utm_source=Google%20My%20Business&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=GMB&utm_term=monaco%20pittsburgh
  

Episode Summary:

In this episode Chris and Johnna dive into the first three of the six types of self-care they deem as necessary to beginning to become the best version of yourself. 

Topics Covered:

• Self-care defined
• Is self-care selfish?
• Six types of self-care and the importance of each
  • Physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, personal
• Physical Self Care
  • Defined, it’s importance and examples of what it is and what it’s not
  • Paying the minimum on your health to get started
  • Baby interruptions
  • Getting out of your comfort zone
  • Finding flow
• Sleep - why it’s important, how screens affect your sleep
• Nutrition
• Movement
• Emotional Self Care
  • Defined, it’s importance and examples of what it is and what it’s not
  • Stress management
  • Dealing with feelings
  • What happens when you don’t acknowledge your feelings/emotions
  • Protecting what goes on between your ears
  • Drowning feelings in distractions
  • Finding your triggers
  • Setting boundaries
• Spiritual Self Care
  • Defined, it’s importance and examples of what it is and what it’s not
  • Who God is in our lives

Episode Summary:

In this episode Chris and Johnna once again go off the cuff to discuss and on-air coach themselves through an emotionally charged situation that is currently impacting their lives that many likely also face. And that is knowing when to set emotional boundaries with the people in your life.

Topics Covered:

• Taking on other people’s emotions
• Understanding when taking on other people’s problems is a problem in your life
• Being an empathetic person
• Feeling like your hands are tied when your loved ones are hurting
• Draining your cup also drains your loved ones
• When boundaries need to be set
• Uncomfortable conversations, ultimatum, when to cut people out
• Where do boundaries begin?
• Protecting your own mental energy
• The Five Minute Rule
• You get in life what you tolerate
• Realizing what you have control over
• Who do you let push their emotional agenda on you?
• Assessing your stressors
• When it’s okay to cut toxic people out of your life
• Ways to have the uncomfortable conversation surrounding boundaries

Resources Mentioned:

Hal Elrod (5 minute rule)

Episode Summary:

In this episode Chris and Johnna interview Parent Success Coach, Dustin Hill, on his Parent Success Plan and his goal to help 10,000,000 parents in the next decade to become more connected parents who thrive in both their professional and personal lives.

Topics Covered:

• Parent Success Coaching
• The why behind the Parent Success Plan
• Helping parents to enjoy home life with kids while also being successful in work
• Three phases of parent success: recharge, mindset, level up
• The idea of recharge in a time where busyness is a badge of honor
• Big ways and small ways to recharge
• When you or your spouse is in a funk
• Communicating with your spouse
• When you don’t have enough left over for your family after work
• Finding balance in work and family life
• Finding your why
• Why do you do what you do?
• Developing mantras to help your mindset in all situations
• Setting boundaries for yourself
• Defining roles in marriage
• Setting expectations
• Self-awareness as a mindset
• Setting intentions
• What to do when you’re off the wagon
• Progress not perfection
• Understanding the emotion behind your actions
• The power in speaking your goals
• Showing your real, vulnerable self
• Being 1% better
• When parents are disconnected

Resources Mentioned:

Dustin Hill is the creator of the Parent Success Plan which is a career plan for parents. He loves to help parents understand why it’s so important to take care of themselves so they can better take care of their kids. He also loves to help parents have a strong mindset and have a simple, yet powerful framework to level up throughout life. 

www.parentsuccessplan.com/free

Episode Summary:

Johnna rides solo on this episode and dives into some of the complexities that are motherhood with one goal in mind - for you to know you are not alone.

Topics Covered:

• Being a mom is hard
• Comfort in knowing that you’re not alone
• The overwhelmed mom that nobody gets
• The confusion of being a mom
• Safe places to vent and complain about the struggles of motherhood without being judged
• The fear of not being enough
• Losing your identity after becoming a mother
• Self-care and what happens when you self-sabotage
• The level of exhaustion that comes with pregnancy
• Food intolerances and how they’ve affected the way I show up for my family
• It’s okay to admit you need a break
• Motherhood Masks that we wear to pretend we’re okay
• Overwhelm that crushes you
• Knowing you’re not alone
• Controlling what we can as moms
• Being a mom feels like the definition of insanity
• Rachel Hollis’ Start Today Journal
• Filling up your cup first so you can pour out onto your family
• Nothing worth having comes easily
• The Well and Balanced Mom Article – Advice from Moms of Grown Children
• Forward thinking and planning for the future based on the things we know are to come

Resources Mentioned:

What I Wish I Knew Article

Start Today Journal

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Johnna and Chris go off script and interview each other on the year behind and the year ahead. Listen and get to know the two a little better in 2020. 

Topics Covered:

• Aggressive lifestyle in 2019
• Shutting down a successful business
• Leaving fitness and coming back
• Risking our lifestyle and livelihood
• Bro, nose picking, and nuts
• You on Netflix
• Gatlinburg, TN
• Tennessee Whiskey
• Where the podcast originated
• Small talk
• Get to know us
• Behind the scenes of episode 27
• Real Talk
• Overwhelm
• Headspace funk
• Progress over perfection
• Penzu journal app
• Community and Chaos
• Community
• Crossroads Church
• Final Transformation Academy
• SAHM struggles
• To go back to work or not
• Narrowing down on one goal for the ripple effect
• Taking care of your one body
• Chris’s word of the year
• Johnna’s word of the year
• People pleasing
• Good vibes only
• Facebook live in the delivery room
• Intentional habits
• Taking care of your one body 

Sources Mentioned:

penzu.com (journal app)

https://www.crossroads.net/ (church we attend)

https://www.harveker.com/blog/greatest-lesson-from-warren-buffet/ (Warren Buffet illustration and lesson)

Episode Summary:

Chris & Johnna cover the ways in which you can be supportive of your wife, especially when she is pregnant. Listen if you feel like hearing Chris poke fun at a pregnant Johnna who nearly walks out of the episode.

Topics Covered:

• Will Chris remain a girl dad for life?
• Baby #4’s name reveal
• Don’t expect your wife to be the same throughout pregnancy and after
• The word crazy and how you shouldn’t use it towards a woman
• How to handle your wife’s hormones with grace
• Things you can take off of your wife’s plates
• Why feeding your wife is important
• How the Burger King Impossible Whopper fits into this episode
• How to prep for baby
• Listening to your spouse
• Toolbox vs. Trash Dump Method
• How to encourage your pregnant wife
• When and how to protect your wife from others
• Funny stories of emotional outburst of other women

Episode Summary:

Chris and Johnna interview speaker, blended family coach, high school teacher and Amazon best-selling author – Joel Hawbaker on common issues within blended families and perspective and tactics to handle them, as well as how the same advice can be used to better the traditional family. 

Topics Covered:

• Blended family defined
• How to put your spouse first when your loyalty was first to your kid(s)
• Single parent to blended family
• Looking at the long-term perspective of marriage and kids
• Making the husband and wife team a priority
• Modeling the behavior you wish your child to exhibit yourself
• Prioritizing your spouse in order to raise your kids well
• The benefits of working well with your ex
• Admitting when you need help
• Survival mode and evaluating what’s sustainable long-term
• Being willing to experiment and admit when things aren’t working
• Handling parenting expectations when traditional or blended with traditional and blended backgrounds
• Major causes of divorce
• Handling parenting disagreements with exes
• How to reframe parenting discussions to come to an agreement
• Agreeing on desired values for children
• What title should the step-parent have?
• Taking care of your child’s needs vs. putting them above your spouse
• What to consider before re-marrying or marrying for the first time
• Working through loyalty to your child vs. your spouse
• Communicating your needs with your spouse
• Going from single parent to married with blended family
• How to defend your spouse to your kids
• Bonding with step-children
• Handling parenting when you don’t get along with the ex
• Taking your kid(s) into consideration before marriage

Links/Sources Mentioned:

• Pastor Ron Diehl – Family Life Blended (familylifeblended.com)

Where to find Joel:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joel.w.hawbaker

Email: [email protected]

https://reallifeleading.com/

www.stepdadding.com