Hard as a Mother

Hand up if you're a victim of burnout! 🙋🏾‍♀️⁣
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As moms, we are usually the chaos coordinators, the appointment bookers, the boo-boo fixers, the distributor of warm hugs, and the all-around backbone of the household. Though it's absolutely worth it and can feel very rewarding, Renee Groenland of Strelle Wellness said it best: nobody really celebrates the mom who relaxes. We sat down with Renee to talk about the importance of breaking that stigma, and what her services as a Burnout Coach can do for the moms who need a little help filling their own cups.⁣
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This episode really hit home because we touched on a lot of things that most moms feel but don't say out loud for the fear of being labelled negatively.⁣
We learned so much about ourselves in this episode and hope Renee can help other mamas out there in the same burnout boat!⁣
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Episode Sponsor: Movement Matters YYC

Here at HAM, we are firm believers in going out and making things happen for yourself while building a community of badass people along the way.⁣
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Lisa Webb, founder of @winewomenwellbeing is exactly that kind of person. With 19 branches across Canada, Wine Women & Well-being has grown exponentially with events, book publications, wine delivery and even an upcoming tour in the works!⁣
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Lisa joined us in our studio to talk about the value of community and how important and impactful it can be when you step out of your comfort zone and drive your own course.⁣
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Past Dope Dad guests Jason, Albert, Patricio and Stevie come together for a special spin-off show called The Dope Dad Collective brought to you by Hard as a Mother.

In the first DDC episode, the guys come together to introduce their unique family dynamics and how they are navigating parenthood through the different stages in their lives. All of them bring a different perspective to the table that any dad can definitely relate to.

This episode is sponsored by Soko Local, a platform that supports local businesses.
The official beverage sponsor is Annex Ales and the Dope Dad pint glasses that the dads are using are brought to you by Thursday Sounds!

In the last several months, attacks on vulnerable women have increased and has shaken our communities. Simo Josy Roxas, a martial arts instructor at Western Canada Martial Arts Academy and mother to a pre-teen daughter, specializes in womens self defense and has been teaching classes to help women build confidence and empowerment. ⁣
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She sat down with us to talk about how becoming a mother drove her motivation to learn martial arts, how important it is for everybody to be educated and equipped to defend themselves, and also shares survival tips and tricks that can potentially save your life!⁣

In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, we are stoked to bring you a special episode to show our support for the #StopAsianHate movement.⁣
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In this episode, we are joined by Christina Chow: all-round dope girl from the block-turned avid world traveller, fellow studio sister and recipe developer who stars in her own cooking series @cookingwithchow (warning: watching her series leads to mega cravings and a bad case of the *drools*) as well as Carole Yue: the bailarina babe, and other half of the creative duo behind @thecommietearoom podcast and 𝘛𝘏𝘌 best ASMR around (don't @ me).⁣
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We joined forces to use our platforms to educate and spread awareness about a topic of controversy that has been plaguing communities everywhere for years and needs to be brought to light.
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We canvassed the city of Calgary to find out what people thought about racism, the BIPOC movement and the recent rise in hate crimes towards Asians. Then we discussed our own personal experiences and what we can do better over some bulgogi beef jerky and green tea wafers 🤤⁣
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It was a fun and insightful episode to record and we were so honored to have these ladies on the show.⁣

Warning: our next episode may contain triggers for some. ⁣
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We had the pleasure of sitting down with the badass mama behind the podcast Confessions of a Single Mother, Josie Levesque, where she candidly shared her struggle with mustering the courage to leave an abusive relationship.⁣
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Though the topic at hand was serious, Josie radiated a kind of energy that convinced us right off the bat that she was as strong and brave as she perceived to be (and it wasn’t just all the tattoos either!) Now a single mom raising two young girls, she hopes to help other women in similar situations through discussions on her podcast and through connecting with others in the community who have survived domestic abuse.⁣
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Tune in on Monday to hear more about Josie’s courageous story!⁣
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𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵.⁣
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𝘈𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝟸𝟺-𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: 𝟷-𝟾𝟼𝟼-𝟼𝟺𝟺-𝟻𝟷𝟹𝟻⁣
𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘰 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦: 𝟹𝟷𝟶 𝟷𝟾𝟷𝟾

We're excited to bring you another Dope Dad episode featuring none other than the Radical Gentleman himself: Stevie Bellaart.⁣
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You may know him as the Lululemon Cultural Ambassador or one half of the creative duo Radical Gentlemen, but of all the hats he wears, we wanted to highlight the creme de la creme: being a DAD!⁣

Stevie is a devoted husband and father to a sweet 3 year old daughter named Olivia. He was a stay-at-home dad for the beginning of his daughter's life but it wasn't until the pandemic that he realized both his weaknesses and strengths of being a dad. Stevie laid it all out on the table in this episode in hopes of helping other new dads come into their own and embrace parenthood for all that it is, and as always, we shared a ton of laughs.⁣
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You know her from Orphan Black, Scoundrels and none other than our favourite binge-worthy, relatable AF @cbc series Workin Moms, Jessalyn Wanlim gets real about motherhood (because that’s kinda what we’re here for!)
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Cool, calm and relaxed because her toddler was in bed, Jessalyn streamed in from her new home in Nashville with wine in hand to hang out with us and talk about her early days in dancing, her acting/real estate career, her Filipino-Canadian representation and life with a toddler.  ⁣
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We were so honoured to have Jessalyn on our show and can’t wait for you guys to get to know more about this amazing, multi-faceted supermom (and AirBNB Super Host! 😅)⁣

Most little girls fantasize about being their favourite Disney Princess – this mama got to live that dream when she started her career with Disney on Ice- but that dream was short lived when she was blessed with a beautiful baby boy. ⁣
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Professional figure skater, Brianne Mass, joined us to talk about the unfairness that came with being a young mom and having to choose between her career and her family life. Her resilience and dedication to finding her true purpose is so profound that she never let anyone put her in a box or tell her what she could and couldn’t do just because she was a mom. ⁣
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Our conversations with Brianne really shone a light on societal expectations of the modern-day woman, and how we can push forward to break the norms so that mama’s everywhere feel respected and accepted, no matter what path they choose in life.⁣

Imagine being a new mom doing new mom things... ⁣
Ok now imagine doing all of it times THREE 👶🏽👶🏽👶🏽 at the ⁣
same.⁣
damn.⁣
time. ⁣
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Aileen prayed for a baby and was blessed with a 3 for 1! I mean obviously, being a new mom to ONE baby is still super hard, but we just had to have her join us to tell us just how she did it with three. She talks about the emotional journey it took for her to even get pregnant, how she caters to each child individually and as always, we had some fun and laughs along the way. We are forever in awe and are so inspired by Aileen and her dedication to raising triplets. ⁣