Hard as a Mother

𝘉𝘖𝘚𝘚 𝘔𝘖𝘔 𝘈𝘓𝘌𝘙𝘛⁣
We all know primpin' ain't easy, but for this mama, she runs her own salon to make other women look and feel beautiful, all the while being a super mom and wife to her awesome family.⁣

How does she do it?? We sit down with long time friend Rath Flores, owner and operator of Salon Harper in Airdrie, and we talk about what it took for a small town girl from Brooks to make her own damn dreams come true, and how she navigates her business life while raising both a teenager and autistic son. ⁣
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Patricio Gutierrez grew up living a normal life with a loving family. He went to school, graduated, started his career, fell in love with and married his lovely wife and eventually had a beautiful baby boy - all the while harboring the burden of self conflict as he discovered his sexuality.⁣
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Patricio joins us and shares his courageous story of coming out and living his authentic self to set the example for his son that it's never too late to live your life in its truest form.⁣
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How lucky we are to be inspired by the most incredible people on a weekly basis. Join us, won't you?!

If you are part of the LGBTQ community and you just need support or someone to talk to, please know you are not alone.

LGBTQ Crisis Support Lines in Canada:

Trans Lifeline : (877) 330-6366
Youth Line: 1-800-268-9688

We're so excited to bring you guys another Dope Dad episode - this week we were joined by Arjay M: junior basketball coach, certified goofball and dad extraordinaire! ⁣
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Sometimes in order to level up your parenting game, you have to give zero F's about what others think, which is exactly how Arjay grew up. We talk about his struggle to overcome the lifestyle he had to leave behind in order to become a present dad and how his kids became his best friends. We also threw it back to some embarassing stories from our childhood - did we mention Arjay is our cousin?? That's right - we took this opportunity to pay Arjay for back some of the effed up and embarrassing things he did to us when we were younger. All jokes aside, we love Arjay and the person he has become today, which is why we are honored to feature him as this week's DOPE DAD! ⁣

We are joined this week by Melissa Vanderfluit, owner of Strong Daughters YYC, which is a peer support group for young adult women grieving the loss of a parent. After losing her mom to heart disease in 2019, Melissa was looking to connect with other women going through a similar loss. Further emphasizing one of our core beliefs here at HAM, she wanted to show women that it’s okay to not be okay, and to embrace the fact that sometimes life sucks.⁣
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We were honored to be so candid and real, sharing both laughs and tears with Melissa as she bravely shared her story with us. ⁣

For more information about Strong Daughters YYC, you can visit the following:
Instagram - @strongdaughtersyyc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yycdaughters
Twitter - @yycdaughters

This Berlin born babe is the daughter of the late great Mark Teevens, professional hockey player who was drafted to the Pittsburgh Penguins shortly before his sudden and tragic passing at just 31 years old.⁣
Despite a rocky childhood and all the odds against her, Tatiana Teevens has driven her way to the top of her game and cofounded the travel and tour agency, Adventure with Purpose. On top of this, she is an amazing mama to a 4 year old son named Amilio. ⁣
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We loved hanging out with Tatiana in our studio as she let us dive into her life - how fast she had to grow up when she was on her own at the tender age of 16 and trying to find her purpose and sense of self as a young mom. We sipped a bit - okay, a lot - of wine and had a ton of laughs with a few people who sat in as an audience in the studio as well. ⁣

This week, we are BRINGING THE JOY to our studio with Keynote Speaker, Author and Philanthropist: Jessica Janzen Olstad. After tragically losing her 6-month-old son Lewiston 4 years ago to a rare disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), Jessica has (as Oprah put it best) turned her wounds into wisdom, and has stopped at nothing to encourage those that cross her path to live their lives to the fullest as their most authentic self. In just 3 years, Jessica has raised over $900,000 for the charity she founded with her husband called The Love For Lewiston Foundation, which has helped with medical needs, scholarships and further research across Canada, and invested in the Alberta Children's Hospital & Rotary Flames Hospice where Lewiston passed away. ⁣
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Tune in as we speak to Jessica about her journey of overcoming loss and her inspiring resiliency and leadership.

If you'd like to donate to The Love for Lewiston Foundation, please visit www.loveforlewiston.ca

We're stoked to introduce our new segments called 𝙆𝙄𝘾𝙆𝙄𝙉 𝙄𝙏, where we put our feet up and hang with the realest. Sometimes we like to (and we damn well DESERVE to!) take off our mom hats and tell it like it truly is - raw, unfiltered and no bullshit. These episodes are brought to you by wine, weed and wisdom - where we just shoot the shit with our guests and talk about whatever comes up.⁣
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In this week's episode, we are joined by seasoned mama, Maria C, who talks about life after the BIG D. (Divorce, that is, you dirty birdies 😜). We also discuss self-discovery through meditation, and find out what makes Har speechless for the first time ever in her life 🤣 (coz ya'll know this girl can talk right???)⁣
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We had the privilege to sit down and chat with two remarkable child development pioneers in the game right now: founders Jo & Lara of @psychedaboutkids, which is a platform where parents, educators, caregivers and therapists can find great information, tools and community networks that focus on healthy child development.⁣
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If you've ever struggled with tantrums, connecting with your child or getting you and your partner on the same page when it comes to parenting, you don't wanna miss this episode!⁣
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Stay tuned and in the meantime, head over to @psychedaboutkids for some great information and parenting tools!

We’re hitting you guys with another Dope Dad episode featuring the Owner & Founder of Canadian streetwear brand: Legal Hustle Clothing.⁣
Albert "Styles" Mejia is kicking it with us in-studio this week to tell us more about his company, his contributions to the community and how he's navigating his self-made success after becoming a new dad.⁣ Sneaker Heads and Street wear Enthusiasts: you don't wanna miss this one!!

As most of you know, we just passed National Suicide Prevention Week in September, so naturally, as a parenting podcast we wanted to highlight the importance of this topic as it relates to our most vulnerable citizens: the kids.

We speak with Stephanie Sargeant, an aspiring psychologist and an advocate for anti-bullying, who will share her story of how she experienced bullying at the exact same Chestermere, AB school where a teen recently and tragically took her own life as a result of racism and bullying.

We hope to reach many audiences as this topic is vital to the mental well-being of our children, and what you can do to help.

Crisis Canada Hotline: 1-833 456-4566
Follow us on IG: @hard_as_a_mother
Email us: [email protected]