In a holiday season that will forever be marked by smaller gatherings and hours-long zoom calls, verbal communication is all we've got. Every year we tackle the cocktail of emotions that come with gathering as a family for various holiday celebrations, but this year is even more unique.

In this episode we tell stories of communication gone wrong. And then we analyze it. What can we learn from past experience? Can I extend grace to myself and those who know how best to push my buttons? How does that translate to Zoom Calls?

Join us. And SHARE with us, if you'd like! What is your main strategy for prepping for the holidays? Email: [email protected]

Have you ever looked back and just laughed at who you thought you'd become - because who you are now is just wildly different, and of course more authentic to you? I did recently. And then I realized how much the movies and tv shows played into that expectation.

Today we look at the media that gave us false expectations about ourselves or our future; and the shows that are remarkably accurate to life. What were your favorite movies growing up? How did they shape you?

Ready, set, READ! Do you remember your journey to becoming a reader? For many people, this journey is rocky and arduous.

Today Ingrid and Vicki talk about their work helping young learners become readers, a particular passion of theirs’. Vicki has worked as a learning specialist for years, including helping Ingrid move past her dyslexia when she was in kindergarten and first grade. This brainiac episode dives into the neuroscience of literacy and the explicit, strategic steps people walk through to become proficient readers.

Special thanks to mentors on this journey:

Jill Stowell, Vicki’s inspiration and original guide into diverse learning:

https://stowellcenter.com/

https://www.learningrx.com/ & https://www.pacelearningskills.com/ for the continuing education and excellent programs.

"Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again" --- Did you know someone had to TEACH you this skill? Resilience doesn't always come naturally. Turns out, in the classroom, at home, with your young daughter, with the kids you babysit; it is important to practice Trying Again.

In this episode, we discuss tips for communicating with your young child. How to set expectations and how to stay encouraged when things get hard.

Below are all the resources we mention in the podcast!

Carol S Dweck's book mindset:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40745.Mindset

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/our-hierarchy-needs

Dr. Ross Green - Lives in the Balance

https://www.livesinthebalance.org/

What song do you wake up singing? What songs from childhood do you still sing? How do you acquire new music, and how have your musical tastes shifted through the years?

Ingrid and Vicki consider all these questions on this episode, Music Through Our Lives.

This week, we chronicle our favorite foods to eat - for every occasion.

What to do when guests invite themselves to dinner (in a non-pandemic situation)?!

How can dinner time become an intentional parenting moment?

How do we get out of these quarantine slumps?

It's not like we're here with all the answers, but maybe our ideas will give you some new ones!

“The consent that isn’t enthusiastic, or the emotional erosion is what really hit home with me as something that we need to continue to label as harassment.”

Have you ever had someone speak over you? Or someone not take your opinion at face value? Have you been faced with a person who brings up a subject over and over to argue their own point?

In this episode, Ingrid and Vicki discuss interpersonal boundary erosion that can lead to harassment. This topic was prompted by a video training Vicki took regarding interpersonal violence.

"How did you get up the courage to say "Yes" to Dad for what you knew would be the rest of your life?"

Ingrid asks Vicki questions about dating and marriage after she notices young women like her spouting cliches that feel insincere. "It just feels different." "You guys were meant for each other." ...How does that actually play out in a way that makes marriage feel like the exciting, natural next step.

This is also one of our first conversations on the subject while Ingrid is single. (turns out, this is way easier to talk about when there isn't questions about ulterior motives or reading into current relationships) We just get to talk it out!

Life has been pretty routine for five months in our lives during quarantine. However, this episode we have a fun, new development to share. An in-person, onsite commercial shoot for a healthcare company came Ingrid’s way. Hear what surprised her on this first-of -it’s-kind event for Ingrid.

"Does this shirt make me look?..."

Who knows how to push our insecurity buttons more than anyone else: our family. oof.

This week we discuss how our relationship has affected the way we think about ourselves. Turns out weight changes with hormones. Living in LA raises the "prettiness pressure"...or does it? Maybe it's less about our outside pressures after all.

The main question is: How can we be uplifting in a relationship that often makes body confidence worse?

For more info and encouragement-

BMI isn't a real measurement with Wholly Healed

https://www.whollyhealed.com/holistic-care-for-whole-humans/2017/09/26/6-health-myths-you-believe-that-are-slowly-killing-you-part-2?rq=bmi

Change your mindset with Dr. Dan Siegel

https://www.drdansiegel.com/about/mindsight/