Look Ma No Hands

Kids wait all year to go to camp, so with camps like her own being cancelled all across the country due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Sunni Markowitz decided to open Camp Lantern Creek as a Virtual Camp for girls age 7-17. Camp Lantern Creek teachers life skills like babysitting, lifeguarding, EQ enhancement and more, and there's still time to sign up before the first of three one-week courses begins on Monday. Head to camplanterncreek.com now to sign up and learn more about how Virtual Camp can help our kids find joy in uncertain, stressful times.

Bri Braggs delivered her four-month-old in a home birth after researching hospital statistics on the maternal death rate of Black women and realizing it would be statistically safer for her to deliver her child in her own home. 

Have you ever had to make that kind of decision? I know I haven't.

In this very candid episode of "Look Ma' No Hands," I chat with the founder of Fertile Alchemy as she candidly describes her experiences as a Black woman, daughter and mother in America. From what she was told about the police growing up to what she plans to tell her own son and how she feels about what's going on in this country today, this episode is a raw and honest account of the gap between the experiences of Black and White women in America and one of the many conversations that needs to be had in order to close it.

When Zoe Blaskey became a mother over four years ago, she discovered what all mothers know: this gig is hard. Beyond that, after many years in recovery, she found many of the things she thought she'd healed within herself were coming back up again. Amongst the conversations about which gin went best with the bedtime routine, she felt she couldn't find the conversation she wanted to have...so she started it. Zoe Blaskey launched The Motherkind Podcast several years ago and has since interviewed everyone from Glennon Doyle to Kate Northrup to Marianne Williamson with one mission in mind: helping mothers be kinder to themselves. 

Zoe has helped countless mothers reconnect to themselves and shares guidance for true self care on all of her platforms. Her wisdom on how to become our own best friends, let go of perfectionism, become a model and not a martyr and live full lives as mothers is infinite. Have a listen to this very special episode of "Look Ma' No Hands" to hear Zoe's very important take on why putting on our own oxygen mask first is vital in motherhood and all areas of life.

To learn more about Motherkind and Zoe's offerings, click here.

To listen to The Motherkind Podcast, click here.

Wine has become a socially acceptable coping mechanism for the overwhelming challenges of motherhood, but is it hurting us more than it's helping us? Clare Pooley, mother-of-three and author of "The Sober Diaries", decided to find out when, five years ago, she poured herself a glass - nay, mug - of red before noon to cure a hangover (a big rule-breaker for her.) She lifted the mug to find it read "World's Best Mum." It was right then and there that she dove into a life of sobriety that she'd never planned on, abruptly halting a bottle-of-wine-per-day (or more) wine habit and starting an anonymous blog called "Mummy was a Secret Drinker" to track and share her journey. In this episode, we discuss what she's learned about the links between alcohol and anxiety and depression, the miracle that is "sober hair", the best sleep she's ever had, a timeline of how her life started to change when she put down the bottle and what her life as a mother of three looks like today compared to what it looked like before. 

To order "The Sober Diaries: How One Woman Quit Drinking and Started Living", click here.

Blogger, influencer and venture capitalist Carrie Colbert had it all.

And then she got pregnant. At 40. (And not exactly on purpose.)

A year later, she found herself raising her daughter on her own, moving out of a flooded home and forging a new path - one that would NOT include a male counterpart, she swore. It makes sense that at the precise moment she decided to write off men entirely, she found the one.

On this episode of Look Ma’ No Hands, Carrie makes a BIG announcement and tells us all about what her career looks like today with one almost-3-year-old in tow, a FIANCÉ (yes, she’s engaged!) and an unexpected quarantine. If anyone knows how to pivot, it’s Carrie, so if you’ve found yourself wandering in the unknown during this uncertain time, or if you’ve ever needed a reminder that life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans, you’ll love what she has to say.

Follow Carrie on Insta @carriec.

Some couples are thriving in quarantine and others are planning to file for divorce as soon as they can get to the courthouse. What's the real difference between these two scenarios and what can we do if quarantine hasn't been the best thing for our relationship? Sex and relationship therapist Dr. Emily Jamea of Revive Therapy discusses what we can learn and take with us from the success that some of have had in this quarantine and what couples who've struggled should consider before taking action.

Are you struggling to connect emotionally and physically in your relationship? Do you feel stuck? Dr. Jamea is now offering a private, 6-week online workshop for a fresh approach to reviving individual, relationship, and erotic health.  To find out more, visit her online at EmilyJamea.com and use the coupon code "LMNH" for 50% off!

In Megan's fourth episode on Look Ma' No Hands, she answers YOUR questions on how she maintains a strong and communicative relationship, what she knows about working things out with your spouse when you disagree and the kids are listening, how she's navigating post-quarantine life in Texas and how she dealt with adversity in her past to find confidence in her present.

To learn more about Megan and shop the Willow Crown collection, visit her on instagram @willowcrowns or find her online at www.willowcrowns.com.

GIVEAWAY: head to my instagram @lauramaxrose THIS WEEK by Friday 5/22/20 and enter to win a BOX of Willow Crowns bows! Giveaway entry details on my feed.

You are more than who you love and what you choose to work on.

In this episode of Look Ma' No Hands, I share part of my own mental health journey in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month as I sit down with Mental Health Coach and founder of "Becoming Wildly Well" Brande truly is. Now, she helps individuals recover who they really are and engage the lifelong journey of "becoming" ourselves.

The world of motherhood is rife with opportunities for self-doubt and loss of self,  but in this episode, Brandi discusses how we can start to turn inward, trust ourselves and stop seeking outside validation for our parenting choices.

If you'd like to learn more about Brandi or are interesting in working with her, you can visit her online at www.becomingwildlywell.com or on instagram at @becomingbrandilea.

Many years ago, Carla White found herself overweight, drinking heavily and feeling apathetic about her life. Her journey to more happiness led her to create The Gratitude App (highlighted by Oprah and Entrepreneur Magazine) which became a tool I used in my own spiritual awakening many years ago. In this episode, she shares what she knows about the brain, why we're actually wired for happiness and how to create more of it in our lives in very simple, concrete ways.

There is so much about this time that has been so challenging, but there’s also so much it’s brought me that I would never want to give back. My recent guest, Maghon Taylor, can probably relate.

Many years ago, Maghon was at one of the lowest points in her life, newly married to an abusive spouse and an entire country away from her family. She found her way home, found her own light after believing it was lost forever and now she shines it on others through her very presence as well as her hand lettering business, @allshewrotenotes.

I can’t wait for you to hear her story and feel her sparkle today - her episode is at the link in my profile and I think it’s what all of us can use on this full-moon-in-quarantine-kind-of-day.

Maghon, thank you for sharing your light with all of us and for showing us how the hardest times in our life can be yield the most beautiful ones.