Mama's Gonna Make It

What happens when being “a good girl” means learning to put everyone else’s needs, feelings, and comfort ahead of your own?

We’re so excited to welcome Emily Hughes of Finding Flow Parenting back to Mama’s Gonna Make It! Emily is a conscious parenting coach who works with individuals and couples and incorporates somatics and breathwork into her work. She first joined us in Season 1, and we loved having the chance to continue the conversation.

This time, we’re talking about good girl conditioning—what it is, where it comes from, and how it can show up in adulthood, motherhood, relationships, work, and even our relationship with our own bodies.

Emily describes good girl conditioning as a kind of conditioned self-abandonment: learning to prioritize everyone else’s happiness, feelings, and needs before checking in with yourself. We talk about fawning, people-pleasing, the pressure to be “nice,” and the sneaky version of the good girl—the hyper-independent woman who never wants to be a burden or ask for help.

We also dig into the difference between being nice and being kind, why boundaries don’t make you mean, and what it can look like to teach our daughters that they don’t have to choose between being caring and being boundaried.

Along the way, we talk about:

One of our favorite reminders from this conversation? “You’re no longer in school.” There isn’t always one right answer, one correct way to parent, or one way to be a good woman. We get to make choices, learn, adjust, and trust ourselves along the way.

And perhaps the biggest question we’re taking away from this episode: When was the last time you felt deeply alive? Because maybe reconnecting with ourselves isn’t selfish. Maybe it’s part of how we learn to show up more fully for everyone we love.

Find Emily:
Emily is the founder of Finding Flow Parenting, where she offers conscious parenting coaching, somatic work, and breathwork. She is also the host of the Finding Flow Parenting podcast,available wherever you stream podcasts, where she explores listener parenting questions from multiple perspectives.

Recommended:The Courage to Be Disliked:The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga 

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit

What happens when your kid looks you in the eye and asks a very direct question about the Tooth Fairy? 👀

Full disclaimer – don’t listen to this one with your kids around unless they’re already in on the magic and how it is shared. We’d hate to be the ones to spoil any childhood wonder ahead of schedule!

This week, we’re talking about those moments when our kids start asking bigger questions—and we’re not always sure how much they’re ready to know. We get into childhood magic, telling the truth, growing up, and figuring out how to let the cultural magic, rituals, and myths of childhood evolve without losing what made it special in the first place.

Plus, we talk about:

Because sometimes the hardest part of parenting is realizing your kid is growing up—and figuring out how to grow right along with them. We hope you and yours never fully outgrow childhood magic and, instead, you become part of the wonder-machine!❤️

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit

What happens when becoming a mother and losing your own mother happen within the same chapter of life?

In this episode, we continue our conversation about grief with returning guest Kaili van Waveren, executive director of ThorpeWood and a grief/thanatology professional, alongside friends Liz May and Suzy Fielders, who share their deeply personal experiences of becoming and being mothers while also losing their own moms.

Liz and Suzy talk about the strange collision of joy and grief: raising babies while navigating the loss of the person they might most want to call. We talk about grief brain, postpartum brain, the ways grief can show up unexpectedly, and how different every person’s experience can be.

Kaili helps us unpack the idea of continuing bonds — the ways we maintain relationships with people we’ve lost through traditions, stories, food, music, photographs, birthdays, holidays, and the little things that keep someone present in our lives. We also talk about how to help our children know people they may have barely known — or never had the chance to meet.

And then there’s the other side of grief: how do we show up for someone who’s grieving? We talk about the temptation to fix, the importance of simply bearing witness, why “I know how you feel” usually isn’t helpful, and how sometimes the most meaningful thing we can do is simply say, I see you. I’m here.

We also get into death cafés, planning for our own eventual death, wills and advance directives, the myth of the five stages of grief, prolonged grief disorder, grief anniversaries, invisible grief, and why grief doesn’t necessarily disappear — it changes shape.

There are tears. There is laughter. There are Tootsie Pops. There is a children’s book that may someday become a beautiful family legacy. And, naturally, there is some laughter in the lengths a man may go to to avoid doing paperwork: propose marriage.

Because grief is heavy. But love is there, too.

Resources:

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit

What if grief isn’t just something that happens after someone dies?

This week, we’re joined by our friend Kaili Van Waveren, a thanatologist, grief counselor, and Executive Director at ThorpeWood, for a wide-ranging conversation about grief, death, and all the ways loss changes us.

Kaili helps us explore why grief can come from so many different kinds of loss, what “grief brain” really means, and why there’s no single right way to mourn. We also talk about the importance of naming what we’re experiencing, finding ways to process it, and continuing to make space for the people and things we’ve lost.

We get into:

And throughout the conversation, Kaili reminds us of something that can be easy to forget: grief isn’t something we simply finish. It’s something we learn to carry.

Next time, we’ll continue the conversation with two incredible women sharing their own experiences with loss, with Kaili helping us hold space for their stories.

Links:

Umbrella Project at ThorpeWood

One Wild Nonprofit 

What is a Death Cafe? 

Book Resource: Bereaved Children and Teens by Earl Grollman

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit

Sometimes the system stops working. Sometimes the house gets completely disrupted. Sometimes your laundry fairy is temporarily unavailable. And sometimes… you just need everyone to GTFO of the house so you can finally clean in peace. 

In Episode 57, we’re talking about our personal toolboxes for getting through the seasons when routines fall apart, motivation disappears, and the systems that used to work suddenly don’t.

We’re embracing fall as the real reset season—a chance to clear out what isn’t serving us, make our homes more functional for the months ahead, and create systems that actually work with our brains instead of against them.

We talk about:

Because sometimes it is what it is.

And sometimes the best thing you can do is work with what you’ve got, make it smaller, try a different system, and take the shame out of the equation.

The Home Edit Workbook — Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin
A structured way to work through different spaces and belongings, with an emphasis on editing as well as organizing.

Lazy Genius — Kendra Adachi
Especially helpful: make it smaller. If the problem or goal feels too big, shrink it until it feels doable.

Struggle Care – KC Davis. A reminder that care tasks are morally neutral. Your ability to keep up with them doesn’t measure your worth.

Dubbii
A body-doubling app created by Rich and Rox, designed to help people get things done alongside others.

Finch
A self-care and habit-building app that turns taking care of yourself into a little game—with an adorable birb involved.

FlyLady
A classic resource for breaking home care into manageable routines and small chunks of time.

And if none of those work today? Try something else tomorrow.

No shame. New system.

What is the weird, wonderful, unconventional thing that helps you get stuff done?

A special playlist? A cleaning uniform? A timer? A deadline? A particular basket? Body doubling? A five-minute challenge? A green “get it off my desk” rock?

Tell us what works for you!

Find us on Instagram: @mamasgonnamakeitpodcast

Email us: [email protected]

And as always, thank you to our Podfather, Producer Tim. ❤️

Eee-Wee.

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit

We’re hanging out with our friend Jackie Kelley—aka @StayatHomeJackie— for a wide-ranging friend chat about embracing who you are, finding joy in the weird stuff, and navigating the beautiful chaos of parenting.

Jackie talks about what it means to be a “Stay at Home Jackie,” why seeing people with bodies like yours joyfully existing can be so powerful, and how she’s learned to care less about other people’s expectations of how she should look, dress, or express herself.

We also get into the art of unmasking—from leaving behind the beige Hobby Lobby version of yourself to embracing colorful clothes, strange hobbies, loud hair, stupid tattoos, and, of course, whimsy.

And then things get delightfully weird.

Jackie tells us about her stuffed-animal rehabilitation hobby, how she rescues sad thrift-store stuffies, gives them new life, and finds them new homes. We discuss haunted dolls (hard pass), distinguished teddy bears, Build-A-Bear surprises, and the very real emotional trauma of a decapitated elephant stuffie.

From there, we wander through nonfiction about pirates, scurvy, medical history, poison, and Victorian-era attempts at resuscitation; Pokemon trading among four-year-olds; preserving childhood collections; Disney trip logistics; parenting kids with completely different personalities; and why sometimes the best parenting strategy is simply to divide and conquer.

We also talk about something especially close to home: learning to recognize and communicate when we’re reaching our limits. Whether that means singing instead of yelling, taking a timeout, asking for some quiet, or simply saying, “I’m not doing well right now,” we’re modeling for our kids that boundaries and big feelings are things we can communicate—not things we have to hide until we explode.

And, naturally, we end up talking about children’s bizarre questions, Minecraft-induced trance states, and why sometimes you just have to remind your kid to blink.

It’s a classic friend chat: a little deep, a little ridiculous, and full of reminders that we’re allowed to have fun, be weird, and build full lives while we’re raising our kids.

Find Jackie:
@StayatHomeJackie on Instagram, TikTok and Youtube
StayAtHomeJackie.com

And be sure to check out her upcoming book, So You Married a Human!

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit

What happens when you realize marriage isn’t the happily-ever-after part of the story– it’s the part where two imperfect humans have to figure out how to actually live together?

This week, we’re joined by Jackie Kelley, creator of Stay-at-Home Jackie and author of the upcoming book So You Married a Human: The Totally Doable, Unconventional Guide to a Thriving Partnership.

Jackie shares the story behind her book, which grew out of the marriage “rules” she and her husband developed over more than a decade together. And spoiler alert: these aren’t rules about becoming the perfect spouse. They’re tools for navigating the very human stuff that makes relationships complicated (different expectations, different brains, different childhoods, different communication styles, and the occasional rage-inducing towel fold).

We talk about what it means to consider your spouse’s lens, why “no wrong answer” can completely change the temperature of a conversation, and why sometimes the answer to “Why are you doing it that way?!” is simply… because that’s the way their brain works.

Jackie also gets real about growing up without great models of healthy marriage, learning how to communicate with a spouse whose processing style is completely different from hers, and the painful amount of self-reflection that can come with building a better partnership.

And then we play a little game: Jackie gives us the rule, and we try to guess what it means. We cover:

We also get into neurodivergence, masking and unmasking, gender expectations in marriage, growing together instead of trying to keep your partner the person you originally married, and why sometimes the most useful marriage skill is simply being willing to stop and ask, “What am I missing here?”

Jackie’s book comes out October 6, 2026, and after this conversation, we’re pretty sure we all need a copy. Or at least a spouse who will tolerate us word-vomiting the best parts at them. 😂

Connect with Jackie:
Stay-at-Home Jackie on social media

Get the book:
So You Married a Human: The Totally Doable, Unconventional Guide to a Thriving Partnership — available October 6, 2026.

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit

Guess what? We’re back!

After a summer break, Mama’s Gonna Make It is officially rolling into Season 4 — and we’re kicking things off with a little life update, a lot of reflection, and an explanation of the four pillars that help shape our conversations.

First, we check in with each other. We both have littles starting kindergarten, which brings ALL the feelings, transitions, schedule changes, and questions about what comes next. We talk about giving ourselves permission to recognize when a transition needs to look different for our families — and giving our kids (and ourselves) the grace to grow at our own pace.

Then we get into the four pillars of Mama’s Gonna Make It:

Parenting as a Practice

Parenting isn’t something we eventually master. It’s something we practice.

Our kids change, we change, our circumstances change — and just when you think you’ve figured something out, somebody grows up and suddenly you’re working with a whole new kid.

We talk about giving ourselves (and other parents) grace, letting go of the idea that there’s one “right” way to parent, and remembering that our capacity can look different from one day to the next.

We also get into some very real-life examples of what this practice looks like for us right now — including reframing our kids’ interruptions, managing our own irritability, and remembering that sometimes the biggest change we can make is the story we’re telling ourselves about what’s happening.

Neurodiversity

Our second pillar grew out of our desire to talk honestly about parenting as neurodivergent moms.

We check in on where we’re each at with ADHD management, including medication, executive function, impulse control, burnout, and the never-ending struggle of having approximately 47 open tabs in our brains at all times.

We talk about the ways ADHD affects far more than productivity — and what it feels like when the right support makes everyday life just a little less hard.

Self-Growth

We’re big believers in continuing to grow, learn, question ourselves, and become more fully ourselves.

And, as it turns out, this podcast has become a pretty significant part of that process.

We talk about how recording these conversations has helped us become more comfortable being imperfect, hearing our own thoughts out loud, learning from our guests, and letting go of the pressure to perform.

One imperfect episode doesn’t define the whole podcast. One imperfect day doesn’t define our whole lives, either.

We also reflect on some of the professional growth we’ve experienced since the podcast began and the ways we’re both feeling more grounded and ready for whatever comes next.

Relationships — or, as we like to call it, All the ‘Ships

This one took a little more work to name.

“Relationships” can sound like we’re about to give you marriage advice (we’re not), but what we really mean is all the relationships that make up our lives.

Friendships. Marriage. Parenting relationships. Family. Work relationships. Community. The people we encounter in everyday life. And, of course, each other and our producer, the one and only Tim Beeman.

The goal of these pillars isn’t to restrict what we talk about. They’re a platform, not a collar — a framework that gives us somewhere to put all the tangled thoughts, ideas, guests, stories, and conversations that make sense for us.

And Season 4 is already bringing some fantastic people and perspectives into the conversation!

We’re talking grief, good-girl conditioning, self-love, marriage, parenting, neurodiversity, and so much more — with guests who bring their own experiences, expertise, and perspectives to the table.

As always, we’re not here to tell you how to live your life. We’re the experts of our own lives, just like you are the expert of yours. Take what works for you, leave what doesn’t, and come hang out with us while we figure some of this stuff out together.

Welcome to Season 4. We’re so glad you’re here.

Have a topic you’d love for us to revisit? Or something you want us to talk about this season? Let us know at  [email protected]

Insta @mamasgonnamakeitpodcast
Facebook at Mama’s Gonna Make It

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit

Season three has come to a close… somewhat sooner than originally planned. And that’s okay, friends. 

After a year full of parenting, work, personal and professional growth, creative projects, performances, travel, summer schedules, and trying to keep all the plates spinning, we’re talking about something that’s become impossible to ignore: burnout

In this episode, we explore the difference between burnout and simply falling out of a hyperfocus, why every passion project eventually moves beyond the “honeymoon phase,” and what it looks like to keep showing up after the initial excitement fades.

We also discuss:

As we wrap up Season 3, we’re taking our own advice and giving ourselves permission to rest before returning for Season 4 in September. Thank you for listening, sharing, encouraging us, and growing this community with us. 

Until next season…remember: rest isn’t a reward—it’s part of the rhythm.

Links:

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit

Today’s episode is something a little different.

As we wind down our third season (don’t worry—we’re already recording Season 4!), it’s summertime out there, and Sarabeth and Anne are ready to embrace a slower pace and recover from a very busy year.

Between shifting schedules, changing family routines, and general life burnout, this season of life feels… full. So Sarabeth had a brilliant idea: record this episode separately from home and share two of our published articles from the Davidson Local. Producer Tim—our hero, as always—stitched it all together for today’s episode.

First up, Sarabeth shares “Big Feelings,” reflecting on, well… big feelings—our emotions, our kids’ emotions, and why honoring them matters.

Then Anne shares “Beyond Baby Showers: Why We Need to Talk About Postpartum,” along with some of what inspired her to write about such a personal and vulnerable topic.

Finally, Sarabeth sends us off with some reflection and excitement to return to the studio soon!

Links:
View our Linktree to access our published articles.
For more information on postpartum mental health, visit Moms’s; Mental Health Matters: and select Find Help for immediate resources.
If you haven’t yet, Purchase Birth Vibes by Jen Hamilton
Dr. Becky at Good Inside

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit