Katrina Teeple is the Founder & CEO of Operation Organization, a professional organizing company, which services clients in Southern California and Dallas Texas. In addition to in-person services, Katrina teaches regular masterclasses on topics from email organization to hacking the home for optimal order. Katrina and her talented team have been transforming the way clients' lives flow from their homes to their offices for more than 17 years. She refers to herself as a Life Optimizer - one part Organizational Coach and one part System Creator.

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Key takeaways 

• Moms are inundated with having so much to do and we feel like we need to be doing more all the time, which doesn't leave a lot of time to maintain order in our lives (9:18) 
• Incorporating the decluttering mindset into her household early on. When you have regular conversations about only keeping what fits in the house, it becomes easier for kids because they don’t get attached as easily (12:08)
• Saving kids art and projects for the entire year: put everything in a box and go through it at the end of the year picking favorites to keep  (16:00)
• To implement systems and order for kids, you need to make it easy for them - low hooks, drawers, etc. so it’s easily accessible (20:48)
• We waste so much time thinking about how to start getting organized, what we need and wanting it perfect and that stops us from starting (32:23)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children's supplements brand for over 20 years. Now available on amazon.com/childlife

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Katie Thomson is a Registered Dietitian, mom of 2 and co-founder of Square Baby. Fed up with all the fruit-heavy, sugar-laden baby foods masquerading as balanced meals, she knew she could do better. She wanted to create a solution to cut through the clutter, the confusion and the mountains of applesauce. 

With Square Baby, each meal is completely balanced and the Square Meal System™ delivers 100% of a baby’s daily recommended servings of fruit, veggies, protein, and grains. 

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Key Takeaways:

• What she learned about herself during her time at Starbucks and how it was helping her become an entrepreneur without her even realizing it (14:03)
• Working full-time and being too busy and overwhelmed to make baby food on her own. She  also wanted to spend the time she had with her son focused on him, not making baby food (17:51) 
• You’re not a good or bad mom because you did or didn’t select a certain path  (26:22)
• You can prevent food allergies by up to 80% by offering allergens as early as 4-6 months (31:02)
• People aren't born with food allergies, they develop over time (32:10)
• If a child does have an allergy, can they outgrow them as their immune systems develop (36:00)
• Immune system development is most critical between 4-11 months, which is why early introduction is so important so the system can build immunity (39:20)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children's supplements brand for over 20 years. Now available on amazon.com/childlife

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Rachel was born and raised in Oakland, CA. She is a mother of two beautiful sons and resides in NY. She is an actor and graduate of The Juilliard School, a founding MIRROR instructor, doula, and lactation counselor. Rachel founded Birth Queen to combat the Black maternal health crisis. Black mothers can be confident knowing there is someone advocating for them and breathing new life into the birth world with funding, education, and support.

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Key Takeaways 

• The guilt women go through when they don't feel strong after having a baby. You’re not broken, you’re just healing and we need to deal with that (6:50)
• Having anxiety attacks daily while pregnant with her second child because she was scared to have another Black son during the summer of 2020 (13:05)
• Founding Birth Queen: An organization with the mission to provide education, support, and resources to Black birthing people while also funding more training for Black birth workers (14:30)
• The background of racism in birth: Dr. Marion Sims practiced c-sections on slaves, a lot of them survived without anesthesia leading to his conclusion that Black women don't feel pain the same way as white women. Leads to both an unconscious and conscious bias. (15:10)
• All moms deserve better care than they’re deserving (17:39)
• Ways that black women are judged even during labor: wearing a ring, how they do their hair, etc. (17:43)
• How to properly do a kegel (25:09)
• Diastasis recti: most of us have at least some separation. What to do during pregnancy and postpartum to prevent it. You can be an all-star athlete or couch potato and get diastasis recti  (42:28)
• Returning to fitness postpartum. Everyone is different and she has different recommendations depending on each person's experience. Won't tell anyone to do high impact for 3-6 months postpartum (46:57)
• The damage seeing images of trainers and fit people on social media postpartum and feeling like we should be able to do that too (51:05)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children's supplements brand for over 20 years. Now available on amazon.com/childlife

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Eve Rodsky is the New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) and its highly anticipated follow-up, Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World. A Harvard-trained lawyer and former foundational manager at J.P. Morgan, Rodsky combines her experience in organizational management and family mediation with the science connecting creativity with improved mental and physical health. Her step-by-step approach in Fair Play, which helps partners rebalance their domestic workload, has been recognized by Reese’s Book Club, Good Morning America, Today, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and other outlets. Rodsky lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their three children.

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Key takeaways 

• Feeling like a failure and blaming herself for not creating the life that everyone told her she could have. The idea that you can have it all and be it all is a lie (5:40)
• Our society has been built on the backs of the unpaid labor of women and it's a house of cards (8:25)
• Boundary setting means you have permission to be unavailable from your roles as a wife, mother, etc. (13:30)
• The importance of unicorn space and why women don’t feel like they have permission to take it (14:30)
• We regard men's time like diamonds and women's like sand (17:06)
• Guilt and shame is a tool to keep you quiet and submissive (20:57)
• Working together as a couple to decide what you value as a family (24:17)
• What matters to you? What life are you building? When you decide that together, neither of you can say something is unnecessary (28:33)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children's supplements brand for over 20 years. Now available on amazon.com/childlife

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Dani is a pediatric registered dietitian nutritionist, early childhood education advocate, and Mom of 3. Her mission is to guide parents through hands-on learning and sensory engagement with food education to foster curiosity, transforming picky kids in adventurous eaters. She focuses on food literacy with the integration of STEAM activities (science, technology, engineering, arts, math), sensory exploration, and food play to make everyday meals into teachable moments.

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Key takeaways 

• What it was like having her first two kiddos while living in Germany. The biggest differences: seeing her doctor every visit in Germany and having an ultrasound every visit. In Germany when you have a c-section, they keep you a minimum of 5 days vs in the U.S. where they get you out quick (6:35)
• Her tips for meals when you're low on time, your partner is traveling, etc. - convenience food is your friend. We put a lot of stress and pressure on ourselves about meals. She likes to utilize prepared or semi-prepared foods as the main dish and then she’ll add other things like fruits and veggies (15:45)
• Give yourself some grace. If everyone comes to the table and they’ve eaten something, whether it’s cereal or soup or whatever, as long as they're fed and safe, you're in a good place (18:01)
• Playing is how kids learn about and experience the world around them, but for some reason not when it comes to food. An invitation to play with food is a great way to help children feel confident and familiar with foods even if we’re not talking about eating them (29:20)
• The goal of her work is to reduce barriers around food and make them fun and playful. If they taste the food, great, but that’s not always the first step. The first step is to build confidence and comfort around new food (36:44)
•  How to incorporate food play into your every day so it isn’t stressful and doesn't take a lot of work or money. Think about what you’re making for dinner and how you could turn that into sensory play  (41:16)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children's supplements brand for over 20 years. Now available on amazon.com/childlife

Follow Dani on Instagram or her website

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Kim McLeod is the creator behind The Best Ideas for Kids where she shares craft ideas for kids of all ages. She lives outside of Toronto with her husband and 2 kids. She has a passion for creating and sharing kids craft projects. She loves to create projects that are easy, and she incorporates recycled materials as much as she can. She is also known for her handprint cards and crafts. 
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Key takeaways 

• Set of 8 holiday kits available at Michael’s packaged with almost everything you need so no prep time (2:21)
• Why Kim won’t use water beads: They are created to absorb water and can continue to expand if ingested and cause blockages in an intestine.  If they get in your pipes they can block your pipes too (11:24)
• How to remove sticker residue: using soapy water to loosen the label/sticker and then you should be able to use your hands to get most the paper off.  Use Goo Gone for the adhesive part (14:50)
• How to get slime out of anything: Vinegar. It will get slime out of hair, clothes, carpet, etc. Mix with a bit of soapy water, spray it on and rub it with a rag. Slime is made up primarily of glue, which is the hardest part to get out and the vinegar almost dissolves it (18:49)
• Crayon on the wall, floor or furniture: use a hairdryer to melt the wax in the crayon and then wipe clean. She has also had some luck with Windex (23:26)
• Cleaning up Oobleck: Let it sit out for a day to completely harden and then it breaks into chunky pieces. You don’t want to put it down your drain because it goes between a liquid and solid and when it dries, it dries hard so it can clog your drain  (25:27)
• Glitter: Vacuum is the best way to go. To avoid loose glitter, try using glitter paper or glitter glue. Eco-friendly glitter is now available too (28:15)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children's supplements brand for over 20 years. Now available on amazon.com/childlife

Follow Kim on Instagram or her website

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Dr. Meggie Smith is an OB/GYN who specializes in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.  Based in Nashville, Tennessee Smith is a life-long athlete who uses her medical expertise paired with her personal experiences to help women better understand their bodies. Smith strives to use relatable, practical advice with all of her patients by connecting with them on a personal and professional level. As both the doctor and the patient (she has gone through two egg freezing cycles herself), undergoing fertility treatments has given Smith a unique perspective on the physical and emotional toils of an in vitro fertilization or egg freezing cycle. Dr. Smith is a proud dog mom to rescues, Herman and Noelle.
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Key takeaways

• So much of her job is dealing with emotion around infertility. The vast majority of people she sees are shocked to need a fertility specialist (6:50)
• There is a lot of grieving along with a lot of hope when it comes to infertility. Many people are angry or sad and not everyone is ready to move to the acceptance part and take next steps (10:20)
• Common tips for increasing your chances of getting pregnant: putting your legs up after sex, eating pineapple core after ovulation, acupuncture, baby aspirin, different sex positions, inserting actual egg-whites in the vagina, how often to have sex, supplements, cutting alcohol/caffeine - are any of them true? Dr. Meggie tells me which, if any, have any real chance of increasing your odds of getting pregnant (16:38)
• A lot of the things we do to try and help get pregnant are things that make us feel in control in a situation that is very outside of our control. There’s a lot that has very little downside and might have an upside so why not try (18:38)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years. Now available on amazon.com/childlife

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Courtney Killpack is a bra fitting expert and owner of Bra Fittings by Court, a professional bra fitting shop located in Layton, Utah. She has over 16 years experience working in the lingerie industry and has fitted thousands of women. In 2021 her shop was awarded The Best of Intima Award for Fan Favorite and being recognized as one of the best lingerie stores in America. 

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Key takeaways 

• When your bra isn’t fitting correctly, it can cause a lot of physical pain - poor posture, shoulder strain, neck tension (6:08)
• The gore (the section between the cups) should lay flat against your skin - if it is sticking away from your body, it means the cup size is too small (9:00)
• How often should you be getting fitted? Every year. Bras have a 9-10 month life cycle (15:52)
• Recommend having 3-4 everyday bras so you can rotate and extend each bras life cycle. Sports bras they recommend having 1-2, more if you’re really active (17:00)
• Cleaning your bras - hand washing in the sink is gold standard. If using the washing machine, use the hand wash cycle and hook up the back so it doesn't get attached to other clothes or the machine (19:30)
• Don’t ever put your bra in the dryer, it will destroy it (21:56)
• Top nursing bra recommendation: Hot Milk, Panache, Elomi (22:37)
• Where your bra should sit in the back: bras are like teeter-totters. Band should be lower in the back so it lifts you up in the front. If your band is too high in the back you will look saggy (27:22)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! Follow ChildLife Essentials on Instagram for their 12 days of giveaways or use code: 20FESTIVE for 20% off their products on Amazon until December 15th.

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Follow Courtney on Instagram or her website 

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Thanks for listening! Please rate the show and leave a review if you liked what you heard and make sure to subscribe on Amazon Music, iHeartRADIO,  iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or TuneIn!

Emily is a wife and mom to two kids, a spunky and spirited five-year-old girl and creative and witty seven-year-old boy. She has moved all over the country, and most recently relocated back to Colorado after a three-year stint in Raleigh, NC. 

Emily started logging her lunches online when she noticed all the lunches she saw there felt like a lot of work and quite unattainable - although extremely beautiful! So she started packing simple lunches that don’t take a lot of effort, but include lots of fresh foods.  

When not packing lunches, Emily is on the board of directors for Me Fine Foundation - a non-profit in NC that serves families and children receiving care at several partner hospitals. She has served as the events co-chair for the past two (wild!) years, and has enjoyed giving back in this way.

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Key takeaways 

• Having things on hand that are easy to throw in. If she’s making pasta for dinner she’ll put a little bit aside for her kids lunch the next day. Boiled eggs are really easy to have on hand. Limiting what you have to prepare in the morning so it’s just one piece of the lunch (8:50)
• Feeling pressure to have beautiful lunches for our kids and remembering what we grew up with vs them (16:45)
• Doing whatever is best for you and your family and that goes beyond food and meals (19:10)
• If you take a thermos and warm it with hot water before you put food in there it will stay warmer longer - don't put anything in that's steaming hot or it will create moisture and get soggy (20:20)
•  Repurposing the leftover food from lunches on to a snack plate so there isn’t waste (22:15)
• Making simple swamps can make a big difference. For example, changing out the bread for a sandwich - putting it on a bagel, wrap or croissant makes it new and special. If you’re sending tuna or egg or chicken salad, skip the bread and just send crackers for them to dip. Small swaps make them feel like they’re getting something new and different (32:30)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years. ChildLife Essentials is offering 20% off their most popular bundles on amazon.com/childlife - grab these Black Friday deals before they run out! No coupon code required. 

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Simona Grace is a single mom, an outspoken advocate for women’s political empowerment and the founder of Moms in Office. Prior to founding Moms in Office in 2018, a progressive political organization dedicated to electing more moms to office and working to achieve economic justice for all women, she has held various positions in education and publishing.

A speaker and frequent commentator on women’s rights and progressive issues, her writing and work have been featured in numerous publications. She has been named the 2020 California Mother of the Year by the American Mothers Organization. After immigrating to the United States when she was 18 years old, Simona graduated from UCLA with a degree in Comparative Literature, summa cum laude. She lives in Los Angeles with her 11 year old son.

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Key Takeaways 

• We see a picture of someone on social media and we decide who the person is and fill in their story without actually knowing it (12:38)
• She’s been fighting her whole life - for her education, her immigration status, against bias, for her son - so she became really good at it. Once she was in a position where she was settled, she realized she wanted to fight for the rights of other women and moms to make sure that someone gives them a voice (19:40)
• A lot of women question themselves and talk themselves out of running for office because politicians don’t look and sound like them - most politicians we see are rich, white men. How can a working mom or single mom affect change - it seems daunting (22:55)
• What do you need to run for office? Your determination to help others, your authenticity, caring for your community and your wanting your child to have a good future. That will keep you going (24:16)
• We have 535 voting members in congress, 25-26% of congress is made up of women. Out of that small group of women, only 25 are raising kids under 18. That’s 5% of congress. Moms make up one of the largest segments of the US population and the smallest segment of our federal government (29:48)
• What can women do who want to run for office, but are scared? Stop telling yourself that you can’t. We need to stop questioning ourselves just because we don’t look like the standard politician in the US. Start talking to others in your network for advice on how to keep going and you will find people who will build you up and make sure you don’t give up. The more women we elect, less women will question whether or not they are capable of doing it (34:30)

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Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years. ChildLife Essentials is offering 20% off their most popular bundles on amazon.com/childlife - grab these Black Friday deals before they run out! No coupon code required. 

Follow Simona on Instagram or her website

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Thanks for listening! Please rate the show and leave a review if you liked what you heard and make sure to subscribe on Amazon Music, iHeartRADIO,  iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or TuneIn!