Some things don’t actually matter in the long run. What happens to our kids in these formidable years ARE important … but not everything is going to mark their lives forever. Today we are talking about how to balance helping your kids thrive but not stressing them out with extreme pressure to succeed in senior year in all the categories.

We dive into today:

1. How culture normalizes moms stressing out their kids

2. The role comparison between moms leads to how we treat our children

3. Anne’s hindsight of what she would do differently if she could go back and navigate Senior Year again with her kids

4. The different factors that create a stressful environment for kids in the last year of high school

5. Main pieces of advice for this busy time (and beyond) for moms concerning homework and due dates

6. How hiccups in high school (mistakes) don’t mean your kid is going to fail at adulthood (we provide a powerful real life example in this episode!)

7. The wisdom of sometimes letting your kids walk away from goals

8. Something we need to prioritize in training our kids in that WILL matter in future yearsGet in Touch With us!⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

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⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

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⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast

Do your kids know how to write a cheque? Boil water for pasta? Balance a budget? Sometimes we get so focused on teaching our kids these heart concepts, like God LOVES YOU UNCONDITIONALLY! Yet, we forget to teach them how to do their laundry or fix a tire. 

Today we are chatting about: 

1. The value of teaching your children to write thank you notes

2. Skills we were brought up knowing that kids these days lack

3. Why Anne told her kids they didn’t have to work in college but why they decided to (a valid reason!)

4. Creative ways to teach your children about budgeting and debt

5. Why it’s key to remind your kids to consider others (including their parents) 

6. The importance of sibling dates before one sibling moves away

   
   

⁠Get in Touch With us!⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

Website

⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

Instagram

Connect with Becky:

Website⁠

⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast

Suddenly with the kids gone you have more downtime. Today we are chatting about how to fill your time, in ways that fill you up personally, but also eases the bittersweetness of having an empty home. 

We chat about:

1. A funny way that Anne has become her mother (ahem, a hobby Anne found out she loved that her own mother loved)

2. Ideas of creative hobbies to try to make your free time enjoyable and meaningful 

3. The importance of having interests of you own (besides work or your kids)

4. Our experiences as moms during the pandemic 

5. Things on our dream list to do 

6. A key question to ask yourself TODAY

7. The different categories to find hobbies in (they all start with the letter s!)

8. Practical reflection questions to ask to help figure out what to do in your new found spare time

⁠Get in Touch With us!⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

Website

⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

Instagram

Connect with Becky:

Website⁠

⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast

Confession: It’s HARD when the kids are GONE. Like really gone. You know, when they are fully moved out and won’t be bouncing back for summer break from college anymore since they now have a place of their own. Today we are chatting about how our expectations don’t always match lived out experiences for Empty Nesting. And how the grief of your kids leaving can appear in surprising ways and how each kid leaving will hit a bit different. 

Check out today’s episode to hear:

1. Will your house be cleaner now without kids? Do you get another pet to fill the void? 

2. Ways your time is freed up 

3. The importance of reconnecting with your spouse BEFORE the kids are permanently gone 

4. Things Becky is looking forward to and things she is dreading about having a fully Empty Nest

5. The weird transition into a new normal 

6. Things Anne didn’t anticipate about leaving her son at his own home

7. How hard it is to not make mothering your identity 

8. Why grieving is actually just part of parenting 

9. The tough parts of mommin’ adult children (why don’t they call more!? Gah, so hard that they don’t need me as much anymore…)

10. Why your aren’t “doing Empty Nesting wrong” if you miss your kids

Dog IG account mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/simonsits?igsh=aWliY2l2a2FmNzJ6

⁠Get in Touch With us!⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

Website

⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

Instagram

Connect with Becky:

Website⁠

⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast

Should you hold off on turning their room into a crafting room? Is it okay to move from their childhood home? Track their location yes or no? So many questions, so many opinions. Today we are discussing an article we found, sharing if we agree or disagree about things the article suggests we reframe from doing when your child goes off to college. 

Today we chat about:

1. 7 things we have heard you should not do when your kids leave for college

2. How Anne did not follow the article’s suggestions and why that’s okay

3. What a “highschool home” is

4. Hear how Becky “breaks” a rule from the article during the podcast episode! LOL!

5. The Biblical take on giving your kid space being essential 

6. The thought of going back to the old fashioned days and how we communicated with our parents back then

7. The wisdom of showing your kids YOU are independent, in order for them to grow in independence themselves

The article referenced: https://apple.news/AmGzs2qdWQPC4Tuhh3WjiuQ

⁠Get in Touch With us!⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

Website

⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

Instagram

Connect with Becky:

Website⁠

⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast

Are you in the thick of touring colleges with your senior kid? Is it causing mega stress or excitement for you and them? It’s a big choice, looking forward towards the future and figuring out where they want to land for the next 4+ years. Or deciding if they even want to go to college.

Tune in today to hear:

1. The wisdom of dividing and conquering the activities between mom and dad for that senior year

2. The importance of your kids noticing how they feel when they are walking the campus

3. Why it’s okay to not choose the fancy school

4. Being open to going to your rival school

5. What a Vibe Check is and why your kid needs to do it

6. The power of considering building community when deciding on a school

7. Cost of tuition and how that may impact their school choice/college experience

8. Does everyone have an “Aha Moment?”

   
   

⁠Get in Touch With us!⁠⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

Website

⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

Instagram

Connect with Becky:

Website⁠

⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast

It’s exciting to see your kids so near walking across that stage to get their well-earned high school diploma … but it’s also very hard on a mother’s heart. All these milestones and “lasts” can be bittersweet. Today we are chatting about how to enjoy the process and make the most of senior year. 

We chat today about:

1. Why moms are allowed to feel differently and act differently than dads in senior year

2. Is there a way to celebrate the “lasts” without it becoming a big cry fest?

3. The reasons why senior year goes crazy fast

4. The wisdom of looking for the beautiful moments in small moments vs the elaborate big events

5. Why you should probably eat more ice-cream in senior year

6. Senior year events to be prepared for emotionally and schedule wise

7. What Competitive Mom Spirit is

8. Tips for prom dress shopping

9. Navigating the various expenses of senior year

10. Why it’s okay if their last year of high school isn’t the best year of their life

⁠Get in Touch With us!⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

Website

⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

Instagram

Connect with Becky:

Website⁠

⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast

It can be tricky to learn new dynamics when your kid leaves then returns. Do you still give them a curfew when they come home for a long weekend? Should you ask them to do chores? What are you actually supposed to do and not do when they come back to visit after moving out? Answer: it’s a bizarre adjustment, for sure!

We chat about today:

1. Give yourself grace, it’s a bit of a whiplash to learn how to live again with them in your space. Finding your new normal can take time. Embrace the messy middle!

2. Helpful mindsets to center yourself when annoyance creeps in about their added mess.

3. Why how you interact with your child will be very individual to the culture in the home you desire.

4. Thoughts on bailing your kids out from responsibilities when they are stressed … healthy? Or not so much?

5. Easy to remember curfew idea for when your kiddo is still in highschool

6. The danger of enforcing rules after your child hasn’t had them for awhile at college or when moved out.

Get in Touch With us!⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

Website

⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

Instagram

Connect with Becky:

Website⁠

⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast

Actively raising children is a BIG job. And once they are no longer living under your roof, it takes some intentional thought to redefine your new role in their life and learn to restructure your days and life now that your kids are out of the house. But finding meaning and purpose beyond being a caregiver is very much so possible and we pray this episode inspires you to see all the amazing possibilities! 

Today we share about:

1. The choice to look at change as a possibility and “what do I GET to do next?” 

2. Different avenues Anne headed down once her kids went off to college 

3. Advice for helping kids know what to do after high school (there is a special wording you’ll want to borrow!)

4. Why we think it’s okay to change in interests, hobbies, skills, jobs etc.

5. The power of humor in the church

6. How God confirmed a calling of Anne’s through a famous Christian Bible teacher!

7. The wisdom of looking for patterns in your long-term core passions when trying to figure out what is next for you

8. Advice that’s good for your kids and YOU (ahem, try new things!)

Get in Touch With us!⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

Website

⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

Instagram

Connect with Becky:

Website⁠

⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast

We have heard from listeners that sometimes rather than grief, it’s a worry that mother’s deal deeply with when the empty nesting season looms. How will my kids do once they leave? Will they be okay growing into adulthood? If that resonates with the narrative in your own head, please take a listen to this episode. We pray it brings you encouragement and a little laughter, too!

1. What goes through a mom’s mind when senior pictures are taken

2. Feedback from our hubby’s about the show!

3. The joy and weirdness of not having to think about buying school supplies anymore

4. Dealing with the mixed emotion of pride and sadness at the thought of your child leaving

5. Our thoughts about chapters and seasons ending

6. The reality of anxiety, panic or seeing possibility when it comes to what’s next for mom

7. When your child goes to a college 6 hours away

8. Advice for soaking in their last year of high school, even amongst the bitter sweetness

⁠Get in Touch With us!⁠⁠

Connect with Anne:

Website

⁠Swayology Business podcast⁠

Instagram

Connect with Becky:

Website⁠

⁠Her books⁠

The Inspired Business podcast