There’s no time like bedtime to institute a few house rules that help diffuse power struggles, ease negotiation tensions, and shorten that long list of stalling techniques we’ve all come to know and fear. Today’s latest House Rules episode brings together our community’s best shortcuts and hacks for easier bedtimes, along with Meagan’s and Sarah’s personal experiences with evening shenanigans at every age and stage. Enjoy!

Helpful Links

• Click to see the Facebook Thread with all of your wonderful bedtime advice!
• Meagan uses her Hatch Clock to dim the lights before bed, helping to cue her to get sleepy.
• Did you enjoy this House Rules episode? Here are a few more from the archives:
• House Rules For Tidying Up: Episode 413
• House Rules For Gifting & Giving: Episode 393
• House Rules For After School: Episode 380
• House Rules for Playdates: Episode 340
• For more on bedtimes check out Bedtime Routines at Every Stage: Episode 80

Other Helpful Links

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Feeling overwhelmed, or like the season is passing too quickly? Let today’s episode – a classic from the archives – help you pause, reflect, and reset. Meagan and Sarah offer our thoughts on how memories really “get made,” why simply changing what we notice around us can shift our mood, and what busy moms can do to capture the fleeting season to look back upon later. Join us!

This conversation originally aired as three separate mini-episodes, so you’ll hear us reference “yesterday” and “tomorrow” a few times – rest assured, that whole series has been edited into one full-length experience, all here for you today!

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Sarah’s essay about noticing holiday decorations with little kids: Comet, The Red-Nosed Minivan
• Meagan mentioned dating in this episode. For an update on her love life check out More Than Mom: Weddings
• Sarah’s calendar planning essay referenced in this episode.
• How To Take Better Photos of Your Kids: Episode 81 and Family Photography & Capturing Moments with Amy Tripple: Voices 19 pair nicely with this episode
• Meagan mentioned her love of blogging. You can view her current writing on Substack
• 6 Things You Can Do To Get Dreamy Holiday Photos On Your Smartphone

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It feels good to complain once in a while – especially during the holidays. Today Meagan and Sarah laugh our way through a “vent sesh,” sharing mostly inconsequential gripes about what’s bugging us this year. While we often appreciate a positive reframe, we also know the cathartic power of airing a petty vent (or six). Plus, we share what’s new this holiday season for each of us. Join us!

Helpful Links:

• Here’s a post on Meagan’s instagram more about holiday decorating in her new home.
• If you are struggling to find a decent store-bought pumpkin pie like Sarah is this season, check out Meagan’s pie-from-scratch Substack article.
• Email Sarah if you have advice for managing mice habitants in your holiday stuff!
• Episodes you may enjoy from the archives:
• Honoring Cultural & Faith Traditions At The Holidays: Voices 82
• Home For The Holidays With Little Kids & Big Kids: Episode 341
• A Charcuterie Of Holiday Emotions
• We both welcome your petty holiday gripes at any time. Promise we will read them!

Other Helpful Links:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who came before us, and what can we learn from them? We think there’s a reason that ancestry research, genealogy, and discovering family stories holds a special interest for midlife women, and we’re here to talk about it. Meagan shares her journey back through time (and up to the UP!) to better understand her family’s roots. She shares what resources she used, her process for uncovering the unknowns, and what she’s discovered so far. Sarah has less direct experience but lots of curiosity. Join us!

Helpful Links

• Meagan is utilizing 23andme and Ancestry for filling in some unknowns about her family.
• Megan mentioned the start of her ancestry journey over the summer in this episode.
• www.Newspapers.com is helpful to learn about homes, buildings, and other historical data.
• Sarah had her parents preserve meaningful stories and memories in a keepsake book for her children.
• Meagan wrote a few posts about her Genealogy Journey:

I Found My Biological Grandfather. Now What?

Family history, genealogy, and the complicated concept of “cycle-breaking”

Other Helpful Links

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While we try not to kick ourselves when we’re down and generally avoid second-guessing our parenting choices, we are human. And sometimes that means we experience regret. Today Meagan and Sarah reflect on some big and small choices we’ve made (or not made) throughout our parenting journeys, and why we’d do things differently if given the chance. We also reflect on regret as an emotion, and why sharing regrets can bring about connection with others. Join us!

(You may not want to listen to this episode with little ears close by as we touch on some magic making topics.)

Helpful Links

• The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward by Dan Pink (affiliate link.)
• Sarah listened to this Dan Pink episode of Armchair Expert and loved it.
• This article summarizes the book and some of the research we mentioned: What Is the Power of Regret? A Conversation with Daniel Pink
• Our Worst #MomFail Moments: Episode 157

Other Helpful Links:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Do you have to identify as a musical person to nurture a love of music in your family? We think not. Meagan and Sarah look back at parenting babies, small kids, big kids and teens, reflecting on the role music has played in everything from bedtime to playtime, nurturing kids’ passions and finding shared interests as a family. We talk about what it means to “be musical,” how we thought our kids’ music learning would happen vs. how it actually played out, and what we’ve learned from our kids as their tastes and appreciation develop. Join us!

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Sarah loved Music Together classes when her kids were babies through preschoolers
• Musical Episodes From The Archives
• More Than Mom: Musical Theater
• More Than Mom: Movie Musicals
• Stepping Into Your True Self with Musician Sarah Sample: Voices 24

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kassidi wants to become a more confident home cook and asks us where to begin. Natalie needs strategies for easing the long wind-down at bedtime for her co-sleeping toddler. Joy is considering traveling with young kids on her own but wonders what age is best to go for it, what activities to partake in and what to avoid when you’re on a mom-only trip with kids. In Episode 439, Meagan and Sarah take these questions from our community and offer tips and validation. Enjoy!

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Listener Question episodes from the archives
• The Laundry Awards: Episode 398 was mentioned by listener Kassidy
• Cookbooks/Kitchen Books/ Podcasts mentioned (Bookshop.org links are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you purchase AND your purchases help support independent booksellers):
• The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (10th Anniversary Edition)
• Meagan and Sarah share foundational cookbooks they remember from growing up and young adulthood, which have pros and cons for the modern beginner: Joy Of Cooking and Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book
• Half Baked Harvest
• Melissa D’Arabian cookbook
• Didn’t I just Feed You (Podcast)
• The Lazy Genius Kitchen
• New York Times Cooking
• Meagan mentioned Mom Meltdowns, Oh No! Episode 01, about traveling solo with young kids.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Spending time with extended family can bring on parenting challenges that don’t come up as often in our day-to-day routines. If you’re anticipating some uncomfortable situations this holiday season, don’t fret! Meagan and Sarah have your back with this episode’s round-up of some of your best listener questions and our advice, focused on traveling for the holidays (or not), surviving group events with different parenting styles, handling criticism (and unwanted advice) and much more. Enjoy!

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Listener question episodes from the archives
• If we shared your listener question today, we’d love to hear from you about how things turned out!
• Meagan mentioned this episode about handling judgement.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At what age are kids ready for team sports? How do kids respond when parents volunteer to coach? (And what about the other parents?) How much is too much and what’s the deal with travel teams? The Mom Hour contributors Jayme and Jennifer share their experience as one-time competitive athletes who now have sporty kids. Listen to find out what they love, what gives them pause, and what they look forward to in the realm of youth sports. Enjoy!

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Follow Jayme Sherrod from The Mom Hour team on Instagram
• Follow Jennifer Carrol from The Mom Hour team on Instagram
• Jennifer wrote the blog post Yes, YOU Can Coach Youth Sports! which inspired this episode.
• Listen to the Stuff, Junk & Things, an episode from the archives featuring Jayme and Jennifer in July 2023.
• Here are more episodes about Sports from the archives:
• Sports Fandom & Family Culture: Episode 225
• How To Be A Happier Sports Parent: Episode 117
• Let’s Discuss “Sports Parenting”: Episode 18
• Here is the Facebook Community post referenced in this episode about wanting to skip extracurriculars altogether.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s that time–the run-up to winter holidays is officially HERE! While we’re still early in the season, Meagan and Sarah offer practical, do-able ideas for taking action now to relieve stress and pressure later in the year. We also share tips from The Mom Hour listener community on everything from making holiday meals easier to getting ahead on gift ideas for kids. Join us!

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Our Facebook Community shared lots of great ideas for “Do This Now, Enjoy The Holidays Later” in this facebook post
• The Mom Hour Holiday Headquarters is live for 2023! Check back often for updates and additions.
• Episodes similar to this one:
• Do This Now; Enjoy Summer Later (Part One): Episode 411
• Do This Now; Enjoy Summer Later (Part Two): Episode 412
• Sarah listened to the audiobook Calm Christmas And A Happy New Year by Beth Kempton that includes a pdf for reflecting on the past year. There’s also a Calm Christmas Podcast if you want to take a listen. Beth’s motivational style is very gentle and cozy.
• The Lazy Genius has a Holiday Docket is a workbook with 7 practical steps to help you enjoy the holidays and celebrate the season well – our community highly recommends!

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
• Check out deals from our partners
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
• Sign up for our newsletter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.