Has your reading life come to a screeching halt due to the responsibilities of motherhood? In this month’s Voices interview, Meagan welcomes back blogger, podcaster, and book club leader Amy Clark, to discuss how a busy mom can take small steps to create a readerly life. We discuss all the hacks for finding the time to dive back in (think TikTok’s #sundayreset for inspiration!) and a neat tool for finding the perfect book to match your mood. Amy also shares how reading can help you “find your people” during your current season of life. This episode is for anyone looking to fit more reading into their lives (in little and big ways). Enjoy!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Amy debuted on The Mom Hour in Living and Mothering with a Chronic Illness: Voices 39
• You can find Amy on her Blog, The Mom Advice Book Club, and on the Book Gang Podcast.
• Meagan mentioned stuffing The Flowers In the Attic series of books under her mattress as a teen. Wondering what it’s about? Find it here. 
• Megan interviewed Amy on a recent Mother of Reinvention podcast about Leaning (Back) In To What You Love
• This Cup of Jo Article shares how an Articles Club can be a much easier commitment for busy moms than a book club. 
• Here’s Amy’s tutorial for how to use Storygraph for a better reading life.
• Read about Amy’s diagnosis story

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Crouching. Bending. Stooping. The magical, ninja-like way you lay a baby down in the crib without waking her up; the feeling of wet, sloppy gums on your knuckles as he teethes. In Episode 363, Sarah and Meagan reflect on the muscle memories associated with the repetitive motions of early motherhood. Some bring back all the warm fuzzies and others make us shudder (looking at you, nipple-biting babes), but we promise, this episode will bring the memories flooding back. Join us!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Interested in learning more about our Contributor Joanna who we mentioned inspired this episode? Here’s a link to her contributor page or listen to her on this recent Voices episode
• Meagan’s detailed memories of breastfeeding included placing a soggy nipple back in her bra! She and Sarah could have used Kia’s recent roundup of her favorite breastfeeding products on our blog.
• We mentioned Jennifer’s blog post Five Tips for Water Safety This Summer

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Between our kids’ school schedules, extracurricular activities, and social plans, we spend a lot of time driving them around. And when they get older and start driving themselves, a whole new world of independence (and issues) presents itself. In this special episode of The Mom Hour, Meagan and Sarah talk about how we use car time to connect with our kids and how we handle some of the challenges that crop up over time, from crying babies and sibling squabbles to sensory overload and car sickness. Buckle up!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Listen to past episodes on Car Talk (Then, Now, Someday) as well as Minivans, Mom-Mobiles & Grownup Cars
• We’ve shared a lot of advice on road trips and family travel!

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Sports and extracurriculars are picking up this spring, and two different listeners have questions about what age to start kids in activities and how to budget for this part of family life. We take a question about “gentle parenting” that leads into an in-depth discussion about discipline philosophies and finding the approach that works for your family. Finally, a busy mom of three has the chance to get help from neighborhood “mother’s helpers” and wants our guidance on how to make the most of the extra sets of hands. Meagan and Sarah offer validation, support, and encouragement in another Listener Questions episode this week – join us!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Listen to all our Listener Questions episodes
• Listen to Mother Of Reinvention, Meagan’s other podcast!
• Shop our merch collection! (And, follow the #MyMomHour hashtag on Instagram to catch our team reflecting on how they’d spend an hour to themselves … with mug-in-hand)
• Meagan interviewed Kelly Rippon about raising elite athletes in this Voices episode
• Other episodes that speak to activities and extracurriculars: Let’s Talk About Sports Parenting, How To Be A Happier Sports Parent, Nurturing Kids’ Talents (And When To Let Them Quit), The Fall Sarah Quit Everything
• Positive Discipline: The Classic Guide to Helping Children Develop Self-Discipline, Responsibility, Cooperation, and Problem-Solving Skill (affiliate link) by Jane Nelson was formative in Sarah’s childhood and early child-rearing
• Dr. Becky Kennedy is popular in the positive parenting space right now; Sarah always got a ton of value out of Dr. Laura Markham’s work; Janet Lansbury’s work is popular with RIE (respectful parenting) advocates
• Without Spanking or Spoiling: A Practical Approach to Toddler and Preschool Guidance (affiliate link)
• Sarah mentioned this resource roundup: Go-To Resources For Parenting Toddlers
• Noelle, who asked the question about using teenage babysitters, might enjoy these episodes: Sitters & Caregivers Part 1 and Part 2

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English cottages, sunny greenhouses, cozy cabins, and professors’ offices. What do these spaces have in common? They all evoke an essence we wish we could recreate in our own spaces. Join Meagan and Sarah as we reveal our twinkle-lit, midlife-lady dream spaces . . . even if we may never have them. We talk about our actual homes, too, and our romantic visions vs. reality. Plus we imagine nap rooms (yes, please) and opening The Mom Hour satellite offices in our favorite fantasy locales. This is a fun one; join us!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• We find inspo on Instagram (Sarah mentioned @houseandgardenuk specifically), Rinky Dink Retro, Skoolie, In Her Studio Magazine, and Where Women Create Magazine
• Check out these related episodes: City Lives, Country Lives (& Suburbia, Too!), Our Fantasy Kitchens, and The Lives We Didn’t Lead

MORE HELPFUL LINKS:

• Visit our website
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A mom of big kids is going back to work full-time and wondering how to prepare her family. A toddler needs to brush his teeth and take vitamins, but hates it; should Mom force it? A lucky listener now has two pantries and is looking for tips on optimal organization for kitchen items and back stock storage. Finally, a teacher mom is stuck on how to balance school behavior and discipline at home. For today’s episode, we’re answering these questions from our community together in person (woohoo!) Join us!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• We enjoyed our time together at Hotel Vin in Grapevine, TX.
• Our Contributors Joanna and Katherine joined Sarah to chat about Books We’re Loving Lately.
• Let us know know about how you feel about a live event for The Mom Hour community!
• Read our Contributor Mandy’s blog post: “We Moved Twice Last Year: Here Are 10 Things I Wish I’d Known”
• Check out all our Listener Questions episodes.

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Settle in for a books chat! Sarah is joined by two guest co-hosts from our contributor team today: Joanna and Katherine. Both are former educators and avid readers, here with lots to say about books. We touch on our reading lives as moms, what we're reading lately, and how and when we prefer to do our reading. Then we dive into book recommendations for kids - starting with babies and moving all the way up through teens. This episode is for anyone who loves to read or aspires to read more - grab a warm beverage and join us!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Watch Joanna's IG Takeover and read her blog posts
• Watch Katherine's IG Takeover and read her blog posts
• Katherine was part of Pandemic Babies series
• Joanna contributed to A Week Of Real-Life Dinners
• We talked about Kindles:
• Joanna's eight-year-old got a Paperwhite Kids and she uses the Oasis
• Sarah's family has Paperwhites (affiliate link)
• Epic read-to-me books are great for pre-readers
• We mentioned #bookstagram, Goodreads, and the Libby app as a way to discover and discuss book recs
• Joanna loves Laura Tremaine and Annie Jones
• Katherine listens to writing podcasts like Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing and The Happy Writer to discover new authors and new books
• We all love Kelsey and Erica from The Girl Next Door, who share about their reading lives regularly on the podcast and on their socials 
• We love shopping at our local bookstores! Katherine's is Bel Canto Books and Sarah's is Chaucer's. Bookshop.org is a great online retailer that supports indie booksellers everywhere.
• Katherine loves the books for babies that come with Lovevery subscription boxes (For free shipping when you sign up to receive your Play Kit visit lovevery.com/themomhour)
• Joanna has had good luck with nonfiction titles published by Usborne

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When we imagine the “refrains of motherhood,” poetic sweet-nothings of love and encouragement come to mind. In reality? The words that come out of moms’ mouths on repeat are a little more… normal. And that’s OK! We’re here to normalize being normal. In Episode 360 Meagan and Sarah highlight the best of our communities oft-repeated phrases–everything from clever quips to 1,001 different ways to say “No”. We love how universal mom-speak is in the end, and we’re marveling over the clever ways moms find to talk to their families. Get ready to take notes!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Here’s the Instagram post where our community shared their motherhood refrains
• We mentioned our House Rules For… series
• Last call for Listener Questions! Email us to have your question considered for an upcoming episode (please put Listener Question in the subject field!).
• We’ll be together in person this week! Follow along on Instagram.

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Calling all experts . . . OR at least those who have been there, done that, and are willing to share their thoughts. In this week’s More Than Mom episode, we’re flipping the script and sharing our own challenges in the hopes that our smart, skilled, and seasoned listeners have the solutions we need. We’re stuck when it comes to a variety of topics such as home organization, the care and keeping of living things, hair maintenance, and sibling bonding screen time. Can you help? Listen and let us know!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• Got advice for us? Let us know in the comments on these posts on our Instagram feed or in our Facebook group (or comment on the show notes on our website)
• Are you a zoologist OR do you want our advice? Email us at [email protected] and if you have a query, please type “Listener Question” in the subject line. 
• Our friend Amy Clark uses Madison Reed hair color

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Today we’re looking back on past summers and remembering the choices we appreciate and the ones we regret. This is a fantastic episode to listen to if you’re starting to plan your summer! We cover family traditions, camps, childcare, travel, and overall philosophies for fun (with boundaries). There’s a fine line between unstructured leisure time and going off the rails, and hopefully our reflections will help you find the right balance for your family. Join us!

LINKS MENTIONED:

• The Lazy Genius talks about opening ceremonies
• If you have topic suggestions for this Glad I Did / Wish I’d Done series, email us!
• Sarah loves What Do We Do All Day for kids’ book lists by ages (and don’t forget she hosted a podcast all about kids’ books from 2018-2020: Kidliterate!)
• Check out our Family Travel Hub
• Listen to these related episodes: Preparing Kids (And Ourselves!) For Summer Independence, A Summertime Chores, Life Skills & Freedoms Reset, and It’s Time To Plan For Summer

MORE HELPFUL LINKS:

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