Myriam Sandler discovered the power of sensory play when, at the age of 1, her oldest daughter would not eat any solid foods. As an in-tune first-time mom, she guessed that there might be a sensory issue and made taste-safe play dough, kinetic sand, and sensory rice bins. Myriam began working with her baby in this sensory-friendly way and witnessed her daughter start to eat all of the solids that were presented to her – even broccoli! Now she is the creator behind the brand, Mother Could, where she shares kid-friendly recipes and affordable parenting hacks (that regularly go viral!). Not only that, Myriam shares all of her projects in Spanish and English.

Myriam tells Vanessa Quigley, Chatbooks co-founder, all about raising bilingual kids and clears up common misconceptions. 

Check out her videos at mothercould.com 

Follow @mothercould 

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Motherhood is a rollercoaster, some days you see incredible moments, and other days you can’t wait for bedtime! Vanessa Quigley, co-founder of Chatbooks, invited some of her favorite women to share how they break free from the monotony of everyday life and see the magic. Come laugh and cry as you find strength in the experiences of these incredible women! 

In this episode you will hear from:

Si Foster, A Bountiful Kitchen

Alexis and Chante, Let's Talk Sis

Courtney Rich, Cake By Courtney

Olivia Gochnour, Utah Grubs 

Emily Frame, Small Fry 

Julie Taylor, Motherhood Revolution

Jenica Parcell, Fearless Infertility 

Ashley Rose Reeves, Ashley Rose Reeves 

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Ginny Yurich, a mom of 5 in Michigan, is the creator of a global movement known as 1,000 Hours Outside. The goal is to balance the average 1,000+ hours a child spends in front of a screen per year with 1,000 hours of unstructured outdoor play.

After a tricky start to motherhood, Ginny decided she wanted to try something new with her young kids. A friend invited her to take part in “nature days”. After a year of gathering together with friends and letting their kids play outside, Ginny realized they had spent more than 1,000 hours together. After looking back on the year and the changes she had seen not only in her kids but also in herself, she knew she was onto something. She coined the slogan, “1,000 Hours Outside: A movement for those who want a slower childhood and a fuller life”. Now her outdoor curriculum has been used around the globe and she is sent personal success stories on a daily basis. In this episode, Ginny tells Vanessa what life is like right now for her family, and what to do about video games! 

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Free 1,000 Hours Outside trackers

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LaNesha Tabb is the founder of @apron_education and author of Unpack Your Impact. She has more than 16 years of teaching experience and is trailblazing a new curriculum for teachers, parents, and students to learn about diversity and inclusion. She shares with Vanessa the responsibility parents have to “disrupt the default” and consciously teach their children how to be anti-racist. In LaNesha’s words she tells us all how we can, “Stop being weird about race”. 

Vanessa’s home school episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-momforce-podcast-hosted-by-chatbooks/id1464755075?i=1000468947702

LaNesha’s guide for talking about racism: https://laneshatabb.com/home/store28348178-company-site/

Unpack your impact: https://laneshatabb.com/unpack-your-impact/

Read like a rockstar: https://readlikearockstarteaching.com/

We are so happy you are here! Make a Chatbook and use code POD20. Happy Chatbooking! 

Vanessa is joined by her sisters for this special throwback episode. We take a walk down memory lane and share the best tips and tricks from Season 1 with the sisters. Between the 5 of them, they have 31 children! Each sister brings a different parenting style to the table and shares what has worked best for them. In this episode, they cover family campouts, allowance, kid's birthday parties, babysitting, and hygiene. 

If you want to hear more from the sisters in Season 4 join our MomForce Facebook Group and weigh in on the discussion!

We are so happy you are here! Make a Chatbook and use code POD20. Happy Chatbooking! 

Babysitting episode 1 & episode 2 

FREE babysitting printable 

Lisa is the mother of 5 and a talented actress, radio and podcast host, author, and comedian and I'm so grateful that we've become good friends over the years because she can always make me laugh. But I've also learned so many important life lessons from her. In this episode we chat about lots of good stuff including the important role humor has played in her family especially as they faced difficult times, including her husband Christopher's 4 year battle with ALS. Christopher passed away in June of 2020 just a few months before we recorded this interview. I was so impressed with her perspective and strength then, but as I've watched her over the past 2 years I continue to be amazed at how she's able to find joy and purpose and even humor while still working through grief and healing with her family. Lisa is one of my heroes and I'm so excited for you to learn from her. 

Watch the viral Real Mom video 

Follow Lisa on Instagram

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Since recording this episode with Jessica Gee in November of 2019 a lot has changed for The Bucket List Family – and the world. As professional travelers things slowed down in a major way when the coronavirus restrictions were put in place. The Gee family settled into their family home in Hawaii and have since developed The Bucket List Family Cartoon and a line of merch - debuting their famous backpack. 

Currently, the family is back to traveling and creating YouTube videos – as of now - they have visited 86 countries! In this interview, Jessica Gee shares how they handle the long flights with kids, the best snacks to travel with, and some of the best places to visit as a family!

One thing I appreciate about The Bucket List Family is their dedication to documenting their experiences together. Whether they are swimming with whales or just hanging out in the kitchen at home they have videos and photos to show for it! You're going to love this chat about why that is so important and what made them decide to sell everything and travel the world in the first place!

Follow The Bucket List Family on Instagram and YouTube 

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Venus Morris Griffin bravely shares her harrowing life story and experiences for this last episode of season 3 of the podcast. I want to offer a trigger warning for all listeners – we will be discussing the abuse that Venus endured throughout her 20-year marriage to her first husband.

Today she is the mother of 7 and a very successful realtor in Georgia. While facing betrayal, abuse, infertility, addiction, mental health crises, and so much more Venus was able to create a beautiful life. 

I first heard Venus' story when Instagram creator and author, Brandon Stanton, of Humans of New York, shared a 13-post feature about her. Venus worked two jobs and got herself to college after growing up in a violent home with a mom who was an addict. While at college she dated and married Tripp Morris and started their family together. Although there were signs of abuse during their engagement, things really began to unravel 20-years later when she received a phone call from a prostitute. Her husband's double life was uncovered and he was sentenced to 45-years in prison, leaving Venus in tremendous amounts of debt and with a nursing baby.

In our conversation, Venus shares what she felt in that moment of betrayal and how her faith and determination helped her to not only survive but thrive!

Follow Venus on Instagram 

Subscribe to the podcast here 

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Psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Lisa Damour is joining Vanessa and her sister Shelly on The MomForce Podcast to talk about stress and anxiety. To begin the episode she outlines when anxiety is at normal levels in our kids and when it is time to step in and get help. Dr. Damour gives practical tips and tricks on how we can help our kids and ourselves cope with strong feelings. She also explains what negative coping strategies look like and what to replace them with. Give it a listen and check out her award-winning books Untangled and Under Pressure  

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Since recording this episode for Season 1 of The MomForce Podcast, Ralphie Jacobs of Simply on Purpose has grown her following to more than 400k on Instagram and continues to teach live workshops and courses for parents. In today’s episode, Ralphie and Vanessa tackle tough parenting questions about disciplining toddlers (and teenagers) and how modeling good behavior for our children helps them better understand expectations. Ralphie reminds us that it’s never too late to make positive changes and that sleep can do wonders for toddlers and teenagers alike! 

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