The Stepmom Diaries | Blended Family & Stepmom Support Podcast

Today's guest is truly "radical." If you haven't listened to her podcast, you've probably seen her relatable, raw, and often funny stepmom posts on Instagram. It's a delight to get to chat with Christina Nelson of Radical Stepmoms about all the things.

And Christina gives us a preview of her talk at the Stepmom Summit, the free 3-day event I host for stepmoms, which is THIS WEEK! If you haven't heard me talk about the summit, it's a live, online (did I mention free?) event for stepmoms. We've got 25 of the world's top experts in stepfamily issues talking about all. the. things. You'll walk away with actionable tips and advice that will help your stepmom life - today. Grab your free spot HERE.

About Christina:

Christina Nelson is a clinical social worker and therapist in Seattle, Washington. As a stepmom, mom and wife, she created the Radical Stepmoms Podcast and is committed to sharing the raw stepmom experience, letting others know they aren't alone. Christina creates a space to support stepmoms and their partners, assisting them in getting unstuck and building the love and life they desire.

You can find her:

On Instagram: @radicalstepmomspodcast

On her website: radicalstepmomspodcast.com

Today we're kicking ass and taking names. Just kidding (kind of) - I'm actually having a discussion with one of the OG's in the online stepmom space, Jamie Scrimgeour, host of The Kickass Stepmom podcast. I always enjoy a chat with Jamie and we are talking about all. the. things.

Jamie is also a speaker at our third annual Stepmom Summit next week. The Stepmom Summit will feature presentations, live panels, and coaching with 25 of the world's top stepfamily experts. You can grab your FREE ticket to hear her speak HERE!

About Jamie:

Jamie is wife, stepmom, and mom to four kids ranging in age from 8 to 20. When she first became a stepmom, she quickly realized that she was in over her head. Disappointed in the type of support available for stepmoms, she decided to create the type of support she was looking for.

Now, Jamie is a top charting podcast host, digital creator and Life Coach with a Specialization in Stepfamily Dynamics and the internet's go to for stepmom support. Jamie's loyal community of followers see her as the go to for parenting, lifestyle and personal growth content. Through her podcast, The KICK-ASS Stepmom Podcast and membership, The Exclusive Stepmom Community, Jamie's goal is to inspire women to live their own version of a KICK-ASS Life, while bringing them along as she creates her own.

Jamie is a Certified life Coach with a specialization in Stepfamily Dynamics. She has a BA Honors in Psychology, a post grad in Social Service Work, and prior to starting her digital platform, she enjoyed a career in Child Protection.

Where You Can Find Jamie:

Her website: www.jamiescrimgeour.com

Her podcast: www.jamiescrimgeour.com/podcast

On Instagram and Facebook

At the 2023 Stepmom Summit - grab your ticket HERE!

Are you enjoying The Stepmom Diaries? If so, please consider rating and reviewing the show. It will help me reach more stepmoms just like you so they can get MORE out of stepmom life! It's super easy – all you have to do is click HERE and scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "write a review." Then just let me know what you like best!

I've had some amazing podcast guests the last few months, and have even more coming up in the next few months - but I thought I'd take a beat and record a quick bonus episode for you to talk about some of the things going on in my world and some things I've been working on for you.

It can be hard to find resources that apply to your specific stepmom situation. I've got access to so many resources that are helpful for stepmoms, so I wanted to highlight just a few that are coming up that you might enjoy. And the great part is that they range in price from free to kind of pricey so there are options no matter where you are in your journey and what is realistic for you.

Links Mentioned In This Episode

The Stepmom Summit - happening April 20-22 with more than 25 of the top stepfamily experts in the world providing actionable tools and advice on every stepmom topic you can imagine. You can get your FREE ticket HERE.

The Stepfamily Circle - a monthly membership that gives you regular access to group coaching, top experts, and resources to help you no matter what stage of stepfamily life you're in. Doors will re-open during the summit for the first time this year. You can get a free trial when you upgrade your summit ticket, or you can keep an eye out on my Insta April 20-22 for more info.

The Stepmom Retreat - coming up in the fall, we'll take a small group of stepmoms to southern Utah for 3 days of wellness, fellowship, and coaching. It's going to be magical - you can learn more hop on the waitlist HERE so that you're the first to know when we open registration.

Are you enjoying The Stepmom Diaries? If so, please consider rating and reviewing the show. It will help me reach more stepmoms just like you so they can get MORE out of stepmom life! It's super easy – all you have to do is click HERE and scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "write a review." Then just let me know what you like best!

Last episode, we had a great chat with Katie Davie about coparenting - and it's such an important topic, we're continuing the discussion this week.

Coparenting, both in your household and with your partner's ex, can be loaded with stress. Today's guest, stepmom Mikki Gardner, talks about what "conscious parenting" is and how you can be more intentional in your relationship with your spouse - and their ex.

About Mikki

Mikki Gardner is the host of the Co-Parenting With Confidence Podcast and a mom of 3 (her son and 2 bonus sons). After learning how to navigate life post divorce and using it as a catalyst to her own transformation, Mikki now helps moms move past the divorce drama to become calm, confident co-parents, even without their ex's participation. Mikki has built a wonderful relationship with her ex's new partner and created a blended family where they can vacation together and raise happy children. She is on a mission to help women navigate the emotional and practical difficulties of divorce and co-parenting while creating an intentional, joy and an ease-filled life after divorce. Mikki has offered my listeners a free masterclass on conscious coparenting, which you can find HERE. You Can Find Mikki on Instagram and on her website. Are you enjoying The Stepmom Diaries? If so, please consider rating and reviewing the show. It will help me reach more stepmoms just like you so they can get MORE out of stepmom life! It's super easy – all you have to do is click HERE and scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "write a review." Then just let me know what you like best!

Supporting your spouse as they coparent with their ex can be one of the hardest parts of stepmom life.

Today's guest, Katie Davie, has found a way to help coparents that doesn't require the high conflict coparent to even be a part of the process. She founded Coparenting Peacefully in 2021, where she helps coparents, biological parents, and stepparents become the best versions of themselves - and protect their peace.

Katie has an undergraduate degree in psychology, has studied at the High Conflict Institute, and is a certified coach. Her ebook, Your Guide To Coparenting With Boundaries is available online - and you can access it HERE.

Katie also offers The Big Book of Boundaries and Scripts: 200+ scripts, which comes with advice around specific boundary areas, examples, and enforcements. You can access it HERE.

You Can Find Katie on her website HERE and follow her on Instagram.

Are you enjoying The Stepmom Diaries? If so, please consider rating and reviewing the show. It will help me reach more stepmoms just like you so they can get MORE out of stepmom life! It's super easy – all you have to do is click HERE and scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "write a review." Then just let me know what you like best!

Have you ever wished stepmom life could just be easier? This week's guest is going to tell us how you can "let it be easy."

A few weeks ago in Episode 56, I got to chat with one of my business mentors, Amy Porterfield, about her stepmom life and this week I'm talking to one of my other business mentors (and really one of my favorite people around), Susie Moore, who's got some amazing lessons around mindset.

Susie grew up living on welfare in a variety of women's shelters, often on the run from her abusive, alcoholic, drug-addicted father. Getting approval from others - because she picked the right jeans or got the right haircut - gave her the illusion of safety and love, but she quickly realized those were "approval traps' and began watching and studying what truly self-assured people were like. She started work as a receptionist, worked her way up to being a top sales director at a Silicon Valley startup, and today, Susie Moore is a life coach and advice columnist for some of the world's biggest media outlets.

Her work has been featured on the Today show, Oprah, Business Insider, CNN, Forbes, Time Inc, Entrepreneur, Marie Claire, and the Huffington Post. Her insights have been shared by celebrities and thought leaders including Arianna Huffington, Paulo Coelho, Kris Jenner, and Sara Blakely.

Her first book What if It Does Work Out? was named by Entrepreneur as one of the 8 Business Books Entrepreneurs Must Read to Dominate Their Industry and her second book, Stop Checking Your Likes debuted as an Amazon bestseller in April 2020. Her most recent book, Let It Be Easy: Simple Ways To Stop Stressing And Start Living, was published in 2021.

And of course, Susie has been a mentor of mine for a few years now and I just adore her. She is like a ball of sunshine everywhere she goes - and it's not because she lives in Miami. Her motto, to always "let it be easy" has given her the best outlook on life, which is what we're talking about in this episode.

Susie lives in Miami with her husband Heath and Yorkshire Terrier, Coconut.

You Can Find Susie on her website HERE and follow her on Instagram HERE.

Are you enjoying The Stepmom Diaries? If so, please consider rating and reviewing the show. It will help me reach more stepmoms just like you so they can get MORE out of stepmom life! It's super easy – all you have to do is click HERE and scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "write a review." Then just let me know what you like best!

In this episode, I'm bringing back my guest from Episode 27, Megan Hunter, to talk about high-conflict relationships. This is a topic that just can't be discussed enough and as CEO of the High Conflict Institute, Megan's expertise is unmatched.

About Megan: Megan Hunter, MBA, is co-founder and CEO of the High Conflict Institute and founder/publisher at Unhooked Books. Megan is a keynote speaker and trainer on high-conflict interactions and disputes, and conflict influencing. She is the author of several books and serves on several boards throughout her career. She is a mom of 3, stepmom of 5, nana of 4, and wife of the world's best husband.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

The Stepmom Diaries Episode 27, A Conversation With Megan Hunter, CEO of the High Conflict Institute

The Stepmom Summit - we're hosting our third annual Stepmom Summit next month and could not be more thrilled that Megan will return as a speaker. You can grab a spot on the waitlist HERE!

The BIFF Response® Template - Megan has provided a great free template to my listeners that will help you formulate a "BIFF" response when you're dealing with a high-conflict personality. You can download it HERE.

Megan has written a number of helpful books related to high-conflict personalities, relationships, and coparenting. You can find them, and others, HERE.

Did you like this episode? If so, please consider rating and reviewing the show. It will help me reach more stepmoms just like you so they can get MORE out of stepmom life! It's super easy - all you have to do is click HERE and scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "write a review." Then just let me know what you like best!

In this episode, we're talking about something we haven't tackled yet: relationships and marriage after 60. Settling down in your later years presents totally different blended family issues than what you face in your younger or midlife years.

There are 73 million people over the age of sixty in the United States, or twenty-two percent of the total population – and that number is only growing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2050, the number of people aged sixty-five to eighty-nine will double, while the number of Americans over the age of ninety is expected to quadruple. And while much has been written about the economic needs and impacts of this aging population, there's not much out there about the emotional lives of the age group.

My husband's parents are in this demographic and they both got remarried the same summer we did. They had been divorced 16 years. And they both remarried the most wonderful people. I really hit the inlaw jackpot - and I'm not just saying that because they might listen to this!

But getting married after sixty - and in their case in their seventies - presented totally different blended family issues than what I faced when I married their son. They all had lived very full lives before they married. And they all had adult children - and while that certainly makes some things easier, it can present other issues that just weren't top of mind for me and Craig.

Which is what we're talking about in this episode. My guest, Nan Bauer-Maglin, is Professor Emerita at the City University of New York. She has published eight collections (six with coeditors) on topics such as stepfamilies, retirement, feminism, death, dying and choice, and older parenting.

Her latest book is Gray Love: Stories About Dating and New Relationships After 60. In Gray Love, Nan and her co-editor, Daniel E. Hood, have compiled a series of essays that provide a fascinating first-hand glimpse into the love lives of older Americans as they face the twilight of their lives.

Did you like this episode? If so, please consider rating and reviewing the show. It will help me reach more stepmoms just like you so they can get MORE out of stepmom life! It's super easy - all you have to do is click HERE and scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "write a review." Then just let me know what you like best!

This is a special episode because I am interviewing one of my favorite business mentors, Amy Porterfield - who also happens to be a stepmom. And Amy doesn't hold back.

She talks all about how she balanced stepmom life with building her multimillion-dollar business. And how she dealt with the struggles of not feeling like a "real mom." And she gives us a sneak peek into her brand new book, Two Weeks Notice - a handbook for any woman who's thought about starting her own business. The book is already a bestseller and will make a difference in the lives of thousands of women.

About Amy:

Amy Porterfield is an ex-corporate girl turned online marketing expert and CEO of a multimillion-dollar business. During her corporate days, Amy worked with mega-brands like Harley-Davidson, as well as Peak Performance Coach Tony Robbins. After one fateful boardroom meeting and witnessing the lifestyle, financial, and work freedom an online business has to offer, Amy developed her nine-to-five exit plan and never looked back.

Through her best-selling courses and top-ranked marketing podcast Online Marketing Made Easy, Amy has helped hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs turn in their two weeks' notice and trade burnout for freedom, income, and impact. Amy's action-by-action teaching style provides aspiring business owners with the tools they need to bypass the overwhelm and build a business they love.

Amy empowers women across the globe to take their futures into their own hands and find professional autonomy, independence, achievement, and success far beyond what a corporate glass ceiling would traditionally allow. Amy's work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, CNBC, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and more.

Her company has twice been awarded the Inc. 5000 Award as one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S. Today, she runs her growing business from Nashville, Tennessee, where she lives with her husband, Hobie, and their Labradoodle, Scout.

You can find Amy:

amyporterfield.com

Instagram: @amyporterfield

Facebook: @amyporterfield

TikTok: @amy.porterfield

About Two Weeks Notice:

Ever wish there was a step-by-step blueprint for designing your life for financial freedom, lifestyle flexibility, and major impact? No more wishful thinking is necessary, the blueprint exists, and it's backed by solid proof that all of the above is possible (even if you have no idea how to get started, no advantages, and no secret bank account to serve as a backup plan).

In her highly anticipated book, award-winning entrepreneur, Amy Porterfield, delivers a practical, proven plan that's helped thousands of women design their own destinies. Two Weeks Notice is a guide to online business building that leaves no stone unturned for those looking to go all in on the life of their dreams.

You can buy Two Weeks Notice at Amazon or wherever you buy books. And I've added Two Weeks Notice to my book recommendations HERE.

Did you like this episode? If so, please consider rating and reviewing the show. It will help me reach more stepmoms just like you so they can get MORE out of stepmom life! It's super easy - all you have to do is click HERE and scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "write a review." Then just let me know what you like best!

And if you haven't already, make sure you follow The Stepmom Diaries. If you're not following me, you'll miss out on all the goodness to come!

How Do You Move Forward When Things Get Tough?

Balancing all the stepfamily things can be really overwhelming. And if you're like me, sometimes you just want to crawl back into bed and hit the "fast forward" button until things are calmer. Except they don't ever really get calmer, do they?

Today's guest, Michelle Wolfe, is in tune with that emotion. She's the host of the Muve Forward podcast, investor, and founder of MUVE Life Activewear.

If you like The Stepmom Diaries, can you do me a favor? Head to iTunes and leave me a review? It will just take a second and will help me reach even more stepmoms.

About Michelle:

Losing her Mom to cancer as a child inspired Michelle to dedicate her life, to learning as much as possible about how to live a life that is both healthy and fulfilled. She's made it her mission to inspire others to take time to slow down and get in tune with their body, mind, and soul so that they too, can learn what it is that they need to move through any challenge they may be facing.

And she's done just that through her podcast, her amazing activewear line, and in her stepmom life. Michele knows that when we can relate to others and feel their heartache, but also receive the energy from their light, we can start on our own healing journey.

Throughout her 11 years as a Massage Therapist and years of self-development and mindset work, she's learned that one of the best ways to adapt to our ever-changing lives, is to just keep moving forward. Making one decision at a time, and taking one step at a time. She's the first to admit though, that it's not always an easy road. That's why she created a community where people can feel safe to share their stories of struggle and also what they found helped them grow and shift to get through it. Because when we can relate to others and feel their heartache, but also receive the energy from their light, we too can start on our own healing journey.

Michelle is the host of The MUVE Forward Podcast, the founder of MUVE Life Activewear, a Stepmom, partner, and an investor.

She speaks on topics such as mindset, self-development, health and wellness, and more. Michelle likes to deploy a good-vibes-only mindset wherever she goes.

You can find Michelle:

Her website: www.themichellewolfe.com

Her Muve Life Activewear Line: www.muvelife.com

Instagram @themichellewolfe