Today on the podcast we connect with Karen Davis, high-school math teacher, mind-blowing crafter, dog-lover, mother and so much more.

Karen shares her journey creating her art piece, her feelings of uncertainty using a template and her cricut machine, and her feelings about the piece and where she hangs it. We are so grateful to Karen her submission enables The Working Mother Experience to showcase a new art medium to our growing community to inspire a new avenue for expression. 

We delve into parenting as a means of getting to know our child vs. forming them into the child we want them to be, and how you find the right balance of both. We express our gratitude to individuals who help us to see ourselves in new ways and come to a place of deeper acceptance of our new identities as working mothers. And we acknowledge how we are different parents from when we started our parenting journeys, whether we want to admit it or not. 

Karen closes with a profound statement about parenting for the long run and how she is not raising a child, but helping to form an adult in whatever direction she takes that in. 

Thank you, Karen, for your beautiful art, your wisdom and willingness to inspire other working mothers to share a piece of their journey. 

Happy Mother's Day! To all the aspiring taxi drivers, nose-wipers, crayon collectors, dinner makers, dish-washers, medication providers, midnight snugglers, and whole-hearted, courageous, creative and exhausted mothers, you mean more than you'll ever know. 

Today we give you the gift of relaxation. Our very own Creative Director, Amanda Langrbroek, working towards becoming a certified hypnotherapist, gives you (and our team) the gift of deep relaxation. And what mother on this planet doesn't need some rest, calm, peace, and balance? Sneak away with a pillow, blanket, headphones and spend 20 minutes on the horizontal. 

We hope you take the time for you today - whatever that means and looks like for you. And when you do whatever you choose to do, we hope you revel in the majesty of motherhood and that while it's relentless at times, it is also filled with magic and wonder and discovery. 

Today on the podcast we connect with Emma Pimm, artist, working mother and one of the first participants in The Working Mother Experience's newest offerings, the  Unleashing Your Inner Creative workplace art session. 

Emma talks about her unique art piece featuring her as a bobblehead, pulled by her children from the dark into the light. As a bobblehead, she explains, she finds it so easy to 'bobble' one from one direction to the next, to be pulled from her centre so easily, and how it takes so much more time to recalibrate and rebalance. She talks about the chaos of expectations and the motherhood curse (or blessing) of developing a new type of attention deficit disorder. 

We go on to explore the 'how' of finding our centre and for Emma, that often involves intentionally just staring out the window and watching the birds. We end with a call to action to our listeners, asking each of you to spend time finding how you re-centre, and perhaps, even trying a good ol' window stare and checking in with how you feel afterwards. 

Thank you, Emma, for your honesty, courage and creative light. It was such a pleasure connecting with you and learning more about your art. 

If you are interested in submitting a piece of original art to The Working Mother Experience please visit www.workingmotherexperience.ca for details!

Theresa Maxwell, a former lawyer now professional figurative artist, mother of three daughters, and community volunteer shares her story on the podcast, intermingling a variety of lessons learned and nuggets of gold for our listeners. 

As a professional artist, Theresa deeply understands and accepts that the artistic process takes time. She encourages listeners and future artistic contributors to The Working Mother Experience to "give [themselves] permission to take [their] time". She likens the creative and artistic process to parenting, "children can get so frustrated when it isn't perfect...they don't want to do it anymore...[having art be] perfect immediately is so unrealistic". She encourages listeners to coach themselves like they do their children when they don't get something right on the first (or fourth) try. 

Want more of these amazing insights? You'll just have to listen to uncover all the other lessons and hidden gems in this delightful conversation. 

Thank you, Theresa, for giving us the gift of your time and sharing a few tips and tricks to encourage aspiring artists to pick up their crayon, pencil, or brush. And of course, for your beautiful piece of art (circular piece of art depicting a young girl deep in thought on workingmotherexperience.ca) 

The Working Mother Experience team is proud to celebrate its third International Women's Day together! In celebration of this day, we virtually connected to discuss the Tallest Poppy Syndrome study findings - what we thought, our own experience as tall poppies, and our call to action to men and women to help lift others up versus tear them down. 

We delve into discerning the difference between criticism and feedback, what it means to "too much" or "too ambitious", how we participate in our own criticism or deprecation, and attempt to understand and unpack how men might handle criticism. We talk about the impact or threat of disconnection from the 'herd' or community to potentially or even partially explain why women may feel the pain of criticism more acutely than we assume our male counterparts do. 

We end with a call to action; asking everyone to give at least one genuine kudos to anyone in their life. We do believe that a rising tide does lift all boats and that while it may be more tiring to go high when someone goes low, that there is incredible power within us to shine and lift others up, even when it's hard. 

Celebrate International Women's Day with us, enjoy a good laugh with us on the podcast (we make everything fun), and let your inner goodness and magnificence shine through on this special day. 

Tall Poppy Syndrome Study 
https://www.womenofinfluence.ca/tps/

So, "who picks up your dish?" Or perhaps a more irreverent question, "who picks up your underwear?" In this short confession session with WME Founder, Morgan Craig-Broadwith, we explore these poignant and profound questions. 

As working mothers (and all of us are working mothers), The Working Mother Experience team is curious to know who, if anyone, picks up after you? While we assume you are likely the designated 'picker upper' in your household, maybe you and your partner have figured out a different approach? We want to understand how you balance it all as a team and how you get the kids involved in supporting the household. 

It can be somewhat exhausting to be the air traffic controller of the house. Sharing the load, but also sharing your tips and tricks with our listeners is welcome and encouraged. Email us at [email protected] OR connect with us on LinkedIn. 

Today on the podcast, we connect with Alexis MacKenzie, a successful marketing entrepreneur, professor and of course, working mother and artist. 

We delve into Alexis' decision to exit the corporate grind and kick-start her own business. She openly shares her secret sauce to creating a thriving business  - leading with her values and curating her clients, working with those that lead with kindness. Alexis shares how critical the attribute of tenderness is in early parenting and that if we work in toxic, aggressive environments, tenderness can be hard to come by. 

 We also explore the importance of openness and being ready, that doors will open if and when you're ready to receive the help. And of course, we explore why she landed on painting fried eggs and how they represent what it means to work and mother. 

As always, I loved my time speaking with Alexis. We always find so many ways to connect from x-country skiing to our kids to deeply exploring what it means to work and mother. Thank you, Alexis, for sharing a small piece of your soul on the podcast.  

Today on the podcast, we connect with Alexis MacKenzie, a successful marketing entrepreneur, professor and of course, working mother and artist. 

We delve into Alexis' decision to exit the corporate grind and kick-start her own business. She openly shares her secret sauce to creating a thriving business  - leading with her values and curating her clients, working with those that lead with kindness. Alexis shares how critical the attribute of tenderness is in early parenting and that if we work in toxic, aggressive environments, tenderness can be hard to come by. 

 We also explore the importance of openness and being ready, that doors will open if and when you're ready to receive the help. And of course, we explore why she landed on painting fried eggs and how they represent what it means to work and mother. 

As always, I loved my time speaking with Alexis. We always find so many ways to connect from x-country skiing to our kids to deeply exploring what it means to work and mother. Thank you, Alexis, for sharing a small piece of your soul on the podcast.  

It's been a while since The Working Mother Experience team had a moment to simply connect, reflect and dissect (not frogs, articles). We have to say, we are very excited for what 2023 holds for us personally, professionally and for the growth we foresee in The Working Mother Experience. A huge shoutout to all the incredible working mothers who have submitted a piece of original art and those in the process of creating; we are so grateful for our amazing and growing community. 

In this episode, we dig into a variety of topics ranging from adult gymnastics (yes, it's a thing), our current career updates and our views on a recent Harvard Business Review article entitled, "How Our Careers Affect Our Children". Interestingly, but perhaps not interestingly, male and female parents need different things from their workplaces and roles; but perhaps not the things you might immediately suspect.

We tap into many themes related to resourcefulness, authority, and the idea that we may be becoming too available for our kids. Let us know what your thoughts are - we always love hearing from our listeners.

Article --> https://hbr.org/2018/11/how-our-careers-affect-our-children

 

Today on the podcast we connect with Tamie Murphy, HR professional, actress, artist, mother and step-mother and so much more. Tamie is a long-time friend of The Working Mother Experience's Founder, Morgan Craig-Broadwith, having met almost a decade ago when they worked together in oil and gas. 

Tamie shares her inspiration for her original submission, a water colour from a magazine she was perusing. Sitting down with her daughter, she took the time to create something original, imbuing her own unique perspective on the piece. She talks about the experience of creating and realizing how much she needed this time to create, sit and simply be. 

We hope you enjoy! Please visit www.workingmotherexperience.ca to see Tamie's beautiful blue abstract submission - you may need to move through the gallery to find it!