“Mommmmmm, I’m BORED!”

It’s the kind of thing that can drive a mom crazy. Nevermind bringing your kids into this world through blood, sweat and tears; when school breaks rolls around you are now expected to be Master Entertainer, Chauffeur, Caterer, Tutor, and Event Coordinator.

Join special guest Andrea Ridder as she shares her surprising perspective on boredom and how she's turning it into a good thing.

Hi They Say friends! It's episode 11 and you've been listening to us for a few months now so we thought it'd be fun to share some things we've learned about you and give you a chance to know us better.

We (co-hosts Kami and Steph, with producer Becky) put questions in a hat and spend this episode answering them. Fair warning: we totally talk about hair. We also share some fun statistics we've learned about you since launching the show.

Sometimes it feels like smartphones, texting, and social media are the BEST THING that's ever happened to our relationships (seriously--how did we ever grocery shop or coordinate dinner plans without texts?).

But in spite of the convenience of our snappy digital communications, there are other times when we feel lonely, overwhelmed, and disconnected. To help with these less pleasant feelings, Kami, Becky and I (Steph) created a challenge to reduce our technology use in favor of high quality time with the people we love.

Friends, we totally failed the challenge. Listen to what happened...

From the moment your child is born it feels like the countdown to graduation begins. Eighteen-years–that’s how long you have them. And then suddenly your parenting is done.

Except that it really isn’t. Eighteen-years-old seems like the parenting finish line, but the reality is much more encouraging…and complicated.

Whether your child is graduating from high school or from diapers, Kami and Steph discuss why milestones aren’t all they’re cracked up to be when it comes to parenting. Listen for the full story in this episode.

Do you ever look around and think, "Geez that couple is so great. They just seem to be getting it right. I wonder what their secret is?"

And then, rather than feel warm and fuzzy and filled with hope for relationships around the world because of this awesome couple blazing a trail of bliss for everyone to follow, you just feel...

...bad.

Bad because your relationship, like a pimply teenage girl standing next to a supermodel, doesn't measure up. Bad because it feels like compared to everyone else, you must be doing this whole couple-thing wrong.

Hey guess what--you're not doing it wrong. When it comes to other couples, things aren't always as they seem. Tune into this episode to see what we mean. At the end you'll remember that the supermodel standing next to your pimply teenage face is actually just another pimply face (with maybe better makeup on).

Hope for when life feels like it's passing you by

Doesn't it sometimes feel like life stalls out? One minute you're moving along and then suddenly you find yourself waiting for the next milestone (getting married, getting a "career" job, having a baby) while everyone else passes you by. Whether it's a small milestone or a big one, missing life's "deadlines" can make us feel like we aren't measuring up, and waiting on the sidelines gets lonely.

If this is you, you're not alone. Kami, Stephanie, and Becky all share stories about when their lives deviated from "the plan," and how they've found hope while waiting for God's timing.

**Also, if you're wondering why this episode features Barbie, it will quickly make sense when you start listening...

As parents there's nothing harder than seeing our kids struggle with persistent fears. And parents dealing with kids with anxiety face this challenge every day. In this episode, Kami and Steph shine a light on this seldom-discussed topic of anxiety in kids, tackle the questions we're afraid to ask (ex. is my kid mentally ill?), and offer a message of hope and peace at the end.

When our producer, Becky, recently suggested a two-week dieting experiment that involved Jesus, we jumped on board. In a world full of dieting programs (we've tried SO many of them), plus 30-day bikini body challenges, it felt adventurous to try something radically different.

In this second part of our series, we reconnect with Kami to see how's she's doing now that the challenge is over, plus she shares the most heartfelt story (seriously). We also get to hear from Becky about how her experiment went, and to marvel at how creative God is. Here's what we mean...

When our producer, Becky, recently suggested a two-week dieting experiment that involved Jesus, we jumped on board. In a world full of dieting programs (we've tried SO many of them), plus 30-day bikini body challenges, it felt adventurous to try something radically different.

In this part one of a two-part series, we hear from Kami personally about how her experiment went. Here's what happened...

We don’t have to tell you that moms feel guilty about a lot of things. According to social media and fancy surveys, one of the things we feel the most guilty about is what we’re feeding our kids. We worry that it’s not healthy enough, or “clean” enough, or varied enough. And we worry what other parents will think about our choices. Here’s why we think all this worry needs to STOP.