Episode 19: You know what it feels like to be stretched thin.  You know burn-out. Overwhelm. Stress.  It seems like there’s this never-ending list of to-dos and things that must get done: the kids off to school, switch that load of laundry before it starts to smell in the washer, hopefully, get it folded before it wrinkles in the dryer (let's be real, that's not happening), put gas in the car, make dinner, and for the love of all things fresh and clean, take a freaking shower.  Combine that with the never-ending questions...please dear God, make it stop.  I just might explode or wither away right here, right now.  

Yet, it's not just the "stuff" we have to do. Almost more so, it's the mental & emotional load that gets un-freaking-bearable. This episode’s meant to help you fight back in a way, (arguably a more productive way) than just reducing your to-do list.  It's all about how to combat the inevitable burn-out, the Mom puddle on the floor, at the root.  Being proactive and nipping it in the bud, so to speak, before it gets, well, overwhelming, shall we?

 Read more here...

Let’s keep the conversation going!  Join me over in Thrive in Motherhood community!
Or find me on my website irenemckennacoaching.com

Episode 18: The core of this episode is self-love.  But it's also So. Much. More.  Self-love is explored as the way to remedy, to reverse, to repay, the costs we've been paying in trying to manage other people's happiness. It's about getting radically honest with ourselves about what we need.  Then honoring those needs by getting responsible for meeting them on our own.  It's not about a guilty responsibility but rather an empowered responsibility.  It's not "you should take responsibility for yourself", but more "you get to be responsible for yourself".  It's your path to the exact experience of life you want.  It's freedom.  And self-love is what allows you to choose that path.   Because you have to love yourself in order to choose to give yourself what you need & to create what you want.

Self-love & personal responsibility are the powerhouse combo that allows thriving.  That create the life you want.  And isn't that what we all want? 

Read more here...

Let’s keep the conversation going!  Join me over in Thrive in Motherhood community! 
Or find me on my website irenemckennacoaching.com

Episode 17: Hi there!  I can't wait to share Amanda Jane Turner with you in today's episode!  She is a wife, Mom of 2 and a mindset & leadership coach for ambitious women who are ready to reclaim their lives.  (Read full bio here).  

Amanda’s so full of wisdom & has such a calm, easy demeanor that I could listen to her talk all day long.  The way she explains is so easy to understand and she shares some unique perspectives that I know you’re going to love.  

While I’m familiar with most of the concepts Irene & Amanda talk about, I still struggle at times to live them.  This is why I truly believe that continuing to listen & expose ourselves to new perspectives helps us grow.   Sometimes you hear that thing you already "know" but it’s said in such a way that it sinks a little deeper into your knowing, into your believing.  And sometimes you hear a completely new perspective that blows your mind.  I had both these experiences in listening to this episode.  Give it a listen & read more here...

Make sure to grab the PDF of the Concentric Circles Model that Amanda talks about in the episode.  Get it here! 

Connect with Amanda here:

www.amandajane.ca

Instagram: @amandajanecoaching

Episode 16: Welcome back! In this episode, Irene asks us to consider the concept of who we are being as the path to bettering our experience, to creating change.  If you haven't listened to Episode 12: Why it feels so hard to react differently, it's worth a listen, as today's episode builds on that one.  

Many of us desire SO hard to parent peacefully & respectfully but struggle to do it in real life.  We get so triggered by our children.  All day long.  So we attempt to control them & their behavior so that we can be calm.  

But hang on, aren't we the adults here?  

To be who we want to be takes effort, practice, discipline. On our part.  What if instead of trying to control our external environment, we focus inward creating the experience we desire from the inside out?  Regardless of the circumstances.  What if we took ultimate personal responsibility for ourselves?  Our actions, our emotional states & our experiences?  While simultaneously letting go of the responsibility for these in others?  

Some big shifts would happen.  Read more here...

P.S. Let’s keep the conversation going!  Join me over in Thrive in Motherhood!

Episode 15: Hi!  So glad you're here!  In this episode, Irene gets to talk with Diji Shujahi.  Diji is a proud mother of 2 beautiful teenage girls, and she shares with us her fascinating journey from an arranged marriage at a young age, living a life that was expected of her to where she is now, the managing partner of a successful international Events and Media company, living her dreams.  Her main message: follow your passions unapologetically.  Stop feeling guilty.  This doesn't mean you having to be a mama with a career.  If you want to be home with your kids, do it.  But do it because you want to.  Because you love it.  In other words, find a way to do what you love with your time & energy because that will make you happy.  And that's what your kids need. A happy mom.  

Yes, Diji, yes!!!  SO much yes!  Our children will not remember all the individual sacrifices we made along the way.  But they will remember the energy of the home.  Was it a joyful one?  Or did we make sacrifices that they didn’t ask us nor want us to make, creating resentful energy in the home?  Read more here...

Check out Diji's book here: Leveling UP: During a Pandemic

Connect with Diji:

Websites: 

www.dijishujahi.com

www.pinnaclemena.com

Instagram: @dijishujahi

Facebook: @DijiShujahiPage   

Episode 14:  Let's face it.  Feeding our children can feel like a daunting task at times.  

Feeding them healthy?  Even more daunting.  Honestly, sometimes just feeding myself regularly is too hard.  Insert quick, convenient, junk food.  Somehow food got so much more complicated as a Mom.  

Is it easy to neglect this area of our lives?  Definitely.  Most of us do, myself included at times.  Zero judgment.  But needing to eat & feeding our children isn't going away, so it serves us to take a good look at what's important to us around food & meal times.  And because we do food all the time, it is vital that it works for us.  There simply cannot be fighting, pressure, drama at every mealtime.  That just might kill me.

This is exactly why Irene brought Jamie Truppi, a  friend & functional nutritionist, on today's episode to talk about all of this.  For moms just like me.

This episode is, at once, liberating (you get to do it your way) and totally practical.  It isn't necessarily about changing what you eat.  It's more about honoring what Jamie calls our Food Values.  The perspective she offers has been SO helpful for me and I think it might be for you too.   It makes SO MUCH SENSE.  Read more here...


Make sure to grab Jamie’s great free gift to get you started with creating health & connection with your littles: 5 days of kid-friendly lunches & snacks delivered to your inbox

Connect with Jamie:

Website: https://www.jamietruppinutrition.com/

Personal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamie.truppi

Business Facebook: Jamie Truppi Integrative Nutrition LLC 

Private Facebook Community: Conscious Food Community

Instagram:  @jamietruppi

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-truppi/

Episode 13: Get excited guys!!  Life + Marriage Coach for Moms, Michelle Purta is here. She's a wife, stepmom, and mom of three kids. She helps women who have lost themselves to motherhood, want to be happier, and LOVE their life & marriage again. She coaches moms on how to stop living life on autopilot and start living life on purpose, deepen their connection to themselves, and strengthen their marriage.  

She is refreshingly straight forward saying what you may not want to hear but need to.  I absolutely loved talking with her, as she dropped nuggets of golden wisdom throughout.  Ready to save, improve, or up-level your marriage? This episode is for you...

Read on at irenemckennacoaching.com/podcast/013

Connect with Michelle here:

Join her amazing Facebook community: Marriage in Motherhood 

Instagram: @michellepurtacoaching

www.michellepurta.com

** Link to sign up for Free Workshop: Peaceful Parenting: the 3 keys to turn what you know into what you do mentioned in the intro of today’s episode!! Grab your spot here.

Episode 12: Hey there!  Today's episode is all about change & why it's so hard.  When I say change, I mean us changing. I think you'll know what I mean.  It's the swearing to yourself as you lay your head down at night, that tomorrow you'll be more patient with your kids.  Tomorrow you won't yell at them.  Tomorrow you'll respond with love & respect instead of reacting in anger when they are pushing your buttons at every single turn.  But then tomorrow comes & it's a repeat of the day before complete with guilt & shame that you just can't seem to get it together.  I mostly talk about this in the context of parenting, but this isn't just about that.  This episode is really about shifting our reactions & behaviors at the root in any area of life.  As you know, that is freaking hard.   I talk all about it.  The 4 stages of change, what they look like, what trips you up, what keeps you stuck from moving through the stages.  If you've been on your healing journey awhile now, this one will soothe your soul.  Let's dive in...

Read on at irenemckennacoaching.com/podcast/012

Episode 11: Hello Moms:) I am excited to bring you today's episode with Aliza Buyarski. Aliza is a mom of 3, one of which is a high energy child. She's challenged day in and day out by the excessive energy & shenanigans that he comes up with. She has supported many families with children with ADHD as well as sensory challenges as an Occupational Therapist; however, the current medical model hasn’t allowed her to support the parents as well as the children. This is one of the many reasons she chose to start her business: Balance the Energy. She understands what you may be going through when others around you don’t, and is here to support both you and your child to succeed. Sometimes that's all we need, isn't it? A little support.

Continue reading at irenemckennacoaching.com/podcast/011

Connect with Aliza: 

Email: [email protected]

Facebook—Balance the Energy

Facebook group—Balance the Energy of Children with ADHD

Instagram—Personal: @crazyhealthnutmama 

                        Business: @balancetheenergy

Join the community at thriveinmotherhoodcommunity.com

Episode 10:  I truly believe when we can shift our perspective on boundaries, it makes them more successful & easier to set.  

If you're anything like me, holding limits with your children can be the hardest part of parenting.  Am I right or am I right?  Yet, I’m also understanding that having & holding limits for my children is actually how they feel safe & secure.  That, right there, is enough to keep me strong in my commitment to be intentional with the guardrails I put in place for my children. Our children need limits to guide them.  A lack of boundaries creates chaos in them, never knowing what's okay, what's not, and when. 

And here's the thing, (maybe this is why it's so hard) we have to balance this all out with honoring our children's need & desire for autonomy.  Guide them while also letting them free to make choices.  

I like to think of boundaries as something completely different than rules. Rules are rigid and are usually sourced from a place of anger or fear. Boundaries are limits that are proactively established with intention in order to guide & teach values but also to honor our own, unique limits.  Boundaries support cooperation.  Rules create resistance. 

Cooperation at the expense of connection isn't really cooperation.  It's compliance.  Compliance only lasts so long.  And is that really what we want?  I think we really want a deep connection with our kiddos while also having an easier go of daily life.  Well then, connection comes first.  It must.  

When our children feel connected, they want to cooperate. They want to be helpful.  

But when we're angry, yelling & dysregulated, we are seeking to control through punishments & reprimands.  It is human nature to resist force.  So it simply does not work to force compliance.  The absolute best way to influence your child's future choices is through connection.  Plus, it feels better.  It feels good to be working together, loving & respecting each other.  

The way we do this is through holding personal boundaries for ourselves & holding limits for our children.  This is highly unique to each person and family.  

Boundaries place limits on the behavior while acknowledging & seeking to understand the need or feeling driving the behavior.  

They’re not punishments.  Punishments are behavior focused.  They’re the attempt to gain short term control at the expense of long term connection.

Children are always trying to establish a sense of self.  The more we exert control the more they will fight for their autonomy.  We have to stop creating the fight.  Stop holding their resistance against them.  Expect it.  Welcome it.  Support them through it.  Work to connect.  To collaborate. It will require you to respect yourself through holding personal boundaries that your child won't like.  It’ll require you to hold space for some BIG feelings. 

It IS possible to be firm AND kind. To be respectful.  To hold the limit while preserving the relationship.

Listen to part 1 & 2 of the Boundaries mini-series below:

Episode 8: Boundaries Part 1: Why They feel SO Freaking Hard

Episode 9: Boundaries Part 2: Navigating Relationships

If you’re loving what you’re hearing and you desire support between episodes, join me in the  Thrive in Motherhood community.