Regular Cool Mom

This week we are chatting about a subject we love- celebrating our friends’ birthdays! Nothing makes us more excited than planning the perfect way to celebrate our friends, and throughout the years the way that we have executed birthday celebrations has morphed and changed- from dinners to experiences, we have done it all- and our dreams for future celebrations are getting bigger and better! As always, we would love to hear from you. Some of our questions include: *What are some of the best/most genius birthday celebrations you’ve been to or heard about? *If you are celebrating in a group do you arrange for one large group gift or are you all in charge of bringing your own gifts (or have you gotten rid of gifts all together?) *Are ‘Over the Hill’ parties a thing anymore? Please comment on Instagram and let us know all your awesome thoughts and tips, or stories of awesome birthday shenanigans. Tell us everything! Thank you for listening and sharing the podcast. We appreciate it!

This week we are discussing how we have approached teaching our kids about sexual health. This conversation is coming from the experiences we have had as two moms, not experts, and how we have found success around discussing this topic with our kids. We also openly discuss the challenges we have faced based on our children’s different personalities and openness with us, and gauging when the appropriate time is to give them each layer of information. We want you to know that if you are facing challenges, you are not alone! We are all doing our very best as parents and it is okay if conversations aren’t flowing as smoothly as you visualized. There is so much encouragement and information available to us as parents for teaching our kids about their bodies, appropriate anatomical terms, appropriate touching, safety, and so much more. We encourage you to seek out one of the many resources we discuss if you are having any hesitation or uncertainty about what to teach your children and when. We would lov

This week we (Lissi and Joy) are chatting about different ways we have agitated for change on both small local levels and changes we are hoping to make on a larger (but perhaps less important?) scale. Activism doesn’t have to mean a huge demonstration with signs and marching (although we do love seeing a good march!) There are a lot of ways to get involved in making much needed changes that can be as simples as picking up the phone. We would love to hear your experiences! What have you done to be successful in getting the powers that be to hear your voices and make a change? There is no cause too big or too small to be discussed here, we would love to celebrate any victories with you! Join us on instagram and leave us a comment. We love hearing from you. Also, please don’t forget to rate and review the podcast and share it with a friend. We really appreciate it. Thanks for listening!

This week Lissi has chosen a very intriguing case for us to discuss! Join us as she lays out all the mysterious details leading up to a horrific kayaking accident in which one person drowned and the other was an immediate suspect…but did the police arrest a guilty killer or was it just a terrible accident? We would love to hear your thoughts on the final verdict in this case! With all of the unusual behaviors (from the suspect AND from the police) this case has a lot of twist and turns that leave us scratching our heads. Leave us a comment on Instagram, and don’t forget to share the podcast with a friend. We appreciate you spreading the word. Thanks for listening!

This week Lissi has chosen a very intriguing case for us to discuss! Join us as she lays out all the mysterious details leading up to a horrific kayaking accident in which one person drowned and the other was an immediate suspect…but did the police arrest a guilty killer or was it just a terrible accident? We would love to hear your thoughts on the final verdict in this case! With all of the unusual behaviors (from the suspect AND from the police) this case has a lot of twist and turns that leave us scratching our heads. Leave us a comment on Instagram, and don’t forget to share the podcast with a friend. We appreciate you spreading the word. Thanks for listening!

This week we are continuing our conversation about homebuilding and covering the projects that we still have left to tackle.  Some of the projects are currently underway, some are in the near future, and some are way down the road but always in the back of our minds. Join us as we discuss things we purposefully put off when building, contractor timelines, the struggle and decision fatigue that comes with making too many decisions at once, and how we are picking up the pieces on undone projects all around our houses, inside and out. We would love to hear from you!  Do you have a knack for moving into a new space and immediately knowing how to decorate?  Do you break out into a sweat imagining putting nails in your walls?  Do you have any large house projects that you are currently working on or planning?  We want to hear all about it! Leave us a comment on instagram and let us know if you can relate, commiserate, or have any tips for us when it comes to tackling these future home projects. Thanks for listening

You asked and we answered! We are discussing a topic that has been requested of us time and time again- how to make close, meaningful friendships as adults.   While we don’t claim to be experts on the subject, we do have some thoughts and ideas based on our experiences in making close friendships with other women throughout the years. We are really laying it out there, from scoping out the person you want to be friends with, how to strike up conversation, and how to take it to the next level.   We also discuss friendship lines, tiers, and bullseyes….stay with us, it will all make sense as you listen along with us.   Remember that cultivating close, meaningful, ‘middle of the target’ friendships takes time. If you are new to town, or starting from scratch for one reason or another, give it time! There is nothing wrong with you if you aren’t instantly jiving with people around you. You will eventually get there. In the meantime, we are here for you!   Join in th

This week on the podcast we are talking about organizing your house and throwing away all the junk.  You know those bins of old electronics, outdated baby stuff, or clothes from high school?  Get ready to be motivated to donate them all to goodwill (or the junkyard!) Listen as we discuss the major house cleaning projects we decided to undertake this summer and how amazingly awesome we felt afterwards.  We want you to feel amazingly awesome, too! Join in the conversation as we chat about de-junking strategies and what worked for us. Have you ever done a major house clean out? Are you sentimental and like to hang on to everything or are you able to ruthlessly throw things away? Do you have a house cleaning project that seems insurmountable? Do your kids allow you to clean things out while they are there? Leave your thoughts, feelings, and comments on instagram, and don’t forget to rate and review the podcast and share with a friend.  We appreciate it! Thanks for listening!

It’s Lissi’s birthday week so today on the podcast our topic is one of our favorites: true crime!   We are keeping up with our tradition to give each other the gift of true crime stories on each other’s birthdays, and this year is no different. We hope you will enjoy puzzling out with us the case we are discussing today: the mysterious and tragic disappearance of Indiana University college student, Lauren Spierer. If you have never heard of this case, that’s ok!  Joy will reveal all the details, twists, and turns and she lays out the timeline of events and discusses the vast cast of people who were last seen with Lauren, as well as all the theories surrounding her disappearance. This case is particularly near and dear to us as it is our ‘hometown’ crime and also because we both participated in the efforts to find Lauren.  It is an absolutely heartbreaking scenario and our families have prayed and hoped for closure for the Spierers for the past eight years.  We do not deligh

School is back in full swing so this week on the podcast we are talking about our morning routines:  things that work well, things that need work, and things that aren’t working at all. Join as as we discuss waking up early, dragging ourselves out of bed, and getting the household running in the morning! As usual, we want to hear from you.  Share your expertise and tips! What things do you do to make your mornings run smoothly? Do you make your kid’s lunches or help them prepare in other ways? How many kids to you have in school?  How early does it start? What is one thing you would change about your mornings? Comment on instagram and let us know your thoughts.  We love hearing from you and reading the thoughts and experiences you share.  Thanks for listening!

We’re back!  After a long summer break we are bringing you a brand new podcast episode this week. We are jumping right back in by sharing realizations and epiphanies we had over the break,  recapping our summer activities and all the ups and downs of our summer travels.  We are also discussing ways we prepared to get back into the swing of school (yes, our kids have already gone back!) and how our preparations are evolving from years past. We would love if you joined in the conversation!   Did your summer go smoothly and were you able to escape all the viruses that we had the misfortunes of contracting? Have your kids started school? Do you try to get them on a schedule before school starts or do you let them adjust after it starts? Do you take your kids shopping for supplies or do you order online? What is the dress code like at your school?  Are you pro or con uniforms? Let us know all your thoughts by commenting on instagram and, as always, don’t forget to share the podcast with a friend.  Than

We hope you are having a great summer! In keeping with our special summer episodes, this week we are discussing one of Lissi’s favorite ‘I Survived’ stories: the story of Susan Kuhnhausen. Join us as Lissi weaves together all the maddening details leading up to Susan’s encounter with danger, and how she managed to emerge victorious in what was sure to be a grim outcome. Susan gives so many woman hope that they, too, could overcome such an attack. Also, we discuss the bravery and grit of Kelly Herron, a woman who fought off her attacker in a park bathroom with the help of moves she learned in a self-defense class along with her amazing mantra! We would love to hear your thoughts on these stories. Go ahead and comment on Instagram and tell us what you think. Thanks for Listening!

We are kicking back in true summer form to discuss some of our favorite ‘I survived’ stories. Being the true crime junkies that we are, it wasn’t easy to pick just one (each!) but we managed to narrow it down to the most amazing survival stories that have stuck with us through the years. Today Joy starts us out by recounting an amazing story of heroism and survival at the Salt Lake City Library. You can listen with Lissi as Joy lays out all the details of the man who held many people hostage in the library and how one man was brave enough to put himself in harm’s way to help the others in danger. Next week we will be back with installment two, when Lissi will share her favorite stories of survival and bravery. We would love to hear from you! Had you heard about this case before? What is your favorite ‘I Survived’ story? Comment on Instagram and let us know. Thanks for listening!

Happy Summer! We are finally done waking up early, the kids are out of school, and we are ready to have some fun! We thought we would celebrate the end of the school season with a round-up our past year of podcasting and by revisiting past topics as well as giving updates on things we have discussed on previous episodes. Join us as we update each other (and you!) on new insights we have had, on new things we have learned, and new products we have discovered! We will continue to release episodes throughout the summer, but they will be bi-weekly (just like last summer.) We are really excited about the topics we’ve chosen and hope you will still come and join in the conversation with us. We love hearing from you. Thanks for listening!

This week we are tackling a topic that, surprisingly, is a common struggle and can become a sensitive issue if not navigated correctly: How to bring up concerns or fears to your spouse about lifestyle choices they are making -or not making. We have heard a million times that it is not helpful to nag your husband (and some would argue that nagging actually shortens their lifespan!) but sometimes it is extremely difficult to hold our tongues, especially when we let fear and anxiety overtake our thoughts. We really want your opinions and advice on this. Please chime in and tell us how you have found a way to make your husband’s physical wellbeing a priority in both of your schedules, and how you have navigated these types of conversations with them without coming off as mothering them. We know full well that we are NOT THEIR MAMAS!

This week we are chatting about something that has caught our eye lately as we have been scrolling through end-of-the-year posts on social media: Grit. We have heard of grit and seen people described as having grit…but what really is grit? Join us as we discuss what grit is, what grit isn’t, and listen as we share stories of some of the grittiest people we have witnessed, as well as shed a few tears over some amazing underdog stories. We love hearing from you and hope you will join in the conversation! We also hope that you will share the podcast with a friend, we love adding more voices to the conversation. Thanks for listening!

This week we are talking about a hot topic in parenting: when it’s appropriate for your child to discontinue (or quit) a lesson or sport. There are varying family rules and expectations when it comes to musical lessons, art, sports, or school clubs, and all of us know our children and what is best for them…which from time to time will be allowing them to discontinue an activity that they are involved in. There are a lot of feelings, including fear, that can accompany allowing your child to quit an activity: fear of the stigma of your child being a quitter, fear of missed dreams or opportunities, even the fear of a sunk investment in those activities… We also recognize that each individual child and situation they are in is unique and must be handled as such. There is no blanketed perfect situation when it comes to a child having a difficult time with a coach, teammate, or other varying circumstances. This is just an open discussion about typical scenarios we encounter when our children

In this week’s episode we are discussing a subject that hits really close to home this time of year: how to help your child through the disappointment of not making a team. Try-outs for next school year’s clubs/teams/groups are in full swing right now and while the jury is still out for some of our kids and their friends, the results are in for others and disappointment abounds. Joy shares some stories of kids not making teams that they were hoping to make, or getting cut from a team that they had previously been on, and how to help them work their way through the sadness and loneliness that can come with that kind of loss. Lissi talks about the challenges that comes with being an alternate or swing on a team, how to talk through all the scenarios with a child to help them come to their own decisions on how they want to proceed. Join us in this conversation as we discuss things that are helpful to say, things that are not helpful to say, and how to be gracious on both sides of tryouts- whether

This week we are having a conversation about something that an be tricky to navigate: helping our kids through the experience of having misunderstandings with other adults. Join us as we discuss different situations where they have felt unheard or misunderstood by coaches, teachers, or other adults in their lives. We have experienced being the ones to jump to conclusions based on something we have been told by another adult, and we are learning to take the time to get the full story from our children’s perspective before we react (three day rule!) We understand that no one is perfect: not our kids, not us, not other adults and that misunderstandings and miscommunications happen. We would love to have input from others on how they help teach their kids how to respectfully stand up for themselves…or how we can help them deal with the fact that sometimes they won’t be heard or validated, and they can move on from it. Join in the conversation on Instagram, we love hearing from you!

Welcome to the final week of our homebuilding podcast series! We have covered so much ground up to this point, and we are rounding it all out by talking about lighting, landscaping, our experiences working with a designer, our feelings about Pinterest and Houzz, and much much more. Join us as we relate our highs and lows of building, and as we share our stories of when things went well and when things went terribly wrong…and what things we are still working on with our new homes. We love to hear from you! Join in the conversation on Instagram and don’t forget to rate and review the podcast…and share with a friend! Thanks for listening!