The MOM Podcast

Shelly and Nancy discuss the best products, services, books, and more that they have discovered over the past 5+ years of podcasting. Best Parenting Book Dr. Andie Weiner More than Saying I Love You.  Jayne Clayson Best Detergent: Quick N  Brite is Nancy's FAVORITE stain remover Best Family Travel Deal: Disney YES Program Best Beach/Outdoor Gadget: Sun Smarties Family Cabana Pop-up tent from One Step Ahead Best Early Learning Program: Rusty and Rosy and was created by Waterford Institute Best Baby Signing Book: Baby Signing 1, 2, 3s Best Soap: Angel Baby Shampoo and Body Wash is Shelly's favorite soap/ Nancy Loves PureWorks Antibacterial Foam as hand sanitizer, soap and lotion Best Cold Fighter: Xlear nasal wash Best Kitchen gadget: Piggy Platter Nancy Loves the Piggy Platter Best Purse:  Lilly May Bag. Check it out at www.lillymaebags.com Best Baby Bedding: QuickZip Sheets by www.cloudsandstars.com

We all want our children to make friends and establish good relationships. Friendships can have great and lasting influences; and both good and bad consequences. Learn a tip TODAY on how to teach your children how to make friends, maintain positive interactions and how to cope when relationships go awry. Then, join us September 18  for the Conference Call Time: 1:00PM EST (CT 12:00PM, MT 11:00 AM, 10:00AM PST) or 9:00PM EST (CT 8:00PM; MT 7:00PM; 6:00PM PST) To join these informative and interactive workshops, complete the application and once registered, look for additional discounts and bonuses!  Click the Link below or go to http://www.drandie.com/ (http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/workshops-300x57.jpg)

So much of parenting is reacting to a situation causing stress, uncertainty, and sometimes with undesirable results. Wouldn’t it be nice to be pro-active and know what to do before a problem arises? Dr. Andie Weiner explains how you can get ahead of the curve in your parenting by learning NOW skills to to help you with issues that invariably come up in parenting.  To accommodate parents who want to be proactive, Dr. Andie is offering interactive live workshops for parents. Dr. Andie invites you to attend her Pro-Active Parenting Workshops as she addresses three hot parental topics. In the privacy and ease of being in your own home, join a small, intimate group of parents that like you are looking to become a better parent. The workshop opens with a 15-minute overview with Dr. Andie offering three to five easy to implement tools to help parents. Each parent will then have an opportunity to ask one question related to her presentation or a family concern on that subject. Dr. Andie deals with each of the topics with sensitivity, hands-on experience as a therapist, parent coach, and mom, as well as humor – a must for ALL parents! Hot Topics for Workshop Under The Influence: We all want our children to make friends and establish good relationships. Friendships can have great and lasting influences; and both good and bad consequences. Learn how to teach your children how to make friends, maintain positive interactions and how to cope when relationships go awry. I Love Me. Who Do You Love? One of the first and most valuable relationships a child needs to develop is one with themself.  Help your children love and accept themselves from body image to dealing with their imperfections as well as their strengths. This is the best gift any parent can give their child! Devil on My Shoulder: Of the 60,000 thoughts we create every day, 80% are negative and untrue. These kinds of thoughts can lead to stress, self-doubt, and undesirable behavior. Learn how to understand these untrue thoughts and help your children “weed them out” to build confidence, make better choices, and increase self-esteem. The Specifics Conference call-in for 1 hour and 15 minutes * September 18   Under The Influence * October 16      I Love Me. Who Do You Love? * November 13   Devil On My Shoulder Time: 1:00PM EST (CT 12:00PM, MT 11:00 AM, 10:00AM PST) or 9:00PM EST (CT 8:00PM; MT 7:00PM; 6:00PM PST) Cost: 1 workshop    $30.00 2 workshops   $50.00 (save $10.00) 3 workshops   $75.00 (save $15.00) To join these informative and interactive workshops, complete the application and once registered, look for additional discounts and bonuses!  Click the Link below or go to http://www.drandie.com/ (http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/workshops-300x57.jpg)

Lisa Elrene of 110 Pounds and Counting (http://www.110pounds.com/)explains how she lost 110 pounds and how she has kept it off for 4 years.  She and Nancy discuss Nancy's weight loss and how Nancy can deal with the changes to her life.  If you have lost weight or want to lose weight, listen so you can learn key points for success over the long haul! Nancy's weight loss is over 100 pounds. Here are pictures of her at the same air show 3 years apart.  You can read more about Nancy's weight loss at the Green Smoothie Girl Website (http://blog.greensmoothiegirl.com/2012/06/11/my-friend-nancy-drops-100-lbs/) (http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/AirShow2009-300x225.jpg) (http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/AirShow2012-189x300.jpg)

Dr. Andie (http://www.drandie.com/)discusses how to have fun while you are being a parent.  She calls it Right Brain Parenting.  Listen and learn how to get more out of your relationship with your children and have more fun doing it! Dr. Andie is the author of More than Saying I Love You (http://www.drandie.com/). This book is one of our favorite books on parenting! For more information on Dr. Andie, personal coaching or other tips, check out her website! (http://www.drandie.com/)

Stacey returns and shares her adventures with Let's Play Music, an innovative music education program for children from 3-7 years old that prepares children to be amazing musicians (Nancy wishes she had found this program years ago). Watch a Demo Video (http://letsplaymusicsite.com/video) Contact Stacey (http://letsplaymusicsite.com/lpm/for-parents/find-lpm-teacher?search_api_views_fulltext=Stacey+Thompson) staceyplaysmusic@gmail.com

Losing weight can have a dark side and we discuss how losing over 100 pounds has had some consequences Nancy never intended.  How people relate to her and how she relates to herself are not what she expected them to be.  If you have lost weight and struggled to keep it off, listen because some of the answer to why might be in this discussion.

Dr. Andie (http://www.drandie.com/)discusses the Tween Brain and what we need to know to deal with 10-12 year olds and how that merges into the teenage years.  We all think that kids get squirrelly when they become teenagers, but it actually starts much earlier and being prepared will help us know how to help our kids. Dr. Andie is the author of More than Saying I Love You (http://www.drandie.com/). This book is one of our favorite books on parenting! For more information on Dr. Andie, personal coaching or other tips, check out her website! (http://www.drandie.com/)

We discuss the article 25 Rules for Mothers of Sons (http://studerteam.blogspot.com/2011/11/25-rules-for-mothers-of-sons.html) by Tabitha Studer which made it into several newspapers so we decided to join in the conversation.  We love the list and think every mom of boys ought to read it and think about their role as mother to a boy (since they are a species we don't always understand). C

Angela Bussio, best-selling author, stress expert and creator of Real Stress Solutions discusses how to help your child destress.   Angela provides great tips and guidance.  For more information from her, check out her website Real Stress Solutions (http://www.http://realstresssolutions.com/).

If you have a child in upper elementary grades or jr. high, you have probably faced the dreaded science fair. Listen with us and laugh about this rite of passage.  If your kids are not there yet, listen and learn what NOT to do and WHAT WORKS when helping your child with their science fair project.

Santa Cruz offers some unique experiences. For our inter-generational travel in (http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/roaringcamp.jpg)California, we chose to see the Redwoods on the Roaring Camp Railroad (http://www.roaringcamp.com/)and enjoy a quintessential beach boardwalk experience on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (http://www.beachboardwalk.com/). The Roaring Camp Railroad (http://www.roaringcamp.com/) is located just outside Santa Cruz.  In the summer, you can take the railroad from the Boardwalk to the mountains. The railroad is magical, set in a mountainous redwood forest.  On the day we rode the railroad, it was raining lightly with a fog and it was easy to imagine prehistoric creatures roaming the landscape.  When our 1917 Steam Engine appeared, it was like something out of a movie with steam billowing from it like a snorting dragon.  For Harry Potter fans, the experience was just like stepping on to Platform 9 3/4. (http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Redwoods.jpg)The ride itself was interesting to all generations.  Seeing the Redwoods by train is a great experience for younger children who cannot walk far and for grandparents not up to the hike.  The added excitement of experiencing the train made them all the more magical.  Watching the engineer switch the tracks and hearing the horn blow brought smiles to my pre-teens face (a rare sighting).  Everyone was happy with the experience.  The Camp is clean and makes a great place for lunch with many kid-friendly options.  The staff was very nice and the entire experience was amazing.  Roaring Camp Railroad (http://www.roaringcamp.com/) sponsors fun events on holidays like an Easter Egg Hunt, Halloween Ghost train, Day out With Thomas and much more.  As difficult as it is to find something that everyone enjoys, this makes our list of the most fun California activities! Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (http://www.beachboardwalk.com/) is truly the quintessential beach boardwalk experience.  It brought back childhood memories to Grandma and gave great new experiences to our children. With a roller coaster on the National Registry along with many modern rides, an arcade and midway, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (http://www.beachboardwalk.com/) has fun for everyone.  Don't pass up the best lollipops in the nation--created by Kendon's (http://www.kendoncandies.com/) in San Jose, CA, these lollipops are divine!  We were there on a rainy day so we did not get to ride too many rides, but it was still a fun time and my kids only wanted to stay longer. We had lunch at the Picnic Basket (http://www.facebook.com/thepicnicbasketsc), a local sandwich shop dedicated to simple, delicious food and treats, seasoned with lots of love. Local farmers, foragers, and artisans, including the famous Penny Ice Creamery, are the cornerstone of their seasonal menu. Lunch was a HIT with Mom and Grandma but not as much with the kids since the food is a bit upscale for their taste.  However, the ice cream, which is handmade by the owner, was a surefire hit with the kids.  We recommend this place for lunch to our friends whose kids' palate is more developed or to adults wanting a quick delicious bite.  Ice Cream for Everyone!

San Francisco: an enchanting city and with a stay at the Mark Hopkins (http://www.intercontinentalmarkhopkins.com/) on Nob Hill, who wouldn't be enchanted. We discuss our inter-generational travel to the city by the Bay and how to make it work for every generation along with our exciting adventures. The City Is the Adventure(http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CableCar.jpg) You would think that a city without a large amusement park would be the last place to take children.  San Francisco is an amazing place because it is the city itself that provides the amusement.  There is something about it from the hilly streets, cable cars, winding roads, bridges, fog and rain, and of course Nob Hill and the Mark Hopkins (http://www.intercontinentalmarkhopkins.com/) hotel that makes this city enjoyable for all generations.  This city holds extra charm for us because it is the city where my mother and I started our journey together--where my mom had lived as a single woman and then taken me as her baby and young daughter to enjoy city life. During our 3 days in San Francisco, we took in the city's sites using our San Francisco City Pass (http://www.citypass.com/san-francisco). From other shows, you know we are a fan of checking for City Passes that include multiple attractions and rides on local transport services--this was a great deal since it included museums, cable cars, muni-bus service, and a ride on the Blue and Gold Fleet (http://blueandgoldfleet.com/). (http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/AlcatrazBG.jpg)The Escape from the Rock (http://blueandgoldfleet.com/sightseeing-tours/water-sightseeing-tours/)cruise around the bay plus Alcatraz was fabulous and well worth the extra money. Alex, who never stays still, listened to the narration intently.  He had read a few books that featured Alcatraz and was surprised to learn that Al Capone was just a short, fat Italian who he never would have recognized as a criminal mastermind. The view of Alcatraz was incredible.  We opted not to go to the island because the climb up is very steep and Grandma would not be able to make it.  Sometimes, with inter-generational travel, you have to make these decisions. Another thing we are fans of are hop-on hop-off bus tours because they allow you to see the sites in major cities the way you want to in an efficient manner.  The City Sight Seeing San Francisco (http://www.city-sightseeing.us/)double decker bus was just perfect for this.  We opted for the 4-tour pack but only were able to do two of the tours--the downtown loop (http://www.city-sightseeing.us/downtowntour.html) and Golden Gate to Sausalito (http://www.city-sightseeing.us/goldengatetour.html). It was still a bargain and I would do it again (we ran out of time and it was raining in the evening so the night tour would not have been that much fun). The tour guides on both were lively and entertaining with great stories and information to help. Because the weather can be very unpredictable in San Francisco and we dealt with a great amount of rain while we were there (houses in the city were flooding), we had to plan around it a bit. Remember to bring rain gear and warm clothes even in the summer.  The sweat shirt shops do huge business in July when tourists expect summer temps and get rain and cold. (http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/chinatown.jpg)We also enjoyed walking through Chinatown and going to the Chinatown Kite Shop.  Alex bought a Dragon Kite that we have since found is impossible for him to fly (the woman at the store was very knowledgeable and tried to help him find a kite that was easy to fly but he chose looks over function and how we have a nice kite hanging in his room).  We went to Japantown as well, but it is not comparable to Chinatown in size.  We did get some great Bento Lunchbox items and Origami papers there though. Being in the city itself is the fun.

Dr. Andie (http://www.drandie.com/)discusses what helicopter parenting is and how it differs from just being a caring parent.  She shows how helicopter parenting is more about the parents' needs than the child's and what we can do to avoid being a helicopter parent. Dr. Andie is the author of More than Saying I Love You (http://www.drandie.com/). This book is one of our favorite books on parenting! For more information on Dr. Andie, personal coaching or other tips, check out her website! (http://www.drandie.com/)

Nancy and her family share their inter-generational trip to Monterey, CA (http://www.themompodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/jellies.jpg)including their stay at the Hyatt Monterey Hotel and Spa (http://monterey.hyatt.com) and their experience at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/) and a delicious meal at Abalonetti (http://www.abalonettimonterey.com/). Hyatt Monterey Hotel and Spa (http://monterey.hyatt.com) is the perfect place for families with members with different interests.  With an amazing golf course with an onsite pro, tennis center with an onsite pro, world-class spa with couples rooms and full beauty salon as well as two swimming pools, outside board games and Camp Hyatt for the kids, there is something for every generation to enjoy. The cozy nature of the property is incredible even though it is the largest hotel in Monterey.  It is very kid-friendly and the staff is amazing.  Dining at TusCA was fabulous and Knuckles Sports Bar fit the bill for a less formal meal.  Listen to the Podcast for more details. The Monterey Suite with two separate rooms was fabulous for a family or for our inter-generational group.  With two bath rooms and two TVs, it was easy to please everyone.  The bedroom had a king size bed and two roll-aways fit easily into the sitting room without taking up all the living space.  We were served a different evening appetizer based on locally grown ingredients each night we were there.   The pool was a wonderful break for the children and warm enough to enjoy even in springtime. The Monterey Bay Aquarium (http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/)is an amazing place to take multiple generations for an educational and exciting experience. From the simplicity of picking up tickets to the great staff who fixed a problem with our behind-the-scenes tour and gave us a private tour, everyone in the staff was amazing. Thanks Scott and Andrea! The Aquarium focuses on the local sea life right outside the Aquarium in Monterey Bay.  As a scuba diver, it was easy to appreciate the quality of the exhibits.  However, grandmother and kids who have never seen these creatures in the wild also were amazed by the exhibits and the opportunities to interact with stingrays, star fish and so forth. The Aquarium exhibits are easy to access for all ages and abilities.  With frequent feeding displays and interactive demonstrations, you could spend several hours at the Aquarium. Lunch at Abalonetti (http://www.abalonettimonterey.com/) was a incredible.  The Chippino is literally the best ever. The calamari is world-famous for a reason--it is tender and tasty. No rubber here. Every dish that passed our table was enticing.  The children's menu is also very extensive and according to our pint-sized tasters, the chicken nuggets were the best on our trip. Just please tell me who thought a child would order liver and brussel sprouts?  However, it probably was still the best liver and brussel sprouts the kid ever had.  The service was incredible and I will be back. The food in Monterey was absolutely wonderful--both at the Hyatt and at Abalonetti.  This is a foodie paradise.