In this liberating episode, Megan Nolan joins host Brittany Lynch to explore effective strategies for managing anxiety within the dynamic context of stepfamilies and blended families. Dive deep into the practices of mindful parenting, discover key tools for maintaining peace, and learn how to turn common stepfamily challenges into opportunities for growth and harmony. What You'll Learn: Understanding Anxiety in Stepparenting: Gain insights into how anxiety manifests in stepfamilies and learn...

Welcome to the labyrinth of adolescence, where every step/parent feels like they need a map, a guide, and maybe a little magic to navigate. If you’ve ever felt like you're speaking a different language than your teen, you’re not alone. This episode is your Rosetta Stone to understanding and connecting with the enigmatic creatures known as teenagers. In Today’s Episode: "The Art of Connection: Engaging Teens on Their Terms" We’re diving headfirst into the teenage brain with the sage guidance...

Are you living out your destiny? Have you partnered with your soulmate? Are you in alignment with who you really are? Who... are you, really? Welcome to an engaging and insightful episode where you are invited to explore how numerology can unlock the doors to your authentic selves. This episode aims to illuminate the path toward self-discovery and personal fulfillment by deciphering the numerical codes that influence our lives. Dive deep into the mysteries of numerology with your host,...

In today's episode, we've journeyed beyond the screen to uncover the truths of teenager dating in today's world. With Ashley Bendiksen’s invaluable guidance, we hope to inspire and equip parents and stepparents with the tools needed to ensure their teens’ dating experiences are safe, healthy, and respectful. We are honored to have Ashley Bendiksen with us, a national speaker, Top Youth Speaker®, and acclaimed expert in teen dating violence, youth mental health, domestic and sexual violence...

In this transformative episode, we explore the intersection of family life, nutrition, and holistic wellness with the guidance of Sloane Elizabeth, a revered food freedom coach and holistic wellness expert. This episode delves into fostering a balanced diet for the whole family, understanding picky eaters, and ensuring meals are filled with love and understanding, all within the unique context of blended families. Sloane brings a rich perspective on integrating the energetic and chakra...

What did your host, Brittany Lynch, BScN, RN, Certified Stepfamily Counsellor, discover about the importance of limit-setting and rule enforcement in a blended family, after having an ice bucket dumped over her head? One of the greatest causes for concern in stepfamily is a household divided over manners, expectations, and responsibilities. Resentment, disrespect, and a sense of unpredictability are common in blended families that lack the necessary structures to function at a healthy level....

If we pretend that blended families are the same as biological intact families, then we are failing to respect the unique vulnerabilities only found within this family type. With 2 in every 3 stepfamilies expected to fail, we are being called to acknowledge and tend to our unique relationship dynamics in a loving and supportive way. Knowing what makes a stepfamily different from a nuclear (aka intact, biological, traditional, first) family will equip you with invaluable knowledge and a new...

Did you know that over 1300 new stepfamilies form every single day in the United States alone? Or that 40% of all new marriages include at least one partner who has been divorced before? Or that more children live in step-situations than not? Did you also know that, technically, a step-situation begins after the breakup of the first family, and as soon as the single parent begins dating. This means that stepfamilies are formed even before a single parent begins living with, or remarries, a...

How can you want sex again once it's become difficult, stressful, anxiety producing, and disappointing? Today's guest has all the answers. Jessa Zimmerman is a certified sex therapist with a private practice in Seattle. She works with couples to take the stress out of sex and navigate desire discrepancy. Jessa founded Intimacy with Ease, and created an online course for women with little to no desire to help them actually want sex again. She is the author of Sex Without Stress; a couple's...

How many times in your life have you been told that you are so strong? How many times in your life have you put on a smile and pretended you were fine, when really, your inner world was filled with chaos and grief? Special guest Ashley Bernardi, author of the transformational book, Authentic Power: Give Yourself Permission To Feel, takes us through her own journey of pretending her way through life... until she couldn't anymore. Ashley shares intimate details of intense phases of grief...

One of the biggest issues many stepmoms of young stepkids face is navigating the bedtime struggle. Different rules by each parent can almost guarantee a sleep disruption when kids transition back and forth between their homes. Guilt and a sense of missing out on parenting time can create the urge to keep kids up late in order to spend more time with them. Fear of coming across as too strict or harsh can prevent some parents from implementing and enforcing a structured bedtime. The reasons...

*Episode expires March 11, 2022* Tap here to get on the Stepmom Story Waitlist and become the FIRST to know when enrolment officially opens! https://mailchi.mp/c90b04a782f5/earlybird (https://mailchi.mp/c90b04a782f5/earlybird) If you're like most stepmoms who've finished Parts 1 and 2, then you're probably starting to wonder... HOW?! HOW can you take what you've learned about yourself in Parts 1 and 2, and use that to begin making real, lasting changes in your stepfamily? In Part 1, you...

*Episode expires March 11, 2022* Tap here to get on the Stepmom Story Waitlist and become the FIRST to know when enrolment officially opens! https://mailchi.mp/c90b04a782f5/earlybird (https://mailchi.mp/c90b04a782f5/earlybird) Rules, roles, responsibilities. Forms and norms. Expectations and output. No matter how you phrase it, every stepfamily problem boils down to one of three issues: time, energy, or money. And today, we're taking a deep-dive into how each of those play into how much you...

*Episode expires March 11, 2022* Tap here to get on the waitlist for Stepmom Story Enrolment and be the first to know when enrolment opens! https://mailchi.mp/c90b04a782f5/earlybird (https://mailchi.mp/c90b04a782f5/earlybird) in the first workshop of the Uplifted Stepmom 3-Part Series, you’re going to learn: The subtle difference between the Wicked Stepmom and the Totally Awesome, Happy, Peaceful Stepmom (and no, it’s not “lucking out and getting an easy stepfamily!”) How you can avoid or...

How do you blend a stepfamily? The question in itself might be one of Google's most Googled of all time. But what if this has been the wrong question all along? This week, discover what question to be asking INSTEAD, if you are a stepmom who wants: a happy stepfamily, so that everyone in your family can feel safe, included, and respected in you home.more personal fulfillment, so that you can be confident you are authentically aligned with your purpose and passions.more connected, intimate...

The transformations these stepmoms have gone through in such a short period of time have been SO impressive, that I've invited them to come share their secrets with you. In this episode you'll discover what these four amazing stepmoms have learned from, grown through, and overcome to create their own Happily Ever After. Tune into this heartwarming & inspirational panel with 4 amazing members of the Stepmom Story. Thanks for taking the time to rate & review the show, which helps other...

Mark your calendars! The Uplifted Stepmom 3-Part Series is BACK! Starting Feb 24, 2022, you'll learn the 5 STEPS any stepmom can take to peacefully blend your stepfamily. On today's episode, we're joined by one of our Stepmom Story members who courageously shares her stepmom story. I think most stepmoms would agree that, at some point or another, they've asked themselves the question: "Is my spouse going to get back together with their ex?" And for Lisa May, not only did she wonder if her...

Mark your calendars! The next Uplifted Stepmom 3-Part Workshop Series is starting February 24, 2022! If we, as stepmoms are going to change the narrative around stepmoms being evil, then we need to know exactly what is it that makes a wicked stepmom, wicked? Join your host, Stepfamily Counsellor Brittany Lynch, BScN, as she explores the questions many stepmoms have but that nobody wants to talk about... In the second and final part of this episode, you'll discover: The unintentional ways that...

Mark your calendars! The 3-Part Uplifted Stepmom Workshop Series is kicking off on February 24, 2022! We've all heard it. The fairytale folklore about the wicked stepmom who marries the widowed father and ruins the lives of her stepchildren. As a stepmom, this narrative can be particularly troubling... so troubling in fact that an entire subset of stepmoms have taken it upon themselves to rename their title as Bonus Moms. In this week's episode with your host, Stepfamily Counsellor Brittany...

Mark your calendar! Next Uplifted Challenge is kicking off February 24, 2022! "The kids are awful. Their other parent is a terrible nightmare who never does anything right. My spouse is incompetent when it comes to parenting, so I need to step in and rescue them all the time otherwise nothing will get done..." My life as a stepmom sucks and sometimes, I feel trapped. If you're a stepmom who's ever found yourself having these thoughts (or saying these words at brunch with your bestie), then it...

Dr. L. Carol Scott has a dream: to change for the better the way we treat each other. Through what she calls the Wisdom of Childhood, you can finally understand what makes people ‘tick!’ Seven Self-Aware Success Strategies—your SASS—manifest that wisdom in your life today. Lesson #1: However you define your success, it begins with you treating yourself and everyone else as the unique gifts we are in this world.  The SASS model integrates more than a century of theory and research on early...

Everyone has something in their lives that they’d like to improve, whether that’s managing stress more effectively, developing healthier relationships, building more confidence—the list can be endless. The problem is often finding the time to address these issues and then, having done that, knowing the right tools and techniques to use to integrate the solutions into your life. The mere thought of change can be overwhelming, but Linda’s mission is to address the root cause of that fear so...

Welcome to the second episode in the Behind The Curtain series, where from now until the end of the year, we’ll be letting you in on what it’s like to be a part of the Stepqueen inner circle. If you think this podcast has changed your life, being on the inner circle is a whole other level! Each episode we release from now until 2022 will feature some of our most vulnerable coaching conversations and some of our most profound and transformative takeaways found in Stepqueen courses and...

Welcome to the first episode in the Behind The Curtain series, where from now until the end of the year, we’ll be letting you in on what it’s like to be a part of the Stepqueen inner circle. If you think this podcast has changed your life, being on the inner circle is a whole other level! Each episode we release from now until 2022 will feature some of our most vulnerable coaching conversations and some of our most profound and transformative takeaways found in Stepqueen courses and...