Spawned With Kristen And Liz Of Coolmompicks

We're debunking the whole "Work-Life Balance" myth with best-selling author Samantha Ettus, with solid ways to help you ditch mom guilt, the best kind of multi-tasking, and why Shonda Rhimes is the queen of email management, plsu a whole lot more.  You'll find information about Samantha's new book The Pie Life, plus all the links and cool picks we chat about on our show over on our Cool Mom Picks podcast page. And, please take a moment to say "hello!" We're on Twitter, Facebook, and email: Spawned@coolmompicks.com. Thanks for listening!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even if you don't have tweens or teens, we think you'll get a kick out of this episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, featuring special guest Robert Wilder, an award-winning author with a new YA novel Nickel, on bookshelves everywhere. He offers humorous stories and great tips, plus talks about his new book. And as always, we share our Cool Picks of the Week, which we think you'll find especially enjoyable this week.  Make sure to visit our Cool Mom Picks podcast page to catch everything you might have missed during the show. And drop us an email spawned@coolmompicks, or tweet us @CoolMomPicks with the #SpawnedShow. We love hearing from you.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're so thrilled to chat with singer songwriter Lisa Loeb (yes, her!), who's got lots to say about the big changes that are happening to kids' music. Sorry, Barney. Plus, we talk everything from staying hip over 40, to etsy and embroidery, plus what it's like for her kids to see as a cartoon character in the new season of Creative Galaxy. And, as always, we all share our Cool Picks of the Week!  You can find all the links from our show over on our Cool Mom Picks podcast page. And we love hearing from you! Drop us a line at spawned@coolmompicks.com, tweet us @CoolMomPicks with #SpawnedShow, or say hello on Facebook.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this very special 50th episode of Spawned, we chat with Anne Holton, the wife of Democratic VP nominee Tim Kaine about issues families care about, like public education, paid sick leave, and the importance of voting. But, we also got the dish on what Hillary’s really like, what Anne and Tim are currently binge watching, and how she feels being married to America’s Dad. Plus, Anne shares her own Cool Pick of the Week!  We'd love to hear from you! Drop us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com, follow us on Twitter (tweet us using #spawnedshow) and catch us on Facebook.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we're chatting with humorist and writer Wendi Aarons about one of the most popular posts she wrote on Cool Mom Picks: The 9 worst television shows for kids. Wow, did people have a lot to say about this post. Is Wendi a "frigid witch" as one commenter called her for putting Teletubbies at the top? How did Caillou not make this list? All is revealed on this episode, along with our current favorite kids' shows, and all our cool picks of the week that you won't want to miss. We love hearing from you! Drop us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook #SpawnedShow. Don't forget to subscribe, download our podcasts, and leave us a review!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we're talking about the sexist Rio Olympics coverage -- and beyond -- and how it disturbs us as parents. Also, how the heck do we talk to our kids about it? Plus, our cool picks of the week, which include a very cool back to school essential and a fantastic book you won't want to miss.  We love hearing from you! Feel free to drop us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com, tweet us @coolmompicks with #spawnedshow or check us out on Facebook. And don't forget we share all the links from our show over on CoolMomPicks.com. Thanks for listening!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's back to school time which is both good and...well, argh. Liz + Kristen trade grievances about getting kids out of the house on time in the morning, offer tips to help make things easier, and share fun back to school shopping finds. Plus Liz finds the world's craziest first day of school traditions on Pinterest (brace yourselves) and we share our cool picks of the week. We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at spawned@coolmompicks.com, or find us @coolmompicks on Twitter and Facebook using hashtag #spawnedshow.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back from our summer hiatus with all new Spawned episodes. Up first, we tackle the topic of life with mess. How do you deal with your kids' messy rooms? What do you keep clean and what do you let go? Do you have the yearly celebratory dusting schedule like Kristen and Liz? We share our tips, tricks, as well as how we prioritize in our own homes. Plus, as always, we share our cool picks of the week.  You can find everything we share on our podcast by visiting our special podcast page on Cool Mom Picks. We love to hear from you! Send us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com, tweet us @coolmompicks #spawnedshow, or look us up on Facebook!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our recent Cool Mom Picks feature on modest 2-piece bathing suit choices for girls sparked a huge debate on our Facebook page and we couldn't help but chat more about it on Spawned. What's okay for girls to wear? Should there be limits and dress codes? Or are we perpetuating sexist stereotypes when we do? We discuss all of it and more, plus share our Cool Picks of the Week. If you'd like to weigh in, we'd love to hear from you. Visit us on our podcast page on CoolMomPicks.com, hit us up on Facebook and Twitter (with the #SpawnedShow) and drop us an email: spawned@coolmompicks.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With summer right around the corner, parents everywhere are trying to figure out schedules and how they're going to manage the cost of summer camp. Who knew that a New York Times article about the high cost of summer camps would blow up our Facebook page? On this episode, we chat with the author of that piece: Writer, contributing editor and columnist at the New York Times' "Well Family" KJ Dell'Antonia. We discuss why everyone on our Facebook page got so upset (the comments might really surprise you), plus talk about the other issue about parents not being able to afford summer camp that you might not have thought about. And as always, we share our Cool Picks of the Week. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic and our show! Tweet us @CoolMomPicks #SpawnedShow, catch us on Facebook, and email us: spawned@coolmompicks.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's extra special, extra long episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we've got two of the coolest parents (and married people), actors Jenna and Bodhi Elfman, who also happen to be co-hosts of one of our favorite podcasts, Kicking and Screaming. We were blown away by their funny and very frank thoughts on love, relationships, and parenting, and we think you will be too. Whether it's how to keep your relationship alive during those newborn months to how to survive your parenting fails (and learn from them), we bet you'll fall in love with these two cool parents. And, lucky us, both Jenna and Bodhi share their own Cool Picks of the Week. You can find all the links we chat about on coolmompicks.com, or reach us on Twitter @coolmompicks with #spawnedshow, or drop us an email spawned@coolmompicks.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all heard everyone tell us that kids grow up fast and now, here we are, with a couple of tweens and doing our best to navigate the ups and downs of parenting them. On this episode of Spawned, Liz and Kristen tackle the tough topic of parenting older kids, from how to connect with them to how to start early (yes, talking to you parents of younger kids). We've got advice from been-there-done-that moms, book recommendations, and our own personal anecdotes that we hope help. Or at least, make you feel like you're not alone. And of course, our Cool Picks of the Week, one of which you will want to get your weekend started off right! As always, we love hearing from you! Find us on our site Cool Mom Picks, on Twitter (#spawnedshow), or drop us an email spawned@coolmompicks.com. Thanks for listening and subscribing.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hooray! We're back with a brand new episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, or now, the award-winning Spawned with Kristen and Liz! Yes, we won an Iris Award for Best Parenting Podcast at the Mom 2.0 Summit and we couldn't be more thrilled. On this episode, we catch you up on everything we've been up to over the last couple of months when your podcast app was quiet, including Kristen's 40th birthday which had us thinking about the whole young moms vs. old moms war. Is it easier being a younger mom? Are later-in-life moms more prepared? Why can't all moms just get along? We tackle those questions, as well as share our Cool Picks of the Week.  If you want to join in on the conversation (and we hope you do), head over to our Cool Mom Picks podcast page to get all the links from our show, plus catch us on Twitter (use #SpawnedShow). And please send us a letter (as Liz calls them): spawned@coolmompicks.com. Thanks for listening!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spring break is coming up and if you're terrified of flying with kids, we think you can do it! And hey, if you're a non-parent terrified of flying NEAR kids we can help you too. Take a listen for some funny stories, and quick tips and tricks from seasoned family travelers that will keep everyone happy. Plus, find out just what the deal is with Kristen's obsession with tape. Plus, we've got our cool picks of the week that we think you'll love. Find links mentioned here at coolmompicks.com, follow us on social media @coolmompicks or email spawned@coolmompicks.com with your own suggestions, comments, and parenting conundrums. Thanks for joining us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's one whirlwind of an election year. So we're taking on the tough topic of how to talk to kids of all ages about politics with some helpful tips. We discuss how to address the violent and hateful rhetoric making the rounds, handling family members who may have different opinions, and how to teach kids to disagree respectfully...or when to just walk away. Plus we've got our cool picks of the week -- which both might help you in an election year too! You can find the all the links we mention today at coolmompicks.com, and if you have something to add or your own questions, find us on social media @coolmompicks with hashtag #spawnedshow or email spawned@coolmompicks.com. Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Kristen and Liz tackle a tough parenting question: How do you and will you share about your kids online? They share their own experiences as bloggers, web publishers, and parents of tweens, plus talk about what the research says. Will it hurt kids in the long run? Does it matter why you're sharing? They tackle all those questions and give tips on how to decide what you're most comfortable with when it comes to your own kids. If you've got an opinion or want to weigh in, find us on Twitter @coolmompicks with the #spawnedshow, visit our podcast page on CoolMomPicks.com, or drop us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz and Kristen have a fantastic discussion with the one and only LeVar Burton, host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow (and of course, known to Trekkies everywhere). He offers some amazing tips for raising readers, what parents can do to help, and how his new Reading Rainbow Skybrary School Edition will help even more children bridge the achievement gap. Plus, we've got our cool picks of the week, including two of LeVar's own favorite books for children.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're so happy to welcome our special guest Jessica Lahey, author of the NYT best-seller, The Gift of Failure. She's got tons of helpful tips for parents that you'll want to hear. Plus she schools us on just why we need to let our kids fail more (and not bring their lunches to school when they forget them, ahem), how to get kids excited about learning for its own sake, how to identify and encourage your kids' strengths, and why quitting activities isn't the worst thing in the world. We'd love to know if you agree! Find us at @coolmompicks on social media with hashtag #spawned show or email Kristen and Liz at spawnedshow@coolmompicks.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we've got a racy one for you, as maternity designer, parenting author and Bravo star Rosie Pope joins us for a very candid chat about sex after pregnancy: The dos, the don'ts, and the don'ts that apparently Liz and Kristen did anyway. Oops. Get the kids out of the room, pour some wine then take a listen! You'll find all the show notes at coolmompicks.com, and feel free to tweet us with your own questions or comments using #spawned show.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've polled our friends, fans and followers and come up with 14 of the very best, most honest, and sometimes most hilarious tips for new parents from other parents who've BTDT. Do you agree with the advice? (And no, we don't get into sleep training or circumcision so, breathe.)  If you have your own new parent advice to share, or questions or comments for Kristen and Liz, you can email us at spawned@coolmompicks.com, or find us on Twitter and Facebook @coolmompicks using the hashtag #SpawnedShow. You can also find show notes on CoolMomPicks.com. Thanks for joining us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices