Season 6: Episode 7: Performative Mothers and when a Stepmom Disengages, with guest Kelly

Christina wraps up Season 6 by welcoming Carl Knickerbocker -you my know him on IG as Unapologetic Parenting. Not only is he in Family Law, but he lives the blended life himself. Carl shares his own experience through the court system and how he supports his wife as a stepmom. He answers how bio-dad's can step up, how to recognize and establish boundaries, navigating the court system and the beauty of parallel parenting. Listen In! Special thank you for all your support in Season SIX! Thank you to all my awesome guests for sharing your stories, wisdom and strength. Also to my incredible producer at Cassiopeia Studio for all your amazing work - you're the best! ❤️ Cheers! Stay tuned for Season 7! Meet My Guest: Carl Knickerbocker is a family law attorney in Round Rock Texas. He is the father of six children in a blended family and the best-selling author of The Parallel Parenting Solution. Carl works with people going through high conflict divorce and custody cases as an attorney, coach, and consultant. You can learn more about him HERE or follow him on IG! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message

Christina chats with KC to discuss the often unspoken reality of men's mental health through their divorce and into high conflict co-parenting. Women can be emotionally abusive too and many stepmoms are seeing the residual and continued trauma our partners experienced. How do we support them as they navigate their own healing? How do we advocate and protect our partners from more emotional abuse without being the scapegoat "villain"? Listen in! About My Guest: Hey! I'm KC a 25year old stepmom to two beautiful girls. I am a child of a high conflict divorce and now get to show up for my step kids the way my stepdad did for me. I'm from a small town in Alberta Canada and uprooted my entire life to move 7 hours away from my friends and family to be a stepmom. It's been quite the ride of healing and self discovery, but I'm still here for it all!! So much more than a podcast!!! Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or become a Radical Member? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to my website! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message

Christina welcomes Matt from Our Family Wizard to discuss how Co-parenting apps can help organize and lessen the conflict in blended family life. There are more options out there now so what do you look for in an app? What tools are the most helpful? How do you get the use of the app court ordered and how do you get the other house to use it? If you're curious about getting started with a co-parenting app, listen in! About My Guest: Matt Havrevold attended the University of Minnesota where he graduated in 2008 with degrees in Journalism and Business. After graduating he worked in the legal software industry as both a manager and business liaison before joining the OurFamilyWizard team in February 2014. As a professional liaison with OurFamilyWizard, Matt works with family law courts and practitioners to address the issues impacting divorced and separated parents and how communication technology can assist with reducing conflict and improving outcomes for families. Matt works to educate family law professionals on the specific features of OurFamilyWizard and its best usage for improving co-parent communication in moderate to high conflict parenting scenarios. He is a member of the Family Law Executive Committee for the Los Angeles County Bar Association, as well as a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC). www.ourfamilywizard.com So much more than a podcast!!! Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or become a Radical Member? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to my website! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message

Christina welcomes Marci, a "pandemic stepmom" whose introduction into the role was deeply impacted by a quick move-in with her partner and staying home with the kids for remote learning. Even being a teacher could not have prepared her! The two discuss being childless by choice and how circumstances change what we thought our families would look like. Marci also shares about her tricky relationship with the ex and how she manages the feelings of having an opinion, but not always a voice. Can you relate? Listen in! About My Guest: I am a high school teacher. Only child (so getting 3 step kiddos was a shock to the system). Wife as of October 2022. Step mom to 3 awesome kiddos. Lover of ALL true crime podcasts. Large fan of Friends, The Amazing Race, any sport and country music. So much more than a podcast!!! Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or become a Radical Member? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to my website! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message

Christina welcomes Dr. Ann, a psychologist, author and stepmom of 30+ years. Ann shares about her book "The Parent's Guide to Birdnesting" the decision some divorced couples choose to share a home so the kids don't have to transition, What?! Dr. Ann and Christina also chat topics like when is the best time to introduce a new partner and how it impacts the kids, and how biology plays into your attachment to your stepkids. How can all parents make the divorce and blending transition child-centered? Ann also shares her wisdom of being a stepmom and now grand-stepmom, how did she define her role then and how does she see it now? Listen In! About My Guest: Ann Gold Buscho, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and the author of The Parent's Guide to Birdnesting: A Child-Centered Solution to Co-Parenting During Separation and Divorce. She specializes in all issues related to divorce, writes regularly for Psychology Today, and has recently reduced her practice to brief consultations only. www.drannbuscho.com and https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/better-divorce?eml So much more than a podcast!!! Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or become a Radical Member? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to my website! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message

Christina welcomes Dr. Tracy Dalgleish to discuss how we can unravel our difficult patterns and how we can change the way we communicate with our partners. Dr. Tracy shares her insights on shifting from a focus of wanting control to relationship and intimacy, prioritizing "we" over the need to be right and how to move through our feelings of resentment and find acceptance. It's not always easy making our relationships a priority, but as stepmoms (and statistics not in our favor) what can we do to insure more closeness and understanding? Listen in! About My Guest: Dr. Tracy Dalgleish helps empower women and couples to improve their communication and build strong and healthy connections with themselves and their partner through therapy, wellness seminars, and her work outside of the therapy room. She contributes to popular media sites, including Motherly, Huffington Post, and Bustle. In addition to hosting the podcast, “I’m not your shrink” where she dives deeper into clinical knowledge and research in a relatable and informal way, her book “I Didn’t Sign Up For This: Stories of Unlocking Old Patterns and Finding Joy in Your Relationship” will be available in September 2023. A mom of two young children and owner of Ottawa’s mental health clinic, Integrated Wellness, she knows what it means to balance the full load. So much more than a podcast!!! Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or become a Radical Member? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to my website! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message

Yes, a stepmom and the ex CAN be friends. Christina welcomes Felisa, a stepmom who shares her story of stepmotherhood and how she navigates her friendship with her stepkids' mom. Who extended the olive branch? Are there any weird feelings? Felisa and Christina chat about what helps make a relationship like this to happen, and what boundaries might need to be present. It's not always possible, so when it does happen - bravo! Listen in! About My Guest: Hi I’m Felisa, I’m 30 years old. Born and raised in upstate New York. I am a nurse in a primary care clinic. I love plants and cats. I started my step mom journey in 2017. So much more than a podcast!!! Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or become a Radical Member? ⁠⁠⁠Head to my website! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message

Christina welcomes back Coach Michelle, a licensed attorney, a Certified High Conflict Diversion Coach, as well as a Certified Martha Beck Life Coach. The two chat hot topics like communication, documentation, parenting plans and boundaries. Michelle anwers your questions about how to document in preperation for court, what to do about the misuse of cell phones, and what to do when the other house refuses to comminicate. Michelle is a great resource if you're wanting help distancing yourself from the conflict and you're gearing up for court. Listen in! About My Guest: Coach Michelle is a high conflict resolution coach, an attorney, and a badass single mom. She helps parents disengage from high conflict relationships, getting them out of court, and stepping back into their lives. Her unique combination as a certified Martha Beck life coach, a lawyer for almost 20 years, her field of study in Psychology, and her own personal family law experience, makes Michelle a well-rounded coach, capable of helping parents learn how to disengage from a challenging and protracted co-parenting relationship. https://www.coachmichelle.club or on Instagram So much more than a podcast!!! Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or become a Radical Member? ⁠Head to my website! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message

Christina chats with Charlotte, a long-distance stepmom and military wife. After moving from the UK to the US to be with her person, she knows the trial and errors of being a stepmom. Charlotte shares how she maintains a relationship with the kids when she doesn't see them often, what it was like to get the full-time for a year and then back to long-distance and how she prioritizes her relationship when her partner is deployed. For all those wondering about long-distance stepmomming - listen in! So much more than a podcast!!! Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or become a Radical Member? ⁠⁠Head to my website! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message

Christina chats with Katie Beth, a stepmom who shares her story of falling in love, the complexities of dating with kids, managing not only a high conflict ex but her high conflict parents. The two discuss what happens when the stepmom shows up and there's no boundaries in place, raising a special needs stepkid and pregnancy after loss. What helped Katie Beth learn how to identify boundaries? What did she need as she prepared to bring home an ours baby? Listen in! About My Guest: Hi, I'm Katie Beth. I am a stepmom (7yo son, 10yo daughter) and recently became a first-time mom to an ours baby (8mo son). I am a social worker and lifestyle/documentary photographer in my free time (which is rare these days!). I have been incredibly fortunate to have a wonderful and accepting relationship with my step kids and a supportive and advocating partner. This has and continues to be an amazing, yet chaotic journey and I hope I have something to contribute for all the listening stepmoms that are out there. So much more than a podcast!!! Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or become a Radical Member? ⁠⁠Head to my website! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radicalstepmoms/message