The Stepmom's Toolbox

One Day We Became Stepmothers. One Day She Stopped Listening to Stories of Fear and Worry and Found the Freedom She Always Desired One Day She Understood She Had Been Perfect All Along One Day She Understood She Had Been A Hero All Along These lovely sentiments are the words of MaryLou Falstreau, poet, artist and our guest on today's show.  Love, love, love MaryLou Falsteau's artwork! What does that have to do with being a #stepmother?  Everything.  I think it is easy for a stepmom to forget about the big picture.  It is easy for us to forget about ourselves and how easy it is to get lost in the depths of our dramatic lives.  This show is going to help you get out of that syndrome. I saw MaryLou's work on Facebook and I immediately called her.  Her work are inspirations for all women, inspiring us to take a leap of faith or love ourselves or just stay sane.  I felt that her work would be fantastic inspirations for my blogs (Here's one that I did around her work, http://bit.ly/Ssaog3) Her current series of work is called "Women and The Hourglass".  This beautiful series talks about how time continues to pass and how there are lessons always to be learned.  This show will be an inspiration and make your week and (maybe your life!) soar! How would you fill in the blank? One Day She............................

  Hi there.  This is Claudette Chenevert, The Stepmom Coach.  Welcome to the Show that is there to help you feel more empowered and hopeful about your role as a stepmom. Today, I'll be continuing my conversation from last week and focus more on what you think you create, starting by how you get up in the morning.  This is the one area of your life that you have control over and we'll explore more about the effects it has not only on you but on your entire family. The mission of The Stepmom Coach is to provide you with education and support to those seeking to make the changes necessary to create a cohesive family.  If that’s you, then you are in the right place.  I look forward to sharing with you great stories and information that will transform your life and those around you. See you soon. Claudette Chenevert The Stepmom Coach www.stepmomcoach.com Looking for a special gift for yourself or someone important in your life? Great mini book called "Words of Hope, Inspiration and Wisdom for Stepmoms".    Get your copy here at www.stepmomcoach.com/products  Taking stepmoms from Surviving to THRIVING, one STEP at a time!

If you have ever secretly felt that you hate your stepkids or kids, this show is for you.  I know.  It's a horrible thing.  But, it happens, right?  Between working, taking care of the house and family, plus being a partner to someone, it's all you can do to keep your head on straight. On this show, this is exactly what we are going to do.  We're going to put our heads on straight.  As always, we are going to discuss some of the science behind why the kids can be annoying.  We will also give solutions.  I promise you will feel better.

Hi there.  This is Claudette Chenevert, The Stepmom Coach.  Welcome to the Show that is here to help you feel more empowered and hopeful about your role as a stepmom. This week, I want to share with you my personal experience with the "I Can Do It" Conference in Washington DC, meeting Louise Hay, Cheryl Richardson, Wayne Dyer, Neil Donald Walsh and many others. How have these people impacted my life and role as a woman, wife, mom and stepmom.  I gained even more insights during this amazing weekdend and to share this with my Hubby was even more empowering. I look forward to having you join me on this very special call. The mission of The Stepmom Coach is to provide you with education and support to those seeking to make the changes necessary to create a cohesive family.  If that’s you, then you are in the right place.  See you soon. Claudette Chenevert The Stepmom Coach www.stepmomcoach.com Looking for a special gift for yourself or someone important in your life? Great mini book called "Words of Hope, Inspiration and Wisdom for Stepmoms".    Get your copy here at www.stepmomcoach.com/products  Taking stepmoms from Surviving to THRIVING, one STEP at a time!

Jealousy. The act of wanting what someone else has. If we were to be honest, all of us have felt the sting of jealousy.  After all, I think there is alot to be jealous of.  Here is my list: The prior partner is our current partner's first love. The prior partner shares biological children with our partner.  That bond cannot be replaced. The kids demand a lot of attention. The kids are top of mind. We are saddled with child support/alimony payments, while the ex appears to be living the high life.  (I should be the one living the high life!) Even my spouse's career takes a top position over me. Do any of these feel familiar?  Let's have a frank conversation and discuss solutions.  

Hi there.  This is Claudette Chenevert, The Stepmom Coach. Now that the kids are back in school, let's talk about fashion and shopping for the fall. Today's guest is none other than The Stylish Stepmom, Heidi Ducato, contributor to Stepmom Magazine and frequent guest on FOX channel. Things we will be discussing on today's show: Last minute back to school items for the kids Ways to stretch the clothing budget Helping kids with what the need versus what they want Becoming savvy shoppers The latest fashion and trends for the fall. Join us live with any questions you may have for Heidi or myself.  See you soon. Claudette Chenevert The Stepmom Coach www.stepmomcoach.com Looking for a special gift for yourself or someone important in your life? Great mini book called "Words of Hope, Inspiration and Wisdom for Stepmoms".    Get your copy here at www.stepmomcoach.com/products "The Stepmom Coach-provides education and support to those seeking to make the changes necessary to create a cohesive family, one step at a time"  

If you are a divorcing or remarried parent, do you want a better way to co-parent? If you are totally stressed out in your divorce process, or looking to lessen your angst when it comes to your ex and your joint custody arrangement, tune in to hear about a unique mindful and holistic method to get you through.  Join Paula Bisacre, publisher of RemarriageWorks.com as she interviews Candace Smyth, an attorney and family mediator about her empowering and positive method to help you move forward in the divorce process, remarried life, and stages of co-parenting with an ex. Having gone through her own painful divorce and feeling unsupported by the traditional process, Candace Smyth has opened a successful divorce mediation and divorce process coaching practice to help couples mindfully and holistically co-parent in a healthy and positive way.

Even though you don't want to be "that" person, you find yourself still hating the ex-wife.  You are convinced that she hates you.   You think she does anything in her power to disrupt your life.  You've listened to some of my other tips and they just don't cut it.  Actually, there is an explanation.  Some of these feelings are scientifically driven.  I explain it all to you on this quick tip.  Listen, I always find that when I understand why I feel a certain way, it helps me to improve.    You can always find me at www.TheEvilStepmotherSpeaks.com Tweet me @StepmomSpeaks

Once again, Emily Bouchard and her partner L. Paul Hood, financial experts and author of Estate Planning for Blended Families visits us again to talk about money.  I just don't think you can spend too much time talking about money management, estate planning and financial decisions that are presented to us as members of a stepfamilies.  Our needs are unique. Emily is the founder of Blended-Families.com, LLC, where expert coaches make a positive difference in the lives of stepfamilies. She has been featured on The Today Show and NPR, is the author of several e-books, and speaks internationally on issues relating to blended families. Emily is also the Managing Partner of Wealth Legacy Group (WLG), a team of coaches who specialize in the emotional impact of money and wealth on individuals, couples, and families. Paul Hood is Emily's co-author and an expert in his own right.  He is is a frequent speaker and commentator on estate planning issues. He is widely quoted and his articles have been published in a number of journals, including CCH Journal of Practical Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Digest of Federal Tax Articles, Louisiana Bar Journal, and Tax Ideas. In addition to serving on the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals, he was a sponsored speaker for distinguished law schools such as Duke, Georgetown, NYU, LSU, Tulane, and Loyola. Joint us as we continue our discussions around money and the Stepfamily.

I wanted to share 3 tips on how to make your life and your mind easier.  These are things that I have always done and it helped me.  Hopefully, it will help anyone else that is listening.  1.  Do you listen to the conversations between your partner and his/her ex?  Are you in the room? 2.  Does your partner copy you on emails sent to his ex? 3.  How are you using Facebook? Although subtle, we can help our own mental attitudes by handling the phone, email and Facebook in a peaceful way.    

Do you talk about the ex?  How often do you and your partner discuss the ex?   Be honest.  How much of your thinking day is focused on this subject?  If you don't know, I challenge you to listen to this short 15 minute 'evil stepmother' tip.  If you feel as if you talk about the ex too much, please listen and I offer tips on how to lessen this habit. 

I'm Mary T. Kelly and I'm a family therapist who has been working with stepcouples and stepfamilies for over a decade.  My practice, "Married With Baggage" focuses on helping couples navigate the very challenging mazes of stepcouple life, http://www.marriedwithbaggage.com.  I work with my clients in person and through Skype and Facetime. Gregg Ockun, husband to Stepmom Magazine's publisher, Brenda Ockun, will be joining me for this very special segment (http://www.stepmommag.com). Gregg married Brenda when he had two children, ages six and nine).  Brenda is a childless stepmom and as so many know, childless stepmoms have one of the most challenging position in the stepfamily system.  Gregg and Brenda have been together for ten years and married for eight.  In stepcouple "marriage years", that means about 25 years! Many stepmoms struggle with feeling of being an "outsider" or feel as though they are playing second fiddle to their husband's children. Not so for Brenda.  Gregg knew intuitively from the beginning the importance of his marriage and his role as husband to Brenda.  As he said to me so clearly, "Why get married if I wasn't going to make my wife and my marriage the priority?"   Gregg is a very involved husband and father.  His good common sense will resonate with many men,as well as get a big "thumbs up" from many women who are partnered with men who have children.   Listen live or to the archived show after August 7th.    

Another short tip for all of us that have ever thought:  "I Can't Win!"  This week, we are all enjoying the Olympics, so it is a perfect week to discussing "winning'.  In this quick 15 minute or less) tip, I will suggest to you how to "win" at this Step Parenting thing!  Maybe, we can win that gold medal!  Or, maybe, we have already won???

This show is an "Evil Stepmother" tip:  a quick 15 minute or less lesson that will make your life better.  Today's tip is about choice.  Often, we forget that we have choices.  Have you ever thought that you can choose how we feel and react to things?  What if all of your frustrations disappeared?  Take a listen and see if this idea resonates with you. As always, you can find me at: www.TheEvilStepmotherSpeaks.com Tweet me @StepmomSpeaks  

Our guest Emily Bouchard of www.Blended-Families.com is an expert of all things stepfamilies.  One of her areas of expertise is money and the stepfamily.  Her latest book, Estate Planning and the Blended Family is a must-have for all of us.  Lets face it, the money issues are so complex that they give me a headache?  As stepmoms, should we share our money with our stepchildren?  Do we keep separate bank accounts?  What about our wills?  Do we have to spend on all kids equally?  How do we stop the bitterness that often accompanies money management and the blended family?  We're going to tackle all of it!  Join us for the frank discussion you have been waiting for! You can find me at www.TheEvilStepmotherSpeaks.com or Tweet me at @StepmomSpeaks