I’m standing in my kitchen, staring at the mess, kids bickering in the background, and my brain is screaming, “We’re going down!”

You know those moments when you’re about to lose it, when correction mode feels inevitable, and you just want to eject out of the whole parenting gig for five minutes? Yeah, I’ve been there. More times than I can count.

And here’s the wild thing: those are the exact moments when I’ve learned to practice something that used to feel impossible for me, feeling proud of myself.

Not arrogant. Not fake. Not “my kids are perfect angels and I’m crushing it.” I mean the quiet kind of proud, the kind that whispers, “Hey, you stayed calm. You showed up. You tried.”

This episode is the second half of a two-part series. In Episode #176 we talked about regret (ouch). Today we’re swinging to the other end of the spectrum: pride. The good kind. The kind we want to model for our kids so they don’t grow up thinking they have to earn love or validation by being flawless.

Here’s what you’ll hear inside:

• Why pride has been so hard for me (confession: I used to literally gag when my husband read me kind emails from clients).
• How parents in my programs are learning to celebrate themselves in the middle of laundry piles, meltdowns, and messy houses.
• Why feeling proud is not optional fluff — it’s actually a superpower that calms your nervous system and fuels growth.
• A question you can ask yourself today that will help you create the emotion of pride on purpose.

Parenting is full of emergency landings. You’re going to have turbulence, and you’re going to have moments when you’re convinced you’ve lost the plot. But if you can walk away from those moments and still say, “I’m proud of myself for how I showed up” that changes everything.

So let’s talk about how to land the plane safely, even when you feel like you’re about to lose it.

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista

I woke up this morning to the most incredible thunderstorm (which got me up way too early, thanks Mother Nature), and instead of being grumpy about it, I had this wild thought: "What if I just recorded that podcast episode I've been marinating on?"

Today we're diving into a concept that literally changed my life which is...

--> It doesn't get any better than this <--

I know, I know. Your brain is probably doing that thing where it's like "EXCUSE ME, ANDEE HAVE YOU SEEN MY LAUNDRY PILE?" But stick with me here, because this isn't some toxic positivity nonsense.

The backstory (because I love a good origin story):

Remember when my go-to thought was "This is happening and it's okay"? I used to literally add "it's okay" to the end of every resistant thought like some kind of nervous system fairy godmother. Kids are fighting... it's okay. Lost my cool again... it's okay.

It was like training wheels for my brain, and honestly? It worked.

But then this new thought showed up five years ago and absolutely WRECKED me (in the best way): It doesn't get better than this.

I don't want you to settle or give up on your dreams of organized closets and children who actually put their dishes in the dishwasher. NOT AT ALL! I want you to hold on to those dreams and lean into this, because it's gonna change your life.

Your capacity for happiness has absolutely nothing to do with external circumstances!!

That joy you're waiting for, when the house is clean, when bedtime is smooth, when you finally stop losing your cool. It's available RIGHT NOW!!!

I spent years thinking tomorrow would be better than today. That when my kids were "better behaved" or when I was a "better parent," THEN I could be happy. But here's what I discovered: I was basically trading my happiness today for some mythical future moment that... spoiler alert... never actually arrives the way we think it will.

I went full nerd on this concept and found it EVERYWHERE—the Bible, Buddhist teachings, 12-step programs, that anonymous Rabbi I'd never heard of. When the same wisdom shows up across totally unrelated sources? That's when you know you're onto something big.

What this actually looks like in real life:

• That moment when you're stuck in traffic for TWO HOURS (true story from last month) and you realize you can choose to make THIS moment beautiful
• When your toddler has a two-hour meltdown about not getting a cookie and you discover peace isn't dependent on their emotional regulation
• When you're hiding in your pantry eating goldfish crackers and you realize happiness doesn't require anything to change

The most present, happy people are actually the most productive people. When you're not desperately trying to escape this moment, magic happens.

Next time your brain tells you "it'll be better when..." catch it. Ask yourself: "What thought could I have right now that would let me tap into joy in THIS moment?"

This moment, with all its beautiful messiness, is as good as it gets. And that's not bad news. That's the most liberating news ever.

If this episode helped you see your "right now" differently, would you mind leaving a review? It helps other overwhelmed parents find these conversations, and honestly, that's my whole mission here. ❤️

Stay connected, stay curious, and remember, you're already enough.

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista

Picture this: You've just had the most beautiful vision for your afternoon. Snacks are prepped, your nervous system is regulated, and you're ready to welcome your kids home with the kind of calm connection that makes parenting books weep with joy. Then reality shows up. Your 5-year-old melts down about the "wrong" crackers, your teenager rolls their eyes so hard they practically fall out, and suddenly you're yelling about homework like you're auditioning for a reality show you never wanted to be on.

Welcome to what I like to call "productive failure" and it's about to become your new best friend.

What We're Diving Into Today:

• The Dictionary Definition That Will Blow Your Mind – Turns out failure is way more neutral than we thought (spoiler: it's just "omission of expected action" – how boring is that?!)
• Why We're Actually Avoiding the Wrong Thing – Plot twist: We're not afraid of failure itself, we're afraid of our thoughts ABOUT failure
• The Baby Walking Wisdom – Those adorable falls aren't obstacles, they're literally building the muscles needed to walk (mind = blown)
• Productive vs. Unproductive Failure – There's a difference between failing while putting yourself out there and failing by hiding in your comfort zone
• The Confidence Connection – Real confidence isn't about never failing, it's about getting really good at failing forward

What if your biggest parenting "disasters" are actually your success strategy in disguise? What if every time you lose your cool, forget to stay connected, or watch your beautiful bedtime routine implode, you're actually collecting the exact data you need to become the parent you want to be?

Your Mission (Should You Choose to Accept It): Instead of avoiding failure, start collecting it like you're going for some kind of awesome parenting award. Every time something doesn't go according to plan, ask yourself: "What's the wisdom here? What's this teaching me about myself, my triggers, my capacity?"

Your kids don't need you to be perfect. They need you to be human, to model resilience, and to show them that falling down and getting back up is literally how we grow.

If this episode helped you see failure in a new light, would you mind leaving a review? It helps other parents find these conversations, and honestly, it makes my day when I get to read how this stuff is landing for you.

Now go connect with your kids, and don't forget to connect with yourself too.

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista

I'm three days away from a family vacation, and my house looks like it got into a fight with a tornado... and lost. There are Amazon boxes everywhere (because apparently we ALL forgot "essential" items), laundry covering every surface, and yesterday? Our dog got skunked. Because OF COURSE.

But here's the kicker, my kids are walking around like it's totally normal. My youngest's friend came over, I apologized for the mess, and she goes, "Oh, this reminds me of my bedroom!" I nearly died inside.

You know that moment when your brain tries to convince you that EVERYONE ELSE is responsible for your feelings? Yeah, we're diving deep into that today.

The difference between blame and responsibility:

• Blame = "This house is making me crazy!" (Translation: I'm powerless and someone else needs to fix this)
• Responsibility = "I'm making me crazy about this house" (Translation: I have the power to change this)

After I finally made peace with the chaos and stopped trying to recruit my family into my stress spiral, I woke up the next morning and someone had mysteriously cleaned the entire house. Magic? Maybe. More likely proof that when we stop being the energy vampire in the room, good things happen.

"The reason I'm feeling upset right now is because of a thought I'm thinking."

Mind. Blown. Right?

When your kid has a meltdown about 10-minute chores, they're not being dramatic (okay, maybe a little). Their brain genuinely thinks this is the end of the world. Same energy as me wanting to flee the country because there are dishes in the sink.

Random Insights:

• Emotions are self-generated (even when it feels like your teenager is personally attacking your soul)
• Nobody can actually "make" you feel anything (rude but true)
• Sometimes the best parenting happens when you stop trying so hard
• Houses clean themselves when you finally chill out (science!)

Stay human and stay curious!

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista

Ever find yourself lying in bed at night, replaying every parenting moment that went sideways that day? Yeah, me too. For years, I would literally drown in a sea of regret, beating myself up for every time I lost my cool, lectured instead of listened, or just plain missed the mark with my kids.

But here's what I've learned: regret can either be your biggest parenting enemy or your secret weapon. The difference? How you use it.

What We're Diving Into Today

🌟 The two faces of regret: when it serves you vs. when it sabotages you
🌟 Why your brain is addicted to the regret spiral (and how to break free)
🌟 The future-focused regret hack that actually motivates positive change
🌟 How to model healthy regret processing for your kids
🌟 The Nelson Mandela approach to learning and growing from every "mistake"

The Golden Quote That Changed Everything

"Just 'cause we know how to do something better doesn't mean we're capable in that moment to do better."

This isn't about letting ourselves off the hook - it's about radical acceptance of our humanity while still growing into the parents we want to be.

My Personal Moment

Picture this: I'm driving home, hit some rocks, dent my wheel, and my brain immediately goes into full regret mode. But my husband calls me out (lovebug that he is), and I literally had to go swing in a hammock for 10 minutes to metabolize the regret instead of drowning in it. Sometimes the work shows up in the most unexpected places!

Your Takeaway Action

The Future Regret Exercise: Imagine yourself 10 years from now. What would you regret NOT doing with your kids today? Use that awareness to guide your choices right now, not to beat yourself up about the past.

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista

Ever catch yourself doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out what the other playground parents think of your snack choices? Or maybe you're the type who rehearses conversations in your head before parent-teacher conferences? (Guilty as charged over here!)

Today we're diving into something that literally changed my entire parenting game: learning the fine art of minding your own business. And trust me, it's way more revolutionary than it sounds.

I'm getting real about my journey from chronic approval-seeker to someone who can actually sleep at night without worrying if the neighbors think I'm too lenient with screen time. Plus, I'm sharing that cringe-worthy moment when I watched former friends from my kitchen window and had the most uncomfortable (yet life-changing) realization ever.

What You'll Discover

The Party Revelation: Picture this, you're at a family gathering with 50 people. If you could actually control everyone's opinion of you, they'd ALL think the exact same thing, right? Plot twist: they absolutely don't!

The Amazon Review That Rocked My World: How one anonymous review taught me everything about the difference between criticism and truth (spoiler: most criticism says way more about them than you)

The Peach Principle: Sometimes you're just not someone's flavor, and that's totally okay! You can be the most amazing peach in the produce section, but some people are just apple people.

From Playground to Peace: Why your kids actually need you to stop caring so much about what everyone thinks of your parenting choices

The Real Talk Moments

• News flash: You literally cannot control other people's minds (I know, shocking!)
• That criticism from your mother-in-law? It's really just her sharing her worldview
• Your kids can totally sense when you're performing instead of parenting
• Being willing to be disliked is actually a superpower (who knew?)

Quotes That Hit Different

"You can be the juiciest peach in the world, but there's always gonna be somebody who doesn't like peaches, and it's not the peach's fault."

"All we need is that freedom to allow people to be who they are without judgment, and sometimes people are gonna be critical."

"When you don't need someone else's approval and you don't take on their criticism, you become free to create whatever you want in your life."

Your Next Steps (Because We Love Action!)

Ready to practice this whole "minding your own business" thing? Start here:

• Notice when you're editing your parenting for an audience
• Ask yourself: "Wait, whose approval am I chasing right now?"
• Remember: Their thoughts about you = their stuff, not yours
• Give yourself permission to be someone's "not my cup of tea" parent
• Practice validating yourself instead of seeking gold stars from everyone else

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista

This episode is all about a pretty darn useful parenting tool I ever made, a 3x5 index card I kept in my back pocket. Not figuratively. Literally.

It had my plan on it. My plan for when things went sideways. For when I was about to yell. For when I wanted to give up or threaten or bribe or storm off.

I call it the Get Ready for Anything Plan.

In this episode, I walk you through how to make one. I’ll show you how to prep for the hardest moments in your parenting life before they happen, so you’re not relying on willpower in the heat of the moment.

You’ll learn:

• What a Get Ready for Anything Plan is and why it works
• How to break down your top 3 triggering situations
• How to respond based on your nervous system’s actual capacity
• What to do when your kids push back hard
• How to lead with connection and still hold the line

This is hands-on. You’re invited to pause the episode and do the work with me as you listen.

We also get into something most parents worry about:

If I don’t give a consequence, am I just letting them off the hook?

I share exactly how I think about that, and how not punishing your child can actually increase your influence, not weaken it.

If you’ve ever walked away from an interaction with your kid thinking, “That is not how I wanted to handle that,” this is for you.

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista

The mom in Target who judged me for my kids' meltdowns did me a favor. She showed me how toxic judgment was destroying my parenting. A few years later when a wise human shared this thought with me, I knew it was a keeper, "No one is worthy of my judgment, and everyone is worthy of my love."

In this episode, I'm diving deep into Chapter 3 of my book, "Nothing Has Gone Wrong Here," and sharing the judgment detox that saved my sanity (and my relationship with my kids). Whether you're judging yourself for yelling, judging your kids for not listening, or feeling judged by other parents, this episode is your permission slip to let it all go.

What I'm sharing:

• The Target Checkout Moment that made me realize I was grading myself on my kids' behavior (spoiler: your parenting report card doesn't include their meltdowns)
• The Dangerous Myth that compliant kids = good parenting (and why your "perfect" child might be struggling MORE than your "difficult" one)
• The Mindset Shift that transformed my triggered 10-year-old from "rude and entitled" to a kid who just needed understanding
• The Freedom Formula: How "nothing has gone wrong here" becomes your nervous system's new best friend

Key Takeaways:

1. Your child's behavior doesn't mean anything about you: it only means something about them
2. Meltdowns are information, not report cards: they're signs something isn't working for your child, not that you're failing
3. Compliant doesn't equal healthy: internal meltdowns of shame can be just as concerning as external tantrums
4. When you judge less, you understand more: curiosity opens doors that criticism slams shut
5. The goal isn't no meltdowns: it's knowing what to do when they happen

Quotes from This Episode:

"An emotional meltdown is a sign that something isn't working for your child, not a sign that you're a parenting screw up."

"Just because they're not melting down doesn't necessarily mean everything's working either. A compliant child could be struggling just as much as a disobedient child."

"Their behavior doesn't mean anything about you. It only means something about them."

"When I slowed down and reminded myself she's doing the best she can, even if it's not very good right now, everything changed."

When facing challenging behavior, ask yourself:

1. How would things change if I saw my child's behavior as evidence they were struggling?
2. How easy or hard would it be to shift my interpretation of their behavior?
3. Is continuing to judge this behavior serving me or my child?
4. Would I want someone to respond to ME this way?

Before the next episode, think of ONE situation that's currently challenging with your kids, something that triggers you or makes you want to judge (them or yourself). Have it ready, because next episode we're creating your personalized "Get Ready for Anything Plan."

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista