In this episode Adam and Rosie are talking all about how to be a better doer, not a better commentator or analyser, the answer to more joy in parenthood and in life. This is a funny and ironic topic to bring up because Adam says he does both those things, which are equally great and annoying. The doer can be annoying, but the commentator is 100% annoying. Fear, fatigue, and frustration are all things that can cause you to procrastinate, or just not do what you need to do as a parent or spouse in order to be in a better place in life. - Being the doer in parenting and life 1:10 - What might cause parents to not do 4:15 - Taking care of 5 kids at once 9:20 “Sometimes if we have burnt out in the past, we might be afraid of doing too much, so we’re always trying to limit our schedule so that we don’t get burnout, or we do so much, and then that causes us to not be the doer.” 7:05 https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/

Today we have a very special guest with a very special topic. We are honoured to have Jordan Ricks as a part of our show as she is such an amazing person who has a story that is just one big miracle. After falling pregnant, Jordan found that she started to vomit and get sick, which at first seemed normal, but eventually it grew to be completely out of control. She has a mutation in her DNA called CDH1 that causes her to be more prone to stomach and breast cancer, so when she let the doctors know she had this gene, a grave look crossed their faces and they discovered some terrible news. Jordan was in complete sorrow, but had this voice come to her that she was going to go through something similar to her dad, which would get her through this. “You knew this was coming. You’ve been prepared for this. Now go and be a miracle.” - About Jordan and her genetic mutation 1:00 - Finding the cancer 9:40 - The cancer doesn’t define who she is 21:00 - Having to share the trial with her child 26:00 - Her experience has helped her help others 33:00 - If you are going through the darkest of times 39:30 “All 4 of the doctors came back and they all looked at me solemn and sad, and I was like ‘What’s going on?’ Then Dr. Ott, my surgeon, was the one who broke the news and told me ‘You are stage 4 with signet ring gastric cancer due to your CDH1 mutation.’ There I was, 29 years old, 6 months pregnant, sitting in the hospital with bad news. It was so shocking to my system.” 10:55 https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/

Adam tells a story about how he was a bit of a hypocrite, when a week before Thanksgiving, he experienced one of the most powerful moments between himself and Patty. Adam chewed Patty out for not having prepared well enough for their hunting trip, but after they went out on the trip, Adam realised that he hadn’t prepared well enough either, making him feel like a big hypocrite. He had a big moment where they were able to get totally raw and real, which really strengthened their bond as father and son. - Adam’s story 0:45 - The best part about parenting 4:50 - Sometimes parents are afraid to own up to their mistakes 8:00 “We spent about 45 minutes talking and I said ‘Patty, all those things that I had said to you, I did on a much bigger scale. I hadn’t prepared, I was lacking in confidence, and all these sorts of things I just hadn’t done.’ It was just so powerful for us to sit down and, like I cried, he cried, and it was just a really special moment for us to spend together.” 4:20 https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/

Rosie sits down with Ashlee Boyson who is the author of the blog and book series titled "The Moments We Stand", in which she shares her family's journey of healing after the infidelity and murder of her husband Emmett in 2011. She tells about the intense dark feelings she experienced when she found out he was not only murdered, but died in the arms of his other lover. The dark feelings didn’t end there though, as she had to go through the murder trial and witness the sadness of all those involved. Through this difficult time, Ashlee eventually came to realise that the truth will set you free and getting to the truth is what will bring peace. - A bit of Ashlee’s story 1:00 - Absolute darkness 10:00 - Turning things around 14:45 - Coping with all the emotions 20:00 - There is so much peace in truth 25:50 - The light will come back 34:00 - Connect with Ashlee 36:30 “Kids are so smart. They know when you’re not telling the truth, and they know when you’re trying to sneak a candy without them knowing. They just know things, but when you empower them and say ‘I trust you and love you enough to know that this is going to help you find peace.’ I’ve really seen that in my children be something that’s connected us instead of put a wedge between us.” 26:18 @themomentswestand https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/

On this week’s episode Rosie and Adam talk about simple ways to feed your family nutritious meals. They talk about different methods of preparing food so that you can get sizeable amounts and leftovers to use for your family and serve throughout the week. Rosie gives a great meal idea that’s quick, the kids love it, and which can be used as a backup in case you are running low on time. - What Rosie has been doing since Summer 1:00 - Using aluminium trays 4:30 - Using the Traeger for bulk amounts of meat, leftovers 6:00 - Quick backup meal 8:20 - Backup backup meals 9:20 “Cooking for children is so stressful. If you were like ‘I wanna feed them all this nutritious food, but then if I make it and they don’t eat it, and then I’m like ‘I just wasted all this time and all this food, and I get in an argument about it.’ So my kids have agreed on our batch cooking.” 10:16 https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/

We have 5 kids and the ages range from 11 to 7, 5, 3, and nearly 2. We have a 9 year age range from eldest to youngest. We’ve noticed that once they hit about age 7, the older ones begin to pull away more and create their own identity, discovering who they are as an individual. Each child goes through a different stage of development at different ages and it’s our responsibility as parents to accommodate those stages and provide opportunities for them to grow and develop, meeting each of their individual needs where possible. - Meeting everyone’s needs 1:45 - Making friends 5:00 - Creating space for each one individually 10:15 “I actually realize how much time they do need because tonight Adam and I were out on date night and we were only gone for like just under 2 hours, and it was funny when I came back, we ended up having to come into my bedroom and they all came in one at a time and wanted to share something with me. They all needed that individual time to talk about what they wanted to talk about before they actually were emotionally settled to sleep that night.” 11:03 https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/

Every parent experiences burnout and before Rosie became one, she used to go through stages where she felt like she could get burnt out every now and again very easily and she could never understand what it was, but there seem to be 2 things that can cause it. One is when you’re doing too much and the other one is when you’re giving too much. If you spend a lot of time around other people and spend a lot of your energy, you have to be able to recoup that spent energy and regain balance. Sometimes you might give all you have outside of your home, and then you have nothing left to give within your home, you’re going to get burnt out. - Finding the happy medium 2:10 - Will this rejuvenate me? 7:10 - Know the thing that will bring you back 10:50 “Sometimes it’s about finding the happy medium, so for me, I think it comes down to your daily routine and your weekly routine. So if you can get a daily or a weekly routine that you know you can consistently stay moving with…I’m always trying to come back to a routine that just allows me to maintain consistent emotions and energy levels.” 2:10 https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/

Adam says his conviction for this concept is so much stronger every week than it previously was even though it was strong before. There are so many reasons and we list off a few of why we feel that it can be super helpful at strengthening a marriage, healing challenges in a marriage, and making you a better parent. Date night can be a time where we are able to relax and be ourselves without anything hindering us, and we can just laugh and enjoy one another’s company, which is very healing and strengthening. - Making you a better parent 1:15 - Strengthening your marriage by investing in it 2:50 - Going somewhere to eat 4:40 - Being in a jovial state helps 7:20 - Date nights just give you the space to sit down and talk 14:00 “Adam is present on date night because he’s getting fed and he can listen to a conversation without someone butting in.” “Exactly. I just think it’s so important for a marriage to have that time carved out and it’s so easy not to, and you can fit it to any budget.” 4:17 https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/

This is something Adam mentioned he thought would be a good topic and is also something Rosie had heard in the last couple days, so we decided to talk about comparison. We have all heard that phrase that comparison is the thief of joy, but one thing we’ve heard is that if you find yourself in a state of comparison, it either leads to discouragement or to pride, so it’s never a good thing. If you find yourself comparing, you’re either putting yourself down, or you’re trying to put someone else down indirectly to make yourself look or feel better. - Hard emotions as parents 1:25 - It’s so easy to get discouraged 7:30 - Patience and repetition 12:30 - Being in the company of gratitude as opposed to comparison 18:00 - Adam experiencing a trigger 22:30 - Fantasy and where you think you should be 27:30 “I remember someone saying a year back, ‘Don’t give up your why for your why.’ You’re like ‘Oh I’m gonna create this business, or I’m gonna do this and I’m gonna do this because it’s gonna allow me to spend more time with my family, we’ll travel, we’ll do this.’ and then you’re so busy doing the thing, that you give up the original reason that you did the thing. It’s so easy and I think social media makes it so easy to slip into comparison.” 2:02 https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/

Today Adam and I wanted to discuss something that many people take for granted, including Adam, who used to really not make it a priority in his life, but now can see how important it is for progress. Our bodies are designed to react according to our situations and if we’re constantly stressing ourselves out, everything will be off, such as our appetite or ability to sleep, and so on. Rosie’s main tactic is making sure she gets enough rest to ease the pressure and stress in her life. You also need to feel good about yourself, or feel like you’re presentable, and this can be done through exercise, nutrition, or taking care of your aesthetic side. Why we need to focus on self care 2:01 Rosie’s self care 6:45 Use this technique for your own self care 10:28 Naps 16:46 Adam’s list 18:39 “If you’ve got somebody in your life that doesn’t value self care as much as you do, the one thing that shifted for me, other than when our third child Daithi was born, and just literally the need. And I think that’s where I saw it shift from having this misconception and this myth that taking care of yourself and looking out for yourself is luxury. I saw that it then became a basic need of life.” 20:09 https://www.facebook.com/theirishmummy/ https://www.instagram.com/the_irish_mummy/ Pick up a copy of Journal to Joy. My NEW 90 Day Goals, Gratitude & Affirmation Journal to Create a Happy & Abundant Life. https://www.theirishmummy.com/ Subscribe to Letters to My Sisters Newsletter. You will hear EVERYTHING here first. https://www.theirishmummy.com/