Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor in chief of the Huffington Post, is my featured guest this week. Arianna is a mom who has been on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world and Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 most powerful women.
Arianna has just released a new book called The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time. In the book, she describes the crucial role that sleep plays in our every waking moment—and how we can harness its power to improve every aspect of our lives.
One of my favorite subjects happens to be sleep, even though I’m usually talking about how little sleep I get, so it was great to talk to Arianna and learn what advice she has for parents who struggle to find the time to sleep.
Adam Mansbach, author of #1 New York Times Bestseller Go the F**k to Sleep and You Have to F**king Eat, is the featured guest this week.
If you’ve never heard of these books, you must not have an internet connection. Go the F**k to Sleep has been translated into 40 languages and Time Magazine named it the “Thing of the Year.” Even though the book came out a few years ago, it is still on the New York Times Bestseller List. If you search YouTube, you’ll find it hilariously narrated by people like Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Garner.
Mike Sacks, a comedy writer, podcaster and editor at Vanity Fair, is this week's featured guest.
Mike has published two books that I consider to be required reading for anyone who loves great comedy writing:
Rosie Pope, star of Bravo's Pregnant in Heels, is the featured guest this week. In addition to her work on Pregnant in Heels, a show in which Rosie guided soon-to-be mothers and fathers through the joys and perils of preparing for parenthood, Rosie is the author of Mommy IQ: The Complete Guide to Pregnancy. She is also a contributing editor at Parents Magazine and the creative force behind MomPrep, her prenatal, postpardum and parenting education studio and Rosie Pope Maternity and Rosie Pope Baby, her maternity and baby clothing and accessories lines.
In this episode, we talk about what was it like for Rosie to be going through her own pregnancy while helping other new moms, all while on national television. She also shares how she got started helping other parents, what concerns she hears the most from new parents and what advice she has for them.
Karen Alpert is the New York Times bestselling author of I Heart My Little A-Holes: A bunch of holy-crap moments no one ever told you about parenting. Her new book is I Want My Epidural Back: Adventures in Mediocre Parenting and it's already getting rave reviews.
In this week's episode, I talk to Karen about how she became such an open book about parenting, how she launched a kickstarter to complete her first book and what her writing process is like to be able to do everything she accomplishes. We also talk about her new book and she lists some of her favorite authors.
Fowl Language webcomic creator Brian Gordon is the guest this week. He has a brand new book out called Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting, which is full of cartoons that perfectly poke fun at the daily struggles parents face.
In this episode, we talk about how much of Brian's comics are based on his real life, how he makes his cartoons, how his site grew in popularity and much more.
This week's guest is Charlie Capen, co-creator of the How to Be a Dad website and co-author of The Guide to Baby Sleep Positions: Survival Tips for Co-Sleeping Parents.
In our conversation, we’ll talk about how his website How to Be a Dad was started and grew into a site and community with a worldwide audience. We will also talk about the dad stereotype that’s often portrayed in the media and why that perspective needs to change.
It’s the week of Spring Break for our family, so the theme of this episode, naturally, is Spring Break-down. In the episode, I'll cover what's in the ParentNormal News about spring breakdowns. I'll also touch on springbreakdowns in the ParentNormal Mailbag segment while also covering other calendar events this week like Daylight Savings Time and St. Patrick's Day.
ParentNormal Questions Answered in this Episode:
Bianca Jamotte is a mom, an actress and the creator of the webseries Real Mommy Confessions. If that wasn't enough, she also owns a specialty mac and cheese restaurant and a coffee shop in Brooklyn, New York.
In this interview, we chat about how she comes up with ideas for her show, how her team puts them together and whether her experience working in soap operas like One Life to Live makes her think parenting is pretty much a real-life soap opera.
Sarah Turner, known to her fans as the Unmumsy Mum, is the featured guest this week. Sarah has just released a book called The Unmumsy Mum, which is already a Sunday Times bestseller in England. The book has its roots in her very popular parenting blog of the same name - The Unmumsy Mum - which was named Best Baby Blog at the 2015 MAD Blog Awards. Sarah also won the award for Best Writer.
My 6-year-old daughter Ava is the featured guest this week. She is the first non-parent to be a guest on the show, but she still offers valuable and amusing insight from a kid's perspective.
We talk about what's so great about being six-years-old and what she thinks are the best lunch foods. We also talk about what the tooth fairy looks like, what she does with all of the teeth she collects and why she comes at night.
Beau Coffron, also known as Lunchbox Dad, is the featured guest this week. He’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Steve Harvey Show and several other top shows. He’s also appeared on ABCNews.com, Yahoo.com and he’s even been in People Magazine, all because he makes the most creative lunches for his kids that you just have to see.
I realize this is a podcast, so you will need to go to his website, LunchboxDad.com to see exactly what I’m talking about, but I think you’ll enjoy our conversation about what made him want to turn something most parents think of as a chore into an art, what foods work the best for his designs and how he went from being a dad making cool lunches for his kids to doing it on the national news.
It's ParentNormal Mailbag day. Last Tuesday I shared what was scary good in the ParentNormal News and on Thursday I interviewed Jill Smokler, the creator of the hugely popular parenting website Scary Mommy. So now, I'm answering your scary good questions.
ParentNormal Questions Answered in this Episode:
Scary Mommy Jill Smokler is the featured guest this week. She is the creator of the very popular parenting website Scary Mommy. Jill is also the New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of A Scary Mommy and Motherhood Comes Naturally (And Other Vicious Lies). Her honest take on parenting has appeared in countless publications and on television programs including The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline and Fox and Friends. And now she can add The ParentNormal Comedy Podcast to her resume.
The theme this week has been Scary Good, so Jill is a perfect fit.
The theme for this week is Scary Good, which means the ParentNormal News will feature what's scary good about parenting. In this episode, I also preview Thursday's upcoming interview with Scary Mommy creator Jill Smokler.
Here is this week's ParentNormal Mailbag. Since the theme is Time After Time, I answer questions related to time.
ParentNormal Questions Answered in this Episode:
Hillary Frank, host of The Longest Shortest Time podcast, is the featured guest this week. Her work has aired on a variety of public radio programs including This American Life, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Studio 360, Marketplace, and Weekend America.
I am thrilled to have Hillary on my show because her show helped pave the way for family podcasts like mine. The Longest Shortest Time is the top ranked Kids and Family podcast in all of iTunes, and it has just become a part of the Earwolf Network.
The theme for the three episodes being released this week is Time After Time. So if you're lost, you can look, and you will find… well, I don’t know what you’ll find but I’m sure if you’re a parent it’s going to be sticky, gross and old…Time After Time.
Alright, has everyone who is going to get the Cyndi Lauper reference shown their True Colors? Okay, good. Now let’s see what’s in the ParentNormal News about Time.
It’s Saturday, which means I’m answering questions from the ParentNormal Mailbag. If I sound a little sick on the podcast, it’s just because when it’s wintertime and you have kids, somebody in the house is always sick and it’s apparently my turn in the rotation.
ParentNormal Questions Answered in this Episode:
YouTube Supermom Deva Dalporto is the featured guest this week. Deva is an author, actor, blogger and mom of two kids whose videos on YouTube have been downloaded millions of times, leading NBC to call her the “Weird Al of YouTube Moms."
Recognizing that parents may only have a few minutes a day to listen to podcasts, the ParentNormal Comedy Podcast will now be produced in very short and easy to listen to episodes three times a week, beginning with this episode.
ParentNormal News updates will be released every Tuesday. Special guest interviews will be released on Thursdays. And on Saturdays, I’ll share my answers from the ParentNormal Mailbag.
We’ll still have a theme for each week, and this week’s theme is YouTube vs. Television, so here's what’s in the ParentNormal News about YouTube and TV.
Actress and mom Heather Brooker is the featured guest on this episode about Parenthood in Hollywood. Heather has appeared in The Office, The Mindy Project, Grey’s Anatomy, Cougar Town and many other popular shows. We’ll talk about why she started a Motherhood in Hollywood podcast, what casting directors think of parents and whether parenting can make you better at acting.
James Breakwell, a father of four kids with more than 200,000 followers on Twitter (@xplodingunicorn), is the guest this week. I’ll talk to him about his family’s transition from three to four kids. I’ll also ask him what his family thinks about his parenting tweets and about how to write the perfect tweet.
We are now 10 episodes into the show, and if you’ve listened to even a few seconds of the podcast, you know that I am not a parenting expert, nor do I even think it’s possible to be a parenting expert. And that’s really the purpose of this podcast - to show that we’re all imperfect parents and that it’s okay to laugh at how crazy parenting can get for all of us.