#news

Episodes

602 - Plane Etiquette
As Paige was searching for a current event to talk about this week, she kept seeing in the news and on social media the debate about plane etiquette. Even Paige and Darren disagree on some plane etiquette. Let’s delve into what the “rules” are for flying.

502 - #5.2 Coping with Uncertainty
Darren and Paige have been thinking a lot about 2023. There is so much uncertainty in the future right now. Darren has had a lot of luck with his work and will continue this year. They have had friends lose their jobs, friends waiting to see if they will lose their jobs, companies changing their compensation packages, the economy is slow simmering into a recession…a lot of uncertainty.

501 - #5.1 What happened in 2022
On this episode, Darren and Paige recap the crazy year of 2022 with major surgery, COVID, three college graduations, two weddings, and constantly changing travel schedules.

409 - #4.9 Perspective...Hard to Maintain!!
This week Darren and Paige talk about how to maintain perspective when things don't go they way you planned or want. They will talk about the some challenges and disappointment over the past few weeks. How do you maintain perspective??

407 - #4.7 K-Drama
On today's episode Darren & Paige talk about their excursion into watching Korean Dramas. Ok just one K-Drama Crash Landing On You, but they are considering watching another one.

401 - #4.1 We're Back!! Kick off to 2022
It has been six months since our last episode. Where have we been? What have we been doing? Why did we stop? Why are we starting up again? Find out in this kick off to season 4.

301 - #3.1 What a year 2020 in review
In this episode, we review what happened in 2020. What our plans were, how they adjusted, and how we grew closer together as a family. Learn about travel plans, weddings, eating habits, toilet paper, and how we handled it.

223 - What a year 2020 in review
In this episode, we review what happened in 2020. What our plans were, how they adjusted, and how we grew closer together as a family. Learn about travel plans, weddings, eating habits, toilet paper, and how we handled it.

218 - #2.18 Back to School with COVID and Blended Families
Darren & Paige talk about the big decision on where to educate the kids. Due to COVID-19 and restrictions of being in person face to face. Tough decisions had to be made on what to do with the kids education. Once the decision was made making it all happen and as painless as possible is the next trip. Find out how we navigated the uncharted waters we are traveling.

216 - #2.16 Taking a Break from COVID
Darren and Paige spend a week away from the world with the family. No COVID, no riots, just the forests, canyons, and family. Learn how we disconnect from our worldly cares and have a fun time decompressing.

215 - #2.15 COVID the Great Divide
COVID-19 is starting to divide our nation and its families. Imagine trying to co-parent with different opinions on COVID safety, money problems due to layoffs, or school plans when schools start up again. There seems to be no gray area when it comes to people's feelings on all of these subjects with respect to COVID and the quarantine. In this episode, we call on a dear friend Reice Morris, a life coach, (www.riecemorris.com) to help us understand how people are dealing with this.

213 - #2.13 Quarantine Fatigue (Week 8 of COVID Pandemic)
COVID-19 got you down. Quarantine is playing a number on our emotional and physical selves. In this episode listen to how Darren & Paige handle their Cabin Fever. Will anger and anxiousness take over or are there some things they have found work to ease the stress of uncertainty.

211 - #2.11 Episode 2:11- Dealing with Stress (Covid-19 Week 3)
We have noticed an uptick on blended families have issues in their families that just seem insurmountable. Stress from the COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty in health, job stability, and the economy is driving wedges in relationships between husband and wife and kids. In this episode learn how to identify the signs of stress, their causes and how to deal with stress in a productive way.

210 - #2.10 Week 2 of COVID-19 (Finding lemonade)
It is week 2 of the Shelter in Place order from the state of California. In this episode learn how Darren & Paige handle uncertainty. anxiety, and lots of food. We focus on staying connected with friends and family, finding comfort, and finding lemonade when there are lots of lemons.

209 - #2.9 Adjusting to Everyone at Home (Covid 19)
In this episode find out how Darren & Paige handle the first week of having everyone home in a Shelter in Place order by the state of California due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Are we going to grow closer together or drive each other crazy?

206 - #2.6 Valentine's Day Expectations vs Reality
Valentine's Day is always a stressful time for people. Expectations of the perfect romantic day never match the reality of the day. In this episode, we talk about our successes and failures of Valentine's Days past. It is a funny look at a difficult time of the year for many men and women throughout the world.

202 - #2.2 Getting Organized in the New Year
The Christmas clutter leads us to start an early spring cleaning and organizing. In this episode, we uncover our deepest darkest secret, we are Organizational Posers. We hide our inability to stay organized by putting all of the stuff in a couple places in the house (Office, and Garage). We learned some tips on how to survive the dreaded post-Christmas de-clutter.

201 - #2.1 Goal Setting in a Blended Family
We have been setting goals with our kids every year at the beginning of the year since we started blending families. We would spend a day after new years day and talk to the kids about the importance of setting and achieving goals. We would write our goals down and then put them in a box in the entertainment center. Then the next year at New Year's day we would dust off the box and look at the goals stored inside. These weren't goals, just forgotten wishes.

133 - #1.33 Decorating for the Holidays with going Insane
Decorating for the Holidays is a great tradition that turns a house into a home. For Paige and Darren, this was critical to helping their kids feel somewhat normal after blending the families. Even though we love the way our home is decorated, Darren's aversion to a disaster of a garage and piles of boxes made this time a year a time of dread and anxiety. Find out how we made our way through this.

130 - #1.30 Managing Unsolvable and Solvable Problems
This week Paige continues to teach Darren what she learned at Education Week. This episode we tackle managing problems, not solving problem, managing them. Some problems, like putting socks in the hamper, take a long to solve, but all problems can be managed.

115 - #1.15 From Bad to Worse. Still Found a Couple Lemon Squares
This was a rough week for Paige & Darren, as Paige's mom is checked into the ER and while there her dad suddenly passes away. Darren was 3000 miles away on a work trip and Darren learned how to rely on friends to help out in the hopeless situation. A thousand-mile roundtrip, a broken down car and an emotionally and physically exhausting week led to many lessons learned.