College admissions can feel like a stressful, overwhelming, and expensive process, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, I’m joined by Shellee Howard, Founder & CEO of College Ready, Certified Independent College Strategist, two-time best-selling author, and host of Parents: Is Your Teen College Ready?

With over 17 years of experience and more than 3,000 students guided to top-tier schools (including 327 Ivy League acceptances and over $40 million in scholarships), Shellee shares her proven strategies to help families navigate the admissions process, secure scholarships, and find the right college fit without drowning in student loan debt.

We also talk about her inspiring nonprofit, Empower Education, which was born from her life-changing trip to Uganda, and how that experience reshaped her view on education both globally and here at home.

Whether your child is a freshman in high school or already filling out applications, this conversation is packed with encouragement, myth-busting, and practical tips that can make college more manageable and affordable for your family.

✨ What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• The biggest myths about getting into top colleges
• Why passion projects can help your student stand out in applications
• How to graduate debt-free and secure scholarships
• Common mistakes families make in the admissions process (and how to avoid them)
• Lessons Shellee learned while guiding her own kids through Harvard and nursing school—without loans
• The story behind Empower Education and her work with students in Uganda
• Encouragement for parents who feel overwhelmed by the admissions process

Connect with Shellee Howard:

www.collegereadyplan.info = FREE 30 min. zoom call

www.EmpowerEducation.world = FREE meeting for Middle and High School students.

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

You know that saying, “Don’t have kids if you want to keep your house nice”? Turns out, it’s not a joke. 😂

In this episode, I dive into all the reasons moms simply can’t have nice things. From duct-taped chairs and chewed-up blinds in my own house, to bike scratches on my car, to the never-ending mystery of missing Tupperware lids, motherhood is basically a demolition derby for anything “nice.”

And it’s not just me, I asked you to share your “can’t have nice things” stories too, and wow… moms everywhere are living in glitter-covered chaos, Sharpie-marked couches, and homes that could double as crime scenes on HGTV.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• My own personal disasters (duct tape décor, anyone?)
• The mystery of the vanishing Tupperware lids
• Why cars + kids = a rolling trash can on wheels
• Listener submissions that prove none of us are alone in this
• And why maybe it’s okay that our homes look like this

Motherhood may have ruined our furniture, our clothes, and our dreams of white couches, but it’s also given us stories that we’ll laugh about forever.

So grab your duct tape, reheat that coffee for the third time, and come laugh along with me in this week’s momversation.

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

We all had those picture-perfect ideas of motherhood before kids came along—organic snacks, spotless houses, calm voices, magical family moments. And then… reality showed up with sticky fingers, tantrums in Target, and chicken nuggets on repeat.

In this episode of Burnt Pancakes: Momversations, I take a hilarious and honest look at the gap between how we thought motherhood would be and how it actually is. From Pinterest parties gone wrong to the car that now doubles as a Goldfish crumb factory, this episode is packed with relatable stories and laugh-out-loud “expectation vs. reality” moments.

Here’s what you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why Pinterest Mom was a fantasy (and how Costco cake saves the day)
• Calm Mom vs. Real Mom when toddlers test every ounce of patience
• The myth of the perfectly clean, Instagram-worthy house
• Social media’s highlight reel vs. the messy, beautiful real life
• Quick-fire “expectation vs. reality” one-liners that every mom will nod along to
• How letting go of perfection gives us space for connection

Motherhood isn’t about the perfect party, the spotless kitchen, or the calm response every time. It’s about duct-taped chairs, lopsided birthday cakes, messy family photos, and kids who feel deeply loved in the middle of the chaos.

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_