May 23 is Ashley and her husband Chris’s nine year wedding anniversary, so it’s only fitting that she celebrate with…her wedding planner, Katie Webb Brundige. As we enter wedding season, Katie is here to offer some clutch insider advice for brides, guests, and mother-in-laws (*cough* Lisa *cough*).

We also delve into Katie’s passion for the special needs community. In addition to running her events planning company Intertwined Events, she’s also the co-founder of RAD (Rising Above Disabilities) Camp, which offers programs and camps for adults and children with developmental disabilities. Katie also shares her journey to adopt two remarkable special needs sons: five-year-old Alex, who has Autism and Prader-Willi Syndrome and two-year-old Riley, who has Down Syndrome.

Katie lives in a world of love, compassion, and unstoppable energy. While we suspect she has more hours in the day than the average human, it’s probably just that she has a larger-than-average sized heart. Simply put, she is straight up magic.

And after this episode, we're convinced a podcast with your wedding planner should be the traditional nine year anniversary gift.

Thanks as always for listening, and Happy Anniversary Ashley and Katie Chris!

You can watch all our episodes and find bonus content on our YouTube channel.

Questions, ideas or feedback? Email: yourmom@yourmom.co.

Psst...our merch store is live! yourmom.co/shop

We’re halfway through what teachers and parents know to be “the thousand days of May”, a month of end-of-year celebrations, sports tournaments, field trips, dance recitals, and…the burnout that comes along with it.

Amid their hectic schedules, Ashley, Chantal, and Betsy found time this week to sit down and interview their family members: Ashley’s daughter, who just turned five; Chantal’s nine-year-old son and 11 and 14-year-old daughters; and Betsy’s husband. This is an exercise close to Ashley’s heart; she’s been on a year-long journey to sit down and record conversations with her immediate and extended family. In fact, she’s even starting a company based on this very concept (more to come on that soon!).

While Chantal and Betsy were initially hesitant to set aside the time (see above, re: the thousand days of May), they were both pleasantly surprised by how easy and impactful it ended up being. In the midst of to-do lists and daily tasks, we rarely sit down solely with the intention of learning something new about our loved ones.

Ashley has always believed in the power of preserving stories, and a recent experience only reaffirmed her conviction. A few weeks ago, Ashley’s father suffered from a stroke. While he’s now out of the hospital and recovering, there were a few hours where Ashley wasn’t sure if she’d ever speak to him again. In addition to her feelings of shock and grief, she felt a deep peace that she could only attribute to the fact that nothing has been left unsaid between the two of them.

So, if you’ve been waiting for a sign to sit down and interview your loved ones, it’s here. We’ve even got a few starter questions ready for you:

What is your favorite book?

How would you describe yourself?

What was the best gift you ever received?

What was the best gift you’ve ever given someone else?

Describe a perfect day. Where would you go, who would be there,what would you do?

What is the best quality in a friend?

What is important to you right now? (or who is important to you right now)

What do you think you are good at?

What is one of your favorite memories of us together?

How do you think we are alike? How are we different?

Is there a question you want to ask me?

What do you wish I understood? (And maybe…what do you wish I understood better about you?)

If you had a crystal ball that could tell you anything about your future, what would you want to

know?

Thanks as always for listening. Good luck with the final 500 days of May :)

You can watch all our episodes and find bonus content on our YouTube channel.

Questions, ideas or feedback? Email: yourmom@yourmom.co.

Psst...our merch store is live! yourmom.co/shop

We’re thrilled to celebrate Mother’s Day with the inimitable Molly McGrath and her incredible mom, Deb!

Molly currently serves as a sideline reporter for ESPN/ABC Saturday college football games, as well as college basketball. She is also the devoted mom of Ray (3) and Pierce (1). Molly went into labor with Ray the night of the 2021 National Championship. Since then she has covered three National Championships, including one while eight months pregnant with Pierce. One of her proudest moments was finding out that she was nominated for a Sports Emmy while nursing Pierce at just two weeks old.

Ashley and Molly are connected not only as sports broadcasters and moms, but also as Boston College alums (Go Eagles!). During her time at BC, Molly created the student reporter role and received the “Athletic Director’s Award for Academic Excellence.” According to Lisa, Ashley won the “Best Bar Hopping Award”, which is basically just as impressive.

Meanwhile, Lisa and Molly bonded over the shared struggles and joys of being a #boymom. And though this interview was their first official meeting, tune in to hear why Lisa had her eye on Molly for many years.

Just when we thought we couldn’t cram any more love into this episode, Molly’s mom Deb joined us as a surprise guest. Deb is a retired cardiac nurse and former head of her department at San Francisco General. She currently volunteers for Hospice and cares for Molly’s father, who is terminally ill with lung cancer. She is, in Molly’s words, “a saint.” No one could hold back the tears as Molly and Deb shared their mutual love and admiration for each other. We don’t pick favorite episodes, but if we did, this one would be up there…

On behalf of all of us at YourMom, Happy Mother’s Day love to all the moms and mother-figures out there making the world a better place. We love you.

-

We also know for many people, Mother’s Day weekend can be a painful time. In honor of anyone facing and grieving the loss of their own mom, we recorded an episode last year with Yogi Roth to pay tribute to his late mother, Devorah Channah Roth. We hope you can find comfort in Yogi’s story and Devo’s lasting memory.

You can watch all our episodes and find bonus content on our YouTube channel.

Questions, ideas or feedback? Email: yourmom@yourmom.co.

Psst...our merch store is live! yourmom.co/shop