Your Happiness Matters with Nina Restieri

Explicit content warning

01/28/20 • 64 min

#006: This week's guest is Nina Restieri, who lives in Connecticut and is a mom of four children, Andrew (23), Jenna (21), Matthew (19), and Jamie (16). In this episode, Nina shares the unique choices she made with her ex-husband toward becoming a beautiful, blended family, how her motherhood journey has evolved over time, the process of learning to take care of herself, how she feels about becoming an empty-nester, and what she worried about unnecessarily when her children were younger. Nina explains how she purposefully created her business, momAgenda, around her role as a mother and expresses her honest opinion about finding work/life balance. She talks about a variety of potent, personal topics including losing her mother soon after the arrival of her first baby, her current dating life, and how parents can create close relationships with their children. Finally, she shares her straightforward tip for moms who are feeling overwhelmed.

Nina Restieri is a mom of four children and the Founder and President of momAgenda. She initially created momAgenda for herself, as a way to get more organized and find peace of mind amid the chaos of raising young children. She quickly realized that her new creation could benefit not just her but thousands of other stressed-out and overwhelmed moms. Shortly thereafter, Nina debuted her line of organizing products at the National Stationery Show – and sold out within three days to 120 stores. At that moment, Nina knew she had struck a chord with women all over the country who had the same desire to bring some order to their hectic lives. Nina graduated from Colgate University where she majored in English. She writes a popular blog and is a frequent guest contributor on the topics of self-care, time management, parenting, motherhood, and divorce on other websites and blogs.

For the links and show notes for this episode, head to: http://beingmompodcast.com/podcast/episode-006

For the links and show notes for this episode, head to: http://beingmompodcast.com/podcast/episode-006

Previous Episode

When Mommy Puts Herself First with Saba Homayoon Hopkins

#005: This week's guest is Saba Homayoon Hopkins, who lives in Los Angeles, California with her family, which includes her husband and their two kids, Lily (9) and Alex (5). In this episode, Saba talks about how pregnancy helped dramatically change her view of her body and tells the story of her hospital birth. She then discusses the loneliness of pumping breastmilk and shares how she prepared her daughter for a sibling. Saba also talks about the experience of learning that her son has Sensory Processing Disorder, explains how she copes with the messiness of having kids, and expresses how much she loves the multi-tasking of motherhood. Because Saba is an actress, we talk about her upcoming show and how she is preparing herself and her family for her extended absence while filming out of town. Finally, Saba shares how she is learning to put herself first and reveals a candid and relatable mom confession about overwhelm.

Saba Homayoon Hopkins is a wife, mom to two spit-fire kids, Lily and Alex, and mom to one fur baby, Reece. When not in the role of “mommy,” she can be seen tutoring, teaching acting classes or on TV! She is an actress and will be seen in the tv show, “Chad” coming soon to TBS, playing, what else, a mom of two! But her greatest role in life will always be being a mom to her own two kids. Saba is most passionate about creating a home that feels safe for her children to be themselves in, to take risks in, to be messy in and to grow in. She believes in raising children who will be constructive members of their communities, who will be aware of injustice and fight it when necessary and who will always give back to those in need. She would describe her family as four divas always competing for the spotlight! It makes for a lot of craziness, sass, imagination, creativity, passion, personality, laughter and love. So much love.

For the links and show notes for this episode, head to: http://beingmompodcast.com/podcast/episode-005

Next Episode

The Dance of Joy + Heartbreak with Kirsten Zinchuk Haley

#007: This week's guest is Kirsten Zinchuk Haley, who lives near Princeton, NJ and is a mom of three children, two daughters (13 and 11) and one son (7). In this episode, Kirsten talks through all three of her birth stories, one cesarean after her breech baby was undetected by her doctor, a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), and finally, a wildly free unmedicated birth using the hypnobirthing technique. Kirsten shares her perspective about the heartbreaking joy of motherhood, the particular love of a son for his mother, what she loves about spending time with her children, and how she cultivates presence in both motherhood and business. Kirsten talks about her work in the healing/arts, why she included a salt cave to be part of her business, and how the spiritual nature of her work inspires her mothering toward curiosity, laughter, and pleasure. She also explains how storytelling can be used to empower and heal by sharing her journey from studying Anthropology, to Brand Marketing, to Women’s Circles and a variety of other healing modalities. Finally, Kirsten confesses to fully indulging in the pleasure (and peace) of spending a week away from her family.

Kirsten Zinchuk Haley is the owner and founder of sault + spirit. She seeks to provide a space for expansion and healing for all. Believing everything we need to live our most joyful, purposeful lives resides in the stories we tell, the profound wisdom of our bodies and learning to hold this whole dance of life with a looser grip and a more joyful heart. In a world and a body that are constantly evolving and becoming, nothing is beyond our power to transform and transmute.

Kirsten has a graduate degree in Ethnography and Anthropology from the University of Chicago and studied Creative Writing and Philosophy at Emory University. She has been investigating and crafting stories for brands, groups, and individuals for over 20 years, transforming what is possible for all. Her lifetime love of the mystical tradition of tarot and extensive graduate work in media theory has informed her work on visual narrative as a powerful tool for trauma resolution and healing. She is a reiki master, attuned to reading the akasha, a master of eriksonian hypnosis and has been studying the art of embodiment and open-hearted intimacy for the past few years. Currently, she is studying more somatic modalities with a keen interest in the stories the body is telling through our movements, habits, and gestures. The stories we tell... linguistically, socially, psychologically, culturally, visually, physically, relationally ...that is the heart of it all.

For the links and show notes for this episode, head to: http://beingmompodcast.com/podcast/episode-007