In honor of this month of Mother's Day, and the Mother's Quest Manifesto Challenge I launched in the Facebook Group, I'm excited to continue sharing episodes each Thursday that can inspire you to claim your motherhood and life journey on your terms. This "encore episode" with The Truth Bomb Mom Kristina Kuzmic, where she talks about the importance of embracing our flaws and creating a family mission statement, has become a favorite. Along with the reflective prompts and live guest videos in the Mother's Quest Facebook Group, I hope this episode will also provide some inspiration and permission for you to create your #oneminutemommanifesto, a declaration of how you want to journey through motherhood and life. If you haven't yet followed along with the Manifesto Challenge, it's not too late. All the video replays and instructions are waiting for you as a "unit" in the Mother's Quest Facebook Group. We'd love to have you come over and join us!  And...if you create and share your #oneminutemommanifesto on social media before the end of May, we'll enter you into a drawing for some incredible classes and resources from amazing members of the Mother's Quest community.  Whether it's new to you, or you'll be listening for a second time, I hope you enjoy this encore episode with Kristina Kuzmic. And that you'll take us up on the challenge to create and share your #oneminutemommanifesto! 

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P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.

I am excited to share this vulnerable conversation with the Truth Bomb Mom, Kristina Kuzmic. Energetic, funny, and honest, Kristina has an in-your-face perspective on issues of parenting and life in general. She has become a Youtube sensation with her “mom-centric” videos about raising children and juggling all of life’s challenges, with over 200 million views across media outlets and websites worldwide. Kristina and her husband currently live in Southern California, where her most important, rewarding, and exhausting careers include being a sanitation engineer, chef, chauffeur, and conflict resolution guru for her three (mostly satisfied) clients – her children. In this episode, we talk about Kristina’s experience growing up in America, shaped by an escape from war-torn Croatia. She shares how on a whim, she went from being a divorced mother on food stamps to winning a cooking show on Oprah’s OWN Network in 2011.  How her satirical YouTube video, “4 Reasons Women Should NEVER Breastfeed in Public,” went viral and why Kristina believes it is her community that is responsible for her reaching a half a million followers. We get honest and emotional about our flaws and insecurities but also our impact and the power of sharing these with our children. Finally, we reflect on our shared experience of losing a baby in utero and how for both of us, focusing on just one positive thing on that day shifted our perspective and changed everything. I hope you leave this conversation, as I did, inspired to keep turning the pages in the chapter of your E.P.I.C.life, staying true to your mission, owning your flaws, and paying attention to one positive thing every day. I was so grateful for this time with Kristina and I know you will be too.

In This Episode We Talk About:

• How growing up in war-torn Croatia and her subsequent immigration to the U.S. impacted her life
• How her mother influenced her parenting by striking a healthy balance between enforcing rules and fostering joy
• Why she named her company “Flawed” and how she has let go of perfection
• Her journey from Oprah to YouTube
• The importance of community and of women who champion each other
• How to turn down the volume on our inner critics
• What my son said to me that Kristina says she will never forget

Resources and Topics Mentioned:

• Kristina’s viral video: 4 Reasons Women Should Never Breastfeed in Public (a sarcastic take on the arguments against breastfeeding)
• Visit Kristina on YouTube: www.youtube.com/stickycook
• Visit Kristina on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KristinaKuzmic
• Mother’s Quest 2-1.pdf">Theory of Change
• Previous Mother’s Quest Episodes Mentioned: Ep 09: The Soul-Fueled Truth with Amber Lilyestrom and Ep 00: Planting Seeds for Mother’s Quest – An Introduction
• Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fearna.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=juliemothersq-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1594634726" alt="">
• Kristina’s Positivity Challenge – and sign up here to download the free “E.P.I.C. Life Planning and Reflection Sheet” and start capturing your gratitude daily.

Announcements:

Join the Manifesto Challenge

In honor of Mother’s Day, I kicked off a five day Mother’s Quest Manifesto Challenge in the private Facebook group. More about the inspiration behind the challenge in my episode with Graeme Seabrook. Each day, I shared a reflective prompt to help you claim the next chapter in your life and hosted a different mother, who shared their stories and their #oneminutemommanifesto for inspiration.  All of these resources are still in the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group, so it's never too late to come on over and participate. 

Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year

Anyone else feel like they need a spring reset to their year?  A few months ago, we declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother's Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again. Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to: ✨Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)  ✨Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward ✨Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.  There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.  🌟Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.🌟 If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.

Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life or 90 Minute Clarity Coaching Session

If you're feeling a desire to press "pause" on the busyness and reflect on your vision for this year, what's working and what needs to shift, and what key guidepost would help you move forward more intentionally, I'd love to support you with a one-on-one 90-minute clarity coaching session. If you are interested in the Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life Series or another way of working with me, please send an email to julie@mothersquest.com for a complimentary 30 minute discovery session.

Acknowledgments:

A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support: Lindsay Pera Julie Castro Abrams Alexia Vernon Brooke Markevicius Democracy Clothing Michael Skolnik Helgi Maki Kari Azuma Tamara Sobomehin Katie Krimitsos Carrie Caulfield Arick Rachel Rosen Chandra Brooks Jen Simon Monisha Vasa Celia Ward-Wallace Vanessa Couto Desiree Adaway Rachel Steinman Katie Hanus Denise Barreto  Sage B. Hobbs  Samantha Nolan-Smith Jody Smith Emily Cretella Collette Flanagan Titilayo Tinubu Ali  Carly Magnus Hurt Lizzy Russinko  Suzanne Brown Mara Berns Langer Mallory Schlabach  Katharine Earhart Jessica Kupferman Jen Jenkins Dohner Genese Harris Tonya Rineer Liane Louie-Badua Cristin Downs  Erin Kendall  Niko Osoteo  Erik Newton  Claire Fry Divya Silbermann Rachel Winter Caren and Debbie Lieberman Cameron Miranda Fran and David Lieberman Debbie and Alan Goore The Sustainable Living Podcast

Support the Podcast

If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution. If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com

Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.

Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).

Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/