Spawned With Kristen And Liz Of Coolmompicks

We decided that what we needed (hey, maybe you too) was some good old fashioned almost pee-your-pants laughter, so on today's episode of Spawned, we're sharing some of the best holiday humor from around the web. From weird Pinterest hoilday crafts using things you won't believe people used to make crafts, to hilarious holiday tweets, plus funny holiday cards, blog posts that made us cry-laugh, and lots more. We bet there's at least something in this episode that will make you chuckle or we'll give you your money back. Heh. You'll find all the funny links we discussed on our podcast over on Cool Mom Picks. We'd love to hear from you! Drop us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com, or tweet us @CoolMomPicks with #SpawnedShow. We're also on Facebook, Instagram, and MySpace. Okay, not really on MySpace but just making sure you're paying attention.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this special extended version of Spawned, we tackle your funny, smart, challenging, and hilarious holiday questions. How do you deal with the "Is Santa real?" question? What should you do about unwelcome holiday guests, animal and human? How to you manage overly involved grandparents, disgruntled tweens, and the mother-in-law? We've got answers to all this and a whole lot more. Listen to see if you agree with our advice. And hey, let us know if you think we're wrong. Feel free to email us your own answers to any or all of these questions at spawned@coolmompicks.com. You can also tweet us @coolmompicks with #spawnedshow or catch us on Facebook. Thanks for listening!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With our big annual holiday gift guide on our site and the holiday shopping season is here, we decided it would be helpful and fun to share all our inside, expert online shopping tips that will save you money. You won't believe how easy they are and how much you could save. Seriously, even Kristen didn't know some of these! And of course, we share our cool picks of the week. Surprise, they're holiday gift ideas! Head over to our podcast page to get all the links from this episode. And feel free to tweet us with the hashtag #spawnedshow, catch us on Facebook, or send us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com. We'd love to hear from you.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As much as we love Thanksgiving, it is a notoriously stressful time for lots of families. Especially this year. So, on this episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we're sharing our tips for how to survive the holiday. Whether it's coming prepared with games and activities to distract the kids, to even opting out of the celebration if you don't think your mental health can hack it, we're sharing what we've done (and plan on doing) to help us get through this often times difficult season. Plus, we've got two fantastic family games for our Cool Picks of the Week.  You can find everything we discuss on our Cool Mom Picks Podcast page, or say "hi" on Twitter (use #SpawnedShow), Facebook, and Instagram. You're also welcome to email us: spawned@coolmompicks.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're all needing a little media respite these days and there's just something to be said about enjoying a little grown-up time once the kids are asleep to do just that. Our favorite past time: Binge watching, of course! On this episode, we play TV critics and share the 8 shows we're obsessed with right now, some because they're amazing, others because we're waiting for them to get better. Should you add them to your list? You can catch everything we mentioned on the show over on Cool Mom Picks. Share your favorite shows on Twitter with #spawnedshow, leave us a comment on Facebook, or email us: spawned@coolmompicks.com. And hey, tell a friend about our show. Or a dozen friends. The more the merrier!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a Cool Mom Picks Facebook post about an uber-for-kids service we featured on our Cool Mom Tech site blew up with a nasty comment about working parents, we just had to talk about it. On this episode, we're sharing the comment in question, plus real things fellow working parents have actually heard. You might not believe they're real. We try to figure out why people decide to say this stuff out loud, plus share our tips for staying sane and keeping your head above water as a working parent. Plus, we share our Cool Picks of the Week. You can find all the links from our podcast on Cool Mom Picks. Check us out on Twitter and Facebook, or drop us an email spawned@coolmompicks.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're like so many people we've spoken with (including us) and are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, maybe even triggered by the current state of the election, we've got our self-care tips and tricks to help get you through the next few weeks. We're sharing what's worked for us, and we hope it helps you too. Plus, we share our Cool Picks of the Week, along with one from a listener!  You can find all the links from our podcast over on CoolMomPicks.com. And we'd love to hear from you. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, or drop us an spawned@coolmompicks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we answer burning questions about Halloween, like how much is too much to spend on a Halloween costume? What the heck is a switch witch? Is it okay to invoke the mommy candy tax? And, we rank the worst "sexy" Halloween costumes we've ever seen. Let's just say they are quite...creative.  You can find all the links featured in this episode on our Cool Mom Picks podcast page. Got a show idea? Want to say hello? Find us on Twitter, Facebook, or email us spawned@coolmompicks.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's with parents who complain that their kids won't eat junk food? Or that their children speak way too many languages? On today's episode of Spawned, we're talking about humble braggarts on social media, and why it bothers us so much. Plus, we ask the question if it's ever okay to brag about your kids and if so, how to do it without making everyone else nuts.  As always, you can find all the links we discuss on our Cool Mom Picks podcast page. And feel free to weigh in via Twitter, Facebook or email: spawned@coolmompicks.com. We love hearing from you.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're debunking the whole "Work-Life Balance" myth with best-selling author Samantha Ettus, with solid ways to help you ditch mom guilt, the best kind of multi-tasking, and why Shonda Rhimes is the queen of email management, plsu a whole lot more.  You'll find information about Samantha's new book The Pie Life, plus all the links and cool picks we chat about on our show over on our Cool Mom Picks podcast page. And, please take a moment to say "hello!" We're on Twitter, Facebook, and email: Spawned@coolmompicks.com. Thanks for listening!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even if you don't have tweens or teens, we think you'll get a kick out of this episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, featuring special guest Robert Wilder, an award-winning author with a new YA novel Nickel, on bookshelves everywhere. He offers humorous stories and great tips, plus talks about his new book. And as always, we share our Cool Picks of the Week, which we think you'll find especially enjoyable this week.  Make sure to visit our Cool Mom Picks podcast page to catch everything you might have missed during the show. And drop us an email spawned@coolmompicks, or tweet us @CoolMomPicks with the #SpawnedShow. We love hearing from you.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're so thrilled to chat with singer songwriter Lisa Loeb (yes, her!), who's got lots to say about the big changes that are happening to kids' music. Sorry, Barney. Plus, we talk everything from staying hip over 40, to etsy and embroidery, plus what it's like for her kids to see as a cartoon character in the new season of Creative Galaxy. And, as always, we all share our Cool Picks of the Week!  You can find all the links from our show over on our Cool Mom Picks podcast page. And we love hearing from you! Drop us a line at spawned@coolmompicks.com, tweet us @CoolMomPicks with #SpawnedShow, or say hello on Facebook.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this very special 50th episode of Spawned, we chat with Anne Holton, the wife of Democratic VP nominee Tim Kaine about issues families care about, like public education, paid sick leave, and the importance of voting. But, we also got the dish on what Hillary’s really like, what Anne and Tim are currently binge watching, and how she feels being married to America’s Dad. Plus, Anne shares her own Cool Pick of the Week!  We'd love to hear from you! Drop us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com, follow us on Twitter (tweet us using #spawnedshow) and catch us on Facebook.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we're chatting with humorist and writer Wendi Aarons about one of the most popular posts she wrote on Cool Mom Picks: The 9 worst television shows for kids. Wow, did people have a lot to say about this post. Is Wendi a "frigid witch" as one commenter called her for putting Teletubbies at the top? How did Caillou not make this list? All is revealed on this episode, along with our current favorite kids' shows, and all our cool picks of the week that you won't want to miss. We love hearing from you! Drop us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook #SpawnedShow. Don't forget to subscribe, download our podcasts, and leave us a review!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we're talking about the sexist Rio Olympics coverage -- and beyond -- and how it disturbs us as parents. Also, how the heck do we talk to our kids about it? Plus, our cool picks of the week, which include a very cool back to school essential and a fantastic book you won't want to miss.  We love hearing from you! Feel free to drop us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com, tweet us @coolmompicks with #spawnedshow or check us out on Facebook. And don't forget we share all the links from our show over on CoolMomPicks.com. Thanks for listening!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's back to school time which is both good and...well, argh. Liz + Kristen trade grievances about getting kids out of the house on time in the morning, offer tips to help make things easier, and share fun back to school shopping finds. Plus Liz finds the world's craziest first day of school traditions on Pinterest (brace yourselves) and we share our cool picks of the week. We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at spawned@coolmompicks.com, or find us @coolmompicks on Twitter and Facebook using hashtag #spawnedshow.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back from our summer hiatus with all new Spawned episodes. Up first, we tackle the topic of life with mess. How do you deal with your kids' messy rooms? What do you keep clean and what do you let go? Do you have the yearly celebratory dusting schedule like Kristen and Liz? We share our tips, tricks, as well as how we prioritize in our own homes. Plus, as always, we share our cool picks of the week.  You can find everything we share on our podcast by visiting our special podcast page on Cool Mom Picks. We love to hear from you! Send us an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com, tweet us @coolmompicks #spawnedshow, or look us up on Facebook!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our recent Cool Mom Picks feature on modest 2-piece bathing suit choices for girls sparked a huge debate on our Facebook page and we couldn't help but chat more about it on Spawned. What's okay for girls to wear? Should there be limits and dress codes? Or are we perpetuating sexist stereotypes when we do? We discuss all of it and more, plus share our Cool Picks of the Week. If you'd like to weigh in, we'd love to hear from you. Visit us on our podcast page on CoolMomPicks.com, hit us up on Facebook and Twitter (with the #SpawnedShow) and drop us an email: spawned@coolmompicks.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With summer right around the corner, parents everywhere are trying to figure out schedules and how they're going to manage the cost of summer camp. Who knew that a New York Times article about the high cost of summer camps would blow up our Facebook page? On this episode, we chat with the author of that piece: Writer, contributing editor and columnist at the New York Times' "Well Family" KJ Dell'Antonia. We discuss why everyone on our Facebook page got so upset (the comments might really surprise you), plus talk about the other issue about parents not being able to afford summer camp that you might not have thought about. And as always, we share our Cool Picks of the Week. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic and our show! Tweet us @CoolMomPicks #SpawnedShow, catch us on Facebook, and email us: spawned@coolmompicks.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's extra special, extra long episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we've got two of the coolest parents (and married people), actors Jenna and Bodhi Elfman, who also happen to be co-hosts of one of our favorite podcasts, Kicking and Screaming. We were blown away by their funny and very frank thoughts on love, relationships, and parenting, and we think you will be too. Whether it's how to keep your relationship alive during those newborn months to how to survive your parenting fails (and learn from them), we bet you'll fall in love with these two cool parents. And, lucky us, both Jenna and Bodhi share their own Cool Picks of the Week. You can find all the links we chat about on coolmompicks.com, or reach us on Twitter @coolmompicks with #spawnedshow, or drop us an email spawned@coolmompicks.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices