The ParentNormal

Your Home for Close Encounters of the Baby, Toddler & Elementary Kind

Life as a Teen Mom with Sara Buckley

by

Life as a Teen Mom with Sara Buckley

Sara Buckley, a comedian, podcaster, social media pro and most importantly, a mom of 3, is this week’s guest. In our conversation, Sara opens up about her experience as a teenage mother and how it changed her life in high school and beyond.

Sara explains how she felt when she learned she was pregnant and how friends and family responded to the news. Sara also shares her strong opinion about MTV’s Teen Mom “reality” show and how we don’t support teen moms enough. We also talk about when Sara gave the birds and the bees talk to her kids, how her marriage has remained strong after 15 years and how she started doing standup comedy.

You can learn more about Sara on her website nottheworstmoms.com. You can also hear her on her podcast Not the Worst Marriage and you can follow her on social media at @nottheworstmom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

Connect with The ParentNormal on Social Media

Connect with all things ParentNormal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Links to more episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Jeff Kinney on His Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series

by

Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series, is this week’s guest. The Wimpy Kid series is one of the most popular children’s book series ever. More than 200 million copies of the series are in print worldwide.

This interview took place a couple of years ago while Jeff was on the set of the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, which many of you have probably read or watched with your kids by now. We’ll be back with new interviews next week.

You can find Jeff’s books on Amazon here. You can also find more info about Jeff on his website wimpykid.com.

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

Connect with The ParentNormal on Social Media

Connect with all things ParentNormal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Links to more episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

The Start with Nick Thune

by

The Start with Nick Thune

My guest this week is one of my favorite all-time comedians, Nick Thune. This isn’t a typical Breaking Down Parenting interview because this interview dates back to 2015 when this podcast was called The ParentNormal Comedy Podcast.

I wanted to share it again not just because I’m a fan of Nick Thune and he tells funny stories, but because it was the very first podcast interview I ever did, which makes it perhaps the most memorable podcast interview I’ve ever done. And if you’re a fan of this show, I thought you’d enjoy hearing how this show all started.

You can hear I’m a little bit nervous in the interview. That’s partly because it’s my first podcast interview and I’m unsure if I’m even using the recorder right. But it’s mainly because we’re talking 15 minutes before Nick’s about to go on stage and I wasn’t sure how cool he was going to be about answering my questions and opening up about his family. But as it turned out, he was very cool about it and I’ll always be grateful for it.

You can find Nick’s tour dates on nickthune.com. He’s also on Instagram and Twitter.

The Start with Nick Thune 1
Nick and me before his set and after our interview.

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

Connect with The ParentNormal on Social Media

Connect with all things ParentNormal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Links to more episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Parent Survival Mode with James Breakwell aka Exploding Unicorn

by

Parent Survival Mode with James Breakwell aka Exploding Unicorn

This week’s guest is James Breakwell, a father of four daughters and a comedy writer known to more than a million followers online as Exploding Unicorn.

In our conversation, we break down the parts of parenthood that send us into parent survival mode. We talk about how to survive when parenthood is overwhelming and specific moments that send James into survival mode, such as socks. We also talk about James’ new book How to Save Your Child from Ostrich Attacks, Accidental Time Travel, and Anything Else that Might Happen on an Average Tuesday, which you can get now on Amazon.

This interview marks the third time that James has been on the podcast, which gives him the record for most appearances on the show. The first time he was on the show, it was before James became a viral sensation back in early 2016. This podcast was called The ParentNormal Comedy Podcast at the time and the format included segments like ParentNormal News and the ParentNormal Mailbag. You can go down memory lane and listen to episode 12 with James here. He was also on the show in 2017 to promote his book Only Dead on the Inside: A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. You can hear that episode here.

You can find all of James’ hilarious thoughts about parenthood on explodingunicorn.com and on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

Connect with The ParentNormal on Social Media

Connect with all things ParentNormal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Links to more episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Raising Twin Babies with Macgill Frutchey

by

Raising Twin Babies with Macgill Frutchey

This episode is a must-listen for parents raising twins. My guest is Macgill Frutchey, a mom of three, including twins. She’s also the funny mom behind the social media account Macgyvering My Way Through Motherhood.

In our conversation, we talk about how Macgill literally had dreams of having twins come true and the excitement that brought her family. We also cover recognizing different baby cries, how to tell baby twins apart, best baby shower gifts for moms of twins, synchronized milestones of twins, being parent-trapped, how to carry two babies, getting creative like Macgyver and much more about raising twins.

You can find more of Macgill’s hilarious thoughts about parenthood, raising twins and more on her website macgyveringmom.com and on Instagram and Twitter.

About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….

By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.

Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

Connect with The ParentNormal on Social Media

Connect with all things ParentNormal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Links to more episodes of Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast

2 ParentNormal Books Now Available!

The ParentNormal Crash Course is three crash courses of parenting humor in one that feature hilarious parenting warnings about the daily grind of parenthood. Get it now on Amazon.

Perfect Parenting is the parenting book with the fewest words but most important lesson: You aren’t going to be a perfect parent. Get it now on Amazon.

Recent Posts

Categories