
Hosted by After Hours With Amanda · EN

I wrote “Visit Pixar Studios” in my goals for five years, and this year, that dream came true. In this episode, I’m sharing the story behind getting invited to Pixar for Toy Story 5, but really, this is about dreams, faith, motherhood, and learning to keep showing up even when not everyone understands what you’re carrying. I talk about borrowing belief, fear that sounds like wisdom, safe friendships, and what I hope my tiny queens learn from watching me dream out loud. If your belief feels tired today, you can borrow mine.00:00 The Pixar Invite I Didn’t Know Was Possible00:33 Welcome Back, Boo01:03 I Got Invited to Pixar02:15 Writing the Dream Down for Five Years03:17 Why This Is Bigger Than Pixar05:12 Dreams Have Fingerprints06:11 When People Don’t Get Your Dream08:08 When Fear Sounds Like Wisdom12:11 Borrowing Belief16:07 Medicine Cabinet Reminders19:00 What I’m Teaching My Tiny Queens24:12 Maybe Belief Is the Better Gift

Grab your iced coffee and sit with me for a few minutes, because this one is for anyone who feels behind. I’m talking about the comparison trap, Paige’s little watermelon plant, and what happens when we start comparing our roots to someone else’s tree. This episode is about motherhood, dreams, faith, waiting, and remembering that just because something is taking longer does not mean it is not happening. Maybe the quiet season still counts. Maybe the roots are growing. Maybe the life we prayed for is already happening right here.00:00 Keep Showing Up00:30 Casual Summer Energy03:00 Summer Feels Like Possibility05:00 Waiting on the Thing You Want06:03 Paige’s Watermelon Plant07:16 Life Is Not Instant09:56 Beautiful Things Take Time10:59 The Comparison Trap13:31 Maybe You’re in the Roots18:34 What Dream Are You Carrying?20:32 Growth Is Not a Race22:20 Don’t Miss the Life You Prayed For

Season six is here, and I’m catching you up on life, summer, middle school survival, my solo Disney day, and the very real feeling of not being where I thought I would be by this point in the year.This episode is about the mid year reset we do not always know we need. I’m talking about changing directions, showing up without waiting for motivation, letting go of shame, and remembering that not being where you want to be does not mean you are behind.Maybe you are not failing. Maybe you are still becoming.00:00 This Is Your 30 Minutes00:55 Welcome to Season Six01:42 Surviving Middle School and Summer03:01 A New Recording Space04:45 My Solo Disney Day05:44 When Your Plans Don’t Happen07:27 June as a Mirror08:35 You’re Not Behind09:58 One Day or Day One12:38 Changing Directions Isn’t Quitting14:12 The Pressure to Know Your Path16:28 Stop Worshiping the Result19:49 Enjoying the Process22:41 The Middle Is Not the Ending24:20 Showing Up Without a Perfect Plan26:06 Still Becoming

In this episode, I’m talking about anxiety, timing, dream chasing, and the coffee line analogy that changed how I see waiting. Just because someone else gets the dream before you does not mean yours is not coming. The only way you do not get your coffee is if you get out of line.I’m also sharing about health anxiety, mammograms, meditation, glimmers of gratitude, keeping promises to myself, advocating for my body, and learning that authenticity starts with being honest with myself.This one is for anyone who feels behind, scared, or tired of waiting. Stay in line, boo.00:00 Surprise, I Missed This00:19 Finding the Rhythm Again01:37 Tiny People Are Still the Priority01:54 Troop Beverly Hills and Disneyland Updates03:36 Classes, Mammograms, and Health Check Ins04:36 Timing, Anxiety, and Dream Chasing05:57 Becoming Before Reaching the Goal07:38 The Coffee Line Analogy09:12 Glimmers of Gratitude While You Wait10:39 Anxiety, Scripture, and Being Present11:34 Health Anxiety Before a Mammogram13:01 Life Can Change in an Instant15:11 Becoming Ready for the Dream16:10 Finding the Fear Under the Trigger17:53 Authenticity Starts With Yourself20:36 Meditation and Listening to My Body23:35 I Used to Think I Had to Prove Myself26:36 Stop Proving, Start Showing Up27:34 Keeping Promises Builds Self Trust30:18 Learning What Works for My Body32:42 Other People’s Opinions and Anxiety35:24 What Anxiety and Dreams Have in Common36:08 The Thought Is a Passenger, Not the Driver37:51 Information Is Not Intimacy40:18 Advocating for Myself42:08 Being Bold Enough to Trust Yourself43:17 The Journey Is the Becoming45:19 Showing Up for Yourself Means Saying No47:14 Focus on Becoming, Not Just Arriving

In this episode, I’m talking about the sweetest Disney Pandora surprise, why the Tiana charm felt like a hug from my mom and big J, and how those little glimmers can remind us to keep going when life does not look how we pictured it.Then we get into marriage, miscommunication, keeping score, serving each other when we are both tired, and what it really means to date your spouse like you are still learning them. I’m not speaking as an expert. I’m just sharing what I’m learning in real time with Blake, life, grief, dreams, and all the tiny chaos in between.00:00 We Took a Week Off01:00 Laguna Beach and a Little Disclaimer02:29 The Pandora Surprise08:25 Looking for the Princess Charms10:42 Why Tiana Means So Much14:26 Snail Mail From a Princess15:18 The Charm That Felt Like a Hug17:45 Keep Going When You Feel Behind20:16 You Are Right Where You Need to Be21:46 When the Emotional Board Turns Back On25:10 Marriage, Miscommunication, and No Judgment26:59 Date Your Spouse Like You’re Still Learning Them29:34 Giving All Day and Keeping Score33:41 Coming Back With a Servant’s Heart41:28 Learning Each Other Again45:05 The Heart Posture of Repair48:09 The Boxes We Keep Unpacking51:03 Glimmers, Prayer, and Encouragement

In this episode, I’m talking about why our tiny humans are not our mini mes, even when they look like us, sound like us, or remind us of ourselves. This one is about parenting without projecting, seeing their hearts before assuming their intent, and remembering that behavior is often communication, not just a power struggle.I’m also getting into terrible twos, big feelings, labels, inner child moments, asking better questions, and learning to let my tiny queens grow beyond the version of them I thought I knew.Come sit with me for this one. It might call us out a little, but lovingly.00:00 Three for Three, Baby00:44 Blind Boxes and Little Joys02:12 Disneyland, Coffee, and Life Catch Up04:02 This One Might Call Us Out09:35 The Comment That Started It11:19 Why Mini Me Bothers Me13:04 When We Project Our Story Onto Kids15:10 Listening Before Assuming19:05 Stop Boxing Tiny Humans In20:06 The Terrible Twos Reframe23:20 Behavior Is Communication26:38 Letting Them Grow Beyond Our Version29:34 Questions That Help You Know Them34:54 Empathy for Them and Yourself41:44 Making Room for Their Hearts

In this episode, I’m talking about a morning where I messed up as a mom, said something that wounded, and realized I could not just wait until the end of the day to repair it. So I used my lunch break, pulled one of the tiny queens out of school, apologized, got Chick fil A, opened blind boxes, and learned something I do not want to forget.This one is about parenting mistakes, repair, preteen emotions, presence, progress, and why our kids do not need perfect parents. They need parents who keep showing up and trying again.00:00 Episode Two of 5201:01 Inside Out Is Too Real Right Now02:00 Whole Foods Smoothie Drama02:40 I Messed Up This Morning04:28 When a Sting Becomes a Wound06:07 Pulling Her Out to Repair07:08 Progress and Presence Over Perfection08:02 Showing Up With Urgency10:19 What Pursuit Feels Like in Relationships11:41 Preteen Emotions and the Control Board14:35 I Do Not Know What I Am Doing16:04 Staying Present When They Push Away18:10 Distance Creates the Wedge19:05 Body Image, Food, and Outside Noise20:38 Learning What Hat They Need Me to Wear22:26 Chick fil A, Pop Mart, and Baby Molly25:24 Progress and Presence Beat Perfection26:39 When They Need You the Most28:19 Becoming the Matlock of Emotions30:18 Foxhole People and Showing Up31:06 Not Every Seat Needs to Be Filled34:19 Podcast Dreams and 2026 Energy35:13 Progress, Presence, and Marriage Too36:11 You Are Doing Really Good

In this episode, I’m talking about fixing your crown, saying dreams out loud, and realizing that sometimes I am the one knocking my own crown off. We’re getting into joyful choices, self confidence, walking, meditation, health PTSD, motherhood, Disney dreams, The Courage to Be Disliked, and why keeping small promises to yourself can rebuild trust in yourself.This is also the episode where I admit I recorded an entire podcast with no sound, talk about lice season, book a Disney cruise, and declare that 2026 is our year. Delulu is the solulu, bestie.00:00 Recording on My Phone in 202600:58 The Episode With No Sound02:21 Lice Season and the Stigma Needs to Go04:12 Reading The Courage to Be Disliked07:41 Fix Your Crown, Girl08:05 New Year Pressure and Joyful Choices09:16 I’m a Walker Now12:36 Why Am I Dissing Myself?13:39 Meditation, Health PTSD, and Regulating16:21 Owning It Without Overexplaining17:31 Saying the Big Dreams Out Loud19:21 Pixar Studios and Disney Podcast Dreams23:14 Why I’m Careful About Guests24:27 Tell Me Your Big Dreams25:00 We Booked a Disney Cruise27:01 The Call Is Coming From Inside the House28:12 Keeping Promises to Yourself33:14 A Podcast Episode Every Week35:14 Stop Taking Your Own Crown Off38:37 2026 Is Our Year40:31 Waiting for the Email41:12 You Are Needed Exactly As You Are

In this episode, I’m talking about health anxiety, holiday pressure, missed opportunities, Disney dreams, and the measuring stick we sometimes use without realizing it. You know, the one that says, “I wish homework was my biggest problem,” or turns someone else’s hard day into a comparison contest.This one is about parenting tiny humans, listening without keeping score, validating feelings, and remembering that someone else’s hard thing is still hard, even if yours looks bigger from the outside.I am not here as an expert. I am here as a mom and human still learning right alongside you.00:00 The Sweatshirt I’m Afraid to Stain00:47 When Certain Situations Make Anxiety Louder02:25 Health PTSD, Grief, and Naming What’s Scary04:15 Selling Sunset, Kids Meals, and Life Catch Up05:26 Disney Plans, TikTok Live, and Figuring It Out06:45 Disney Destiny and Dreaming About a Cruise08:50 Disney Studios, Big Goals, and Getting Sick10:56 Canceling a Disney World Invite12:04 Give Yourself Five Minutes to Be Disappointed13:28 Thank God That Wasn’t Mine15:39 Holiday Pressure and Joyful Choices17:45 Tiny Queens, Guests, and Wanting to Be a Mom19:06 Feeling Like You’re Not Doing Enough23:19 The Measuring Stick We Use With Kids26:17 Why Kids’ Problems Are Still Real Problems28:08 Meltdowns, Distress, and Missing Tools30:08 Listening Without Making It About Me32:56 How Keeping Score Shuts Down Communication35:41 Support Each Other Instead of Competing37:06 The Goal for More Consistent Episodes39:15 Adam, Belonging, and Making People Feel Seen40:20 Tiny Humans, Inner Children, and Repair42:51 You Cannot Miss What Is Planned for You

In this episode, I’m sitting on my closet floor after a very full week and talking through a realization that stopped me in my tracks: sometimes we do not make ourselves small because someone else is being negative. Sometimes we make ourselves small because we keep choosing everyone else, even when we love doing it.I’m talking about motherhood, marriage, anxiety, asking for help, taking up space, and why the oxygen mask is not just so we can help everybody else. It is so we can breathe too.If you have been showing up for everyone but yourself, come sit with me for this one.00:00 Surprise, We’re Doing an Episode00:47 Friday, Baby Jesus, and Imperfect Progress02:17 Life Update: Cheer, School, and Denim and Diamonds04:11 Tiny Queens and Student Council Inauguration05:20 Acid Reflux, Alo Jackets, and Disney Holiday Hopes07:35 Almost Getting a Dog08:04 Missing the Footsie Pajama Stage09:16 Continuing the Dreamer and Sidekick Conversation10:26 The Gift of Being a Constant Friend12:21 Taking Up Space14:24 Marriage, Partnership, and Switching Roles16:50 Movement, Anxiety, and Needing Time for Myself19:16 Choosing Others Until You Disappear22:14 The Cape, the Outfit, and Being Loud Again24:15 Skipping Lunch to Create Peace at Home26:11 The Oxygen Mask Is for You Too32:17 Don’t Let Yourself Make You Small34:53 Letting People Help You37:25 Why Asking for Help Feels So Hard38:36 Closet Floor Wrap Up