Tis the season for all the things events, gifts, holiday parties, colds we miss you Melanie!, and trying to stay on top of everything that still needs to get done. Our Mamas recap Felicia's amazing Merry and Mindful event, and why we have a tendency to sell ourselves short even though we have no reason to do so. Plus, Felicia, Codie and Ashley share their current Christmas traditions. Apparently we're all missing out on Elf on the Shelf, fake trees are better than real trees, and 3 gifts is what we should be maxing out on for our kids.

What was life like before motherhood? Do you remember it? Were you in the club living your best life? Chasing those career dreams? Sometimes it's easy to forget just what things were like before we had these children in our lives, and what we thought our lives would be. Today the Mamas are sharing just what their lives were like before motherhood. What were the career dreams? Did they always want to be moms? How did that first child change that life plan?

The Mamas are just catching up this week and they're talking about everything . First with the holidays fast approaching gifts are on everyone's mind and everyone has very different opinions on what types of gifts they life to receive. Plus, at what age do women stop wearing underwear? Is there an age? Does it depend on the vagina? Also, it's cold season! What is everyone's favorite cold remedies? It's just a fun conversation between friends. So shake off the turkey hangover, stake out your cyber monday claim and listen in!

It's Thanksgiving week! Felicia is out taking care of a sick little one but the rest of the Mamas are here with their Thanksgiving plans. What traditions do each of our Mamas look forward to the most? PLUS Travel tips! Look, we know that a lot of our Mama's Den village is wondering how to get in and around the airport this holiday season and we've got you covered! Melanie, Ashley and Codie are pros when it comes to traveling with these kids, and they know just what you need to make it through the busiest travel season of the year.

These KIDS are crushing!! We were not ready! Nothing is sacred and they are starting YOUNG. One of Codie's twins has already developed a crush. Felicia's daughter Peace has willed her crush into the universe. Ashley's daughter went and kissed someone and Melanie's son is ready to take someone out on a date he's 6. Of course it's all innocent because they're children, but now the Mamas are thinking about the future and what will it look like when their kids bring home their first serious partner? Do we as parents have certain expectations of our children? Let's talk about it!

IT'S CODIE'S BIRTHDAY!!! It's also Halloween, but it's CODIE'S BIRTHDAY!! Insert party horns So we decided to go into our Grab Bag and answer some of your questions! Monique in Charlotte wants to talk about conscious parenting, Sherry in Houston needs help with a picky eater, Ellen in Fresno has our Mamas ready to roll up, and Farrah Columbus GA wants more parenting tips from Melanie's mom y'all!. We are here for you so make sure you keep asking all the questions, and go wish Codie a happy birthday!!

BOO! It's Halloween time and we don't know about our community but for us over here in The Mama's Den it has come up on us QUICK! Today the Mamas are talking everything Halloween from last minute costumes, to actual Trick or Treating plans, and just what do you do with all that free candy? Plus Melanie shares a Halloween story about how her mother leveraged Halloween into her parenting.

Today's episode is brought to you commercial free by our friends at PROUDLY. The Mama's Den is glad to bring you a a special deal just for our Mama community! Save 20 off your order of at least 50 excluding subscriptions with code BLACKLOVE! Shoutout to PROUDLY for looking out for our melanated babies! Mamas, do you remember your first time you brought home your first born? That new baby smell? The all new terrifying reality of BATHTIME! That first bath can be very scary for new mamas, and as we all know, it doesn't necessarily get much better as these kids get older. Sometimes convincing these kids to get in the damn tub is HARD! Listen in as the Mamas share some of their bath time routines or lack there of and what has and hasn't worked for them along their parenting journeys.

Mamas we gotta be honest with you, we are burned out. We are tired. Our lives, our businesses, social media, it seems like it's coming from all directions. So we're just gonna talk about it. What do we do when it feels like we can't push any further? How has hustle culture gotten us here? Pull up and let's have a conversation.

It's Monday and the Mamas are back to answer some of your questions! Have any of them ever dealt with infidelity in their marriages? How do they find ways to spend quality time with each of their 50 eleventy kids? Plus we get confirmation on the strength of Ashley's vagina. Yup, you read that right!

Ladies, we've heard how hard it's been to maintain friendships are to maintain after... well... everything. After you get into a relationship, after your twenties, after you have kids, but real talk...should it be hard? Today the Mamas have a conversation all around friendships. Truth be told, some friendships have expiration dates. Or maybe, we haven't exactly been the best friends to people in our lives? Listen, we're getting into all of it today!

Mamas! Ladies! All you people listening! How are your mornings holding up? The Mamas Den group chat is a whole situation. These children have us unable to keep a single schedule. This is especially true when trying to get out of the house in the mornings! It's like these children just stay late. Luckily, Ashley and Felicia have some tips they have learned to help keep a routine, and what they do when their children don't want to cooperate with them cause these kids!

Gentle parenting, conscious parenting, patient parenting... we've all heard the terms but honestly, we're not too sure what the difference is. We just know that we're out here trying to break those generational traumatic bonds that we had to deal with growing up. We know a lot of y'all have been asking us about gentle parenting and where to start so we brought in our gentle parenting expert Charisse Sims! Charisse is an educator, PBS Early Learning Champion, and a mama of six so she knows a thing or two about raising kids. Charisse is all about conscious parenting, and if you don't know what that is, her podcast Parenting for the Culture is a good place to start! The Mamas and Charisse get into what exactly gentle parenting is, how we can set boundaries with our children, and how we ALL struggle with trying to do better than our parents did it.

Mamas, Aunties, and all of yall listening, today the Mamas sans Melanie who is out being a rockstar are answering some of your questions! Shanna in Sandy Springs GA needs to know how to not feel overwhelmed doing all the things, Leah in Tupelo MS speaks for all of us wondering why Black Love Doc has to come to an end, plus Kim in Brooklyn is wondering about gentle parenting!

Okay y'all we have to give Codie her flowers for a minute... did you all catch this past episode of Black Love Doc? If not, get yourself over to the Black Love App it's free! and watch it cause it had us all in our Mama feelings. It was all about the HARD things about parenting that often just don't get talked about. Codie and Tommy's story about her own baby's name, to what to do when our children don't turn out to be who we thought they were going to be... whew! It's a whole lot of hard conversations happening today, because being a parent is hard.

Hey Mamas! Before You get too excited, we're going into the vault today for a NEVER BEFORE heard episode from the early days before Ashley and Melanie had officially announced their pregnancies. Listen in to a very real conversation about the anxiousness of being pregnant again, and what they wanted to do this round. Plus take a listen to That Newborn Life and see how much what they hoped would line up with what actually happened.

Ladies! Ashley's oldest is setting boundaries with her presence on her socials! And look, we all know it's a delicate line choosing what to and not to share. So much of how we communicate and build our brands are tied into sharing pieces of ourselves like here on the podcast! But not everyone comes into these spaces with good intentions. Listen in as the Mamas share their thoughts about all things social media and what they do to help keep the balance in their lives!

Y'all, Ashley needs therapy. Actually, we all need therapy. Listen in as Ashley breaks down what's been keeping her out of therapy, what the other Mamas love about therapy, and why we should ALL be talking to somebody.

Codie's back y'all! It's been a minute but she is back with stories to tell. It wasn't just one thing that kept her away from chatting with the Mamas. It was ALL the things. How do we continue going in moments where everything seems to be changing? The Mamas also get into the Final Season of Black Love Doc. Codie shares why it's coming to an end plus what else might be coming down the line. Also, somewhere there's a chat about word pronunciations that we promise gets back on track.

The Mamas answer some of your questions!

We are celebrating Melanie Fiona's 40th birthday talking about what to look forward to in the second act of this thing called life. Let's all learn how to celebrate who we are right now!

The ladies discuss loving their bodies and the journey to celebrating themselves.

The Mamas share their expectations of motherhood versus their realities.

The Mamas play a round of Never Have I Ever.

The Mamas discuss what life with newborns is like, and what it was like when they first had children.

This past week has been awful. It's been really, really awful. So much so that the Mamas don't even really know where to begin this conversation. With the mass shooting in Uvalde just 10 days after the shooting in Buffalo, it sometimes feels like it all is too much. Listen in as the Mamas share what they have on their minds about the state of things, and what very real fears they share for their own families. Plus, what have they been sharing or not sharing with their own children? This conversation is to serve as a checkin for all Mamas.

The Mamas discuss how to inform their children about racism and how to ensure they're in spaces that acknowledge and protect their identities.

Today the Mamas are talking all things boundaries. How to set them, why they're important, and how to start teaching the kids about their importance.

Ladies! We're doing Mother's Day in the Den today! We know this is a day about celebrating all things motherhood, but look, sometimes the best gift is a day by ourselves! Listen in as the ladies share what their Mother's Days have looked like up to this point, what they all really want for mother's day, and what they do for their mothers. Plus we just might find out the best gift they've ever gotten in this celebration of mamas!

Y'all Felicia has some questions for the married folks! The dating game can be a whole situation, especially when you know exactly what you're looking for in a partner. How did the Mamas know that the men they're with now was the one? What speed bumps have come up along the way, and what do they think about the journey that got them to now? Is there a time frame? The Mamas are here to share their journeys to the one and what they found that they needed in a partner.

Let's talk about joy. Happiness is often overlooked by the busyness of life, and today the Mamas sans Codie reflect on what joy looks like to them. How has it changed with time, and how can one maintain peace along the journey.

It's easy to look at what other people have accomplished and wonder why it hasn't happened for us. This week the Mamas dive into their accomplishments and the need to have more.

The Mama's are getting real about their bodies. From pre to post pregnancy, listen in to hear what their journeys with body image has looked like.

Sometimes kids ASK the darndest things. What is the line that Mamas need to take with having those difficult conversations with their kids? Hint There is no consensus here. From anatomy to periods, to Santa Claus, and even death, we all need to find the best way to explain the tough topics to our kids. In this episode, the Mamas each share their philosophies and the stories that helped get them there.

Take a listen to a sneak peak of The Mama's Den!