Are kids’ birthday parties getting a little… out of hand? Between balloon arches, themed bounce houses, and the pressure to outdo last year, it can feel like more stress than celebration. But what if the most meaningful childhood memories came not from the presents or the perfect cake but from the wishes we make and the love we share?

In this episode of Burnt Pancakes: Momversations, I sit down with children’s author Nikki McPhetridge, whose new book Maya’s Birthday Wish invites families to rediscover the joy of simple, heartfelt celebrations. Nikki shares how creativity, traditions, and connection can turn milestone moments into lifelong memories—without draining your wallet or sanity.

We talk about:

• Why simple rituals like candles, songs, and shared wishes stick with kids more than big parties
• How parents can encourage creativity and imagination when celebrating birthdays
• Ways to let go of the “Pinterest pressure” and enjoy the moment
• Nikki’s hope for parents to pause and savor the fleeting magic of childhood

This is a refreshing reminder for any parent who’s ever wondered if they’re doing “enough” for their kids’ special days. Spoiler: you already are.

Links & Resources:

• Grab a copy of Maya’s Birthday Wish by Nikki McPhetridge → https://amzn.to/4nybsBq
• Connect with Nikki → www.mayastoryland.com
• Instagram → @mayastoryland

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

Are your kids constantly asking for things but complaining every time you ask them to help around the house? 🙋‍♀️ Yep, that was our house too...until we tried something new.

In this week’s Burnt Pancakes: Momversations, I’m sharing how we introduced a chore and allowance chart for our three boys and why it’s already making a difference. From teaching gratitude and the value of money to cutting down on the whining (hallelujah!), this little system has been a game-changer.

I’ll walk you through:

• Why we realized our boys needed a chore/allowance system
• How we decided what chores are just part of living here vs. “paid” chores
• The way our chart works and how we set chore values
• Alternative ideas you can try if a chart isn’t your style
• What we’ve learned after three weeks (including why I now keep a stack of $1 bills in the house 😂)

Plus, hear how one of my boys surprised me by wanting to save his money instead of spend it!

👉 If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend who’s also trying to figure out chores and allowance with their kids—we’re all in this together.

Links & Resources:

• Download my Chore & Allowance Chart HERE

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

College admissions can feel like a stressful, overwhelming, and expensive process, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, I’m joined by Shellee Howard, Founder & CEO of College Ready, Certified Independent College Strategist, two-time best-selling author, and host of Parents: Is Your Teen College Ready?

With over 17 years of experience and more than 3,000 students guided to top-tier schools (including 327 Ivy League acceptances and over $40 million in scholarships), Shellee shares her proven strategies to help families navigate the admissions process, secure scholarships, and find the right college fit without drowning in student loan debt.

We also talk about her inspiring nonprofit, Empower Education, which was born from her life-changing trip to Uganda, and how that experience reshaped her view on education both globally and here at home.

Whether your child is a freshman in high school or already filling out applications, this conversation is packed with encouragement, myth-busting, and practical tips that can make college more manageable and affordable for your family.

✨ What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• The biggest myths about getting into top colleges
• Why passion projects can help your student stand out in applications
• How to graduate debt-free and secure scholarships
• Common mistakes families make in the admissions process (and how to avoid them)
• Lessons Shellee learned while guiding her own kids through Harvard and nursing school—without loans
• The story behind Empower Education and her work with students in Uganda
• Encouragement for parents who feel overwhelmed by the admissions process

Connect with Shellee Howard:

www.collegereadyplan.info = FREE 30 min. zoom call

www.EmpowerEducation.world = FREE meeting for Middle and High School students.

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

You know that saying, “Don’t have kids if you want to keep your house nice”? Turns out, it’s not a joke. 😂

In this episode, I dive into all the reasons moms simply can’t have nice things. From duct-taped chairs and chewed-up blinds in my own house, to bike scratches on my car, to the never-ending mystery of missing Tupperware lids, motherhood is basically a demolition derby for anything “nice.”

And it’s not just me, I asked you to share your “can’t have nice things” stories too, and wow… moms everywhere are living in glitter-covered chaos, Sharpie-marked couches, and homes that could double as crime scenes on HGTV.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• My own personal disasters (duct tape décor, anyone?)
• The mystery of the vanishing Tupperware lids
• Why cars + kids = a rolling trash can on wheels
• Listener submissions that prove none of us are alone in this
• And why maybe it’s okay that our homes look like this

Motherhood may have ruined our furniture, our clothes, and our dreams of white couches, but it’s also given us stories that we’ll laugh about forever.

So grab your duct tape, reheat that coffee for the third time, and come laugh along with me in this week’s momversation.

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

We all had those picture-perfect ideas of motherhood before kids came along—organic snacks, spotless houses, calm voices, magical family moments. And then… reality showed up with sticky fingers, tantrums in Target, and chicken nuggets on repeat.

In this episode of Burnt Pancakes: Momversations, I take a hilarious and honest look at the gap between how we thought motherhood would be and how it actually is. From Pinterest parties gone wrong to the car that now doubles as a Goldfish crumb factory, this episode is packed with relatable stories and laugh-out-loud “expectation vs. reality” moments.

Here’s what you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why Pinterest Mom was a fantasy (and how Costco cake saves the day)
• Calm Mom vs. Real Mom when toddlers test every ounce of patience
• The myth of the perfectly clean, Instagram-worthy house
• Social media’s highlight reel vs. the messy, beautiful real life
• Quick-fire “expectation vs. reality” one-liners that every mom will nod along to
• How letting go of perfection gives us space for connection

Motherhood isn’t about the perfect party, the spotless kitchen, or the calm response every time. It’s about duct-taped chairs, lopsided birthday cakes, messy family photos, and kids who feel deeply loved in the middle of the chaos.

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

Every mom has those moments where you just throw your head back and say, “Ugh, that’s the worst.”

From cutting baby fingernails with sweaty hands, to public blowouts in Target bathrooms, to discovering a sippy cup in the backseat that could be used to create new penicillin… motherhood is full of “the worst” moments we’d rather forget—but can’t help laughing about later.

In this episode of Burnt Pancakes: Momversations, I dives into all the universal mom fails, disasters, and cringe-worthy moments that we ALL experience, from the toddler years through the tween attitude stage. Plus, you’ll hear some of the hilarious “that’s the worst” stories shared by listeners (because nothing bonds moms like realizing we’re all going through the same chaos).

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Everyday parenting disasters like blowouts, fingernail clipping fails, and “the school call”
• Household nightmares every mom faces (spoiler: check under your car seat if you dare)
• The invisible “worst” moments of mom guilt
• Relatable struggles for parents of older kids—homework battles, tween eye rolls, and screen time negotiations
• Listener-submitted “that’s the worst” stories that prove we’re all in this together

Motherhood is magical, but it’s also messy, exhausting, and just plain ridiculous sometimes. If you need a good laugh and a reminder that you’re not alone, this episode is for you.

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

If you’ve ever felt like your kids don’t listen until you’ve asked ten times (or until you’re yelling), this episode is for you. Today I’m joined by parenting and emotional wellness coach Tia Slightham, who has helped over 5,000 families move from chaos and guilt to calm, confident leadership at home through her Parenting With Purpose Method.

In this conversation, Tia shares:

• How to get your kids to listen the first time you ask
• Why timeouts don’t work and what to do instead
• Her 3-Box Behavior Roadmap every parent needs
• The secret to creating calm, consistent routines that actually stick
• Why one committed parent can transform the entire family dynamic
• How to build emotional resilience in your kids (and yourself)

Tia keeps it real, makes it doable, and gives moms the tools they need to lead with confidence without losing themselves in the process.

So if you’re tired of power struggles, constant nagging, or just feeling like you’re failing, this episode will leave you with practical tools and the encouragement you need to make a shift—starting today.

✨ Connect with Tia:
Website: https://tiaslightham.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiaparentingcoach/

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

This summer, screen time in our house went from “just a little here and there” to “are my kids secretly training to be professional gamers?” It was rough, there were battles over devices, arguments between my boys, meltdowns when I said no, and more than a few moments where I wanted to chuck every iPad into the nearest lake.

Now that school is starting, we’re pressing the reset button and doing a full-on screen time detox. In this episode, I’m sharing:

• How our summer screen-time rules slowly spiraled out of control
• The fights, the FOMO, and the meltdowns that followed
• What we’re doing now to set better limits and protect our peace
• Why this new “weekends only” plan is working (most days, anyway!)

If you’ve ever felt like screens are running your house instead of you, this one’s for you. You’ll laugh, you’ll nod your head, and hopefully you’ll leave with some encouragement for your own screen-time reset.

Because let’s be real, screens aren’t going anywhere. But we can set the boundaries our kids need (even when they insist we’re the worst mom ever).

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖 Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓 FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_