On this episode of Let's Be Real Mama Journeys, Nikki sits down with Gina Schrek and Lea Costello for a candid, funny, and refreshingly real conversation about motherhood, stress, burnout, healing, and the impossible expectations women often place on themselves.

Lea shares the story behind her upcoming book, Be Your Own Medicine: Healing from Chronic Stress and Reclaiming Your Rhythm, which she says was written from a place of collapse rather than inspiration. She opens up about recognizing when stress and exhaustion had taken over and her journey to finding her way back physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Nikki also shares the heart behind her book, Let's Be Real: Mamahood Is Hard. We Need Each Other More Than Ever, and why motherhood was never meant to be something we figure out alone. The conversation explores asking for help, finding your people, allowing kids to make mistakes, and letting go of the idea that being a good mom means getting everything right.

Together, Nikki, Gina, and Lea get real about the picture perfect version of motherhood we see online and how comparison can leave women feeling like they are constantly falling short. They talk about parenting through different seasons, the beauty of grandparenting, career pressures, and the unrealistic expectation that moms should somehow raise children, build careers, maintain beautiful homes, and make it all look effortless.

This episode is a reminder that real motherhood is messy, funny, exhausting, beautiful, and sometimes overwhelming. You do not have to have it all together. You need people who will remind you that you were never supposed to do it all alone.

What happens when you're raising children while also caring for aging parents, all while trying not to lose yourself in the process?

In this episode of Let's Be Real: Mama Journeys, Nikki sits down with international guest Zumrut Vardar, joining us all the way from Istanbul, Turkey, for an honest conversation about motherhood, caregiving, and life as part of the "sandwich generation." After spending more than 25 years building a successful career in global consulting and entrepreneurship, Zumrut shares her experience of standing at the intersection of generations, supporting her teenage son and young daughter while also caring for her own mother.

Together, Nikki and Zumrut explore the challenges of balancing caregiving responsibilities, maintaining your identity outside of motherhood, and learning how to support the people you love without losing yourself along the way. This heartfelt conversation is a reminder that motherhood evolves through every stage of life and that connection, grace, and community matter just as much for mothers of older children as they do for new moms.

If you've ever felt pulled in multiple directions while trying to hold everything together for everyone else, this episode will remind you that you are not alone.