{"podcast":{"title":"This Is Not What I Was Expecting","slug":"this-is-not-what-i-was-expecting-5955665","podcast_index_feed_id":5955665,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/PvLG29MH","website_url":"https://notwhatiwasexpecting.paparentandfamilyalliance.org","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/13bea5c0-e319-4099-974e-471e78c4d3c1/8d5e0994-12a7-458a-93c2-10058fce4542/3000x3000/podcast-image-cover.jpg?aid=rss_feed","author":"PA Parent and Family Alliance","episode_count":106,"summary":"If you've ever looked around at other parents and wondered, \"How is everyone else making this look easy?\" you're in the right place. We're a group of (mostly) moms who get together every other week to talk honestly about what parenting is really like. Not the polished version. The real version. Maybe you're trying to figure out bedtime, screen time, homework, sibling conflicts, or how your child can somehow be starving and refuse every food in the house at the same time. Maybe you're carrying the endless mental load of parenting, the forms, the calendars, the school emails, the appointments, and all the things you're afraid you'll forget. And maybe on top of all that, you're parenting a kiddo with behavioral challenges, anxiety, or other needs that people don't always understand. Which means you're not just parenting, you're also keeping track of medication refills, IEP meetings, therapy appointments, insurance headaches, and everything else that comes with advocating for your child. That's why we're here. We share our stories, what we've learned, what we're still learning, and the things other parents don't always talk about out loud. We laugh together, vent about broken systems,…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-09T18:21:14.670449+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-is-not-what-i-was-expecting-5955665"},"episode":{"title":"When Your Life Is a Dumpster Fire But You Still Have to Be a Mom","slug":"when-your-life-is-a-dumpster-fire-but-you-still-have-to-be-a-mom","published_at":"2026-03-14T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-is-not-what-i-was-expecting-5955665/when-your-life-is-a-dumpster-fire-but-you-still-have-to-be-a-mom","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-is-not-what-i-was-expecting-5955665","url":"https://notwhatiwasexpecting.paparentandfamilyalliance.org/episodes/when-your-life-is-a-dumpster-fire-but-you-still-have-to-be-a-mom-HbXBYJDT","audio_url":"https://cdn.simplecast.com/media/audio/transcoded/b3246d15-f7bc-4fb4-aa04-900bfafa4460/41cdeba8-a001-48c1-8144-4104a0fae841/episodes/audio/group/dbe5bbf5-7fec-4af9-b605-88c24ed6f67c/group-item/9ae4a35a-6468-422d-b4ff-4c09bb09de7b/128_default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=PvLG29MH","summary":"Some days it feels like your life is a dumpster fire. Other days it feels like the whole world is. Either way, parenting doesn't stop. This week we're talking about what it's like to keep functioning when everything feels overwhelming - whether it's chaos in your own family, stress from the news cycle, or a child who is struggling in ways other people can't see. Because the truth is, the school emails still come. Dinner still has to happen and work still expects your to show up with a smile. We're talking about surviving parenting when life feels like too much - letting go of perfection, leaning on friends, finding humor in absurd moments, and sometimes just getting through the day 10 seconds at a time. If you've ever looked like you had it together on the outside while everything felt chaotic behind the scenes, you're not alone.","meta_description":"Some days it feels like your life is a dumpster fire. Other days it feels like the whole world is. Either way, parenting doesn't stop. This week we're tal…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1996,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/this-is-not-what-i-was-expecting-5955665/episodes/when-your-life-is-a-dumpster-fire-but-you-still-have-to-be-a-mom/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-is-not-what-i-was-expecting-5955665/when-your-life-is-a-dumpster-fire-but-you-still-have-to-be-a-mom.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}