Blonde Ambition: Navigating the Foster Care System with Actress Laura Leigh Hughes

Season One Recap!

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2288211/open_sms] We're baaaack! It's been a few months ... Maria had a baby, summer is summer'ing, and Ann-Sophie's Tuff Shed now doubles as a sauna. Join us we recap some of our fave moments and surprising turns from Season One. And we're giving you a sneak peek of what's in store for Season Two. THANK YOU to everyone who supported us on our foray into professional podcasting. We're living the dream, y'all. For more surprising and authentic conversations about family-forming, subscribe to Our Families, Ourselves: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-families-ourselves/id1726119770] | Spotify Podcasts [https://open.spotify.com/show/2obDvjItfp83uF8kVK3gXF] Join the conversation and follow us on Instagram: @ourfamiliesourselves [https://www.instagram.com/ourfamiliesourselves/] Learn more about us:  LA Parent Mag [https://www.laparent.com/new-podcast-celebrates-nontraditional-paths-to-parenting/]

Boss Mom: Balancing Career & Baby as a Single Mom in the 80s with Shay Wafer (Season Finale!)

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2288211/open_sms] There’s no better guest to wrap our first season than Shay Wafer, arts & culture powerhouse and grandmother who chose to become a single parent in the 80s. She also managed the theater where Maria and Ann-Sophie met when they were just babies themselves. We couldn’t be happier to have our forever “boss mom” on to share her wisdom! Tune in to hear us chat about: * Why Shay choose to be a single and “older” mom at a time when it wasn’t the norm * Pursuing studies (at Yale, no less) and a high-level career while raising a young child * The hard decisions Shay had to make to balance career ambitions and caretaking * Choosing natural childbirth and why it was so important to her * Assumptions people make about single, Black mothers - then and now * How Shay’s daughter taught her to open up and communicate more * The beauty of becoming a grandmother and seeing lessons passed on to the next generation  We'll be back soon with a Season 1 Wrap Up and what's to come for Season 2! For more surprising and authentic conversations about family-forming, subscribe to Our Families, Ourselves: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-families-ourselves/id1726119770] | Spotify Podcasts [https://open.spotify.com/show/2obDvjItfp83uF8kVK3gXF] | Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8yMjg4MjExLnJzcw==] Join the conversation and follow us on Instagram: @ourfamiliesourselves  [https://www.instagram.com/ourfamiliesourselves/]

Tea with Tía: Creating the Modern-Day Village with Jess Matos

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2288211/open_sms] There’s no one like your auntie, your tía, who slips you sweets, remembers your baby chub days, and keeps all your secrets. And there’s no one like Jess Matos, Mexico City-based creative strategist and comedian, who runs the hilarious and insightful The Tía Chronicles. Join us as we talk all things tía life and beyond! Listen in to hear: * How Jess started The Tía Chronicles as a love letter to the tías in her life * How the women in our lives, from aunties to teachers, shape and mold us * Expectations (among MANY) that society places on women to have children * The experience of growing up a first generation kid * Why parents can call on their village when they need help/time away/a good cry  * Why tías have more fun  Check out more of Jess’ brilliance here: The Tía Chronicles Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thetiachronicles/] The Tía Chronicles Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tia-chronicles-by-jess-matos/id1643075839] (Season 2 dropping soon!) For more surprising and authentic conversations about family-forming, subscribe to Our Families, Ourselves: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-families-ourselves/id1726119770] | Spotify Podcasts [https://open.spotify.com/show/2obDvjItfp83uF8kVK3gXF] | Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8yMjg4MjExLnJzcw==] Join the conversation and follow us on Instagram: @ourfamiliesourselves  [https://www.instagram.com/ourfamiliesourselves/]

A Lifetime Original: How An Adoptee Found His Bio Parents with Mark Caffee

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2288211/open_sms] It could be a Lifetime movie or a work of fiction, but it’s one of the most incredible  stories we’ve heard. Mark Caffee, communications consultant (and Ann-Sophie’s former boss), shares the remarkable journey of meeting his bio mom and bio dad — 50 years after he was adopted. Grab a mug of warm tea and get out your tissues for this  episode! Listen as we chat about: * The journey of self-discovery growing up gay and adopted * How adoption was very different in the 60s compared to today * The rollercoaster journey of finding biological parents in a closed adoption * Why open adoption is so important for adoptees to feel accepted and loved  * Nature vs. nurture in shaping self-identity  Two amazing organizations mentioned in this episode: Hope Cottage [https://www.hopecottage.org/] Casa of Los Angeles  [https://casala.org/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw7-SvBhB6EiwAwYdCAfmiY_psfyOXl0QkfY0dw22FZCwhZ0pjB85IhugQdOy4YC1qLc-ndhoCMGkQAvD_BwE] For more surprising and authentic conversations about family-forming, subscribe to Our Families, Ourselves: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-families-ourselves/id1726119770] | Spotify Podcasts [https://open.spotify.com/show/2obDvjItfp83uF8kVK3gXF] | Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8yMjg4MjExLnJzcw==] Join the conversation and follow us on Instagram: @ourfamiliesourselves  [https://www.instagram.com/ourfamiliesourselves/]

Blonde Ambition: Navigating the Foster Care System with Actress Laura Leigh Hughes

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2288211/open_sms] What an absolute *treat* this week as we chat with powerhouse Laura Leigh Hughes, LA-based actress and founder of The Unusual Suspects Theater Company, a non-profit serving youth. Laura is candid, funny, and shares her incredible journey of navigating the foster care system to adopt her now 15-year old daughter. And hot off the heels of her concert, Maria & Ann-Sophie share their lifelong love of another blonde performer and mom -- Madonna. Join us as we talk: * How the foster care system impacts thousands of children each year  * The ins and outs of adopting through LA’s foster care system * Systemic racism embedded in the system * Unexpected bonds formed between a foster child’s different caregivers  * Assumptions people make about adoption, and the challenges and realities of interracial adoption For more surprising and authentic conversations about family-forming, subscribe to Our Families, Ourselves: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-families-ourselves/id1726119770] | Spotify Podcasts [https://open.spotify.com/show/2obDvjItfp83uF8kVK3gXF] | Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8yMjg4MjExLnJzcw==] Join the conversation and follow us on Instagram: @ourfamiliesourselves  [https://www.instagram.com/ourfamiliesourselves/]