KEEP CALM
&
BLEND ON
A LIMITED-RUN PRIVATE PODCAST
FROM BLENDED FAMILY FRAPPÉ
“Just what I needed. It’s like you are reading my dang mind! 😂 Cannot wait for more episodes. ❤️”
From August 2021 to June 2022, Dan & I recorded weekly podcast episodes for a small private audience. You can now listen to our complete episode archives as part of your Substack subscription.
You'll get immediate access to all 42 episodes, and most episodes are about an hour... so basically the equivalent of 42 mini-workshops on a whole slew of topics.
If you've ever wished you could access some kind of direct download right to our brains, this podcast is as close as it gets.
GET 42 EPISODES FOR $42! >>
wanna try a freebie first? get a 48h free trial and binge-listen all you like!
Oh hi, we’re Dan + Maarit, two regular people who were completely unprepared for how friggin’ hard all this would be.
Who are we, anyway?
Just a couple normal people trying to figure this SHIZ out.
There were many, many times over the years that Dan or I or both of us wondered whether we’d make it. We survived everything from the day-to-day complexities of stepfamily life (Disneyland Dad like WHAT) to high conflict and even parental alienation. So it’s not like we don’t have tons of personal examples and nuggets of wisdom to share in every episode. (Which we definitely do.)
In addition to what we lived through ourselves, though, we’re also sharing all the experience and insight gained over the decade+ we’ve spent listening to other stepparents and helping them navigate along their own journeys.
In short, this podcast is gonna turbocharge your learning curve by basically injecting our 15 years of life lessons, hard-won knowledge, and deep-dive research directly into your eardrums.
full EPISODE list
001 | Intro + 3 (okay 4) tips for keeping calm & blending on
002 | Chores + non-enforcement + communication
003 | Nastygrams: 4 tips for replying to high conflict emails
004 | Lessons in disengaging
005 | Extracurriculars as an alienation tactic
006 | How partners can support stepparents
007 | How stepparents can support partners
008 | Reducing conflict by reducing parenting time??
009 | Disengaging to take your stepkid out of the middle
010 | Long distance custody tips
011 | The L word (Love, that is)
012 | Disneyland dadding: the pros
013 | Double standards: stepmoms vs stepdads
014 | Silver linings (those exist, right??)
015 | What got Dan to finally pull his head out?
016 | New holiday traditions & why they matter
017 | Effective boundary-setting
018 | Talking to the kids about the things we're not supposed to talk about
019 | High conflict + trauma + our partners’ PTSD
020 | Relationship vs kids: which comes first?
021 | Different kids, different houses... different rules?
022 | The science of stepfamily stress
023 | Parallel parenting
024 | Let’s talk about resentment
025 | When are stepparents considered family?
026 | The 7 stages of blending a family
027 | Why is the ex’s partner the “good” stepparent??
028 | Money, Part 1: Finances within the stepfamily
029 | Money, Part 2: Finances between households
030 | Why do we treat our stepkids like special snowflakes?
031 | Emotional labor
032 | When your partner chooses the ex over you
033 | Why do stepkids reject their stepparents?
034 | Alienation & parenting to the authentic child
035 | When stepsiblings don’t get along
036 | Mother’s Day / Stepmother’s Day
037 | Q&A: How to deal when stepkids run hot & cold
038 | Q&A: CPS prep & false accusations
039 | Q&A: How to prep kids for a (likely) nasty court battle
040 | Should stepparents parent their stepkids?
041 | Tips for high conflict “co-parenting”
042 | Our #1 tip for surviving all this stuff
need more help? start here!