Amy and Sheryl talk about radical self-care and the times it rises to the level of self-preservation.  Sheryl has decided to take a break from almost all of her responsibilities outside of her family and her job.  That means this week is Sheryl's final Mojo Mom Podcast.  Amy sends out her appreciation for four seasons together, more than 60 shows.  We may take some breaks this summer, but The Mojo Mom Podcast will continue with a new co-host.  Stay tuned for details....

Then Mojo Mom talks to Ms. Mindbody, Kate Hanley.  Kate is a yoga instructor and author of The Anywhere, Anytime Chill Guide:  77 Simple Strategies for Serenity.  She shares stress reduction strategies on her website, MsMindBody.com, and talks about her own experience caring for herself as a new Mom.

The Mojo Mom Podcast goes global this week.  First, Amy checks in with  guest co-host Patty Ayers, about Patty's ongoing adventures as an empty-nest North Carolina Mom turned global citizen living in Mexico.  Patty is a web designer who has untethered herself from her desk to create a business as a virtual assistant that will allow her to work anywhere in the world.

The Mojo Mom interviews Maya Frost, author of the book The New Global Student:  Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education.  Maya addresses the WHYs and HOWs of creating an international opportunity for your children or whole family.

Mojo Mom highly recommends The New Global Student, as detailed in her complete Amazon.com review.

It's the week after college graduation and Amy asks Sheryl about the ways that Sheryl's family helped her along the way as she worked toward her Master's Degree in Information and Library Science.  We celebrate her success!

Then Amy talks to Equally Shared Parenting (ESP) experts Amy and Marc Vachon.  ESP is currently reaching a tipping point in the media and society.   It's so interesting to see how an outspoken couple can help advance a movement that has been built upon existing ideas and sociological research.  Listen in as Mojo Mom asks for advice in her own family, and the Vachons get right to the heart of the matter.  Then visit the Equally Shared Parenting website to learn more about the strategy that promises "half the work, all the fun."

Amy and Sheryl reflect on the last three years, when they made so many plans that have now come to life: the Mojo Advisory Circle, a new edition  Mojo Mom for Amy, graduate school for Sheryl who is completing her Masters' degree.  It's been a great three years and now they are each turning the page to a new chapter in their lives.  (We'll still be here with the podcast!)

Then Mojo Mom talks to Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International, an organization that helps women survivors of war rebuild their lives and communities.  Zainab reminds of the strength of mothers, and the burden put on women in particular to rebuild countries in the aftermath of war and violence.  Women for Women International provides women the tools and training that women need in order to move from victim, to survivor, to active citizen.

The program is funded by one-to-one sponsorships between women.  You can become a sponsor, too.

Amy recently heard a discussion about younger women who might be considering not having kids at all rather than dealing with the work-family conflicts we all face.  Sheryl and Amy tell those younger women what they would like them to know:  motherhood does rock your world, but we can't imagine our lives without it.

Then writer Paula Spencer adds her perspective in Mojo Mom's guest segment.  Paula has a wide variety of experiences, as the mother of four, the author of the book Momfidence:  An Oreo Never Killed Anybody and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting, and a founding senior editor of the caregiving resource website, Caring.com

You can learn more about all of Paula's work at her website www.PaulaSpencer.com

Amy and Sheryl are really on the go this week.  Amy is recovering from last week's successful Mojo Recharge Retreat, and Sheryl has many end-of-semester balls in the air, but still finds time to call in to do the podcast!

Then Mojo Mom talks to Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids.  Last year Lenore became (in)famous for her article about letting her 9-year-old son ride home by himself on the New York Subway, and now she has continued to explore the issues of giving kids freedom and responsibility in her book and blog.

As Lenore writes, "Do you ever let your kid ride a bike to the library? Walk alone to school? Take a bus, solo? Or are you thinking about it? If so, you are raising a Free Range Kid! At Free Range, we believe in safe kids. We believe in helmets, car seats and safety belts. We do NOT believe that every time school age children go outside, they need a security detail. Most of us grew up Free Range and lived to tell the tale. Our kids deserve no less."

The new edition of Mojo Mom came out last week, and Amy is back this week with guest co-host Patty Ayers to talk about her book release, as well as Patty's adventures traveling back and forth between Mexico and North Carolina.

Then Mojo Mom interviews Cooper Munroe and Emily McKhann, founders of the social networking site TheMotherhood.com.  Amy got to know this dyamic duo when they all worked together on MomsRising.org activism, and Cooper and Emily are interviewed in the new Chaper 10 of Mojo Mom, "Spreading Your Wings:  Mothers as Leaders."

TheMotherhood.com is an amazing site with cool technical features, a ton of integrity and goodwill, and a heaping dose of mojo, so we hope you will stop on by and say hello.

Amy and Sheryl are able to easily integrate the first and second halves of the show today since the topic is technology and internet safety.

Then Mojo Mom interviews Linda Criddle, world-renowned expert, former Microsoft executive and mother of four.  Linda's highly informative website is ILookBothWays.com, and her newest book is Using the Internet Safely for Seniors (for Dummies Series).

Linda and I got into a pretty intense discussion as we talked about the research into internet safety.  I left the whole discussion intact, because it provided an important opportunity to go beyond sound bites and sensational headlines into a substantive examination of these issues.

Amy and Sheryl discuss their typically crazy weeks, including Jury Duty for brand-new US Citizen Sheryl.  Their minds are still wrapped up in the impact of the economic crisis on moms and families.

Then Mojo Mom switches gears to interview Irene van der Zande, founder of Kidpower.  Over the past 20 years, Kidpower has taught personal safety skills to over 1.2 million people of all ages.  Amy and Irene talk about the founding principles that have made Kidpower so successful, and the reasons why it is so important to teach kids skills that will allow them to gain life experience and explore the world with confidence.  Child safety is often a missing chapter from parenting education, and Kidpower fills in that knowledge gap with strategies and skills.  Amy Tiemann has joined Irene's efforts by starting a new center, Kidpower North Carolina.

This week Amy's guest host is Patty Ayers, the "silent partner" who produces The Mojo Mom Podcast. Patty is also the talented web designer behind MojoMom.com. Now she has created a new line of work as a virtual assistant, which allows her the flexibility to reinvent herself as a newly-hatched "empty nest" Mom.  Patty now lives and works much of the time from Tulum, Mexico. You can learn more about her "working adventure" on her blog.

Then in our guest segment, Mojo Mom interviews film director Pamela Tanner Boll. Pamela's  new film, Who Does She Think She Is? explores the courage required to combine motherhood and art. The film wants to highlight the importance of women as artists, the importance of women's work as mothers, and the essential humanity contained in the artistic impulse.

You can view the film's trailer at www.WhoDoesSheThinkSheIs.net