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Ep. 65 Modern Motherhood: Confidence, Culture & Connection with Jenny LeFlore (Mama Fresh!)
700 Plays2 months ago
Today’s episode is all about modern motherhood, community, and keeping things fresh! Beth Gaskill (Big City Readers) is joined by Jenny LeFlore, the powerhouse mama behind Mama Fresh, a movement dedicated to creating spaces where families—especially Black families—feel seen, supported, and celebrated.
We talk about:✨ The story behind Mama Fresh and why community is essential for moms✨ How Jenny balances social media with real-life parenting✨ The importance of representation in parenting spaces✨ Raising kids with confidence while honoring cultures and traditions✨ Her favorite family-friendly spots in ChicagoJenny’s energy is infectious, and this conversation will leave you feeling inspired to embrace the season of motherhood you’re in—without losing yourself in the process.
Resources & Links:
📍 Follow Jenny on Instagram: @MamaFreshChicago
📍 Learn more about Mama Fresh: mamafreshchicago.com
📍 Connect with me on Instagram: @BigCityReaders
Mentioned in this episode: FIRST GRADE BOOTCAMP
If you loved this episode, be sure to rate, review, and share it with another mama who needs a fresh perspective! 💛
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Transcript
Introduction to First Grade Bootcamp
00:00:02
Speaker
I'm Beth here and i have something amazing to share with you. If you are a parent of a first grader or about to be, you need to hear this. I have created, many of you know, the ultimate first grade on demand course called First Grade Bootcamp.
00:00:17
Speaker
And it's designed to help your child grow into a confident, joyful reader while giving you the tools and the support you need you. to make it happen at home in just a couple minutes a day, using the science of reading research and making it very fun, efficient, and quick, like 10 to 15 minutes a day.
00:00:36
Speaker
This isn't just any other program. It's literally a roadmap to success, like lifelong success built on proven reading strategies and research. And i think my little touch of helping kids mindset around perfection and being okay with making mistakes.
00:00:56
Speaker
So the course is for your child and they're over 20 10 to 15 minute lessons that are jam packed with information on teaching your child open and closed syllables and how to properly write certain words and spelling patterns and rules that they need to know and be explicitly taught ah the course last year and you haven't finished it or you are like i think my kindergartner maybe is ready for the next level this is the time to do it and I'm going to coach throughout the course course you can ask me for personalized information heck you can even bring me a picture of your child's current writing and I'm going to tell you exactly what to do to help them at home
00:01:41
Speaker
Because let's face it, teaching your child to read can feel really overwhelming. And that's why I built this course. And I am here for you. You don't have to do this alone. We're in this together. So if you've been waiting for the perfect time to invest in your child's future, this is it.
00:01:58
Speaker
Head to bigcityreaders.com. Grab at the top if you click all classes, scroll down to first grade boot camp and enroll. Let's do this together.
Meet Jenny LaFleur, Community Builder
00:02:08
Speaker
I can't wait to meet you in class.
00:02:10
Speaker
Okay, here's today's episode.
00:02:19
Speaker
Excited today we have my friend Jenny, um better known as Mama Fresh in Chicago. um and we're going to talk all about building your community as a new mom and everything that comes with it. So Jenny, welcome to the pod.
00:02:37
Speaker
Thank you so much, Ms. Beth. Thank you so much for having me Yeah. ah So will you, i was like writing out an intro for you and I was like, she does so many things. You are a true entrepreneur, you know, kind of have a lot of hats.
00:02:51
Speaker
So will you introduce yourself and tell us, well, just introduce yourself and then I'll ask you later to tell us how you got here in your business. Sure. So I'm Jenny LaFleur. am a daughter of Chicago, born and raised.
00:03:03
Speaker
And I'm How I self-identify as a community builder. At my core, that is what I am. How that shows up and my vehicle to do that through is through content creation, media personality. I do all your favorite daytime shows in Chicago. That show that's on the TV when you're getting your oil change. I'm on that show all the time. So wherever you are,
Understanding Community-Building as a Skill
00:03:25
Speaker
that show. And I love doing media because it and shows like this because it lets me connect with mothers in ways that really just blow my mind.
00:03:34
Speaker
So that is my favorite thing to do. I throw events. I give recommendations. But truly, I just try to deem myself as your mama BFF. So I am your best friend, your mom's best friend that you did know you needed.
00:03:48
Speaker
Yeah, I love that. And I love that you are so, you are, I think anyone would say one of the ways to describe you is confident. um And i think, I love that you were like, I'm a community builder, because that just made me think of, like, I remember, this is a side note story, but my sister led Vacation Bible School at her church, and she was in charge. And I had one sister who she put in charge of photography because she was a really good photographer and one sister that um was in charge of arts and crafts because she was really creative.
00:04:19
Speaker
And then she asked me to be the person that greeted everyone. And I remember this was like when I was like 22. And I remember being like, gosh, I wish I had a tail hint.
00:04:29
Speaker
that I could do because I didn't think that of, of like being, she's like, you just make everyone feel safe and welcome when they meet you. And I was like, well, that's not really a talent.
00:04:41
Speaker
And so even though that's not even what your mission is, I feel like even just saying like, I'm a community builder shows other people, bigger skills that are, ah can be a part of who they
Embracing True Self and Motherhood
00:04:52
Speaker
are. And like to celebrate that, you don't have to be like, I'm a runner and that's what I'm good at. Be like, I'm building community.
00:04:57
Speaker
That's what I'm doing. Yeah. that is what That is what I'm doing. I think that, you know, I grew up in a time where hard skills were valued so much. So they were like, if you're good at this, you know, shout out to every woman that is listening that got the report card that was like, talk too much in class, who was like always talking back.
00:05:16
Speaker
That was always, that was always my thing. And even as a young girl, I was almost deemed as a trouble baker. Because if you think of like how a union rioters start, I'm like, we can do this. Like i was that that student in the class, like, does this have to be that way?
00:05:31
Speaker
And this was before the open-minded classrooms. And you know, society of education that we have now. And i was was taught to suppress that. So i think that's something very healing that we can tell people, especially women, those things that society kind of pushed you around for because it didn't fit in for what they wanted to make things go smoothly, that can be celebrated and really admired by other people.
00:05:58
Speaker
Yeah. Did you um ever, did you feel, so you said you had to suppress that like as a kid, do you feel like there was a time in your life that you refound that part of you and celebrated it I think it became later, actually, when I became mom, I discovered so much about myself when I became a mom, which sounds crazy because I didn't have my first kid until I was 36.
00:06:20
Speaker
So if you think about all that time in between, and this is, um my mom is an accountant. So my mom sees things very much black and white.
From Sales Manager to Mama Fresh
00:06:29
Speaker
And so she was like, I love you as a human,
00:06:32
Speaker
but If there was such thing, it's like test, like a paternity test for mothers. I think my mom would have taken it because she was like, what are you here to teach me? Like, what are you? I do not. I love you, but I don't understand you And so I always do. I just admired her ability to categorize things and see things so clearly. And I lived in the gray.
00:06:58
Speaker
My mom would say, i things are black and white to me and you're a world of polka dots. And I just don't know what's going on. And so I think that when I became a mom, I became very self-assured. it was very confident building, built my confidence because this was something that I was doing really well in my own way.
00:07:20
Speaker
And so I think with that late 30s and now into my mid 40s, I think this is something that I've had practice in and I've found that through motherhood. Wow. I love that.
00:07:32
Speaker
ah My mom is sort of similar and I kind of always, well, actually, no, she's creative. She doesn't really see black and white, but I think often when I was like building my business, she would be like, send me job postings. She would find, I'm like, mom, I built this, but I think it's hard. I think it's like hard for that generation a little bit to see like creating a job for yourself based on the things you're good at. Not like being like, oh, I'll do this job because it's secure.
00:08:00
Speaker
literally last week, and then we'll talk about the event I have coming up, and I'm doing this great big event. I'm celebrating a great win. I call my parents, and my dad says, one day, one day, someone's going to see you working hard, and they're going to take notice. Like, one day, you're going to make something of this. And I was like, from your mouth to God's ears, Daddy, one day. So it's that hopeful thing, but yeah, they just don't quite understand all the things that we have going on.
00:08:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And I actually, I had an event this weekend and somebody was like, what do you do? i was like, you're looking at it. What do you mean? but I think there are people that are very literal and black and white and it's hard for them to understand like the nuance and the creating.
00:08:46
Speaker
And that's kind of like what Mama Fresh does, right? Like that shows the in-between. Yeah, this is Mama Fresh. The whole point of Fresh that that we create a fresh community, a fresh person perspective of what motherhood looks like.
00:09:00
Speaker
So if we've grown up all of these years thinking of what it takes to look like a mother, dress like a mother, speak like a mother, behave like a mother, this is that we're put putting that on its head and we're doing it our own way.
00:09:12
Speaker
So that's the fresh part of it. It is a fresh approach of motherhood where we celebrate your unique track to get there. I love it. And you are fresh. i I love when you do your fit check after drop off at school. It does inspire me.
00:09:30
Speaker
You've got to follow her to see these outfits. But I love when you're like, do I look ridiculous like this going to school drop off? I don't care. and I'm like, you're right. Why am I not putting on a cool outfit?
00:09:42
Speaker
This is small things like this, you know, it' that kind of habit track for those things. um kind of helped me every day get it together and feel more unique in my perspective. I think that when we become mothers, some women, we think that you have to shut the door on the treat what happened before in your life then.
00:10:02
Speaker
And I think that for me, I'm finding ways that it just involves who I am. And that part is exciting for me. I love it.
Growing a Community Movement
00:10:12
Speaker
Okay. So is you kind of did say this, but is that like the story of how mama fresh, the brand came to be like, what was there like one moment that inspired you to start the movement that you're doing? Or is it just like, kind of, you had your first baby and you're like, I need to, I need to tell other moms like that they can become themselves. They're not losing themselves. They're finding more of themselves. Was there like a moment or how did it, how did you get here?
00:10:38
Speaker
So what I'm the risk the resistant entrepreneur. i always say I was when I had my first son, I was working a job that i traveled a lot.
00:10:49
Speaker
I traveled intensely. If you think about those like LinkedIn categorized, I was road warrior. So I spent a lot of time. I was the sales manager for the West Coast region of fashion brands.
00:11:01
Speaker
So I was on the road all the time. I traveled up until I was 38 weeks pregnant. And i was it was I was trying to prove a point and that I was down for the team. I could be a team player and this child would not slow me down a bit and it slowed me down. But I was a um so was on the road constantly and my I went back to work six weeks after having my baby.
00:11:29
Speaker
And i that six weeks was up on a Wednesday and I was on a plane that Friday. i cried in the Uber all the way to the airport. And so I would travel Monday or Monday morning, and I'm talking about like 6 a.m. Monday flight to Wednesday, to Wednesday night. I would come back on the last flight. and what I would do when I would be in a hotel room in Omaha pumping because I was still breastfeeding, I would look up things for me and my son to do that weekend.
00:12:01
Speaker
And so for me, it was like this mom guilt that I was holding on to because i was spend I was missing so much time with him. He was spending so much time. We had a great um sitter um who was like a grandmother figure became to him.
00:12:15
Speaker
And I felt so much guilt that she was seeing these first, first time he had oatmeal, first time, you know, to a new mother, that's a big deal. And I would just spend time in my hotel rooms, hooked up to my pump.
00:12:28
Speaker
looking up things for us to do. So when i I would end work at two o'clock on a Friday, I would pick him up early and we were off that weekend. So we would do all of these fun things. We live in Chicago. So there is a plethora of cultural and artistic and beautiful things to explore with the kid.
00:12:48
Speaker
And that's what we would do. And I started just taking a couple of videos. This was in the early days of Instagram. And people be like, where did you find a rhythmic drum circle led by a Grammy award winning drumist?
00:13:03
Speaker
You know what mean? But Old Town School school of Folk Music just happened to have these like drum circles for kids. And my kid was two months and I would just put them on a djembe and
The Essence of Real Community Building
00:13:13
Speaker
we were doing fun things like that.
00:13:15
Speaker
And so I was like, OK. And I would just start sending my friends these little things. Fast forward, I got laid off and I got a little bit of severance and it was the summer at this point. And I asked my husband, can I please, if we just cut back, can I have to the end of the summer just to be hands-on with my son, pull him back to three days into daycare and just we just do these things.
00:13:40
Speaker
Then I started sharing my events and then I didn't go back. And that is how Mama Fresh was born. My first video had 500 views. And I couldn't believe that 500 people were interested in what I was doing that weekend. My first meetup had three people and I was one of the three.
00:13:59
Speaker
it was two other women. And I cannot believe two other women wanted to spend their afternoon for one hour with me. Then two years later, i think at that point, it was over 100 women. We took over um Museum of Science and Industry with strollers and took it over for a morning.
00:14:15
Speaker
but it happened quickly, but it was all out of a necessity of what I needed for myself. Wow. That's so good. And, and also I think that that, that two other women being there is such a good reminder because I think so many people want to be like, I want to do this, but no one's following me. It's like, looks like you have 10 people following you. That's 10 people. Like those are your people.
00:14:37
Speaker
Those are your people. And when you are truly Building a community that is really about the people and not about yourself. The word will spread because you're in constant service of them. What do you guys need? tell me what Tell me what's going on. tell me you know Tell me what we need to do next. And then they feel a part of what is happening and that momentum. And that is how community is truly created.
00:15:01
Speaker
Yes. I, I, um, my like original, so I'm eight years into big city readers and the people that were like my first class, those people, I would do anything for them. They have my personal phone number. Like they don't abuse it, but they like, you know, they'll text me and I'll like get on the call on the phone with them. Cause I'm like, those are the people that when I was like, I think I going to teach this baby class. They were there and they kept coming for eight years and telling their friends and doing It's like those I wasn't like, oh I'm not going to do this. There's only eight people that are interested in this.
00:15:34
Speaker
It was like, oh, my gosh, these people are my people. They care about this. They're going to become like your ambassadors and build this with you. That's exactly it. And that is when we talk about building community, that's exactly what it's about.
00:15:48
Speaker
How can we help? Because you pour into the community and the community pours into you. You know this because you're eight years into the game, but that's how you truly do it. And when you think about building as mothers, as you think about building a community, you have to think about what about pouring into other moms?
00:16:05
Speaker
And then what can I, how can I show them the appreciation of what they're pouring into me? Hmm. I love that. So, okay. So that was, you kind of led into my next question was when it was going to be, what does community mean to you as a mom and a leader? Is there anything that you want to add outside of that?
00:16:23
Speaker
I think that there's, there's, I want to speak to moms who sometimes feel like I don't have a community because there are some of us that feel like, you know, there's these motherhood is full of cliches. Child, if they could put it on a t-shirt, they could put it on a, on a mug.
00:16:41
Speaker
If they could put it on a magnet, they are telling us all the things. And one of the things is like, you can't do it by yourself. You have to do it with a village. And I believe that is true.
00:16:52
Speaker
But to create your own, the hard work is, and you leave as much of this in as you want, the hard work is you have to show up for yourself. Because you have to show up for yourself and that is how you're able to show up for others.
00:17:07
Speaker
And that's the reciprocal part of community. So I sometimes ask moms, like, how are you showing up for yourself? How are you helping yourself?
Living Authentically and Personal Values
00:17:16
Speaker
And if you're depleted, that's why you can't show up from others. And that's why you don't feel attached. You just feel, cause you could be in a group of people and be a community, or you could be in a group and be by yourself so surrounded by other bodies.
00:17:29
Speaker
So truly to fill in community, you have to, um, show up for yourself. So that's always my first step of asking moms to um take that step first. how How do you show up for yourself? Because I'll say of my own personal witnessing you, I'm like, when we were at the DNC in Chicago together, like that was like basically like summer camp. We were like four or five days, whatever it was, just like all day, every day you were doing interviews, you were dropping your kids off at school in the morning, showing up in a cute outfit then to get our badges, then showing up, ah doing all these interviews, and your energy was always high. And i was like, how are you still doing this?
00:18:15
Speaker
So how do you like not get depleted? How do you show it for yourself? One of the things that worked for me is that luckily I live a life of authenticity where all things are aligned. So I'm not having to shut off and shut on parts of my personality throughout the day.
00:18:30
Speaker
That can be really exhausting. If you're living parts of your life that don't align with the others, you're having to show up different and kind of switch gears. That takes energy to do those things.
00:18:42
Speaker
So if you think about the values that you have, the values that you want your family to have, the, you know, the kind of family values and community values that helps. What works with me is I'm the same woman at drop-off that I was when I um am talking to a senator.
00:18:58
Speaker
Luckily, i get to just be me and she's a little bit all over the place, but I work really hard to try to truly be present and that helps a lot. That's good. Wow. I think it's, i think it it seems so simple. I feel like some people listening will be like, Oh, great. That's what everyone says. Be yourself. But it is so true. Like the more aligned with who you are, the more like you're showing other people, they can be like that. You're showing your kids. They can be like that. It's, it's very important.
00:19:25
Speaker
I mean, the thing is, it's like everyone says be them be yourself, but sometimes you interpret that as be the version of yourself you were before you had kids. So you can think like, oh, I'm snap back. My body's going to snap back. I'm going get back to myself.
00:19:40
Speaker
You might see your girlfriends that are single out and out. You're like, I got to get back to that. That going backwards pulls you back and makes you feel like you can't go forward and be by yourself. So you're exhausted because you're being pulled in two different directions.
00:19:54
Speaker
So being yourself is truly about being who you are right now. And of course, you can still be the girl that dances all night. She got soccer in the morning too, girl. And that is ah part of you as well.
00:20:07
Speaker
So it's being who you are at this moment, not who you were, or that can't be the goal of who you were and not who aspiration. i want to take Pilates five days a week, not trying to be hurt, just literally who you are right now.
Teaching Presence and Grounding to Children
00:20:22
Speaker
my gosh, that's the podcast. That is what so good. I feel like that's so good. be who you are right now.
00:20:33
Speaker
Right. If you deal with, i have a big feeler. So like I have a big feeling kid. My ear is a big feeler. And sometimes he also has been deemed gifted by certain things, which It's more about emotional intelligence. but But he feels things really deeply.
00:20:48
Speaker
And my reminder to him always is be where your feet are. Because he can sometimes think about too far ahead. He can think about what happens this way. And I say, look down, be where your feet are.
00:21:00
Speaker
And that is like something we can say when we're out in public. It doesn't embarrass him or anything, but it just brings him back to the moment. And sometimes we have to remind ourselves of that. I feel like that was a message for me. So thank you. yeah I am a big feeling kid grown up and it is so hard. Sometimes i like, even when I'm at events, like I like have to go into the bathroom and do like breath work because I just like feel everything around me too much. And I just get really overwhelmed, but just be right here. That's good.
00:21:32
Speaker
I mean, that, that, that woman that's in the bathroom at these fancy events is the same girl that your sister put at the front. because she can feel the energy in the room. So if a mom is coming to vacation Bible study, she's Bible school and she's nervous to drop her kid off. This is the first time she's new to this neighborhood.
00:21:50
Speaker
She might not have those words, but if you can feel all that and meet her where you are, that's the same success of where you're able to work with parents that are in such a big transition in their life, reading, early literacy, going to school, all those things.
Balancing Personal Journey and Privacy
00:22:07
Speaker
Wow, you are like taking us to church. No!
00:22:13
Speaker
I mean, yeah. ah wow Okay. So what, um, let's see, I'm like, where do I want to go next? Um, Oh, okay. This is a big one. How do you balance sharing your personal journey and protecting your family's privacy? You're big at sharing, like these are events going on this weekend.
00:22:34
Speaker
And I guess follow-up question is like, do you ever fear like, Hey, this event is happening. And then you're like, well, I just shared where my family will be. And what if, This is not safe. I don't know. Like the things that people fear, maybe, and maybe that's just like being too many but steps into the future. And we need to remember that our feet are right here. But how do you, how do you balance that?
00:22:53
Speaker
I think that these are things that I didn't think about when I first started. I think um really real time updates, consent. Those are things that I had a seven month old baby or no, he was one by then.
00:23:06
Speaker
So I didn't have to think about these things. I am here to talk about all the things and none of the things. So I share as much as I personally feel comfortable with through my perspective.
00:23:20
Speaker
One thing, and this is something that I don't talk about often, I pulled back showing my husband so much on my page. used to have him there a lot, but my husband travels a lot for work.
00:23:31
Speaker
And I realized you can kind of see when I'm like doing double drop off, you kind of see that the stress that my husband's out of town. And it is very clear of what neighborhood I live in because I've been in city advertisements for my neighborhood.
00:23:45
Speaker
And so just to alleviate any of that, I don't let that pattern show up. So I'm never saying, oh, this is hard. I'm solo parenting this week. My husband's in Tampa. I don't say that part. I will say, all right, my husband's but Now we're back together. So that makes that makes that reference, but I don't share that intimate real-time timeline.
00:24:07
Speaker
Oh, that's a good one. So that's been a trick. For the events that I'm going to, i have a four-year-old and an eight-year-old, but I talk about events from six weeks to teenagers. So I'm here to truly be in service. So I'm telling the the families what they need.
00:24:21
Speaker
And then I told them we'll be out and about. We live, i always say that the part of the place that I'm in with content creation, my follower account, is that they're at the grocery store. They're at the farmer's market. these And it helps with a level of accountability that is amazing.
00:24:38
Speaker
But I don't mind people coming up and saying hello. ah But I do have healthy boundaries around, like, if they say hello lot to my kids, they can
Promoting Diversity in Parenting
00:24:45
Speaker
say hello to me first. I will kind of. um Yeah, to je with those things. But other than that, everyone's been really respectful.
00:24:51
Speaker
And I think that's something also like very Chicago, you know what I mean? Like people are like, hey, I get it. You know what I mean? Like I respect your privacy. And I really appreciate that. Yes, I do too. i once had at Trader Joe's this woman, actually, she was at my event this weekend. But I mean, this happens a lot at Trader Joe's. But she was like, Oh, I once saw you Trader Joe's last year. And I said, Hi.
00:25:13
Speaker
And I was like, and I loved that. Like, I you like that. I'm literally sharing tips. I want to know who is receiving them. I want to know who's benefiting. That means a lot to me. And that I'm not just talking to a blank wall.
00:25:28
Speaker
So I love people saying hi But it it is it is a hard balance of like, But then don't follow me to my car. Exactly. so And you know, one thing about that, when because I do include my kids in my work, I only talk about things from my perspective.
00:25:43
Speaker
So both of my kids are in therapy and I think speech therapy, language therapy, occupational, every T. If it's a letter in front of a T, we've been at P-T-O-T-L-T, all the T's.
00:25:56
Speaker
So we've been there. So I don't talk about the struggles. And my four-year-old, when he was growing, he had a developmental delay. So instead of me, he was too young to give medical consent for me to really get into specifics.
00:26:10
Speaker
So what I do talk about my perspective of how therapy has helped with my parenting. So I don't get to say like, He was having meltdowns.
00:26:21
Speaker
He's struggling with this. either yeah I get to say, as a parent, I felt inadequate of being able to give my kids everything they needed at that point in time. And I wasn't afraid to seek help and partnership.
00:26:34
Speaker
So that kind of lens always helps me honor them. And as they get older, I hope that they appreciate that as well. i I love that. Wow. um Okay.
00:26:44
Speaker
Can you talk about like what role representation plays in parenting and the spaces that you're creating for families? That is always the diversity and motherhood has always been like at that top level ah of um my mission statement and value statement.
00:27:01
Speaker
And so we think about what does, and this a very timely conversation that we're having, but we think about what does a diversity look like and what does. And we have to think about it outside of, because usually we think about diversity, we go right to race, to ethnicity.
00:27:16
Speaker
Surely you think about that because i want families to see themselves. But motherhood also is a journey that people come through through various ways. So you can think about giving birth. You think about adoption.
00:27:30
Speaker
You think about surrogacy. You think about um foster parents. You think about all these things. And that's why I'm saying that diversity in motherhood has to be celebrated of how you get there.
00:27:42
Speaker
And I'm always being, um mindful And I think there's always growth for how I reference families. And as I get it, so I'll never say like, get your mom and dad. I'm always like, grab a grownup. Or I'm saying, where's your grownup? Those things. Because literally the moment, and I know this because I went to all the classes and I went to all the workshops when I was um pregnant was my first.
00:28:05
Speaker
And sometimes a doctor who had really great things to say about sleep would say, You know, when your kid is in their playroom upstairs and you're downstairs, well, now what?
00:28:17
Speaker
I live in a sleep condo. There's no playroom. My kids, or when I hear a behavioral therapist say, the reason that your kid isn't sleeping is that there are too many toys in their room. Toys were belong in the playroom.
00:28:28
Speaker
In their room, you should only have a bed. And you have me and I'm like, we, the toys is, the bedroom is a playroom. And so I'm already missing out on valuable things that she could say next because I feel disconnected and she's not talking to me.
00:28:43
Speaker
So that's also diversity. And what do our homes look like? What do our families look like? Who's in our home? Do our grandparents in there? Is it a multi-generational home? So that's when I think about diversity of um parenthood and motherhood that I really try to, um,
00:29:00
Speaker
Make sure that everyone feels seen. When we think about literacy of books that we see, I think that there's a beautiful space right now where um so many stories are being told.
00:29:13
Speaker
And I love using any time I'm going through a transition, i'm always like, there has to be a book about this. And so I always will try to find that book for my kids and talk about um what they're going through.
00:29:26
Speaker
And so I think that we can use those things as a reflection of what diversity looks like as well.
Partnerships for Diversity and Inclusion
00:29:32
Speaker
That's good. That's very good. wow i didn't even i didn't even think of the that i didn't even notice that people would say things like playroom. I'm like, yeah, what are these imaginary homes that you're describing? I was like, what? i was i I literally, and I think that there's always...
00:29:51
Speaker
early on um Early on when I first started working with brands, I think I had a whopping like 2,700 followers. But what I was doing was fresh. So people wanted to be down with it. And there was... ah Brand that I now work very closely with and I love and they're like, we would love for you to host a play date here.
00:30:08
Speaker
And I looked at their social media. I looked at their website. I looked at everything and I said, would you love me? Because there is no one on any of your sites that look like me, my girlfriend, the people that I would have there or my child.
00:30:24
Speaker
And they were in a unique situation and they said, yeah, because we don't have anyone enrolled in our school. And that's an issue. So we are trying to be intentional about reaching out because we want we don't want to keep we could they could have kept with their business for years and doing it that way.
00:30:44
Speaker
but So what does that really look like? What does that equity look like? But through this conversation, I was like, okay, I'm going to invite four of my friends. Let's have a photo shoot. Let's take some more pictures. And they're like, I love this.
00:30:55
Speaker
And then we start have play day. And then we start saying, and we thought that was enough. Okay, we're having kids in the schools. And now we're looking more diverse than that. What does our administrators, who's teaching? Is it always right?
00:31:09
Speaker
So then we got challenged with, all right, less let's push to see more diversity with teachers. Where are we finding teachers? Where are we putting? So then we pull those things in and it has been a beautiful partnership. And now I sit on the board of one of the organizations, but it came through those conversations that we were able to do so.
Fostering Connection Through Events
00:31:29
Speaker
That's amazing. And that's amazing that you were able to like do one step at a time, be like, okay, here's what we're going to do first, and then look at where it goes. Because I think a lot of people probably feel like they don't know where to start if if that was there their brand's goal or something. But asking for your support, sounds like you were like, here's what we're going do. And they listened.
00:31:51
Speaker
And they listened. And that's what True Partnership is about. That's amazing. um Okay. What is a Mama Fresh moment? i Oh my gosh, I just did your Mama Fresh. I love that. do Good branding. What's um a Mama Fresh moment that stands out to you and and like that you kind of like come back to that anchors you of like, this is why I do it?
00:32:15
Speaker
When i used to host these things that were stroller walks and the thing that made it different because there's a lot of I don't want to use the trademark word, but there are stroller struts or something that are very health-based, and you pay a fee, and they're strolling, they're pushing.
00:32:35
Speaker
Mine was different because I wanted it to be all about community. That was the purpose. The purpose wasn't anything but to build community. And they um ah that's the same event that I had two people show up for the first time.
00:32:49
Speaker
Someone from the Museum of Science and Industry here on the South Side of Chicago reached out to me and they said, we want our museum to be explored by our community. We have these community days where they're free to come in and we want mothers to feel like this is a home where they really can, it's one of the few museums where your kids can touch and feel and pull and look and we want to open it up.
00:33:14
Speaker
So we said, sounds good. So I had one of our walks there. And the entire rotundo was full of moms, grandmothers, aunts, godmothers.
00:33:28
Speaker
And i think it was like 75 adults and their strollers. And you could to just see it. And I was just in the midst of this looking around. And I felt so amazing that we were in this historical building And it was showing the power of community and motherhood.
00:33:49
Speaker
And I love seeing people come out in groups, but I always have a special place in my heart for the mom that comes along. The mom that packed up a kid, maybe even packed her bag up the night before, had all the snacks, thought of all the
Upcoming Momcation Retreat
00:34:04
Speaker
situations. She's basically with a carry on suitcase because she has so many spare outfits and all the things.
00:34:10
Speaker
And she made it by herself to come. I think that's such a brave situation. So whenever I see that mom, I'm always so excited. I love that. You're so thoughtful and intentional to like be looking for her.
00:34:26
Speaker
Um, oh, wow. Jenny, Chicago is so lucky to have you. Can you tell us, ah tell us where, where we can come hang out with you? What's happening in Chicago? i guess this is going to be coming out in like a week. So, um, what do you have something coming up? How can people connect with you? How can people be a part of your community?
00:34:46
Speaker
I love it. So you can find me on mama, fresh, chicago.com. You can follow me on all my socials. I'm mama, fresh m-a-m-a fresh shy c-h-i and i'm on all the platforms you can follow me on there instagram is kind of my hero platform and i love to interact with families there um And you can look out for every Friday I release a video of fun things to do in the city.
00:35:12
Speaker
Things that are upcoming up, I'm doing an event I'm really excited about. So I'm really concerned with mothers and our state and our well-being. And this became through my work. Last year I worked with the U.S. Surgeon General and he was lovely.
00:35:26
Speaker
And we met and there was all of this. science-backed evidence about the effect of loneliness on people and when people feel alone. And it was all this brain research and it happens through major transitions.
00:35:40
Speaker
And parenthood is a huge one. And when I saw this, the science of it, it was like validating all the things I feel. Like I'm not just making this up.
00:35:51
Speaker
So it really made me focus on mothers. And I know if I pour into them, then they will pour into their kids. Important to families and families being the backbone um of our society.
00:36:03
Speaker
So I came up with something called a momcation. And it is a mom staycation. And so we are taking over a luxury boutique hotel in Hyde Park. and we are, you come in and you check in And it is the entire hotel.
00:36:19
Speaker
Every room has been sold out just to moms. And so we are taking it over. It's called the Momcation. and You can come and be feel free. And we have beautiful things. Check in. We have flowers. There's a welcome reception.
00:36:33
Speaker
There's on one floor, there's something called Self-Care Row where different brands are coming just to tell you more of how you could take care of yourself. There's a Pajama Swarway.
00:36:44
Speaker
Even down to the DJs for the weekend are moms. Like that is how comfortable. I want you to be in the environment. And so Momcation is coming up March 8th at the Sophie Hotel. I'm really excited about this event.
Gratitude for Community Impact
00:37:01
Speaker
Wow. i Wait, did you say it's sold out? Or are there still spots if people want to come? I think to stay tuned. So I have a group because we, to be completely honest, we filled every room within seven days.
00:37:12
Speaker
That is how, that is, but we sold out the entire, and the hotel has never done a buyout. And then we sold the entire thing out of seven days. But as we know, life happens. So stay tuned. i have a wait list and as and I've already been pulling things off the wait list.
00:37:26
Speaker
So as rooms open up, I will filter those strictly to other mothers. And so it is going to be a great time. And it's, location will always just be one night because my, my, and my hope is that you see, it doesn't take a lot to just press that reset button.
00:37:45
Speaker
Jenny, that's amazing. You're amazing. you. And okay. So we'll, we'll link where they can follow you. You're going to share things to do with the family um,
00:37:56
Speaker
how to recharge and feel less alone. I can't, I, this was so, um this inspired me. So I hope, I hope that all the moms listening feel inspired. Yeah. i want to say thank you. Thank you so much, honestly, for having me here.
00:38:10
Speaker
And also I think it's what you are doing because you are an expert in the, you're expert in the field and you're very reassuring to mothers where they are.
00:38:24
Speaker
Like every mom just wants the best for their kids. And especially education is such a subjective thing of like early literacy readiness. And it can bring up a lot of insecurities and it's a very vulnerable state.
00:38:36
Speaker
And I love that before you get into the science, before you get into phonetics and before you get into tips, you start a reassurance. And I love that about you. And it's something I've seen in person.
00:38:50
Speaker
And so I want to say thank you to you for that. oh Thank you. Wow. Thank you. My gosh, seriously, you brought me to church.
00:38:59
Speaker
Okay. Well, Mama Fresh, we will have you back to share more tips and ah and events to do with your kids very soon, I hope. um Whenever you put the invitation out, whenever you want me I will be here.
00:39:13
Speaker
Yay. All right. Thank you. Thank you so much.