Welcome back, you wonderful planned-ish people. If you’ve ever tried to make dinner while your husband is yelling at the TV and your toddler is sprinting around chanting “GO PACK GO”… welcome home. 😅

We chat on:

• our painful recording fail (RIP to the lost episode thanks to an echo + two mics + zero headphones 🙃)
• sharing what “dry-ish January” has actually done for our energy
• debriefing Joe’s first-ever Traeger brisket (complete with the stall, the wrap, and the “we were hungry so we rushed the rest” moment).

Then we dive into what you requested: football + sports in our household

• how we became a sports house (or more accurately… a “sports husband”)
• why football hits different
• how a win vs. loss shifts the vibe
• what it’s like living with playoff-mode Joe.
• also talk kids + sports, screen time during football season (we’re fine with it), and why game day = food… but the goal is great meals with minimal kitchen destruction.

And of course, we wrap with a heated Elite-ish 8: the most overrated foods (margs, Nutella, avocado toast, Eggs Benedict… we said what we said). Go vote on Instagram and help us break the season tie.

Plus: if you missed our cleaner-swaps convo, I put the whole “starter kit” in my blog + you can grab my Reset Sheet in that post to make the switch without going full 180.

🔗 Follow along: @backtwohomebase | www.backtwohomebase.com ✨ Home Base Hosting Club: backtwohomebase.com/homebasehostingclub

planned-ish podcast, football marriage, sports household, Packers fans, game day meals, hosting game day, dry January, Traeger brisket, toddler mom life, potty training weekend, clean reset, cleaner swaps, Branch Basics, family routines, Super Bowl food ideas

#PlannedishPodcast #MomLifeUnfiltered #GameDayEats #FootballFamily #HostingMadeEasy

This week on Planned-ish, Joe and I kick off the first episode of the year with a brutally real debrief: toddler Christmas programs, the “not-the-4pm-flu” flu that took us OUT, and what it looks like to parent when you’re running on Zofran + vibes. We also talk New Year intentions that actually work in real life (not fantasy-land), plus our Elite-ish 8: things that instantly make the week better.

Then I’m joined by Lindsey Wagnon — mom of two, former corporate marketing leader turned agency owner, recovering perfectionist, and marketing strategist who helps small businesses launch with smart messaging. We get into burnout, priorities, and building a business that fits your life (not the other way around).

We talk:

– The moment she knew corporate life wasn’t sustainable anymore (& what pushed her to leave)

– Ditching the expectation that moms have to want the “standard path”

– Recovering perfectionism + embracing the “B+ lifestyle” in motherhood

– Why priorities come before business goals (lifestyle-first planning)

– How to simplify an overloaded to-do list without guilt

– Marketing strategy vs. brand storytelling (and what actually moves the needle)

Plus:

✨ Debrief + New Year Reset with Joe: the holiday flu chaos, the post-holiday overstimulation crash, and our real-life 2026 intentions (communication + active listening, less guilt, less comparison, more realistic routines)

📝 Resolutions + Reflections: what we’re leaving in 2025, what we’re focusing on in 2026 (health, communication), and goals that are actually doable in the toddler trenches

🏆 Elite-ish 8: things that instantly improve your week (sleep, meal plan, clean sheets, a midweek treat, to-do lists, quality time with the kids, and more)

✨ Follow Lindsey: Instagram | www.lindseywagnon.com

🎧 Her podcast: Savvy Startup Marketer

🔗 Follow along: @backtwohomebase | www.backtwohomebase.com

✨ Home Base Hosting Club: backtwohomebase.com/homebasehostingclub

🔗 New Years Vision Canvas + Q1 Bingo Card: https://www.backtwohomebase.com/elite-ish-edit/newyearvisions

mom podcast, parenting toddlers, mom burnout, marriage communication, realistic New Year goals, family routines, mental load, burnout recovery, working mom life, corporate to entrepreneur, mom business owner, lifestyle-first business, recovering perfectionist, mental load, priorities over perfection, time management for moms, productivity for moms, marketing strategy, messaging strategy, content strategy, small business marketing, agency owner, mom routines, realistic goal setting

#mompreneur #momlifeunfiltered #parentingpodcast #marketingstrategy #toddlermomlife

This week on Planned-ish, we’re sitting down with Sydney O’Brien — content & messaging strategist, military spouse, mom of three, and queen of building a business in the cracks of real life. From deployment seasons to school transitions and schedules that never look the same two days in a row, Sydney basically lives in the planned-ish trenches every day.

We talk:

– Starting a business during deployment with a 6-month-old, 2-year-old, and 4-year-old

– How to build something meaningful when plans change every five minutes

– Letting “good enough” actually be enough for the house, the business, and the to-do list

– Mental load, invisible labor, and why communication with your partner + kids matters so much

– Boundaries, expectations, and how to talk about what you need without burning out

Plus:

✨ Debrief of the Week: Two and a half weeks of family in town, school Christmas programs, Mickey’s Once & Twice Upon a Christmas on repeat, and the great “treadmill” Christmas gift reveal

💩 Poopgate 2025: Twin diaper removals, mystery corner piles, Reddit-level research on potty training, and our very scientific January plan

🎄 Holiday Survival Vibes: Half-hearted workouts, nightly walks, Christmas Eve/Day pasta + burger traditions, and setting tiny, actually-doable New Year’s resolutions

🏆 Elite-ish 8: Top Christmas Movies — Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause, Home Alone, The Grinch, Christmas with the Kranks, The Holiday, and more comfort-watch chaos

Whether you’re hiding Amazon boxes, stepping over toys, debating if Instagram can wait, or just here for Christmas movie talk and twin potty-training solidarity — this one’s got it all, Planned-ish style. 💙

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✨ Follow Sydney on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sydneyobrien.co/ or visit her site https://sydneyobrien.com/

She helps mompreneurs create content that leads to clients, even with limited time.

Check out her podcast too Mompreneur Mastery: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mompreneur-mastery/id1695196941

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🔗 Follow along:

✨ Follow https://www.instagram.com/backtwohomebase/ for lifestyle, hosting, and podcast updates

✨ Visit www.backtwohomebase.com for great family recipes, hosting kits, party planning vibes

✨Join the Home Base Hosting Club for monthly hosting inspo: https://www.backtwohomebase.com/homebasehostingclub

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