Burnt Pancakes: Momversations | Conversations for Imperfect Moms, Chats About Mom Life & Interviews with Real Mamas

In this solo episode, I, Katie Fenske, offer an inside look at the whirlwind of life as a mom to three energetic boys. Join me as I recount the typical chaos of a weekday in the Fenske household, starting with the early morning hours I carve out for myself. This precious "me time" is spent indulging in my latest fitness obsession, Legree classes, where I embrace the challenge of megareformer machines. I share the ups and downs of returning to a workout routine after having my youngest, Maverick, and how this journey has differed from my experiences with my other pregnancies. 
As the sun rises, so does the hustle of the morning routine with my boys, who seem to have a knack for sleeping in on school days but waking up bright and early on weekends. Our mornings are filled with wake-ups,  breakfast, from cereal to the occasional pancakes. 

 The bustling mornings transition into school drop-offs and my workday, which is a balancing act of producing this podcast, coordinating guests, and managing social media, all while nurturing my side business of potty training consultations.
As the day unfolds, I explore the evening chaos that comes with juggling homework, sports, and family time.  Football practice dominates our schedule, with quick dinners. Bedtime becomes a streamlined affair, with audiobooks aiding Ronin's school quizzes, offering a brief respite before Jake and I finally unwind.

 Throughout this episode, I invite you to embrace the joy in the ordinary, sharing relatable moments that remind us of the beauty in our shared, albeit hectic, lives.

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖  Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓  FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

Some episodes include affiliate links at no cost to you.

We're really good at keeping track of all the things we get wrong in motherhood. The times we lose our patience, forget something important, or wonder if we're completely screwing up our kids. But what about the things we're actually getting RIGHT?
In this episode, I'm flipping the script and giving myself a little credit for some of the things I think I've done well as a mom of three boys. And no, I'm not claiming to have motherhood all figured out. Let's not get crazy.
From not panicking over every scraped knee to the one time I forgot to pick my kids up from school (yes, ONE time 😂), I'm reflecting on the little things that I hope are making a difference.
We're talking about encouraging independence, navigating the baby-led weaning stage, raising kids who feel comfortable talking to us about the awkward stuff, and creating fun family traditions without turning every birthday and holiday into a Pinterest-worthy production.
Because sometimes we're so busy focusing on our mistakes that we forget to acknowledge the things we're doing right.
This episode is your reminder that you don't have to be a perfect mom to be a good mom. Maybe you're doing better than you think.
In this episode, we're talking about:
 Staying calm when our kids get hurt (and why not every scrape needs to be an emergency) 
 The time I forgot to pick up my kids from school 🤦‍♀️ 
 Encouraging independence, even when it's easier to do everything ourselves 
 Why I feel good about how we introduced solid foods 
 Raising kids who feel comfortable talking to us about the awkward stuff 
 Making holidays and birthdays special without going overboard 
 Letting kids be kids instead of constantly trying to optimize their childhood 
 Giving ourselves credit for the little things we get right 
Let's talk! What do you think you've actually gotten right in motherhood? Maybe it's something big, or maybe it's one of those little things that nobody else even notices. I'd love for you to take a minute to give yourself some credit, too!

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖  Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓  FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

Some episodes include affiliate links at no cost to you.

On this THROWBACK episode from 2023 I shared a personal story that taught me a valuable lesson about prioritizing what's important during the holiday season. Listen in as I recount the story of creating a complex, handmade Halloween costume for my three-year-old son that he only wore for a mere four minutes. This experience served as a reminder that it's essential to focus on what truly matters and let go of the guilt of not being able to do it all.

In the second part of the episode, I explore the concept of making choices that feel right to us, especially during stressful times like the holidays.  This episode encourages all moms to remember that it's okay to make mistakes, to be gentle with ourselves, and to "Just keep flipping" even during the holidays.

Check out the Bumblebee Costume: click here

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖  Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓  FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

Some episodes include affiliate links at no cost to you.

Why does your first kid get all the rules while your youngest seems to get away with everything? 😂
In this episode, I'm talking about birth order and how differently kids can experience the exact same family. Having three boys has made me realize just how different childhood can look depending on where you fall in the birth order.
Maverick, my youngest, is six and already playing video games, watching shows with his brothers, wearing PSD and Ethika underwear, and throwing around words like "bruh" and "chud." Meanwhile, at the same age, his oldest brother Ronin was wearing Elmo underwear, watching little-kid shows, and I was horrified when he came home from preschool saying "what the heck." 😂
I talk about:
 Why firstborns often get the strictest version of us 
 Being the "guinea pig" parent with your oldest 
 How parenting changes as we gain experience 
 Why younger siblings are exposed to older kids, language, technology, and freedoms much earlier 
 Why Maverick's childhood looks NOTHING like Ronin's did at the same age 
 How our rules around bikes, technology, independence, and screen time evolve 
 Why being treated differently doesn't necessarily mean being loved differently 
 The unique experience of being the middle child 
 Why middle kids may become adaptable, independent, or learn to find their own identity 
 How easy it is for the "easy" child to get overlooked 
 Why three kids can grow up in the same house but have completely different childhood experiences 
 And the realization that maybe our firstborn wasn't just our first child... they were also the child who taught us how to be parents 
Because let's be honest: the first kid gets the rule book, the middle kid gets lost in the shuffle, and the youngest gets raised by the other two. 😂
And somehow, we're all going to turn out okay.
Listen, laugh, and then tell me...
Where do you fall in your family, and do you think your birth order affected who you became?
And if you have multiple kids: Are you parenting your youngest differently than you parented your

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖  Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓  FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

Some episodes include affiliate links at no cost to you.

What if one of the hardest parts of parenting isn’t figuring out how to control our kids’ behavior, emotions, and choices… but learning to let go of that control?
In this episode, I’m talking with writer and mother Anya Jensen about her philosophy of detachment parenting.
Anya found herself struggling with the emotional demands of parenting teenagers and the growing tension in her relationship with her daughter. She eventually realized that some of her heartache came from trying to control things that were never actually hers to control.
We talk about what detachment parenting really means, why moms can feel responsible for their kids’ emotions, and how we can love our children deeply without taking on every emotion, problem, or disappointment they experience.
And while Anya’s work focuses heavily on teenagers, I think this idea applies to motherhood at every stage: We can support our kids without trying to control them.
In this episode, we talk about:
 What “detachment parenting” actually means 
 Why moms feel responsible for their kids’ emotions 
 The emotional exhaustion that can come with parenting teenagers 
 Learning to accept the limits of our influence 
 Parenting our kids without trying to give them the childhood we wish we had 
 What detachment can look like in everyday parenting 
 Loving our kids without losing ourselves 
Connect with Anya:
Tiktok: @detachmentparenting
Substack: Notes by Anya
YouTube: Notes by Anya
The takeaway: Detachment doesn’t mean caring less. Sometimes it means learning to love our kids while letting them have their own feelings, make their own choices, and become their own people.

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

You can find Katie at:
website: burntpancakes.com
YouTube: @burnt.pancakes
Instagram: @burntpancakeswithkatie
Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

🚽 Did you know Katie is also a Certified Potty Trainer? 🚽

☎️ Schedule a 1:1 chat today: Schedule Here
💻 Digital Potty Training Course HERE
📖  Potty Training E-Book HERE
🆓  FREE potty training resources HERE
Instagram: @itspottytime
Tiktok: @itspottytime_

Some episodes include affiliate links at no cost to you.