We’re hanging out with our friend Jackie Kelley—aka @StayatHomeJackie— for a wide-ranging friend chat about embracing who you are, finding joy in the weird stuff, and navigating the beautiful chaos of parenting.
Jackie talks about what it means to be a “Stay at Home Jackie,” why seeing people with bodies like yours joyfully existing can be so powerful, and how she’s learned to care less about other people’s expectations of how she should look, dress, or express herself.
We also get into the art of unmasking—from leaving behind the beige Hobby Lobby version of yourself to embracing colorful clothes, strange hobbies, loud hair, stupid tattoos, and, of course, whimsy.
And then things get delightfully weird.
Jackie tells us about her stuffed-animal rehabilitation hobby, how she rescues sad thrift-store stuffies, gives them new life, and finds them new homes. We discuss haunted dolls (hard pass), distinguished teddy bears, Build-A-Bear surprises, and the very real emotional trauma of a decapitated elephant stuffie.
From there, we wander through nonfiction about pirates, scurvy, medical history, poison, and Victorian-era attempts at resuscitation; Pokemon trading among four-year-olds; preserving childhood collections; Disney trip logistics; parenting kids with completely different personalities; and why sometimes the best parenting strategy is simply to divide and conquer.
We also talk about something especially close to home: learning to recognize and communicate when we’re reaching our limits. Whether that means singing instead of yelling, taking a timeout, asking for some quiet, or simply saying, “I’m not doing well right now,” we’re modeling for our kids that boundaries and big feelings are things we can communicate—not things we have to hide until we explode.
And, naturally, we end up talking about children’s bizarre questions, Minecraft-induced trance states, and why sometimes you just have to remind your kid to blink.
It’s a classic friend chat: a little deep, a little ridiculous, and full of reminders that we’re allowed to have fun, be weird, and build full lives while we’re raising our kids.
Find Jackie:
@StayatHomeJackie on Instagram, TikTok and Youtube
StayAtHomeJackie.com
And be sure to check out her upcoming book, So You Married a Human!
Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.
Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit
Podcast: Play in new window | Download