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Speaker 1: It's the Happy Families Podcast.

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Speaker 2: It's the podcast for the time poor parent who just

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Speaker 2: wants answers Now Gooday.

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Speaker 3: This is doctor Justin Coulson, the founder of Happy Families

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Speaker 3: dot com dot A you, dad toes six, daughter's husband

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Speaker 3: to one wife and the parenting expert and co host

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Speaker 3: on chan Lyne's Parental Guidance. Also the host of this podcast,

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Speaker 3: that Happy Families Podcast. Thank you so much for listening

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Speaker 3: and allowing me into your life to hopefully be useful

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Speaker 3: in making your family happier. Right now, school holidays in Queensland,

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Speaker 3: which means that I'm doing my best to spend as

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Speaker 3: much time in the sunshine with Kylie and the girls

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Speaker 3: as I can. Today's guest is one of Australia's most

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Speaker 3: well known media personalities and somebody else who is going

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Speaker 3: to be joining me in the Happy Family's Hot Mess Summit.

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Speaker 3: If you haven't heard the news, we've got another summit

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Speaker 3: coming up. We've done Bringing up Boys, We've done Misconnection,

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Speaker 3: We've done little People, Big Feelings, and now the Happy

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Speaker 3: Families Hot Mess Summit. It's just around the corner. All

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Speaker 3: the details are at Happy Families dot com dot AU

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Speaker 3: or on the Happy Family Facebook page. We're going to

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Speaker 3: be talking about how you can help your family to

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Speaker 3: be less of a hot mess and be more joyful

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Speaker 3: and function better. And somebody who's life literally is on

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Speaker 3: the record as being from time to time a really

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Speaker 3: hot mess, but somebody who is also so inspirational in

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Speaker 3: the way that she's dealt with it is Jessica Row.

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Speaker 3: That's who we're going to be having as part of

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Speaker 3: the hot Mess Summit, and it's a wonderful conversation that

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Speaker 3: we'll have there. But I wanted to get her on

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Speaker 3: the Happy Families podcast to let you know what you

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Speaker 3: could be in for and to have Jessica rowe participate

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Speaker 3: in a Lightning Round. Thank you so much for being here.

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Speaker 1: Jess Oh, it's so good to be talking to you

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Speaker 1: justin You know how much I love.

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Speaker 2: Chatting with you.

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Speaker 3: Well, I love chatting with you as well. The Lightning

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Speaker 3: Round is something that you haven't done before, though, and

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Speaker 3: it's going to put you on the spot and put

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Speaker 3: you into a couple of awkward positions because it's fun.

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Speaker 3: But this is a lightning round, so we're looking for short,

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Speaker 3: quick answers and we're just going to play around with

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Speaker 3: some ideas about being a parent. Are you ready to

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Speaker 3: dive in to the happy family's lightning round?

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Speaker 1: I'm ready, but sure. You see, this will be much

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Speaker 1: for me because you know, I like to talk, so it's.

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Speaker 3: Got to be shot. That's why you're so much fun.

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Speaker 3: All right, let's start with the basic ones. Tell us

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Speaker 3: how many kids you've gotten? How old?

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Speaker 1: Okay, two daughters. Allegra is fifteen and Gizelle is thirteen.

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Speaker 3: Do you have a favorite child?

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Speaker 2: No, of course I don't have a favorite child.

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Speaker 3: Who do you love most? Peter, your partner, your husband,

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Speaker 3: or your kids?

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Speaker 2: All?

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Speaker 1: Oh? No, choose yeah, no, because I don't think you

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Speaker 1: can say you.

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Speaker 2: Love someone the most.

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Speaker 1: I love my husband in a different way to how

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Speaker 1: I love my kids, But if I think about the

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Speaker 1: enormity of the love, it's definitely my kids.

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Speaker 3: Yes, ideal number of kids. Two, that's firm.

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Speaker 2: Oh, I knew when I was pregnant with Gizelle. I'm like, nah,

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Speaker 2: that's it. I'm not doing this again.

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Speaker 3: How do you rate yourself as a parent?

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Speaker 1: You know I would in the past have rated myself low,

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Speaker 1: but I'm going to give myself a nine.

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Speaker 2: Out of ten.

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Speaker 3: Wow, big school, nice work, good on you for backing yourself. Jess.

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Speaker 3: What's something great, something great that your parents did that

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Speaker 3: you've tried to continue in your parenting.

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Speaker 2: Oh, it's hard to think of just one thing.

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Speaker 1: Both of my parents, even though they're divorced, they both

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Speaker 1: were very encouraging about using our voices to make a difference.

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Speaker 1: And I very much try with both of my daughters

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Speaker 1: to empower them to stand up for what they believe

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Speaker 1: in and to know that they can make a change.

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Speaker 2: Don't wait for other people, you can do something.

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Speaker 3: I like that a lot, Jess. This is one of

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Speaker 3: the trickiest questions you'll get in this lightning round. Who

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Speaker 3: is the better parent, you or Peter.

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Speaker 2: Oh, well, I'll say me, but no, you know what,

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Speaker 2: We're different.

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Speaker 1: Pete is much more strict in inverted commas, but he

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Speaker 1: really is a softy, whereas I'm more free in the

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Speaker 1: sense I've always been a lot more flexible and sort

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Speaker 1: of I suppose more fun, dare I say? And Pete's

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Speaker 1: more that I don't want to say enforce it because

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Speaker 1: that makes him sound really tough.

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Speaker 2: But he's Pete's more that, No, come on, we've got

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Speaker 2: to do this and let's get up. But up, but

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Speaker 2: up Rose, I'll still be having a cup of coffee.

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Speaker 3: In bed in your army's dressing gown. I get it.

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Speaker 3: Tough one for you. What's the hardest thing about being

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Speaker 3: a parent?

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Speaker 2: Oh? Does there just have to be one? I think

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Speaker 2: being a parent it's so hard.

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Speaker 3: Nobody said that the hardest thing about being a parent

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Speaker 3: is being a parent.

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Speaker 1: But if I had to one, Oh, I can't even

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Speaker 1: say there's just one particular thing that stands out.

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Speaker 2: I think letting go.

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Speaker 1: Being a parent, I'm discovering is a series of letting goes,

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Speaker 1: and each stage you have to let go of a

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Speaker 1: bit more and give your kids a bit more room

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Speaker 1: to grow and for them to sort of thrive, but

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Speaker 1: also without because I have a tendency to be a

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Speaker 1: bit of a helicopter, so I think a series of

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Speaker 1: letting guys that that's what I find difficult to do.

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Speaker 3: If you could spend an hour with your children at

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Speaker 3: any age, Jessica Rome, what age would you choose? And why,

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Speaker 3: I've got.

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Speaker 2: To say, at the moment, who knows what the future

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Speaker 2: will be like.

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Speaker 1: I far more enjoy spending time with my daughters now

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Speaker 1: that they're older.

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Speaker 2: Of course, the love never ends.

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Speaker 1: But when they were little, I found that really hard.

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Speaker 1: I found it boring. I found it exhausting, tedious, and

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Speaker 1: just relentless.

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Speaker 2: And now I'm loving the relationships that I have with

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Speaker 2: my daughters. I love the conversations.

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Speaker 1: I love the things that we can do together, even though,

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Speaker 1: of course, being teenagers, a lot of the time they're like,

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Speaker 1: oh momy's so embarrassing, we're not doing that.

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Speaker 2: But I think.

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Speaker 1: Now I'm enjoying the young women that they're becoming and

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Speaker 1: spending time with them.

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Speaker 3: So an obvious follow on is what's the ultimate joy

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Speaker 3: for you being a parent?

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Speaker 2: Oh? Being together as a family.

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Speaker 1: On Saturday night, we went to our local Italian restaurant

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Speaker 1: and it's our sort of family place, and the four

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Speaker 1: of us were there and we were chatting and laughing,

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Speaker 1: and to me, that was such a moment of Yes,

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Speaker 1: this is the stuff of life.

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Speaker 2: I didn't want to be anywhere else.

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Speaker 3: This is the most controversial question I'm going to ask you, Jess,

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Speaker 3: what's the right age for kids to have a mobile phone?

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Speaker 2: Oh?

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Speaker 3: Do you know I think I hate this question because

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Speaker 3: I get it all the time, right.

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Speaker 1: I know, I think, don't put it, Why make it

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Speaker 1: an arbitrary age because kids matured differently and depending on

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Speaker 1: family circumstances, and are on public transport, all those sorts

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Speaker 1: of things, living in two different homes, all that sort

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Speaker 1: of stuff. They might be needing a mobile phone, you know,

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Speaker 1: more than another child of the same age. So I

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Speaker 1: think you do what's right for your family, and it's

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Speaker 1: all well and good.

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Speaker 2: I think to be.

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Speaker 1: Really draconian about mobile phones. This, this, this, this, this,

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Speaker 1: Have a look at how you're using your mobile phone

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Speaker 1: as a parent, because our kids are like sponges and

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Speaker 1: they model our behavior. So if you're not off your

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Speaker 1: mobile phone, if you're on it too much, then of course,

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Speaker 1: how can you possibly ask your kids to put their

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Speaker 1: phone down?

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Speaker 3: Okay, so a senseible answer, tinged with a side dose

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Speaker 3: of guilt.

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Speaker 4: Thank you, phone, though there's nothing wrong with I used

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Speaker 4: to hide in the bathroom, especially when my kids were small,

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Speaker 4: on my phone because they were doing my head in

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Speaker 4: doing that.

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Speaker 3: I love it. Last handful of questions here we go.

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Speaker 3: What's that thing your parents always said that you swore

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Speaker 3: you would never say, but it keeps on popping out

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Speaker 3: of your mouth.

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Speaker 2: Anyway, Stop hitting.

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Speaker 1: Your sister, Leave your sister alone.

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Speaker 3: What's your kid's favorite thing to do with you?

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Speaker 1: Jess, I reckon just to hang out together, to pump

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Speaker 1: up the music in the car and have a sing

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Speaker 1: and while I might be singing, but just to be together.

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Speaker 2: I reckon, what.

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Speaker 3: Are you most looking forward to as a mum?

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Speaker 2: You know what? I'm happy now?

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Speaker 1: I try and not get too far ahead of myself

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Speaker 1: and think about what am I enjoying now.

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Speaker 2: I love that my kids sleep in be teenagers. They

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Speaker 2: don't get out of bed on the weekends.

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Speaker 1: Yes, so I don't have to get up super early

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Speaker 1: and I can have a cup of coffee in bed.

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Speaker 2: That's what I love.

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Speaker 1: And I think when my kids were much smaller, that

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Speaker 1: was what I used to long for.

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Speaker 2: I now have that, and I'm very content.

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Speaker 3: So funny that you have that approach. I know that

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Speaker 3: this is a lightning round and we've only got two

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Speaker 3: questions to go. But I can't help but jump in

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Speaker 3: when you say that, because because I'm the kind of

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Speaker 3: person that I am, Like, let's make the most of

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Speaker 3: every minute of every day. Let's go and enjoy the sunshine,

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Speaker 3: the beach, Let's go for a bike ride, Let's get

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Speaker 3: into the mountains, Let's do stuff. I've got this thing.

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Speaker 3: I can't bear to watch my kids. Even my teenagers

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Speaker 3: sleep in I still get them up. It's just not

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Speaker 3: within me. I can't do it. Maybe I'm a bad

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Speaker 3: paranaph for all jest.

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Speaker 2: But let them sleep.

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Speaker 3: Last two questions. Number one, if you could go back

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Speaker 3: to you as a young mum having one of those

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Speaker 3: tough moments, being inexperienced. You're suffering from postnatal depression, what

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Speaker 3: advice would you give yourself looking back? Now?

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Speaker 2: You will get through this, It's going to get better.

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Speaker 2: Hang in there.

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Speaker 3: So many people say something just like that when I

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Speaker 3: asked that question. Last one, what's been your biggest win

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Speaker 3: as a mum? Oh?

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Speaker 1: My, b I tell you this is a goody. I

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Speaker 1: reckon recently. Giselle, my youngest who's thirteen, she said to

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Speaker 1: me in the car recently, she said, Mom, I know

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Speaker 1: that you dress in a bit of a crazy way

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Speaker 1: and you're a little bit out there, but I actually

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Speaker 1: really like that. I prefer that you're like that. I

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Speaker 1: like that you're not a boring mum. So for me,

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Speaker 1: I was like.

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Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, cu the stadium applause.

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Speaker 2: Yes, I'll take that today. Thank you.

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Speaker 3: Jessica Rowe, It's been such a delight talking with you

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Speaker 3: for a Happy Family's Lightning Round. Thank you so much

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Speaker 3: for being on The Happy Family's podcast.

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Speaker 2: Oh, thank you, Justin love you as always.

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Speaker 3: The Happy Family's Podcast is produced by Justin Rouland from

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Speaker 3: Bridge Media. We so appreciate the great work that Justin

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Speaker 3: does and Craig Bruce, the brain's behind the operation, our

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Speaker 3: executive producer. Thank you, Craig. If you want more information

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Speaker 3: about making your family happier or about the upcoming Happy

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Speaker 3: Family's Hot Mess Summit, which I know it before and

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Speaker 3: I don't want to sound like I'm overselling it, but

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Speaker 3: it literally is going to be the best summit that

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Speaker 3: we have ever done. Visit us at Happy Families dot

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Speaker 3: com dot U or check out our Facebook page Doctor

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Speaker 3: Justin Colson's Happy Families