Connecting Moms to Help Navigate Motherhood

Arnold00:00:00

If you're a new mom or maybe you're a mom with many kids, maybe. You'Ve moved to a new city and.You don't know anyone and you need some assistance. We have a great resource for you today on St. Louis in Tune.Welcome to St. Louis in tune and thank you for joining us for fresh perspectives on issues and events with experts, community leaders and everyday people who make a difference in shaping our society and world. I'm Arnold Stricker along with co host Mark Langston.

Mark00:00:40

Greetings, Mark, to you and salutations to you, Arnold.

Arnold00:00:43

I'll have to spell that one. Watch that.

Mark00:00:45

Oh my gosh. Yeah, don't start that. I know. Good to see you.

Arnold00:00:48

Good to see you too. We always say it's good to be seen.

Mark00:00:51

Yes, it is.

Arnold00:00:52

It's better than the alternative.

Mark00:00:54

Oh, yeah. Okay, enough of that.

Arnold00:00:56

We're great. Glad that you joined us today, folks. We want to thank our sponsor, Better Rate Mortgage for their support of the show.You can listen to previous shows stluntune.com where you can also follow us on our website. In the upper right hand corner, we have a thought to ponder today, Mark. This one is especially. My computer just went whack job there.Okay, let's go back to there and let's find that one.

Mark00:01:19

So you got a thought to ponder? I have a something to think about.

Arnold00:01:22

Something to think about. We need to think more. I think in our society, Mark, we just sometimes react rather than stop and let the things sink in.Gather our thoughts together before we open our mouth. That might be a good one. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

Mark00:01:48

Cut it out. Okay.

Arnold00:01:52

So as you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others. Others. Audrey Hepburn.

Mark00:01:59

Yeah. Oh, is that right? I like these antidote kind of things.

Arnold00:02:05

Inspiring.

Mark00:02:05

Yes, they are.

Arnold00:02:06

Our guest is inspiring too. My gosh.Rebecca Coste is founder and owner of St. Louis mom stlouismom.com she has a bachelor's degree in magazine journalism and a minor degree in Francais from the University of Missouri Columbia. She's worked for the Associated Press Television news in Brussels, Belgium.Mark Standard and Poor's in New York City Alive magazine here in St. Louis. She also has done corporate communication. She moved to Paris for three years to teach English in a French high school.She met and married her husband Jean Christophe. She's a full time stay at home mom to three beautiful daughters and a son. Welcome to St. Louis in Tune.

Rebekah00:02:46

Thank you so much for having me. Wow, what an intro.

Arnold00:02:49

The Pistachio Gallery is excited that we have someone that speaks francais.

Mark00:02:53

Bonjour.

Arnold00:02:54

Bonjour. What inspired you to start St. Louis mom and then tell us exactly what you guys do?

Rebekah00:03:04

Sure. I, speaking of francais, became a mom in France, met my husband, got married, had my first baby in Paris.And anybody knows when you have a baby, it rocks your world. You don't know where to start. There's a lot happening physically, mentally, emotionally, and you're just not sure where to start.So I found myself just trying to figure out how to be a mom in this foreign city. And I didn't have much of a village, doing a lot of WhatsApp with my mom. Is this right? Is this normal?A lot of Google searches for where to take your kids inside in Paris or baby story times. So I just did a lot of research myself, but I found it just wasn't easy find what I needed.But I did, I found what I needed here and there and to get.

Arnold00:03:55

You through what you want to get.

Rebekah00:03:56

Me through and to make, to make a path. So we, we were waiting for my husband's visa and green card to be approved. It took a lot longer than we were planning on and so we just hung out.Hung out in France.

Arnold00:04:11

Great place to hang out.

Rebekah00:04:12

Great place to hang out.

Mark00:04:13

I don't think so. Yeah, good wine.

Rebekah00:04:14

Yeah, definitely the best wine. I miss it so much. No, I would say you. What's the opposite of regress?

Mark00:04:22

We, yeah, just have some.

Rebekah00:04:24

Yeah, have some. But all of that did get approved and it moved forward and we came to the United States with our daughter in tow.And I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. Am I going to stay home with her? I was trying to get him settled first in a job and then, yeah, what am I going to do?Am I going to stay home with her full time? Am I going to try to do something part time? Am I going to re. Enter the workforce? I found myself at a crossroads, right?And my sister in law, she called me up one day and she was like, have you ever considered doing like a website for moms in St. Louis? Because she was doing kind of the equivalent of St. Louis mom, but in Birmingham, okay, Alabama.And she was working with a parent company has since dissolved, but she said they don't have anybody doing this in St. Louis. So I started to do some research and I found a lot of parenting resources in St. Louis, but I didn't find anything specifically for moms.And I said that's so interesting, because moms are really up against unique things, and they need unique support.

Arnold00:05:31

Express what those things are to people so you. So they can have affirmation out there who are listening because maybe they think I'm the only one going through this.

Rebekah00:05:39

Totally. I think just the Met. The mental load we talk about. I don't know if you guys heard of this or moms will know what I mean when I say the mental load.That's. It's 2:00am and you're. You can't sleep and you're thinking about, Okay, I need to read the baby's out of diapers. I got to get the diapers.Oh, wait a minute. I forgot to sign that permission slip. Oh, we're out of groceries. Oh, man.I got to make sure that the bills that I schedule the bill pay for this month. Oh, so. And so I forgot to reschedule that wellness visit or, oh, the dentist. I have to call for the braces. Consult all of the things that.All of these things that are happening, you know, prominently, but also behind the scenes in the life of a family that a mom is often carrying. So you have those, and then you have the mom who's trying to figure out, how do I stay sane while I'm doing all of this?How do I find time to prioritize my physical health? Have I moved my body? Have I been eating good things? Like, what about my marriage or my relationship? Have I connected to my spouse or to my partner?So all of those things that I think men and dads just don't necessarily. It's not the same experience. And I think. I think it's a biological thing in many ways. I think that women are just wired that way.Sure, we're wired to nurture and to care for, but I think that sometimes, to our detriment, that we don't know often when to say, hey, I should. How can I get help? How should I hand it off?So I think just having a mom's perspective on some of these resources of what moms are needing to just ease the mental load to ease. Hey, I have a kid home today. Or I have my toddler. It's cold. We've been inside for a week.Where can I take my kid and have a fun morning and they can just go play? Oh, I know St. Louis mom is gonna have something like that, because you do.

Arnold00:07:32

I looked at your website, and your calendar is absolutely crazy.

Rebekah00:07:37

Yeah.

Arnold00:07:37

Oh, there's so much going on all over our events. Events that you do. But then you have St. Louis guides.

Rebekah00:07:43

Yes.

Arnold00:07:43

But you have something for every day of the week.

Rebekah00:07:46

Yeah. So that's our monthly events guide.And that's actually something new that we just started, but that, like, that a mom can go on there and say, hey, it's February. What's the date today?

Arnold00:07:57

February 3rd.

Rebekah00:07:57

The 3rd. So let's click on February 3rd and see what's going on.

Mark00:08:01

Is it broken down into regions, areas?

Rebekah00:08:04

It is. Not yet, no. But it's broken bent down by date and by time.

Mark00:08:09

Yeah.

Arnold00:08:10

Like right now it's art start at the foundry.

Rebekah00:08:13

Oh, great.

Arnold00:08:13

Program and museum. Baby storytelling. Storytelling at the Missouri History Museum. Move. And a meal at the Jeff Jefferson County Library.

Rebekah00:08:22

Yeah, just.

Arnold00:08:25

Just every day, Mark. There's.

Rebekah00:08:27

Every day. And a lot of this stuff is free. I think that parents, moms, we're just. And we're really big into that. Hey, what can we showcase that's free?Because St. Louis is. There's so much here that is free for parents that if you go to another city, you'll start to realize, hey, they pay.You have to pay $25 a person to go to their zoo.

Arnold00:08:50

Right.

Rebekah00:08:51

Or to their botanical garden. And we've got opportunities to go to Mobot for free.

Mark00:08:56

That's right.

Rebekah00:08:57

So that for me was like, I want to have a place where moms can go and find what they need easily so that then they can take one thing off their list and be more present with their family and enjoy their family more and enjoy their city more.

Arnold00:09:17

And especially, I imagine, if they don't have, as you indicated, they don't have a tribe.

Rebekah00:09:22

Correct.

Arnold00:09:23

There's nobody there to. They don't have any friends. Maybe they're new to the community or something like that. Maybe it's just how life happened for them.

Rebekah00:09:31

Correct.

Arnold00:09:32

So what are going to some of the things, like, I know you guys do a podcast. You have St. Louis guides, you have monthly events, you have the daily events like we talked about.Yeah, but what exactly do you do in some of these events? Do you sit down and you talk? Do you talk about issues that relate to moms or go into that a little bit? Rebecca?

Rebekah00:09:49

Yeah, we have. Events are really a big part of what we do at St. Louis, Mom. And they mean a lot to me because you all know we're entrenched in a digital era.I loved that moment that you shared at the beginning. Hey, what would it look like if we just reacted less, took a pause, digested the information? We are entrenched in this rapid moving digital era.And so I'm like, if we can give moms a chance to put down their phones, come together, meet another mom. So we have four events per year. Those are large events. Two are for moms only, and then two are for families.And those events are intended to just be fun. Fun and encourage. Give a nice day out. Give a fun day out for families. But also we have vendors at those events.So we are trying to pull in the best resources that we can find so that parents can come and connect with them at our events. So that's what the four big events are per year.And then we have what are called micro events or play dates, and those are intended to bring a smaller group of people together. So right now, we're in the midst of our winter play date series.And so we pick a few places across the area that we're like, oh, this would be so much fun to bring moms and kids, you know, and we charge a nominal fee just so that people have some skin in the game and just bring them together and they can come and have a coffee while their kids play. And it's in my mind. I love the playdates because it's an opportunity for moms to connect to each other.We can offer these little places to gather where moms can connect to each other, maybe make a friend, and then maybe they would connect and say, hey, let's go get coffee or go play with. Go have a park play date. And so those play dates are intended for families, but then we have smaller events just for moms during the year.So we're doing, like, a moms and margs margaritas event in March at Taco Buddha. We haven't announced that yet, so you're the first.You guys are the first to know, but that will just be a fun night to, like, come grab a drink, have some chips and guac, maybe get some tacos and super casual. Just come and meet other moms.And then we have a fitness event coming up where we're working with a local fitness studio and just bringing in a small group of moms to do a workout. And then we sometimes do pampering events. Just different ways that we can bring moms together.

Arnold00:12:08

Right? It's incredible. Mark.

Mark00:12:10

I love it.

Rebekah00:12:13

I love the events, honestly.

Mark00:12:14

Like, where were you when we had our kids?

Rebekah00:12:17

And this is what I hear from so many moms who are so. The age range of my kids. We have four children is age one to ten. So we're running the gamut. I'm not ten. She's nine.We're running the Gamut of experiences right now in parenthood in terms of somebody's in diapers, somebody's going to kindergarten, somebody's losing teeth. And so I just, I love an opportunity to connect with other moms and I love to hear from them who are in different seasons from me.Maybe a mom is working on driving lessons with her kid and now they're trying to get them scheduled to take the driver exam or another mom's working on college applications with their kid.

Mark00:12:55

All very good. Do you help with homeschooled families?

Rebekah00:12:59

We don't have a ton of resources for homeschooling, but that's been something that's been on our list because I know that's a need. But I just, I find so much encouragement from learning from other moms who are in a different stage of motherhood than I am.And even now, like moms who are now before me, who have little babies or they're expecting, being able to share my experience with them and come alongside them and encourage them, them. So I, I think that it's so important, it's so important to just for moms to have opportunities.

Mark00:13:31

A little help. When we were trying to navigate our kids going to college, filling out those applications, the ones grants, the fafsa, it was tough.It was like, what do we do?

Rebekah00:13:40

Oh, totally.

Mark00:13:41

We just, just started doing it. And it's a self learning process.

Rebekah00:13:45

Absolutely.

Mark00:13:45

What are you missing? What am I missing here? What didn't I do? What money did I leave on the table? Yeah, so many questions.

Rebekah00:13:51

It's a balance.What I'm finding is that these moments in our lives, whether it's learning how to feed a baby or diaper a baby or how to manage a tantrum or teach a kid to drive or apply for college, like, what is the balance between saying, here's everything that you need to do that versus, hey, there's something to be said about the resilience that you develop when you're thrown in to figure it out.

Arnold00:14:20

Right.

Rebekah00:14:20

Because I think about my first year of motherhood and man, I wish I'd had access to more resources. But I also feel like I learned a lot. I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about compassion and getting out of your bubble to meet a friend.I think there's a balance, right? There's a balance in terms of equipping people with resources and then saying there's just part of life where you just gotta figure it out.Gotta do it, you know, you gotta do it.

Mark00:14:47

We used parents as teachers a lot.

Rebekah00:14:49

Yes.

Mark00:14:49

That Worked out a lot. That helped a bunch.

Rebekah00:14:51

Totally.

Mark00:14:52

It was like all of a sudden you're with other moms and dads and you're in the same room.

Rebekah00:14:57

Yeah.

Arnold00:14:57

Good program.

Mark00:14:58

Yeah, it is a good program.

Rebekah00:14:59

Best program.And yeah, we try to share as much as we can about parents as teachers because it's a wonderful program and it's free and just nice to have somebody come to your house.

Arnold00:15:09

Absolutely. Check in on you.

Mark00:15:11

Sure. You are you okay?

Rebekah00:15:12

You're not. You might be going crazy, but you're not.

Arnold00:15:15

You don't look like it.

Mark00:15:16

Oh yeah, that happened a long time ago. Went crazy. Yeah.

Arnold00:15:20

This Arnold Stricker with Mark Langston of St. Lucian Tomb. We're talking to Rebecca Coast. She is the founder of St. Louis mom.com. you can go there. St. Louis mom.com and Rebecca, so this is nine years ago.You started this, I'm guessing. And the result has been just overwhelming.By what I see on the website, what kind of moms, I'm thinking, okay, we've got stay at home moms, we have working moms, we have moms who are going through divorce with single moms, we have maybe moms who share custody, we have maybe moms who have a nanny or we have moms who are just barely making it. Are all of these groups involved and what do you offer for all these groups?

Rebekah00:16:00

Any and every mom in St. Louis is welcome to access our resources. We're constantly talking to moms who say, hey, do you have a resource for X? Do you have, have you ever thought about doing this?And I love hearing from moms in our community because they are the ones like that's where the best resources are birthed from is, hey, there's a need, let's meet it. So I love hearing from moms in our community. But yeah, we run the gamut of moms who are coming to our website and who are coming to our events.And something I want to talk about is just how the business is structured. So we have actually a 10 person executive team that runs the business side of things.So we have an editorial manager, a social media manager, an events director, a sales director, a sponsorship coordinator, everyone who's taking ownership of a piece of the business to ensure that we're putting out something that's quality, that we're working with our partners who fund our platform and consistent way. But also I want to talk about our contributor team.And our contributor team is a team of 40 plus local moms and they are from all across St. Louis, all different walks of life.Different stages of motherhood, and they are showing up every other month and they either write for our website and they submit a narrative about motherhood or they're creating video content about something in St. Louis.And I, that's something about our business that means so much to me is that we've fostered this community behind the scenes, too, as we're going out to the community to foster a greater community. And so I just love getting a chance to work with those women and let them share their stories and also just see St. Louis through their eyes.

Arnold00:17:48

Yeah.

Mark00:17:49

Wow.

Rebekah00:17:49

You can find out about them on our website. You can. If you go under the About Us tab, you can learn about our executive team and also about our contributor team, too.

Arnold00:17:58

And you've been in the news quite a bit.

Rebekah00:18:00

We've been in the news, yeah. We've been.

Arnold00:18:01

In a good way.

Rebekah00:18:02

In a good way.

Mark00:18:03

I was kind of qualified.

Arnold00:18:04

Knock on wood.

Mark00:18:07

Really.

Arnold00:18:09

Did you imagine it's hard to look down the road and say, in nine years, this is going to be this?But as the years started to go on, or as the months started to go on and develop into years, did you see that, wow, this is something bigger than I thought it was ever going to be. Or this is exactly what it needs to be. Or, wow, now we have contributors. Now we have people who partner with us.

Rebekah00:18:33

I think the model was there from the start.

Arnold00:18:35

Okay.

Rebekah00:18:36

But the scope, I think, has become something I wasn't quite prepared for. And when I say scope, not only reach, but influence, too. People really look closely at what we post. They look closely at what is on our website.We've gotten an email from a library once that was like, hey, I have a mom here who's upset because she came for a story time that's not happening because their information was outdated on your website. And I was like, ouch. So we really work hard to make sure that things are consistent.

Arnold00:19:08

Right.

Rebekah00:19:08

But it's just. That was a reminder for us. It's, hey, we really have to be vigilant about this because people are watching really closely. And I also.That's why I really put a lot of thought and time and intention into the messaging out there, because I know moms are watching what we're posting and they are putting. They see us as a resource.So for me, that's upped the game because I feel an incredible sense of pressure to not steer someone in the wrong way, which I think anyone who is in the digital publishing space feels that. And especially now where everyone has a platform and everyone has A voice. And how do you cut through truth and fact and noise? Yeah, so I just.We want to. We don't want to be a place where there's more noise coming at moms.

Arnold00:19:59

You're not looking for clicks, you're looking to serve, correct?

Rebekah00:20:03

Yeah, correct. Yeah. I'm not looking for a click or for comment, a flippant comment. I'm really looking for impact.

Arnold00:20:11

I'm glad you're not on X Twitter.

Rebekah00:20:15

We are not on X.

Arnold00:20:16

They're on Facebook. And you're on Instagram.

Rebekah00:20:19

We are on Instagram. And we just. Let me tell you, we just started TikTok. We're trying to figure it out, but we haven't put a lot of time into that.

Arnold00:20:26

The website has folks, just a lot of. You need to go there. You need to go to saintlouismom.com and check it out.And Mark, let's take a little brief break and we'll come back because I want to talk about the podcast portion that you guys do. And I've got some other questions up my sleeve. This is Arnold Strick with Mark Langston of St. Louis in Tune. We'll be right back.As strange as it may sound, at Better Rate Mortgage, we love talking to people about mortgages. Everyone in St. Louis promises a better mortgage rate. But what you really need to turn that perfect house into your dream home is a better mortgage.At Better Rate mortgage, we open the door to so much more. So where are you in the home buying process? Researching, maybe wondering how much you can afford? House hunting.Get a pre approval from Better Rate Mortgage Ready to buy. Our team is ready to make your mortgage process fast and easy.Whether you're purchasing your first home or taking cash out to make your dream home even dreamier, our door is open. Come on in and get started. Today we'll show you how.Call Sean directly at 314-375-3293 or online at betterratemortgage.com Remember, at BetterRate Mortgage, a better rate is just the beginning. Betterratemortgage.com and mls.id 401335 an equal housing. Lender, the United States has a strong.Tradition of welcoming newcomers and refugees.The welcome Corps is a new service opportunity for Americans inspired to welcome those seeking freedom and safety and in turn, help strengthen their own communities. Welcome Corps is a public private partnership. That is inspired by what Americans represent. To so many around the world. A beacon of hope and refuge.All it takes is a helping hand. Are you ready to learn more?Contact the International Institute of St. Louis@infoistl.org or call 314-773-9090. That's infoistl.org or call 314 203-9090. Welcome back to St. Louis in Tune. This is Arnold Stricker with Mark Langston.Rebecca Coste is here in studio.Founder and owner of St. Louis Mom, St. Louis mom.com and before the break, we were talking about a variety of things and I know you had mentioned Birmingham, your sister in law.

Rebekah00:22:56

Yeah.

Arnold00:22:56

But I'm sure that many cities have some kind of thing similar, but they may not be up to date as much as you guys have really put in the desire to be very, to have some fidelity in your website and the activities that you offer.

Rebekah00:23:09

Yes.

Mark00:23:09

Do you know of any other cities that have it like you do?

Rebekah00:23:13

Absolutely.

Mark00:23:13

Like you guys have done.

Rebekah00:23:14

Yeah.So we were all started with the same parent company which has since morphed into something different, dissolved how we knew it, but morphed into more of a networking company and mom media company. But Kansas City Mom Collective, they were part of our original network and a wonderful team over there doing exactly what we're doing.It's the same model. And what's unique about what we're doing also is we're hyper local.We've really honed in on looking at our engagement, looking at our analytics, what moms are wanting and it's local content as much as delicious home cooked recipes and beautiful baking is something so important for moms. It's like that's not what they're coming to us for. They're coming to us to know what is there in St. Louis for me.And so really trying to lean into that.But Kansas City Mom Collective, Birmingham Mom Collective, there's also a Memphis moms group that we were all under the same umbrella and then there are a few others.

Arnold00:24:10

Have you gotten calls from women who are like, hey, we're out here in the middle of resume speed, Missouri and there's a couple of us, group of us would like to get together and do stuff like this. What do we do? How do we start this?

Rebekah00:24:21

I have gotten a couple of those outreaches before and met with people and shared my thoughts and go for it, do it.I am, I'm the type of person that I'm like, listen, moms need connection and not one place or not one person is going to provide that point of connection for everybody. However moms can gather, I'm here for it. I am here for whoever wants to pull moms together.But I will Say that building this platform, it has been a grind. It has been a lot of work. It's been a lot of time. And trying to figure out how to make it work.A lot of uncompensated time, which I think anybody who builds something from the ground up knows that's part of it. But you don't get into it because of the compensation. You get into it because you're excited about it and because you're passionate about it.

Arnold00:25:14

Yeah, I'm glad to hear that from you. Because sometimes, Mark, people. People get lost along the journey and they end up going to a different goal.And it becomes about the clicks, it becomes about the notoriety, it becomes about the press, news, and all the photo ops and everything like that. And congratulations to you for not going down that path.

Rebekah00:25:31

Oh, thank you.Yeah, I just always, I'm like, if I don't enjoy the work that I do or feel excited about it or like I'm making a difference and I don't want to do it, no amount of money could make that feel worth it to me. So I just. Being able to.It's like I was in the grocery store a couple weeks ago, and I had on my snow hat, and I was all bundled up and probably looked terrible. And this sweet lady came up to me. She's your St. Louis mom. And I was like, oh, gosh. I was like, why is she recognizing me right now?

Mark00:26:03

Oh, no.

Rebekah00:26:03

But she was like, listen, we moved here. I had no. I had no connections, nothing. And I found your site, and I came to a play date, and I met another mom. We've met for coffee, and she's.I just want you to know that the work that you're doing really matters and in ways that you'll probably never know. And it's just like that. For me, that was like getting a million dollar check in the mail. So that filled my cup.And that was like, keep going, keep going. Yeah. Thank you.

Mark00:26:32

Even with no makeup and everything.

Rebekah00:26:33

Oh, yeah. Oh, no, the best part. Yeah. I don't think I was showered. It was bad.

Mark00:26:38

Oh, you have to go there.

Rebekah00:26:39

Yeah. Sorry, cmi, but tell us about the.

Arnold00:26:42

Podcast that you guys do. Yeah.

Rebekah00:26:44

Oh, I'm so excited.

Arnold00:26:45

Moms of the loo.

Rebekah00:26:45

Moms of the loo.

Mark00:26:47

How long has it been going on? Yeah.

Rebekah00:26:48

So it'll be two years in June.

Mark00:26:50

Okay.

Rebekah00:26:51

And I wanted to get into the podcast space for a while just to be able to flesh out some of these stories of local moms. So I started as a solo host for the first year Found that to be a little bit overwhelming to do it by myself.So I convinced, against her better judgment, our social media manager, to join me as our co host. And I still. Every time we go to record, she's Rebecca, why am I doing this? I bring her a coffee because I'm like, thank you, thank you.

Mark00:27:20

Anything, anything.

Rebekah00:27:22

But she's the best and we have so much fun.

Arnold00:27:24

What topics?

Rebekah00:27:25

Oh, anything. We've had. We just had a business coach on. We had the owner of an indoor play space talking about how she's connecting with families in the community.We've had business owners and co founders on. I don't know if you guys know the brand. Somersault swimwear.

Mark00:27:40

Nope.

Rebekah00:27:41

St. Louis owned and founded. But the co founder was on our podcast and she was awesome.And we heard all about that and how the business came to be, and it was just a great episode.

Mark00:27:53

So do you go out to these businesses to do the podcast or they.

Rebekah00:27:56

No, we record in Maplewood with STL Bucket List. They're a wonderful friend and partner of ours.

Mark00:28:03

And.

Rebekah00:28:03

Yeah, and then sometimes we'll have guests on. Like, our contributors will come on and.

Arnold00:28:08

Talk about some of the services and that they offer.

Rebekah00:28:11

Yeah, yeah. And then sometimes Lauren and I'll just do an episode. We'll do. We did a look back on 2025 in St. Louis for family. Hey, here are the greatest hits.Here are some things that happened that we were so excited about. Here's what we're looking forward to in 2026. And then we'll do, like, seasonal podcasts, too. It's. Oh, hey, spring break's coming up.What are we doing?

Dred Scott PSA00:28:30

Right?

Rebekah00:28:30

What are we doing? What are we staycationing? Are we traveling? Hey, summer's coming up. What are we doing this summer? So we'll do seasonal, too, but it's just been a.

Mark00:28:38

How often do you do the podcast?

Rebekah00:28:39

We release it every other week, so every. Okay, every two weeks. And we've been wanting to increase it, but it's just. It's tough. And we're both. We have kids at home and just really.And that's been Another thing about St. Louis mom, for me is that I really wanted to be able to enjoy my kids at home and our team, too.So it's always been incredibly flexible and make it work for you, because I think that's something that we're bringing to our partners is like, hey, we're in it. We are in the trenches of motherhood right now. So we know what moms need. We know what they're looking for.So, yeah, that balance has always been important to me. But the podcast, it's just been, it's been so much fun and it's been fun to hear from people who are like, hey, I go, I listen to it on my walk.Or and we. Our episodes are about 20 minutes.The idea is that you can listen to it while you're folding a load of laundry or maybe you're waiting for pickup, waiting in the pickup line or it's nap time or whatever so that it would be manageable.

Arnold00:29:38

We'll post the link to that in our podcast page.

Rebekah00:29:43

We have so much fun.

Arnold00:29:44

I have a question about someone who. A woman who has tried to be a mom really has this burning desire to be a mom for some reason can't be a mom.Do you offer any resources for her or can she get involved in things going on?

Rebekah00:29:58

Yeah, let me tell you.We first of all, we always welcome guest posts, submissions on saintlouismom.com and so we always want to hear from people like, hey, is there something on our website that you want to see? Send it to us and we'll review it. And.But that's a perspective that we've really never run because nobody's ever sent it to us or said, hey, I want to write about it. But I know that we've worked with partners before.We've worked with STL Fertility and they are an incredible partner in the community that are working to help women become moms. And I know too that it's not just an issue for first time moms too.There are some moms who got easily pregnant with their first child and then for whatever reason want to grow their family and haven't been able to.

Arnold00:30:40

Right.

Rebekah00:30:41

We hear from those moms too. And no, that's such a unique struggle.

Arnold00:30:46

I think of adoptive muscles.

Rebekah00:30:47

Absolutely.

Arnold00:30:48

It's a different kind of vibe, but it's a very similar vibe.

Rebekah00:30:53

Absolutely. Yeah. And for us, like all moms, all moms are.

Arnold00:30:56

All moms are moms.

Rebekah00:30:57

All moms are moms. All moms are valid. And however you get there, like, everyone deserves dignity and honor. That's how I see it.Comes to our website and who comes to our resources. It's for everybody. And yeah, we just try to, we try to do what we can.

Arnold00:31:14

So who or what have been influences that have gotten you to where you are?

Rebekah00:31:21

Oh, man.

Mark00:31:22

The kids. The kids.

Arnold00:31:25

The four that are.

Mark00:31:26

That's right. From one to ten, I tell ya.

Arnold00:31:29

And my husband who comes home and cooks me a wonderful breakfast.

Rebekah00:31:32

Oh my God. Gosh, let me tell you, that guy keeps me sane and fed.

Mark00:31:36

He's.

Rebekah00:31:37

No, he is. He's.

Arnold00:31:38

He cooks for you.

Mark00:31:39

He's a cook. He cooks.

Rebekah00:31:40

Oh, yeah. He's a trained chef, but we do. We split it.

Mark00:31:43

Cha Ching, you hit the jackpot.

Rebekah00:31:45

Yes, I did. He works. We own a restaurant in the Central West End, and so he is there some nights. So then those nights I cook for sure.

Arnold00:31:54

Can I say the restaurant?

Mark00:31:55

Yeah, sure.

Arnold00:31:56

Scarlet's Wine Bar.

Mark00:31:57

Scarlet's Wine Bar.

Arnold00:31:59

Scarlet's Wine Bar.

Mark00:31:59

Of course. It's got wine in it.

Rebekah00:32:01

Of course.

Mark00:32:02

Parents, friends.

Rebekah00:32:03

Yes.

Arnold00:32:04

JC's great guy.

Rebekah00:32:05

He's the best. Yeah. We serendipitously had this opportunity to become owners in March of 2024.And it's wild because he came to me and he's, hey, I have this opportunity, and I was like, hey, I'm pregnant. We're like, oh, my gosh.

Arnold00:32:19

Which one do we want to deliver?

Rebekah00:32:20

Yeah. What are we doing? It was a wild. We're not sure how we survived 2024, but we made it. We came out on the other side. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.But it's been such a labor of love and been cool for our kids to see him follow that passion, too. But anyway, so he's working some nights, and so I definitely cook those nights.And then other nights I cook, too, but everybody prefers when he cooks.

Arnold00:32:47

It's just.

Mark00:32:48

What's his name?

Rebekah00:32:48

His name is Jean Christophe or jc.

Mark00:32:51

Okay. Jc.

Arnold00:32:52

All right. Easier to remember.

Mark00:32:54

Jean Coup. Yeah. I can't. I'm done.

Rebekah00:32:57

Yeah. We had a neighbor that used to call him Jean Gustav, and we could not. I didn't have the heart to tell her every time she saw him, Jean.

Mark00:33:03

Gustav sounds like somebody in Ratatouille.

Rebekah00:33:06

Totally. She can call you that. It's fine. Don't worry about it.

Mark00:33:10

Okay.

Arnold00:33:11

Okay. I want to give you. You've got an elevator speech here, and I'm gonna. It's a tall building, so I'll give you between 60 seconds and 90 seconds.Speak to moms out there who need to hear something.

Rebekah00:33:23

Oh, gosh. Okay.

Mark00:33:24

I love these curve balls you throw these people.

Arnold00:33:27

Slider.

Mark00:33:27

I know.

Arnold00:33:29

Knuckleball.

Rebekah00:33:31

So we live in a big world with a lot of problems. And what I want you to focus on today is your sphere of influence, and that's in your home.And you have this incredible gift to raise your kids, to pour love and kindness into them. And you're raising them, and they're going to go out into the world.So don't let the world bog you down and make you feel insignificant because wiping noses and serving snacks is not insignificant at all. You are doing grueling, sacred work and it's gonna have impact on generations to come.Like, we are bringing up the next generation that will be there after we're gone. And they're bringing up the next generation. So for me, we're motherhood. It goes just beyond the day to day of the logistics of raising kids.It's forming people and influencing them for good. And I. You asked about people who've influenced me and I just have to say my own. My own mom is. She's my best friend.I could talk to her about anything. My mom just had such a beautiful way of modeling to us that it's just, don't focus on the little stuff. Don't let that stuff get you down.Focus on the end game. Focus on the relationship with your kid. This too shall pass. She just had such a great.A great way of just lightening the mood for me and giving me perspective. And so I think that for moms to have a mentor, whether that's your own mom or a friend or. But yeah, that for me has been.

Arnold00:35:00

My mom because it's great to have the kids grow up and be an adult friend as they are also family, but being the friend of a child is probably not the best thing.

Rebekah00:35:13

Exactly.

Arnold00:35:14

You need your parent.

Rebekah00:35:15

Exactly. That's right.

Arnold00:35:16

So parent them and then you can be their friend later.

Rebekah00:35:19

Exactly, exactly. And that's what kids need that these days. They need a strong leader that's gonna say, hey, this is the way to go. This is how we live in the world.Kids need parents who are gonna tell them the truth and. And love them enough to say, hey, I'm gonna set a boundary so that you don't get hurt or.But I'm really fortunate that relationship has morphed into a really profound friendship.

Arnold00:35:39

So cool. Thanks for coming on the show today.

Rebekah00:35:42

Thank you guys for having me. This was so much fun.

Arnold00:35:45

Would you hang around for a few minutes here when we'll close things down?

Rebekah00:35:49

Totally.

Arnold00:35:50

Mark. Let's take a brief break and we'll come back.

Mark00:35:52

Let's take a break.

Arnold00:35:53

This is Arnold Strick with Mark Langston of St. Louis in Tune. We'll be right back.At Better Rate mortgage. We love talking to people about mortgages.If you are researching house hunting, ready to buy or refinancing, it's time for a better mortgage experience. At Better Rate Mortgage. A better rate is just the beginning. Betterratemortgage.com.

Dred Scott PSA00:36:19

This is Arnold Stricker of St. Louis in tune on behalf of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation. In 1857, the Dred Scott decision was a major legal event and catalyst that contributed to the Civil War.The decision declared that Dred Scott could not be free because he was not a citizen.The 14th Amendment, also called the Dred Scott Amendment, granted citizenship to all born or naturalized here in our country and was intended to overturn the US Supreme Court decision on July 9, 1868.The Dred Scott Heritage foundation is requesting a commemorative stamp to be issued from the US Postal Service to recognize and remember the heritage of this amendment by issuing a stamp with the likeness of the man, Dred Scott. But we need your support and the support of thousands of people who would like to see this happen.To achieve this goal, we ask you to download, sign and share the one page petition with others. To find the petition, please go to dredscottlives.org and click on the Dred Scott petition drive on the right side of the page.On behalf of the Dred Scott Heritage foundation, this has been Arnold Stricker of.

Arnold00:37:18

St. Louis in tune.

Mark00:37:30

Tickle those ivories.

Arnold00:37:32

There we go with the Hammond B3. And the Leslie Speaker.

Mark00:37:36

Oh, my gosh.

Arnold00:37:38

Welcome back to St. Louis in Tune. This is Arnold Stricker with Mark Langston, and Mark's going to tell us what day it is today.

Mark00:37:44

There's a bunch. This is our Congress approving these things. Go ahead. National Golden Retriever Day. One of my favorite dogs, actually. This is the Golden Retriever.Do you like.

Arnold00:38:02

They're okay.

Rebekah00:38:02

They're the best friends.

Mark00:38:04

Yeah.

Arnold00:38:05

They're very loyal.

Mark00:38:05

National Women Physicians Day.

Arnold00:38:08

Okay. Okay.

Mark00:38:10

African American Coaches Day.

Arnold00:38:12

Okay.

Mark00:38:12

Because we're in Black History Month. Let's see. American Painters Day. Let's see Doggy date night.

Arnold00:38:23

Doggy date night.

Mark00:38:24

Yeah. Have you ever got. Yeah. This is an official day. Doggy date night.

Arnold00:38:29

What do you get a date for your dog or you date your dog?

Rebekah00:38:31

Right. Are you going to date with your dog or are you getting them a date?

Mark00:38:35

Take the chance to hang out with your pup on National Doggy Day, and you'll be working all day out running errands, and then you come home and spend time with your family, your loved ones and that doggie of yours.

Arnold00:38:47

Do that every day.

Mark00:38:48

Do you do that? I know. You walk them. I know. Pick him up and put that stuff in the little blue bag. Okay.

Arnold00:38:56

It's green on our green bag.

Mark00:38:59

Okay. I saw somebody walking down the street swinging one of those.

Arnold00:39:03

Yeah.

Mark00:39:05

I Know it isn't.

Arnold00:39:06

Woo. I try to play. It's like cornball.

Mark00:39:09

I know. Wow.

Arnold00:39:11

With a trash can.

Mark00:39:11

And the bigger the dog, the worse. Oh, really?

Arnold00:39:13

Yeah.

Mark00:39:14

On the corner.

Rebekah00:39:16

Let me tell you. At least I can change my kids inside. I will say I'm appreciative of that.

Mark00:39:22

Feed the Birds Day. Great. I think that's a great. Especially when there's 12 inches of snow outside. Yes, I think that's right. Let's see here. National Carrot Cake Day.One of your favorites.

Rebekah00:39:35

Wait a minute. Do you have a favorite carrot cake in St. Louis?

Mark00:39:38

Oh, I don't think.

Arnold00:39:39

I'm not a fan of carrot cakes.

Rebekah00:39:41

Aren't you, though?

Arnold00:39:41

No.

Mark00:39:41

Yes. That's why we said that. Okay. National Wedding Ring Day. Okay. Do you wear a wedding ring? I did. I had a rubber one even. I loved it very much.

Arnold00:39:52

It bounced away.

Mark00:39:53

My wife took it off of me. There was something going on with. It was annoying my finger. But I enjoyed the rubber. It was a rubber. I used to have a gold one.Then I had a silver one.

Arnold00:40:02

Yeah.

Mark00:40:02

Yeah. And I think Jimmy Fallon did, you know that his got caught and just about tore. His almost tore off and.

Arnold00:40:12

Yeah.

Mark00:40:12

If you look at him now, he. It's deformed when he. Yeah, I know. It hurts to think about it.

Rebekah00:40:17

I know. I'm trying not to.

Arnold00:40:18

He's got enough money. He could have surgery.

Mark00:40:19

Oh, they did. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. But after that, I said, oh, I can see where that happens.

Arnold00:40:24

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Mark00:40:24

And so I wear a rubber. I started wearing a rubber ring. You can get them pretty cheap, too. Okay.

Arnold00:40:30

Yeah.

Dred Scott PSA00:40:30

Five cents.

Arnold00:40:31

You're walking out of the grocery store.

Rebekah00:40:33

Dollar Store.

Arnold00:40:36

I'll tell Maria that one.

Mark00:40:38

Take a Cruise Day. Today's Take a Cruise Day.

Arnold00:40:40

Okay.

Mark00:40:40

Sweet. I'm not. Yeah. I've gone on a few cruises. I don't know if I want to go on any more cruises. Have you gone on cruises or anything?

Arnold00:40:48

I have not.

Rebekah00:40:50

No.

Arnold00:40:50

No.

Mark00:40:51

Never had a cruise. Okay. That's. I think that's about it. I think there's more I could find. But why, you know, why would you want me to.

Arnold00:40:59

It's getting lighter later.

Mark00:41:01

Oh, that's right. It's coming up at the end of the month, isn't it?

Arnold00:41:03

I'm not quite sure when. Yes, they change it all the time. But did you know that in 2007, this is true.The end of daylight savings time jumped from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November. The decision was reportedly influenced by candy lobbyists pushing to get trick or treaters an extra hour of daylight.

Rebekah00:41:22

What?

Arnold00:41:23

Gosh.

Mark00:41:23

It's all about the money.

Rebekah00:41:24

Because they need more candy.

Mark00:41:26

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Arnold00:41:27

So this person was saying, I'd eat more candy.

Mark00:41:28

I'd send the kids out and I'd eat the candy.

Rebekah00:41:30

That's right.

Mark00:41:32

Let me check that out.

Arnold00:41:34

Person was asking, ar, why won't you hire a cross eyed teacher? They said, you can't control your pupils. And then this is just like me. I have no hair yet. I still have this comb. I just can't part with it.

Mark00:41:50

You're gonna drive everyone away. This is really bad.

Arnold00:41:54

And folks, if your house is always cold, stand in the corner. It's always 90 degrees there.

Rebekah00:42:01

That's a good one.

Mark00:42:02

It's true. I'm afraid it's true.

Arnold00:42:04

And for all you English teachers out there, my wife texted me, I can still smell your colon on my pillow. And that is why spelling matters.

Mark00:42:15

Oh, I get it.

Arnold00:42:17

Cologne.

Rebekah00:42:17

I get it.

Mark00:42:18

I get it.

Rebekah00:42:18

I know.

Mark00:42:19

It's pretty tough. I know.

Arnold00:42:20

And lastly, life is too short to argue. Just blame your sister for everything and move on.

Mark00:42:26

Yes, that's right. Thank you very much. Take a bow on that one. I was.

Arnold00:42:29

That's all for this hour. We thank you for listening. If you've enjoyed this episode, you can.Listen to additional shows@stlintune.com and follow us there. Also, thanks to Bob Berthecel for our theme music, our sponsor, Better Rate Mortgage, our guest, Rebecca Coste and co host, Mark Langston. And we thank you for being a. Part of our community of curious minds. St. Louis in tune is a production. Of Motif Media Group and the US Radio Network.Remember to keep seeking, keep learning, walk worthy, and let your light shine. For St. Louis in tune, I'm Arnold Stricker.