014 - An Unconventional Blended Family

Welcome to the Everything Always podcast! Summer and Mike here, and today we’ve got two special guests on the show. They are doing family in an unconventional but extremely loving and supportive way. Aaron and Linnea Weikleenget have been together for 10 years – since his kids were babies – and now have a child of their own.

They had their child 6 years into the relationship and travel a lot – which has offered challenges when co-parenting with his ex. However, they have a great relationship with her which has allowed for flexibility and understanding when their schedule unexpectedly changes. They’ve worked towards this, and it really required an understanding between Linnea and Aaron’s ex.

Aaron and Linnea have some great insight into blended family life and touch on the experiences they’ve had while balancing his 2 pre-teens and their four-year-old. Linnea also discusses what it was like to start a relationship with a man that had two babies from a previous relationship when she wasn’t exactly ready to play mom. Listen in to learn more about Aaron and Linnea, and see what tips you can glean to navigate your own blended family experience.

00:45 – 05:30 - Introducing today’s guests: Aaron and Linnea

05:30 – 10:00 – How their co-parenting works and how they separate the “adult stuff”

10:00 – 18:00 – The evolving dynamics of their blended family

18:00 – 22:00 – Challenging moments when first navigating their new family

22:00 – 29:00 – When one child is home full-time and the others aren’t

29:00 – 37:00 – Starting a relationship and prioritizing with a new partner and his/her kids