Des Moines Moms Movers and Shakers: Danie Gohr, Catch This Mama

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We are excited to continue our series on Des Moines Moms Movers & Shakers with Danie Gohr, founder of Catch This Mama!
DMMB movers shakers Danie Goer

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family:

I am a wife to a hilarious man named Chuck and blessed with 3 little girls, Reese, Everly, and Charlie. In my free time I am typically googling to see if the mischief my kids are getting into is normal. I also enjoy a good book, like once a year, if time permits. I am a part-time crunchy kind of mama who dreams of living on a farm with chickens and a massive garden. I say part-time crunchy mama because sometimes I go off the natural path and use things such as chemical-filled detergent to get the stains out of our clothes.

I am the founder of Catch This Mama, a podcast, blog, and movement geared specifically to help make mamas lives easier by giving solutions to the challenges they face on a daily basis. Catch This Mama empowers you to own your mom life. As a coach, I am passionate about helping mamas discover or rediscover their passions.

danie gohr catch this mama familyWhat do you consider the biggest challenge of motherhood to be? Biggest joy? 

Biggest Challenge: Raising kids to not feel entitled in a materialistic world. 

We try to focus on experiences over things. And in the past year I’ve been on a personal journey to simplify our day to day and buy less, have less, and ultimately enrich their lives through imagination.

Biggest joy: Behind every good mama is one who thinks they are screwing it all up. One joy thus far includes, getting a note from a teacher that says our kid is outstanding and they can tell how hard we work with her. These moments, where you get to see your kids turning into great people, are some of the greatest joys in life.

Why did you start Catch This Mama? 

I was a runner. When times got tough, I would run.  If work was hard or uncomfortable, I ran and switched jobs. If my personal family life was on the rocks, I would run and avoid it all together for months. I pushed those closest to me away so I didn’t have to face the issue. 

I had never been a part of or seen a relationship where you struggle together and stay. I had only seen or experienced conditional love. Conditional love in the sense that when things got rocky, you ran. You went to another job, another friend, another mate or partner in life and left behind the person or situation you were in.

I realized after jumping ship so many times that your problems follow you. The only common denominator was ME RUNNING.

When I hit my low, meaning my marriage was on the rocks, I no longer had the job I was devoted to, I was numb, there was one person who showed me unconditional love through it all.  

As I was sulking on the basement couch, where I had been for the entire morning, my husband came down to see me. He didn’t have to be there. He could have left me at that very moment because of my pathetic state. He leaned over and grabbed my hands. He said, “Danie, I am proud of you. You are everything to me and I will always fight for you. We will have struggles in life, but as long as we struggle together, it will be okay.”

That was my aha moment. That is when I faced everything. I realized we need each other in life and people really do care. And because of my husband and the mama friends who stood by my side during that time, I now have an insatiable desire to reach out to every mama who is struggling to see their worth and wants to live a full, intentional life. 

That is why I started Catch This Mama. I want to create a movement for moms to own their mom life for everything it is and not what it should be or could be. I want to provide a judgement free place of encouragement. I want to reach out a hand to that mama who has made a misstep, or feels like she is screwing it all up. I want them to know it is okay to make mistakes. At Catch This Mama we mess up and then get up. We ultimately want every mama to own their mom life.

What’s the best part about being your own boss?

It’s been my dream to have a career AND to be home to raise my children. Being my own boss has allowed me to build the ideal life for me.

catch this mama family bakingWhat’s the hardest part about running your own business?

Learning how to blend the life of being mom and being boss. It’s easy to flip on the TV for the kids so you get a whole morning of work done. It takes an intentional design to plan and make sure you are giving adequate time and devotion to both. I use the word blend as opposed to balance because achieving a balanced life puts too much pressure if you are trying to give equal time to both. Some days you work more, and some days you play with your kids all day.

What advice do you have for moms who want to start a business?

A – Analyze what do you envision your life to look like…  5 years from now, 10 years from now,  etc. – form your business around that 

– What is the Best thing that can come from you starting your dream? Let that be your motivation 

– Commit to showing up every single day. Whether it is for 5 minutes or 5 hours. In the first year if you show up every single day you will always be moving the needle to where you ultimately want to be as an entrepreneur. 

What do you wish you knew when you started?

A business will not be a success over night and you can’t do everything at the exact time you want to do it. I’ve learned that when you pick 1 to 3 items that are your top priorities for the day, you can focus and accomplish way more than if you have a giant list. It helps you avoid overwhelm as you continue to pursue your wildest goals. There are certain items I have to just say no to doing. I have to be fiercely protective of my time or else I’ll get so wrapped up in work and forget the reason I left my day job, and that was to be with my kids.

What’s the last show you watched, thing you listened to, or book you read?  

Reading… You are a Bad A**  which explains how to get over your self doubts
Think and Grow Rich
No Drama Discipline 

I’m launching a book club soon that will go through 6 books each year to help you (and me) keep reading and work on our pursuit to “own your mom life” and be the best moms we can be. So, stay tuned!

Watching… Fixer Upper Re-Runs… I think I’ve watched every episode 2-3 times 

Listening to… Mom Struggling Well Podcast

Why do you call Des Moines home?  

Des Moines has been our home for 5 1/2 years. I’ve never felt so welcomed in a community before. Des Moines is a big city with a small-town feel, where everyone knows your name. People are constantly raising their hand to help you out. I love that about this community. 

Des Moines Favorites:

Favorite spot for a date night: Er… what’s a date night? 🙂 – Eatery A. It’s our go to place when we do get out together sans babies!

Best place to take kids: Waukee Library, Grey’s Lake

Favorite summer activity: I’m a homebody these days. Hanging in our backyard and putting up a sprinkler and playing on the swing set are the best

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? I don’t have an ideal city… but I dream of living on a hobby farm with a garden and winery, that is close to town, and has chickens and goats. A place for the girls to explore and learn about where their food comes and what simple living is about.

Favorite instagram accounts? @mamawatters, @wildandfree.co@oldjoy@houseofrose

How do you relax? Finding a place to relax is so important. But, I’ll be honest, lately I’ve been horrible at it. With three littles at your ankles all day, you just try and squeeze as much as possible into the pockets of “free” moments throughout the day. I find cooking therapeutic, brainlessly browsing IG or Pinterest and sometimes I get up before the kiddos and spend some time finding my center (be it a brain dump, reading a book, or stretching). When I can manage that, my days always go smoother and I’m a better mom for it. 

Connect with Catch this Mama

Podcast

Facebook

Instagram

Website


Check out other Des Moines Moms Movers & Shakers: 

Becky Pospisal, The Knotty Nail

Colleen Kelly, Star 102.5 morning show

Emily Butterworth, Hello Charlie

Know a Des Moines mom we should feature? Let us know! Email [email protected] with details and we will be in touch. 

 

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