In the Trenches with Jen and Len

Welcome back to Week 8 of In the Trenches! This week we start light with our funniest vacation moments, the chaos, the plans that fell apart, and the stories we’re still laughing about. Then things get real when Len opens up about the moment he realized he’d been telling Carsynn’s teammates “good job” on the field but never telling her, and how much it broke him once it hit. We talk about how easy it is to hand out praise everywhere else while the people closest to us go without it, and what it looks like to fix that. We wrap up with a question that might change how you show up in your relationship: do you need to be heard, helped, or hugged? Asking your partner this simple question can save you from so many unnecessary arguments, and we break down what each one means and why guessing wrong leaves both people frustrated. Thanks for tuning in as always!

The Bears and Commanders are still out there doing Bears and Commanders things, but we’re taking a bye week because we’re off on vacation, so consider this a little pre-trip warm-up. We dive into our middle child’s love, borderline unhealthy devotion to Caleb Williams (we’re pretty sure she’d leave us for a Bears jersey and a handshake). Then we expose Jen’s complete and total lack of direction, a woman who needs a GPS to find the bathroom in her own house and who has never once arrived anywhere early on the first try unless she gives herself a 30 minute leeway. And finally, we talk about the trip that has us stepping away from the mics: Naviva, the most magical place ever. Will we relax, make memories, and soak in all the magic? Sure. Will Jen get us lost on the way there? Absolutely. We’ll be back next week, Jen will be tan, we will be rested, and probably still a little lost.

Welcome back to the trenches, where the snacks are questionable, the coffee is doing the heavy lifting, and burnout is that unwanted houseguest who just. won’t. leave. This week, Jen and Len talk about what happens when you’re running on fumes and still expected to be the magic creators, the ones who make the memories, the moments, and the whole vibe happen while somehow remembering where everyone’s shoes are. We also finally address the infamous side and slide, and whether it’s a technique, a lifestyle, or the secret to saving marriages everywhere (spoiler: we have opinions, and they are strong). Press play, grab your person, and remember: you’re not burned out, you’re just a magic creator who needs a nap.

Week 5 of In the Trenches with Jen and Len is here, and yes, we're throwing flags on ourselves. This week we're laying out the relationship non-negotiables we will absolutely not budge on (Len has notes, and he'd like them entered into the record), walking you through game day in our house, which is less "well-oiled machine" and more "two-minute drill with snacks," and explaining why we don't have a nanny (we've tried, we have heard the opinions, we've read the comments, we're still here). We also get into parents who redshirt their kids for sports, and we promise to be completely fair, mostly. Press play, grab your tailgate snacks, and see if you and your partner would survive our rulebook.

When your starter can't give 100%, somebody has to step up. This week, Len and Jen break down what "next man up" looks like on the field, in marriage, and in parenting.We get personal. Len shares his backup story: what it's like to be a 7th round draft pick and what it felt like to get his first start. We talk about playing next to so many different left guards and quarterbacks, and about giving your all when you never should have had to be the best player on the line.That ties right into marriage. When your players can't give 100%, the backups have to show up. We get real about giving 70% when your partner can only give 30%, because marriage will rarely be 50/50. We also share what helped us: premarital counseling and having the tough conversations before we ever tied the knot, plus therapy as a way to remind and reassure one another.We close with parenting: the words we instill in our girls, what kids learn from simply watching us and what discipline looks like in our house (allowing kids to be loud while still teaching respect).

Episode 3 is here and it's basically a football game, except the only contact sport is parenting toddlers into bedtime. We're talking fantasy football injuries (and why your bench player's turf toe is not, in fact, a personal betrayal), introducing a brand new segment that may or may not survive past this episode, confessing what coaching your own kid's team does to your nervous system, and finally settling the age-old marriage debate of who actually does the dishes vs. who just claims they do. Nobody wins. Everybody's tired. Welcome back!

Life doesn't always run the play you called and this week, we're talking about the moments we had to change ours. We open up about getting released from Chicago and what it actually felt like to have the rug pulled and pivot on the fly. Then we shift into how we communicate as a team, using football terms to call our own plays in marriage and parenting. And finally, we tackle the never-ending battle of trying to keep our kids off tablets. No huddle, no script, just real conversations, one audible at a time.

It is kickoff week for In the Trenches with Jen and Len. We introduce ourselves, share why we created this show, and open up about our four quarters; life, marriage, parenting, and football. This is the first snap of many - thanks for being here with us.