Thriving In Motherhood Podcast | Productivity, Planning, Family Systems, Time Management, Survival Mode, Mental Health, Vision

Today we're talking about how to work from home with kids around. This applies to all types of work we might do from home, whether that's a side-gig, projects, or full-time (but now from home) work. We'll talk practical things about the when and how to work this into life while kids are around. Key Points from this Episode: When establishing a family routine, make sure to schedule in alone time for you. That can be before kids wake up, in the middle of the day while kids do "quiet time", or right after kids' bedtimes. Consider having an earlier bedtime for kids. It's okay if they don't go to sleep right away, but they can have quiet, unwinding time before they fall asleep and you can get TONS done during that time frame. Use Michael Hyatt's idea of "moving the needle forward." Ask yourself what tasks you can delete or delegate to others and you'll be left with tasks that you are best fit for you and will allow you to be most effective with the time you have. Plan! Choose 3-5 goals you want to accomplish in the next month (including work goals). Be honest with your situation and adjust as needed for your current situation. Look at your week and choose your Big Three (see resources) from your project list. Make sure it's the next big chunk of the monthly goal, not the actual goal. Add tasks in your context-based to-do list that allow you to move forward on your Big Three. Ask yourself "What is one thing that would help me feel successful at the end of the day?" It will help you figure out what is most important, handle a nagging task, or set the bar REALLY low so you can find something to celebrate no matter what season you're in. Ask yourself "What are the next actions for my 3 priorities for the week?" This is baby steps actions. This lets you take advantage of tiny amounts of unplanned time so you know how to best utilize it, rather than waste time figuring out what you can do when your kid naps longer than expected. Ask yourself "What is one thing I can do today to make tomorrow easier?" This can help you identify what is stressing you out or think ahead to handle situations before they become urgent. Be super open and communicating with the people around you with your goals and intentions for the week. Resources 2020 Planner Why and How to Choose a Big Three for the Week Thriving in Motherhood Journal

Today we're talking about practical tips to be able to enjoy yourself and your family during this crazy Coronavirus Quarantine time. As a homeschooling mom, I've figured out a few things along the way that can help as we all cope with the changes of being at home with our children all day, every day. Key Points from this Episode: Look to create a rhythm or routine for your household. Every day does not need to be the same, but general expectations help kids and adults alike to feel grounded. Cleaning up after meals is our "ticket to play/project" because who wouldn't want to play, but the work needs to get done too! We come together, eat together, we have some sort of intellectual stimulation/conversation/activity, then the kids have free play. Then it repeats. Build a repeatable rhythm that are tied to anchors of things like eating meals together. More time at home means more time for the kids to engage in things they love as well as being more engaged in the housework together. Have a conversation with your kids about what household work needs to get done and who can do what. Yes, there will be more work with everyone being home, but there are more people to share the load as well. Have a family council to discuss screen time to prevent the need for constant decision-making in the moment. Set a reasonable expectation. Embrace the time you have to let your kids cook with you, clean with you, etc. Don't try to recreate the public school in your home. Doing a little bit of skill work that is on level with where they are is all they need to keep those brain muscles active. Having a solid family read-aloud helps so much during a tough time. It brings everyone together and lets everyone escape into a world together. Consider having something that kids can do to have their hands busy while you read if they tend to get mischievous without guided movement. Just be curious. Just keep trying. Try something new. Each day, find things to mix it up. Do what works for your family. Remember - You probably already have a lot of these things going for you, so make sure you're doing them intentionally and consistently and it'll be great! Play games! They always help with math skills. Keep what you can do in perspective. Sometimes all you can do is keep a smile on your face and stay kind. Set the goal to be respond rather than react. Identify what is in your circle of influence vs your circle of concern. Ask yourself what unhelpful thoughts you had and prayerfully evaluate them to see how you can make adjustments in the future. Remind yourself this is temporary. Identify what you, as a parent, are looking forward to on a daily or weekly level. Pay attention to the magic moments with your children. It will help change what you see to find more of the magic. Resources This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Chronicles of Narnia The Trumpet of the Swan Winnie the Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner Milly-Molly-Mandy Besty-Tacy The Boxcar Children My Father's Dragon Little House in the Big Woods - and all of the books in the Little House Series! The Long Winter is our favorite and maybe feels a bit relevant now. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey Thriving in Motherhood Journal

Rosie is a mother of three girls (ages 7, 6, and 4) and author of Congratulations! It's Cancer A Memoir. Today we talk about her personal experience with cancer, homeschooling, and learning not to yell. She was born in Utah but raised in Kansas City, Missouri. She has her bachelor's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and met her husband while getting her Cosmetology License. She loves writing, chocolate, and collecting pretty books! Key Points from this Episode: Homeschooling can give kids a voice in their own education. It allows you to follow their natural motivation. Listen to what you're kids are interested in, and then pull in curriculum that relates to what they love. They will learn so much more! You don't have to teach everything yourself, even if you homeschool! There are so many resources you can turn to and be an example of how to learn something you don't know. Rosie's molar pregnancy resisted all the regular treatments and at some point in the process of multiple D&Cs, light chemo, heavy chemo, surgery to remove 1/4 of her uterus was determined that the molar pregnancy was actually cancer. Hearing from the doctor "this isn't going to be a normal pregnancy" lead Rosie to think it might be a baby with disabilities, but she never thought they could have meant cancer. The strong marital support that came from her husband helped pull Rosie through the challenges she faced in dealing with the cancer. Rosie felt through the cancer her lack of control over aspects of her life. It's helped her to focus more on the choices she can make, rather than the circumstances that she could control. Teaching our kids to ask questions when they don't understand opens the door for teamwork in your family to face problems together. Changing how we see our kids can affect how we parent. We can let them be full participants in the family. We can control our behavior and the environment in our homes and can help teach expectations, but cannot control our children's behaviors. Your child knows where they need to be independent and it's your job to foster that independence in ways that are healthy and appropriate.

Today is Part 2 of my conversation with Madeline Casey, Phoebe Cook, Linsey Jensen, & Kristen Ruesch. from Indiana on the topic of friendship. Today's topics cover how to help our children deal with conflict and how to serve each other. Key Points from this Episode: Food is a major way to serve each other. Make enough dinner to share, or have a potluck. Everyone wins that way! Helping care for another person's kids is huge. Be willing to be inconvenienced by each other. The friendship is totally worth the sacrifice. The more you get to know someone, the more you notice what they need and can feel more comfortable expressing what you need help with. The service relationships often start small and grow as times goes on. Do your best to reciprocate service when you can. Help your kids understand what they can control in the friend settings. When all the moms and the kids talk through conflicts together, it helped everyone learn how to grow together. Allow the goal to be helping the kids solve the problem for themselves rather than just coming to the quickest solution to keep everyone quiet. If you can, get together without your kids!! You can talk without interruptions and develop deeper relationships at an adult level. Have a theme for your evening (like a favorite things night or music night) to help guide your conversations. Go on a walk - with or without kids. The kids are typically happy in strollers and you also get to talk at an adult level more. Treasure the spontaneous moments of friendship that happen. They can mean so much more than the staged/planned ones.

Today is Part 1 of an amazing conversation with four of my great friends from Indiana on the topic of friendship. How to have meaningful conversations, how to serve each other, how to become friends with people who are different than you are all topics we discuss. Key Points from this Episode: Meaningful friendships can come from all age groups, not just people who are the same age as you! Be on the lookout for new people moving in and be ready to welcome them and invite them into the fold of your friendship. Sharing your heart with your friends allows you to get to know each other's souls and develop a deeper connection. Recognize that your friends are different from you. That acceptance of each other's differences can allow you to be inspired without becoming overwhelmed with expectations. Do things for yourself like reading books or listening to podcasts and that gives you material to bring up in discussions with others. Sometimes it is easier to be vulnerable and develop deeper relationships in one-on-one situations rather than large groups. A good question to ask is "What are you excited about?" It opens the door for them to tell you about anything that makes them happy at the time. You don't have to spend money in order to spend time together! Try nature walks, potluck picnics, parks, in each others' homes, etc. When you have somebody over, think through what toys you want available and what doors you want open and closed to set the boundaries and keep the cleanup from becoming overwhelming. Stay to help clean up when you've played at someone else's house. Play together and clean together!

Today we are talking about how to ask for help and some of the principles about why and assurance that it's okay to ask for help! We all need it. Key Points from this Episode: Asking for help can be hard, and that's okay! Helping others feels wonderful, so remember it's okay to be on both sides of the helping. If we love helping others, it can be a huge blessing to others to let them help us. The bar for getting help and asking for help is way, way, WAY lower than we think it is. Interdependence helps lift everyone involved way farther than independence can. Allowing the interdependent relationships to develop allows everyone to get help even when things aren't in pure survival, but even have help with the lesser, but still hard times. We have to fight that lie that independence is the end-all be-all. Especially in motherhood. Sometimes we have to be brave and ask for help so we can start cracking down our walls of independence and open the door for them to feel comfortable asking for help from you. In some times of your life, there will be not be as much give and take and you will just need to be served. Know that in another season, you will get to serve when you are capable. When you need A LOT of help, ask a lot of different people so you don't strain friendships. It's scary to ask more people, but spread it around when the help that is needed is ongoing. Be specific with what you need help with. Notice what lifts you up and practice doing that more in your daily life. Resources Thriving in Motherhood Podcast Episode 5 with Chelsea Homer

Theresa is a mother of two and owner of Montessori In Real Life blog and Instagram. Today we're talking about how to take principles of the Montessori philosophy and applying them into our home. There are a lot of practical ideas as well as Theresa's own story of growth. Key Points from this Episode: Montessori is providing an environment that allows children to be self-motivated, curious, and confident in their own abilities. They are respected for who they are individually, and, in return, learn to respect others. Having an open floor plan can allow family members to be together without needing to be doing the exact same thing. Having a kid-friendly house does not mean it cannot be beautiful and enjoyable for adults too. Montessori and home can be quite different from Montessori in the classroom. Foster the natural desire toddlers can have to want to clean up. You can arrange a closet in your home similar to how a classroom would store their materials to make for easy rotation. How we show up for our kids really affects how the kids show up for the day. Making time to refresh ourselves away from our kids weekly makes a big difference in being able to give of ourselves to our children. Connect with Theresa Instagram: @montessoriinreallife Website: montessoriinreallife.com Resources Montessori Home Tour The Power of Showing Up by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson (affl link) The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson (affl link) Montessori From The Start by Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen (affl link) No Drama Discipline by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson (affl link)

Today we talk about how to embrace our kids having a normal, messy childhood and what we can do as parents to make things easier on us as parents. Don't forget to join our free Love Your Life Challenge! Key Points from this Episode: Being in nature and being messy is important to our kids' development. Buying clothes from thrift stores or Walmart makes all clothes play clothes and takes the stress off keeping things stain-free. Having a rain suit and rain boots keeps the kids from getting cold and wet while still enjoying the water play. They will play longer and happier and be able to just come in and strip off the top layer and be ready to keep playing inside without a total wardrobe change. A waterproof art smock works wonders on art projects, but also daily needs like helping with dishes. It takes the stress out of letting your kids help! Resources Tuffo Muddy Buddy Rain Suit Waterproof Art Smock

Rhonda Steed is a mother of five (ages 7-17) and a woman of many talents. We talk about setting up a craft room for your kids, how to make sourdough bread, and life as a mother as our children grow from the toddler to the teenage years. Key Points from this Episode: When you are going through a difficult circumstance like Medical School, find a mom friend in the same situation. They will get you and be able to understand the trials you are dealing with. Learn to carry on with your family even if your busy spouse is unable to be home. Learn to be happy when they do get to come, but don't bemoan your situation when they can't. Taking care of your body really matters. It allows us to mother better and do our best. To parent different personality types, set a goal to pray and think about one thing you can do for each child each day. Start with construction paper and water with a paintbrush if you are nervous about introducing art supplies to your kids. To keep the clutter down with so many creative expressions of our children, you can keep a new project for about a week and see if your child brings it up. If they don't, it's okay to toss it! If you're worried about it, take a picture and then throw it away. Baking bread can be a soothing activity, like yoga. Making bread feels like an accomplishment that can't be undone. So much of motherhood is cyclical but this is a creation that can't be un-created. Take a breath and pause before you react when you're in stressful situations with your teenagers (and others). You might find the magic in the intentions of an action you didn't understand. Connect with Rhonda Instagram: @justrhondalee Website: rhondasteed.com Resources @sourdoughschool - Instagram for how to make bread The Kitchn - sourdough basics

Today I'm talking about how I taught my kids to play, which leads into why we homeschool. If you feel like you always needs to entertain your kids and are looking for how to build the independent play skills in your children, this episode is for you! Key Points from this Episode: There is no one right way to do anything, schooling included! Even if you don't homeschool, you can take away ideas about how to run your household that can help your home life. Enabling kids to have the space to play out real life things (like kitchen sets) gives them so much imagination and freedom!) Recognizing kids' capabilities to feed themselves, wash themselves and dress themselves requires us to relinquish some control of our control, but opens the door to have the kids be able to be contributing members of our households. Charlotte Mason teaches that children are born persons. They have their own personalities and ambitions. Teach children to be a part of a family and a community. Resources You Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy (affiliate link) A Delectable Education Podcast - The Early Years Home Education by Charlotte Mason (affiliate link) A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola (affiliate link) The Montessori Toddler by Simone Davies (affiliate link)