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

Whether you are exhausted, depressed, sick, burned out, or just want a break, in today's episode I'll be sharing my #1 tip that I've used for the last 10.5 years of motherhood to get me through the day when I need some space we still have the day to spend together.

The solution has two parts: Go outside and do something creative.

When my kids were little and we lived in an apartment, this look...

It is so easy to fall into the "all I do is.." trap. 

You fill in the blank - change diapers, drive kids to school and activities, feed people, nurse the baby, chase after the toddler. No matter the season of motherhood you are in, there are things that we do over and over again. And when we start to think that it is all we do, we can start to feel miserable and resentful of the people we love the most. 

With summer quickly approaching, I needed to refocus on what we are going to make our learning priorities for the next few months. We go year-round in our homeschooling so that we can have the ultimate flexibility to take breaks or just enjoy the nice days outside. And, hot weather here in the South has us indoors more than in the winter months.

In this week’s episode, I’m sharing the question I asked to g...

For the last 30 days, I've been using the Thriving in Motherhood Journal. Before this personal challenge, I would use it about once a week when things were hard and noticed a nice lift to my week. But as this year has continued to surprise us I started to flounder and wanted to see what impact the journal would have in my life. 

In this week's episode, I'll share some of the logistics and tips for using t...

I got a fantastic question from a mother who is using the 2024 Thriving in Motherhood Planner this year: "I get confused sometimes about the distinction between things like goals  (quarterly vs. yearly) vs. projects vs. habits vs. Big 3 vs. focus vs. tracking.  Should these things all be related or not necessarily? 

For example, on page 31, I'm not sure what goals vs projects are.  Do I choose a big goal a...

Cleaning my home with my children has always been my number one priority. When they were babies this looked like using cleaning supplies that would be safe while they were in a baby carrier on me. As they were toddlers, it meant they could clean with me, and I wasn't worried about what they were touching. As they get older it means having materials I'm confident they can use safely by themselves. 

But know...

When I had three kids, four and under, I learned about Charlotte Mason and her principle of spreading a wide feast of ideas. Practically, this looks like 20 different subjects in a Charlotte Mason classroom that get covered during the week. 

Before we were in the formal school years, I got into the habit of discovering where all the different sections of books were at the library so I could just walk the s...

Synthia Simenson is a mother of five (almost six) children ages 10 and under. She went through the struggles that I think we can all relate to when we first become moms—overwhelm, unsure of where to focus her time and energy, and not even sure what she wanted life to look like. I hope you are as inspired by her journey as I am, from those survival years to making intentional changes that created space for her to dream....

Have you done those exercises where you write out your priorities or values? It is easy for me to put on paper what I care about, but where are my time and energy really going? 

In this season of survival mode for our family, we have really stripped away a lot of what we usually do, and it is easy for me to say that we aren't very consistent in things that I wish we were better at.

But as I sa...

When you’ve lost momentum in every area of your life, and it feels overwhelming because there is so much to do, what do you do? Often, the answer is to do a brain dump—write everything you can possibly think of on a piece of paper to clear your head. 

The problem is, what do you do after that? How do you actually gain the clarity you need to move forward? 

This last week, I sat down and prayer...

Last week, we spent a week in Memphis, Tennessee, as a family while Andrew attended a conference. It was a great trip with lots of amazing moments and some really hard ones, too. In this week’s episode, I’m sharing the reflection process that I did after this trip so that we can take in all the data, evaluate the wins, what we loved, and what we would do to make things a little bit better next time.

Some...

When I shared 3 Thriving Thoughts for Hard Days a few weeks ago, we were not at the end of the unexpected and hard around here. The reality is that my capacity and desire for doing things and running the household are shrinking as my energy is being diverted toward the emotional and physical realities and reactions to our circumstances.

I’ve also realized that my physical energy and health vary greatly ev...

If you’ve been stuck on Exploring on the 5 Step Path from Surviving to Thriving, this week’s episode is for you! Monica Packer shares how a Do Something List can be a powerful tool for exploring and discovering who you are and what you love. It’s a practical push to find fulfillment in your everyday life. It is separate from a goals or resolutions list. It’s more about exploration than competition. 

Monica...

We’ve had an intense few months over at our house, and it has taken its toll. But the wonderful thing is that with breakdowns come breakthroughs. Today, I’m sharing three new Thriving Thoughts (what I call the new way of thinking I like to hold onto) I’ve had that are helping me in this season. 

Whether these thoughts resonate with you or not, I hope that when you are struggling, you will follow this patte...

If decorating your home feels overwhelming and you don’t know where to start, this conversation with Myquillyn Smith will bring clarity and hope. We discuss house rules (and how to break them), how to fix things when they don’t look right, how to decorate on a budget, and how to figure out what your next step is when it comes to creating a home that you love being in and feels good.

I have personally read ...

I’ve been meal planning for years in pretty much the same way. I’ve put my process into seven steps for today’s episode. 

As my 6-year-old said when she sat next to me while I edited this episode, “Mom, just because it works for you doesn’t mean it will work for anyone else.” She’s 100% right.

But I hope that seeing my exact process will give you some inspiration and a starting place to figure...

I’ve had three challenging pregnancies with other kids at home. I was very intentional with the time in between pregnancies to prepare for the next one, figuring it would also be a challenge. 

Today, I’m covering what I did, what worked, what didn’t, and tips to help you figure out where to put your time and energy. These are the same tips I’d give you even if you aren’t planning another pregnancy but in...

Our family has been using audiobooks for years and they have become an integral part of our routines. Today, I’m sharing why we love listening to audiobooks in our home, how we listen, how to develop the skill of listening to audiobooks, and our favorite audiobooks to listen to by age. 

Why Audiobooks?

Audiobooks have been our trusty companions for years, adding a touch of magic to our quiet...