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#1 Time-Saving Tip for Getting Dinner on the Table Each Night

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A guest post from Polly Conner and Rachel Tiemeyer of Thriving Home.

As food bloggers, cookbook authors, and freezer cooking evangelists, these moms are on a mission to “help your home thrive, one delicious meal at a time”. Their popular website, ThrivingHome.org and cookbooks help bring busy families together over healthy, homemade meals. Follow them on instagram (@thrivinghome) for recipe ideas, meal prep tips, mom hacks, and more.

When I had my first kiddo, I made the decision to stay home full-time. Our one-income budget was tight. My time was tight. And to be honest, my post-pregnancy jeans were tight.

It seemed like the only thing that had room to grow was my cooking repertoire. I just could not get dinner figured out. 

Before kids, I’d had this lovely vision of providing healthy, homemade meals around the dinner table each evening. As you can probably guess, that never happened. Not even close.

I just couldn’t wrap my mind around how I was supposed make a meal EVERY-SINGLE-NIGHT! Or, how could we possibly afford fresh, healthy foods on our tight grocery budget? We weren’t eating well, and I didn’t have a clue what to do about it. 

Relate?

AN ANSWER TO THE DINNERTIME DRAMA

What if I told you that there was an answer to this dinnertime drama? What if it was something you could start doing TONIGHT!? It’s not new. It’s not sexy. It’s not complicated. In fact, you’ve probably heard of it. It’s freezer cooking!

Wait! Wait! Don’t close the browser. Hear me out.

I’m well aware that when many people hear the term, “freezer cooking” they think of mushy, beige leftovers. I did too. However, what if I told you that freezer meals can be fresh, vibrant, and full flavor and texture? It’s true!

In fact, after developing hundreds of freezer friendly recipes for our website and freezer meal cookbooks, we are confident that a freezer cooking lifestyle can change your life. In fact, here’s what one reader recently emailed us:

Thank you to you ladies for making dinnertime (ergo my life) so much less stressful. The week, I used your cookbook for dinners. The only thing extra I did was double the recipes. By the end of the week, I had 6 meals in the freezer ready to go. It’s been such a blessing in my life, thank you!
-cderry

 

4 BENEFITS OF FREEZER COOKING

When I say “freezer cooking” I am referring to preparing meals in advance and freezing them before cooking. This method of simply doubling a meal and freezing one for later, has become a lifestyle in my home which has helped me get dinner on the table, even on the busiest nights.

Here are a few more reasons I love freezer cooking.

1) It saves money by buying in bulk and eating at home.

It’s no secret that when you buy food in bulk quantities, it is usually cheaper. By meal planning, you’ll see your grocery bill go down significantly. Plus, having ready-to-go meals within reach reduces the temptation to spend money eating out.

2) It cuts down on prep and cooking time, leaving more room to relax and spend time with loved ones. 

By having meals that you doubled from a previous meal ready to go in the freezer, you’ll cut down on all those extra little trips to the store during the week. Even more importantly, you’ll cut down on your prep, cooking, and clean-up time regularly, leaving weeknights freer to relax, spend time with your family, exercise, enjoy hobbies, or whatever else has been crowded out of your life by the daily cooking grind!

3) Freezer cooking helps you eat healthier!

Freezer cooking, especially using our recipes, makes homemade food full of REAL, wholesome ingredients readily available. When you cook at home, you are in control of the ingredients. This means your family is consuming less additives and preservatives and more whole foods.

4) You’ll always have meals on hand to take to a friend in need.

With meals in the freezer, you can be that friend who shows up at the doorstep with a healthy dinner and a few words of encouragement. It’s a simple act of caring and thoughtfulness that can make a bigger impact than you may realize. 

 

WHERE TO FIND GREAT FREEZER MEAL RECIPES

As self-proclaimed “freezer cooking evangelists” we have developed and rigorously tested hundreds of delicious, freezer-friendly recipes and perfected the freezing/thawing methods for all different types of meals. Here are three places to find our recipes:

1) Thriving Home: You’ll find that our website is a wealth of information for anyone looking for make-ahead freezer meals, including things like:

 

2) From Freezer to Table: Another way to find the best of the best of our recipes is to snag our cookbooks. Our popular first cookbook walks a reader through freezer cooking basics and provides a wide variety of our favorite family-friendly recipes.

3) From Freezer to Cooker: In our second cookbook, each recipe provides instructions for both the slow cooker AND the Instant Pot. On top of that, we provide instructions for how to prep it ahead and freeze it for those extra busy nights.

Fun fact: we even got to go on the Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family show to share about this cookbook!

Want to try a recipe from From Freezer to Cooker? We’d love to share one with you! In fact, this recipe is on the cover!

SLOW COOKER ASIAN LETTUCE WRAPS

We love that this dish is low carb and filled with lean meat and vegetables, but also seasoned well with amazing Asian staples like soy sauce, fresh ginger, sesame oil, and more. These work well as an appetizer or for a lighter dinner. Beware that they can be messy, so have napkins on hand. Kid-friendly tip: wrap the rice and chicken/veggie mixture in a whole grain tortilla. 

Makes: 4 servings (2-3 lettuce wraps per person)

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 ½ tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce (or up to 2 teaspoons)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 teaspoon avocado oil or peanut oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken (or ground turkey)
  • 2 cups shredded coleslaw mix (sub: 1 cup shredded carrots and 1 cup shredded cabbage), plus more for garnish
  • 1 bunch green onions, trimmed chopped, white and green parts, divided
  • 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
  • 16 crisp leaves of Boston Bibb, butter leaf, or Romaine lettuce
  • ½ cup peanuts, crushed

 

Slow Cooker Instructions: (tested in a 6 quart cooker)

Make It Now:

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sesame oil, chili sauce, garlic, and ginger. Set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Brown the ground chicken until there is no more pink. Drain off any grease. (Freezer meal instructions begin here.)  
  3. Add the chicken, coleslaw mix, green onions, and water chestnuts to the slow cooker. Pour the sauce over the top and stir to combine.
  4. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours, until vegetables are soft and flavors are combined.
  5. To serve, use a slotted spoon to spoon the filling into a lettuce leaf. Top with fresh shredded cabbage, crushed peanuts, and (optional) more hot sauce, as garnish. Wrap and eat like a burrito.

 

Freeze For Later: Follow Steps 1-2. To a gallon-sized freezer bag or container, add the cooked, cooled chicken, coleslaw mix, green onions, water chestnuts, and the sauce, and seal. Add the crushed peanuts to a small freezer bag or containers and seal. Freeze both together as a kit.

Prepare From Frozen: Note: You will need lettuce and (optional) shredded coleslaw and hot sauce on hand to finish this meal. Thaw. Place the meat/veggie mixture into the slow cooker. Follow Steps 3-5.

Buy From Freezer to Cooker Here

A Minimalist Baby Registry

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A guest post from Jessie Martin

Jessie Martin is a wife, mama, photographer, and educator. She writes at Jessiemartin.com and hosts the Grace and Intention podcast. She is passionate about empowering moms to see how incredible their everyday motherhood journey is. One way she does this is through teaching moms how to take beautiful pictures of and with their families (even if they don’t have a fancy camera).

Jessie is a mom of two little ones with another on the way. She lives in the woods with her family and loves all things photography, minimalism, and simple living.

This baby registry is for you if you are trying to be more minimal, you value quality over quantity, and you love neutral colors!

Many of the items in this post are affiliate links. You don’t get charged any extra, but my family receives a small commission when you shop via one of my affiliate links & we are so grateful for your support!

Over the last few years, minimalism has really influenced the way I run our home. Allie has been one of my biggest mentors and role models and I’m honored to be a guest on her blog.

The effects of being on the more minimal side has transformed not only our home, but me! I’m less stressed and I’m able to manage our home way better than ever before. I’m able to spend less time cleaning up and more time with my family doing what matters.

When we got pregnant with oldest, I knew I wanted to keep minimalism in mind as we prepared to bring a baby into our home.

Below is a list of my favorite baby gear. I’ve been compiling this list over the past three years. I’m three kids in and I feel like it’s truly the essentials and only what you’ll actually need.

 

SLEEP

Graco Pack ‘n Play Playard Portable Napper & Changer

This alleviates the need for a bassinet when you have a newborn and is a must for your baby registry. It can be used for many years as a portable crib & a safe play area. We use it every single day.

Graco Pack ‘n Play Playard Fitted Sheet, Grey

I recommend getting 2-4 sheets to have as backups when one gets dirty.

Little One’s Pad Pack N Play Crib Mattress Cover

I recommend buying 2-4 sets. This keeps the Pack n’ Play mat from getting ruined.

Ikea Sniglar Crib

We bought our crib from Ikea and love it. This is a very similar one from Amazon & it has great ratings and reviews.

Graco Premium Foam Crib & Toddler Mattress

This mattress has worked great and feels super comfortable!

100% Cotton Jersey Knit Fitted Crib Sheet

I would recommend buying 2-4 fitted sheets.

Waterproof Fitted Mattress Pad Cover

I would recommend buying 2-4 mattress pad covers.

Mom Hack: Make your baby’s crib like normal with a waterproof fitted pad and a fitted sheet, but add an additional waterproof pad and sheet on top of the first set. This makes for really fast bedding changes in the middle of the night when everyone is tired.

White Noise Machine

This. Every Nap. All night long. When the dogs bark or my car alarm randomly goes off, our son doesn’t wake up thanks to this life saver.  A sound machine is one of the best baby items I can recommend.

The great thing about this sound machine is that it grows with your kids. We still use it as a sound machine for our one and two year old, but we also use the “Time to Rise” function for our two year old (the light turns green when it’s time to wake up and he knows he can call for me to come get him).

If you’re looking for a cheaper sound machine, we’ve used THIS one. I’ve had three and they all break after about a year of using them, but they’re only $20, so they’re great in a pinch or on a budget.

Baby Monitor

I use this for every nap and all night long. It’s priced much lower than a lot of video monitors and it’s a really great quality. It shows the room temperature as well, which is a feature we love. I can’t recommend this one enough.

Swaddles

I am a swaddle snob. I will be the first to admit it.

My absolute favorite swaddle blankets are Max & Moose. They’re more like t-shirt material and they are bigger than standard swaddles, so they’re easier to use. I have purchased 7 of these between my two kids.

Another similar brand is Mebie Baby. These swaddles are a little thinner and super stretchy (make sure you get the stretch swaddles, they work much better and your baby won’t bust out of them as easily). I like using these for warmer nights.

I recommend buying 6-8 swaddle blankets. They have to be changed almost as much as outfits due to diaper mishaps 😉 

Bibs Pacifiers

Bibs is a newer family owned business. They have a million colors and their pacifiers are really super cute. Alivia has loved them and took them right away. I also love  Ryan and Rose pacifier clips.

Baby Swing

I don’t think you need a million baby gadgets, but having one swing or rocker that moves on its own is extremely helpful for when you need to cook dinner or shower. This swing is great because you can disconnect the rocker portion to fit in tighter spaces. I use this when I need to shower or get ready in the mornings. I bring it into the bathroom with me and the rocking keeps the baby happy.

The big size makes me die inside a little bit, but the smaller, cuter rockers (like the 4Moms MamaRoo) only has a gliding motion & a lot of babies don’t like it. I’ve researched it a ton and read so many reviews in all of the mom groups because it’s just so much cuter and smaller. Ultimately, I always come back to the Graco swings because they seem more functional. We use ours for the first 5-6 months and then break it down and store it away for the next baby.

 

BATHTIME

Angel Care Baby Bath

When we had our first, I loved the Puj Tub for sink baths. Now that we have two kids, I really like this little bath seat because I can bathe the kids at the same time. I realized really quickly that doing two separate baths was going to take forever.

Primally Pure Baby Products

After almost three years, I’ve finally found a natural line of baby products that actually work. I use all of Primally Pure’s baby products for my kids (they’re the first natural products that have ever actually worked for my son’s eczema, too!). Click here for 10% off!

I use the Bottom Balm as diaper rash cream, nipple cream, eczema cream, and to help treat cradle cap. It’s the only natural cream I’ve found that actually works for my son’s bad eczema.

I use the Primally Pure Baby Oil as moisturizer after every bath and before bedtime.

I use Primally Pure Baby Powder for diaper rashes and I love that it’s talc-free.

I use the Primally Pure Baby Bar as soap + shampoo for both kids as well.

 

FEEDING

Burp Cloths

 

With Locke I used the standard white cloth diapers as burp cloths, but they got pretty gross and stained. For our second baby I bought these grey ones from Burts Bees and I have loved them! I bought two packs and it has been the perfect amount.

Nipple Butter

I use Primally Pure Baby Balm as Nipple Butter and it works amazing! Breastfeeding can be a little rough the first few weeks and this stuff helps so much! Click here for 10% off!

Medela Pump in Style Breast Pump

I’ve been super happy with this pump & use it every day. Your insurance will probably pay for this, so call and chat with them before you purchase one.

Mom Hack: You are going to want a hands-free pumping bra. You can buy one like this, OR you can make your own for way cheaper. Buy a few cheap sports bras like these & cut two small holes in them.

Medela Quick Clean Micro-Steam Bags

These make for super quick cleaning of pump parts and alleviate having to boil your pump parts to sanitize them every day.

Baby Bottle Brush

I ordered this 2 pack of bottle brushes. They look cute in my kitchen & it isn’t some huge pack of different size brushes that I need to store or hide away.

Breastmilk Storage Bags (BPA and BPS Free)

You need these to store and freeze your pumped milk. I’ve tried several brands and I haven’t noticed any difference. These are the best price I could find, so it’s what I buy.

Sarah Wells Wet Dry Bag

I store my pump parts in this both at home and at work (I got the black & white one).

Mom Hack: Schedule an appointment with a lactation consultant for a few days after you give birth. You’ll need all the help you can get. This helped me SO much in the very beginning & gave me a lot more confidence.

Washable Nursing Pads

For the first several weeks you will leak breastmilk even when you aren’t nursing. I tried multiple brands of disposable nursing pads but I thought they were itchy so I switched to reusable ones.

Como Tomo Bottles OR Glass Bottles

I start with 8oz bottles and skip over the smaller 4oz bottles. I didn’t want to store multiple sizes that they would grow out of anyways. We have one bottle for each kid and that’s really all we’ve needed. You’ll probably have to try a few different brands to find what works for your baby. (Always start with the slowest flow nipples).

The Como Tomo brand has worked really well for both of my kids as newborns, but if my babies were exclusively bottle fed I would opt for glass bottles like these. I’m going to try one of these with the new baby before I try the Como Tomo Bottle just because I’m trying to move to all glass or stainless steel products.

Organic Baby Bandana Scarf Bibs

If your kid spits up a lot, these will save you a ton of laundry and outfit changes. They’re also super cute and my kids get so many compliments on them. These are another cheaper option that have held up very well.

High Chair

We love this chair because it hooks right onto our table, it’s easy to clean (just throw the cover in the washing machine), and it doesn’t take up a ton of space. We have one for each kid and I love them so much. They both still look brand new.

If your table has a lip and you need a traditional highchair, this one from Ikea is highly recommended by my mom friends.

Spoons (BPA Free Silicone)

We have four of these spoons and use them daily. They’ve held up great and I even put them in the dishwasher 😉

Note: I ended up rarely using our boppy pillow + cover. (Some people swear by the boppy though, so it’s definitely personal preference). I just used a normal pillow until I got the hang of nursing and now I just hold him. If you are someone who leaks a lot while you nurse, Milkies Milk Saver is an awesome product that saves your milk from being wasted.

Nursing cover

You can absolutely just use a blanket, but I like the nursing cover because they grow with your baby. You can put it over highchairs at restaurants to prevent your baby from touching a bunch of germs. I always have one in my diaper bag.

 

TRAVEL

Chicco Keyfit Infant Car Seat and Base

This carseat is easy to get babies in and out of. It’s lightweight and comes with a base that stays in your car. It comes with a newborn insert that is really easy to remove and wash.

With our first, I was torn between buying an infant carseat or a convertible carseat, but decided on the infant seat. I’m really glad I did because it’s so nice to be able to take them in and out of the car without unstrapping them or waking them up every single time.

We bought THIS convertible carseat for Locke when he was around one, and we love it!

We just bought the same Convertible Carseat for Alivia, so now we have two!

Mom hack: I cut one of these in half and put it at the bottom of the carseat under the kids. This is a lifesaver after blowouts & makes for easy clean-up.

BOB Revolution SE Single Jogging Stroller

I LOVE this stroller. This is an item I found second-hand for a fraction of the cost. If you can find one second-hand – do it! When you have a second baby you may want to upgrade to a double stroller anyways.

I wanted a high quality running stroller, because running is hard enough as it is. This is easy to maneuver and it fits in the back of my small trunk. It’s super light-weight so it’s easy to get in and out and set up quickly.

I use it at the mall, grocery stores, etc and haven’t had any problems with it fitting anywhere.

BOB 2017 Single Infant Car Seat Adapter

This adapter is specific to the Chicco infant carseat and allows you to snap the carseat into the BOB stroller.

Ergobaby 360 All Carry Positions

I have this Ergo and it’s great. It came with a newborn insert and it’s easy to get them in and out. I like the simple colors and it’s easy to store. Because we are a pretty active family this was a must-have for hiking. This is an item I didn’t want to skimp on price wise because I knew I needed something that would be comfortable for my back. The longest hike we’ve done so far was seven miles and it was comfortable the entire time.

Note: Tons of mamas swear by wraps and slings. I would recommend borrowing one from a friend to see how you like it before you buy one. Some people love them, but some people never use them. I love my Solly Baby Wrap the best for newborns.

Diaper Bag

Our Fawn Design diaper bag was a big splurge, but I love it so much. I have been so happy with my choice and it still looks brand new three years later. Click HERE for $10 off at Fawn Design.

Portable Changing Pad

I carry this in our diaper bag for changing the kids on the go. Gathre Micro+ mats are more expensive ($30), but super cute 😉 If you shop during Black Friday or during the holidays they always have great sales!

 

HEALTH

Humidifier

I run this in Locke’s room every night during the winter months. It’s also one of the first things we recommend to parents when they bring congested kids to the hospital.

Digital Flexible Thermometer

These are the most accurate for little babies – the forehead thermometers seem great, but they aren’t very accurate. As a pediatric nurse, I’ve seen so many parents bring their kids into the ER for a false high fever after using a temporal thermometer.

oogiebear Ear & Nose Cleaner

I call this the booger picker & it’s my favorite. It’s less traumatic than a bulb syringe.

NoseFrida Nasal Aspirator

Super gross. Super helpful. And I promise snot will not get in your mouth.

Saline Spray/Drops

This helps to loosen stuffy noses before you aspirate with a bulb syringe or nosefrida.

Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water

When babies are born, their GI system aren’t completely developed so they tend to have tummy issues for a few weeks. These drops can really help.

Baby Nail Clippers

Those little suckers get so long and sharp. I use these all the time. These are mini, so they are easier to use than an adult size would be.

 

CLOTHING

I am SUPER minimal when it comes to the kids’ clothes. I barely registered for any clothes because they’re so seasonal that stores tend to stop selling them by the time your baby shower rolls around anyways. Plus, people will get you clothes no matter what because they’re super fun to shop for.

All of Locke’s clothes are pretty much from Primary.com, H&M, or Amazon. Most of Alivia’s clothes are from Primary, H&M, JamieKay, Zara, and Amazon.

I’ve started sharing the kid’s capsule wardrobes on the blog, and you can find them HERE and HERE.

My newborns pretty much live in long sleeve onesies. I get most of them from Primary.com (Use code PRIMARYJESSIEM16 for 25% off). I love Primary because I can wash and dry their clothes a million times and they hold up perfectly. All of our Primary clothes have lasted through both Locke and Liv and I’ve got them saved for the new baby as well!

I also really love the L’ovedbaby brand on Amazon. They hold up SO well (even putting them in the dryer) and they have really beautiful neutral colors that Primary doesn’t carry.

Booties

Socks don’t stay on, but I really love these for during the winter months.

 

LAUNDRY

Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds Biodegradable Cleaner

This is the laundry detergent I’ve settled on. I tried at least five different ones because of how sensitive Locke’s skin is, and this has been my favorite. It has all natural ingredients & it’s organic. It lasts for a long time & I just think it’s worth it to avoid the harsh chemicals. We use it for all of our laundry.

Mom Hack: I tried a few baby stain removers and none of them worked very well. Now I just use our dish soap. I put a little dish-soap on the stain right away & scrub it. I rinse it and throw it in the wash.

 

ADDITIONAL BABY GEAR

Blankets

I bought two of these to lay/play on. One for the living room, one for the nursery. I wash & dry them constantly and they have held up really well.

I’ve also invested in special quilts for each of the kids. Liv’s quilt is from Nested Quilt Co and Locke and the new baby have special quilts coming from Grain Handmade.

 

DIAPERING

Newborn Pampers Swaddlers

Pampers have little indicator lines that are really helpful during the first few weeks. If you shop at Costco, I’ve been really happy with their Kirkland brand diapers, too (they don’t carry a newborn size for some reason, so we use them for size 1 and up).

Mom Hack: when your baby starts sleeping through the night or going longer stretches, use night time diapers like these and size up one size. This prevents leaks and they absorb better, which means baby sleeps better and longer.

Wipes

We use water wipes from amazon. I like these because they’re non-toxic and 99.9% water. I made the switch after I used a popular brand of baby wipes on myself one day and it totally burned my skin. I felt so bad that I had been using them on my babies and immediately researched and switched to water wipes instead.

Diaper Genie

This is not necessarily a must-have item, but it’s been worth it to me because our dumpster is almost a mile away. You’ll also need the liners that go into the Diaper Genie.

Baby Changing Pad + Scale

We use the Hatch Grow and I love it. It has a built in scale so I can check and know that my babies are getting enough milk during nursing and gaining weight. You can use the scale to weigh your baby before your nurse, and then again after you nurse.  The app does all the math for you and tells you how many oz of milk your baby ate.

I throw a Gathre Micro+ mat on our scale and it’s really cute!

 

A FEW NEW THINGS I’M GOING TO TRY WITH OUR THIRD BABY

I ordered a Snuggle Me Organic on Black Friday and I’m really excited to have it for baby #3.

I’m going to purchase a Snuza for this baby. It detects the baby’s abdominal movements and will alert you if your baby were to stop breathing. I think this will give me more peace of mind at night. I’ve done some research and this is much cheaper and seems to have less false alarms than the Owlet monitor.

 

A FEW FUN EXTRAS FOR OLDER BABIES

Joovy Spoon Walker

We own this walker and love it for it’s minimal clean look and collapsible storage feature.

We also own this macrame hammock swing. I actually won it in a giveaway on Instagram, but I would buy it in a heartbeat. It’s beautiful and both kids have loved it!

 

FREE GUIDE TO MOM PHOTOGRAPHY

The last thing on this list is actually something I made with you in mind. If you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to stop snapping pictures once your sweet baby is born!

I run an online business like Allie where I help moms learn to take beautiful pictures of their families (even if they only have a smartphone). 

If you want to learn how to take the best pictures possible and document this incredible time, I created a free guide that teaches you how to take beautiful pictures of your new baby (even if you don’t have a fancy camera). You can grab it for free, HERE!

THAT’S IT GUYS. THAT’S ALL THE BABY GEAR WE OWN AND EVERYTHING THAT WAS ON MY BABY REGISTRY!

An Open Letter to My Loved Ones About Gift Giving

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Every week, I work with women to simplify their homes and their lives. I love what I do and the freedom it brings to families! 

Over the years, I’ve seen a gap during the holidays. Women are afraid the influx of gifts will re-clutter their homes and they don’t want to lose their newfound spare time and joy, but they also don’t know exactly what to say to their well-meaning relatives about their over-giving. 

I don’t think Christmas, birthdays or other times of giving should be tightly monitored (talk about losing out on joy!), but I understand that some of you have people in your lives who just give way too much, and it’s really overwhelming. It can feel like an impediment on your boundaries, and it can actually be that too.

This blog post was written by me for you to use as your voice if you can’t find the words. Share it to your socials, post it to your Facebook wall, send it in an email… whatever you want. Borrow my words, friend. I got you.

I also included the option to get an editable, more personalized version of this letter you can fill in with your relative’s name and more details about what your kids might like as gifts. You can snag that at the bottom of this post at no cost to you 🙂

If you want me to help you simplify your life, I’m here and I’m ready to lighten your load!

xo Allie

DEAR LOVED ONE, 

I’m writing this to you with a mix of appreciation and apprehension.  Appreciation for you and how much you love my family, apprehension because I don’t want you to view me as ungrateful or unkind, and I have no desire to offend or upset you.

You have gone so above and beyond with my kids – I love that you love so big! It’s beautiful. I look at that and feel so honored that my kids get to have someone like you in their lives. What I want to say has nothing to do with your love… it’s about my own limits. 

Over the past few months, I’ve been on a really important journey that’s involved a lot of learning. It started with the Google search bar – I was looking for some help because I was feeling so overwhelmed at home and in life. 

It felt like all I did was maintain our physical space. I was constantly cleaning up and it was constantly being undone behind me; it was never-ending and sort of depressing! All I want is to run a home I enjoy being in and spend quality time with my family. It felt like I was always choosing between those two things rather than living them out in any sort of balance.

I found some interesting things in my research… did you know that a study done at Princeton found that you could cut down on housework by at least 40% if you just didn’t have clutter in your home? 40%! That’s so much weight removed from a busy mom’s week.

I also found a study done at UCLA, which found a distinct link in women between the amount of clutter in their homes and their cortisol levels. More stuff, higher levels of stress, automatically. 

This study also found that women relate how they feel when they walk into their home to how they feel about their family. That’s intense because of what clutter makes us feel (stress). So to willingly create an environment that makes me feel that way about my family? That didn’t sit well with me. 

I found multiple studies showing the effect of too many toys and options on children – it’s honestly alarming and sad! I want the kids to grow up knowing how to play… really play. I want them to use their imaginations, go outside, thrive! 

As I was reading this research and more like it, it all started to hit me. It made so much sense that I’d been feeling so heavy and burdened in day-to-day life… we had so much excess in our home. It was a lot to maintain – too much! I made a decision to clear physical clutter in hopes of lightening things up a bit.

What happened was so much more than that! It was like we literally created more time in our days, just by removing some excess. We got rid of some dishes, clothing, and toys that were simply not being used, plus the random “stuff” hiding in our closets and drawers, and that was all it took for things to get better. 

I found that I had more energy, more time, more space for things I actually like and use. I noticed an improvement in my marriage and the way I spoke to my family (must be the decrease in stress!). I also felt like I looked forward to my days a little more. This process was doing so much good for us!

Here we are now, at this time of giving gifts, and I know you want to give so big and love on the kids and I so much. Can I be honest and just say that I’m anxious about it? I’m hoping I can be transparent because I want that relationship with you. I have no desire to offend you or take any joy from you!

It’s just that, I feel so much lighter these days, and I’ve seen how “stuff” takes a toll on our home, our kids, on mental health and happiness. I know you love our family and your giving comes from a place of expressing that love, so I want to be honest about where I’m at and ask if we can find another way to do this moving forward. I would love for you to feel like you get to love the socks off all of us, and for me to not feel anxiety about this happy time of year. I’d love your help in raising the kids to know how to play, how to create, how to imagine and be present in the sweetness of childhood.

I’m really excited about the possibilities with this new way of giving and celebrating… I feel like experiences and really amazing gifts can come from this.

There are experiences the kids would love a membership to, there are a few toys they really want and would actually play with I can tell you about, there are interests and hobbies they’re interested in that you could buy supplies for… there are so many gifts that would be not only worth your financial while, but great for our family and aligned with my vision in raising the kids.

I love you, and I want us to both enjoy this time of year. I am happy to hear your thoughts as well, and to help you purchase things that will be good for the kids and actually get loved and played with. I want us to be on the same team! Thank you for hearing me out and for being the kind of person I’m glad to have in my family. 

If you want to customize this letter to fit your family, I’ll send you a more personalized, editable version so you can make it your own.

SEND IT TO ME!

How I Stopped Yelling at My Kids

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Let me just start off by saying right off the bat that I’m no expert when it comes to not yelling at your kids. It’s something I really have to roll up my sleeves and work at.

It’s a constant struggle. And a constant ongoing discussion between me and my husband and my kids. 

That being said, I’ve come a loooooong way and worked my butt off at not yelling. And I’ve figured out what works for me. 

What centers me and calms me so that I can be the best mom that I can be. So that I can respond to my kids positively instead of reacting to them in anger. 

I’ve worked really hard and really diligently at building a relationship with my kids. A relationship where they can come to me and tell me, “You know… I don’t really like the way what you’re saying is making me feel.” 

And we can press pause. There’s so much power in that. 

And newsflash: I’m not a perfect mom. But I am a good mom. 

Yelling at my kids doesn’t make me a bad mom. If I was a bad mom, I wouldn’t give a crap about not yelling. If you were a bad mom you wouldn’t be reading this article trying to figure out how to stop yelling, either. 

So, let’s just get that straight. You’re a great mom. 

Being a good mom is just trying really freaking hard and showing up. It’s asking the hard questions. It’s researching and reading and trying again. And again. And again. 

And you know what? You will mess up. I mess up all the time. I apologize all the time. 

Because let’s be honest. Motherhood is a lot. 

Especially when you have really little kids. And probably when you have teenagers too (I don’t know. I’m not there yet). 

Motherhood is so constant and there are no days off unless you intentionally set aside time to get away. And even then you’re on call (you know in case the kids try to destroy the babysitter or something). 

So, we’re going to mess up. But we’re not aiming for perfect. We’re just aiming to be the best we can be. 

So, if you’re a chronic yeller (no judgement) here are some tried and true ways that I’ve found help me stop being a reactive mom—a mom who reacts to every little inconvenience. And become a mom who tries dang hard to respond to her kids positively and with a lot of grace. Even when you want to literally lose your sh** because they’re annoying you so bad. 

Create Some Space and Set the Intent for the Day

When my kids were smaller,  I would get them busy in the beginning of the day and take five minutes to breath in and out. Slowly. 

And I would visualize us having a positive day. I would visualize myself being patient with my kids even when they were messy or frustrating or just being kids. I would call that out in myself. 

Then when I was tempted to go scary mommy on my kids, I would remember that I’d already made the decision to respond differently. 

Don’t use the excuse, “Well, I can’t walk away from the kids. They need me. I really can’t just create space to pause.” 

Yes, you can. That’s an excuse. 

I had three kids under three, and then I had four kids under five so I understand how finding time to create space sounds like a friggin’ impossibility. But you’re never going to stop yelling if you don’t find some time to be calm and intentional about your day. 

Take a Breath

I cannot stress enough how just breathing in and out slowly will change your whole mindset. Our breath is God-given. It is so powerful and you can completely change your mood just by breathing. 

Breathwork is the new meditation. Use. Your. Breath.

I think it was Jonathan Edwards’ mother who used to pull her skirt over her head and stand there and take a deep breath and recollect herself. I mean, is there anything that says #momlife more than that? Do something like that. 

When I was frustrated I used to close my eyes and plug my ears really hard and take a deep breath. And I’d quickly remind myself that these moments were going to make up my kids’ childhoods. These moments were going to make up their memories. 

Remember Their Blur

When we look back on our own childhoods we don’t really see a lot of specific situations, do we? It’s more of a general feeling. Like a blur. 

You would say your childhood felt mostly happy or mostly traumatic or mostly lonely or mostly scary. And you might have some specific memories to back up that feeling, but for the most part, it’s a blur. 

Our kids are going to have that same feeling. What will their blur feel like? 

These days that we’re spending doing mundane things—teaching them how to tie their shoes, fixing lunches they won’t eat, picking up, dropping off—are the days that are creating that blur. 

What will their blur feel like. That’s on us. And that’s a big deal. 

Stop Making Excuses

I often hear these excuses from women: “I’m just a yeller. I’m loud. I was raised in a yelling household and I’ve always yelled. That’s just the way I am and I can’t stop.” 

Uhhhh…Yes you can. You can if you want to. 

I’m Cuban and I’ve always been a loud person. But that’s not going to be my excuse. Because that’s ridiculous. 

There’s always a way. The question is: do you want to stop?

You have to decide. You have to figure it out.

Change is made up of how much you want it how willing you are to get over yourself and create space for becoming the woman you want to be. 

Mothers are so freaking bad ass and amazing and strong. You’re a friggin’ warrior. 

And you do have control over how you respond. Own that. 

No one is making you yell. Not your spouse, not your kids, not your mother, not your friends. No one. 

You can stop yelling! You can do whatever you want. 

Let Go of Your Expectations

Kids are kids, so our nerves are still going to get worn out. You’re still going to react sometimes instead of responding. 

You’re allowed to be real. You don’t have to respond perfectly. Just don’t react in anger by yelling. 

And listen, we’re not aiming to be Mrs. Cleaver or some made-up, imaginary perfect mom. So, let go of the expectations of who you think you’re “supposed” to be. 

Do you know what success looks like? It looks like not yelling. That’s it. 

It doesn’t look like being perfect and always responding perfectly. It’s just looks like not yelling.

Practice

Yelling is a habit. And how do you break a habit? By continually choosing to not do it. Over and over and over again. 

You put tools in place to help you get better. At one point I wore a Rubber Band around my wrist and I would snap it whenever I started yelling. 

That little snap would bring me back into the moment. And I would remember what I was doing all of this for. 

I would look at their little faces and I would soak up that guilt. And I used that to propel me forward to change. 

I would snap that rubber band and try again. And try again. And try again. 

It’s just like anything else you’re trying to change: eating healthier, marriage stuff, breathing, you have to practice doing it. The muscle that you don’t flex doesn’t grow. 

I wish I had a sexier, easier answer, but I don’t. It’s a lot of work to change. 

It’s a commitment. And I mess up all the time.

But I keep working at it because I want to change and I’m going to show up again and again until I do. 

I created a list of positive affirmations and phrases that you can start intentionally using to speak life into your children.

Save it in your phone and look at it as often as you need!

SEND ME THE FREE PDF!

Full disclosure, I believe that we are all going to screw up our kids a little bit in some way. No matter how hard we try. No matter how much we read. 

There is going to be something that they look back on later and say, “You know, I always felt like this growing up and I don’t want my kids to feel like that.” And that’s OK! 

We have to find the balance between freaking out and worrying what our kids are going to say about us when they’re grown and not caring at all what they’re going to say. 

We’re going to have to accept that we’re human and we’re going to mess up. There are going to be things that we wish we hadn’t said and hadn’t done. And we need to own that. 

But I think we can all agree that yelling is not good and it’s worth stopping. We want to be able to raise our kids knowing that we’re doing our best. 

And that’s all going to come down to how willing we are to do what it takes to change. 

So, who do you want to be? Do you want to be the mom who showed up, who did the hard work, who did her best? 

Then press pause, take a deep breath, get you a rubber band and go be her! 

Ditch the Working Mom Guilt Because You’re a Badass

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Let’s talk about mom guilt. It’s a real thing and chances are you’ve felt it. Whether you work full time, part time, outside the home, or from your home, everyone has their own version of guilt surrounding motherhood.

We don’t want to miss the first moments of our kids’ lives or the activities they’re involved in. We don’t want them to think that all we do is sit on our computers or phones all day working. And we definitely don’t want them to resent us for working.

But work is a part of life. So how do we balance work and life? How do we teach our kids to value good work ethic? How do we deal with our guilt?

Recognize what’s causing Guilt for you.

What is the guilt circling around?

Do you always have guilt around the fact that sometimes you miss your kid’s baseball games? If so, is it possible to find a way to make it to the game? Could you work out with your boss to get those nights off? If you work at home, could you structure your schedule to be finished working by then?

If that’s not a possibility then maybe you should just have an honest talk with your kid and say something like, “I want you to know that I love you. I care and I’m supportive of this activity of yours. I can make it to your Monday night practice, I just can’t make it to your Wednesday night games.”

Honestly, often we can find or create solutions for our mom guilt. We just don’t. We let it feel hopeless and we do nothing so it becomes this lifelong struggle.

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I think mom guilt is always going to be there in some amount. But if you chronically feel guilt about something then stop, step back and ask yourself what this guilt is circling around and be creative about a solution.

Decide what’s important to you (not anyone else) and prioritize it.

What would break your heart if you missed it? Don’t miss those things. Just remember that you can’t not miss everything.

That’s the only work/life balance you’re going to get because perfection doesn’t exist. It’s a total lie. It’s such a BS and it’s just fueling the working-mom guilt fire.

There will be seasons.

Sometimes work will be busier and you’ll be less present with your family. Sometimes your home and personal life will be busier and you need to dial down your efforts and hours at work.

It’s all give and take. And that’s ok.

Be grateful for your job and focus on feeling joy and satisfaction in your work.

Use positive words when you’re talking about your job. Have a positive vibe and energy around it. Because how you feel, how you react, how you treat you job, is going to be how your kids feel, react to, and treat your job.

Your kids aren’t going to see it as negative, stressful, or make you feel guilty about it if you don’t. And you shouldn’t!

You’re providing for your family. You should be so proud of that. Step into that awesome role and feel good about what you’re doing. It’s a big deal.

And if you love what you do, don’t you dare feel bad about that. That’s so amazing! Step into that and let yourself feel that completely.

What a freaking gift that is! You get to provide for your family while working a job you love. That’s incredible!

Maybe you’re not super passionate about your job but you like the environment at work and you’re making good money, let yourself feel that joy.

If you don’t love what you do, I would encourage you to look for a different job. Pray about it. Figure out a way to go a different route.

Girl, it’s OK to take breaks

If you work from home or bring work home from your office, it’s OK to take breaks from work and prioritize your kids for five minutes.

I think a lot of us tend to get into this “all or nothing mode” where we feel like we have to finish a task completely before we can spend time with our kids. Nothing has to be “all or nothing” unless you choose for it to be that way.

Don’t feel weird about working on your phone or using tech at home to work.

We live in an awesome time where work can be done from anywhere. So don’t feel guilty about that. Don’t feel weird about it.

Be grateful that you can work on your phone so easily and it’s something you can do anywhere.

It’s OK to bring in some help.

You absolutely cannot do it all. And if you are doing it all, you’ll see that you won’t be doing all of it very well.

So what does that look like for you? Child care — do you need some help with your kids? Housekeeping help — do you need to hire a housekeeper? A meal delivery service? Get creative and think it through.

If finances are a problem, just do what you can. Every time I’ve delegated something, I have more time and energy and I end up making more money because I feel better.

Stop comparing yourself to other people.

Seriously stop.

You’re making yourself emotionally unhealthy by comparing yourself to other people. You are not them and you are not supposed to be them. You are you.

You’re living your story right now, so focus on that and understand that work is a part of that. At least for now.

Just accepting that work is a part of your life can be so huge for letting go of the mom guilt. If you see an instagram picture of a mom baking cookies with her toddler and you’re at work sitting at your desk like, “Oh my gosh, i feel like the worst right now,” that’s so emotionally and mentally unhealthy.

Don’t let that lie sink in. Sure that mom is doing something awesome. But so are you!

And work at home moms, don’t ever let anyone make you feel “less than” for working from home. Or like it’s less legit than working outside of the house.

That’s total BS. Don’t you dare take that!

I realized that usually, when it comes to working mom guilt, most of the judgment actually comes from ourselves. It only freaks us out when we see a glimpse of it from other people because it’s solidifying what we feel about ourselves. And we need to deal with that.

Reflect on where it comes from—usually it’s our childhood—and just let it go. It doesn’t have to have power over you for one more day. So please deal with it.

Because the reality is that when our kids grow up, it’s very likely that they’re going to work. So it’s important that we model a healthy work/life relationship for them and not act super guilty, stressed, burdened and victimized by our role as a worker.

We’re their example, so let’s change the way we’re treating and talking about our work because that’s how our kids are going to view work in general. Especially if you have girls and they become mothers and they’re working.

Being a mom is such an empowering role and being a working mom is totally badass. And it’s not something you need to feel remotely bad about.

You’re taking care of your kids just as much as the mom who stays at home. So you get out there and you keep kicking butt, mama!

Bonus 004: How I Planned + Organized Our Homeschool This Year

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Our homeschool year has officially started! Since it is the beginning of the school year, I wanted to share this bonus episode to help any of your homeschoolers who are trying to figure it out. Maybe this is your first year; maybe it’s not, and this will still help you. But I have been really wanting to share a couple of things about how I’m organizing our homeschool year this year because a couple of the things are new and they seem to be really helping me so far.

Over the last few months, I have been figuring out how to make my homeschool work better and more streamlined, more fun, and more enjoyable. I am excited to share all kinds of things with you in this episode! From the homeschool schedule we built to the curriculum we are using, and tips on how to make your homeschool schedule feel lighter so you and your kids can breathe a bit. I’m really excited about what our homeschool year looks like this year and really hope this helps you get excited about yours too!

 

 

In This Episode Allie Discusses:

  • Why she is trying year-round schooling and how she hopes it will help her overall family schedule.

  • The platforms and curriculum she uses to plan out and facilitate homeschool.

  • What a typical homeschool day looks like for her kids.

  • How rotating a few subjects each day creates breathing room in the school load and routine.

Mentioned in this Episode:

If you feel like your house is just always out of control, it’s totally crazy and you’d love to take some of the advice I give here on The Purpose Show, and my blog, but you just kind of feel like you’re so frozen and overwhelmed, you can’t even. I created a new challenge. It’s called the 10:10 challenge. It’s super, super simplified (and totally FREE by the way!). 

This is designed for the really overwhelmed mom who wants to kickstart her house and build some momentum, because as I always talk about – momentum is where it’s at to making progress, actually taking action, and having that longevity of action that’s going to change your life in the long run.

So the 10:10 challenge. This whole thing is 10 minutes a day every day for 10 days. It’s going to build a happier mom and a happier home for your family! 

Sign me up for the 10:10 challenge!

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Reviews are everything on iTunes! Would you take a minute and click here to leave a review? Email hello@alliecasazza.com with a screenshot of your review on iTunes. You’ll be entered to win one of Allie’s amazing courses for FREE!  

If you have a question, comment or a suggestion about today’s episode, or the podcast in general, send me an email at hello@alliecasazza.com or connect with me over on Facebook & Instagram. 

Mom life. We are surrounded with the message that it’s the tired life. The no-time-for-myself life. The hard life. And while it is hard and full of lots of servitude, the idea that motherhood means a joyless life is something I am passionate about putting a stop to. I’m on a mission to help you stop counting down the minutes till bedtime, at least most days. I want you to stop cleaning up after your kid’s childhood and start being present for it. Start enjoying it. I believe in John 10:10 “that we are called to abundant life” and I know mothers are not excluded from that promise. Join me in conversations about simplicity, minimalism and lots of other good stuff that leads to a life of less for the sake of enjoying more in your motherhood. I’m Allie Casazza and this is The Purpose Show.

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Hey friend! Oh my gosh, I am so drained. It’s 9:00 at night right now. I did a webinar today. We had a full day of homeschooling. I recorded three other podcast episodes today. I’m super tapped out. Brian is too. The kids are in bed but they’re not all asleep yet and Brian’s like, “I’m just going to put my headphones in and listen to a podcast because I’m so done.” He’s inside folding a load of laundry for me and we’re both just super tapped out.

But I’m out here in my office/studio recording this little bonus episode for you because I’ve just really wanted to share this with you since it’s the beginning of the school year and get this out to you to help any of you homeschoolers who are trying to figure it out

Maybe this is your first year; maybe it’s not, and this will still help you. But I have been really wanting to share a couple of things about how I’m organizing our homeschool year this year because a couple of the things are new and they seem to be really helping me so far. I’m really excited about them

I think the podcast, in this way, is a lot like a blog and I like to share whatever I’m learning, whatever I’m doing right now. That will change and evolve as I do and as life goes on. Right now, I’m figuring out how to make my homeschool work better and be more streamlined, more fun and enjoyable, and I think I’ve made a couple of changes this year versus last year that are going to accomplish that. So, I’m going to share them with you

I’m going to go over all kinds of things. I’m going to go over the homeschool schedule we’re on this year, which is different than usual. I’m going to share a couple of changes that I’ve made to the way we’re formatting our year.

I’m going to show you a picture of the online program that I use to organize our homeschool, and kind of use it as our homeschool schedule. It’s called Trello and it’s a free platform. I’ve talked about it quite a bit. I also have a blog post and a video tutorial where I show you how to use it to organize your life and I can link to that in the show notes of this episode for you.

I’m gonna show you a picture of our homeschool board and kind of talk you through it. And then I’m going to talk about the curricula that we’re using and share our schedule, kind of like a typical homeschool day for us this new year.

We have already started our year. We pulled out a couple of things a little bit early because it was like 120 degrees here in southern California in the summer and the kids were just getting super antsy. Too much technology. They weren’t able to play outside. And so, we pulled out some things and created a little bit of routine and order early. So, our new school year has officially started for us.

We actually homeschool through a charter school and they don’t start quite yet. They have another week, but we have started officially. We’ve been going strong and doing good so I’m ready to share what we’re doing.

One new thing that we’re trying this year is hopefully going to help us with our year- round scheduling. So far, we’ve really been fans of the year-round school schedule. Year-round schooling can look a lot of different ways. But basically, you don’t start and end when everyone else does. This year we are starting when most schools do. But we’re going to school through the summer and we’ll be wrapping up our last semester when everyone else is on summer break just because we keep finding that we want to do school in the summer at least a little bit.

So, if we’re wrapping up a couple of the core subjects and we could have a little bit of a lighter schedule in July, I think it will actually really help my kids because like I said, it’s really hot. They can’t really go outside. They can’t swim all day, every day. When they play games and we let them have a video game summer, it’s all fine until it’s been too much and they’re freaking out and their moods are terrible.

So I think that having some time in the summer to do a little bit of school will be really helpful for everybody and keep us structured. I can honestly say that parts of the summer were pretty miserable because we lacked routine completely. So, I’m definitely wanting to really follow the year round schedule this year. We kind of did last year but it was just really lax and we didn’t totally do school over the summer even though we probably should have. So this year I’m planning to really stick with it.

We’re trying a schedule that I actually saw online on a different blog. I think it’s pretty common. It’s six weeks on with school and then one week off and you stay in that pattern. I actually found it last year before we started last year, but I just wasn’t sure. I didn’t commit and I didn’t do it.

I’m going to do it this year because I noticed that we seem to desire a lot of breaks. As a family, we travel a lot. That’s one of the biggest perks for us of homeschooling and owning our own business, that we can do things, have family trips, and take breaks whenever we want, not when we’re told to. And I think that six weeks on/one week off will also help with the burnout that typically comes around the month of February. I think that would help to have a lot of breaks coming up, knowing we’ve always got a break around the corner, and we can plan little family vacations, trips, and things like that.

We’ve got friends and family sprinkled all over the country and we would love to go and visit them and six weeks on/one week off gives us plenty of opportunities to do that. So I’m really excited to try that schedule out this year.

I don’t remember exactly how it breaks down, but basically instead of our school year ending in May or June, it would end in July. And then we’d be ready to start up again in September. You can do whatever you want. A lot of people their new school year starts in January and it goes until December and they have a lot of breaks within that. You can make it work however you want.

But for us, we’re starting our year at the same time as everyone else does and we’re just not really taking the full summer off because it doesn’t seem to serve our kids very well. I hope that makes sense. So, six weeks of school and then one week off.

And then we’re also doing the same thing that we did last year, which is four school days per week instead of five. Monday through Thursday is our normal full school days and then Friday is a really light day for reviewing anything that was difficult for anyone that week. And also to give us a little wiggle room to catch up. So if we maybe didn’t get to finish all of our history that week, we can finish it on Friday. It’s just nice to have some cushion.

That’s also what I like about the six weeks on/one week off schedule is that it ends up giving you a decent cushion. So if you guys get sick or you just need to have a big break that was unplanned, you have the wiggle room to do that. And I feel like the four school days per week schedule gives us that wiggle room as well.

Friday mornings are the mornings that I always have all my team meetings. So I’m usually in meetings from about 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. So Brian can go over and review anything that the kids need to be reviewed or catch up on anything that didn’t get finished. I can come in if he needs me to and help after my meetings. But pretty much the rest of Friday after my meetings are done are open and we can do whatever we want to do and our weekend starts early, which is great.

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If you feel like your house is just always out of control, it’s totally crazy and you’d love to take some of the advice I give here on The Purpose Show, and my blog, but you just kind of feel like you’re so frozen and overwhelmed, you can’t even. I created a new challenge. It’s called the 10:10 challenge. It’s super, super simplified.

It’s email based so you can open the emails and take it at your own pace. And even the emails are a few sentences. It’s really, really simplified.

This is designed for the really overwhelmed mom who wants to kickstart her house and build some momentum, because as I always talk about – momentum is where it’s at to making progress, actually taking action, and having that longevity of action that’s going to change your life in the long run.

So the 10:10 challenge. This whole thing is 10 minutes a day every day for 10 days.

It’s going to build a happier mom and a happier home for your family.

To take this challenge, (it’s totally free by the way) go to alliecasazza.com/1010.

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Another thing that we’re trying is we’re rotating History and Science to create more breathing room in each school day. We find that it’s really hard to get everything done each day without school taking forever. And Science and History are two things that are time consuming for the curricula that we use, which I’ll share in a second.

History takes about 90 minutes most days, sometimes just an hour. And then Science is pretty much the same. There’s a lot of hands-on stuff, a lot of experiments and really taking time to explain everything to the kids and answer their questions. And when we’re doing that every day for both subjects, or even just a couple times a week for both subjects, it just becomes too much. And then the kids get antsy and the day is too long.  It’s just not how we roll. So, we’re rotating History and Science.

So, what that means is instead of doing History a couple times a week and Science a couple times a week and trying to squeeze those both in, or I think it ended up being a few times a week that it was needed. So, at some point they both landed on the same day and that day was always really stressful. So instead we’re doing a few rounds of the six weeks on/one week off school schedule and we’re just focusing on History and just busting out that curriculum. Getting through the whole year’s worth curriculum because we’re doing it all four school days.

And then when we’re done and we go into the second round of six weeks on/one week off, we’re gonna focus on Science and do Science four school days a week and then be totally done with Science. So, we’re going to try that out. I’m not sure if we’ll like it or not, but I’ll keep you posted and we’ll see how that goes. I know quite a few people who do that and they’ve said good things about it. So, we’ll see.

So basically, we’re working on every core subject, every full school day of the week. And the kids have signed up for a couple of elective classes through the homeschool campus that we have, so they actually go to a homeschool campus in our town. And actually, it’s perfect. I didn’t even do this on purpose. It just worked out that way. I wish I was this savvy. Hudson goes to piano, the same location, the same day and the same time as Bella and Leland go to Spanish. So, on Mondays at 1:00 we will just all go to the homeschool campus. Emmett can run around and play at the park. For an hour Hudson’s in piano and the older two kids are taking Spanish. That’s something that they’re learning that we’re not having to teach them. It kind of breaks up the week and it’s electives that I feel are going to be really, really good for them.

I’ll show you a picture of our homeschool board. I use a platform called Trello. Trello is free and it’s an online platform. It’s also an APP. We use it in my business, my team and I use it for communication to keep up on different projects. You can share Trello boards with different team members. So, the homeschool schedule board is shared between Brian and I.

I’ll link to the video tutorial I’ve made for this and the blog posts that I wrote about how I use Trello for everything and all that good stuff. But basically, if you go to the show notes for this episode, which I will link to (alliecasazza.com/shownotes/bonus04) you’ll be able to see a screenshot of my homeschool Trello board with our schedule on it.

Basically, what I’ve done is I’ve decided to ditch the paper homeschool planner. I just found it really irritating, and time consuming too, to have to fill out each student’s name, the subject, what we’re going to be doing that week over and over again every single week, for every kid. It was just really time consuming. It didn’t seem worth it to me.

So with Trello and the way I’ve laid out our schedule to where we’re doing all the core subjects every school day, it’s pretty cut and dry. It really, really simplified me looking at like, “Okay, what are we supposed to do today?” Now we do all the core subjects every day and I just look at the Trello board and see like what are we supposed to do next?

Instead of spending time organizing on paper what everyone’s doing every week, I spent time really, really thinking through what is going to be the best format for our day. Now we’ve been homeschooling for a while, and last year we did it. The kids are a little older so I was able to get familiar with what’s working and what’s not working and I noticed if we started with something that’s really interactive and makes everybody feel positively or there’s really no wrong answers and everyone can just kind of talk and be involved, then that would be really good.

So, we do our Bible lesson while we have breakfast. Then everybody cleans up and does their chores and gets ready for the day. So chores are out of the way. The house is clean. Everybody’s ready, everyone’s fed. We started with Bible which puts everybody in a good mood. Then school starts around 9:00 and then we go into History, which is similar to Bible in the way that it’s really like a conversation. They call it a “couch subject.” So everybody does History together at the same time. There’s no grade differences for History with our curriculum, and again, I’ll share all that with you in a second. So we all sit on the couch and just go through our History lesson. Then the kids go to the table and they do any of the worksheets that go with the lesson for that day and it’s just a really good start to our day.

And then we do a split-up time and that’s with Math and Reading. So, what that means is Bella and Leland are actually doing the same math even though they are two years apart. Bellah is in fourth grade and she’s actually doing third grade Math because that’s just where she’s at. And Leland is doing a year ahead. He’s advanced in Math. So that worked out to where they’re doing the same Math and it’s much simpler.

So, Bella and Leland do Math together and Hudson sits and has this quiet reading time for 30 minutes. And then we switch. The older kids go and they have their reading time and I sit and do Math with Hudson. Then we do read aloud time. Then we have lunch, clean up, and then we do another split up session with Language Arts and Handwriting.

So same thing. I do Language Arts with Hudson; Bella and Leland work on their Handwriting books, and then we switch. Hudson does Handwriting and I do Language Arts with Bella and Leland. Bella and Leland are in different Language Arts, but they are more independent workers so I can help and oversee them both at the same time. Bella’s doing her fourth grade one and Leland’s doing his second grade one.

Next, we do Vocabulary. I just help Hudson. The older kids don’t really need help with that. And then at the end of the day, if we have time and everything’s going well, we’ll do Music and Art practice.

The boys are musical and Bella’s artistic, so Bella will do an Art lesson or just have free draw time, free painting, whatever, and the boys will practice piano and guitar. Sometimes we don’t do that though, and that’s okay. I don’t require them to do it every single day, but usually they do it.

That’s Monday through Thursday. Friday is a lighter day and we’ll just have review in the morning or catch up on anything that we didn’t get done in the morning. And then they’re done and our weekend feels like three days, which is awesome.

And then I’ve also used the labels that come with Trello to mark, like what’s a core subject, what’s a group subject that we can all do together, what needs to be done individually, what are their electives to keep everything really organized. It’s really, really helpful to have a clean, simplified area where I can see this all in one place. I love Trello for that. And because I do use it for my business, I’m really used to it.

And then what I do is I use Trello in place of a paper planner for what everyone is doing every day. I just put a post-it note on the lesson that we’re on in their curriculum books. I open it up to that day and we do the next lesson. And when we’re done I write in a normal, basic journal that I got from Target, and every day I would put the date at the top and then I put Bella, LA for Language Arts, Lesson 31, and just keep track of what we did get done.

That helps me with the school records and it just helps me know what are we behind on and what we need to do still. And also in the thick of it, in that day, sometimes I’ll forget what we actually did and what we still have left to do, so I can look at that and know.

But it’s better and less time consuming than me sitting down once a week and planning ahead and going over every day – “Okay, this Tuesday we’re going to do Lesson 29…” Then what if something changes? What if we don’t do it? Then I have to erase and the whole plan is shot, so I find that this just works better for me.

The curriculum that we’re using is called The Good and the Beautiful. We used it last year. So far it is the only homeschool curriculum that we have reused. I’ve always wanted to try something else after I have purchased something but not with this. It’s beautiful. Very, very image heavy, which my kids really love. I absolutely love it.

It’s definitely a Christian curriculum so if that doesn’t float your boat this won’t be for you. But it’s not in an annoying way and I mean that in the best way possible. I just really, really like it.

And then for Math we’re actually using Saxon this year and so far I like it.

So yeah, that’s pretty much it. That’s how I’ve organized our homeschool year this year. If you’re not a homeschooler, I don’t even know why you listened because it’s a super snooze fest and it’s kinda boring anyway, so thanks for listening if you got to this point.

Again, if you want the links to anything that I shared and all the Trello stuff, just go to alliecasazza.com/shownotes/bonus04 and you’ll get it all there.

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