Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 077. I’m sad to announce that this is the last episode of the Busy Mom’s Survival Guide for the forseeable future. I’ve been thinking and praying about this decision for a while and with Jim’s help, I’ve decided that I need to stop podcasting for now. It’s my hope that by stopping the podcast, I can free up…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 076. Last week we discussed the important role friends play in our lives. Today I’m going to continue my discussion on the importance of friendships with Carlin Flora, author of the book Friendfluence*. Last week we talked about how important friendships are for our children and teens. Today Carlin and I di…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 075. During today’s episode, I’m going to talk about the importance of friendships with Carlin Flora, author of the book Friendfluence*. I read an article a few weeks ago that surprised me. It said that research has shown that if you don’t have enough friends, your risk of dying is the same as if you smoked…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 074. How often have you found yourself embarrassed by your children’s behavior? I know for me, with 8 children, there have been many times that I have wanted to hang my head in shame over something my children have done. But I know that good parenting means that instead of yelling at my kids for embarrassin…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 073. I have always said that God gives us children not JUST so that we can raise them, but so that we can finish growing up ourselves. Have you ever found yourself saying, “My children make me want to scream!?” I admit, I’ve said that. And while our children may instigate that feeling in us, they aren’t the…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 072. During today’s episode, I’m going to finish the discussion about sibling rivalry with Dr. Todd Cartmell, author of the book, Keep the Siblings, Lose the Rivalry*. A lot of parents are tempted to think that siblings fighting is normal and that there is nothing they can do about it. While sibling rivalry…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 071. Sibling rivalry is something I think every parent with more than one child deals with. And it can be so frustrating because of how frequently it appears and how much time we spend dealing with it. But as frustrating as it can be, I know that for me it can also become depressing because as a parent, I t…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 070. I’ve spent several months now talking about the importance of studying your children and getting to know their individual strengths and weaknesses as well as their learning styles and love languages. During this podcast episode, I encourage you to study yourself as I talk about parenting styles. Parent…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 069. I talk a lot on my blog and podcast about how valuable it is for busy moms to exercise and stay fit. But it’s not important so that we can look good (that’s just a side benefit). It’s important so that we can feel good and so that we can have the energy and stamina we need to thrive in our busy lives a…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 068. During last weeks episode, I was joined by Kara Durbin, author of Parenting With Scripture*. We discussed how we use Bible verses as we train and raise our children, and shared verses that we use. This week I finish the discussion with Kara about parenting your children with scripture. Episodes Resourc…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 067. “I can barely manage my two children; how do you manage EIGHT?” is a question I hear quite often. During last week’s podcast episode I talked about how Jim and I intentionally parent our children. We try to spend more time as proactive parents than we do as reactive parents. During this episode, I am j…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 066. If you imagine that parenting styles form a spectrum, with reactive parenting on one end and proactive parenting on the other, you can think about where you usually reside. To intentionally parent means that you spend more time being proactive and learning how to move away from reactive parenting. Duri…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 065. I don’t know of any mom who wants to yell at her children. Yet so many moms are struggling with high stress levels. It often doesn’t take much to “push them over the edge” and they find themselves yelling at their children regularly. So how do you stop this cycle? This is the second part of my intervie…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 064. Do you yell at your children? Regularly? Does it bother you that your children don’t listen to what you have to say unless you’re yelling at them? Is yelling at your kids something you’re secretly ashamed of? During this podcast episode, I’m joined by the Orange Rhino mom. Two years ago, she decided sh…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 063. I don’t doubt that you love your child tremendously. But if your child isn’t FEELING loved, then the fact that you love them isn’t enough. Your child needs to FEEL that you love them so they can grow into emotionally healthy adults. The best way to insure that your child is feeling loved is to express …

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 062. I love my children. And I’m sure that you love yours. But do you show your kids love in a way that they can understand? Do they actually feel like you love them? During this podcast episode I discuss the concept of love languages from the book The 5 Love Languages* by Gary Chapman. The book really made…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 061. It is so tempting to look at the difficulties of our lives at this very moment, and to wish for them to be over. Or to be excited about the next thing that is happening in our lives. And while it’s great to be excited and plan for the future, we have to be careful to not wish away today. Despite the di…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 060. If we are constantly expecting perfection from our children, our husband, our home, and ourselves, we are going to feel very dissatisfied with our lives. During last week’s episode I was joined by Jill Savage, author of the book No More Perfect Moms* and the Hearts at Home Conference and website. Durin…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 059. Why is it that we moms often expect ourselves to be perfect? Even worse, why do we find ourselves upset when our husbands, our children, or our homes aren’t perfect either? During this podcast episode I talk about our tendencies as busy moms to expect perfection of ourselves. I’m being joined by Jill S…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 058. For Jim and I, having a strong family unit is a very important goal. I have always wanted my children to be each other’s best friends, which is one of the reasons we had them so close together. I also know that Jim and I are not going to live forever. Some day my children are going to be grown adults w…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 057. Over the years of parenting 8 children, I have discovered that to be a truly effective parent, you have to modify your parenting style to account for the uniqueness of each of your individual children. Because our kids do not learn the same, think the same, behave the same, or respond the same, we shou…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 056. On last week’s episode, I discussed the concept of multiple intelligences with Dr. Kathy Koch, author of the book “How Am I Smart? A Parent’s Guide to Multiple Intelligences*” and the website www.CelebrateKids.com. If you missed that episode, the concept is that there are 8 basic ways that people learn…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 055. My husband got his Master’s Degree in Teaching. One of the things I remember him studying was “Multiple Intelligences” and “Learning Styles”. I admit, I didn’t really pay much attention to it back then, but I picked up enough to learn that different children learn differently. That seemed like common s…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 054. During the previous two episodes I discussed work ethic with Eric Chester, author of the book Reviving Work Ethic.* Those episodes sparked some good conversations, but it also resulted in several questions from parents asking how I actually taught my toddlers and young children to work. During this epi…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 053. Today we’re going to finish the conversation I started last week with Eric Chester. Eric is the author of the book Reviving Work Ethic* and as an author and speaker he has visited over 1500 schools. Eric is not just aware of how important a strong work ethic is, but also how it is lacking in today’s te…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 052. I’ve seen two trends concerning children and work ethic that disturb me. The first is that many parents treat work as a punishment. The second is that many parents indulge their children and then expect them to all of a sudden magically develop a work ethic when they are young adults and ready to enter…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 051. Some children naturally outgrow being a picky eater. Unfortunately, without intervention, many children who are picky eaters become adults who are picky eaters. While it is difficult having children who are picky eaters, it is also difficulty being married to one. I know this because I married a picky …

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 050. I have spent many years teaching my children how to eat a wide range of foods. That doesn’t mean that they love everything, but they do try new foods, even if they do so reluctantly at times. During this episode I share why I think it is important to invest time into training your children not to be pi…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 049. Being able to put together a meal is a valuable life skill that I start teaching my children when they are as young as two years old (depending on the child). During the early years they work beside me or their father or one of their older siblings when they are in a good mood and for as long as their …

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 048. It is important to me that my children learn how to cook. But that is not enough. I also desire for them to love (or at least to enjoy) cooking. So during this episode, I am joined by my son, Emery, who is now 13. Emery has been cooking for years and he shares some of his thoughts and feelings on child…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 047. My children all learn from a very early age how to cook. I teach them based on their individual maturity levels and abilities more than I do their calendar age. By the time they are pre-teens, they are fully capable of following a recipe and making most meals. This podcast series is broken down into 3 …

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 046. My food budget is never as big as I want it to be. I would love to buy only organic items or the most expensive and healthiest cuts of meat. But like most moms I have to make some tough choices as to what food to buy for my family. I’ve had a lot of practice over the years making a food budget stretch.…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 045. Our family had a life changing event this weekend when we arrived on the scene of a fatal accident. In this episode, Jim joins me and we discuss what we witnessed, how we helped, and what we learned. We saw many “everyday heroes” this weekend – people who gave of their time and of themselves to reach o…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 044. Meal planning can be a very time consuming job for busy moms. Not only are we trying to figure out what to feed our family, but we are also try to make healthy meals that everybody will actually eat. In this episode, I talk about how to set up a meal notebook and use it to facilitate your meal planing.…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 043. Food and meal time are a major part of motherhood. It often seems that the moment we make a meal and finish cleaning up, somebody is announcing that they’re hungry. Having enough food on hand to provide your family with healthy meals is always a challenge. In this episode, I explain how I integrate my …

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 042. Many busy moms don’t get to fully enjoy the holiday season because they are stressed out from living the holiday season. During this episode I share how I completely revamped our holiday experience. I share with you some practical changes that we made and give you some things to think about. Listener Q…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 041. Many busy moms don’t get to fully enjoy the holiday season because they are stressed out from living the holiday season. During this episode I share how I completely revamped our holiday experience. I share with you some practical changes that we made and give you some ideas for changes you can make wi…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 040. As busy moms, we often believe that we can be more productive if we multitask more. But this is not necessarily true. Multitasking is defined as “the performance of multiple tasks at one time.” Because our brains are not wired to multitask, attempting to do so can actually make us more inefficient. I h…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 039. One of the compliments I hear most often about my children is how polite they are. I find that very comforting and very sad at the same time. Don’t get me wrong. I’m very pleased that my children are polite to other people. That is how we’ve trained them. Yet the fact that so many people point out to m…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 038. As a mom of 8, there are lots of people depending on me to meet their needs. I not only take care of them on normal days, but I plan ahead and get prepared for how I will take care of them if disaster strikes. This can be anything from a sickness, job loss, death, fire, natural disaster (e.g. tornado),…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 037. Many people regularly set goals. Yet they are often frustrated when they don’t reach them. It is important to set goals the right way as well as doing some work (after setting your goal) to help yourself successfully achieve them. During this podcast episode, I talk about some of my current goals, how …

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 036. Jim and I recently made a trip without the children to attend the New Media Expo in Las Vegas. During this podcast episode we discuss our trip, some of the things we learned, and the great time we had with the friends we’ve made. We also talk about what it is like to leave all of our children and the t…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 035. In today’s world it is so easy to concentrate on what we need to do, that we lose sight of what we are currently doing. When this happens, we tend to let time go by and life happen and we don’t enjoy today. During this podcast episode I talk about why it is important that we not find our joy in checkin…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 034. I find that the best way to (joyfully) survive being a busy Mom is to be very organized with my life, my family, my homeschool, and my business. But I don’t ever want our lives to be boring and routine. So I always make a point to occasionally be spontaneous. I’ve decided there are five reasons it is i…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 033. Busy moms always have plenty to do. And yet, it seems like we’re always asked to do more. Sometimes it’s people outside of our family who are doing the asking. Sometimes it’s our spouses or our children. But quite often, it’s ourselves who are doing the asking. We hold ourselves up to certain expectati…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 032. This is the final episode in the homeschooling series. Whether or not you are a homeschooling parent, I hope that it provides you with some encouragement. You can engage your children and help them to learn and to succeed. In fact, giving your child a hunger for knowledge is one of the best gifts you c…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 031. Our homeschooling series continues as we answer more homeschooling questions such as “How do I homeschool boys?” and “What about curriculum?” There are many different ways to homeschool. This series gives you an idea of not only how we homeschool, but how we continue to enjoy homeschooling. Tune in nex…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 030. Homeschooling at the Jonas house takes place all the time. Somebody is always learning something and the older children often help the younger children. This is part two in our homeschooling series. Jim and I finish our initial discussion and then start answering some of the questions we received. I wa…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 029. The Jonas children have been homeschooled their entire lives. We start homeschooling them when they are babies because we consider all of life to be a part of their homeschool education. Jim and I sat down and talked about homeschooling for over 2 hours. I have edited our conversation into this four pa…

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Episode 028 Keeping a family of ten and Goat Milk Stuff running smoothly requires a lot of organization. One of the things that I rely upon to help keep me organized is my Central Notebook or Control Journal. It contains everything I need in a central location. During this podcast episode, I discuss in detail how my contro…