If you want a better present, you need a bigger future. This principle from Victor Frankl’s “Man’s Search For Meaning” has been proven in positive psychology - to truly thrive in your present, you need something you’re working toward. I came across this years ago when I had two little kids at home and felt aimless, with days dragging on. That’s when I started developing my yearly vision practice, and it’s become the single most transformative tool in my journey from surviving to thriving. In thi...
Dec 18, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast When I was pregnant with my fourth baby, I learned something fascinating about labor – in between contractions, our bodies release oxytocin, flooding us with feel-good hormones. This completely changed my birth experience because I started focusing on these moments of relief instead of just anticipating the next contraction. This principle, when we choose to magnify applies to every season of motherhood. Whether you’re navigating toddler tantrums, teenage conversations, pregnancy challenges, or ...
Dec 11, 2024•8 min•Ep 341•Transcript available on Metacast I read close to 100 books in 2024, and I'm excited to share my favorite book recommendations across different genres! From classic books to literary fiction, I've curated selections that align with my reading goals and support a positive motherhood mindset. Join me for this comprehensive book review that will inspire your next great read! Children's Literature The Penderwicks: https://amzn.to/49joJrb National Parks Mystery Series: https://amzn.to/49hS9WQ Ruby Holler: https://amzn.to/3ZgakYv Clas...
Dec 04, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast As a mom, I know exactly who I want to become. I also know there’s a gap between that vision and my current reality - in my character, my behavior, and my actions. To help close this gap, I’ve created something that’s become one of my favorite tools this year: a personal life philosophy. But don’t let the fancy name fool you - it’s simply a collection of your best ideas, thoughts, and inspiration that help you specifically in your journey of becoming who you want to be. In this week’s episode, w...
Nov 27, 2024•11 min•Ep 339•Transcript available on Metacast Ever been part of a book club that fizzled out after a few months? Or maybe you’ve wanted to start one but weren’t sure how to make it stick? This week’s episode is for you! I’m talking about what makes a book club truly work with Madeline Casey, who, along with Phoebe Cook, started the book club I’ve been part of for four years (and still love!). In this episode, we’ll talk about: Choosing books that people want to read Creating a format that keeps the discussion flowing Handling different beli...
Nov 20, 2024•55 min•Ep 338•Transcript available on Metacast This fall has been a very busy season for our family where we are stuck tackling things that are urgent. While it has been exhausting and at times felt like survival mode (some days have been 100% survival mode), I have learned some powerful lessons that are changing how I approach my days that I discuss in this week’s episode. I’ve found myself living on razor-thin margins lately - where there’s just enough capacity for the scheduled things, but anything else feels impossible. Throughout this s...
Nov 13, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast I’ve been getting questions after the focus on how to merge effective mom planning with planning with your spouse. Andrew and I sat down after we tucked the kids into bed this week and talked about what planning looks like for us in our marriage which I hope will inspire you. But first, let’s get some misconceptions out of the way: Misconception #1: We Plan the Same Way Nope! Andrew has his own style of planning that works for his work schedule and keeping his priorities in check. Misconception ...
Nov 06, 2024•24 min•Ep 336•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever felt the need to speed up your child’s life? Like it’s some kind of race to cram in everything they need before they turn 18? Today’s conversation with Leslie Martino challenged my thinking about this in the best possible way. Leslie has four kids (14, 12, and 10-year-old twins), and she shared something that hit home: older kids deserve a slow childhood too. We often talk about peaceful, slow living for little ones, but somewhere along the way, we forget that older kids are still ...
Oct 30, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast When Sierra first discovered the Thriving in Motherhood planner in 2021, she was deep in survival mode. With a three-year-old and an 18-month-old, she had been battling postpartum depression for over a year. “I need something,” she recalled thinking. “I can’t just be surviving anymore.” Like many mothers, Sierra initially hesitated about investing in a planner. But after discussing it with her husband, she took a leap - a decision that would transform not just her approach to motherhood, but her...
Oct 23, 2024•30 min•Ep 334•Transcript available on Metacast Today I’m going to walk you through the the Win Your Week planning system that’s built into the 2025 Thriving in Motherhood Planner . This system is designed to help you navigate the ups and downs of motherhood while still achieving your goals and creating a life you love. Why Focus on Winning Your Week? Let's face it: as moms, our days can be unpredictable. Some days are fantastic, others are challenging, and many are a mix of both. That's why I've found that focusing on "winning the week" is t...
Oct 16, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast I’m thrilled to share with you the 12 major updates we’ve made to the 2025 Thriving in Motherhood Planner. These changes are based on the latest productivity research, time management strategies, and systems design. I’ve been diving deep into these topics to bring you a planner that truly supports your journey in motherhood. Let’s explore what’s new! Getting Started Checklist Ever felt lost staring at a brand new planner? Not anymore. I’ve created a step-by-step guide that’s like having a friend...
Oct 10, 2024•22 min•Ep 332•Transcript available on Metacast We have had a wonderful summer and a lot going on as we get back into life at home, gardening, homeschooling, and friendships. There has also been a lot going on behind the scenes with the podcast, which is what I want to share with you in this week’s Thriving Thursday email so you can know what to expect. Usually by now I've gotten the next year's planner edited, ordered, shipped to my home, and I've taken photos and gotten ready to share it with all of you. This year I have the draft of the 20...
Aug 21, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast I went out to harvest cucumbers and green beans with my kids early one morning. The plants looked amazing, with vines reaching everywhere. At first glance, it looked like we would come out with nothing to show for our months of effort water, picking off bugs, and weeding. But after we slowed down and searched for a while, we began to see lots of vegetables (we found 17 cucumbers and an entire colander of green beans!). Just like the vegetables hidden in the garden, sometimes we get so caught up ...
Aug 14, 2024•9 min•Ep 330•Transcript available on Metacast As mothers, we often find ourselves navigating the challenging journey from merely surviving our days to truly thriving. Over the years, I've had the privilege of working with many amazing moms, and I've noticed some common pitfalls that can make this journey feel even more daunting. Today, I'd like to share some insights to help smooth your path. In our latest podcast episode, we dive into the five biggest mistakes moms make as they transition from survival mode to thriving. Here are the five k...
Aug 06, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Currently, we are in a season in our lives that could be temporary - or we could be here to stay for a long, long time. I'm very good at temporary. Moving has been my lot in life, growing up with my parents (I went to 10 schools by the time I graduated high school) and since getting married (we've lived in 6 homes). But living somewhere where staying is a possibility? Now that has been a hard thing for my mind to grasp. In this week's episode, I'm sharing a thriving thought that has come out of ...
Jul 31, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast It can be so hard to feel like we are just surviving our days and see a huge list of all that needs to happen, but in reality all we need to do is focus on managing today and making tomorrow a little bit better too. Each of the five phases along the path have a specific focus, systems, and skills so that you can dramatically shorten your to-do list and put your energy towards the specific problems you are facing right now. In this weeks episode I'm sharing the big problems with you along each ph...
Jul 24, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast We have been working on a huge project to weed all of the garden pathways and lay down weed cloth to hopefully prevent future out of control weeks from taking over. One morning I got out there super early and saw all of the beautiful plants strong, but by 10am they were withering away in the hot sun. I realized that we've had many hot, dry days and I hadn't done much watering. It was a crazy ten minutes as I had kids melting down and a garden that was on it's way to dead that we had to take care...
Jul 17, 2024•9 min•Ep 326•Transcript available on Metacast If you are looking for a fun and new activity to do with your kids I recommend making a jar of sauerkraut this summer! It took me 2 years and five failed batches before I finally figured out all of the nuances of this process, but it was well worth the wait. Today I'm sharing 6 mistakes to avoid and what to do instead so that your first batch can be successful and a fun check on your summer bucket list. 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Making Sauerkraut Not shredding finely enough: Use a cheese grater o...
Jul 10, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you've ever thought about gardening with kids my conversation with Tiana Woodbury is for you! She has gardened with her three young children for many years in many different types of gardens (container, community, and her own backyard) and is full of real, practical tips. One of Tiana's superpowers is making the ordinary magical and she brings that to her gardening endeavors as well, but in very simple and doable ways. I certainly had lots of take-aways and things that I want to do a little d...
Jul 03, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Earlier this year I shared what I did to make my smartphone less “smart” ( Digital Minimalism in 2024 ). Since then, our family has faced some unexpected challenges that pushed us into survival mode, and naturally, our screen time increased, including mine. This experience made me realize the unique challenges we face at different stages of our journey from merely surviving to truly thriving, especially regarding phone usage. In this week’s episode, I delve into these challenges and how becoming...
Jun 26, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast We woke up on Saturday morning and my son was staring out the back window when he realized he couldn't see the zipper on the trampoline across the yard. Upon closer inspection, he realized that one of the huge limbs on our peach tree had broken and had fallen on top of the olive tree next to it and on the ground. We didn't have any big storms or high winds and the kids were asking if I knew what happened. Looking at the branches with peaches full of fruit it didn't take too long to realize that ...
Jun 19, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast What do you do with all the stuff your kids create? This is something I have struggled with for years with my four very creative children. In this week’s episode, I’m sharing what has been working for us, our current problems and what we are doing about it, and a brand new framework my children and I came up with that is changing how we think about the things they (and I) make. Here are some of the things that have been working for us for a while: Paper management: Each child has a small drawer ...
Jun 12, 2024•13 min•Ep 321•Transcript available on Metacast We have four very creative kids who spend HOURS each day creating things (the most recent was an elaborate tin can phone system complete with bells and wall mounts for the cans to go between the top and bottom bunk). In this week's episode, I'm sharing the things we've done that have made the biggest impact on raising creative children. 8 Tips For Raising Creative Kids Encourage their interests. For example, from the time our son was 18 months old, he used our couches to build vehicles. To suppo...
Jun 05, 2024•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 looked like bringing things I could do with my hands to the playground: whittle spoons or animals out of sti...
May 29, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. The antidote is simple but incredibly powerful: do a monthly review. Even after 7 years of thi...
May 22, 2024•10 min•Ep 318•Transcript available on Metacast 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 give me the clarity I needed to decide what we are going to focus on in our schooling and ho...
May 15, 2024•11 min•Ep 317•Transcript available on Metacast 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 the journal, the impact it had on my life, and my invitation for you to give it a try for your...
May 08, 2024•20 min•Ep 316•Transcript available on Metacast 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 and then break that down into projects, or are goals and projects different? Should my daily, we...
May 01, 2024•21 min•Ep 315•Transcript available on Metacast 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 knowing that this is what I wanted and executing it were two different things. In this week's ep...
Apr 24, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 shelves and grab some that covered a wide range of ideas without any preplanning. For years, ...
Apr 17, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
