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Elizabeth and I discuss the hard seasons (Elizabeth's baby is due any day...) how we can manage them, discern them, work with them.

2:27 - Homeschooling through pregnancy
7:31 - Hiring out schooling when needed
9:42 - Discipline and routine with boys
14:53 - Stepping back and observing our life
21:59 - Afraid of not giving enough to our kids
31:49 - Taking time off

Jacko Willink books

low days (blog post)

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What does it take?

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Christina and I address a few issues that crop up regularly in our family life, included, but not limited to, children flopping on the floor when we ask them to do something.

0:49 - Homeschool beginnings
3:28 - The mystery of readiness
6:48 - Comparing ourselves
9:30 - Learning is a lifelong endeavour
13:30 - It's okay to take time off
16:20 - What if your child refuses to cooperate?
25:15 - The value of humour
30:25 - Attachment is not permissiveness
37:51 - Success in homeschool coops
42:20 - Letting go of social media
46:13 - The great privilege of homeschooling

an interview with my 20 year old son, Abel (podcast)

how to be nice: part one (blog post)

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My listener and guest, Kimmy, and I, address the topic of anger, learning to pause, growing in holiness and - aaaah - EXPECTATIONS.

2:08 - Kimmy's questions on managing anger and structuring the day
8:01 - Creating and sustaining a loving environment
12:21 - Planning time for yourself
18:58 - Camp style learning
22:40 - Practices that help us deal with anger and develop self-control
40:53 - How to respond to our kids anger
51:45 - Knowing that there is always another way

Keeping your head above water, live workshop (Youtube)

Tyranny of the Urgent chart

Seven Deadly Sins; Seven Lively Virtues with Fr. Robert Barron (Youtube)


soundbites:

• "I want to employ your tactics, but do you have advice on how to nurture my passionate soul?"
• "I always knew that, once lunchtime was over, we were done."
• "Our world is very urgent, and the control factor of “I need to..."
• "Living in this urgent world where we actually have to be intentional about entering into a merciful, peaceful state of..."

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I received this fan mail a few days ago, and wanted to respond with my take on it. This mom is doing so many good things already, please know I pray for you all and hope this helps!

Hi Bonnie -- I am really struggling. I deeply desire a joyful home and yet every day , without fail I am yelling, the kids are fighting, the baby is overtired and the house is a mess.

I'm at a loss at where to even begin. I know my discipline for cleaning and keeping order needs to be strengthened, but again, I don't know where to start.

What would you recommend to start making order? We read aloud daily, leave the house only 2 days/week, order groceries in -- I have really tried to simplify but still cycle back to the same time and again. I'd greatly appreciate your prayers and advice

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After listening to the episode on cosleeping, a listener submitted these questions:

So this mum has a large family. She has a baby who's just over one,
that this is usually around the time that she has stopped co -sleeping and transitioned to a crib. She'd like to keep co -sleeping, but a couple of things are frustrating at this stage of babyhood, how do I manage these particular things? How do get yourself ready in the morning? Shower, get dressed, have some time to do a couple chores to be ready for the day. If you have to stay in the same room as the sleeping baby.

And also when I put the baby to bed at night, she starts out in a crib, some evenings that she wakes up after only an hour. Then I go back in and nurse her for 20 -ish minutes and get back to spending time with my husband and older kids. I find this frustrating because I feel like my husband and I have very little time together.

So here's my take on it...again, I will give a shout out to familysleep.ca, sleep coaching from an attachment perspective.

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My dear friend Zoe joins me to discuss how she mentors moms to take a look at how we can create more ease and joy in the daily task of meal prep and menu planning. Dealing with decision fatigue and how to create an environment that is more streamlined and restful. We talk about Sunday as a day of rest, and what that can look like in our busy family lives. Spend some time with us, chatting about the joys and challenges of keeping all the people fed.

https://realliferealkitchen.myflodesk.com/socials

Main Website: https://realliferealkitchen.com/
Freebies! https://realliferealkitchen.com/freebies/
Instagram: @realliferealkitchen

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I received great question(s) yesterday, what do we do when our kids can't spell...what do we do when they're behind....what do we do when our head's not in the game.

"Hi Bonnie! I have a question! My 10 year old son is very very very much a struggling speller. I mean, I’m sure he is dyslexic. He can’t spell at all and I’ve tried everything. What would you do? Just dictation?"

"I admit I hit very much a rough patch with general overwhelm this summer and almost put two of my kids in public school. I’m trying to snap out of it and get back to our family vision. But it’s been very challenging with a toddler who still sleeps horribly and a destructive five year old boy . I need to re-listen to basically all of your episodes and get my head in the game again. My 10 yr old is just soooo woefully behind in math and spelling that it adds to my overwhelm."

"Basically / 10 yr old that is very behind in math and spelling. He has various learning disabilities and is very self conscious of being a “bad speller” but I’ve really tried everything to no avail."

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