Last week on the podcast I talked all about how
do I juggle all the things? Oftentimes when I
meet somebody new they ask me, oh my gosh, how
do you do all of that? You have six kids and
you homeschool and you run a business. How in
the world do you do that? Those of you that know
me personally also know that my husband works
a lot and travels. So it is a little bit of a
juggle and I just wanted to speak into that because
I think sometimes when we don't know all the
facts then we can make ourselves feel really
bad about the amount that we are. able to accomplish
in a day compared to somebody else. Alright,
so let's really dive into this. Last time I talked
more about the emotional weight that we carry
when we find out that somebody is doing so much
and we kind of compare what's on our plate to
what's on their plate. This week I want to talk
more about the concrete. How do we actually juggle
the things? Welcome to Health and Hormones. I
am your host, Rita Johnson. Here we talk about
all things related to health, hormones, natural
living, and those amazing bodies that God has
given you and how to take care of them better.
I'm so glad you're here. So today let's dive
into some of those concrete things. So first
of all I want to say just like I said in the
last podcast episode is that how do I juggle
all the things? I don't. I really have become
very good at delegating and asking other people
to do other things and it's always been a policy
my husband and I have had that we really ask
our kids to help out a lot around the house and
I find that it's really good for them. Not only
for their abilities to see that mom and dad do
a lot but also to understand that that the mess
I make doesn't just get cleaned up. I'll never
forget one of the first times I saw one of my
kids take a wrapper off of something they were
eating and crumble it up and throw it on the
ground. Right? They could take it to the garbage.
I could pick it up and take it to the garbage.
Or I could say, excuse me, who is going to clean
that up? When we stop and ask them these questions,
sometimes it gets their little brains rolling
and thinking, hmm, you're right. I can't just
make a mess everywhere, because then we have
a mess everywhere, especially when there's lots
of people in tow. So let's talk a little bit
more through the nitty gritty of this. I definitely
was somebody that used to look at other people
and be like, oh my gosh, I cannot even understand
how they do half of what they do when I'm struggling
over here. So the first thing I want to say is
that my kids are 16, 14, 11, eight, four, and
four months old. And so this broad range of ages
naturally has its challenges, right? I have teenagers
and very little people, but it also has great
benefit. Basically, we have a dish schedule during
the week where I never unload the dishwasher
or wash dishes unless I want to. And that's really
about it. If somebody's sick, I might jump in
and do some dishes, which I never mind. I kind
of it's kind of therapeutic for me to do the
dishes when I don't have to do them every single
night, especially this season of a little baby.
And I can just ask somebody to hold the baby
while I clean the kitchen. It is glorious. And
it's so nice to be able to be back at this place.
That is not where I was even. eight, nine, ten
years ago. I felt very overwhelmed and we were
cooking a lot from scratch in our kitchen and
that meant even more dishes. Another thing that
I am really intentional about is cooking. We
do eat from home. I would say 99 % of our meals
are eaten out of our own kitchen, whether we're
traveling or whether we're, you know, out and
about. We always pack snacks. When we go to hotels,
I try to bring food that I can make in the Instant
Pot. I try to keep it really simple. And part
of the reason is because we have so many foods
that we have to avoid collectively as a family
that it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense
for us to go out and purchase meals anywhere.
And so we pack, cook, and prepare a lot of the
food. food that we are eating for that reason,
so it still tastes really good. But our meals
are simple. It's a lot of crock pot or roasted
pan dinners or husband grills and I make a salad.
We don't tend to do a whole lot of fancy meals
unless it's a special occasion or it's a Sunday
afternoon and we have a little extra time. My
kids take turns cooking, my husband takes turn
cooking, and so it really works out that I may
be cooking dinner. four till five nights a week.
And we always try to cook for leftovers as well.
Now, another thing that overwhelms some people
is that we homeschool. Homeschooling truly at
this season feels like the frog in the boiling
water. I am definitely the frog. The water is
boiling, but we're good. I'm happy here. And
part of that is because my kids, especially my
high schoolers, have online classes that is the
bulk of their curriculum. We do carpools for
a lot of the in -person things and that oftentimes
works out to taking a load off of me because
I'm not having to leave the house. Maybe I'm
home with the little people and swapping a friend's
little people or when I'm in a season where I
don't have a four -month -old baby, I am very
often the one that's like, hey, I'll drive, everyone
else stay home and then I'll go work at a coffee
shop for a couple hours so I can get some dedicated
work time in. Here again, the kids help each
other. So I might have my... 11 year old read
a book to the four -year -old as part of her
reading for that day that kind of thing. Hired
help is definitely something we are not strangers
to or adverse to at all. We will do things like
hiring a house cleaner. We will also ask babysitters
for help if and when we're in a season that's
just really taxing. Hey friend are you struggling
with trying to figure out how to support your
hormones naturally, you're sick of all these
other solutions that you're hearing about that
are artificial or outside of your control, then
grab my free ebook. It's all about how to balance
your hormones naturally. The link is in the description
to this podcast episode. There's so much we can
do to take our health back into our own hands
and feel better. So let's get started today.
Then there's also the business stuff too. Here
again, I really try to employ my kids to help
in this process. You know, they definitely have
talents that I do not. My oldest in particular
is really good at being behind a camera and seeing
things visually and dealing with the tech in
the background. And so for example, sometimes
trying to do a little project, like picking out
a new program that I'm going to edit videos in,
overwhelms me and can derail my work for a whole
afternoon. Whereas I can ask my six - 16 year
old, hey bud, can you help me research this and
tell me what would be a really great option for
me? And then he shows me how to use it, which
is so my love language. So it really does feel
a lot lighter and a lot easier to do those different
things. And, you know, I would just say, I think
often that when we look towards how other people
are doing things, we just think, gosh, there's
no way I could ever do all of that. And I want
to say that, you know, These things are callings,
having a big family, homeschooling, running a
business while kids are at home. These things
are a calling that you may be called to in your
life by the Lord, or He may be telling you to
wait, to wait a little longer through a difficult
season. But if He's calling you to it, you will
also have the grace to be able to carry all of
those things at once. And that's the biggest
thing I really want to leave you with. It's just
prayerfully discerning what the Lord's calling
you to do and if this is the time to do it or
not. I hope this helps you friend. I really want
to re -instill in all of us the beauty of collaboration
instead of competition. And that is, you know...
So many multi, so many faceted approaches, right?
We just really need to kind of pause and say,
how can I be a more present, better friend instead
of comparing and being jealous and struggling
with my own day -to -day and feeling like I have
to suffer silently because I can't do all of
that.