I hope you are enjoying the conclusion to the holiday season. Winter, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas is my favorite time of year. Since I gave myself December off (I am a really good boss), I wanted to do something a little different. I want to share my story from corporate workhorse to momtrepeneur. If you’ve read the About the Mom page (they say this is usually the most read page on a blog), then you know a little of my story. But I wanted to go more in-depth and share, not just th...

Balancing work, homeschooling, and everyday life can often feel like starring in your own three-ring circus—with no intermission. This is my circus and these are my monkeys. So how do you get it done and keep your sanity? It feels like the same thing day after day. Before the alarm buzzes at 5am, your mind is already churning through the day’s impossible juggling act: client projects, math lessons, laundry, spelling tests, deadlines, and somehow finding time to actually eat. This is th...

Do you long to go back to the holiday season of carefree childhood bliss? Where the only thing on your mind is to enjoy the season. Now, those days are replaced by overwhelm, stress, and the pressure to make this the most amazing Christmas ever. This is just one of our roles as a mom. Especially, since we are homeschool and, in some cases, work from home moms. We are home with the kids, so it falls to us to make this time of year magical. It isn't that we don't want to. Of course, we w...

I’ve always cringed at the idea of early mornings. I would prefer to be a night owl and enjoy the quite at the end of the day. But early mornings can be a powerful tool for work from home and homeschool moms. For years, I was a night owl. I enjoyed staying up late and having the house to myself. Early mornings were not something I enjoyed. Yes, I heard all the podcasts and read all the blog posts about early mornings, but I really didn’t want to hear it. I liked my nights, and I didn’t ...

Download your free Mom Boss 2.0 workbook and start a business without a niche. Do an internet search and type in how to make money from home or how to start a business. You probably see a ton of results. Once you get past all of the "do surveys" or "get paid to just do this" (take it from someone who has tried, getting paid for surveys is a waste of time). You find one piece of advice common to all of the search returns. And they all say this, "If you want a successful business th...

Parenting is hard, but it is also the greatest thing we will ever do. This parent guide is going to walk you through the hardest stage of parenting. No, it isn’t the infant, toddler, or preschool stages. The hardest stage of parenting is launching your teen/young adult kids. Yes, I need a parent guide for it. Since it is hard to find, let us share our knowledge and walk each other through the hardest stage of parenting. The launching stage. Each stage of parenting comes with its c...

Grading. This is the dreaded task. You know the kind of task you need to psyche yourself up for days ahead of time. And grading for 4 kids multiplies this feeling by 4. Teaching multiple grades, figuring out the right curriculum, and keeping grades for school, it can get overwhelming. Keeping grades is not my favorite thing to do, but over the years, through trial and error, I've found a system that works. If you are feeling mom guilt when it comes to keeping grades for school, ba...

Homeschooling high schoolers means you are almost finished homeschooling. Unless, there are younger kids, then it is just the start of a new and exciting chapter in your homeschool journey. But homeschooling high schoolers might feel like a giant leap from the elementary years. And you are also planning for after high school, college or not to college, and really preparing your students for the rest of their lives. No pressure, right? Show notes and links: https://lifeunboxed.blo...

Are you wanting to live your impossible dream, but you don't know how to make money from home and homeschool your kids? Show notes and links: https://lifeunboxed.blog/how-to-make-money-from-home RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW: My Story from Corporate Workhorse to Momtrepreneur Managing Information Mug Nerds (Etsy Shop) Don't Up is the Wrong Advice How is Success Defined Mom Boss 2.0 Workbook (Free Download) The Beginners Guide to Working and Homeschooling Is Time Blocking the Be...

Highschool credits are important regardless of the path your teenager takes. If your homeschooling highschool, then you need to know about highschool credits. Understanding homeschool highschool credits is going to help you create a strong homeschool high school transcript, and preparing your teen for life beyond homeschool. If you've ever wondered how many credits your teen needs and how to assign them, you're in the right place. Yes, the idea of planning for high school can fee...

Homeschooling moms are divided on this issue. We want to homeschool for the freedom to not be tied to our desks. Yet, homeschooling online opens the door for so many opportunities. What's a mom to do? There are pros and cons to homeschooling online. There isn't a one-size fits all approach to it. You know your kids, their personalities, and what works and what doesn't. Show notes and links: https://lifeunboxed.blog/homeschooling-online Find your tribe. Join the online commun...

Show notes and resources mentioned in the episode: https://lifeunboxed.blog/self-care/ Self-care is a word that I love to hate. Mainly because the Instagram version of it is in conflict with reality. Is there a better way to self-care than what we see on Instagram? Self-care is a trendy buzzword now, and I am fully aware that it can seem inaccessible for work from home and homeschool moms. We are always busy. Always exhausted. Running on coffee and the most convenient snack we can...

It is that time of year, planning for homeschooling! Out with the old curriculum or posted on Ebay, and in with the new. Planning for homeschooling can be fun and exciting, but it can also be a bit overwhelming. Whether you are new or a veteran, making sure you haven't missed anything can be stress paralyzing. Let's take the stress out of planning for homeschooling. Show notes and links: https://lifeunboxed.blog/planning-for-homeschooling/ Find your tribe. Join the onli...

Some days feels like chaos as a working at home mom. Even to the point of researching private school tuition and wondering if you should get an office job. Mom, if you’re juggling work, homeschool, family, and everything in between, then grab your coffee (you need that to conquer the world), let’s tame the chaos, and create a plan for working at home mom. Show notes and links: https://lifeunboxed.blog/working-at-home-mom/ Grab your guide today! The Momtrepreneur's Guide to Homeschool Cu...

Creating a flexible fall homeschool schedule is going to give you the homeschool freedom you want while ensuring those little clones you created are learning. The transition between summer break and starting a new school year isn't easy. Even if you did some schoolwork during the summer. Your kids and you enjoyed the break. And it was needed. Never feel guilty about taking a break. We all need to time to recover and reset. Let's take on these challenges and create a flexible fall ...

Get all the links: https://lifeunboxed.blog/writing-a-book/ Writing a book is a great way to add creative writing to your homeschool. Liven up your homeschool language arts by writing a book. As homeschoolers, we have the unique opportunity to really take the time to make writing enjoyable and fun. I know most college assignments will be the 5 paragraph essay, so that is important to know. Or you can just wing it if you decide to do dual enrollment in high school. But once ...

Hiring your kids in your business is a great way to boost their resume, teach practical life skills, and add help for those mundane tasks you don’t want to do. I have a confession. Like all confessions, I will probably lose my momtrepreneur status. But here goes. I don’t want to grow my business to the point of needing to hire anyone. I know shocking. Every business owner is supposed to want to grow to the point of creating an empire. But that’s not one of my business goals. However, th...

You've been homeschooling a while or you just started, and you've discovered that you got this. Yes, you can really teach your kids. You are sailing along on your homeschool journey. It's not perfect, but it is good. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, your child hits 8th grade. The panic starts to slowly creep in. What are you going to do for high school? All of your homeschool comes down to this moment. Your validation as a teacher, and whether or not you messed up your kids for life. It all co...

If you want to set each day up for success, tame the chaos before it starts, and just have a good day. Then you need to create a morning routine. I know the prevailing thought is to schedule every minute of your day. If you want to get it all done, then every minute should be scheduled. Or the opposite is pushed—never schedule, just be free and spontaneous. Both extremes don’t work well. The best thing you can do to find balance in the force is to create a morning routine. Show no...

Summer break and work from home can really be a mixed bag of emotions. Your excited that the schoolwork is finally done. You finished the year, good or bad, it is done. But then there is trepidation wondering what you are going to do with the kids all summer long. You are still working. Then you are back to relief because you get a break from grading. You no longer need to remind them to do their schoolwork. Then you are back to dread because you need to figure how to balance summer break an...