Today we’ve invited one of our homeschool heroes, Sarah Mackenzie here to speak with you and bring the hope, because that's what she's done for us for YEARS.

Sarah's the author of Teaching from Rest, The Read-Aloud Family and several picture books, including Because Barbara, which officially released March 5th of this year!

She's the host of the Read-Aloud Revival Podcast, which has been downloaded

over 14 million times in more than 160 countries, and is the publisher at the boutique publishing house, Waxwing Books.

Her best work, though, is at home in the Northwest, where she and her husband homeschool their six children.

The first question most homeschoolers are asked is…which curriculum do you use? And while this is a great question (and many of us have some excellent ideas about which options are the best), this can also be a source of pain for the overwhelmed homeschool parent (or the NEW homeschool momma).

Listen in as we chat about what we’ve used over the years, what worked…what didn’t, and how to choose from the endless options that are currently available.

Momma…you don't have to do it ALL on your own. 

In fact…inviting your kids into the kitchen (if this fits within your capacity) has MORE benefits than you might have imagined (the eventual cooking that will be done by NOT you is only one of a very long list!)

We want to talk about not only those benefits...but HOW to actually get there and with us today to do that is...

Licensed occupational therapist, with over 20 years of experience working with kids ages 3-8 AND more than 17 years in the trenches parenting her OWN children. 

She has a LONG track record of success supporting parents and their children because she meets parents where they ARE and gives them real help to gain clarity over their challenges and foster better connections with their kids

What if your home could (largely) run without you?

What if your children (both younger and older) knew how to pick up after themselves (and were part of the team that picked up after the family as a whole)?

What if the necessary tasks of running a household were completed quicker and there was more time for FUN for everyone in the family?

Regardless of how you feel about chores, there is an abundance of research out there proving they CAN be a positive thing (think LESS Cinderella and MORE Cheaper by the Dozen)…

There are a MILLION ways to implement a chore system, but it IS a system, which means Brittany has one and she's been improving it every month for a LONG time.

We're so happy to have our fellow momma of many and delightfully inquisitive friend Renee Amato with us to answer some common questions about setting up and running a chore system.

Our guest today is all about elevating daily life with liturgical living practices in small manageable bites...and for our mommas of many...small and manageable is music to our ears!

She's a beautiful Catholic wife, educator, theologian, event planner, and trained ballet dancer. She specializes in the study and application of liturgical living, culture, tradition, & festivity.

After growing up in a family full of seasonal experiences, she married into a big Catholic family that was overflowing with liturgical tradition and fell in love with sharing it with others.

If the liturgy is for everyone, then a liturgical life is too.

So this begs the question...what ARE liturgical living practices? What does it look like to live a liturgical life?!

We have the absolute blessing of chatting with a Catholic Homeschooling and Certified life coach (who ALSO has an excellent podcast named Happy, Holy Mama).

She's got 7 stellar kids (all homeschooled), she's a wife of 17 years, AND she's devoted her life to helping Catholic families fall in love with God through their relationships and homeschooling lifestyle.

Are you intentional about how you run your home?  Or…do things just happen and ONLY when YOU do them?!

Would you like things to run a bit smoother?

Do you need help?  A village?  A little community?

Our next guest is back by popular demand, and she's got some ideas about ALL those things (and we think you'll like them!) 

This isn't just some *expert* who's here to tell you what to do (we have a pretty strict policy against that around here)…

She's a homeschooling mom of 6 and her family owns a dairy farm in southern Alberta.

She's deeply connected with the unique struggles of life in regards to motherhood and has built a business by helping women create harmony, order, and cooperation within their home and family so they have energy and the mental fortitude to do all the things that God has asked of them (and the wisdom to discern what God is actually asking of them!)

The fact that Mayhem begins with May just seems too apropos...

The end of school is mayhem...our schedules are mayhem...our minds are mayhem...our homes are mayhem...

Today we're talking with a certified productivity and organization expert, the owner of ClutterLESS, wife, and mom of 4.

The end of May feels like the end of the marathon…your legs are wobbly, medical attention may be needed…

How can we set up our homes to serve us in this transition from the end of school into the summer…and what are some of the ways Kelly sets up HER home so it runs in the background and she’s not tripping over her home in addition to the other chaos happening?

You might think that "Motherhood" and "tranquility" don't belong in the same sentence…

Maybe your reality is so far from "tranquil" that you can't even imagine what that would look like…

But, sweet mommas, What if there were clear, defined steps you could take? 

What if you had a guide to move you towards tranquility? 

What if that guide was a mother of many herself!?

We're excited to share our guest today, Laura Vanderkam!

She lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and five children, she’s the co-host, with Sarah Hart-Unger, of the podcast Best of Both Worlds, AND she’s the author of Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters (among other amazing books).

A few months ago, Brittany was invited to be a guest on the Everyday Parents podcast, and we're SO excited to share it with you! It's not often that a podcaster is interviewed on her OWN podcast, and getting a sneak-peek into the large family life is always fun (even if you have your own large family...maybe ESPECIALLY if you have your own large family)!

A few months ago, Brittany was invited to be a guest on the Everyday Parents podcast, and after that appearance, we were super excited to have them on ours! They share a peek into the life of everyday parents on their episodes…their routines, the things that are special to them, and what’s most important to them…and it really gives insight to what’s working for many other family types.

How on earth does a mom dress so many kids?! Is there a system to make this process simpler and more affordable?! With Brittany…of course there is! If just the idea of finding and organizing clothing for all YOUR kids gives you heart palpitations, keep listening momma, because we’ve got you!

On this episode, we’re back with our favorite Board Certified Behavioral Analyst—Renee Amato— to talk ALL things tickets! If you’re new to us…or haven’t followed along on IG…the tickets are a system Brittany developed (along with input from her children and husband) to bring a little fun into their homeschool!

Community is important in every aspect of life…even in homeschooling.

This doesn't mean you have to be involved in a co-op or homeschool group in your local area (although that CAN enrich your experience), but it DOES mean that finding your 'people' (either in-person or online) IS important.

Social media can get a bad rap (many times deserved) but it is a GREAT way to find new ideas, hear differing perspectives, and (if you're following uplifting accounts) see solutions you never would've considered (or even heard about) before!

With ALL these things in mind, and in an attempt to REALLY serve the mommas in our community, we've asked our good friend, fellow homeschool momma, and former co-op co-teacher Renee Amato to join us in asking (and answering) questions about two systems Brittany uses daily in her homeschool!

Sweet mommas, We ARE our sisters keepers.

WE (yes…you and I in all our mess and imperfect-ness) are the first line of defense for our friends when it comes to a culture of care for women.

On this VERY podcast, we have shared stories of several women who had reached their lowest lows, and it wasn't a mental health professional who suddenly appeared and popped up to tell them they had a problem (although they WERE a big part of the solution)…it was a close friend. 

Today we have a beautiful wife and mom to four amazing children who ALSO happens to be the licensed professional counselor behind Sacred Heart Mental Wellness.

Catherine DiNuzzo utilizes traditional cognitive-behavioral counseling practices all through a Catholic lens, and she is here today to talk with us today about anxiety and how our mental health can show up differently in our cycles.

Welcome back to the Deliberate Day podcast...the podcast for moms of many!

If your entry into 'Womanhood' was a bit less than stellar...

If you're staring down the barrel of a pre-teen starting her transformation...

Then what our guest is sharing today is exactly what you need in your life!

Because you're a woman (most of our listeners are), your body moves within a cycle each month.

This has an impact on you, your relationships, your family, AND the rhythm in your home!

Psst…that's not a bad thing.  It's a beautiful thing, because it's how you were created, and today we're going to share a bit of wisdom and understanding about how your cycle shows up in various ways and how we can best care for ourselves in the different phases! 

Today we have a seasoned wife and mother of more than 37 years. She's homeschooled and lived the public school life with her five children and is now the feminine genius behind Wisdom Wellness Coaching and the podcast Cycles and Sanctity. She has a heart for teaching women more about their fertility and how our cycles can help us grow in holiness AND she's just recently started a program for women in menopause and perimenopause!

Renee has been a long-time friend, and we are SO excited to share her wisdom and wit with the beautiful mommas in our community!

Grab a cup of your favorite warm drink and join us for a discussion of our approach to goals this year! Keep the conversation going by DMing us on IG @thedeliberateday or sending us an email at brittany@thedeliberateday.org.

She’s a wife, a homeschooling momma to 6 beautiful souls, an author, a podcaster, a speaker, an entrepreneur, and a Catholic Business coach who teaches women to discern God’s will for their lives and businesses! Can we talk about wearing different hats mommas?!

AND…she’s coming with the fire today! Sweet mommas, may we introduce Sterling Jaquith.