Motherhood Made Simple

20 | Toddler quiet time tips

Quiet time is an essential part of our daily routine! We all need a rest during the day, whether my toddlers admit it or not. I'm sharing my best tips for implementing quiet time, how to respond when your toddler refuses to nap and tips to foster independent play even during the hours everyone is awake.
 
LINKS
VISUAL TIMER WE USE
https://amzn.to/4l57O1l 
📖MY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODDLER MOMS📖
https://amzn.to/42UhhBQ  
📝EPISODE TRANSCRIPT📝
micaela/ca/podcast/020
💻EMAIL ME💻
hello@micaela.ca
 
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:28 Why we have quiet time
02:48 How I talk about quiet time
03:29 Nap refusals
04:27 Independent play tips
11:57 How we started doing quiet time

19 | First trimester survival guide from a fourth time mom

Surprise! I'm pregnant with my fourth baby! I thought I would share the news along with my best pregnancy tips for surviving the first trimester. If you're pregnant too and being plagued by nausea, fatigue and food aversions, I hope these tips will bless you. I've had all my kids 15 months apart, and I can honestly say my third and fourth pregnancies have been the smoothest so far.
 
LINKS
📖MY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODDLER MOMS📖
https://amzn.to/42UhhBQ  
📝EPISODE TRANSCRIPT📝
micaela/ca/podcast/019
💻EMAIL ME💻 
hello@micaela.ca
GET A BIDET
https://amzn.to/4kYpdZo
 
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:49 Announcing my fourth pregnancy
01:34 First trimester survival guide
01:43 Set realistic expectations
03:39 Good nutrition
07:27 Communicating with my kids
09:01 A good sleep routine
10:42 Batch cooking
12:19 Having a midwife
14:35 My bidet
15:24 Leave your questions in the comments!

18 | Two under two pros and cons - our positive perspective on the 15 month age gap

About a year ago, my search history looked like this: “Pros and cons of the 15-month age gap?” “What is the best age gap?” “Two under two tips” "Should I have my kids close in age?" It feels surreal being on the other side of the transition and able to share my own experience as a two-under-two mom. Spoiler alert - we love our small age gap! If you're looking for a positive perspective on two under two and the 15 month age gap, this is it! I'm sharing both pros and cons, but in my opinion, the pros heavily outweigh the cons.
 
LINKS
📖MY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODDLER MOMS📖
https://amzn.to/42UhhBQ  
📝EPISODE TRANSCRIPT📝
micaela/ca/podcast/018
💻READ MY BLOG💻
https://www.micaela.ca/blog
 
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
03:03 Cons of a 15 month age gap
07:25 Pros of a 15 month age gap
09:35 Encouragement for the transition from 1 to 2 kids
14:39 You've got this!

17 | How to read more books as a mom of toddlers & why you need a Kindle

If you’ve been trying to figure out how to make time to read as a busy mom, look no further! As an avid reader averaging 8-10 books per month (even as a mom of three) I’m sharing my best tips and tricks to find time to read. I’m sharing what I read, my personal conviction about fiction books as a Christian mom and why I love reading on Kindle. I know, I know. It’s hard to take the plunge and switch to Kindle, but if you’ve been wondering, “should I get a kindle?” I’m here with a confident “YES!”
 
LINKS
📖MY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODDLER MOMS📖
https://amzn.to/42UhhBQ  
MY FAVOURITE KINDLE
https://amzn.to/41RP1O3 
📝EPISODE TRANSCRIPT📝
micaela/ca/podcast/017
💻READ MY BLOG💻
https://www.micaela.ca/blog
 
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:22 Why reading is a great hobby
03:43 Why you need a Kindle!
05:48 What I read
07:18 My favourite Christian fiction authors
08:11 How to make time to read
11:04 How to want to read

16 | My SAHM schedule & SAHM tips from a mom of three

Being a stay at home mom is a blessing. But it comes with its own set of unique challenges! Should you have a stay-at-home mom schedule? How should you spend your time as a stay-at-home mom? Do you need to take your kids out every day of the week to make sure you socialize them enough? In this episode I'm sharing a few of my favorite stay-at-home mom tips along with my personal schedule or rather routine in this season with three kids under three.
LINKS
📖MY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODDLER MOMS📖
https://amzn.to/42UhhBQ  
📝EPISODE TRANSCRIPT📝
micaela/ca/podcast/016
💻READ MY BLOG💻
https://www.micaela.ca/blog
BOOK - The Lazy Genius Way
https://amzn.to/4iBn7wO 
 
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:00 Why I like having structure
02:08 Your Mindset
03:55 How to introduce loose structure
04:25 My personal routine
07:14 Plan ahead
07:57 Leave space in your schedule
08:46 Minimize the decisions you make
10:43 Accept that your life may look different than your friends
 

15 | Why I don't wake up before my kids & 5 Habits for moms who sleep in

If you’re out there googling “how to wake up before my kids” I want to introduce you to another way. You don’t have to get up hours before dawn to be a good mom or to have peaceful mornings. It is possible to have peaceful mornings with your toddlers even if you hit the ground running. As a mom of three, I value every bit of sleep I can get, and that includes in the morning! I’m sharing how I plan accordingly and how I view my mornings to set us up for success.
 
LINKS
📖MY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODDLER MOMS📖
https://amzn.to/42UhhBQ  
📝EPISODE TRANSCRIPT📝
micaela/ca/podcast/015
💻READ MY BLOG💻
https://www.micaela.ca/blog
 
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
02:32 Why I sleep in
03:40 Choose what matters & stop feeling guilty
06:01 How I prepare to sleep in
06:25 Breakfast
06:55 My Kitchen
07:49 If we need to leave the house
08:14 I end the day feeling fulfilled & rested
08:50 Find a different time to read the Bible

14 | Should I have another baby? | A christian perspective on growing your family

"Should I have kids?" you're wondering. Or maybe "Am I ready to have a baby?" Or for all the toddler moms out there, you're asking, "should I have another baby?" It seems like everyone is trying to answer this question lately. But in all the videos I watch on family planning, they're missing an important piece: your faith. Following Jesus changes everything about having kids. It changes our perspective on purpose, money, capacity and so much more. Let's begin unpacking this huge decision in today's episode. 
 
LINKS
📖MY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODDLER MOMS📖 https://amzn.to/42UhhBQ  
📝EPISODE TRANSCRIPT📝
micaela/ca/podcast/014
💻READ MY BLOG💻
https://www.micaela.ca/blog
 
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:05 Why this is on my heart
02:19 How Christians think about happiness
05:25 How Christians think about money
07:07 How Christians think about capacity
08:31 What we gain when we lay down our life
11:30 A disclaimer about marriage
12:00 The fertility question I wrestle with
 
Can motherhood really be made simple? I'm not going to tell you it can be easy. Anything worth doing requires hard work! But you don't have to feel burdened and stressed out and overwhelmed anymore. You don't need to do this on your own strength. I'm Micaela, and I'm here to help Christian moms of toddlers work on a positive motherhood mindset and simplify the things we can as we learn to trust God with the rest. I've made it my mission to help you find lasting joy and peace as you raise your precious toddlers.

13 | How to Deal With Toddler Tantrums | Toddler tips for Christian moms

Mama, I see you struggling through those toddler tantrums! I'm here with practical tips and encouragement for the days you don't understand your one-year-old, two-year-old or three-year-old and their big emotions. If you feel like you've entered the "terrible twos," I want to help you reframe that perspective and help you handle toddler meltdowns with grace and compassion. 
 
LINKS
📖MY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODDLER MOMS📖
https://amzn.to/42UhhBQ  
📝EPISODE TRANSCRIPT📝
micaela/ca/podcast/013
💻READ MY BLOG💻
https://www.micaela.ca/blog
 
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
02:13 Your mindset around toddler tantrums
06:42 Your perception of yourself
08:21 Preventing toddler tantrums
14:53 Managing meltdowns
16:04 Apologize if you need to
 
Can motherhood really be made simple? I'm not going to tell you it can be easy. Anything worth doing requires hard work! But you don't have to feel burdened and stressed out and overwhelmed anymore. You don't need to do this on your own strength. I'm Micaela, and I'm here to help Christian moms of toddlers work on a positive motherhood mindset and simplify the things we can as we learn to trust God with the rest. I've made it my mission to help you find lasting joy and peace as you raise your precious toddlers. 

12 | How to be creative as a mom | Hobbies you can do with a toddler around

Let's chat about how to be creative as a mom, how to have fun and find hobbies that work in a busy season of raising toddlers. I'm sharing five of my favourite crafts for moms that work well around babies and toddlers. From crocheting and embroidery to watercolour and blogging, I hope these mom-hobbies will inspire you.
LINKS
CRAFT SUPPLIES
Caligraphy
Caligraphy Pens: https://amzn.to/3XvfJea 
Free Caligraphy Course: https://courses.thehappyevercrafter.c...
Watercolour Paints: https://amzn.to/4i3l30x
Blogging
My posts about blogging: https://www.micaela.ca/blog/tag/blogging
Blog Post Ideas: https://www.micaela.ca/blog-post-ideas 
Crochet
Yarn: https://amzn.to/4i08bbm 
Crochet Hook: https://amzn.to/3F6xNVC 
Embroidery
Embroidery Kit: https://amzn.to/4kEHfjp 
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Create Anyway by Ashlee Gadd:  https://amzn.to/3QKMznt 
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:54 Why I want to create
02:37 Ground rules for crafting
04:29 Caligraphy
05:28 Watercolor painting
06:23 Blogging
08:08 Crocheting
08:50 Embroidery

11 | How to deal with mom guilt | 6 Tips to make decisions with peace as a mom of toddlers

If you are wrestling with mom guilt and wondering, "am I a good mom?" or "am I doing this right?" You've come to there right place. I'm sharing my six-step plan to ditch the mom-guilt for good and make decisions from a position of peace.
There are so many decisions to make as a new mom. What should I feed my baby? How should I potty train my toddler? It can feel like there are too many options and we'll never find the "right" way to mother. I hope these tips to limit the flow of incoming information, avoid comparison and choose your priorities will help as you steward the sweet children God has blessed you with. 
You've got this mama!
LINKS
📖 Grab the devotional https://amzn.to/42UhhBQ
🖳 Read the blog micaela.ca/blog 
📧 Send me an email hello@micaela.ca
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:45 Mom-guilt is spiritual warfare
01:42 Pray
02:26 Choose how you measure success in decision making
03:30 Limit incoming information
05:41 Limit opportunities for comparison
07:20 Decide what matters to you
08:54 Nothing is as serious as it seems
10:11 Recap