Balancing Diapers and Deadlines (A REVIEW)

I have always dreamed of having my own business. I still do, everyday! Even though, I don't have my own business yet, I still feel like I am working from home on my own hours and in my own space on reviews, blogging, homeschooling, and other side jobs like babysitting/daycare. It's a lot to balance, so I was excited to read and review Balancing Diapers and Deadlines from Lisa Tanner Writing in hopes that I could get some ideas on how to do all the things that I need to do, and do them well.

This course is written by a homeschooling Mom of 8 who works from home as a writer, and was created for the Mom who has a business or other work from home jobs while also balancing kids and life.

Balancing Diapers and Deadlines is an online course that takes you step-by-step through units and lessons all about managing the challenges of everyday life and working from home. While I may not have any babies or toddlers anymore the idea is still the same, it's all about balancing all the things that Mom's have on their plates whether they are small children big children or any in between. This course is for Moms of kids in all stages and age ranges.

Some of the topics included in the units and lessons:

• Flexible Routines
• Planning of the day
• Laundry
• Chores for the kids (and how to get them to do it!)
• Meal planning
• Creating dinner themes
• Sleep
• Free Time
• Creativity (with time)
• Growing your business
• And so much more!

At the end of each lesson are Action steps. Things we can do right away to make changes. Some of those Action steps are just writing things down, some include printables or worksheets to fill out, and some are just things to talk about with the family. They are all very do-able, and very tangible ways to get started in making changes to your day and the way you think about and tackle the challenges of life and business/working.

Some of these hands on Action steps were super easy and quick, and some required more thought or time in completing the task.

One Action step was creating a simple marble system for keeping kids accountable for chores. I won't go into detail about how this works because it's part of the course, but it's a genius idea! I have been trying to come up with something like this for a long time, and it's exactly what I've been looking for. I made the jars, and put them out so the kids could see them before I explained what they are. They were immediately very curious. It does involve small rewards for completing chores, and consequences for not.

I really loved all the Action steps, and pretty much all of them have been something that I can really use. Another Action step that I really liked was the Child of the Day idea. Again, I won't go into detail, but ideally this helps with the many fights over little things like who gets to lick the spoon from the frosting, and they get to take on more responsibilities for that day. Yes my oldest has only one day because it just works out better that way numbers wise, and since she's the oldest can probably handle having just one.

Another thing I really like about this course is how much the kids are involved in the decision making, and action steps that are directly related to them. Here is something Lisa Tanner said in the course that really stood out to me, and made me realize that it's so simple to involve the kids in daily decisions and inform them of the tasks that need to be done.

"During breakfast, the kids and I gather around the table to talk about what needs to be done. This is when we get the basic order to our day figured out." ~Balancing Daipers and Deadlines by Lisa Tanner

How simple that is! It would be a great habit to incorporate into the morning each day. I think in some ways we kind of do this, but there are plenty of mornings where it's hit or miss to talk about the day, and what's going to happen. I find that when I remember to do it the kids are more on top of things than I am, and will often remind me of things I said we needed to get done.

I also loved her ideas for menu planning. Another biggie for me that I struggle with! Keeping good meals on the table seems to be a real challenge, and the biggest challenge within that challenge is thinking about it. Getting down what we want to have each day for each meal. I love the printables to go with the menu planning portion of the course. The Themed Dinners is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but never even thought to write it down! Again, something I can't share details about, but definitely a great reason to try out the course for yourself!

As you can see I think this course is awesome. I really like the real-life solutions and stories. I think there are a lot of great tips all throughout the course, and I highly recommend it to any work at home, and/or blogging Mother.

I hope you have found this review helpful. If' you'd like to see what the other crew members had to say you can click on the image below (Read the Crew Reviews).