Postpartum University® Podcast

Juggling it All: Life As a Mom, Entrepreneur & Homesteader EP 185

• Maranda Bower, Postpartum Nutrition Specialist

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Motherhood, work, family life, house chores, work, hobbies...how in the world do moms juggle it all?

Ever wonder how to truly do it all without burning out? In this episode, Maranda Bower shares a raw, honest look into her life as a mom of four, a business owner, a student, and a homesteader.

From realistic morning routines that skip the 5 a.m. wakeup calls to flexible work hours and boundaries for quiet time, Miranda shows us her approach to creating harmony and productivity in the chaos of motherhood. If you're a mom juggling many hats and seeking sustainable ways to balance it all, this episode is packed with practical insights and encouragement.

Dive in to find out how Miranda’s unique routines and habits can help you achieve more peace, productivity, and flow.


Check out this episode on the BLOG: https://postpartumu.com/juggling-it-all-life-as-a-mom-entrepreneur-homesteader-ep-185

Get the book: Reclaiming Postpartum Wellness on Amazon today! 


KEY TIME STAMPS: 

  • 00:02: Addressing postpartum challenges with evidence-based solutions
  • 01:56: Balancing multiple roles as a mother, entrepreneur, and student
  • 02:28: The non-traditional morning routine—no early wakeup required
  • 03:32: Family breakfast that prioritizes nutrition and connection
  • 06:13: Incorporating joyful movement through dance and play
  • 08:01: Centering intentions with journaling and mindfulness
  • 09:23: Setting boundaries and seeking support for work-life balance
  • 17:29: Evening routine dedicated to self-care and family time
  • 20:53: Homesteading as a grounding family activity on weekends
  • 28:03: The ever-evolving practice of achieving “balance”

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Speaker 1:

Depression, anxiety and autoimmune symptoms after birth is not how it's supposed to be. There is a much better way, and I'm here to show you how to do just that. Hey, my friend, I'm Miranda Bauer, a mother to four kids and a biology student turned scientist, obsessed with changing the world through postpartum care. Join us as we talk to mothers and the providers who serve them and getting evidence-based information that actually supports the mind, body and soul in the years after birth. Hello, welcome to today's episode. Miranda Bauer here, and I'm going to tell you last week's episode was off the charts. If you have not had time to go listen into the five habits of a thriving mom, do so now. This episode is really stemming from that, and I got so many questions of like, okay, miranda, how are you doing it all? How do you juggle all of this with four kids and running a business and homesteading and I haven't told you I'm also a full-time student Like, how do you find time for yourself? And I get it, it sounds like a lot, because, well, it is. But here's the thing Balance doesn't mean perfection. It means finding flow and setting boundaries and knowing what's truly important each and every day. So I want to really walk you through my life, like what happens in the day in the week of Miranda's life, and I'm going to show you like it's not. It's not just about balance, right, like there's this really fine line, but what's really important and how do I live my life in a way that allows me to thrive with so much going on, especially if you guys are into human design.

Speaker 1:

I am a projector. I have very little energy to give. Like I need to make sure that my energy is going to be spent very, very specifically. If y'all know human design, you know I do not have a battery pack on me. I need a lot of private time, I need a lot of rest, and so I have built that into my day and I really want to share with you how it is that I kind of like flow with everything.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so it really starts in my morning routine and guess what? I am not waking up at the crack of dawn. I actually wake up with my kids. I am not a morning person. I do not recommend that, especially if you are someone who does not have a lot of energy to give, if you're like a projector like myself.

Speaker 1:

This is how it's done. Y'all, I'm telling you it's life-changing. You don't have to wake up at five o'clock in the morning to do all of the things. So my morning I wake up right around 6.45 or so. My kids have to be out the door by 7.30 for school, and so that just gives us enough time to get going. And I will tell you, a great day does not happen by chance, it happens by design. So when I wake up in the morning, I have already understood before you know the previous night like what's going to need to be done for this day in order to be successful, and I'll tell you what that is a little bit later, when I get to my night routine.

Speaker 1:

But it starts right here. So I get up and I'm working with my kids, I'm getting them ready for school and I'm getting myself ready for my day, and I am a girl who absolutely loves sweats. So I'm not like dressing up. I have a very little makeup routine, if at all. Legit Like I.

Speaker 1:

I was born with like really like dark circles under my eyes and I'm saying like it legit runs in the family and I've done all the things. And like detoxes and like all the things. It's not that whatsoever, but I wear concealer under my eyes and a little bit of blush on my cheeks, cause, let's face it, I live in Alaska and I don't get the sun that I need at all the time. Like summertime, I don't use it in the winter time. I love a little color. I brush my hair, brush my teeth, use the bathroom, like really basic stuff here y'all, and I'm doing that with my kids. Sometimes it's a game with my kids Like, oh, I bet you know I can get dressed faster than you, you know, or who's gone potty as well, like I'm on my way and like you know they're doing all of the busy things.

Speaker 1:

And then we have a really nice breakfast together. Usually, like our thing right now is like breakfast burritos and just like lots of eggs and sausage and protein. Like we really, really thrive in there with that. Sometimes I'll throw in some spinach in there and just make a really decent high protein meal that everybody in the family really, really loves and appreciates, and so we make that. Usually their lunch is already packed that's part of our nighttime routine and they take dinner that we had the night before and then my husband takes them off to school and that is really when, like, my day is able to begin, and so I'll take a moment to like get the crock pot going so that we have dinner and I don't have to think about dinner. Dinner is not something that I love to do and love to think about, but then it's my time to get like really, really intentional. I make sure that I spend time with myself during this moment.

Speaker 1:

It's like my dog as well, like my dog is such a big part of my life. Like sometimes in the mornings I'll do a big exercise routine, and it's not even like a routine. It's me dancing around the living room listening to music I love and playing with my dog. I'm serious, like it's nothing fancy, it's not like that. That is legit my workout routine and it really sets the tone for the rest of the day.

Speaker 1:

I know it might sound absolutely hysterical and really funny, but I have a pup. He's a golden doodle. He's a little over a year. I think he's going to be a year and a half year soon. He's absolutely massive and he just has a lot of energy, and so we spend a great deal of time Like I'm literally dancing around the living room listening to the music that I love, um, sweating Like I'm, I'm, I really get into it and I'm like throwing the ball around the house and sometimes we just take it outside, depending on the weather and the summertime.

Speaker 1:

Um, we've definitely been doing that in the it, depending on the weather. In the summertime we've definitely been doing that, and it's fall right now and it's been raining like crazy, so I haven't been able to enjoy it as much. In the winter It'll be a little bit less too, because we have crazy, crazy winds and just a lot of cold where I am here in Alaska. So a lot of it is taking place indoors, but oftentimes, like in the summertime, it's all outdoors. Like I legit like, put on music and my headphones and I'm dancing around in the backyard and I live on 40 acres, nobody can see me and I'm just doing my thing, playing with my dog. That is my workout routine.

Speaker 1:

And then I come upstairs to get ready for my day, but before I even turn on my computer, come upstairs to get ready for my day, but before I even turn on my computer, I have a moment where I just sit down and journal. And this is my time to like, deeply connect in with God, deeply connect in with myself. What is it that I need during this day, this week, like what am I, what am I wanting to accomplish, what am I feeling? And really giving thanks for what I have, and just like really connecting in with my creator, with you know, and that could be whatever it is for you, but this is what it is for me and that is just such a grounding time, such a grounding time.

Speaker 1:

And then, when it's time for me to get ready for my day, that first 30 minutes of my day I open up my computer lid and I do not check emails, I do not check social media, none of that whatsoever. I'm usually sitting here with a cup of tea and I am prioritizing what it is that I need to create. I do not spend my time responding. Instead, I spend my time creating. That is the beginning part of my workday, and then I'll get into everybody else's needs my team, you know emails that are coming into me, people asking questions, like all of the stuff that is that comes later in my day, and then actually, y'all. I only work about four hours a day. That is it for me. By lunchtime I'm done, and so I've already. By lunch, I have already gotten my crockpot meal in. I've already gotten all of my work done for the day. I've already taken care of my needs, my workout, all of the things by lunchtime, and that frees up so much of the time for me.

Speaker 1:

And I'm going to tell you this is not what my time looked like. This is actually the very first year of my entire life where all four kids are finally in school. My littlest just went to kindergarten. So it's been 14 years, because my oldest is 14. He just entered his high school years. Oh, my word. So it's been 14 years because my oldest is 14. He just entered his high school years. Oh, my word. So I have a kindergartner, I have a high schooler, I have a third grader and a fifth grader as well, and so all of them, for the first time in my life, are in school. So this is clearly not what it looked like beforehand, but it looked similar.

Speaker 1:

Right, I still woke up with my kids, I was still getting ready with my kids, we were still eating a great meal together and I was getting that crock pot meal ready, you know, right around the same time. Sometimes it's an Instapot later in the, in the afternoon. It's like it really depends on what we're doing. Sometimes it's like leftovers, so I don't even have to bother like cooking whatsoever. I make sure to plan at least two nights of that per week in my schedule so that I don't have to worry about that. So I'm making like little adjustments here and there, and even when I was working and I had a nanny who would come to my home to watch my little ones and I would go you know, need to use the restroom so I would leave my office and, of course, before I could go to the restroom, I'm saying hello to my kids, I'm checking in with them, because God forbid you pee without saying hello first, right, then taking care of what I needed to. Sometimes I would eat a snack.

Speaker 1:

When my kids were super young, I was nursing in between, like coaching clients and all of those things, and so, yeah, my days looked really different. But I still made sure that by midday, like my work was done and that there was nothing else for me to give there. And I've set myself up for that to occur, so that I'm not the one who's doing all of the work, and that's a whole different episode, but I made sure that I had the support systems in place to make that happen. And when my kids were younger, those other support systems were absolutely critical as well, for me too, and, of course, when I was building a business and things were not successful, having a nanny was not an option. There was a time where I had house cleaners too. It's not something that I find necessary right now in my life. Maybe when things get crazy or chaotic or there's something else that occurs in my life, we'll have that again, but right now it feels doable and manageable, so I don't need it. Hey, I'm going to be 100% straight with you.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

So after lunch and usually I cook something really really well I normally have like leftovers set out. I also make sure that I set out other things, too that during the weekend that we planned for that are really really healthy and really solid. So I come from a Hispanic background, so I love things like tacos and burritos, and those things are tamales, like. Those are things that are like staples in this house almost. So you always see me eating something along those lines for lunch. Sometimes, if we didn't have eggs and sausage for breakfast, I'll have it for lunch instead, along with some a little bit of greens on my plate as well, and so there's like a wide variety of foods that I will eat during this time, but usually it's already something that I've cooked before, if it's, like you know, a meal that we've had before. Sometimes it's soup, bone broth, like all sorts of things Like my.

Speaker 1:

My meals are usually like a really well-rounded meal, and then it's me time after that, like I just, you know, a full day I would say a half day of work is sometimes it's a lot Like I pack in so much to make sure that my time is really, really used Well, like everything that I do is something that really lights me up and there's nothing else. And then by the end, when I've had my meal, it's like okay, it's me chill time and that I use that time to read, I use that time to sew I love quilting, I love cross-stitch Like that is time that I do that. And sometimes I'll go out in backyard and play fetch with my dog, you know something along those lines. And then I'll come in my home after this time with myself and that's my time to do a quick tidy up. I'll do the dishes, I'll throw in a load of laundry if I need to. Most of my laundry is done on Fridays anyway, so I normally don't, unless something is like needed, you know, whatever the case may be, but it's my time to just like clean up real quick. I'll vacuum up, put a few things away.

Speaker 1:

I live a really minimalist life and I say that it's very minimalist life and I say that it's very, very sparingly because I will tell you that it's not like like a hyper minimalist. Like I have things that light me up but I don't have a lot of things because I don't want to clean a lot of things. My living room, legit, takes me five minutes to clean up and that is including the cleaning the floors and mopping them, because I don't keep a lot of stuff lying around. I don't have a lot of things that can be left lying around, right, it's just not a thing. And my kids I've set boundaries in place with them where when you're done with a toy, especially in the living room, you need to take it back upstairs.

Speaker 1:

It does not belong in this space. Like the most messiest thing that not belong in this space, like the most messiest thing that we have in our house outside of the kitchen, because the kitchen is like always super well used, is going, is legit, like the art cabinet. So in my dining room I have, like this dining room that seats everybody, and then we have like a, like a, a hutch, a cabinet hutch where, like normal people I think, put dishes and stuff. And in my family, because my, my kids are so artsy and I'm so artsy, we have, like we've turned it into an art cabinet. So that's where the paint and all the paper and their art kits and their projects and on the bottom it's all our family games.

Speaker 1:

So we have a lot going on and that section is very busy all the time and so I will all the time. All the time I'm having to adjust that and clean it up because somebody left you know, a paintbrush out or the pencils around, or there's pencil shavings, or you know their artwork that they left out to dry needs to be put away, and that kind of stuff. So I always take care of that. The kitchen is always cleaned up the floors, of course and then I'm able to move on to other things. Right now I'm a full-time student that is finishing up. I cannot wait, cannot wait. Neurobiology is no joke, y'all, and I'm going to be done with that here very shortly.

Speaker 1:

And it's really been like so time consuming for me and one thing that's been throwing a lot of my life into a different space of out of balance, so to speak. And it's not that I feel out of balance, it's like it becomes a priority that is outside the things that I really, really want to prioritize. So I've had to put off attending my kids' practice and things like that so that I can work on doing my schoolwork and focusing on, you know, lab assignments and things like that. It's not easy to do that and I'm so grateful that is going to be done, so that when my kids come home from school, my husband picks them up from school, brings them home and then we're focusing on home life. Right, it's like getting ready for sports. Maybe it's jumping in the shower real quick for a kid. You know, they're a little bit older, so I don't have to, like um, worry about bath time so much anymore. And we're eating whatever meal it is that I had set out, or whatever is in the crock pot, whatever it could be like. That is, this is our family time. And then we're on the road, we're doing our thing, and then we get to come back and in the night. So I have a really strict rule that when everybody goes to bed, my kids are put to bed. They're done by 7.30. They're in bed and we are like the day is over, right, it's my time.

Speaker 1:

During this time it is not for me to go pick up all the things that were left behind. I'm not cleaning the house, I'm not taking care of schoolwork, I am not working, I'm not checking my email, I'm not on social media. Like I have a really, really strong boundary here. Like this is time for me, so I'll use it to take a shower, take a bath, do a little facial. I will connect with my husband. It's our intimate time, right? It's our time to watch a movie together. It's our time to connect.

Speaker 1:

So I use a lot of my evenings for my husband as well, and I I read, I do a lot of reading and journaling. So at the end of my day I'm taking assessment of, like what happened in my life what, how did today go? Like, how am I feeling? And then I shared in my last episode the five habits of a thriving mom. Is really like setting yourself up for success by assessing, like what happened, what worked, what didn't, why did it not work, why did it, why did it work? And then being really strategic about how I'm going to plan the next day. And so I'm very well aware of what it is that I need to do in my, my next day. Like was I able to pack my kids lunch? Like sometimes things get a little busy and we're not able to do it, and so I know, when I wake up in the morning, like that will be one of the tasks that I need to get done. So nobody is like freaking out, nobody's, like running around, like, yes, we have those moments sometimes, but a lot of it is negated because I took the time, five minutes, to like assess, okay, where are we, what are we doing and how can we do it better if needed, if necessary. That's what I do and so it's really really like intentional living.

Speaker 1:

Here's another thing about a lot of people say, well, how do you have time to like do all of the homesteading stuff? And I will tell you, like when I'm cleaning the house, I'm like watering plants or watering the garden, like that's part of it too. But at the weekends is really when we get to have that reset right. That is the the. The weekends is really my time to ground myself and my family into homesteading. This is their time to like plant and work with the animals and handle big projects right. Like we have endless projects that we are doing as homesteaders literally 40 acres in Alaska. There is so much to do. But I know during this time it's our time about connecting, and we're connecting through homesteading and family projects and just being present with the kids, and this is where a lot of that, that simplicity, is being brought into our life. Yes, we're working hard on building a new garden space. Yes, we're building a new chicken coop.

Speaker 1:

Yes, we had to, like you know, redo some wiring, which caused us to like have to get a backhoe and dig up some things in our backyard, and like there's projects that never end, I'm telling you they don't ever end. And so, instead of getting bogged down in it, we just pick one or two and we like that becomes our family rhythm and we just do it together, like you know. Or it's time to harvest the potatoes, it's time to harvest the garden Like it's so fun to go do those things together. It's time to can those things, time to make jelly, and like that is our family time. We do these things together.

Speaker 1:

We've set a rhythm to make it happen and I'm telling you it's not an easy balance, necessarily, like there's these ebbs and there's flow. But balance isn't a destination. It's an ever evolving practice of checking in with yourself, honoring your limits and making sure that what matters gets your energy and nothing else. So that's really like where I focus a lot of my time and attention and how I just like get it all done. So, to speak right, and I do have people in my life who are very supportive, like I have my husband who's taking my kids to school, and I have my husband who's picking them up from school and a lot of times he's doing the running around with sports as well, and a lot of people don't have that, but he knows that that is so necessary for me in order to thrive.

Speaker 1:

And I've put that boundary in place, saying I need support because I don't have unlimited energy. Like I, I need this support. Right, I'm in bed by 10 every single night because I know that I need my sleep, so, so, so, so much in order to function during the day, not even just thrive, like I just need sleep to function. And then I have these things in my day. That's going to give me the energy. I'm making sure that I'm eating very well. I'm drinking the teas that are supporting me throughout my day. I'm getting sure that I'm eating very well. I'm drinking the teas that are supporting me throughout my day. I'm getting my alone time, which, again, is not something that I've always had, and I know that many of you listening in are like well, not all my kids are in school. I've got toddlers, I've got babies and girl, I get you, because I was there too.

Speaker 1:

There was a time where that was so important and it wasn't that I didn't get my time. Okay, I have always, always made sure that I've gotten my time I'm not saying a hundred percent right. Sometimes kids are fussy, sometimes they get sick, sometimes they need you in these moments, but I made boundaries around things I talk about in the last episode. This was such a big deal. They were like oh, that quiet time was genius right. Like no matter your ages, of your kids, you're teaching them that this is the time that is quiet time, and you can do that no matter who your child is, no matter what is going on in your life. We can have these moments if we make sure that we're setting up the boundaries right and we are honoring those boundaries for ourselves. And it doesn't have to be an hour long thing for quiet time, whatever. It could be five minutes, 10 minutes, like. Sometimes. It's just a matter of training ourselves and our bodies and our children to honor those as well.

Speaker 1:

Another thing that I do on the weekends is I take a step back and I assess, like every I talked about this in the last episode too what is it that I want going on here, like what's working in my life, what's not working in my life. And yes, I do that on like a daily thing. But my weekend is like the time to like really step back and be like okay, what is it that I need to do here? What do we have coming up in our schedule? What is it that I need to accomplish during this time? Like what do we have going on? And sometimes I'm deleting things off the calendar. I'm rescheduling appointments if there's too much like I make sure that I'm not overcrowding my life during a given week and I have set things that I want to get done during the week.

Speaker 1:

It might be a project that I'm working on, it might be homework assignments that I have to take care of. It might be like homesteading stuff Like I've got to. You know, raspberries are in right now. That's like the thing on my mind. We got to go pick all of our raspberries. We got gotta like clean them all up, get ready for freezer stuff and canning jellies and things like that.

Speaker 1:

So, like those things I will put on my list and that's my to-do list for the week. I don't have to-do list for the day because you never know what comes up in a day, right Like the day, can be destroyed very, very quickly in a matter of moments, sometimes depending on, like, what's happening in life and the kids and all the things Right. But I know that if I put three to five things down on a list for the week to get done, that those things will get done. Some days nothing will get done and other days three out of the five things will get done because I'm able to invest in that and whatever, like you know, the gates open up, life works out. It just happens. I know that in my week sometime during that time, I will have that time In a given day. I can't necessarily plan for that, so I make sure that I have, like, my list for the week and that just like takes off so much of the pressure and allows me to feel complete at the end of the week as well, and enlist my kids right.

Speaker 1:

Even if you have young kids, they can still help you with all of the things that you have going on. They can be part of your dance party workout. Little kids can be part of your yoga routine. Little kids can be part of your dance party workout. Little kids can be part of your yoga routine. Little kids can be part of your quiet time. Little kids can be part of going. You know picking berries in your backyard, like they can be part of all of these things too.

Speaker 1:

So, anyway, I'm going to wrap up this episode by reiterating that balance is not about having everything perfectly aligned all the time. That is not what happens in my life. It's about being in tune with yourself and knowing where to place your energy. So I really want to encourage all of you if you haven't listened to the last episode, go do that and really take some time to assess your own lives and routines and give yourself permission to flow with the seasons. Right, we're, we're in seasons. Seasons are shifting, seasons are changing. Yes, you know, all of my kids are in school.

Speaker 1:

This is a whole new season for me that I'm still exploring. It's taking me a lot of time actually to navigate. Like, what do I do with this extra time that I have on my hands? And I don't really have a lot of extra time on my hands, but it feels like I do because I have so much more quiet time, right, but I'm still having to do all of the things when school lets out here in a couple of weeks it's gonna be like a whole new world for me and then I'll be exploring, like what works for me, what doesn't.

Speaker 1:

At the end of the day, the key to thriving is not doing it all. I'm going to tell you this. Okay, it's knowing what to let go of, where to focus and how to give yourself grace in the process. Okay, so much, goodness. I hope that is all helpful for you. It answers all sorts of questions. If not, dm me and Instagram. I am totally here for you. I love sharing my stories and I'm happy to dive deeper if you need anything. I am so grateful you turned into the Postpartum University podcast. We've hoped you enjoyed this episode enough to leave us a quick review and, more importantly, I hope more than ever that you take what you've learned here, applied it to your own life and consider joining us in a postpartum university membership. It's a private space where mothers and providers learn the real truth and the real tools needed to heal in the years postpartum. You can learn more at wwwpostpartumucom. We'll see you next week.