PJ Jonas

Tag: PJ’s Soap Box

  • Lady on the Hill

    Last summer we took the children to visit the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.  We absolutely loved it. While shopping at their retail store, I picked up the book, Lady on the Hill* by Howard Covington.   It’s the story of how the Biltmore Estate  managed to stay in the family and become a profitable venture…

  • Mean Mom Pledge

    Have you ever been accused of being a Mean Mom?  I would certainly hope so!  I know that every time I have been told I’m a Mean Mom, I respond with, “Good.  I’m supposed to be.” Afterall, It has never been my goal to please my children.  Instead, my goal has always been to raise…

  • What Kind of Magnet Are You?

    What Kind of Magnet Are You?

    A few months ago, we had some teenage girls staying with us for a week.  One evening, I went up and talked with the girls in Brett’s room for several hours.  We had a great conversation and a great time.  One of the girls said to me, “I wish you could come back to where…

  • Alone Time

    Alone Time

    Ever have those moments where you think you’re talking to someone, only to turn around and discover that you are the only person in the room? I’ve had a few of those lately. It’s making me wonder whether I’m losing my sanity, or just losing my hearing.   But it got me thinking…   It’s…

  • Do Your Children Use Their Brains to Think?

    Do Your Children Use Their Brains to Think?

    Now that the construction is finished at our new farm, Jim and I have a lot of our time freed up.  We’ve been talking about where to spend some of that time when it comes to Goat Milk Stuff and in what direction we want to take the business. More wholesale? More internet? More agri-tourism? Since we’re focusing…

  • Simplify Life by “Batching” Your Decision Making

    Simplify Life by “Batching” Your Decision Making

    I don’t know about you, but my day is full of decision making.  From the moment I wake up til the moment I go to sleep (and often while I’m trying to fall asleep) I’m making decisions.   Decisions for myself What should I wear? When should I exercise? What should I have for breakfast?…

  • 3 Ways To Challenge Your Children

    3 Ways To Challenge Your Children

    A few months ago, Jim and I had to make a quick run to Sam’s Club.  While we were gone, a goat (Zipporah) unexpectedly went into labor and Emery (age 12) had to deliver his first baby goat with his older siblings cheering him on (and Mom on speaker phone giving him directions).   Despite his…

  • Privacy Issues

    Privacy Issues

    When I first started blogging about my life, I encountered a lot of fear from people that I knew. The general consensus seemed to be that if I put photos of my children and talked about them online, they were going to be stolen or harmed in some way.  And people were very verbal about…

  • What Nelson Mandela Taught Me About Parenting

    What Nelson Mandela Taught Me About Parenting

    I’m always looking for good movies to watch with the children.  I believe that an incredible story with an incredible message can teach and shape and mold the children’s characters.  It can also help them remember what they’ve learned because visual images when connected with emotion are very powerful. So when Jim and I watched…

  • Times of Challenge

    Times of Challenge

    Jim decided this past weekend that he was going to get me out of bed at 5:45 every morning so we could go to the YMCA and work out.  Now, anybody who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person. Left to my own, I normally wake up without an alarm clock between 8 and…

  • 7 Principles for Non-Annoying Bragging

    7 Principles for Non-Annoying Bragging

    While we were vacationing with my Mom at Disney World, the cast members brought out some hula hoops.  My children all have their own weighted exercise hula hoops and they use them all the time.  So when Indigo saw the hoops, she went running over and started to use one.   We were soon joined…

  • Expectations vs Reality

    Expectations vs Reality

    When we first got goats 7 years ago, we were completely new to farm animals.  I read a lot of books and did a lot of online research, and thought I was prepared and knew exactly what to expect.  Hah! I soon discovered that despite all my “preparation” I didn’t have a clue what I…

  • Limiting Technology and Encouraging Creativity

    Limiting Technology and Encouraging Creativity

    Being a homeschooling mom, I work hard to make sure that my children reach their full potential.  To me, that means giving them many opportunities to work hard, a wide selection of good books to read, and plenty of down time to be creative. Most of you are aware of the childrens’ roles in Goat…

  • Teamwork

    Teamwork

    I received a phone call last week from a woman who had just discovered we were building a new soap room in Scottsburg.  We had a nice conversation and then she made a comment that stuck with me.  She asked me how long we had been in business and when I told her four years…

  • Are Children Ever Too Young to Work?

    Are Children Ever Too Young to Work?

    I took the youngest five children (Fletcher, Greyden, Hewitt, Indigo, and Jade) food shopping with me the other day.   I pushed a cart, Greyden pushed a cart, Hewitt pushed the “car” cart holding the girls, and Fletcher walked on his crutches.  I sent Greyden and Fletcher off to fill their cart with cereal, oatmeal,…