Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast – Episode 313

Host: Lisa Bass
Episode Title: Can Homemakers Balance It All? Q&A on Motherhood, Home Birth, Babywearing, Farmhouse Updates, and More!
Date: October 28, 2025

Overview

In this solo Q&A episode, Lisa Bass—a mother of nine, author, and seasoned homemaker—takes questions from her audience about balancing homeschooling, homemaking, and from-scratch cooking. She also gives candid updates on her family’s historic-inspired farmhouse build, shares tips for adding character to homes, discusses babywearing essentials, explains her approach to home birth, and offers practical business and family balance advice for work-from-home families. Lisa’s responses are honest, experience-driven, and down-to-earth, emphasizing flexibility, realistic expectations, and the value of involving family in home and business life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Farmhouse Build and Renovation Updates

• Current Status:

  • They are in the thick of their historic “new old” house build.
  • Awaiting a delayed batch of custom casement windows which has put some interior work on hold.
  • Exterior progress continues with focus on wood siding, painting, and historical trim details.
  • The build process is slow (“slowly but surely”) due to choosing authentic, time-consuming historic methods and materials.

• Historic Details:

  • Detailed wood siding, crown molding, and gable end returns to ensure a truly “old” look.
  • Lisa highlights the impact of proportions and symmetry in historic house design (“Even the simplest old houses had a certain beauty because of paying attention to the form and the proportions…” [09:37]).

• Lessons Learned:

  • The importance—and challenge—of painting all sides of siding for longevity.
  • Help was brought in for painting when their own labor proved too slow.
  • Contrasts her approach with her sister’s faster, more conventional build (“We started back in February—they are already at drywall!” [10:57]).

• Simplicity Tips:

  • A historic look is possible even with a simpler, smaller house and fewer windows.
  • Key features: wood siding, good proportions, minimal but thoughtful details.

“I do think one of the details that makes a huge difference—and I know people don’t want to hear it—is the wood siding.” – Lisa (16:40)

2. Homemaking Q&A Highlights

• Can You “Have It All” as a Homemaker?

  • “You can homeschool, have a clean house, and cook from scratch, but you can only have two?”
  • Lisa empathizes with the struggle, noting it depends greatly on children’s ages, reading abilities, outside obligations, and personalities within the family (“We don’t have to put perfection expectations on ourself… You can’t do all of it all the time.” [02:01]/[44:24])
  • Talks candidly about seasons when her husband Luke is home to help, and seasons when she manages solo. Flexibility and teamwork are key.

• Notable Family Dynamics:

  • Example of her sister’s super-organized family vs. the chaos of her own household.
  • Importance of not comparing oneself unfairly, as every family has different personalities and skillsets.

“Some people can do all three of those things and do it without being stressed out and have a large family… We can’t always compare ourselves because we’re not all the same people.” – Lisa (44:15)

• Teamwork and Shifting Priorities:
  • Her oldest children take on tasks like meal prep.
  • Quick, simple meals and “everyone cleaning on Saturday” are part of the rhythm.

3. Babywearing and Woven Wraps

• Babywearing Essentials:
  • Lisa is devoted to her woven wraps for babywearing (“I cannot live without a wrap with a newborn.” [34:33])
  • Recommends Didymos Prima Natural woven wrap (size 6) for durability and comfort.
  • Shares that woven wraps don’t stretch out like stretchy wraps—making them ideal for bigger families or heavier use.
  • Advocates having two wraps for practicality (spit-up, food, laundry).

“If I were to be choosing one wrap and one wrap only and say, I am pregnant with my first baby and I’m going to have 10 kids... I would 100% invest in a woven wrap.” – Lisa (35:34)

• Practical Details:
  • Woven wraps last through multiple children, can be found used (Poshmark).
  • Shares tips on wrapping tightly for comfort; plans to do a tutorial video.

4. Home Birth and Birth Preferences

• Water Birth vs. Bradley Method:
  • Lisa prefers the Bradley Method for home birth, emphasizing relaxations and specific positioning.
  • Tried laboring in water once but found it less effective for her approach.
  • Recognizes others’ preferences: “We all have our things. And because of that, no, I… never switched back after that.” [40:19]

5. Adding Character to a Home on a Budget

• DIY and Inexpensive Strategies:
  • Use beadboard on ceilings and walls for instant country character.
  • Painting furniture, slipcovers, thrifted curtains, and lots of DIY sewing.
  • Recommends “Country House Living” and books by Gil Schaefer for inspiration.

6. Kitchen and Dairy Q&A

• New Kitchen Details:

  • Installing a Lacanche Clooney range and a Thornhill Ranges wood cook stove (“I’m, I’m really looking forward to it.” [21:55])
  • Hopes to use the wood stove for baking sourdough bread in winter.

• Raw Milk Use:

  • Even after cream is skimmed, Lisa finds the milk delicious for drinking, smoothies, and chocolate milk for kids.
  • Suggests no guilt in just drinking it, though it can also be used for yogurt or kefir.

7. Family Business and Division of Labor

• Managing Work, Business, and Family:
  • Lisa and Luke have been working together at home for 7+ years; their roles have evolved over seasons.
  • Lisa handles most homemaking, business planning, and food; Luke excels at homeschooling, home construction, and farm work.
  • Household division of labor shifts as older children become more capable (oldest daughter edits videos, other kids cook).
  • Communication and regular recalibration of duties are essential for maintaining balance.

“There needs to be a lot of communication, making sure that both partners feel like they have a role and that it suits their giftings.” – Lisa (58:25)

8. Involving Family in Homebuilding

• Worth Doing the Work Yourself?
  • Lisa confirms it’s been rewarding (and necessary) for Luke and herself to be deeply involved in the build.
  • Practical realities: sometimes professionals aren’t available, so they step in.
  • Both satisfaction and cost-saving are worth the “survival mode” required.

“Even if you aren’t like doing the work yourself, you’re still going to be really involved… at least if you’re building any kind of custom home.” (49:23)

9. Resources and Sister Shoutouts

• All three of Lisa’s sisters have YouTube channels:
  • Ashley: New Hartford Farm Company (real farming)
  • Laura: Our Oily House (organized homemaking/essential oils)
  • Andrea: Our Sweet Sunny Days (budget décor, family, and bright design)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [09:37] “Even back in the day, the simplest houses had a certain beauty because of paying attention to the form and the proportions and the dimensions of everything that we really don't do today.” – Lisa

• [21:55] “I'm designing the dream kitchen right now, so that is what we went with. And I'm, I'm really looking forward to it.” – Lisa (on Lacanche and Thornhill Ranges stoves)

• [35:34] “If I were to be choosing one wrap and one wrap only… I would 100% invest in a woven wrap.” – Lisa

• [44:15] “Some people can do all three of those things and do it without being stressed out and have a large family… We can’t always compare ourselves because we’re not all the same people.” – Lisa

• [58:25] “There needs to be a lot of communication, making sure that both partners feel like they have a role and that it suits their giftings.” – Lisa

Timestamp Index of Important Segments

• [02:13] – Farmhouse build and renovation update
• [09:37] – Historic house proportions and design
• [16:40] – Simplicity tips for an “old house” look
• [21:46] – Kitchen/oven choices (Lacanche, Thornhill stoves)
• [27:46] – Raw milk uses
• [34:33] – Babywearing, woven wrap recommendations
• [40:19] – Home birth, Bradley Method vs. water birth
• [44:02] – “Can you have it all?” Real talk
• [49:14] – Family labor and ownership in building
• [55:43] – Business & homemaking division of labor, balancing roles

Final Thoughts

Lisa’s episode is packed with real-life, nuanced answers to the perennial homemaker’s dilemma: balancing work, family, home, and one’s own ideals. Her advice is practical, personal, and refreshingly free of perfectionism. This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking encouragement or honest perspective on modern homemaking—and a reminder that seasons shift, priorities change, and “doing it all” is rarely the point.

For more:

• Visit Lisa’s blog: farmhouseonboone.com
• YouTube: Farmhouse on Boone
• Check out Simple Sourdough and Simple Sewing Series via links in show notes.