Unfortunately, it’s quite commonplace to begin to feel totally trapped in the day-to-day mind-numbing monotony that’s also known as motherhood. Nursing, changing diapers, warming bottles, bathing, doing laundry, picking up toys, making dinner, emptying the dishwasher, helping with homework, shopping for groceries, etc., etc., etc. But, it’s extremely important that we not lose sight of our true purpose… raising grounded, well-rounded, healthy children.

As important as it may be to complete your to-do list each day, it is absolutely imperative that you spend most of your time and energy on your children. They must be your primary focus. Goal number one. And, yes, this means that your laundry may pile up and you may be tripping over toys, but your children won’t remember whether or not they wore clean clothes every day… they will remember that you sat down on the floor with them and played cars.

That being said, you do need to find a way to maintain your household while you instill strong Christian values in your children, and here’s how…

Read Full Article

As any parent knows, adding a child to the family can quickly and drastically alter the environment of any home. From infants to teens, kids come with a lot of “stuff.” What are you supposed to do with it all? Here are a few simple tips to help you teach your children how to get organized and stay that way…

• Bins, boxes, and baskets kept on lower shelves make it easy for your child to put away toys. Label storage containers with both pictures (for young children) and printed words (for preschoolers).
• Better yet, have your child draw pictures for the labels. Or, you can cut out the toys’ logos straight from the original boxes, take photos of the toys, or print the logos directly from the manufacturer websites. And, if your storage containers have handles, luggage tags are a quick and easy way to attach the finished labels.
• Before birthdays, Christmas, or other special gift-giving occasions, sit down with your child to sort through toys together. Guide your child through the decision-making process of which toys to keep and which to donate in order to make room for new toys received as gifts. In fact, take your child with you to the donation center.
• As you fold laundry, separate your child’s clothes into complete outfits. Store them individually in gallon-sized zip-top bags. Keep one bagged outfit in the car, just in case. And, when you travel, squeeze any extra air out of the bags to make packing the suitcase a breeze.
• Provide low hooks for your child to hang up sweaters, pajamas, jackets, book bags, etc. Before bedtime, check the weather forecast with your child. Then, have your child select an appropriate outfit to wear the next day.

So, how did things go? Well, as always, flexibility is key…

My week didn’t exactly play out as originally planned…

Monday

@ 8:30am : BNI 1-to-1 Meeting
AM : [ real neat ] brainstorm session
PM : tidy, dust, & vacuum apartment

Tuesday

@ 7:00pm : Toastmasters Speaker Seminar
AM : [ real neat ] phone calls, client follow-up
PM : play date for Amanda + wash, fold, & put away laundry

Wednesday

@ 7:30am : BNI Chapter Meeting
AM : [ real neat ] blog & website updates
PM : OPEN + park play date for Amanda

Thursday

@ 3:30pm : BNI 1-to-1 Meeting
AM : [ real neat ] phone calls, marketing letters
PM : play date for Amanda + [ real neat ] workshops

Friday

ALL DAY : no school for Amanda = play, play, play !!

What about you? Did your week go as planned? I’d love to hear all about it!

Plan all you want… but if you don’t write it down, it likely won’t get done. Take 10 minutes today to schedule your family’s activities and to do’s for the week. For me, it looks like this:

Monday

@ 8:30am : BNI 1-to-1 Meeting
AM : [ real neat ] brainstorm session
PM : tidy, dust, & vacuum apartment

Tuesday

@ 7:00pm : Toastmasters Speaker Seminar
AM : [ real neat ] phone calls, client follow-up
PM : play date for Amanda + wash, fold, & put away laundry

Wednesday

@ 7:30am : BNI Chapter Meeting
AM : [ real neat ] blog & website updates
PM : OPEN

Thursday

AM : [ real neat ] phone calls, marketing letters
PM : play date for Amanda + [ real neat ] workshops

Friday

ALL DAY : no school for Amanda = play, play, play !!

Now, as you plan out your family’s week, don’t forget to include plenty of quality family time, plus a bit of pampering for yourself!

So, what does your family’s week look like? Do tell (in the comments below)!

This week’s mission is to make a concerted effort to plan ahead!

As you very well may have noticed, there was no Monday Mission last week. I thought that I had planned ahead pretty well for my time away in Michigan and Ontario, but apparently, I didn’t!

My List :

• Set up e-mail autoresponder. Check.
• Add future blog posts to be published while away. Check.
• Pay all bills that will be due while away. Check.
• Pack suitcases. Check.
• Print out driving directions. Check.
• Arrange for overnight accomodations. Check.

So, what did I miss…??

Ha! Well, I neglected to make a plan for our post-vacation week! You know… the one where you’ve arrived home, exhausted from your travels, loathing to unpack and get back into your hum-drum daily routine…

Hence, no Monday Mission for last week, suitcases and tote bag are only mostly unpacked, still no food in the house (Amanda and I will be grocery shopping today), incomplete July newsletter taunting me from the Drafts folder, and the list goes on…

So, needless to say, my goal for this week is to PLAN AHEAD just a bit better. And, by putting my plan in writing and sharing it with you, I’ll be sure to stick to the plan (since I know you’ll hold me accountable). So, here it is…

• Today : laundry and groceries
• Tomorrow : playdates (daytime for Amanda and evening for me!)
• Wednesday : July & August newsletters (or one summer issue?)
• Thursday : dust and vaccuum
• Friday : shopping
• Saturday : update contact management database

So, what about you? Are you a natural when it comes to making plans? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below to share your favorite tips or toughest challenges when planning ahead.