F A M I L Y L I F E |
GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL
I like to be out the door by 8:30am for school and I used to
wake up the kids at 7:30am to do this. One hour was just not
enough time to get everyone ready to go and have it still be a
joyful and peaceful morning without a big rush. So, I adapted
our schedule by a half hour that made a HUGE difference in
our mornings.
7:00-7:30am
I wake up the kids and they come into our bed and get to
watch some great PBS show like Arthur. Their only job for
this half hour is to get dressed in the clothes that I bring to
them in our bed.
7:30-8:00am
Time to brush away that little puppy morning breath and head
downstairs for breakfast. Their only job for this half hour is to
eat breakfast. I make their lunches during this time with some
input from them.
8:00-8:30am
Time to boogie back upstairs for what I call a quicky 15
second toothbrush. Then they have all this time to lollygag
and get their snowpants, boots, coats, hats, and gloves on.
AFTER SCHOOL TIME
3:30-4:30pm
My kids need to decompress from the day before starting on
homework. I let them watch t.v. for one hour. They must
agree on their two shows and I must approve of it or no t.v. for
that hour (it only takes once of losing their privilege for them
to quickly agree the next time). However, they cannot turn on
the t.v. until they get out their homework, planners, notes,
and handouts from school and put them on the kitchen table.
Then they head to the fridge to choose either their fruit or
veggie snack. They must take their first bite before that t.v.
switches on. You would be amazed how much more quickly
they do this in order to turn on the t.v. vs. when I used to have
them do this after t.v. time ended !
4:30-5:30pm
The t.v. goes off and homework comes out. They sit at the
kitchen table and work on homework and help me get ready
for dinner. Before the table is set by the kids, they pack up
their homework and planners and any notes I needed to sign.
If they don't have any assigned homework that day or are too
young for homework, I still have them sit at the table for an
hour. I have workbooks, coloring books, cut & paste projects,
and books that they can read independently. I am trying to
create good homework habits, so I don't end up with
procrastinators that do their assignments the night before in
a rushed lower quality fashion.
DADDY GETS HOME FROM WORK TIME
FIRST
Everyone give Daddy a big hug and kiss and tell him how
happy you are that he is home. No tattletellingling on anyone
as he is walking in the door or being negative and his coat and
shoes aren't even off ! Just tell him how happy he is to be
home. One of the top most important things for a man is to
feel welcomed and glad to be home. It is one of the best
incentives to getting these daddies home from work and to
keep them from staying late... A loving family that is glad and
happy that he is home.
NEXT
Send Daddy upstairs to allow him to transition to coming
home. Let him take off those work clothes, maybe he wants to
grab a quick 5 minute shower (as guys can only do, my
quickest shower is 15 minutes, but guys can somehow do it in
5 minutes). If he is home while the kids are doing homework,
this is perfect - maybe you can have a glass of wine together
while he is sitting at the island while you finish preparing
dinner. My husband is a great one to pitch in and help finish
up the rest of dinner prep.
DINNER TIME
5:30-6:30pm
We stay at the table for a full hour and everyone must stay at
the table the whole time until every single person is done
eating. I tell my children that I miss them and I want to enjoy
their company and hear about their day. We start dinner with
blessing our food and each saying what we are thankful for
today. Then during dinner we ask our kids what was the best
thing about their day, what was the worst thing about their
day (we encourage them a lot on this and how to handle
something differently the next time or help them with their
perspective on the situation), and what three things did they
learned that day.
6:30-7:00pm
Everyone participates in clean-up time after dinner so we can
all get it done quick. Everyone clears their own dishes and
sets them on the counter. Then we have a table and
placemat wiping person, a floor sweeping person, a
dishwasher, a dish dryer, and dish put-awayer. Its so nice in
the morning to wake up to a clean kitchen.
BEDTIME
7:00-7:30pm
Monkey around time. They get to monkey around and do
whatever they want during this time. Dads are particularly
talented in this area! This is a great time for mom to jump into
the tub for herself with a fun magazine or to zip out the door to
go for a walk around the neighborhood with some great and
fun music... a little me time for mommy !
7:30-8:00pm
Bath time. I love them to even take a quicky bath to just wash
away the day and transition into warm jammies and quiet time.
8:00-8:30pm
Parents read to the kids time - we either read from a chapter
book and/or read smaller kids books.
8:30-9:00pm
Kids own reading time to read whatever they want. For the
little ones they can look at picture books and I have them
"read" to me their version of their favorite stories. Another
great time for mom to sneak into the tub or shower herself
and do the final tuck in at 9pm.
9:00-9:15pm
Last potty time, Drink that glass of water, Put another glass of
water on table by their bed, We pray for everyone special in
our lives and for our special intentions, and Final good night,
Lights Out !
9:15-10:00pm
Mommy and Daddy time ! My husband doesn't make it much
past 10pm. He is a super early bird (funny he married a night
owl!) and likes and enjoys getting up at 5:00-6:00am. We have
tea or I am liking warm milk these days (since I am preggo)
and lay in bed and chat about our day while reading books or
magazines, often with some sports highlight show in the
background.
LATE NIGHT OFFICE HOURS
3 nights a week, I work in my home office from 10:00pm -
2:00am. You would be amazed what you can get done with
your whole house sleeping ! I have a little t.v. to keep me
company and I work away. I don't do 2 nights in a row. Maybe
start with one night staying up for one hour after you put the
kids to bed working in your home office. It could even be
sorting through all that dreaded paperwork I know we all have
while watching a great dvd... time really flies when you have a
movie on ! I also like the t.v. season dvds - I love Grey's
Anatomy right now and catch most episodes, but I still love
getting the whole season dvd to watch the shows without
commercials. The second season has 1180 minutes - that's
1180 minutes of office work, computer work, and paperwork I
get done while it's on.
I like to be out the door by 8:30am for school and I used to
wake up the kids at 7:30am to do this. One hour was just not
enough time to get everyone ready to go and have it still be a
joyful and peaceful morning without a big rush. So, I adapted
our schedule by a half hour that made a HUGE difference in
our mornings.
7:00-7:30am
I wake up the kids and they come into our bed and get to
watch some great PBS show like Arthur. Their only job for
this half hour is to get dressed in the clothes that I bring to
them in our bed.
7:30-8:00am
Time to brush away that little puppy morning breath and head
downstairs for breakfast. Their only job for this half hour is to
eat breakfast. I make their lunches during this time with some
input from them.
8:00-8:30am
Time to boogie back upstairs for what I call a quicky 15
second toothbrush. Then they have all this time to lollygag
and get their snowpants, boots, coats, hats, and gloves on.
AFTER SCHOOL TIME
3:30-4:30pm
My kids need to decompress from the day before starting on
homework. I let them watch t.v. for one hour. They must
agree on their two shows and I must approve of it or no t.v. for
that hour (it only takes once of losing their privilege for them
to quickly agree the next time). However, they cannot turn on
the t.v. until they get out their homework, planners, notes,
and handouts from school and put them on the kitchen table.
Then they head to the fridge to choose either their fruit or
veggie snack. They must take their first bite before that t.v.
switches on. You would be amazed how much more quickly
they do this in order to turn on the t.v. vs. when I used to have
them do this after t.v. time ended !
4:30-5:30pm
The t.v. goes off and homework comes out. They sit at the
kitchen table and work on homework and help me get ready
for dinner. Before the table is set by the kids, they pack up
their homework and planners and any notes I needed to sign.
If they don't have any assigned homework that day or are too
young for homework, I still have them sit at the table for an
hour. I have workbooks, coloring books, cut & paste projects,
and books that they can read independently. I am trying to
create good homework habits, so I don't end up with
procrastinators that do their assignments the night before in
a rushed lower quality fashion.
DADDY GETS HOME FROM WORK TIME
FIRST
Everyone give Daddy a big hug and kiss and tell him how
happy you are that he is home. No tattletellingling on anyone
as he is walking in the door or being negative and his coat and
shoes aren't even off ! Just tell him how happy he is to be
home. One of the top most important things for a man is to
feel welcomed and glad to be home. It is one of the best
incentives to getting these daddies home from work and to
keep them from staying late... A loving family that is glad and
happy that he is home.
NEXT
Send Daddy upstairs to allow him to transition to coming
home. Let him take off those work clothes, maybe he wants to
grab a quick 5 minute shower (as guys can only do, my
quickest shower is 15 minutes, but guys can somehow do it in
5 minutes). If he is home while the kids are doing homework,
this is perfect - maybe you can have a glass of wine together
while he is sitting at the island while you finish preparing
dinner. My husband is a great one to pitch in and help finish
up the rest of dinner prep.
DINNER TIME
5:30-6:30pm
We stay at the table for a full hour and everyone must stay at
the table the whole time until every single person is done
eating. I tell my children that I miss them and I want to enjoy
their company and hear about their day. We start dinner with
blessing our food and each saying what we are thankful for
today. Then during dinner we ask our kids what was the best
thing about their day, what was the worst thing about their
day (we encourage them a lot on this and how to handle
something differently the next time or help them with their
perspective on the situation), and what three things did they
learned that day.
6:30-7:00pm
Everyone participates in clean-up time after dinner so we can
all get it done quick. Everyone clears their own dishes and
sets them on the counter. Then we have a table and
placemat wiping person, a floor sweeping person, a
dishwasher, a dish dryer, and dish put-awayer. Its so nice in
the morning to wake up to a clean kitchen.
BEDTIME
7:00-7:30pm
Monkey around time. They get to monkey around and do
whatever they want during this time. Dads are particularly
talented in this area! This is a great time for mom to jump into
the tub for herself with a fun magazine or to zip out the door to
go for a walk around the neighborhood with some great and
fun music... a little me time for mommy !
7:30-8:00pm
Bath time. I love them to even take a quicky bath to just wash
away the day and transition into warm jammies and quiet time.
8:00-8:30pm
Parents read to the kids time - we either read from a chapter
book and/or read smaller kids books.
8:30-9:00pm
Kids own reading time to read whatever they want. For the
little ones they can look at picture books and I have them
"read" to me their version of their favorite stories. Another
great time for mom to sneak into the tub or shower herself
and do the final tuck in at 9pm.
9:00-9:15pm
Last potty time, Drink that glass of water, Put another glass of
water on table by their bed, We pray for everyone special in
our lives and for our special intentions, and Final good night,
Lights Out !
9:15-10:00pm
Mommy and Daddy time ! My husband doesn't make it much
past 10pm. He is a super early bird (funny he married a night
owl!) and likes and enjoys getting up at 5:00-6:00am. We have
tea or I am liking warm milk these days (since I am preggo)
and lay in bed and chat about our day while reading books or
magazines, often with some sports highlight show in the
background.
LATE NIGHT OFFICE HOURS
3 nights a week, I work in my home office from 10:00pm -
2:00am. You would be amazed what you can get done with
your whole house sleeping ! I have a little t.v. to keep me
company and I work away. I don't do 2 nights in a row. Maybe
start with one night staying up for one hour after you put the
kids to bed working in your home office. It could even be
sorting through all that dreaded paperwork I know we all have
while watching a great dvd... time really flies when you have a
movie on ! I also like the t.v. season dvds - I love Grey's
Anatomy right now and catch most episodes, but I still love
getting the whole season dvd to watch the shows without
commercials. The second season has 1180 minutes - that's
1180 minutes of office work, computer work, and paperwork I
get done while it's on.
Share your Family Life tips, tricks, and helpful hints ! E-Mail us at: megamomsgroup@timeoutmom.com |
If you are like the common household, you are buried in
laundry ! It seems to grow and multiple overnight and where
did those clean socks and undewear go? Didn't I just wash
them yesterday ??
Now Moms tell the truth.... Are you the only one that does
laundry in your house? Are you the only one that folds the
laundry and puts it away ? Or puts clean laundry in baskets or
throw it on the bed in the spare room ?
This has got to stop ! If you have any children over the age of
3, they can help with your laundry ! Even 2 year olds can be
taught to put dirty laundry in their own special hampers.
Each room has their own dirty laundry hamper, right in their
room. Then we have an additional hamper in the spare room
just for dirty towels and washcloths - no need to sort this
category - it's already done for you !
Each child has 2 hooks in their rooms. Hook #1 is for pjs that
don't get dirty every night and Hook #2 is for those outfits that
are not dirty enough to put in the dirty laundry hamper (such
as: the 3 outfits your 5 year old daughter has changed into
since she has been home from kindergarten). Before bed,
they put on their pjs and either hang up their not so dirty
clothes or put the dirty ones in the hamper. Then, in the
mornings before they go downstairs, pjs are hung up on the
cute pj hook. We went to Target and the kids picked out their
own cute hooks. Maria picked out these adorable two-toned
pink flower hooks and Mack picked out airplane hooks.
Each child has their own laundry basket. Once I pull clothes
out of the dryer, I quickly sort the laundry by person. Now, if
you have any kids over the age of 6, they can do this for you.
They can pull the clothes out of the dryer and put them in the
proper laundry basket - by person. Once someone's basket is
full, it goes upstairs to their room. If the child is big enough
(like 8 or older) they can carry their own laundry basket up. I
have to admit, I usually carry the laundry baskets up to their
rooms.
Since the age of 4 our kids are responsible to match up their
socks, fold their underwear, fold their pjs, and put them away
in their drawers. Of course, at the beginning I gave them
instructions and showed them how to fold and match and put
the clothes away.
If I have time in the day, I tell the kids it's time to sort their
clean laundry. Then the kids take the rest of the laundry out
of their baskets and lay it on their beds in matching Seasame
Street piles. Short sleeve shirts in one pile, Long Sleeve
shirts in another, pants in another, and shorts in another.
Then, obsessive compulsive Melissa makes outfits out of
these stacks and put them on those hangers that have the
pants clips built right into them (I bought them from a retail
fixture store by the case, Detroit Store Fixture on 8 Mile Road -
fyi). If there are any mismatches, they usually go back in the
clean laundry basket, unless I know absolutely all the laundry
is caught up on - then I put the mismatches in one of their
dresser drawers. I also make a list of these mismatches and
carry it in my purse so I can keep on eye out for bargains that
will complete the outfit. So, my list will say "Need 2 prs navy
shorts, 1 pr forest green shorts, 1 pr kakhi pants for Mack".
Now, the non-OC way is to then teach your kids how to fold
each stack they have made on their bed. Pants and shorts
are easy ones to start with and I would expect that a 5 year
old could do this. Then all the bottoms could go in one
dresser drawer. You could even draw a picture of the
bottoms that they color and you tape to the outside of that
drawer. Next, would be to work on the tops in the same
manner.
Now, I can hear you... Melissa this sounds like a tons of work !
Well, if you do it all for a family of 4 or 5 it is. However, if you
incorporate your kids doing the above steps you will be doing
HALF the work with laundry that you used to do. Try any or all
of the above. Any bit the kids do, is work that you are not
burdened with.... it will take time to train and teach at first.
Then it will be golden - built in free family help is the best!
Guess what else moms ? You will be training your little ones
to be self-sufficient and well functioning adults. Isn't that our
goal? Their laundry won't magically end up being done when
they are on their own - why should it be that way now?
laundry ! It seems to grow and multiple overnight and where
did those clean socks and undewear go? Didn't I just wash
them yesterday ??
Now Moms tell the truth.... Are you the only one that does
laundry in your house? Are you the only one that folds the
laundry and puts it away ? Or puts clean laundry in baskets or
throw it on the bed in the spare room ?
This has got to stop ! If you have any children over the age of
3, they can help with your laundry ! Even 2 year olds can be
taught to put dirty laundry in their own special hampers.
Each room has their own dirty laundry hamper, right in their
room. Then we have an additional hamper in the spare room
just for dirty towels and washcloths - no need to sort this
category - it's already done for you !
Each child has 2 hooks in their rooms. Hook #1 is for pjs that
don't get dirty every night and Hook #2 is for those outfits that
are not dirty enough to put in the dirty laundry hamper (such
as: the 3 outfits your 5 year old daughter has changed into
since she has been home from kindergarten). Before bed,
they put on their pjs and either hang up their not so dirty
clothes or put the dirty ones in the hamper. Then, in the
mornings before they go downstairs, pjs are hung up on the
cute pj hook. We went to Target and the kids picked out their
own cute hooks. Maria picked out these adorable two-toned
pink flower hooks and Mack picked out airplane hooks.
Each child has their own laundry basket. Once I pull clothes
out of the dryer, I quickly sort the laundry by person. Now, if
you have any kids over the age of 6, they can do this for you.
They can pull the clothes out of the dryer and put them in the
proper laundry basket - by person. Once someone's basket is
full, it goes upstairs to their room. If the child is big enough
(like 8 or older) they can carry their own laundry basket up. I
have to admit, I usually carry the laundry baskets up to their
rooms.
Since the age of 4 our kids are responsible to match up their
socks, fold their underwear, fold their pjs, and put them away
in their drawers. Of course, at the beginning I gave them
instructions and showed them how to fold and match and put
the clothes away.
If I have time in the day, I tell the kids it's time to sort their
clean laundry. Then the kids take the rest of the laundry out
of their baskets and lay it on their beds in matching Seasame
Street piles. Short sleeve shirts in one pile, Long Sleeve
shirts in another, pants in another, and shorts in another.
Then, obsessive compulsive Melissa makes outfits out of
these stacks and put them on those hangers that have the
pants clips built right into them (I bought them from a retail
fixture store by the case, Detroit Store Fixture on 8 Mile Road -
fyi). If there are any mismatches, they usually go back in the
clean laundry basket, unless I know absolutely all the laundry
is caught up on - then I put the mismatches in one of their
dresser drawers. I also make a list of these mismatches and
carry it in my purse so I can keep on eye out for bargains that
will complete the outfit. So, my list will say "Need 2 prs navy
shorts, 1 pr forest green shorts, 1 pr kakhi pants for Mack".
Now, the non-OC way is to then teach your kids how to fold
each stack they have made on their bed. Pants and shorts
are easy ones to start with and I would expect that a 5 year
old could do this. Then all the bottoms could go in one
dresser drawer. You could even draw a picture of the
bottoms that they color and you tape to the outside of that
drawer. Next, would be to work on the tops in the same
manner.
Now, I can hear you... Melissa this sounds like a tons of work !
Well, if you do it all for a family of 4 or 5 it is. However, if you
incorporate your kids doing the above steps you will be doing
HALF the work with laundry that you used to do. Try any or all
of the above. Any bit the kids do, is work that you are not
burdened with.... it will take time to train and teach at first.
Then it will be golden - built in free family help is the best!
Guess what else moms ? You will be training your little ones
to be self-sufficient and well functioning adults. Isn't that our
goal? Their laundry won't magically end up being done when
they are on their own - why should it be that way now?
LAUNDRY TIME |
SCHOOL ROUTINE TIME |
1 HOUR BEFORE DADDY GETS HOME TIME |
Okay, here's the deal. Somehow, you can go to bed with a
clean house, wake up to a clean house (or not), but by 3pm it
can somehow be a disaster. How is that ? Well, we are going
to work on getting those kids of yours to do more chores
(more on that later). Regardless, I think everyone in the
house should make an effort 1 hour before Daddy gets home
to restore order to your house and yourself. Yes, I know this
sounds old-fashioned and archaic. Oh well, the reality is that
we want those Daddies to come home to a warm and
comforting home... a place they want to come home to.
I announce the kids that it is now "Crazy Clean-Up Time !" and
they love it. They love to run around like mad all together
picking stuff up. When they were younger, we would sing the
famous Barney Song, "Clean up, Clean up, Everybody,
Everywhere! Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody does their
Share!"
I set out 2 rubbermaids or those big round plastic buckets
(your kids can fit in them - you can get them at Meijer or
Wal-Mart). One is labelled downstairs, One is labelled
upstairs. We set our cutie putie Wesley the Wolf or Lilly the
Lamb timers for 15 minutes. Then everything on the main
floor that is not in it's proper home goes in these bins - it's
either an upstairs item or a downstairs item.
We make it a big and fun race against the clock timer.
Everyone participates and runs around like mad throwing
stuff in one of the two bins. We cheer when we are done
because we always beat that clock.
Then, I lug the upstairs bin upstairs and we set the timer again
for 15 minutes. The rule is that you grab the first thing in the
bin and put it in the correct room - whether it is your item or
not. Usually we can even get that item in the right spot in one
of the upstairs rooms within 15 minutes. Then I start the
cheering again, "Way to Go Team Lierman !" "Whoo Hoo !"
Then we go back downstairs and do the same thing... set the
timer for 15 minutes to get everything back in it's downstairs
spot. When we are done, I have everyone high five and tell
each one of them "Way to Go Mack ! Way to Go Maria ! You
guys are awesome ! Thanks for your help!"
For our last 15 minutes on the timer we get ourselves
straightened up, hair is brushed, ponytails are re-done,
mommy gets out of pj bottoms or sweats, faces washed,
hands washed. We are sparkling, shiny, and smiling crew
when Daddy walks in the door.
clean house, wake up to a clean house (or not), but by 3pm it
can somehow be a disaster. How is that ? Well, we are going
to work on getting those kids of yours to do more chores
(more on that later). Regardless, I think everyone in the
house should make an effort 1 hour before Daddy gets home
to restore order to your house and yourself. Yes, I know this
sounds old-fashioned and archaic. Oh well, the reality is that
we want those Daddies to come home to a warm and
comforting home... a place they want to come home to.
I announce the kids that it is now "Crazy Clean-Up Time !" and
they love it. They love to run around like mad all together
picking stuff up. When they were younger, we would sing the
famous Barney Song, "Clean up, Clean up, Everybody,
Everywhere! Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody does their
Share!"
I set out 2 rubbermaids or those big round plastic buckets
(your kids can fit in them - you can get them at Meijer or
Wal-Mart). One is labelled downstairs, One is labelled
upstairs. We set our cutie putie Wesley the Wolf or Lilly the
Lamb timers for 15 minutes. Then everything on the main
floor that is not in it's proper home goes in these bins - it's
either an upstairs item or a downstairs item.
We make it a big and fun race against the clock timer.
Everyone participates and runs around like mad throwing
stuff in one of the two bins. We cheer when we are done
because we always beat that clock.
Then, I lug the upstairs bin upstairs and we set the timer again
for 15 minutes. The rule is that you grab the first thing in the
bin and put it in the correct room - whether it is your item or
not. Usually we can even get that item in the right spot in one
of the upstairs rooms within 15 minutes. Then I start the
cheering again, "Way to Go Team Lierman !" "Whoo Hoo !"
Then we go back downstairs and do the same thing... set the
timer for 15 minutes to get everything back in it's downstairs
spot. When we are done, I have everyone high five and tell
each one of them "Way to Go Mack ! Way to Go Maria ! You
guys are awesome ! Thanks for your help!"
For our last 15 minutes on the timer we get ourselves
straightened up, hair is brushed, ponytails are re-done,
mommy gets out of pj bottoms or sweats, faces washed,
hands washed. We are sparkling, shiny, and smiling crew
when Daddy walks in the door.
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| www.MegaMomsGroup.com Mothers Entrepreneurial Group Association ~Moms In Business~ |
