She obviously doesn't buy these Self Help programs! I find online when I'm in full internet surfing zone.

My four children are growing older, appetites growing larger,and activities/play date calendars are getting busier. Life gets crazy and organizing our life including planning meals has become a necessity.

 My dad used to tell me "Work smart not hard!" so I've been looking for a solution to keeping the kids fed at a decent hour before their blood sugars crash and the house makes a roller derby rink look inviting. At the beginning of the summer we decided to try and save money by only eating out 2 times a month.  The kids seem to think fast food doesn't count and are constantly asking for subway or taco bell its almost like they are going through withdrawls.  This only motivates me more to get them eating home cooked meals as a habit so eating out can become the treat it used to be when I was a kid.  

After researching different options in meal planning I found this  system  Frugal Moms Guide to Once a Month Cooking That sight is great for planning to cook meals once a month and then freezing them for quick dinners.   I love the planning sheets and substitute my own recipes sometimes.  Another very helpful website a friend told me about is Menu in a box .  It is more for someone who wants to shop once a week and cook daily but be so organized and ready to go its a breeze.  I like the set up there a lot.  They have a lot more menu plans for vegetarians/vegans and gluten free plans.  I would like to plan a cooking day with some friends to plan some good eats for the family! Anyone down?

I have been having my 8 year old and 6 year old daughters take on some chores lately.  Oh they really try every trick in the book to delay chores.  (I wonder where they get that from?!)   This evening when we were done eating dinner I assigned them the task of clearing the table and wiping down the dining room table.  Oh the frustration! Finally my 6 year old just grabbed a washcloth and started, then she started humming and turned to her sister and said "You know Its so much easier just to do it and get it over with. Its kind of fun like a game if you make it one." Such wise words from a 6 year old.   I am so sick of putting things off myself! It really does make things so much harder than they really have to be.  But after chronically procrastinating I have a lot of catching up to do.  Since I am not the most self disciplined person in the world I figured I can use this blog as a motivator.  I plan on blogging everyday about my progress toward my goals. 
Day 1 goals:  Health: Wake up in the morning and go run at the track.  Money: Figure out how much $ I owe and what I am currently spending money on.  Soul: Tai Chi in the evening

In order to reach goals I'm going to need to learn to structure my day more.  Tommorrow I am going to research some techniques for this if you are starting in your 30's.  There has to be some out there.  I am a Generation X mom this can't be that uncommon! Til tommorrow!

It's been a year since I reorganized my kitchen using a how-to book to figure out a system.  I was a little skeptical if the organization would stick but it has!  Everything has a place and it is so much easier to cook now.  I don't spend tons of time looking for everything.  Much more efficient and being a family with four children time is very valuable! 

Aesthics count a alot towards things working too. Since organizing the kitchen I've noticed that the spice area seemed way too busy in comparison to the rest of the cupboards.  My aunt had given me a gift card for crate n barrel for xmas.  I went online a couple weeks ago and got on the crate n barrel outlet site and bought these cute little spice jars. With a label maker in hand I boxed up all my spices and began transferring them to the new plain glass spice jars.  (some of the spices were old so they got thrown out in the process...good spring cleaning).  The results are awesome.  I feel so much better when everything looks neat and is easy to find. 

When I was growing up in the 80's my brother and I were not allowed to watch T.V. before 6 pm (if at all) everyday and then it was only til 8 pm and then we went to bed.  So when we did have spare time instead of plopping in front of the TV we had to entertain ourselves.  I remember playing spy games in the woods behind our house.  I would play outside for hours and hours by myself in my own little world. It really connected me to my creative side. So the no TV thing I actually appreciate now.  I realized the other day that my imagination has never really gone away its just changed from playing house  to people watching here in Portland, OR because we have such an eclectic culture.  So many unique and different souls for me to observe and imagine what their life is like.  I make up stories about them sometimes and then other times poetry just comes to mind.  Since I've been doing that since I can remember I really wonder if I had been allowed to sit in front of the TV for hours every day if I would have lost that?   Also since I am a mom of four and they watch TV a lot more than I did am I inhibiting thier creativity? I run a much more democratic household than the one I was raised in but if TV is going to kill thier creativity I don't know if I can excuse myself for allowing that.  Hmmm,  looks like I will be needing to research this. I'll post any interesting links I get as comments. Also any feedback is greatly appreciated!

I have been wanting to start a website for a long time but didn't know how.  This will be my first attempt and I know that it will be lots of fun as well as a great place to share my ideas, trials, and promote things I believe in.  Since turning 30 a few years ago I have been on a journey of self discovery.  Growing up in the 80's in a very shelthering fundamentalist religon growing up has been a very unique experience for me.  I am facinated with how just being a member of a generation causes so many familiar experiences. One of those characteristics my generation "Generation X" has been known for is procrastination. Maybe that explains why it has taken me so long to finally build this website!