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!