Keeping up with Children's Activities and Meals

1. Have a large "at-a-glance" calendar. Place it on the counter by the telephone. Write any appointments, deadlines or activities on it with a colored pencil. Put the person's name or initials followed by the event. Use different color pencils for each name. Use the same color for the same person. Everyone can glance at the calendar and know what is going on by color.
   
   
2. Have a large calendar on the wall. Make sure it has big squares representing the days of the month. Write down everything including meal choices on which each member of the family has decided. This way, there will not be any "what are we having for dinner" questions or who chose it.
   
   
3. Organize your day by time. Clip all papers from camp counselors, childcare teachers or anything from the school for the upcoming school year in chronological order on the refrigerator. Once a week, make a schedule of the following weeks' events, organized by day. Each day is organized by time. This schedule is posted on the refrigerator. Don't forget to add who is to do what to help in the kitchen and other chores.
   
   
4. Keep a diary by the telephone. Each day is a page, and all activities are entered plus meals for the week. You can often refer to it for what happened the previous year around the same time and even look to see if there was a meal you cooked that the family particularly enjoyed.
   
   
5. Plan snacks and meals in advance. Having meals planned in advance can save time, energy and arguments. If you know your weekend is going to be spent mainly in the car, quick, easy to clean up meals and snacks are timesaving and healthy alternatives to stopping at the fast food window. Cut up vegetables the evening before and place in a glass container filled halfway with water. This keeps them extremely crisp. Drain them in the morning and place in the top tray of an ice chest enclosed in a "freezer" baggie. Place sliced fruit in a freezer bag in the same area.

Jodie Lynn is an internationally syndicated parenting/family/health columnist. Her latest family/health books are Mommy-CEO: 5 Golden Rules, 2001 revised edition and Mom CEO (Chief Everything Officer)TM - Having, Doing, and Surviving It All! . Check out the new Mom CEO totes, cups and T-shirts on the ParentToParent.com website and order yours today. All moms are working moms and are the real CEOs in life. Jodie Lynn originated the terms, Mommy CEO, Mom CEO and CEO Mom and all implications in "honoring balance in the life of moms/women" in 1989 and in print since 1996. © 2005 Jodie Lynn, a.k.a. Dr. (Doing Re-runs) Mom CEO of Frugal Living

Share your thoughts about this article with the editor. Just Click Here and tell us what's on your mind.

Copyright 1996 - 2013 "The Dollar Stretcher, Inc." All rights reserved unless specifically noted.

Contact the Dollar Stretcher at:
Dollar Stretcher
PO Box 14160
Bradenton FL 34280
941-761-7805

"The Dollar Stretcher, Inc." does not assume responsibility for advice given. All advice should be weighed against your own abilities and circumstances and applied accordingly. It is up to the reader to determine if advice is safe and suitable for their own situation.

Also In This Week's Issue

• Life insurance from marriage into midlife
• Affordable life insurance after 50? Or 60?
• How to track unclaimed life insurance money
• How to quickly boost your credit score
• Why good manners can boost financial success
• When it's OK to tap your IRA
• 6 cheap, effective home security solutions
• 5 excuses why people don't save for retirement
• Can a 'rapid rescore' help you get a mortgage?
• 5 types of credit unions worth joining
• Estate planning mistakes to avoid
• How to invest in a Roth IRA Video

In The Dollar Stretcher Community

• Dollar Stretching Recipes: Slow cooker refried beans
• Cooking with coffee: Great recipes

Reader Favorites

• Natural homemade shampoo
• Homemade cat food
• Removing pet urine smells
• Cheap dates and family activities
• Auto loan prepayment penalties