How can I do that? First, I am terribly organized. I have lists for my lists. My house isn't perfect, but I know where everything is. My husband doesn't, but that is for another post. I use this pin as a guide to make my own page, but at least you can get the idea of what I include... If you want to buy these, start here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/87607943/three-pack-the-laj-daily-page-notepad
I have a binder of miscellaneous "work" pages from Scholastic, teachers-pay-teachers and the like in a binder for each of my kids. They know they HAVE to do two double sided pages each "business" day. This keeps them busy for about an hour. Some are fun (like grow a grass head), and others stretch their brain. I visit the library to get "educational/themed" videos that take about an hour to watch. They watch one per day. They learned about Bridges, France, Mexican culture, and it's only the end of June!
We go on "family" walks Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's. Sometimes, it's just around the block, but other times we mix it up and go hiking. That is a good hour, but the kids love that they play at the school park at the end of the walk.
Tuesday mornings, I schedule something "fun" with the kids. Whether it's swimming, going to the park, playing with a friend, or turning a big box into a fort, we have FUN. This week, we tie dyed. It was AWESOME. It's my favorite part of the whole entire year. When we get done, I put my nose to the grindstone and work hard. If you get an email back at seven in the evening, you know why.
Wednesday, the kids pitch in to help with the business in some way. Sometimes, they operate shred the pile of papers, other times they label bulk bags, or take out the office trash. They know they have a valued part of not just our family, but the business we own as well. Wednesday evenings, I match sales, coupons, and prepare the reusable bags and grocery list.
Thursday, the oldest gets to cook dinner, or lunch, his choice. He has really surprised us with his interest in cooking. He pulls recipes from my Food Network magazine. This makes him feel like he has skills. I have the youngest vacuum the dining room floor. He is paid for his work. Mainly because I HATE vacuuming. This is the day I map out what I failed to do earlier in the week, and I catch up. Sometimes, I work until ten at night. I also finish all grocery shopping while I am delivering coffee. (I'm a two birds with one stone kind of gal).
Friday, I try to leave only Friday's work for Friday. As soon as it's all done, I let myself have the rest of the weekend with my family. We clean up the house, pick out movies to watch, and decide how we are going to spend our weekend.
Church is a priority on Sunday, but we go the 8 am service so the rest of the day is open. I spend about two hours cutting coupons and looking over the sale ad's. They will be matched with other ads come Wednesday. I used to be a lot more careful about only using coupons and only purchasing things on sale. However, I don't have that much time to invest at this point. I employ the "less is more" philosophy.
It isn't perfect... life is like that. I have a lot of flexibility with owning the business with my husband, even if it's not ideal. Sometimes I forget things, sometimes the kids eat late. We are all works in progress, and even if I can raise kids that feel valued, happy, and talented, I think I have done okay in this life :).
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