The best way to be efficient is to..........

I have found that the best way to be efficient and maximize productivity is to be VERY prepared.  One of the best ways I have learned to prepared for a great week is through meal preparation.  The first step in this process is to create a weekly menu.  There are many ways in which you can create and post your menu and there are also many ways to come up with your meal ideas.  Here are a few of the things that have worked best for me.  First, one night each week one of my kids gets to choose the meal (and since I have 3 kids this automatically fills up half of the week).  Second, I always have a built in leftover night.  I realize that not everyone loves leftovers, but if they are from the current week they will still be fresh and I cannot handle just throwing away the leftovers.  Another good idea for using leftovers is to build them into another meal.  For example, if we grill chicken on Sunday, I will use the leftovers to make fajitas later in the week.  Third, I make my biggest and most time intensive meals on days when I have more time (aka Saturday and Sunday).  Forth, this family only gets to eat out once per week (unless it's a birthday week or we have special guests visiting us).  My reason for this is two fold.  I know that when eating out, we often eat more and the food is never as healthy as home cooked meals.  I also think that spending a ton of money eating out is not the best use of anyone's hard earned cash.

Another key to meal preparation and being ready for the whole week is to make ONE grocery run for the bulk of all the supplies sometime during the week.  I go to the store on either Friday or Saturday for an hour and get everything I need.  I have a very organized list that is in the order of the aisles.  I also go to the same store every time so that I know exactly where everything is.  For me, wandering around a grocery store looking for items is frustrating and not efficient.  I also make one big trip because constantly going back to the store for items is tough to fit into a busy schedule.

When it comes to posting my menu for everyone to see, I went quite BIG when I moved into my new house last year.  I decided to paint my pantry doors with chalk paint and then I use one side for the weekly menu and I use the other side for my grocery list.  If this is not an option in your house, you could use a dry erase board, chalk board, paper, etc.  Remember, everyone needs to eat and being prepared is the best way to have healthy and tasty meals that everyone will enjoy :)

We never seem to have enough.........

What the one thing that everyone wants more of and we just never seem to have enough?????  My answer to that is.............. TIME!!!!!  Here's the thing about time that sets it apart from everything else.  You can NEVER get time back-ever!  You can earn more money, make more friends, take more trips, buy more stuff, etc.......  But when it comes to time, the second it's gone, it will never come back.  I fear that too many people take time for granted and think things like "I will do it next time or I will get to that tomorrow".  This my friends is the art of procrastination and in the end, you are just making things worse for yourself.  The other thing about time is how much of it we all waste, and social media has become a huge contributor to this problem.  I have found it ever important to be the gate keeper of my time, how it is spent, who it is spent on, and how to be as efficient as possible in order to not waste away my precious time.  In future posts, I will be sharing how I have worked to because a master of productivity in order to get everything done in the least amount of time!  Happy Monday :)

Just Winging It........

How many of you feel like you are just winging it most days?  I can't even begin to explain how my life is a constant sequence of me saying "ok God, how are we going to figure this one out"?  I know that life is always throwing us curveballs and the Devil is alive in so many places.  When I feel like things are becoming difficult or life is just moving too fast, I have to make a conscious effort to just pause and reset my mind.  We often can get to tied up in the "fluff" of life and easily forget about the really important things.  Remember, life is short, enjoy the blessings of each day.  If you feel like you can't see any blessings, look deeper and you will see that they really do exist - you just are't recognizing them............

Conversations With Kids

On a day like today when I have been sitting in front of a computer watching a continuing education seminar for 6 hours, I can't wait to go pick up my kids and have a great kid conversation.  You see, I find that these conversations with my kids are so real, honest, and amazingly refreshing that they help me keep a great perspective on the real issues in life.  My oldest son (with a VERY old soul) will talk about how school isn't really necessary and that I could just teach him everything he needs to know.  My middle man/comedian will tell me some sort of a story about a different kids nerf gun, and my baby girl will tell me about how "someone else" got her into trouble today 😂.  These conversations mean so much to me and that drive home is always something I cherish because they are all contained in the car and they HAVE to talk to me.  Once we get home, they all split into different directions and I have a much harder time with uninterrupted conversations.  Remember that as a parent it is sooooooo extremely important that we always listen to our kids and show them how much we care about what they have to say (even if it's the same conversation most days).  As I always tell my kids, God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason - listen more than you speak😄