1. Get in the habit of writing To Do Lists. Put the list in order of importance, urgent, today, tomorrow. Do what you can. Put on your to do list, eat breakfast, have a shower, iron your clothes, put on your make up and do your hair. It may sound silly but you need to remember to make looking after yourself a number one priority, so put it at the top of your list every day. Write your To Do List the night before and check your diary so you don’t forget early morning appointments, band practice, etc.

2. Pack lunches the night before, including your own with healthy snacks. This way wether you are at home or out and about you have no excuse not to eat well. Even if you leave the sandwiches until the morning. Emptying, washing out and re-filling 3 kids drink bottles can take 5 minutes.

3. Iron the kids clothes and your clothes for tomorrow the night before. Maybe hubby could do this for you whilst you supervise the children brushing their teeth and tuck them into bed.

4. Wash up the dinner dishes and put them away, put out the rubbish, and clean the kitchen so you have a fresh start in the morning.

5. Get the children to strip their beds on a Saturday morning ang put them in the laundry with their towels.

6. Get the children to go into all the rooms and pick up anything that is theirs and put it away. Tell them anything that is left out goes into the bag for the Salvation Army. They soon learn to pick up after themselves.

7. Pick an afternoon or Saturday or Sunday morning where the whole household is designated certain chores to do in 1 hour. Include washing and vacuuming the car. Teach the children that by looking after your house and car and maintaining them they will last longer. You will all feel alot better when the car and house are sparkling clean. Then go out and celebrate together and have a family picnic.

8. Wake up 1 hour before the children, incorporate 1/2 hour exercise and your shower and dressing so when the children get up you are ready to go.

9. Spend 20 minutes of your day pampering yourself. It does not have to cost money. File your nails, pluck your eyebrows, way your legs, moisturise your body. Make yourself a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate and relax with your feet up and read a book or magazine. Don’t feel guilty. You won’t resent the children and the housework if you spend some quality time on yourself. If this means you have to pop the kids in front of the t.v. for 20 minutes it won’t hurt them. Even if you are working full-time, when you get home from work you and your partner can take 20 minutes each away from the children to wind down before joining together again for the family meal. The rest of the evening will run a lot smoother if you can do this.

10. Teach the children to respect you and do as they are told straight away. Don’t give them the privileges without earning them. If they haven’t done their homework, had a shower, completed their chores, brushed their teeth then no tv, computer, bed time can be put back, etc, etc. If they do as they are told straight away without delay then you will have more time as you won’t be spending 10 mintues nagging them to do each thing you ask them to do.

You’ve probably heard the saying, "Happy Wife, Happy Life" right? Well the same really goes for our kids. Happy Mum = Happy Kids. The important message here is to look after ourselves because we are the hub of the family. When we are not looking after ourselves we are not functioning at our best. We get tired and grumpy and then everything doesn’t function as smoothly as it could.

Since our children were born we have put their needs first. A screaming baby who is hungry needs to be fed. A baby with a soiled nappy has to be changed. Our cups of tea went cold and our dinners heated up more than once. This habit of putting our needs after the children is ingrained. Okay so the children are now old enough to dress themselves and feed themselves. But there is still so much to do in each day. Where ever are we to find the time to look after ourselves amongst the lunches, washing, driving to and from school and sport/play dates, ironing, cooking, shopping, paying bills, making appointments, going to appointments, dentist, doctor, chiropractor, psychologist, etc, etc, etc.

The only way to fit time in for yourself is to prioritize. In fact, I am going to share with you how to do this in a later blog. If we get up and have a shower and do our hair and iron our clothes, how much better do we feel about ourselves. If we eat a healthy breakfast before 10am, and fit in some exercise we feel even better. And if we do our positive affirmations and have a grateful attitude we should have a fantastic day no matter what life throws at us. I should say, at the very least we will  cope better with whatever life throws at us.

In order for us to be the best we can be we need to make ourselves a number one priority. Not the kids, not the house, not the husband (sorry guys), but You! If we do this we will be happy and so will our kids. The kids play a very important part of keeping harmony in the home. You need to teach them by being a good role model. If you have a happy attitude which you will if you make yourself a priority by doing all the things mentioned above it will rub off on the kids. You know the song, "When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you, and when you’re laughing" etc,etc. Focus on their good behavior and praise them. Forgo the rushing around and just stop and give them a cuddle and show them you are interested in them and what they have to say. It will make them feel important and they will not want to misbehave to get your attention. Get them involved with doing some chores together to spend some special time with eachother and talk about your day and ask them about their day.

http://www.tweednews.com.au/story/2009/12/03/manners-maketh-the-child/

http://www.tweednews.com.au/story/2010/03/06/put-it-here-mate-whats-in-a-shake/

http://www.tweednews.com.au/story/2010/03/13/kids-graduate-polished-from-etiquette-class/

http://www.tweednews.com.au/story/2010/04/01/family-groups-ready-to-kick-ass-over-film-rating/