What would you ladies think of a weekly challenge? There are so many areas of my life in need of help. I think it would be great to pick one idea a week that we could work on and have the help and support of the *mamas of many* here. I am sure there will be some of us who already have a system that works well and can offer advice to those of us who who haven't quite figured out what we need to do and there will be times where maybe all of us are in need of help and maybe we can all do some brainstorming to come up with ideas. I am think along the lines of........

~weekly chores for our children-what is age appropriate, how do you get your children to do their chores, how do you not lose your mind while making sure your children complete their chores:vent:

~our weekly chores-is there a system that works for you?(right now mine is the *ignore it until I can't anymore system*)

~decluttering-uhh....I need to declutter everything/maybe we could break down the different rooms in our house and take on a room a week(I know this should go in the declutter forum, but I would like to keep it here since we have a bit of a different challenge dealing with clutter, lots of children and usually small spaces.)

~schedules-we are having a problem with morning routines around here and our nighttime routine is starting to go a little haywire too.

~healthy snacking and meal planning-Heather(3boysnagrl) posted on another board about healthy snacking and it got me thinking and about how our snack foods have not been the healthiest lately. We encounter challenges with this because we have to buy so much and I have quite a few that are picky. I would love ideas on how to get my little ones to eat something healthy. Along the same lines-meal planning/shopping/preparing-I need help with these. Our schedule is so choatic that I am constantly not getting dinner started early enough and we either eat *really* late or fall back on a quick fix, not so healthy meal.(although I would like to come up with a list of quick fix meals that I don't feel so guilty about)

~things to go and do that do not cost a lot-for us going to do things as a family can be challenging because of the expense/buying tickets for 8 of us can put in in the poorhouse quickly.

Okay, so I am all over the place there. I just thought that if we picked one thing to work on each week and worked together to support each other, it might not be so daunting.(I know for myself, I need the support here. I do not know anyone with a family as large as mine and if I ask for advice and mention a problem I have to any of my friends, their eyes just glaze over.:help: )


*What did you do for yourself today?*

As mothers, we more often than not put our children and our families first. I know that I have not been taking care of myself as I should lately. I thought we could have a daily *what did you do for yourself today* thread. It can be anything-taking a bath with a few candles lit, some exercise, reading a book, having a quiet cup of tea w/o little ones bothering you, getting a haircut, paint your nails or spend some time doing a craft. I think the benefits of doing this are two-fold. First, we are doing something for ourselves which can only make us feel better and second our children will see us doing something for ourselves. I think that we are one of their most important role models and it's a bad idea to not occasionally put yourself first, this is especially important for our girls to see. By posting to a thread, it might encourage us to take care of better ourselves.

Last but not least.....

What about a recipe thread? I was thinking that when we try new recipes, if they turn out well and are a big hit with the family, maybe we could post here. I love my mom, but I think we had a rotation of about five meals a week. She didn't enjoy cooking, so I really did not learn to cook.(or learn to love to cook) I don't trust my cooking skills, so I am afraid to try new things and my poor family is suffering because of it. Any new ideas and recipes would be great.

So lmk what you think of these ideas and if you do, let's brainstorm and come up with a list for the weekly challenges.

I think it sounds like a wonderful idea!

Oh, and I am planning my different 'trays' for breakfasts, lunches and snacks - hoping to have them assembled this weekend. I filled a divided tray this week and kept it in the fridge - getting it out a couple of times a day. It helped a little... but there were a LOT of veggies still left on the tray. On the tray I had: fresh pineapple (ok, not for long, but it WAS there), cut up nectarine, sliced apple, pea pods, baby carrots, cut up broccoli, & grape tomatoes.

I'll post my tray idea once I get them figured out a little better. Right now I am all over the place with ideas... I'd like to sound a 'little' more put together. Although... you know full well how NOT put together I am most of the time. lol

btw - hey!

I just have to say what a sweet person you are for thinking all this through and posting about it. I would love to have a weekly challenge and daily "what did you do for yourself".

Last week we were so sick, all of us except dh. So this week I am catching up. I had my dad come for a visit over the weekend and he knew I was sick and he *is* my dad but I still felt bad that the house wasn't in great shape. I definitely need help motivating my kids to help with chores so it doesn't all fall on me.

eta: I kwym about the expense of outings. I am frugal about that stuff anyway but add in the cost of several children and it really does take some planning ahead. The ladies I know around here just pick up and go on outings quite often and I have to bow out frequently because it's just not in our budget.

These sound like great ideas!!! Run with it :)

I created a sticky for you, for recipe sharing :)
I'll add some ideas tomorrow, too!

Thanks for the great input!