Yesterday I talked about making time for your girl friends.  Today, I am going to talk about the importance of finding time to exercise.

As mom’s we are so busy taking care of everyone else that we tend to forget about ourselves.  30 minutes of exercise a day are recommended and I have even heard it said that it doesn’t need to be all at once.

Here are some tips to getting in your recommended 30 minutes of activity a day:

• Turn on some music and dance around with the kids.  Not only are you spending time with them doing something fun, you are moving around.
• Get up early before the hustle and bustle of the day.  Either go out for a walk/run, find a class to take somewhere, or even do an exercise DVD.  Our cable company has an Exercise On Demand channel, so there really is no excuse.
• Make a date with a friend.  Knowing that you have to meet someone to exercise is always more motivating – you don’t want to let them down!
• Schedule a time to exercise and put it on your calendar.  It’s like a date with yourself!
• Make it a family event – walk to the park or go for a bike ride.  You all get some exercise and some family time together.

Try some of these tips to get yourself moving.  You will feel better and be better equipped to take care of your family.

photo credit: mikebaird

I think that we as mothers do not take enough time for ourselves.  I am going to take the next couple of days to share with you how to take out some time for YOU whether that be exercise, beauty treatments, time with girlfriends, or even date night with your partner or spouse.

In January of 2010, I made a vow to start spending more time with girl friends.  So far, I have managed to connect more with friends that I haven’t seen in awhile.

Here are some things that I have done:

• Gone dancing with my friends
• Planned a movie night.  We had to do it almost a month in advance due to busy schedules, but the important thing is we did it.
• Met friends for a few drinks
• Planned a breakfast date.  Sometimes going out for breakfast is easier than trying to meet for dinner.

Here are a few other ideas to get you out with your friends:

• Start a book club.  It’s great way to get out of the house once a month (or whenever).
• Plan a monthly game night.  Take turns hosting it at each others house.
• Go to a scrap booking event at your local craft store.
• Go to a wine tasting together.

I have barely scratched the surface of things you can do.  The important thing is to make time for yourself – even if it just means meeting for an hour for coffee.

What are some of your favorite activities to do with your friends?

photo credit: Francis Mayne

Dinner time has become a very important time in our house.  Here are a few ideas on how to make dinner time easier for you and your family.

I am a big fan of meal planning.  It actually started way back before having children.  My husband and I used to do the grocery shopping together.  He would get so annoyed when I would just wander the aisles aimlessly or would have to run back and forth because I forgot things.  He started making a “rule” that I had to have a list of stuff we were going to buy before we even went.  The only way to make a good list was to plan what we were going to eat for the next two weeks (we shopped every other week).

I would search online and in magazines for different things to try.  Growing up, we seemed to eat the same five or six meals in rotation, so I like to make sure we are eating different things.  My other rule is that it cannot be anything too complicated.  If it involves more than 5 ingrediants or a lot of chopping, the recipe is out.

Here are some tips for planning your meals.

1.  Make sure to dedicate some time to planning.  You should only need 15-30 minutes tops.

2.  Have your calendar nearby as you plan.  Look at what activities you family has planned for the week.  Is there a night you do not need to plan a meal?  Are there certain nights you need to figure out something quick?  Take your schedule into consideration when planning.

3.  Pick at least one night for leftovers.  It gives you a night off from cooking and helps reduce waste.

4.  Try something new at least once a week.  It keeps things interesting and you might just find a new family favorite.

5.  You do not have to pick gourmet meals.  As I stated above, I do not do complicated.  I work full time outside the home and do not want meals with a lot of prep time.

Meal planning also has some great benefits.  Here are just a few:

1.  From your meal plan, you can create your grocery list.  This helps you to save money as you are buying off the list and not a bunch of extra things you do not need.

2.  You do not have to think about what is for dinner that night as you already have it planned.  Makes meal-time a no-brainer.

3.  You save time.  You go to the store ONCE a week (or every other week) instead of having to stop more often to get things for dinner.

4.  You can take the time to try new things.  Since you have a plan and have been to the store, you can put more thought into trying different things for meal time.

As you can probably tell, I am pretty passionate about meal planning.  I hope that some of my ideas help you get started.  If not, feel free to ask for help.

Happy Dining!!