1. The after dinner duties wheel. The main floor is divided into four section, we rotate weekly. Whoever has kitchen gets to help Mom and Dad clean up from dinner, everyone else puts the toys and pillows and books and shoes and blankets and play-doh and origami back into place for the night. We usually only clean up the whole house once a day, otherwise I just say, "everyone pick up 5 (or 10, depending on the size of the mess) things" as needed.
We also have a family home evening wheel to help keep track of our assignments at our weekly Monday night family night. Jobs include conducting, saying a prayer, picking out a song for everyone to sing, giving the lesson, picking an activity, and (everyone's favorite) refreshments!
2. Our budget. I've been using the same version of our budget since we got married in 2004, and it works so well for us. It's a fairly basic Excel spreadsheet with categories and lines for savings, tithing, bills and flex spending. I've altered it over the years to fit our needs- we no longer budget for diapers but now we make tuition payments to the DSM Youth Symphony and such. And because I am the numbers nerd when it comes to our budget, I track every dollar (not cent, who has time for that?!) that we spend and make adjustments over the months to best reflect our spending and savings goals.
I also have graphs with our financial goals hung up in our closet. It's the perfect place to remind myself each day what we are working, saving, and really living for (shopping spree at Target is definitely not on the list).
Coupled with our budget is our bank accounts. We have one bank with several accounts- for daily spending, monthly bills, "fun" money (that pays for our day trips to Omaha and such), short term savings (always includes Christmas money and currently the home of our Disney cruise and basement finishing funds) and long term/emergency savings (untouchable!). Once a month, when Jason gets paid, I sort all of the money into the appropriate accounts and then I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the month. We also have kids savings accounts and our own retirements and investment funds in other places, but this has been a great set up to separate of our money without getting too nitty-gritty or too relaxed about what goes where.
3. Nap time. For some people, including previous versions of me, nap time isn't worth the battle that it creates at bedtime. But for now, the hours of 1 to 3 in the afternoon remain sacred. Weekday or weekend, we shut down the house and observe some serious quiet time. It's wonderful for everyone involved, and I fully intend to continue observing the nap time hour forever more... I hope!
4. Taking time for a snuggle. Sometimes it seems so hard to stop all the things and snuggle, but it's always, always worth it. Every single time. It's really true that there isn't much that a snuggle can't fix. Especially after school, when I always stop my own projects and make sure I'm present when my kids walk in the door.
5. Saying no. I'm getting better and better about this, and feeling less guilty about it as I do. I used to feel that it was my moral duty as a stay-at-home mom to be a room mother, but I've since learned that there are other women that are far more passionate about the title than I am, and that my time and talents can be better used in other service-minded way. I'd much rather volunteer to play math games or read aloud with students than help plan their Halloween party. It's a much better chance to get to know the students, and it feels more productive than a party, too. So I say no to home-room-mom-ing.
I also used to have a hard time limiting the number of piano students that I'd take on. Once people find out that you're a piano teacher, word travels fast and spots fill up quickly. I could easily spend two or three times as many hours as I currently do teaching piano lessons, but that's not what I want to be doing in this season of my life, so I say no. I also have a general but not hard-and-fast rule (now) of not taking on students that I already have another relationship with- either from church or from the neighborhood, it works out so much better if they know me first as Miss Melanie their piano teacher, rather than as Emma's mom or Sister Morales from church. It works. And I love it.
6. And last for now but certainly not least, my blog. As I said up top, lots of blogs have bloomed and died over the years, especially in the name of Facebook and Instagram, but I'm fully committed to keeping this blog going. It's our family history, it's a journal and a pictorial journey of our adventures. I don't write for anyone but myself and my kiddos, who some day will hopefully get a glimpse of how life worked for this little family of ours. (and the handful of my most faithful readers- hi!) Because that's what works for me.
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