Managing the Busy Family Tips Part 2

Happy, Blessed Easter Weekend Friends!  What gorgeous weather the Lord has blessed us with this Resurrection weekend.  Our family enjoyed a short road trip to spend time with family this afternoon.  We were particularly excited to try out our brand new Ford Transit van.  

I hope that you too are enjoying beautiful weather and the joy of the Risen Lord this Easter weekend. I thought I would post part two of helpful tips for managing the busy family.  These are just random  ideas of things that have been helpful in our family.  :)  

This tip goes along with the topic of the new van.  We keep paper lunch sacks and a small trash can in our family van.  This is very helpful when we go through a drive-thru.  I just take all the food, divide it into individual sacks and then send all the sacks throughout the van.  The trash can is great and can be emptied after each car ride.  

Another small thing that has really helped our family is using Drink Bands.  I ordered bands, similar to these in the picture, online and they have been great.  Each of my children has their own color, and this way we can easily find the correct glass/cup.  These bands go through the dishwasher and have held up well.  We leave our glasses/cups on the counter throughout the day so that each child uses the same glass/cup all day long.  I cannot imagine the number of glasses/cups we would otherwise be using.  I know some moms use insulated thermoses giving each child their own color.  Whatever system used, it is just so helpful to have each family member only using one glass/cup/thermos for the day.  :) 

Since tomorrow morning is Easter Sunday I'll share a tip for getting out the door on Sunday mornings.  

Through the years I have learned the hard way how important it is for me to prepare for Sunday church the day or night before.  We go to a church where we eat lunch at church between the morning and afternoon services.  This means that not only do I need to prepare clothing for our family but food preparation is also necessary.  I TRY to have all food packed by Saturday night, shoes set out, clothes hanging in a designated place, baby bag packed, etc.  This is a lot to do on Saturdays, but it really pays off during the flurry of getting a family of nine dressed and doing lots of little girl hair before we can leave.  Sometimes I am more successful at this attempt than at others, but I really have to have at least some of these things prepared or we would never get off the farm in time to make the hour drive to church.  I really dislike leaving for church all stressed out, and my husband really dislikes being late so this Saturday prep time is time well spent.  We definitely reap the benefits on Sunday morning.  

It is also not helpful to have children running all over the house and messing up their clothes and hair before leaving.  We have had a routine of getting the little ones dressed and then putting on a sweet, uplifting, Christ focused video before leaving.  This way they are sitting in the living room waiting for departure instead of creating messes or other catastrophes before leaving.  ;)  We try to be intentional about videos and how much time our children spend watching them, but this time right before leaving has been helpful.  You could also occupy little people by having an older child read to them.  The idea is just having something for them to be focused on before leaving the house.  This way they are not overflowing sinks, getting into food, and creating all other types of upsets before the family departs.  Well, I hope these few ideas have been helpful.  May the Lord give us all much joy, hope, and rejoicing in the remembrance of His great love and grace in our lives this Easter weekend.