How to organize kids' chores and routines?

Being out of town for 11 days (yes, 11..ugh) has definitely blown our family's routine out of the water. Trying to keep my head above the sea of laundry, cleaning, writing and life led me to my dear friend over at the Pretty Organized Palace. We chuckle at how much we have in common except that she is really, really organized and I...am not. I am just a wanna-be. :)

Since I have received many requests on how I divide up chores, teach responsibility etc. etc., but have had no time to write about our "organized" life, I'll let you hear from the master. You'll just LOVE her! And by the time I share how our family does it, you'll need some more encouragement in this area, I am sure. :) Don't we all?
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When Jen asked if I'd come over to add my two cents on how I Balance Beauty and Bedlam with my family of 8 I thought... really? Is that interesting ?!?! Then I remembered that families of 8 land big Cable Reality Shows and get to take fantastic vacations with their kidlets and drive cars that have built in movie theaters... and some even get a year supply of diapers... though I'd prefer chocolate instead.

For those of you who wonder, "How on earth does she manage with 6 kids?" I offer this: The chore chart to top all others. Okay, well admittedly this won't top all others because this one is ugly. Sometimes order is ugly... this chart looks more like a Wal-Mart Organizational Flow Chart than a family chore chart.

The fact is: I forget everything. I completely forget that my kids earned themselves a whoppin grounding for 2 weeks because my intense love for these little punk-a-noodles overshadows my memory of things they've done to deserve my wrath.

I forget that a family of 8 requires laundry to be done several times EVERY DAY. Aren't we all trying to forget about the laundry... it just won't go away! I'm even at fault to forget a couple of days in a row... until I've worn that stretched out bra that I should have thrown away months ago for the second straight day and I have to start acting surprised when friends see the stains on my shirt, "Kids! Darn. I guess I'll have to get this in the wash." That excuse works incredibly well when you have a ton of kiddos. You're always bound to have something stuck to your shoulder or belly. It's sad however, when the same friends hear that excuse several times over the same shirt... BUSTED!

So here's command central at my house.

Use this link to get the PDF of our job chart.
Cuz I'm a dork and can't make it appear right on this blog.

This baby has earned it's rightful place on the fridge next to the Scouting schedule and the realtor magnets.


It's divided into 3 sections; Routines that I need to remember.
Meal schedule: For Breakfast and Lunch (dinners are always different)

Laundry Schedule: This shows me who has laundry on what day. If you want to see my octo-laundry routine check out this post.

Family Job Rotations: This is the meat of the schedule. (Applies to 4 older kids)
It details my kids daily Personal jobs, Trash assignments, Dinner Prep and Clean-up assignments, Weekly Zone, Weekly Job, and Saturday job assignments. WHEW!

Use this link to get the PDF of our job chart.

There you have it. Functionality at it's finest... you can thank the hubby for that one. I'm always worried about whether or not the colors I choose in the chart coordinate with the eyes and personality of the child they represent... and match the hues of the current season.
We're a perfect match!

Any other questions on family efficiency or routines? What are you struggling with in your home?

Photo Credits: SouthernLiving.com

Where do I find more coupons?

I receive many questions inquiring as to where I find all of my coupons. I realize that needs to be an upcoming post because I don't just find them in the Sunday paper. I print them off of my blog side bar, look through magazines, order them from Ebay (yes...a great secret - I'll give tips) and I LOVE clipping them from All you magazine.

Some of you may have seen All you, sold exclusively at Walmart. I recently had a friend ask what the abbreviation AY meant when she saw it on various couponing sites, like a Full Cup.
It stands for the All You magazine and it's full off great, frugal, family friendly ideas. I referred her to their website which was selling one year's subscription for $20. Well, when blogger Southern Fried Gal @ SouthernFriedDreams.blogspot.com emailed me and offered me a two year deal, I knew I wanted to share it with you. She's saving me an entire year's subscription.

The problem is that this deal is only good through the end of the month, and you need to take advantage of it through my blog, not their home site.

Now through the end of the month (July 30), you can get a 2 year subscription to All You magazine for $16! For those that need someone to due the math that is only $0.67 per issue. Use one coupon, and you've paid for it. Try and get the order in early, in case you have any problems. Unfortunately, as of August 1, the subscription price is going way up...bummer!

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  Sneak a peek: Coupons in the August issue! (they vary every month)
  

Here are the details.

To order, please visit Carmella’s personal Southern Living at Home website - you must use this link to get the discounted price.

Click on Our Products then How To Purchase
Type in Balancing in the hostess first name field then click Continue
Select Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

In the search box type 40776 then click GO
Click on All You Personal Subscription then Select this Item
Then just follow the screens through checkout!

It takes 8-12 weeks to receive your first issue once you see your payment post to your account. Typically those that order in July should receive their first issue in mid-to-late September.

DISCOUNT NOTE: The total will show $19.95 at checkout and on your invoice. Your discount adjustment will be made after you checkout but before your card is charged, and the final amount charged will be $16.00. This is because Carmella is offering the discount as an independent consultant. It is not at the corporate level, so the automatic response will not reflect the discount.

Click here for the answers to some of the most Frequently Asked Questions.

Barbie Cake: A Birthday Delight

We have just finished three birthdays in 31 days.
Yes, somehow three of our five children gravitated their arrival to the same time of year.
I love sharing special birthday traditions, but I must confess, creating masterful birthday cakes has never been my forte. I dream of putting my designer touch on something, but so far that dream has not become a reality.
This year, I am finally going to take that cake decorating class I "think" will launch me to "Domestic Goddess" status.
I realize that all cakes do not require a master baker's touch. One of my finest birthday creations was done in five minutes. I took two dozen Krispy Kreme round donuts, created a circular tower stuffed with candy, and then frosted it. I then lined up an assortment of toppings for the boys' sprinkling delight.
They reminisce about it to this day. :)



I still dream about the Barbie cake that I "made" for my daughter's birthday. It doesn't matter that my niece made it for her sister this week or that I oogled it for days. Let's just pretend that I created it and call it a night. :)
My friend, Toni - the Happy Housewife, did a video tutorial that shows you exactly how to make it. She did a fabulous job, so why should I reinvent the wheel? She demonstrates perfectly how even a non baker can amaze friends and family. :) Make sure and check it out!
The beauty of this recipe is that you can use a box cake mix, a round glass batter bowl to bake the dress (to make it even easier), and any old Barbie lying around. They do sell 1/2 Barbie's at Michaels, but you can use a regular Barbie as well. This was my niece's and Toni's first attempt and both turned out beautifully.
Am I the only one who has issues with frosting cakes? I will conquer that, you just wait.

So what are you cooking up for Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods this week?

As always, please follow the simple guidelines or post will be deleted.
1. Include your post showing us your Tasty Tuesday recipe or ideas.
2. Link up below to the permalink of your post. To find out what yours is, simply click on the title of your post and grab the permalink from the address bar.
3. Link your post back to Balancing Beauty and Bedlam as a courtesy to me so everyone will know where to find more recipe inspiration

A Sunday Moment

A child-like gift of love...
We've all received them...
A precious fist full of 'nothing,' yet given with grandeur.

Unbelievably, His great love showered me in the midst of the unexpected.

Revealing Himself through a fist full of nothing,

this daughter of the King was embraced by His love.

Thank you, Lord,
for continually showing yourself to me in the mundane moments.
A child-like gift of love...weeds turned to wonder.


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Zep 3:17 (NIV) The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Beauty is God's handwriting.

-Charles Kingsley

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I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.

-Abraham Lincoln

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Shared at Tuesdays Unwrapped

Sensational Silk

New to the Frugal Fashionista series?
Begin with designer wardrobe on a frugal budget.

I made a mistake this week on vacation. I walked into some high end retail clothing stores that I haven't frequented in years. My reason? To literally start pricing some of the items that I am featuring every week, and make sure I am up to date with the latest trends.
You know where that browsing landed me? With a huge case of the "gimmes."
Give me one of those and oh, let me just try on one of these. Did I need a thing? Absolutely not!

The benefit of that shopping trip was that I have a lot to process about how consumers are so influenced by the ploys of these amazing marketing groups. Quite a few thoughtful posts are swimming around in my brain about personal finance and all from a little"harmless" browsing.
I didn't purchase a thing, but that didn't stop me from being "convinced" that I needed quite a few new items.
Bottom line: Remove yourself from temptation. :)

Now, on to my thrift designer outfit of the week. I apologize that it's only one. The Frugal Fashionista was not thinking ahead and I went out of town without my other pictures....oops.
In the past, wearing silk has scared me. It's the kind of fabric you wear once "you've arrived," and my bus has yet to get there on time.
On top of that, silk is truly special. Just think how amazing it is that God's remarkable creature, the silkworm, worked especially for us so that we can wear something really fancy.
I surely wouldn't want to hurt his feeling, so when I came upon this BRAND NEW (yes, tags still on) 100 Silk, Coldwater Creek dress at Good Will for $6, I hatched, I mean snatched it up without a protest. I did it in honor of the silkworm. :)
This is a style that is forgiving with any figure. If your arms aren't your favorite feature, don a cardigan or wrap. Since I have fallen of the wagon with both my exercising and my eating, the pounds are slowly creeping back on. I plan to remedy that soon, but in the mean time, this style hides a good ten extra pounds with it's straight lines, and my weight gain is barely noticeable.
Here is another example of how the right piece of jewelery makes an outfit. This $2 purple yard sale find necklace doesn't go with much, but I am thrilled that I didn't pass it up because it completes this outfit. Simple, yet elegant.
Again, imagine my excitement when I saw these like new shoes at a yard sale the weekend after I purchased this dress. I am disappointed I can't share the brand (since they're in my closet and I am not, :) but I do know they were made in Italy....yes, only the best of Italian Leather for my silk dress.
Shoes - $2 and I doubt they were worn more than once - no visible scuff marks or any signs of wear.
Total for this head to toe designer Frugal Fashionista outfit? $10