Also, tips on how to effectively involve your children daily to help manage stress in your busy life!

Mornings:

• Try and prepare lunches the night before and get your kids involved in the process. That way they feel like they are involved in your decisions and have a little independence. Also, getting your kids involved in packing their own lunches gives them the opportunity to decide what they want to eat, of course, with the approval of you.
• Set out your kid’s clothes before your kids wake up, that way they don’t argue on what they want to wear and they can get dressed quicker and be ready for the day.
• Wake up before your kids so you can exercise, shower and prepare coffee quietly.
• Keep breakfast simple, no need for bacon, eggs, toast and sausage. Save that for the weekend when you have time to sit down and enjoy a gourmet breakfast.
• Follow the same routine everyday so your children know what to expect.’

Evenings:

• Give yourself and your kid’s time to relax and unwind.
• Make kid friendly meals in advance. Using a crock pot lets you cook meals while you are at work.
• Treat yourself to dinners out on occasion.
• Eat dinner with your family without the television on and discuss your day around the dinner table. It’s a great way to spend quality time as well as de-stress yourself by talking to the one’s you love.
• Get your children involved in daily chores: A 2 year old can put toys away. A 4 year old can set the table and a 6 year old can fold laundry.

Great ways to exercise and save time:

1. Power Parking: Instead of driving around for five minutes waiting for that majestic door spot to free up. Drive to the back of the parking lot and walk to the door, or better yet, jog. 
2. Ditch the stairs: Forget about the elevator, climb those stairs. 10 minutes of stair running will burn 150 calories for an averaged size woman. 
3. Horseplay: Playing around with your kids can be demanding but it’s worth it. Play tag for ten minutes and you’ll lose 50 calories. 
4. Bedtime Stories: Ditch the hours of television you watch before sleeping, instead indulge in passionate sex. The longer you go at it, the more calories you burn. 45 calories for every 10 minutes. 
5. Home and Body Improvement: Don’t like how your living room looks today? Don’t fret, spend ten minutes moving furniture around and you’ll burn 60 calories. 
6. Body and Yard Enhancement: On a hot day, get your husband to watch the kids and you can mow the lawn. Forget walking with the lawnmower though, do lunges and you’ll feel the burn. 
7. Sitting Sucks: Next time you feel the urge to sit down, remember that standing burns 36 calories an hour. Next time you need to talk to a coworker, take a walk to his office instead of calling or emailing him/her. 
8. Power Play: Instead of using a golf cart at the golf course, walk the course. You’ll burn a lot of calories and build muscles in your legs as you improve your swing. If you’re playing tennis, don’t get the bucket of balls, instead use 3 balls, then walk and retrieve them afterwards. 
9. Shop ‘till you drop: Next time you go shopping, walk a little faster and after every purchase, walk to your car and drop off your items. Your body will benefit from the extra work. Just make sure you don’t negate your hard work with something from the food court. 
10. Cleaning Carbs: If you see a spot on the floor, don’t be shy to go down and scrub it off. That hard work will burn you 55 calories for every 10 minutes of scrubbing. Forget the car wash, grab a rag and bucket and clean that car yourself, you’ll 45 calories. Walk your dog at a healthy rate, or jog to the mailbox, it all adds up to a healthier you!