Works for Me Wednesday

For the past month, my husband and I have been giving each other a little chunk of time to get away each week. For him, it’s the library and a place to study quietly or do homework. For me, it’s a local coffee shop for free internet so that I can focus and get work done either for school, a client, or this blog.

Ruben normally takes his time away during the week while I’ve been getting away on either a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, and just recently I’ve started taking two afternoons a week to have “alone time.” The one day a week wasn’t enough with all of the extra stuff I have going on right now.

I enjoy my alone time because when I’m there, I’m focused. I know I only have a few hours in which to accomplish some major tasks without twenty disruptions, so, I really dig in and try to get as much done as I can before it’s time for me to return to my family.

It’s honestly hard to believe that we are actually doing this, and that we’ve kept at it for a whole month! But we know that in order for me, especially, to juggle family, school, and a business, I need to get away. I need some quiet a couple times a week to stop, think, and work. Otherwise, I may have a meltdown get overwhelmed.

And, so, giving each other some time alone each week works for us!

Do you take time to get away each week and spend a few hours alone?

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We are THAT Family!

We have three boys. They all need haircuts about every 5-6 weeks or so, but do I want to pay $30-$40 to have their hair cut every time in a salon? No. Actually, I can probably count on my hand the number of times we’ve taken one of our boys to get a haircut outside of our home. Instead, whenever we feel their hair is getting a little too long and bushy, my husband kindly sets up shop in our garage and cuts each of the boys’ hair one by one.

This used to be a drudgery because when our firstborn was little and needed a haircut, he would cry a large part of the time which made the whole process difficult. But Nathan (now 10yrs. old) got over that a long time ago, and we are thrilled that our now youngest, David, has never had a problem getting a haircut. He loves it, and there’s usually a lot of giggling involved.

Here’s a short list of ways we have saved money on haircuts in the past:

:: Cutting the boys’ hair at home, of course

:: Going to a local cosmetology school and having it cut there. They charge a fraction of the price of a salon, and I’ve noticed that the students seem to take extra care to do a good job. My daughter and I have actually had our hair cut a few times at a local training school with wonderful results. Thanks, Raquel!

:: Waiting a little longer between cuts. This one doesn’t apply a lot to the boys since they get their hair cut at home, but my husband always gets his hair cut at a barber shop, and we save money on his haircuts by waiting a little longer in between cuts.

Haircuts at home works for us!

How do your save money on haircuts for your family?

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We are THAT Family!

We recently started using new chore charts for our two older children in order to do two things. First, our last method was no longer working, and second, we wanted a way to begin implementing a weekly allowance for them.

I found these printable charts on Money Savings Mom’s website. I quickly printed them off and thought up seven things for them to do throughout the week as I felt the need to fill up every line. 🙂 So far, they’re working wonderfully, the kids know what is expected of them each day, and we no longer have to try to figure out whose day it is to do what because it’s all written down.

At the end of the week, they each receive a $2.00 allowance, and we are all happy. Except last week when they only got $0.50 each because they owed me $1.50 each for stuffed animals that had been marked down 90% from the Christmas clearance at Meijer. While at the store I told them that if they wanted to get the stuffed animals that they would have to use their own money. They agreed, but when it was time to hand out allowance, and I deducted the $1.50….let’s just say they were none too happy. They’re learning!

Anyway, chore charts work for us.

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We are THAT Family!

Lately, with everything going on in our family, we have had to make some changes in order to simplify our life and utilize our time in the best way possible. So, we have simplified dinnertime. Instead of spending an hour cooking a meal, we’ve opted for simpler ways to feed our children that keeps them satisfied and us out of the kitchen for two hours every evening cooking and cleaning up afterwards.

The kids eat a normal breakfast of cereal or toast and then Ruben usually outdoes himself and cooks a meal for lunch that does require kitchen time but not too much. He’ll make something like hamburgers, conchitas or fideo (mexican sort of pasta soup dishes that are easy to make), pork chops, hot dogs, steaks, etc….. But he cooks around helping the two older kids with their schoolwork and trying to keep the two younger kids from doing something too dangerous (our boys are the picture of wild sometimes). I’ve actually been really impressed that he’s been doing this since we started school. He even cleans up afterwards! And has food ready for me when I get home!

So for the most part, Ruben handles lunch during the week.

Dinnertime is another story. Ruben and I normally have hours of work to do in the afternoons. Many times, Ruben has to start on homework shortly after I get home from school and before he leaves for his night class. I, in turn, try to start on homework about 2-3 hours after I get home from school and have had time with the kids. This means I don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen so dinner is usually something like leftovers from lunch, something easy to make like spaghetti, or something I can just throw in the oven like a frozen pizza. It’s simple, easy, and it works for the season of life we are in.

I cook with each of the three older kids once a week too, and we’ve made that super easy yet still enjoyable for them as well. Before we’d follow a recipe and make some elaborate thing like monkey bread that takes a ridiculous amount of time and effort to make from scratch…..now we put premade pillsbury cookie dough on a baking sheet and throw it in the oven. They’re still happy! And I’m happy! It works. 🙂

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We are THAT Family!