But the one thing I wondered throughout this entire crisis is how GM gave up control of their future and why they so willingly and naively left their future in the hands of the banking and financial industry.   And I began to wonder even more how many families have also given up their control to someone or something else because they expected someone else would always do the right thing or were too overwhelmed with everyday life to figure it out on their own.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there is only so much planning and protecting a family can do, but I don’t believe that our destiny and well being belongs entirely in the hands of our jobs and health.  A family’s future depends primarily on the choices they make, their ability to adapt to change, and the strength of their core.

Here are the top four ways my family tries to protect ourselves from someone else’s choices and better control our destiny.   What are your family’s strategies?  Do you have one?

Strong Balance Sheet - The reality of any family’s life is their ability to pay their bills both in good times and in bad.  Families with strong balance sheets have much more flexibility, are better prepared to reach their family goals, and are better protected in bad economic times.  If your balance sheet is weak, Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover can help you get it right.

Job Skills - Staying current with your education and job skills can mean the difference between whether you or the person sitting next to you gets the job.  So whether you are currently active in the job market or have taken some time off to raise a family, make it a point to stay current in your field of work and have an updated resume.  You may need these job skills in case you get laid off or need to go back to working outside the home.

Stay Networked - Get active in your community and schools so that you have a strong network of friends and an ear out for new and different opportunities.

Know Who You Are - Families with a clear vision of who they are have a plan in place for both good and bad times.  Take the time to figure out who your family is with a family vision and mission statement and then work to make it happen with family goals and overcoming the yeah but’s.

Convenient Storage Pocket - Built right inside the front cover is a handy storage pocket for your loose papers such as birthday invitations, business cards, maps, or directions.  This pocket really helps to keep things in one place and easier to find things in a hurry.

Peel Off Stickers - The Mom’s Plan It Engagement Calendar includes 288 peel off stickers so busy mom’s can quickly note and remember important recurring events such as birthday parties, dance recitals, school vacation days, and doctor’s appointments. Covering 43 different topics, the peel off stickers have something for every mom.

Tear-off Grocery List - We absolutely love this feature because it makes grocery shopping so much easier.  Simply jot down your grocery items and when it comes time to go to the grocery store, tear off the list and take it with you.  No need to carry around a planner through the store.

Meal Planner - Built into each weekly planner page is a convenient meal planner.  Moms can use this to write out their meal plan for the week and then use the tear-off grocery list to jot down everything they need at the grocery store.

Notes -Take your planner with you when you attend meetings or make phone calls and simply jot down the important things you need to remember, so they are readily available for future meetings or reference.  The handy built in note section eliminates the need to bring both notepads and planners with you when attending meetings and makes scheduling follow up meetings a breeze.  Perfect for jotting down phone messages, phone calls, or meeting notes, the note section helps keep everything in one place.

Search Out Kid Eat Free Meal Deals - Many restaurants offer kid eat free meal deals, so be sure to do your homework ahead of time and find some stops along the way that offer these types of deals.  Use resources like KidsMealDeals.com to help find these places.

Stay at Hotels with Free Breakfasts - Search out hotels offering free breakfasts.  There are many out there, so be sure to take the time when booking reservations to find one that meets your needs.

Pack Snacks and Meals - You can save a lot of money by taking the time to shop in advance and pack meals, drinks, and snacks in advance.  Also, forego expensive soft drinks and juice boxes for water bottles and fill them along the way.

Shop at Local Grocery Stores - Stop by the local grocery store and pick up things for a picnic lunch or dinner.  Head to the local park, have a picnic, and enjoy the new scenery.

Cook for Yourself - Consider staying at a hotel or condo with a kitchen and cook your own meals or bring frozen casseroles that only need re-heated.  The added cost of staying at a larger place with a kitchen could easily be offset by the money saved in meals especially if you have a large family.

Multiple Calendar Views - Both the momAgenda Desktop and the momAgenda Mini include a full Month at a Glance calendar in addition to the week at a glance calendar (Desktop design) and day at a glance calendar (Mini design) .  This comes in really handy when you need a snapshot of the month rather than the nitty-gritty detail of your weekly and daily schedule.

Provides Separate Planning Spaces for Mom & Kids - The separate planning spaces for mom and up to four kids is a really nice feature especially if you have very busy schedules.  The separate planning spaces help moms focus on the details much quicker and make it harder to overlook something important because the calendar details aren’t all crammed together in one planning space.

Built in Spot for Meal Planning - The momAgenda planners include separate spots to jot down the family dinner plans for the day making family dinner time and grocery shopping much easier.

Party Planning Note Pages - This is an extremely helpful feature especially when it comes to planning birthday parties for your kids.  The party planning pages not only let you keep track of party details (what, where, when, etc) but also the guest list and RSVP notes.  Use them to plan birthday parties for your kids or adult parties for the parents!

Reusable Address Book - Every momAgenda Desktop Planner and momAgenda Mini planner come with a handy reusable address book called momEssentials.  This handy pamphlet keeps track of all your important contact information and simply slides in and out of the back of your planner, making the change to a new planner every year a breeze.  No more re-writing your address book every year!

Letterboxing - Letterboxing is a treasure hunt hike that families take in search of hidden letterboxes.  Using clues found on the internet (most letterboxes are hidden in a park or central community location), families set out on a hiking adventure in search of the hidden letterbox.  .  Once the letterbox has been found, families then use the pen to leave a message in the logbook along with an image from their personal stamp.

Bike Riding - Take advantage of your local parks and trails by taking a family bike ride.

Berry Picking - Help your local economy and eat healthy too by spending a day picking berries from a local farm.

Backyard Campout - Pitch or make a tent and spend the evening making s’ mores, telling ghost stories, sleeping under the stars.

Treasure Hunt - Keep your kids guessing and moving all summer long with a summer long treasure hunt.

Make a Family Journal - Family journals are a simple way of expressing and recording your family’s life, dreams, and memories without a lot of fuss and most importantly without a lot of anxiety and time.

Homemade Rockets - Add a little science education to your summer by making rocket launchers.  Just do them for fun or add them to your July 4^th celebrations.

Nature Scavenger Hunt - Enjoy the outdoors and the thrill of a scavenger hunt with a nature scavenger hunt.  Use this nature hunt list to get you started or make your own.

For additional ideas for free or low cost family activities see our page with boredom buster ideas and family fun ideas.

Here are some suggestions and creative ideas to help families enjoy one another’s company while traveling on the road.

FOR TODDLERS: Prepare ziplock bags of items to be given out every 25, 50 or 75 miles. In each bag put a wrapped item, a small toy, juice or a snack (apple slices won’t turn brown if dipped in Sprite), stickers, or something pertaining to the trip.

Pack a new bag of multi colored pipe cleaners (about $1 or so) and let their creativity run wild as they make letters, flowers, animals, chains, jewelry, twist ties in their hair, and practice braiding.

FOR OLDER CHILDREN:  Let children help plan the vacation. Encourage them to pick motels and other stops along the way. Reserve the right to veto any impractical or unsafe plans. They can research family friendly destinations by region here: http://www.schoolfamily.com/school-family-articles/article/10652-top-20-summer-destinations-for-learning.

Give the children a map to show how far you have come, how much farther there is to go. Each time they ask “How much further?” have them take out their map and see for themselves. Older children can use this site, http://www.travmatix.com, to print driving directions along with a list of all the food, fuel and hotel options at every exit along your route. When they get hungry or need a break, have them check the list of what is available at upcoming exits.

Forego iPods, DVDs and cell phones. Play games instead. Come up with lots of categories and prizes so everyone wins.

1.      Scavenger Hunt. Make a list of items to watch for while driving. Make up the list ahead of time and adjust for scenery. Some items to hunt for: someone on a bike, flashing red light, license plate with Q, playground, church, railroad tracks, American flag, etc.

2.      Counting Cows (or whatever). Divide the car occupants into teams, left and right side. Decide how you will determine when the game will end.  Count the cows you see on your side of the car. If you pass a cemetery on your side of the car, you lose all your cows — but only if the opposing team calls out, “Your cows are buried!” A white horse can count as a bonus. The team with the most cows wins!

3.      True or False. Make a statement about yourself. Ask the children to decide if the statement is true or false. Think about which experiences you would like to share.

4.      My Restaurant. Make up a restaurant and describe it. Include outrageous details such as extreme locations, decorations, menu and customers who eat there often. Have the older children write down what the younger children say. Add drawings.

5.      Dots and Lines. Make your own game board using a blank sheet of paper. Fill a section with evenly spaced rows of dots about half an inch apart. Take turns drawing horizontal or vertical lines between adjacent dots connecting them together. If you complete a full square, write your initial in the box and take another turn. If your line creates two boxes, then you get to put your initial in both of them. Some strategy will be involved to see if you can create more boxes than your opponent. Continue playing until all the dots on the page are connected. The player with the most boxes wins.

Lastly, you can check out books on tape from the library, make up silly stories using Mad Libs, and if you can stand it, print out the lyrics to Willie Nelson’s song On the Road Again and sing out loud.

About the Author: Jodie Randisi is a certified Family Manager tm coach and the author of 201 Things to Do When Children Say I’M BORED. For more information about Family Manager coaching or to get a copy of her book, go to www.201thingstodo.com.

As adults, it is not our responsibility to pave the road for our children. It is, however, a good idea to provide a decent road map, and by decent road map I mean provide supervision when needed.

Here are ten ideas that will make summer less “boring.”

Make your own CRAZY PUTTY. Mix equal parts white glue and liquid starch. Knead to desired consistency. The substance will stretch, snap and bounce!

Name that SMELL. Gather items that have identifiable odors. Blindfold the guesser (s). Ask them to name that smell. If they can’t remember the exact name, let them describe some other revealing details such as the color of the bottle, or what meal the spice is used for, etc.

MOW a MAZE.  With a push lawn mower, mow a maze or a crazy path when the grass is fairly long. You could also use the path to play Mother May I? or Red Light Green Light.

Go fly a KITE. Better yet, make your own kite to fly.

Button Wreath

Sort BUTTONS. Let children sort buttons into different groups. Use a muffin pan to contain the buttons. Sort by color, or size, or number of holes. Then make a craft using buttons.

Give children a tape recorder. They can record themselves telling or reading a story. You can type the words to their original stories on the computer. Print the words with space at the top of each page so the children can illustrate their ideas.

Find a scenic spot outside, set up an easel and paint the scenery.

Play dress up. Gather old clothes and add to the collection by buying weird and unusual outfits and accessories from thrift stores and garage sales. Store the clothes and props in a trunk. Props can include such things as briefcases, pocketbooks, jewelry, shoes, books, canes, etc. Encourage the children to be creative and act out plays they create. Or, children can emulate a character from a well-known story and have people guess who they are. NOTE: Giving hints may be necessary and will only add to the fun.

Have children hold a full glass of water in a plastic tumbler while they jump rope. Make it a contest to see who can spill the least. Give out prizes.

Ask children to design a product or service and then create a commercial to sell it on television. Go all the way and video the end result and post it on YouTube.

And for timeless summertime entertainment, find a place where you can build a bonfire, roast a ton of marshmallows, look for meteors and lightening bugs, and tell stories around the campfire. Your children will thank you…someday.

About the Author: Jodie Randisi is a certified Family Manager tm coach and the author of 201 Things to Do When Children Say I’M BORED. For more information about Family Manager coaching or to get a copy of her book, go to www.201thingstodo.com.

This magnetic dry erase monthly calendar is a great way to keep track of your busy family’s schedule. The calendar measures 14 x 14 inches and includes two magnets and a dry erase marker.  For families looking for a weekly planner, we have a dry erase weekly calendar as well.  The calendar measures 7.5 x 23 inches and includes two magnets, a dry erase marker, and a cork board.  And last but not least, our framed dry erase calendar is perfect for families looking for functionality and style too.  This dry erase calendar measures 18 x 22 inches and comes with two magnets and wall mounting hardware.

Chore.pad offers parents flexibility in scheduling and assigning individual chores to each child.  Each tear off sheet tracks chores for a week and separates the chores into four categories, Inside, Outside, Everyday, and Pets.  Parents simply need to check off the chores that their child is responsible for the week or add their own.  This chore chart design makes it easy to quickly assign chores and change the chore responsibilities each week and is perfect for families with one or two children.

The Board Dude’s Dry Erase Chore Chart is a reward and chore chart all in one.  This chore chart lets busy parents keep track of chores of up to four children and the rewards for success.  Complete with one dry erase marker, mounting hardware, and 80 color coded reward stars, this chore chart is perfect for busy families with more than two kids.

Save 15% with our Early Bird sale.  Simply enter coupon code earlybird at checkout.  Offer expires 7/31/2009.

The latest addition to our collection of mom planners, the Mom Essentials organizer has it all.  This planner keeps track of your family schedule, do lists, important contacts, menus, grocery lists, notes, and much more all in a handy compact uncomplicated place.

The Mom’s Ultimate Family Organizer is the latest addition to our collection of family organizers.  This comprehensive one stop family organizer keeps track of your family’s schedule, household contacts and friends, menu planning, party planning, travel planning ,lists and notes, and includes many helpful tips and resources as well. This 128 page family organizer measures 11″ x 11-5/8″, comes in a sturdy 3-ring binder, with 5 tabbed pocket dividers, and 1 sheet of 4 sticky-note pads.

A stylish comprehensive organizer and planner for busy families, the momAgenda All In One Folio has it all. The All In One Folio comes with a 17-month calendar running from August 2009 - December 2010 and a separate folio section in clear plastic page protectors to store school papers and home notes and information.

Use the momAgenda School Years book to chronicle your children’s school memories beginning with Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. This school memories book has a separate 7″ x 9″ folder for each year in school and holds things like report cards, class pictures, writing samples, or art samples. In addition, each grade-level folder has writing space for information like your child’s age, height, and weight, plus extras like friends, sports, and activities for that year.

A Slower Pace Means We Spend Less Money

A slower pace for us has meant that we have more time to plan meals, we do a better job of keeping shopping lists, and we stay home more often putting less wear and tear on the car and using less gas.  When our pace was more hectic, I would often shop without a list or menu and would end up buying things we already had or forgetting things we needed.  Also, we have found a lot of enjoyment in staying home and just hanging out playing games (I can’t tell you how many games of Clue we have played), enjoying family movie nights, and taking bike rides.

A Slower Pace Means We Are Less Stressed and Happier

The fast pace I used to keep literally left me exhausted.  By Friday of every week, I was emotionally and physically drained and not much fun to be around.  I literally got tired of being tired and this was a lot of the impetus behind the slowing down of our pace.  I stopped worrying so much about the things we weren’t doing and began concentrating on the things we were doing making sure to emphasize quality over quantity.   Remember, kids want their parents happy, not stressed.

A Slower Pace Means We Are More Connected

By slowing down our pace, we have time to recognize, connect, and appreciate each other more.  Little things that went unnoticed or undone in a hurried pace are now much more apparent in our lives.  From things like hugs, cuddles, and thank you’s, we are definitely more aware and appreciative of each other.  The kids are more likely to come to us with questions and concerns because they know they have our attention.

A Slower Pace Means We Are More Effective

After slowing down our pace, we became much more effective in our lives.  After we stopped trying to do everything, we got a lot better at our schoolwork, our jobs, and our family life because we were less scattered and more focused.  We simply had more time to think, concentrate, and just be.

The Happeez Whiteboards are made with a revolutionary backing that makes them perfect for stainless steel refrigerators, mirrors, and glass.  The non-sticky backing leaves no residue and lets you use them over and over again.

The Mail.sorter is the latest addition to the Buttoned Up product line.  Perfect for organizing and managing your mail, The Mail.sorter™ comes with four pre-labeled slots for placing incoming mail or school or work correspondence: notice me, respond to me, read me, pay me, and contains a side compartment for catalogs and magazines.

Also available is our all new weekly organizer.  The weekly organizer helps busy families get organized and stay focused with 80 weekly planner sheets and 240 sticky notes in three great designs.

Stop running the water!  She’s destroying the rain forest!  Can’t this be recycled? 

If you lived in my home you would hear these cries all too often not from me mind you, but rather from Katie, my 12 year old daughter, who over the last couple of years has developed a deep affinity for saving the environment. 

The first born of four girls, Katie is a soulful deep thinker and a classic type-A overachiever.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all if she grew up to be a teacher, activist, or even a Presbyterian minister someday.  I can always count on her to do the right thing and remind me when I am not. 

And over the past couple years as she has worked hard to educate herself about the environment and yell at us (ok, primarily me) about what we (ok this is me too) are doing wrong, I can’t help but wonder if I would have made the changes in my life if it weren’t for her.  I’m not so sure I would have the patience to shred and recycle paper, wipe out reusable sandwich bags, slow the flow of water as I rinse dishes to a painfully slow drizzle, or hunt down water bottles hidden under a couch if it weren’t for her reminding to be a better person.  She makes me conscious of my choices and what these choices are teaching my children.

I am a little embarrassed and at times aggravated that I have to be reminded by my 12 year old daughter to be more environmentally friendly, but I am much more proud than embarrassed.  Proud that she has taken the time to learn her stuff, proud that she has the courage to speak her mind, and proud that she makes me a better person.

Thank you, Katie.

One of the reasons we encourage families to write family mission statements is because they help us pause and ask this question.  Family mission statements help families remember the purpose behind their choices by forcing us to focus on the things in life that make us happy, fulfilled, and truly want.  The problem with family mission statements though is that often they are hard to enact because we don’t know how to take the wishes and desires of the family mission statement and turn them into real life day to day actions.  A family mission statement without concrete actions behind it is just another piece of paper much like the corporate ones your company has posted on their website and lunchroom bulletin boards, a lot of talk but not much walk. 

So to help families avoid the trap of talking the talk, but not walking the walk, we wanted to spend a little time on specific ways families can use their family mission statement.

The Difference between Family Goals and a Family Mission Statement

Before we dig into how to actually use the family mission statement it might be a good idea to re-cap what we mean by family goals and family mission statements. 

Family goals are written expressions of specific things the family wants to do or achieve.  Family goals are measurable and are time constrained or phased.  Family goals are one of the means by which families live and express their family mission statement.

Family mission statements are expressions of the overall intention, purpose, and priorities of the family.  They help families keep focus not only on the things they want to achieve (i.e. family goals), but the manner in which they want to achieve them, and the benefits or results the family wants to gain.  A family mission statement has three parts, an action, the quality of action, and the benefits.

Ways in Which Families Can Use a Family Mission Statement

Use a Family Mission Statement to Create Meaningful Family Goals

When writing family goals and the specific actions needed to make them happen, families should always be asking themselves, are the goals and our actions to achieve them consistent with how we said we wanted to live our lives (the in such a way that phrase) and do they result in the benefits we said were important (the so that phrase).  When you write your goals in this context you can avoid chasing goals that aren’t adding to your happiness and fulfillment.

Use a Family Mission Statement to Help Make Big Decisions 

Because family mission statements are expressions of our priorities and values, they can help keep us focused when it comes time to making some big decisions.  For example, does taking the big promotion clear across the country in line with what we said we wanted in our mission statement?  Is career progression one of mom’s or dad’s goals, dreams, or aspirations?  If so, will the move and promotion enrich the family life and add to the family’s happiness and closeness?  These are the kinds of questions you should ask whether you are facing a career change, move, or any significant lifestyle change.

Use a Family Mission Statement to Help Regain Focus

Sometimes we are moving so fast in our lives that we often forget why we made the choices we did to get us to our current place.  It is often easy to get caught up in the hectic pace of life and suddenly say to ourselves, why are we doing this?  What was our original motivation?  Why did I take this job?  Why did I volunteer to do this?  This is where a family mission statement can be extremely powerful.  By looking back at the priorities and fundamentals your family identified in the family mission statement, you can better see and ask yourselves whether or not the choices you have been making are consistent with what you said was important. If your choices haven’t been consistent with the family mission statement, ask yourselves these two questions: “Why haven’t our choices been consistent” and “What do we need to change to stop making the choices that make us unhappy?”

Use a Family Mission Statement to Remember Your Passion

Because family mission statements are an expression of every family member’s dreams, goals, and aspirations, they are a great place to go to when we need some motivation or are feeling burnt out.  Take some time to browse through all of your family’s hard work, vision drawings, and plans to help motivate yourself and reignite your passion.

Remember, a family mission statement can be a very powerful tool for any family as long as you use it and keep it a center of your family’s focus.  Post it in a central location and make it a habit to revisit it frequently.

Good luck!