Making Changes that Work

As you know thefamilyroom is about strengthening families, relationships and our communities. With this in mind I would like to share my latest jewel with you.

Most of you 'regular' readers know that I am a mother of three and I run a busy cake design business which has just expanded into new premises. In my life family always comes first and I truly believe I can have my cake and eat it too (sorry couldn’t resist!).

Life is so busy that I (like you) find myself multi-tasking and trying to make the best use of every minute in a day. With this in mind allow me to share with you what my evenings usually look like.....After my children go to bed I tackle the washing, ironing, cleaning, read school notes and so on. To be honest the thought of getting all of these chores done often takes priority in my mind which means after dinner I become focused on putting the children to bed as quickly as possible. I know this isn’t great for anyone so I decided to change. I sat myself down and looked at what I wanted to achieve and how I could do it better keeping harmony in the home whilst making sure my 'jobs' didn't slip. You see I really believe children should go to bed feeling relaxed and content, laughter should fill the house rather than the sound of urgent reminders to brush your teeth and get into bed which was the current state of our home (now I know the 'urgent' does happen however we should try and make it the occasional rather than the norm :).

Here's how I made things different.....We now all pile into our bed. Each child brings a book. The child whose book is being read gets to cuddle up next to me, we all take turns and this is proving to be exceptional for the children and for my soul. Our evenings have become so satisfying for everyone, we read, we laugh, snuggle and I show my children that everything else in the world can wait. I have found that my children go to bed and pop off to sleep quickly following a prayer and a kiss good night. Yet another memory is being forged for them to look back on and smile.

Remember, our circumstances are all different. We can’t look at the way another family operates and expect to duplicate it. Some of us are single parents, some work full-time others have children with special needs and so on. Some of you have children older than mine, with them I encourage you to make adjustments that work for them and that may be staying up later, working on a project together or just sitting up and letting them know your available, you never know what will work with the teenage heart.

Friends take time to be clear on what you desire for your family and look at how you can achieve it based on the way your family looks. Talking with friends, looking at thefamilyroom posts and listening to our podcasts as well as reading parenting books are resources I use when I am confronted with the need to change.

Enjoy the moments.

Annie

Welcome to Christmas!!!!

Christmas is a time of family, friends and fun and our hope is that you will totally relax and enjoy the season. In an effort to assist you we have developed thefamilyroom 9 week Christmas Plan which is designed to help with your planning and preparation (yes, Christmas is only 9 weeks away can you believe it!).

We want to take the ‘sting and stress’ out of Christmas - by planning now you will not only save precious time but finance as well giving you the opportunity to relax, breathe easy and enjoy the festive season.

Use the plan add your family favourites to it and make it your own and simply..... Enjoy!!

Susan, Michaela and the team xoxo

ps - Girls remember to book for thefamilyroom LIVE – Christmas with the Girls! It’s going to be a fantastic night with great treats, a gift for everyone, stacks of giveaways and much laughter. To register simply call 1300 886 283 or call thefamilyroom on 9659 8582 for more information. We can’t wait to see you!!!!


thefamilyroom Christmas Plan

Week 1: Get Organised!
• Organise yourself.
• Set a holiday budget that everyone agrees on.
• Buy and write your Christmas Cards.
• Buy your wrapping paper, tape & extra scissors.
• Prepare your social calendar complete with menu’s and guest lists.
• Write your gift list – break it down to family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours.
• Decide as a family what charity you will give to this year.


Week 2: Here We Go!
• Write a holiday shopping food list – use our week-by-week guide and add your family favourites to the list.
• Buy and send your overseas gifts (if necessary).
• Clean up the back yard and get it ready for the holidays
• Create a space in the house for gifts and wrap as you go (rather than doing it all on Christmas Eve).

To buy this week:
Candy Canes
Nuts
Crackers
Chips
Pretzels
2 Bottles of soft drink
2 Bottles of wine


Week 3: Gifts and Giving!
• Consider your gift list and who you’re buying for. Check out ebay, online stores, local markets and other avenues for great gifts.
• Buy 4 more gifts.
• Book baby sitters for December nights out.
• Book your carpet cleaning for post holiday clean up.
• Check Christmas lights and decorations – replace whatever needs replacing.

To buy this week:
Fruit cake and baking ingredients
Sparklers
Extra Sunscreen
Aeroguard


Week 4: Get Cooking!
• Order and pay for your turkey, ham and or seafood.
• Buy and wrap gifts for teachers.
• Send Christmas Cards out.
• Buy 4 more gifts from your gift list.
• Order your tree.
• Bake your fruitcake & other goods that freeze well.

To buy this week:
Batteries for toys
Non-perishable items
Canned food items (sauces, salad dressing, mustard, etc.)
1 bottle of soft drink
2 bottles of wine


Week 5: Keep on top of Things!
• Play Christmas music from now until well after New Years.
• Buy 4 more gifts.
• Send out invites to parties you’re planning to host.
• Prepare a holiday house-cleaning schedule that works for everyone.
• Get your photo with Santa earlier rather than later (avoid the cues).
• Invite family and friends to school plays, etc.

To buy this week:
Shortbread
Biscuits
Panettone
Frozen Deserts
Chocolate


Week 6: It’s all Under Control – Relax!
• Make sure cameras and videos are in working condition and batteries are charged.
• Send email Christmas letter to overseas family and friends, try and provide an updated fun family photo.
• Buy 4 more gifts.
• Put up external decorations (wreath, lights in trees).
• Book in any hair appointments for the family.
• Clean the bbq.

To buy this week:
BBQ supplies (fill gas, matches, extra foil roasting trays)
Foils and plastic wraps
Napkins
Plastic cups and plates for kids
Canned Juice x 2
2 bottles of wine


Week 7: Time to Decorate – it’s feeling like Christmas!
• Buy 4 more gifts.
• Send cards for students and gifts for teachers to school.
• If artificial, set up tree and decorate.
• Bake Christmas biscuits with the kids and allow them to decorate and deliver to neighbours.
• Book in your necessary summer beauty treatments.

To buy this week:
Bon Bons
Tea Lights
Candles
Table Decorations


Week 8: The Wow Factor – I’m Enjoying the Season!
• Buy 4 more gifts.
• Pick-up and decorate tree.
• Enjoy some Christmas movies with the whole family.
• Take a Christmas Sparkle tour of the lights either in your suburb or head into town.

To buy this week:
Cooking Oils
2 bottles of Champagne
2 bottles of soft drink
Garbage bags
Paper towels


Week 9: Nearly There!
• Buy remaining gifts.
• Have a relaxed family dinner ‘alfresco’ and enjoy!
• Finish wrapping final few gifts.
• Go to Carols by Candlelight with your family.

To buy this week:
Fruit
Vegetables
Salads
Bread
Dairy Products (milk, cream, custard, Ice Cream, cheeses)
Eggs
Bacon
Stuffing ingredients
Juice x 2
Pavlova
Dips


Christmas Eve Merry Christmas – You Made It!
•Pick up Seafood.
•Cook your Turkey and whatever else can be made in advance.
•The only other thing you should be picking up today is bags of ice.
•Sit and relax by your Christmas tree with your family for a few hours, have a laugh and get early nights sleep.


Well done now relax and enjoy yourself deserve it!
© thefamilyroom 2006

Where it all began

Hi everyone and welcome to the Family Room Blogspot.

Get yourself a cuppa, sit back, relax and enjoy your time with us. Everything on this site has been designed with you in mind. Our hope is that you will leave us inspired, a little more informed and enriched and that you will catch the vision of carving out a great future for you and your family.

How the Family Room came about …

Two year’s ago my friend Michaela Grul and I sat in my living room and chatted about ‘what is a great family.’ And as we talked, we discovered that although we came from vastly different backgrounds; me from rural Canada and Michaela from the suburbs of Sydney; what we valued most about our families was the same. Our love for tradition and the strength that it brought, our parents discipline (although hard at times) so perfect in every way, our desire to build a home not a house and a haven for all who walk across the threshold – there’s so much more but I’ll leave some for you to discover as we begin to connect through this site…..

Inspired by our upbringing and the amazing example set for us, we had many conversations on how to build great families of our own and then how we could share our learning’s with others: We decided that we’d done enough talking it was time to put legs on our dreams and thus THEFAMILYROOM was birthed.

We then did what every girl with a dream does, we shared it with others. Belinda, Sam, Nicky, Annie and Catherine, all busy wives, mothers and girls who understood the dream and importance of committing to this journey - the journey of helping families build their futures….together, devoted to one another.

Today we operate THEFAMILYROOM we are all passionate about the dream, we are committed to the vision of seeing extraordinary families built, relationships established and our communities strengthened. We busy wives; mothers, sisters and friends and our organization is taking the community by storm. Around Sydney we are seeing families aspiring to THEFAMILYROOM principles. Further a field in countries like Canada and Fiji new Chapters of THEFAMILYROOM are being discussed.

We are so proud of what we have achieved - a team of dedicated women, a fantastic core group of people attending our regular meetings, a very successful launch night and an entertaining and informative BLOG spot. But this is only the beginning...

Ultimately our aim is to reach families all over the world through our network of events, newsletters, books and TV programs. The road ahead for us will get more and more exciting as these incredible passionate girls put a stake in the ground for FAMILY.

As the story unfolds, we’ll continue to update you chapter by chapter. We’re having lots of fun, putting smiles on faces and endeavoring to help families like yours carve out amazing futures.

We love you and believe in you and hope that you will bookmark us as one of your ‘favorites’ on your computer. We will be updating the site daily to provide you with more essential tools and tips that will enable you to make a difference in your family immediately.

Susan xoxo











The Family Room is a powerful and much needed response to the growing issues families are facing as the demands of everyday life increase.

Strong families can build strong communities. Studies in Australia and overseas have highlighted the importance of focusing on the question, 'What makes a family strong?' When these strengths are identified and developed, they can become the foundation for continued growth and positive change in a family and beyond.

The Family Room is a team of young mums who are committed to building extraordinary families, developing strong relationships, and strengthening the communities they live in.

©The Family Room 2006

Welcome to...

We would like to invite you to join us for great practical teaching, friendship and lots of fun as we endeavor to carve out faulous futures for our marriages, children, families and beyond. Whatever stage of life you're in, the family room offers life tips and strategies to anyone who dreams for a desires a phenomenal future.

the family room team are committed to seeing strong families emerge, walking through life confidently, together and totally devoted to one another.

We love you and can't wait to see you! It won't be the same with you. :)

Susan, Michaela and the girls xoxo
©The Family Room 2006