Planning a Birthday Party without losing your mind

My son's 6th birthday is in 10 weeks and I am in the full swing of planning for it. Yes, 10 weeks ahead of time! I find if I start really early and slowly work my way through all the things that need to be done, it doesn't get too overwhelming and in the end is a time saver and even a money saver! How is this you ask? Well with so much time in advance I can be sure that the first venues or supplier I call for things will definitely be able to accommodate anything so far in advance. I will not have to spend any time calling around to find an available bounce house or tables for example. Also I am guaranteed the time slots I want for everything which is huge in my household. The closely kept calendar is a MUST in our household were I need to coordinate my husbands and I weekends off (as physician's we both are subject to being on call all weekend) AND we have lots of friends and family from out of town who seem just as busy as we are so if we want them to come we need to give them plenty of notice as well. And to make this year's planning extra fun, my son is scheduled to have a soccer game on Saturday of every weekend from now until October, so his party must also be planned around this schedule. And finally there is gathering the supplies, such as the party favors, the pinatas, the gifts, the table settings and the games with plenty of time to be able to leisurely put it all together in time for the party so I am not rushed and stressed out in the end. Here is also where the saving money part comes in. When you start looking for these things so far in advance, you have time to look for the best prices, find sales and even browse the Internet for deals and then not have to rush shipping (so minimal shipping costs there too) and can even get supplies from some of the discount suppliers such as Zulily (www.zulily.com) which can take a few weeks to ship to you. I also have time to MAKE my invitations and thank you cards which saves TIME AND MONEY (have you ever tried to address 25 invitations by hand???? And stock card is really not expensive and 4-6 invitations fit nicely on just one card)

So the following is a list of my personal birthday party planning timeline:

10 weeks:

• Choose date and make sure we have the weekend off.  
• Let our friends and family know that date

9 Weeks:

• Pick the "theme" 
• Pick the location (home or book a venue)

8 weeks:

• Call for the location or the supplies needed at home such as bounce houses, tables/chairs etc.

4 weeks:

• Make the invitations

3 weeks:

• Send out invitations (Set RSVP for one week before the party so you can get the party favors put together)
• order party supplies such as games and party favors

1 week:

• Put party favor bags together (this process can take longer than you think!)

3 Days:

• order cake (if you are ordering it)

2 days:

• stuff pinata

1 day:

• pick-up balloons

• pick up cake

• pick up food

• set up tables and chairs if at home

• get party supplies together in boxes/bags if hosting elsewhere

• Make cake (if you are making it) 

One of the invitations I made. Contact information blurred out for privacy.

10 easy money saving tips for busy moms

So I thought I would write about real practical and easy money saving tips for the busy working mom. Because I don't know about you, but I do not have the time for extreme coupon clipping or growing my own foods. I have spent some time looking at other lists that are out there with money saving tips and frankly I don't have TIME for some of this stuff (selling my used items on EBAY anyone?) So here is my top 10 list of EASY time-saving tips for the frugal busy working mom:

1) Use coupons. OK I know I just said I don't have time for extreme coupon clipping and I don't, but when coupons are mailed to you or provided from your grocery store loyalty club, USE THEM! Easy! They are literally being handed to you, so stick them into your purse for the next shopping trip!

2) Buy Generic Medications. I am a physician and I can tell you that generics have the exact same active ingredients as the name brand at a fraction of the cost. I never buy name brand medications. Never.

3) Stay organized. Have you ever gone to the store to buy something again because you simply could not FIND the one you already had? Well I have and the more organized I am the easier it is to keep tract of the items I already had and therefore eliminate spending more on the second item.

4) Donate your old/unused items. Keep tract of your donation receipts as this will add up for a tax break come tax time! Much easier to do and a lot less time then listing each item for sale on websites or garage sales and though you may get less for your items, it is a money saver at the end of the year.

5) Buy quality items: Spend a little extra on quality items that will last longer and then not have to repurchase items down the road. I have always gotten my older son great quality clothes and shoes and almost all of it has been in good enough condition when he outgrew them to pass along to his little brother!

6) Buy used.  Ever been to a library book sale? $1.00 for books some of which look new! Or consignment stores with great quality gently used furniture for much less than new. Do I even need to discuss the benefits of a quality used car over a new car? Craigslist is also a great place to find used items.

7) Buy end of season/holiday for next year. I was just at the store and snagged some plates and pitchers for 75% off for "end of summer" sale. I also really love getting non-perishable items one day after holidays such as Easter, Halloween and Christmas that are typically 75-90% off! I just store them away for next year!

8)  Optimize your home. Make sure you are using power and water wisely. Ensure there are no leaks and if appliances or plumbing need replacement, get the energy/water saving options. Ensure your home is properly insulated and set thermostats a few degrees higher for air conditioner and lower for heater.

9) Pack your lunch and make your coffee. This is pretty simple and easy and does not take too much time if you prep it the evening before as you are making dinner. I usually set aside a portion of dinner in containers to take with me the next day.

10) Shop sales. This is just logical. Every time I go to any store I take a few minutes to browse the clearance and sales racks and shelves. Why pay more if you don't have to?

Coupons that were literally handed to me!

Blue Apron Review

So on my previous blog I discussed some of the ways I hire help and one of them was a food delivery service. The one I currently use is called Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com). It is basically a service where you pick how many people you will cook for and how many meals you want to receive a week and when you want it delivered. The ingredients and recipe cards for the meals are delivered to your door in a refrigerated box. All ingredients are portioned out ready for you to prepare. There is a new menu each week with plenty of options to choose from and you can skip a delivery or cancel anytime.
Since I am always looking for healthy meal options that my family will enjoy and that helps cut down on my preparation time, this one fits the bill. It is a bit pricey at around $9.00 per serving depending which meal plan you select, but it saves all the time of having to shop for the ingredients, it comes with the recipe card that is sturdy enough to keep if you want to try the recipe again and it comes with all the ingredients that you need (except olive oil) in just the amount you need (so no more wasted bunch of cilantro). Other nice perks is that they use seasonal farm fresh ingredients from family run businesses which I have always found to be very fresh and tasty. All of it is delivered in a box on ice so you don't have to be home right away to gt it into the fridge before it spoils.
Even my husband who is one of the pickiest eaters I have ever met enjoys most of these recipes, so that is really saying a lot.  What is nice is because you are prepping from scratch you can change it up a bit if say for example you don't really like a certain ingredient.
 The one thing I will say is that the prep times listed on the cards (usually 25-45 minutes) is less than what it takes me to get it prepared (45-60 minutes), but that may be because I also have two kids to keep an eye on while I am cooking and also perhaps I have not yet perfected my speed chopping :)
The website also has some fun blogs as well as cooking tips on video and a store to purchase some recommended cookware. 
One critique I have is the packaging could be a bit smaller I think. It seems to me the large boxes are a bit excessive and wasteful. I would also prefer more vegetable and protein heavy recipes, but that is because I am trying to stay fairly low carbohydrate which is not likely the case with most of their customers.
Overall I would highly recommend this service to those who like to cook up fresh delicious nutritious meals at home. The following is one of this weeks deliveries while cooking and the finished product. 

Bon Appetite!

Work Life Balance

Professional

Mama

This is the first of my series of blog posts about my life trying to balance a professional career as an Internal Medicine Physician and a mom of two very energetic boys! Not to mention the wife of a general surgeon! Yikes. Thank you for reading my blog. I hope what I have to say is useful and relevant and I certainly welcome any suggestions for posts, comments or questions!

Since this post is about work life balance I will start with my inspiration for this blog which is the book  Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg. I'll admit that I "read" the audio book on my commute to work and found it relevant and interesting and since I don't want to spoil it for you I will just suggest it to you as a "must read" book for any working professional mommy. She does a great job at suggesting ways to achieve this balance.

So as far as my work life balance goes, I will share with you 4 ways I am able to achieve being a doctor, wife, mom, landlord, writer and still find time to improve my self at work by taking leadership classes, being active in multiple committees at work and help educate the future medical professionals.

First off I will admit that there is no perfect way to do it. It truly is about BALANCE. There are days when I'm exhausted and finish the day by putting on a movie for the kids and there are days when I feel like I can accomplish anything and I am supermom making dinner and baking pumpkin bread from scratch. I can also say that I do not ever work-out nearly as much as I wish I could, but I refuse to beat myself up about it and instead focus on what I DID do. But I will share with you my basic plan for maintaining some semblance of sanity.

1) I have  a lot of help. Plain and simple. I have an Au Pair (I will blog about the pros and cons of this in a future blog), a housekeeper who comes once a week, a gardener who comes once a week, a food delivery service (more on this later as well) and I hire out help for the house maintenance tasks such as painting and repairs. I realize not everyone has the resources for this type of help and I consider myself very very lucky but I would challenge those who don't to find the ways in which you can get all the help you can get.
 2) I have a flexible work schedule. There are days and times when I must be at work plain and simple. But I plan several weeks in advance. I joke that maintaining the "master schedule" is a job all on its own. I also can work from home. Yes as a physician I can work from home thanks to technology that allows me home access to my patients charts and work e-mail I typically spend some time at home doing work everyday after the kids go to sleep. This allows me to leave work at a reasonable hour and get home to my kids and being mommy.
3) I say no. When the schedule is full, it is full. If there is a last minute notification of a birthday party and the schedule is tight, we don't go. If my son really wants to do soccer in the fall then we cut out a different activity. I keep two nights of the week and weekends free of recurrent scheduled activities, period. This is so we keep some scheduled downtime and have a little wiggle room for last minute things that were not anticipated.
4) I listen to audio books. I spend 40 minutes on my commute on work days. I use that time to the fullest extent. I want to learn more about leadership? I get an audio book about it. I want to learn more about a parenting technique? I get an audio book about it. I also sometimes use this commute time to get household tasks done. I have blue tooth enabled vehicles so I can call the plumber on the way to work for example. Or if I know I will have a busy day at work I may call work to get an update on things so that I am more prepared when I physically arrive at the hospital.

These are some of the ways I am able to do homework with my kids, cook dinner most nights, be at most of the school events and read then bedtime stories as well as be 100% at work. I hope sharing how I can achieve some balance has been helpful and I would love comments from readers on other ways you find helpful in maintaining work life balance.