The Busy Couple's Guide to Sharing the Work & the Joy

by Peel, Kathy

• ISBN13: 9781414316208
• ISBN10: 1414316208
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-12-15
• Publisher: Picket Fence Pr

Summary

Kathy Peel, America's Family Manager and award-winning author, can help make it happen! The Busy Couple's Guide to Sharing the Work the Joy offers sound advice and immediate actions that will restore joy to your marriage and order to your home. You'll learn:

Author Biography

Kathy Peel is founder and CEO of Family Manager, a company that trains women in the art of family management. Her 21 books have sold more than 2 million copies-the latest of which are The Busy Mom's Guide to a Happy, Organized Home (winner of the 2009 Gold Mom's Choice Award) and Desperate Households. Besides her weekly Family Manager blog on ParentDish, Kathy is AOL's Family Coach, a popular social media guest expert, and on the board of experts for Parenting and InternetSafety.com. You may also find her in FamilyFun, All You, Woman's World, Real Simple, and HomeLife. A popular keynote speaker and media personality, Kathy has appeared on programs such as Oprah, The Early Show, The Today Show, and HGTV.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Getting from Me to We	p. xv
Why 50-50 Won't Work	p. xvii
How to Make This Book Your Own	p. xix
The Business of Doing Family	p. 1
Weekly Hit List	p. 4
When Life Gets Out of Balance	p. 6
A Man's Point of View	p. 9
Increasing Your Chances for Success	p. 12
His Normal/Her Normal	p. 13
Couple's Communication Covenant	p. 14
Assess Your Stress	p. 14
Clarify Your Priorities and Goals	p. 15
Tackle Tasks as a Team	p. 15
The Real Business of Family	p. 17
The Most Important Things to Remember	p. 19
Managing Your Time and Schedule	p. 21
Time Management Myths	p. 22
Preparing for Extra-Busy Times	p. 24
Time Management Truths	p. 24
Time Robbers	p. 26
Identifying Time Robbers	p. 28
Take Control of Technology	p. 29
Tips to Tame Technology at Home	p. 29
A Man's Point of View	p. 31
Say Yes to What Matters Most	p. 33
His Normal/Her Normal	p. 34
The Most Important Things to Remember	p. 37
Assess Your Stress	p. 38
Clarify Your Priorities and Goals	p. 39
Tackle Tasks as a Team	p. 40
Managing Your Home and Property	p. 41
Warning: Housekeeping Opposites Attract	p. 42
Don't Drown in Your Own Clutter	p. 44
Pressure Points and Stress Relief	p. 46
A Man's Point of View	p. 49
Create User-Friendly Rooms	p. 50
His Normal/Her Normal	p. 52
The Truth about Clutter and Cleaning	p. 54
The Most Important Things to Remember	p. 55
Assess Your Stress	p. 56
Clarify Your Priorities and Goals	p. 57
Tackle Tasks as a Team	p. 58
Managing Menus and Meals	p. 59
Culinary Teamwork	p. 60
A Man's Point of View	p. 61
A Case for Family Dinnertime	p. 63
His Normal/Her Normal	p. 67
Nutrition 101	p. 67
Going to Extremes Can Backfire	p. 68
Preparation Preempts: Problems	p. 69
Meal Planning	p. 70
Spending Less on Food	p. 71
Make Couponing a Family Affair	p. 71
Weekly Meal Planner	p. 72
More Ways to Save at the Grocery Store	p. 73
Saving on Food in Your Own Backyard	p. 74
How Dinnertime Almost Destroyed a Marriage	p. 74
The Most Important Things to Remember	p. 76
Assess Your Stress	p. 11
Clarify Your Priorities and Goals	p. 78
Tackle Tasks as a Team	p. 79
Managing Relationships with Family and Friends	p. 81
Relationships Trump Everything	p. 81
Heed the Warning, Lose the Guilt	p. 83
A Man's Point of View	p. 84
Intimacy: The Key to a Strong Marriage	p. 87
Mental Intimacy	p. 88
Emotional Intimacy	p. 88
His Normal/Her Normal	p. 89
Relationship Time and Commitment Inventory	p. 90
Physical Intimacy	p. 92
Weekly Quality Time Planner	p. 93
Spirimal mtimacy	p. 94
Building Intimacy: A Couple's Questionnaire	p. 97
Parenting as a Team	p. 98
Child Development Goals	p. 99
Ideas for Quality Time with Your Kids	p. 101
Learning from Each Other	p. 105
Staying Connected to Friends	p. 106
The Most Important Things to Remember	p. 109
Assess Your Stress	p. 110
Clarify Your Priorities and Goals	p. 111
Tackle Tasks as a Team	p. 112
Managing Your Finances	p. 113
The Danger of Unsettled Values	p. 113
What Does Money Mean to You?	p. 115
Your Family Financial Policy	p. 116
Low-Cost Family Fun	p. 119
Seven Financial Mistakes to Avoid	p. 120
Finding Ways to Save	p. 123
A Man's Point of View	p. 126
His Normal/Her Normal	p. 129
Counting the Cost of Going Back to Work	p. 130
Hanging Together in Tough Times	p. 131
Surviving and Thriving through the Really Tough Times	p. 134
Working through Financial Hardship	p. 136
The Most Important Things to Remember	p. 138
Assess Your Stress	p. 139
Clarify Your Priorities and Goals	p. 140
Tackle Tasks as a Team	p. 141
Managing Special Events	p. 143
Who's Your Chief Celebration Officer?	p. 143
Avoiding Toxic Extremes	p. 144
A Man's Point of View	p. 146
Simple Celebrations, Treasured Traditions	p. 149
A Dozen Ways to Celebrate Every Day	p. 150
His Normal/Her Normal	p. 151
What Will Your Children Remember?	p. 152
Cost-Saving Vacations	p. 154
Road Trip Planner	p. 155
The Most Important Things to Remember	p. 158
Assess Your Stress	p. 159
Clarify Your Priorities and Goals	p. 160
Tackle Tasks as a Team	p. 161
ManagingYourself	p. 163
Say Good-Bye to Mommy Guilt	p. 164
Self-Care Is Not Gender Specific	p. 165
Adding Energy to Your Life	p. 166
Habit Breakers-Habit Makers	p. 168
Finding Time for Self-Care	p. 169
Determine Who You Will Become	p. 171
A Man's Point of View	p. 172
Signs of Burnout	p. 174
His Normal/Her Normal	p. 175
The Most Important Things to Remember	p. 180
Assess Your Stress	p. 181
Clarify Your Priorities and Goals	p. 182
Family Team-Building Workshop	p. 183
Pulling Off Your Workshop	p. 188
Topics for Change	p. 188
Launching Routines (Standard Operating Procedures)	p. 191
Workshop Logistics	p. 192
SWOT for Success	p. 193
Workshop Follow-Through	p. 195
Family Workshop Planning Guide	p. 198
Web Resources	p. 205
Notes	p. 215
Index	p. 217
Acknowledgments	p. 221
About Kathy Peel	p. 223
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