Families today are busy.
Families are so busy, in fact, they often complain that while they share a house, they live completely separate lives.
"We are so active during the week that we rarely see eachother," says Rachel, mother of two school-aged children.
"My husband and I both work full-time during the day and at night we cart our children around to their various activities.
He takes one child and I take the other.
The only time I see my husband is at night before we go to bed...
and then we are too tired to talk, let alone anything else.
" Connie, a full-time working mother, also feels the family time-crunch.
"During the week I take my son to child care, go to work, pick him up, run errands and pay bills.
Then I get to go home and cook dinner.
On weekends we do all of the stuff we've neglected to do around the house during the week.
I don't feel like we ever come together as a family just to relax and have fun.
" Finding extra time to spend together as a family is never easy but it is possible.
If being with your family is important look at the ways you spend your time now.
With a little forsight you can build family time right into your busy lifestyle.
Make Dinnertimes Special: My friend, Lisa, plans her evening meals a week in advance.
She gets everyone in the family involved.
They create a menu and a grocery list and they go shopping together on Sundays.
Everyone helps with meal preparation and then they sit down together to eat as a family.
"This is a ritual for us," says Lisa.
"Once we began our family meals, dinner was something to look forward to, not rush through.
We get to spend time together shopping, cooking and eating.
" Lisa warns that teaching your kids to cook can be a lesson in patience, but ultimately it pays off.
"It was a bit more work in the beginning than doing it myself, but once the kids learned how to chop, dice, and serve, it actually made my life easier and we had more time in the week to do the things we wanted to do.
" On busier nights Lisa throws something in the slow cooker, but the family still helps with a salad or dessert.
Making Everyday Moments Together-Time: Your time together does not always have to be active time.
Some of the very best moments of our lives involve doing very little.
Jack, a single father, has a physically demanding job, so he sneaks in some quality time with his son while relaxing in front of the TV.
"My son and I have a couple of shows that we both like to watch.
We circle them in the TV Guide and even put them on the calendar.
Sometimes I make popcorn or get out some chips.
It's only for a few hours a week and but it's a great unwind time for us both.
One of our favorite tv shows is a really bad program, and we spend the entire hour making fun of it.
It's been a real bonding experience.
" Jack says that the key to turning relaxation time into family time is to make sure you connect during the process.
"Ask questions, tell jokes, sit next to each other; these are the things your kids will remember in years to come.
Behind the Wheel: Don't be tempted to go on a mental holiday when you are playing chauffer to your family.
Why not make use of this time together to catch up on eachother's lives? "I don't let the kids turn on their Ipods or the DVD player on short trips," says Lisa.
"Instead, I make small talk with them about things that are going on, or I turn on a radio station that we can all sing along to.
The kids really open up on our drives, and so does my husband, and I find myself a lot less judgmental when they confide in me.
We are somehow able to talk about things in the car that we are never able to talk about at home.
" Cut Down on the Activities: Perhaps the easiest way to find more time is to make more time.
"There are a lot of things in our lives we do that are unnecessary," says Jen, a full-time mother of three small children.
"Figure out which things are dispensable and then eliminate the extraneous items.
" Jen suggests creating a priority list and deciding what values are really important to you and your family.
"We used to spend our weekends doing chores around the house, but my husband and I decided that having time together as a couple and as a family was more important.
Our house isn't the cleanest house in the world, but we are a lot less stressed out.
Now we schedule one weekend a month to work on our home to-do list, and the other three weekends are ours to spend as we wish.
" Jen says her family is happier and her marriage has never been better.
"My priorities were messed up before.
I'm happy to say I know what's really important now.
You can't get the time back you wasted scrubbing floors.
Ever.
"