organizing: choosing a paper planner

When I have a lot going on its easy to feel overwhelmed or so busy that I just kind of lounge on the couch watching reruns. I feel like ever since school started, we have been going, going, going. Staying organized is key to any success I have as a mom, business owner and seminary teacher. I'm going to start sharing some of the tips and techniques that have worked for me.

Starting the day right: breakfast and planner

While browsing around Barnes and Noble this summer, I fell in love with this beautiful planner. Is there anything more exciting than a brand new, blank planner? Just waiting to be filled with to-do lists and activities. I didn't buy it then, I pondered over it and searched around online for other options. I ended up going back at the beginning of August and I am so happy with my choice.

Reasons I love this planner and things to consider when searching for your own:

Month at a glance pages

• It has both a month at a glance pages and weekly pages with one column per day. I use an alligator clip to easily flip between the month and the current week. I use the month pages to jot down future events. For example when I get the activity newsletter from Henry's school, I can quickly put those events into the monthly calendar. As we enter each new week, I check the month calendar and input the info into the weekly pages. 
• The alligator clip is also helpful for keeping grocery lists handy. 
• The calendar is 18 months. Since I was shopping around for something mid year, I was worried I wouldn't find one. Or that I would be stuck with a blank one where you have to input your own dates. Yuck. 

How my week starts out. I plug in everything I have planned on Sunday night.

• Each week is an double page spread with eight columns. One for each day of the week and an extra column at the beginning for general notes on the week. 
• Each column has six rows created by a subtle change in color. I have each row marked as a separate area of my life. Appointments and activities, etsy, seminary, blog, gym and menu. I love having a space to put in my menu for the week. Seriously I love how I can compile everything together. 

Welcome to the madness!

• Having the separate rows for each type of activity allows me to plan out blog posts and jot down ideas for future writing. I also can spread out all my to do items throughout the week so I don't feel as overwhelmed. I used to write down everything I wanted to get done into one mega list and be overwhelmed by how much there was to do. 
• The larger spiral allows me to keep a pen handy for taking notes.

• In the back there are sections for contacts and notes that I don't really use. But there are some rip out shopping and to-do lists that I have found helpful. 
• I have looked around at apps for my phone to help me get organized and I never found anything I could get used to using. A pen and paper are my go to. Maybe I just can't get the same satisfaction from an app as physically crossing the items off my list. 
• And its really easy to go back to the previous pages and see what still needs to be done. 

Keeping on top of all the things I want to do and need to do is key to having any planner system work. I usually start my day by reviewing my notes and any activities or appointments we have planned. Then I keep checking back throughout the day to cross off completed items and add whatever comes up--setting it on the counter in a central location helps me remember to follow up. At the end of the day while were winding down watching tv, I go through it one final time to make plans for the next day. 

What kind of planner do you use? Do you have any great organizational tips you'd like to share?

Vivian: One Month

At one month, Vivian has been a wonderful and sweet addition to our family. 

She now weighs 8 lbs 9.5 oz and is 21.5" long. 

She is 25% for weight, 50% for height and her head is 10%.

I never said anything on here about how we came up with her name. I have loved the name Vivian ever since Angelina Jolie named her daughter Vivian. It just caught my eye and I have always liked it. Its feminine but not frilly. Its just reminds me of a beautiful and strong woman. I love that it sounds like vivid, vivacious and vital or full of life. Its also kind of old fashioned or a glamorous movie star. 

And I never mentioned any other name to Steve so when she was born, it was the only option :)

Marcela is a name that Steve came home with. Its also a variation of my grandpa's name Marcelo. And since it went great with Vivian, we loved it.  

Here are some of the things we know about her so far:

• When she gets mad, she gets really red. Like super red. She is already pretty pink, a nice rosy color when she is sleeping or happy and then it only gets red from there. Actually I am happy that I opted for less pink in her wardrobe because when she wears pinks pjs, she is all one color. 
• She doesn't like to be tickled.
• At one month, she suddenly got very loud. Her crying used to be more whiny but now it is full out screaming. 
• She can roll her tongue, something she got from Steve. Both Henry and I cannot. 
• She has been sleeping up to 5-6 hours for her first night shift which is a HUGE blessing. But not always and sometimes she wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep. 
• She hates sleeping in her crib. She loves sleeping in the rock and play and in our arms.
• To get her to sleep, Steve holds her against his chest. It really calms her down.
• She seems to have a witching hour from 8-11 pm and refuses to go to sleep. 
• She likes to be free to move her arms and legs around and she already has increased strength in her kicking. She also really likes for us to do bicycle legs with her and move her arms about as if dancing. 
• She has spit up in 4 weeks more than Henry has in his whole life. Luckily I made a ton of burp cloths for Henry that are practically still brand new. 
• She doesn't seem to care about singing when she's sleepy.
• Swaddling helps her calm down unless she is already too upset and then it just makes her mad. 

Henry's ABC Book

 I would like to start off by apologizing for the poor quality of these pictures but I didn't want the flash to create a glare so some are a little fuzzy. And I am lazy and not going to retake them.

If your child is like mine, he/she loves to look at pictures of themselves. If there is a video with Henry in it, he will watch it over and over again. He loves to see pictures of himself from a baby to a big boy and he loves looking in the mirror. From this fascination with seeing himself I came up with an idea to make a book all about Henry and the ABC's.

This is a relatively simple project once you have all the pictures taken and printed. I simply used sheet protectors with the holes cut off as the base of the book. Each letter has its own half page which is just a 8.5x11 piece of card stock cut hamburger style and then I shaved about 1/4 inch off each sheet so I could sew the book together. The card stock pieces will measure 8.5x5.25".
The pictures were printed in 4X6".

I cut out two sets of the alphabet using my cricut. One in white in the shadow version so it would be bigger and one in black in a normal font. The white letters I glued to the card stock after gluing the pictures in place. I then wrote each word using a sharpie. The smaller letters were contacted papered to be used as a sort of puzzle. I attached small pieces of velcro to both letters so they can be removed and then put back in their spots. I have already seen a big improvement in Henry being able to match the letters.

I assembled all the pages making sure the letters would be in order once the pages were sewn together. Sewing this smooth and thin plastic was really easy on my machine. I sewed the binding about three times. I then sewed shut all the open sheet protector edges. It really was that simple. The hardest part was accumulating all the items but Henry had a lot of fun being directed around the house to have his picture taken.

 a: apple  b: baseball bat

 c: car  d: dog

 e: eggs  f: family

 g: glasses  h: hat

 i: ice cream  j: juice

 k: kitchen   l: laptop

 m: mickey mouse  n: nightlight

 o: ocean  p: pajamas

 q: q-tip  r: ray

 s: strawberry  t: turtle

 u: umbrella  v: vacuum

 w: wand  x: X

 y: yogurt  z: zipper

Tip: Try and find pictures you have already taken that would work for some of the letters, keep a checklist and mark them off as you find them. I also put the picture files in a folder on my desktop so they were easy to find for printing. If you have older kids, they could even help come up with their own idea for each letter.

Simple Ideas: The Book

Over a year ago we had an FHE about noticing the good things in our life, the blessings and being grateful for them. (I didn't come up with this idea, I saw it online somewhere.) Often it is easy to forget about the little things in life that make each day good. So I challenged us to start a good things journal. At the end of each day, one of us writes down three good things from that day. We trade off each day and when Henry gets old enough, he will contribute as well. Even if we had a terrible day, we have to find three good things. They could be tiny, like hugs from Henry or big like hitting 1000 sales. Since I stink at journaling except blogging its an easy way to just jot down my thoughts and happenings.

It has been a fun way to journal moments from our past year. Here are some of my favorites:
beckie 6/24/2011: Don't cry over spilled milkshake
steve 8/18/2011: Coming home and seeing Henry point at me from the window
beckie 8/23/2011: working out and not wanting to die
steve 9/7/2011: Quik trip slurpee
beckie 10/6/2011: making flowers with Chelsea for opossum fest
steve 10/22/2011: Henry going down the big slide with no hesitation
beckie 12/6/2011: Last day of class for Steve breakfast celebration at Mama's Boy
steve 1/23/2012: 4th straight day of rain
beckie 2/12/2012: Henry pretending his toys are asleep with deep breathing
steve 4/27/2012: Henry's batman pjs
beckie 5/22/12: Playing monopoly with Steve and getting creamed (Johnson Square)

One thing I noticed while scanning back over the year, this was an easy way to record Henry moments, like the first time he did something, or funny little mannerisms that only lasted for a few days or weeks. I highly recommend this and can't wait to keep going.

Simple Idea: Huge Birthday Card

 Cards today are so impersonal and expensive. Since our mom's birthdays were coming up and I had to be at least as creative as this effort, I came up with the SUPER sized, huge birthday card. Its relatively easy and costs about $5 but the impact is worth a lot more especially for an unsuspecting Grandma. To start you'll need a picture. Get your subject suited up party style and snap enough shots to get a good one. 

Select your favorite and make it black and white. I made it black and white before printing so I could play with the color balance but you don't have to. Now you can either have a 5X7" printed and then take to Kinkos or you can just load it on a thumb drive and take that with you.

Take your printed black and white picture/thumb drive to a Kinkos and have them blow it up big. If you go to Kinkos, the machine is in the self serve section but I always act dumb and have them help me so it turns out right. It should cost about $5 for black and white 18"X 24"-ish. I don't remember the exact size anymore since I did this back in March. 

Now that you have your large poster home, its time to decorate. I opted to color in the party hat and write a quick message but you could have your kids involved as well at this point. Fold your completed poster into a mailable size and tape it shut. 

 Address and decorate the outside. Festive balloons and banners let the receiver know something exciting is inside.

Jot a note on the back saying how to open, (careful! no ripping allowed) pile three stamps on the front and send your extra-large, special greeting on its way.

Simple Idea: Happy Birthday Cupcake Card

 I love birthdays and I love sending cards but since I want them to be special and unique and handmade, I never get around to it. I guess I should simplify my criteria...

Anyway so last fall I came up with a plan and it worked out great. My dad's birthday was coming up so I put the plan into action. I "designed" one mega card and then made copies for everyone and made them all at the same time. I even put them in envelopes, addressed them and stamped them! I sent one to my grandma and Steve's dad too. I figure they wouldn't know that they all got the same card until they read this blog post right?

The card idea was simple. Put a cupcake in a strategic area where Henry would find it then take 100 pictures of the event while encouraging him to chow down. Once the cupcake was consumed and the pictures looked through, the story kind of wrote itself. I printed each set, glued them to card stock and then sewed them into a simple book. Done and Done!

Now I just need another story for everyone else since you can't send the same card to people if they live in the same house. 

P.S. I love the cream in his eyebrow.

P.P.S. Afterwards I tossed the sheet in the washer and Henry in the tub.

Simple Idea: Infinity Scarf

You know me, jumping on all the band wagons. Infinity scarves. Circle scarves. They are everywhere. So of course, I had to have one too. I saw one on pinterest months ago with lace in it. Lace, I love lace. So I pinned it for a rainy day and the rainy day came in the midst of christmas craft scarf making.

 I don't usually buy fabric at Walmart because I am a snob but I happened to luck out with this super cool poly-fake wool blend for only $1.49 a yard. I already had the black lace in my stash. With both fabrics together this scarf was practically free.

 I didn't make a tutorial because I was in a rush but this was super easy. Since I wanted to utilize both sides of the fabric, grey and darker grey, I cut two lengths of the fabric and made a tube which I turned right side out. Then I attached the lace. I think my original lengths were closer to 60" x 2 which was way too long. Final dimensions are 17" X 90".

It is long enough to wrap around my neck three times for a tighter look or two times for a looser look. This also works great as a blanket on a plane or a tissue at the park. I love it and might be making another one. 

I know a lot of the tutorials out there have you using knit fabric. I couldn't find cute knit that I loved so I used lace with a slight stretch and wool. I don't think you even need the knit stretch. So if you find a fabric you like, just go ahead and make this. One thing to consider, something that lays nicely and isn't stiff would be ideal. 

Original inspiration came from here.

Simple Idea: Fall Card w/Banner

Around this time of year, my craftiness goes into overdrive and I start really going crazy. Even for me. So I saw these cute ghost foot prints on pinterest and mentally bookmarked them as something I had to do with Henry this year. 

Now a similar idea was brought to my attention this summer. Cute red lobster feet and hand prints. I was going to make these really awesome cards with pictures of Henry at the beach and then send with the footprints. I got everything set up. The table was covered in trash bags. My sponge brush was primed with red acrylic, the tub was full of frothy warm water and Henry was stripped down to a diaper. I had Steve hold him while I painted his little foot red. I thought I could just get him to stand on a piece of paper. Nope. He kicked his legs and protested with all his might. Thinking it was hilarious. We abandoned the foot and then tried the hand. He liked the brush as it painted him red but instead of willingly opening his hand to press it to the paper, his fist closed tight on the paint, squeezing it through his fingers. We wrestled, Steve holding him tight and me trying to pry his fingers apart. In the end, Henry ended up in the tub producing merely smudgy nothings on a lot of wasted paper.

 This time we were prepared. Henry in his booster seat happily eating cheerios while watching tv with us kneeling beneath him. He had no idea it was even happening. Success. Know your child. So my cute holiday card came to fruition at last. Henry ghost feet with pumpkin patch snap shots and a mini "Fall" banner.

 I simply punched a hole in each side of the card before I glued the photos in place. Tiny bunting is hot glued to string and then tied into place.

 These have happily made their way to grandma's and nana's homes. And the perfect black one will be framed hopefully the start of a series of these to be completed each year. We'll see if that happens.

Simple Idea: Ceiling Fan Clean

I hope you guys had a great weekend. We went to a small fall festival in Winterville and Henry got to take his first hayride! Plus see lots of fun rabbits and search through a swimming pool of corn for candy.  Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of well.

In an ideal world there would be no ceiling fans. Personally, I think they are ugly and tacky. From a design point of view, they are just not my cup of tea. That being said. They sure do get the job done and I am grateful for them in our apartment during the sweltering Georgia summer.

Well now that they are no longer necessary and have stopped their perpetual motion, I have something truly disgusting to show you.

Told you. A summer's worth of dust. I hate cleaning fans. Obviously. The dust gets everywhere and I feel like I am doing more damage than good.

 Pinterest to save the day, yet again. Simply take a pillow case, place over the fan blade.

 And wipe all the dust off into the case. Repeat and no more huge dust clumps falling all over the place.

Go outside and shake the pillow case out. Accidentally because of the wind shaking dust all over your neighbors deck below. Oh well.