Perfect Weekend at Home!

Another fun weekend at home! This really doesn't happen very often and it is even more rare that we actually stay home. (Last one was Memorial Day and it was memorable enough to blog about too!) The thought crossed my mind to hit Conner Prairie today, but was overruled by sticking around home and I am happy we did. Here's a rundown!

Friday was my day out of the office this week. I have worked hard to only work three days a week this summer, but since we just returned from vacation, I worked four this week. On my day off, we hit the library, Walmart and just hung out around the house. The kids did a little bike riding too. Jack is really getting the hang of riding his bike.

I ran Friday night once Tom came home. I decided to run hill repeats to add in some variety. I signed up for the October Indianapolis Marathon (more running posts to come) and it is a hilly one. Maybe if I do hills specifically once a week, I'll be prepared. 

Tom ran out for dinner fixings and I hit the back porch with a glass of wine and Runner's World. This was a perfect way to end quite a stressful and busy week!

Somewhere along the way, Josie lost her second front tooth! She lost the first one a few days ago and then the second one started looking really bad. It was almost totally sideways! It finally came out after days of wiggling. You can tell she's having a really hard time talking with them gone!

Here is the progression of tooth photos!

Saturday morning, the girls had their second gymnastics' camp. They have a fun time going to these but have to be convinced to actually go. Tom, Jack and I hit up the Sweet Shop for donuts and took them north to the Beckenholdt Park. This place is truly a hidden gem and I always forget about it. I need to go up there to run someday. Jack had a great time being an only child and was very cuddly! He also stopped to pose for a few photos. We need to take the "good" camera up there with the close up lens one of these days.

Then, we took Jack to his favorite store, Home Depot. We gathered supplies for our weekend projects and then picked up the girls. The rest of the day consisted of lots of projects, snow cones for the kids and a two hour nap for me! Tom worked on the garage, laundry shelves and the grill. I worked on the craft cupboard and junk drawer. I had to take another trip to Walmart and Home Depot to finish gathering supplies at one point.

We did venture out to the Fortville Bastille Day celebration. It was a really cute little small town festival. I felt like I was in the movies! Unfortunately, the kids weren't in the best mood but it was a nice distraction. Tom finished out the day at the neighbor's fire and I finished it out in bed with a book!

Today, I didn't wake up until 10! I thought for sure I wouldn't sleep well after my long nap yesterday but I was wrong. I seriously had a rough and stressful week and did not sleep well at all. Now, I think I'm all caught up and ready to go. Tessa was the first of the kids to wake up at 9, so I guess I'm not the only one!

Today was spent finishing up projects. Tom fit in a 3 mile run with Josie on her bike and I went out for 7. It was a very long, very slow and very hot 7 miles, but I did it. I planned to run this evening but went out at 12:30 instead to just get it done. We also took the kids to the neighbor's pool and Tom took Josie fishing which included setting a trap for minnows and then a creek walk. They're still gone at 7PM. :) 

Here is a photo synopsis of our projects this weekend. I wish I had taken "before" photos! It was a successful weekend! :)

New shelves and bins in the laundry room!

Which allowed me to clear off the top of the dryer. :) 

And, the top and side of the freezer. One project we didn't finish? Repainting the enamel top table to the right of the freezer. We have the paint and big plans. :) 

One of these days, I really want to paint the laundry room some funky colors, get some cool decor and really finish it up. For now, at least it's organized!

Speaking of laundry, I managed to get it all done and it will be put away before bedtime - 

I will demand it!

Here are some shots of the garage. Again, I wish I had "before" shots.

My happiest spot I was able to organize is the craft cupboard. I unloaded the girls' backpacks (finally!) and pitched all of the broken crayons and eraser-less pencils. I organized and labeled school boxes and sharpened more pencils. Unfortunately, school starts all too soon and I wanted to make sure I was ready for homework and projects. I think I'm good! I also managed to pass along a bunch of coloring books and workbooks that the girls have outgrown. (This is a bad photo, but trust me, it looks awesome!)

Right above this cabinet is the junk drawer. I spent a little money on organizers and I'm pretty happy with the resulting junk drawer. 

One area that I did not make it to this weekend is the girls' school papers. I wanted the girls to work on their summer packets but we couldn't find Tessa's. So, right now, all of their stuff is on the guest room bed. I guess I have this week's project!

All in all? A great weekend. We needed it. As I've said, it was a stressful week after vacation and I'm sure next week will be no different. Or, maybe it will be better. I hope so. I am very happy for the weekend respite from the crazy weekday grind. 

A New Notebook

In my flustered state that has been my week, I had to (HAD to) drive 20 minutes each way to get yarn at JoAnn fabric to finish my next blanket. (We're driving for another 6 hours this weekend, so I think I can wrap it up.) (And, I procrastinated too long to just order it online.) (And, it made me mad to pay more in shipping than for the yarn, though I probably spent that much in gas.) (And, I use too many parenthesis.)

Anyway, Tom called while I was there and asked me to run into Target to grab Josie a new pair of tennis shoes. We tried to find shoes this weekend and it's a long story that isn't worth typing out, but we didn't get any. I gladly obliged because who passes up Target. I had Jack with me and he had fallen asleep on the ride down so he was clingy and wouldn't let me put him down. He does this so infrequently that I just ate it up! But, though he is small, he does get heavy. I hightailed it back to the shoe department and found the perfect ones.

I couldn't leave though without checking out the notebooks. I've talked about my notebook system before (looking back and realized I never posted it! Yikes!) and I am finally in the market for a new one. My pink notebook (not Moleskine) that I am currently using has been in my purse for almost a whole year. My first list was dated October 4, 2011. This is my first notebook that I have actually used almost all of my pages - I only have three blank pages left!

I was thrilled to see that Target is now carrying Moleskine! That means I didn't have to settle for something for the next year that wasn't my favorite. Here is my little piece of heaven for the week. I'm stoked and can't wait to start filling in the pages. I'm such a nerd. :)

Donald Trump Changed My Life

If you're like me, a small business owner with many irons in the fire, you probably find that your day is constantly filled with interruptions. If I'm in my office, I receive between 100-200 emails a day and probably 20 phone calls, not to mention employee and customer interaction. So, my uninterrupted time at my desk comes a precious few minutes at a time. If I'm not careful, the day slips away and I have truly not managed to do a single productive thing.

Four years ago, my husband and I went to a Get Motivated Seminar. It was day filled with speakers about everything from selling skills to investments. There were some big name speakers, but I only really remember one. I learned something that day that has changed the way I organize my life and increased my productivity by leaps and bounds. Who was the life changing speaker? This guy.

Photo Courtesy of http://www.power-partnering.com/images/george-ross.jpg

George Ross, as you likely know, was on The Apprentice and is Donald Trump's right hand man. His presentation was on negotiation tactics, but he started with a quick tip. He said he learned this concept from Donald himself. If it was good enough for the Donald and George, it was good enough for me.

The gist of the idea revolves around a notebook. It can be any kind of notebook, but I am in love with Moleskine. They have many editions, but I prefer the simple, plain black with lines. When starting the first time, make it less about the notebook and more about the process. You'll figure out what you need to tweak the style of notebook you'll need. (I now have a perfect size - probably 4.5x8". It must fit in my purse, but be big enough to keep all of the information I need.)

Start on the second page and right side of your notebook and make your list. This can be a list of things to do this week or for the day specifically. I usually list everything I would do for the day if I had a perfectly quiet day with no interruptions. Then, go down through the tasks and number them starting with #1 being the first task you will conquer. Usually, I use tasks 1 and 2 to get myself going so they're usually easy and quick. Once I get started and knock a couple things off, I'm usually on a roll and the rest of the tasks go much faster. If you have to pause to take a call or talk with a customer, you'll be able to fall right back into your prioritized list.

Here's a photo of my list from the other day when I was at home. I know, it's on the left side of the page. But, it was one of many lists that day. I'm obsessed with scratching off items, so laundry is on there for each time I need to start a new load.

This part may not seem life changing and it's really not. The magic occurs on the left side of the page and the rest of the notebook. This is where you make notes from your day that would generally go on scrap paper, Post-Its or a cocktail napkin. This keeps everything in one nice, neat place and a great record of who you talk with, phone numbers, prices and part numbers, and much more. I take this book everywhere including sales training and seminars and keep all of my notes in this book. I now have four years worth of data that I have collected all organized by date.

Here's a shot of a work day. The chicken scratch on the left side is exactly what makes the concept work.

I also save the back 10-20 pages of the notebook for important information like user names, passwords, and anything else I want to track on a longer term list. I've done a lot with this section over the years including taking measurements when I was on a workout plan, tracking all of my real estate listings, tracking employees bonuses, and keeping a to-do list for when I become president of an organization in a few years.

This is more than a to-do list and it's more than a journal. Following this has truly changed my life and helps me stay on track and organized everyday. And, to think, it's all thanks to Donald Trump. If it works for the Donald, it will likely work for you too.

Projects!

I was home with the kiddos today for the first Friday in a long time. I've been on a Tuesday/Friday off routine for some time, but this summer, most of our Friday's have been spent out of town. And, Tuesdays are spent at the library, grocery and doing laundry. So, the free day at home was an exciting prospect for me. And, Tom is working the sales center on Saturday's now, so the kids and I are swinging it solo at home during the day tomorrow too.

I really wanted to tackle some projects since I have a whopping three days at home with nothing planned. I've been making a list of house projects so that when I have free time, I can decide to tackle them. Some are large and require quite a bit of preparation and project time (refinish an armoir, create a craft/gift wrapping station, set up an art area for Tom) and some are small and can easily happen in a day (clean out desk in guest room, organize basement bins, organize bath closet).

So, did I choose any of those projects today? Nope. I was side tracked by a few things. One, some trades were here this morning finishing up some punch out items. So, I tried to keep the kids occupied and entertained with puzzles and coloring. Two, I've been working on a real estate deal for a while now  and was really trying to get it wrapped up today. Three, I started feeling guilty that the kids would be bored (AKA watch way too much TV) while I worked on a project, so I tried to think of something to do with them.

End result? I got a little done but also involved the girls too. (Jack's happy doing whatever the group is doing, plus, most of this was done during naptime.) First, they let me work on their hair. This NEVER happens any more. I kept them sidetracked with the iPad. I'll have to remember that. I did Josie's first and Tessa thought it looked just like Tangled. So, she let me do hers. It was out within minutes of this picture.

During Jack's nap, the girls colored some shirts that Aunt Trena gave them at the lake this year. I think they did a great job. Now, the trick is, they're supposed to wash out and then you can color them again. I think I'll be washing them with the swimming pool towels just in case...

Finally, I've been really trying to get organized for school so it doesn't ransack the house. The girls backpacks are ready to go, the kitchen is stocked for lunches and after-school snacks and I'm (relatively) caught up on laundry. One last thing I want to work on is getting hooks for their backpacks. I just know they'll be dumped where ever and that will drive me nuts. Plus, getting them in the right habit the first week of school will help immensely when the coats and hats are added to the mix. While I didn't get the hooks done today (maybe Sunday), I did do a quick little thing that I think is cute.

I crocheted a long chain (just for thickness) and then cut out two initials for each girl and let them decorate them. I glued those onto clothespins and then attached the chain to the bulletin board. Voila! A cute little way for them to display their favorite school work! (This really came about due to the stainless steel fridge - no magnets!)

All in all, fun day. Tomorrow, I hope to be able to take on some additional, perhaps more functional, projects. If not, oh well...

{Re-reading this before I post and this makes it sound like I did a lot today. It's funny because I really feel like I didn't. But, I did get up early to go to a bust-of-a-barn-sale. It was not worth the extra 30 minutes of sleep. Tom didn't get home until 7 and we just finished dinner at 10PM. So, I guess it was a full day. I also left out the 30 minute cat nap and double espresso shot for the iced latte that I made myself at 4PM.}

Back In the Game!

After my last, pitiful post, I bucked up, went out for dinner with a friend, had a nice planning session with Tom and got my act in gear. I'm doing so much better. I really start to lose it when I start to lose control. So, I made a few lists, started with small tasks and really made a dent in what I needed to get done last week. Sometimes, I just have so many un-fun things on my list, it gets me down. Getting some of those things done, realizing they weren't so bad, was very therapeutic.

So, my newest goal is to get more organized around the house. I am in the office three days a week and I'm home with the kids two days and the weekend. I've fallen into the habit of considering my days at home my days "off." That really gets us out of sorts. Laundry doesn't get done, toys are everywhere and dishes just sit. I even find myself irritated at the kids when I'm trying to surf the internet. This just doesn't work.

To remedy the situation, I've started working on a household binder. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while, but just haven't gotten around to doing it. I keep my lists in a small notebook that goes everywhere with me, but this will have to be larger. It will hold all of our important information eventually - routines, schedules, grocery lists, financial information and even a household inventory list. Maybe once I'm done with it I'll post about it. For now, it's definitely a work in progress.

My first step was to put together a grocery list for Walmart. I don't know about you, but I only shop at Walmart. I'm not happy about it, but I just don't have time to run all over town. And, we are not creative eaters. We are always eating the same things and I always manage to forget something when I'm making my list or at the store. So, I spent some time putting together a list based on the order I browse the aisles and all of the things we like to have on hand at home. I've used it twice and easily cut 10-15 minutes off my trip in the store. That place can be like a big, black hole if you're not careful! I did our weekly shopping today in 40 minutes, which included 20 minutes worth of driving to and from the store! Now that I've tested the list, I plan to print off a bunch of lists to keep in my notebook.

The second step was to outline each of my days, with the exception of my true "day off" - Saturday. I outlined exactly what I needed to do in each chunk of my day. I have it down to the smallest of detail including loading, running and unloading the dishwasher, starting each load of laundry, wiping down counters, and even sorting mail. Five minutes a day of sorting mail is so much easier than allowing a huge pile to accumulate all week. And, double bonus, you don't have a huge pile of mail accumulating during the week. :)

This was an important exercise for me. I didn't realize how much of a routine I already follow. The key thing is that I'm kind of busy and don't have a ton of free time. So, if I just decide to blow off laundry on Tuesday, it's really hard to get caught back up. This just causes undue stress on me and the family. If I do a little bit at a time, I have more time to spend with the kids doing fun stuff. I was also careful to work in specific times when I'm home with the girls to do projects together during Jack's naps. Just as sometimes I forget that I'm not really "off" when I'm at home, I also forget WHY I stay home during those two days. It's not to keep a perfect house. It's to spend time with the kids.

I also set a few goals for January -

1. Remember birthdays (always seems to make the New Year's Resolution list)
2. Follow Four Hour Body - Tom's going to try this too!
3. Follow Binder Routine
4. Read 1 Book - Would I like to read more? Yes. Considering I think I only read two books last year, I think this is a lofty goal. :)

I've said for a long time that I feel like I have the perfect work-life balance. I am very blessed to be self-employed and have the flexibility that I do. I am hopeful that this method of organization will help make my time at home less stressful and more enjoyable. After all, that's why I'm here!

New House - I'm Gonna Do This!

OK - so except for the five kid part, I'm totally doing this at the new house. The girls are old enough to put away their own laundry, even though they don't want to and I'm not a fan of the hanging everything.

Laundry System from Clover Lane's Blog - Thanks to my friend Stephanie for introducing me to this great blog!

Our new laundry room has a nice area in which I want to put in a long piece of laminate top as a shelf. Here's a shot of what the room will look like - don't be fooled by "built-ins" as we're just doing a shelf I think.

I can totally envision five laundry baskets beautifully labeled set on the counter and put away nicely each Saturday morning. I already do laundry on Monday and Friday and will probably stick with that. But, I'll start folding in the laundry room and putting them in baskets for the kids to put away. Tom says it's a pipe dream. I say it's a nice pipe dream and I'm gonna make it happen. :)

Personalized School Work Boxes - Part One

So, the kids' sitter is off this coming week and I was at Walmart alone on Friday. What did I end up with? A couple file boxes, two huge packs of scrapbook paper, spray adhesive, ModPodge, file folders and three canvases. For those that don't know me well, crafting is NOT my thing. But, I was caught at a weak moment and just started throwing stuff in my cart for two projects. (Initially, I had grabbed two three ring binders for the girls and some sheet protectors and was going to call that good for this project.)

I was actually able to get started on my first project this weekend as Tom was gone for a golf outing. I have seen this posting by I Heart Organizing on Pinterest many times. She put together file boxes for each of her boys with folders for each year. I loved that she put the school picture on the front of each folder. Her post also includes free printables for the file folder cover sheets and labels. I'll be working on this in the coming week as my printer is not yet set up.

In the meantime, I decided that I wanted to take this one step further and make personalized boxes for each of the kids. Before you give me too much grief, no, Jack does not have any masterpieces yet. But, one day he will and his box will match the girls'. (And, I've contemplated adding a folder for important papers - shot records, doctor visits, etc.) I decided to document the whole thing with photos so I could share it here with you good people...

Here is the box I started with. They were $5 at Walmart this week. It's a nice plastic box with a latching lid. It's not too big and not too small. I think one file folder will be appropriate for each years' papers, report cards, etc.

I started by letting the girls pick out the colors they would like for their names. Here are Josie's choices.

OK - take that back - she picked other colors first and I guided her in another direction. I decided to use the orange she originally chose as a template. I realized that the kids have a lot of the same letters and it was silly to continue to recreate the correct size and look of the letter. Plus, it became more of a "font." It also allowed for me to have a messy template - it took a few tries to get the letter looking the way I wanted it. This will make more sense in later steps.

My model with one of my templates.

Once I had the template cut, I traced it BACKWARD onto the actual page I wanted to use. There are two reasons for this. One, I had textured paper and I wanted the texture on the outside. Two, which I guess is really the same as one, I didn't want trace marks on the side that would show.

I was worried the girls would get in the way, but they managed to keep themselves busy. (Jack was napping.)

Here are all of the letters for Josie!

Then, I placed them on the box the way I wanted them to look. I couldn't really come up with a great way to mark their location, so I just took a picture.

I used spray adhesive to get them to stick to the box. I will caution you - it does not take much! In fact, I'll likely be redoing Josie's because I used to much and there is adhesive everywhere. Learned my lesson and Tessa and Jack's are much better.

I sprayed it in my sink and over newspaper just in case. (You can see the junk in this picture. It does NOT dry clear.) For Josie's I may try ModPodging over it to see if that hides the imperfection. It can't hurt anything.

And, the finished products!

Now, I have to keep these templates and figure out what else I can do with them!

Stay tuned for part two of this project. I haven't decided if I'll be using the free printables or making my own. All in all, a VERY easy project which is just what this girl needed!

Day of Accomplishment

As the clock struck noon today, I had a moment of anxiety. What had I gotten myself into!?!? Jack was waking up from his extra long morning nap, which usually means no afternoon nap. I had destroyed the toy room and had only begun to put it back together. The kitchen table was stacked with trash and garage sale items from the toy room clean out along with two full, unfolded laundry baskets and bags of trash from the toy room. No one had eaten lunch and I had already begun to clean out books from the girls' room too. And, to top it off, we had a showing scheduled for 7PM.

Well, that showing certainly kept me on task. I quickly finished whipping the toy room into shape complete with labeled bins and a place for everything. I'm hoping now that there are fewer toys and more space and a place for things, the girls will be able to help keep it clean. Plus, when they can see their toys, they tend to play with them more.

I managed to sort all of their books, go through Jack's clothes, finish and put away five loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen (go Shark Steam Mop!) and go through an old toy bin in Jack's room all before Tom got home. And, of course, go through the massive amount of toys in the toy room along with making quite a pile for a garage sale.

Once Tom was home, he hopped on the mower and I stuck Jack in the exersaucer with a pretzel rod while I trimmed and then blew away all the grass off the driveway and sidewalks. The house looked like a million bucks! Don't know why, but I have a good feeling about this one. Really no reason at all to feel that way. Either way, I will say, listing this house has kicked me into gear. I've cleared out more closets and old hiding spots in the last month than I have since we've lived here. It feels good. I wish we could live like this all the time! (Well, only kind of!)

Slacker Post Yesterday = Mega Post(s) Today

So, I decided that the reason I was not in the mood to post last night is because I've never been much of a writer. Plus, there's only so much of my life that would actually be interesting to other people. So, today, I decided to take a few pictures of my activities so that I could share in photos. Photos are always more fun right?

Today, Tom also helped me get my act in gear and finally get the bins out for our "mud room" bench. I've been dreaming of this moment for a year. (OK - slight exagerration but I have wanted bins here instead of the usual flurry of coats, bags, mittens, etc.) I bought the bins at Target on Monday, but haven't had the time to clear off the bench and put them out. Tom cleared off the bench. Good start even if it means a little more work later.

Here is the finished product. Not quite the impact I was hoping for but neater nonetheless. (Side note: this is my great-grandparents trunk.)

We managed to get the house put together and get out of the house by about 8:30 which is good for us. I had a hair appointment. When we were in Mexico, we found a spread in Cosmo that had a model with hair that looked like it would work for me. So, today, I went for it and chopped it off! Here is a pic of the magazine:

I've never taken a photo into the stylist before but I think she did a pretty good job! I can tell the model has a lot more "product" in her hair. I plan on playing with it Next time, I'm going for the full blown blond too. Why not?! 

I managed to get a lot done at work today which is good since it's my Friday. And, Tom won the Cinco de Mayo gift at Rotary today! So, I'm sitting here with a Dos Equis and tortilla chips and salsa to end the night. Oh yeah, with Tom making Morel Mushroom Risotto in the kitchen. Quite the combo. :)