To Do Thursday!

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I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  Now there's only one thing to figure out...where to put everything.  This year I'm going to make a note to find some space for the new toys before they arrive...whew!  More on that next week...


I did get a few things done over the holiday, but of course with all of the madness not as much as I thought...but that's OK.  That's what the New Year is for right?


I finished all of my shopping and we only lost one gift...still can't find where we put the MP3 player for Jamison.  I'm hoping that with all of the cleaning we'll be doing over the next few weeks that we'll find it...prayers lifted :)


I did take my friend a meal and she said that the meals were a huge help for her after her surgery...I'm so glad :)  I ended up making her baked ziti (a recipe that she gave me), but I didn't cook it so that she would be able to pop it in whenever she needed dinner.  I need to think about doing that for myself more often.


I never made it to the Container store but I will make it there in the next few weeks.  Oh how I love that store...I could get lost...where was I?


The thing I want to show you this week is organizing meds in your home.  This system has really worked for us and keeps kids' stuff separate from adult stuff (I'm so technical, right).  Here's my system:

 I got these little baskets from Hobby Lobby and divided up the medicine, one basket for kids' cold/allergy/vitamin meds, one for kids' pain or Rx meds, one for our cold/allergy/vitamin meds, and one for our pain and Rx meds.

This is just me trying to be cute with a little camera angle.

Just a few close ups (am I the only one who loves the up & up brand by Target?):

And then I just keep them all here in one of our (few) cabinets in the kitchen.  This system makes things easier to grab and works well for us...simple.

This Week's To Do List

1.  Get together with my friend Katie and work on simple photo editing and look through my camera manual.

2.  Clean off microwave stand and discard any old recipes or papers.

3.  Organize entertainment center...donate/sell old DVDs, organize games and Wii stuff.

4.  Crop photos for my Christmas card scrapbook.

Giveaway You Might Wanna Check Out!

This blogger is giving away one of these planners...the one I love and adore.  I just ordered mine and can't wait for it to come in the mail.  If you liked what you saw when I posted about it here, you should go over to IHeart Organizing and enter!

Kelli's Krafts - Sending Christmas Joy

I wanted to show you the cards that I sent out for Christmas.  I will say that I will start earlier next year so I'm not crunched for time. This year I copied the idea from my friend Rachael and made a few different styles.  I liked having some variety this year and will probably always make a few different styles each year.  Here are the few that I came up with (and I also made the cards that I posted about here):

I used my Candy Cane DSP, Real Red cardstock, Garden Green cardstock, Paisley Prints stamp set, Christmas Greetings stamp set and a retired set for all of my cards.  Some of the cards were very simple and a few took a little more cutting...but all worth it :)

miscellany monday - random Christmas wrapup

There are a few random things that I want to savor from this Christmas holiday:

1.  Seeing the joy on my kids' faces.

2.  Reminisce about the sheets of paper towel that my mom used to wrap ornaments...that I still have and now store those same ornaments in them.  I also loved looking at the different ornaments that I made when I was a child...you know, a few years ago:)

 

3.  New soap scents from Bath and Body Works...I just love their soap.

 

4.  Memorizing Luke 2:1-14 with Jamison...my favorite moment. As soon as I figure out how to download the video I'll show it to you.

Merry CHRISTmas...

...from our family to yours!

For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

Thanking God on Friday

~  I am thankful for the most precious gift of all:

His Son!

So Much To Do...So Little Time

Are you counting down the days until Christmas...we are...and I'm a little overwhelmed.  I have a long to do list and not that many days to finish.  With that, I may not be around blogland much this week.  

Hopefully you all are not like me and are relaxing this week and savoring the reason for this wonderful season!  

See you soon :)

Thanking God on Friday!

~  I am thankful that I was able to have some one on one time with Jamison and help her make a card for her teacher.  It's always nice to sit and talk with each of my children...to hear about their day, what they are thinking and things that they like to do.  They are growing up so fast and I want to try and savor each moment...taking it all in. 

 

~  I am thankful for the reminder feature on my cell phone.  I forget things so easily, like remembering to send a can good to school with Jamison, or remembering to give that ink pad to Lyndsey, or remembering to make something for the pot luck at work.  My planner helps me to remember most things but it's also nice to put the little things in my phone and have it ring as a small reminder.

~  I am thankful for all of the Christmas cards that I've gotten in the mail so far.  I love seeing everyone's family and seeing how much my friend's children have grown.  I plan on doing something like this or this with my cards this year...so I'm also thankful for these ideas.

~  I am thankful for quiet time.  I need quiet time...to be with Him, to think, to relax.  I need to make quiet time (especially with Him) much more of a priority and have it be something I can't go through the day without.  To just stop...and be still...and listen...and breathe.

To Do Thursday!

Hello Friends and Happy Thursday!  It's been a pretty busy week, but I managed to get a few things done.  The biggest accomplishment was getting all of my Christmas cards done and OUT!!!  I will share all of my cards with you on Tuesday's Kelli's Krafts post.  I also made 8 dozen cookies for Lyndsey's cookie party...two things checked off.

I haven't found a utensil holder that fits my ideas so I'll have to keep looking for that.  Perhaps a trip to the Container Store is in my future...wink, wink!

Another item checked off of my list was cleaning off the top of the refrigerator.  It was getting a little wild up there...see:

Wild and crazy I tell you!  We had toys, coupons, Home Depot projects, a Halloween plate (Hello, it's December!), an egg container for the fresh eggs we get each week from OSU (for $1...it's a great deal), and water bottles.  MADNESS!

Here's the beautiful after.  The plus of having a husband who is 6'4" is that he can wipe off the top of the fridge!  I threw away a lot and relocated a lot...so nice.  Check out Rondell's Mango Tango sauce all the way from one of our favorite spots in Destin, Florida...ahh Destin :) 

 

I will show you one thing that I keep on top of my fridge that really works for us...my paper product bin.

 

It's holds all of our paper products, like plates, misc. napkins, plastic utensils and even a straw or two.

 

Some of the items are leftover from parties or Wendy's/McDonald's.  We save them because you never know when you may just need that plastic fork to include in your child's lunch or realize that all of the knives are washing in the dishwasher and your son wants a peanut butter sandwich like right now.

 

I even save napkins from Chipotle or wherever and I use the bowls when I don't feel like washing another dish...does that happen to you?

Just a little something that works for us.

This Week's To Do List

1. Finish Christmas shopping.

2.  Find the utensil holder...The Container Store here I come :)

3.  Make a meal for a friend who just had surgery.

4.  Rethink my microwave stand and wipe it down. 

Wordless Wednesday (Night) - Chorus Performance 2010

Kelli's Krafts - A Little Gift Tag (& a Peek)

My friend Lyndsey and her mom always give door prizes at their cookie exchange (they serve food too AND provide the boxes for our cookies...they are pretty swell).  This year Lyndsey asked if I would make her some cards to be used one of the door prizes.  Make some cards...why certainly!  I decided to make up a bundle of 3x3 gift cards because they are super easy and so nice to add to any gift.
 

I made a few with a Christmas theme.  I just used some of my Candy Cane DSP (which I believe is now out of stock!) for the front.

 

I stamped a little message on the inside.

 

I also included Welcome Baby cards...one for a girl, one for a boy.  These are always great to add to a shower gift.  I used Butterfly Prints for the image and Short & Sweet for the sentiment.

I also included these that I made for the craft fair a few months back.  I had some retired paper and ribbon and I came up with these.  The sentiment is from a previous mini catalog and the butterfly is from the set Hello Again.

They were a hit and the person who won them loved them (and ordered another stack!).  They are a quick and easy way to either send with a gift or send as a gift.

And here's a little peek into the chaos of Christmas card making.

Next week I'll show you the final results...they go out today!!!

miscellany monday

1.  Where does the time go?  Seriously, I can't believe that it's already Monday and that we're 1/2 way through December.  I still have a lot of shopping to do and I need to figure out what to get Jamison's teacher because I love her!  How is your shopping coming?

2.  Historic tree.  You must, must check out my friend Katie's Christmas tree.  She posted about it here.  I love all of the details that she added and I am amazed that she has so many things from her ancestors.

3.  Stirring tool.  So I saw this tool on an infomercial the other night and first I thought "what is the world coming to?"  They were selling this tool that you stick in your pot or bowl that will stir for you.  I was thinking that we are becoming awfully lazy that we can't stir our own ingredients but as I thought further I guess it's not much more than using a standing mixer.  Random!

4.  Cookies!  My friend Lyndsey's cookie exchange party was a lot of fun, as usual.  This year a lady made a maple/bacon cookie that she called the McGriddle (Caleb and Rondell loved this one!).  I didn't take my camera this year, but there was a nice spread of cookies...such a variety.  This is a party I will look forward to every year. 

Thanking God on Friday!

 ~  I am thankful that my IRL friend Katie started a blog (I talked about her here)!  You can check it our here.  I can't wait to see all that she has to say...she's a canner, working on her running, and big into history and antiques (she has the coolest Christmas tree that I know she's going to post about soon using memorabilia from her family).  She also plans on talking about ways to save money and we could all use good tips about that!  So, stop over and show her some love.

~  I am thankful that my friend Lyndsey and her mom host a cookie exchange party every year (this is the fourth year!).  It is always a really fun time, with good food, door prizes, and of course lots of cookies.  This year I'm making toffee sugar cookies...here's the recipe.

~  I am thankful for this site.  A few friends and I are arranging meals to take to a friend who just had surgery.  This is a very useful site that helps us to organize who is bringing what and when and it also allows the person who is receiving the meals to access the site.  So, if you need to organize a meal for that family who just had a baby or for someone who is unable to cook for themselves this is a great tool. 

To Do Thursday!

Hello Friends and Happy Thursday!  I have a few tackles to share with you today AND I have pictures.  Aren't you excited?  I did quite a few things in the kitchen this week...some exciting like organizing the school bin (well, exciting to me!) and some not-so-exciting like finally taking the canning jars to the basement.

I started with cleaning out the basket that we keep on the counter next to the door to the garage.  Here's the result:

This is sort of a catch all basket (which is why it can get out of control).  I usually keep batteries, tape, and various coupons and restaurant menus in here, but sometimes I'll stick something here if I can't put it away right away or if it's something that needs to have home created.  I cleaned out the basket and only put the usual things back in, finding a home for everything else.

I also worked on the school bin:

This bin really works because it keeps everything together that we would need for school or for doing extra educational activities at home.

 

I keep a note pad in the bin for notes that I need to write to the teacher or for information for any babysitters.  We also keep pens and pencils in a holder for writing notes or homework assignments.

This folder keeps anything that needs to go back to school.  It actually only has Caleb's pre-school application in it right now because I've been trying to sign/fill out and return things as soon as I see them in Jamison's take home folder.

Jamison loves to write so I always have sheets for her to create stories.  I found some writing sheets online and just printed a bunch off for her.

I keep things in here that I need to eventually file away in Jamison's memory bin.  Eventually I'd like to create a binder of all of the art work, assignments and cute projects that I want to keep.

This is a file that I created after I heard "Mom, have you seen my _____?" too many times.  I'm good for throwing something away quickly and sometimes it would result in Jamison being sad that she wasn't finished making that special letter for her friend or that book she was making (like seen below).  Now I put all of these kinds of things in this file and wait for a bit.  If she doesn't ask about it for a while then I throw the items away (which really makes me think we need to start recycling because she does a lot of writing and book creating).  It has worked really well!

Here's where I keep the blank paper for those special letters, books and now for drawing trains (Caleb is on a kick for having us draw trains for him).

The last file I have is for resources that I like to have on hand, like tips for helping kids with math, information sheets that come home from Jamison's school or things that I find on the internet about kid activities.  

And that's my bin.  It really does work for us and keeps papers all in one place instead of all over the house.

I also wanted to show you the tool that helps to keep me organized:

My Planner!

I absolutely love this thing and try not to travel without it.  I ordered it from erincondren.com.  I'm a huge paper calendar type person and this is perfect for me.  It's colorful and has a ton of space to write. 

It has monthly pages for me to write events that are coming up.  This way I can see the entire month at one time.  It also comes with a stretchy book mark so I can flip easily to the current week.

Here's the weekly view.  This is where I write more details about events or things I have coming up, like directions, items I need to bring if I'm going to a party, a short Target list, etc.

There's also a space to write my To Do list...gotta love that.

Lastly, it has these wonderful Notes pages for me to jot down other thoughts or major lists (like this one that I made when we were planning our Florida trip).  I keep all sorts of information on these pages and it comes in handy when I'm trying to remember that book recommendation that someone gave me (because most likely I've written it on one of these pages!).

So there you have it, the heart of my organization quest!

This Week's To Do List!

1.  Clean utensil drawer and find new organizer.

2.  Finish and send out Christmas cards.

3.  Clean off top of fridge (it's becoming a jungle up there).

4.  Make cookies for Lyndsey's cookie party.