Goals for June

This has been a pretty crazy year for me, but things are starting to come to a new normal and fall into place. So with things settling in, I have some major goals for June and the rest of the summer. I just finished my second year of teaching and got my "real" standard license- so I'm good to go there. That means it's time to make some changes in the classroom now that I feel a little bit more like I know what I'm doing and start on my masters! I have big plans for both this summer!

Classroom goals:
1. I MUST create a true reading nook- that means books move, another rug comes in, lamp comes in, and this is all in a different location in my tiny miniature room.
I love the idea of adding a functional little bench like this one {here}

                             

2. Relocate teacher desk to be less obtrusive and perhaps a little more minimalist action in that area as well.
3. New rug! Something bright, colorful, and cheap. Hopefully I can score something when dorm room specials start.
4. Get the tech people to fix my horrible cord situation!

Apartment goals:
1. Redeocrate/Rearrange bedroom. I feel like my bed should be in front of the window now. I was lucky enough to have my great aunt donate two dressers to me. Free = the best!
2. Move in new table. Sell or store current table.
3. Find summer home for Lola (my classroom guinea pig)

Personal Goals:
1. Start master's classess
2. Run 15K with Niki in September- this will mean training these asthmatic lungs all summer.
3. Figure out how to meal plan and stick with it over the summer!

What are you planning to do in June or this summer??

What I've been up to...

I have been a little MIA lately, so I thought I'd fill you in on what I've been up to while I have been neglecting the poor blog.

I went home for a day to visit the fam and somehow ended up making supper and baking cookies!

I also did a little Iphone surgery with my "little" brother. It was a very loving event :)

I have also been cutting out things that I had laminated like crazy! 86 feet so far! And that my friends is a whole lot of cutting!!

Lots of things for my tutoring kids this summer and lots of fun things for Niki's kidlets too! I also scored a lot of awesome stuff on our huge sale at work the other day. wa-hoo for mega sales!

Also while I was home I snagged a stash of teacher stuff to use for my tutoring kids. I seriously bring a whole new meaning to the term pack rat! I have got to learn how to get rid of things!!

I have also been doing a lot of reading of teacher books. I have my reading endorsement but haven't really had a good chance to use it, so I did a little studying after meeting my tutoring girls and figuring out what we needed to work on. Yeah, I took notes, don't judge.

I have also been hard at work on Etsy orders and working on an update to our planner at the same time.   I'm feeling more busy now than I did during the school year!!

I have also been running like crazy! Niki wants to do a warrior dash and a 15k so this girl has got some serious training to do! Even got a new tank and I loooove it!!!

What have you been up to?? What things are you working on?

Operation: Get it Together version N.2

A big part of Operation: Get it Together for me is getting my children on board with maintaining our household. I have been looking at all different kids of chore charts, online on paper and even apps. But they were all to complicated. I have 3 kids, and several chores that need to be done. I thought about a rotating schedule, but I couldn't really make that work. I thought about switching jobs every week, but didn't really like that either. My kids get bored easily. :)

I ended up with a Chore Jar. I'm sure there are tons of them all over the internet, and I know I have pinned a few. But I wanted just the things that were important to me right now.

I decided to go with 3 categories: Daily, Weekly and Extra Credit. Each of the kids has to pick 2 or 3 daily chores a day. They get completed and at the end of the night they are put back in the jar. Each kid gets to pick 1 or 2 weekly chores. They get put back on Sunday night. Extra Credit are things that the kids are not normally expected to do but can do to earn some extra money, or at my discretion.
I had Shannon whip me up some super cute chore chart cards:

I printed them, and Shannon cut, laminated and cut again. I want them to last for a while.

 Then she made me a super cute label for my container:

I had planned on putting these in a cute mason jar. But it just didn't work out that way. Shannon raided my shelf of extra storage and found this fun green container from Dollar Tree. I just printed this, cut it out and Mod Podged it on my container.

Right now we can't find the lid to the container, so there is no picture of that, but used your imagination for now, I will be back to add a picture when I find the lid!

We have started using it. The kids each pick 3 green chores (daily) and 1 orange (weekly) every day. They love the job of wiping the fridge and freezers, and it pays 50 cents, which they love even more! My fridge has never been this clean. So far, we have done a pretty good job of maintaining our house.

Look for our customizable chore jar kit in our Etsy shop soon!

How do you maintain your household? Are your kids doing chores? At what age did you start them? Any helpful hints to get me through this?

Summer Goals

I only have a week if school left. My brain is already in summer vacation mode. It's time for the calendar to catch up.

However, summer vacation means its time to complete all those organizing projects that I put on the back burner because we were too busy. And because I am an over sharer I thought you all should know what my plans were. Maybe you can keep me accountable. 

• organize and purge coat closet

• organize and purge toy closet

• organize and purge my closet 

• paint CT's room 

• paint JT's room

• organize and purge kitchen cupboards 

There are only 6 things. So I need to tackle about 2-4 a month to get them all done before going back to school in August. And you know I will be back to blog about what I do, my inspiration and what didn't work. 

Do you have big organizing plans for this summer? Share your to do list for a little accountability.

This post brought to you by Operation: Get it Together. Join us on Instagram and twitter #getittogether.

Operation: Get it Together

My motto for Operation: Get it Together is Contain the Chaos! The last couple weeks have been crazy between concerts, recitals, practices, my sister-in-law visiting, and just general end of the school year business.
When Shannon started Operation: Get it Together, I knew I had to jump onboard. I talk a good game, and start out strong, but soon my ADHD/Perfectionism take over and if it takes more than 30 seconds and I can't do it perfectly, I'm not going to do it at all. That is no good.
I already shared my May goals, but I also have some everyday things I need to accomplish.

• Start dishwasher every night, empty it every morning
• One load of laundry a day. Complete. Washed, dried, folded, put away. 

That's all for now. Too often I start out with a crazy list and I get burnt out after just a few days.

One other really important thing Tim and I are working on (again) is making our children accountable for their own stuff. I have started making the big kids daily to-do lists. I am also in the process of creating a rotating chore chart.
So often it is easier to do a task yourself then teach someone else to do it. And inevitably they will do it wrong (at least in your mind). I am taking the approach that if I don't have to do it, it is done right. I am also teaching my kids valuable life skills. Yes, it might take longer, and yes it might not be done perfectly, but they are slowly taking ownership of our home.

What are you doing for Operation: Get it Together?

April Accomplishments and May Aspirations

Niki posted about how she was doing on her April goals so I figured I should share what I got accomplished in April. 
Time management and obligations:
 1. survive prom-- check. I only forgot to have the pastor say the prayer before I sent the first table, so only a minor glitch, but otherwise it went great and the food was Amazing!
2. Get bridesmaid dress altered- check. I am currently awaiting it's return. Wedding weekend is coming fast! 
3. register for summer classes- half check. I haven't registered yet because none of the classes I need are available until fall, but I am able to take them in the town I live in through a local university, so that's a bonus. And since I have to wait to take those, I'm looking in to a sped endorsement to start too. Might as well pile on the debt right? 

Home and Organizing.
1. get all labels printed, laminated, and put up. check.  
2. finish up spring cleaning. mostly check. I'm still coming up with a few more random things to purge, or reorganize, or sort through. But as far as my actual cleaning, I've made it through the whole apartment.
3. purge, declutter, and organize coat closet- well since we still had snow in May, I put a halt on this one. But I think we might finally be clear of the snow...so we'll put this back on the list for May.
4. store seasonal winter clothes- see above.
5. new desk area-  whomp, whomp. still failing at this one. I may have just started avoiding it. 

Blog and Etsy.
1. Update items in the shop-check. I've even finally listed our planners!
2. Get my posts written before the day they go live-  half check- this usually happens.
3. do some projects- mostly fail. moving this to May's list.

So I did eh, sort of okay in April. Not a complete success, but hey things come up and we have lives and {multiple} jobs, it happens.
So for May, when I in theory have a bit more free time. I'm hoping to kick some mega butt. And my biggest goal for May is...

1. Operation: Get It Together. This is kind of a big project that isn't really a project at all. I already started posting about it actually and then decided to keep it going until things truly become a habit for me and I really do feel like I have it together. This started with a simple cleaning plan from clean mama and I'm hoping that by the end of summer I will have the whole apartment de-cluttered and cleaned and rolling in my new habits and systems. This is going to be the biggest goal to complete for me.

2. Make a weekly meal and plan and stick to it. No pizza rolls and other kid foods because I didn't plan anything and have no brilliant ideas!! (also, excellent excuse to try pinterest recipes??)

3.  Make our little brother's planner. His runs out at the end of May.  He has ADHD and uses the same planner at I do and he says it really helps him to manage his time and schedule. (here's a peek at mine)

4. Finish April's not completed items---coat closet and packing winter clothes. I bought ziplock space bags to stash winter bedding and coats in. I"m thinking of just swapping around some hanging and tub things in the closet and only actually packing up the super warm things.

5. Go through closet. Find massive amounts of clothes to give to Niki??? Seriously that thing is so stuffed you can't even find anything.

6. Complete Jillian Michael's 30 day shred....I already started, just have to commit to finishing it! (even if she kicks my butt!!!)

What are you aspiring to do in May??

April Recap and May Goals

It's already a week into May. I'm sure you are all dying to know how I did with my April challenge. Here's a hint: not well.

Home & Organizing Goals:

• Print, laminate & hang laundry labels
• Clean & organize kitchen junk drawer
• Declutter and organize coat closet (Started, had to break out boots and snowpants again)
• Clean/Dirty labels for dishwasher
• Bind blog planner and blog about it

Lifestyle Goals:

• Complete the Bikini Body challenge (Made it about half way through the month)
• Print Planner (Made it through June)
• Be more present with my family (This is ongoing, so it doesn't get crossed out)

So..... Will I do better in May? Some of the goals will move forward to May, some will get put on the back burner. It's not looking promising, but here it goes:

Home & Organizing Goals:

• Clean & Organize kitchen junk drawer
• Declutter and organize coat closet
• Create chore chart & implement it
• Tame the laundry monster 
• Drop off Goodwill stuff

Lifestyle Goals:

• Be more present with my family
• Run 3 miles straight
• Work on core strength

Because every post needs some pictures, here are some of my #challengespringcolors outfits from the last couple weeks!

 

How did your April goals turn out? Share your recap with us!

Working on my April Plans

I posted last week about what I am planning to get done this month, so I figured I should check in and let you all know how I am doing (as if anyone actually cares? I'm pretending that you do though) and maybe see what everyone else is accomplishing too??

So here we go.
Time management and obligations:
 1. survive prom-- It's not prom weekend yet, so I cannot say that I have successfully survived. But I think I am down to one last shopping trip and the closet in my classroom is stuffed full of fun prom decorations. So far, so good.
2. Get bridesmaid dress altered- failed epicly on dropping it off last week. but remembered it this week. check.
3. register for summer classes- another fail, but not for lack of effort. A million emails and searching for colleges that offer what I want has only turned up frustration. All I want to do is add an early childhood endorsement, I don't want the whole two year degree. There's no time for that nonsense, especially when I already have a degree.

Home and Organizing.
1. get all labels printed, laminated, and put up. check.  And here they are now:

My laundry labels are simply clipped on the washer, with the current load on top. Nothing too drastic here. (Niki even offered our laundry labels as a freebie, here)

These wonderful babies are the best thing my dishwasher has ever seen. We have to pretty much wash our dishes before they go in, so the clean/dirty sign help to make sure nobody is accidentally putting away "dirty" dishes. I know, you're thinking "what kind of idiots can't communicate about the dishwasher?" Answer, us. Since we work completely opposite hours, we never see each other. So this means one of us is loading and starting and one of us is putting them away. This helps us to know what's going on, without having to waste the few minutes that we get to talk, talking about household chores.

I also labeled the closet. And did a tid bit of rearranging. My totes were formerly living on the top shelf and they found their way back up there again. An organizer from Target became the home for most of my shoes and the bins emptied of shoes, now hold some of the bf's pants. I feel like this crosses over a bit into....

2. finish up spring cleaning. mostly check. I'm still coming up with a few more random things to purge, or reorganize, or sort through. But as far as my actual cleaning, I've made it through the whole apartment.
3. purge, declutter, and organize coat closet- haven't made it to this disaster yet. But it's in my plans. No school days on Friday and Monday for me.
4. store seasonal winter clothes- this is also in the plans for my no school days.
5. new desk area- this area is still a giant frustration. I need some sort of small shelving situation so that things are not just sitting on the floor. However I haven't found anything that really works yet. I've even been to Goodwill and Walmart a couple times and come up with nothing.

Blog and Etsy.
1. Update items in the shop-check. I posted Monday about some of our recent new items. I am uber in love with all of the bright colors we have been using lately! They make some of the mundane lists and documents just a bit more fun. If we must have chore charts to help us keep it together, they should be pretty right?
 speaking of keeping it together, I made this cutie to put on my fridge. I have cleaning checklists that live in my home management binder that track some of the tasks that aren't done as often. But I felt like I needed a daily, constant, visual reminder. So I whipped this up, ran it through the laminator, and popped it on the fridge.
2. Get my posts written before the day they go live- this is still a bit hit and miss. somedays I'm doing great, other's I'm still like crap!! I haven't done anything worth writing about! but I have a rough plan for the month and will be using my no school days to get some stuff done. half check.
3. do some projects- again back to the no school days. I have found some cute ideas on pinterest, and think I will be starting with some simple washi tape labels and giving my finance box a good cleanout.

So I'm making progress...how are your April goals coming along?? Chat with us...share your plans, goals, accomplishments, and even set backs!

Laundry Labels

One of the things I am working on with my kids is sorting their dirty clothes. They are 3, 6, and 8. They can handle it. However, they often confused which sorter held which kind of clothes. So I had Shannon whip up some beautiful laundry labels for me, with words for the big kids and pictures for the baby.

I printed them out at my momma's house. She has nicer paper then me. :)

I just used my scissors to cut them out. I NEED a paper cutter. It's on the list.

Then I ran them through the laminator.

After that I had to decide how to attach them to the wall and then the washer. I wanted to magnet them to the washer.

Our washer and dryer in the bathroom. We just throw our dirty laundry in the washer as soon they take them off. But sometimes they just throw all of their dirty clothes in so then I have to sort them out of the washer. #firstworldproblems

I'll be honest here. I have not found a way to attach these above my clothes sorter. So, for now, I have one stuck to the washer (obviously we are currently accepting towels), and the rest are stuck to the top of the dryer hanging out next to my argyle pig. I thought about putting them all artsy-fartsy for you guys, but this is how they will be in real life. So I'm just keeping it real for you. You are welcome.

So, here is one thing crossed off my April To-Do list. How are you doing on your list? Share with us!

And because we love you, here is a freebie of my laundry labels! It will only be here for a limited time, so grab it now!

April Plans

Niki shared her goals for April last week, so I feel like I need to share my plans as well. A little accountability never hurt anybody, right?  I don't have anything gigantic planned for april, but I do have a list of things I would like to get accomplished.

Here's what I've got so far:

Time management and obligations:
*survive prom (fingers crossed!)
* get bridesmaid dress altered (hopefully Tuesday??)
* register for summer classes somewhere!

Home and Organizing
* get ALL labels printed, laminated, and put in their proper locations (you have already seen a sneak peak of a few of them)
*finish up spring cleaning
* purge, declutter, and organize coat closet
* store seasonal winter clothes
* evaluate and organize new desk location/layout

Blog and Etsy
* update a few items in the etsy shop
* get my posts written before the day they go live! plan!
* get some craft and organizing projects going! I'm spending a little time tonight flipping through some of my favorite magazines--taking notes and marking pages!

What are you planning to get done this month? A few small things or some major undertakings??

Update:

We are happy to announce the winners of our giveaway!!

Congratulations Angelina and Teri!! Winners have been contacted via email.

Goals for April

I am posting some of my goals for April. Sort of a way to be accountable. I have some home organizing goals and some lifestyle goals. At the end of April I will do a recap and let you know how I did.
Here goes:

Home & Organizing Goals:

• Print, laminate & hang laundry labels
• Clean & organize kitchen junk drawer
• Declutter and organize coat closet
• Clean/Dirty labels for dishwasher
• Bind blog planner and blog about it

Lifestyle Goals:

• Complete the Bikini Body challenge
• Print Planner
• Be more present with my family

Do you have any goals for April? What do you want to make sure gets done before the craziness of May starts? (What your May isn't crazy? Whatever.)

Since no post is complete without some a picture, I thought I would share this. In case you missed it on twitter, instagram or facebook. This shows my journey from the day I graduated college in 2011, to 2 weeks after my first chemo session, to my last chemo session to last week. It has been an awesome journey that you all got to join.

Share your goals for some accountability. We will meet here, same time, same place on May 2 to see how we did. Hopefully these will all be crossed off.