Decorating my planner

While I've told you about my planner and said I was planning on sprucing it up, I've started a new hobby of "decorating" my planner each week. 

I don't decorate as elaborately as some people you may see on Youtube but I add just little touches of cuteness to make my week happier. 
 

Plus it gives me a bit of creative outlet that doesn't take more than the extra 5 minutes a week I have. 

Favorite Pins from August

Wow!  Where did August go?  Oh yes, school started, with all the busyness that brings.  My daughter is doing a little better sleeping than last week and school life is in a little bit more of a routine, which makes me much happier!  

This week, I've decided to highlight 5 pins (out of the 2.7K pins that I like) that I'm lovin' right now. 

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I know this is an idea that you discovered in 1992, but I need to do this.  I have two keys that look almost exactly the same.  It drives me CRAZY as I always try to use the wrong one.  I need to do this. 

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Obviously, it's still early but we've started thinking about Halloween.  My daughter loves butterflies and princesses and this outfit combines the two loves.  I'm not a huge fan of the hat but think it's pretty cute otherwise.  Mom, are you up for making this? 

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I love mixing up how students respond to questions.  It makes life more interesting for me and for them.  I really like this idea of having some standard ways to respond that students learn.  I may change some of the ways a bit as we use some Kagan techniques but I like this a lot!

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 This entryway is so different than mine but I would like to add some of the touches to my entry.  I like the wreath on the back of the front door, the little decorative pieces in the hall intersection, and the design of the angled wall.  Sets my thinking wheels in motion. . .

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 I don't know why but I'm suddenly obsessed with the idea of Candied Nuts.  Although I think they are yummy, I'm not one of those people obsessed with them when I smell them at fairs or malls.  However, I have this idea that they will be so simple and great to make.  Weird.  I may make them and see how they turn out. 

I'm linking up to Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. 

August Goals recap + September goals

At the beginning of August, I created 5 goals.  Time to look back and see how I did (and adjust for September). 

1) Eat better and Exercise.  I wanted to lose 5 pounds by the end of August.  I lost about 6 pounds.  Hooray.  With all else that has been going on, I've focused more on just calorie counting rather than eating better and exercise.  For September, I want to exercise at least once a week and eat at least 2 fruits and veggies a day (I know this seems like nothing for you but I need small steps) 

2) Smooth Start to school year- This has been rocky.  All those routines- not yet routine.  I want to keep working on this! 

3)  Clean House- Yeah, this is still bad.  Let's work on it! 

 4) Be social. Every weekend in September and most of October are booked!  Now I want to focus on having enough downtime for the introvert in me! 

5) Keep up my blog. Haven't done too bad on this.  I had 14 posts in August.  I want to have at least 10 in September (I am counting this as one). 

I'll try to come back at the end of September with an update.  I'm linking to The Yellow Brick Road's Small Goals link-up.

Notes from a blog reader

I may have started this blog in July but I am a longtime blog reader.  Let me show you how I keep track of blogs and what I like in a blog.  

I know some people subscribe to get e-mails sent with blog updates, some people just go to the website, and some people use other social media for updates (Facebook, Bloglovin, etc.).  I like to use the blog reader Feedly.  

Here is a really simple tutorial of it.  

 

That's it folks!  

5 things I did this week to keep my sanity next week

Was that title long enough for you?  I officially go back to work TODAY.  Uggg.  (Actually, I do like my job but who wants to give up the freedom of summer?)  Anyway, I did a couple of things this week to wrap up summer. 

This is similar to our type but isn't our bed.  Source

My daughter moved into a big girl bed!  While she hadn't actually climbed out of her crib, she had lifted her leg like she was thinking about it.  She also started to dread her bed.  She wanted to sleep with Mommy.  So after a night of her complaining about me moving around too much in bed, we converted her bed to a toddler bed.  I'm glad that we bought a convertible bed. 

With this monumental change, I wanted to set up our routines.  I looked at a bunch of routine charts on Pinterest but they weren't EXACTLY our routine.  So I made my own charts. 

Cute, simple and hopefully effective.  She can already "read" them so I call that a success. 

While I was at it, I printed this chart to make a simple cleaning routine for me. 

It's from Clean Mama.  I'm planning on keeping it in my planner. 

I started watching what I ate with SparkPeople.  I've lost 2 (probably not real) pounds.  Basically, I've been eating bunches of fruits and veggies. 

Finally, I tried to soak up every bit of time with my daughter.  We went to Chuck E. Cheese, listened at storytime, saw some animals, played doctor, and read lots of books.  We learned a new dance! 

Now that I've passed that ANNOYING song on, go check out some other Five for Friday blogs at Doodle Bugs Teaching. 

Mission Laundry Room: 1 week and $10

Last week, I gave myself a goal to clean up and organize my laundry room.  While it's not perfect, I am proud of the accomplishments in such a short amount of time (and so cheaply). I would still like to add some tags to the baskets and a cute kitty sign to the door.  I would also like to add more pictures to the wall. 

It's. . . better.  (That's my motto these days).

 I added baskets from the Dollar Tree and a couple of cute signs.  Then I just straightened up.  A couple of (washed out) close ups.  It's extremely difficult to photograph a closet with no lights. 

Of course, I'm linking up to #mondaymadeit with 4th Grade Frolics. 

Five small goals for August

August is always a busy month!  School starts and so do regular routines-- getting up early on time being the big one.  I SHOULD just try to keep my head above water in this phase of the year but instead I'm creating 5 simple goals.  I'm trying to be realistic though so I have my big, hairy, ideal goal and then a hopeful and realistic goal for each category.   

 

1) Eat better and Exercise.  For health reasons and vanity reasons, I need to lose weight.  I think I will go with SparkPeople.  Several years ago, I lost 20 pounds by counting calories and exercising.  Since then, I've gotten a little older, had a baby, and gotten out of all kinds of routines.  Ideal goal:  Lose 50 pounds.  Hopeful goal:  Lose 5 pounds by the end of August.  Realistic goal:  I hope I can come up with a plan for losing weight by the end of August. 

2) Smooth Start to school year- Ideal goal:  I want to get out of the door early everyday, have no tears from my daughter or myself, be always ready for whatever happens, fall into routines, etc.  Realistic goal:  I want to set up some routines so everyday things like breakfast and weekly things like packing the daycare bag are easy. 

3)  Clean House- Yeah, this is bad.  Husband has been sick so all routines are thrown off!  Ideal goal:  I want every nook and cranny cleaned.  Hopeful goal:  I want it to be 100% company ready.  Realistic goal:  I want to not be embarrassed to open the door. 

4) Be social. Ideal goal:  I want to be the kind of person who is able to be a fantastic hostess or the life of the party all the time without ever getting tired or neglecting their family.  (Actually, as an introvert, that goal sounds pretty yucky).  Hopeful goal:  A balance of social time and family/ alone time each week.  Realistic goal:  Do something outside of the house once in a while.  (date night, daughter's playdate, girl time). 

5) Keep up my blog. Ideal goal:  Without sacrificing anything, I want to build a blogging empire.  Hopeful goal:  Blog maybe 2-3 times a week and have some people read it.  Realistic goal: Blog once in a while for my pleasure, whether anyone else reads or not. 

I'll try to come back at the end of August with an update.  I'm linking to Doodle Bugs Teaching's Five for Friday and The Yellow Brick Road's Small Goals link-ups. 

 

IKEA catalog love

Last year, an IKEA opened about 30 minutes away.  We haven't bought too much but I love having the option close by.  I like the streamlined style and cheap prices (but not always the cheap quality).  The Easter Bunny was kind enough to leave this for my daughter. 

Only $10!

So when I Heart Organizing did an annual post about the new catalog, I wanted to join!  Some of the things that caught my eye are products but some are just decorating inspiration.   

 

I think we will get this cheap watering can (99 cents) so my daughter can "help" me even more with our plants.  

 

I like this white and natural color scheme in this room-- reminds me of Montessori approach to education.  I also like the 6 small bulletin boards coming together as one.  

I don't like that pink wall but I like the idea of metallic stripes (especially the cheap and easy tape version).  

I really like the family command center in the background.  I like the ever evolving photo/gallery wall.

We don't have a dedicated pantry in our kitchen (we just use a cabinet).  I like how this kitchen "creates" one in a corner.

I really like the different areas of this room.  We have a large living room but don't use it anywhere near this efficiently.  I like the quiet zone, play zone, tv zone, desk zone, etc.  all in one room. 

Laundry Closet Love: Planning Edition

If I haven't mentioned it before, I'm a Pinterest addict.  There's just something my visual loving brain loves about it.

However, it can make me less than happy about my things.  While this is definitely a downfall, it also gets my behind moving.

I've been thinking about my Laundry Closet lately.  See, I'm a slobaholic.   I've been learning and trying to declutter little by little.  Nony from A Slob Comes Clean advocates for cleaning the most visible spaces first.  That's why I focused on a couple of visible areas in my kitchen earlier this summer (see them here and here). 

Now I am ready for a *bit* of a bigger challenge. That's my laundry closet.  I didn't stage this picture at all-- that's how bad it looks.  It does have doors that can shut.  However, it is in the most busy hallway and gets looked at about a million and one times a day.  We leave the door open too often.  So it's my next cleaning/ organizing project.

Here are my planning thoughts:

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I like the idea of containing all the mess in baskets.  These are from the Dollar Tree which is good because I don't want to spend a lot of money for a closet.

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This is a similar idea with the containers.  I like how it's not too matchy-- especially as I will need some big and some small containers.  I also like the green.

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I am not lucky enough to have just a laundry closet though.  My room is a laundry closet/ kitty litter box closet.  I like this little sign about the kitty door.  (Super bummed the Etsy shop doesn't sell these anymore.)

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It may be a bit overboard but this post is making me rethink my entire kitty litter system.

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Won't a cute little gallery wall make me want to do more laundry?

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I am in love with this printable-- everything about it the design, the colors, the meaning.

I am hoping to get this closet looking significantly better in a week.  Stay tuned for my update!