Planner Love

I have started to write this blog post several times but always stop myself because I think, who in the world would ever care about my planner, how I made it, or how I use it? But on the off chance that anyone is actually interested, here it is. My wonderful planner!

It may not look all that spectacular, but honestly, after using this for the past 8 months, I am in love with it. I would cry if I lost it! I always know where it is and I'm pretty sure its in the top 5 items I'd grab if my house were on fire. So, allow me to tell you about the best tool I own for staying organized amid the chaos that is my life. Since I work a "real job", homeschool my 2 boys, run my photography business, and have other responsibilities at church and home, I would lose my mind if I didn't have a place to keep everything.

 I decided, after looking at hundreds of options and doing tons of research, to invest in the ARC discbound system (sold by Staples, or on Amazon). I LOVE this system because pages can be added and removed any time you want. Each year, you just put in the new calendar pages, printables, etc, and you're ready to go! You only need to buy the cover, discs, and other accessories once.

Here's what I purchased for this project... 

1) Leather Notebook  - I went with the 9.5 x 11.5 size so it holds regular 8.5 x 11 sized paper

I actually bought a poly cover at first, but it's kind of light-weight and didn't stand up to all the abuse I gave it. I adore this cover. It's very sturdy, pretty, has a pen holder loop in the back cover and a pocket in front w/a place for credit cards or business cards (I store my business cards there and an old CC with extra washi tape there). If you're serious about your investment, I'd recommend to go ahead and get the leather cover and not bother with the poly one. This is the ARC brand, but Martha Stewart brand also makes a pretty blue one.  The cover came with 60 sheets of ruled paper too, which I took out.

2) Set of 1 - 1/2 inch discs (the notebook comes with 1/2 inch discs but they weren't nearly large enough for my needs. Purchased from Amazon.

3) 2 zip pouches  - these are great for me when I need a place to safely store checks & cash from clients, extra stamps, extra thank you cards, receipts, etc. Purchased from Amazon. They come in a 2-pack.

4) 2 sets of these divider tabs - I picked these up on clearance from Staples for 50% off. They are re-writable tabs, but I cover them with pretty washi tape to write on. I use these to divide out each month in my calendar. I like the pretty multi colored Martha Stewart ones better than the black ARC ones.

5) Set of pocket dividers - I needed something to divide the major sections of my planner: Business, Calendar, Meal Planning, Homeschooling. I had to punch special holes in them to make them fit into the notebook, but I'll get to that in a minute. I liked these because they have pockets to hold loose papers. I got them from Walmart during back-to-school sales so they were cheap. The only complaints I have about them is that they're thinner plastic and the tabs have bent a bit, and they are wider than my notebook, so they stick out over the edge, making them easier to get torn up. But they function ok and they were only a few dollars. If I ever need to replace them, I'll look for something that actually goes with the ARC system so its the correct size so it wears better. 

(You can see in the photo below how the purple divider sticks out past the edge of the notebook.)

6) This Disc Hole Punch  - Here's the one kicker of using the discbound system. All your inserts and pages have to have the correct holes to fit. So you have to purchase this special hole punch. I got the Levenger brand, but ARC also makes one. When I happened to buy it, the ARC was about $10 more expensive on Amazon. They are both nearly the same so all the accessories are compatible. This was the most costly part of this project, but I plan on using it for years and years.

7) Paper - I got the heaviest stock paper Wal-Mart sold because I wanted my pages to be sturdy and for the ink not to bleed through. I think it was 28lb. When printing my planner, I only used about a third of the ream.

8) Ink Cartridges - my printer was almost out of ink so I bought enough to last through printing the many pages I knew I would need.

9) Pens - I love these Papermate Multi-Colored Flairs because they don't bleed through and I'm all about color coding my stuff. Plus, what girl doesn't love a pretty pen? 

10) Assorted washi tape. I've got dozens of them and am a little obsessed. You can find it pretty much anywhere: Dollar tree, Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, Office Depot, Amazon. I will say that I got one from Wal-Mart on a roll like scotch tape that I HATE. It was Duck brand and looks shiny. Avoid that one because it's impossible to write on and very difficult to tear off. Go with the matte kind that's a texture like masking tape. Also, if possible, get the removable kind.

11) Assorted sticky notes & sticky flags. I picked up a few packs of the tiny ones at back-to-school time because the little ones fit better on my calendar squares. They make it nice when I'm not sure of a particular date or event and might need to remove them later. I just removed the wax backing and stuck them to the inside of my front cover so they're handy.

12) Printable Planner Pages - your possibilities on this one are literally endless and totally customizable. Try typing "printable planner" into pinterest or etsy and you'll find hundreds of options. It's crazy! After searching for weeks, I finally settled on this free set that I really like from The Handmade Home. There are dozens of others that I would have loved too, but ultimately I liked the free option best. It's pretty and suits my needs just fine. I did two-sided printing, which takes quite a bit of trial and error to figure out how your printer works (for me, at least).

I made my own cute cover page using a free template I found somewhere online. And I put one of my address stickers on it so it could be returned to me if I misplace it. (I doubt that would happen!)

Lastly, I downloaded and used TONS of other free printables from all over the Internet. You can find links to most of them on my Pinterest board here. A few favorites are: year-at-a-glance, important dates at a glance, master to-do lists, monthly menu planners, weekly menu planners with grocery lists attached, cleaning checklists, chore charts, summer and fall bucket lists, books to read bucket list, Christmas shopping/card/gift checklists, account registers (for my business), and client spreadsheets (also for my business). My plan is to eventually make my way to the Teacher's Aid store to have the monthly and weekly menu, master to-do list, and chore charts laminated so I can just use dry-erase pencils on them each week.

So far I love this system! It has served me very well and I think it can grow with my needs since it is so versatile and easy to customize and update.

I use the monthly spread to keep a general overview of upcoming events, birthdays, appointments, photo sessions, etc.

Then I use the weekly spread every day to keep track of my to-do items for home, work, school, and photography, meal planning, as well as our weekly Scripture memory and daily Bible reading plan. I normally color code my to-do items according to the category (photography, work/appointments, social/fun events, birthdays/holiday/anniversary, & meal plan) but in the page shown above, I did my planning at my mom's house so I didn't have my pretty pens handy. I place a square next to each item, and have a system developed to keep track of my progress. X means I cancelled the item. Solid square means complete. Half filled square means item has been started but not finished. Arrow in the square means I moved it to another date. This way I don't cross things off my list, because I normally need to look back on when I did things. This becomes especially important for business when I submit print orders for clients and need to keep tracking info and notes on when I mailed them off, etc.

I use the notes section at the bottom of the weekly spread and at the end of each month for all kinds of random things. Sometimes I jot down shopping lists, or write down cute things the boys said or did, or maybe a project I'm brainstorming, other times I use it as a journal for my thoughts, someone's phone #, a website to check out, a blog someone recommended, just whatever comes to mind when I need a place to jot something down. I like having the extra space as needed.

There is much more to say on the subject, but you get the idea. I hope all this info is helpful to someone. :)

My Boys on a Campout

There is this fabulous tradition for the men at our church. Each spring they have a father-son campout on the church property. Yesterday afternoon, lots of the dads (mostly with young sons) set up tents in the empty (large) lot, build a big ol' fire, haul in heavy machinery for fun, and prepare for a night of excitement! This year was Zeke's first year getting to go!!! I think I was just as happy for the guys as they were that they got to spend a whole night with their Daddy doing guy stuff. They cooked out on the fire, ate lots of junk food, played music, drank soda and lots of sugar-filled juice drinks, shot automatic weapons (thanks to Jacob Talor and his SWAT awesomeness!), dug with a REAL life excavator (thanks to Josh Beer and the company he works for), played ball with the other boys, rode in tractors, messed around with their flashlights, slept in sleeping bags on the ground, woke up filthy and smelling like smoke. Basically, it was little boy paradise! They were so completely exausted and over-stimulated that when I brought them home in the morning (Manny had to leave early for work so my Dad stepped in for the breakfast part of the shindig) they went straight into a hot bath which left the tub a dingy brown and into BED again! They both slept for nearly 3 hours! This campout really is one of the highlights of their year and I'm so very happy that Manny was able to take them. We weren't sure due to his work schedule, but the Lord provided the way. I love that he's making these kind of memories with them. They will treasure them. Before they left, after the car was all packed with camping provisions, I took a few photos of the guys ready to head out. Elijah asked me so sweetly if he can have a copy of the photos with their Daddy so he can always remember this awesome campout! Of course! Those pics are going in the "special things box" for sure!

Here are some pictures I took of them before they left. Manny did take some w/his phone too, but I don't have those.

Percussion

A few nights ago, while I was washing dishes and my boys were looking for some entertainment, I introduced them to the joys of percussion.
Armed with only 2 sets of chopsticks, a muffin tin turned upside-down, and a few cups, they performed concert after concert for each other in the stairwell while I kept busy in the kitchen.

It went like this: Zeke, seated on the bottom step w/his "instruments" a few steps above, would tap the chopsticks together and count off "a one, two, free, four", then bang, clang, and clink his way through one musical number then another. When he felt finished, he'd turn to Elijah (who had been seated in a little chair beside the stairs) and say "Now you cwap fo me Yai-jah!" At which time Elijah would clap politely and say a few kind words like "nice job Zeke" or "Woohoo". Zeke would then turn and wave, saying "fank you, fank you, fank you". And on and on it went. They took turns, switching places, alternatively clapping and cheering for each other.
45 minutes later, Elijah was tired of the routine but Ezekiel was not. So he employed Manny as his new audience member. And the pattern repeated again.

And that is how I kept the children out of my hair while I cleaned the kitchen. {I wish I had a photo, but my hands were soapy.}

The End.

Acrobatics

Yesterday my sweet date and I headed out for an afternoon of concert-going with beautiful music played by the Philharmonic Orchestra and phenomenal acrobatics by Cirque de Symphony.

Now, Elijah and I have been to lots of Orchestra concerts, but this was by FAR the most amazing thing we've ever watched! We were on the edges of our seats, cheering, and gasping during each routine.

Seriously, seriously, great show! And beside the entertainment, he and I had a really special time together just talking about what was on his mind.

I love that he loves orchestra music. I love that he gets excited and bouncy in his seat with the big bass drum bangs. I love that he points to the different sections of musicians and tells me what instruments they are playing and why each one is his favorite. I love that he's amazed by the strings section and how quickly they play and perfectly synchronized they are. I love that the music moves him the way it moves me. He is a child after my own heart when it comes to these things.

The Best Day in the History of Elijah's Life {according to him}

A few nights ago, when it was almost bed time, we called a family meeting in Zeke's room. Because I knew as soon as we told the boys that the long-awaited trip to Holiday World was happening THIS FRIDAY, there would be a stream of questions such as "how many hours until we go?", "how long will it take to get there?", "may I bring Little Duck?", "which rides are we going on first?", etc.  So we waited until nearly the last minute in order to avoid the torture for ourselves and them. It was just enough time for their anticipation to grow, but not too much to drive us all bananas.

So this was it. The day we've been talking about for the past 6 months. I don't think Elijah slept last night. Bless his little 5-year-old heart, I know how that excitement feels and he handled it very well. Naturally this was all we've talked about since the big announcement. We got on the Holiday World website and looked at all the rides to determine which ones he would be tall enough to ride.  We had a plan and were ready to go!

But first, I had agreed to do a photoshoot at 8:30 this morning, so I did that before we could leave. It all worked out fine because we still made it to the park around 10:30. We hit the dry rides first and they opted just to ride the Doggone Trail, the Salmon Run, and the canoes before heading to the water park. It was hot already. By the time we got suited up and greased up it was noon. First we all went on the lazy river together, but it wasn't enough action for the boys. So we played for an hour or so at the Kimba Bay area, which they LOVED. Zeke did the slides like a madman, just as we predicted. No fear.

Next Elijah and I rode a water coaster, which turns out was a huge mistake. Not only was the wait nearly 2 hours, but he didn't even really enjoy it. It was too fast and too jerky. I regret that we waisted so much precious time out of our day to go on that stinking thing. We won't be doing that again. While we were doing that, Manny and Zeke played in the wave pool, then Kimba Bay, then went back into the dry park to ride the train, salmon run, and boats several more times. Once Elijah and I got back to our meeting place, it took us another hour to locate the 2 of them because Manny hadn't taken his phone w/him. (dang it!) So, by the time we were all together again we were ready to eat. We grabbed some pizza, bread sticks, fries, chicken, and onion rings at the concession stand (super healthy, right?).

After lunch we played in the part w/all the really wide kiddie slides. The boys had a blast in that place because the pool was only waist deep and the slides were just right for them. I admit, I had fun on the slides w/them too! Then we did the wave pool, and while Elijah and I rode the really tall racer slide (he had a love-hate relationship with it), Manny and Zeke played in the toddler area some more. Then Monsoon Lagoon, then the other wave pool, then we were ready to dry off and do some more dry rides, which included the raging rapids, kiddie train, and kiddie roller-coaster (which neither of the boys enjoyed it.)In fact, Elijah got off it half-way thru the ride. They rode several more dry rides on our seemingly endless walk back to the park exit. My knees hurs soooo bad by the end of the day, the boys were both completely exausted, and we were all starving (thank goodness I packed peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches in the cooler for the drive home). But you know what? It was an awesome day! We had so much fun as a family - I think even Manny (who hates pools AND hates the outdoors) enjoyed it. Elijah and I are already making plans about when we get to go next year!

Of the water park, Monsoon Lagoon was my favorite part. It's a little more for older kids (deeper water, taller and faster slides), ropes and nets to climb in stead of steps, but it was Zeke's favorite too. He zipped down the big-kid slides with no hesitation whatsoever. Elijah, on the other hand, was more interested in playing with the water sprayers and sprinklers. Zeke and I did slides for a loooong time. And when I say "Zeke and I", I mean, Zeke ran ahead of me and I chased after him, trying to ride slides with him. But as it happened, he really did them mostly himself. He probably giggled more during that hour than he has collectively the rest of his entire life.

By the time we rolled into our driveway at home the boys were nodding into dreamland. Dreaming, I'm sure, about the wonderful day we all had. What a super-fun day. What a blessed mommy I am to have these boys to enjoy it with. I am happy. Deep down, really happy.

The End.

35 YEARS!

I don't think I've mentioned lately how thankful I am for my sweet husband.  His birthday might just be the perfect time. He's celebrating 35 years of life and I'm so glad he's part of mine. I am blessed to be his wife and our boys are blessed to have him as their daddy.

For his birthday celebration we all had lunch together at Cheddars after church (our family + Mom and Dad + Keith and Paula). Then Manny, Elijah, and I went bowling. It was Elijah's first time ever! We kept it a surprise from Manny, which Elijah loved. He was so adorable and excited to do something fun together. We had a wonderful time. I loved watching him try so hard to roll the ball, then celebrate when he knocked down even one pin. :) After the bowling we went to my mom's and had birthday cake. Good times. Happy birthday Manny. xoxox

golf lesson

Not much to say about this except to point out that my son is sans pants - again. And to mention once more that times like these are another reason I love Summer so very much.  I wonder if my boys will grow and remember the warm lazy afternoons of pantsless golf with their Grandpa. I hope they do.

Chalk Art

Sometimes, on hot afternoons, we don't know what to do with ourselves. So we do stuff like draw on the concrete with chalk.  Sometimes the chalk ends up decorating our body parts too.  I love how my boys' dark brown suntanned skin contrasts with the light chalk.  And I love how they concentrate so hard on their artwork. After the drawings were finished, we all enjoyed popsicles on the porch swing together. This is the good stuff that makes me love Summertime so much.

Make A Splash

 Monkey see, Monkey do. My 2-year-old has NO FEAR. Not of the pool or anything else. And especially not when he sees his big brother do something. Elijah learned how to swim with no float earlier this summer so now Zeke thinks he's just as big and bad. He runs and jumps into the water, holds his breath to go under, kicks, splashes, and really gets around. Their nightly ritual after we eat supper is to take turns (or maybe not take turns) running and jumping off the side of the pool shouting things like "cannonbaaaaalllll", and such while doing various "tricks" and begging us to watch them for the dozenth time.  It's a great way to beat this crazy heat and it wears them out really nicely for bedtime. :)

Campout Under the Stars

For nearly a year Elijah has worked collecting and cashing in cans, doing odd chores, selling produce from his garden, and saving birthday and Christmas money for one single goal - to get a trampoline. And even though he was about $40 short of his prize, for his birthday I surprised him with one. While he was on his train ride extravaganza yesterday with my parents (and Little Duck) to the Kentucky Railway Museum, Manny and I put it together and had it waiting in the driveway when he got home. What a fun surprise!  He squealed and ran in circles. Then, of course, he jumped and jumped.

And because it was a gorgeous night, we decided to properly christen the new trampoline by having a camp out on it, just Elijah and me.  First we practiced a little flashlight art. Then we jumped together. Then we got all our bed stuff out and set up. Then we layed and looked at the stars for as long as he could keep his droopy eyes open. There was an amazing meteorite shower, which was even more visible because of the new moon. He wanted so badly to see a meteorite, but couldn't stay awake for one. I saw plenty. And I tried my hand at some star photography. We woke up soaking wet from dew, but it was a fun and special time for my sweet boy and me.

Almost a Campout

Elijah was bouncing off the walls on Friday afternoon with excitement. He had been counting down the days, then the hours until the Father/Son campout with Manny!  They loaded their tent, sleeping bags, extra clothes, toothbrushes (yes, I insisted), flashlights, snacks, and hotdog roasting stick into the back of the truck and headed over to the campsite (aka. field next to our church) at 4:30.  The happiness on my sweet Elijah's face was priceless.  An adventure with his Daddy is so rare, let alone a whole night just the two of them camping!  I was almost jealous that I didn't get to participate.

I spoke to Manny in the early evening and learned that Elijah got to go on the zipline THREE times!  He loved it - fearless!  One rousing game of flashlight kickball, 2 hotdogs, and a bag of chips later he was ready to hit the hay in his tent with (shhh...don't tell anybody) little duck by 9:00.  But then the drizzle started. Manny put the rain cover on the tent and it seemed they would be fine. ... Until the hail and lightning arrived.  They ran for cover into the church building, where the kids got to play on the drums in the sanctuary while the dads played audience to their concert.  After waiting it out for an hour, Manny decided there would be no sleeping outside in the storm so they left the tent and drove home at 10:30. 

When they walked in the door I knew by his puffy eyes that Elijah had been crying the whole drive home.  He looked up at me with the most heartbroken expression I think I've ever seen and said, "Mom, I have something really really sad to tell you" as he choked back tears.  I went to him and knelt down, putting my arms around him.  Then he broke down.  "Our campout was cancelled!" he sobbed, big tears spilling out. 

Manny had tried to console him with promises of another camping trip next weekend, a fun guys' breakfast out the next day, and trip to the hardware store.  But it was no use.  And I understood his sadness perfectly.  There is nothing to fix that great disappointment he was feeling.  His hopes had been high and they were deflated. Make-ups just won't do in times like that.  I was so sad for the heartbrake my little boy suffered.  It might not seem like much, but this was a monumental event in his life.  I just hope that when he looks back on the experience, he remembers more about the fun they had and they adventure of running for cover in the rain and lightning in stead.

Fall Festival Festivities: part 2

traditional chuck-wagon pic


yellow jeep
There were 6 cars available and he chose to sit next to the only other child on the ride.
Went down this baby about 14 times consecutively.
seeing the view
from on top
in the Ferris wheel


We stand here every year for a picture.
Watching the pet parade.
One last train ride!




Yes, he was laughing. :)




The end.