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Michael and I are taking the kids to the fair today. I'm not a big fair fan but I remember how excited I would get when I was a kid. Devon (my 11 yo) has been working hard to earn money to take to the fair. She wants to buy a bracelet that lets you ride all the rides you want all day. To earn the money she has been washing dogs and picking blackberries for my Aunt. Michael is excited about climbing some rock wall and going to the destruction derby. No surprise there huh? I am going to take the little ones to the petting zoo and to see all the award winning animals. Oh! That reminds me! Yesterday Michael and I took the kids for a drive in the country. We were driving past this field of cows and Michael goes, "Whoa! Check out the size of that cow!" (It was almost twice the size of the other cows.) Regan (my 4yo) said, "Thats not a cow, that's a horse!" We all laughed so hard! |
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Today I discovered Microsoft Works Calendar. Well, I didn't discover it myself. I read Coppers Wifes' blog and she told me about it. You can head over to her blog and read the article if you want. I went to check it out and WOW! It is so easy to use! It took me about two hours to enter in all the family birthdays, anniversaries, monthly bills, weekly chores, lesson times and appointments. And I only had to enter them in once! There is a little button to click that allows you to have it repeated daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. Its great! I highly recommend checking it out. |
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Working on my Christmas Notebook got me thinking about my Household Notebook. So I pulled it out and dusted it off. I used to use it all the time but for some reason I stopped. As I was looking through it I noticed a lot of stuff that needed updated and some that just needed tossed. When I get it up to date I'll post about the different sections I have and how they work. Here is a link to OrganizedHome that will help you set up your own Household Notebook. There are so many great ideas here. If you search around there site you'll find a link to planning meals.Its called The Kitchen Table. There you can find meal ideas, grocery shopping help and recipes. Also stuff like lunch box ideas and freezer cooking. |
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A while back I was reading Kendras blog Preschoolers and Peace and came accross her entry on doing 101 things in 1001 days. (For details on this click here.) Let me tell you I was hooked on the idea! It has taken me a while to find the time to write that many things down but I have finally done it! Yeah!! So here is my list. These goals are in no particular order. I just wrote them down as they came to me. 101 in 1001 1. Read my Bible Daily 2. Attend church regularly 3. Cut & hem living room curtains 4. Update blogs regularly 5. Plan family vacation for 2007 6. Finish working on Christmas Notebook 7. Make an All Holiday/Event Notebook 8. Paint & put flooring in Ryan & Regans room 9. Complete Household Notebook 10. Paint & Tile front porch 11. Schedule physical for Michael & I 12. Schedule regular monthly dates with Michael 13. Plan occasional nights out for me 14. Put the girls in swimming lessons 15. Praise the kids more than correct them 16. Work on manners 17. Organize the book cases 18. Scrapbook regularly 19. Finish working on family tree 20. Save money from every check 21. Take the train to 22. Read the Chronicles of Narnia aloud 23. Organize all photos 24. Take the kids to the zoo 6 xs per year 25. Plan menus and actually use them! 26. Declutter closets & dressers 27. Clean out the garage 28. Make portfolios for each child 29. Photograph kids artwork and put the pictures in an album 30. Make freezer meals 31. Put new flooring in Devons room 32. Retile the laundry room 33. Install new tub and surround in bathroom 34. Have people over for dinner more often 35. Edit pictures to B & W and have them framed 36. Have a garage sale 37. Go to museums 38. Keep a list of books Ive read to the kids 39. Send out a Christmas letter 40. Take kids to the Living Nativity 41. Take the kids to the pumpkin patch and on a hayride 42. Go to a Mariners game 43. Go visit my Dad 44. Make homemade cookies for our neighbors 45. Send cards for birthdays and anniversaries 46. Go to the beach 47. Go hiking 48. Learn to knit or crochet 49. Teach Regan and Ryan how to ride a bike 50. Get Ryan potty trained. 51. Make a list of books I want to read 52. Make a list of books I want the kids to read 53. Start packing Michael lunch every day 54. Have an emergency fund of $1000 55. Have all debt paid off 56. Have 3 months of income in savings 57. Make memory boxes for each child 58. Buy a new bed for Michael & I 59. Buy a new dining room table & chairs 60. Actually read all the books I have in my bookcases 61. Read the Bible all the way through 62. Have a garden 63. Learn to can food 64. Get back to my pre-baby weight 65. Learn sign language (kids too) 66. Learn to play an instrument 67. Join the Friends of the Library 68. Start an I, Me, Mine basket 69. Learn how to sew clothing 70. Learn how to quilt 71. Have a well stocked pantry 72. Have a well stocked freezer 73. Save enough to have a heat pump installed 74. Save enough to re-roof the garage 75. Buy a houseplant and keep it alive 76. Join local genealogical group 77. Teach Cindy how to use the internet 78. Teach Regan how to read 79. Teach Ryan how to read 80. Exercise 4x per week 81. Cook more from scratch 82. Take the kids blackberry picking 83. Take the kids fishing 84. Take the kids ice skating 85. Take the family to see the Nutcracker ballet 86. Have another baby! 87. Copy Jonathans home movies onto DVD 88. Teach 89. Keep in touch with extended family 90. Make a new personal goal for each month 91. Keep in contact with friends from 92. Send Jessica care packages 93. Send regular emails to Marianna 94. Take 95. Decorate the house for each season 96. Learn how to make candles 97. Complete disaster preparedness tubs 98. Have a fully stocked first aid kit in the house 99. Keep auto maintenance up to date 100. Get both cats fixed 101. Plan one on one time with each child daily
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I want to encourage everyone to visit this site. It is where I get a LOT of my Christmas/holiday ideas. The whole Christmas Notebook idea come from there. (at least for me) There are TONS of different ways to set up your Christmas Notebook so head on over there to find them!
Here are a few links I really like...
I hope these links work! You should find a TON of ideas here! |
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The 6th section of my notebook is Gift Ideas. I have pages of gift basket ideas, family gift ideas and some things for neighbors and friends. For my extended family I make up a form with Microsoft Word. I have a column for names, one for the gift idea and one to check when I'm done with that persons shopping. I also have a HUGE list of stocking stuffer ideas.
Section 7 is for inventory. I LOVE this section. I have all my decorations in Rubbermaid totes and in my binder, a list of what's in each tote. I also have lists of all my Christmas music, books and movies. I also make a note of where I am storing my linens and special dishes.
In years past I have photographed different decorated areas of my house. This helps me remember how I had things set up. Since I am constantly rearranging my house the pictures are a lot of help. |
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Section 3 of my Christmas notebook is where I keep all the holiday dates. I just print off a couple of blank calendars and fill them in with every event our church, family and community is having. We don't go to everything but I like knowing what is available. Also, it helps me to not schedule more than I can do.
Section 4 is where I keep all the craft ideas I find during the year. I used to find cool ideas but when Christmas came around I either lost the directions or completely forgot about them.
Section 5 is for FOOD!! This is where I keep all menus, recipes and PICTURES of past table settings. I love to decorate my table beautifully and taking pictures helps me remember what looked good and what didn't. |
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Well, we're winding up week 2 of our new school year. I thought that going from teaching one child to teaching three children was going to be SO hard! So far it has been a lot of fun. The two littles are really excited to sit at the table and do 'school'. Since they already know all their letters, shapes, colors and numbers I have been working on things like cutting with scissors, tracing a line, and sign language. And as always lots of reading! My curriculum plan for Devon has changed a little. We started with a language arts Lifepac but decided this week to go back to Easy Grammar. (we have used EG for the past three years) We also switched from using Story of the World Vol 1 to using Lessons from History 1400's - 1700's. We are still reading the SOTW book and using their book list but thats more for fun reading. My neice is going home tomorrow. She has been here since Sunday. She has just loved doing school with us. Everytime I give Devon something to work on she asks for something too. I have a prayer request for anyone who might be reading this blog. A few years ago my Dh hurt his wrist at work. He had surgery on it and went through months of physical therapy. His Dr. finally told him it was as good as it was going to get. Well, he just told me tonight that it has really been hurting him and he can't use it much. I think he is going to have our new Dr. look at it and maybe run some tests. Please pray that either his wrist is healed or the Dr. can find some way to fix it. |
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Sunday- Steak Corn on the Cob Baked beans Jello Salad Monday- Chicken Fetuccini Alfredo Garlic Bread Cucumber & Tomatoes Tuesday- Roast Mashed Potatoes and Gravy Green Salad Wednesday- Scrambled Eggs & Cheese Fried Potatoes Bacon Thursday- Sirloin Burgers Fries Pasta Salad Friday- Spaghetti & Meatballs Bread Sticks Green Salad Saturday- Sweet & Sour Chicken Chow Mein Fried Rice BBQ Pork |
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The first section I have in my Christmas Notebook is called Correspondence. This is where I keep addresses, lists of people I have sent Christmas cards to in previous years and those who sent cards to us. If I find a Christmas card I really like and want to send out another year I will keep a copy of it here and note where I bought it. The second section in my Christmas notebook is called Cleaning. I have a detailed cleaning list for each room of my house and the yard/exterior of the house. I have these same lists in my Household Notebook but the ones in the Christmas Notebook are altered for Christmas decorations.
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