Life Simplified
Three Ways Your Family can Welcome in a New Year!
With a new year comes a lot of excitement! The feeling of a fresh start in many areas of our lives, planning for future events and adventures, new goals, and more! Everyday is a blessing! While we welcome in the New Year don’t forget to reflect on the many blessings that you have enjoyed over the past year(s). I encourage you to initiate a conversation with your family (it can be during a family dinner, game night, or any good time when everyone is present). During this family time focus on these three things as a family to start off your New Year right. This time together will make a positive impact on the hearts and lives of each individual family member and is worth it:
- Reflect back the fun memories and blessings of 2016! Often the hardest part with this stage is getting the ball rolling. Before the family time create a list of several good family memories to get it started. Mention one and let others input their memories tied into that event as well as start adding their own memories. Give everyone a chance who wants to talk the opportunity. If there is a pause bring up a different memory to keep them going. Before long you’ll be laughing and the kids will be bringing up memories connected to the event or new ones that you forgot about. This is a wonderful way to end a year and begin a new one.
- Take a moment to think about the tough times over the past year! While the harder times are not easy to deal with or will bring back sadness or emotions they still have an impact on our lives. Sometimes during these times of discussion you realize that a family member is still struggling with something. Whether it is grief over a lost pet or loved one, anger, frustration, or something else. This is a good time to gauge how everyone is doing and give you an opportunity to encourage each other or help those family members heal. The love and support you receive from those around you can make an incredible impact on your life as you continue to move forward. Knowing you are not alone, you are loved, and you have a team of people who want to help you can help the family member heal more quickly. (Do not use this time to point out problems with each other, but to talk about harder times and to encourage. Some topics made need to be tabled for a later and more lengthy conversation) It will give you a good insight into your children and some ideas of what to help encourage them with over the next few weeks as they continue to grow and heal.
- Look ahead! As one year wraps up and a new one begins it is a great time to set some goals both personally and as a family. Use this time to set family goals together. There may be some activities that the kids have been wanting to do, but you have been letting it slip not even realizing that it was very important to them. The goals discussed during this family time should be family related, although they most definitely have a personal impact on each family member. Write these goals down and review them weekly or monthly or regularly throughout the year to remind the family members of what is important to the family as a whole. This also provides a lead in for each of the members to think about their personal goals. It allows a great opportunity to have a group of people focused on similar goals and encouraging each other along the way. Some family goal ideas (eat healthier, regular family game night, monthly date night with spouse and each child, daily family devotions, learn a new skill together, plan a family vacation, weekly family night, quarterly family service project, etc…). Make a point to write the ideas down and either make a decision that day or within a few days on the family goals. Type up a list, print it or email it to each family member so that they can be reminded of the ways your family is working together to create stronger bonds, happy memories, and improving lives.
Setting aside a time when everyone is together can be difficult, however it is important. It can be during a family dinner, game night, or another time when the family is together. Make sure it is a convenient time with as little distractions as possible. A time when everyone is more relaxed (not hungry, ready for bed, or trying to multi-task while having this conversation). The reflecting on memories helps create a happy bond, the tough times allow family members to see that they are not alone and have the support of people who love them, and looking ahead gives you the opportunity to improve and grow into a better individuals and family unit. If you do write down the family goals please do your best to follow through as much as possible because these goals are important to the members.
Life has a way of staying busy. Taking the time to spending reflecting on good memories as a way has a way of bringing everyone together. It may cause some laughter, tears, and healing. It is good to be reminded of the many blessings in our life and to realize that we are journeying through this life together. Yes, we make mistakes along the way, but we can can make the best of it and have a lot of fun too. Many blessings to you and your family this 2017 New Year!!!
Be Prepared & Avoid The Oops! Walmart & SheSpeaks #AvoidtheOops
Have you ever been in the middle of hosting an event at your house and realized you are out of napkins? Gone to brush your teeth only to discover you are out of toothpaste? Went to start the laundry only to find out that you are out of laundry soap? All of these are possible scenarios and can be quite frustrating. I speak from experience! It is not cool to run out of essential items when you really need them!
At the time it is not funny when you realize you need something and do not have it on hand. It can be a big inconvenience because you may have to stop what you are doing and go to the store to pick up the missing product. You may need to be creative with your available resources because you cannot pick up the missing item (using cloth napkins while your guests are still visiting or napkins). Whatever the resolution in those crazy times it simply would have been easier to just have the item already at the house!
No one likes that sinking feeling when you reach for something only to realize it’s all gone. Avoid those oops moments by stocking up at Walmart.
One of the best ways to “avoid the oops” and running out of staple items is to keep a stock of essentials from Protector & Gamble. Whether it is an impromptu summer event, gathering, or last minute outing. It is always great to keep the daily or regularly used items on your list and small stockpile (one or two spares). The best way that we have helped to “avoid the oops” in our household is to create and use a system.
First, we try to keep at least 1 extra of the essential items that we use regularly in our house. Whenever, any member uses or opens up the last of an item they automatically add it to our shopping list. It doesn’t matter if I use the last item, my husband or kids, everyone has the freedom to update the list. It helps us keep what we need in stock. Until recently I would pick up any items on our shopping list around town, however, using WalMart’s “avoid the oops” program would save me the time and energy of running errands. Plus, I get the opportunity to order great products and have them delivered directly to our house (extra bonus)!
Save Time and Money:
Who doesn’t want to have a little extra time at the end of the day or extra money left in the budget at the end of the month! Some weeks it takes everything you have to balance schedules and all the activities (school, work, family, extra curricular, and more). If you could have something already in place that would allow you to quickly and easily order quality staple products online for a reasonable price and have them delivered to your home it may reduce some of the unnecessary stress in your already busy schedule. Most shoppers don’t realize they have the option of shopping for the same great household essentials at Walmart’s everyday low prices on Walmart. And by doing so, they’ll also save time so they can enjoy more of that summer sunshine.
Share Your “Oops” Moment:
Have you ever had an “oops” moment? Please share! We are all human and have had those moments at various times throughout our lives. We can laugh or cry together about them!
I was thrilled to hear that SheSpeaks teamed up with Walmart to showcase their “Avoid the Oops” program. Practical products are awesome! I love it when my house is stocked with the basic necessities and the house looks as well as smells fresh! Thank you Walmart and SheSpeaks for helping me tackle my shopping list and clean my house! It is always great to find products that are useful and easy to get.
AMAZING Household, Cleaning, and Health & Beauty Items from Walmart that we Received:
- 2 – Pampers Baby Fresh Baby Wipe Tubs (72 count each)
- 6 – Bounty Basic Big Roll Paper Towels (95 sheets per roll)
- 9 – Charmin Basic Toilet Paper Bulk Rolls (319 sheets per roll)
- 1 Box – Gain Powder Laundry Detergent Original
- 1 Pack – Gillette Simply Venus Disposable Razors (4 count)
- 3 – Crest Cavity Protection Toothpaste 6.4 oz each
- 10 – Ivory Original Soap Bars
- 2 – Mr. Clean Magic Kitchen Scrubbers
- 4 – Puffs Ultra Soft Strong Non-Lotion Boxes of Facial Tissues (56 sheets per box)
- 4 – Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Original
- 2 – Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Extra Power House Cleaning Pads
- 1 – Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid Original Scent
- 1 – Mr. Clean Hawaiian Aloha Multi-Purpose Liquid Cleaner (40 fl oz)
- Sample goodies to try too!!!!
I received ALL these products shipped directly to my house for under $60! They were super easy to order online at Walmart and arrived quickly. It was a big time savings for our family! Head on over and try out avoid the oops today so you will be stocked up on your products for tomorrow!
You can shop in all of the following categories: Kitchen, Laundry, Cleaning, Health & Beauty, Baby, Bathroom and More!!!
Additional Information Can be Found About This AWESOME Program at:
As a member of the SheSpeaks Blogger Society, I was given samples of these products and program to write an informed review. The opinions expressed in this post are my own. A special thanks to SheSpeaks and Walmart for providing the products to review.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was crazy, but good as we celebrated a lot of great rewards that the girls had earned for all their hard work throughout this past school year including watching them graduate. Thankful for our girls and their excitement to learn. They had a lot of activities and times when it was tough to get everything done, but they pushed through it. Jake and I are proud of our girls.
I have added a “kid goals” section to my list of goals. Now that they are getting older and realizing the importance of improving and maintaining goals I want to be intentional about keeping up with their learning as they grow older. Here are my goals for this week:
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Finish reading Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein to the kids. – was not able to finish with all the extra school activities this week, but read a couple of night
- Read 7 Stories from the Bad Pets on the Loose by Alan Zullo book to the kids. – read a couple, but not 7
- Go through 7 more Brain Quest Flash Cards with the kids. – did a handful only
- Read through 7 more pages of History Trivia with the kids. – hoping to pick this back up again this week
- Do devotions and prayer time with kids every night. – prayers yes, but it was really late a few nights so kept it short
Plan one special activity with the family- Play a Game with the Kids – we didn’t have enough free time in the evenings to play a game
Spend time Monday –Friday helping the kids with Homework- Attend After School Activities – attended all the activities including celebration / graduation meetings, regional Science Fair Competition & Awards, Graduation, Awards Ceremony
Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure(s) – working on it, but still has some more to go
- Prep & Figure out Schedule for upcoming Summer Break – getting closer to finalizing everything
- Ride Bikes with the Kids – the extra activities took more time than expected
Work on family projects together– we worked on several items together as a family including items in the house including the laundry room. The girls LOVED helping paint!Brina & Karlie’s Graduation Ceremony– great seeing the girls graduate!Brina & Karlie’s Award Ceremony– the girls received A LOT of amazing rewards! Both received trophies, several certificates, award pins, medals, and more. Once again we were blown away by how well they did and all they received. Evidence that the hours they spent working on school work really did pay off. They were part of several great groups and had a wonderful team of teachers / coaches. We will miss this school that they have been at for 7 years, but looking forward to what middle school has to offer!Prep & decorate for Graduation party (Meet with people Mon / Wed) after schoolTake Brina to the Science Fair Competition– not only did we take Brina to the Regional Science Fair Competition – SHE WON!!! FIRST Place in the Regional Science Competition so proud of her! Way to go Brina! She received a trophy, medals, certificates, and a cash prize! She was shocked, but excited. The last 3 months of baking cupcakes for her “Cupcakes on the Rise” Science Fair project were worth it. We calculated that she made over 410 cupcakes by herself these past 3 months. She’s gotten really good at making cupcakes!
Personal Goals
Drink 8 glasses of water each day- Keep up with my FitBit Goals – did so well this week with the exception of forgetting my fitbit at home on a day where I did a lot of moving around at work and after school activities. Oh well…
Do yoga at least 5 times a week- Go to my Appointments Scheduled this week – Jake took Brina to set up for the Science Fair over lunch on Thursday so I could work my regular hours, thanks Babe!
Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily- Tackle some lingering projects on my “to do” list – I did get several things moving forward, but nothing completely crossed off so officially I cannot cross this off my list….
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – my laundry room is still being renovated, I was unable to get in to do laundry on my normal schedule. Hopefully this will be complete or at least in a more working condition by the end of next week! 🙂 It’s going to look awesome though, Jake has done a fantastic job and the girls have pitched in and helped a lot too!
Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week- Clean House (Focus – Laundry Room Remodeling Work (get all of the subflooring cleaned and help Jake with getting at least 1/2 of it completed) – flooring is up and was stalled a little bit by another issue that caught our attention that needed to be fixed prior to doing more in the laundry room (thankful for a husband who can do so much). Having an older home can have a lot of fun and unexpected surprises that take extra TLC! 🙂
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Find Bins / Containers / Baskets to put on shelves in Laundry Room once up) – I have some ideas, but waiting a couple more days until I figure out how the new laundry room layout will look like prior to committing to any specific bins/containers/baskets. I want the items I get to be practical, efficient, and uniform as much as possible.
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Plant Lilly Flower and Blueberry Bush – weather permitting) – the laundry room took up more time than we expected as well as a couple extra activities with school and other events were more time consuming than we original planned.
- Pet Care (Focus – Give Skipper her vitamins) – Brina especially is good about keeping up with Skippy’s vitamins!
- Repairs – (Focus – Refinishing our Laundry room, tearing out the old linoleum and sprucing it up) – All the old flooring is up, we are starting to paint and work on other areas. Looking better already, cannot wait until it is complete! Will be very nice!
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails – few more need to be completed
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – a couple of days got away from me with all the activities last week, hoping as we get into rhythm with the new summer schedule I can tackle a few more of this necessary items
- Work completed for clients – have a couple more projects to complete
- Notes typed for work – I got them started (kids and other family activities took priority this past week.)
- Folders Labeled for work – I actually got a decent start of this one. I finished some of the categories that I was doing, but have a handful more to wrap up before I am officially done.
- Desk drawers organized – getting closer….does that count?!
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Schedule a meeting with the Financial Advisor – have a couple I need to follow up with this week
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – made another extra payment
Pay Bills & File Paperwork- Go grocery shopping one time this week and stay within budget – went over with the graduation party celebration and other big activities that filled up our week
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Finish reading Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein to the kids.
- Read 7 Stories from the Bad Pets on the Loose by Alan Zullo book to the kids.
- Go through 7 more Brain Quest Flash Cards with the kids.
- Read through 7 more pages of History Trivia with the kids.
- Do devotions, reflecting on our blessings, and prayer time with kids every night.
- Plan one special activity with the family
- Play a Game with the Kids
- Attend After Work Activities
- Lunch Boxes packed the night before work & other planned activities
- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure(s)
- Prep & Figure out Schedule for upcoming Summer Break
- Ride Bikes with the Kids
- Work on family projects together
- Start packing suitcase for next family adventure
- Daily 15 minute “Speed Clean” for entire family to keep the daily clutter under control
Kid Goals
- Have kids do 1st week in Summer Workbook(s)
- Encourage Kids to read independently at least 30 minutes a day
- Sign up kids for the Easley, Anderson, & Greenville County Summer Library Reading Programs
- Sign up kids for Barnes & Noble and other similar reading programs
- Have kids work on our approved educational websites to encourage growth (at least 2 hours for the week)
- Have kids work for at least 1 hour on this week on improving their typing skills
- Each kid finish creating at least 2 blogs posts for their Fun with Sis blog
- Spend time Monday –Friday encouraging the kids to find creative ways to learn and grown their skills
- Kids start packing suitcases for next family adventure
- At least 30 minutes of outside play, fresh air, or activity time a day
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Keep up with my FitBit Goals
- Do yoga at least 5 times a week
- Go to my Appointments Scheduled this week
- Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
- Tackle some lingering projects on my “to do” list
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Clean House (Focus – Laundry Room Remodeling Work Completed
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Refill Kids Snack Bins – hope to focus again on the laundry room in the future once further along)
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Plant Lilly Flower and Blueberry Bush – weather permitting)
- Pet Care (Focus – Replant grass in Goat pen)
- Repairs – (Focus – Refinishing our Laundry room, painting and laying new flooring)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
- Notes typed for work
- Folders Labeled for work
- Desk drawers organized
- Do at least 5 blog posts this week
- Catch up on Hootesuite
- Upload pictures from last few weeks and update
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- One-on-one quality time with Jake (talking, date night, or doing an activity together)
One-on-one quality time with Brina (talking, date night, or doing an activity together)One-on-one quality time with Karlie (talking, date night, or doing an activity together)
Financial Goals
- Schedule a meeting with the Financial Advisor
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt
- Pay Bills & File Paperwork
- Go grocery shopping one time this week and stay within budget
- Sell, giveaway, donate, or through away items no longer use
- Take items to the recycling distributor
- Make meals with items from pantry, refrigerator, and freezer to use up what we have and eliminate any extra spending
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small
steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
What’s for Dinner: Our Weekly Menu Plan
SURPRISE!!! I’M BACK!!! Yes, I am still alive and kicking (in case you were wondering)! 🙂 The past few weeks (umm….months really) it has been a little wild around our house. All good stuff, but a lot of transitions, adjustments, work, school, travel, and everything else. Also, was experiencing some technical difficulties with my blog and my IT person was super busy so I didn’t want to bug the daylights out of him. Now that everything seems to be back up and running smoothly again, it is my desire to get everything back up and moving along for you. A big shout out to those who have commented, emailed, called, texted, and checked in with me to make sure I was still alive during this little blogging siesta. A huge THANK YOU for being patient and hanging in here with me as my family made some adjustments. Will have to share more about what has been going on these past few weeks….lots of good stuff and a very full calendar! It gets easier and quieter as the kids get older, right!?
It is my goal to stay on top of our dinner menu once again. We have found a good rhythm for the most part (now that school is wrapping up for the year, ha). We are finalizing several details regarding our summer schedule, but overall I hope to be available and more up to date in the blogging world.
It is nice to have people who help keep me accountable and organized throughout my week. It is encouraging to know that other Moms have to work through all the balancing fun of family, work, home, and a multitude of other activities that I seem to experience. If you have it all figured out, let me know because I would love to be able to get my ducks in order, have a positively balance life in every area plus a happy family and clean house (at least longer than 5 minutes). If you haven’t reached that level yet, no worries, I am there with you. We can do our best and I am going to give it my best shot to stay on top of everything and organized so here we go!!!! Here is our menu plan for the upcoming week:
Our Weekly Menu Plan
- Monday (Beef or Pasta Entree): Crockpot Roast, Mash Potatoes & Brown Gravy
- Tuesday (Seafood or Soup Entree): Tilapia Fillets, Italian Herb Bread
- Wednesday (Chicken or Vegetarian Entree): Sweet & Sour Chicken, Steamed Rice
- Thursday (Pork Entree or Kid‘s Night to Cook): Mesquite BBQ Pork Tenderloin, Green Beans
- Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: Leftovers, Family Preference, and Hosting
I have a general pattern I try to follow for my weekly Menu Plan (for example Monday we have a beef or pasta entree and so forth). It is my goal, at least in the beginning, to have at least the main dish and one side planned. I will put together the remaining side dishes (veggies / fruits) based on the food items that need to be used up first and compliment the main entree.
Setting a weekly menu plan helps me utilize my time better, thus freeing up extra time to spend with my family. On the days that I am working longer hours I can prep the meal in advance so it will be easier to pull together once I am home. As I go through the menu planning process I will try to share some of our favorite family recipes. If there is a specific recipe you would like please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate (some recipes are a toss together meal and I do not use any set measurements).
As a family of four our life can get busy. What’s for Dinner is our weekly menu planning series and one of the ways to help keep us organized, on schedule, and within budget. Our family typically eats 6 to 7 dinner meals at home a week. We do try to go out to eat at least once a month as a special treat. Breakfasts are eaten at home before work and school, lunches are eaten at work, school, or home, so dinner is our main meal together as a family. Dinner is our time to reconnect, share, and enjoy being together after a busy day. Our weekly menu plan covers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday only because the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) is our time to spend with family and friends. The weekends tend to be more spontaneous and my husband (who is the better cook) likes pitching in therefore we keep the menu open for variety. We use up the leftovers throughout the week for our lunches and on the nights that we are busy or can’t cook.
Photo by Liz
- Monday (Beef or Pasta Entree): Crockpot Roast, Mash Potatoes & Brown Gravy
Organized Chaos: Medicine Cabinet
Medicine Cabinet
The medicine cabinet is in the kitchen. The items that don’t fit in the medicine and first aid tackle box are placed on the bottom shelf in baskets to keep everything organized. The cabinet is high enough that the little kids cannot reach it, but is accessible for adults. We have been using this method for awhile now and it works really well for our family.
There are 3 different Medicine baskets on the bottom shelf (from left to right):
- Miscellaneous
- Fever & Miscellaneous
- Cold & Allergy
Medicine organized in baskets on the bottom shelf
Organized Chaos: Medicine & First Aid Tackle Box
Our Medicine & First Aid Tackle Box
I like tackle boxes, but probably not for the same reason as most people. Some people like them to store their fishing supplies, I like them because they make great storage containers. We have had this medicine and first aid tackle box for many years. It has worked very well in storing basic medicine and first aid items. The medicine and first aid tackle box is stored in our medicine cabinet in the kitchen. It is within easy reach if you need something, yet not at a level young children can get access to it.
The top of our medicine and first aid tackle box contains items we only use once in awhile like wrapping, bigger bandaids, poison control items, burn gel, spare thermometers, and a few more items. The 3 containers with the white stickers is the section we access the most often which we go into further details about what they contain below. The front right side of the tackle box contains our thermometer and an otoscope (we had kids with a lot of ear infections and this tool has been a huge help for our family). If you have a kid that gets frequent ear infections an otoscope is well worth the investment!
Items in our Head & Stomach Medicine Container:
- Tylenol 8 Hour
- Excedrin Tension Headache
- Naproxin
- Tylenol Extra Strength
- Excedrin Migraine
- Ibuprofin
- Children’s Tylenol
- Children’s Ibuprofin
- Gas X
- Anti-Diarrhea
- Draminine
- Tums
Items in our First Aid Container:
- Eye Drops
- Antibacterial Cream
- Drawing Sauve
- Nexcare Clear Waterproof Bandaids
- Advanced Healing Bandaids
- Fun “Kid” Bandaids
- Small Bandaids
- Sheer Bandaids
- Medical Tape
- Antibiotic Bandaids
- Large Bandaids
- Antibiotic Ointment
- Gauze
Items in our Cold & Allergy Container:
- Cough Drops
- 4 Hour
- 12 Hour
- Kids Cold Medicine
- Adult Cold Medicine
- Kids Allergy Medicine
- Adult Allergy Medicine
- Decongestion
- Mucinex
- Day Time Cold Medicine
- Night Time Cold Medicine
All 3 containers placed in the Medicine and First Aid Tackle Box
You can see all 3 containers are labeled – Head & Stomach, First Aid, and Cold & Allergy
The containers are in the Medicine and First Aid Tackle Box and ready for when they are needed.
The Medicine and First Aid Tackle Box are on the middle shelf of our Medicine Cabinet.
Organized Chaos: Storing Our Vitamins
Organized Family Vitamins
We store our family vitamins on the top shelf of our medicine cabinet in the kitchen. Each basket contains vitamins for our family members. Jake and I have our own baskets, but Brina and Karlie share a basket containing all their vitamins.
Once a week I get the vitamins down and refill everyone’s individual vitamin containers for the entire week. This system has worked pretty well for our family over the past couple of years. Plus it keeps all the vitamins organized and in one location. I picked up the baskets on clearance at Staples (they were sold in packs of 3 or more and were a $1 or less). If you cannot find them at Staples I have seen them around at other stores as well.
Our medicine cabinet with the vitamins on the top shelf.
Flashback Friday: Growing Up
Brina trying to figure out how to get across the floor to Daddy!
Today’s Flashback Friday goes back 10 years. The girls were 6 months old and starting to learn so much every week. They are more mobile and on the go. They love babbling back and forth to each other and to others. It is fascinating to watch them explore and learn new things. Our family is blessed with these to sweethearts.
Brina is the more mobile one, but Karlie is only a day or two behind her. Karlie is the more verbal one, but it doesn’t take Brina to catch up. They challenge each other and neither one wants to get left behind so they do a lot of their fun activities together.
It is cute to see them working together like a small team. Some of their jibber jabber we don’t understand, however, they seem to understand all of it and will randomly bust out laughing about some inside joke they share.
Sweet Brina pausing to say “Hi” to Mommy!
Karlie is always quick to offer a sweet smile which makes my heart happy.
It’s only been a month since they started eating rice cereal and “solid” food. The first time we had a lot of tears because they didn’t like it and wanted their bottles. Now they are all smiles when they get into their high chairs . They look forward to meal time (I think they consider it another form of play time only messier)! Oh, how quickly things change in just a few weeks.
Having fun with Brina as we get her dressed for bed. She doesn’t look too thrilled, but puts up with her goofy parents anyway.
Brina – “Quiet Karlie, it’s my turn to talk now….”
Karlie – “What are you laughing at Daddy?” She is all smiles and has no idea she has tape on her forehead!
Brina so proud of her standing ability.
Karlie and Brina, they had such pinchable and kissable cheeks at this age.
Daddy’s unique way of giving Mommy some cash. Brina wasn’t too sure about this new toy in between her toes.
Brina would get very upset if she tipped over and couldn’t get herself back up again. This time when she fell over I think Karlie was concerned about her crying because she stuck her fingers into Brina’s mouth (maybe to make her be quiet, who knows).
Brina’s first ride on the rocking cow (with pillows on either side and Daddy next to her just in case).
Sweet Karlie
Karlie’s first ride on the rocking cow. They were a little unsure about this moving cow at first, but as they got older it became a popular toy at our house. They loved it.
Happy Karlie girl
They are learning how to use a sippy cup. Karlie sometimes would “act” like she was drinking or play around instead of actually drinking so we had to make sure she was getting enough water.
Brina tipped over Mr. Octopus while playing and couldn’t get back up. She was not happy! Once I sat her back up again she was fine and her happy self again.
Surprised Karlie woke up to a massive stuffed animal on the swing with her. Where did this come from?! “Butch” was a large stuffed dog I got as a kid from Grandpa CE and Grandma Willa. The girls loved to roll around, climb, and play with it when they were little.
Life is good – Karlie
Brina is fascinated with the new toy which we called “Giggles”. It would giggle and move around the room. She loved to followed it around the room and knock it over so it wouldn’t run away.
Karlie on the other hand was a little suspicious about a laughing and moving toy. She was fine with it at a distant, but the first time it bumped into her arm she was hysterically screaming like it attacked her. After watching it a few more times she eventually got used to it and enjoyed it.
Brina riding the “Hungry Hippo”! They could ride on the hippo and as it moved it would pick up block and other toys off the floor and put them into a storage bin under the seat. It made “clean up” more fun for the kids. They both loved riding on it or being pushed around the house picking up scattered toys.
Playing together on “Mr. Clown” mat. They initially would both fit (with all their toys) and stay on the clown mat now they are getting older they never stop moving so even though they might start there they don’t stay very long.
Karlie is happy to play music for the rest of us.
Brina talking and showing off her belly button while Karlie sits there nicely for the picture.
They loved talking (or babbling) to each other. This was one time while I was getting them dressed. Karlie was talking away so I sat Brina up on the changing table with her and they talked back and forth for several minutes. Who knows what they were saying, but they were having fun. They were fascinated by the words and noises coming out of each others mouths and would stick their hands inside the others mouth trying to figure out how it all worked. Loved these little interactions and the cute gibberish they made.
Daddy let Karlie borrow his hat. He was concerned about her getting a sunburn.
Karlie sitting quietly, but not entirely sure about this thing on her head.
A whole lot of Brina mischief was found in my laundry basket. They used to love playing in our laundry baskets. Once they were older they made it a game to climb in and out, wonder how that started? Sweet Brina is distracted me from doing the laundry, but hey that can wait until tomorrow, right!?Organized Chaos: Health & Beauty Supplies
Health & Beauty Supplies
We have a tall narrow closet in the master bedroom where we store regularly used Healthy & Beauty Supplies. When we find something that it is on sale and we know we will use in the next 1 to 6 months we pick it up and put it in the appropriate container. The containers hold plenty for our family for the next few months so we never get more than what the container can hold. If the container is empty or running low we put that item on our shopping list for the next trip to the store.
As the kids get older I have noticed they are starting to go through more of the Health & Beauty items. Since we try to get these items when they are at a good price we haven’t noticed too much of an increase in use. I anticipate as they get older the use will continue to go up and they may start getting more specific about what they like (or don’t like), but for now they are content with just pulling out something from the container that we have on hand.
It helps having everything organized and available so when an object is needed already we have it. There are a couple items that technically are not Health & Beauty that we keep stored in this area as well such as the Air Fresheners and Small Gifts, otherwise it is all health and beauty items.
Once again you can see that I used the small clear containers with a white lid from the Dollar Tree. These fit perfectly in so many of our smaller closets and help us keep supplies in order. They are easy to see into, pull out, open up, and refill. Anyone in the family can easily get the items they need without assistance. We have not replaced the original wooden closet shelves in this closet because it is such a different sized closet the wooden shelves work for it. The closet is not wide enough to fit 2 of the plastic containers side-by-side so I used a narrow box to slide in next to the containers which contains some of the slightly bigger items we try to keep on hand.
Top Shelf of the Health & Beauty Closet Contains:
- Air Fresheners & Refills
- New Make Up
- Q-Tips & Cotton Balls
- Box of Small Gifts (I try to have a handful of small gifts on hand for last minute parties, teacher gifts, hostess gifts, or something else. Couple examples of what I keep in this box are candles, decorative hand soaps, and more. These items have come in handy when we don’t have time to run to the store, but need something to give someone.)
Middle Shelf of the Health & Beauty Closet Contains:
- Female Deodorant (which now we have 3 people in our household using)
- Male Deodorant (we always have at least 2 of his deodorants out at a time – 1 for everyday home use and 1 packed in a toiletry bag for when my husband travels for work. There have been times when he has had to leave at the last minute so having this already packed and ready helps us make sure he has everything he needs to travel and allows us to get him out the door more quickly.)
- Chapstick / Lipstick
- Box of Toothpaste, Tooth Brushes, & Mouthwash (since these are typically longer or taller in size they fit better in the box on the shelf)
Bottom Shelf of the Health & Beauty Closet Contains:
- Hand Sanitizer & Sunblock
- Dental Floss
- Toothbrushes
- Box of Lotion & Face Wash
All the Health & Beauty items are organized and ready to be used!
Organized Chaos: Household & Party Supplies
Household and Party / Gift Supplies
There are certain items our household tends to need or go through on a regular basis. Since these are items our family uses regularly we try to keep them organized, accessible, and stocked so that when they are needed we can get them quickly. Also, there are certain party or gift supplies that we keep on hand and organized to use for a variety of different events that we participate in as a family.
In order to organize our Household and Party Supplies efficiently in our storage room we used these clear small containers with white lids, you can find them for a $1 at Dollar Tree. We were able to fit all our household and party supplies on one shelf. Once the items are placed in containers, we put the lid on, and labeled them. We picked up the wire shelving several years ago at Sam’s Club, but you can find it at a number of stores including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and more. We have used this system for several years now and it works really well for our family.
Household & Party Supply labels:
- Vacuum Attachments
- New Sponges
- AAA Batteries
- AA Batteries
- D Batteries
- C & Miscellaneous Batteries
- Curling Ribbons & Yarn
- Gift Bag Ribbons
- Paper Bags (White & Brown)
- Crepe Paper
- Ribbons
When the kids were little it felt like almost every toy had a battery, not sure if we go through any less batteries now that they are older. Although, they do have more stuff that charges using a wall outlet now!
The household and party supplies are located on the bottom rack in this picture! Easy to see, reach, and use when needed!
