What's in the Bag? {#31days}

Note: Yes, I talk about Skip Hop and their amazing diaper bag. But, no, they have nothing to do with that. I just love their products and wanted to share. 

Remember that Sunday prepping I was talking about? Well, there is one extra item that I double check every night. I felt needed a post all on it's own: The Bag. 

I love my bag. It goes by many names: the baby bag, the diaper bag, the why's-this-damn-thing-so-heavy-bag, and, of course, the Mary Poppins Bag. But, I do. I love it. So much in fact that this is my SECOND version of this bag. Skip Hop makes great bags.

source

I found my first one at Babies R Us and my second one (pictured) was found on clearance at Target last year. It is perfect for wearing messenger style or hanging on the stroller (with either just the main strap or with the special stroller clips). This is key because freed hands are good. But the inside is what really counts. I'm all about pockets and being organized (shocker, right?).

So, here's a tour of my bag:

Outside mesh pocket: A water bottle for either myself or the boys if they are all of a sudden dying of thirst...ahem...

Little pocket on opposite side: keys

Front double pockets: Phone and wallet in one, list/mail/errand in the other OR these pockets will hold the bigger boys water bottles if we are at the zoo/park/etc

Shallow hidden zipper pocket: Another place where my keys are found, my Rosary, chapstick

Deeper hidden zipper pocket: Extra binky/binky strap, a few small baby toys, Austin's sunglasses and a bib

Inside double pockets: Diapers/Wipes in one (I usually keep only 2 diapers in here - more are kept in the car), and a small zippered bag in the other. This contains baby food pouch, baby spoon, diaper cream, bandaids extra chapstick, hand sanitizer, extra hair ties, and emergency snacks.

Main area: I have this nifty zippered pouch that holds snacks. I also keep a sippy cup of water in this area for Austin.

Depending on the season, I will either pack a beanie and a cozy blanket (I love the Cozy Swaddles by Aden + Anais, by the way. It is heavier than their normal ones but still lightweight) for Austin for the fall/winter or sun hat.

On the back of the bag is a larger open pocket, too. I use this for any papers we get while we are out. Like library calendars, bigger mail items...it is the perfect side for a file folder. I used to have a file folder in there actually when running back and forth to school. Now, I just grab one when I need something from the doc's office and the like.

This bag helps make my life easy, I think. How about you? Do you have a favorite bag? Do you have that running checklist of all these items you need? Here's a great checklist that I have used for a while - has everything that you need for a baby AND a toddler. Add/subtract the things you need/don't use and voile! You've got it, mama! Get packing now. Monday's coming.

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Weekend Recap

What a great weekend!Well, minus the ear infection...third ear infection, mind you... Ugh. So over those. However, I'm in the search for a non-surgical solution. And, based on what I have been reading (here, here, and here) those ear tubes are over-prescribed. So, we (Jason, our awesome pediatrician, and I) are working on a solution. Don't get me wrong, if he needs them, then we will get the procedure done. Austin's problem is that he just keeps getting these ear infections then moves quickly into perforation of the ear drum. But, then he heals perfectly fine. His ear just don't like the water. For now, our little guy will use the Ear Band-It System as our solution (well, as soon as Mr. UPS brings it). Until then, no pools for him...

Other than that little boo-hoo over the weekend and little sleep... We had a great one!

Jason and the bigger boys had a day out together on Saturday! They we to Lowe's to build a dragon. specifically to build Toothless the Night Fury. Awesome! 

While they were doing all of that, Austin and I got our grocery shopping and a few projects done around the house.

I finally recovered - ahem - child-proofed my chairs. I saw this post a while back and finally tackled it. Only spent $24 and 2 hours to make sure my chairs are no longer trashed.

Insert happy mama dance!

Now this... I cannot explain... Do you have a room in your house that just doesn't want to stay clean no matter what??? Just me?? It's really getting on my nerves. So now I have on my calendar (I use this one - it is awesome) to do a pick up of this spot every week. Seriously. Maybe that will help. Everything just gets thrown in there. You come in from the garage, and this is where it all goes?? I really can't stand this room. Next house I WILL have a separate mudroom and laundry room. Not doing this again.

I still can't stand those cardboard boxes. But, at least I know what is in there now...

Of course once all that was done and everyone was back home, it was time for some major snacking.

What's better than having a icy pop?  Having your big brother help you get the rest of it out, of course!

Oh, and watching the big boys have an icy pop is pretty fun, too. Yes, he likes to stand. Everywhere.

And, we can't forget what yesterday was...Father's Day! This guy is one amazing dad...a super dad, of course! We love you!!

We hope everyone had a great weekend and a great Father's Day!

Weekly Goals & Menu Plan {Back to School - Week 1}

Hello! Welcome to the Back-to-School, Part 1 Week! :) Andrew starts school this week!! But before we get on that topic, let's take a look back at what happened last week, shall we?

{MONDAY}

It was a sad morning... Sure, I woke up bright and early, but there was NO coffee creamer in the house ANYWHERE. Oh, it was so sad... 

 

But, I did plan out the boys' lunches/snacks for the first full week of school. So that is something. 

  We did head out and got some coffee creamer (and by some I mean 3 huge things so we wouldn't have THAT again...) after breakfast - thank goodness! We also ran to the library for some book hunting. 

{TUESDAY}

YUM. 5:30 AM Coffee :) 

Tuesday was "Meet the Teacher Day" for Andrew! YAY!! He is so excited about his new classroom! 

After lunch, we headed home to get out some back-to-school books and get a few to-do's done. 

I love these little books! 

Eddie Gets Ready for School

If You Take a Mouse to School

Sea Monster's First Day

The Mine-O-Saur

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

The Night Before Preschool

Mama's jobs for the day:

Clean up that stinkin' hall closet that is filled to the top with puzzles and games! 

 MUCH better! Now to just add a few labels...

 And, of course, under they boys' bathroom sink. You would be amazed at what I found under there... 

{WEDNESDAY}

Project day :) Fun! 

 What do you think? They boys are still so excited that I made them a railroad crossing sign for their room! Just a few more small things to add and their room will be 100% DONE! 

 We did this project while Alex was napping, so when Andrew and I got to the drying stages we ran out to grab the mail. Look what came for Austin! Awesome. Gotta love fun things from Zulily!

{THURSDAY}

Working hard on his school work. He had to count how many of each shape he would find, then write the numbers. He did a great job!

{SATURDAY}

 

 Guess what we FINALLY did...?!

HELLO! We FINALLY painted Austin's room! YAY!! The color is called "Mineral Deposit" from Sherwin-Williams. I love it! Now, I can really finish up this room. YAY!

While, the paint was drying, I was able to get a few things from the attic that I knew I had saved...like my baby bjorn and the pack-n-play (that has the bassinet/changing table parts). But, guess what my husband found!

HAHA!! Apparently, I only saved the essentials in case of a new baby! Too funny! Yep. All Packers things ranging from 3 months to 18 months. That. Is. Hilarious. 

{SUNDAY}

 Birthday Party Time! We headed over to Gerald's house to celebrate his 3rd birthday. The boys loved that pinata! Check out that face Andrew is making. He CLEARLY needs to be on a t-ball team! Maybe next year... 

My hot Sunday night date...with my planner, massive lists, and a fun drink sans the much-needed/wanted rum LOL It's orange juice, sprite zero, and pink lemonade. Jason had some then said, "We need some brandy." Haha! It was pretty good, even if it wasn't  a "real" fun drink.

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So, you can see that some of those things I wanted to take care of actually happened. Let's see how the rest turned out:

Family Goals:

1. Work on schoolwork on off-days after breakfast Done!

2. Family walk after dinner Yeah....so didn't happen. Apparently Baby Austin doesn't want to do that...

3. Work on learning the "Glory Be" before bedtime (they almost have this one down!) We have all the words down except for the "world without end" part. So, it is a work in progress. But, isn't that how it should be with your faith? ;)

Personal Goals:

4. Wake up at 530 am...fun! (Though, it really isn't all that bad. This will be the 3rd week in a row now) Happy to report that I am now waking up BEFORE the alarm clock! Ha!

5. Read Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace (part of the Hello Mornings Challenge) in the morning  It is so wonderful to have the mornings start like this.

6. Begin gathering items for hospital bag with the thing that are ACTUALLY needed/used (some of these lists are ridiculous, people... Who puts these things together? Not REAL moms that's for sure). This is only partly done. I did get most of the things set aside, but not all.

Home Goals:

7. Crafting: Football scarf from old Packers shirts of mine (similar to this) / Make train Crossing sign for boys' room The Packers scarf is just hanging out for the moment. I have the materials and such set aside. Maybe this week. But, I did finish the train crossing sign!!

8. Do: Paint Austin's room...for cryin' out loud! It's is supposed to be the perfect weekend for this - keep your fingers crossed! OH. HAPPY. DAY!! The room is FINALLY painted!!!!

9. Organize: Hall closet and under boys' bathroom sink / Go through scrap fabric stash for smaller projects for Austin Done, done, done! Now to decide on those smaller projects. I have a list. Just not sure what all I want to make.

Bonus Goal:

10. Andrew's Birthday Party To Do's: Order invites / Decide on menu / Chose 1 or 2 activities (all with Andrew's help - he cracks me up!) I love having my helper boy Andrew :) We got all of these things done for this part of the planning. Yay! This is going to be a super fun party! :)

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This Week's Goals:

Family Goals:
1. School starts this week for Andrew! Re-read our back-to-school books this week. Bed by 7:30pm / Up at 6:30am
2. Family game night - Yay!
3. Continue working on the "Glory Be" with the boys before bed

Personal Goals:
4. Rise and shine! Waking up at 5:15 now due to school this week.
5. Keep reading through Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace in the morning.
6. Finish up getting hospital bag together.

Home Goals:
7. Crafting: Start working on football scarf / If fabric comes in this week for Austin's quilt, then I hope to start on that, too.
8. Organize: Laundry room / under our bathroom sinks

Bonus Goals:
9. Austin's room to-do list/timeline
10. Freezer cooking to-do list/time line

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Looks like a much easier week than last now that Austin's room is painted, huh? Our menu is pretty easy, too. Thanks to a few requests from preschooler #1 aka Andrew :)

Monday: Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken, Rice, Broccoli

Tuesday: Spaghetti / Dessert: ABC Treat Bars

Wednesday: Bean & Cheese Burritos, Chips/Salsa

Thursday: Pizza / Dessert: M&M Cookie Bars

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Grilled Chicken, Salad, and Fruit

Sunday: Ham & Cheese Sliders, Chips

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Did I wear anyone out with all of this yet? Well, it's not going to slow down anytime soon, that's for sure! Andrew starts school in the morning, so be on the lookout for a fun post about him tomorrow!

Have a great week!

Home Organization 101: The Kitchen {Week 1}

Some of you may remember this fabulous blog from last years Weekly Organizing challenge. Well, Toni from A Bowl Full of Lemons is challenging us again. Love it!

Last week I worked on a few areas of the kitchen. I had it pretty much organized, but just spruced some things up a bit. I actually added some stuff to the donation basket. It's  amazing to find what "lurks" in the back of your cabinets. Especially on those top shelves for us 5 foot nothing people....

Here are the pictures from what we were to work on that week:

1. Coffee & Tea (and breakfast) station. Bottom shelf: All my coffee/tea supplies - kcups, splenda, honey, etc. are organized and easy to find. Before they were just randomly in a basket. I found out the sad way that I ran out of tazo k-cups :( I did find a box of the tazo tea bags though! HA! All is not lost. The next 2 shelves are all of our breakfast needs: cereals, peanut butter, syrup, sugar (my hubby is silly - he adds more sugar to cereals that already have sugar...anyone else do that?). Also, the other basket has our vitamins.

2. Vitamin/Medicine Station - Our vitamins are kept with the breakfast stuff. It is just easier to remember to take/hand them out if I'm looking at them. Our meds are mostly above the the microwave. I say mostly because the rest are in our room. Anyway, this is all the allergy meds and children's meds pretty much. It seems that is the only thing we are currently getting into. In that red bag - our first aid kit - is a thermometer  (which I swear by this one - it is awesome and perfect for the wiggle-bugs...) and all the band-aids and boo-boo fixers possible.

3. Lunch/Snack station - I had this one done in time for school :) I love having a drawer like this in the kitchen! (original post here)

4. Spice Cabinet Organization - this is actually part of where I keep some pantry items, but we weren't taking care of that this week, So I just took a pic of this shelf. I keep this right next to the stove/oven. It makes sense for me since I cook almost all the time. I went through them and found A LOT were way expired. Ew. Like 2 years expired. Oh, my. The shame. And, how crazy I would find doubles of some that were BOTH being used. Seriously? Well those have been combined, and I have some extra space in there to put my pepper mill and olive oil. Freed up some space on the counters, too. Nice. 

5. Potholders (and fridge clean up) - As my wall space is pretty much taken up, I found that magnetic hook a while ago at Target - I think on one of my outings with Rachel. (Aw, that seems so long ago. Miss ya, girl!) I can't find it online, but it is in the kitchen textiles section with the potholders and kitchen towels. Right there next to them. Anyway, I freed up the fridge a bit, too. Cleared everything off the front and de-cluttered the side. So, now, I have my potholder, Andrew's school schedule, my cleaning routine (from Clean Mama), and magnets for tornadoes, doctors, etc.

6. Baking Sheet Organization - I thought I would spare the picture of my drawer under the stove. I keep the ones I use most oven in there, while the specialty one (cake molds, cupcake tins, etc) are in the pantry.

7. Baking cabinet and bin(s) - I bake A LOT. Especially between now and January (February depending on who is in the Super Bowl). So this is my baking cabinet! My mixer - named Mixi LOL. There is a storage container behind her with all of her attachments and such. On the other side are 2 bins - 1 has cookie cutters organized by season/occasion in ziplocks, jello molds, and decorations (sprinkles, icing tips, and such). The other has treat boxes and muffin/cupcake liners - also in ziplocks by season/occasion. The top shelf, as you can see, are all of my mixing bowls, measuring cups, jars, and a juicer. I love this cabinet. It is my favorite! 

8. Dish Placement - This is the cabinet between my fridge and stove. Can you tell we are Packer fans? LOL Clearly, I don't have enough G's... Kidding. This is where we keep our dishes/glasses/cups. Bottoms shelf - for the beverages complete with straws. Next up - dishes with a handy helper shelf to double the space. That blue basket is where the kids cups/lids are kept. Less chaos. Top shelf - cookbooks. My two favorites (Paula Deen SIGNED!! Cooking Bible and Betty Crocker's Wedding Edition Cookbook - gift from my friend, Chelsi) can be seen the others are just put away in that basket (found at TJMaxx one day). 

Well, that is the first week of the challenge. 

Next: The Garage! EEK! Eh, it's not that bad. Just no where to put stuff...gotta love builder grade nothing, right? Time to make it ours :)

5 Things I Hope to Get To...Now that preschool has started

1. My 1/2 hour of reading in the car! I'm currently reading The Chaperone on my Kindle (and I'm halfway through it thanks to these moments!). While I LOVE being the first or so person in line for my little man, I also love this time in the car. And, yes, Alex is in the car, too. But he is either "reading" a book of his, having a quick snack, or taking a catnap. So it still works out pretty well. 

2. Ugh, not that I want to... But I have GOT to organize the madness that lurks in "the box." I have this big storage bin that I gathered all of our papers in and it needs to be organized. Luckily, Money Saving Mom is to the rescue! She is currently doing an organization "challenge" on this exact thing!

Money Saving Mom

3. Walking the different trails in our town. I have actually spotted a few and have only done one of them towards the end of last school year. I know, I know... I really should take both of them. But, we go on family walks after dinner and Andrew walks Max with some supervision. Alex and I really enjoyed our walks last Spring, so I hope to get back on that this week. 

4. Freezer cooking!! I actually did get to this last weekend. I am so glad that I am getting back into this. There is just SO MUCH that goes on between right now and January that having dinner DONE is the best thing ever. I made 9 dinners last weekend all from this awesome blogger! Thanks! We are LOVING the dinners so far :)

Just a shot of my freezer's insides overflowing ;) 

5. Finishing up our Summer Scrapbook!! I have just about 4 weeks left to add to the book. Thank goodness for Shutterfly and their easy-peasy ways of scrapbooking!

Click the picture if you want to see it bigger - just a screen shot of the first pages of the book (1st day/last day of school comparison. Still can't believe how fast he grew!!)

BONUS: Going to the grocery store or Target with ONE child. As much as I love my Andrew, he has gotten to the "I want ___" and/or "I need ____" stage. And, Alex has just now gotten to the "cookie"  with Mommy's coffee stage. LOL I can handle that for now. What sillies. :)

**Linking up with**

Mom of 6

2 More Projects Done!

I really do live this to do list board. It is really making things happen, people! I got two more projects done yesterday. The first one I should have gotten done months ago...I had ALL of the supplies. So what in the world? I must have been too busy pinnin' it like it's hot.

So, the first project is a Circle Zip Pouch (Erin made it to hold her earbuds; I made this to hold my Rosary). It is so stinkin' cute! I want to make some more... I need more zippers. ;)

 Getting ready to make some magic! I say that because this was my first project working with zippers. 

SO PRETTY!

The second one made my car feel more organized. I think I'm going to do this for Jason, too. I just grabbed another accordion file from the Target $1 bins and put it to good use.

Ew! So messy before . But now I have a LOT of room in that little spot.

Where's the party? Head here to find out!

Pinterest To Do List

I'm so tired of finding all these amazing ideas and NOT doing any of them. The recipes I can get to because, well, we need to eat, right? But, the other fun stuff, you know. When am I really going to get that in-ground trampoline done or go on a wild and crazy shopping spree for a great new wardrobe?

So, to help with this, I've made a "To Do List" board to start knocking these great ideas off this list. And, YAY ME! I got one done today. And, it took about 5 minutes to get it together really. Have I mentioned my love for the drill?

I found this charging station idea on TT&J (love her!):

And while I was at Target grabbing my lost items from the grocery list... How did I forget some of these things?! I grabbed my utensil bucket!

Just under $10 :)

So off to the garage to grab the drill - mwuhaha! I love that thing. I feel rather invincible with it. Anyway, I drilled 2 holes for my kindle and phone cords. One is off in the back and one off to the side as far as I could without hitting the long separator piece.

After clearing off my counters and getting a tad bit more organized in there (What is with kitchens getting so messy constantly?!), I found our new charging station a home. Now there is a place for all these things. No more looking for chargers, no more smashing them with jars that fall from the top shelf. What? Oh, I didn't tell you that story, huh? Yeah, I killed Jason's phone...but Verizon is awesome and I went in and out of there in under 10 minutes with a new phone :) Stinking salsa jar on the top shelf... 

Anyway, 1 fabulous project done! 7 more on the list for May :) By the way, if you love this idea, please make sure to link/pin the ORIGINAL IDEA - not mine. Also, as this is a "to do list" board, this pin is gone - crossed off, so to speak. 

 

Now, what should I get done next???

Quick Organizing Project

Every now and then, while running errands, I'll make an impromptu run into Bath and Body Works. Sadly, as I'm leaving with a new candle or lotion, I remember that I had a coupon for a freebie.
Well, no more! I grabbed a mini accordion file while out this morning to solve this problem. Now, I have a file in the car for all those coupons for restaurants, car repairs/oil changes, salons, and specialty stores. Yay!

Do you keep coupons in the car?