I took a class this past weekend on creating bracelets using a loom. I am HOOKED!! These are fun and gorgeous!
I made the first one at my class and then came home and made one for my daughter.
No really. I NEED TO WRITE.
I am going along, living life, and thinking, you know, I need to write something. The more I write the better I feel. The better I feel, the more I write. The more I write, the better my writing is. The better my writing, the better I feel. Etc, etc, etc…
But then I think, well, I don’t have anything interesting to say. Or I think of something quick and funny and just tweet it or Facebook it. When the truth is the more I write, the better I feel, the better I write, the better I feel… lather, rinse, repeat.
Since I last wrote, I potty trained my boy (YES REALLY!) and he celebrated his 3rd birthday. YES, REALLY!
Here he is after enjoying a snack of Nutella and apple slices. He really likes Nutella. He’s really growing up… sigh…
I’m working on a full tour of what I’m trying but wanted to pass along this awesome resource.
Productive Flourishing puts together some amazing FREE resources as well as their Premium Planners!
I am using the weekly planners to decide on my priorities for the week.
The items listed aren’t tasks but projects. Basically everything with more than 2 or 3 tasks needs to be a project. So “Print Perm Slip” which is Manda-writin’ for “Print Permission Slip” is a whole project that involved multiple steps (Create the slip, print them, sign them, distribute them, etc).
This form also makes you think about how much you can actually get done in a day. Near the top is a little section labeled “Weekly Project Slots”. Basically each day gets 5 slots and you mark them off as you create and schedule projects. When the day is full, you can’t schedule anything else on that day or you’ll get overwhelmed, won't finish, etc.
I’ll be sharing more of what I’m trying. So be sure to check back!
DISCLOSURE: This post and others on my blog contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation if you purchase products from these links. Just so ya know…
I have a theory about why the Mommy Wars come up over and over again.
It’s because we compare every other woman to ourselves.
First of all, we don’t generally get openly combative about why men do what they do. In our minds – whether we admit it or not – men are somehow different or even inferior to us. They cannot experience what we experience. They can have no understanding of PMS or child birth or a particularly awful menstrual period. Now if a man says he understands, that is an open invitation for us to kick him in the balls and express to him again that “NO” he does NOT know. So men, if you’re reading, don’t express sympathy verbally – just bring chocolate and nobody gets hurt.
No, every woman compares every other woman to herself whether intentional or not. We all want Kim Kardashian’s ass or Katy Perry’s boobs or Miley Cyrus’ legs. And we all compare every other woman’s choices critically to our own. WE would never leave our children with a nanny. We would never go on government assistance. We would keep completely tidy homes. We would… and on and on and on.
Every woman I know, when you enter their home, the first thing out of their mouth is some excuse as to why their home doesn’t look like something out of Southern Living. “We’re remodeling.” “We just got back from vacation and haven’t been able to clean.” Meanwhile their home is at least reasonably tidy or usually, so clean that you could eat out of the cat bowl.
So when a mom says things like “I stay home with my children and I feel sorry for women who have to work” the working moms jump to defend their decision to work. The working mom may work outside the home because of financial reasons (health insurance costs, education costs, you don’t know so stop guessing), or because the thought of spending more than a few hours with their kids makes them want to crawl inside a hole (not everyone likes to hang out with their kids all day – get over it). They may have built a career they love or it may be so hard to keep their accreditation or other professional requirements that leaving the workforce for stay-at-home-motherhood would mean they could NEVER return to the workforce in their capacity.
So Working Mom makes sacrifices too. She gives up being with her kids. She gives up the freedom to attend every school function. She gives up a part of her soul so that she can continue in something that she WANTS or NEEDS to do.
Stay at home mom, I’m not done with you. I understand. You've given up a lot too. You’ve had to cut back on vacations (if you get one at all), there’s no after work cocktail parties, no new outfits just because. Sometimes, you cut back on entertainment, fancy coffee drinks, and cute shoes. You give it up but you give up a little of your soul too. The independent part of yourself that used to be free to do all those things and never mind the cost. You know, like me, that if you ever go back into the workplace, you’ll have to start over.
If we would stop and look and see that we, as mothers and women, ALL make sacrifices so that we can each live our best life in what ever way that looks like. ALL women are doing the best they can. Yes, some women are going down the wrong path. Some women are trapped in bad relationships, bad situations, bad places.
If would we stop pointing fingers at each other and just notice that yeah, everyone makes a sacrifice for their children, then I think the Mommy Wars would never be fought again. If we'll give each other and ourselves a little bit of GRACE, we'll all be able to see through the eyes of love.
It’s because we compare every other woman to ourselves.
First of all, we don’t generally get openly combative about why men do what they do. In our minds – whether we admit it or not – men are somehow different or even inferior to us. They cannot experience what we experience. They can have no understanding of PMS or child birth or a particularly awful menstrual period. Now if a man says he understands, that is an open invitation for us to kick him in the balls and express to him again that “NO” he does NOT know. So men, if you’re reading, don’t express sympathy verbally – just bring chocolate and nobody gets hurt.
No, every woman compares every other woman to herself whether intentional or not. We all want Kim Kardashian’s ass or Katy Perry’s boobs or Miley Cyrus’ legs. And we all compare every other woman’s choices critically to our own. WE would never leave our children with a nanny. We would never go on government assistance. We would keep completely tidy homes. We would… and on and on and on.
Every woman I know, when you enter their home, the first thing out of their mouth is some excuse as to why their home doesn’t look like something out of Southern Living. “We’re remodeling.” “We just got back from vacation and haven’t been able to clean.” Meanwhile their home is at least reasonably tidy or usually, so clean that you could eat out of the cat bowl.
So when a mom says things like “I stay home with my children and I feel sorry for women who have to work” the working moms jump to defend their decision to work. The working mom may work outside the home because of financial reasons (health insurance costs, education costs, you don’t know so stop guessing), or because the thought of spending more than a few hours with their kids makes them want to crawl inside a hole (not everyone likes to hang out with their kids all day – get over it). They may have built a career they love or it may be so hard to keep their accreditation or other professional requirements that leaving the workforce for stay-at-home-motherhood would mean they could NEVER return to the workforce in their capacity.
So Working Mom makes sacrifices too. She gives up being with her kids. She gives up the freedom to attend every school function. She gives up a part of her soul so that she can continue in something that she WANTS or NEEDS to do.
Stay at home mom, I’m not done with you. I understand. You've given up a lot too. You’ve had to cut back on vacations (if you get one at all), there’s no after work cocktail parties, no new outfits just because. Sometimes, you cut back on entertainment, fancy coffee drinks, and cute shoes. You give it up but you give up a little of your soul too. The independent part of yourself that used to be free to do all those things and never mind the cost. You know, like me, that if you ever go back into the workplace, you’ll have to start over.
If we would stop and look and see that we, as mothers and women, ALL make sacrifices so that we can each live our best life in what ever way that looks like. ALL women are doing the best they can. Yes, some women are going down the wrong path. Some women are trapped in bad relationships, bad situations, bad places.
If would we stop pointing fingers at each other and just notice that yeah, everyone makes a sacrifice for their children, then I think the Mommy Wars would never be fought again. If we'll give each other and ourselves a little bit of GRACE, we'll all be able to see through the eyes of love.
I’ve talked about my Household Notebook before. It was a lofty goal and one fraught with perfectionism. What I have discovered is that ONE book can’t do all I need it to do.
WHAT?
So here’s what I need my household notebook to do:
WHAT?
So here’s what I need my household notebook to do:
Homeschool Planner
- I need to be able to look at a glance and see what our schooling plans are. Additionally, this needs to be a running record of what we have done for documentation purposes.
- Paper is a better choice for this. Edited on the computer and printed out is what I’m thinking.
- I’m using the Well Planned Day paper planner right now and it’s almost what I need.
Blog Planner
- I want to plan out some specific goals for my blogs. I say that I want to do things with this blog for example but then I get sidetracked and things I intended to explore don’t get done because I don’t have written down what my plan is.
- Edited on the computer and printed out is what I will try first.
Household planner
- I have a need to get things out of my head! I know things that would be useful to someone if I weren’t around at the time.
- I also want to be able to detail some cleaning routines.
- This needs to be a combination of paper and iPhone.
Girl Scout planner
- I have a Daisy/Brownie troop that I need to plan for.
- I have a troop notebook already that has all my forms and things that I HAVE to have at each meeting and I think is mostly working for me but I need to have some sort of planner for thinking through meetings, planning volunteer meetings, etc.
- Again, I’m thinking paper for brainstorming purposes.
Financial documents holder
- I need a place that financial documents can be easily found. I have a pretty extensive filing system, but I still seem to to be the only person who can find anything in it.
- This also needs to be something that has account information that can be easily accessed.
Family telephone directory
Address and phone listing and would be nice to have birthdays and anniversaries documented.Emergency planning
What are our emergency plans? Could I grab this information quickly and get out of the house if I needed to?
This video makes me think:
I also want and need some of this on my iPhone. Some of it needs to be shared with my husband. Some of it purely for my use and enjoyment so it needs to be pretty and or creative.
So what about you? Do you need a planner? Do you need a hybrid planner? One planner? Several planners? What needs to be in yours? Let me know in the comments below.
This video makes me think:
A place for journaling, notes, ideas, brainstorming
- Really this needs to be my brain on paper. What are my priorities for the week? I have a tendency to be trying to deal with whatever the “emergency” seems to be. It would be nice to get ahead and not have any emergencies.
Bible Study
- Somewhere to document my studies and journal.
Family Calendar
- Right now, Google Calendar is working for us pretty well. I share the calendar with hubby and I can access it when I need it.
Task list
- Using Awesome Note on my phone right now. It’s a good but not perfect solution. I’d really like to be able to quickly set-up tasks on the computer instead of having to input everything in the phone.
Goals
- long term and short.
- Action lists.
I also want and need some of this on my iPhone. Some of it needs to be shared with my husband. Some of it purely for my use and enjoyment so it needs to be pretty and or creative.
So what about you? Do you need a planner? Do you need a hybrid planner? One planner? Several planners? What needs to be in yours? Let me know in the comments below.
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