Command Center Expansion / Update

I guess, first I should address the number one question I have been receiving...

The #1 Question: Where have I been? 

The Answer: Right here. Living life. Learning lessons. The biggest lesson I learned is that I can not handle more the 2 activities per child. Otherwise the rest of my life S-T-O-P-S!!!! I'm really not sure how all the activities happened. It was kind of a snowball effect where one joined an activity, then, another, and another. Next thing I knew we were spending 6 days a week at their activities and I was accomplishing nothing. Now we have cut back on activities for the kids, and I'm back to blogging.   

I thought the best post to come back with would be an update on one of my most popular posts; my command center!

If you would like to see where I purchased the products above, please check out this post!

Below is the comparison on how things have changed over the past 2 years. To check out my previous update, go here.

Now the general setup still remains the same, but the use has changed a little, and we have added on.

This is how we are using the original parts now.

What each section is used for is broken down below.

Calendar - Work hours, Volunteer hours, Activities going on, What day is day 1-6 of the kids' 6 day rotating schedule for school .... Pretty much anywhere anyone has to be, and it is all color coded.

School/Kids' Boards - What happens for each kid on the 6 day rotating schedule for school, All the information for their activities.

School/Kid's Bins - Any important paperwork for school or activities. everything has its' own folder.

Receipts - All our unfiled  receipts.

Coupons - All our unfiled coupons.

Budget - Holds the notebook for all our outgoing money.

Mail - Has pretty much become the home to magazines I'm not ready to part with yet.

Work Schedule - My husband's work schedule.

Notes - Phone messages, schedule changes, etc.

Tags for Days of the Week - See below........

This brings us to our expanded section of our command center. When I only had one child in school the 6 day rotating schedule for special classes was easy peasy. Now with two children in school I have no idea who has what. Especially when it comes to day 6. Day 6 rotates through the other 5 days plus has a bonus special. Unfortunately with not enough room on the calendar to write all our schedules and 2 specials, we had to cross reference what number each weekday was with what activity they had had on each day. My kids were unable to do this, and for me it was not easily accomplished with a quick glance.

My solution to forgotten library books, and wearing sandals on gym day was this...

Now my kids can easily tell what special class they have each day, and I can make sure they have what they need; without having to cross reference the the calendar to the board. As an added bonus this is the door we leave through each morning, so I can do one final check with out even thinking about it!

For their names and the days of the week, I used my Silhouette machine to cut adhesive vinyl and then I placed it on the door. My Silhouette machine is seriously one of the best purchases I have ever made when it come to making personalized home decor. Here is the newer version of the Silhouette that I have. And these are just some of the projects I have done with my Silhouette, Halloween platter, Scrabble art, wall art, and closet organization.

Then using pic art from Google and the Paint program on my computer I made tags, and printed them on white card stock. I had to make three sets of the special class tags, because of the day 6 rotation there is the possibility of needing three of the same tags at the same time.

After cutting the tags out, I attached them to black card stock using a glue stick. You could use any color card stock you like. I just stuck with the black and white theme from the main section of my command center.

Then I put 3-4 tags in 3 mil laminating pouches, and ran each pouch through my laminator. Another one of my favorite purchases E-V-E-R!!!

I then cut the tags out of the lamination, and attached magnetic tape to the back of each tag.  

Now I adjust the specials every Sunday, and we are good to go for the week. I store the extra tags in the "Tags for Days of the Week" bin on our dry erase board (labeled in one of the pictures above).

As an added bonus I have started hanging the kids spelling words and study guides for the week under their columns. Now we always know where they are and the kids can easily access them when it is time to study.

This is what the entire setup looks like now and it has been working wonderfully for us.

Please comment below if you have any more ideas I could use!

*This post contains affiliate links.

DIY Halloween Platter

I told myself I would hold off on posting Halloween decorations until October, but I decided this was just too cute not to share.

Awhile back I came across a version of this plate on The House of Smiths. The moment I saw it I knew it was in my future. I actually made this last fall so I don't have any progress pictures, but I thought I would share it anyway.

I picked up the platter from Michaels. It is one of the $2.00 plastic ones that comes in just about every single color under the sun. I think the proper name for it is a charger, but whatever.

I used my Silhouette SD to design and cut the vinyl.

Then I applied the vinyl to the platter. 

This is definitely my favorite Halloween decoration in our house, mostly because the kids are always obsessed with what monster they think they are.

I must also add that the first time I showed it to my husband he pouted, "I'm not on it." 

*Sigh*

Maybe this year I'll add something about a goblin around the edge, just for him...LOL.

I'll Be Linking Up At These Parties!

Back-To-School Teacher Gift

Yesterday was my daughter's first day of kindergarten. She was a little nervous, so I knew I had to send her on a mission to distract her from me leaving. She loves giving people gifts, so I decided that if she had a gift to give her teacher she would forget about me. In addition, it would show the teacher how much we appreciate her.

While we were shopping for my daughter's school supplies, I let her pick out a few items that she thought her teacher would like. 

 We decided on:

                     ~ Candy                        

                     ~ Hand Sanitizer                 

                     ~ BandAids                     

                     ~ WetOnes                      

                     ~ A Magnetic Tablet              

                     ~ Calculator                    
                     ~ Stickers                      

                     ~ Pencils                       

                     ~ Dry Erase Markers              

                     ~ Sharpies                      

                     ~ Pencil Sharpener              

                     ~ Nail File                      

                     ~ Ruler                        

                     ~ Post-Its                      

                     ~ Tissues                       

                     ~ Tape                         

                     ~ Glue Sticks                    

To wrap everything I started with a basket from the Target Dollar section and added her teacher's name with vinyl that I cut with my Silhouette SD. 

Then I added some tissue paper and helped my daughter stick everything in the basket. We had to take some of the items out of their packages to make everything fit in the basket.

Lastly, I made a gift tag and printed it out on cardstock. Then I laminated it and tied it on the basket with ribbon.

 

Sending my daughter on a 1st day of school mission was a success! She was very excited to go and give her teacher the gift, and no tears were shed.

Linking Up With:
A Bowl Full of Lemons
The Celebration Shoppe
Someday Crafts 
Family Home & Life
Crystal & Co.
House of Hepworths 
Little Inspiration
Confessions of an ADD Housewife
TipJunkie
Janes Adventures In Dinner 
 

First Day of School {Backpack Tag}

Today was my daughter's first day of kindergarten. 

I have been worrying about this day since she started preschool.

Tons of things have run through my mind, but one that kept nagging at me is that when she is nervous she whispers or doesn't talk. I kept thinking, "what if she won't tell someone where she belongs" or "that she is a car pick-up". I kept envisioning my 31 pound, 5-year-old getting lost amongst the morning or afternoon shuffle. 

To make myself feel a little better, I made a tag for her backpack. The tag lists her homeroom teacher's name and that she is a car pick-up kid. This way any teacher who helps her knows where she belongs.

I just used an old luggage tag we had on hand, and used my Silhouette SD to cut vinyl to apply to it. I then attached it to her backpack. At the very least, I know that when she has her backpack they will know where to send her. 

Amazingly, there were no tears when I dropped her off at school in the morning. Lunch time and quiet time were tough here at home for my son. He missed her so much, he even took his nap with one of her toys because he missed her so much.

*Love Them*

Linking Up With:
Organizing Homelife
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Someday Crafts 
Family Home & Life
Crystal & Co. 
Janes Adventures In Dinner 

House of Hepworths  
Little Inspiration
Confessions of an ADD Housewife 

13 Ways To Make Getting Out The Door Easier

I am always looking for the most efficient way to do something. Getting my 2 young kids out the door was a challenge me. They just don't share my same sense of urgency when it comes to getting to places on time. 

As my kids get older I know some of these things will be unnecessary, but for my 3 and 5 year-olds this works perfectly. It keeps them involved, gives them some responsibility and accountability, but limits the number of things that can suck the time out of our mornings.

1. Check the weather. Don't just assume you know the temperature, you don't want to have to change outfits, find a jacket, search for rain boots or an umbrella just because you didn't take 2 minutes to check the weather the night before. Plus, you may have to adjust travel times due to snow or ice.

2. Get clothes ready the night before. This also includes any uniforms or clothing for any extra activities (swimming, dance, etc.).

My kids help choose what they are going to wear the night before. This way the next morning they can just get themselves dressed without any argument about what they are wearing. They have learned that once the morning rolls around, you don't get to change your mind about what you are wearing.

3. Make snacks and lunches the night before. This includes beverages and any on-the-go snacks your family may need for after-school activities.

4. Check homework the night before. You don't want your child to forgo breakfast because they didn't do their homework, plus it will show them you care.

5. Pack bags (backpacks, purses, diaper bags, etc.) the night before. This includes any bags for extra activities, and any entertainment for siblings.

 

6. Choose and make/prep breakfast the night before. This can mean premaking pancake batter so you just have to cook it, making sure there is enough of something before you make promises to your kids, or as simple as setting out dishes for breakfast.

7. Keep an extra set of oral care items downstairs. This limits distractions for my kids. I can't tell you the number of times I send my kids upstairs to do something and they get distracted and start playing with something.

8. Keep an extra set of hair care items downstairs. Even though I choose a hair accessory for my daughter when I pick out her clothes the night before, sometimes they go missing or get broken in the morning. My son really enjoys breaking my daughter's headbands for some reason, so keeping some plain clips and headbands near by always comes in handy. Plus I usually have to comb my son's hair as he is walking out the door or he turns it into a mess.

9. Keep a laundry basket downstairs. I don't let my kids get dressed until after they eat and brush their teeth, just in case they make a mess. There is no point in doing something twice. This usually means they get dressed downstairs, so we keep an extra laundry basket downstairs to coral their dirty clothes. This also helps with activities, because as I am cleaning up dinner my daughter can get her dance outfit on and put her dirty clothes in the laundry basket.

10. Keep coats and backpacks at a kid friendly level.

11. Put a sticker that is cut in half in your toddler's shoes. This way they can put their shoes on the correct foot by themselves.

12. Create a spot for out the door items (keys, sunglasses, wallet, etc.). 

13. Don't forget to do  the applicable items for yourself too. Mornings will not be calm for anyone if mom and dad are running around and frantically looking for things.


Are there any things that you do that help getting out of the house easier?

Linking Up With:
Little Inspiration

Organizing Homelife

  A Bowl Full of Lemons
Someday Crafts 
Family Home & Life
Crystal & Co.  
House of Hepworths  
Confessions of an ADD Housewife
Janes Adventures In Dinner 

Getting Our Coat Closet Ready for School

This summer we have been getting ready for school in so many ways. We've been preparing lunches, trying new products, and getting our schedule organized. We also organized our coat closet to help us get out the door a little faster.

My motto: "The more the kids can do for themselves, the less I have to do."

 I used my Silhouette to cut vinyl and label the shelves and bins. The kids each have their own shoe shelf and accessory bin. Currently their bins have summer hats in them, but soon enough their fall and winter hats and gloves will be in them.

There is a place for each of them to hang their sunglasses and backpacks, and place for their DS cases (not that they have anything to do with school), and activity bags (dance & karate).

Some of the other items I keep in reach for my husband and myself are; my camera bag, emergency snacks, my purse, my coupon binder, umbrellas, hats/scarves, and extra totes.

I also placed command hooks* on the inside of the door so we can hang up our coats before I get to hanging them up on the hangers. Otherwise the coats tend to end up on the floor.

Having things at my kids' height makes getting out the door so much easier. It also makes them responsible for putting their things away.

This silly closet is really serving as a learning opportunity for my kids.
The simple task of putting things where they belong in the closet is spilling over into other areas of the house. They are getting use to the idea that if they don't put something where it belongs the next time they go to look for it, it won't be there. I have also used this as an opportunity to teach them to retrace their steps to find items on their own.

It is a beautiful thing when a life skills opportunity comes out of something so simple.

What are somethings that you do to help your kids become more self-sufficient?

*Affiliate Link

Linking Up With:
House Of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Confessions of an ADD Housewife
Little Inspiration

Organizing Homelife

A Bowl Full of Lemons
Someday Crafts 
Crystal & Co.  

Creating a Home for Your Keys...and Everything Else In Your Pockets

How much time do you waste looking for your keys, wallet, or sunglasses, etc?

I can tell you how much time I do. 

None.

My husband would be all ready to walk out the door and then not be able to remember where he left his wallet or keys. It began to drive me crazy. Thankfully there was a simple solution to this problem.

A place for everything and everything in its place.

In the small cabinet next to our refrigerator, I used small wire 3M Command hooks* to create a place for our keys. I then used my Silhouette to cut vinyl to label the hooks.

There is a hook for my husband and myself, one for an extra house key, one for my husbands work keys, and one for each of the extra sets of our car keys.

There is also a shelf in this cabinet where we keep our sunglasses and a basket for my husband to empty his pockets into when he gets home. Not only has this made a place for him to always put his things, but it also has kept a lot of change and chapstick out of my dryer.

This isn't an overnight solution to missing keys. It does take a little time to develop the habit of putting them there.

*Affiliate Link

Linking Up With:
House Of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Confessions of an ADD Housewife
Little Inspiration

Organizing Homelife
A Bowl Full of Lemons

Scrabble Family Art

As I have said before, I love having personalized art work around the house.

It is cheap, cute, and just plain fun... 

especially when it is made of game pieces.

I made this piece before my blog so I don't have any progress pictures, but I still thought it was worth sharing.

I used my Silhouette to create a stencil. I used the Chevron Background by Alaa'K Design id #19177 from the Silhouette Online Store, to create the size pattern I wanted. Then I used my Silhouette to cut a stencil blank*.

First I painted my canvas white. After the background color dried, I stenciled on the gray. The canvas I had was already white. By painting it white, if the gray paint bled when I stenciled, I could touch it up with more white paint and the touch up would be less noticeable.

While the paint was drying, I played with some different layouts of the tiles until I found the one that was most appealing to me.

Once the paint was dry, I placed the canvas in the frame. I then used double-sided tape to adhere the scrabble tiles to the canvas. My reason for using tape and not glue, is so I can change the background whenever I want to.

 I used the word "family" to link our names to, but you can use any word or words if you need another way to connect your names.

Now for my inspiration!

 Remodelaholic did an amazing job with this! Did you notice across the name Justin it says family where the numbers should be? L-O-V-E it!!

I wasn't sure I wanted to do something that large. When I saw Southern Fairy Designs Scrabble Wordplay Decor, I knew melding the two ideas was in my future.


Simple and Fun!

 

If you create a piece like this I'd love to see it!

*Affiliate Link

 

Linking Up With:

House On The Way

Uncommonly Yours Link Party 
A Bowl Full of Lemons
The Celebration Shoppe
Someday Crafts  
House Of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Confessions of an ADD Housewife
Little Inspiration 

In This Home... {DIY Wall Art}

One of the great things about making decorations for your home is that you can personalize them to fit your family. A few months ago I found the inspiration for this project on the Dali Decals website.

DaliDecals.com

As soon as I saw this idea I knew I would be making a spot for it in my home. The only problem was I wanted it to be more "us", so I asked my kids and husband for their input on what it should say.  Between the 3 of them they came up with LEGOS, cupcakes, and dancing.

I decided to place our saying on a 20"x30" picture frame, because we haven't painted our family room yet and I didn't want to have to remove it when we do paint.

 Using the Silhouette Studio program that came with my Silhouette, I began experimenting with different fonts.

Once I had settled on fonts and what I wanted it to say, I used my Silhouette to cut the vinyl to apply to my picture frame.  

This was my very first project I had ever done with my Silhouette, and to my delight applying the vinyl to the picture frame glass was surprisingly easy. I have now used it for so many projects around my house I couldn't even begin to count them. 

After I had applied all the vinyl to the glass, I used 6 pieces of cardstock taped together to make the background. When you choose your cardstock, make sure pick a pattern that can be matched up. This will make your seams less visible.

This is a fun piece of "art" for your home that can be personalized for any family, and made to match any decor. If you make your own version I would love to see it!

Linking Up With:

Organizing Homelife
Tip Junkie
House Of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
House On The Way

Time To Get Organized

We are quickly coming to the end of July, and all I can think about is managing my kids' schedules once school starts. In previous years, our schedule was centered on my daughter's preschool classes and dance class. This year she will be in kindergarten and my son will be entering preschool. In my mind I see more papers, more activities, and more chances to forget something. 

My first priority was to minimize the papers that accumulate on our kitchen counter. By creating a semi-organized place to keep them, my hope is that it will be less likely for me to misplace something important.  

My second priority was to make our schedule available to everyone in our home. In the past, I kept my schedule on my phone and would just relay the information to my husband on a need-to-know basis. Even though my kids won't be able to read or reach or schedule yet. I think it will be good to start teaching them where to look for important information, so when they are older the habit is already in their heads.

I decided creating a family command center would work best for collecting our mess and keeping our general schedule. I started by trying to figure out what would work best for my family by "pinning" ideas on Pinterest.

My first thought was to place the command center in our family office. I then realized that there are days I don't even walk in there, so having it in there didn't make much sense. The garage entrance is the entrance we use 99% of the time. I ended up placing the command center as soon as you walk in the garage door. That way it'll be the first thing you see when you walk in the house, and the last thing you see when you walk out.

The items I decided we needed for our scheduling needs were; a dry erase calendar, a main note-board, and a note-board for each of the kids. For our paper issue we needed a bin for each of the kids' papers, and bins for our mail, budget notebook, receipts, and coupons.

The calendar and memo board are by Board Dudes. I purchased them Target for about $13.00 each. I had considered making my own, but these were dry erase and magnetic. I know I couldn't make them dry erase and magnetic for that cheap.

The calendar was actually silver when I purchased it. I just taped it off with painter's tape and a garbage bag. Then I spray painted it with the $0.99 black paint from Wal-Mart I already had. 

The 'Y' is from ACMoore. It was originally white, and I used the same paint I used for the calendar to paint it black.  

I found the wire baskets and the 2-bin wooden organizer at Marshall's.
I used a white Sharpie Paint Pen to write on the metal bins. The horizontal bin will be used for the kids' papers. The vertical bin will be used for our budget notebook, and mail. The wooden organizer will be used for our receipts and coupons. I labeled it by using my Silhouette to cut white vinyl and then applied it to the wooden organizer.

The two square frames are from ACMoore. All I did was place a piece of card stock in each of them. I plan on using them for notes specific to each child whose bin is directly under them.

To hang everything I took some of my kids' drawing paper and made a paper version of how I wanted it to look on the wall. I marked nail holes on the paper to try to make it easier to hang them.

Once I placed the papers on the wall I realized that it looked lower than I had envisioned it. Unfortunately moving it higher was not an option. I am 4' 10.5", and for me to use the calendar without a stool it had to stay where it was. I already need to stand on my tiptoes just to write the month...LOL

While my husband went to work hanging everything, I went to work creating something to hang above it. I chose three sayings that I thought were fitting reminders for everyday. Then using picmonkey I designed the sayings, printed them out on card stock, and placed them in 3-8"x10" frames I already had. 

Pinspriation1, Pinspiration2, Pinspiration3 

So far the command center seems to be working well. Once the school year starts we may end up changing something if it doesn't work for us. I'll be sure to keep you updated if I find something that works better.

*****UPDATE****

If you would like printables of the the sayings I used in my command center you can go here.

If you would like to make you own word art printables in Picmonkey check out this tutorial.

If you would like to read an update on how we like our command center, and the changes we have made you can go here.

Linking Up With:
Someday Crafts 
Addicted 2 Decorating
Little Inspiration
Tip Junkie
Organizing Homelife
House of Hepworths