Organized for the Holidays?

Have you looked at the date? 8/31/15. Do you know how few weeks are left before the holidays are upon us?

I used to stress a LOT when thinking of this. There is always so much to do. I normally host both Thanksgiving and Christmas for my family. And since we have moved away from all of our extended family, yep, the task is on me every holiday now.

Shopping, budgets, meals, gifts, decorations...ahhhhhh stop the madness! It can be very overwhelming to say the least. Most people just go along their way, while hating the holidays more and more and they can't wait until it's all over. That's not how I want my holidays to be! I love Thanksgiving and Christmas the most. And since becoming a grandmother, Christmas has taken on a whole new meaning. I want to relish each and every moment slowly.

And now that we have the boys living with us, I want to relish those moments even more. I want to plan fun activities and adventures for the boys. I want them to be able to look back and say I always loved Christmas with my Mammaw!

There are so many traditions to pass on.

One of my favorite traditions is what I like to call our Christmas Baking Palooza! It's happened every year with Braedan and now Cameron gets to join in the fun. Every year I get a list of all of the yummy treats I want to make for the season. Cookies, cakes, fudge all kinds of yummy bits! Then we choose one day and we make everything! We make several batches also so we can give these yummy goodies to friends and family. It's gone over quite well with the adult children in my life, and Braedan is having a great time handing out treats to his other grandparents as well!

I'll be starting my organizing/cleaning/list making for Christmas this week. Yes I know it's only August. Do you remember me telling you I'm a list person? Well along with that goes I'm a planning person. I don't want to wait until the last minute to plan anything. Yes I love spontaneity, but when it comes to something as huge as the holidays, I want most things planned on paper where I can see what I have going on, when it's going on, what's my cost for what's going on. I want all the little details. The little details can make or break an event or gathering.

Of course you know what's coming next don't you? Binders!!!! You know me so well :) I have found a couple of programs online that I have been following for a few years now. They give me the ability to have a stress free holiday and love every minute of the time I get to spend. They are both put out by Organized Christmas. You just need to decide which plan you really want to do and go for it. Both plans began yesterday 8/30/15, see I'm not the only one thinking ahead!!

The first one, The Holiday Grand Plan can be found here. It's really in depth and takes cleaning and organizing to a crazy level :) This is the one that I have done for years. But this year, I found something that I think will work even better from the folks at Organized Christmas.

The House and Holidays Plan. Same type of info and tasks, but seriously, why clean the attic for Christmas when no one is going to be in the attic? Or the garage or this or that. This plan is a simpler version of the Holiday Grand Plan, with all of the same great information.

I will be working on my Christmas Central location, also known as my desk in my bedroom office. Yes it needs a ton of help. Way too much is disorganized there, I have no idea what half of those papers are and more than likely, they can be shredded and thrown out! Since I use this space every day for my jobs, it can get quite messy quite quickly. This is my mail center, my I'll look at this later center, my homework center for me, my everything really. And it's stressful when there is no organization. I know I put a piece of mail somewhere on this desk and now cannot find it, well it's probably under that 2 ton stash of mail/magazines/etc that you call your look at later pile. Seriously, this has to go! Of course, since this area is in my bedroom, this means that while getting this organized, I'll have to get other areas organized at the same time so it all flows really well.

Both plans have a ton of printables for you and I promise, you will find that following either one, will make your holidays more enjoyable and you will see a huge difference in your joy level! Come join me in this fun adventure and let me know where you are at and how you are doing in it!

I'll be sure to post some pictures of the outcome, there is no way I'm posting pictures of the before ;) Add your pictures as well, let's support each other in our goal of an organized, blessed, wonderful, joyful holiday season!


Until next post, Have a very blessed day,

 Shelly

Serious topic this morning. Your health.

 I know, I know, no one likes to talk about their health! It's boring, most of us already know we could be doing so much better where our diet is concerned. But it's a topic that needs to be talked about, it needs to be shouted from rooftops and made a daily conversation at the dinner table or when sharing your day with your significant other or bestie!

One health topic that is a huge one for us is Diabetes. The mere mention of the word sends my mind reeling. The diet, the sugar testing, the medications, all the complications that can arise. It's a very scary disease. And anyone who has this in their family needs to be concerned not only for the family members who suffer from it, but also for themselves. 

It's an ugly word for sure. My husband was diagnosed with Diabetes 2 years ago, and in my opinion probably should have been diagnosed a long time before that.

I have to watch my diet very well now also. Both of my parents and my brother have been diagnosed with Diabetes. I have always been hypoglycemic so I am at more than a good risk to be diagnosed with this condition.

I check my sugar 4 times a day, watch my carb and calorie intake, I've never eaten so well in my life! I try, TRY being the key word here, to get some kind of exercise daily (as if chasing a toddler around wasn't enough!) I take my medications like I'm supposed to but let's face it, this is so time consuming.

I've found a few websites that help me tremendously with all these tasks. My favorite one by far is Go Meals. This lets you track sugar, carbs, calories and activities for the day. Then you can print out weekly reports that you can take to your doctor. By far one of the best resources available.

I know a lot of people think Diabetes is a death sentence. It's not and can be controlled. And honestly, if you cook right, you don't miss a thing! Yes you can still have that ice cream or piece of birthday cake, just use moderation! When my husband was first diagnosed, I thought wow, how do I cook meals for him now. So I went searching on the internet for the best resources for recipes, funny thing is, it's not necessarily what you cook, but how you cook it and how much you portion it! I found some wonderful cookbooks on Amazon.com that I highly recommend!

I am absolutely in love with this one! A full year of recipes without ever repeating a meal!

Healthy Calendar Diabetic Cook Book. 

Another really great one is

You Don't Have to be Diabetic to Love This Cookbook: 250 Amazing Dishes for People With Diabetes and Their Families and Friends

I have so many little booklets also that I can track my sugar on. All boring and ugly lol I have to make sure I add checking my sugar on my daily planning sheet or yep, you guessed it, I just space it and don't do it. So I made myself a pretty little printable to go along with my daily planner that gives me all the info I need and then I can plug my numbers into the website of my choice or take directly to my next dr.s appointment with me. You can download it here in my health printables folder.  I'll be working on my health binder printables soon also!

I hope you take your health as serious as I now take mine, we have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of our loved one. Each one of us has someone who depends on us, don't let them down!


Until next post, Have a very blessed day,

 Shelly

Boys room

So when the boys came to us, our extra bedroom was my office. It had first been my office/Braedan's room, but since he never slept in the bed we bought for him, I sold it! Shame on me!!!

Since coming to us, we have turned that room back into their bedroom, however some of my office remnants remain. Well that is about to change. I discovered Ikea. How come no one ever told me about this place before??? Holy Jalapeno (yes I watch entirely too much Disney Jr)!!! I was in heaven walking through that place. Oh so many items I wanted!

Well it's high time the boys get a little boys room all their own. I have painstakingly gone through the Ikea website and picked out pieces that are much needed for organization. Bunk beds are the way to go. Since Cameron is almost 2 years old, he is ready for a big boy bed, just have to make sure to get a bed rail and he gets the bottom bunk. Lots of cubbies and trays and fun containers for all the treasures lil boys hold so dear.

I also found beautiful bed linens, lamps and other items on Amazon.com that I will be ordering. All in all just a little over $1500 will be spent (at least on my paper) to make this room a wonderful little boy hang out that will be well lit, beautifully organized and fun for play/homework and sleep.

I'll be taking some before and after photos, be prepared for a shock! I know I'm in shock just looking at the list and thinking of the beautiful possibilities!

All of my planned purchases can be found on my Pinterest board :)


Follow Shelly's board Boys room on Pinterest.

I'll update as the room progresses, big changes are a coming!!! I cannot wait to get started on this room for the boys. Of course I may change my mind as to the theme of the room, but the furniture is a sure thing!

Of course nothing I do can be done without checklists :) Check out my new printables for room renovation here!

Have you totally remade a room that you are proud to show off? Share your story in the comments below!  



Until next post, Have a very blessed day, Shelly

College life

We are sending our youngest son off to college! He will be going to a local community college, but still, college none the less. I too am in college classes. With all the websites, classes, instructors and homework, it's very easy to become disorganized really quick!

I have to admit, I'm OCD when it comes to keeping class information organized. I'm one to pour through the syllabus and write down assignment dates and what we are going over in my calendar so I don't forget anything. I tend to never look at the syllabus again actually once I have everything in my calendar.

But why keep the information in so many different places? If I had a place where I could keep all information about school together, wouldn't that just make more sense? Of course it would, but you know, I have to go through trial and error first before I finally get it all together. Then my mind quickly ran to binders! My mind said to me, "you have a binder for everything else, why don't you have one for your classes?" "Hmmmm, how right you are right self!"

So I sat down and thought about what I needed for my college binder. I know what information I want to keep close at hand and decided I would only put that information in my minder, no need to add things, it will just clutter it up. This binder set is simple, yet very functional. I made one for my son and one for myself, and will be adding more colors also as I like to change things up a bit :)

This is specifically directed at college students, I know here, our school system gives each student a planner/calendar and it's a wonderful bound book. No need to re-invent the wheel ya know?

In my binder package I have a cover page of course, every binder has to have a pretty or nice looking cover right?

Then I made printables for semester info, student info, class info and a perpetual calendar. I have 2 colors as of right now, khaki and tiffany blue. Working on getting others completed and will post links to those as soon as I get them up!  I love the look and feel of these printables, and can't wait to use them during this semester. Who knows what I will come up as the semester goes along that can be added.

Do you have an idea for a printable that should be in this package? Let me know, I'd love to add anything that will be useful!

You can download the khaki binder here. 
And the tiffany blue binder here.


I'll be making more printables soon to share, remember, if you have any to add, leave me a comment. Want something you don't see here? Leave me a comment! 

I hope you enjoy these and get a ton of use from them!

Until next post, Have a very blessed day,

 Shelly

Another devastating diagnosis

 Friday July 31 another specialist appointment. Another devastating diagnosis.

Cameron has had so many devastating diagnoses in the last 18 months.

Schizencephaly, in which we found out 25% of his brain is missing. This is the big one. You can read more about this very very rare condition at we are rare.

Also diagnosed with Polymicrogyria. Many small wrinkles on the brain. More information about this condition can be found here.

And now, we get the Cerebal Palsy diagnosis. I'm still processing this information. I don't know what this means for our little guy, but I do know this, he will continue to move mountains to reach those stars and God has very special plans for him! I still need to process this information more before I can grasp it, come to term with it, and get another plan of action together!

Any and all prayers are very welcomed for our sweet lil boy!

Our beautiful sweet boy enjoying his frozen candy at big brothers football practice.

Yep, he loves his candy!

Until next post, Have a very blessed day,

Shelly

Summer Fun

 Summer has been sorta blah around here this year. It rained the entire month of June. The boys were stuck inside the house the whole month. Thank goodness July and August have been a bit better! And with that, we now have PeeWee football to look forward to!

This is our first year with Braedan and football. He is loving it, we are loving it! He plays quarterback on offense and safety on defense! It's been quite interesting to watch these littles come together to play as team and learn everything about the game.

This is a fantastic organization, who believes in the boys showing respect at all times and doing what is necessary, including homework. School doesn't start here for a couple of weeks, but the coach has already told the players, if they get a color change in school, they will be running laps. And they are very serious about it. Already, if the boys are all hyped up and aren't listening, they are made to run laps.

I think this is going to be a very good thing for Braedan. It's teaching him teamwork, listening skills, and making him feel like he is a part of something much bigger than himself! And who knows, he may just love it so much that he decides football is his calling!

What organized sports do your children participate in? Have you noticed changes in their behavior or attitude? Let me know your story below!



Until next post, Have a very blessed day,

Shelly

Beef Pot Pie Freezer Meal

Now I couldn't leave out beef for pot pies. I swear my husband thinks there is no other meat than beef. This is as simple as the chicken pot pie meal and tastes just as good.

This recipe makes one pot pie, so you will want to double, triple, or even quadruple for your freezer cooking session.

You'll need:
1 pound sirloin steak (stew meat or cubed roast works well also)
salt and pepper to taste
1 can beef broth
3 large carrots, diced
3 potatoes, cubed
1 cup frozen peas or green beans
1 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup water
Pie crusts (I use a deep dish frozen crust for the bottom and the pre-made crusts found in the dairy section for the top)

Directions:
In a saucepan over medium heat, brown the beef on all sides. Pour in some water to almost cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until meat is tender and falls apart easily, about 2-3 hours. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and shred slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
In another saucepan over medium heat, pour in broth and add carrots and potatoes. Cook until almost tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Transfer these to the mixing bowl with the beef, leaving the liquid in the pan. Add the peas (beans)  and corn.
Dissolve the cornstarch with the 1/3 cup water. Pour into the sauce pan of beef broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat, cook for 5 minutes.
Pour the gravy over the beef/vegetable mixture in the bowl.
 Add this to your pie crust, top with top crust, trim, and seal.
Place in zip lock bag or seal with your seal a meal.
To bake:
Thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Add a salad and some crusty bread and you've got a wonderful hot, quick meal!



Until next post, Have a very blessed day,

Shelly