Organized for Back to School

Every parent wants their children to start the school year off right, but for my crew it is even more of an endeavor. In order for us to start on track, and stay on track we needed some new tools, and to continue using some of our old ones.

We found this cool legal pad looking decal at Bed Bath and Beyond. It is a dry erase board where you can list out chores, or reminders of any sort. We got two; one for the fridge and one for the kids' bedroom mirrored closet door. In the kitchen are their chores. In the bedroom are their daily steps to get ready in the morning and to get ready for bed at night. 

We already had these assorted color magnets, and we are continuing to use them to highlight what chores have been done and which ones still need to be done. We use them on the fridge or on one of our dry erase boards. They don't work on the mirror, for obvious reasons, but I just thought I would clarify in case anyone was wondering.

We also already had this dry erase calendar from Target, and we have continued to use it to mark those special appointments, trips, days off from school, etc. It has been a great tool.

And since we have been doing the 'dry erase" thing for a while we had to stock up on new dry erase markers as well.

Another item I have been using for almost 2 years now are these great Mead Organizher fridge filer. The top bar is magnetized, and it has 3 plastic pockets with tabs which you can index/organize. I have 2, one for each kid. In them I put their school calendar, their classroom schedule, and any special paperwork their particular teacher may give me (like the list of classmates, and their parents). It has helped us enormously!! It is all within reach any time we need it, and even the kids know where to look for their school information.

 

Another tool in our arsenal is a large cork board. We use this to pin all those things that are a bit further in our schedule, like a flyer for an event at our local park, or the flyer for school picture day. They don't fit on our dry erase calendar yet, and the refrigerator is full enough as well, so these things get pinned in a separate spot to be checked the following month. It could also be a spot to put quick reference school tools, like multiplication tables, or grammar rules - the kids know to run and get them if their homework requires it.

And, of course, some push pins to pin stuff up. The clear ones are for regular stuff to pin, and the color ones are for those items that need special attention (like a birthday party invitation).

Our most recent addition is this lovely hall tree and storage bench. We have a coat hanger already, and we have some other storage around the house, but this one is specially assigned to school stuff. Everyone gets a double hook assigned; one for their backpack and one for their jacket. Larger jackets can be stored inside. Lunch bags are stored on the top shelf, along with other miscellaneous stuff, like swimming goggles (yes, random, but this summer it has helped to keep them handy). 

Our shoe rack is right next to it, so the bench is a good place to sit and put on your shoes, or sit to take them off and hang them back up.

These few and possibly uncommon tools and strategies have worked for us so far, and once school starts in a couple of days, will be tested further. It is up to us to stay constant and keep using them.

What organization tools and strategies do you use?



Rossana G-A


FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

Traveling with kids - Packing for 4 (5 day trip)

Going to visit family after almost 3 years. I've gone back a few times, but let's face it, once you have kids family doesn't want to see you without them. We have had a few visitors ourselves, but there is nothing like having the whole family together.

The challenge here is that I am no longer packing for just me, nor am I packing teeny-tiny little clothes. I am also not the one dressing them anymore, so we need to organize in such a way that we can compactly fit everything in as few bags as possible so it reduces chaos in a traveling environment.

Enter grey hair reducer NUMERO UNO!!! - Everything has a place, and everyone has their own color.

Image from eBags.com

Image from eBags.com

Image from eBags.com

Image from eBags.com

I have had these wonderful bags for almost 4 years, and only until lately (with older kids) have they proven their usefulness. Mom has red bags, Dad has orange (I promisse, they are not yellow, but yellow is available), Daughter has pink (could not be any other way), and Son has green.

There are 3 bags for each, in different shapes, and they help the packing process. The Big bag fits most tops and bottoms, the Medium bag fits a couple of pairs of kids shoes and pjs, and the Small one fits undies. Mom and Dad's clothes and shoes are bigger, so shoes go in separately. I have yet to buy shoe bags, but they are on my wish list.

Image from eBags.com

I also have something similar to this toiletry bag. It actually goes in my luggage relatively empty since most of my toiletries need to go into a plastic zip bag to go through security, but once at my final destination it is pretty handy to keep everything organized inside the bathroom. It comes in handy much more so on road trips when I can skip the plastic bag.

Image from eBags.com

These bags aid in using one piece of luggage to fit more than one person's belongings without much fuss. No more "Mooooommmmmm, where are my sooooocckkkkkssss!!!!!", because they know they should be in their small bag. OK, who am I kidding? I'll still get some of those, but at least this way I can tell them exactly where to look.

Enter grey hair reducer NUMERO DOS!!! - How to get around the 1 carry-on limit!!! - 1 carry on and 1 purse/backpack

Image from store.nike.com

I have each one off us carry a compact backpack. Mine is a Nike backpack that can fit my laptop, my wallet (I don't travel with a purse), a few travel necessities, like a hair brush, a mirror, and tissues/napkins, and easy access to that uncomfortable toiletry bag you have to scan. I also can fit here my makeup, those shoes I mentioned didn't fit, and maybe a pair of hot styling tools. My husband and kids carry other things, like their on-flight toys (iPad, iTouches, wireless headphones, wired headphones for in-flight movies, some crayons and coloring paper, etc.).

We are master nomads, but if we ever happen to forget anything we don't fret. You can buy anything you forgot at a local store. So now, to relax and enjoy some time with family.

What traveling tips do you have?



Rossana G-A



FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

Birthday Party for an 8 year old girl - Rocker theme

Throwing a party for an 8 year old tween is no small feat. Tweens can have pretty high expectations and they definitely want some say in the planning. My girls is not the exception. She changed her mind so much about what she wanted, from ballerina to princess to fairies, that I decided to pause the planning until we were closer to the date. Good thing, because she ended up picking rocker girl. Thus the invites we made at home.

So we went on with the theme and picked cupcakes that would look like microphones to hand out at school (we always take a treat to her class at school). it was supposed to look more polished, like the picture in a recipe book we have at home, but they didn't end up looking as nice and yet they were a big hit with her class mates and some school mates from other classes came running to try and get one (some did since I made a few extra).

Picture from What's New Cupcake?

Not so bad, but not so polished.

Then we went on to buying more rock themed goodies, like getting a piñata in the shape of a rock guitar and some inflatable guitars for the party favors.

Then we moved on to more important stuff, like what to wear!!! Yes, a tween already wants to plan what to wear to her 8th year birthday shindig. This included a hot pink tutu and some colorful hair extensions for the Rock STAR.

                                                                 

For goodie bags I figured I'd forgo the plastic bags and I would use the brown paper bags I use for my kid's lunches when they go on field trips (a generic brand from our local grocery store).

I printed the same images I used for our party invitations, and glued them to the brown bags, added some colorful "Rock On" etc, and we had our finished product.

For the cake, I was fortunate enough to have my daughter's godmother offer to make it for us.

Rock Star Cake

We did have to change the venue because we planned for a park and it was forecast to rain (which rain it DID). I stressed out over the prospect, but in the end a local restaurant we frequent was kind enough to make room for us, and we used their kids' meal menu. Because of that we had kids' activity mats and crayons provided by the restaurant. We also could not break the piñata but it made for a cool prop. 

One of many pictures taken at the party.

Birthday Girl with her little brother.

She and her friends had a blast.  

Would your little girl like a rock-star themed party?

Rossana G-A




FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

Birthday Party for a 6 year old boy

A month ago I had my little boy Lucian's 6th Birthday Party. I am about to have my girl Alessa's 8th Birthday Party in a week, and was planning on posting about some of the planning involved. I then realized I should go ahead and post about both.

I'm not going to lie, I did stress a bit over what to do and how to do it, and this was the first party I threw for him that was with his friends from school and not just our family and close friends. This added to the "it has to be just so" neurosis. 

In the end, it was mostly about what made him happy and not about having the perfect party because for him it was just perfect.

The invitations were made at home by my husband. He actually jumped ahead of me and did them himself based on what my son told him he wanted, i.e. Dinosaurs! I probably would have gone crazy with color, but it was a Dad/Son bonding moment so I let them have it.

Good thing to keep in mind is having people reply if attending so you have a better count for food and party favors, as well as planning some of the party games. A map is also very helpful, and a phone number to call in case anyone gets lost.

Then I started with the goodie bags. I wanted to be as eco-friendly as possible, so instead of buying plastic bags I went with paper bags and did some designs at home with stencils we already had. Did I mention my boy loves dinosaurs?!

Then we went on to do some party games and some cute cupcake containers. Remember that game where you balance a lime or an egg on a spoon and race to the finish line without dropping it? I forget the name, but you get the idea. Since we had a dinosaur theme going, we switched the lime for an empty egg shell in fun colors. These kindergardeners had a ton of fun doing this, but even more fun cracking the egg shells afterward. I also baked some cupcakes in them. Please note I washed the shells and boiled them for 15 minutes to make sure they were safe. The kiddo's loved peeling their egg to get to the chocolate cupcake inside.

Then the piñata. No, I didn't make it, although my husband was willing to try. We actually went down to the nearest party supply store and bought one. They didn't have a T-Rex, and my boy was dead set on one, so he convinced me to buy a dragon (which according to him is related to dinosaurs, just that it has wings and breathes fire, but we can discuss that at a later time). He also suggested I make the necessary changes to make it look like a dinosaur, like clip the wings (which I then put on the new dinosaur's back). I wonder were he gets his creativity from?!

And then we filled both goodie bags and piñata with treats, sugary and not. Some chocolates, lollipops, fruit snacks, and raisins, among others. I also threw in the goodie bags some miniature dinosaur toys and stamps, which even the girls loved when they opened their bags.

Then, the part I was most afraid of, the cake. I have baked cakes my whole life and they are very good, but I've never really decorated them. I had the tools for some time now, but never really used them. So I gave it a whirl, and I think it didn't end up half bad.

Added some of my boy's dinosaur toys (washed beforehand, of course), and 6 candles, and we were set. 

Got some pizza, juice boxes and water bottles, some fruit to slice (apples and oranges), the cake and cupcakes I already mentioned. 2 hours for the party, set at our local park/playground, the race, a "pin the pterodactyl on the Jurassic park" (bought at the party supply store, a "pin the tale on the donkey" type game), and piñata cracking at the end and everyone was happy to go home with their goodie bags.

Lucian was happy to take home his presents. Not the point of this whole endeavor, but nice to see a big smile on his face because most all of his friends made it to the party.

Nice sunny day, and over 26 kids attended, but we did have some party fouls, like having the cake almost melt because of how sunny it was. Since I covered it up in my cake carrier to put it in the shade, a 2 year old guest found it irresistible to look at the green stuff inside and knocked it over. We had 20 kids RSVP (16 friends and 4 of their siblings), but 6 came with siblings they did not count when replying. Not the end of the world because "Mom" always plans for worst case scenarios and made extra of everything. In the end, whatever wasn't perfect didn't matter when hearing my boy say "This was the best party. Ever!!!" And that made it So Perf for me!!

What makes a birthday party special for you?

Rossana G-A


FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

A few tricks to keep your ADHD kid on track

Who has not seen a child fumbling around trying to find where they left that toy, or their backpack, or their left shoe? Add to that the emotions that come with it, and you have a child angry, crying, or yelling about the misplaced item. The added frustration with an ADHD child is that this episode repeats 20 times a day, sometimes 20 times an evening, and an ADHD child is quicker to let out all those emotions. As the parent/caregiver you also feel frustrated by the frequency and the outbursts.

Most kids need consistency and routine. A kid with ADHD needs it even more. Establishing a pattern of activities, and giving your child as many tools to help them accomplish them all, can lead to a less chaotic home. Yes, I said less, because in an ADHD world, chaos comes with the territory.

• Tasks lists are your friends- 
• I have a list in big poster sized paper in almost every room my kid has chores or activities. It has gone a long way for her to have these reminders all over the place.
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1. In her bedroom listing step by step what to do when she gets up in the morning, and step by step what to do when it’s time to go to bed. 

2. Another list by the front door listing out what she needs to do make sure she has with her before she leaves for school, and what to do the moment she walks back in after school. 

3. Another list by the dinning room table listing how to set the table, and what to do when it is time to clean up after each meal. 

4. I also have a list in the bathroom sink listing out what to do before her shower, and what to do right after she steps out. 

5. I even have a waterproof board inside the shower listing out what to wash first.
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(You can buy it on Amazon.com)

• She is now doing more things out of the house, so we have made her lists mobile by adding them to her iTouch calendar and having them alert her when certain chores or activities should be done, like homework time.

• Timing is everything, so time everything you can-
• As I mentioned, my daughter has a calendar on her iTouch that alerts her when something needs to be done, and that is a start. To continue on with that she needs a timer to show her how much time she has to complete a tasks to keep her on track. 

1. She has a timer her teacher sets up for her at school when completing activities. 

(Image from http://www.timetimer.com/)

2. She has another one on her iTouch that we use when she is doing homework or reading, or completing a particular chore. 

3. She even has a timer in the shower, so she knows she can’t play around too much.

(You can buy it on Amazon.com)

• Reward good behavior – 
• It is a major accomplishment for an ADHD child to stay focused and complete a task. It takes a lot of effort, and with a young child, it takes even more. When they do cross that finish line, praise them, give them a treat, or allow a special reward. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, as long as it is meaningful to them.

• Patience and understanding – 
• It will take a lot of reminders from you to have them look back at that list or see how much time is left on that clock. It will also mean sometimes the time runs out and they haven’t finished, or that they skipped a task on the list without noticing. This happens more often than anyone could care to count. When this happens, don’t be to hard on them or on yourself.

Helping your child learn these tools will help them cope better as they grow into their teens and into adulthood.

What strategies do you use to keep your kids on top of chores and homework?



Rossana G-A


FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.