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Parenting

Favorite Fall Recipes

YEA!  It’s September!  After a fun weekend filled with friends and lots of FOOD I am feeling so  excited to say good-bye to a wonderful summer and hello to Fall!  I’m also feeling the need to hit the treadmill hard tomorrow but let’s not talk about that.  Instead let’s talk about more food!  Because I like to contradict myself.  And also because Fall is the only time it actually sounds appealing to me to cook.  So fun to be home in cozy sweats during a cool afternoon with the smell of something delicious baking… mixed with the smell of the pumpkin spice candle of course.  I’m dreaming!  We are still having hot summer weather, but Fall is coming.  I can feel it!
I rounded up a few of my favorite things to make in the Fall.  Thinking I’m going to make the Chalupa’s this week because they are such an easy crock-pot recipe and we always have leftovers.  I need something easy this week with all of the kids’ activities starting up again.  Here’s the recipe to the Chalupas and a few other Fall favorites of mine…

I’m excited to try a few new recipes this year!  I haven’t blown anything up in my new kitchen yet so I’m pleasantly optimistic.
  :)
What’s your favorite thing to cook/bake in the Fall?

xoxo, Erin
Parenting

The “Wait Basket” (new decor and teaching kids to wait)

Sharing a fun addition to our family room today!  I picked up this coral basket at Home Goods a few months ago and have loved having a little punch of color next to the couch.  

The pillows in it are some older pillows we had in our previous house.  Seems whenever our whole family is lounging on the couch we needed a few more.  :)  
But while I love the punch of coral and I love having extra pillows nearby..
 that’s not why I bought this basket. 

I bought this basket for my four year old.  You see, my little buddy struggles with waiting.  Waiting for a snack, waiting for his turn with a toy, waiting for mom to get off the phone, waiting for his sisters to finish their homework so he can play with them.  When he wants something he thinks he needs it immediately.  Typical toddler/child ‘me’ centeredness that is always such a joy to parent.  :)  So I decided to make a little “wait basket” in the family room.  I filled it with a few of his favorite toys and after explaining the importance of waiting patiently for things, I told him that whenever he hears the word “wait” he gets to come and play with the toys in his wait basket.  He has other toys in the playroom for every day.  These are special toys only for when he has to wait for something.  (I’ll switch these out every few weeks so he doesn’t get tired of the same toys).  
I have to say that this little “wait basket” is working like a charm!  
Now he gets excited when I tell him he has to wait.  
Which is great.  Because it happens often.
:)

And just for fun since I was snapping pics of the family room, here’s another fun new coral addition.  Slowly adding some color to this space.  I’ll share where I’m at as far as decor for this room soon!  Just need to finish tweaking my bookshelves a bit more.

Could you use a “wait basket” at your house?  
:)

 Enjoy your weekend everyone!  
xoxo, Erin
Organization

Organizing outfits for school (our new system!)

Another “first day of school” has come and gone.  So hard for me to wrap my brain around my girls being in 3rd and 5th grade!  I taught 5th grade when we first moved to San Diego.  I had Ellie in the middle of my last year teaching and remember taking her to my classroom to meet my students.  Such a tiny newborn with all of those big 5th graders.  And now she is one of those big 5th graders.  I cried doing her hair the first day.  She was making me laugh – saying something funny – and it just struck me how grown up she looked and sounded.  I always think I’m going to be fine on the first day of school (especially since by the end of summer I am ready for them to go back!) but then the first day comes and I’m not fine.  I come home to a quiet house and tear up every year.

This little one was SO excited for preschool to start.  He was racing out the door so fast that I only had time to snap two pictures of him and this was the best of the two.  He’s at that fun age where you say “smile” and never know what you’re going to get.  :)  So glad he has one more year of preschool.  I’m going to be a hot mess next year when he starts Kindergarten!

I’m excited to share our new system for organizing outfits for school!  It’s pretty much the old system with a minor tweak.

The girls lay out their outfits for the week.
Just like they’ve done every Sunday for the past two years.
We now use these fun pink canvas closet organizers from Land of Nod.  So excited about these!  We didn’t have room for something like this in our previous house because we were so tight on closet space.  But now that we have more room to breathe I love having a set place for the girls to organize their clothes for the week.  This is a peek inside Ad’s closet.
 I waited for a sale and got each of these organizers for only 12 bucks!
They are sturdy and nicely made.  I couldn’t believe how inexpensive they were.
I got out my trusty label maker and labeled each opening with a day of the week.

There are six slots so there was room for Saturday.  I love this because my girls take gymnastics on Saturday mornings and now we have a place for their gymnastic clothes to call home.

Here is the same set up in El’s closet.  Can you tell this child of mine loves purple?  I had to really force her to look for clothes that weren’t purple this year.  Last year she was in purple every other day!
She did well this week with only a purple belt and one purple top.  A new record for her.  :)
Regardless of how you choose to organize the clothes, picking out outfits for the week ahead of time always makes the morning ‘get ready for school’ rush much smoother!
Want to hear my crazy organized complicated system for organizing Kole’s outfits each day?
You’ll love it.
Ready for this?
He sleeps in the clothes he’s going to wear the next day.
I kid you not.  He hates pajamas (what!?  does he even belong in this family!?) so he BEGS me each night to let him sleep in his clothes.  Over the summer I gave in because it was so hot at night and he was living in mesh shorts anyway.  So I bathe him and put him in clean shorts and a top and he’s all set for school the second he wakes up.  How’s that for streamlining the mornings.  Ha!  I’ll have to get him back in pj’s when it cools off at night because he won’t sleep with covers either.  That kid.  Talk about a major difference from his sisters who are pre-selecting coordinating socks and jewelry and headbands each day.
The joys of raising daughters and a son.
:)
xoxo, Erin
Uncategorized

Instagram round up

Sharing some recent pics today!  I’m loving how easy it is to document life with Instagram.  I held off joining Instagram for a long time because I knew I’d love it and I didn’t want one more thing pulling my time away from my kids.  But I have been surprised!  It’s so fast and easy.  A fun way to connect with friends and document life that doesn’t take much time at all.  Have you heard about all of the fun ways to print Instagram pics into books?  I’m excited to try it.  These are just a few of the pics I’ve shared on Instagram this summer.  (erin_sunnysideup)
Leaving downtown after watching my girls perform in Annie (theatre camp production).  
Cutest little orphans!  I cried when they sang their solos.  
#momsasap.
Fun night out with girlfriends!  
#andhusbands
#notpictured
These two have been inseparable this summer.  As always.  
Their bond makes me smile every single day.
Strollin’ at the beach.
#kingkole
A fun night with close friends.  
Yogurt with my littles while big sister is at camp.  Kole said “try my yogurt Ad!  It’s a little bit yucky and a lot bit yummy.”  He’s at that age where half of what he says makes us laugh.  :)
Some movies never get old.
#moviepartywithmygirls
Celebrating birthdays with friends.  
#bestiesarethebest  
Mini organizers in training. 
#inmyhappyplaceorganizing
This little monster is all caged up.  
#lovelowkeymorningswithmyboy
Quiet afternoon reading time.  We set up our beloved princess tent and El said “mom it’s so much smaller than the last time we were in it!”  I wish it really was the tent that was changing.  
#growinguptoofast
#couldn’tlovethemmore
Spending the day with my three favorite little people at the beach.  Perfect ending to a great summer!
#couldntlovethemmore
#koleistryinghisbest

4 hours of last minute back to school shopping with all 3 kids.  This man was a GOOD sport.  
I think we pushed him as far as we possibly could!
#willdoanythingforhisgirls
#weowehimuninterruptedchargersgames
These 4.
#couldn’tlovethemmore
School lunch prep time!
#bracingmyselffortomorrowmorning
#excitedforanotherschoolyear
#andsadatthesametime
Goodbye Summer 2014!  
#youwerethebest

xoxo, Erin
Organization

Organized craft/school supplies

I’ve been organizing.  I’ve been organizing SCHOOL SUPPLIES!  Probably one of my single most favorite things to do.  I’ve been in a mad dash before the kids start school to get my office/kids’ homework room/craft room/scrapbook room/blogging station in order.  Yes – I’m talking about one space. :)  I haven’t shared my office on the blog yet because it has been in such disarray since we moved in.  It really is the busiest room in our house and most of the day you can find me or one of the kids (or all four of us) in it making a great big mess.  But slowly I am making progress!  One cupboard at at time.

Some of you might remember the craft cupboard we had in our previous house.  This was a bottom cabinet in my kitchen that I turned into a space for all of the kids’ craft/school supplies.  It truly was one of the smartest organizing projects I did that year because it worked so well for us.  The kids used it every day and were able to easily keep it organized.  Bins were easy to pull out and use at the table and clean up was a breeze because everything had a place.  So when I designed my office for the new house, I knew I wanted a similar space to use for all of the kid’s supplies.

When you walk in my office and immediately look to the right there are some tall cabinets up against the wall.  After hours of purging, sorting, organizing, and labeling (my favorite part!) here is what the inside of these cabinets look like now…

Ahhhh.  The kids’ supplies are organized.  My supplies are organized.  Peace is restored in my office.
At least on the right side of the room.  :)
I wish I had taken a before shot.  When we moved in I just set random things in random cupboards.
It was such a mess to sort through.

I know it doesn’t look like much, but the top of this cupboard is what took me the longest.  This is everything from the two years we spent building our new house.  I had SO much stuff to go through and a lot of it I tossed (such a good feeling!), but these are the things I wanted to keep.  Like the binder on the far left that is labeled “new house plans and designs” with all of our cabinet/built-in/room layouts and all of our design sketches.

These white file folders (Martha Stewart Collection) hold additional house sketches/plans and all of our paint selections.

Above those I used two buckets from the dollar store (you might remember them from my mom’s laundry room makeover!) to hold all of our paint books and additional design odds and ends like fabric swatches, etc.  So happy to have all of this consolidated in one place!  Now when you ask me where I got a certain light fixture or what color of paint is in a certain room I can find it in two seconds!  If I don’t have the information somewhere in this top cupboard you are out of luck because my brain just isn’t big enough to hold all of those details and even if it could, it secretly wants to block them all out.  ;)

Moving on to the bottom section!  I designed this cupboard for the kids.  All of my cabinets have adjustable shelves so I can move them around in a way that works best for us.  Everything is low so the kids can reach – all of their “supplies” are in one place.  Paper is on top (divided by plain white, lined, and colored card stock).

The bottom holds all of their coloring/work books.  I’ve had these cheap cardboard file folders for years!  They are from my teaching days.  I debated covering them in some stylish wrapping paper but decided the bright colors were fun for the kids.  Maybe I’ll still cover them someday if I get really ambitious but that is a low priority at this point.  :)  I gave Ellie and Addison two each because they have so many books.  Kole has one and then one extra for miscellaneous notepads, workbooks etc. that they all use.

Putting them in file folders keeps this area nice and neat and makes it easy for my kids to locate their own things.  I originally had everything just lined up and I knew it would be a mess in no time.  Organizing projects are only successful if they are easy to keep that way! 
Next I went to town labeling craft/school supplies!  (#everythingisbetterwithalabel)

The top two boxes are mine – labels and clothespins.

When you are labeling a box of labels you recognize you may have a problem.  This is the part of my post when my mom usually calls and tells me there is medicine out there for people like me.
{Time out to share my all time favorite quote}
As. They. Should. Be.
Amen.
:)
Regardless of my mental state, my labels are happy in their home and easy for me to access when I tackle my next project.  {Mom, I know you love me, but at this point I think we can both agree it’s a lost cause.}

 The rest of the bins are all things the kids use when they get their creative messes juices going.  Which for my two girls is a daily occurrence.
I didn’t photograph everything but here is a peek inside a few of the bins.
So nice to have everything in one easy to find spot!

Just like with our original craft cupboard, the kids can take their bins to the table, make a big old mess, and then easily put everything back where it belongs.

  If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.  
 
So happy to have our old system set up in the new house.  
 
:)

SaveSave

xoxo, Erin
Home Decor

Mudroom key holder

Sharing a new addition to our mudroom today!  My DIY key holder!  K.  Technically I probably shouldn’t call this a DIY project since #1 – I didn’t make anything and #2 – I wasn’t the one who did the DIYing.  But since I bought it and had the vision, I’m rolling with it.  That’s right.  Queen of DIY right here.

I found this beat up numbered board for 13 bucks at Home Goods.  I immediately fell in love with it because of its rustic look and because the 1 2 3 spoke to me since I have three kiddos.  (Give me a chance to be sappy and I’ll take it.)  It didn’t have hooks on it – just the holes where hooks once were.  I went to a local hardware store and found some hooks that had two screws in each to match what it looked like used to be attached.

When I was in Utah organizing my parent’s laundry room my dad attached the hooks for me.  I guess my dad’s the King of DIY.  Do I still get to at least be a princess?  ;)

Like I said, it’s a bit scratched and marked up but I think that’s part of its charm.  I like a bit of old (or at least old looking!) mixed in with new.
 I also love the way the black numbers go with the black dutch door and hardware in this room.

Not to mention the fact that now we have a place to hang our keys!  Which is perfect since my husband loses his keys at least 4 times a day.  Sometimes he even loses them in my purse.  When I accidentally put them there.  

Ok.  We both have a problem misplacing keys.
But not anymore!  Our mudroom is right off of our garage so we can immediately hang our keys when we walk in from the garage OR the front porch.
No more excuses.
Hear that babe?
What would you do without me?
:)
Wonder what I’ll DIY up next?
Only time will tell…
xoxo, Erin
Favorite Things

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday friends!  YEA!  Weekend is here.  Although in the summer time it sort of feels like all week is one looong drawn out weekend.  But at least on Saturday and Sunday my husband is home and I have back up support around here.  :)  Sharing a few of my latest favorite things!  Like this Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener.  Love this stuff.  You put it under your eyes before concealer and it takes away those dark circles/bags.  (I have awful circles under my eyes because I stay up way too late blogging.)  :)  You can get it on-line but might want to go to a department store to try the different shades.  I wear the Light Bisque 2 so if you have fair skin that’s a good shade to try.  (You can see all of my favorite make-up here.)

Love this yellow Nate Berkus frame I found at Target.
Also love Nate Berkus.  He can be a favorite thing too, right?  :)
Have you all read this book?  It is DARLING!  Oh my word.  So funny.  The Day the Crayons Quit has got to be one of my favorite children’s books I’ve read this year.  It’s hilarious and fun for all ages.  I laughed out loud through the whole thing.  The crayons have all had enough.  Blue is tired of only coloring in large bodies of water, orange and yellow are in a fight because they each believe they are the true color of the sun.  It goes on and on.  All of my kids loved it and Kole kept saying “read it again!”  So so good.
And speaking of books – this is another book I can’t put down.  Bright Bazaar by Will Taylor.  I bought it at West Elm and then realized I could have saved some money by getting it through Amazon so don’t make my same mistake!  But such a fun book!  All about embracing color in your home.  It immediately spoke to me because after finally getting some of our more neutral big pieces of furniture I’m ready to play with color in my house!  Here is a peek at a few of the pages…

This is Will’s house.  Isn’t it happy!?
So much fun right!?  Will has a blog all about COLOR and wrote this book with some of his best tips.  I have loved flipping through it and feeling inspired to bring more color into my home.

A favorite staple for my wardrobe this summer has been these beautiful coral earrings from Banana Republic.

They are a bit heavy so I usually only wear them when I’m going somewhere for a few hours, but they are so pretty and work with a lot of my outfits.  I usually don’t spend much on jewelry and these were a little pricey, but they ended up being worth it because I wear them so much.  I couldn’t find the coral pair on-line but they have them on sale in mint and I love that color too!  May have to snag a second pair.

Since we’re talking Fashion I’ll also share my favorite summer dress.  I found this on sale at the Tommy Hilfiger outlet store and I’ve loved it!  It’s a simple t-shirt button down dress and I like that I can dress it up with heels and jewelry or wear it with flip flops for a casual every day look.  It’s lightweight so it has been nice and cool for summer.  Shoes are the Michael Kors Giovanna wedge.  They are also favorites.  This is my third summer with them and they are still in great shape.

Works for hanging out with these three monkeys.
They are favorites too.
Right up there with Nate Berkus.
:)
Happy weekend everyone!
xoxo, Erin
Uncategorized

Hair Tutorial (sharing a past post!)

Hi friends!  I’ve had several people ask me on Instagram (erin_sunnysideup) how I style my hair and if I would do a tutorial.  I actually did a tutorial three years ago!  It’s a bit outdated and totally embarrassing but I’m going to share the link because I still do my hair basically the same way when I curl it now.  I’ve cut it short and had styles in-between but I just keep coming back to this look because I live in a really humid climate and have naturally curly hair so this style allows me to spend about 5 minutes a day on my hair which is all the time I have!  Whenever I visit dryer climates I love to do it straight because it actually stays straight.  Anyway – I’ll have to do an updated video at some point because I don’t curl the ends anymore (gives it more of a loose beachy look) and because I acted so stupid during this tutorial.  My friends saw it and thought I didn’t even sound like myself!  So serious and all business.  I was nervous.  :)  Anyway – you can go here to check it out.  I hope embarrassing myself helps you get the curls you’re after.

:)
xoxo, Erin
Parenting

Let it go (house pics and summer thoughts)

This summer has flown by in the blink of an eye.  So much going on and I’ve had no time to blog about it all.  I always start the day with the best intentions for my blog.  I really do.  I always have grand plans of everything I want to share with you all.  I take a million pictures and create a million posts in my head.

And then the pictures sit on my computer.

And the posts sit in my head.  :)
Kind of like these Ficus trees that sat in our front yard for weeks. 
Right along with these Camphors and Sycamores.  Are you impressed with my tree knowledge?  I have a post in my head all about my latest tree knowledge.  (You’re glad I haven’t had time for that one.)  
I have posts in my head about our latest backyard changes and additions.  
And about Kole’s love of my camera.  
I have pics waiting to be edited of our stairs…

and of our formal living room…

and of our master bathroom…
I have pictures taken and posts in my head all about organizing my playroom, office, girls’ closets, and pantry.  Decorating my family room and girls’ rooms and on and on..
But something keeps getting in the way of my blog time.  

Actually three somethings.  :)
And they come first.  
Before the organizing and the decorating and the blogging.  Before the exercising and the cleaning and more often than I’d like to admit… before the showering.  

While I love summer, sometimes it’s hard for me to let things go.  To see my house a mess and projects undone and pictures sitting on the computer.  And to have too many posts swimming around in my head.

But then I spend the day with these three.  I laugh with my girls and get constant cheek kisses from Kole.  And I remind myself that there will be a day when I don’t have another summer with them at home.  I’ll have more time to decorate and organize and clean and blog and certainly more time to shower.  Time to accomplish goals and to enjoy hobbies. And I’ll miss today.  I’ll miss the laughs and the cheek kisses and deep down.. I’ll even miss the chaos.  Really deep down.  :)  When I remind myself of this it’s suddenly a lot easier to let things go.

Besides, no matter how messy my house gets…

 it’s a lot cleaner than it was last summer.   
:)
xoxo, Erin
Organization

Post it Note To-Do List

Sorry for the crickets chirping on the blog last week.  Summer is winding down (2 weeks left for us) so the kids and I are relaxing and playing as much as possible.  You can see from this picture we aren’t the only ones soaking up the summer sun.  :)
I’m popping in to share something with you that I found on Pinterest because I’m madly in love with it.  And when you find something you are madly in love with you kind of want to share the love with your friends.  Are you ready friends?  
You all know about my obsession with post-it notes.  
And about my obsession with lists.  
Well.  Jessica at Life as a Mom just might have come up with my most favorite to-do list EVER.  Which is saying a lot.  Because I’ve tried out MANY styles of to-do lists over the years.  She calls it the post it note to-do list system.  And it’s brilliant!  Go to her blog to read all about it and download a copy of it yourself.  
Here’s a sample of what mine looks like for this week:
As you can see you have room for today’s to-do’s, this week’s to-do’s and this month’s to-do’s.  You can use square sticky notes for “today” and larger sticky notes for “this week” if you want to.  Then after each day/week you tear them off and write a new one leaving the month to-do list on the right side.  You can always see what’s coming up ahead and separate what is a top priority for the day/week/month.  Are you hearing a chorus of angels singing in the background!?  Is this not brilliant!?  I was so excited when I stumbled on Jessica’s blog and found this the other night that I had to print it off and share it immediately with someone!  That someone was my husband because he happened to be sitting on the couch with me.  He didn’t get it.  He couldn’t understand why this simple sticky note to-do list made me do a happy dance around the living room.  Twice!  But I know you all do.  You get it.  You’re all doing a happy dance right now too.  
Admit it.  :)

In my Updated Time Management Binder I was just writing a simple to-do list on the first page – but not anymore!  I’ve replaced it with this post-it note to-do list and suddenly all is right with the world.

:)  

Head to Life as a Mom to check it out.  Jessica – you are my new hero.  
Happy Monday friends!  With this new to-do list it’s a happy Monday indeed.  
xoxo, Erin
Uncategorized

Fall ideas (waiting patiently)

This summer has been so great.  The best.  We’ve had so much fun.  
I really didn’t want summer to end.  
Then last weekend it rained.  
And suddenly Kole and I had to make our favorite banana bread muffins.  

(We are messy when we make our favorite banana bread muffins.) 
The rain smelled SO good.  And the banana bread muffins smelled SO good.  
And before I knew it, I was in the mood for Fall.  

So I started pulling out my Fall decor.  
And then I put it back.  
(What!?  It’s early August!)
And then I pulled it out again.  :)
I haven’t started decorating yet – everything is still in boxes in the hallway.  
But I don’t know how long I’ll be able hold off.  
I know it’s early.  And we are still enjoying our last few weeks of summer.  
But I can’t help it.  
I’m so excited for Fall.  
So just for fun.  Just to get ideas.  I pulled up my Fall Pinterest Board.  
I was thinking that a vase with simple leaves would look good in the dining room.  

And a crate full of pumpkins and flowers would be fun for the nook.  

Simple Fall decor looks classy in glass containers.

So do acorns and candles.
I was also thinking that painting pumpkins would be fun to try this year.  

So would painting acorns.  

I found my Fall color inspiration.  
And fun “Fall bucket list” ideas for the kids.  
I discovered a few fun ways to entertain with pumpkins. 
 (I can hear the football game on in the background!)

And really spooky bookshelf decor.  

I also landed on the simplest Halloween candy witch brooms.  
That even I could make.  

Plus I found my all time favorite Fall quote.  
Fall.  I love you.  Waiting not so patiently patiently for your arrival.
Yours truly,
Erin

xoxo, Erin
Uncategorized

Back to School Organization (re-run)

Happy Monday everyone!  We still have three weeks until my kids start school but I know some of you have started already.  Summer always goes by too quickly!  While we are enjoying our last few weeks together, I am starting to get a few things ready around my house so that when that first day comes we are prepared (or at least semi prepared).  :)  I was looking over past “get ready for school” posts to help remind me of things I need to do and thought some of you might be in the same boat.  So I’m re-posting an oldie but a goodie – my back to school organization post.  Hope it helps!  I also hope you enjoy your last few days of summer.  I’m sad to see it end this year!

————————————————————————————————————————–

It’s that time friends!  August is here and summer is winding down.  Are you cheering or crying?  We have a little bit of both going on around here.  :)  Whether we are ready for summer to end or not, the new school year is quickly approaching and we want to be ready for it, right?  Right.  I had so much fun sharing back to school organization tips on the news.  As a former school teacher and a lover of organization this happens to be one of my favorite topics!  Below are my best tips for back to school organization.  So sharpen your pencils and get ready for class.  :)

1} Half way through the summer (or right now today!) write a back to school checklist that includes everything you need to do to be ready for the first day of school.  I like to break my list into two sections:  THINGS TO DO and THINGS TO BUY.  Here are a few examples of things you might include in your list:

If you have your back to school check list written early you can take your time working on it throughout the summer and not feel rushed/stressed trying to get it all done the week before school starts.  Been there.  Done that.  Don’t want to do it again.  :)

2}  Clean out kids’ drawers/closets.  The beginning of the school year is a great time to go through your kids’ clothes.  Donate clothes that are too small and assess what they need and don’t need for the new school year.

This is a great time to organize your own closet too!  For no other reason than it will make you happy every time you walk in it.  :)  (full post on my closet organization here)

3}  Be prepared with a variety of school lunch ideas.  If you pack a sack lunch for your kids, spend some time in the summer searching for and trying new sack lunch ideas.  There are a lot of fun and creative alternatives to the typical PB and J sandwich on-line!

One of my favorite ways to mix things up is to use cookie cutters to cut different food into fun shapes.  The cookie cutters I shared on the news I picked up at Target.  Food just tastes better to kids when it’s in the shape of a butterfly, dinosaur or car, right?  This takes very little time and adds some interest to your child’s lunch making them much more likely to eat their food.  Which is always the goal.  :)
Another fun trick is to cut up fruit/veggies/cheese and put them on a stick.  My kids love to eat their fruits and veggies if I serve them this way.  Much more exciting than just a sack of apple slices and you are able to give them more of a variety of food too.  Bonus.

And of course, while we’re talking school lunches, don’t forget the napkin notes!  Take a quick minute to jot a little hello and I love you to your child on his/her napkin.  It will brighten their day.  :)

4} Create ways to simplify your morning routine as much as possible.  Do as much as you can the night before!  Pack lunches, get homework and backpacks ready, lay out breakfast dishes and clothes for the next day.  Involve the kids in this the day before!  They can help get their own things ready for the following day.  If you are leaving with the kids in the morning have your things ready to go also.

My favorite way to simplify our morning routine is to plan outfits ahead of time.  It works best for us to plan clothes a week in advance.  The girls lay out their outfits and we use ziplock bags labeled with each day of the week to hold accessories.  It only takes a little prep time on Sunday and saves us from a lot of morning drama throughout the week!  (full post on our system here)

5}  Control the paper!  We all know that once school starts the amount of paper that starts coming home is insane!  Don’t let it pile up!  Set up something in your house (file folders, a magazine holder, anything with slots in it) to hold important papers.  I have used file sorters in the past but lately have been using my magazine holder (from Ballard Design).

I like to have a place for paper that “needs action.”  These are forms that need to be signed, the b-day part invite you need to RSVP to, etc.  Anything you need to do something with goes here.  The next slot is for forms to save.  And then I just like to have a place to keep papers for each child.  I’m going to figure out different way to set this up in my new house so I can include child #3.  :)

Another way to control the paperwork coming home is to set up a homework station.  Having a set place to store and organize all of the kids’ art supplies and homework has been a life saver for us!  Find a drawer/cupboard – anything that works and create a place to keep paper, pencils, and any other supplies your kids need for homework each day.

And the final way to organize your paper is to have a system set up for special work/art your kids bring home that you want to save.  

I use a crate and file folders that are organized by the season (fall, winter, spring) to hold special work until I have time to put it in my kids’ albums.

6}  Use a large calendar to keep your family  schedule on track.  

I just bought this fun desk calendar at Target – so cute, right?  And I’m so excited to use it next year to organize our schedule.  I have my own separate planner and Kenny uses his iPhone, so this calendar will mostly be used for the kids’ schedules.  I’ll include things Kenny and I have going on any time it affects the kids.

I bought five different colored highlighters and gave us each a color.  My idea of a fun evening?  Organizing our schedule on a cute calendar with colorful markers.  :)  Now Ellie, for example, can look at the calendar and find all of the purple to see what she has going on.  No excuse for forgetting a library book on library day anymore!

 I copied a past month from our last school year to share this calendar on the news.  I’m not going to include every day things like school, Kole’s therapy, etc.  Just the extra appointments and activities.

Having a calendar like this is a great way to help your family see what’s going on each week!  Just one more way to keep everyone on track and things running smoothly.  
Whew!  That was a book.  :)  I hope a few of these suggestions gave you some ideas for you and your family.  Happy back to school organizing everyone!
:)
xoxo, Erin

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