Featured

I was excited to have one of my articles featured in the Deseret News:

Life is Good

This new school year has been better than I expected!  It is the first year that we are balancing Jr. High and Elementary and so far things have gone well!  Now that the kids are back to school and we are starting to get into a routine I am starting to think about all the projects that I want to do and the things that I need to get caught up on!  At this point my mind is still swimming in possibilities!  I am trying to make time to put many of my thoughts, recipes, and decorating projects on my blog.  

Recent happenings around our house:

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Ready For School?

We have done 7 things to get ready to start school this week.  

1. Clean the mudroom

I wanted to make sure this room was clutter free so that we were ready for it to be filled with backpacks!

2. Get the Backpack's cleaned out and ready

I made the mistake of letting our oldest daughter pick out any backpack she wanted when she started kindergarten.  Let's just say that cheap "Hello Kitty" backpack didn't last long at all.  She actually went through three backpacks before I learned my lesson and started buying Land's End backpacks and lunch bags.  I always get them on sale for a great price and they last for many years! 

3.  Buy school supplies

While I was shopping for a cart full of school supplies my husband went shoe shopping.  Our kids have to have a pair of gym shoes to keep at school for their P.E. class and the boys needed new shoes to wear to school.   Out of the six pairs of shoes purchased, four of them were a size 3!  

4.  Have the lunch bags and containers ready

Our Ziploc containers fit perfectly in our kids lunch bags.  The water bottles that I found at Old Navy are the perfect size for the side of their bag.  

5.  Print new charts and plan the fall schedule

6.  Clean closets and buy some school clothes

I have learned the beauty of not having too many clothes!  It is much nicer to have a closet with items you love and can easily find than a closet stuffed with items you don't really like.  

7.  Have an organized system for papers

When the backpacks come home and I am sorting through papers I have my ipad handy to add anything to my calendar or to-do list.  

I also have the stadium file to file papers in one of the following folders:

Today (things that must be handled today)

Weekly Review (things that I can take care of that week, I usually have a weekly review on Fridays)

File (papers that need to be filed long term)

Read and Review (magazines or information I would like to read through)

The black accordion thing in the picture has a place for each kid to store papers that need to be filed temporarily (spelling lists, sight words to practice).