And the Award Goes to...

I received an e-mail last week with the subject line "TOP SECRET 3RD GRADE INFORMATION". The e-mail was from Jordan's teacher, inviting us to the upcoming awards assembly, where Jordan would be receiving an award.

You guys. I was in tears. This was the first time I would be able to immediately respond "I'LL BE THERE!!" without having to request time off, without having to stress about work, without having to worry about traffic holding me up on my way to the school. Tears. This. THIS is the life we have done so much planning in order to have.

Here she is!

She was so surprised and excited to see Justin, Grandma, and me in the gym!! And seriously people, can we please fund our schools?? That gym had NO air conditioning!

Jordan's award was a teacher selected award for good citizenship!! We love our girl and her big heart! So proud of this one! Side note: I can't believe she's going to be in 4th grade in just a couple months!!

Keep on being awesome, Jordan!!

STOP! Planner Time.

Hi. My name is Krystle and I love planning. Not like let's-make-plans-and-get-together kind of planning... like paper planning. In a paper, spiral-bound planner. This is my 2018 planner:

Example of a 1-week spread

This is a Recollections planner from Michael's. I think I paid around $14 for it with a coupon. I used to order Erin Condren planners, however I just can't justify a $60 planner when this one is exactly the same; just without the personalized cover. (FYI: You can order custom/new covers on Etsy. Yay for supporting small businesses!)

Anyway... I bought two A5 Filofax planners a year or so ago. I'm not really sure why, other than I just love patent leather and the colors! So, I've had a hot pink planner and this turquoise one just sitting around. 

I really needed to find a use for them or get rid of them. As I was determining what I wanted my SAHM days to look like, I decided I really wanted to incorporate more faith-based books/studies. I'm starting now, but really hoping to dive in after our move. We'll see. I've been home for a week and have managed to read for 30 minutes before bed one time; but I'm also playing catch-up around the house and packing, so I've cut myself some slack.

Anyway, I decided that I could use one of these dusty, unused planers for taking notes. I just had to figure out how to organize it so that it was easy to use. In my search or ideas, I came across a planner insert pack and decided to try it.

Pack includes dividers, insert pages, pocket and extra. (Etsy $15)

Here's how I set-up the planner and how I plan to use it:

Opening page

The pack came with 6 dividers, so I think I will include 2 months per divider. I originally thought I would separate by book/study, but I just don't think that's practical given how quickly I would run out of dividers.

1st page after divider

I'm going to try using this page for a monthly book list and goals. I'm not really sure how it's going ot work quite yet, and I may end up changing it later. That's the nice part about binder planners, everything can be reorganized later!

2nd page in each section

I really like these pages that came with the packet. It should be an easy page to check-in on each month. It's also double-sided, so I can use a page per month and make the two-months-per-divider thing work.

Backside of 2nd page and note page.

This will be for notes, obviously. I'm not into highlighting books; I've tried, really. So, it will be nice to have a place to record book excerpts that resonate with me, reflections on the study, etc.

I'm really happy to have found a use for this planner... and even happier to have such a beautiful, functional space to help me dive into my upcoming studies!


**If you would like to set-up your own planner, I'd be happy to gift you my pretty pink one to get you started!

#Momming

Today was my first official day as a stay at home mom! (Friday and yesterday don't count, because Justin was home both days and because I had a migraine yesterday- so today it is!)

I mommed pretty hard today, so I'm pretty proud of myself. It's definitely weird being home with just this guy for an extended period of time.

But, because he's an awesome baby, I was able to get a ton of stuff done. Feeling pretty in control of my house right now! I mean, like things aren't just getting done, they're getting done my way! And that my friends is even awesomer than them just getting done or not getting done at all!

Let's see - cleaning, laundry... I even washed my Pilot!

Just kidding - I went through the car wash on my way home from Target... diapers only! ;) 

The Target trip added to my to-read list. This happens nearly every time, so we'll see how much reading I can squeeze in to SAHM life... none today. 

 

And I only washed the truck so that I could put my PNW stickers on it as part of my #ohiobound prep!

(I hate spending money at the car wash... but I also hate washing cars myself, so... thank God it rains a lot in Washington!) Unfortunately, in Ohio... there are a lot of bugs. One time, I was driving with my MIL and we drove through what can only be described as a bug love fest... the windshield was completely splattered with "busy" bugs! 100% gross. 

Okay, I promise things will get more interesting, but right now I'm just playing catch-up around the house. Soon... packing!