Friday Favorites!

If anyone asked me what keeps me and the hubby from going crazy with the girls' schedules- I'd have one word for them.. Cozi!!

Not exaggerating people- it has literally changed my life!! All 4 of us can access the same calendar from our own phone to add or change any appointments!

You assign everyone their own color for the calendar and when it's an appointment for only them, their color for is showing. When it's an appointment for everyone, the color picked for the family will show.

Also- the free app offers a one-time reminder for all events. You can set up the reminder to go off a week or even 15 minutes before.

Grocery and to-do lists are offered too! Anyone with access to your calendar (protected with a shared family password) can add something to the lists. 

You can get the full version- but I think the price is a bit steep. I'll stick with the free version because it works for us.

I love the Cozi Family Organizer App!

Big hugs to my followers~
melissa

I'm Trying It-Kitchen Command Center!!

My first iTryitTuesday!!  Woot woot!!

It's January, that wonderful month that we all feel the pressure of purging our old files and find better ways to organize.  I have decided its about time to hop on the organization bandwagon, so first checked out Pinterest for ideas.
 
Here is the link to where I found most of the ideas for today's iTryitTuesday! She is one FABULOUSLY  INVENTIVE LADY!! http://lovelycraftyhome.com/2011/01/19/new-year-new-organization/

 

Printable calendars?  W-w-what??? AWESOME!! I love the ones that I did- and I used a thicker card stock to print them so they should hold up well.  Do you always check out your birthday month first when you get a calendar?  I do- and here it is!!

This SMART BLOGGER posted several different calendars to choose from, and, here's the link! http://benignobjects.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-free-printable-calendar-roundup.html

I have to give a SHOUT OUT to the AWESOME CREATIVE CRAFTY WOMAN that created the calendar that I LOVE!!
http://www.ellinee.com/blog/our-12-month-printable-calendar-for-2013/

I tagged a hanging folder for each family member, then have 3  folders that don't hang to put in the front of the file box.  They are labeled for: Unsorted Mail, Please Look at Me and Please Shred Me.  Obvious?  Well, yes.. That's the point..

I found a clear bend-a-flex that I will keep in the back of the file box.  The plan is to use this for our budgeting. 

Here it is- my new Kitchen Command Center!! I am SO excited about putting it together, and now using this tool for my family!  We have got to keep those piles from coming back to our counters!!  

 

Big hugs to my followers~
melissa

The Party of 3 Generations

Today I had a moment.  It came at me out of nowhere, totally unexpected and caught me completely by surprise.  

The day didn't start out as a typical Monday with the hurried rush of making sure the girls are getting ready like they should while I am running out of the door, heading to work. I was off of work today, so I had a Dr.'s appointment, and then went shopping.

I went to a local craft store that I love.  It was nice to look around the store without knowing the hubby and kids are looking at the clock and whispering, "How much longer can she really spend in here?".. They don't really say much when we are there, but (God bless them for trying to make me happy) I know when they don't want to be somewhere.  

I'm standing in this aisle looking at clearance Christmas decorations, and there's this woman in the same aisle.. We start that idle chit-chat, you know, the chit-chat that sounds like, "The birdhouses are so adorable, but not worth the $50 marked on them.." chit-chat.  It was so odd, I felt like I knew this woman.. Then I made a comment on how nice it was to just take my time and look at everything without hubby and my teen daughters.

This stranger seems so familiar, she says that her daughter loves going there with her, but is only four.  She then says that the four-year-old is in the back of the store with her mother, the child's grandmother. 

After a minute or so, I looked to my left and saw another woman that was older, with a little girl of about 4, all dressed in pink.

And that is the moment.. I don't know this blessed woman, this woman who is so fortunate to have her mother and her little girl that still believes in magic and is at that age where everything is wonderful and new.  I would probably never recognize her if I saw her on the street or in the mall, but I will never forget that feeling..  What I felt when I saw this woman join her mother, her little girl and become a Party of 3 Generations.. 

My mother, Vickie, was taken by lung cancer on June 20, 2002.  She hadn't had her 62nd birthday yet, I hadn't had my 24th- both of our birthdays were in July.  The girls were only 5 and 2.  

She enjoyed making things and would have so loved to have been in a craft store with me on a random Monday picking out crafts with the girls.  

I saw a reflection today of what could have been if my mother had been healthier and lived longer.  It wasn't meant to be, and I have made peace with that.  

I don't have the right to want this, but I do..  I want those adult daughters that get asked to shop with their mothers- I want them to do it..  I wish they would, because none of us know how many more shopping excursions, lunch dates, phone calls, or hugs we have left from the woman who gave us life.  

The woman that I saw today was thoroughly enjoying her "Party of 3 Generations".  If I saw her again, I would say to her- Thank you.  Thank you for appreciating the time you have with the precious people in your life because there are many of us out there that aren't as fortunate to still have them..  

Hugs to my followers~
melissa

Who's that crazy lady?

Now, with just a few clicks, we can send text messages to friends and instantly find out if that dress really looks as good as you think it does on you..  Is that a good thing or not??

On Friday, I went to order some new glasses for myself.  I wanted something new, funky, and completely different than I'd had before.  Well, of course I had to get a second opinion before ordering something that was so different than what I'm used to.  So, I would casually take pics of myself with my iPhone (it has the forward-facing camera), and texted pics to the hubby and my 16 year old. 

They texted me "Why are you so angry?" and "Why such a sour face?".  Ok, I am chewing gum while looking at my phone like I am just typing.  I don't want everyone to know I'm taking pics of myself!  What else was it going to look like? They didn't like the frames I had mainly gone after, so I thought- well maybe, just maybe, it's because of these weird faces I am making. 

 Then I started smiling for pics before sending them, busting out laughing over myself because I looked like a freaking lunatic!  Here I was, at this little eye doctor's office in their frames lobby, grinning and taking pics of myself.  One of the ladies that work there said, "Uh-oh, she's taking pictures of herself and laughing-that's not good."!  I kept on taking the pics and texting the hubby and my daughter to get their opinions, and the hubs finally gave up and said I'd look great in any of them. It was too much fun just trying on the different frames and seeing the other peoples' reactions. Finally, I got down to the right pair-not the thick frames because they just didn't work on me, but still completely different than the typical plain silver frames I get. 

When I sat down to order the frames, the girl said she'd heard someone was in the lobby taking pictures of themselves.. I laughed- at least we all had a little humor on a dull afternoon! Two weeks until my new glasses come in and I can't wait. 

It gets so old doing the same things over and over..  I love change..  I embrace it.. I encourage it..  How else do we grow and find out what we are really capable of?

Change is the essence of life.  

Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.  

Reinhold Niebuhr

Self-Help Books-Just More Rules?

We all get them. We all want to better ourselves and browse the bookstores for the perfect "Follow me!" rules so that we can be the perfect Mom, wife, boss, etc...The bookstores are full of books helping us name our babies, feng shui our spaces, bring romance back into our marriages, and even to tell us how to deal with hormonal teenage daughters.  I've read my share of these books, and have gotten a lot of great tips from them. Do you want to know the big secret I just figured out? 

Those extra "rules" that I HAD to start following so that, I too, could be wonderful..well, they just added a lot more stress to my life.

I read that I wasn't supposed to have anything in my room that wasn't for the bedroom- no TV,  computer, desk...  Am I a horrible person for wanting to have a TV in my room? No-in fact, it may just cause fewer arguments over the TV when Grey's is on and everyone is wanting to talk to me.  I can lock my door!! It's okay, they can knock if it's an emergency.. Gosh-I'm kidding, they have phones and can dial 911!

Families have to eat at the dinner table every night together. Yes, when my girls were younger and we weren't driving 3 different ways at 6pm every night, we definitely ate together most of the time.  Now, it's a juggling act just to make sure everyone gets to eat dinner, whether it's Subway or homemade (homemade-what?)!

Don't fix meals from a box, they are full of sodium and so absolutely horrible for us.  No more Hamburger Helper? WHAT????  It would be great if we had the finances and time to afford a homemade meal three times a day.  Unfortunately, we all can't be Betty Homemakers and cook meals with fresh meat and veggies even once a day. Hey, if I get to do that even once a week, I feel like a complete WINNER!!

I am letting myself off of the hook.  I will put a TV in my room, and maybe even a desk! I will not feel guilty that we don't all sit together every night for dinner because I know that we all stay connected through texting and talking-even (OMG!!!!) away from the dinner table, because that is when we are available to connect.  I will not give it a second thought when fixing frozen pizza for dinner after a basketball game because it's too late to cook a big meal. Life is too short for me to worry about these silly things!