make a list...

***** EDITED:  I made my version of the daily docket in microsoft publisher.  It was just a little easier for me to manipulate for this particular project.  If you have publisher and want to customize your own docket, I'd be happy to email you the editable (is that a word?) publisher files.  Shoot me your email address in the comments or to taralynnsmail@gmail.com and I'll send 'em over.  Sometimes reinventing the wheel is good - sometimes, it's just a pain in the neck!!!  :) *****

Are you a list person??  I am crazy (CRAZY crazy) about lists.  There are few things in life that give me more satisfaction than crossing items off my list.  In fact, I'll even list things for the day that I've already finished, just so I can cross it off (kind of pathetic, but boy is it satisfying!). 
Anyway, I was getting sick of the many cute little notebooks full of partially completed lists, the post-its on my computer and wall, the generic planner that didn't really fit my needs and needed every new paper hole punched 6 times.  So I decided to just make my own.  I did flylady's thing when my oldest was a baby, and had a grand time shining my sink, but it didn't quite fit me anymore.  Then I saw SimpleMom's Daily Docket, and I loved it.  But, for it to work, I needed to change a few things. 
It needed to be small -- I wasn't going to carry around a 2 inch binder along with the other 5 million things in my diaper bag/purse/prepared-for-anything tote.   And I wanted it to be cute.  Silly, but if it's cute, I really do have better odds of using it. :) 

So if you just can't stop yourself from making lists, here are a few of my planner files -- my monthly checklist and my version of simplemom's daily docket.  The file is 4 pages long, but it's for two-sided printing, so you'll print pg. 2 on the back of pg. 1, and pg. 4 on the back of pg. 3 (clear as mud?).  I like that it's little, I like that I can just print it off at home, punch it with my adjustable 3-hole punch, and slap it in my 'planner' - a half-size binder purchased at a office supplies chain store.  I've got a ward directory in there (I just printed it with the paper turned landscape & adjusted the margins so I could trim off the extra), a calendar, a list of birthdays and goals.  I also keep a basic budget outline, shopping lists and a list of items I keep on hand in the pantry/freezer/fridge to make shopping easier.  There's a little pad of paper in the back for (what else?!) more lists!  I made a fabric sleeve/cover for the binder because that makes me happy.  :)

I've used this for a little over a year now, and I really like it.  It changes a little over time as my needs change - I shared the files with my sister, and she made it better.  :)  How do YOU organize your lists?

Baby Bonnet Tutorial

My friend Malauna marches to the beat of her own drummer. I first met her not long after she had broken up with the guy that several of my roommates were secretly in love with. We all thought she was crazy. (She later married him! :)

Anyway, she happens to be very talented, and when she decided she wanted a bonnet for her soon-to-be-born new baby, well, she just sat down and made one.

Then, when I asked her how, she posted a great tutorial on how to make these sweet baby bonnets. How great a friend is that?!

 

I can't wait to try it!

 

Click here to see her post. Don't forget to thank her! :)

An Idea... or two.

I needed  a new one...

Something to keep my kids motivated to use manners, and play outside... to not watch so much television and beg to play on the computer

and then...

I stumbled on this:

V and Co. Idea

Here is my spin on it:

Token can be earned, spent, and lost.  How?

How to earn tokens:

1 shoes put away

1 coats hung up

1 back pack, lunch pack, papers put away

1 dishes cleared after meals without asking

1 folder brought home

1 hairbows put away, or not lost at the end of the day

1 using a napkin at the dinner table

1 using your manner words

1 (isaac) telling us that you need a diaper change

1 cleaning up your crumbs after snacks

1 staying at the table to eat your snacks

1 listening the first time

1 setting your clothes out for the next day

1 following instructions

1 being kind to your siblings

1 washing your hands after you eat

1 bringing in belongings from the car

1 if mom or dad don’t clean up after ourselves and you catch it and have to do it for us

1 mom or dad speaking unkindly to you when it is not an appropriate thing to get upset about

2 listening and sitting reverently during fhe

2 (stella) taking your dance bag to dance

2 homework done before play time

2 eating all of your food without complaining

3 being reverent during sacrament meeting

3 morning routine done without asking

3 evening routine done without asking

3 extra jobs without complaining

3 good behavior at a store

5 ½ hour playtime outside

5 ½ hour art project

5 ½ hour reading

5 ½ hour quiet time

5 100% spelling test

5 a good report from school

15 (jex) finishing a chapter book

How to Lose Tokens:

1 leave your shoes out

1 socks on the floor

1 coat laying on the floor

1 pajamas not put away

1 clothes laying on the floor

1 making messes at the dinner table

1 arguing

1 wiping your fingers on furniture

1 bothering parents while on the phone

1 not listening

1 not clearing your plate

1 leaving belongings in the car

1 fighting with your sibling

1 anything left laying around that I have to pick up

2 not bringing your folder home from school

2 losing a hair bow

2 tattling

2 getting in to things that you are not supposed to

3 complaining or gagging at the dinner table

3 poor behavior at church

3 poor behavior at a store

10 if I have to clean up your room or playroom at the end of the day

How to spend tokens:

1 package of fruit snacks

2 cookie, or treat(bedtime snacks will be given on special occasions)

2 ½ educational computer time (approved by parent)

2 ½ hour educational television program (approved by parent)

3 popcorn

3 extra story at bedtime(must be paid by all listeners)

5 ½ hour computer time, television, or a full movie

(family movies are free, but designated by parents)

5 extra 15 minutes at bedtime

100 $10 to spend on something you would like

Disclaimers:

Fruit and yogurt and crackers do not cost anything

Mom and dad have the right to add to this list at anytime

Tokens can be handed out randomly for special things and good behavior

You must ask mom and dad before putting tokens in your jar.

This list hangs on our laundry room door.  We can refer to it at anytime.

Isaac carried around this little container of tokens all day. He even made his own bed to earn tokens.  He told me tonight, "I give you tokens, and watch a "OOBIE?"(that's a movie.)  By Golly I think he is getting it.

I bought 3 hundred poker chips for their tokens, and these easy non-breakable containers.

It has already helped with the nagging in our home.

Need one more idea?

Here is another idea that we continue to do:

Super Kid (the idea came from here)

Here is my poster to remind me whose turn it is.

It hangs on the fridge and I change it out each week.  Their name is attached with a magnet.

Just tonight, I was trying to decided what easy microwaveable "mom of the year" meal to make the kids; chicken nuggets or corn dogs.

Stella wanted nuggets

Isaac and Jex wanted corn dogs. 

I was only making one thing, because each of these are so time consuming.  he he  

Isaac is super kid so corn dogs won.  It really does settle a lot of battles.

Thanks Michelle for this great idea, and Vanessa for helping me be less of a nag.