IDEA 10: SCARECROWS

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Autumn pulls you outside with such beautiful clear days it almost makes your eyes hurt. The annual activities of leaf-raking, piling and jumping-in, as well as general yard maintenance remain a top-notch family tradition.

It is not a new idea to create a fall scarecrow from some of the fallen leaves. But recently my eyes were opened anew to this long standing autumnal routine. It had seemed to me, since Autumn ushers in Halloween, scarecrows had taken on a bit of a maudlin nature. OK, a lot of them are downright creepy. But my daughter’s scout troop participated in some autumn fun and games, and one of the activities involved making a scarecrow. I’m not biased, but leave it to nine year old girls to find a way to make scarecrows, well, anything but scary! I submit these beautiful examples of autumnal souls for inspiration in the hope that your family may adopt this sweet fall tradition. And maybe in the process you’ll also get some yard work done!

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Filed under 09 September, Halloween, Kids, Projects, Traditions | No Comments »

IDEA 9: ANNUAL PHOTO

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One of the best ideas I ever had was taking an annual photo of the kids. I always do it Thanksgiving week. Then it’s perfect timing to turn into a holiday card. But any time of year that makes sense to you will work. The trick is to pick a time that is convenient and you can remember year to year.

Find a spot in your house that has a window. Arrange the kids so that the window light is lighting their faces from the side. (You don’t have to see the window in the photo). Ideally you will figure out which window and time of day is best. We use a window that faces west and shoot in the morning, so instead of a harsh light streaming in, we get a soft glow. Once you have figured out the spot and time, remember it. And do the picture there every year. If the setting stays the same, the variety will be in how your kids are changing. If you like, you can always use the same chair. I prefer putting a white tablecloth over the chair to make it less important.

Turn off your camera’s flash. Now, before they are completely ready, start snapping away. Of course it’s nice to get cooperation, but as long as the kids are being themselves, it’s a neat picture.

You don’t have to decide whether you want to shoot in color or black and white. I love the black and white but you can shoot the pictures in color even if you decide to print them in black and white. Take a look at these shots of my own kids. Over the years it is fun to see the goofy stages as well as the adolescent ones and even grumpy ones. If you don’t worry about making a “proper” picture, and just record the era, you will find you’ve created a real treasure. And don’t forget to celebrate each and every quirky phase!

Annual_photo_aAnnual_photo_bAnnual_photo_cAnnual_photo_dAnnual_photo_eAnnual_photo_eeAnnual_photo_f

Filed under 09 September, Keepsakes, Kids, Traditions | No Comments »

IDEA 8: TO DO LIST

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You may wonder why you need a To Do list if you already have a great day planner or calendar. But if you are like me, you have found that you really do need something more. I found that I had so many lists going on in my head and it seemed there was just no perfect way to organize them, so I designed my own solution. What I wanted was to have at my fingertips the ability to begin a variety of lists. There were things that needed to be done today, and then more things that needed to be done eventually. In between, there were things, not for today but by Friday, etc, you get the picture.

So I designed a nice, clean “To DO” list and now I’m sharing it with you so you can print out as many as makes you happy. At the top it says To Do: and a blank. You can print out seven of these and fill the blank with each day of the week. Or you can print out one that says today’s name at the top and one that says “By the weekend”. For your more lofty ideas you can put “Eventually” in the blank, or even “Before I die”. You can also use the heading of an event, like “Party” or “Thanksgiving”.

I’m giving you a choice of two sizes. One is a full page [Large To Do List] and the other is half size which will be printed two to a page, and can be cut apart [Small To Do List]. It’s my gift to you, print as many as you like. List to your heart’s content. And hopefully it will make you the organized Domestic Goddess you have always known you could be!

By the way, because technology is mysterious, and computers and printers vary, there is a chance that the above documents aren’t centered when printed. Try printing the Small To Do List above. If the center cut line is NOT in the center of the page, here are two more for you to try: [Large To Do List Alt] and [Small To Do List Alt]. Happy listing, and let me know how they came out!


Filed under 09 September, Home, Organization | 2 Comments »

IDEA 7: MONDAY BREAKFAST

Monday_breakfast


This is one my kids taught me. One Sunday night my daughter was mourning the end of the weekend. She just wanted something to look forward to. “Can you make us ‘special breakfast’?” she asked me. When I told her I could, it helped her put a close to the day. She went to bed happy that Monday morning we would have “special breakfast”.

The key here was something speedy yet impressive. (Save the pancakes or waffles for the weekends when you don’t mind monitoring a pan for an eternity). In order to have time I only set my alarm about 15 minutes earlier than usual. The smell of the bacon got the kids up lickety-split. And they were delighted and thrilled to have a special breakfast all set out for them. It wasn’t a big deal: Orange juice, scrambled eggs (which really takes nano-seconds) and toast, and bacon. And a place all set for them with a place-mat and napkin.

Thus was born Monday Breakfast. We don’t do it every Monday, in fact it’s about once a month. On all the other school days we are making lunches and grabbing toast or cereal or a bagel and yogurt. But about one Monday a month my kids get off to school with a belly full. And the benefit lasts all month.

Filed under 09 September, Food, Kids, Traditions | 1 Comment »

IDEA 6: LUNCH BOX LOVE

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For young children the first day of school can be very exciting. It can also be very scary. Or maybe most common, a little of both. If you pack your child a lunch, slip a photo of you, your family or a favorite pet inside on top of the sandwich. When I did this in my kindergartner’s lunch box the report came back to me that he shouted “What’s this doing in here?!” But I know he loved it.

OK, maybe I was doing it for me!

Filed under 08 August, Food, Kids, Milestones | 1 Comment »

IDEA 5: SAVING PRIVATE PLACES

ENTRE

Once kids realize they can, it seems they begin to put signs on their bedroom doors. We live in an old house with painted woodwork, and taping things to these painted surfaces usually results in a large square chunk of paint coming off with the tape.

One day I repainted all the doors and installed a simple brass hook, right in the middle, on the outside (hall side) of the kids’ doors about 14 inches from the top. Then I made little two-sided signs that (in fun ways) said to come in on one side and keep out on the other. I had the signs laminated and punched at the copy shop, and strung a ribbon through. The sign hangs neatly on the hook. Now the kids can post their wishes depending on their mood. And no more worry about ruined paint!

VAMOOSE

Filed under 08 August, Home, Kids, Projects | No Comments »

IDEA 4: KID ART CALENDAR

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Kids produce an amazing amount of art. You love, love, love it. But you can also get stressed out by it. How do you decide how much and how long to keep it? Here’s what we do:

We have a dedicated drawer, but if you don’t have that, one of those big paper envelopes from the office supply or paper portfolio from the craft store will do just fine.

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All year long, as the kid art comes home, display it if you like, but either right away or when you are done displaying it, put it in the big envelope. Keep as much as you want. At the end of the year go through all the art (with your kids, if they are old enough). Pick out the 12 best things, doing your best to represent each child equally. Now, download this large 2011 calendar. Once you download the calendar to your desktop, you can go online to FedEx Kinkos and upload to their site, print the pages in black and white on 11″ x 17″ card stock, and pick up your calendar pages at the shop. (For 8 1/2″ by 11″ size, download and print this small 2011 calendar). At the copy shop, color copy each piece of kid art onto 11” x 17” card stock (or of course, 8 1/2″ x 11″ card stock if you are making the small calendar). For the cover, print a blow-up of a photo of the kids.

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Now stack the pages starting with the cover picture and the “January” art back to back. Remember, the art will be positioned upside down so you can “flip” the calendar open.

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Once you have made the whole stack with calendar pages and artwork, use a hole punch to punch six holes along the “spine” of the calendar, in 1” from each edge and spacing holes every three inches.

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For the small calendar, punch just three holes, with a three-hole punch if you have one. Punch a single hole centered at the top of the other edge of the pages for a hanging hole. Now, just slip six 3/4” binder rings through the holes (for the small size, three rings) and your calendar is ready for service!

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By the way, if you really have one of those engineer’s brains, you can have the copy shop print the calendar pages and art on opposite sides of the same card stock. But it helps to do it this way the first time so you have a template for how things need to be positioned.

We always make two copies of the calendar, one for our house and one for the Grandparents. As far as the big portfolio of art, you can either a) Empty it and start clean for next year, b) Keep the originals of the best 12, or c) Keep it all, put the year on the portfolio and buy a new one for next year. Art proliferation solved!

Filed under 08 August, Home, Keepsakes, Kids, Organization, Projects, Twin Cities Live | 1 Comment »

IDEA 3: WHAT’S IN HERE

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When my kids were small, I wanted a way for them to learn to put their clothes in their drawers. I really  didn’t want to write on the furniture, so I came up with this very simple idea.

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Using round colored stickers from the office supply store, I cut simple shapes of a top, pants, socks, underwear, and pajamas, and simply stuck them on the drawer knobs, or flat fronts, (depending on the furniture style).

The system worked, was simple and graphic, and when the kids outgrew the need, it was a cinch to peel the labels back off.

Dresser_5_drawers

Filed under 07 July, Home, Kids, Organization, Twin Cities Live | No Comments »

IDEA 2: LAUNDRY DECODED

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Where there is family, there is laundry. And for some reason, one person (you) seems to always end up having to deal with it. This system is simple enough so that eventually, any family member can handle it. (Unfortunately you DO have to wait till they can walk).

Buy one laundry basket for each family member and one for “house”. Permanently mark each basket with a person’s name, or use different color baskets. We made little signs and had them laminated at the copy shop, then simply “threaded” them in the basket’s holes. Now, when laundry comes out of the dryer, it gets folded and put in the correct basket. This can be a family chore or it can be done by the family’s “laundry expert”.

Once the clean clothes are in the baskets, the laundry expert washes her hands of them, so to speak. Each person is in charge of their basket. If your family is like ours, the baskets never leave the laundry room. Most people (who shall remain nameless) simply use their basket like a mini dresser so they never actually have to put anything away. But this matters not to you. If they want to go to the basement to change clothes, who cares? The laundry remains miraculously organized.

Filed under 07 July, Home, Kids, Organization | No Comments »

IDEA 1: SOLVING SUPPER

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No matter how many fabulous cookbooks there are in the world, it seems the best ideas for that elusive problem called supper come from magazines. I went for years tearing out pages and stuffing them in a fat folder. When I’d look for a recipe it seemed like it was always the one at the bottom, so I’d spend half my precious time looking for it. I tried three-hole punching the pages, but alas the paper is just too thin to hold up to page turns.

One day I took my favorite pages and printed them out on card stock paper. If you are not inclined to spend an evening scanning and printing, drop them off at the copy shop. Once the recipes (one each page) are on the card stock, three-hole punch them and put them in a binder. You can also purchase section dividers for organization. My binder has become the most used book in the kitchen. And of course it expanded to include more than supper. My categories are: Supper, Pasta, Pizza, Side, Soup, Sandwich, Bread, Sweet. But you can choose whatever works for what you have collected.

Filed under 07 July, Food, Organization, Projects | 2 Comments »

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