Disney Countdown Has Begun

Even though we've known we're going to Disney World for awhile, and no we didn't keep it a secret from the kids(are you kidding me) or do a surprise video, my kids have been exceptional in not asking every day when are we going. I think that's mainly because they don't really even know what Disney World is. What?!?! I know but to get them up to speed we have watched a ton of videos about it, but I still don't think they really know. Needless to say, It wouldn't be me if I didn't do some kind of Mickey Mouse theme countdown. So again, thanks to Pinterest, this is what I created. It started out as a project to do with my kids but, Whitney was sick in bed and once Wyatt saw me use my paper cutter, he became very fascinated and decided he would rather cut scrap paper than work on this project. So stapler in hand, I completed the countdown.

 Tada......

It was extremely easy to make.The example I modeled can be found here with directions - Disney Countdown Chain.

Which by the way, her blog is really awesome and I got a few other great ideas from her as well. Now, her chain was cuter because she added the white buttons on the red. Had I been a little more patient and or didn't have a sick daughter waking up, I probably would have added them. But for now this works. And my kids totally love it. They each have a turn every other day and Wyatt has already figured out which colors he'll be taking off on his days. Let the countdown begin.....

Warm Fuzzies Project

Lately, it seems my adorable little angel children of mine, have gone down the sibling rivalry road and.......they're making me crazy. They are constantly fighting about everything and Whitney is really pushing her boundaries with Wyatt. Sooooooo before I whip out the "get-along-shirt", I'm attempting another Pinterest parenting project. And that is the introduction of the Warm Fuzzies Jar. The idea is “Whenever we see the kids playing well together, are loving towards each other and/or something helpful or kind, we place a pom-pom ball in the jar because kind and helpful acts make people feel good, like a warm fuzzy. Once the jar is full we will treat the kids to something special that they decide on (with parental influence of course). Wyatt wants to go roller skating and Whitney wants to go to Chuck E Cheese. Tough call........NOT, Skating it is........as soon as we have a full jar. So the day we started this we put one warm fuzzy in and then 5 minutes later pulled a warm fuzzy out. Blah!!! However, we are working on the process and it really does seem to change how the kids behave and treat each other. Hopefully, I'll be posting pics soon of their reward!

Back to the Old School Paper Planner

I've had my wonderful, glorious IPhone for about 5 years now. Can't live without it! However, it has failed me in the calendar and to do list portion of my life. I put everything, and I mean everything in my phone. So I just knew my phone would help me in staying organized in every aspect of my life. Because I was NOT going to be the future old lady that refuses to become one with todays technology. So after 5 years, I've gone back to the old school paper planner and super love it. There's something satisfying about writing it down and crossing it off after completion. And the ability to see what wasn't accomplished this week and move it to next week. Also, love the fact that I can cover my weekly appointments, to do list, menu plan, and grocery list all on 2 pages. That would require 4 apps on my phone! So in my quest to find the perfect planner (for me) I have now gone through 3 and think I've finally found the one! Here's my review of the 3 I've tried.....

First Planner up is the Classic Life Planner by Erin Condren.

 

This is the planner that started it all. I happened onto her products via Pinterest (duh). Fell in love with her website, pre-ordered the planner(paid a fortune), and waited for eternity it to arrive in the mail. Finally arrived and I was disappointed quickly. This thing is huge! There's no way it could fit in my purse. Even though it's huge, I was going to overlook it, IF it was able to function for me. So I opened it up and fell in love with the durability, bright colors and the thought of it organizing my life! I was again disappointed by the daily pages. The area to write in is just too small and I didn't like how they have the day divided into 3 sections. And the notes section on the left is just small enough to write the abc's in. I mean really, who writes that small.  What I do love is the handy, dandy ruler that subs primarily as a place marker.

I purchased the Inspire planner. Loved all the inspirational quotes placed through out the planner. 

 

Loved the folder and "Ziploc" bag.

So I'm sorry Erin Condren. You may be right for some, but just not right for me. Onto the next planner....The next planner is the Home Executive From Picket Fence Publications. Her planner is WAY more affordable than Erin Condren, however not as high quality. I was attracted to this planner for the mere reason to be able to meal plan on the same page.

Calendar on the left and meal planning/grocery list on the right.

Love the recipes included on the monthly page. However, as you can see below, they are very hard to read. 

  Cute stickers included too.

The problem with this planner was that my to do list was merging with my daily agenda. So I knew it just wasn't the one. So as I'm discussing my planner addiction situation with my boss, she whipped out her handy dandy planner and the Angels started to sing......
After a couple weeks of use, the winning planner is.......... The Family Organizer from Amy Knapp

 

Isn't it glorious! Thank goodness the cover is cuter now. It used to be a little to "Momish".

 

What I love about this planner......I can do all of this on 2 pages!

1) To Do List is on the left

2) Daily Agenda on the right

3) Meal planning on the right

4) Perforated grocery list on the left.

 So simple yet so practical! Lesson Learned!

Getting Organized for Disney

I originally started out taking Disney notes in my daily planner. Once I started my 5th page of notes, I realized I really need to make sense of everything. Which parks had what rides, what do we want to ride, which restaurants do I make reservations for, and which park are they in, and on and on and on. So I thought not only do I need to re-write my notes but I need to color coordinate it as well. Duh! So I looked around on Pinterest ( oh Pinterest, how I love thee). And found this free printable and love it.

She has a ton of other free pintable's to go with it. But this is the only page I found that I was really interested in for my family. The Free printable can be found by clicking here.

Now if your super crazy obsessed with being organized there is an awesome set of pintable's available on etsy that look like this....

Way super cute and would love to have them BUT I refuse to pay $8.00 for 3 pages. But if you want, have at it. They are available by clicking here. She has lots of other super cute pintable's too.

Now, on to my next adventure......researching all the Disney World Apps and which are best for us.

Planning a Disney World Trip is like........

is like........giving birth. I've never tried to plan something so complicated, and at the same time trying to make it perfect! And when I say plan, I am NOT planning our days down to the minute. Just the overall day. We are not park hopping, since this is our first time and our kids are so young, we are focusing on one park per day.  I'm working with an amazing and friendly travel agent at www.themagicforless.com. She is amazing and VERY helpful!! Because I am a planner down to my very heart and soul, I WILL consider myself an expert by the time this trip of a lifetime is over.

A little background on why the trip, if you don't know me, then you don't know that my 12 year old nephew was diagnosed with Burkett's Lymphoma at the end of February this year. You can read his story here Prayers for Michael McClenny. By the grace of god, amazing doctors and being the incredible ninja that he is....he kicked that cancer's butt!!!! Make a Wish is sponsoring him and sending him and his family to DISNEY WORLD! We told Michael that wherever he decided to go that we would do whatever it takes to go with him.

That's brings me to today, planning for Disney World. The Flights are book and hotel reserved Pop Century Resort. Now it's time to make dinner reservations, which apparently are supposed to be made 180 days in advance. Really????? Well we are 57 days out. Yikes! Oh yea, did I mention this is our very FIRST trip to Disney World and I have no idea what I'm doing!!!!!

This is my journey, so I'll keep everyone posted on all the tips and tricks along the way. Please feel FREE to share any tips you have for us!

Central Market vs. Trader Joes

I've always been a big fan of Whole Foods, Central Market and Trader Joes. Fortunately for me Whole Foods is right down the street from where I live. Unfortunately, CM and TJ are a trek to downtown Ft. Worth. But well, worth the trip. So I was headed to TJ today when I made the exit and thought well there's Central Market. Maybe I should try it instead. Then I thought, I could go to TJ next and compare the two for my first blog post. So here goes....

When I got to the VERY crowded shopping strip mall that CM is located in, I was very surprised by the number of people at 12pm on a Thursday. Guess it's the lunch hour crowd. Once inside, I was a little intimidated by the maze layout of the store. Everywhere you turned it seemed like you were running into someone. In the produce section you can weigh and print your own labels for your produce and veggies. Ok.....why? Is this for convenience or just to be cool and different. Whatever, I jumped on the band wagon and did it. Very easy to use and that's when I found out how expensive their fruit is! Ayi Yi yi. Mind you I do buy 90% organic but still. Yikes, time to move on. So I traveled through the store and just couldn't find anything I wanted. Nor anything that I thought warranted paying more because it's here. Their prices are ridiculous!And anytime I did their were massive lines to wait in. I don't do lines people. And let me just say, I saw a ton of CM employees buzzing around, but not one said hi or asked me if I needed any help. So I got my fruit, chicken k bobs, hummus and said adios CM!

Less then 5 minutes down the road and a smaller shopping strip I walked into Heaven! TJ is so easy to get in and out of. The produce section is very well laid out, never once did I run into anyone and found everything I was looking for. In fact, while I was picking out my salads a very nice TJ employee asked me if I would like to try a Greek chicken sample. I love Greek food, so I said Yes. While trying this scrumpous sample she said isn't it great and it only takes 2 minutes to heat up. Ding, Ding, Ding....my hold up I'm a very busy working mom alarm just went off. 2 minutes?!,  count me in!! So I bought 2 packages!! As I finish strolling through the store I found myself adding a lot of stuff because of the very healthy organic food variety and very affordable prices. You can see in the pictures below.

So in my opinion, for whatever it's worth, the winner is..........clearly Trader Joe's. Amazing and very friendly staff, very well layed out store, great choices and even better prices.

You get way more for your money at Trader Joes!