MY NEW GAME PLAN- FREE Housework/Meal Planning Printable

I am the queen of the laundry mountain.

The moment I feel like I'm on top of laundry...

I realize I completely ignored everything else I needed to do

and the world is completely out of control. It's a vicious cycle!

Some days I feel like I have to choose between clothed fed children and a clean house.

I'm a very good list maker...not so much a schedule follower!

But I knew that I needed a new game plan if I was going to be able to tackle working part time.. being a stay at home mom.. a blogger.. a graphic designer.. the list goes on.

I knew that I needed to write out what I needed to do every day so

that it wouldn't get out of control..but also set it up to be doable!

So here is the printable I created for my daily life! I'll print one for each day.

The daily chores are divided up into time frames.. NOT set times.

because that just won't work for me. I can't have my schedule put out hour by hour...

BUT I did put a timeline so that I could plug in different time sensitive things like appointments, play dates or deadlines for each day (It's marked for 5AM-9PM)

(We also have a different page with set times ben and I have time to both work.

whether it's here or at the office. It's amazing how much more work you can get

done in a couple hours when you have no distractions.)

I knew that I wanted to reduce the stress...and by portioning out the daily chores

and having a set area for my to-do-list and notes.. it would help me not have it all

jumbled in my head, looming over me or thinking I had to do it all at once.

There's a spot for marking what you are having for lunch and dinner.

I even created an area to remind myself to drink water! Healthy mind healthy body!

In the To-Do-List area I will usually plug in one of the following when

I think they are needed!---monday-scrub bathroom tub/toilet. tuesday: mop floors.

wednesday: windex windows. thursday: clean fridge/microwave. etc..

I might have put a little motivational wording at the top for myself. ;)

You can download My Daily Schedule HERE.

 And because figuring out what's for dinner can be another added stress...

I made up a calendar to fill in what I'm making for dinner!

You can download the Monthly Meal Schedule HERE.

I'm just starting this new routine..but so far it has been amazing!

It was so funny..one of the days ben and I both got up and did our morning

routine we felt so ready for the day and on top of the house stuff!

Ben: "It's kinda stupid but it feels like you conquered the world!" haha...

I felt the same way. :)

And when you aren't stressing about your crazy messy house and

what to feed your family for dinner...

you can enjoy moments with your family! 

I've heard that your children sense your stress...

This is SOO TRUE.

When we moved it was intense trying to get all unpacked

and handle all the work load we had...

The girls were acting up more and extra "wild"...

We tried to keep it as routine as possible but there was a

lot of things going on to disrupt the 'normal.'

They totally sensed our stress and reacted to it.

Ben and I made a conscience decision to take moments each day

to not worry about all the work we had to do and just have fun with them..

and to do some 'bigger' family adventure each week.

(they are easy to please at this age.. a garage sale where they can buy

a 25 cent toy is exciting...and the park is guaranteed fun.)

I think every mom needs a reminder that a messy house is completely acceptable.

If you have kids.. even just one.. life gets busy! It's more than just taking care of you now.

 But I think I've felt more and more capable with each baby I have had.. You learn how to handle the "chaos" a little bit more each time... and probably a part of that is you realize that it's fine if everything is crazy for a while. Toys will be covering your floor for most of the day..you will find the hand towel soaked and on the bathroom floor.... the cup of pretzels you gave your toddler might be found in throughout the toy bin... BUT. that's ok. My goal of less stress is to tackle certain areas that lead to making me overwhelmed if neglected!

Some days will be crazy still..and the house will go out of control..

but I'm hoping those days will be FEWER.. with this plan. ;)

 Try this new strategy with me!

I'm going to see how it goes and maybe make up updated printable if needed.

Hope you are having a great monday!

FREE PRINTABLE- Movie Themed Teacher Gift Tag

Most of my popular printables this time of year... are ones for teachers!

I sell a variety in my shop. But I thought it might be fun to offer a FREE one that I just created for a client. She planned a whole week to celebrate the teachers at their

school. It was a Hollywood Theme based off of one of the printables she saw in my shop already. LOVEDD IT! We need to celebrate our teachers more often.

I hope that this post inspires you to do the same at your school.

Even if it's just one of the days!

Here's the flyer we made up to put in all the teachers' boxes:

 Here's my free teacher printable for you!

Please Go make your teachers feel special!

FREE MOVIE THEME TEACHER TAG PRINTABLE-

Winner of a PICTURE PEFECT YEAR

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

Click the above link to download the full page pdf. Print, cut and attach to a gift.

You could do a movie theatre gift card or a bag of popcorn/candy!

I also offer a customized one...

"Thanks for a PICTURE PERFECT Year! Love, _____"

One of my top teacher themed sellers. I add your text.

I also have a (write in your own name) immediate download version of that one too.

Here are some more of the tags my

client is gifting to her teachers each day!

Pair these tags with STARBURSTS for a cute gift!

Immediate Download - $5

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

I think a single soda or a cute 6 pack of mini sodas

would be perfect with this tag!

IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD- $5

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

These would be cute attached to a container or bag of popcorn!

You could make it fancy with white chocolate or

go real crazy by gifting a variety of flavors! ;)

IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD - $5

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

I did a fun post on yummy popcorn recipes while

I was doing party prep for my girls' Vintage Circus Birthday Party

I originally created all of these for teacher gifts...

but they would be perfect for a Movie themed party,

movie night with friends or an Oscars Party!

Baby Shower for my Sister-In-Law

While I was in Atlanta, I teamed up with my Sister, Valerie(of BLANQI), and My Sister-In-Law, Mary, to throw a Baby Shower Brunch for my little brother's wife Shanna!

I was so thankful to be able to come into town to help throw the shower for her!

It is Shanna's first baby and we wanted to make it extra special for her.

Mary and I had so much fun shopping at target and the grocery store to pull

everything together the day before! Valerie hosted the party at her

house and had made an Aldi's run the day before.

We all worked to make it come together!

left photo: Mary and I in Target.:)

right photo: Micah in his pj's the morning of the shower...

wake up sleepy head..time to celebrate a mama!

We had the Baby Shower Brunch at 10:30 am on a Saturday.

We might have "taste tested" some a lot of the donuts the day before the shower...

(my mom made those cute baby booties below!! eek. adorable.)

Mary used a pack of tissue paper of each color (from target) to make the pom poms!

I found flowers at the grocery store and the colors were too pretty to pass up.

On the table we used linens my mom brought with her from Charlotte.

Some of them were family heirlooms that we were so excited to actually use!

I made up favors and we were lucky enough to have the easter candy

at target match our colors perfectly!

It was fun seeing everything come together. :)

We served some yummy sweet and savory options at the party.

We had donuts, cinnamon rolls, blueberry muffins, prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe, nutella croissants and a few other yummy treats. I love the little toppers my sister had found at marshalls..little animals! they ended up matching the colors of the party perfectly.

If you want to make the most amazing Sausage and Egg Strata of your life this is it!

It disappears every time I make it. (We have it every year for Christmas Morning.)

We offered juice, coffee, milk and ice water.

One of my favorite touches on the table-----the parfaits!

(all from aldi's.. yogurt, granola cereal and strawberries)

We used cute mason jars leftover from Mary's Wedding.

everything tastes yummier in a mason jar ;)

I couldn't resist making up some treat bag tags as favors!

If you would like to use these at your Baby Shower I added a listing to my shop. I can customize them with your mama(or couples) name and date of the baby shower.

"Thanks for Popping By!" Treat Bag Tag - Printable PDF

A Baby Shower can't be complete without some cut throat baby shower games!

I created a printable with a fun 'Baby Animal' Game...

and also a 'Prayers for Baby' Card.

If you would like to buy my baby shower printable you can get them in my shop!

The listing includes both of the above printables. Print as many as you need!

Baby Shower Game & Activity - Printable PDF

We played a game during the present time as well...

We had everyone write on the back of their 'baby animal' game

card 5 baby things shanna might get!

We had a handful of prizes to give..most of them candles. (everyone loves candles.)

I love babies and baby showers. :)

St. Patrick's Day Party - DIY Details

The wee bit of Irish in me loves this post!!

I made up a fun DIY backdrop idea and

printables for a St. Patrick's Day Celebration!

We took these photos in their play room one morning after they woke up.

My girls of course loved the idea of a taking pictures

and eating cupcakes and skittles for breakfast.

I'm excited to share some easy DIY touches for a St. Patrick's Day party..

(or a rainbow themed party!)

All the fun Details and links to printables are below!

I wanted to make up a new St. Patrick's Day Treat Bag Tag this

year to gift to our friends and family!

Rainbow Seeds! Fill snack size bags with skittles, staple tag to top

and you have a fun themed goodie bag.

Rainbow Seeds Printable PDF - $10

DIY CLOUD AND RAINBOW BACKDROP

I wanted to do a rainbow backdrop for our little St. Patrick's Day party table...

I used the batting material clouds I made for their Storybook princess party.

I picked out my rainbow colored fabrics at Joanns.

I bought 6 inches of each and then cut and ripped each in half.

I then tied them to a leftover curtain rod I had. (and hung it on the wall by resting it on two nails.)

I made up a batch of cookie bars...

used a little store bought bag of frosting to pipe a design

and added some sprinkles!

Easy homemade treat. I enjoyed eating this photo prop...

I used a handful of little shamrock foam stickers to sprinkle around the table!

I made up a St. Patrick's Day Print to frame in one of my IKEA Frames.

I'll probably move it to the girls shelf in their play area.

I love the idea of switching out prints for each Holiday.

Right now they have the Valentine's Day ones I made up on their shelf!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Print - Printable PDF $8

I love garlands and banners!
So I of course I had to make up a St. Patrick's Day one!
I like to string them up across our piano..or our mantel.
Happy St. Patrick's Day Banner - Printable PDF $8

Cupcakes!
Bake or pick up a batch from your bakery and top with these cute Toppers!
My girls always love cupcake toppers... We made up some cute glittery shamrock toppers by using a handful of foam shamrock stickers from Joanns.
(the kind with the paper you peel off on the back) 
St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Toppers - Printable PDF $10

pretty, festive and fun!

Sienna was being so patient as I took photos of the cupcakes.

torture for a toddler. ;)

Sienna loves skittles.
Like her mama.
I teach her to eat them slow and one at a time.
We count them. :)
(The little yellow bowls are from Marshalls! It was a 4 pack for $7 or so.)

Yum.

Love cookie bars....

LOVE my girls and their silly poses. ;)

Hope you got some ideas for your own St. Patrick's Day!

My sophie's new year resolution was "to celebrate more"....

so we are going all out on each holiday in our house. ;)

Starting to decorate for Halloween...

It's starting to look like

Halloween at our House!

(Well...a cute, not so spooky, more fun and bright Halloween ;)

I have been adding little touches around the place..

still a few things I'm working on before bambino #3 makes it's appearance!

(like hanging those pictures above the fireplace...

it'll happen!.. eventually: that'll be it's own post!)

I'm not a fan of the mushy messy part of carving pumpkins...

so this year we painted pumpkins instead!

I made up a little garland for over the piano.. "peek a boo!"

and a little print to frame that says "keep calm and eat candy."

A little motivation for october days. :)

If you want to grab up the banner and sign printables..

I just added them to my shop!

"PEEK A BOO!" Banner - $5

Keep Calm and Eat Candy Print - $3

Here's some phone shots of the girls and

I painting one night after dinner!

They loved it. :) I like how they mixed together the paints I gave them 

(leftover pink, yellow and blue acrylic paints from their party)

and they ended up almost matching our wall color! ;)

I'm working on the mantel still..I have a bunch of leftover burlap I'm thinking of making another garland with and layer it up cute with the one I already made.

Nesting here..... ;)

Fall Treat Bag Tags- "Happy Fall Y'all!"

I'm adding some more fun treat bag tag printables to my Etsy Shop!

Happy Fall Y'all Treat Bag Tag Printables

I love Fall.. and these are the perfect touch for

gift giving this season without the spook.

I had a client fill these with scarecrow crunch. I found a recipe via Pinterest here

I think I'll load up some little ziplock snack bags with some buckeyes we made..

and add these tags to them to gift to some neighbors and friends!

Happy Fall Y'all! ;)

Monster Bash! (Toddler Friendly Halloween Party)

So I might have made up a Halloween Party Invitation

during their nap time today......

I am not a fan of 'scary' Halloween..

but like making it fun and playful for my girls.

Ben wants an excuse to use our fire pit.

And the girls like any party where they can dress up and adopt a monster.

More details soon. :)

I should go.. Sophie just woke up from her nap and came and

curled up on the suitcase in the middle of my family

room (still there from our trip this weekend)....
I think she is back asleep..

mom duties call.

(I made up fake location/rsvp details for privacy.)

Sophie & Sienna's Vintage Circus Birthday Party

I'm so excited to share Sophie and Sienna's Vintage Circus Birthday Party!!

It was really fun creating this..full of DIY projects and special details.

I love my girls so much.. and I love making their day extra special.

When they walked into the space before their party, they squealedddddd and

ran arounddd cheering "partyyy dayyy party dayyy!"

I love it. I love them.

WARNING: PHOTO OVERLOAD. (this is edited down...)

Happy to share the details of their party..

Enjoy looking around and thanks for visiting. :)

It all started with the Invitation..

I created it in photoshop..and added some fun extra details to make it special!

(invite details in post linked above)

Planning A Dessert Table is so fun!

DETAILS:

I used dishes and white linens that I already owned.

I purchased burlap from Hobby Lobby's clearance bin for CHEAP

because it had a couple holes...Perfect as a table runner!

upside IKEA vases to hold my lollipop towers.

(foam cones from hobby lobby spray painted yellow with ribbon hot glued around bottom)

I chose treats that my girls love. I cooked NOTHING but the popcorn.

My friend Kate and I made a variety of Homemade Popcorn recipes. (recipes linked below)

We are both pregnant. and we enjoyed taste testing the variety..

and so did the husbands who stopped over after their fantasy football draft. ;)

I ordered 2 large balloons from Shop Sweet lulu.

The grocery store balloon girl didn't want to blow them up very big.. love them anyways!

I had the S letter for the past year (From JoAnns) and spray painted yellow the night before.

The Fabric Backdrop is my favorite part.

I bought the CHEAP fabric that is used for linings.. 2 or so bucks a yard..

and then used a coupon. Just tore 1-2 inch pieces and tied them to an old curtain rod I had.

Draped some leftover fabric over the top to cover the rod and mimic a circus tent

I created printables in Photoshop to label the different treats.

(not all. I feel silly labeling things that are kinda obvious..)

LOVED making the Lion Cupcakes with the Pipe Cleaner Rings of fire!

I did a lot of pricing out of the animals. Ended up getting a huge pack from Party City for $9.99

(hubby twisted the red and yellow pipe cleaners together one night. nice job babe.)

I made some strongman dumbells with vintage candy sticks from Party City and Large Marshmallows. The girls LOVED them. (they only wanted the marshmallows. haha)

And because I know my girls love marshmallows..

I put out a bowl of Circus Train Smoke.. aka mini marshmallows. :)

The popcorn jars I've collected over the years. all for a bargain.

(stores like tjmaxx or ollie's or big lots)

I put out mini popcorn containers from Oriental Trading..

letting guests load up on their favorites! I personally LOVED the white chocolate.

with cute sprinkles. :) (Check out this popcorn post for these and more recipes!)

Yellow cups were (from party city) for scooping the popcorn..but then I ended up grabbing shovels off the buckets (game area) and they worked better!

A veryyyy talented friend of mine, Colleen, baked up some GORGEOUS and

lovely Circus Sugar Cookies. She is amazing and recently started her own blog! Sugar Aunts.

Colleen shares the same love for motherhood, party planning and DIY projects!

You should check her and her sister's blog out..tell her I say hi. :)

I filled up a silverware caddy/container from target with candy. 

Everyone wants a Prize at the Circus!

DETAILS:

I have always wanted to draw a big design on a chalkboard..

By no means are the stripes lined up right..but I love it! haha.

We had grabbed up 2 of these huge ones from the "Trash" (One is in our playroom)

I found that amazing frame at Hobby Lobby half off.. had to grab it.

The basket (from my bathroom shelf) is filled with flowers from Trader Joes

(love their selection and price!)

The Canvas Photo is from Photo-Canvas.com and I LOVE how it turned out.

We did a review and giveaway with them a while back..

I printed out another matching photo and framed in one of our IKEA frames from the girls' room.. propped up with frame holders that were dusty in the basement.

I created Fun Containers for the prizes using Dollar Store animals and Plastic Containers.

I just hot glued the animals to the lids..and spray painted them yellow!

(Plan on using in their play room for small toys/craft supplies)

(The prizes were found at different places.. Oriental Trading, Dollar Store, Party City..)

I created in Photoshop some fun treat bag tag printables for the favors.

(Clown Noses from Oriental Trading..bouncy balls from Target)

(Filled Dollar store Snack size ziploc bags with different things and stapled the treat bags to them.)

I like filling some with toys for the bigger kids..

and then the Zoo Cookies for the little ones. (from Bottom Dollar-amazing cookies!! and so cute. ;)

A Circus needs a Tent..

and Fun Things to do!

DETAILS-

I have created a streamer canopy for a few events.. But I love how much easier and quicker this version comes together. I used 2 colors of Plastic Table Cloth Rolls bought at Party City.

You could DEFINITELY get away with just 1.. but I wanted the alternating colors.. and also used them for the tables. (I have a ton leftover..)

I created a Cardboard Ticket Booth out of free boxes from our Dollar Tree..

the girls loved handing out the tickets to their guests! (from party city)

Because of the recent Big Girl room Makeover from Ikea.. we had a ton of HUGE boxes..

So I used one of them to create a photo cut out. one of my favorite things from the entire party!

I pencil drew a design..then filled in with acrylic paint from JoAnns.

I think the adults liked this almost as much as the kids. Excuse my lion..he is a little pudgy. ;)

We had face painting..and Tattoos.. they were a HIT.

We also had bucket & cup toss games and a bounce house that a friend let me borrow!

I would like to thank the bounce house for the 3.5 hour nap my girls took after the party.

Let them eat Cake! and cry!

DETAILS-

Sienna was not a fan of everyone looking and singing to her on this occasion..

She got so shy she cried! And of course the husband is saying "take photos this will be funny later!".......... haha. She ended up calming down once she blew the candles out.

Cake makes everything better. and presents. :)

They were blessed with so many gifts from their sweet friends!

The flowers on the eating tables were put in diy rope vases..

Hot glued rope from Hobby Lobby to Dollar store cups. Circus tent rope..get it?..get it?

The tall candles are from Shop Sweet LuLu and I LOVEEEE them.

Sweet little Cakes from our Giant Eagle Bakery... Delish. $7.. awesome.

Back to Basics! Pizza and drinks.

DETAILS-

I usually offer a bigger spread when it comes to the food..

But I wanted to go simple and easy. and everyone loves pizza!

I know a lot of people do hot dogs for a circus party..but I am one of those crazy moms who cuts up hot dogs into tiny tiny tiny pieces before my kids can eat it...so..not so fun.

I found those two stackable drink containers at target for $2.35 or something crazy like that!

Filled them with fruit punch and lemonade.

We also had a big bowl full of ice and soda/water bottles.

Cups from Party City. Plates from Target. Straws from Shop Sweet LuLu.

Striped Tray I already owned..from Target.

We took some photos the other day in the back yard to use for thank you cards..

Going to make something up in photoshop with space for them to color. :)

The girls wore their target ballet outfits..(gifted from the Easter Bunny)

and for the photos they put on their tulle tutus that I made (tutorial here)

Thanks for checking out My Girls' Vintage Circus Birthday Party!

It was really fun putting it together..and even more fun seeing the smiles on my girls' faces.

Sienna asked the next day if we could have another party day.

I told her 365 days and Yes. we will party it up. ;)

The actual party we have will be having next is when we welcome

this little baby #3 to the family in november!!