I LOVE me a plan!

Don't you??!! Nothing makes me feel better than having a plan, a system, something to follow. It makes me feel much more organized and on top of things :) However, as wonderful as I am at coming up with these fantastic plans of mine, keeping them up is quite a different story. That is why I decided to post some of our most successful "systems" with the hope that this will give me some accountability. If I post I am doing something on my blog I better actually be doing it, right? :)



Even though shes only 4, one of the biggest arguments I have with Skylar is what she's going to wear :) She has a very, um...., distinct sense of style that isn't always weather or season appropriate. Was that a nice enough way of saying it? :) I have started picking out 5 outfits a week and putting them in this sweater organizer. On Sunday nights I fill it up, and then every morning Skylar gets to choose what outfit she wears. It has been great so far, and has cut out SO much contention. It all just goes back to letting them have choices, but only with options that are acceptable to you! :) I am no parenting expert, but it works for us!



FOOD! Is it just our house or are you always talking about food?! My kids are always asking me what they can eat, whining that they are hungry, wanting treats, etc. I was starting to get really frustrated so we started doing these snack boxes. Every night before the girls go to bed I fill up their snack boxes with food for the next day. An example would be a banana, yogurt, string cheese, fruit snack, pretzels, celery sticks, and a 100 calorie pack of ding dongs. The rules are the kids can eat whatever they want, whenever they want, but when the food is gone it is GONE and they don't get anymore. This has worked out surprisingly well. I have been impressed with how they will save the yummiest "treats" for later in the day, and how much they enjoy having options to pick from. Anytime they are hungry they just go to their snackboxes and have at it. One more source of contention eliminated! :)



Finally this is our book of activities! I have started compiling different activities for different themes, and I usually try to pick a theme a week to focus on. Inside the binder I have sheet protectors that are labeled with that weeks theme. Things included are fun recipes, matching games, coloring pages, crafts, songs and poems. I started doing this right after I had Kendall so I am getting a good amount of themes. My goal is to have 40 different themes with activities, then I can add some if I have time, but if not our week will already have some fun things planned. This has been a great resource for me, and allows me to PLAN ways to do fun things with my kids :)

Well, there you have it!! These are probably really basic things, but these systems have sure made our house a more fun and peaceful place to be!