Saturday, November 2, 2013

Packing list

As the holiday's quickly approach and I start to plan and pack for our upcoming travels I thought it would be nice to post a quick and easy way I've cut my packing problems down.

Shortly after having Garrison I was packing our bags as we were heading out to visit family. I was getting so frustrated because I was trying to juggle the demands of a newborn while trying to go over our daily routines so I wouldn't forget to pack something.  In my frustration, I came up with a system that I've now used for years and it's been such a lifesaver.

I created a list with each of my children's names on top.  Then, depending on the season I'm packing for, I list everything they'll need in their suitcases- from underwear and shirts to snow pants and swimming trunks.  I then printed it off, stored it in a sheet protector and filed it away where I'll be able to find it easily the next time I need to pack.

The nice thing about storing it in a sheet protector is that I can use a dry erase marker to cross off the items as I put them into the suitcase.  When the list has been completed I simply wipe it off and put it away.  Life saver!  I'm telling you.

I've posted pictures of my lists below.  I've created two different ones for my family- a winter one and summer one.  Yours may be different.  Maybe you family camps a lot or travels overseas and could use a list that has spots for passports or sleeping bags.  The nice thing about the list is you can create it to fit your families traveling needs.

I hope this helps cut down the time and stress of packing.  Safe travels!


*click on picture to take a closer look

* side note- my lists need to updated badly so ignore the name baby.  At the time I created these we hadn't picked a name for our son and I knew we'd be traveling shortly after his birth (like 3 days actually.)


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Happy Birthday, Cade

Happy 1st Birthday, Cade!

We've been blessed by this little guy.

His smile is contagious.

His hugs are irresistible.

His presence is a delight.

He's a laid-back, go-with-the-flow kid who can eat with a fork, sleep through the night, drink from a sippy cup, wave and say "hi" and "bye," walk, climb and lots of other fun things.

But more importantly...

He is ours.

He is loved!

He is one!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Happy Birthday, Josiah

Happy 4th Birthday, Josiah!

Josiah wanted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles party this year.  So last night we had some of our family over to celebrate.  (We also kind of sort of celebrated Cade's birthday too.  Who turns 1 next Tuesday.  He got to open presents.  His cake and decorations will come next week.)

My attempt at making TMNT balloons.

"The Ooze"
 aka. lemon lime kool-aid 

I decided to make Josiah's cake this year.  It took me 3 hours!!!
Raphael came out pink and not red- Josiah, thankfully, didn't care.

 "Ok!  Everyone look at me now."  
Yep, that's what he said.

 What the table looked like when he came down for breakfast this morning.

Josiah also got to tag along with Garrison and his class as they went to the Superior Fire Station this morning.  (I was a chaperon and driver.)  He had a lot of fun (all the kids did.)  What a way to start out your birthday!
 
*click on the picture and look at the way Garrison is standing.  I think it's so cute.

Monday, September 16, 2013

My little helper


Josiah loves helping me cook.  Yesterday when he came in to the kitchen and saw that I was using a rolling pin he ran to get a chair.  We were making little pizza crusts for Garrisons school lunches.

Garrison goes to school everyday, but his school only offers hot lunch two days a week.  So that leaves me 3 days of racking my brain trying to come up with cold lunch ideas.  The other day, I came upon this website through pinterest and found a recipe for making pizza lunchables.  (I already make regular ham, cheese and cracker lunchables so I was super excited to find this.)  Talk about a hit with my boys.  They had to try them for supper last night and Josiah is wanting them for lunch again today.  I think I'll be making more of these soon.  Next time I'm going to double or triple what I just made so that I can actually freeze some and save them for future lunches.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

A few treasures

I was cleaning out a cupboard and found these little treasures of Thomas and myself as kids.  Don't they look like 3 other little cuties in our lives?!

Myself





Thomas

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Kindergarten

Garrison started kindergarten on Tuesday.  I thought it would fun to "interview" him beforehand to ask him about his favorite things.  I hope to keep this up every year, along with a picture of him holding a sign of the grade he is entering.

Garrison's Favorite:
Food- Chicken Alfredo
Color(s)- Yellow, red, blue and black
Animal- Duck
TV show- Curious George
Movie- Cars
Restaurant- McDonald's
Book- Batman
Bible Story- Jonah and the whale
Best Friend- Josh
What do you want to be when you grow up- Firefighter



Garrison 5 1/2 years old
Josiah turning 4 in 3 weeks
Cade 11 months
Aza 8 years old

Josiah was feeling a little left out so I "interviewed" him as well.

Josiah's Favorite:
Food- Chocolate milk and apples
Color- Green
Animal- Giraffe
TV show- Curious George
Movie- Batman (cartoon movie)
Restaurant- Burger King
Book- Magic School Bus books
Bible Story- Daniel and the lions den
What do you want to be when you grow up- Firefighter and race car driver