Posts Tagged ‘back-to-school’

All Busy Households Need A Calendar.

16 Month Wall Calendar

Before having children, I used to carry an agenda in my purse, checking it often and keeping it updated, but that all changed once I was home with a baby. Regularly checking my pocket calendar became a difficult habit to keep, probably due to my calendar shuffling back and forth between bags – the disadvantage of trading in my purse for a diaper bag. And the problem multiplied as the number of children in my household did.  Accustomed to using a calendar, but no longer at work where I’d routinely check it before starting my workday; I was completely lost. I’d forget appointments; I’d even forget what day it was! But worst – hours, days, weeks – passed so quickly that I’d also forget many of the little day-to-day things that I desperately wanted to remember. Never having been good at keeping a journal, I wasn’t all that good at keeping up with baby books either. And the guilt was eating at me.

But one year, for my birthday, that all changed when my parents bought me a calendar. Not just any calendar; a More Time Moms calendar – one specifically created with mothers in mind.  The squares were really big, with lots of extra space for keeping track of telephone numbers and information. Out of practice at first, I found a great central spot for it. Eventually, I was checking it every day and suddenly, (more…)

What’s Robbing Your Time?

Moms can be the queens of letting other people  waste our time.  We will wait for technicians, we will be put on hold with a telemarketer, we will listen to countless ‘not making a difference’ sob stories, we will wait forever at the doctors office. How can we change this?

Awhile back I started to make sure I didn’t create a rigid schedule so the ripple effect of one appointment lasting longer than expected doesn’t ruin the rest of the appointments. So if I know I am going to wait, I bring a book or something to work on like this article to do while I am waiting.  Having a few little snacks like trail mix or almonds or a protein bar will keep me from going psycho and prevent me from feeling that I let another person rob me of time from my life. Touching base with people we haven’t spoken with in a while is a great way to make the waiting time worthwhile.  Let’s create a little magic in all these waiting moments. Shouldn’t everyday be at least slightly miraculous? As much as this might be difficult to read; be glad, enjoy the waiting, in this hectic world.  Sometimes the waiting is the peace we need to think, ponder, dream and imagine……as long as we don’t have to hurry to pick up the kids afterschool!

So because we are rushing and waiting and growing anxious because we have housework or officework or errands constantly to do, is there a way that we can ease the load a little bit?

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Stop, Drop and Roll, Moms

One day your life will flash before your eyes, make sure its worth watching –anonymous

Hmmm…Time management…..hahaha….have we mastered it yet?  Are we supposed to master it?

Seriously? Do we manage all of our time or is it better to structure our time enabling us to have the freedom to live life spontaneously. No, this is not going to be a piece on the art of organizing your time like preparing the kids lunches a week beforehand or laying out the kids clothing for the following school year!

What some of us have a hard time figuring out is how to live our lives as moms also for ourselves! Our worlds gladly revolve around our kids. It will for now, but with a caveat.  How about if we plan to grow with our kids, throwing a little adventure into everyday?

I am not necessarily talking about bungee jumping or skydiving but by all means go ahead.  I’ll be on EARTH drinking a margarita! Adventure could be nervously re-connecting with someone you haven’t spoken with in a long time or going on a canoe ride or snowshoeing through the woods on a white snowy day.  Or maybe it is trying some skate boarding with the kids. In my case, the adventure could be cooking in the kitchen!

Recently I was asked to write down my bucket list.  I struggled, but finally when I did write some things down; they were to see my kids grow up, see them married, have grandchildren etc.  But what were my own personal dreams?  Everything I put down was revolving around my children. Don’t get me wrong, my kids have made me grow in many ways…literally and figuratively.    So if I was to wave my own personal magic wand and nothing was impossible what would it be?

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Canada’s most organized mom conquers time-crunch crisis with new cookbook and apps that put fun – and nutrition – back into family meals!

family-meals-cookbook-app

Canadian Women in Time-Crunch Crisis

Recently, a report released by the Canadian Index of Wellbeing revealed that 20% of Canadians are experiencing the highest “time crunch” levels ever, and women are feeling the strain more acutely than men (Toronto Star, June 15, 2010). To the rescue comes Joanne Lalonde Hayes, creator of the hugely successful More Time Moms Family Organizer (now in its fifteenth year, with over 250,000 copies sold annually). Joanne has turned her prodigious organizational talents to creating a completely new and indispensable resource for time-stressed moms – More Time Moms Family Meals: Easy meal plans to help you keep your children healthy ($24.95; Publication Date: August 18, 2010).

This new cookbook will do for mealtimes what the Family Organizer does for family time, and it comes amidst growing concern about the food our kids are eating. Childhood obesity is reaching epidemic proportions in Canada, according to the Ontario Medical Association (National Post, June 24, 2010). Active Healthy Kids Canada Report 2010, the most comprehensive annual assessment of child and youth physical activity in Canada, states that “data from two regional studies shows that 15.2% of 2-5-year-olds are overweight and 6.3% are obese.” (Active Healthy Kids Canada is a charitable organization that advocates the importance of physical activity for children and youth.) Perhaps not surprisingly, given these statistics, a recent study at the University of Calgary that examined prepared baby and toddler foods available on supermarket shelves found that “of 186 different products, 63% [had] high level of sodium or too many calories from sugar.” (parentcentral.ca, June 28, 2010)

More Time Moms Family Meals helps moms to meet the hurdles of combating childhood obesity and ensure that kids are well nourished. The recipes and snacks feature food prepared from scratch, with fresh, wholesome ingredients. The menus adhere to the principles and food group servings of Canada’s Food Guide, with plenty of variety and much to please even the pickiest of eaters. A nutritional analysis for each of the six weekly menus ensures healthy meal planning, with a list of resources, including Health Canada’s website, www.hc-sc.gc.ca, where moms can get nutritional information and download Canada’s Food Guide.

Six full weeks of complete and unique daily menus and recipes, time-saving strategies, and downloadable grocery lists are available from www.moretimemoms.com, or as free Apps for smart phones available from App stores. Advance copies are available on the website.

Get Organized for University This Year.

Many students on the doorstep to university wonder if they have the intellectual horsepower to succeed in first year. While having great academic skills certainly helps, the reality is that first year students struggle more with coping in a new and different environment than they do with lack of brainpower. This, in itself, is a valuable lesson learned – people with a wide range of intellectual ability can succeed, but no matter how capable you are, you must be organized and work smart.

The main reason the transition can be a challenge is that in addition to managing an academic workload – often one that is more demanding than in high school – some students find themselves solely responsible for the first time in their lives for daily life tasks like finances, health care, laundry and grocery shopping. If they aren’t prepared, this can be daunting or even worse – it can amount to an unwelcome drain on their time when they can afford it least. Distractions from academic work can put a student discouragingly behind in just a few short weeks. How can students reduce the risk of this happening? The easiest thing to do is to spend some time in August beefing up a few simple life skills. (more…)

Don’t hate me because I’m ready for Back-to-School: Confessions of a professional organizer.

It is now the 1st week of August and I am sort of gloating when I write; I have most of my ‘Back-To-School’ shopping done!  Please don’t hate me, I did say most of it, not all!  Let’s not forget I still have to label everything and move on to the children’s possible clothing needs.  I have to evaluate what the children will be doing as far as extracurricular activities, sports, music and plan the driving schedule, possible car pool scenarios, etc.  What about doctors appointments, dental, eye appointments and whatever else I’ll try and cram in before school starts back up again.

I am a mom of 4 kids, Jonathan 19, Gregory 16, Rachelle 9 and Max 8.  My husband François is on the road quite often for work leaving me to manage the household.  A lot of pressure is on me not just because I have 4 children, husband, work in and out of the home, but because by trade I am a professional organizer!  I am expected to be perfect!  Guess what?….far from it. I have finally come to accept that it is ok to not be perfect….well sort of.  Can any mom, whether you are at home or at the office relate?  We are expected to be extraordinary multi-taskers and we try and keep trying until we find ourselves worn out, exhausted and forgetting to even look after ourselves. We beg for maids and nannies to drop out of the sky and save us.  Not going to happen! So now we have to come up with some ideas to make life a little simpler, drop half of our to do lists (I’ll have a hard time with that one) and focus on enjoying time with our families more (that will be an easy thing to do).

Now that you know a little bit about me and my imperfections, here are a few tips to help us all get ready for the onslaught of September.

Back-To-School Tips From A Professional Organizer:

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