5 Lessons I Learned At Work

In case you don't know, I'm a project manager in a corporate healthcare company.  I manage HUGE efforts that are done because the benefit the company in one way or another.  I'm busy all day.  I eat lunch, when I get it, at my desk.  My calendar usually looks like a game of tetris because I'm double/triple booked some hours.  It's a mess.  Amidst all the chaos though, what I have learned is how to organize the chaos.  So here are a few lessons I learned that I've applied to my personal life and I think you might benefit from them as well.  Enjoy!  If you have any lessons/efficiencies you employ during the day, let me know.  I'm always a big fan of becoming more organized.

1. Stay on top of your work in whatever way works best for you.

The lesson here is know what needs to be done and plan for it.  Sometimes it's hard enough for us to get through what we have to get done today let alone look into the future but try doing it "At A Glance".  I'm still working at this but here's what I look for:

• I look for birthdays/anniversaries that I need to get gifts for. 
• I look for events/apts that I need to warn S about or coordinate
• I look for assignments that are due (for me)

The harder thing for me is getting all this information in one ELECTRONIC format.  For me it has to start that way, through outlook calendar events, emails, etc.  My problem currently is I can't sync my work and home so I'm still managing to two schedules.  YUCK!  I try to write things down too but like I said, I'm still working on it.

2. Get & Stay Organized
This is very much related to Item 1.  At work, I'm pretty good at this.  At home, I'm getting better.  Planning for E's party has been very organized.  Probably so much so that I've lost focus on some of the other things. 

I've got all these little tips and tricks which I've picked up from the blogging world that I'm planning on putting in place.  Some we've already started using and they are great.  For example, we posted a list of cleaning tasks in the kitchen on the inside cabinet.  It's great.  Now S and I can game plan who does what and we do a little each night.  I also started printing and posting a sheet for the weekly grocery list/menu for the next week.  That way I can let S know what we're eating and he can add to the list if he knows of anything we need.

3. Don't recreate the wheel
The world of blogging has opened my eyes to worlds I never knew existed and in many ways it overwhelmed me but in many ways, it made me better.  I love looking at specialized blogs for inspiration.  Some of my favorites are:
   For parties: HWTM.com
   For decorating: A Lettered Cottage,  A Lived in Home, Tater tots and Jello.
   For life management: Life Your Way
   For fitness motivation: Elizabeth Waterstraat, Run Faster Mommy,The Great Fitness Experiment
   For general mom support: Lil Muse Lily, Sweet Leigh Mama, Teagans Tales

Bloggins is all about sharing ideas and that's what I use it for.  I host better parties now, I decorate a little better, I know what I want to look like (not that I do) but I've been able to define better what I want and how I want it.  That's great.  I got to an end state much quicker.
 4. Know your strengths and weaknesses
In my house, your typical roles are reversed in some ways and that is because in some ways, S is better at certain things than I am and vice versa.  For example, I manage the money.  S likes that he gets somewhat of an allowance that he doesn't have to think to much about.  I like knowing where everything is going. 

S does the majority of the cleaning.  That is because he's more thorough and detail oriented when it comes to those sorts of things. 
The point in saying all that marriage is a team sport and you are there to compliment each other's strengths by supporting the weaknesses.  For S and I, it almost always works out that way. 


4. Outsource, outsource, outsource
For those things that you and your spouse recognize you need help with and can, DO.  For E's party, I knew I wasn't creative enough to make my "vision" come to life, so I'm getting help from a local STL party designer to make it all happen.  She's great and makes planning so much fun. 

I'm currently looking at other things I can outsource.  There are always people out there willing to help for a price and if that is right for you and them, make it happen.

Also, you commented that you wanted to see my budget tracker spreadsheet, send me an email at momslittlerunningbuddy @ gmail . com

I'll happily forward it to you. 

Hope this helps!

Weekend Recap: Tables, Horses and Bouncy Houses

What a great weekend we had.  We were pretty productive. 

Saturday, E got his 3rd haircut which was desperately needed.

We went to a picnic with my sister. They had a bouncy house and lots of balls which E loved.

Sunday, we picked up E's new picnic table.  I found a guy on Craigslist who made childsize tables which are just adorable.  E loved his. 

We also got to celebrate E's Aunt's birthday by taking her to see the Clydesdales.  Ok, so E's cousin is really into horses right now so we thought it would be a lot of fun.  Turns out they both had a great time. 

Oh my gosh!  Don't you just love this kid? How can you not love that face!?

M meeting the clydesdales.

E with Uncle N getting to know the Clydesdales.

Family and Finances - Giveaway

Every family is different.  I get that.  But I think in the course of our days, we've all found new ways to make like run a little more smoother or efficiently. 

In my family, the typical roles are reversed.  My husband is EXCELLENT at the cleaning related chores.  He does all his own laundry and keeps everything basically neat and tidy.  I do my laundry and E's.  My husband manages everything relating to the cars (oil changes, etc).  I manage the finances and deal with contractors, etc.  Since I'm a project manager by trade, most of my life is spent on the computer using tools like Microsoft word and excel.  Not to toot my own horn but I've gotten pretty good at it.  Almost to the point of dependence.  You see, I manage everything on excel spreadsheets, personal and business.

I created a spreadsheet that I used to plan/manage my wedding.  I made another one when we bought our house and I wanted to know what our payments might be.  When it was time to buy a car, yep, you guessed it spreadsheet. 

The other day, my youngest sister (22 years old) who is getting ready to graduate college was struggling to figure out what she needed to make out in her first job in order to live.  Guess what..Spreadsheet.  I took my budget tracker spreadsheet and modified it for her.  She loved it and it gave me an idea.  I wonder if anyone else could use something like this?  I don't track it any other way.  It's easy and I can take it with me anywhere.

So here's my offer.  I've made my budget into a template complete with instructions and would like to offer it to a few of my readers who love excel like I do.  Think of it as a giveaway. 

Here's what you need to do:
1. Message me that you'd be interested in using my budget tracker
2. Agree that you'll provide feedback and suggestions

I'll pick two winners next Monday.

Wordless Wednesday: Sleepy Sleepy

He doesn't sleep all the time but when he does, I can't help but look on in amazement and the little wonder he is.  Besides, he's so darn cute when he sleeps.

I LOVE this kid!  No really.  I do.

11 Months Old and Party Planning Ideas

This time last year, I was complaining about my ankles swelling. I was traveling for work and just down right unhappy an uncomfortable. 

Fast forward..

Sunday, E turned 11 Months and I'm astonished by how much life has changed.  He has become my snuggle buddy

my entertainment and

my favorite little running buddy.

And most recently, he has started to really dig his dad.  They are starting to bond a lot and it's adorable.  Here they are enjoying dad's new recliner.  (we're only in our early 30's but S wanted a recliner). 

We are starting to plan E's first birthday and I couldn't be more excited.  We have SO much to do before the big day but we'll do what we can.  Luckily I'm getting some help from some very talented people. 

MadLucyPaper is helping me with some of the theme things like the invitations.   How cute are these!! This woman is amazing!  Maybe someday she'll show me how she does this. 

A woman I work with is also excited about the theme and is helping me with some other decor items.  I can't wait to show you. 

I put this together to put somewhere. Not sure where yet but I wanted to try something crafty.  I painted the frame and laid out the vinyl lettering.

I'd like to make some little chalkboards for the food/table labels.

Source: bspokeblog.com via Kelly on Pinterest

I also wanted to do some of these..but our first attempt didn't really make me cheer so we'll see.

Source: makeandtakes.com via Crystal on Pinterest

Have any other ideas I should look into?

This Never Gets Old

One of the topics that you'll hear me probably talk about is balance.  My life, just like everyone elses just continues to get more and more challenging.  My work life has taken on a entirely new dynamic now that we're going through an M&A that will be studied by grad students some day. Graduate school started the same week the M&A activities did.

So with all that going on, it's good to remember to laugh.  So just in case you are in need of some laughter too, here's a little clip to make you laugh.

You Know Those People?

That you don't see daily but hold a special place in your heart because at one point in your life, they helped shape you, or made an impact on you? 

Looking back at my life, I'm fortunate enough to have MANY of those people.  Those that if I got to see today, I'd give them a hug, I'd ask how they were doing and just feel fortunate that we saw each other.

Well, yesterday I lost one of those people and my heart is aching.  I'm sad that I hadn't seen him in a while.  I'm sad for his wonderful wife and son who now have a void in their family they now have to figure out how to cope with. 

The man I'm talking about was a teacher and a friend.  He was a coworker of my moms, the husband of one of my favorite teachers, and SOOO much more. 

I wish I could be there to comfort his family.  I wish I could make all the pain go away. 

Why do I share all this with you?  My challenge to you is to just pick up the phone or even text and say hello to someone you haven't talked to in a while.  I promise, you won't be sorry you did. 

A New Home Blessing

Last weekend we had a new home blessing performed by our priest and it really did have some beautiful pieces to it.  I thought I'd share.  I'm not one to push religion if it's not your thing but religious or not, I think it resonates with what we all want our home to be.  I'm thinking of trying to write it out in a pretty font and frame it. 

Enjoy!

Let us pray that he will enter this home and bless it with his presence.  May he always be here among you; may be nurture your love for each other, share in your joys, comfort you in your sorrow.   Inspired by his teachings and example, seek to make your new home before all else a dwelling place of love, diffusing far and wide the goodness of Christ.

Into whatever house you enter first say, 'Peace to this household.'  If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.  Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment.

Grant that the members of this family may hold fast to your teachings and, free of all discord, serve you with their whole heart. 

Lord, be close to your servants
who move into this home
and ask for your blessing.
Be their shelter when they are at home,
their companion when they are away,
and their welcome guest when they return.

Amen!

First Steps in a New House

Literally...

I was able to capture thanks to the wonder of my iPhone, the first steps my little man took in his new house.  These steps have become more frequent.  Soon, there will be no more crawling. 

Life in the new house is great.  There are LOTS of things to do and we're still in the stage of just trying to get everything unpacked (that needs to be).  There are many boxes that will not be unpacked until something is needed. 

I have SOO many projects that I want to do that will be part of Phase 2.  I think I need a cool name for all this work...Operation House to Home.  How does that sound? 

Not to mention E's party planning is now in full swing.  Invitations are being created, menus planned, etc.  It's going to be a lot of fun!

Once we get internet I'll be able give you a better glimpse into what we're doing to the house but for now just enjoy the pitter patter of little feet in our new home.