Updated Daily Log Binder; Infant & Toddler

Back in November, I shared the daily logs I made. They've been a huge hit and are still the two most recently viewed posts every month. Now that a few months have gone by and things have been tweaked, I'm sharing how I changed things. The store bought calendar was becoming more and more of an inconvenience and it kept getting in the way.

I'm extremely pleased how my binders are working for us now. Things are clear and concise, which was my goal from the very beginning.

Supplies:
1. 1/2" Avery Binder.
2. Martha Stewart Dividers.
3. 2013 Calendar of your choice. I used the one from TomKat Studio.
4. Daily Log to fit your needs.
    - Infant Log
    - Toddler Log

What You'll Do:

Compose your binder. You can use either two or three dividers, since they come in a pack of five, depending on what you want. I work for two different families, so I have two binders. One binder gets two, the other gets three. It worked out perfectly for me. Hole punch the sheets and put them in your binder. I made a cover sheet containing the sayings "[Child's name]'s Daily Log and Schedule"and "Started on [date the binder was started]".

Lady Bug's (15 mo) Binder:

- Blue: Contains my monthly calendar from TomKat Studio. Here is where I write down the hours I worked, when and how much I was paid, etc. The current month and the next month (currently January and February) will always be in the front. Months that have passed will move to the back of the divider.

- Green: New or process daily logs. This way I always have access to a new one or the one I'm working on without having to flip through the old ones.

- Yellow: Used daily logs with the most recent one in the front.

In the back pocket: Contains a typical daily schedule for Lady Bug (15mo).

Stink Bug's (5 mo) Binder:

I track both my regular and nanny share hours in the calendar from TomKat Studio.

The red divider contains new or in progress daily logs, the orange divider contains old daily logs with the most recent in the front. 

Both binders are organized in the same fashion, but are a little bit different due to the the ages of the children and the frequency I care for them. 

Happy Nannying (:

If you have questions, click the envelope off to your right hand side of my page. It will allow you to get into contact with me via email.

Hey, That's Pin-tastic: Dinners

This past week all of the dinners I made were taken from Pinterest. Some I loved, but most I didn't. I have to admit that I didn't follow all of the recipes correctly. I am horrible at paying attention to measurements of certain things, like veggies and noodles.

I get off work at 6:15p every day except for Fridays, and by the time I get home it's easily past 7p. I am starving by the time I get home, the quicker I can whip something up- the better! Starting this week, I will have school on Tuesday nights and I won't get home until almost 11p. That's a whole new set of challenges...

Winner:
The one recipe I absolutely loved is Angel Hair with Tomatoes & Pine Nuts*. Oh my goodness, it was absolutely fantastic. It was quick and so easy. I switched this baby up a little, and am pleased with how it came out. I roasted the garlic and pine nuts, added the tomatoes to let them warm, them threw in some spinach a minute or two before the "sauce" was done. This dish will definitely be my go-to from now on when I don't have anything planned.

Try It Again:
The two recipes that I'd like to try again, but make differently are Crock Pot Lasagna Soup and Chicken Fried Rice. They didn't taste quite right and über delicious like the recipes claimed. I think some tweaking, aka follow the recipe to the tee, will fix that. I have high hopes for them!

Side Lined:
I should've known this one wasn't going to work out, I don't like peas unless it's in Tuna a la King. Cheese Tortellini & Peas* was a no go for me. It was really simple to make, which I loved but it didn't have the flavor I was hoping for.

I am making four meals taken from Pinterest this week. Hopefully they'll all be winners!

Comments from here on out will have to be approved/monitored due to a crazy amount of spam comments I've been receiving lately, I apologize in advance. I know it's annoying.

Hope you don't have a case of the Mondays... (:

*Both recipes were taken from this pin.

Friday's Letters

Oh goodness. Where to start...

Dear Blog Follwers- I'm so sorry I've been mostly MIA lately. I started my nanny share last week and it's seriously pooping me out. I've fallen asleep without getting ready for bed too many times to count in the past two weeks. I'm working on getting my booty in gear to blog more than once a week.

Dear 2013- You're my year. I got this. Bring the heat. I do thank you for being semi-uneventful so far though. I'm looking forward to what's in store. So many fun things! TWO new babies within my "inner circle", THREE first birthdays, FOUR nanny events, and so much more. Oh my goodness, I'm so excited.

***
I discovered the design website called The Tom Kat Studio this morning while I was on the hunt for monthly calendars for work. They have a huge selection of different printables and they're all super cute! They also have a shop with lots of different party planning kits. I freakin' love it. I'm always on the look out for cute things online and I knew I couldn't be the only one!

Happy weekend. Don't get crazy. :)

Whimsyboo Baby: A Review

I first heard about Whimsyboo Baby from Jenny, aka CandidMommy on YouTube. She purchases their hooded towels for her two boys. I've known this, but never checked up on it until about a month ago when I was shopping around for Christmas gifts for Baby L. I knew I wanted to go the natural route. It's becoming more and more important to me to purchase items that are of organic matter and can easily biodegrade once they are done being used.

Whimsyboo Baby Products are handmade in the USA of Organic Bamboo Velour.
Product info taken from the Whimsyboo Baby website:
"Our products are luxurious and soft, will comfort and soothe your baby and are oh-so cozy..."

Some facts about Organic Bamboo Velour*:

• Bamboo is eco-friendly.
• It is hypoallergenic.
• It is three times more absorbent than cotton.
• It is antibacterial.
• It is odor resistant.
• It is 100% biodegradable. It came form nature and can return to nature once it has been fully used.

I placed my order on the Whimsyboo Baby website on December 12th, it was shipped on the 14h and I received my items on the 18th. A total timeline of six days from start to finish. I was incredibly impressed. 

When deciding what to purchase for Baby L, I wanted something that had longevity and wouldn't have to be replaced often. I also wanted something that could potentially hold sentimental value for him in the future. This blanket is a perfect size to use as a blanket right now, but will be perfect "toddler lovie" size in the future. L is that baby who has to have a soft blanket touching his face as he falls asleep. No soft blanket? Have fun with that! If it's covering his entire face, even better. Of course that causes me to be a nervous wreck. 

Can you see a theme here? Soft and snuggly is key in L's life. 

I received Baby L's Cuddle Blankie (Color: Icee Blue/ Vanilla Custard) in a padded envelope, wrapped with a ribbon and logo tag. Of course I ripped into it right away so I didn't get a picture. Hey! I was excited. I also received a handwritten note on my packing slip and a free wash cloth. I was blown away! I loved everything about the process and can't rave enough about my experience with Whimsyboo Baby. I will most definitely be purchasing from her again! 

*All facts about Organic Bamboo Velour are taken from the Whimsyboo Baby website.
I purchased this product with my own money and am not being compensated for this review in any way.

MommyCon Adventure!

First? Go get yourself some hot cocoa and popcorn, make yourself comfy.
This is going to be a long one. Ready? Continue on, now.

This adventure started on Thursday afternoon, after I got off work around 4:30p. Both my mom and I we're packed and ready to go, and I had picked her up earlier in the day (with permission from my bosses, of course). So we left, and hit the road at 4:30p. Well, by the time we had gotten thirty-ish miles into our road trip, I had to pee. Now, I live thirty miles from work. The place where we stopped so I could go? Like six miles from my house. There was a little bit of traffic and I thought I was going to pee myself. No freakin' joke. That was event numero uno.

Driving along, we were...
Got gas and snack in Barstow, CA. A smallish town where EVERYONE stops to eat, pee, or get gas if they're on their way out of Southern California.
Got back on the freeway. Then...

Not three miles from the on ramp, we ran over something on the freeway. Based on the evidence, it was huge. But neither my mom nor I saw it. We got a flat tire. See that red rectangle? That's a gash in my tire. Whatever made it also dented my wheel/rim.

After pulling over, I got everything else and got ready to put on the spare myself. If you've stalked browsed some of my older posts, you know I can do this myself without the blink of an eye. I learned in Girl Scouts and hate waiting for AAA to do it for me. But, I couldn't get the lug nuts off. So I had to wait. Which annoyed me. Luckily it didn't take that long, even though we were in BFE. AAA dude put on spare tire and off we go. We got to the hotel an later than planned, around 12:30a.

We check in. They give us our room keys. We go to our room, and the keys didn't work. Oh hell no. aAfter multiple attempts we go back down to the lobby to fix our situation. The clerk wrote down the wrong room number, by one stinkin' digit. Awesome. 

So they fix it, gave us a $50 food credit, gave us new keys, yada yada. We go upstairs, to the 22nd floor and to the end of a long hallway, get to the correct room. Open the door and get hit with the smell of weed like a ton of bricks. OH HELL NO. I walked in and there is chewing gum stuck to the ceiling above my bed. Are you freaking kidding me? My mom tried to call the front desk three different times and gets put on hold for at least ten minutes each time. The last time, someone hangs up on the other end after she was transfered to the manager. Fuming....

I went to the front desk and told them to FIX. IT. NOW. Know what the clerk told me, "I'm sorry ma'am, we don't normally do room changes this late..." It was about 1:30a. Luckily he redeemed himself with "But I'll have you talk to the manager about your situation." Good.

We go a new, smell free room. I ordered a quesadilla from room service & hunkered down to get about five hours of sleep before I had to get up and take my car into a tire shop the next morning after I registered. I'm just glad that went smoothly. 

The guy at the tire shop made me laugh though. We pull up and I told him I got a flat. So he goes to check everything out. Apparently he thought they would be able to "fix" the hole in my tire and came back in the waiting room telling me that they couldn't fix it and that I would need a new tire. I wanted to burst out laughing. Uh, duh. The thing went flat in less than a minute and the hole was big enough for me to put my fist through it. 

***

After that ordeal, I got to meet the girls from TMD and bought a wrap from Emily. Everyone was super nice and helpful. I will definitely be going back next year! I learned a ton and between my mom and I, we went to almost every seminar they had. (: I'd definitely recommend taking a spouse or friend so you can split up.

Happy New Year! & 2013 Goals

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

I am pretty darn stoked for what 2013 has in store for me. This past year has been the roughest year of my adult life (you know, because I totally have a ton of adult life experience) and I am looking forward to the fresh start of a new year.

I have a job I love. I look forward to going to work everyday, and snuggling with sweet Baby L. Hard work there rewards me with a paycheck I need and allows me to be financially stable. Financial instability hit me hard last year, with the loss of two jobs that came out of nowhere. With that came a lot of borrowing and the filing of unemployment, which was a hard pill for me to swallow.

My relationship with J is strong and hearty. Just like we've always been. We lack drama and we're stable. That's the way we like it. :) We tend to do the same types of dates (dinner and movies), so I  hope that we can be more adventurous on that front. If y'all have any cool date ideas, let me know. 

Without further ado, here are my goals for 2013: 

- Get fit. I hate saying "lose x number of pounds" because I know muscle weighs more than fat, but is more compact. I gained about ten pounds over the course of the year, and it needs to go away. I'm not a large person by any means, but my clothes are becoming uncomfortably tight and that's not okay with me. I found out the the San Diego Zoo is hosting a half marathon in May. I plan on running it. 

- Grow this baby blog of mine. Accept sponsors, sponsor other blogs, host more giveaways, make it better. Stay passionate and write about things that make me happy. Keep it real. 

- Pay off my credit cards completely. I only have two. I'd also like to finish out 2013 with a decently cushy savings account. I want to be able to make it if God forbid, I lose my job again. I want to be able to live up to the standards I've set for myself. 

- Set a budget and stick to it. Save for the "big things"- an iPad mini, a DSLR, the gun I want. Obviously not hugely high priced items. But they're things I wasn't able to afford last year. 

- Do well in school. I think taking fall semester off was what I needed to become more motivated to do well. Joshua and I are also taking our first class together so I'm excited to see how we feed off of and motivate each other. 

- Develop myself professionally, have have fun with my nanny friends while doing it. INA, NannyPalooza, and National Nanny Training Day are all happening this year. I'm stoked beyond belief about it. I had to miss NannyPalooza in 2012 because I couldn't afford the plane ticket to Philly. At that point, I had just lost my job.

-Continue my journey of becoming more "green". Eating less processed foods, cutting back on the use of plastic, remembering to sort my "trash"; these are all things I need to work on.

Do we have any goals in common?  Let's keep each other motivated.

I'm leaving for MommyCon on Thursday after work. Of course, I'm incredibly excited about it. I'll be sharing my experience after it's all said and done. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for the play-by-play.