Life & Time Management

What on Earth IS Personal Development?

June 25, 2017 by Stephanie O'Dea 9 Comments

Personal Development for Moms.

Stay at home moms, working moms, work from home moms — it doesn’t matter!

I am a sucker for self-help books, and love browsing at the local book store, or the section in the library that houses all the “Get Rich Fast!” and “Change Your Life RIGHT THIS MINUTE!” books. I don’t really know what I’m looking for, but I do know that I really like looking.

I’m both pessimistic and optimistic when I crack open the binding, or track down an author on the Internet.

I am not one to believe everything I see or read—I’m just not wired that way. But I do like knowing that with some time, energy, and positive thinking changes for the better in all aspects of life are possible.

One of my favorite authors, Brian Tracy, taught me at the impressionable age of 21 that personal development simply means to never stop learning. I like that definition.

I also like the idea that it’s okay to want to be better. There is no shame in wanting to be a better person, parent, athlete, employee, business owner, or humanitarian.

Striving to be better does not mean that you are dissatisfied with your life. Instead it means that you are interested in becoming even better—-a valuable lesson to teach and model to children.

I am not interested in being the best of the best at anything—-it seems like just too much work, and I’m an awfully lazy person.

But I do like to ask questions, and then follow up with research. 🙂

One of my favorite things about the Internet is that I can ask good ol’ google a question, and get lots of answers. Who knows if the answer I come across is truly valid, but I can keep looking until I find the answer that best fits me and my mindset at the present moment.

I also like reading about real people and learning what worked and what didn’t for them.

Sometimes being A Mom makes you (me) forget that there is a PERSON behind the mom. I get wrapped up in the day to day meal prep, potty helping, and board book reading part of my day and forget to do something (ANYTHING!) for myself.

And so I need to remember The Womom.

The WoMom is the woman behind the mom. The WoMom needs to be nurtured, whether that is by reading REAL and not picture books, getting some exercise, or by taking a nap.

Do whatever it takes to remember who you were as a person before having children.

Were you interested in learning a new language? Get some immersion tapes from the library and pop them in while you fold laundry or chop vegetables. Always wanted to play the guitar? Look through the brochure from the rec dept and find an inexpensive class.

Life moves so very quickly, and I would hate for you (or me!) to have a longer list of “shouldas” than “dids.”

One good thing about getting older, is that you have more self-esteem. What would have freaked you out at 18 or 19 no longer does.

Take the swing class. You can do it.

I want to learn as much as I can about as many things as I can. I want to garden. I want to travel. I want to do the things that I always wanted to do —- and I don’t want to do them when it’s too late.

Does this make me a tiny bit selfish?

Yes. maybe. But I don’t want my kids to suck away (literally, ha!) all of my brain cells and identity.

I am naturally a pretty curious person and when I don’t follow through on this curiosity is when I get cranky and begin to feel resentful. And that’s not good for the kids. A Happy Mom = Happy Kids.

This is it. This is the only today.

Make it count.

Consider yourself High-fived, Patted-on-the-back, and hugged. xoxoox steph

Making and Keeping New Year’s Resolutions

December 15, 2016 by Stephanie O'Dea 1 Comment

I get a lot of questions about New Year’s Resolutions.

I’ve gotten pretty good at making and keeping my resolutions each new year — and while it’s still not super easy for me to stay on track, each and every year I have a bit more resolve to keep on course.

It doesn’t matter if you are reading this post in February, in April, or even in September— there is still plenty of time to get your new year goals and resolutions back on track.

If you’ve fallen off the wagon, here are some tips to climb back in it and buckle up; there’s a long road ahead until the end of the year.

If you haven’t made any new year resolutions or goals for this year or for the next one, or don’t like to because you don’t think that’s “your thing” — okay.

But you also can’t change for the better in any way unless you make the conscious decision to do so. And regardless of your personal journey or path, I believe we all could do a bit better each year.

This is it.

You’re not going to get today back again, and it’s okay to want tomorrow to be slightly better.

How to make New Year Resolutions that You’ll Keep:

1) Write it down. This is such a simple step, yet the majority of people don’t do it.

Yes, there are plenty of people who have stuck to their resolve to lose weight or get out of debt by not writing down their goals, but if you DO write it down you have a greater chance of success.

And who are we to fool around with statistics? If it feels hokey, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to share what you’ve written down to anybody — just keep it in a notebook or folded up in your purse.

2) Tell Someone. I know.

In suggestion number 1 I said you don’t have to share your written resolution or goal list with anyone and now I’m telling you to tell someone else your personal wishes and dreams.

I promise I’m not losing my mind— you still don’t have to share your written out list, but you DO have to share what you’re working on.

Accountability to someone else is a much stronger motivational drive than an intrinsic one. This means that you are more likely to disappoint yourself than you are someone else.

That’s just how human nature is. We are also much more forgiving to others than we are to ourselves —- so if you veer off track, having a supportive someone in your corner is just who you’ll need to confide in and who can help you retain confidence.

This is what I did with the slow cooker site, and what Jen did with her cocktail site.

We told the Internet — it’s a pretty big group to be held accountable to!

3) Review your resolutions every single day. However you do this is up to you.

You can pull out your list of goals, or rewrite them every morning. Some people have excellent results by writing their resolutions out as if they have already happened. For instance, if your goal is to lose those final last ten pounds, you might start your day by thinking about how thankful you are that you can fit into the dress hanging in the closet.

You can go a step further and visualize yourself wearing it and hear in your head all the complements you’ll get from your friends.

I have a vision board. I make a new one every year, and I keep it in the bathroom.

It’s personal, and I have sayings and quotes, and magazine cutouts on it. I only share it with Adam, and even he kind of rolls his eyes a bit at how particular some of my visions (picture cutouts) are.

But that’s okay. Because my vision board makes me smile and keeps me focused on what it is I’m working towards — I look at it quite a few times a day, and somedays it spurs me on to take action on a certain writing assignment or to go do a few pushups.

Other days I just zone out. I’ve decided to believe that even on my zone out days my subconscious is working on something. 😉

4) Pretend you’ve already succeeded. Or fake it till you make it.

This might seem phony at first, but you’ll get used to it in practice. If your New year’s Resolution was to work out every morning, act like a person who works out every morning.

What time does that person wake up? What does she wear? Does she sleep in her workout clothes and works out before getting dressed for the day?

What does she eat? Do you need different food in the house?

If your resolution was to write every day on your All American Novel, start acting like a novelist.

What does a novelist do? Does she get up before everyone else in the house and write for an hour? Does she have a set of index cards with character names and traits?

Does she spend 3 hours a day surfing facebook or pinterest, or does she buckle down and work?

5) Reward yourself. This doesn’t need to be elaborate, nor does it need to be expensive, but you have to find a way to celebrate the tiny steps and milestones along the way.

Day to Day life is hard enough as it is — trying to change or adapt is even harder, even if you know it’s for the better.

Human nature is to find the easiest and least resistant path. It’s easier to lay around on the couch than it is to lace up your shoes and go for a walk.

So reward yourself. Walk to the grocery store and after making a few laps get yourself a pack of sugarless gum.

If you’ve gotten through the entire day without yelling at the kids, take a bath. Paint your toes. Do something just for you that’s a reward. And there is no harm in using the reward as motivation to keep to your goals — “if I don’t use my credit card but instead pay it off, I can use the extra savings in our vacation fund.”

I’m sure you see what I mean.

6) Seek out Been-There/Done-That advice. This is what people mean when they say “find a mentor.”

I don’t know what your goals are — but I do have two groups that I maintain (outside of crockpotting!) that are for mentoring women. I have my Life and Time Management group for moms, and I have my Blogging As a Business mastermind group.

You can learn more about these groups, here:

Why New Year’s Advice from MEN or from Online Gurus Doesn’t Work

So here’s the thing. I’m a 40 year old mom of three girls. They are 15, 12, and 6 right now. I have ALWAYS been a goal-oriented person. I love lists, I love plans-of-attack and I regularly have client phonecalls and skype chats with other Moms who are also smashing their goals out of the park.

But goals written For Men and By Men don’t work for me, and I don’t think they will work for you.

🙂

So, for all you moms out there who are Mom First — I hear you. I know. It’s tough to put yourself first and your ambition first.

So don’t do it for you. Do it for these marvelous beings you have created and brought into this world. Because you are their role model. They look up to you and are watching you.

You deserve to live the best version of your life. You deserve to have everything you’ve ever wanted and ever dreamed of.

You want that for your kids, I know you do. It’s okay to want it for yourself, too.

~~~

You don’t have to be in the first week of January to decide to be a New You.

Or a Newer Version of You.

You can do this. I know you can.

and it’s not too late.

It’s never too late to accomplish anything you put your mind to.

xoxoox

Back to School Year Resolutions

August 21, 2016 by Stephanie O'Dea 21 Comments

don't wait until January to get Organized! The beginning of the school year is the perfect time to start New and Fresh!

Making And Keeping Back to School Year Resolutions

School starts on Monday. Are you ready? Has your school year already begun?

A hundred million years ago before I had kids of my own, I remember my friend Jenny talking about Back to School Year Resolutions.

I didn’t really get it, but I decided that I might as well make a few of my own come each September since I LOVE New Year Resolutions, and having a few new ones (or the opportunity to tweak my current/old ones) could only be a Good Thing.

Now that the kids are both in school, I understand so much better the importance of starting the year off organized and with some goals.

Organize the Homework Space.

I’m working on that today. Since everything is on sale right now, I decided to stock up on all the homework supplies we might possibly need throughout the school year. I also bought some extra scissors and rolls of tape, because those items seem to disappear in our house—no matter where they are housed, or how many we own.

It’s kind of a mystery.

If you can find plastic pencil boxes on sale, snatch one up for each of your children (I found them for 50 cents each!) and put in pencils, scissors, markers, a ruler, eraser, etc.

Younger children will need crayons and safety scissors. Label the boxes and bring them out only at homework time, otherwise the materials will be used on the weekends or on play dates for arts and crafts, and the homework supplies will go missing.

And you will feel frustrated. Trust me.

Clothes.

We don’t have a school uniform, but oh how I wish we did. My kids are still relatively young, but are both girls (with another girl on the way!) and they take an awful long time to pick out their clothes in the morning.

They also have the tendency to change their minds halfway through breakfast and completely change their outfit, leaving strewn clothes all over the floor.

Until I got mean.

I balked at the idea of picking clothes out the night before for quite a while. It seemed controlling and I didn’t like the idea of stifling creativity.

That changed when I realized that the kids just don’t seem fully awake enough in the morning to make choices. It was overwhelming, and they ended up wearing the same clothes over and over, causing wear and tear on only a few pieces of clothing.

Now (on their own, surprisingly) they decide on clothes the night before, and get everything out, down to socks and underwear and get dressed without (much) mayhem).

Before stuffing new clothes onto the old, take the time to PROM (purge, remove, organize, maintain) the dresser drawers and closets for outgrown, stained, or damaged clothing.

Meals.

If you aren’t a meal planner, you might really want to become one.

The new school year brings a new soccer season, boy scouts, girl scouts, PTA meetings, new music lessons, and homework.

It’s much easier to go throughout your day in relative peace when you don’t need to run to the store at 5pm (with all the crazies) for something for dinner. I try and plan breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, too.

Nothing elaborate, but just a rough skeleton of what food we’ll need in the house, and what I’ll need to pack for snacks and lunches.

I am not a night-before lunch packer, but many people are, and really find that it eases the morning rush. If your children are old enough to make their own lunches, have them–especially if you find that food is regularly coming home uneaten.

Kid Goals.

My little one is starting Kindergarten this year, and even she has a list of goals of what she’d like to achieve this year.

She’d like to learn to read, and she’d like to play on the “big playground.” The beginning of the school year is a great time to introduce your children to goal-setting and achieving.

If they have a lofty goal such as getting straight As, walk them through the steps needed to help achieve that goal.

If you know from personal experience that the goal is completely out-of-reach, then kindly help steer towards an obtainable one. Goals are like mini-dreams, and no one likes to have their dreams squashed.

Parent Goals.

You have a clean slate. What occurred last year that you weren’t so pleased with?

Homework battles? What should happen differently this year? Were meals hectic? Was there lots of bickering in the late afternoon?

It’s not reasonable to have a Stepford Home, but it is reasonable to have a plan in place for relative peace.

Many children need a bit of decompression time when getting home from school or from late-afternoon activities before re-entering the home community. Understanding this need, and limiting it to a certain amount of time can help to ease tears and frustration.

How have you been doing with your own New Year (or similar) goals and resolutions?

This is a perfect time to reassess and gain motivation to close the year out with a bang.

Do you want to kick your workout routine up a notch so come Halloween and the winter holidays you can indulge without guilt? Do you need some new Back-to-School clothing items to spruce up your own wardrobe?

Have you been waiting to start a project now that school is back in session? This is your opportunity. Go for it!

Perfection Smerfection.

There is no such thing as a perfect home, perfect children, or a perfect life. All you can do is focus on each teeny tiny step and task, and give it your full attention. You are doing a wonderful job.

If you’d like even more help, I have a new Printable Calendar System that you might really enjoy and get a lot of use out of.

Here’s to a Happy School Year!! xoox

Could the Secret to an Organized Life Really Be This Simple?

July 27, 2016 by Stephanie O'Dea 1 Comment

The Number One Secret to an Organized Life

I’m known for my frankness, so I’m going to give this to you straight.

I am not a naturally organized or “totally together” person. I’m pretty good now, if I do say so myself (and I do! 😉 ).

But I didn’t start out this way.

These are LEARNED skills that I have developed over the past two decades as a wife and mother, and that’s why I get so excited to share them with you.

The same way I wasn’t born with this hair color (shhhh! don’t tell anyone!), I wasn’t born knowing how to keep my family and house organized.

Truth be told, if I lived all alone, I very well may be the kind of person who never gets dressed, and lives on the couch surrounded by pizza boxes.

BUT. I know that I am a role model for my kids, and I want them to be better than me.

and you know what? It is VERY easy to become the kind of calm, collected, and organized mom you want to be.

I promise.

You’re going to be surprised at how easy this is.

It’s actually a tiny bit embarrassing at how easy this “life management” thing is when you remember the number one tool every successful family should absolutely use and implement regularly:

are you ready?

it’s:

The Crock-Pot.

Seriously. I explain what I mean in this video —

I’ve been at this “Mom Thing” For Quite a While

I’ve got a high-schooler, a middle-schooler, and a kindergartener. Which means I have a lot of systems in place NOW.

But when I first started out as a mom, I was scared. Petrified, even.

Because here’s the thing: the nurses only really cared if we had a carseat installed in the car before I was handed my brand-new baby girl.

They weren’t able to sit down and chat and see if I really had what it takes to be a full-fledged parent, or even a full-fledged Adult.

The first day I was home alone with my fragile little infant I remember looking around our apartment tremendously overwhelmed and downright frightened.

This was it.

I had to figure out how to DO ALL THE THINGS.

Because there was no Fairy Godmother or Nanny or Au Pair who was going to bail me out.

I was the mom. I was in charge.

It was truly time to Adult Up.

I Needed to Get Organized

and it really all boiled down to getting to know my Crock-Pot.

Because the thing is, when you start using your slow cooker regularly, you are FORCED to plan ahead. You really can’t put the food on early in the morning unless you already have the groceries in the house.

And once I started planning out my dinners and grocery shopping from that list, my weekly and monthly food budget shrunk SUBSTANTIALLY.

So not only was I saving tons of valuable time and brain-energy because I no longer needed to frantically worry about dinner, I was also saving LOTS of money that we desperately needed to pay off debt and start saving for the future.

It sounds silly, but it truly (for reals!) helped me get on the right Life Path.

Meal Planning Basics

If you are brand new to meal planning, don’t worry — this most certainly is not rocket science. The first thing to do is to get out a piece of paper and write out 10 Dinners you know your entire family will always, always eat.

For us, these are the meals I know that all three of my kids (and my husband) will eat each and every month, no matter what: taco soup, rotisserie chicken, lentil and sausage stew, honey garlic chicken, Parmesan Tilapia, sweet and sour tofu, lemon salmon, brown sugar chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, pot roast and veggies.

I only plan for and shop for groceries for five days worth of dinners because usually one night we have leftovers and usually one night we end up eating out or picking up Take Out.

Once dinners are mapped out, fill in the blanks for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

So The Number One Thing is to Meal Plan. Then What?

OH good. I’m so glad you asked! 🙂

I want to share with you the Exact Things I do to keep the family and the household running in a smooth and organized way. I promise that these are simple, easy, and very achievable — no matter if you popped out of the womb organized or need to learn (the way I did).

Make A Punch List for your Home

July 6, 2016 by Stephanie O'Dea Leave a Comment

You should keep a running punch list for each and every room in the house. This way when you have "extra" time on your hands you can tackle one of your projects!

Making a Punch List

So here is the thing. I grew up as an architect’s daughter. And then I married a Civil Engineer.

I’ve been to a lot of construction sites, and I even LIVED THROUGH one when my dad built our family home.

Punch Lists have always been a way of life for me.

BUT THEN I started “working” on the internet and it looks like the concept of creating a running punch list is kind of a foreign thing to a lot of people.

No problem!

It’s really not a big deal — a Punch List simply means the stuff left on your To Do List before the job is considered “Finished.”

And our homes?

They are constantly ebbing and flowing and in constant I-Need-Attention mode. It doesn’t matter if you rent or own or if you live in a Tiny House or a farm house, or a high rise apartment, or a nice suburban family home.

No matter. You still need a punch list!

So Let’s Get To Work!

First things first:

Get out a spiral notebook or put a few sheets of lined paper onto a clipboard.

Then walk through every room in the house.

Jot down everything that needs to be done to get your house in good repair. Do the baseboards need to be painted? Pictures hung? Light bulbs changed? Drywall patched? [Ignore the dust bunnies for now. We’ll get to them in due time. 🙂 ]

Also jot down notes as to any upgrades you may want to do. Are you thinking that you want/need a new chair for the living room? A better or different light fixture in the front entry?

Write those down too.

The Next Step

The next step is to separate your list into separate rooms. Put all the garden things together, the kid stuff together, etc. I like to make a sheet of paper per room —

(the reason we didn’t start with separate sheets to begin with is because sometimes if you see a light fixture in one room that needs fixing, etc., you start writing down things in a ping-pong fashion — and that’s okay! ;-0 )

Now that all your items are separated by rooms, separate them again by what you can truly and physically do yourself.

If you can hang a photo on the wall in the hallway, then do it.

If you can touch up the paint, then schedule a time to do it.

Do as much as you can all by yourself before calling in help from a handy man or your husband.

Keep an Ongoing List

Keep your Punch List up to date and organized the best you can. If Lawn Furniture was on sale and you bought it, cross it off your list.

good work! you did it!

Learn the Exact Strategies I use to Keep My House and My Family Running Smoothly

(without losing my marbles) by downloading this free cheat sheet for moms. Enjoy!

I’m a Closet Homeschooler (teaching kids at home even if they go to school)

July 9, 2015 by Stephanie O'Dea 32 Comments

What is “Closet HomeSchooling”?

When I was pregnant with my first (10 years ago), I informed my husband, Adam, that I “reserved the right to homeschool.”

He was (skeptically) agreeable, so I took it upon myself to learn as much as I could about homeschooling in case the day ever came when I felt that I could do a better job teaching the kids than our local school.

We now have three little girls: 9 1/2, 6 1/2 and age sixteen months. We’ve moved a few times since I “staked my claim” to homeschool ten years ago, and now live in a very good school district.

so my kids go to public school (the baby is home, of course).

The children are happy, and are thriving. They continue to excel in class and are all naturally inquisitive and have a thirst for learning.

I’m happy with a lot that the school provides, but continue to supplement at home as much as I can. I try to be “around” the school a lot, which allows me opportunity to see firsthand behavior issues, and the time wasted moving from activities or lessons.

I do not think this is necessarily a bad thing–it’s just something I’m very aware of. Adam says I’m keeping score. Maybe I am!

I’m greatly looking forward to having the kids home with me when school lets out (8 days!). No matter how involved I am in the school, during the school year, Adam and I are not in charge.

The teacher is.

I wish I could say this doesn’t bother me, but I’d be lying. The school calendar dominates our day to day life, and I’m looking forward to getting a more natural flow to our days.

It’s Pretty Much “After-School” Homeschooling

I have gotten a few emails in the past week or so asking what activities I do with my children during the summer. My oldest is going to attend a 2-week enrichment program (3 hours a day),

[updated, 6/1: just got an email that the program has been canceled due to lack of funds/enrollment. NOT HAPPY. ]

and my 6 year old will attend a gymnastics class twice a week. I’ll probably throw in a week of swim lessons, and we’re hoping to get a sponsor for a late-summer book tour to Albuquerque, and will visit the Grand Canyon.

Otherwise, our days will be pretty loose— park trips, library visits, and playdates. The television will be turned off for the day by 10am, and the kids will have free range of the art supplies, books, games, and the back yard.

will they fight?

A.B.S.O.L.U.T.E.L.Y.

will I lose my temper (more than I should)?

Y.O.U. B.E.T.C.H.A.

will they complain that they’re bored?

W.I.T.H.O.U.T. A. D.O.U.B.T.

I can not wait.

Resources shown above, and what I use in our (closet) homeschooling curriculum:

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons — I taught all three kids to read with this book. It’s actually not shown in the above picture because I lent it to our neighbor to use with her 3-year-old.

I do not use the writing exercises at all. At the end of the 100 lessons, your child will be reading on a 2nd grade level.

I started just for fun at around age 3 1/2 with my girls. I followed the lessons in order, but didn’t have a set time frame. If the kids wanted to sit with me and practice, we did. We would go months without even opening the book, but sometimes we’d do 4 lessons in a day. They each finished the book in it’s entirety before entering first grade.

BOB Books. — I’ve put these books away until the baby is ready. Warning: they tear easily! These are fun, whimsical books that teach reading both through phonics and memorization.

I actually think it’s mostly from memorization, but many disagree. Empowers young children that they can read an “entire book.”

Brain Quest decks — we have at least a dozen of these decks. I love giving them as gifts, and love receiving them!

I toss a deck into the diaper bag to pull out at restaurants when we anticipate a long wait, I use them in waiting rooms, in the car when waiting for music lessons to dismiss, etc. I keep a basket on the shelf on the end table and the kids pull them out when they’ve got some time to kill.

Brain Quest Workbooks — we were given a few of these, and the kids use them, but there’s definitely a workbook feel. I keep them “out” and sometimes they’ll do a page or two on their own, but mostly they are used for playing school with playdates.

Summer Bridge — I bought a set of these a few summers ago mostly to pacify myself that the kids were on the right track and their brains weren’t turning to mush.

I’ve since relaxed a bit on worksheets, but if you are a person who likes order and want the confidence of knowing the kids are *actually* learning or your kids like completing worksheets this is a good summer project.

Never Bored books — Mazes, word searches, brain teasers, coloring pages, etc. My kids like these better than traditional workbooks. I would recommend buying up an age group for a bit of a challenge.

Some of the activities require scissors and glue.

The Story of the World series, by Susan Wise Bauer — This series of books is written by the same author of The Well-Trained Mind.

We only have the first book and are only a third of the way through. It starts with Ancient Times: Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor. The book is written in story form, and is written from a secular perspective.

The Daring Book for Girls and The Dangerous Book for Boys — We have both of these books. Practical guide to pretty much anything: letter writing, fire building, camping, tying a variety of knots, how to be a good friend, proper restaurant manners.

These aren’t books to be read cover to cover, but used as a reference guide. I like to give these as gifts.

The Little House on the Prairie books — I have girls, so I’m not sure how well this series would fare in a house full of boys.

I read this series outloud to my big girls, starting when my oldest was 6 (I skipped over some of the Laura and Alfonso stuff). Reading this series outloud was hands-down the best history lesson my kids have ever had (thus far. they are still quite young!). We refer to “Laura and Mary” quite often in our house, and apply the knowledge of this time period to other history lessons to provide perspective.

I plan on rereading the series in a year or so to refresh all of our memories.

I Can Draw books and Pocket Doodle books — My first grader loves to draw and doodle, and will happily work for hours creating and recreating animal or people pictures.

These are the easiest-to-understand for little kids drawing guides I’ve found.

Soduku Unifex game — If you’ve never played soduku, or are intimidated by it, this is a FANTASTIC way to learn the game– for little kids and for grown ups! This is a one-player game, and once the fundamentals are learned, soduku is a solitary game enjoyed throughout your whole life.

Math, reasoning, strategy, and spacial awareness are all key aspects of this game. The box says ages 7 and up. My kids enjoyed playing (with help) at age five.

We play a lot of board games! These are our family-favorite board games.

Carcasonne — medieval strategy and “empire-building” game — easy to understand even for the little guys since it’s practically like dominoes

Blokus — great strategy game — similar to Tetris. Requires thinking ahead, spacial awareness, strategy to block opponent

Apples to Apples Jr. — great grammar and reading game that is fun and entertaining for the whole family. This is a rated G version, the adult one can get racy.

Kid Charades — sure, you can make up your own version of charades, but this is made specifically for kids and the cards have a few prompts on each one.

Cranium — one of our absolute favorites; a few different games all in one box!

Clue — classic board game, teaches bluffing and keeping a poker face/strategy

Golden Rules for the Family — printable

May 12, 2014 by Stephanie O'Dea 8 Comments

click the link for a printable PDF version of the golden rules for your use –steph

The Family’s Golden Rules

Summer is coming, and I plan on having the kids home with me. I don’t like having the kids at camps and try not to have a lot of structured activities planned during the summer months. It’s a little old-school, I know, but I just really like having them home with me and I like the uninterrupted free time and play that occurs when we don’t have something we HAVE to do.

And I’m kind of lazy.

And I’m terribly cheap.

That said, I do have things that I need to accomplish this summer, and in order for me to get my work done, the kids need to find a way to fend for themselves and not run completely feral.

We have chore charts, and we do follow The Daily 7 as much as we can to keep the house in somewhat decent order. I try to let them work out their own squabbles (my kids are currently 12, 9, and 4) and choose to not intervene unless truly necessary.

(see above. I’m kind of lazy…)

AND? I am not going to always be here. I need these kids to grow up to be responsible members of society, and in order for that to happen, I can’t swoop in and fix every last thing. They’ve got to figure it out on their own.

I’ve gotten a few emails about chores, and responsibility charts, and decided to use those emails as a springboard to make up a list of Golden Rules for the house. These are certainly not the *only* rules in our house, but these are the ones that I expect to be drummed into their heads before embarking out into the Wild Wild World.

Feel free to print these out and hang them up in the play room or family room.

I hope you’re having a wonderful day!!

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30 Days to an Organized Life

December 29, 2013 by Stephanie O'Dea 9 Comments

Here is the Printable PDF Version of this Chart.

In my household shortcut planning guide, Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life, I’ve tried to break down all of the daily, weekly, and monthly THINGS that float around in our heads into one day-planner/book: Call your mother. Schedule a hair cut. Get the house painted. Vacuum under the couch cushions. Drink more water. Perform a self-breast exam.

But sometimes you need a 30-day jumpstart in order to feel like you are really being productive, and sometimes the thought of adhering to something for a full year is absolutely daunting.

I know. I get it.

and it’s okay.

So here you go!! This is a 30-day jump start checklist to get your home and family life in order —- not everything is listed, but enough things are here that you can go from disarray to company-clean in only 30 days. You don’t need to do all 30 days in order if you don’t want to, and you don’t need to do all 30 days all within a month. If it takes you 45 or 60 days to get through this checklist, whatever.

No big deal.

This is YOUR house and YOUR family. Do what works for you.

I’ve tried to hyperlink the above graphic with posts explaining what the different tasks are. It didn’t work. So here are all the past articles that have been underlined above.

The Daily 7

Punch List

Family Meeting (here is a download to help you plan out your family meeting)

P.R.O.M (purge, remove, organize, maintain)

Meal Planning

Chore Charts

Vision Board

You can do this! Please let me know how I can help in any way.

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Use an Ironing Board to Create a Homemade Standing Desk

February 13, 2013 by Stephanie O'Dea 9 Comments

How to Make a Standing Desk out an Ironing Board

For the last week or so, I’ve been using an ironing board as a desk. I wish I was smart enough to have thought of this as a DIY alternative to a standing desk — but I’m not. It just sort of happened.

I’ve wanted a standing desk for a while — I’ve scoured pinterest and DIY sites for ideas, have looked at websites advertising these type of desks (WAY expensive), and even have sent Adam links to how to make them at home using cheap wood and laminate.

So I put this idea on hold.

But then last week happened, and we each had different work trips to go on, and we had unexpected company, and the ironing board that I set up in the corner of the master bedroom got left up. And the computer armoire where I plug everything in at night (my current work desk is the kitchen table, but we have a computer cabinet where we hide everything at night so the “work day” is over by dinner time) got a bit cluttered so I needed another flat surface for charging the laptop.

And I used the ironing board.

And then left it on the ironing board while I was answering email in the morning, and even used it as a table for the last slow cooker recipe I photographed —- and although it’s not the prettiest thing in the world to keep up in the master bedroom, it might very well might be the most practical thing I’ve ever come up with. 🙂

What I like about standing versus sitting:

* I’m burning calories — there are studies that prove that standing exerts more energy than sitting
* I’m naturally stepping or swaying while I work — my pedometer (I really love my FitBit!) is showing that I’ve added a good 2000-3000 steps to my day with very little effort on my part
* I am now finally ergonomic. Since I’ve never owned a desk chair, my table to chair to floor ratio (don’t even know if that’s the actual terminology, but I’m going to assume you know what I’m talking about…) hasn’t ever been proper. I’m exactly 5 feet, so there are very few chairs that allow my feet to sit flat on the floor the way they are supposed to. And our dining chairs are a bit large in the seat, so my knees are at a funny angle if I lean all the way back, which causes me to perch on the edge of the chair while I write, causing my shoulders to slump. With the ironing board, it’s adjustable, so I can raise the keyboard to the actual right spot for my eyeline and shoulders/wrists.
* BUT. My wrists aren’t supported, I know. Honestly, I’ve never had supported wrists or elbows, so that’s not an issue for me, but I can see how it would be for others.
* The other really big benefit is that I’m not spending as much time on the computer. It’s just not as comfortable to stand at an ironing board and read gossip sites, or twitter, or online news as it is to curl up with the laptop on the bed or couch. But that is something I need to work on, personally, anyway. I waste a lot of time on frivolous Internet surfing, and my time could honestly be better spent sticking to my to-do list and goals.

(this might actually be the biggest benefit)

So there you go! Super simple (and actually kind of stupid) brilliant idea!

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One Minute Muffin Recipe

April 14, 2012 by Stephanie O'Dea 35 Comments

low carb muffin (one-minute, naturally gluten-free, high-protein)

I haven’t been taking the best care of myself the past few weeks. I’m on a deadline for a new cookbook and the dirty little secret of cookbook writers is that while you’re recipe testing you eat really, really well, but when you’re actually writing? You eat lots of fast food and consume litters of chocolate bunnies.

I guess I should clarify that by saying that You means Me. I’m sure there are some better disciplined people who would never eat a chocolate bunny.

I seem to not be that person.

Anyway, I’ve begun to emerge from my sugar coma and have fallen in love with the One Minute Muffin. It’s not a crockpot recipe. 🙂

Instead, it’s healthy, inexpensive (after you buy the flax meal), packed with fiber, and low-carb. My kids will tolerate them, but aren’t falling over themselves to eat one. They still prefer chocolate to One Minute Muffins. They also still have ridiculously high metabolisms…

The Ingredients:

1/4 cup flax meal

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon (not pictured, sometimes I use pumpkin pie seasoning)

1 1/2 teaspoons sweetener, I use honey

1 tablespoon fresh or frozen blueberries (or smashed banana, shredded apple, etc)

hearty coffee mug sprayed with cooking oil

microwave

The Directions:

Put the first 6 ingredients in a large glass measuring cup or bowl, and whisk to combine. No need to melt the butter or get it to dissolve–if it’s still in a clump, it’s okay. Mostly try to get the baking powder evenly dispersed. Now stir in the blueberries or whatever fruit you’re using. Pour into a greased coffee mug and microwave on high for 1 minute. Let it sit for a bit, then pour onto a plate; or you can just eat it out of the mug with a spoon. The butter will have melted and made a tiny bit of a “sauce” with the melted blueberries. YUM.

The Verdict:

This is a pretty customizable recipe; feel free to swap out the honey with splenda, agave, brown sugar, etc. There isn’t a drop of flour, making this a naturally gluten free muffin, and if you use non dairy butter it could certainly be dairy-free and I’m imagining an egg-replacer would work okay. If you change up the ingredients and it works, let me know!

It tastes good. Not oh-my-gosh-this-is-the-best-muffin-ever, but actually pretty good considering it’s made completely out of flax meal and has just a tiny bit of sweetener. You can certainly junk it up by adding lots of sugar and more oil, but it’s really actually pretty good just like this. I like that the flax has so much fiber and the egg has a nice shot of protein so if I eat this along with my morning coffee I’m pretty sustained until lunch time.

have a great day, and enjoy your muffin!

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I've tried an awful lot of these so-called "One Minute Muffins" but this one really is the best version. Super customizeable; read the comments for ideas!