ohhhhh the tree house books really are magic!!

a few weeks ago, while visiting family in michigan, my little man received a halloween gift which included the 1st magic tree house book.  the last couple of years i've heard that many young boys really like these books and i tried to get baby girl to look at them at them at book fairs and in book stores - but she showed NO interest.  but back to little man ... he has been obsessed with these books - we're on #2 and every night i get "mom, can we go read the book again".  this is a kid that has about 50 (maybe more) learn to read books in his room.  now while he can't sound out every word i'm going to continue to encourage this reading as long as it lasts!  are there some reading strategies for your kids that you've either hopped on the bandwagon or tried?  

 

happy reading!

-kris

the teal pumpkin project

growing up i loved going trick-or-treating with my family and friends.  i never thought such a fun and exciting holiday could bring so much anxiety to some kids ... until i had my little guy.  you see he is allergic to peanuts so he's excited at the thought of getting candy - he's not excited about getting candy he can't eat.  when he was about 3 he would go up to a house and ring the door bell and say "trick or treat - i'm allergic to peanuts do you have anything i can have?" - all in one breath.  as cute as it was (and it really was) it was also very sad - especially when he came home with about 50% of the things he was given having peanuts in them.  

we don't keep nuts in our home and don't give out candy with nuts - just for that reason; however, i just heard about a campaign that the FARE (food allergy research & education) group is sponsoring - it's called the teal pumpkin project.  the idea is that you have a separate bowl of non-food items that can be given to kids that have food allergies so they can go home with something that can keep them safe and have fun too!  i'm so excited to be participating in this program this year and can't wait to go out and find some fun stuff that kids would want to get (rather than candy). 

you can either paint a pumpkin teal and put it on your front porch to indicate you're a family that supports this project or you can hang a sign on the front of your house.  you can get that sign here. we will be doing both & hope to see many other homes supporting this cause!!  

happy trick-or-treating.  

 -kris

i {heart} philippines

great cause ... pick up one on jcrew online today!

-k

discipline

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i just wrapped up a book yesterday that might have been the best productivity book i've read (more to come).  but the author closed with a chapter on discipline and perseverance.  i do think i'm naturally strong at perseverance but discipline is where i feel i fall short.  ironically i gave up sweets over a week ago (being too reliant during stressful times) and if i look back to my life before kids i was far more disciplined.  so what happens after kids ... thinking about it more i'm very disciplined when it comes to the schedule for my kids ... but for myself i have no energy left.  so this month i'm starting with my biggest and most challenging "frog":  create more discipline in my life and hold myself accountable.  do you have any tricks you use to self-discipline?  

 

-k

a great lesson in balance

did you see this story this week ... it just brought a smile to my face - not only when i saw the picture but when i read the article {if you haven't you should here's the link}.  i love how erin doesn't really apologize - she does explain further the context of the picture, but i love how she's honest and shares this side of parenting.  we all do it ... we all make choices and like a tight rope walker we a lose our balance sometimes - but what we do to get it back is the brilliance.  thanks for sharing erin!! 

happy reading
-k

introducing bookshelf ...

a couple of years ago i was struggling with finding time in my day to do more reading.  at night didn't work for me because i would fall asleep and i couldn't find time during the day and then it hit me ... audio books.  my aunt {a former working mom herself} used to listen to them as she traveled between dealerships as a loan officer for GMAC.  i listen to them in the car on my way to and from work, when i'm working out {going for a long walk or jog}, and sometimes - if i'm really, really into a book i'll listen to it in bed before i go to sleep.  i've been doing it for a couple of years and i have to say i love it!  i actually look forward to picking out books and to my commute!!  

this morning i've started compiling a list of the books i've read ... and i thought i'd share with you.  there is a total assortment of books as i can't stick to any one topic or genre.  i've got some career & productivity books, some parenting & time management books, and then some fiction novels and self-help books.  one of these days i'll get around to writing some reviews as well ... but for now i just wanted to start the long list.  

while i purchase my audiobooks through itunes, i keep a "wishlist" in amazon.com for all of the books that i want to read.  now if i could only find a way to share my audiobooks with friends {and yes i'm that technologically challenged}.  

what are some books that you like? 

happy reading!

-k

birthday party ... supplies

ok so yesterday we had a marathon of birthday parties and while i was prepared with gifts ... i ran out of cards.  yikes.  

over the holidays when i was out and about i did stock up on gift bags and tissue paper.  my favorite sources are the dollar store and tjmaxx.  my theory - i'd rather put more money into the gift than the cost to wrap it.  

but let me get back to my delemma of yesterday ... cards.  so i got these custom "gift tags" a few years ago and i love using them BUT they are customized with both of my kiddo's names.  so yesterday i ordered a set for each with just their name so i'm good for 50 more birthday parties.  below is what i ordered {from one of my fav's ... shutterfly} ...

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but i got to shoppin' around a bit more and here are some super cute solutions so you never have to be as unprepared as i was yesterday.  :)  

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this one you'd have to hit during the season but look for classroom valentines that don't say "happy valentine's day" 

 

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i think these are all a great alternative to a card ... but then again a card is nice and you can pick them up for as little as $.99 cents each or you can purchase 6 or more in bulk too.  

 

hope this gives you some ideas so you're not caught off guard like i was yesterday.

 

 -k

p.s.  GO BRONCOS!!!!

cute stuff for the office ...

omg ... have you gals out there seen some of the new stuff on see jane work?  

if you haven't take a look!

i started my new year with a nice new notebook ...

i can't tell you how much i love this idea!  52 notecards in a box ...

and finally ... i need to add some style to my office ... and this double duty scribble pad is perfect!

adding something with a little bit of pretty & functional is totally what i need these days!

happy shopping!
-k

manic monday ...

i've been a little overwhelmed lately with all of my goals for 2014 {i know only 3 weeks in} ... but i'm working on it.  i need some art like this in my home office.

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happy monday!

-k

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i’ve been reading a lot of self-help books lately and while i’m learning some good stuff one of the things that pops out is that many of these authors don’t work in the corporate world.  now do i blame them – heck no … but when your self-employed there are two very significant differences:  1) you determine your work hours & schedule and 2) generally if you’re self-employed your primary focus is split between getting new/more work and doing the work that you currently have.  there isn’t a lot of “people leadership” that the self-employed have to be responsible for.  additionally by nature their lives can be more simplistic since they are generally working on 1-4 projects at a time.  again this is something that is just so alluring. iI often feel daunted by the 15-20 projects my team is taking on in a given week or month and also the difficult combination of production (getting the work done) and coaching the people who get the work done.  it’s a lot … on top of my home & family life. 

so how do we juggle it?  do you think it’s possible to “have it all”? have you found any books on productivity for being a manager & a mom?

-k

fun with wacky holidays

in order to infuse some fun into every day life i've started celebrating some of the lesser known holidays at work and at home.  the reaction from folks has been really positive so i wanted to share.

{a calendar you can buy}

there is a lot of intensity in my department at work - it's the culture at our company & in order to combat that we take every opportunity to take a break and celebrate milestones on the team (birthdays, anniversaries, etc).  but last year i started noticing that there were some gaps in the celebrations and wanted to add a little more fun into our everyday.  i think i was watching the local news as i was getting ready and they mentioned a quirky holiday and that's when i got the thought to research some of those holidays and bring them into the office to celebrate.  i found this site that has them all listed out and i picked no more than 2 holidays per/month to try out.  one i do for my local team and the second we try to celebrate internationally.  below are some of the holidays i plan to celebrate with my team in the first quarter.  

january 16th - celebrate national hot tea month {local}

january 24th - compliment day {international}

february 7th - opening ceremonies of the winter olympics

february 10th - clean out your computer day {international}

february 14th - valentine's day {local}

february 17th - random acts of kindness day {international}

march 7th - employee appreciation day {local & international}

march 14th - national potato chip day {local}

but i didn't want to just have all of the fun at work ... so i've started doing some fun things at home to celebrate the silly holidays, too.  the kids love the chance to celebrate anything they can and even if our celebration only lasts 15 minutes it's a chance at capturing a memory. 

january 19th - national popcorn day

january 23 - national measure your feet day

february 1st - ice cream for breakfast day
february 2 - ground hog's day

february 7th - opening ceremonies of the winter olympics

february 14th - valentine's day

march 15th - incredible kid day

march 17th - st patrick's day

march 25th - waffle day

when you add it up it's actually a lot to do every month so if you're just starting out keep it small and easy - and if your employees or kids ask why we're celebrating just say it's just a random thing i wanted to try - that way you're not committing to too much.  this year i may try to get some of my other managers in on it too ... i also team up with some of my peers on some stuff {like the employee appreciation day - we can get a bigger group together and have a pizza or ice cream party}.  

the point is just to have fun ... and remind people to live in the moment.  

what are some of the fun holidays you celebrate with co-workers or with your kids?  

-k

experiment in styling a 7 year old

last week i may have lost my cool a bit when my daughter had a total melt-down on the floor of her closet - crying and professing she had nothing to wear.  

now let me set the stage a bit ... this is a girl who not only doesn't lack for clothes likely has 2x the amount she really should have for a healthy wardrobe (which i want to work on not buying her so much - but that's another issue).  this is not the first time this has happened - last summer she had a similar melt-down and i had an epiphany {i'm going to let my daughter buy her own clothes} ...surely if she picks them out then she will love them and our mornings will be a smooth as can be ... right???  well not so much!!  

over the weekend i had yet another epiphany {we are gong to go through her closet and pick out outfits that she can wear to school - i'll take pictures of them and then post them in her closet and every morning she can effortlessly pick out an outfit that i know we both have agreed upon}.  can you hear the angelic music playing in my head?  here are some outfits we put together:

i know the reality is that this might last for a week and then she'll complain about what we picked out together or lose the sheets or something ... but i'm going to see if this can restore some sort of calm and peace to our mornings again.  

do you have a willful child that insists on making his or her own fashion statement in the world?  do you have any secrets or tricks to create a compromise in your house?  i'll check back in a bit to see how my little experiment is going.  

-k

p.s.  i know there is some fancy software out there that will do this for me ... but i'm not the most technologically savvy person and this was really easy ... all you need is an iphone, computer with word processing software and a printer to print them out.  i thought about just taking the pictures on the old iphone she uses for music - but i was afraid she would get mad and delete the pictures at some point and then that would lead to another "not so great" parenting moment on my part.  :) 

annoyed ...

I went in to sign up my little man for kindergarten today and all went fine until the end of the session.  It was the part where we had to sign up for an orientation.  There were 3 options:  Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday all at 10:00 - 11:00  a.m.  So this means that I have 2 choices - pretty much take a half day off of work and take my son or skip it.  Do I think it's a big deal for him to go - no way.  The kid has been going to daycare since he was 12 weeks old - he's going to rock kindergarten!  But shouldn't he get the opportunity to see what the school looks like and get excited about going to a new school?  and why should i have to take a half day off of work for him to have that opportunity?  why can't the school offer a more friendly time for all of us working parents?

 

 

my goals for the year

i’ve always had resolutions … but they would be maybe 1 thing that I wanted to focus on for the year.  as i’ve gotten older and i have less time and more responsibility it seems like i have a lot more to work on.  for the past 2 years i’ve started to set goals for myself.  it was after i read the happiness project  and i liked the idea of what gretchen ruben did but even as "type a" as i try to make myself i just wasn’t able to fully commit to all of that – but what i could do was to identify some major areas that i wanted to work on and then some goals under each of those areas.  i’ve made some good progress but if i’m being entirely honest i also haven’t committed to the tracking part as much as i should.  so this year one of my goals is really related to that.  i thought i’d share my goals with all of you and i’d like to do periodic updates as to how i’m doing.  i’m thinking maybe quarterly – but the accountability will be good for me. 

before i get into the nitty gritty i do want to send a shout out to ruth from living well, spending less, she makes a great goal planning workbook if you’re new and you don’t know where to start or even if you’re a seasoned goal professional … reading through it made me set some goals around habits and think about both long term and short term planning.  

2014 personal goals

 1. quality family time with hubs & the kids

• every sunday make plans for a family activity for the week 
• designate one week night a "family night" & eat together & do an activity
• commit to a minimum of 1 date night per month with hubs

 2. get creative through photography & interior design

• hold a themed "photo shoot" with the kids each month
• set aside time each month to download and edit pics and make something with them
• create mood boards for all of the rooms in the basement
• redecorate the powder room
• complete pin-board projects for around the house

 3. improve my overall health & appearance ... look good & feel good in '14!!!

• work out every week day!!
• be my own trainer!!
• stick to the eating plan in january & february
• find a local general doctor and get in for a check-up

 4. know where our money is going ... and cut down on frivolous spending

• participate in weekly budget meetings
• find ways to cut out everyday spending
• organize areas around the house so i know what i have

 5. career ... try to answer ... what do i want to be when i grow up?

• participate in 6 "networking" events this year
• write meaningful blog posts 3x/week
• create "the dream" business plan
• read 6 leadership books this year

 6. stay on top of it ... commit to planning

• figure out what org tools i'm going to use and stick with them
• carve out 30 min/day to review the goals of the day & week
• carve out 60 min/week to plan out goals for the week/month
• review how the plan is working every month

morning habits to create: 

• drink a cup of water every morning 
• work out every week day
• eat breakfast with the kids every day
  

evening habits to create: 

• read to kids every night
• put on face creme, brush & floss every night
• improve productivity at night (start in feb)
• prep coffee every night
• write what you're grateful for every night

i know it's a lot ... that's just who i am ... i over-commit (maybe that should be a goal to work on next year).  not sure that i'll get to ALL of these or maybe will have to come back and change some ... we'll see.  

do you have resolutions?  or goals?  what do you do to stick to them?