Schedule Spinner

One of my goals for 2012 was to have a daily schedule to keep us on track through the day. That way everyone knows what to expect at a certain time and there aren't any surprises and less meltdowns (in theory). I had written a schedule out on the white board but I kept forgetting to look at it, it was messy and the girls weren't involved with it. 

I knew that if I wanted to accomplish my goal I'd have to create something visual for the girls to be able to read so that they could help keep me on track. I decided to make a spinner. 

I made a list of general daily activities and wrote them down in 30 minute increments. The girls typically wake up at 8:00am and go to bed between 7:30-8:00 pm. When I had everything scheduled I cut out a cardboard circle and divided it into wedges.

I painted each wedge that relates to another the same color, all food wedges are pink, the purple are free time, etc. When the paint was dry, I wrote each activity and the time it's meant to occur.

I cut out an arrow spinner to point to what wedge we're on at the moment. It's attached by a button and some wire.

I hung it up right under our bulletin board, low enough that the girls can spin the arrow to the appropriate wedge. So far it's been going fabulously! Occasionally we've switched time wedges according to moods and time, etc. For example, we've switched "school" time with outdoor time a few times, we've extended art time before. All of the activities are general. "School" to us can mean a trip to the museum or library, free time is anything the girls decide they want to do. Playroom time is time spent in the playroom only. There are books, games, toys in there. The girls love to be in there playing with each other. We've really been enjoying outdoor time lately since it's been so nice out. The past few days have been chilly though, so we've just replaced some outdoor time with more playroom time or more art time.

The spinner has been a very welcome addition to our daily lives, less stress and the girls definitely know what to expect throughout the day and love being able to move the spinner arrow to each wedge.

Make Something Monday: FAIL

So, I recently posted a blog about how I'm going to stick to an awesome blog schedule and post regularly. Well, the very first day of my new blog schedule and I've already failed!
It's not that I didn't have the time or that I completely forgot about it. I was actually thinking about it all day!

I just couldn't decide what to make!

Since I live in an apartment now, that's a bit smaller than my house, I can't just make whatever art I want to or put it where ever I want, so I've been trying to think of the needs I have and go from there.

After thinking and thinking and then thinking some more I've finally figured out what I want to make!

All I can say is that it will involve melted crayons.

I don't know if it's going to work the way I want it to but I can't wait to start gathering my materials and put  them to use!

Be on the lookout for it next Monday for sure!!

I Owe You All A Post!

I've decided I need to post about something other than pancakes!

We've been loving life down here so far but it's been quite overwhelming trying to fit in a whole bunch of activities into a small amount of time.
Travis works 60+ hours a week so I've been trying to make sure the girls are able to do things with him, well, I've been going about it all wrong.
I've mucked up all of our schedules and really have been wasting more time than I should be.
So now I've been slowly trying to get our schedules in order and figuring out which activities are important for me and the girls and which ones are important for him and the girls.
As much as I want to be able to go grocery shopping with him, I realize it is something that I am able to do without him, besides he just stands around waiting for me to tell him what to do next.
Another place he is not necessarily needed is the library, that's always been a momma and girls thing for us, not sure why I expected him to start joining in now.
He's not needed to be home for me to start cooking or cleaning or schooling or shopping or even exploring the area, yet I've been waiting for him to come home before I start doing those things and it's stressing him out and frustrating me that we don't have the time to do it.
I've had to step back and realize this for myself.
Now that I have, I can start being productive again.
Since I've found that running on a (LOOSE) schedule helps me function best I've decided to implement a blog schedule to help me post regularly throughout the week.
I happened to be goofing off on Pinterest and came across the perfect schedule!

Monday will fulfill my artsy side and help me to start posting regularly on the Dilly-Dali Art blog, Tuesday is a great library time for us since we used to go on Tuesdays anyway, I already wanted to add a cooking post (besides pancakes) and already have a draft waiting, I'm going to switch it up and make it What's Cooking (with the kids) Wednesday since I love having the girls in the kitchen with me, Thursday will be something new for us but being thoughtful is definitely a quality I want my girls to have, and somewhere fun on Fridays sounds like, well...fun, and it will help me to post more reviews for my 'Parks and Rec' tab.

Now I'm not sure how to end this post soooo...

THE END.