Rudy Days Focus

I have copies down Gingerbug's Rudy day focus list because it gives me a direction in which to go it.  Here is her list which I will basically follow-

January: Christmas Notebook Focus




February: Stocking Stuffer Focus



March: Tear Files Focus (organize, review, etc)



April: Magic Plans: Elves and St. Nick's Day Focus



May: Recipe Focus: Organizing Christmas Recipe Notebook



June: Gift Focus



July: Crafty Focus (Christmas in July stuff)



August: Menu Planning Focus (Cookie Plans, Christmas Eve, Christmas Morn breakfast etc.)



September: Party Planning Focus



October: Gifts 2 Focus



November: Christmas Letter and Cards Focus



December: CELEBRATE!!



I'd love to hear your ideas so post your list....make it simple....and doable...

__________________

2010 Word: SERENDIPITY...Finding that unexpected outcomes can be just what I need!!!

January 2010 Rudolph Day

As is often the case for me, my Rudolph Days have to be relagated to a weekend.  Teachers have so little time as it is, that weekends are my only time to give it any justice.  This weekend, I was all set to have a great Rudolph weekend, when lo and behold, we got snow, sleet and ice.  This has kept me inside the house and away from my to do list.  Here is a list of what I plan to have accomplished as soon as I can get around to it:

1. redo the Christmas notebook.  Since the big house is gone, there is no sense hanging on to all of it.  I think a fresh start on the decorating is the best thing that I can do for myself.  That means that all of those unused lists and all of my decorating layouts need to GO!

2.  buy a container for just Rudolph day.  This container needs to be Christmas-y, be able to hold my notebook as well as a few other things, and small enough to hide somewhere in my parents house.

3.  work some on my Christmas crafts that are planned gifts for next year.

4. begin gift list

5. put money back for Christmas

6.  plan out the rest of Rudy days

Bible Readings

I know that often during this time of year, it is so easy to become wrapped up in the commercialism of the season. The gifts, the parties, the gifts. One of the things that I wanted to make sure of is that my girls really GOT what Christmas is all about. Oakley does a great job of helping with the secular part, but I wanted more. So last year I tried having daily Bible readings with the girls. Because of the store's schedule, we don't get to church very often, but I am Christian through and through and I really want my girls to know what a personal relationship with God is like.

I revised the Bible reading this year and it is going much better. We read a story and then Peanut draws something to represent the story. For example, an apple tree for Adam and Eve, an ark with a rainbow over it for Noah. We have just finished up with Moses. Lugnut is too "cool" to participate, but I know she is listening by the way she cocks her head while she is on the computer beside us.

I hope to have similar Bible readings before Easter as well with a different focus.

Oakley, the Rampaging Elf

I mentioned our elf, Oakley earlier. Well, that crazy little creature is back and he is wreaking havoc in our house. Oakley arrived on Thanksgiving night and when I woke up, there was an elf in a giant stocking on my bedpost! Peanut was very grateful since her only stocking was the pink one from when she was a baby. Now she has a humongous green one. Big enough for an entire elf family if needed. (You never know, the economy at the North Pole could be in the toilet too!)





Since his grand entrance, Oakley has been behaving...that is until last night. Check out what the elf did:







Peanut lost her front tooth Thanksgiving day. Oakley replaced the tooth fairy's usual among with a big Ole' honking $5!
It seems that Oakley, in his exuberance for rolling my house, get himself in a bit of a jam.

See what I mean?

He enjoyed cavorting up the steps. I don't think people cavort well, but elves sure do.

It all started in the half bath.....good thing Peanut is responsible for this elf and his messes. She happily cleans up after him. Why can't Lugnut be as enthusiastic about cleaning up after Shadow?

What's In Your Notebook?

Here is my Christmas Notebook. I used the front cover design from www.organizedchristmas.com . I have a thing for elves-I will let you in on that little secret later.
Using sheets from the same website mentioned above, I devote the beginning of my notebook to listing the extra chores that I do between now and Christmas. I start out by cleaning the rooms that don't get messed up easily. I do a deep clean where I dust, vacuum, wash windows, and use my carpet cleaner in that room. Anything that needs removed or put in a different place-I do it.
My next two dividers are my shopping list and gifts. I keep a running shopping list for what I will need for the upcoming holiday season for craft projects, Christmas presents, decorations, entertaining, etc.
In gifts, every immediate family member has a separate sheet with gift ideas, sizes and the amount I plan on spending on each person. I have separate sheets with the headings: school, family, and friends where I list any group gifts, dollar amounts, etc. When I buy something for someone, I mark it down beside there name with the dollar amount. That way I can keep up with how much money I am spending. If I got a really good deal on an item, I list its value.

My next section lists any parties that I plan on hosting this year. I have a guest list, a sample menu, and a list of planned activities if it is a kids party.

The next section is a room by room decoration section. In this section, I list what goes where in each room, what number box of Christmas decorations in the attic houses that, and any new plans for the upcoming year. I have everything mapped out on graph paper. Yes, I am that anal.

My Christmas Card List comes next...I also have a copy on the computer but I prefer to have a hard copy just in case.

The next two sections are just for my girls...I have a 25 days of Christmas and a magic elf section. For the 25 days of Christmas, I list what special activity we are doing for each day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. These usually don't cost money, it is just time spent as a family. It could be anything from going around to look at the Christmas lights, to singing Carols by the fire, to roasting marshmallows. If we are hosting a party or going out of town on any of those days, that it the special event.
By far, our family's most favorite thing is the Magic Elf section. It seems that when Peanut wrote Santa a letter last year around Halloween, Santa felt like Peanut had been doing so good, that she was entitled to help him out. His workshop elves are so busy between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, that they just don't have the necessary time to watch their kids. Peanut was assigned Oakley who came the day after Thanksgiving.
Let's just say that Oakley gets into trouble at night when he comes to life. He teepeed the steps inside our house, got tangled in dental floss, and even tried to take my car for a spin-running it into the landscape logs. This is another 25 days of adventure. Again, low cost-but HUGE memories.

I am sure that your head is spinning and you are foaming at the mouth so I will stop there for now. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the notebooks. The website mentioned above is a great place to get started and they probably do a much better job of explaining it.

Time To Start Planning

I know that many of you may think that I have lost my mind, but it really is time to start planning for the holidays. Why, you might ask? Well, because I just got a new hairdo and I don't want to go back to the frizzies. Also planning now means less stress for holdays and I am all about less stress. I will take you through some of the things that I am doing to make my holidays a little less stressful.

First of all, I have looked at how I have decorated in the past for Christmas. For some of you this may be a simple task, but when you decorate EVERY ROOM right down to the flashing snowman toilet cover in the half bath, this can take a litle time. The next thing that you do is decide how much time you spend decorating each area and writing in down in your planner. Yes, I actually plan this out so that it gets done. I promise you this will make sense later on. I also have plugged in any event planned between now and Mako Man's birthday at the end of January. This way I have everything current and up to date. Crazy, isn't it?

Anyway, I will do another post later this week to show you more of what I am talking about. Until then, happy planning!