The Mischievous Mommy

Eve and I began officially collaborating when she was just two years old and now a few years have passed filled with many changes. One of them being, Theodore, the latest addition to our family. 

Eve's little brother, who is now 15 months old, is quite the tornado of energy, maybe it is just a thing with boys but his motor skills also seem further along. He is already holding a paint brush quite well and going to town whenever allowed... that being said he has yet to say Momma. (although it does come in handy at 3am when all you can hear is "Dada," and I get to roll over and go back to sleep...)

I knew that I would jump at the chance to collaborate with him one day, but it came as quite a surprise to see him already at the stage he is now. He absolutely adores painting and more often than not I find him climbing up on my office chair and trying to steal paintbrushes, which was cute at first but now I am thinking not so much. (Just the image of him standing on tippy toes at the edge of the chair as he reaches for them makes me cringe.)


I thought I would share one of his first paintings and what I believe will be our first collaborative project. I definitely see something in this piece but of course, I wanted to ask you what you see!?

One of my favourite parts about sharing the collaborative process is getting to hear what each of you see in the artwork as each answer is a reflection of your soul and imagination coming into play. It is truly beautiful how diverse our world is and it should always be something that is embraced and never feared.

Imagine the world we could create if our individuality was celebrated and put together as puzzle pieces creating a masterpiece rather than our diversity being ignorantly criticized, leading to chaos and hate.

Our differences are what makes us great. When shown the exact same piece of art, in this case created by an infant, I can guarantee that each of you will see something completely unique to you and your imagination.

The same image, different opinions. No one is wrong and no one is right, just the simple exercise of accepting and respecting another's thoughts.

There is an almost poetic beauty to be found in that.

So what DO you see?!

Overwhelmed, judged and isolated - Why must those words sound so familiar to women of this day and age? We have come to accept these feelings as the norm when it has only been so these last few decades, the embrace of unhealthy badges of "strength". Our every day lives are measured and weighed not only by ourselves, but those around us who have no right to do so yet we put it right in their lap. This world we live in revolves around status built by our image rather than our worth. On how well we are selling our worth solely based on the perceived online level of perfection we are manufacturing via social media. Leading to depression, loneliness and feeling misunderstood, one by one it turns us from once supportive women into a sea of judgmental, self critical and vulnerable humans all trying to prove our worth in harmful ways. Whether tearing each other down or striving for that unrealistic perfection we are all found guilty of losing our way. Modern society is reprogramming our concept of motherhood and womanhood, but these newly minted connections are burning out faster and more furious than ever. They were never meant to exist for each one fused we lose another for human connection by trading it in for "social connection." We are left feeling empty and undeserving, the feeling of invalidation makes us shout that much louder to be heard but our voices are lost among our peers because we cannot unite on anything. And the things we choose to be divided on are the silliest of things because they only matter to our own individual lives yet we take ownership of other's decisions. Breastfeeding or formula, co-sleeping or not, career or motherhood, these are all INDIVIDUAL choices we somehow believe we have earned the right to decide or judge our peers for, yet our heart aches when it is done to us. United on nothing, divided on everything we shall fall. A computer keyboard does not make you right, does not make you indestructible but it does have the power to heal with kindness, as opposed to judgmental criticism. Before you say, "That is not me, I have never done that," be honest with yourself. If it is something you cannot say to someone's face should it be said hiding behind a monitor? And if you can say it, is it helpful or hurtful and is it even your business? When you complain about the inequality of women's rights do you yourself, have a hand in the destruction of our strength? Never have we had more power in our reach to gather as one and build each other up yet it is seeing our differences as a weakness that will be our undoing. Our differences is what makes us great, our ability to make our own choices and choose to support another's is a strength not an opportunity for criticism. Every choice, word and comment you make has a ripple effect and before you make them ask yourself, " Am I making a WAVE that will inspire another or one that will drown and suffocate." In a world where we are struggling to stay afloat why not help each other swim?

What comes out of your mouth becomes a window to what you let live in your soul. As history is set up to repeat itself, yet again, I ask for you to rise above the expectations and raise our standard for humanity by starting with yourself. What our enemy wants is to divide us, turn family and friends against each other for the sole reason of having a difference of opinions or ideology. Only until we have been divided, they will truly be able to conquer us. 

Religion, race, occupation, gender, culture... none of these are the root of the problem. There are evil people among us who choose to use a variety of these as tools to spew hate and terror, the same tools we use for good. Do not let their choices distract us and create conflict among each other, tearing us down to where they want us. Fight against the urge to fear and hate the unknown and choose instead to search out for answers and solutions.
History has shown time and time again, hate will get us nowhere. While love may be the answer to many of our problems remember that paired with ignorance we might as well be running in circles. Love deeply AND search for answers, do not be ignorant of what is really happening.

Humanity has spun in a thousand directions the last two weeks over the horrific events happening throughout world. Emotions and opinions are heightened and the inner workings of humanity are bubbling to the surface through hate, love and ignorance. It is incredibly hard to get a grasp on reality let alone explain what is happening to your child. 

“Children should be seen and not heard.”

This is what I was raised hearing, over and over and over.

I had heard it for so long that I had just accepted it’s meaning without questioning any other way, that is until I had Eve.

Perhaps it was a generational thing seeing how the only people who says it these days are those of my parent’s or grandparent’s age, and I can understand how it could be so. Nowadays, there is no problem with children being seen and not heard as they are usually glued to some sort of technology so hearing them is of no issue, you would be lucky to even see them! When a kid cries in public and all eyes turn it usually results to some parental pleading for serenity and negotiating some reward in exchange for quiet, not quite the perfect solution as it leads to an encore performance on your next outing. Children are quite sneaky, they know it works and how they can work it.

Being a server for quite some time I can tell you that an Ipad is now just tricks of the trade for parents desperate for a “normal” meal. I say “normal” because that entails your child sitting politely until everyone finishes, bill has been paid and they leave with a graceful thank you to the waiter.

Of course, “normal” never happens. As a parent you are lucky if your child eats even a nibble of that expensive kid’s meal you ordered for them and refrains from using the crayons as torpedo missiles with your server’s head as the target. Then, of course, there are those cursed salt and pepper shakers that at any other point in life are your friends, but with a child around? They are your worst enemy, your server’s too. Basically, you are lucky if your table doesn’t look like a nuclear bomb went off, you were able to enjoy at least two bites of your meal while it was still hot and the entire service team isn’t whispering about Table 12 (Yes, you are table 12 and yes, they are looking at you)
To avoid this we give them technology in exchange for a peaceful meal, fingers crossed. Do I judge? Definitely not as I am frequently one of those parents.


So what has it come down to? My generation was constantly told to be seen but not heard, which may have provided us with a polite and peaceful demeanor around company, however what was the side effect? Did we grow up thinking that our presence was only to be expressed on request? That our insight and thoughts were not important as we are simply shushed out of the room when we try to partake in adult conversation? (I consider myself VERY lucky as my parents carefully balanced this idea with an insane amount of nurturing and listening to their four children. As a pastor's kid I knew that the church congregation expected us to be perfect little role models of the very phrase, seen and not heard, which I think would have done some damage if not for my parents understanding the need for said balance.)

This next generation we no longer tell children to be seen but not heard, we don’t even need to since technology simply distracts them from interacting with us.

Both solutions have negative outcomes. Yes I agree that children should be well behaved and polite to those around them, but not by repeating a phrase that takes away their independence. It leaves the sense of a child’s worth being diminished, giving the idea their parents lack confidence in them to behave properly, so therefore they should remain unheard. Then there is the technology which doesn’t even provide an opportunity for the child to learn any different. They are simply distracted from learning proper social skills, that are only acquired through making mistakes, and being lovingly molded into polite young human beings.

So where does that leave us? At a table with screaming children? Definitely not. But if you suck it up, put the technology and catchphrases away and guide them through social experiences, by teaching them what is acceptable and not.... well, I guarantee the outcome is worth it.

Although I must warn you there is a transition period of letting those cringe worthy, public meltdowns happen without any negotiating or rewarding bad behavior in exchange for quiet. Oh and did I mention not giving in to passing them the phone to play with?

Sounds tough I know, but if you put this crazy method to practice I can guarantee you will start to see changes. They will be small at first but if nurtured and guided, your children will not only learn how to behave properly in public without using some form of a crutch, but you will discover something too! You will discover that your children have SO much to say and some of it is truly remarkable!

By letting your children learn how to cope and soothe themselves appropriately in social settings you are giving them priceless tools to success. In exchange they will give you endless moments to treasure and laugh about. The way children see our world is so exceptionally beautiful that there is a reason they say children are a gift. Definitely not a gift to be seen and not heard but celebrated instead! Their quirky ways of seeing things in a different light, one that we could never discover on our own, will open our minds to the fresh air of LIFE. It will put a pause button on our hurried lives so we may enjoy the little things in life, the things that only children can see and share.

So this holiday season please bear with those that say children should be seen and not heard, they don’t know any better and this is your opportunity to show them otherwise. Be wary about just handing off your technology to your children for not only is it preventing them from making REAL life memories but sharing the joy that they naturally have.

Children truly have SO much to teach us. In order to experience their magical lessons we have to unlearn what we grew up with, and in the same breath decide not to delve into this generation’s crutch of technology. This may very well be one of the most difficult times to raise a child as “normal” as possible, but the end result will be forever lasting. Not only in their lives, because what you choose to do NOW will impact the way they raise their children and so on and so on.

The transition period is definitely difficult. By no means do I suggest letting your child run wild with no discipline or guidance, that completely negates what I have suggested. It is only through careful nurturing and guidance you can show your child firsthand how to behave in social settings. Keeping in mind you are their role model, you cannot hold them to high standards if you yourself are not abiding by them. Put your phone away, turn the TV off and listen to what they have to say, show respect to those around you and teach them to respect their elders and authority.

And please, don’t treat children as little humans that should only be seen and not heard. That is an insult to them and a true shame, just imagine what you could learn from these vessels of innocence and brilliance.


After chasing and roaring at the pigeons in the park for a good 15 minutes they all flew away at Eve's dismay. Once they returned to a nearby roof Eve decided she absolutely must join them in their flight.
Leaving me in the tough position of telling a toddler they cannot fly. If there was ever a moment I could make a wish come true this would be it, I wish I could have given her those wings.

This is one of the reasons I firmly believe the phrase "Children must be seen and not heard," is such a shame. Just imagine all these priceless moments that would be missed...


NOTE: This isn't some crazy post where I suggest banning your child from technology forever suggesting you are permanently damaging them otherwise, definitely not. It is all about balance, a healthy balance. If you ever see me out eating with Eve I will probably be handing her my phone to play with, but only after our meal is complete and she has behaved appropriately. Do we have our bad days where I hide in the bathroom eating chocolate using the Ipad to distract her? Most definitely.  That photo at the top of this post is of one of Eve's epic grocery store meltdowns during our transition period.

We all have our moments, but as long as we are letting our children discover the world without a crutch and providing our loving attention as support, I think we'll all be OK in the end.

Collaborative Word Art

 

 

Materials Used for this Project:

• Watercolor Paper (Mixed Media paper can also work)
• Paintbrushes
• Watercolors or Children's Finger Paint
• Masking Fluid
• A quote or pattern 
• Glitter (optional)
• Stencil (optional)
• White gel pen (optional)
  
  

  

  
  STEP ONE:
  Prepare all of your supplies and sketch out your pattern, picture or quote you plan to paint using the masking fluid. Make sure to take your time until you get it just right, there is no shame to be found in erasing! Try not to make the words or pattern too small as it can be difficult to paint the masking fluid in accurately without it blending into other words. We chose several different quotes that have meaning to Eve and I for this project, however I look forward to using the masking fluid to create pictures or patterns in the future. I used my own handwriting since I thought it would give a more personal touch, however you can always use a stencil or print out a design / quote.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  STEP TWO:
  
  Time for the magical Masking Fluid! 
  Take your time and use the Masking Fluid to trace your pencil marks, remember less is more in this case. Using too much can lead to it blending into other markings or taking too long to dry, just a little bit goes a long way. 
  Masking Fluid can be quite difficult to remove from your brush so choose one you don't mind potentially ruining. I find it helps if you dip the brush in water periodically throughout the project to get the excess masking fluid off. This will prevent it from building up on the brush making it easier to clean at the end, as well as a helping with cleaner lines. Once you are finished, immediately use soapy water to clean your brush so you have a chance of saving it. Waiting will only turn the masking fluid into a glue like state that hardens your brush to the point of no return.
  
  
  When you are all finished you can hold your paper up to the light and let the reflection show any missed spots. ( I didn't realize until after I had missed the inner part of the second "O" in the world "Color", whoops!)
  I recommend leaving it to dry thoroughly overnight or for at least a few hours before moving on to the next step.
  
  
  
  
  
  STEP THREE:
  
  

  

  
  

   Once it has completely dried you can hand it over to your partner in crime! 

  I let Eve go to town and she covered it up with gorgeous little hand prints and finger painting. Try to make sure the edges of the Masking Fluid are covered in paint, that way the pattern underneath will stand out when you remove the Masking Fluid.

  
  

  Let this dry completely. 

  
  

  

  
  

  STEP FOUR:
  
  For this step I find it best to use your clean fingertips since it will give you more control and you have a better sense of what you are doing. I know it is common to use an eraser but I am always afraid of it removing some paint along with the Masking Fluid. Eve LOVES this part just as much as I do and is always eager to help. The bright white pops out once you remove the Masking Fluid and you get to see your two creations combine into one collaborative piece!

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  STEP FIVE:
   (OPTIONAL)
  
  Once the Masking Fluid is removed and you are finished marveling at the creation you can go ahead with adding glitter or take this opportunity to "fix" any mistakes. During one of our projects I made the mistake of letting Eve use glitter glue BEFORE I had a chance to remove the Masking Fluid, meaning portions of the word art would never be revealed.

  
  

  

  In order to fix this I used a white gel pen over the letters that would be forever sealed from the glitter glue. A white gel pen can come in handy when fixing little details after everything has been removed. 

  

  
  

  
  

  There you have it! 

  An easy, lovely project to do by oneself or as a collaborative project. You can frame the pieces, give it as a gift or turn them into handmade cards / postcards to give to a loved one. I am SURE grandparents would be thrilled to receive a collaborative art piece between their own child and grandchild.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  In case you don't have any watercolors or aren't interested in investing into art supplies you won't use often, you can try this with children's finger paint and a thick card stock paper. I wanted to make sure it worked before I posted this so I tried it with Eve's finger paint and a mixed media paper, it came out pretty well! (see pictures below)

   Using your child's hand prints is a great way to include smaller babies or children that aren't able to paint yet. A great idea would be to write their age or number of months they are in Masking Fluid so that you can track their hand print size and age simultaneously.

  
  

  

  

  
  

  
  

  For Eve and I this is only the beginning of many more collaborative projects using Masking Fluid. While I am sure many of them will be given as gifts our first two created together will hold a very special spot on her bookshelf. The quote on the left is from the song "Hourglass" sung by Mindy Gledhill, a lullaby I sang to Eve when she was a baby. The one on the right is a quote that reminds me how blessed I am to be Eve's mother. 

  
  

  

  
  

  If you try this project out feel free to share your photos with me, I would love to see what you come up with!

The Basketcase Scenario is what I like to call the phenomenon that happens come winter. It is made up of a simple equation that when certain inevitable situations align, chaos ensues.

It all begins to happen when the cold weather arrives. First snow is absolutely stunning and there is magic in the toddler's eyes as mother and child lightheartedly skip down the street breathing in the fresh, crisp air. The loving mother understands the importance of her child getting fresh air and carefully balances their time with outside play and planning wonderful crafts and indoor activities for the rest of the day.

Three weeks later.

Mother spends 30 minutes trying to lasso her naked child, who refuses to wear an ounce of clothing, into 3 layers of what the toddler has deemed their mortal enemy. Mother takes several shots of espresso, gives herself a pep talk and carefully corners toddler while using TV as distraction and in a whirl of clothing and limbs child is, somewhat, successfully dressed. (Who cares if pants are on backwards or shoes are on the wrong feet, at least it is on!)  If said toddler is potty trained than this is without a doubt the moment they decide it's toilet time, this is called Murphy's law. The pair heads outdoors into the -20 degree weather for healthy "outdoor" play while mother struggles not to curse out loud about how freaking cold it is. Child seems oblivious.

1 Month later.

Mother spends 10 minutes trying to lasso naked child, gives up. Puts out a breakfast spread for her toddler, drags a blanket from the bedroom and attempts to hibernate on floor beside toddler happily eating away. This method works for 10 minutes until toddler has eaten their full and realizes mommy is pretending to sleep and it is their calling in life to prevent that from ever happening. Ever.
Mother takes a glance at the 3 feet of snow outside and back to her naked child and knows today will be the dreaded indoor day. One full day of trying to keep a toddler completely entertained with indoor activities without losing your mind. If one has an accessible backyard this stage can be delayed, however living in an apartment speeds up the timeline to insanity.

This is the Basketcase Scenario, it creeps up on you slowly but when it arrives... you will know.

Now, as crafty as I can be with Eve there are only so many things we can do before she gets bored and decides that her new stool trick is much more entertaining.

The stool trick you might ask? O, why that is when she waits for my back to be turned for even just a minute, finds any stool or chair to climb and destroys/eats/smears anything she can find. After the Vaporub incident of last week and making friends with the poison control nurse we are yet again child proofing our house. The entire house.

(On a very serious note, Vaporub can be DEADLY if a toddler ingests it. It is one of the last things I had ever suspected could be THAT dangerous, but please make sure it is locked far away from their reach. All it takes is as little as 1 Teaspoon to be ingested and it can lead your child to go into seizures, coma and even death within 15 minutes to an hour. If you ever suspect your child as gotten into it take them to the hospital immediately. Thank God, Eve just decided to use it as lip chap and only licked a little off her lips.)

Now that I find myself in this Basketcase Scenario I have decided to go on a mission to find as many indoor activities and crafts that will occupy Eve all while expanding her imagination and activity levels. The TV and IPad are both tempting since I know she will be more than happy with those options, but I also know it is my duty as her mother to give her the opportunity to grow. Not to necessarily always be the one teaching her, but to provide her the tools so she can teach herself.

I will do my best to blog and share each project we journey through, whether it be our collaborations, crafts or DIY's. Some will be small projects and others much bigger, but as long as the end result is Eve's imagination being expanded and my sanity being maintained then I will call it a success!

Each project will focus on providing a foundation for the child to build and grow from, as well as one that keeps them busy long enough for you to have some priceless mommy time. (There is no shame in admitting that, we all covet those moments and should find no guilt in not hovering 24 / 7)

Maybe you can even go to the bathroom without an audience for once...

Only 6 more months until summer.

You know that disheveled mom you spotted stumbling to the closest coffee shop, sporting a rats nest up do, bloodshot eyes and toddler in tow, well that was probably me.

I have been caught in this vicious circle for the better part of my life that consists of biting off more than I can chew and then sacrificing my very valuable sleep to try to make sure I achieve my dreams. Now couple that with someone who is a fly by their pants type who has a severe lack of organizational skills, toss in a kid and I have become that hot mess. Just for the sake of being honest I have to admit an embarrassing portion of my time is filled with procrastination and an unhealthy amount of watching the latest shared videos. My fiance has come home to me bawling my eyes out just because I watched another dog rescue video....It gets me every time.

You might laugh but my craving for stability hit an all time high yesterday during that stumble to Starbucks. As I carried Eve, who was still in her pajamas, at 2pm in the afternoon, it began to dawn on me that I needed to make some serious changes. After all, it wasn't just me who was suffering but Eve. Here I was trying to kick start my day at 2pm, my kid wasn't even dressed yet and somehow I had managed to throw some jeans on, although I don't remember when so I may have slept in them?

Ugh.

Now I love change, organization and structure or at least the ideas of them. They have always been these elusive, unachievable goals of mine that I know would drastically change my life for the better, but until now have avoided me. For the longest time my concept of not stressing about the small things and focusing on living life in the moment have worked out great for me. However, I'm beginning to understand that lovely lifestyle that I previously thrived in does not work with motherhood. I am exhausted.

Currently my day sort of goes like this:

7:30 am - Feed the kid
8:00 am - Curl up in her bed and play "put mommy to bed"
8:30 am - Convince Eve I am not sleeping, just pretending
9:00 am - Pull myself, somewhat, together and do something productive... perhaps I'll get dressed.
10:00 am - Head outside with Eve otherwise I'll stay in sleep mode, plus they have coffee out there
12:00 pm - Lunch
2:00 pm - Officially wake up and begin being semi-productive
6:00 pm - Create something edible for supper
8:30 pm - Eve goes to bed and it's time to tidy the hurricane of destruction that must have passed through my house today.
9:30 pm - I am fully awake, house is "clean" (Don't look in the closet) and I'm ready to start catching up on painting and correspondence
2:00 am - Realize that once again I am an idiot for staying up so late and have to be up in 5 hours to do a repeat

*Facepalm

Clearly I am bound for a massive burn out. It's happened before and let me tell you it wasn't pretty.

Although I have planned to plan to set aside a time to plan to organize a schedule, it has never successfully happened. Our lives are so all over the map since neither of us work 9 - 5's but shift work with odd hours, making it difficult to pin down something stable. However I know that I MUST make this work, not only to be a better mother, fiance and artist but to achieve the most that I can out of life.

I have tried the day planner, I lost it. I tried the table top calendar, that lasted maybe two weeks before it got covered in paint and doodles. I tried the erasable fridge calendar which accidentally got erased once and I forever lost faith in it.

So I sat down and thought about what would work for me.

Remember back in the day those fridge magnet words that were all the rage? You could create all sorts of messages to leave for roommates to discover and make up random stories that made no sense because you ran out of the necessary words, well I loved those. I figured why not find a way to make up my own words and create a custom magnet calendar where I could rearrange whatever I needed to at ease. And so I did.

Word Magnet Schedule

First thing I had to do was find the perfect template. I may be an artist but I lack in the graphic design department especially since I have no program to even begin to create something. So I headed to Etsy to find something I could work with and found the PERFECT template at Nixie Knox Designs.

This was the first template I purchased (only $3.46 CDN!) and after some thought I realized a half hour interval template would probably work better for our lives.

I contacted Sarah, the store owner, and she graciously worked with me to create a custom template in under a day! What is great about this Nixie Knox Designs template is that once purchased you can download it directly to print out at home and don't have to wait for the mail.



Down below is the one she had custom made for me and it is now available in her shop along with some other amazing organizational templates.


I printed this out at home on an 11 x 15 thick paper (I actually used watercolor paper) and it came out gorgeous. Obviously if you are trying this out you can create whatever size works best for you and can always get it professionally printed for larger sizes.
The next day I brought it to Staples and had it laminated for only $3.00.

The next stop was finding magnets.
At our Canadian dollar store, a.k.a Dollarama, I picked up some of their photo magnet sheets measuring 6 inches x 9 inches. (You can usually find them beside the picture frames)
I love these sheet magnets because you can peel off the adhesive backing and lay your paper directly onto the sticky side, no messy gluing!

Once you have your supplies ready go ahead and open up Excel. You want to create a spreadsheet where each column and row height measures a little bit less than each square on your printed out schedule.


You then choose your desired font and start filling in each square with your daily activities. For example, if you want to put "LUNCH" on your schedule make sure to fill in 7 different boxes with the same word. When you feel like you have all the daily tasks you may need go ahead and print!

I skipped changing the font color, but looking back I would suggest getting creative with the font coloring and color coordinate certain tasks.








Cut off any of the excess paper and then carefully lay it down onto the adhesive side of the magnet sheet. You may either use an X-acto knife or a strong pair of scissors to cut out each individual square. This is probably the most tedious part of the process so throw on a good movie, pour a glass of wine and get to work.


Another step I skipped was attaching magnets to the laminated template itself. I decided to just use some DIY animal magnets Eve and I created, although I was worried about how well the magnet words would stay attached it seems to work perfectly.


The best part about laminating the template is that you don't have to worry about creating every single word possible, if some random event is coming up you can just write it in rather than print out the perfect word.

 I absolutely love this concept because it adapts so well to our all over the map schedule. I don't have to rewrite or constantly erase the next day's events, all I have to do is rearrange a few magnets! The above picture is my attempt at a structured schedule, it has a long way to go and plenty of rearranging before I find what works for us.


Tips:

- Get creative with the font coloring and color coordinate certain tasks.
- Create a word magnet for daily chores and place them at the bottom of each day. For example Sunday night I have "clean the fridge" as the chore because on Monday I know I will do my grocery shopping. 
- Print out your template on regular paper until you get it the size you want, this way you aren't ruining your good paper.
- Measure the row / column box size of your printed out schedule and make sure to edit your EXCEL spreadsheet accordingly before spending your time typing everything in.
- Buy an extra magnet sheet or two, just in case.
- Don't stress about getting it "perfect", the great thing about this is you can go back and print out any missing tasks or activities!
- Pick up some colorful, erasable markers to add some more fun to your calendar, perfect for writing in the dreaded dentist appointment.
- Why stop at making word magnets just for your schedule? Make some for your child to help them learn their letters, shapes and colors... there really is no limit!

Now I know this isn't just going to solve all of my problems, it will definitely take time and for me specifically, lots of time. But at least it is a start and I am excited to see how much more productive I become with some added structure to our lives.  

If you have any questions about the process let me know and I will do my best to answer them :)
Happy creating!

This is what happens when your toddler has been quiet for longer than 2 minutes. If this happens, run.

Run as fast as you can to see what they have either gotten into or destroyed.