Katie Orse

Taking an intermission break

 

I'm taking a bit of an intermission break this week. 

Mostly to help focus on my oldest daughter

who is participating in her first pageant.

I have to say that this is NOT my thing. I'm okay

with her doing cheerleading, but boy is this stressful.

I've mostly kept out of it, and let her know that I'm

here if she needs me. I think more stress is added if 

you have a mother step in and try to run everything.

So, this afternoon I'm dropping off her gown

so she can have her final dress rehearsal.

The final pageant night is tomorrow on Friday.

Talent night was Tuesday and Paul missed that one 

because of work. He's excited to see what this 

is all about and as a father who mainly is interested

in Boy Scout nights, he's really supportive.

I should be back sooner than later! 

 

Free Meal planning & Password Downloads

 

I've been reading this book.

My goal is to find a personal solution to help

better manage my time, home and family. 

It's been a challenge to work at home and balance

family schedules. One of the systems that I have

in place is our family's meal planning.

I've tried other meal planning programs

and we just didn't seem to click. I needed something

that was VERY simple and without a service that required 

a monthly fee for something that I could 

easily create myself. All it took was some time.

So, I'm sharing with you two free downloads that have 

personally helped me get organized.

Download:

Meal planning

and

Password Organizer

Print the meal planning handout, plan 

some meals (I like browsing Pinterest for meal ideas), 

create your shopping list and take with you 

to the store. Don't worry about getting

fancy with meals and honestly, creating

healthy meals takes some research and common sense.

Moderation in red meats (more chicken/lean meats), 

less fried food, more vegetables and grains.

 ***

The Password organizer download is so handy!

Am I the only one who forgets which website has

which password? Sometimes you have to create

different ones for different sites because the combination of

letters/numbers and symbols IS required. It's crazy!

So there you go. Enjoy and please feel free to share

with others.

Want more for your planner?

You can purchase the ENTIRE download here too.

Have a great weekend!

Christmas 2011.

It went by so fast.

It seemed like the kids are

growing up fast too.

This year we chose quality gifts,

instead of quantity.

I hope to get more pictures up soon!

But for now have a delightful day!

 

Weekend retreat

 

This weekend we headed up to Birmingham, Alabama. It was a nice short road trip. The kind that you need to have an excuse for- go sightseeing, eat out, take pictures, and make memories. Then return home not feeling more exhausted than when you first left. {Short and sweet}.

I also got to spend some time with my husband-who really needed to take a break from his doctoral studies. He had exams and research due on several occasions, and so this little retreat was needed!

I love the trees and the change in scenery. You can tell the leaves are slowly but surely changing in color here. Yet the green is still vibrant. Beautiful!

The weather was perfect. In the morning it was 49 degrees, and then burning off into a nice 70 degree weather. Love it!

Now I'm feeling ready for this week.

A lot of ESPN-moments

That's my boy right there. #13. Yes, not a lucky number, but who in sports is superstitious?

Yesterday was my oldest son's last football game for this season. I'm so sad. This proud football mama can't explain what it means. His first year in high school football just ended and a new chapter will begin. I'm proud my son made several great plays to help his team and that he also got to experience what he calls " a lot of ESPN-moments". Not sure what he means, but that's a 14 year old boy for you. 

What was really neat...after the game, he came up to me and said, "Mom - coach is recommending me to continue practicing and playing the last few games with Varsity. I'll be 2nd string, but I can still play." Oh, did I tell you I was so happy for him! And now the day after his announcement...I'm a little worried. My little boy is going to be hit by some big players! Yikes. Even though my son is 6' 2 1/2" right now, he is on the skinny side. Time will only bring him bigger muscles and weight, so I am praying. 

And speaking of time, how do you know what your calling in life is? I know my son has a gift- he's very athletic. And at a young age, he knows what he loves. Sometimes I wonder if we all had those moments when we were younger, only to grow up older and forget about our "gift(s)". What we were really meant to do. Do you reflect on things such as these? I do. I haven't forgotten my love of paper. I would carry notebooks to our camping trips. Write in them during our road trips and read books or open them just to feel the paper. Yes, I was paper obsessed in some way...even back then. And it's not ironic that I run a business focused on journal sleeves, journaling, book bags, scrapbooking etc. 

So, what do you think your gift(s) are? I'm sure you can come up with a few. And more importantly, are you using your gift today?

 

 

Finally! A blog update

I've been really quiet on my blog lately, with the exception of My Daily Gem updates. Life is good, if not better, but super busy. Can we put a 'hold' button on already? Pretty please!

Football season started last week and my two older kids are both involved. One for Freshman, and the other for Junior Varsity.

That means I'm out Tues. and Thursday evenings supporting my kids. And then I have one who will be starting soccer in a few weeks. Well, I knew I shouldn't have overscheduled myself, but this is what happens when you have children and you want to be there for them. I knew this was going to happen and it's okay. We allow each of our 4 kids the opportunity to participate in one sport. Besides church, and school, they have that one sport they want to get involved in.

And well, my kids come first, so the rest (business) will have to slowly move aside. But then I almost forgot about hubby!

He's completely engulfed in his Ph.D studies and it feels the same way as when he was deployed. Only this time, I see him, but not really. I see a zombie. He comes home from work, shifts into student mode and starts writing his papers, posting board discussions, researching, then goes to sleep and wakes up to start all over again. I know, everything will work out in it's right place and time. But right now I could really use a date night with the man. 

So, I'm going to clear off some things on my To-Do list. And by that I mean- erase them off. They are not priority and I'm not going to fill my To-Do List book, just because I want it filled.

I'll be back on and off my blog. But until then, here's a wonderful reminder from yours truly. 

Source: blog.urbangrace.com via Jennifer on Pinterest