Keeping it Together

My lifesaver!

I personally don’t put much thought into astrology and such. However as a Virgo (I’ll be 29 again next month!) I am supposed to be organized. If you saw my house though you might think me a Pisces! I can’t even use the excuse that we are renovating anymore as I feel the state of renovation is now a permanent one in a 1902 house. It will always look like this. At least until they all grow up and move away.

There is one area in our family life that is and must be organized: Mom’s planner! With 6 of us coming and going this is important.

My kids even know this is the one thing they are allowed to help themselves to in my purse. My oldest son who is doesn’t even leave the house much (he prefers schoolwork and video games but that’s a whole other post!) likes to look at it because he prefers to know everyone’s comings and goings. Sometimes I will hear my husband on the phone. “That should be fine but let me check my wife’s appointment book first…..” He gets it. My daughter will ask if we can do something on a certain day and follow it up with “….and I know we aren’t busy that day! I checked first!”

My lifesaver!
My lifesaver!

For the past 4 years I’ve used the same planner. It’s small and fits nicely in a medium purse. It is thick though with lots of pages to write all the important stuff in. If they ever stop producing it I may have a temper tantrum because that is what I’m used to and what has worked for us.

With us being halfway through Summer I’d like to believe that it is time to start thinking about Back to School. (6 weeks guys! 6 weeks!). September tends to fill up fast with open houses, football games, homecoming and possibly play dates with new friends as our youngest starts Kindergarten and is already our family’s social butterfly! Then October hits us with various Halloween activities, more football and both of our girl’s birthdays. November and December give way to each of our boy’s birthdays before we can even start to think of Christmas. Before I know it that last third of the year is completely packed with family,friends and fun! It’s vital that I have a place to remember all of it.

A few things I try to do to keep our commitments straight is color coding with pens, stickers, washi tape etc… School colors for school events and my kids favorite colors for individual scheduling. If and when I’m feeling creative I’ll break out the stickers.  Hearts for date night! But that’s just me.

An empty day is a rarity!
An empty day is a rarity!

There are other ways that may work best for your family like a wipe off or chalk board, a traditional wall calendar or even just a notebook. My planner which I have affectionately dubbed ‘The Big Book of Brandt’s” helps us manage life around here.

When Baby New Year shows up and it’s time to start a new volume I never,ever throw away the previous one. Each planner is a precious chapter in the family that we created. There will be a day when no one needs me to schedule their dentist appointment, take them to a concert or a friends birthday party at laser tag. I can pull out one of Our Books and remember the craziness of raising a family of 6 with love and gratitude.

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