Organizing Tips

Organizing my bills folder has been on my "to-do" or, should I say... "honey-do" list for a VERY long time and especially now that we are married and everything is in OUR name we need some serious organization. 

Thanks to a blogger I found online I stole some tips and tricks about easy organization that made her life easy! 

Out with the old...

In with the new...

I bought two Sterilite totes from Meijer, and 1 box of hanging files. (I should have bought 2, I ran out!) 

I spent about two hours organizing all the bills. I separated them into piles and then organized by date oldest to newest. Rule of thumb has been to keep 6 months of bills... I started over for the new year and we are shredding everything else. I think I will make one of these every year to make sure things are organized. 

& here it is... The beautifully organized file system for the Klepsch fam! 

I also made one for Lennon. Hers has the same documents minus the bills part! 

Happy Organizing!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies [in less than 20 minutes]

Healthy, Yummy & Kid Friendly!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

[In less than 20 minutes]

 

Ingredients:

2 bananas

1 Cup Oats

 

1. Peel and mash the bananas in a large bowl

2. Add oats and mix well

 

3. Preheat oven to 350

4. Place on non-stick baking sheet

5. Bake for 15 minutes

 

 

6. Cool & ENJOY!

 

 

TIPS & more...

• Use flavored oats for an even yummier cookie. Try the apple-cinnamon! YUM!
• 1 banana and 1 cup of oats = approximately 6 cookies
• Add dried fruit, chocolate chips, real granny smith apple pieces, sugar and cinnamon, or peanut butter!
• Make them small enough for tiny hands, it's the perfect snack or "cookie" for the kids!
• & make some bigger ones for the big kids & adults for breakfast on the go

 

Wedding Glam

My wedding day was perfect! Glitter nails, smokey eyes and BIG hair!

The perfect glitter nail! (Enhancements, glitter powder... Like 3 different glitters, acrylic and then shellac to top it off) kacie at Prime Cut Hair Salon in Saginaw, PHENOMENAL!

The pre-wedding do! 

And my AMAZING stylist Sonnet, also at Prime Cut! 

Ta-Da! Finished product! My vision came to life and this is exactly what I wanted!!

(Notice the Immodium, Bigby and Muffin?) Wedding day jitters happen, ladies! 

The veil was so hard to get in but once she got it, it was in for good! 

My mom and I after we got all dolled up! 

And my hubby and I after we finally said "I DO"! 

:)

A Much Needed Mess

After a long busy week of working, traveling, and cleaning I am finally home and able to relax knowing that tomorrow is the weekend. But of course, the busy doesn't stop when I walk through the door... I have clothes to put away, toys to play with - and then put away, snacks to get out for Lennon - and then clean up the crumbs, wash the counters, windex the tables... the list never ends. What do I do? Add to the mess.

In the middle of washing the floors, cleaning the toilets and washing the counters I put everything down, grabbed Lennon's hand that was tugging at my pants, and walked with her out to the living room. We sat down, read a book, built a tower with blocks, gave Pooh some kisses and hugs, went to the chalkboard table and wrote the alphabet and played. Simple enough, we played, we laughed and we made a mess.

The mess didn't anger me. Lennon's smile reminded me that it didn't need to be cleaned up right away and most of all, it didn't matter. Lennon loved it! She loved taking every.single.toy out of the basket and throwing it on the floor. She loved watching me grab them and throw them, only for her to chase them and give it right back to me. We had a blast together.

We went upstairs and before bath time we painted our nails. I painted her piggies pink and purple and she laughed, giggled and said, "OOOOOO"!

 It was so exciting to see her so happy. Of course, she grabbed the paint brush and smeared it all over her leg, her shirt and my hand, why wouldn't she make another mess? I grabbed her hand, looked at her in the eyes and said "Lennon, NO". She immediately dropped the paint brush, smacked the bottle out of my hand and it spilled everywhere. Just as I looked at her again with frustration she looked back at me, put her hand in the mess and giggled as she smeared it everywhere! (Luckily, it was Piggy Paint so it didn't stain anything). I looked at Lennon and she was still smiling, giggling and playing in the spilled nail polish. I immediately thought to myself... I am SO mad but her face is so cute. I can't be mad. This mess is making her happy, and I am loving her more every minute she smiles.

I put her in the bath, cleaned up the mess and then we played with her boats in the tub! ALL of her fingernail polish came off in the tub... probably because it's not REAL nail polish, but hey, we tried.

ALL of that hard work, and mess for nothing memories, smiles, giggles and fun! Seeing her smile, laugh and play with the messes make me happy. Sure, I want to clean it up right away but sometimes I just have to take a step back, look at her so happy and think... what's the point? It was a much needed mess that resulted in a happy mama and a cheerful Lennon.

Good moms have sticky floors, dirty kitchens, laundry piles, and HAPPY kids!

Lennon is 18 months

Age - 18 months. Holy cow. As I rock my not so much of a baby to sleep tonight her legs are hanging off the rocking chair, her head doesn't quite fit in the little curve of my neck, one of her hands is squeezing my shirt collar and the other is holding her silk blankey that she can't love without. She's finally quiet and peaceful... After a long day of running, playing, chasing and cleaning up messes behind her she's finally, yet surprisingly, completely exhausted all of her energy and she's asleep. (Thank God)! She's going to be 18 months old in the morning when she wakes... It's weird to think that it's been 18 months with Lennon in our lives. 18 WONDERFUL, beautiful, happy, crazy months. As parents we have loved more than we could have ever dreamt, we have laughed and played more than we did as kids, we have learned a whole new meaning of love, life and true happiness, we have taught eachother patience and trust, we have learned new ways to teach, eat and pray. We love every minute of our lives with Lennon, it's crazy how much love consumes you in 18 short months! 

Favorite Food - Anything mama & dada are eating! Grilled cheese, Chicken, Veggies, fruit and juice! She also has a slight obsession with drinking from my tumbler cup! She loves it. 

Favorite Words - "Miiiiiike", she loves her Uncle Mike from Colorado and she says his name almost every day. She likes saying, "poporrrrn" (popcorn), "jew" (juice), "pee", "toy", "toon" (cartoon) and of course mama, dada, nana, papa, GG, Matt, "OOO-OOO" (dog).

Favorite Activities - reading books, vacuuming the floor with her singing vacuum and drawing on her new chalkboard table. She likes playing in the snow, chasing us around the house, feeding Lucky treats all the time (even when Nana and Papa see her!) haha! 

Favorite Things - All of her new toys! Her princess books that she got for Christmas, and her stuffed animal pooh! 

Milestones (since 1 year) - we officially took the "bubba" away! I hid them, put them all away and now we only use a sippy with milk in it for naps and bed time. Perfect! We have also been practicing her ABC's and 1-10's! She's doing so great so far! She is learning how to tell us when she has to pee and poop, usually it's a little too late but she knows where her potty is (and unfortunatly knows where all of the toilet paper is - and I mean the WHOLE FREAKIN' ROLL)! She goes to bed without being rocked... We sit on the couch, cuddle and drink her milk, have a snack and watch Disney Jr! Then we go upstairs, hug and kiss and she goes in the crib! (This still makes me sad and I secretly hope she cries a little sometimes so I can rock her to sleep)!

Looking forward to - no more diapers and no more pacifiers! I'm slowly working on taking the paci away during the day and only using at night! She talks with it in too much and only uses it because she's used to it. I'm working on her!

In 6 short months my baby will be a toddler... (Although when you ask her how old she is she will tell you "twoooo")! She is growing up so fast. 

Happy 18 months, Little Lennon. 

Love, Laugh and Pray

It's the smallest things in life that mean the most.

 

I never realized how much that saying meant until I had my daughter, got married and began loving my life more than I ever have before. Family, love and laughter are the blessings I thank God for every single day. 

Some days are hard... Really hard... But knowing that my life has been an up and down, spinning in circles, going too fast upside down type of roller coaster for years makes me believe that I can handle anything. I am a non-stop working mom, wife, dreamer and believer and like most, I let the little things pass me by by being consumed in daily life, texts, emails, work, TV shows, you know... the usual. 

I can handle the bad moods my daughter has, the cranky fits and throwing toys, hitting, throwing all her Cheerios on the floor type of temper tantrums. I can handle the messy floors, toilet paper roll completely undone on the bathroom floor, DVDs scattered, crayons broken and smushed in carpet and in between baby teeth. Because, I am a mom, and that's what I signed up for. I would rather play with all the toys at once than miss a funny moment while I'm putting toys away. I would rather tickle Lennon, throw her around on the bed, (where all my clean clothes are neatly folded), than miss a giggle or that cute smirk she makes when she is mischievous. I will make memories before I clean, I promise. 

I can handle the messy sink, laundry piled up, smelly socks and wet towels not hung up, toilet seat not put down and toothpaste left open because... I am a wife that would rather cuddle than clean, kiss than fight over who does the damn dishes and rather be lazy (let's be honest here...) than pick up dirty socks and boxers! (I'll leave that for the hubs)! 

I am so blessed to have a warm home (apartment), dishes in my sink regardless if they're clean, messy floors with toys everywhere and a great family to make it all messy! I am so happy that God has blessed me with a beautiful family. 

Love, Laugh & Pray

That's all you need! 

& 2014 begins...

... with a hangover (unfortunately), lots of nap time, cuddle time and family time and new plans for this year together as a married couple!

As of today Lennon is bottle free... This is going to be a long road but well worth it. She was hard to put to bed last night. She is teething, cranky, and probably doesn't feel well. Terrible time for mom to decide to go bottle free but I had to. It will be worth it, I keep telling myself. As of January 1st everyone makes goals, new resolutions and then a week later they forget all about them.

MY RESOLUTIONS FOR 2014

 

1. Be a better listener, lover, a better friend, mom, a good wife and a harder worker.
2. Become more active and live a healthier life style. No, I am not starting a trendy diet, or buying a gym membership that will go to waste like 90% of my friends right now. I have just decided to play more with Lennon, take the stairs instead of the elevator, LESS JUNK, more veggies and fruits, eat more in general during the day (instead of having 5 cups of coffee for breakfast... lunch and dinner... on busy days at work). Get L into swim lessons and tumbling, eventually.
3. Read more. Write more. Learn more. Go back to school!
4. Organize my home. Make my life more simple with less clutter, less clothes we don't need and less CRAP in general.
5. Enjoy our marriage, save for a home, and get pregnant! (Don't worry, that's not until the ennnnnnnddddd.of.2014) WOOT! WOOT!

 

OH, HAPPY 2014!