GIVEAWAY! Amy Knapp's Family Organizer

As a mom, we know that life can get hectic. There's work, school, after school activities, doctor's appointments, birthday parties...the list goes on and on!

After I had Big Sis, I found Amy Knapp's Family Organizer. While it wasn't much help when she was a baby and I was a stay at home mom, now that I have two kids, two jobs, Brownies, my girls' after school activities, church activities, and other events thrown into the mix, I'm finding it to be a lifesaver!

Here's how I use the Family Organizer to help with my scheduling:

1. Each activities, including each girl and each job, have their own pen color. When Big Sis has a doctor's appointment, it gets written in purple. When I have a meeting with my Service Unit Manager for Brownies, it gets written in green. This way, I know at a glance what's going on that day, and can plan accordingly!


2. On the very right side is a place for you to plan menus for each day, according to your schedule. On the left page is a place for you to write your week's To-Do List and a grocery list. As I think of things I need to buy, or as I use up items in the kitchen, or as I come up with menu ideas, I jot the things I need to buy on the grocery list! This lists are really neat because they tear out, so you don't have to take your entire planner with you, just your grocery list.

3. With your planner, you get nifty little stickers, such as birthday stickers, "No School" or "Half Day" stickers, stickers for doctor's appointments and bills to pay. As you can see in this pic, I have TWO birthdays coming up on March 10, and yes, that Tena is the one and only from Punky Monkey's! She and my best friend Brooke have the same birthday -- same year, too! -- but don't know each other!


4. At the back of the planner are pages to keep everything else in your life organized. This is one of my favorites, even though I never get to use it! It's the Baby Sitter Information Page. You put your kids' information on the right side, and your house information on the left (address, phone number, emergency contacts). Then, you put a 3x3 post it pad at the bottom, so before you leave for the night, you put where you'll be and any other information (like, "Big Sis needs to read for 15 minutes for homework tonight" or "Little Sis gets a popcicle after dinner"). There's also a place to put information on your kids' organizations, parents' organizations, quick-reference contact list, and several pages for notes.

This handy planner is probably the best thing for parents since Uncrustables and Capri Suns! It keeps me organized, and it's handy to use, unlike those planners designed for people who can keep their heads on straight.

Do you want to win my extra copy??

Here's how to enter:

• Go to Amy Knapp's Family Organizer Website and take a look around. Then, come back here and tell me how it will get (or keep!) your life and family organized and on time (well, it can't find lost shoes or your car keys, sorry). That's 1 Entry

Want extra entries?

• Blog about this giveaway on your blog for an additional 2 entries. Leave two separate comments with the link to your post in each.
• Mention this giveaway on Twitter for an additional 1 entry. Leave me a comment with the link to the update.
• Follow this blog for an additional 1 entry. Leave a separate comment.
• Follow this blog using the RSS feed for an additional 1 entry. Leave a separate comment.
• That's a total of SIX entries!

This contest will run until Sunday, February 8 at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time. A winner will be drawn sometime on Monday, Feburary 9. Be sure to leave some kind of contact information! Are you a blogger? Learn how to leave your email address without leaving it in the comment section HERE!

Good Luck!

Lots of Posts..

coming in the next couple of days, including a GIVEAWAY! I have an extra handy dandy planner that I just LOVE (second only to my Treo!) that can be YOURS!

More details coming soon. I'll let you know by Tweet and Facebook when the contest is up!

Photo Meme!

Anita from Faith, Hope & Poop tagged me for this photo meme. I think I've done it before, but new pics are always being added, so why not do it again?

Here are the rules:
1. Go to where you store your digital photo folders & open the 4th folder.
2. Go to the 4th picture and post it.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag an additional 4 people.

This is a pic from Christmas (my 4th folder is Christmas, so if someone tags me for this again, change the folder number!)

This is one of Little Sis' stocking stuffers, which was a snowman-head sucker cover. She opened it only last week, and ended up not eating the sucker.

So now, I tag:

all those under my "Disney Buddies" blog roll!!

Well, what do you know?

Three and a half months after it was flagged for spam, my FIRST "My Disneyland Vacation" blog is BACK!

I imported the important posts, not including the ones that were the potential "spam."

YAY!

It's about time.

It was Warm Today!

Ya think? No joke. My dad took this pic on his back porch today.

A Book Meme

Tena over at Crazy Book Slut tagged me for this meme. This one's a bit different than any I've done on any of my blogs. Here goes:

The book that’s been on your shelves the longest: Wow, I really don't know. I would have to say that it's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) I actually got the first book back in 1999 or 2000, along with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) from my grandma. I read them both in less than a day, then went and bought Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) the very next day. Ever since, I've been in line at midnight to get the remaining books.

The one book I will keep forever is my answer to the next question
A book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time, etc.): I would have to say my complete Harry Potter library, which includes 1, 2, 3 and 6 & 7 in Hardback (4 and 5 were lost after the divorce). I also have 1-6 in paperback, and the 10th anniversary edition. I would like to complete the hardback set, so I have something to pass on to the girls. The paperback set is the one I read. And they're on the list for this year!

A book you acquired in some interesting way (gift, serendipity in a used bookstore, prize, etc.): That would be Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: 10th Anniversary Edition (Harry Potter) I won this one from MomDot, too. I haven't cracked it open, because I am trying to keep it in mint condition. Of course, I say that and it's in a box somewhere, because I just moved.

A book that’s been with you to the most places: Wow, this is getting pretty pathetic. LOL Again, it would probably be one of the two Harry Potter books mentioned in the first question, because I've read them so many times. If it's not one of the two Harry Potter books, it would have to be The Da Vinci Code because I've read that one more than any other on my book shelf, after Harry Potter.

The most recent addition to your shelves: This one's easy. Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1), New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2), Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3), and Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4). I had actually gotten Twilight from Paperback Swap, then I sent it back out. New Moon came from the library. I couldn't wait for Eclipse to get to the library, so I bought it. Then I bought Breaking Dawn. At that point, I couldn't have an incomplete set, so I bought the first two. I'm actually looking forward to reading them again for the Young Adult Challenge.

A bonus book that you want to talk about but doesn’t fit into the other questions: This was really an unfair meme because all my books are in storage LOL I'm really picky about the books I read. I like to stick to authors I know entertain me, but I'm always willing to pick up something new if it comes recommended by a friend. That really doesn't answer the question, does it? LOL


So now, I have to tag people. I hate tagging people, since I never know just how busy they really are. LOL So, if you're here, I'm tagging YOU. Yes, YOU. Nope. Don't hide now, it's too late!!! Have fun!

December Trip Report -- in pictures

Instead of writing it all down, I'll just post some of the pics I took when the girls and I went on December 12.

The girls in front of the Christmas Tree at Downtown Disney.

Little Sis

What a drama queen!

Not as dramatic as her sister.

Our friend Gary and Little Sis. I have no idea why she's so sad.

Big Sis and one of the birds from Rainforest Cafe.

On the balcony of our hotel room at HoJo. We had a Park View room. Fireworks were pretty cool from that spot, except for the trees.

The water area at HoJo. Next time we go, we're bringing bathing suits!!

The view from our room.

On the tram, going to Disneyland!!!

Silly girl!!

Gary doesn't have any grandkids of his own, so he's "adopted" the girls!

Big Sis and Cruella. She had to promise not to hug her. LOL

Little Sis promised, too, but she's such a stinker!

Main Street at Christmas Time.

Isn't it beautiful?

On Tarzan's Treehouse.

Happy Un-birthday to Me! (Next day *was* my birthday)

Door STILL won't open.

Little Sis' first ride on Space Mountain. She did NOT like it.

Aboard the new Monorail.

Traditional pic in front of the "A" in California (both girls' names start with A). With the sun, though, the glare was so bad, I had to get creative. See my Little Drama Queen?

The Lagoon is empty because they're setting up the new "World of Color" show, similar to Fantasmic!

Jafar: "Genie, I wish for you to make me the Sultan!"
*chiming music*
Genie: "There. You're the Sultan. But if you're last name were Pepper Shaker, you'd be Sultan Pepper Shaker."
My favorite joke...and he didn't even finish it!!

This is my favorite show at DCA. I LOVE IT!

At this point, the girls and I headed over to a "Vacation Club" presentation. For 90 minutes of my time, they gave me $100 Disney Dollars. Score, right?

Pretty snowflakes.

Waiting to ride "Winnie the Pooh"

Pretending to be asleep. Little Sis couldn't control herself! Goofy.

Waiting for Fantasmic!

Pretty New Orleans Square skyline with the full moon.

Pretty fireworks.

IT'S SNOWING!!
Just don't eat the snow. LOL

Big Sis crying because Mommy was crying. This was the first time Little Sis had seen the Holiday fireworks and the snow.

Pretending to be scared by Haunted Mansion Holiday.

"Happy Holidays Everyone!"

Maybe she really is scared.

Really great shot of the grave yard. Love the High ISO/Low Light setting on my camera!

Disneyland Dream Suite entrance. I wonder what's going to become of it now that the "Year of a Million Dreams" is over.

Waiting to ride Pirates.

OOPS...the flash went off.

it's a small world Holiday, all lit up.

Pretty castle.

Big Sis and Goofy.

Main Street all lit up.

Big Sis pushing her sister back to the parking structure.

All in all, it was a great trip. A little more crowded than we're used to at that time, but I also have to remember that it was a Friday. The weather wasn't bad, either.

Big Sis and I have our Annual Passes already, and Little Sis will get hers in February. She and I will have a "Mommy and Me" trip to Disneyland all by ourselves to celebrate her first ever AP. I can't wait to use them on a more regular basis, especially when our friends Gary and Kathy come down in March.