Leaving that face...

Each morning, I wake up at around 5:00 and start to get myself ready for work. By 6 am, I am in Ayden's room, getting him up and ready for the day. We eat and then out the door we go by 6:30. By 6:45, we pull into Gina's driveway and it's time for me to leave him for the day. It's the worst part of my day.

I know that I have a great situation for my son. He is with a sitter that can focus on him, give him one on one time, and genuinely cares for Ayden. Dropping him off at her house, as difficult as it may be, is easier because I know that he will be cared for instead of being pushed to the side to focus on other children. No matter how lucky I am to have such a great caretaker for Ayden while I'm gone, it is still the hardest thing I've ever had to do. And everyone said it would get easier...

The other day, after he gave me his kiss goodbye, he ran off to the playroom. I said "bye" and he pretty much ignored me. Not a surprise because he, at 14 months, is much more interested in toys. So I continued to the door and shut the glass door behind me. When I got in the car to leave, I happened to glance at the door and saw him running toward the door and waved to me. Needless to say, I cried the whole way to work.

As working moms, how do you cope with leaving those beautiful faces each day? I'm sure it's tough on the guys too but I think mothers feel like we are betraying our children. How do you manage to leave them knowing this is what is best for them? How do you cope? Please give me some words of wisdom...for some reason this morning routine isn't getting much easier. 

Ayden's kissy face

Death and Taxes...

Ok, well hopefully not death but you will soon be hit (if you haven't already) with W-2's, 1098, 1099, Federal ID numbers, and seeing all those goofy characters dressed up waving to you...somehow that is supposed to remind you to do your taxes?? Either way, if you're like me, you have no idea what you need or what information you should know before doing taxes. Taxes can seem much bigger than you can even tackle yourself.

We go to H&R Block to do our taxes. One reason I do this is for the simple fact that I know NOTHING about doing taxes and although I'm sure Turbo Tax is great, I want to get the most out of my tax return. Without the knowledge, I feel like going to a tax company is my best bet. Not to mention, our tax person is a retired teacher and knows how much we really do spend each year on supplies for our classrooms.

What's great is that each year they send us a list of what information we will need to get the most "bang for our buck" and so that we are prepared for the process. I'll share that list so that you can make sure you have everything you need- whether you go to an accountant, tax company, or do them yourself.

First things first: You'll need your return from last year. If your name changed or you are now filing jointly, it will be important to have this information. If you go somewhere and have used that in the past, they will most likely have a copy in the computer system so it may not be as necessary. But always be prepared. And don't forget to bring federal, state and local information.

Next, you want to make sure you have SSN and birth dates for everyone on the tax return. This includes you, your spouse, children, and any other dependents- too bad doggies don't count. 

Certain forms you'll need are as follows:

• W-2, 1098, 1099, or Schedule K-1: I'm not sure what all of these are but your W-2's are what your employer is required to give you with regards to your earnings and deductions for last year. They have until January 31st to send these out and although a lot of companies are going with online or direct deposits with pay checks, they are still required to send you W-2's hard copy. 
• Any contributions to IRAs or retirement plans: I know for me, I have mine retirement money taken out of my check (pre-tax), so it shows up on my W-2. But again, it's not a bad thing to be prepared and verify that amount. This is your retirement after all.
• Interest paid on mortgage, real estate, or personal property tax: We have our mortgage through Chase and with the last statement of the year, they send us a print out of how much interest we have paid over the last year. I imagine they aren't the only company to do that. 

When it comes to investments or income, you'll need the following:

• Any income or expense reports from work. This means anything that isn't shown on your W-2. Being a teacher, I really don't have much with that but I do keep receipts of anything I buy for my classroom. If you're a teacher, you know that money adds up.

Charitable Donations: Noah and I donate anything that doesn't sell at our yearly yard sale so we can usually rack up a good amount of stuff here.

• Records of any amounts donated to houses of worship, schools, or other charitable organizations. I may be wrong but I believe this includes tithes. At church last week, our pastor mentioned that the tax information was available in our mailboxes. Not sure how I feel about this with regards to morals and if it's a "donation" but it is money you give to the church. So you can gauge that one for yourself. 
• Records of non-cash charitable donations: This is where our Goodwill stuff comes into play. When they give you the receipt at Goodwill, they usually won't put an amount down; only the bags, containers, or pieces you've given- not a monetary amount. You can find a list of prices here. (Click on the blue "donation guide" to get the list.) Be sure to add those pieces up to have an accurate representation of your donation. If you use a company for taxes, they may want specifics so that you don't audited. If you do the taxes yourself, it may be a good idea to keep an itemized list of what you've donated for the same reason.
• And a record of any miles you've driven for charitable purposes. You'll get to write off the federal amount per mile- which again, can add up.

Lastly, would be any deductions or expenses or miscellaneous items. These aren't usually ones that I think of when doing my taxes but can save you a lot of your return.

• Number of miles you've driven for medical purposes and amounts paid for health care. That usually doesn't do anything for us because we have pretty good plans but it may help you. Again always have it just in case. 
• Records of childcare and higher education costs. This is HUGE! You get a certain percentage back on childcare (unless you pay a sitter "under the table). And higher education can get you more money on your return as well. Always take that with you.
• Employment related expenses: This is a little tricky. Technically, because I'm expected to dress up for work, I could write off my clothes. However, if I were audited, I'd have to prove that they are strictly for work and, for me, that's not the case. However, if you are required to buy your own uniform, uniform cleaning, tools, etc., that is a write off for you. Have receipts for all of those things. 
• If you are currently unemployed, bring records of any job search expenses and unemployment income. 
• And finally any HSA contributions, moving expenses, and student loan interest. I'm not sure why student loan interest is in this category because it is also listed as a 1098-E form. Either way, make sure you have it.

 I hope that helped you organize your forms for tax season. It's not the greatest time of year but this information should help you get the most back from your return. 

Take time with friends...

A male student (wise beyond his years) came into my room today and was quite upset. When I asked what was going on, he replied, "why do people not understand how to be good friends?" I kind of giggled and said "I thought we'd talked about how having so many friends is overrated?!" Now, most of me was joking but in all reality, I look back to high school and think of how many friends I wanted so desperately to have.

You remember high school...popular crowd, jocks, nerds, band geeks, bad kids, and so on. Now maybe your high school was different but at the time (at least for me- and I think most girls) you try pretty hard to belong to a group that you think is somehow "better". I fell into the band geek group. Don't get me wrong. I LOVED being in band and making the friendships that I was lucky enough to make. Band is one of my fondest memories from school and still talk to some of those high school buddies. I think part of me always wanted to be part of the "in crowd" though. Maybe it was the clothes they wore or the way they acted, but part of me wanted to be like them. Looking back now, I realize that was completely silly and I was lucky to have the friends I did. I was just too immature to realize it at the time.

But this student really made me think...Do people really not know how to be good friends?

I have never been great at keeping in touch. I'm awful at it. It's not on purpose (and I apologize if I haven't gotten back to you...Amy/Ashley/Heather/Brooke/Jacque/Big/and so on...) I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people and over the years, have lost many friendships due to my lack of effort or interest or whatever it may be. And I don't blame these people. If I was the type of friend that needed to talk to people on a regular basis to remain friends, I wouldn't be friends with me either.

So I know now that I am the type that doesn't talk for months and then talks your ear off for hours. It's just how I am...right or wrong.

Tonight, I was, again, lucky enough to catch up with a friend that has become very dear to me. Her and I have many things in common. We are both teachers, around the same age, married to teachers, and our boys are only about 3 weeks apart in age; not to mention in the same fork in the road in life stages. It was so nice to just have an hour or so to catch up, see how things are going and know that I'm not the only one in this boat. I appreciate her friendship and hope that as the years pass that we can remain friends- even if we aren't neighbors anymore.

I guess the over all moral of the story tonight is to take a break from your organizing, grading, planning, or whatever else you have going on, and catch up with a friend. I have so many more that need some long talks on the phone that over the next few weeks, I'd like to get back in contact with. I hope you take the time to do the same.

Game on!

I married into a family of game players. At each family event, we usually end the night screaming at each other (happy screaming) over a point, rule, or who's pittin'! (You gotta be there) It's always fun, even when I consistently lose, and we always have a great time.

So being from a long line of board gamers, Noah and I have accumulated many games over the years; most of which...you guessed it...we don't play. My mother in law usually has the game we play at family gatherings and the last time Noah and I played, I was 6 months pregnant and he was a very sore loser. ;-)

Tonight was the night to get rid of those games. We kept quite a few- Twister, Monopoly, Scene It, Scategories, CatchPhrase, and Yahtzee. However, some were not so fortunate to grace our playful home. Dirty Minds, Smart Ass (Travel), Don't Quote Me, Partini,  Battle of the Sexes, Family Guy Trivial Pursuit, and Scene It- The Simpsons are all on their way out.

Who's ready for game night now???



Coming soon: Death and Taxes...

Sew darn organized!

After cleaning out the entire office and play room yesterday, I figured today would be a bit of a rest day for my organizing muscles. But even on a rest day, some kind of work needs to be done. Easy work.


So today, my sewing box was calling my name. I'm only an amateur seamstress so I don't have much in the ways of supplies but what I do have was a bit messy.

It's only a small box but takes forever to find something.

Yep, that's a hair clip...in my sewing box.

 This was a very simple fix. Get rid of the stuff that I don't need. When I created a few growth charts, I printed letters, cut them out, and then threw them in the box. They can go. Spare pieces of thread that I thought in some world would end up being used...nope! They can go too! And just like yesterday, sort everything into piles (no matter how big or small) and purge. Then once you've done that, start putting things away in the designated or best compartments. And voilà!

couldn't take it anymore

I have had it. I can't deal with clutter anymore. I am done with not being able to find anything or not having any room for things. I'm sick of getting frustrated with putting things away, not having any space, and not being able to find things. This is the most annoyed I've been with clutter since my "nesting" phase. I woke up with a mission.

I know that my plan was to work on the living room and kitchen more but I need Noah's help in the kitchen (it's his arena) and he has been so busy with set building that I will put that one on hold until he has more time. So I skipped the second floor and moved right on to the office and play room area.

Just look at this crazy mess! This is an embarrassing disgrace and I couldn't take it anymore. Have a mentioned that?

There is a desk under there...somewhere...

Supposed to be my "file later" catch all. (not recommended)

Yes that's the Elf on a Shelf box...

All the sharpies you could ever need.

Ayden's play area...yikes!

Where my laundry and apparently everything else just lands.

Semi-organized paperwork files...that's on the list as well.

Toys out and mess everywhere.

And more laundry on Ayden's chair...yeah it's under there somewhere.

The first thing to do is come up with a plan. I have a TON of ideas of what I'd love this place to look like but I need to work with what I have and spend $0.00 on this project. I have a ton of stuff so I know I want to purge a bunch of stuff, create a space for me to scrapbook and sew, as well as having space for Ayden to play. Here are some ideas of what my dream office would look like. Thank you Pinterest for making me drool! 

A sewing table would be ideal!

Yes I have this desk but my bookcase is only 4x4- not a problem. I'll make it work.

Drawers and cabinets...drool!

Drooling over the boxes...do you know how much color coding I could do?

 So now that I have my plan or ideas, I needed to sort all this stuff out and get ready to purge. This is so important because you need to know what categories you have in that space. I had office supplies, paperwork, scrapbooking (the largest), and sewing. This also allows you to put things away if they don't belong in this room. If you need more categories than this, don't stop. It's better to have more piles that fake it and just try to tackle it all at one time. I had another pile for things that needed to be put away in other rooms. So here's my stuff, broken into piles.

Scrapbooking on the left and office supplies on the couch and coffee table.

Donate bin, filing cabinet, and Noah's books.

 Tip: If you are able, have Rubbermaid bins for each category. It helps to also have a donate bin and trash bin. Sorting things makes it easier to purge and easier to manage small sections instead of all of it at once. That takes a daunting task and breaks it down.

After separating everything into categories, it's time to purge. For some, this is the easiest part...for others- not so much. I'm in middle. I don't have a problem getting rid of most things but I get stuck on sentimental items or something that I know I spent a lot of money on. And let me tell you...I spent a lot of money on scrapbooking supplies. Some of you may remember that I went into the "scrapbooking business" for a while- mostly to get supplies for myself. Boy did I ever. I have enough paper to last me a very long time. Which is good! I'll be able to create books and pages whenever I please and won't have to go shopping to do it.

Anyway, sooner or later, your piles will get a bit smaller and the trash/donate bins will get much fuller. You'd be surprised what kinds of things you may have stashed in random places. I actually found pepper spray?! 

Piles are shrinking!

If you aren't changing any paint or aesthetic design, move on to the next step. If you are, do those things now while the room is empty and you have less stuff in those piles. I only moved the furniture around and will hang pictures later in the process.

Once you're purged and have gotten rid of the stuff that you clearly don't want, start to put things in their place. Don't be surprised if you move things around or don't stick with the original plan. I will put something into a organization bin and then decide that it's not exactly what I want. That's not a bad thing, just try to stay focused. It's very easy in this step to get a bit lost only because you have many things coming together at once.

Progress shot #1

Progress shot #2

 Before you know it, you'll have everything put away exactly where it fits, looks nice, and most importantly creates an efficient system for you. Don't forget that even if it looks nice, if it doesn't work for your habits, you won't keep up with it. Think of how you are going to use this space before you do something that's pretty.

Labeled everything and diplomas hung.

Any kind of sharpie, pen, pencil, crayon or marker you could possibly want.

Printer station

Photo paper and scrapbooking supplies

Scissors and stamping inks

Stamp sets, paper, Noah's books, sewing supplies

Ayden's play area- White board coming soon

Books filed and scrapbooks below

 All in all, I'm happy with what I got done today. I still need to go through a few things and organize those. Don't worry! I'll include you in the process. Coming soon: Filing cabinet and going paperless with billing and statements (including a back up list of all account numbers, log ins and passwords), Improving Ayden's play area and adding book shelves and white board, Organizing my sewing basket and all the supplies included.

I'm the spaghetti!

It is amazing how many things women can accomplish all at the same time...so many things at the same time. No offense to men as a species but you just can't manage this many things all at once. Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Your wives love you and wouldn't want to do this without you. We appreciate everything you do for us. But you are meatballs...we're the spaghetti. Our minds are entertwined with details that have nothing to do with what we thought of a millisecond ago. It's constantly racing...most of the time in our sleep. Meanwhile, you think one topic at a time and it usually is related to what you are looking at right then. One track minds...while we are running every major highway, roadway, and airline along with trouble shooting the traffic jam that hasn't even happened yet.

Spaghetti and meatballs.

So tonight, my task was to do what I didn't get done last night. I had to get rid of all the DVDs, DVD tower, tv stand drawer, and my item of today was the junk drawer in the kitchen island. Not too bad, but I have a 14 month old...and he's now running. Not to mention, Noah worked late tonight to finish up work on the musical set so we were on our own.

So, first on the list: DVD's and DVD tower. All the DVD's have been picked over by family and will be donated to the Luther House in Jennersville, along with the tower if it's needed. If not, off to Goodwill with ya!

Future improvements include: hanging pictures on that wall and getting Ayden a toy box to spruce up that area a bit and organize all those toys. (also on the list- I'll keep you updated on it)

Before

After

 Second on the list the TV stand: There wasn't much that could be done with that as it's our battery and cord storage. I plan to go through and label all the cords at some point this summer but Noah needs to identify so many of them. (like I said, couldn't do it without him)

Before

After

Last part on the list: Junk drawer in the kitchen island. This is the graveyard for so much stuff. It's so conveniently placed in the kitchen island which is used for everything. All the soy sauce packets get thrown in there, spare change, keys...you name it. It's in there. We even had a phone book from 2007-2008. Yeah...it was time.

Before

After

All of this happening, entertained both in laws separately, fed the baby, took out the garbage, and watched a DVR'ed show. Not to toot my own horn but... toot! Thank you to my meatball for coming home and still giving Ayden a bath so that I could write this tonight. I love you so much for your extra hard work and for the love you have for our little family.

Day 23- It's too cold to clean.

If you are in the northern hemisphere, you already know...it's freaking cold! I can't imagine how people do this on a regular basis...in Alaska and Canada, I guess. That's insanity!

Even as I sit in my heated home (with layers, blankets, and a dog on me) I'm pretty chilly. Noah has resorted to putting his hood up to try keeping body heat from escaping. Ayden's still quite active so I'm not sure he even notices the cold.

Today, on the list to simplify was to get rid of the DVD's and clean out the drawer in our tv stand. I understand this is an inside job, but I've decided to push this item until tomorrow night. Instead, we cuddled up, Ayden played, and we tried our hardest to stay warm.

So tomorrow, I'll be packing all of our DVD's into boxes and preparing them for either yardsale or eBay. The DVD tower has to go as well. We have a lot of DVD's...and this is after we'd already gone through them this summer and "purged". We like movies...what can I say?

The only problems are that:
1. we never watch those dvd's. We have everything ripped digitally and watch through our Apple TV... and,
2. Ayden loves to pull the DVDs out of the tower and put them all over the floor. If I had known that we wouldn't need toys, I would have just put the DVDs out for him.

So in all honesty, they need to go. We will probably keep the series of Family Guy and Sex and the City, only because we don't have those digitally saved. Other than that, they all need to go. So...if there is a movie that you want on DVD, please let me know. I'm sure we have it and would be more than happy to send it your way. And thanks in advance for helping us organize our house.

Day 22- Simplifying Scrapbooking??

First let me apologize for not posting this yesterday but the day, as many days do, got away from me. So I'm going to let you know what I "simplified" yesterday. I put simplify in quotes because this was more of a hobby that I finally completed.

I finished Ayden's "baby" book. If you have been reading from the beginning, you may remember that I started his scrapbook set up in August before he was born. You can see the layout here. I know it seems a little premature to create a scrapbook before the baby is born but I knew that once the baby was born, I wouldn't have time. And I was right...moms you get that.

I tried to keep up with it as much as possible. It has a opening page, and then every ultrasound, maternity pictures, his room, the baby shower, birth, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and then every month for 2012. That's a lot of info...and it's just his first full year of life! So with having him here, it is difficult to get those pictures resized, printed, and placed in the book.

Sorry for the dark pictures but the flash on shiny page protectors...no go. If you have any questions about how to set up an album, layout, or colors, please don't hesitate. I really enjoy scrapbooking so I'm more than happy to help you!

So now that Ayden's first album is done, what I plan on doing is a page for each month of the year. I can manage to get at least one page done each month so keep a visual catalog of our lives as a small family. I haven't ventured into "online" scrapbooks, so I'm very interested in your experience with sites and user-ability. Recommendations??