Following up on baby sleep schedule and new etsy items!

I finally got another chance to blog, something that I have been thinking about for weeks since my last post!  Since then, I have gotten a little more organized; I have been writing down Magnolia's schedule on a calender tool that I found, cozi.com, and she has been a little more regular with her sleep schedule, but nothing definitive.  She takes a morning nap, afternoon nap, and a bunch of catnaps in between.  While she doesn't go down for rest at the same time each day;  I am hoping that we can work toward that in the future so that I can have some predictable work time.
The calender tool that I found is called Cozi (www.cozi.com); it just so happens that it's the same tool that Josh and I have been using for our grocery list for the past 6 months, and I decided to try to use it for everything else too.  While its not ideal for what I need, it is the best that I can find so far.  I am able to use the calender tool to write down Magnolia's daily naps, feedings and other information; cozi also has a shopping list where I jot down groceries and other items that we need and it interfaces with Josh's email so that he logs in and sees what is on the list and can add his own items.  The calender also has a  "to do" list that we use for what needs to be done around the house and there is even a 'meal list' where you can save recipes that you enjoy.  The downfalls are that the recipes don't show up as images, just links, and the calender doesn't interface with other social media tools.  However, while its not perfect, its usable and that is what I am looking for right now.

Getting organized as a WAHM (work at home mom)

It's been a long time since I posted here and I sure do miss blogging!  Magnolia is now 3 months old, she went from being this teeny little infant who only slept, ate and cried; who now interacts, smiles, plays and is much more entertaining.   Its amazing to watch her grow and change each day, but I am starting to feel a little frazzled with our daily routine, or lack of one.   Because we don't have a routine, I think it makes it harder to get things done; for instance, I really miss blogging and I always have lots to say, but no time to write!  Maybe working toward a schedule will help me find time for blogging and keeping my posts shorter and more to the point will help me to be able to post weekly,  along with scheduling time to do other things during the day.  Right now, I struggle with trying to get my contract work in, have quality time with Magnolia, getting my craft on, social media networking, blogging and other daily chores like cooking and cleaning.  With all this to do each day, you can see how easy it is to become overwhelmed, plus being a new mom isn't an easy task in and of itself.  My goal; to get into a routine that allows some flexibility but also specifies time for my crafts, networking, blogging, working and of course spending quality time with Magnolia.  I have always had visions of having an online calender like outlook, plotting my weekly routine and implelmenting it, even before having a baby this is what I wanted to do, but never accomplished doing.  However, I am going to make a real effort this time and hopefully it will pay off and I can change my day into a routine that works for both Magnolia and I.

Consideration, Organization, Procrastination

Since giving notice to my job about 2 weeks ago and making the decision to quit, I have felt much more free.  It's a wonderful feeling and I am so excited for this new opportunity!  But now, I keep thinking of all the things I need "to do" to start working from home full time.  I need to clean my sewing room, my horribly messy, cluttered, dusty, sewing room.  Need to clean out the downstairs desk to store all of my cancer registry supplies, manuals, files and reference guides and get it set up for working comfortably.   I need to organize.  I am not great at organizing and even worse at keeping it that way.  But I am determined to be organized this time, hopefully it will keep me on track. 
At about 3pm Monday afternoon, I started taking everything out of my sewing room, grouping things together by projects; soap supplies, knits, cardstock, hair making supplies, etc etc etc...and don't get me started on all the fabric that is crammed into that room, and the spare bedroom downstairs.  I hoard fabric.  
By 7pm I finally had everything out of the room, and mostly got all the projects organized in their own basket or box, and I will put each basket/box onto a shelving unit on the wall and off the floor.  (purchase & install shelving units added to the "to do" list)   

Next there is the problem of all this fabric, I have fabric like girls have shoes (which I also have a ton of) or clothes (ditto).  I love all things fabric and have accepted a lot of fabric that has been handed down to me, and lots of clothing that I want to upcycle too.   By 9pm all of the fabric is out of the room and the room is vaccuumed and dusted really well!  It looks really inviting, but all of the stuff is outside of the room.  Now I need to get all the stuff back into the sewing room and still have it organized, inspirational and ready for crafting.  This is where the procrastination comes into play.  I don't know how to organize it?  I need to make a decision and move forward, but I keep thinking that having a comfortable workspace is pivotal and I really need to get it right the first time.  

I really need a new desk and found the perfect desk on craigslist and it was only $20.   It even had two slots for cords that my serger and sewing machine could come up through, with a wide enough space to put them both and work comfortably.  However, the seller hasn't emailed me back and I am beginning to wonder if the perfect desk is gone...so I will keep looking.  I am going to get the shelving this week and hopefully Josh and I can install it on Saturday.  
Maybe TLC can just show up and surprise me by re-doing my drab craft room into a organized/inspired room, complete with small flat screen TV and dvd player to watch all of the cartoon movies I love so much, mounted to be seen by my sewing machine.  A girl can dream, can't she?


More to come on the craft room saga...complete with photos. 

Consideration, Organization, Procrastination

Since giving notice to my job about 2 weeks ago and making the decision to quit, I have felt much more free.  It's a wonderful feeling and I am so excited for this new opportunity!  But now, I keep thinking of all the things I need "to do" to start working from home full time.  I need to clean my sewing room, my horribly messy, cluttered, dusty, sewing room.  Need to clean out the downstairs desk to store all of my cancer registry supplies, manuals, files and reference guides and get it set up for working comfortably.   I need to organize.  I am not great at organizing and even worse at keeping it that way.  But I am determined to be organized this time, hopefully it will keep me on track. 
At about 3pm Monday afternoon, I started taking everything out of my sewing room, grouping things together by projects; soap supplies, knits, cardstock, hair making supplies, etc etc etc...and don't get me started on all the fabric that is crammed into that room, and the spare bedroom downstairs.  I hoard fabric.  
By 7pm I finally had everything out of the room, and mostly got all the projects organized in their own basket or box, and I will put each basket/box onto a shelving unit on the wall and off the floor.  (purchase & install shelving units added to the "to do" list)   

Next there is the problem of all this fabric, I have fabric like girls have shoes (which I also have a ton of) or clothes (ditto).  I love all things fabric and have accepted a lot of fabric that has been handed down to me, and lots of clothing that I want to upcycle too.   By 9pm all of the fabric is out of the room and the room is vaccuumed and dusted really well!  It looks really inviting, but all of the stuff is outside of the room.  Now I need to get all the stuff back into the sewing room and still have it organized, inspirational and ready for crafting.  This is where the procrastination comes into play.  I don't know how to organize it?  I need to make a decision and move forward, but I keep thinking that having a comfortable workspace is pivotal and I really need to get it right the first time.  

I really need a new desk and found the perfect desk on craigslist and it was only $20.   It even had two slots for cords that my serger and sewing machine could come up through, with a wide enough space to put them both and work comfortably.  However, the seller hasn't emailed me back and I am beginning to wonder if the perfect desk is gone...so I will keep looking.  I am going to get the shelving this week and hopefully Josh and I can install it on Saturday.  
Maybe TLC can just show up and surprise me by re-doing my drab craft room into a organized/inspired room, complete with small flat screen TV and dvd player to watch all of the cartoon movies I love so much, mounted to be seen by my sewing machine.  A girl can dream, can't she?


More to come on the craft room saga...complete with photos.