Packing Your Diaper Bag

I always wondered why new moms seemed to have amazing arm muscles. Well, now I know that it's from lugging around diaper bags, strollers, car seats, babies, etc. Who needs to lift weights when you can just carry the three million baby accessories?

Before we get started, I want to share my adorable diaper bag! I'm obsessed!! Before we knew what we were having, I knew I wanted a Kate Spade diaper bag. I found this fabulous one and knew I had to have it if we had a girl! Sure enough, a girl it is! It's like this bag was so meant to be :)

The only problem is that it's an older bag and not available on the website or in stores. But, the shopping gods were with me one fateful day at TJMaxx. Yes, really, TJMaxx! I freaked out, grabbed it, and ran straight to the register to buy it before I was awakened from what seemed like the best dream ever. Bag...done! Now the hard part...what do I put in this thing?

After searching online and talking with other moms, here's what I've decided to put in my bag:

-diapers

-wipes

-changing pad

-diaper cream

-change of clothes

-pacifier

-toys

- bottles/formula

-blanket

-burp cloth

-nursing cover

-hand sanitizer

- diaper trash bags

- boogie wipes

As Taylor gets older and her needs change, the items in her diaper bag will also change. But at the newborn age, this is what I've decided to pack. If we go out for a long day of shopping or a day trip, I will definitely need to pack a few more items, but for our day to day around town adventures, these items are great. 

What do you keep in your diaper bag?? Do you have some essentials that would be helpful to pack?

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Nursery Organization

For such small creatures, babies sure do need a lot of things! I'm not sure who has more clothes, me or Taylor?! I'm sure she doesn't need the 40+ bows I have, but that's totally ok! I like knowing she has an accessory for every outfit :) The nursery is a small room, so it was crucial that I used every inch to maximize on space and efficiency. Luckily, I love to organize, so this was a fun task for me!

Here's a look at her closet.

 I used these closet dividers (Babies R Us ) to separate clothes by size: newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, etc. The dividers came with stickers with the sizes but also with other categories, such as jackets, blouses, dresses, pants, etc. Personally, I like dividing them by size. Within each size, I naturally separated them by short sleeved onesies, long sleeve onesies, jackets, pants, etc. 

 At the top of the closet, I've stock piled diapers. They are in order of size and easy to access when a new box is needed. Below the top rack of clothes are two baskets. One is labeled "too small" and the other is full of nursing essentials. I plan on tossing articles of clothing that are too small into the specific basket so cleaning out her closet as I go will be easy (hopefully!)

Nursing essentials basket.

"Too small" basket to easily clean out clothes throughout the year.

Diaper storage on the top shelf.

 Here is the other side of her closet. Again, the top is stocked with diapers in varying sizes. The next shelf contains two baskets. One is labeled "6 months bottoms" and is storage for items she can't fit into yet, but will be needed soon. The second basket is full of blankets. Since the clothes are so small, I didn't want to waste the entire bottom area of the closet. I bought this cubical from Target and am able to store shoes, accessories, and other essentials in the bins. And lastly, bottomless dirty clothes hamper lives in the corner. 

Diaper storage with additional baskets for extra storage.

 This cubical is full of shoes, accessories, hygiene items, and a basket of blankets.

 

 Overall, I'm pleased with the usage of space in the closet. I tried to make things accessible by using baskets that are easy to grab and can keep things in place.  I tried to use every inch of the closet to the best of my ability.

Next up, dresser organization! This dresser is from Ikea and has more than enough space for the essentials! To organize each drawer, I used these handy dandy boxes from Ikea.

 

Drawer 1 (from left to right): 

-Button up PJ's

-Zip up PJ's

- Colored coordinated pants/bottoms/jeans

-Socks, tights, leggings

SO many socks! This winter baby is ready to go!

Colored coordinated pants, leggings, and jeans.

 Drawer 2 (from left to right):

-hats

-bows

-plain white onesies

Bows! Bows! Bows!

Drawer 3 (from left to right):

-6 month PJ's

-6 month bathing suits

-Diaper pail refills

-Baby wipes

-Extra diapers

 Hopefully this will all work  out and stay nice and organized! Again, I tried to make things as accessible as possible and organize them in a sensible manner. Let's see how well my husband can navigate around the dresser and keep things nice and neat ;)

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Season's Greetings!

Have you ever wondered what to do with your old holiday cards? A few years back I started saving all of the cards I received and turned them into a book. I have them separated by year and continue to add to the book after each Christmas. It's fun to have out on the coffee table during the holidays to reminisce with family and friends. 

 

I apologize for the terrible quality of pictures! Taking pictures of a picture book just don't look good.

 Below are the labels I've used to separate the pictures throughout the years. Simply right click to save the image to your computer and print. It's formatted to print in a 4 x 6.

What do you do with your old Christmas cards? Do you keep them? Toss them? Display them? Re-purpose them?

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Planning for a Long Term Sub

Planning for my maternity leave was a bit of a struggle. I didn't know how simple or complex I should make my sub plans. I didn't want to overwhelm the sub but I also didn't want to leave out any details. Here's what I ended up doing!

1. I bought two milk crates and filled them file folders. Each file folder is labeled for a week at a time.

2. Within each week is a lesson plan and five folders, one for each day.

 

3. Within each daily folder contains everything needed to carry out the days lesson.

That's it! Anything and everything needed is in a handy dandy folder! Yes, this was extremely tedious and took hours to make copies and lesson plan!

Blood, sweat, tears, and paper cuts went into this long term planning, but it was so worth it! I got so into the process that I even prepped and planned for the entire first month that I return! I almost wish that I could prep an entire school year at a time! Tempting...

Along with my two crates of plans, I left the sub with my classroom bible, aka, my teacher binder. (Full post here !)

This binder contains anything and everything the sub might need to know.
-Student Info. (includes class list, parent contact info, IEP info, class schedules, bus schedules, etc.)
-Lesson Plans
-Calendar
-Journal Topics
-Website Passwords
-Staff Info.
-Standards
-Attendance records
-Misc.

Anything and everything is included in my binder. As difficult as it is for me to just relax, things have been a breeze thanks to my long term sub plans. So far, so good!

Although I've included extremely detailed instructions, I know things don't always go as planned. I made sure my sub is aware that he has freedom to be creative and tweak activities as needed. Every day is an adventure, especially in special education, so I know every day will come with it's own set of problems or changes. As long as the core work is getting done, I'm a happy camper! I'm so thankful to have classroom aides in my room that are able to help the sub out and make day to day changes as necessary. Things have been going great and I couldn't be happier! 

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Baby Taylor's Modern Nursery

 The nursery is done!! Now all we need is a baby! With my due date sneaking up on me, I finally was able to complete the finishing touches and get everything just perfect before Taylor arrives and the room is a complete disaster!
    I wanted to make the room simple and have a modern feel. I tried to keep it mostly gray, white, and pink with a few hints of yellow. I didn't want to clutter up the room with tons of wall decor and busy prints. I tried to make it a peaceful room that is inviting but also fun. Ok baby girl, just waiting on you.

Here is my original vision board:
 
And here's the final product:

 

Wall Paint: Benjamin Moore Storm

Crib: Babyletto Mercer crib

Monogram: Etsy

Rug: Amazon

Curtains: Target

Rocker: Babies R Us

Table: Home Goods

Lamp: Target

Night light: Target

Dresser: Ikea

Crib sheet: Target

Changing Sheet: Target

Light fixture: Lowes

Ottoman: Target

Chevron Blanket: Homemade

Mirror: Kirklands

Check back soon to see Taylor's closet and how I organized all of her clothes and accessories  :) 

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