One thing I know for sure is that you people LOVE planner posts. Some of you are as crazy about finding the perfect planner as I am! 

You guys have stuck with me through so many planner loves! The current love, as you may have read, is the Driven Dreamer from An Organized Girl. I hated sharing with you though because I knew you couldn't get your hands on one, since it's sold out! 

But lucky for you, I snagged a couple extras (mostly because I hoard planners, and sort of because I love you). Tonight we announce our Driven Dreamer winners.....yep, 2 of them! 

I used random.org to generate 2 random numbers to correlate with the comments on the post Planners, Planners, and more planners from last Sunday. 

Congratulations to Natalie Espinoza who was our 2nd comment on the post. Natalie will have 1st choice of color. 

Natalie EspinozaAugust 17, 2014 at 12:04 AM

I love this!! I have been researching planners and this helps a lot!! Love them all but I can't ever make a decision. Look forward to your next post!!

And congratulations to Angie who was our 57th comment on the post.

AngieAugust 18, 2014 at 1:36 PM

Guess what?!! I too, love planners!! Hahaha, planner lovers unite! ;) I attempted to get on the electronic calendar/planner wagon but just couldn't do it. I LOVE paper planners and don't think I would have graduated nursing school without mine, it was my lifeline. For the last year I have been using a May Designs planner, and while I love that it's customizable, I'm not a fan of the layout. Thanks for the chance to win! :)

I'm so excited for both of you to get your new Driven Dreamers! Send me an email to allisondalke@gmail.com with your address and it'll be in the mail. 

Happy planning! 

Preparing to be Full

We are definitely in a season of transition. My brother-in-law moved in last week to spend his senior year here playing golf. He's a good kid, and we love having him here. It's going to be a great year. Our kids love having him here despite Wyatt's face in the picture below. {I think he was concerned about the candles Brad had just blown out...ya know...our kids never see real candles.} 

Not only did Brad move in, but my kiddos went to school this week! I won't pretend I didn't cry on the 1st day. I lost it, and wanted to go back and pick them up, but it only lasted a day. After that, they were happy, we were happy, everyone was happy. What's not to love about happy? 

Plus, they only go to school Monday-Thursday. It's pretty much perfect {except that I thought it was Saturday all day today, and I took 3 kids to Target....who does that?} 

So I'm here, preparing for this house to be full. Full of family, people, kids, and love. Oh and food. Lots of food. 

As I've been looking through my journal from our Italy trip, I found a page full of a list I titled, "How I want Italy to change me." On that list was fullness. To be full of life. Full of love. To have a house always full of people. 

We are definitely getting that. My in-laws will be here this weekend and my mom, so I get to practice that full-house thing this weekend. 

Part of "preparing to be full" has meant that we're intentionally working through each room of our house to make it more functional to serve, host, and love others. Systems, a place for everything, a plan, if you will. It's all there. 

Even tonight, I sit here thinking about how we have a couple weeks to get in the groove of school and activities and business before Brian and I head out of town for almost 2 full weeks. We're headed to Boise for the 1st ever Velata convention. We are elated. Plus, we're meeting our friends there, and we'll spend a few days with them camping and dreaming and catching up. 

Immediately after that, we get to spend several days with Scentsy's top leaders at our annual SuperStar Director Summit. It's a time to re-charge and collaborate and learn, and it is sweet food to my soul. 

Brian and I will fly from Boise to Pittsburg to help launch the business of 3 new team members. 

To say it's going to be a busy week-and-a-half is an understatement. In addition to all that, when we come home from Pittsburgh, there is a very good chance that our home will officially be open as a foster home again which means, we will very likely welcome a baby into our home the middle of September (that's less than a month away folks!). 

When I say we're preparing to be full, I mean it. But full is good. Empty is bad. 

I want to be full. I want my home to be full. I want my heart to be full. So we're preparing over here to be full. Preparing to be full of love, full of Christ, full of community, full of good. 

Condor and Momma Cindy and a Scheduling Nightmare

It's that time of year when everything begins to get a little crazy. We don't travel a ton in Fall, but we always go to Boise in September for Scentsy's annual SuperStar Director Summit. It's an annual gathering of Scentsy's top leaders, and we wouldn't miss it for anything. This year I was asked to teach a workshop which is exciting, but it also makes everything a bit more busy as we prepare to head out of town. 

Brian is out of town tonight tending to some family business, so I'm left here to prep all the meals and clothes and packing and my presentation for next week. Oh, and everyone's crazy schedules. Plus there is some weird smell coming from underneath the desk in my kitchen that I am going to have to hunt for as soon as I'm done here. 

So I guess we're busy. I like being busy, but I don't like being this busy. We may have slightly overbooked ourselves, but it's just for a moment, and it was sort of because of a thing Brian needed to go take care of. (More on how much I love and admire and adore my husband later.) Really, I'm a lucky gal. 

The kids and I spent some time outside with the chickens tonight. We have 11 now. Yes. We are officially those people. And it's awesome. 

Addy has the runt that we have affectionately named Condor....because, look at it. It looks like a condor. Brian got it for free with the last bunch that he bought. The other chickens were picking on it, and they weren't sure if it would make it, so we rescued it. 

And the reason I keep saying "it" is because there is no way to tell at this age if these are hens or roosters. We think we have a few roosters, but it's too soon to tell. Despite the fact that we don't know their gender (for sure), most of them have names. 

The tiniest one is Condor (or Squirt as Addy calls it). We have a Curly, a momma Cindy (named after our nanny's momma.....and there were actually 2 momma Cindys until we renamed one of them....and for the life of me, I can't remember what we re-named it.) Anyways, we also have 2 Sweeties, an Oprah, a Blue (who has blue toenails...that we painted), and then a couple new ones who don't have names yet. The one Luke is holding is a newbie with no name yet. 

Who knew? Naming chickens is fun. 

On another note, this is what my life looks like right now, and I have plans to get up at 5:30 am, so I think it's time we parted ways. More useless information to come tomorrow.......stay tuned. 

Oh and for the record, the jammies they are wearing in the above pictures, are the jammies they wore ti bed last night and all day long. When you go to church on Saturday nights, that's how Sundays roll. 

When you can do anything....

I have often been criticized for being too much of a planner. People say things to me like "you're so busy" and "I know you probably don't have time, but would you...." and those kind of comments make me crazy. It's like verbal punishment for being organized and intentional with my time. 

Let's face it, we're all busy. But when I look at the way my work life and my family life has evolved, I know I have to be intentional with my time and resources. 

I think the reason people say that I'm so busy is because I guard the time I have with my family. It is so hard to work for yourself and be able to set your own schedule and then have people think that you must be free anytime to do anything since you work from home. When you can do anything.....it doesn't mean you should. I'm learning that I absolutely can't do everything just because I work from home. I have to pick and choose and do the things that I know will make the biggest impact and be the most effective in my personal life, in my business life, and in the spiritual realm. 

This is something I've struggled with ever since I started "working from home." It's why I had to put boundaries in place. I don't answer my phone all the time. I don't respond to facebook messages and texts when I get them. I simply can't. If I did that, I would be working all the waking hours of the day and then some, and that's not why I quit my teaching job. 

So I try to have solid boundaries in place, but even that becomes hard. Because I try to spend the majority of my time working directly with the consultants that I've signed up and the directors underneath me, I have to be somewhat flexible to allow for our schedules to line up. 

And then I have to guard the time I have with my family. With evening parties and online training (which we always do in the evening), I'm left with very little time in the evenings to help team members. We do our very best to make the nights about our family. It's extremely important to us that we have margin, but it's often hard to make those boundaries stick. 

I'm the 1st to cave when someone wants to meet and it doesn't align with the boundaries I've put in place. But there are also other times when a friend wants to meet or there is a special event happening, and I want to be able to do all those things while being home a minimum of 5-6 nights a week with my family. 

Lately I've been thinking that to accommodate all my Scentsy peeps that work and can't meet during the day, I'm going to have to set up one night a month where I try to fit all of them in. I realize this won't work perfectly, but it's what I'm comfortable doing. I know that the one-on-one time I devote to my frontline and my leaders is one of the best uses of my time. That's why I have an assistant who does a lot of my computer work for me. It frees me up to be more intentional about building relationships. 

But just because I have the freedom to set my own schedule doesn't mean that I can do everything. I realize that I could do anything, but that I can't do everything. I really believe part of our maturity into adulthood is learning how to say no. I simply can't do everything that's placed before me. Nor should I. 

I want to have margin in my personal and family life, and when you're a direct sales consultant of any kind, that can be a tricky task. You could work all the time if you chose to. But that's how people get burnt out. Just because you can do anything doesn't mean you should. 

So I'm curious if you ever get overwhelmed with all the responsibilities you have on your plate, and if you do, what do you do when that happens? Do you step back and reevaluate how you're spending your time? Or do you shut down? Sometimes when we have done everything for so long, we simply shut down. I've seen a lot of businesses fail because someone was trying to do it all. 

Part of our responsibility as business owners and moms and wives is to put boundaries in place. Know what's important to you and guard it with your life. At the end of the day, your values shouldn't be compromised. It's the reason that I plan my week out the way I do, and the reason that I'm such a stickler for intentional planning and preparation. How do you guard your time? 

 

Coming out of the Fog

I definitely feel like I'm coming out of a fog.

Brian just returned home from a 4 day bachelor party in Portland, and while I only had Wyatt here at home for the majority of the time, I feel incredibly behind and out of the loop.

Tuesday, my mom came down to pick up the kiddos and take them to Lawton for a few days. They had a blast at Grammy's house and probably would have stayed longer, but after 5 days with a 6 and 4-year-old, my mom was definitely exhausted.

And believe it or not, I was exhausted after having only 1 kiddo at home. I'm claiming that 3 are easier than 1. But that 's just me.

So this morning I woke up with a huge list of all the things I didn't take care of last week, and all the things that need to be taken care of today. And there was a moment when I wanted to be overwhelmed, shut-down, and lie around watching Kathie Lee and Hoda all morning.

But I pressed thru.....and I still watched Kathie Lee and Hoda....after I took my kids to swim lessons and forgot towels for both of them. Can we say Epic Fail?

So I decided it was time to create a plan and get back to business. But before that, you have to see what I did for 2 solid days as our Father's Day surprise and why I am now so incredibly far behind.

So this is what our garage has looked like since we moved into our house in December.

Impressive right? Blame the movers. They basically moved anything that didn't fit somewhere specifically right into the garage.

And afte 2 days and the help of my mom and my sister {oh and my sister told me to mention that she and her hubby were huge contributors to the princess and pirate party....and they were! It was rude of me to not give them a little shout-out.}....this is what the garage now looks like.

Ta da! I think I'm still exhausted.

We went to pick Brian up from the airport last night, and the kids hung out of the sunroof of my car with signs that said "Happy Father's Day Daddy!" and "Welcome Home Daddy." And then Brian proceeded to guess every possible surprise we could have waiting for him at home including a dance number complete with Country and Western apparel. The kids thought that was hilarious.

He was shocked when we pulled up and his jeep was parked in the garage. Heck, I'm still shocked when I look it!

So that's where I've been lately. Busy bee. Now I'm off to plan the week (incredibly late for me, but planning none the same). I hope you had a joyous Father's Day.

Happy Sunday {Printable Sunday 7 List}

After a long day of being mommy to my 3 littles while daddy helped his momma and daddy move today, I'm officially exhausted. {I know he's going to be so much more exhausted than I am.}

It was a good day. We made a giant camp out under the trees in our front yard this morning. It was like a slice of summer time heaven pie.

I'm finally snuggled up in bed, planning out the week ahead. And that's a good thing.

That means that it's time for the Sunday 7! A few of my friends and fellow SuperStar directors and I recently got together and shot a video that talked about the challenges of running a small business in the summer months when life is a little different for everyone.

You can see the video in it's entirety below.

I think one of the keys to finding success thru the busy summer months is having a written goal. We tend to get distracted and forget that we need to have down in writing what it is we want to accomplish for the day, week, or month.

In the conclusion to the above video, we challenge everyone watching to actually get a plan on paper. Set some goals for the summer. Find a way to hold yourself accountable.

I am all about written goals. But I often get distracted from my monthly goal, so I created a system called The Sunday 7 that helps me stay on track and set small, weekly goals to reach my bigger goal.

The Sunday 7 is not just about business. It is about your entire life, the things that are most important to you, your values.

Here's how it works:

1. You pick the top 7 most important things you in your life. (Most people can classify theirs based around what you see below....but it's flexible! Do what works for you.) 
2. Write down the most important tasks you need to do this week concerning those areas of your life. 
3. Take those tasks and find a time where they fit into your schedule. 

That's it! We're managing our time well, and setting weekly goals all at the same time. 

Now I will tell you that I have super exciting news concerning The Sunday 7 this week....thanks to my friend Emmy at Much Ado About You, we now have a printable template for the Sunday 7 that you can print off, fill in, and keep in your planner all week long! 

Here is a little sneak peek of what you'll get next week: 

But this week you can download a blank copy by clicking here. 

Next week I'll have a copy with the 7 most popular values already filled in so all you have to add are you tasks. 

1. Faith 
2. Family 
3. Friends/Relationships
4. Work
5. Health and Fitness
6. Finances
7. Down Time 

Happy planning to you! And don't forget that if you want an August start date Much Ado About You planner, you only have until tomorrow, June 10th to order one! 

Summertime Chore Charts

Brian and I just spent a wonderful evening with some awesome peeps from our Kansas City area team. What a fun night!

We had a little shin dig at Joe's Crab Shack where I was actually the one who was long winded this time. We had a great time, and I'm so glad we made the trip. And as usual, I learned a little something too. There were so many great ideas shared. I always love learning from my Scentsy family! 

Here are a few of us with our Joe's Crab shack bibs. It's always fun when you go to a restaurant where they put a bib on you. Awesome.

So that's what we did tonight. But that's not what I wanted to share with you.

This summer we started chore charts with our kids. We made a huge deal out of going to Mardel so they could each pick out the stickers that they wanted to earn on their chore chart. 

We sat down as a family and asked each of the kids what they thought they could help out with around the house. We talked about the things they wanted to help with and the things that they are responsible for. 

I found these super cute and completely customizable chore charts that work perfectly for the stickers we picked out. You can find them here. I am so grateful for creative people who can create super cute stuff like this! 

We have been able to add chores to the chart as we think of new ones and customize the charts to each kiddo. My kids have been so motivated by earning stickers for their charts. 

When we first sat down to talk about their chores, we talke about what they could earn for getting stickers, and we talked about things like movie day or getting a new toy. We also talked about them earning a trip if they earned a certain amount of stars by the end of the summer. 

Strangely enough, we have not had to bribe them with anything other than the stickers right now. Now, my kids are 4 and 6 so I would guess that older kids would want to earn something other than stickers, but stickers are working for us right now, so we're going with it!

The girls at my bible study thought the chore charts were great, so I thought I would share my find with you. I hope it helps you get everyone on the same page this summer! 

Here are some of the chores my kiddos are doing:

Addison (6 years old) earns stickers for:

• Reading (we're doing the local summer reading program) 
• Watering the plants 
• Sweeping the porch 
• Helping mommy or daddy
• Picking up her toys 
• Practicing her Bible memory verse
• Helping with the dishes
• Putting her clean clothes away

Luke (4 years old) earns stickers for: 

• Reading 
• Sweeping the porch 
• Filling up the dog's water and food bowl
• Picking up his toys 
• Sleeping in his bed all night 
• Watering the plants

So head on over to http://pinchalittlesavealot.blogspot.com and print off your own chore charts today! 

And don't forget that I'm giving away 3 planners on Saturday! You still have time to enter to win! So many of you have entered to win our Much Ado About You planner giveaway. If you want to win go here and follow the directions for your chance to win 1 of 3 free Much Ado About You planners. I should mention that the planners are only being offered in 1 size this year (6x9) which is perfect for carrying around with you! 

{Also note that there is a brand new design coming to the blog in July....I am so very excited!}

Stay tuned, 

Allison 

Much Ado About YOU! For you!

I have a huge problem. Many of you know about it.

If you followed my 1st journey of writing everyday for a year, you read multiple posts about my planner, saw multiple pictures of my planner, and probably caught glimpses of it pictures that I didn't even mean for it to be in because it is always by my side!

I accidentally made friends with Emmy who created these beautiful pieces of art (See? I told you I'm crazy!) because I wrote about my obsession for her planner so much. And the obsession continues.

I should warn you that I have piles of planners that I have test driven. None of them worked out like this one.

I realize that I'm making big claims, but I absolutely love the layout of this planner. I can't find anything I like better.

A while back I wrote about how the Much Ado About You planner compares to the Erin Condren planner. You can see that post here. Now, the Much Ado About You planner has been updated, and you can see all the great new features by checking out Emmy's awesome new video on the post below over at http://muchadoaboutyou.com/.

Oh my goodness I can hardly contain myself! I am so crazy excited that my all time favorite planner shop is opening back up on June 1st! That's this Saturday!

So here's the deal, I can't just tell you about these crazy awesome planners, I think you need one!

And I think you should be able to win one! That means this is a giveaway post my friends!

So here's the deal, if you want to win, you have to go to http://muchadoaboutyou.com/ and check out Emmy's new video. Comment below what your favorite feature of the new MAAY planner is,  and tell us why you need one, and you could win a free planner! (also make sure you're a follower of this blog)

On Saturday, June 1st, I'll draw 3 of you to win a brand new Much Ado About You planner! Go check it out, and post below. Good luck to you!

Purging

My kids are at my mom's house for three days.

After having four children under the age of five in my house for six months, it is time to purge.

I need organization and inspiration and beauty and peace. And so with a house minus children, I am making it for myself.

In the midst of all my purging, I looked up and it was 1:00 a.m. I should really take advantage of this time without kiddos and sleep, but no, I'm purging.

But all this organizing and throwing out and donating is making me want to play with my kids' toys, so I know when they get home, they'll be thrilled to play with them.

Do your kids do that? Once you put all the things that go together back together, then they play with them again?

Mine do.

We have puzzles and crafts and kitchen toys all in their respectful places, and it makes me happy.

I have been crazy busy this week for some strange reason with both "work" aka Scentsy and this weird nesting thing I'm going through. We're prepping for another trip, this time to Las Vegas for Scentsy's National Convention, so we're excited about that.

Brian and my's anniversary is coming up, too. Almost eight years.

And for the record, I am watching We Bought a Zoo for the second time tonight.

Sorry for the short and random post. This pregnant momma needs her rest.

Tomorrow is another busy busy day.

.....day 340 of a year of writing.....

Bring on the Inspiration

I don't normally share other blog sites. But tonight I found one that I couldn't stop reading.

That's always a good sign, right?

This blogger did an incredible series called 31 Days to an Organized Home. You may have seen it on Pinterest. That's where I found her.

But, I have been inspired by her simple and inexpensive ideas on home organization. And more than anything, she has great theories about organization to help you wrap your brain around the why.

I have been truly inspired...by the way, you should be scared by that statement. There are many, many places in my home that need organization. I see it coming all too soon!

Anyway, enough about that, take a few minutes and check out this blog. I know you'll fall in love. Whether you call yourself an organized person or not, she makes things simple and easy to understand when it comes to organizing.

http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/2011/10/31-days-to-organized-home-day-one.html

.....day 336 of a year of writing.....

A Packing Frenzy

I have never in my life packed like this. {I've never really had to, I guess.}

And by no means am I complaining. I'm not. I'm pumped to get on a of couple planes and have a good time.

But, right now, I'm attempting to pack six people for two trips totaling over two weeks of time away from home. Oh my goodness!
I snapped a couple of pictures before it got crazy, but I'm sure you'll see more packing pictures over the next couple of days since I am no where near finished (try to contain your excitement).

It just looks like a mess, doesn't it? It only got worse.

And it wasn't just on the dresser. It was on the bed, the floor, and even in the dining room.

Who knew vacation was so much work? I have two lists for every person (one list for each trip), and then I keep thinking of things to add to my lists. Oh my goodness. I'm so glad that I didn't wait until the night before to start packing, because I am notorious for that normally. This is serious travelling though.

I'll have to show you pictures of the final products (all the suitcases and bags). That should be interesting.

With that, I'm off to make more lists.

.....day 300 of a year of writing.....

A New Space

I was starting to feel like the walls were caving in around me. I promise I'm not being dramatic. It suddenly became too much.

We have too much stuff, and at times it feels like we're going to bust right through the walls of our house. If you've been to my house, you're probably thinking I'm crazy. I know it's a good size house. I'm not complaining about that. It's just that four kids, two adults, and a business trying to function in this space, is making me nutso.

Remember all that cleaning out I did before we got the babies? Well, it's a good thing, because now every space that I de-cluttered and cleaned out is now cluttered and full again. What do you do?

I only have one friend that I believe to be more organized than me. {Let me clarify. I am internally organized. My mind loves to organize. I love to physically organize, but there are times that my house may or may not represent that organization to the best of it's ability.} Hence, the walls exploding this week.

So anyway, like I was saying. I have a friend who is super-organized. She thinks like me when it comes to organization, and I needed her to come help me.

The biggest problem this week with the house was my Scentsy closet. With the launch of Velata, my one business storage space in the house was suddenly impossible to even walk into. We had boxes in our living room and dining room ,because I didn't have room in my Scentsy closet.

So I called in my friend Sarah who I knew could get me out of the funk of chaos.

She came over today and completely emptied and sorted everything in my Scentsy closet. It was amazing!

Then we went on a storage container hunt and found the perfect storage things at Bed Bath and Beyond in the bathroom storage area.

I wish I had before pictures for you, but just imagine that you couldn't see the floor and you couldn't walk into this closet.

And a day later......a new storage space!

So, keep in mind that this is a tiny space. It is the storage closet under our stairs, but it's all I've got. The metal storage tins you see on the bottom are what we found today at Bed Bath and Beyond. I'm going to get another set to go on the right. They are perfect for storing room sprays, hand sanitizers, and any and all Layers products. 

I used to have my Scentsy bars on both sides of the closet, but once Velata got here, I didn't want to store Velata next to Scentsy, so I moved all the bars to this side and still had room for bags. 

Chocolate and a few more bags. 

Empty shelves! I wish they would stay that way, but most of my warmers are packed up for a fundraiser I'm doing tomorrow at the Dancers Against Cancer show. It'll be fun, but I'm just hoping that everything fits back in there. 

Yeah for the floor! Oh how I missed you! And I still love that tissue paper holder that my fabulous hubby made me a while ago. It's perfect. 

Happy Friday! 

.....day 273 of a year of writing.....

Free to Play

Today my mom pulled into our driveway with her car full of memories.

She spent all day yesterday digging through the attic of my childhood home where my grandpa now lives in search of a few treasures. And she definitely found some!

I thought you might enjoy a few pictures. Some of these Barbies are more than 25 years old. My sister and I had just as much fun looking through the goods as Addison and Luke did.

My mom is not certain how the dream house goes together. 

Uncle Kris playing with our baby boy.

He thought it was a tunnel and crawled through it about a dozen times.

Are these leggings?!

I found a tiny troll!

We now have more retro Barbie accessories than you could ever want.

The entire afternoon was filled with a sense of peace. My usual overloaded mind filled with stress and the worries of the week to come, wasn't there to bog me down.

I was free to play. Free to explore. Free to simply be.

It was a good feeling.

Even though I spent time all week tracking my every activity, I had more time. Imagine that. It turns out that when we choose to keep ourselves accountable for the way we spend our time, we spend our time in more meaningful and efficient ways.

There aren't a ton of you who made it through the whole week with us. It was challenging. It was rather eye opening. And for me, it was worth it!

I'm hoping you'll continue with your daily activity that you added to your schedule even after today. I know I'm going to. If you remember nothing else from this week, remember this:

Every single thing we do matters. 

and.....

Change doesn't have to be a huge event. Change can be made through very small shifts in the way we spend our time. 

I'm curious, if you made it through the entire week of time tracking with us, do you feel as though you've changed? And if so, how? (Remember, if you've made it this far, you'll be in the drawing for $200 cash money.) And don't forget that today is the last day to pre-order your Much Ado About You Planner! Don't miss out. Help save my favorite handmade business.

Hoping you found joy in the journey.....

.....day 205 of a year of writing.....