Downloads Archives - Mommie Kate at Grace Mountain Farms

Posted on January 6, 2015January 6, 2015 by MommieKate — 1 Comment

Help for Setting and Achieving Your Goals

I have spent November and December in quiet time, prayer, and planning. I wanted to greet the New Year with enthusiasm and a plan. You see, ever since MOMCon 2014 (Mothers of Preschoolers Convention- totally awesome, by the way) I have been contemplating this year’s “Brave” theme and what it means for me and God’s call upon my life. Never before have I spent so much time and effort into setting goals. Oh I make plans, alright, and lists – tons of lists. (My Mom thinks I’m a little overboard in the organizing department. I may or may not have had my suitcase packed two full weeks before my last trip back home, outfits rolled together with undies and jewelry all together. That’s not weird. You do that too, right?) But goals? Actual write them out all official-like goals? Nope. Never. I wasn’t even sure where to start.

Several resources have helped me in that department. Each one has profoundly changed the way I think about goal setting and why I should even bother. I want to share these resources with you. Each one has been for a specific area of my life. All together, they were beyond what I’d call a good value for the little money I spent. THEY WERE FABULOUS, I’m telling you. Fabulous!

I downloaded the books A Million Little Ways, Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily P. Freeman and Restless: Because You Were Made for More by Jennie Allen. I attended workshops that each of these ladies led at MOMCon. Oh my they were fantastic! It’s no exaggeration to say that the Restless book radically changed my mindset. If you have ever pondered your purpose beyond wife and mother, these books are for you. (While I am not an affiliate for either one of these titles, I do have them in my Amazon store for your convenience.)

I also downloaded a few workbooks to help me get it all sorted out. The first one is Your Retreat, A Guide to Giving Yourself a Personal Planning Day by Erin Odom. Erin blogs at The Humbled Homemaker. She’s the perfect combo of crunchy yet practical – I like that. In this downloadable PDF, she covers why it is so important to set aside time to plan and set goals. She guides you through several areas such as homemaking, meal planning, personal growth, spiritual growth, and finances. She also touches on our roles as wife and as parent. This was the perfect starting point for me. It was easy to read and to implement.

About the same time, Tina at Savvy Homeschool Moms recommended a free ebook by Leonie Dawson called A Cowgirl’s Guide to Riding Wild Donkeys. Crazy, I know. (I loved it. You know I would. Come on…wild donkeys? Yes, please.) That book led me to her workbooks, Create Your Shining Year, 2015 Life & Biz Editions. Now, before skipping off to her site I have to warn you: the girl has got a mouth like a sailor. Somehow, though, she’s endearing on so many other levels that I sort of overlook it. (And read emails from her with one eye closed. Really. Lovely girl but whoa..that mouth.) She’s a totally groovy, hippy dippy sort of chick. I think she’s the Australian version of Dharma & Greg. (Kinda miss that show. I may have been her in my previous single, yoga teaching, life. Dharma with the clean mouth. Just so you’re clear on that one.) These two fun and artsy workbooks narrowed down the focus a bit more. They cover specific goal planning for what you want to accomplish but also the kind of life you want to have. Clever, huh?

Those three workbooks impressed me so much that I partnered with the authors as an affiliate (As an affiliate, I earn a tiny bit of moolah for each book that is purchased though clicking on their links from my site) to help them reach a greater audience. The workbooks are THAT good. I can see myself re-using them for years to come. They are available as printable PDFs so I can do that. Score! Green, even.

You know what’s even better? This week only Erin’s Your Retreat, A Guide to Giving Yourself a Personal Planning Day is available for only 99cents !

I’m curious, do you set goals? What’s your process? Do you have a plan or just wing it? Connect, let’s chat about it.

Posted on February 9, 2012November 28, 2014 by MommieKate

Three Simple Ways to Get Organized and Stay Organized

I love organizing. Let me re-phrase that: I love the benefits of being organized. When things are organized I know where they are. My house looks tidy. I save time. I save money. What’s the biggest benefit? I stay sane! It drives me nuts when things are scattered all over the place, when I can’t remember appointments, or getting to the grocery store and not knowing whether or not we need to buy milk.

My brain just doesn’t function well in chaos.

Here are the top three ways that I keep things running smoothly:

1. I write it all down. If you write it down and keep it in one place you don’t have to remember it or go looking for it. I use a combination of a home management journal, smart phone, iPad, and a weekly calendar posted on the refrigerator. My home management journal is for things that I use less frequently. It’s for my contact list, emergency info, master to-do list of some day items/projects, monthly meal plan ideas, and chore lists. My iPhone and iPad hold my everyday information such as appointments, phone numbers, Bible reading plans, e-books, etc… seriously, I’m going to have do do a whole other post on this one. Going digital keeps the info you need with you at all times. I utilize this pretty weekly planner on the refrigerator so the rest of the family knows what’s going on and what’s for supper.

2. I keep it all together. For this I use my mobile office. It holds all my stuff and looks great too. I can grab it and go.

The idea came from A Bowl Full of Lemons. My mobile office holds my laptop and iPad. My files include our monthly budget and bill paying info, homeschool lesson planning, devotional materials, goal/projects list, holiday planning, craft info and blog journal. The outside pockets hold my power charging cords and office supplies. My “office” lately is my Big Cozy-Comfy Chair. What could be better?

I keep all our financial papers together in one huge binder. I three-hole punch everything.

This binder has been especially helpful. It’s organized into sections such as bills due, bills paid each month, insurance EOB’s (great for matching the medical charges with the actual benefits paid), bank statements, info needed for filing tax returns, etc. At the end of the year, the contents go in the tax box with our receipts then to the attic for storage.

3. I plan ahead. Utilizing a monthly meal plan helps save time and money. I always know what we are having and I have dramatically reduced the number of trips to the grocery store. In the past, I listed 30 meals and the ingredients needed for each meal on this meal planner. Then I plugged it in on a monthly calendar that I posted on the fridge. I also typed our favorite recipes and had them in a cute little binder on the counter. NOW, that I have my iPad (and we all know how I love my iPad), I use a menu planning app called Paprika. It’s awesome! I can use all my own recipes or search for new ideas and save them all in one spot. It will even print out a grocery list for my planned meals.

I also lesson plan in advance for our homeschool. I save so much time in the long run by getting things together before I need them. I utilize work boxes to keep things handy and broken down into days. I put the day’s assignments and any craft materials inside the box. They stack nice and neat for presentable appearance and easy access.

Staying organized keeps life simple for me. It gives me more time for the FUN things. How do you manage the chaos? I’d love to hear some of your sanity-saving tips.

Posted on November 18, 2011November 24, 2014 by MommieKate — 7 Comments

Three in Thirty

Week Three – Encouragement

Whoa Baby, the month is just flying by! With Thanksgiving fast approaching there seems to be so much more to do. I am pleased (ok, really impressed with myself) that I have completed another #3in30 goal. Yep, check another item off my list! Here’s my progress so far:

Finished – typing the scriptures from the book on the favor of God (see that book here).
Finished- gathering all passwords into a secure iPad app.
In Progress/On Target- setting aside blogging time (see big comfy writing spot here)

I can think of no better way to encourage you today than to encourage you in the Lord. I want to share my Favor Scriptures with you! I spend “Power Time” everyday confessing scriptures out loud. It will really rev you up and get you going. Confessing God’s Word is a powerful prayer tool and a super- charge for your faith. Try it… you’ll like it! 🙂

Favor Scriptures

Posted on February 15, 2011November 28, 2014 by MommieKate — 4 Comments

Twice As Nice

We have added a new curriculum to our preschool: Joyful Heart Bible And Rhyme for 3 year olds. I love this free, Bible-based program. It includes lesson plans and craft/activity suggestions. I am still using the Letter of The Week. I think between the two, we are building a solid Biblical and academic foundation.

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the flexibility to use more than one resource for teaching. Nothing is set in stone. I can keep what I like and disregard what’s not for us. I have learned so much this year about what works for us and what doesn’t. I’m so glad that I started with preschool. I don’t feel that trial and error (and there have been tons of error) at this point is detrimental to his overall education- I mean, really… he’s just three!

Now that we are using more than one curriculum, I am picking and choosing lessons between the two. To help keep me focused, I designed my own lesson plan/worksheet. AND…I’m offering this freebie to you (go ahead, squeal if you want)! There are so many great planners out there. I just needed something a little more basic. I like looking at the whole week, too. Click here for Scribd download. (The lines looks a little off in the preview window but “reappear” in the download.)

I’ve included some photos of other things we’ve added to our class room goodies.