Happy Monday everyone! We’ve had such a fun and busy week with our kids. Lots of good stuff going on around here that I’ll share at some point! But first I wanted to tell you all about my new planner for 2015! You guys – I’ve finally gone digital. I have tried countless times to use my iPhone for a planner/calendar and just couldn’t do it. I love paper so much! But my husband and I were spending so much time e-mailing each other back and forth all day about things to add to our calendars… cancel this and add that and we can’t make it to this and call and change that appointment… Then we added a few new activities for the kids to our schedule and had so much going on that we quickly realized we needed a new system. So we did a little research and discovered the app COZI. Have you heard of it? It’s a family organizer and we are in love! It’s so user friendly and I love the way it lays out your day, week and month. Kenny has my calendar synced up with his work calendar so we can both add things and notify each other. Perfect for families with older kids too – the whole family can use it. I could write about all I love about Cozi for an hour but you can check it out for yourself here. So many neat features. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to a paper planner and for me that’s saying a lot! (Not advertising for them btw – just love this app and wanted to share it with all of my fellow planners.) :)
I still use my Time Management Binder (full post here) to organize everything else going on. This binder has always worked so well for me. There are places in Cozi to write out to-do and grocery lists, etc. but I still prefer to do that on paper. I’ll always love making a list and checking things off. :)
K now I have to show you this adorable handprint calendar Kole made for us in pre-school! This would be such a cute idea for a Mother’s day or Father’s day gift. Or for grandparents at Christmas/birthdays. Each month has a picture with his handprints in it…
Is that not the cutest thing!? Such a keepsake.
It’s hanging in my pantry and out of all of the calendars I’ve used over the years, this one takes the cake.
:)
Happy Planning everyone!
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2013 was my year to go digital with my calendar. i hated it. i stuck it out for a full year and could not wait to get my paper and pencil back. course, i didn’t use Cozi…i’ll give that a look. hope you like it. give us updates occasionally!!
My sister is a preschool teacher. i just shared Cole’s calendar with her. it is the cutest idea ever!!! thanks for sharing!!
Definitely look into Cozi Angela! I felt the SAME way about calendars on my phone – I hated them! I kept going back to paper. But things got too busy for me to write everything down (especially re-peat activities). I really LOVE Cozi. It is so user friendly!
Thanks for the app tip — I will definitely be checking it out!! That little handprint calendar — beyond adorable and such a great keepsake. Hope you have a great week!
Thanks so much Janet! You too! xo
Hi Erin!
Love that you found out about Cozi! I knew about it and love the idea of it and actually all planners and such. I’m just not good at all about keeping up with them! LOL That is why you are organized and I am not. LOL And what drew me to your blog in the first place. But then I get all distracted by the adorable kids you have and the projects they do and you. Like the fabulous calendar you shared. Wow! That’s a lot of work for a kiddo his age. I know they didn’t do it all at once, but kudos to his teacher(s) for the idea in the first place and staying with it to get it done! Wow!! It looks amazing! A keepsake for sure. Thanks for sharing. :)
I agree Jeanne! Amazing teachers to have all of the kids make something like that! xo
Oh my, how sweet is that calendar!? I just pinned so I remember to do this for Grandparents! And we also use Cozi, love it!
i’ve just started using cozi too and love it!!!!! i never thought i’d be able to go digital but it’s been fabulous!
My husband and I have had iPhones for years but we JUST learned that we can synch our icalendars! We are probably the last ones on earth to have learned that but it is a life saver!
I feel like that too Carrie! I’m probably the LAST person to figure all of this out but man – what a difference it has made!
Kole’s calendar is the cutest! I think I may have to make one with my kiddos. Fun afternoon craft activity!
Erin, I love the bulletin boards in your pantry. Where did you find them? I have been looking for some about that size to make “brag boards” for my children to put in the playroom. Thanks!
Thank you Kristin! I know, right!? Such a cute calendar. Great activity to do with the kids! I got the bulletin boards in my pantry from Pottery Barn. :)
Love the calendar, so sweet. Where did you get those cool boards to pin to? Can’t wait to see blog on pantry- need some org ideas for mine. :)
Thanks Zobbie! I ordered those boards through Pottery Barn. :)
Love Cozi too, but seriously that calendar has to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!! What a great idea!! And such a keepsake!! Loved seeing your reading corner pop up in my fb feed for Pottery Barn!! So awesome!! :)
Thanks Holli! I know! I was so surprised and happy! :)
Erin,
I love Cozi too. My favorite part is that you can add locations, reminders, and notes to an event. So, when my daughter needs to go to the Brownie cookie exchange, I can add in the address of where it is and what we need to bring (2 dozen sugar cookies and a can of frosting). Plus, my husband can see it too. So if he happens to be dropping her off, he can double check Cozi and make sure he’s got everything he’s supposed to bring without me having to write it all out. I also like that each person is a different color. We added our dog as a family member so I can calendar her monthly medicine and any vet appointments she has.
I am a transitional kindergarten teacher and our birds in snow, similar to Kole’s, our hanging on the wall in my classroom. It’s too cute! I love the calendar idea. That truly is a gift of love. Thanks for sharing!!!
I love all of those Cozi features too Julie! I also write a million things I need to remember and then I love that I can send myself a reminder so I don’t forget it all! Love that you added your dog! That made me laugh out loud. :) Perfect! And knowing you are a Kindergarten teacher makes me want to give you a hug! I know how hard Kindergarten teachers work. My mom has taught for over 30 years and 18 of those years were teaching Kindergarten. :) xo
Oh, that calendar is soooooo cute! His teacher knocked that project out of the park! As a Mom, I cherished those school projects with their little hands. My son is special needs and severely disabled. When he graduated high school (they don’t technically “graduate” per se, but you get the idea…) his teacher put together a photo album of four years of school memories. It was the greatest thing ever. The photos were so candid and my son was just so happy in all of those photos. She captured pure joy in those photos and it was probably one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.
As for going digital, when we have any appointment, we just click the “share via” icon and share the appointment via a text message. When you click accept, it populates it in the calendar in our phones. I use Google calendar so it’s automatically synced to my pc in case I ever lose data, lol. I also only have one child and not three so I can’t even imagine the scheduling nightmares with three kids and a busy family!
As for my Home Manual (it’s really more of a to do manual just divided up by categories, lol), I still like seeing that stuff in paper form. It would be too much work to have all of that stuff digital. My volume here is pretty high and I’d never get anything done.
Oh my word! That really DOES sound like the best gift a mom could get. What a sweet teacher to put that together for you. Makes me tear up just thinking about it! And I agree – it’s nice to still have some things on paper. Especially to-do lists. I would be lost without my Time Management Binder! Thanks for your sweet comment! Loved hearing about that gift for you son. What a treasure. xo
MUST. SEE. INSIDE. PANTRY. Hahaha..but really hoping for an organized pantry post soon! Will check out the cozi app.
Ha ha!! Ok Sara! I’ll have to finish up my pantry quickly just for you! :) xo
It’s funny that you should talk about going digital – I’ve been doing somewhat digital and went back to paper. Just ordered myself an Erin Condren planner! I’m going to try pen and paper again, mainly because I have to write my to do list down (I can digitize appts, but not my to dos) and I want it all in one place. But I’m going to for sure check Cozi – though I’m sure I’d be the only one to use it. My husband and I really don’t have appts or events that we need to synch together – he’s got a pretty routine schedule and my events are largely during the day when he’s working anyway.
Absolutely love that calendar! What a treasure! We use Cozi too, it’s one of the best out there….but I must admit I still use a hang up calendar and a planner :-) Have a great week!
Blessings,
Jill
Thank you for the app share! I will definitely be checking it out! That calendar is adorable! I adore little handprints. It’s a keepsake for sure! :)
Hi Erin,
I really like your blog. I was hoping that you would share more about your favorites regarding health and beauty. Thanks!!
Oh my goodness, Cole’s little calendar is so precious. I truly miss those works of art made by my children when they were little. My favorites were always the caterpillar and the turkey, and I’m so glad that my little grandchildren are making some of those same treasures for their parents.
I love using a regular binder for my day-to-day calendar, but we don’t have very busy schedules anymore. I did discover Wunderlist a few years ago, and I use it for shopping. I listed all the stores that I (we) frequent, from grocery stores to craft stores & keep a running list — it syncs to my phone (which is always with me), so I know exactly what I need when I run in Safeway or Michael’s.