I N S P I R E D Y E A R | Planner Review & Giveaway

I N S P I R E D  Y E A R | Planner Review & Giveaway

*Disclaimer: I received this planner from One Love Paper Co in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.

I wasn’t one for planners until the beginning of last year, after our youngest Jaxson was born. Jaxson was in and out of the hospital, I was trying to work full-time at a Chiropractic office, shuffling the kids to daycare, etc. I was overwhelmed and needed something to keep my hectic life together… cue planner! Some may use their cellphones/smartphones to keep up with their day to day lives but nothing is more satisfying then writing down your appointments, goals, and crossing them off one-by-one.

I was just using a basic planner I purchased from Target this past year, but was longing for a new and improved planner… thus my search began! That is when I came across One Love Paper Planner.

A B O U T  O N E  L O V E  P A P E R:

In 2013 Kathy, a mother of three, was facing a challenge of balancing work and life. Kathy then decided to help others by providing a path to go after their dreams and ambitions.

In 2015, Kathy designed her first Inspired Year Planner with elegant covers and meaningful quotes that she had collected over the years. The planner was such a hit that she decided to take a gamble and launched her planners to a larger audience using Kickstarter.

F I N D  T I M E  F O R  Y O U R S E L F:

Being a mother of two boys with one with special needs, a full-time student, a military spouse, stay at home mom (turned entrepreneur) and blogger… you really don’t have a lot of time for yourself. It is vital for you and for your family to find time for YOU. You need to take care of YOURSELF too, that is not even a little bit selfish. I find that setting a little time for myself, whether it’s 15 minutes or 30 minutes, is beneficial.

I love to work out and do yoga but have with our recent move and adjusting to life here in North Carolina I have not been consistent. With this planner I can plan out my hourly tasks and include yoga or weightlifting into my schedule—for MY time to take care of myself.

S E T  G O A L S:

What I love about this planner is that it allows you to sit down and take time to look over your goals and what you want to accomplish within the year. The planner breaks down into four quarters so that you can assess your goals throughout the year. Finding time for yourself and for your goals are very important. Sometimes as mothers we get lost with taking care of our children, I always put their needs before my own. That is why I LOVE this planner and will continue to use and recommend it.

What is included in the planner:

Goal-Setting Inspiration:

-10 pages of goal setting

-Daily to-do lists

-Dreams and heart-centered goal setting pages

-Year-in-review prompts

Monthly + Weekly Calenders:

-Inspirational quotes

-Hourly scheduler

-Extra notes pages

-Tabbed months

-Lies flat

Outstanding Quality:

-Bright and warm cover and pages

-Reinforced laminated monthly tabs

-Gold wired binding

-High quality, ultra-white paper

For more styles and information click here.

And So, the Adventure Begins…

I chose the Adventure Begins cover because it really spoke to me. This life of being a Special Needs mom to a DYRK1A Warrior is definitely an adventure. With his rare chromosome disorder, it is hard to see what the future may hold for him--not every child with this condition will have all of the same features or symptoms.

We are currently establishing new specialty doctors and therapists and this planner will definitely help me keep track of all of his appointments, his brother’s sports, my goals, my daily tasks, etc. It'll help me sit down and take time to find time for ME.

THANK YOU ONE LOVE PAPER CO.

Enter to win a FREE Inspired Year Planner!

I've teamed up with One Love Paper Co to give one lucky winner a FREE copy of the Inspired Year Planner, please visit Instagram for more information!

Click image for more information!

You can also find us at:

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

I love, love this planner!! Get yours today!

Pumpkin Picking & Occupational Therapy Update

P U M P K I N . P I C K I N G

Hello friends!

This past weekend we were able to take the boys to Fun Time Farm & Corn Maze up in Beulaville, North Carolina! It was about a 30 minute drive, a little ways past Mike's Farm. We decided on taking them to the one out in Beulaville because it was more kid friendly. It was smaller but it had a little park, a couple sand boxes, small barn with animals the kids could look at, a maze that was about a mile long, rides for the kids, and they took you out to the fields to pick your pumpkin. The boys really enjoyed their time there.

Last year when we took the boys to a pumpkin patch in Pace, Florida, Jaxson couldn't do anything. He was a potato back then--that was prior to starting Physical Therapy. It was very nice to see both the boys playing in the sand box together and running around. Jaxson really enjoyed the Step 2 Fisher Price push toy, he couldn't get enough of it.

Top - 2017 / Bottom - 2018

O C C U P A T I O N A L . T H E R A P Y

Jaxson had his Occupational Therapy consultation today and he did really well. Zero anxiety, he's definitely come a long way with that. He use to freak out and get anxious, even with me in the room with him. Now when he sees a Tupperware box or bag, he knows that the therapist has a bunch of goodies for him in there. It's the cutest. 

The consult was about an hour and the therapist is a fellow USMC Spouse, we actually live on the same street! Hilarious. We went over Jaxson's history and diagnosis over the last 20 months and how he's doing. We were mostly concerned with his Sensory Processing Disorder. I've noticed that he's starting to bang his head more and more when he's upset, he'll get on all fours and slam his head down. I've seen him hit his head on a chair because he didn't get his way.. and he loves to slam his head on my left shoulder when he's trying to fall asleep. We're also concerned about how he LOVES to climb every single thing. 

The therapist recommended two, one hour sessions a week and if that is a little overwhelming for him we can drop it down to 30 or 45 minute sessions. Our main goal is to work on SPD and re-directing, some feeding because of texture he doesn't get enough nutrients, and lastly we will work on his pincer grip.

O T H E R . S P E C I A L T Y . C A R E

We have an appointment with the Duke ENT Pediatric office on the 13th of next month. The Naval Hospital in Pensacola finally mailed out the boy's records so we should hopefully get referrals in for Neurologist, Gastroenterology, Ophthalmology, and Genetics. We do have a Physical Therapy referral, waiting to get in with them and we are going through CDSA for in home Speech Therapy. 

So far so good! We've been here for almost a month and we are getting somewhere. Now to make an appointment to get our oldest enrolled into Kindergarten here. The school has been out since Hurricane Florence blew into town. They will resume on November 5th, I love my oldest but this momma needs a little break!

And as always, thank you for taking the time to read about our little Jaxson and how he's doing!

You can also find us at:

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

[REVIEW] Carseat Poncho, Making Mom Life A Little Easier!

*Birdy Boutique graciously provided me with an adorable arrow car seat poncho for review, but the opinions are my own.

Being a mom today is very difficult, we worry about every single thing with our littles. We worry if our children are on track as far as development, speech, walking, etc. We worry if the dirt they’re eating will harm them, etc… mom life is ROUGH! And to add to that worry, I have an amazing special needs child who gives me heart failure every day! He climbs into everything, grabs everything, he literally has zero fear. Between him and his older brother, I’m amazed I’m not all gray!

Even fits my five-year-old!

I came across a wonderful group of ladies at the Birdy Boutique that help mommies like us stress a little less when it comes to car seat safety. With the weather changing from warm to cool to cold, it is important that we ensure that our little bundles of joy are protected from the harsh elements and keep them safe. The ladies at Birdy Boutique have made such adorable car seat ponchos for children from 6 months to 5 years! Both my boys love the car seat ponchos, it is comfortable and warm—just in time for the cooler weather!

Jaxson in arrow on arrow poncho

A little about Birdy Boutique: Birdy Boutique is ran by two sisters with children of their own in Michigan. Joanna is a retired Elementary School teacher in Michigan with her two toddlers, and Barbara is a Retired Army Veteran currently residing in Virginia with her Active Duty husband and two children. 

Below is additional information about the car seat ponchos:

Safe: I wasn’t aware how much slack a winter jacket can give to car seat straps, it can give up to 4 inches of slack! A huge benefit of the car seat poncho is that once you buckle your little into the car seat, you throw the poncho on them—zero slack!

Quick: These ponchos are quick and easy to use! Like I mentioned in safety, all you need to do is throw the poncho over your little one’s head, and ta-da! They’re warm and cozy! Your little ones can even put it on in the house, walk out to the car, sit and buckle up with it on!

Mommy Made: The ponchos are designed by a mommy small shop that is located in Michigan! I love supporting small businesses, and keeping my littles safe. Definitely a win, win!

Fit: It’s one size fits all, it’s made to grow with your little one. It’s a little big on Jaxson but he has plenty of time to grow into it. It fits my five-year-old perfectly, he loved it as well! The ponchos are made with a super soft and warm fleece.

Products Available: Birdy Boutique, Amazon (Save 15%), Walmart, and Etsy!

Affordable/Durable:  When we look at products we ensure that it is affordable and durable. The ponchos are about $30 but that isn’t bad at all! These ponchos can last up to 5 years with your littles, definitely worth the investment!

All in all, this product is cute and amazing. I am definitely recommending it to other mommies and daddies who are concerned about their little one’s safety in the car. There are many adorable prints for both boys and girls! I also love the fact that the poncho grows with your child, I won’t have to buy another one for Jaxson.

I'm all about keeping our children safe and warm during the fall and winter months! 

Follow Us:

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest