Dealing With Kid Paper Clutter

Despite schools adopting more technology and digital instruction, there was still quite the avalanche of papers that came home daily with my kindergartners this school year.  As someone who doesn't like a lot of clutter, I made it my mission to stay on top of all the school papers this year.  I wanted to get some systems and routines in place that I can stick to throughout the rest of their school careers.  Having those routines and systems in place will cut down on some of the daily decision-making that can overwhelm me.

The first thing I have my kids do when they come home is to hang up their backpacks.  Adam added this set of hooks before the kids started preschool and they are still just as pretty and functional as the day he installed them.  After I get the kids settled with a snack, I go through their backpacks.  As they get older, they can do this step themselves.  But as kindergartners, I just do this for them.  I immediately put their lunch trays in the dishwasher and their lunch bags in the cabinet.  Then I take care of allllll the papers.  Lyla neatly placed all her papers in her folder each day, whereas Archer just wadded up his papers and shoved them in his bag.

 

From there, I put the papers in one of four places.  For papers that I needed to reference at a later date (like class newsletters, flyers about upcoming school events, or papers with login information) I clipped on the side of the refrigerator.  I just got two heavy duty metal magnetic clips and wrote each kid's name on one in Sharpie.  This way, I always knew where to find the important papers.  

Any schoolwork or artwork, I clipped onto our metal clothesline that lives in our kitchen.  I put this up when the kids were just babies and kept ripping their artwork off of the fridge.  It continues to be a great way to showcase all their creativity.  Since we can see it from our kitchen table, it serves as great talking points during dinner.  Adam and I can ask about their pieces and it helps jog the kids' memories about what they did in school each day.   

The other two places I put their daily papers in is the trash can or the recycle bin.  Sometimes we wound up with other kids' work or flyers that didn't really apply to us.  So those items immediately went into the recycle bin (paper, cardboard) or trash (things with stickers,tape or glitter can't be recycled.)

Eventually, our clothesline would get pretty full so I would pull everything down and sort through it.  I kept only the most precious items and threw away or recycled the rest.  Those few precious items went into a file box I keep in each of the kids' closets.  I put a file folder for each grade to keep just a few items for me to look through in the future and for the kids to have when they are older if they want them.  My mom asked me awhile back if I wanted several boxes of schoolwork of mine she saved and I just didn't.  I am not a sentimental person and just didn't want more stuff.  So keeping a small file box per kid seems manageable for me.  As I added more items to the file box, I would often get rid of items I had previously saved.  There is probably about 7-10 pieces I saved per kid from their kindergarten career.  One other thing I did was make up a sheet for each kid where I could include their picture and record their school, teacher, friends, favorite subject, favorite part of school, what job they want when they grow up and a place for their signature.  

Those simple steps really helped to combat all the school clutter this year.  It worked well, so I plan to continue when they move into first grade in the fall.  I'm sure this summer they will be creating far more artwork.  To manage all the artwork they create here at home, we have two places for them to keep their creations.  They each have an "art box" in their closet which is just a plastic lidded bin.  If it gets full, they have to go though it to make space for new creations. 

They also each have some wood strips with clips that Adam whipped up for them in their rooms.  They can display anything they want on here.  If definitely helps the kids to have some physical boundaries for places they can put their creations.  I'm sure as they get older and want to add posters to their walls, we'll revisit what we're doing now.  But as kids who can easily end up with twenty pages of artwork each day, this helps us to keep from drowning in paper.  And at this stage, their artwork is more about the process than the finished product.  I certainly encourage their creativity and provide lots of opportunities to make lots of different types of artwork.  

Hopefully these ideas can help out others who might be drowning in stacks of paper on their kitchen counters.  Best of luck to you in this never-ending battle against paper clutter!  

Puppyhood

Ahhh, puppyhood!  Much like parenthood, Dottie's puppyhood has given me more joy than I could have imagined while simultaneously being more work than I bargained for.  

Dottie has brought so much more joy to my life.  That unconditional love is hard to beat.  Her sweet enthusiasm and the sheer volume of kisses I receive each day really make me feel like I'm pretty special.  The weight of her little body snuggled up on my chest while I watch tv on the couch is the best hit of serotonin out there.        

Puppyhood is not without its challenges, however.  When we got our first dog Jazzy, she was at least two years old.  She was potty-trained and crate-trained, walked well on a leash and was content to sit on the back of the couch for hours on end.  Dottie, on the other hand, needs so much more attention!  I knew a puppy would be a lot of work, but it has surprised me a bit just how much work.

I was not prepared for how much I would say, "Get that out of your mouth!"  Dottie usually has something in her mouth that's not supposed to be in there.  I've pulled rocks, grass, some random person's used chewing gum on multiple occasions, mushrooms, socks, an entire branch of my hydrangea plant and gobs of other stuff out of her mouth.  It's a wonder any dog survives puppyhood!  I'm constantly worried she's going to choke or eat something that will make her sick.  Her favorite thing to have in her mouth is someone's fingers.  Her little teeth sure are sharp!  I'm looking forward to teething being a thing of the past for sure.  

And potty-training has been a bit of a struggle.  She does pretty good when it's just me and her during the day while the kids and Adam are away.  I can focus my attention on her and have her routine down.  But add more people and take away some of my attention and it's a bit trickier.  I know we'll all get this potty-training thing down eventually.

Other than chewing and potty-training, I'm truly enjoying having a puppy!  And a large majority of people also love puppies.  It is so much fun to take Dottie for walks around our neighborhood!  People love to stop and visit with Dottie.  I think because she's so tiny, that makes her extra cute.  People have pulled their cars over to the side of the street and stopped mid bike ride to tell me how cute she is.  There was also a tree-trimming crew and the guy way up in the tree with a chainsaw stopped cutting down a branch long enough to yell down to me that I had the smallest, cutest puppy he's seen.  Despite being a more introverted person who doesn't love talking with people I don't know, I love sharing Dottie with other people!  Perhaps people with opposing views could get along a little better if they were put in a room together with a puppy. 

It's pretty amazing how quickly Dottie is growing and changing!  When we first got Dottie, she weighed a whopping 2 lbs. 9 oz.  She was tiny!  She was so tiny that she could fit in between some of the fence slats in our backyard.  Adam had to add some strips of cedar all along the bottom of our fence to keep her in.  We have some large rocks strategically placed around some spots, too.  Dottie also kept crawling under our living room sectional and would get way in the back corner so I couldn't reach her.  There are cords from lamps and the router back behind the couch so I definitely didn't want her back there.  I ended up just taking the legs off the sectional.  Our couch sits a little lower now, but it makes it easier for Dottie to get up to her prime window viewing spot.  The things we do for our dogs!  Thankfully, she is getting bigger.  I got a baby scale from someone on my Buy Nothing group so I can keep track of her growth.  She's up to 5 lbs. and will hopefully keep getting a bit bigger.  As cute as she is, I hope she grows a bit more so she won't get as tangled up in our feet and can withstand the kids' more rambunctious methods of play. 

Watching Dottie experience new things is just precious.  She's very curious about new experiences, but still a little cautious.  I've read about how important it is expose puppies to all kinds of different environments and people and animals.  So we've tried to expose her and include her in all sorts of different activities.  I take her with me to pick up the kids from school so she'll be more comfortable in the car.  She was a rockstar on her first road trip to visit my parents!  We've taken her out on the porch when it storms.  I vacuum with her close by and brought her outside while Adam was mowing the lawn.  I let her explore things like ice cubes and toilet paper rolls and the hose while I'm watering my flowers.  We let her greet people on our walks and she's gotten to know our neighbors.  Dottie loves our neighbor who works in his yard everyday.  She sticks her little nose through the fence slats and wags her tail until he comes over to pet her.  It's so sweet.  She'll be all caught up on her puppy vaccines in a few weeks and then she can be around other dogs.  I can't wait to introduce her to all the neighborhood dogs we see on our walks!  

Speaking of walks, she's getting much more comfortable being on a leash.  It doesn't take us quite as long to get around the neighborhood as those first few walks took.  We're working on stopping and sitting when we come to the street and waiting until I tell her "free" to cross.  And despite her little legs, she's more than happy to walk most of the route!  I do pick her up from time to time to give her a little rest.  Sometimes she even wants to run a bit, which I'll give into every once in awhile.  I'm sure our neighbors have some excellent doorbell camera footage of me running behind Dottie.  And I can only imagine the conversations they hear!  I tend to talk to Dottie throughout our walks.  Actually, I tend to talk to Dottie throughout most of the day. 

     

One of the things I've enjoyed most is working on her commands and tricks.  She adores treats and picks up on things very quickly.  So far she knows sit, down, come and shake.  There was a big celebration when Dottie finally figured out how to shake.  Dottie is a very smart girl and I can't wait to add more tricks to her repertoire.  

I am really soaking up these puppy days!  I'm looking forward to all that puppyhood has to offer.  I can't wait until she can be around other dogs so she can make some doggy friends.  I'm also going to try to plan a playdate with her siblings.  Dottie's foster mom arranged for the owners of all three siblings to be in a group chat so we can keep up with each other, which is just the sweetest.  Watching Dottie learn new things and gain more confidence is such an honor.  I'm truly lucky to get to call her my puppy.   

Welcome to the Family, Dottie!

We welcomed a sweet new puppy to our family on August 18, 2023.  Even though the newest member of our family is tiny, she sure has filled our home with a lot of love and happiness.  Our whole family is smitten with our new puppy, Dottie.  

Allow me to tell you the story of how Dottie came into our lives.  I've been feeling the itch to get another dog for several months now.  My heart had done some healing since we said goodbye to Jazzy.  My kids were getting ready to start kindergarten.  I just missed the presence of a dog in our lives.  So I started looking at Petfinder and some websites of local shelters.  I also started to really talk up the idea of a dog to Archer and Lyla.  They are a little leery of bigger dogs and just haven't been around a lot of dogs since Jazzy.  We read library books about dogs, we stopped to pet dogs on our walks and I showed them lots of cute videos of dogs.  Eventually, they started saying they wouldn't mind getting a little dog or maybe they just agreed to it so I would stop talking about it.

  

I happened to notice on Facebook that one of my former school colleagues Cheryl took in a litter of puppies to foster.  The puppies were brought into a local shelter (KC Pet Project) at 5 days old as strays without their momma.  After spending some time with other fosters, they ended up with Cheryl.  She bottle fed them day and night and shared updates on Facebook.  I would be lying if I said I didn't compulsively check for updates each day.  There was something about those sweet puppies that was calling me to them.  Cheryl did a DNA test on one of the pups and it came back saying the puppies were a mix of small breeds.  (47% Chihuahua, 20% Yorkshire Terrier, 12% Boston Terrier, 8% Dachshund, 7% Pug, 2% Miniature Pinscher, 1% Parson Russell Terrier, 1% Toy Fox Terrier, 1% Pomeranian, 1% Beagle)  That particular mix of breeds results in quite possibly the cutest litter of puppies I have ever seen.       

So I reached out to Cheryl and told her I was interested in the puppies and would love to meet them.  Mind you, I did all this without talking to Adam or the kids.  I figured there was time to get them on board and was hopeful that meeting them would be enough to convince them.  I casually mentioned to Adam that a former colleague of mine was fostering some puppies and showed him their pictures.  I asked if we could "just go look" at them.  Adam must have recalled that when I say we should "just go look" at a dog that means we will actually be bringing that dog home with us.  He looked at the pictures for a good while and wasn't really saying anything.  I was worried he would try to talk me out of it.  But instead he said, "Does it make sense to get two of them?"  It's safe to say he was on board.  We arranged to take the kids with us to meet the puppies.  Their reaction would be the true test of whether or not a dog could join our family.  Thankfully, the kids did great and were elated with the puppies.  We learned from Cheryl that the shelter she fosters for won't allow people to adopt puppies from the same litter.  There's something called Littermate Syndrome which can happen when two puppies from the same litter are raised together.  Basically, they form such a close attachment to each other that they have difficulty bonding with humans or other animals.  So we obviously ended up with only one puppy. 

All three puppies in the litter were absolutely adorable and had their own sweet personalities.  But there was just something about Dottie.  I felt like she just looked me in the eyes at one point and I knew it was meant to be.  She was the smallest of the litter, but wasn't afraid to explore a bit.  She was incredibly sweet and playful, but also had a little spunk.  Plus, she was Cheryl's favorite and I figured someone who has fostered lots of puppies before would know a thing or two about picking the perfect puppy.  So we agreed to bring Dottie home with us after her spay surgery at 8 weeks old.  Cheryl was kind enough to invite us to one of the puppies' vaccination appointments at the shelter and allowed us to visit Dottie while we were waiting to take her home.  Even though Dottie had a rough start in her life, Cheryl certainly swooped in and gave her so much love and the absolute best care.  She also made sure Dottie and the other puppies were socialized with people of all ages, along with her cats and dogs.  

I was a little bit nervous to take her home when the time finally came.  We would pick her up the day she had her surgery and I figured she would be sore and loopy from the anestheia.  Plus, we would be taking her away from her foster mom, her siblings and the place she called home.  But when the shelter staff brought her out to us and put her in my arms, I let go of all those worries.  She immediately climbed up to my face and gave me all sorts of kisses.  I might have had to wipe away a few happy tears!  Dottie took to our family so quickly and easily.  Her surgery didn't seem to even phase her at all.  We tried our best to keep her calm and quiet for the required 10 days after her surgery, but she just wanted to act like a puppy!  She never seemed upset or depressed even though she was around new people and a new environment.  She must have been able to feel all the love pouring out of Adam, the kids and me.  

We've had her now for a week and a half and she has adjusted so well!  She is rocking potty training and sleeps through the night.  She is eating well and already looks like she is older and bigger.  She adores playing with her toys and snuggling up next to us on the couch to take naps.  She has learned what "sit" means and has been practicing walking on a leash.  She's just growing up so fast already!  

The kids can't get enough of her!  They want to spend their time before and after school playing with Dottie.  They both request that Dottie wakes them up each morning, so I set Dottie on their bed to go kiss them awake.  It's just about too much for my heart to handle all those giggles and squeals of delight each morning.  I bring Dottie with me to pick up the kids from school so she can get used to being in the car.  Archer and Lyla always greet Dottie before me after they get in the car.

I can't begin to explain how grateful I am that Dottie has joined our family.  She has helped me through the kids' transition to kindergarten.  She had opened up the part of my heart that closed when I had to say goodbye to Jazzy.  Dottie just brings a lightness and happiness to my life that I didn't even realize I needed.  She's snuggled up next to me as I type this.  She's just perfection in puppy form.  

    Welcome to the family, Dottie!