What are your hacks for being an organized parent during the school year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Seriously! This hack is the equivalent of saying that you figured out that you can save so much time if you just eat cereal for dinner every night all year long. It’s inexpensive and easy! Technically true... but my family and I want real food for dinner. And my kid wants to give real gifts to their friends and they look forward to birthday parties.

That said, I absolutely think it’s perfectly fine to RSVP no if birthday parties are causing this much anger and stress in your life.

You’re so dramatic and way too invested. You don’t like my hack? Move on and/or adjust it to fit your needs. Your gift grab is pathetic. You probably had a baby shower for each of your Larlas, didn’t you? If you’re that hard up for everyone to supply your kids with toys, go down to a toy drive at Christmas. You’ll make a killing.

The hack - which, essentially, is buying bday gifts ahead of time in bulk, is fine. The critique was the quality of the gifts. That doesn’t make it a gift grab.

Example:
- to a holiday dinner at someone’s house, i show up with one Heineken
- to a friend in the hospital, I bring a fake flower from the dollar store
- to a bday party, I bring a gift that’s pretty cheap and likely not wanted

Just because the gift is kinda meh, doesn’t mean we don’t want your kid there. We do. It isn’t a gift grab. It’s just a little strange that you’re so derogatory the minute someone disagrees with you. Gift is kinda cheap - results in you insulting the venue, adult guests, reason the party was held, etc. let’s say you’re right - your gift is still chintzy. I remember once my daughter got a tub of hair items from five below as a gift. There might have been 20 in there. Every single one broke or frayed within minutes of the gift being opened. They were not useable.

You’ve never said money is an issue so why not open your ears a little, out your defenses down, and hear what people are saying?

Completely agree. Five Below is for things like prizes in a prize box for a classroom, or if your kid earns a prize. You want it to be cheap because you need a lot. It is definitely not where you shop for a birthday present. I would be insulted to receive a gift from you from there after paying $20 a head for your poopsie to bounce in the bounce house. Birthday gifts should be anywhere from $10-20 in my opinion. Five below is not acceptable.

[Anonymous]

I have a finicky kid who is great in every way - except he is a foodie/reincarnated food critic/royalty.

I work off a menu and often refer to this thread for inspiration. Recently, he is gaga over ...pupusas! Sigh!

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/664134.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Seriously! This hack is the equivalent of saying that you figured out that you can save so much time if you just eat cereal for dinner every night all year long. It’s inexpensive and easy! Technically true... but my family and I want real food for dinner. And my kid wants to give real gifts to their friends and they look forward to birthday parties.

That said, I absolutely think it’s perfectly fine to RSVP no if birthday parties are causing this much anger and stress in your life.

You’re so dramatic and way too invested. You don’t like my hack? Move on and/or adjust it to fit your needs. Your gift grab is pathetic. You probably had a baby shower for each of your Larlas, didn’t you? If you’re that hard up for everyone to supply your kids with toys, go down to a toy drive at Christmas. You’ll make a killing.

The hack - which, essentially, is buying bday gifts ahead of time in bulk, is fine. The critique was the quality of the gifts. That doesn’t make it a gift grab.

Example:
- to a holiday dinner at someone’s house, i show up with one Heineken
- to a friend in the hospital, I bring a fake flower from the dollar store
- to a bday party, I bring a gift that’s pretty cheap and likely not wanted

Just because the gift is kinda meh, doesn’t mean we don’t want your kid there. We do. It isn’t a gift grab. It’s just a little strange that you’re so derogatory the minute someone disagrees with you. Gift is kinda cheap - results in you insulting the venue, adult guests, reason the party was held, etc. let’s say you’re right - your gift is still chintzy. I remember once my daughter got a tub of hair items from five below as a gift. There might have been 20 in there. Every single one broke or frayed within minutes of the gift being opened. They were not useable.

You’ve never said money is an issue so why not open your ears a little, out your defenses down, and hear what people are saying?

So my comparing you lack of effort in throwing the party to my lack of effort in choosing something expensive for your Larla is derogatory? You're free to disagree on where I shop for your kid's gifts and you're free to not accept them. But what's actually strange is the fact that you know that I'm spot on with the description of these kids parties (hence the lack of a rebuttal) and your inability to move on. Since you can't - I will.
See you Saturday.

No, dear. No feathers were ruffled because you referred to the lack of effort in choosing a venue. Since you really don’t know what was offputting, here ya go:

-insulted the conversations with other adults at these parties (“listen to the exact same insipid conversations and gossip”)

- insulted the other parents at these parties (conversations “ “with airhead moms like you”)

-insulted the food at these parties (“my kid be served cardboard pizza and a supermarket cupcake)

-insulted the party favor (“your bullshit "goody bag")

-insulted the effort you perceive went into the party (“You put in zero effort”) - by the way - this is the only derogatory thing you think you said.

- insulted the purpose for the party (“Because for you, it was really a gift grab after all” and “Your gift grab is pathetic.” And “ If you’re that hard up for everyone to supply your kids with toys, go down to a toy drive at Christmas. You’ll make a killing.”

I suspect you may indeed be the mom who has at home parties I’ve seen on these boards before. When several people mentioned to that poster that watching your kid open presents was boring, the poster (you??) got extremely upset and hurled
Insults. Fed up - you, isnt it?

[Anonymous]

Fed up = fess up.

[Anonymous]

These two posters have completely derailed this thread with their cat-fight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those are good!

PP - I'm a working mom of three, and these are some things that have helped me.

Scheduling medical/dental/ortho appointments on days off (with multiple kids together) makes life so much easier.

I immediately scan or photograph important things, like completed forms, invitations, permission slips, or anything else likely to get misplaced. I keep them on my Google drive so that I can access them anywhere. I also have pictures of the front and back of our insurance cards on my phone - these always seem to be needed for permission slips and sports waivers.

When my kids were little, I kept a huge box of plastic spoons and another of forks in the house. As soon as a Signup Genius notification came through, I signed up for spoons or forks. They are easy for the kids to carry to school or take on the bus (i.e. don't get stuck in the carpool line because you signed up for a case of water). You can always go back and add something else later if you have time.

Each kid now has one of those three or four shelf storage towers for their uniforms. One shelf for jerseys, shorts, socks, etc. Uniforms, INCLUDING SOCKS, go immediately from bag or bathroom into the wash machine and once washed and dried, go immediately into the storage tower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a great list and am not sure why people are bent out of shape about it.

I love the meeting idea--thinking it might be good to schedule this monthly to coincide with when we give our kids their allowance. This would be a good fit too so they know what to budget for if they are planning on buying a souvenir or another purchase.

One of my hacks -- took me a while to figure this out -- one drawstring backpack per kid per activity with materials needed for that activity. Saves the last minute search for goggles, volleyball kneepads, etc.

Here's another little tip for people with multiple kids who wear similar sizes (or if they have the same shirt from a camp or neighborhood swim team) -- on the tag, I mark my oldest kid's item with one dot, my middle child with two, my third child's with three dots. If/when an item gets handed down, I add a dot to the tag so I know who it belongs to.

Now that my kids are old enough to maintain phones I make sure I invite them to their activities--maybe everyone does this, but it was a revelation to me when we started that this year.

We also have a weekly family meeting where we discuss the schedule for a week. Kids come with their phones (and paper calendar for my youngest).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like things don't really slip through the cracks for me but I don't do half this stuff. Your list is intimidating!

I use the cozi app as a family shared calendar, do online groceries, amazon prime, the usual. I contribute to class gifts at Christmas and end of the year - basically I'm not to send in some cash for the group gift and I do that. I keep a bag per kid per sport in their mudroom locker. All equipment stays there - once jerseys are washed, back to the appropriate bag they go.

Sometimes the dogs fall through the cracks and the vet sends me texts to remind me they need a vaccine or two but I (and they) manage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I share apps on our phones. We have a shared PW manager that we keep all our passwords in so we can both add money to MySchoolBucks or other kid related stuff. We use ToDoist to track household projects and to-do lists. We have our own lists and shared lists. I use OurGroceries app to keep lists for Costco, Target, Trader Joe’s, Grocery and gift ideas. We have a shared Google Drive with scans of important documents.

Having a spouse who can seamlessly take on part of the mental load of dealing with kid stuff is a huge help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Seriously! This hack is the equivalent of saying that you figured out that you can save so much time if you just eat cereal for dinner every night all year long. It’s inexpensive and easy! Technically true... but my family and I want real food for dinner. And my kid wants to give real gifts to their friends and they look forward to birthday parties.

That said, I absolutely think it’s perfectly fine to RSVP no if birthday parties are causing this much anger and stress in your life.

You’re so dramatic and way too invested. You don’t like my hack? Move on and/or adjust it to fit your needs. Your gift grab is pathetic. You probably had a baby shower for each of your Larlas, didn’t you? If you’re that hard up for everyone to supply your kids with toys, go down to a toy drive at Christmas. You’ll make a killing.

The hack - which, essentially, is buying bday gifts ahead of time in bulk, is fine. The critique was the quality of the gifts. That doesn’t make it a gift grab.

Example:
- to a holiday dinner at someone’s house, i show up with one Heineken
- to a friend in the hospital, I bring a fake flower from the dollar store
- to a bday party, I bring a gift that’s pretty cheap and likely not wanted

Just because the gift is kinda meh, doesn’t mean we don’t want your kid there. We do. It isn’t a gift grab. It’s just a little strange that you’re so derogatory the minute someone disagrees with you. Gift is kinda cheap - results in you insulting the venue, adult guests, reason the party was held, etc. let’s say you’re right - your gift is still chintzy. I remember once my daughter got a tub of hair items from five below as a gift. There might have been 20 in there. Every single one broke or frayed within minutes of the gift being opened. They were not useable.

You’ve never said money is an issue so why not open your ears a little, out your defenses down, and hear what people are saying?

So my comparing you lack of effort in throwing the party to my lack of effort in choosing something expensive for your Larla is derogatory? You're free to disagree on where I shop for your kid's gifts and you're free to not accept them. But what's actually strange is the fact that you know that I'm spot on with the description of these kids parties (hence the lack of a rebuttal) and your inability to move on. Since you can't - I will.
See you Saturday.

No, dear. No feathers were ruffled because you referred to the lack of effort in choosing a venue. Since you really don’t know what was offputting, here ya go:

-insulted the conversations with other adults at these parties (“listen to the exact same insipid conversations and gossip”)

- insulted the other parents at these parties (conversations “ “with airhead moms like you”)

-insulted the food at these parties (“my kid be served cardboard pizza and a supermarket cupcake)

-insulted the party favor (“your bullshit "goody bag")

-insulted the effort you perceive went into the party (“You put in zero effort”) - by the way - this is the only derogatory thing you think you said.

- insulted the purpose for the party (“Because for you, it was really a gift grab after all” and “Your gift grab is pathetic.” And “ If you’re that hard up for everyone to supply your kids with toys, go down to a toy drive at Christmas. You’ll make a killing.”

I suspect you may indeed be the mom who has at home parties I’ve seen on these boards before. When several people mentioned to that poster that watching your kid open presents was boring, the poster (you??) got extremely upset and hurled
Insults. Fed up - you, isnt it?

Oh yes, it is her. Boring home parties are the worst! No structured activities, the kids are running wild, and you are forced to talk to complete strangers in a confined space. Give me Chuck E Cheese or a bounce house any day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These two posters have completely derailed this thread with their cat-fight.

It’s more than two people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Seriously! This hack is the equivalent of saying that you figured out that you can save so much time if you just eat cereal for dinner every night all year long. It’s inexpensive and easy! Technically true... but my family and I want real food for dinner. And my kid wants to give real gifts to their friends and they look forward to birthday parties.

That said, I absolutely think it’s perfectly fine to RSVP no if birthday parties are causing this much anger and stress in your life.

You’re so dramatic and way too invested. You don’t like my hack? Move on and/or adjust it to fit your needs. Your gift grab is pathetic. You probably had a baby shower for each of your Larlas, didn’t you? If you’re that hard up for everyone to supply your kids with toys, go down to a toy drive at Christmas. You’ll make a killing.

Nap time. And some warm milk. Calm down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Seriously! This hack is the equivalent of saying that you figured out that you can save so much time if you just eat cereal for dinner every night all year long. It’s inexpensive and easy! Technically true... but my family and I want real food for dinner. And my kid wants to give real gifts to their friends and they look forward to birthday parties.

That said, I absolutely think it’s perfectly fine to RSVP no if birthday parties are causing this much anger and stress in your life.

You’re so dramatic and way too invested. You don’t like my hack? Move on and/or adjust it to fit your needs. Your gift grab is pathetic. You probably had a baby shower for each of your Larlas, didn’t you? If you’re that hard up for everyone to supply your kids with toys, go down to a toy drive at Christmas. You’ll make a killing.

Nap time. And some warm milk. Calm down.

Slip her a Xanax, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Seriously! This hack is the equivalent of saying that you figured out that you can save so much time if you just eat cereal for dinner every night all year long. It’s inexpensive and easy! Technically true... but my family and I want real food for dinner. And my kid wants to give real gifts to their friends and they look forward to birthday parties.

That said, I absolutely think it’s perfectly fine to RSVP no if birthday parties are causing this much anger and stress in your life.

You’re so dramatic and way too invested. You don’t like my hack? Move on and/or adjust it to fit your needs. Your gift grab is pathetic. You probably had a baby shower for each of your Larlas, didn’t you? If you’re that hard up for everyone to supply your kids with toys, go down to a toy drive at Christmas. You’ll make a killing.

The hack - which, essentially, is buying bday gifts ahead of time in bulk, is fine. The critique was the quality of the gifts. That doesn’t make it a gift grab.

Example:
- to a holiday dinner at someone’s house, i show up with one Heineken
- to a friend in the hospital, I bring a fake flower from the dollar store
- to a bday party, I bring a gift that’s pretty cheap and likely not wanted

Just because the gift is kinda meh, doesn’t mean we don’t want your kid there. We do. It isn’t a gift grab. It’s just a little strange that you’re so derogatory the minute someone disagrees with you. Gift is kinda cheap - results in you insulting the venue, adult guests, reason the party was held, etc. let’s say you’re right - your gift is still chintzy. I remember once my daughter got a tub of hair items from five below as a gift. There might have been 20 in there. Every single one broke or frayed within minutes of the gift being opened. They were not useable.

You’ve never said money is an issue so why not open your ears a little, out your defenses down, and hear what people are saying?

So my comparing you lack of effort in throwing the party to my lack of effort in choosing something expensive for your Larla is derogatory? You're free to disagree on where I shop for your kid's gifts and you're free to not accept them. But what's actually strange is the fact that you know that I'm spot on with the description of these kids parties (hence the lack of a rebuttal) and your inability to move on. Since you can't - I will.
See you Saturday.

There is actually quite a bit of effort in having a Chuck E. Cheese Party. You wouldn’t know because you probably never have. Are you the one who hosts boring home parties with nothing to do but musical chairs and running around? Those are my worst nightmare! Kids want a fun activity!

+1 Chuck E Cheese a good party. Expensive too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Seriously! This hack is the equivalent of saying that you figured out that you can save so much time if you just eat cereal for dinner every night all year long. It’s inexpensive and easy! Technically true... but my family and I want real food for dinner. And my kid wants to give real gifts to their friends and they look forward to birthday parties.

That said, I absolutely think it’s perfectly fine to RSVP no if birthday parties are causing this much anger and stress in your life.

You’re so dramatic and way too invested. You don’t like my hack? Move on and/or adjust it to fit your needs. Your gift grab is pathetic. You probably had a baby shower for each of your Larlas, didn’t you? If you’re that hard up for everyone to supply your kids with toys, go down to a toy drive at Christmas. You’ll make a killing.

The hack - which, essentially, is buying bday gifts ahead of time in bulk, is fine. The critique was the quality of the gifts. That doesn’t make it a gift grab.

Example:
- to a holiday dinner at someone’s house, i show up with one Heineken
- to a friend in the hospital, I bring a fake flower from the dollar store
- to a bday party, I bring a gift that’s pretty cheap and likely not wanted

Just because the gift is kinda meh, doesn’t mean we don’t want your kid there. We do. It isn’t a gift grab. It’s just a little strange that you’re so derogatory the minute someone disagrees with you. Gift is kinda cheap - results in you insulting the venue, adult guests, reason the party was held, etc. let’s say you’re right - your gift is still chintzy. I remember once my daughter got a tub of hair items from five below as a gift. There might have been 20 in there. Every single one broke or frayed within minutes of the gift being opened. They were not useable.

You’ve never said money is an issue so why not open your ears a little, out your defenses down, and hear what people are saying?

So my comparing you lack of effort in throwing the party to my lack of effort in choosing something expensive for your Larla is derogatory? You're free to disagree on where I shop for your kid's gifts and you're free to not accept them. But what's actually strange is the fact that you know that I'm spot on with the description of these kids parties (hence the lack of a rebuttal) and your inability to move on. Since you can't - I will.
See you Saturday.

There is actually quite a bit of effort in having a Chuck E. Cheese Party. You wouldn’t know because you probably never have. Are you the one who hosts boring home parties with nothing to do but musical chairs and running around? Those are my worst nightmare! Kids want a fun activity!

+1 Chuck E Cheese a good party. Expensive too

Their pizza is fairly good, too!