Designer Blogs!

Guess what?! I have some exciting news. As of tomorrow, I will be part of the Designer Blogs team and I am SO excited!

I have been loving all the blog design work that I had the past few years. It is a creative outlet like I never dreamed I would be able to manage from my own home. The issue is, I have these three super cute men in my home and they need me. Also, I don't really like doing all the invoicing, marketing, etc. that comes along with owning your own business. I would much rather DESIGN during naptime instead of sending out invoices or cluttering up this blog here with my latest designs. The fit couldn't be more perfect!

That being said:

I would love to create a beautiful, custom blog design for you. Just ask for Kristin [with a K!] on the order form, and they'll make sure I get your project.

Another majorly exciting part of working as part of the Designer Blogs team is that I can now offer premade blog designs starting at just $50 and templates starting at $15! Which means you get all the Call Me Kristin style without the hefty price tag. Win-win, eh?

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I'll be designing for Wordpress again?! I'm pumped!

Can't wait to work with you!

[For wedding design inquiries, please contact me.]

Home Management Binder: The Kitchen

If you missed it, the first post in this series is here!

This idea came to me while in the shower. It may be my best idea yet.

Seriously.

About a year ago, I set to work planning a year's worth of meal plans and shopping lists after seeing this pin. I re-designed the cover to fit my style and printed out all the calendars and shopping lists I needed. I even filled out a few months and figured out the shopping lists. And I was overwhelmed. There was no freedom! I don't KNOW what my family wants to eat on a wednesday night in May. I don't KNOW if that day will be rainy or sunny or if we'll have a baseball game we want to go to. I don't KNOW if there will be a family we need to take dinner to. I don't know. I felt stifled. What if I want to try a new recipe? Do I have to schedule that MONTHS in advance? For real? Who plans like that?! And it wasn't reasonable.

So, I went to the other extreme. Which was back to my pick the meals, make the list, do the shopping, etc. And it made me crazy because I was putting SO much brain power into creative menus each and every time. I was re-doing things that didn't need to be re-done.

And then that beautiful day in a hot shower came. And I was at my mother's house. And I was stealing my little sister's awesome Bath and Body Works body wash because heaven knows we can't afford that fancy stuff. And I was thinking about how awesome Photoshop actions are. What a genius idea to RECORD THE PROCESSES WE DO OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO MAKE THEM HAPPEN SO FAST, WITH JUST THE CLICK OF A MOUSE. Did you catch that?

And I have no idea how, but it clicked. I am going to make my kitchen management into a set of Photoshop actions, so to speak. And so I did.

I started by making lists of ten dinners and side dishes. I ended up with 8 sets of ten. I decided on ten instead of fourteen, because without fail, we have leftovers once a week and then we either go on a date or meet up with friends or have breakfast for dinner, or whatever for the others. When I plan fourteen meals, we always end up wasting food. When making them, I kept to a loose guideline of 4 chicken meals, 3 ground beef, 3 other. It made for variety and it's what my family eats. It also ensures that each meal plan costs about the same in groceries. Also, mentally, when making the menus I would try to keep a good balance of time-intensive meals, quick meals and crock pot meals. I didn't stress out about this. Looking at the menu, you can pretty much tell [whoa, that's a lot. That can't go on the same menu. Or, well...those are all pretty easy, so I'm sure we'll want a fancy meal in there somewhere...etc.]

And then I made the menu pages cute. Because my next big problem AFTER going shopping was I had my dinner plans and my grocery list on the same piece of paper and I would take it to the store and then shove it in a grocery sack and it would get mixed up with all the other clutter in my car and then I would have no idea what dinners I even had stuff for. Now that it's cute, once I go shopping, I put it up on my fridge. The shopping list is still on the same page, but I swear, the cuteness keeps me from losing it in the clutter. I've done 4 menus so far and haven't lost a single one. Magic.



And then, the doozy. I made the shopping list. WITH the intention of using it again. That's a big deal. Before I was RECORDING MY ACTIONS, I would go through each recipe and only write down the ingredients I needed. Mentally I would check off "well, I have that, and that, and that, so all I need for this recipe is tilapia!" And it made for a shorter list, but that list was useless to me later on. I would never be able to use the information I spent so much time gathering again. So, I made each shopping list for ten meals as if I needed to buy every, single, little, thing in every, single recipe. This means my lists include cornstarch, measurements of milk, butter, eggs, spices, etc. [The side dishes are noted with an item x1 or x3 depending on how many times we'll be eating that side dish during the next 14 days.] And so, when I'm needing to go grocery shopping, I pick a list and shop from my cupboards first, crossing off anything we have already. And then I head to the store. So much faster. And less time pouring over recipes. More time for more fun things!

And then I made them cute.

I have eight menu plans. Four of them have shopping lists done. We have eaten our way through menu plans 1, 3, 6 & 7. Some menus lend themselves to summer months. Others have more hearty meals for winter months. All of them are delicious. And just flipping through the menus I can easily see what sounds good for that time of year without stressing about it. I can also ask Cam what sounds good and pick the meal plan that includes. It's the best thing. And it has helped me so SO much, so how could I not share?

Here is meal plan #1.

I realize these are for OUR family. These are meals that we love and I have made before. I could never use someone else's meal plan because our favorites would get lost. Which is why I went into so much detail about how I came up with each of our menus. Also, we are humans. We eat relatively healthy. And quite frankly, if you are eating home cooked food instead of fast food, you're already two steps up in my book. However, we are not vegan. We are not uber granola people. We are humans. So we like pizza. And burgers. And breaded chicken. And [heaven forbid] a cream of something soup sometimes. [Though my mom turned me on to a DIY cream of something soup. And it doesn't have any MSG in it, so I'm pretty pumped to try it. PLUS, it's cheaper. So yeah, I might be swapping that out.]

If you click on the image above, you can print out the menu and shopping list. And the recipes are linked below. But I would highly recommend sitting down and making lists of ten. Plan the sides too, so you don't end up with a bunch of extra salad that goes bad. It is effort in the beginning, but it is so worth it. Seriously. I print 3 pages front and back, and end up with six copies of each meal plan in my binder. I am halfway done making my shopping lists and once I finish that, I can have a huge variety of meals for 2 years before having to think about it again! And if I want to try a new recipe? Well, I only have 10 recipes each time, so I can go right ahead! And if I find a keeper? All I have to do is make a new meal plan, or swap it out for a recipe we don't like as much from one of the existing meal plans. There is so much flexibility, it just makes my heart sing.

I am happy to make your menus cute if you so desire. I will even lay them out with your shopping lists on the back. I charge $5 to customize any of my printables [text changes only].

Menus for Humans. I like that. I'll post the other menus if you're interested? Comment and let me know! [No, commenting on FB doesn't count. :)]

Anyhow, the other part of my kitchen section is the freezer tally.

(Click picture to download printable.)

With everything that I make and freeze, I [used] to forget about a lot of stuff in there and then when the time came to clean it out, I had wasted so much food that I was putting away for later. Now, I keep one of these sheets on the door of our freezer and jot down stuff as it goes in and cross stuff off when it comes out. So great! Like the night I didn't want to cook and had made a double batch of pizza rolls? yep, we ate so good that night! And the other night when we had inside-out springroll salad and I didn't know if Cam would like the dressing, but I knew he LOVED my mom's wonton sauce? It was in the freezer, and I had actually forgotten about it until I was halfway through making dinner. A quick defrost, and now I HAVE to share that recipe with you. Because it was a total cheap veggie meal that Cam actually requested a huge bowl of in his lunch the next day. ["Just give me a huge bowl of this. That's all I want tomorrow."<--those words actually came out of his mouth. Nuts.]

Anyhow, this seriously is the best thing in my little organizational world right now. I love the kitchen section! And it helps to have extra copies, because when I'm filling out my daily docket, I know exactly what's on the menu plan. It's all right there in my binder. I love it.

Here are Menu Plan #1's recipes:

OMG Chicken with green beans
Olive Garden Alfredo with tomatoes + salad
Honey Sesame Chicken with best broccoli
Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken with mashed potatoes + salad
Italian Meatloaf with butterhorns + salad
Taco Burros + salad [a favorite from Cam's childhood. Taco meat, refried beans, tortillas, cheese, salsa]
Sunday Meal + salad [another favorite from Cam's childhood. I'll have to post the recipe!]
Tortellini Spinach Bake with watermelon + corn
Pizza Rolls + salad
Garlicky Baked Shrimp with green beans

Blog Design: Nikes + Slides [Chevron Love!]

I have been working on Nikes + Slides for a while now and am absolutely thrilled with how it turned out. I am a huge fan of when my clients have a personal meaning behind their name. Nikes + Slides were the shoes Angie [who is also my amazing cousin] and her husband were wearing when they met their son Zad's birth mother for the first time. Those shoes were how she knew Angie and Steve were Zad's parents. And now they are looking for their third little one to adopt! I am beyond honored to be the one to help put their best face forward. I love working on adoption and infertility blogs. Maybe because my heart is already so invested in families similar to mine.

Either way, Angie had her color scheme nailed down and knew she wanted chevrons. I took a few liberties and I think we were both in love with it by the time it went live. I did an adoption button and blog button for her as well and her social media buttons may be my favorite so far. I guess that means I'm doing something right, if I'm falling head over heels for each of my designs as they come. And for real. Those chevrons? LOVE.

Logo Design: Fauset Photography

I am completely in love with this logo design. Oh man. The fabulous Jen Fauset of Fauset Photography did our engagement photos 4 years ago. She has such a fun, classy, gorgeous style. I was completely flattered when she asked me to do her logo and my goodness I love how it turned out! It always impresses me how much a re-brand can change the entire feel of a website or blog. I am so happy I could do this for you Jen! Thanks for cracking me up during the editing process as well. ha. Always makes for a fun night when clients tell it like it is!

Also, if you love photography and want some eye-candy, be sure to check her out on Facebook. She is so completely inspiring! I adore her wedding work. And her birth photography. Gorgeous.

Blog Design: Alta Marie Photographie

I posted earlier about Alta's new logo. And once that was up, I just couldn't WAIT to finish up her blog design and share it too! It's one of my favorites. I love how feminine and clean the entire site looks. Her work is phenomenal. She has such a great personal style. I absolutely love her black and white work, but oh she has a beautiful eye for color. She currently gets to enjoy the beautiful weather on the island of Grenada [which I had to look up. It's in the Caribbean. Tough deal, eh?] BUT, she comes to Utah every now and again to shoot. I would absolutely look into scheduling a shoot with her. I feel like everything that comes out of her camera could be a magazine cover. Stunning, stunning stunning.

Just when I needed a pick-me-up after Nash and Gray entered our lives, we had a photo shoot with Alta.This one now hangs over our bed. And it makes my heart just swell every time I see it.



Capturing emotions, not just events. That's what she's capable of. I highly, highly recommend miss Alta. Go check her out! [Actually, wait for a bit and THEN go check her out, because she was not very happy with how her blog looked before I got my hands on it...and so she wasn't too keen on posting her shoots. Which I can totally understand. I stopped posting while I re-designed my blog. It happened to me! Happens to a lot of my clients actually :)] Anyhow, I would love to know what you think!

Logo Design: FSA 2011

Home Management Binder: Budget

If you missed it, the overall post about the home management binder is here.

Ah, the budget. It is such a scary thing to tackle finances...or it used to be. I decided one day that in order to stay on top of my finances I couldn't rely on receipts. Receipts cause paper clutter. And it builds up until I can't deal with it anymore and just throw it all away, which results in us totally forgetting our budget and buying extra Blue Bell ice cream, which is not good for your figure OR your wallet. This resulted in me making a very small printable for my wallet. It was about the size of a dollar bill and I taped it to my check book. Any time I bought anything, I would record it on the piece of paper. [Cameron would let me know if he spent anything as well.] Once a week, I would update our budget totals and share them with Cameron so we were on the same page. It worked brilliantly, but it was a lot of work. I found myself re-totaling everything up all the time. I needed a ledger. And I needed a little more space to keep things clean.

Enter the binder. [Click image to download blank printable version.]

I'll spare you the actual details of our budget for September. It's not very impressive...we're on a student loans salary right now. But I will say that it saves me so much time! My binder goes with me wherever I go. I write down the total while the grocer is bagging my groceries or right after I get back in the car from pumping gas. I can make sure all of our utilities and insurance payments are on time and I know exactly what date they were paid. I know immediately how much we have left in each budget. There is no guess work.

Finances aren't such a daunting task when they're done as you go!

In my binder, I printed 3 of these, front and back, so I have enough for a year. [4 to a page, cut in half]. I am blown away by the peace of mind this little piece of paper gives me. It also allows me to have more fun, because I can purchase fun things guilt free when I know where the money is coming from!

Up Next: Kitchen [Meal Planning + Shopping Lists + Freezer Tally]

Logo Design: Alta Marie Photographie

I was so excited for this project. We swapped a photography re-brand for the beautiful family pictures we took when the boys were just 5 weeks old. Alta is responsible for the gorgeous detail shots used in my baby detail collages. And the family photos on my about page. She is so talented. I absolutely love her work. I'm this close to finishing her beautiful blog and can't wait to show you! I'll save the link to her page for when it's done. For now, I will just continue to be in love with her horseshoe design. I absolutely love designing custom logos. Every now and again I see an etsy shop with pre-made logos, and it always crosses my mind of whether I should do that or not, but dang it, I LOVE creating one of a kind pieces for my clients. There is too much personality behind a small business to cookie cutter the logo. Like this one: Alta LOVES horseshoes. She also has a connection to French through her husband, hence the "ie" instead of "y" in "photographie". I am in love with everything about this logo, from the color scheme to the stripes to the font. Love. Love. Love.

Home Management Binder: Daily Docket

If you missed it, the overall post about the home management binder is here.

Alright, so the first part of my binder is the Daily Docket. It's the meat of the whole thing. It ties the other parts together, and honestly, if I had to pick one part to do, this would be it. I get so much done with this little piece of paper. When I started out making my Daily Docket, I got a little carried away. And I made it too complicated. This is where I started:

It had too much on it and it stressed me out. There was wasted space on it because the sections didn't work for me. I removed the daily schedule portion, the drink more water portion, and the morning and evening checklists. It is SO much better! So, if you're looking to make your own, write down a list of everything you think your daily docket should include, and then delete 3-4 of them. You will thank me later.

After the clean-up, this is where I landed. And I love it. [Click the image to download the printable file]

Exhale. So much better. I have figured out a trick to making this work for me. I absolutely HAVE to fill it out the night before. Right before bedtime. Otherwise, I waste half the day trying to figure out what I really want to do vs. how tired I am. When I fill it out the night before, things like

"Hey! I cleaned the fridge before 9!"

or "Well, now that dinner's already in the crock pot, what should I do during the boys' afternoon nap?"

come out of my mouth.

And it rocks. I also get a whole lot of satisfaction from crossing things off. No more check boxes. The nicest part about it is that my day is thought out when I'm at the end of the day before and I know full well what I would do with a few extra hours in the day. Now, those tasks actually get done because they're mapped out for the next day. And I am actually excited to get up. No lie. This is a huge deal for me. The past couple weeks, I have been working on supporting Cam and waking up with him at 5:15 am to pack his lunch, have breakfast and scriptures with him, and get a jump on the day. It's addicting. I LOVE having the time to myself. I can workout, shower, and get my chores done before the boys even wake up. This morning, I did Zumba, showered, made the bed, started the laundry, hung the diapers to dry on the line, did my scripture study and made myself a yummy uninterrupted breakfast before the boys made a peep. And when they did wake up, I was so happy to see them! I am a better mom because of this little piece of paper. Another one of my friends posted on Facebook that she hates when naptime is over and it's been wasted. Me. Too. Oh it is the worst feeling. And I avoid that feeling when this is filled out. I know exactly what I am doing during that time. And the house is clean, and I know what we're having for dinner, and I feel human because I've done even the smallest workout and/or showered. I could sing its praises all day.

Here's an example of mine all filled out:



Next Up: The Budget. [Yikes!]

Custom Design: Home Management Binder

I am so excited for this post. I have been working on this project all summer long. Figuring out a system that really works for our family took a while, but I can't even begin to explain to you all the time this has saved me. Introducing, my home management binder!



In this post, I'll talk about the framework of the overall binder and its sections. Each section warrants its own post, though, so over the course of this week, the sections below will turn into links where you can get more information about each one.

Daily Docket
Budget
Kitchen
Cleaning
Projects
Scripture Study

First, I want to talk about the start of this project. My life is crazy. With Nash and Gray getting more and more active and Cameron starting Chiropractic School, I knew I needed to get myself organized. I started the summer with a motto of "set yourself up for success." That idea really influenced how I thought about this. I looked for things that I did over and over again and figured out ways I could streamline those processes [i.e. menu planning, chores, projects, etc.]. I also combined things that I knew worked for me [my six-list], and trimmed them down to fit my new lifestyle. I also used this as an opportunity to set new goals [better scripture study.]

I knew I wanted a binder because I love having a new docket for each day, I love things to look clean, which means I need to be able to throw away yesterdays docket, and start today's new. And I need it to be the first thing I see when I open the cover. I also don't want any of those annoying paper shreds stuck in the binding of a composition book/coil-bound notebook. Also, I have to be able to give myself a day off once in a while. This is why I didn't want a Franklin Covey planner. I used those when I worked full time. And it was great, because I went to work every single day. I was planned out. I was efficient. If I slip up, I don't need the guilt of a stressful/messy/gross house, a stressed/gross me, AND the paper reminder that I slipped up. It's highly discouraging. So, I nixed a calendar altogether in mine. I might add a monthly one/perpetual one in the future so I can keep track of birthdays and other special events, but for now, I'm doing just fine. [This is not an excuse to be lazy for me. Last week, Wednesday was HARD. I was so sad over something personal. And I could hardly function. So, I called the day off. I snuggled my boys. We watched movies. We ate leftovers. The chores didn't get done. I didn't fill out my docket for the day. The house was a nightmare. etc. But by Saturday, everything was back to normal. This is why I don't want a calendar. Because I needed that day to just be. But MOST of the time, I need my binder. :)]

I also knew that the cover needed to inspire me. Over the summer, I heard the perfect quote to use on the front. It explained my homemaking philosophy perfectly. It resonated with me completely. So I made it look pretty and outlined the page in Washi tape from Mindy Mae's Market. I couldn't be happier with it.

To download the printable, just click the image below.
For the rest of the binder, I used a half page binder. It measures about 6x9 and fits pages 5.5 x 8.5. I love how small it is. It fits in my diaper bag, fits on the checkout thing at the grocery store, fits in my scripture study stack. I also bought a package of 5 divider tabs for half page binders. They're sold right by the binders at any office supply store. [I did check if you could find a half-page binder + dividers at Walmart and Target and didn't have any luck, so if you're looking to make you own I would stick with Staples or Office Max.]



To make my dividers cute, I just added a strip of the same Washi Tape along the edge of each one. It polished it up so great that I didn't even mind the handwriting on the tabs!



Next Up, I'll go into the Daily Docket. It's the most important part of the binder. I've been asked before how I "do it all." And honestly, I don't "do it all." You can do anything you want to do, so long as you sacrifice something else. But you can do more if you are organized. And this little binder is my secret.

Logo Design: Rose Colored Lens Photography

I love working with photographers to create something that really fits their personality. This logo was made for the beautiful and talented Rose Smith of Rose Colored Lens Photography. Her blog is up next in my queue and I can't wait to finish up her facelift! I'll be sure to link to her site once it's done!

Wedding Design: Brie + Beau

A major congratulations to Brie and Beau. I cannot wait to see the pictures from this classy bride. She and I played softball together all through high school. She is a beautiful and talented and incredibly inspiring woman. I love her very much and am so grateful I had the chance to help with her wedding celebration! My favorite part of this project was the calligraphy. It took us a bit to get it just right, but I really feel that the effort paid off in a major way. I am in love.

Logo Design: Lexi Rae Photography

Getting to work with Alexia from Lexi Rae Photography was so fun. I was actually smack in the middle of her design when I had to go to the hospital for emergency monitoring. Two days later our sweet boys made their entrance into the world, so she kind of got the shaft. She was so understanding and we finished her design work up shortly thereafter. I absolutely love how it turned out! It fits her very well.

I put together a blog facelift for her as well. I love the fresh colors and sharp fonts. Be sure to check her out if you're in the Utah area!

Introducing...

The Nursery

We did manage to finish the nursery before our boys made their early arrival. I am too thrilled with how it turned out. I remember when the idea hit me for what I wanted to do in this room. It was the absolute middle of the night and I had just gone to the bathroom for probably the 4th time since we went to bed. I had been thinking a lot about how to raise two righteous young men in today's world. All that kept running through my mind was "start now." Start now teaching them how to treat women. Start now teaching them to study the scriptures. Start now teaching them about missions. Start now.

I came back from the bathroom and woke Cameron up.

"I know what we're going to do for the nursery."

"Seriously, Kristin?"

I was too excited. Inspiration had struck and I needed to share it with him.

"We'll theme it around 'I'll go where you want me to go'. Vehicles, maps, travel, etc. It's perfect."

Needless to say, Cameron was much more excited to talk about this once the sun came up.

The biggest shot of the room I could get. The view going the other direction isn't very pretty at this point. I'm still waiting for the boys to get a bit bigger so we can take a picture of the boys in these cute hats my sister made for them and blow it up for the wall over the cribs. Until then, it's just big and blank.

That gorgeous changing table was built from scratch by my very own handyman husband. (Affectionately named "Handy Cammy" by my sisters.)

It was truly a labor of love. He designed it, built it, and stained it all on his own. It is perfection and I couldn't be more in love with it. The right hand cabinet fits our hamper perfectly. The top drawer has diapers and wipes. Middle drawer holds all the cloth diapers I made until the boys fit them. The left cabinet is stocked with diapers and wipes from our baby shower. I feel so prepared. And once the boys are grown, it will make a beautiful console for elsewhere in our home.

I had a blast designing the prints above the table. The large one says "I'll go where you want me to go" on a background of a subway map.

The heart print on the bottom right includes maps of where all the men in our immediate family served their missions. I love that our boys have so many good examples to look up to!

The clocks mark the minute our boys entered the world. On the far right you can see a shadowbox with two missionary tags that say "Elder Call" on them, from Cameron and his dad's missions. Eventually that engagement picture on the far left will be replaced with a cute newborn picture as well.

I love the artwork above the rocking chair. My mom gave me a puzzle last Christmas of the US made up of license plates. I'd done it 3 or 4 times already and knew it would be just perfect for the nursery. Cam found a piece of wood at work, we put the puzzle together, he stained the wood with leftover stain from the changing table and adhered the glued together puzzle to it. Bammo, artwork for $0.

The curtains are actually two sheets we bought from DI. Cam cut them into strips and I sewed them back together. Each sheet cost $2. Curtains for $4. And they block out the sun pretty darn well.

I love this little pillow. I really wanted to include a tandem bike somewhere in the room. Two seats for two boys. I love that. And it only took about 10 minutes to make with my silhouette.

This "dresser" was really a great solution as well. Cam found it outside his work and asked if he could have it. Apparently it had been there for years. We cleaned it up and gave it a fresh coat of paint. Lucky enough, target carried bins for $6 that fit perfectly.

This clock is one of my favorites. We found it at RC Willey for $16 on clearance after a $25 giftcard we got from unsubscribing from their mailing list. Who knew?

I couldn't be happier with how this all turned out. The idea of "start now" causes me to act a little differently. I know sometimes it feels weird to read a Book of Mormon board book to 2 week old babies, but starting now means the habits are being formed both in us as parents and in them. It sometimes feels weird to plan a FHE when the boys aren't even old enough to focus their eyes on us or react to our facial expressions, but we're starting now to develop a pattern of consistency and a priority on family time.

It's not much, but it's a start.

 

The Night We've Waited For...

One of our family new year's resolutions is to hold family home evening every single week. It's an opportunity to spend time together as a family and learn about church-related subjects in the home. We tried having family home evening when we first got married but it was so...awkward. Without children or siblings, we'd just end up watching a movie or having a normal night. When there's just 2 of you at home, it's really hard to distinguish just what makes a night "family night".

I set out to tackle this problem, because I really believe in the importance of establishing the habit of family night.

This is what I came up with:



Now our family home evenings go about like this:

• Sing a hymn that goes along with the lesson. Cam plays the piano, we both sing.


• We switch off who says the opening prayer.


• We go over finances. I have a little printout in my wallet that has our budget outline in it. Every time I pay a bill or make a purchase, I record the amount in the budget. That way, every Monday it takes me about 5 minutes to calculate how much we have left in each budget. We talk about upcoming expenses, things we'd like to use the miscellaneous budget for, and potential date ideas.


• We check in with each other on how we're doing spiritually. How are our family prayers? Personal prayers? What are we studying in the scriptures personally? As a family? Are we happy with how family scripture study is going? etc. We also set a goal together that we want to work on the next week.


• We talk about our relationship. We start off with 3 compliments and an itch. The nice thing is that after you've given 3 sincere compliments to the other person, it's pretty hard to come up with an "itch". BUT, if there is ever something we really need to talk about, this is an easy way to get it out in the open. And then we do 3-minute massages. (Honestly, these normally wait until right before bedtime, but sometimes we sit on opposite ends of the couch and do foot rubs.) I strongly believe that physical touch is an essential part of feeling like you're "on the same page." It's really hard to be annoyed with each other if you're touching, and good feelings between spouses invites the spirit into our home. We also go over current stressors. If I don't know what is stressing Cam out, I can't help relieve that stress and vice versa. Also, a sure-fire way to increase the love you feel for your spouse or your spouse feels for you is to get rid of whatever it is that is setting off red flags in his or her mind.


• The last part of the paper is a week-at-a-glance calendar. There's VERY little space here, for a reason. This is where we make sure we're both planning on the same things for the upcoming week. It has virtually eliminated any freak outs caused by "You didn't TELL me you were working overtime tonight." And, "No. My work party is tonight. We have to be there at 6. You'll have to cancel with so-and-so." We outline major events in the upcoming week.


• We have a lesson. (Cam and I switch off who gives it).


• We have an activity. (This is anything from organizing the nursery to going on a walk to going to concert to playing a card game etc.)


• We have a treat. (And a closing prayer)

For a while this paper was posted on our fridge for the week, but since we've tried it for almost 2 months now, we've decided to save some paper because it has worked beautifully. I plopped mine in a frame and we use a dry-erase marker to fill it out every week. It sits on our end table next to the couch where we will see it all the time. Here's what it looks like all filled out: (This was last week's)



Every time someone has asked about it, they inevitably ask how long it takes to get through. 15 minutes tops. 10 minute lesson, and then a treat means family night is still about a half hour long, but we are so on the same page and prepared for the week, the difference is incredible.

And we feel like we're on the same team.

I think that's worth every second.

It Takes a Village

It isn't any wonder that Cam & I want to be parents. We talk about it enough! :) I'm sure those of you who have been able to have the blessing of children in your own lives understand why we would want that for ourselves so deeply. We attended the Utah Infertility Awareness Event last weekend and the gears really started turning. We went to a session in the Salt Lake Temple afterward to try and sort things out. It was wonderful to be together after the session and be completely on the same page. We had our answer. And  that answer was WORK!

This blessing of having children that we desire is not going to come to us without a whole lot of effort on our part and faith that our Heavenly Father will take care of us. Call it what you will (I choose "inspiration"), but while we were walking around temple square after the session, I was reminded of a post I'd seen on this blog a long, long time ago. (So long ago, in fact, that I can't find the post. I went through her entire archives and so I'm not even sure it was there. But I had convinced myself that it was...anyhow).

An online silent auction.

This was it. THIS was how we were going to make the money we needed to finally bring our baby home. And you should have seen us. We were giddy little kids coming up with all of the people we could contact who had said "If there is ever anything I can do, please let me know!" And then it set in. We were going to be asking people for help. Help with building a family. And I'm pretty sure humility is what our Heavenly Father had in mind when He told us we were going to have to work for this. We were going to have to work physically, but also work personally on coming to grips with the fact that we can't do this on our own.

It is going to take a village.

So we got to work. We have been contacting businesses up and down asking for donations to auction off. I designed a blog and have been posting the auctions as they are finalized. We have lists and lists of possible donors, but we know our connections are going to be exhausted quickly. However, we know you, and you know others. You shop at different places. Your friends own businesses we have never even heard of (or have heard of, but don't have a good connection to). Your friends have talents that no one else has. I have told this idea to a few friends who have responded with, "I WISH I had something to donate!" "I wish I was more valuable." And I said not to worry about it (and I meant it!). You are valuable to me. And then I woke up to an inbox with 3 new auctions from friends of friends. The support we have already been shown is overwhelming. It has brought me to tears more than once in just the past couple of days. We are slowly being taught that when you let people in, the blessings abound. Not just for us, but for everybody.

My sister said to me yesterday when I expressed how shocked I was at others' generosity, "When are you going to get it through your head that you and Cam are loved?"

And we are. We are so very loved. And the love that has been shown already for our little one brings tears to my eyes.

So here's the deal, if you have made it this far and still want to help. :)

Go Team Call

The ways to help are listed on the blog, but I wanted to put them here too:

1. If you are a business owner and would like to donate an item to be auctioned off, please click here for more information. We are also interested in finding a business that would be willing to match our total donation.....!

2. Bid on our online auctions starting June 24th! It's the best of both worlds! You get an item you love & 100% of the profits go toward our treatments!

3. If you are uninterested in either of these options, you can always go directly through the donate button and make a monetary donation.

4. Spread the word on your blog, facebook or twitter! (<-- this is HUGE! We not only need donors, but we need to get the word out about the auction! Most of the auctions start at 50% off or more, so there are great deals to be had!)

Bottom line is, though, if you don't want to, or can't donate please don't feel obligated to. That is the last thing we want! We love you just the same and you are absolutely still part of the village. :)

Food For Every Season

Last night, I finished work on an adorable food blog. Food for Every Season. The owner, Kat, was an absolute dream to work with! She was so patient and understanding through the 2 car wrecks that occurred right in the middle of what should have been polishing up and installing her site. If you have a second, check her new site out & leave her some love about her fresh new look! (Just be careful, you might get stuck reading & bookmarking recipes for a while!) There are recipes for everything from appetizers to dessert, and the pictures are just as delicious.

Work by Call Me Kristin: Header, Navigation bar, Social Buttons, Blog Button, Footer & Background

See what Kat had to say about her new look.

More Christmas Designs

Baby Announcement Design: Baby Hightower

Those of you who've been around a while know that I design Baby Announcements, Baby Shower Invites, Christmas Cards, Bridal & Wedding Invitations, Graduation Invites, etc. It's a total blast and I really love doing it! Now that all the proceeds are going toward Party with the Calls, it's just that much more exciting when I get asked to design!

Stacey asked me to design an announcement for her brand new little guy. [For those of you considering different birthing options, check out her blog. Kevin came through a water birth! She answers tons of questions and just gives great information. She's one of the reasons that if when we get pregnant, we'll be checking out all of our options.]

Christmas card season is coming up! Are you ready?