The Hansen Family

It's been a while since I've posted. We've been busy getting three kids through High School and College. I thought this would be the perfect time to share some of the things that have worked for us over the years as we move our daughter into her first post-grad apartment. When my daughter started college, I did what most moms do: I scrolled through Pinterest, searched dorm room boards, and filled carts with everything from command hooks to mini ottomans. Some of it worked. Some of it just cluttered the room and never got used. Now that she’s living in her first apartment, there are a handful of things she's  still using,  and I honestly wish we’d just bought those from the start. Rolling Storage Cart Used daily as a food stand in the dorm. Now it lives in the bathroom with hair tools, skincare, and makeup. Cozy Blanket A girl can't have enough blankets, however, this one has stood the test of time and something that she uses.

Relationships. Community. Family. What do those words mean to you? On a scale of 1-10 how would you score your relationships with your family, your community, those you surround yourself with? More importantly, how would you score the relationship with yourself? So often I find myself questioning, am I good enough at this task, could I do better, am I working hard enough to strive for excellence every day? It can feel overwhelming at times. There is so much to get done, at work, at home, with family. That balance is like a seesaw. But when you surround yourself with a community of people to have deep conversations and build relationships with it is then that you see your true worth. Through the support you offer to them or the support they offer you. Just time spent with one another can be enough. Take the time to enjoy those around you. Smile. Be present. Listen. Fitness wear: Shoes: Brooks Running Bottom: Old Navy Tank: Athleta Sports Bra: Lululemon -- Free To Be...

What would you tell your 22 year old self? I'm here to share with you what I would tell my 22 year old self. View my video over on Facebook: Renee Hansen Coaching or click below to view video. I'm Renee Hansen, I'm a wife, a mom of 3 kids with very busy full-throttle schedules, i work full-time outside the home and I hvae very little time to myself and I have figured out some ways to help organize my schedule. What would you tell yourself that you know now, that you wish you knew then? Fitness & Nutrition: I would tell myself first to focus on your fitness. Keep it up, you love it, it helps your stress. But, when you turn 32 and 37 you are going to need to focus on your nutrition. People keep telling you about nutrition and you wish you wouldn't have known more about nutrition when you were having some stomach problems. Get Your Schedule Organized: Next, if you think you are busy now, HA! you will get even more busy with three kids in...

Is your schedule running your life or are you running your schedule? Tips to organize your schedule and your life. You guys! I've finally cracked the code to organizing my day. Every morning I wake up and exercise (I'm sure you know that by now). But I've finally, finally figured out a pattern to make my day feel like I own it! Whew, what a great feeling!  Do you ever feel like your calendar is taking over your life? Do you sit in meetings thinking of all the things you need to get done or people you need to contact? Does your desk look like this... Do you find yourself thinking about all the things you might forget? Are you worried about trying to get so much done and not enough time? Are you constantly worried about forgetting something? Are you on your phone all the time checking email or your calendar, social media over and over and over again? Are you impatient and short with people, co-workers, your family, trying to get it all in? Do you make...

Why is change so hard? I know you wish to change something, your body, your tummy, your thighs, your hair, your attitude, your leadership. What is that ONE thing when you get up every morning, or go to bed a night thinking, "when am I going to start changing XYZ?" Tomorrow is NOT the answer anymore. I believe it all starts with a mind-set. Yes, a simple mind-set or attitude. We have to finally give up all control and power over our BAD habits. It could be a bad habit with eating, exercising, wasting time on Social Media (I'm totally guilty of that), watching TV, smoking, alcohol, biting your nails, too much pop, too much sugary coffee. When you go to bed tonight, think about the ONE thing that is sticking out in your mind that you KNOW, I mean really KNOW, your bad habit that you want to quit. Find three people and tell them, TELL them OUT LOUD, face-to-face! Tell them you are not going to do (your bad habit) for two days. Make them hold you accountable. Be...

We finally finished our basement around Christmas! We needed to get the guest room ready for family to stay overnight. We were able to get a bed, and well, that's about it. Now that we've had some more time. I have been able to decorate the room. It's not complete, but we're getting there. I thought it would be fun for the kids and I to make some art to hang. and this is what we came up with... We took blue, white, espresso and tan colored paints, put them on a paper plate and started mixing them together. Then we made a short stroke on the canvas and volia, we had art! The girls loved it and it took about 45 minutes. Now we need to hang it. It's only propped up with the pillows right now. But this was simple, easy, quick and cheap art that WE made! And now I feel like it needs more color. Maybe that side table will get a fresh coat of bright yellow paint? Hmmm? Hopefully our guests feel "right at home." Have you made any art lately? W...

It has been a really, really long time since I posted something on this lovely blog. Lots has happened since my last post on the 4th of July. I took a new job, our youngest started Preschool and rides the bus, we switched daycare because of said new job and preschool. Lots of changes this fall. I thought I would share this gift we made for our daycare provider who we had been with for eight years (if I'm doing my math correctly). It was so, so, SOOoooooo hard to leave and I knew that we wanted to give a personal gift. I enlarged a picture of the kids and bought a white frame with white mat and had the kids hand write things they liked about daycare and their daycare provider. I tried to match it to her home decor. I wrapped it with a bow and attached a card and gift card. She is an extension of our family and the kids called her "Grandma Jean." If your reading this Grandma Jean, we MISS YOU! Need more gift ideas? Head over to my projects page .

Our daughter started dancing at age four. Her first dance recital was so stressful for me. First, because she was so little. Second, because a dance recital is mass chaos for a first timer. Now that I'm more seasoned, it has gotten much easier.  So I thought I would share some tips for you newbies. First and more important buy treats for every classmate of your child for recital.  It is best to bring them to your first performance and pass them out before they go on stage. This was something I knew nothing about and I was "that mom" that didn't have anything the first performance. DON'T. Forget. the. TREATS!   I found these treats at the Target 'One Spot.' Yahoo! The treats don't have to be fancy, but you can do some really cute ideas; nail polish, a flower, candy, picture frame or bracelets. Other items that are essential are: Hair spray bobby pins mascara eye shadown applicators WATER, WATER, WATER (it ...

Our youngest just "graduated" from Preschool this week.  It's hard to believe she is growing up so fast. It's hard to believe school is almost out, summer is here! This means it's time to start scrambling for the end of year teacher gifts.  I am doing a couple different ideas this year. Like usual, I get most of my ideas from Pinterest. However, the Preschool teacher gift, I came up with, by myself. It's a mixture of many ideas on Pinterest.  I really wanted to give Sweet Basil as a gift. I had no idea how hard it would be to find! When I got this idea, I was so excited. I wanted to have a cute little chalkboard sign and a Caprese Salad recipe attached.  As it turned out, I had to go to four stores to find sweet basil. FOUR stores! I ended up settling for a 4" pot of basil. That is all I could find.  It was a nice size for basil and I thought I would split it, since I needed two for two preschool teachers. I found the white square pots at Wa...

I can't believe it's the end of the school year already. I'm gathering ideas for Teacher Appreciation Gifts. Here are some ideas that I have from Pinterest. I love the idea of a plant or something they can have in their classroom. Or something they can use all summer. Better yet a gift card where they can get what they REALLY want. The Starbucks card would be MY favorite! Stay tuned for what I did decide for teacher gifts. Follow on Bloglovin so you don't miss out! Now it's time to hop on over and link up your blog.

Here are some cute Valentine's Day treats that are really easy to make.  And I've made it easier for you! You can download the file and print them out, voila! Normally, I'm not this prepared for Valentine's Day, but Josh and I are headed to warmer weather next week, which means I have been preparing everything for the kiddos ahead of time. Oh, I know what your thinking, she doesn't like Valentine's Day. Yes, yes, that is correct, but my kids love it. You can read more about my distaste in Valentine's Day here . Glow Stick Valentine   Mustache Valentine     You can download the files above and personalize them by clicking on the photo and saving them to your desktop. How do I do that you ask? Download the file. Open Word. Adjust your margins to 0" on all sides. Go to Insert > Photo > Picture from file     S elect file ( file will insert into page) Go to Insert Text Box and place where y...

  If you have been reading my blog lately you ma y have noticed that I started this year with some goals . I have been crossing off each project in January starting with all of our closets   ( here .) February is here , holiday and all . Ahhh Valentine's day, one of the two holidays that I cannot stand. I know your thinking, what girl doesn't like V alentine's D ay? ME, that's w ho.  ( The o ther ho liday I cannot st and, you ask? Halloween) I never real ly liked Valentine's Day , even in Elementary School.  When I was in third gra de, d uring our Valentine's party, a boy chased me around the room trying to give me his V ale ntine, apparently I didn't want it. I was traumatized. Ha!  Flowers? Sure, but not red roses, I prefer yellow roses. I would rather have a fresh bouquet of mixed flowers, and when it comes down to it, I would prefer we/he didn't drop the outrageous amount of cash on flowers on this holiday. Chocolate? Yes, I cannot live ...

Do you ever find yourself yelling at your kids repeatedly? I do this daily, pick up your coats, put your clothes in the hamper, put your shoes away, clean up your dishes, brush your teeth, take a shower. I am consistently harping on them to do something. Gosh, I annoy myself. It's exhausting I tell you. They were right when they said there is no manual to raise a child. Trying to figure out the right discipline and punishment for each child is a challenge, a learning process. It's exhausting. My brain is fried and I just want a glass of wine, or two or three to chill. I laugh at that, because there isn't enough time in a night to open a bottle. Have I mentioned that I'm exhausted? Ha! I needed a manual, kind of like when I wanted a full tutorial how to decorate my Christmas tree . A step by step instruction booklet that would help me and hubby through the child rearing process. We all know there is no booklet, so I thought about it and knew I needed an attitude adj...