User Guide
1. Unlocking the Board
Every page asks for the family password the first time you visit on a device. Check "Remember on this device" and it won't ask again on that browser.
2. Getting Started
Home is a hub — pick a section and go. The one meant to stay open on the TV is the Command Center; everything else (Calendar, Meals & Groceries, Trips) is its own page you visit on a phone or laptop when you need it.
3. Today at a Glance
The panel at the top of the Command Center shows today's recurring activities (like gymnastics and hip hop), anything dated for today, and a heads-up when someone's birthday is coming up in the next two weeks. There's a compact "Add a dated item" form here too — type it, pick a date if it has one, and it's added (and synced to Google Calendar automatically). For browsing, editing, or deleting anything beyond today, head to the Calendar page — that's the full calendar now, and it stays two-way synced with Google Calendar either way.
4. Family Board
This is the main focus of the Command Center — a Kanban board for anything with multiple steps (a project, a person's daily chores, event prep). Add a card, tap it to open its checklist, and add or check off items — the card moves itself between To Do, In Progress, and Done automatically as items get checked, there's nothing to drag. Once a card is Done, open it and tap Archive to clear it off the board without losing it — archived cards live behind the Archive link at the top of the board, and can be restored from there too. Tap the star on any card to mark it top of mind — it glows on the board until it's done, regardless of which column it's in. A card with a link icon (like Fall Travel Orders) is a big project with its own dedicated page — tapping it takes you straight there instead of opening the on-board checklist, and the card's progress bar just mirrors whatever's checked off on that page. Some of these cards also carry an end date and archive themselves automatically once fully done and that date has passed — a finished trip plan doesn't need a manual Archive tap.
5. Calendar
Its own page, separate from the Command Center so managing it doesn't crowd the TV view. Add an event with the form at top (text, an optional time note, and a real date), see everything already on the site's calendar below that, and see what's coming up on the shared Google Calendar underneath that. Hover (or tap, on mobile) a site event to delete it — deleting here also removes it from Google Calendar if it was synced.
6. Trips
Every trip the family's planning or has taken, in one place — destination, dates (or "TBD" if they're not set yet), a rough budget, and a checklist, same auto-moving mechanics as the Family Board. Tap New Trip, fill in what you know (dates and budget are optional — leave them blank if it's still being decided), and edit the starter checklist before creating it. Most trips open a quick checklist right here; a trip with a link badge (like Fall Travel Orders) has its own dedicated page instead, since it needed more than a checklist (real flight research, for instance) — tapping it takes you there. Past trips don't disappear: once one's fully checked off and its return date has passed, it archives itself into Past trips at the bottom of the page, a running record instead of clutter.
7. Meals & Groceries
Its own page too. Meal Planner: click any day's meal to edit it, press Enter to save — today is always listed first. Gro-List: add items to the list, click one to cross it off.
8. Family Inbox
The purple bubble in the corner of every page is a running scratchpad for anything that comes up — a need, an idea, something you want handled — from anyone, on any device, no login beyond the family password. Just type it and tap Log it. Notes stay listed until someone marks them reviewed (✓) or archives them (🗃); they're meant to get triaged into real calendar events, board cards, or chores during a planning session rather than live there forever.
9. Notifications
Tap Enable Notifications in the top bar on the Command Center or Calendar page (once per device — your browser will ask you to confirm) and that device gets a real push notification a few times a day summarizing what's still outstanding on the Family Board and anything new in the Inbox, so nothing sits forgotten. Top-of-mind cards get called out first. This only works on the device where you tapped it — both parents need to do it on their own phones.
10. Google Calendar
Once connected, anything added with a real date — from the Command Center's quick-add or the full Calendar page — automatically creates or updates a matching event on your shared Google Calendar, and deleting it on the site removes it there too. A small Google icon marks a synced item. The reverse also works: your shared Google Calendar's upcoming events show up read-only on the Calendar page (and in Today's panel when they fall today) — those aren't editable here, since they live in Google Calendar; edit them there directly. Connecting is a one-time step for whoever manages the Google account — ask Nathan if it's showing "not connected yet."
11. Daily Reflection
A quick, timestamped "how's today going" note in the Command Center's Today panel — no structure required, just a sentence. It's meant to build its own running history over time so patterns (what keeps causing stress, what's working) are easy to look back on, not a daily obligation to stress about.
12. Saving Data
Everything saves automatically. If you refresh the page, your data will still be there.