Store and Organize Childhood Memories

"Cherish the time when your kids are small...it goes by so fast." I have heard this a thousand times, and probably will say to young moms at the grocery store when my kids are teenagers and no longer want to be seen with me in public. It's great advice, really, and I work hard to be present in the moments I spend with family and friends. I try to soak up the baby coos and the new words my toddler is saying, and enjoy watching them try new things and reach milestones. But while I'm busy being present, there is a voice in my head shouting "IS SOMEONE WRITING THIS DOWN? WHO'S TAKING PICTURES OF THIS?" I want to be in the moment with my little guys and just enjoy them, but the crazy organized part of my brain says I need to be putting this info somewhere, for both my kids and me to look back at some day.

Here is how (without going overboard and driving myself crazy) I document my kids' everyday anecdotes, as well as milestones and photos:

-A monthly email to each of my kiddos.  This is just an informal message I send to them, usually telling them how special they are to me, what they've been doing and any milestones they've come upon.  Before my 2 year old was talking in sentences, I was writing down his new words as well.  We set up email addresses for both kids, one at gmail and one at yahoo (to get the same format: firstnamemiddlelastname@emailservice.com. We set the email up and are the "users," but as the boys get older they'll be able to look back and see all their messages from me.  Because I'm a little type-A, I also print each message and stick it in their baby book.

-That brings me to the baby book.  I fill these out, but they're not very personal and some of the pages are not awesome.  For instance, the "New foods I've tried" section on the 1 month-6 month pages.  hmmm.

-Notebook for funny quotes or happenings:  I have two little notebooks (one for each kid) in our kitchen that are easy to get to.  When something funny or noteworthy happens, I jot it down along with the date.  I figure these will be great when I want to tell my kids stories about funny things they've done.

-Pictures and videos:  We have a video camera, but my husband's Droid is much more accessible, as he always has it on his person.  We shoot videos at least twice a week, usually of the normal everyday stuff kids say and do.  We also have a camera that I am slowly learning to use.  One of my goals this year is to be a better photographer, so I'm taking pictures every day.  After I take them, I use my short amount of free time to upload, edit, and organize onto my computer.  Jen at A Thousand Words blogged about how to organize pictures on the computer.  I am following her advice on labeling the pictures and have found it to suit my compulsive need to organize very well.  

Paint Chip Train and a Bus

Surely you've already hopped aboard the ever-popular paint-chip-art train? What? You haven't robbed your local hardware store of all the season's colors in the name of crafting? Get on it. Barb has been planning this project for a while, and we just got around to completing it yesterday. I use the term "we" loosely. I glued and she pretty much did the rest. This little piece of art began as an ugly thrift store find, and is now a pretty paint chip frame to hang in her craft room. Here are the details:

Materials:
-thrifted canvas, wood painting, or other base of your choice
-stolen paint chips
-spray adhesive
-antiquing medium
-chipboard letters
-spray paint
-E6000 adhesive


Here's the starting point: a delightful fruit basket complete with flowers. Because who doesn't mix a little baby's breath in with their fresh produce?
Adhere the paint chips to your surface. We used an antiquing from Hobby Lobby after this, but didn't photograph it.
Arrange your chip board letters on the back piece. We spray painted ours white so they would really pop out when hanging on the wall. Use E6000 or another adhesive to get your letters to stay on .
If you're checking out that backwards "t", it was intentional. Geez, think outside the box, wouldya?

In other news, my two-year old is obsessed with buses. Like, they seem to consume his every thought, won't go to bed without one kind of deal. Guess it's healthier than my obsession with chocolate chip cookies. I let him watch youtube videos of the "Wheels on the Bus" videos on half my screen while I'm on the computer. This one is my favorite.

New Projects

Here is one of the many projects I've been putting together. This one took an especially long time, but was totally worth it.
Baby boy #2 has been a joy thus far. Of course I am getting much less sleep and accomplishing fewer tasks, but am managing to squeeze in plenty of snuggle time and an extraordinary amount of nursing. This kid likes to eat. I'm going to be on the lookout for a onesie with a reference to how much milk this one drinks.

Aside from snuggling and playing cars with my two-year old, I have had a chance to create a few fun things around the house. Now that I am acclimated to my new little family, I hope to share all my fun projects with you very soon.

Magnetic Calendar

Sharing with you today the magnetic year-round calendar I crafted up. I had to post on the last day of January, mostly because my pregnancy goal was to make it until at least February. My due date is twenty days away, but each day I show up at work people look astonished to see me...same with my doctor's appointments. Yes, still cruising around with the baby bump. And loving every minute (and day of January).
My mom found the magnetic board at a craft store, but had she not, I was going to use a sheet of steel and vinyl or sharpie the calendar template on. For the date stickers, I did the following:

1. Printed off numbers 1-31

2. Printed off enough letters to spell every month (If you want a copy, comment below and I can email you the document).

3. Made the letters/numbers into stickers with a Xyron sticker maker, stuck them onto small squares of cardstock.

4. Mod-Podged the cardstock onto square tiles.

5. Used E-6000 to adhere a "rare earth" magnet (very strong hold, tiny magnet) on the back of each one.
I wasn't going for perfection here...I like the numbers a little off-kilter. It suits our style. I found some cupcake buttons I'm going to use in place of a number when it's someone's birthday, and will hopefully find some more themed buttons as well for other holidays.

Menu Planning & Free Download

I have been busy with lots of projects. Photographing and posting to this blog, however? Well, I'm slacking in that department. Now that I've got a backlog of creations, I better get to sharing.

This one is less of a creation of mine, and more of an organization tip/free printable. I've been using a menu planner for the last three weeks, and love it. I've always had a general plan of what I want to make for the week, but writing it down and planning it out helps me actually stick to the plan instead of throwing a frozen pizza into the oven.

I found two different patterns at 733 Blog. They are both free for download. You can make them into a book, but I just printed mine and keep them hung on the side of the refrigerator. I also love the grocery list on the side you can cut off. Head over there and check it out. There are tons of other great things to explore while you're there.

Have a great day,

Robin

Back From Break

Where have I been? Absent from here, that's for sure. I have been on "Winter Break" from school for just over a week, and have enjoyed every minute of it. I couldn't get myself motivated to blog on these days--lacking motivation in that department. New Year's Resolution? Ha, yeah right. I have an early January birthday, so have learned to never set myself up for failure like that. I can't wait to share what I've been up to over break, and maybe you'll gather some inspiration, ideas, or links to use. Caution: complete randomness ahead.

1.) First, I read a couple good books:
Set in South Africa during the Apartheid, the story of a young boy who encounters many interesting characters while coming of age, facing racism, and recognizing the power one possesses.
Way better than I expected. The story is not focused just on race, but on the adventures of this interesting and inspiring family.



2.) Then did some intense research on photography. I used these sites:

Pioneer Woman Photography has some great explanations and tips. She claims not to be an expert, but her pictures show otherwise.

Two Peas in a Bucket has a downloadable 12 week course that you can reference or print in PDF form. I love the format and have printed out the first couple weeks to try.

Turns out I'm still not that awesome of a photographer. But I'm working on it!
3.) We celebrated Christmas with family, and I spent lots of time with this special little man.


4.) Stocked up the deep freezer for maternity leave.

I found recipes and information on this LiveJournal. I was able to make and freeze almost 20 meals in about 4 hours (spread over two days, let's be real, I'm hugely prego and slow moving) and it cost less than $150. The food looked so good I kept wanting to eat one of them that day. Didn't give in, only because the husband was there and I didn't want to look weak.

The pic above is from the livejournal and looks a lot neater than my kitchen did at any point of preparation.

5. Prepared for baby number two

Eek! Holy nesting session. Busted out all the gear for baby, and have the car seat all set to go. That's right, sitting out in the open, ready for me to grab at a moment's notice. Because that's totally how childbirth goes--one minute you're in labor, the next you have a baby. At least I feel prepared. What is that called when you can recognize the "crazy" but don't do anything about it? Oh yeah, pregnancy.

6. Pinned a "few" things.

Dare you to stop by Pinterest for just a few minutes. I have found the site incredibly helpful. When I'm feeling crafty, I hit up Pinterest and get to crafting (usually).

7.) Organized and backed up months of photos

So this doesn't really seem like a task I should blog about, but it took so freaking long that I feel justified listing it. I need all my picture folders meticulously organized, which is painful. Someday I will be thankful for this. Also, take this as a friendly reminder to back up your pictures and documents :)


I hope you gathered at least one idea by reading today! I am blessed to have had such a long break from school as well as a toddler who takes long naps. Have a great day.

Last Minute Christmas Gift: Fleece Headband

I love a DIY gift. Even though the person who receives it will likely not understand how much time and effort went into choosing the supplies and putting it together. Or they may not use it at all, leaving you wondering what other productive tasks you could have been doing during naptime. Did that sound negative? Mostly joking on that, but in truth I have narrowed my homemade gift recipients to DIYers and lovers of the homemade crap only. Everyone else gets gifts from the grand old Internet. Now on to the real reason for posting: a DIY gift you could give to almost anyone.

Here is a little homemade gift that I put together in about thirty minutes--a fleece earwarmer/headband. I found the inspiration and basic directions at Delia Creates. I did have to adjust the size and instead of one layer of fleece used two, as winter can be a little brutal around here. I like the way it turned out, especially the bow on top. Can't wait to send this off and whip up a few more.

And a picture to brighten your day. We should all smile like this. It makes for a fantastic shot. Am I right?