February 2012

I had so much fun sharing my Project Life album a couple of weeks ago that I thought I would do it again!  I can’t promise this will be a weekly feature, but I hope it can serve as inspiration for an easy way to record all of those family memories.  So without further ado, week eight: 

This week was mostly about our snow days.  I took a LOT of pictures! 

Close up of the left side.  I devoted the whole page to Sunday’s snowstorm and all the fun the boys had outside. 

Right side.  These were just a few random shots taken the rest of the week.  I made little love notes for each boy from the 3×4″ journaling cards with something sweet they said that week.  I really like how they turned out and I think I’ll be writing more sentimental notes to them soon. 

These are the inserts from the week.  I took a We R Memory Keepers page protector that had 6 horizontal 4×6″ spots and cut off the bottom row.  That left 8 spaces for more snow pictures!  Behind that is a picture M created and then dictated the story to me.

One last story from the week was one that I’ll probably share on the blog soon.  I used a 12×12″ page protector to keep a special piece of artwork made by the boys and glued the pictures right on top. 

I love that Project Life can be anything you want it to be.  Lots of pictures, lots of artwork, lots of journaling and memories…it’s all up to you!  Be sure to check out The Mom Creative for lots of PL inspiration!

Happy Monday!  Sorry for the unintended blog breaks the past couple of weeks…life’s going full force these days and I’m just doing the best I can to keep up!  I’m sure I’m not the only mamma who feels that way some days.  So in an attempt to play catch-up, here’s a little of what we’ve been up to:

1. Expensive toys are so overrated.  One Amazon box + crayons = an entire morning of fun.  It’s hard to keep up, but I think this was an airplane or a spaceship.

2.  I’m trying to eat less grains, per the recommendation of my personal trainer husband.  This has proven harder than I thought!  Apparently I am a fan of all things bread!  I’m making baby steps though and Lent is a good time to practice.  Tonight’s dinner is pork carnitas wrapped in lettuce…I’ll let you know how it goes!  🙂

    
3. Power Rangers are BIG around here these days.  We’ve been watching old episodes on Netflix and the boys are enthralled.  According to boys, I am the Pink Ranger and the boys are either White, Red or Black, depending on the day.  Oh, the fun that comes with a house full of little dudes!

P.S. To all of my Mamma Support Swappers: hopefully your packages to your partner have been mailed, but if not, please do so quickly! 🙂  I’d love to hear how the swap worked for you…if you ever do a blog post, please let me know!

time : 10:45 AM

place : living room couch
drinking : a big glass of ice water
watching : sweet J sound asleep on the couch next to me.  He had a rough night last night (hello molars!) so naptime came quickly this morning. 
reading : Rescue by Anita Shreve and A Place at the Table by Chris Seay, my new book for Lent this year.
feeling : under the weather…yuck
thinking : about all of the projects I want to accomplish this spring.  My list is a mile long…we’ll see if I can check them all off!
creating : little love notes to add to my Project Life album this week.  The boys have been saying some hilarious stuff and I don’t want to forget. 
hoping : for a powerful Lent in our home this year.  We are ready to fully embrace this season in preparation for Easter!
needing : a nap would be nice!
wondering : what I should blog about. I’ve hit a bit of writer’s block.  I’d love to know why you visit me, what keeps you coming back, what you’d like me to write about. What can I add to my list of ideas?

My kids love to read.  LOVE.  And while we have a pretty nice selection at home, they really like to discover books for the first time.  Thank goodness for the library and this great website: We Give Books! 

Here is how the website works: “We Give Books is a free website that enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of children who don’t have them, simply by reading online. Simply choose the charity you want to read for and then select the books you want to read. For each book you read online, we donate a book to a leading literacy group on your behalf. The more you read, the more we give.”

I love that while my children are reading, we are helping others to read as well.  So Mammas, get started!  Here are a few we are hoping to read this week:

We’ve had quite the mild winter this year.  Temps in the 60s in February?  So strange.  But yesterday, my boys’ wishes finally came true: a snow day!  They were so excited to play outside.  Activities included making a snowman and an impressive fortress for a snow battle with Daddy.  I loved their pink cheeks and pure joy.  This Mamma’s heart was full.

Sometimes life gets so busy that I forget to notice and appreciate the little things. Here are some of the things I am loving this week:

I WANT TO REMEMBER… our silly dance parties in the living room.  We put Pandora on and at the boys’ request, spread blankets on the floor for “stages”.

I WANT TO REMEMBER… how wonderful it is to have only one in diapers!  Less than one week and D is fully potty trained!  Although he’s definitely a late bloomer in this area, I learned my lesson with M and waited until he was ready.  And gosh, is he adorable with his new Super Hero underwear!   

I WANT TO REMEMBER… J’s new word: “UH OH”.  Quite appropriate since he is into everything lately!  His new trick is climbing onto the kitchen table.  He may be my hardest yet! 

I WANT TO REMEMBER… our date nights lately that consist of watching episodes of Burn Notice on Netflix.  As usual, we are seasons behind, but it makes for great marathon watching!  Our favorite way to unwind together after a long day.  

If you’ve read my blog from the beginning, you know that I am a big fan of Project Life.  2012 marks my third year using this “scrapbook system” and like anything, it has changed and molded to fit our life.  Want a peek?

When I first started PL in 2010, I did a 365/Picture a Day approach.  In 2011, I found that that method didn’t work for us anymore.  Some days I took tons of photos, some days the camera stayed on the counter.  So I moved to a weekly approach and so far, it’s working wonderfully!  

I’m sure you’re confused, so here’s an example: 

These two page protectors represent one week in our lives (last week).  In theory, you can consider each 4×6 opening one day (Sun-Mon) and the smaller pockets places for journaling.  For my weekly approach, I simply see them as a place to put pictures and pieces of our life for this week. 

Here is a close up of the left side.  I took lots of pictures this week, so I cut a few down to fit the smaller pockets.  I also included the wrapper from these cool flavoring straws that my aunt sent the boys.  They were a BIG hit, so I wanted to add it in. 

 Right side.  All of the photos on this page were taken the same day.  Also included is a cute drawing made by D and Garfield taken from a coloring page M did this week.  Lots of journaling about our week too.

The reason I love this type of “scrapbooking” is because I am quite sentimental about paper things.  I keep letters, birthday cards, and don’t get me started on the kids’ artwork!  With Project Life, I can keep the most important items and have peace about throwing the rest away.  Here’s an example: 

This week, M sketched out a figure on construction paper and wanted to know how to spell ninja.  I loved his little handwriting so into the PL binder it went.  I keep a bunch of 8×11″ page protectors (the kind you can get at the office supply store or the paper aisle at Target) onhand for this. 

Another fun idea is one that I learned from Jenny (the same Jenny from the Life List series!).  She writes weekly notes to her kids and includes them in her album.  I don’t do this every week, but I am always grateful when I do.  I just punched holes right into the card.  (I got the coffee card in Target’s Dollar section!)

So that’s my intro to Project Life, the Big White Farmhouse way.  A fun and easy way to hold your pictures and your family’s memories.  The great thing about PL is that it can be anything you want it to be.  Don’t have enough “stuff” for a week?  Do a monthly approach!  It’s totally up to you. 

Here are a few links to get you started if you’re interested:

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments!  I’d love to try to help! 

Source: teachingliteracy.tumblr.com via Allie on Pinterest

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the positive response with the Mamma Support Swap!  Everyone should have been e-mailed by now with their partner.  Please let me know if you didn’t receive the e-mail! 

Your next question might be: What Now?  Well, I’m here to help you get started!  Even if you didn’t participate in the swap this time, I hope this gets your ideas flowing with ways you can brighten someone’s day. 

Letters of Encouragement
This is the most important part of the swap.  Like I said before, your words can do so much good.  Words are powerful and life-changing.  (See this post for an example.)  Here are few ideas that you can include in your letter:

• Recommendation of your favorite parenting book
• An uplifting quote
• A tip that’s worked for your family (how did you get your son to potty-train?, how do you get your little one to eat her veggies?)
• Share a story of hardship with motherhood/share a wonderful moment too!
• Let your partner know you are in this motherhood journey together!

Pouch, Cookies, Soap, Cupcake liners, Journal

Gift Ideas for Mammas

• Recipe cards (include one of your favorite recipes too!)
• Baking supplies like cupcake liners and sprinkles

Remember to try to have your packages postmarked Source: michelleums.tumblr.com via Allie on Pinterest Source: weheartit.com via Maddy on Pinterest

I’m a little late, but here is Part III of Jenny’s Life List series.  This week, she gave 10 writing prompts and challenged her readers to come up with one item (at least!) for each.  Below are a few of my answers:

Writing Prompt: List 10 things you would do if given a second chance.
Life List item: Assist or help coach a middle school softball team.
Why this item?  I played softball for six years and stopped right before I went to high school.  Looking back, I realized how much of my self-esteem came from playing sports in middle school.  I’d love to coach someday to help girls feel that way too.

Writing Prompt: List your favorite things to do on the weekends or your day off.
Life List item: Play a pick-up flag football game with my entire family (parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc)
Why this item? I come from a competitive and athletic family.  They are so inspiring to me.  And we love football.  I think it would be so fun to play a game together…I’m picturing Thanksgiving! 

Writing Prompt: List 10 new professions you would like to try. (money/talent not important)
Life List item: Take cooking classes with my husband.
Why this item? My husband and I both really love to be in the kitchen.  He loves to experiment with flavors and spices…quite the opposite of my exact measurement baking!  Cooking classes would be a fun date for us, while at the same time expanding our culinary skills! Win win!

These are just a few of the prompts Jenny put on her blog.  I’m excited to work through the rest this weekend.  You can check out all of the prompts here.

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Today is the last day to sign up for the Mamma Support Swap!  Sign-ups will be open until tonight and then I hope to e-mail you all with your partners this weekend!  So excited about the positive response! 

Today I’m excited to share with you a new way to give.  The organization is called Kiva, have you heard of it?  Watch this short video (it’s only a minute long!) to find out more about how it works: 

How Kiva Works from Kiva on Vimeo.

This is Aidah.  She is from Uganda.  Married with three children, she has managed a retail business for eleven years.  She requested a loan to purchase more food in order to expand her business and increase her profits. 

I don’t know about you, but don’t you think she has the greatest smile?  I was instantly drawn to her story and couldn’t wait to help a fellow Mamma.  My $25 was combined with others around the world and just like that, her loan was funded and her dreams are so much closer to coming true!

I think this non-profit organization is amazing.  I love that by December, she will have fully repaid the loan and I’ll be able to help fund another.   You can find more about Kiva here.

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Just a reminder that the Mamma Support Swap is open until Friday, so be sure to sign up!  You can find more information here. 

“Parents unconsciously teach their children what is valuable by the way they spend their own time.  If television is more important to the parents than books, the children will likely choose the same…”

“A busy schedule is the enemy of reading.  Agreeing in principle with all the benefits of books, you may at this point simply sigh and say, “I wish we had more time for reading.”  But the fact remains that we arrange time for what we think is truly important…”

“The plea I am making is simply this–make time for books! Don’t let your children live in spiritual poverty when abundance is available!”

  —from Honey for a Child’s Heart, pages 24-25

Valentine’s Day is just a week away!  With a house full of boys, this holiday has minimal appeal, but here are a few ideas I just may be able to get them to do!

“Be Mine” Handprint Cards Footprint Heart with Poem Cupid’s Arrows Red Velvet Cupcakes from the Bakerella “I Love you to Pieces” Puzzle Frame Have you signed up yet for the first Mamma Support Swap?  Find all the details here!  Sign-ups will be open all week.