Photos

Me and my sister circa 1980s

My sister-in-law Courtney unknowilgly inspired me to get back to work on our family photos.

She was talking about labeling her photo albums "when she stopped working to stay home with her baby" and I thought, that is what I'm doing right now so I better get to work.

But here is the problem: I don't know the best way to go about it.

What are your best photo printing/organizing/compiling/displaying systems?

Do you keep a photo book for your family?

For each child?

Do you print out pictures?

I already have 4x6 photos printed out from each year of our married life that I have been putting in 9x9 inch binders but they need to be labeled.

I have a pile of 8x10 and 5x7s of us and our children through the years but I'm not sure what to do with them either.

Photos are a wonderful way to document and remember your life but taking care of them is work.

On a Wednesday afternoon

Today I cleaned out my craft closet.



And found these awesome paint pallets. From Walmart for $1.



We had a great afternoon. Mixing colors. Painting wood shapes. And paper plates. Experimenting. Learning. Being creative.







The other day we made these adoily-able long sleeve T-shirts.



I love them more every time I look at them. Because I love the little ones inside.



Days like these make being a Mom the best.

Budget spreadsheet

I confess. I love a new year for one main {nerdy} reason.

Because I get to update our budget spreadsheet. 

It seriously makes me happy. 

Since 2008 I have used my friend Emily's budget process.

It is brilliant.

Our "budget" before this was me writing down our expenditures in my checkbook ledger. 

But with the budget percentages I feel proactive, rather than reactive with money. 

We sit down at the beginning of the year, discuss our financial goals, modify our percentages for the year, and let the budget be our guide for the next 12 months.

Then every time we get a pay check, I open the spreadsheet, allocate the funds to their specific categories, and track expenditures for the month.

All in all, helpful stuff that has relieved some of the inevitable money pressures of modern life.

The end.

Disney

The girls and I spent a great 2 days at Disneyland the first week in January while J was at his trial conference. I knew we'd be in LA all week and thought, why not spend a few days at the happiest place on earth?





We did one day at Disneyland and another at California adventure and loved them both. We got to go on more rides at the adventure park, but loved the parades at D-land. All 3 of our girls are still terrified by dressed up people, so we avoided them at all costs, and instead enjoyed seeing them from a distance in the parade.






 

They loved going on rides and I was surprised by the number of things we could go on with Ada being our smallest participant. We lasted from 10am- 6pm both days and ate our fair share of snacks. I refused to buy more than one meal there so we ate late lunches both days that carried us through to popcorn waiting in the car.




 

Each girl got to pick out a little prize and we came home with two minnie mouse stuffies and a classic character charm necklace. It was a fun way to spend those days and I enjoyed being able to take things at our own pace. The girlies had a great time and were so good to stay with me, look out for each other, and be patient in line. It was a good experience and I'd definitely do it again.

Ya'll a bunch of crazies

I can't forget to mention the 4th annual Polar Bear Plunge that took place December 24, 2011. It was horrendous, as the camera reveals, and although we were all dreading it, it had to be done.

The participants

ME

VFR

The Bot

 

LaLa

J

Warming up by the fire

2012 is hard to type

I find myself typing 2010 instead.

I finished unpaking today from a trip we completed last Sunday.

I read and loved Jane Eyre.

I made a resolution to have fewer resolutions.

I jumped on the trampoline with my girls for an hour today.

I took a nap on Thursday.

I enjoyed the Christmas holiday and our CA vacation immensely.

I laminated a new chore chart for my kids. With stickers. That I hope to keep up for more than 2 weeks.

I finished reading the Book of Mormon in over 2 months. Never read it that fast before. Loved it.

I waited at the car place for an alignment this morning.  For 3 hours. 3 hours. With kids.

I have to run 6 miles tomorrow for the half-marathon training. I might will have to walk.

I am now going to indulge myself in catching up on Parks & Rec and Psych. Hopefully the most recent episodes are still in my Hulu queue.