Look Alikes

We spent some time, yesterday, looking through old family photos and came across this picture of Jon (sorry for the poor quality, it is behind a glass frame and taken with a cell phone) and I immediately felt like I was looking at O, at the age he is right now. The hair. They eyes. The cheeks, the nose, the chin... I also compared the photos to M at a similar age.

My verdict is that the boys really take after Jon, 

but I still think M looks a lot like photos of my dad as a little boy. 

And, I know what O will look like as an adult.

My Memories Suite Giveaway Winner

Congratulations, Tanya H, who said:

And I liked My Memories on FB.

You are the winner! Please e-mail me and I will send you the directions to obtain your FREE My Memories Suite Scrapbook software!

Not to worry, if you didn't win, but would like to receive $10 off of the software, you can still use the special code: STMMMS57239 to take $10 off of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software.

Giveaway Reminder!

Just a quick reminder to enter the giveaway for My Memories Suite Scrapbook software! 

It's a simple as visiting MyMemories.com and leaving a comment, here.

Prayer Ring | Weekly Meetings

We had a MOPS meeting shortly before Christmas, and a panel of moms shared some ideas for celebrating advent with their children. There were so many great ideas shared, and one of them was to use Christmas cards to create a prayer ring, they use the ring to have their children pick someone to pray for at meal times. This is definitely something that can be done year-round. So here you have it. If you sent us a Christmas card during 2012, we're praying for you! I usually ask M to pick someone, and he always insists that we pray for the same two little boys that share a babysitter with him and also himself - but we're getting there - and it is also helping him to learn who some of our friends are that are far away (Cherie, he is now familiar with you and your hubby!).

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I am still working through the 52 Bites. For this week I had chosen to establish a morning routine, establish an evening routine, and a couple of others. I will share more on these topics next week. This week I was hoping to elaborate a bit more on the first three projects completed. 

I shared about decluttering (and rotating) the kiddo's toys, last week. Due to the length of the post, I did not touch on weekly meetings with your spouse nor a family mission statement.

Do you meet with your spouse weekly? If so, what time do you meet? Do you have a plan for the meeting? Our meetings have taken some tweaking to make them successful, so here are a few pointers:

• pick a time that you are not tired [no need to be cranky...]
• have an agenda [even if it's informal] with topics like: what is coming up this week (month), what is not working in/missing from, the budget, how are we doing budget vs. actual, what is on your wish list, what needs more prayer (this is especially important for us now that we are contemplating vehicle and home purchases).
• set a time limit
• listen to each other
• keep an open mind
• dream together, set goals

We actually used to "meet" only monthly, but for us we found this to be too stressful, and sometimes too late in the game. Meeting weekly might be a bit overkill, but it allows us to keep talking about the big picture, encourage each other to stay focused on being good stewards of our resources, and stay on the same page.

During our weekly meetings, we also schedule: monthly date night, our day off, and our family weekend. Typically we are always together as a family on the weekends. During the Weekend to Remember marriage conference we decided it would also be beneficial to each have a day of the month that we have "off". Even if we are at home, we have the option to do our own thing, tackle our own to-do lists, etc. But at the same time, we make sure that at least one weekend in the month is 100% focused on our family being together and enjoying that time.

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I think it is safe to say that I have been practicing with the DSLR quite a bit lately. And, that the subject of my practice are my littles. Need proof?

Did you catch the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software giveaway? Be sure to enter!

(Also, I'm aware that O should really wear a bib. He chooses not to... It's not worth the battle.)

Giveaway | My Memories Suite Scrapbook software

You may remember that last week I mentioned I was in the market for reasonably priced software for editing, creating collages, digital scrapbooking, etc.

You can imagine my excitement when I was contacted by MyMemories to try out the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and giveaway this software [$40 value!] to one of my readers.

What I Love

• User-friendly, I just downloaded the software (Mac and Windows compatible) and started playing; within minutes I had created a new header for my blog.
• I can drag and drop my photos direct from iPhoto (where I currently do all of my editing) in to the page I am designing.
• I can export my pages to JPEG files and create images (e.g. my new blog header)
• SO many options for embellishments, text design, etc.
• Pre-designed templates are available, or if you are feeling super creative you can begin with a blank page and design away.

Here's a little collage I created with some photos of M&O:

Aren't they sweet? I was going to put a verse from Dueteronomy in the middle, but when I went to biblegateway.com this verse from Ephesians was the verse of the day. So fitting, given the way this "photo shoot" went, and as a reminder to the boys as they continue to grow.

How to Enter to Receive a FREE Download of the My Memories Suite

• Visit My Memories and choose your favorite digital paper pack or lay out, then leave me a comment telling me which one you choose.

For extra entries you may:

• Follow the My Memories blog.
• "Like" My Memories on Facebook.
• Follow My Memories on twitter.

Please leave a separate comment for each action you take. The giveaway will end on February 1st at midnight (CST) and the winner will be randomly chosen & announced on February 2nd. Thank you for entering!

::: ::: ::: 

If you need this software now, as in you needed it yesterday, and are too anxious to see if you win, you can use the special code: STMMMS57239 to take $10 off of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software. You can use this code at any time - if you do, I might be able to buy a mocha at Starbucks, or something...

Decluttering the Kiddos Toys

Last week, I introduced the 52 Bites (simplemom.net) project that I am diving in to. I am excited to say that I accomplished all three tasks chosen for week one (declutter and rotate children's toys, family mission statement, and plan weekly meetings my spouse). This post is going to focus mainly on the kiddos toys, and I am adding it to my (somewhat sporadic) Toddler Tuesday series. I will touch on the other two topics in separate posts, so please follow along!

Getting Started - Sell or Donate

I chose to tackle the boys's toys(es) first, because they overwhelm me and have been on my mind for quite sometime. A few weeks ago we took some time to clean out the closet in our guest bedroom, which was just full of bins and boxes, from our move, that never got unpacked. Mostly? You guessed it. Toys. And baby stuff. Most of it went to Goodwill (a carload full).

Quite a few of those items were still in tubs or boxes because they are toys that, frankly, get on my nerves, and in the interest of simplifying just went. Because they are "stuff". The rest of the baby toys went back in to that closet.

I made another round through the house and gathered items that right away just spoke to me, begging to go to Goodwill. This time it was toys that they rarely, if ever use; that only hold their attention for ten seconds at a time; that we have multiple of.

Sort, Organize, Simplify, and Rotate - Reclaim Your Space

I love being mom. I love toddlers. I love a house that looks like we do life with toddlers. Finger prints smeared on the glass, sippy cups in the middle of the living room floor, scraps of breakfast under the table, and even the not-so-gentle reminder of a matchbox car to the bottom of a bare foot.

I don't love looking at chaos.

On any given day, this is what our living room looked like. The boys (ahem, 18-month-old, I'm looking at you...) dump out all of the toys and every book and it seems that is the extent of their creative play. Overstimulated much?

• Reclaim your living space. When the kiddos are either not home, or in bed, sort. The main areas that had been taken over by toys were our living room and our basement area. I made one pile of toys that needed homes in the "play area", another pile for Goodwill, and another pile of toys that could stay in the living room. I also set aside items for a busy bag (puzzle books, sticker books, etc) and a pile of items that they have yet to grow in to.
• What stayed? The boys have a small kitchen and toolbench in the living room. The accessories for those two toys stayed in a decorative basket, under the sofa table along with a small stash of wooden building blocks, the boys's matchbox cars, nesting blocks, a football, and a small musical tractor. 
• Books. I have a basket of books on every floor of the house. I left one basket of books in the living room, as that is usually where we spend our time between having supper and putting the boys to bed. 
• Rotate the toys. I plan to switch out the few toys that are in the basket, once every couple of weeks. I will tell you, those nesting blocks hadn't been played with in months and now that they are one of the only options downstairs, they use them for everything. Building castles. Serving me "coffee" and of course their intended use of stacking and nesting. I put together a large bin of toys that is out of the way, but readily available in storage. At the same time, I put together the bin of toys-to-grow-in-to (100+ piece puzzles, card games, etc).

Ta-da! Peaceful looking living areas (let's not talk about my lack of home decor, k? K.). 

Oh, and about that vacuuming, it should be much easier now that I can see the floors.

And with the simplified living area, hopefully we'll do more of this...

 

Making the Best Use of Space

Initially I thought I needed to purchase all types of toy organization systems. As it turns out, once the sorting was done, I had more space than I thought, I just needed to use it more wisely. For example, I have a set of plastic drawers in the boys's closet that had miscellaneous toys in it, but usually they were emptied and the toys ended up in other areas of the house, because none of them had been given a true home. I originally had their various building blocks in canvas bins that were basically overflowing. I moved the blocks to the plastic drawers, where they fit perfectly, and that opened canvas bins for more smaller toys.

I also had some unused compartments in the changing table. I used that as extra book storage. That way, the books are still easily accessible to the boys, but can also be used to store books for rotating the baskets throughout the house.

The toy room in our house was jam packed with their big-ticket toys and we were at the point where maneuvering the room became difficult and thus not that exciting to play in. The problem is this is where the most exciting toys in the house are located, and where I originally envisioned spending peaceful time with the boys. We moved the playhouse to their bedroom and that really freed up space for playing and re-discovering toys.

Introducing Chores

One of the "52 Bites" is to develop a chore system for the kiddos. With that in mind, once I found a home for our toys, I tried to put pictures and labels on certain drawers and bins to help create a clean-up system that would be easy for everyone. {Also? Because nothing is more frustrating than spending your week getting organized just to find everything put away somewhere else within 24 hours.}

The idea for the "picture labels" came from a post over at The Pilot's Wife {Taming the Toys}

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One thing I did not tackle was our art and craft supplies - wrangling the toys was enough for the week. We keep one drawer full of craft items in the kitchen, and an easel located close-by. Otherwise, everything else is in the basement. I am thinking that, if I can get organized and motivated, I will plan a couple of projects for each week and have a basket with the needed supplies. 

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I wish I would have had a system in place for toys, from the beginning.

What are your tips and tricks for keeping toys from becoming chaos?

How do you teach your littles about cleaning up and chores?

the first attempt

Remember when I was hoarding saving Amazon gift cards so that I could purchase a DSLR?

photo credit: Amazon.com

She's here. But, she's just a newborn, so I am still trying to figure her out. In the mean time, I tried my hand at some photos of the boys. I wish we were still having that 50+ degree weather that we had earlier in the month, being outside would have made the whole episode a lot easier. O wanted no part of participating for photos, and M did okay for a while, but eventually after two minutes, they had lost their temper and I had misplaced my patience. Though, upon editing the photos, I realized I had a few that I really liked. Looking forward to having some printed up...

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I am looking for recommendations on reasonably priced software for editing, creating collages, digital scrapbooking, etc. 

Recommendations?