Strategy Readjusting - The Art of Being a Mom & Documenting it Along the Way

"Dear Mom,

You sometimes get frustrated at us for not acting our age, and then start crying because we're growing up too fast.

Sincerely,

Pick One!"

I feel like this quote pretty much sums up everything in my life right now with these three chicks. As I mentioned before, this Summer was a bit hard. Don't get me wrong, it was really fun too!... but also hard. My girls are 7, 7 and 5; going on 17, 17 and 15.

We receive compliments almost daily about how polite, independent and well-behaved our kids are, but I wonder at times if all of those "social awareness" talks - ex: "Don't run around in stores/others homes", "Whisper observations about others you want to know/talk about into Mommy or Daddy's ears, instead of blurting them out loud", "Don't whine if you can't have your way", "Keep your hands to yourself" and learned skills we've taught them - Making their own breakfast, picking their own clothes cleaning up messes, walking the dog and practicing piano daily - have made my girls grow up too quickly (?)

I noticed this year especially, that my kids were MORE than ready to head off for their first day of school. No tears, no hesitation, just smiles, kisses & hugs, waves and joyful goodbyes!

:(

Isn't this how I WANT it to be? What lots of parents dream of for their child's first day in an unfamiliar situation?

The easy answer... Yes!

The more complicated, emotional one... Not really. ha!

I can't believe how MUCH I miss these little people during the day. How much I've struggled with being away from THEM, more than they have with being away from ME. I fear that they are growing up too fast, and I just want to freeze time, so that I can capture and cherish every funny conversation and happy memory that comes my way!

That being said, it's no surprise that I'm a picture-takin' fool. Between Instagram and the blog, something is always being documented around here... and I love it.

Truth be told, I have the worst memory. Short term stuff is easy for me, but trying to remember little moments and the way I felt years and even months ago, is a totally different story. For this reason, I rely heavily on blogging, journaling and most of all, picture taking.

"THE BAG" of pictures that are awaiting journaling

Last year I started an InstaLife album with Project Life, and it fueled the fire within me to get going on photo journaling, and actually PRINTING the memories that I have stored on my computer and in my phone, so that me AND my family can enjoy them. Since then, I've been keeping my cute friend Chari at Persnickety Prints busier than ever. I especially love being able to assemble photos on my PicFrame iPhone app, email them to myself and then upload them to Persnickety to get them blown up into a big 12x12 size. Can you say Insta-collage!?

How we're Surviving Summer + Lessons Learned

Every once in a while I'll get scrolling through my photos and quickly realize that I have GOBS of awesome pictures to share, and rarely ever update our little blog anymore with day to day happenings!

I know that that's what Instagram is probably now for, but for those of you who don't follow along with us over there, here's a quick recap of how we've been surviving the Summer so far.

Playing with Friends

Cabin weekends, late-night movies and dance parties with some of our favorite little people.

Hiking and Exploring

Enjoying the view from higher up.

Oh, and visiting some of the best dairy farms around for ice cream too... of course.

:)

Water, water, water, WATER!

What I love about Utah is that it usually doesn't get that warm in the Summer, but for some reason, THIS Summer has been REALLY hot! This means we've been finding lots of creative ways to keep the kids nice and cool (and entertained).

Gettin' Patriotic

This July we attended the Stadium of Fire in Provo and it was AWESOME! The girls were totally stoked because Carly Rae Jepsen and Kelly Clarkson were both performing.

If you live in Utah and haven't experienced this amazing event for yourself... you MUST! I felt like a kid again watching each of the breathtaking acts and presenters (and yes, I'm even giggling like a little pre-teen in this video. ack!).

This definitely went down on my list as one of the coolest things I've seen/done in a long time.

The BEST Smartphone Photo Editing App - Rhonna Designs is Here!

So MANY of you have asked me about how I edit my Instagram photos, and while I touched on a few very important, useful and life-changing iPhone photo editing apps here in this post, when it comes to adding fun elements to my photos, Rhonna Designs is where it's at!

Up until now you've had to purchase Rhonna's individual design elements from her shop, upload them to your phone and then use them... but, not anymore! I've been helping beta test the new Rhonna Designs app, and I'm happy to report that it's FINALLY ready to go in the AppStore!

Our Instagram feed is like a mini blog post in ONE photo, so being able to add elements to my pictures, to enhance the beauty and story behind it, is a HUGE bonus!

Here are a few ways that I've used Rhonna's app.

My Insta-Life 2012 Album & Project Life Giveaway

So there was this time in my life when I LOVED scrapbooking. I still like it, don't get me wrong, but at one point, things just got out of control and I had enough paper flowers, stamps, rhinestones and ribbon to embellish a small country... like I said, totally out of hand.

So when Cason and I decided to makeover my office, I got rid of a LOT of it. I handed it down to friends, family, or simply just sent it to the local thrift store. I still have some stuff, but let's get real... I'm NOT a scrapbooker, nor will I really ever be. Just like painting furniture, it's something that I LOVE, but not a talent I plan to cultivate, due to time and money; but here's the problem... I can hire someone easily to paint furniture for me, but I CAN'T find someone to scrapbook my life

...or can I. 

:)

If you've been around "our house" for a while, then you know all about Becky Higgins' amazing Project Life kit we blogged about a few months ago. 

I was SO excited to get it, because ALL the guess work was taken out for me! There were journaling cards, set layouts, stickers, labels and more! I was set, right? Now all I had to do was gather pictures...

.

.

.

.

ugggggggh.

I felt completely overwhelmed. Where do you even START with 7+ years worth of pictures!? (please tell me I'm not alone here). So I stashed my Project Life kit away, till I could figure it out at a later date.

Becky would probably be so ashamed. LOL.

Fast forward about 5 months later. I was sitting at my computer when I got an email from one of Becky's amazing team members, telling me all about some new page layouts that had been designed. At first all I felt was guilt, because I STILL hadn't touched my beautiful Project Life products, or documented anything... but then, once I looked at the new pages, I got REALLY excited. Can you guess why?

I'll give you a hint: