Project Life 2013

Jan 15, 2013 by admin

I’ve done Project Life for the past 3 years. Developed by Becky Higgins, Project Life began as a “photo-a-day” scrapbooking helpmate. Becky created the binder and the plastics and the system that made it so easy to document life — especially life with children.

Project Life is, by far, the best thing that I’ve ever done for my family. I know that others would argue that it’s very insignificant in the grand scope of things, but because of the ease of this system — I have successfully documented every day of our life for the past 1, 010 days (counting today!). Because my kids are young, I’ve captured so many milestones along the way, but more importantly, I’ve captured the details of our life. The things that might otherwise get shuffled to the back of my mind are there to remember and cherish.

For example, this picture from March 8, 2010:

This is one of those little details that would have been so easy to forget, but I’m so glad I am reminded of. Avery went through a phase where he ate Frosted Mini Wheats every morning for breakfast. He would get a bowl and sit down on the carpet to watch Playhouse Disney. (Disregard the dirty carpet – this was pre-maid service.) At any rate, my quirky little boy 6 year old boy would — first thing — take a mini wheat out of the bowl and put it on the floor. That particular mini wheat would be eaten last. I have no idea why he did that, but he did … and he did it every day. And, even now at 9 1/2 years old, if he eats mini wheats — he takes one out of the bowl to save for last.

Project Life captures these things … the details.

We are all so good at taking pictures of teeth lost, ballgames won, first days of school, etc. I love Project Life for helping me capture everything else, because let’s face it … most of our life is “everything else”.

Now, my problem is … do I keep on in the photo-a-day format or change to the one-week-at-a-time format.

The one week at a time format is basically the same thing —  every layout spread captures an entire week, but the photos aren’t necessarily from a specific day. You could have 3 pictures from Tuesday, nothing from Wednesday or Thursday, and then a bunch from Saturday. Essentially, it’s probably much easier. There’s no pressure to take at least 1 photo each day. (That’s not pressure for me, but I’m sure it would be for some!) My fear is that if I’m not held to one photo per day that I’ll get lazy and then end up not taking as many photos as I usually do. And, let’s face it — being able to look back to see exactly what you were doing on any particular day of any year is pretty darn cool.

What do I do if I have more than 1 photo for a day in my current format? If it’s a big event – like vacation or a birthday party – I do a larger collage and use it as a separate insert that I put in with that week. I really do find a way to include everything. And, I think that works well regardless of how you use Project Life.

So with that said, I have a big decision to make .. and I have to make it soon.

Photo-per-day or Week-at-a-time???? I’d love to hear the thoughts of other project lifers!

(Right now I’m still taking a photo per day so I’m safe either way!)

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Posterity App Captures Quotes

May 4, 2012 by admin

I have a lot of apps on my iPhone … a lot. Many. Pages worth. Really.

I have so many apps that I actually forget what I have and find myself sometimes saying “I wish there was an app for ‘that’.” When, in fact, there i

s an app AND I actually have it on my phone, but it’s lost in the sea of folders.

I’m going to try and do better.

But, last week, I was introduced to a new app called Posterity and it’s not going in a folder. In my world, you’re in the ranks with Pinterest and Facebook when you aren’t in a folder, so let that give you an idea of the significance that I think this app will have in my world of family memory keeping.

Forever, I’ve been keeping track of the funny things that my kids say. I had a time where I logged them via email, but truthfully – was falling down on the job. That’s when my amazing friend, Cherrell, gave me the gift of a lifetime: A children’s quote journal. I’ve done really well with keeping up with it. Honestly, it’s a treasure and between the journal and Project Life, I don’t think I’ve missed too many zingers.

With that said, what a God-send this would have been (and will be) for catching all the quotes that you don’t ever want to forget. Posterity’s interface is super easy to use – here’s a brief overview:

For me, I think $1.99 for this app is a steal. With each quote, I have the option of adding a pic, typing in the quote, and adding the date. There is also a timeline feature, so keeping them in order is easy!

Posterity has a Facebook page – be sure to follow them to get updates on how the app advances.

PS – I wasn’t paid or contacted at all about Posterity for this post. I just think it’s a super cool app that will be useful in memory keeping. 

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Project Life – Week 17

May 1, 2012 by admin

This is my third year doing Project Life. I absolutely can not imagine ending this project. We all enjoy looking back through the binders – it’s a legacy-building endeavor if ever their was one.

Be sure to visit Jessica at The Mom Creative to get inspiration for your own Project Life.

Here’s what we were up to this week:

 

 

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Project Life – Week 8

Mar 6, 2012 by admin

This is my third year doing Project Life. I absolutely can not imagine ending this project. We all enjoy looking back through the binders – it’s a legacy-building endeavor if ever their was one.

Be sure to visit Jessica at The Mom Creative to get inspiration for your own Project Life.

*The past 2 weeks have been c-r-a-z-y to say the least. I have DEFINITELY kept up with Project Life, but I haven’t gotten my lists up here like I would have liked. I’ll catch up you soon!!!

Here’s what we were up to this week:

 

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Project Life – Week 5

Feb 7, 2012 by admin

This is my third year doing Project Life. I absolutely can not imagine ending this project. We all enjoy looking back through the binders – it’s a legacy-building endeavor if ever their was one.

Be sure to visit Jessica at The Mom Creative to get inspiration for your own Project Life.

*The past 2 weeks have been c-r-a-z-y to say the least. I have DEFINITELY kept up with Project Life, but I haven’t gotten my lists up here like I would have liked. I’ll catch up you soon!!!

Here’s what we were up to this week:

Piper took part in the JUMP convention in Houston. It’s an all-star line up of teachers that come together to do a weekend convention. It was fabulous and will be getting it’s own post next week. Stay tuned

As a part of the layout this week, I’m using a 6×12 page protector with some favorite photos from the weekend:

The high school that I attended in Kentucky is having a winter guard again … for the first time since I was a junior in high school. It makes my heart happy. The director, a personal friend of mine, posted this picture on Facebook & I had to steal it. The kids in this small town need an arts emphasis like this. It was life-changing for me!

Don is working hard on getting the stensil on the back wall of our bedroom finished. I’m so in love with it already! Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration.

The 100th day of school: Piper’s class had to dress like they were 100 years old and Avery’s class didn’t do anything, but he and another great friend dressed the part anyway. I wrote Avery’s name 100 times on a shirt!

Piper was Mrs. Tammy’s model for the “how-to” lesson on hair and make-up for dance competitions.

Since my phone is always handy – I’ve started taking a picture of my navigation screen to remember what songs I want to buy! LOL. It’s the little things, isn’t it?

FOR SAFETY REASONS & PRIVACY OF OTHER FRIENDS … I’M LEAVING OFF MY PICTURE FROM FEBRUARY 4.

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Project Life – Week 2

Jan 17, 2012 by admin

This is my third year doing Project Life. I absolutely can not imagine ending this project. We all enjoy looking back through the binders – it’s a legacy-building endeavor if ever their was one.

Be sure to visit Jessica at The Mom Creative to get inspiration for your own Project Life.

Here’s what we did – January 8 – 14:

 

 

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