Controlling the art project overload!

By now, all of our school-aged kiddos are back to the grind. Today marked Aubrey's 6th day of school and already, our fridge has been overloaded with artwork!

Inspired by a post made by Adriana over at Stories Of A Happy Mom, I decided to research ways to save it. I find myself to be a super sentimental mama and if I don't find a way to manage this, we are going to need a room dedicated to art projects.

She suggested this really cool sounding app called "ArtKive", which allows you to snap photos of your kids' projects and then archive them by child, age, year, and can even share them with family. I definitely like this idea, because like most people I don't go anywhere without my phone in my pocket, so it's super easy and convenient to just snap a picture as I'm going through her daily communication folder and then upload it when I have a free minute on my lunch break or when I'm relaxing at the end of the day.

Another great option I've seen floating around is to take photos of the artwork (either with your phone or a camera if you want better quality) and upload them to Shutterfly or another photo sharing website and create photo books! I always seem to be seeing codes for a free 8x8 book through Shutterfly (or if you are like us and have a younger child who is in diapers, you can use Pampers Rewards Points from diapers/wipes and redeem them on a free book).

If you have extra time on our hands (ha! Extra time! What is that?!), scrapbooking is also a great option. I used to love scrapbooking with my sister. She made scrapbooks for her boys  and I couldn't wait to have kids of my own to make them scrapbooks! I got as far as making Aubrey one for her first birthday and haven't picked up any supplies since. Our walk in closet is half craft supplies that I just don't have the time to do. Someday...

Or... if you DO have the extra space and really want to hang on to all of the artwork your kid brings home but just don't know how to display it without making your house look like a kid's art museum, you could upload photos to your computer and use a digital picture frame that plays a slideshow, and just put organize the artwork into bins and store it wherever you'd like.

How do you store your child's artwork? 

Friday Favorites!

We have officially wrapped up our first full week of school. No carpool lane for 2 days! Yes! Aubrey is really loving school. We have our first open house to attend on Monday night and we are excited to go and get to know her teacher better and see more of her classroom. 

My favorites for the week:

1. V by Maroon 5

My favorite boys are back with a new album! My Adam Levine obsession is no secret and has been in effect for about 10 years so I was pumped when they announced a new album was in the works. I preordered the album bundle, which came with the CD, postcards that are going to be promptly hung up in my cubicle, a presale access code for their tour, and an MP3 download so I could download the album as soon as Tuesday hit (I ended up downloading it at 1:30 in the morning when I got home from work and listened to it twice before hitting the hay. Whoops). I'm hoping to score great seats for the show! 

My favorite songs on the album are Sugar, Sex and Candy (yup - a cover of Marcy Playground!), In Your Pocket and Shoot Love. But the whole album is amazing!

2. Facebook yard sale groups

I scored this adorable polka dot cardigan, as well as a fleece Gap zip up for her for the cooler weather, for $5 total. If you aren't a part of your city's yard sale group, get on it. In the past I have also scored a grill for $50, a $280 area rug for $30, and an umbrella stroller for free. All in great condition!

3. International Delights Coldstone Creamery Sweet Cream Iced Coffee

Well that was a mouthful. I love grabbing a carton of ID iced coffee to stick in the fridge at work. It saves me a trip to grab coffee on my lunch breaks, and also saves some money. This flavor is really good. I always tend to add some milk to any of the flavors because I find them very sweet, but this one wasn't too bad!

4. Jamberry Nail Wraps!

A friend of mine asked if I wanted to host an online Jamberry party. She sent me some samples to put on, which I was a bit skeptical about because I have always bitten my nails. But I said sure, why not?. The wraps lasted about 5 days because as a first time user, my application was a little sloppy and I didn't push my cuticles back like the instructions stated. But they still looked amazing even after cleaning out my car and my house. AND! I haven't bitten my nails in a week and am seeing growth! If you want to try out Jamberry, you can order through my online party here! (Make sure you choose my party at checkout. It is closing on Sunday) They are buy 3 sheets, get 1 free and you can get up to 3-4 applications with one sheet. The above are my favorite nails that are in the new fall/winter catalog that just debuted. How adorable are the ugly sweater nails?! They also had Thanksgiving and Halloween nails that were super cute.

Our weekend will be spent making a Wizard of Oz birdhouse at Home Depot tomorrow morning, attending Aubrey's BFF's birthday party tomorrow afternoon, and then just relaxing. Hope everyone else's weekend is fun!

One on one

Aubrey has officially been in school for a week. To commemorate this special occasion, she was sent home with her very first fundraising magazine! I couldn't believe how fast they get into that, but I suppose it makes sense.

The first couple of days were rough. Lots of tears from Addie when we dropped Aubrey off at school and the crankiness continued until we went and picked her up. 

But Addie and I, we are slowly getting into the swing of things and I am so enjoying getting alone time with my sweet baby, even if it's only for a few hours a day. Since day one, it was the three of us home during the day. Which was amazing, of course.. but this alone time is just what we needed.

This week consisted of:

Going to the park and having the whole playground to ourselves (and Donald Duck, of course)

Stopping for "coffee" (aka water for Addie)

Having munchkins at Nana's house

Having munchkins at Nana's house

As well as playtime at the library and walking around the mall and just letting her lead the way (Boy did she love that).

Next week I think I'm going to trying to throw a couple of gym sessions into the mix. (I really need to lose some weight!) and maybe try to establish a weekly routine.