I just read the cutest story. A stranger asked to take a picture of a mom with her restless brood. This stranger wanted the mom to preserve the everyday things in life. Read it here. It got me thinking (again) how important this is. We scrap a lot of good times, some of us scrap the bad times. I sometimes take a selfie on a particularly rough day to later remind myself that I got through it. What about the stuff in the middle, the mundane, the everyday? Lets be real, how many tantrums happened while you were trying to take a family photo? What did it take to finally get 5 minutes of peace of quiet? What did you have to do when your kid only told you about the science project when it was due the next day? The above story made such a good point, "She doesn't miss what made the day hard, but she misses what made them sweet". Let's stop and validate what we go through on the day to day. A lot of us don't give ourselves credit for the little things we do, and those things add up. Those little things, most likely, will be different little things through time. Let's document those little things to remind ourselves of what we've accomplished! I did this page for MOC 2017. @bestcee's challenge was to take a pic at 8am. My plan to take a pic of us all ready to go out the door did not happen as planned. But I have to say, I love how it all turned out. That time my child put a banana on his head to get me to stop & laugh, during a really rough morning.
This is my favorite part of doing Ali Edwards' Week in the Life. I don't normally actually scrap the photos I get as a mini album (oops!) but I definitely get everyday photos I wouldn't take otherwise & then scrap those. I took this photo during WITL with a timer & I love that I got a snap of our nightly routine (which is often long & drawn out & a gigantic pain!):
I need to capture more everyday photos. Thanks for the reminder and the layout inspiration. Both of your layouts are awesome @jesskab and @LeeAndra !!!1
I read that the other day and loved it! I adore the idea that it's the little things we'll miss. I loved seeing all the different 8am/8pm times people shared. Just tonight, dh and I were talking about how one day we won't be stepping on Lego everyday and we'll miss it. But until then, this is everyday. This is an everyday struggle at my house. In this photo, it's army guys. This week it's been Legos. Either way, it seems like no matter how often we clean up the loft, it's still covered in toys and imagination.
I think this is one of the reasons that I do PL and continue to keep up with it. I really love capturing the little details of every day life, the things that might be forgotten over time. I love that story! Thanks so much for sharing it!
I love this! And am stealing it to help me not get too annoyed with toys everywhere. ....it's imagination! !! Thank you!
Jess, you're so right. We are hard on ourselves, and we do deserve to remember the good instead of focusing on the hard. Thanks for sharing the story and your LOs here!
Such a good reminder. I take many "event" pictures and forget the everyday! I also slack on actually scrapping those pictures too. I have to figure out a way that will work for me to incorporate this more. Thanks, Jess!
I used to be so much better at scrapping those random moments and things the kids say or do that are unique to that exact time in their life because I know I'll forget them later in life. Those type of pages are almost always my favorites when I flip back through my scrapbook. My biggest problem lately is that I am so far behind that I tend to hit the high spots in my effort to get caught up. I do keep a list in an excel spreadsheet where I note random things that I'd like to capture. Sometimes they end up in my end of the month "misc" pages that I do off all the things that I don't want to forget, but I don't have time to do a whole page for them. I capture things like the prices of gas, what time the kids are going to bed, what they like to watch on TV, etc.
Your son is just adorable Jess. I love that he did that and is that kind of kid. You are smart to scrap/photo and cherish that gift of his. Beautiful post, beautiful pages (all of you!) and such a great reminder! Love this!
Thanks for the reminder. I know I take for granted the everyday moments and before long the girls will all be out of the house and it will be just me, hubby and the pets. I need to make more of an effort to get the everyday stuff documented.
I wish I had some of those everyday moments from my children's childhoods. Back in those days with the cost of film and processing, I rarely took that kind of shot.
The majority of my photos are everyday photos. They tend to go into my project life album, which I don't share here since it is a traditional album (physical product from big chain stores). And I treasure those photos and albums - even if I'm currently several months behind this year. LOL! It will get caught up when the kids go back to school!!! But I do try to scrap some digital layouts from those photos. This one is older but still one of my favorites (detailing the struggle of trying to get that family photo - haha!).
I love these type of photos & layouts! Such a great reminder! Thank you! I have one a layout of one of our family photos during a photoshoot that was an outtake- but turns out it's one of my favorites!
These have always been my favorite types of pages, both to create and look at later on. Come to think of it, it's why I started doing Project Life - so many little moments, everyday things I want to celebrate and remember! Funny thing is, now that I do PL religiously, I don't make as many other "traditional" layouts of everyday moments and I miss that! It's tough to find that balance! Here's a few of my favorite "everyday moments" pages:
