Misc

As our baby gets closer and closer to turning 1, I have realized so many things about which products and items we love and ones I could live without!  For me, diapers are diapers.  As long as they fit him, they all seem to work just fine.  Right now, I'm using Huggies because I bought them at Costco!  Love that store!  When those are done, I'll probably buy Costco brand.  

One of the few items I will be getting rid of is this Summer Infant Right Height Center Tub:

  

 When I registered (which I suggest doing with a very experienced friend, seriously girls you know your husbands do not enjoy it as much as a girlfriend would, so make it a girl day and treat yourself to a pedi afterward), I saw this and thought how perfect it would be!!  I thought the tub would be wonderful for when Abe is almost sitting up on his own.  Plus the stool can stay attached to the tub, keeping baby higher and closer to you.  

However, I can honestly say this is probably the least item used.  I loved the infant bath part until Abe wanted to sit upright, then I used the tub part, maybe twice.  It was a pain for me to fill it every time and he wasn't quite able to sit up by himself so it was easier for me to just hold him with one hand while I bathed him very quickly.  The stool would be perfect but I already have a stool in the bathroom for our 4 year old to use when he washed his hands.  Also, it takes up a lot of room in our bathroom closet, so I am now storing it in Abe's room as a laundry basket.  

So, what I will do instead, if we have another infant in the house someday, is buy something similar to Baby Under the Sea Sponge:

  The first item I think of that I LOVE is the Diaper Depot:

 

I bought this after Abe was born (with a gift card!) and have loved it since day 1!  I see now that there is a bigger one, which would be nicer but I don't know if it would fit as nicely on Abe's changing table.  Either way, totally recommend this for keeping your diapers handy, butt creams, lotions and other items organized and close by!

Those are my top choices for items I would not recommend and absolutely LOVE!!!  Which items do you LOVE and could live without?

It's been fun for me to look back over the last few years and see how my photography business has grown!  I have always loved having a camera in my hand, documenting everything!  Although, when I shot with film, I always got prints because I was so anxious to see how they turned out!  

Now, when I take pictures for myself, they sit on my computer, sometimes edited, most of the time forgotten about it.  It makes me so sad to know that I have all of these memories but they are only on my computer, not on my walls or even in an album!

I encourage all families to print their pictures as soon as you get access to your gallery or get the disk in the mail!  If you don't, you never will!

It's so crazy to me to know how many clients never get prints.  Why?  I know why, you get busy or have to put your money toward something more important.  I totally understand!!  I still have yet to make prints from our November session...so sorry Kelli!  I love them, just haven't had time!!

Although, what is more important than a simple print order of a few 4X6's?  And what's even more awesome than giving gifts of photos?!  There are so many neat ideas to do with photos now a days, that's why I'm now offering 1 high resolution, copyrights released disk with all of my sessions!!!  You still have the option to print through me, however now you have no excuse to print your pictures, I do recommend printing them through a good quality lab.  I know that we are all busy and I'm sure Wal-mart has gotten better quality prints however what you are showing your friends and family is my work and if it doesn't print nicely, it's going to look bad on my part.  So, PLEASE take a few extra minutes and ensure you get good quality prints for your precious memories!

With all of that said, if you are ever interested in a photography session through me please check out my website here!  There's nothing I would not love to document!!

This is my very first senior session back in 2007!

And the most current session from fall of 2011!

Enjoy your weekend! 

 

 

 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Menu Planner

Being a SAHM, I don't use this planner as often as I used to; however, I've volunteered (i call it begging, lol) to help my old work out for a little while!  Using this keeps me organized and my sanity at an average level so when I get home from the office I can snuggle with my daughter instead of worrying about what's for dinner!  Also it helps my husband, the lucky one who gets to stay home with Maddie, our daughter. Being very fortunate, we are self employed as crop farmers and my husband works only a good 4 months out of the year.  So in other words, we are very blessed we don't need to find a sitter when little things like this happens!

What you will need for the menu planner:

*Paper of your choice (of course, I used cupcakes)

*7 Clothespins

*Hot glue gun (to glue clothespins on)

*Laminated sheet for the base (optional)

*Magnet strips (for the back)

*Sharpie marker (or whatever you like)

I used a gift tag punch to make the dinner cards, and I used white cardstock paper.  On the back of each card is the items needed for that dinner.  That way, I don't have to brainstorm what I need--I can just write it down on my gerocery list! I also write everything in pencil just in case I want to change something :-).  It really makes it creative for dinners; I have about 100 dinner cards!