What I’ve realized though is that these are my memories and my photographs, and whatever way I chose to share them will be unique and created with passion by ME!  Giving yourself permission to just get started and make things that are a reflection of you feels great, and you must smile at your small successes.  It is great to seek inspiration from the work of others, as long as you can still look at your own work with a smile.

Those of you who are familiar with Project Life will notice that I am using an older version.  This binder and all of it’s fun contents have been in my project graveyard for…a long time.  Time to put those products to use and make a treasure for our family!

You’ll notice two baby pictures above – we are so excited to be welcoming a new member to the family in July!  Oh, and that’s two pictures of the SAME baby.  Since we don’t know the gender, I made one blue and one pink.

I used different tags and cardstock to make some of my own elements.  I only had 6 days of journaling, so these two sentiments filled in the remaining spots.

The picture below was taken with Instagram, and I learned how to print it here.  I think these pictures are so fun and different, and they make the layout much more interesting.

It was very easy to add quick embellishments right on top of the pictures to dress them up just a little!

With very limited time to scrapbook, I am going to make my project life layouts a little more “scrappy” and focus my efforts mostly on Project Life.  This way, I can feel the satisfaction of having one complete project.  If I have time to do other normal layouts, that will be a bonus!  I had so much fun working on the first week, and I can’t wait to start the next one.  Key word: start!

I was thrilled to recently help host a “Baby Book Brunch” for one of my great friends.  One of my crafty contributions was a garland that would hang above the head table.  Instead of a banner, I decided to make mini storybooks out of scrapbook paper and an old book.  I first selected pieces of scrapbook paper that would compliment one another:

I cut each paper to make the “cover” of each storybook:

I then took an old book (that came from a pile passed down to us).  It was in disrepair, so it made a perfect candidate.  I cut the pages slightly smaller than the cover:

With the pieces all cut, I paired each “cover” with a “story” and stitched each book with my sewing machine.

As I was getting ready to string the story books onto some twine, I thought the decoration needed something more.  I decided to add these butterfly chipboard accents in between the books:

The finished product looked so quaint dangling above the table.  The guests were very complimentary, and it was one of many details that made the shower so special.

I love the trend of garlands and banners.  They are everywhere, and I think they easily personalize any party.  Do you have a handmade garland to share?  Leave a link in the comments, so I can come check it out!

One of my favorite DIY home decor blogs is House of Smiths.  She hasn’t let me down with her Christmas inspiration:

You can read about how she made the shelves here and if you ARE hosting Thanksgiving and want to see how her shelves looked for Thanksgiving head here. 

My other big source of inspiration has come from the Pottery Barn Kids Catalog.  I NEVER buy anything from it, but I am so drawn to the pictures.  The children just look so happy and everything matches!  Thankfully, some brilliant people invented Pinterest, so I felt like I could add it to my “collection” without entering the credit card number.

If you haven’t heard of Elf on the Shelf, it is a magical way to encourage good behavior throughout the holiday season.  It was written by a mother and a daughter in my area, and I can’t wait to start the tradition with Mr. Cheeks this year.

I’m very ready to decorate, are you??

October came and went, and like the quickly changing colors on this leaf, it was hard to keep up!  I was so enjoying my Simple Solutions posts, but something had to give, and it surely wasn’t going to be my family.  The day job seems to find it’s way right to the top of the priorities list, whether I really want it to or not.

The cool thing about blogging, though, is you just jump right back in and pick up where you left off.  You brush off that keyboard, upload those photos, and start sharing again.  This is such an exciting time of year to share things!

Life is busy crazy.  We are always going somewhere.  And would you believe that my little toddler gets hungry in the middle of my marathon Saturday errands?  The nerve.

As much as he loves “Chicken Fay” (Chick-Fil-A), we can’t afford the scrumptious nuggets every weekend.  Nor can his thighs afford the fries.  Since Mr. Cheeks is potty trained, I don’t carry a diaper bag anymore and try to streamline what we bring with us.  I discovered a great company called Kids Konserve that offers reusable products for children.  We aren’t allowed to bring food to Mr. Cheeks’ school, so the lunch bag wasn’t the right solution.  Then I discovered the Snack Pak, and thought it would be the perfect compromise.

Because I love my readers (and they had a great sale!), I ordered two!  When the Snack Pak arrived, I was immediately pleased with the quality.  It is a very simple idea – a drawstring back, leak-proof stainless steel container, cloth napkin, and a reusable sandwich “kozy”.  There is a Name Tag attached to the bag also.

The bag is small enough to bring anywhere, but still large enough to also fit a diaper or a small toy.  I use it frequently at the YMCA childcare, where they require a snack, sippy cup, and an extra diaper.

Interested in having one of these Simple Solutions?  You can enter several times for this one!  Here’s how to win:

1.  Leave a comment below.

2.  ”Like” Addington Mom on Facebook. (Leave a comment below and let me know you did!)

3.  Tweet this: ” Enter to win an @kidskonserve Snack Pak from@AddingtonMom here:http://bit.ly/qFfrjG” (Leave a comment below and let me know you did!)

This giveaway will close at 11:59 pm on Friday, October 21, 2011.  I hope you win!!    This giveaway is now closed.

This post is part of a 31 Day Series called Simple Solutions.

Don’t miss a single solution and the chance to share yours.  Oh, and there may be a few fun giveaways, too.

Read all of the 31 Solutions here.

For this post, I was not given any compensation or free product. This is a quality product that I felt was worth sharing.

The time management strategy that has greatly impacted my life lately is the “2 Minute Action” strategy.

I first read about the idea on Zen Habits, a fantastic blog about simplistic living.  To put it plainly, as you work through your day, if an action will take you 2 minutes or less, you should do it immediately.  The strategy is an integral part of David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

How does this Simple Solution look in real life? Here are several ways I put this strategy into action every day:

• Email.  Instead of reading email and letting it sit in my inbox, if I can answer it in this magical time frame, I do.  Most emails (especially at work) warrant a very short response, so I just type, send, and delete.
• De-Cluttering.  If I can quickly pick up a few things before leaving a room, the house is neat the real cleaning happen faster.
• Phone Calls.  This only applies to phone calls to make or confirm an appointment (or checking on something else quickly).  I use my short commute to get these done.
• Pay a bill.  When I open a bill, I can usually use Online Bill Pay to complete my payment in less than two minutes.  No late bills, and it is off my to-do list!
• Packing Lunch.  As I clean up from dinner, I put a small portion into a plastic container and voila!  Lunch for the next day is made.

Have you tried this little gem?  Does it work for you?

• Moisturize.  This is key to having a fresh face all day long.  Drinking lots of water helps too, but that Diet Coke lures me in every afternoon at about 3 – ughhh!  I just use a simple grocery store moisturizer: 
• Conceal.  Everything.  Hide it.  I like the MAC concealer and its ability to make me look like I slept soundly for 17 hours.  You can read more about my need for/obsession with concealer here.
• Powder/Light Foundation.  Yes, I do live in the south, but I try to get a natural look.  Just a little help making my skin tone more even is sufficient.  Currently, I’m rocking the tried and true green compact:
• Blush.  Adds a little life to the face – now we’re starting to look presentable.  One of my favorites:
• Eyes.  I put a neutral shadow over my whole eye, then a darker shade on the lid, and a lighter one under the brow.  I also use the Bobbi Brown Eye Shadows.  You can customize your palette, and they are really high quality.  My sister introduced me, and I’ve loved these products since then!
• Liner and Mascara.  I use a neutral brown or black liner and black mascara.  Maybe I’m born with it?  Or maybe it’s…
• Lip Color Du Jour.  I am NOT good at remembering lipstick, and I think it is the missing link.  I also play a variety of musical instruments all day, so most times I think, “Why Bother?”

And there you have it.  Quick and easy, and ready for the Schoolhouse Runway.

I love my readers, and I’ve had some new ones lately.  Don’t be shy; share your go-to beauty product below, and I can learn from all of you beauties out there!

This post is part of a 31 Day Series called Simple Solutions.

Don’t miss a single solution and the chance to share yours.  Oh, and there may be a few fun giveaways, too.

Read all of the 31 Solutions here.

The classroom door swings open and I excitedly bound right in.  Eager to see my little boy after a hard day’s work, I rush over to the carpet where the class is entranced in Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  I sit next to Mr. Cheeks, wanting him to know that I am as excited about learning as he is.

The story comes to a close and the teacher looks at Mr. Cheeks and sternly says, “Do you want to tell your Mommy what you did today?”

His gaze is cast on the alphabet carpet and shame is reflected in his bright blue eyes.  ”Threw toy Mommy.”

There is that moment of pause before any words come out of my mouth, and so many emotions flood through me.  I am upset, embarrassed, angry, confused, and unsure of what to do.

When you work and your child is in part being raised by caring teachers in a school, discipline takes on a different dimension.  I often struggle with my son being so young and in a classroom environment five days per week.  Added to the confusing moment of how to handle the situation is a full serving of guilt.  ”What if I didn’t work, and we were at home?”  ”If I was the one consistently with my son, would he act this way?”

While I think that it is completely normal to feel this way, I learned very quickly that as a working mom, you can’t entertain guilt for a second.  It serves no purpose, and is a moot point – at least for the current situation.

Sure, you can reevaluate your circumstances, but in the moment feeling bad about working that day won’t help.

So what did I do?  Echoing the stern tone of the teacher, I asked Mr. Cheeks to show me his weapon of choice, which was a magnifying glass from the science station.  We then used very short sentences to explain that he could have hurt someone and that he needed to apologize.  We quickly left, and had simple consequences at home that helped him understand that trouble at school = trouble at home.  I made sure not to embarass him in front of his friends or the teacher, but let the teacher know that I was fully in support of the classroom rules.

The next day when I picked him up, he couldn’t wait to tell me, “No throw toy Mommy!”.  He was proud to change his behavior and report his success.  It’s all a journey.

This post is part of a series called 31 Days of Simple Solutions, where I share simple things that make life a little easier.

Read the rest of the posts in this series here.

UPDATE:  Congratulations to Gale and Mary S.!!  I will send an email letting you know how to try Farm Rich Foods.  Thanks to everyone for great comments.

There are times when we are so busy; it is impossible to make fresh food.  Life is unpredictable, and having a solution makes these situations manageable.

My toddler is in a stage right now where he doesn’t eat much dinner.  He eats more at other times of the day, so we don’t worry too much about it.  I like to make a bigger dinner for Hubby and I, and sometimes he needs something small.

Recently, I discovered Farm Rich, whose tagline is “always there for moms, with wholesome easy to prepare snacks…” The ingredients looked nutritious, so I decided to try the quesadillas; they seemed to be the perfect middle ground between a snack and dinner.

Wanting to guarantee my success, I added a little mild taco sauce to the plate; toddlers love to dip their food!

Mr. Cheeks is sometimes unsure of new foods, but after a little hesitation, he was hooked!  Just to see how they tasted, I tried them too.  After I found myself eating a few too many bites of his food, I went back to the kitchen to make my own!  They are really the perfect solution for times when it’s just the little guy and me.

Farm Rich offers a variety of quick bites for families that I think most kids would love!

If you are interested in trying them yourself, Farm Rich is offering 2 coupons to my readers for a free product.  Who doesn’t love free food?  Leave a comment below offering your suggestion for quick and easy food, and I’ll pick two winners at random.

This contest will close Tuesday night (10/11/11) at 11:59 pm.  I will announce the winner and send an email on Wednesday, 10/12/2011. This giveaway is now closed!

This is the fifth post in a series called 31 Days of Simple Solutions.

Don’t miss the other Simple Solutions.

Day One: An Introduction

Day Two: Kid’s Birthday Parties on a Budget

Day Three: Batch Cooking

Day Four: Cover it Up! 

Disclaimer: Farm Rich provided me with the food mentioned above as a way of sharing their quality products with moms everywhere.  I review and share products of the highest quality that I feel are suitable for my family and my readers only.

Let’s examine a few scenarios.

• You get invited to a mid-week girls night out, and in addition to catching up on all of the latest gossip, there is a wine tasting… on the house.  The next day, 8 am makes it’s entrance with a sixth grade tuba player needing help making a “good sound”.
• You just settle into bed and fall into that amazing deep sleep.  All of a sudden, noises from the baby monitor wake you up.  Toddler & Mommy bonding time has begun…at 5:45 am…on Saturday.
• The doorbell rings, and better than Santa Claus, in walks a babysitter.  It is time for a long overdue date night with your Hubby, and you have 34.2 seconds to “freshen up” before it’s time to go.
• It’s four o’clock in the afternoon, and the sixth middle school band class of the day is drawing to a close.  Hair has been fiddled with and eyes have been rubbed so many times that I the teacher looks like a boxer after a big defeat.

I’ll be honest.  The only defense against the Zombie look (it’s not the 80′s and I’m not shooting a Thriller video!) is concealer.  The small little container of goodness is my default beauty pick-me-up that never lets me down.

Even in a HUGE hurry, you can dab a little concealer under each eye, and instantly the bags and darks circles disappear are hidden.  My favorite is this one by MAC.

This is the fourth post in a series called 31 Days of Simple Solutions.

Don’t miss the other Simple Solutions.

Day One: An Introduction

Day Two: Kid’s Birthday Parties on a Budget

Day Three: Batch Cooking