About www.JennCampbell.com:
I have always enjoyed "Taking Pictures."
Like many moms, the minute I had my first
child I became obsessed with taking pictures.
But, gosh darn it, they looked nothing like I
had envisioned in my head. At first I thought,
"I need a better camera, I'm going to get a DSLR."
Well, that didn't do it. Turns out it takes a lot
more than a pretty camera. I have learned a lot
and I'm still learning.
The next problem I encountered was, "What am I going
to do with all of the photographs I have accumulated?"
There are a lot of neat photo organizational ideas out there.
I have created some innovative organizational techniques through
lots of trial and error. What works for one person may not work for
another. Often, it is a combination of different methods. So, jump in and
join me on my journey to document my children's childhood!!!
I just have a quick post today. As you can see, my kids are keeping me SUPER busy. 
If you scrapbook at all, you are going to want to check out this great tool. I love my Scotch Pink Advanced Tape Glider & Tape
I use it for all of my scrapbook projects. It is so easy to use and the tape lasts forever.
I don’t scrapbook nearly as much as I used to , but I still keep a scrapbook for each of my kids. This makes my scrapbooking go so much quicker.
Is this the current state of your photographs?
Are you overwhelmed with the number of photographs you have stacked on your desk or thrown in your drawer? Or worse yet, do you have a ton of unprinted pictures sitting on your computer.
I received a comment in Monday’s post about “memory keeping” becoming more of a chore. This really got me thinking. There was a time when I really enjoyed “scrapping” my photographs. My daughter has some gorgeous pages in her scrapbook album.
I love these layouts, but let me tell you, they took forever to plan and implement. Now that I am on child number 3 in four years, I have very little free time (if any). I still want each of my children to have a written and illustrated record of their childhood. I am so thankful that my mother wrote down information about all of my milestones as a young child. I now have this list and reference it with my children.
So, What do you do to get started? Every Wednesday we will take a step towards better organizing our photos/ memories and getting them in an album or scrapbook. As we get busier, the photographs pile up and organizing them becomes more of a chore and less fun. Let’s get things under control so we can enjoy our photographs once more.
For today, let’s start really simple.
1. Start an album from today on. Right now forget about all of those unorganized photos. Let’s make sure we document everything from this point on. I love the albums they have at Exposures. They are a bit pricey. Your local Michaels has a great selection of albums- make sure you use a 40% off coupon to make the deal that much sweeter 
(An album I purchased from Michael’s .)
So, this week decide on what type of album you would like to use for your current photographs. Let me stress again, for this week, Forget about your piles of pictures- only think about today forward!!
Photo Album Links:
Information on the Recollections Collection available at Michaels
Problem: I love to scrapbook, but no longer have as much time to devote to it. However, I want to make sure to record all of my kids’ milestones and information as they grow up. Each of my kids has a scrapbook for the first year. I was very “good” about recording every little Doctor appointment. I made sure to write down the height, weight, and percentile. Eeks, once those babies turned one ,and they graduated to a big kid photo album and scrapbook, I suddenly stopped recording this information. Not good!
Solution: I created a simple 4″x6″ card that I can throw into their photo album with all of the pertinent information. It is so simple! I printed a bunch at MPIX and threw them in my supply cabinet. Now when I get back from a Doctor’s appointment, I fill out my card and throw it in the photo album. I created a blue one for the boys and a pink one for my little girl. I feel so much better knowing that I have a place to record and save this information.
Here is what the boys’ looks like:
What pen do I use? I use a Pigma Micron 05 Pen in black- purchased from Michaels. This is a set of 6 different colors from Amazon-Sakura Pigma Micron Pen Set #05 0.45mm 6/Pkg
Click on the link to download the jpeg for the Blue Dr. Visit Information Card:
Doctor Visit Notes - Boy (197)
Click on the link to download the jpeg file for the Pink Dr. Visit Information Card:
Dr. Visit - Girl - pink (144)
And because my daughter is a nut about purple right now- Click on the link to download the jpeg file for the Purple Dr. visit information card
Dr. Visit girl - purple (136)
I’m noticing a theme in forum and blog posts lately. Us moms are “trying” to focus on what makes us happy. I think it’s great and about time. If mom is happy, the whole family is happy, right? There is even a workshop being offered by Kelly Willette about “Finding Your Joy.” Check it our here:
I think this is a great idea. I would love to be in a few more pictures. Sometimes I’m afraid the kids will look back at their albums and think, “Where the heck was my mom?”
I’ve been trying to figure out what makes me happy. I asked myself, “If I had a whole day to myself, what would I do with that day?” Here’s what I came up with:
1. Sleep in
2. Go for a run without having to push a stroller
3. Take a nice long, quiet shower (with no interruptions)
4. Read a book
Ok, so now it’s 11:00 in the morning and I’m lonely and bored. Let’s face it, I’m used to the chaos and I really think I like it. So now I’d grab my camera and my kids and start taking pictures of my favorite subjects.
CHAOS!!!
…The Perfect Day!
