Disclaimer: There are affiliate links in this post. Thanks!

I know, I am a bit early, but are you working on Christmas yet? I am having THE hardest time figuring something out for parents/grandparents. Does anyone else have that problem?? I have come to the conclusion that they really just love pictures, mainly of my kids {their grandkids} The nice thing about Blurb, is that instead of having to spend a ton of time and money on scrapbooking, they have a Blurb Gift Center, that has tons of ideas, with just a few clicks of a button!

Blurb makes it super easy too. You just add in your pictures and text, and then order! If you have a new baby and are far away from family {or even if you are nearby!} A Blurb Baby Book is perfect! Right now we live pretty far from both families, and both sets of parents are constantly asking to see more pictures and videos. Wouldn’t it be fun if they could have  a book to look at when they are thinking about their sweet kids and grandkids?

Another cool option are their Family History Books. How neat would it be to put one together for your parents or grandparents? Both of my families are way into that, and I just adore that idea! And maybe if you are a Parent or Grandparent you could do that for your children! I would love to have one myself, and you could make one book and send it to all of your kids!

And if neither of those really fit what you are trying to gift to family or friends, maybe a cookbook is more your style. The Blurb Food Books, are just gorgeous! I love how they turn out and how you can share treasured recipes {or ones that you keep getting asked to share!} What better way to share that a neat cookbook for Christmas?

There really is an option for pretty much everyone on your list {even the crazy hard ones that have everything!} Share a bit of yourself this Christmas with one of the Blurb Books, created by you! Okay you have your ideas ready? I have some coupons to share with you!

1. Save 20% when you spend $40 or more on print books at Blurb
When you use the coupon code: MORESAVINGS

**Offer valid through November 11, 2013 (11:59 p.m. local time). Valid for printed books only. A 20% discount is applied toward your product total with a minimum order of $40. Maximum discount is USD $100 or CAD $100 off product total. This offer is good for one-time use, and cannot be combined with volume discounts, other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders.

2. Save $25 when you spend $100 or more on print books at Blurb
When you use the coupon code: EARLYSAVINGS

**Offer valid through November 11, 2013 (11:59 p.m. local time). Valid for printed books only. A $25 discount is applied toward your product total with a minimum order of $100. This offer is good for one-time use, and cannot be combined with volume discounts, other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders.

Happy Book Making!!

Traci

The post Christmas Gifts for Parents and Grandparents {with Blurb!} appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

So as a little background on our family, I have 5 siblings

And my husband has 6 siblings.

We have 10 sibling in laws.

And together have 36 nieces and nephews.

And we don’t live by any of them.

They all live on the West Coast, and we are still a good two day drive {or more} from them. I wanted to start a tradition that helped us to be able to feel connected to everyone individually, and so I started sending a birthday card to our siblings and their spouses, and their kids, and of course our parents. It’s a lot to remember, and I DEFINITELY cannot remember them all off the top of my head, so I made one of these to help out.

It is a birthday calendar, and absolutely LOVE it! I got this at a craft store on sale one time, and just scrapbooked a sweet little picture on the front of each month… You can find a similar one here.

It was pretty simple to put together, but I also wanted to share some other cute ideas with you that I found!!

Isn’t that the Cutest! There is a whole tutorial on Poppies at Play.

And I LOVE all the cute colors on this! She gives you a tutorial AND the paint colors, too! Check it out Here!

This Calendar by Jordy is amazing! You can get her free printable for the calendar, too! Thanks Jordy! Check out her tutorial Here…

Lauren from the Thinking Closet has this SUPER Cute Chalkboard birthday calendar, almost makes me want to make a new one, but I already have too many projects! Check it out Here!

And Last but not least this super creative Birthday Calendar on a Clipboard! Super sweet and decorative! Check out the tutorial on Infarrantly Creative! They also have free printables for the months!

So are you feeling so creative and ready for this now? Okay, I know, 36 nieces and nephews is a bit daunting, but when you take it month by month, it’s really not so bad.

This is how I do it.

Every month I run to the Dollar Store. {sometimes once every few months if I stock up} And I just pick out cards that will go with a lot of different people. So a bunch of nephew cards, Nieces cards, sister cards, brother cards, and some everybody cards. I get a bunch, I do NOT plan for each family member when I am at the store. I just grab a bunch. At the dollar store, the cards are .50 cents! So I can get a lot for a little bit of money AND they come with envelopes! I think it would be fun to make my cards someday, but for the sake of time, I buy the cards.

Then, at the end of every month, I have a habit of going through my cards and matching them to everyone on my birthday calendar for the next month. I write a note on them, and have my little boy draw a picture on it, or draw his little hand on it and my daughter does the same. Then I have my husband write on them when he has a chance. Then I seal them, address them, and set them up in my “junk box” on my counter. I also have my birthday calendar displayed where I can see it daily, so that I can double check if I need to send out a card or not. I usually send out cards a 4-7 days in advance depending on how far away they are.

Can I tell you, that I definitely feel closer to our family as we write on their cards? I love being able to think of reasons each family member is special and remembering that for their special day. I love that my brother in law told me he got a card from us, and his own parents forgot his birthday {okay, I am not happy they forgot, but glad he felt remembered on his birthday!} I have gotten a lot of thank yous, and “that really meant a lot!” which isn’t why I do it, but I know everyone loves getting a letter in the mail. I know my children love getting any sort of mail, so I hope the kids love it, too!

It’s funny, I was buying my cards, and the cashier said “You know, I used to have an Aunt like you. Remembered every birthday, it was awesome.” and I said “And you still remember her and that, right!?” Haha he sure did

I hope this has inspired you in some small way to stay connected to those you love, whether far away or not! I am sure they would love a little note on their birthday Let me know if you have any questions!

Traci

The post Remembering Birthday’s to stay Connected to Loved Ones {And some DIY Birthday Calendar’s!} appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

I swear that when little ones are around, there is really no point in cleaning. Every time I clean up one thing, two more things find their way out into the middle of the room. It's a never ending battle, one that I constantly lose. I have a 2 year old, a one year old, and I babysit a few other kids. Sometimes there are as many as five kids in my house under the age of three. It. is. crazy. And messy. We do pretty good until lunch time comes around. I sometimes feel like I'm just chasing after kids and their toys. I try not to stress about it too much because the kids are having fun and making memories, even if messes are made in the process. But, after lunch time, all heck breaks lose. I feed the kids four sandwiches between the five of them and somehow about six sandwiches worth of bread crumbs on the floor. At times like that, it's really handy to have a nice vacuum to clean up all those little crumbs for me. 

If you're looking for some awesome cleaning tips, check out that article.

BISSELL is one of my favorite vacuum brands. I have had two different BIenter to winSSELL vacuums and have loved both of them. The BISSELL vacuums have some awesome features, such as: 

• a 27 foot cord
• no loss of suction or sealed system 
• one step removable pod for portable cleaning
• long-stretch hose
• lightweight
• swirl steering for manuverability 
• adjustable handle for easy use and storage
• 12 inch foot for stability 
• large capacity dirt cup

+

These vacuums are powerful, but lightweight. They are easy to get in and out of cleaning closets without being a huge hassel. 

Go check out the BISSELL facebook page and enter to win some of their awesome prizes. 

The post Cleaning Up After Little Ones With BISSELL appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

Is anyone else out there a journal-er? I LOVE journaling, I really enjoy watching myself grow as a person, and be able to look back and see and remember things and feelings and thoughts, that I would otherwise just forget. I love remembering the little things, not EVERY little thing, but some of the little things.

And, being married, I love to write, often, all the big and little things I love about my husband. So that I am always focusing on the good, and remembering how wonderful he truly is.

And, having kids… I want so savor every minute. I am CONSTANTLY told that they grow up fast, and it scares me. I don’t want to forget or not have documented their sweet faces, and the incredibly innocent things they say. All the little things that I love, I want to remember, and again focus on all the good that comes with being a mother, even if sometimes it is hard. Journaling helps me to focus on the good, and remember all the little things I will miss so dearly.

I am going to share {in a few posts} How I document our little family life together. This is basically how I do it, and I will go into more details later…

1. I blog. That is how I journal. I know there are a lot of other ways, but I appreciate blogging because I can keep it private and allow only certain people to look at my blog. It gives me the privacy I want, and gives me a place to document our little family life. I choose this as my personal way to journal, but I know others use facebook, wordpress, your own notebook! However! Just find your thing and stick to it. Find a rhythm that keeps you regular, maybe that has more than one positive aspect. We live very far from family, so my blog serves as a way that I can let Grandma’s and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Brothers, Sisters in touch, and seeing cute pictures of my kids without having to do too much work. I update periodically, and they can look periodically. I really feel that it keeps us connected to our families, and am grateful for those who also do blogs so I can keep up on their lives, too!

2. I take a lot of pictures. I am not a great writer, but I hope that in a way, my picture can speak louder than my words. I do NOT post/blog about every picture I take. I pick a few that I want to remember, and post about those.

3. I take notes all day everyday. Not tons and tons, but just here a little, there a little. I will have a little document on my iPhone/Ipad/iPod touch or just a notebook, and whenever my little one says or does something funny, I write it down. I don’t blog right then, I just write things down. Funny conversations/phrases/habits/faces/etc. Then after about a month, I do a post just on funny things I want to remember. I do not remember everything, but I hope to be able to document a few of the things to be able to look back on and remember and have my children remember when they ask me what they were like as a baby, 1 year old, 3 year old, etc.{Check back on a post on this, too!}

4. I make collages. Like I said before I take A LOT of pictures, but I want them to be organized, and be able to fit them better in a book and save myself some time when I make the actual book, so I will post my pictures in a collage.  I am also the most indecisive person on the planet, so I throw 5 pictures into a collage instead of having to decide on one At times I will just post one picture, but for the most part, I do collages, and it saves me a LOT of time when book making time comes around. {Check out my collage post coming up in a few days!}

5. I get my books printed once a year from Blurb.com. I have actually tried a LOT of different places who create photobooks, and these guys are my absolute favorite {price, quality, service/etc.}  {Check out my post tomorrow to learn more about printing your books and why I adore Blurb.}

6. I get a book printed for each of my children also, starting from when they are born. My little boy was born in 2010, so he will get a copy of every book from that year on. I know some people think it would be annoying to have 18 years of books, but I think it will be a treasure. I debated a long time how to do our books, if I should do just pictures of each child individually and make separate books, but decided that I would do one book each year, for everyone. Saving me time, and I think siblings like to read about each other, too. I really hope that my children enjoy this someday. They sure do love looking through them now!

7. Lastly, make a plan for your family yearbook that YOU think and KNOW is doable. That even when you get busier, you can keep up on. Right now I only have 2 children. I know I will have more, and wanted a system that I knew I could keep up with even if I have 10 kids! {I will not have that many, but I like to exaggerate!} Find a System that you like, and go with that. Find what YOU personally have time for. If you only have time for 2 posts a month, that is OKAY. It will be worth it! And Maybe you don’t take pictures, no worries! I bet you are a great writer, just write things out!

I am excited to expound on this a bit for you! I hope this inspires you a bit and helps you with some ideas on creating your own family yearbooks!

Happy Journaling!

Love,

Traci

The post Introduction to Family Yearbooks {Traci Style} appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

Can I start off by saying having your husband gone and taking a snapshot of yourself is a lot harder than you think! Haha!

Okay, for real though. I got to try out a really fun product! The company is BA STAR.

Disclaimer: I received a product as compensation for this review. All opinions expressed are my own. 

They are a make up company that specializes in Dance and Cheer makeup. So, you may ask why, being a mother of two, I thought I could pull such a product off? Well, I live in a crazy humid place. It has been 107 degrees for a month {Even at night!!} And my make up just drips off of my face. So I thought to myself, self, I need a stronger eyeshadow. Why not one that is for dancers and cheerleaders who sweat a ton and still look amazing!? I was able to try their Stardust Mineral Shadow in Deep Plum.

Here are the results: BEFORE

AFTER!

Just a little bit of sparkle! I did a little more of a mellow version of what they have on their site, but loved it! I tried their goo that goes on underneath the shadow, too, and it works wonders! A great way to get the shimmer to stay! I didn’t use any other shadow with it, so you could see how JUST this shadow looks, but I think it will be fun to layer with other colors!!

They have a lot of fun things on their website, including whole make up kits and a chart to show you how to put it on! For only $25 dollars! That is amazing! They have a lot of fun make up accessories and really reasonably priced products. I think this would be fun for anyone in the family to try and use. You can do more dramatic looks, or something simple.

As for if they work in super hot sweating conditions, I would say YES. This makeup will last you through a workout, or whatever you are sweating through! The only con is, the glue that you put underneath. I am not a huge fan. It works REALLY well, but kind of feels yuck on my eyelids. Just so you know. It works REALLY well, as I said before, but, doesn’t feel great on your eyelids. Just do you know. But it sure does do the job!

They also send out free samples! Go check out their website and be a star Teehee.

Traci

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. 

The post BA STAR Make Up Review! appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.