Happy Friday: An Update

Sorry I have been quiet here this week. So much going on + so little sleep thanks to Adeline = little blogging. Hopefully, I can make up for lost time in this post.

Photo courtesy of Becky Higgins’ blog

1. Project Life
In case you missed the news via Twitter or Facebook – the new Project Life kits are in stock on Amazon. I am getting Colbalt. What design did you choose?

To create a full Project Life album, you’ll need:

1. Binder
2. Core Kit
3. Big pack of pages (I prefer design A)

Everything else is extra. That said, I would recommend:

1. coordinating cardstock
2. 6×12 pages (one large slot)
3. 6×12 pages (6×4 slots)

Next week I will be sharing a big update on my album (since this week got away from me), as well as my approach for 2012 – after three years of doing basically the same thing, I am shaking things up.

2. Christmas cards
I ordered my cards this week (I ordered some from Mixbook using a Groupon I had and some from Shutterfly using a coupon). Matthew will be writing our letter this coming week and the cards should arrive as well. I hope to have the cards mailed by the 20th. In case you haven’t ordered yours yet, here are a few sales (there’s still time!):

• SeeHere.com still is offering 25 free cards with the code 25cards.Shipping on the 25 cards is about $3. If you order 20 (using the same code), shipping is about $1.50.
• Shutterfly: Save up to 40% on Cards with promo code MERRY40 (ends Sunday, 12/11)
• Snapfish is offering 40% off + Free Shipping on all Cards Code: CARDSFS40 (ends Saturday, 12/10)
• Kodak Gallery is offering 20% off site-wide and free shipping on orders over $50.
• Tiny Prints: 20% off + free shipping for all holiday orders of $49+ with the code: HOLBA20 through Sunday (12/11).

Don’t forget, Becky Higgins offers some great free card templates in a variety of sizes, including 4×6. You can use the 4×6 size to get regular prints, which makes photo cards VERY economical. 🙂

3. Christmas shopping
I am done Christmas shopping! This past week I packaged up a bunch of gifts for out of town family and friends. Matthew took half to the post office yesterday and is taking the rest today. He’s such a good guy! I love using fun shipping tape on my boxes. You can usually find some cheap, fun designs at Michaels.

4. Advent celebrating
Our Advent celebrating has been a bit hit or miss. I have been trying to do at least one thing a night. Lighting the candles on our wreath is always the most centering and consistent activity. Elias has really been captivated by Christmas this year. On our way home yesterday, we were talking about why we celebrate Christmas. The end of our conversation went like this:

Mommy: What did the wise men bring Jesus?
Elias: A treasure chest.
Mommy: What was inside?
Elias: Cookies.
Mommy: How about gold? Was there any gold?
Elias: Yeah goldfish!

Tomorrow night we are going to make several ornaments from Truth in the Tinsel. (I love that this book is so flexible. While I thought at first we would do something every night, it hasn’t worked for our family. But that doesn’t mean we still can’t do the activities and have fun together discovering the Christmas story).  I also bought some quick dry clay after being inspired by this post from Lisa Leonard. I think Elias will have a lot of fun with it.

5. Date Night
On Sunday, Matthew and I are going on a double date to see the Rockettes. I have dreamed of seeing the Rockettes since I was a little girl – I am soooo excited!!

6. Baby Food
Adeline had rice cereal for the first time yesterday and she ate it all! We are going to get her used to that for  a few days, then start some fruits and vegetables next week. Like with Elias, I plan to make most of her food. I pulled out my two go-to baby food resources last night (Super Baby Food and Super Foods for Babies and Children) and was reminding myself of the best foods for this age, recipes, etc. I can’t recommend these books highly enough – and you can get them dirt cheap on Amazon.

What’s been going on in your world?

Disclosure: compensated affiliate links used