October 2012 - Page 2 of 2 - The Sunny Side Up Blog

Blogging

10.05.12

Random thoughts on blogging and a question for you

I have been staring at my computer screen for two straight hours now. Granted, I’ve been catching up on recorded shows at the same time which is part of the reason I’m still staring at a blank screen. :) But the other part of the problem – my problem – is that I have so many random thoughts that are all jumbled up in my head lately about blogging and I don’t really know how to share them. So this post will be a bit scattered since at the moment, I am a bit scattered.

When I decided to start a blog four years ago I did it for two reasons. 1- I love to write and take pictures and record memories so I thought it looked like something I would enjoy. 2- I wanted to share pictures of my kids and my life with close friends and family who lived in other areas. So I started a blog. And my family and close friends read it. And aside from sharing what my kids were up to, I also started sharing what I was up to. Because that was fun for me. And I never once thought that people I didn’t know would start to read my blog.

But people I didn’t know started reading my blog.

And those people I didn’t know commented once in a while. And that was exciting too. It was exciting and it was a little scary. I knew I’d never know who was reading and it made me feel a bit vulnerable. For a while I seriously thought about making my blog private because I was sharing so much about my family and kids and life.

For a while I also thought about writing two blogs. One about my family that would be private and one about my projects for anyone who was interested.

But I never separated the two topics. And the reason I didn’t is because I couldn’t. My family is everything to me and everything I do is about them or for them or because I need an escape from them. :) But regardless, it’s all about them.

(picture from a post on toy organization… supposedly)

So I didn’t change anything about my blog and I kept sharing pictures and projects and the funny things the girls would say and the slightly annoying things that Kenny would say and how much I loved it all – even when it was slightly annoying. And during the process I was “meeting” and connecting with all sorts of wonderful people. And it made me love blogging even more. Blogging has been a lot of things to me. A creative outlet, a way to record the little things that I know I’ll soon forget and never want to, motivation to complete projects, an escape from difficult days being a stay at home mom to three wonderful but incredibly active children who leave me feeling a mix of blessed and exhausted at the end of each day, a way to make new friends – most of whom I’ve never met but who I still feel incredibly close to. Blogging has been a huge blessing in my life.

Right now, I need a little direction when it comes to blogging. I am completely scattered. (Did I mention that yet? That I’m feeling a bit scattered lately?) I think my problem is that I have a lot more on my plate than usual with the new house and Kole’s therapy (which we recently bumped up to six days a week because he is showing a lot of progress). I have very little time to do the things I love. When I do find a 15 minute break to work on something for my blog I am completely torn! I have so much I’d love to do and I don’t know which direction to go in. Should I organize something on my list? Decorate the front porch for Halloween? Complete a page in Kole’s scrapbook? Take a picture of what I’m wearing? Share more new house updates?

I will always post about my family and what my kids are up to. Those posts are the heart of my blog and the ones that are the most precious to me. But because I am feeling so scattered lately when it comes to the other hobbies I write about, I would love some direction from you!

So here is a question that I hope you will take a minute to answer: What kind of posts do you enjoy the most?

I’m not planning to change anything about my blog, and like I said, the family stuff will remain the same. It would just help me to hear if your favorite posts are about the new house, organizing, scrapbooking, decorating, fashion, etc. because I love to post about them all and right now I need some direction!

So direct me! :)

I would love to hear from as many of you as possible! I want to get an idea of what the majority of you come here for. Plus it would just make for a really fun weekend. :)

Thank you thank you thank you. Thank you for sticking with me through this post. I know how completely random it was. Thank you in advance for taking a minute to answer my question. And thank you mostly for checking in with me and making Sunny Side Up a part of your routine. I am truly touched each day by the wonderful people who read this blog. Your kindness and support mean so much and like I said, I consider you all friends.

xoxo,

Erin

xoxo, Erin

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Food and Cooking...or lack thereof

10.04.12

Organized Recipes

Ok. I finally organized my recipes. Don’t expect to be blown away. You know me when it comes to cooking!

Which is why for the past few years I have simply thrown all of my recipes into this lovely little red folder titled: Recipes. I know. My creativity with this one is unmatched.

But lately my little red recipe folder wasn’t cutting it. I had no room to add new recipes and papers were spilling out all over my neatly organized kitchen drawer. I can’t have that now can I? :) Finding the recipe I needed was becoming such a pain. But here’s the thing. The reason I have never organized my recipes is because aside from the fact that I hate to cook (which makes me also despise recipes), I have never seen a system that I thought would work for me. I know there are hundreds of ways to organize recipes, but I didn’t want anything that would take too much time (like typing them all up in a binder) and I wanted something that I could easily add to without any work.

Most of my recipes are torn out magazine pages,

handwritten from the kids like this recipe from Addison when she was in pre-school and just learning to write her name. They are print outs from recipe blogs and e-mails from friends…

OR they are typed or handwritten by me and totally trashed from having them out while cooking.

**Banana Bread recipe is here by the way and they are delicious! You can tell I’ve made these a time or two. I keep thinking I need to re-type this, but I kind of like it. Looks vintage, don’t you think? ;)

I wanted something that I could use to easily slip new recipes into their categories without much time or energy on my part.

So remember when I went nuts in Staples over Martha Stewart’s office supplies?

And I bought this lovely little purse organizer?

And then I went back and bought a bigger accordion file…

and I used it to organize all of my home decor inspiration pictures? And I called it Pinterest – old school. Remember that? Well. I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. Those accordion files have worked SO well for me. When my recipe folder started getting too full I knew one of these babies would be a great solution.

So I went back for a third one! Because everyone knows the third times a charm. And everyone also knows that if there is an excuse to go browse through office supplies, you take it. (Ok – maybe not everyone knows that one…)

My recipe categories are:

Salads
Soups
Dips/Appetizers
Marinades
Breakfast
Dinner
Muffins/Breads
Desserts

I know. Super simple. Maybe not the best system for someone who is a major chef, but for me, this is perfect.

It opens so wide – plenty of room to add more categories and recipes once I get into my new kitchen and start cooking up a storm! And by cooking up a storm I mean using the stove at least once a week. (I’ve always been a firm believer in baby steps. What About Bob – have you seen that movie? Personal favorite. Baby steps to the recipes… baby steps to the fridge… baby steps to the stove…)

And of course it closes so nice and compact fitting perfectly into my organized kitchen drawer.

And just to prove I actually DO cook once in a while. This is what we had for dinner last night –

The crock pot and I are the best of friends. I just tossed in some chicken breasts and diced a few potatoes and some onion. Then I sprinkled Parsley on it all because Parsley makes it look like you really know what you’re doing. Made my house smell SO good! My girls were like “mom! what are you making!? it smells so good! is someone coming over?” Then Kenny came home… “mmmm! smells so good, is someone coming over?”

HA! Made me laugh. :)

Nobody was coming over, but we all enjoyed this simple meal (and the smell!) regardless.

Would love to hear how YOU organize your recipes!

xoxo, Erin

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Uncategorized

10.02.12

Q and A (Little girl gifts and getting started organizing)

Another Q&A today! I received this question from a friend of mine:

I am starting to make my Christmas shopping list and would love advice from a mom of little girls. My daughter will be 20 months at Christmas time… what would be a good “girly” gift for her? I have this boy thing down, but no clue on the girls stuff.

Well! Glad you asked! And I’m happy to answer. Especially since we opened the subject of Christmas up yesterday and it seems many of you are like me and ready to start planning early. Fabulous! :) I will be posting more Christmas ideas soon! To answer your question, here are a few things my girls loved at that age (and for years after!) –

Age two and up with little girls is all about pretend!

Tea parties become every day events so pretend food and dishes and tea sets are always a hit.

Dress-ups are HUGE. My girls were in some sort of dress-up every day from age 2 to 5. Usually Costco has fun treasure boxes full of different dresses. And of course – the princess dresses (and heels!) are always favorites. Pretty much anything to do with the princesses will be a hit.

I got this tent for my girls when Addison was around 2 (El was 4) and they still love it. We pull it out every few months.

Don’t forget accessories! Shoes, hats, jewelry. Even if your little one isn’t into this stuff yet, she will be soon! Little girls like to be doing whatever their mommy is doing so things like…

pretend cameras,

pretend ironing boards,

pretend vacuums,

and pretend brooms are all fun Christmas gifts. Apparently they even work for the boys once in a while. Although Kole never believed sweeping was a broom’s true calling. :)

At 20 months, your little one might be a bit small to drive the Barbie Jeep, but she isn’t too small to be a passenger in it! Maybe one of her brothers could take her for a spin until she grows into it? You can set it to a slow speed for really little ones. We got this when Ad was 2 and El was 4 and they LOVED it. I can’t wait to get this baby reved up for Kole once we have a yard! He has no problem with girl hand me downs. It’s all he knows! No shame around here. Of course that might change once he is older than two. :)

You can’t go wrong with dolls and stuffed animals.

And this adorable Fisher Price My First Doll House for toddlers has been a favorite for years. It is a PERFECT first doll house for a two year old. My girls STILL play with this at least once a week. Notice I’m CAPITALIZING a lot of my words so show you how much I truly LOVE this dollhouse. Because I DO!

If you are looking for something a little more baby and immediately fun for a 20 month old, my favorite baby/toddler toy is the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Learning Home. All three of my baby/toddlers have loved this and played with it so much. If you have a baby age one and up you will love it! It’s the one baby toy I’m hanging on to for the grandkids to play with someday! And you know I don’t hang onto much. :)

Hope that helps give you a few ideas! I included several more favorite toy ideas in a post I did last year just before Christmas – Christmas Gift Ideas – Our Favorite Toys. That post also includes links to most of the toys so it makes for easy early shopping! I’m going to put together another similar post for this year with new toys that have been a hit around here. On to the next question!

I came across your website because I want to start organizing and de-cluttering. I just love everything about your website and blogging. I just wanted to ask you how you got started? I have such a hard time. I really want to do it, but I’m such a procrastinator or I feel overwhelmed. After seeing all of your ideas I want to toss everything! I think about it all day at work what I want to do but the minute I get home I lose all ambition. Any words of encouragement would be great.

Such a sweet comment (thanks again!) and such a good question. I didn’t really “get started” with organizing because it’s something that comes naturally to me. I have been organizing my things and keeping things “just so” since I was four years old. Probably before that, I just can’t remember. :) But there are a lot of things that don’t come easily for me (cooking comes to mind) and I know exactly how you are feeling. So overwhelmed that it is easier to just do nothing. My best advice is to make a list. Walk around your house and write down all of the spots that need to be organized. If you need to organize everything, just start with one room and write down what needs to be organized within that room. Be specific. If you’re tackling the kitchen, write things down like: silverware drawer, under the kitchen sink, etc. Here is an example of one of my “to organize” lists.

I always have a “to organize” list going. Once you have a list in place, pick one spot to work on each night. Even if it is just for 10-15 minutes. I live by this motto: Something is always better than nothing. Turn on some fun music to get you going (that always helps me!) and then just DO IT. All it takes is cleaning out ONE thing (a drawer, a cupboard, a closet) and you will be so happy every time you open it. That will motivate you to want to organize more! Everyone can commit to 15 minutes each evening. Start small and before you know it, you’ll be an organizing pro!

Pinterest is full of great organizing inspiration, but I have to add a caution with that one. I think sometimes it’s so easy to spend all of your free time looking at blogs, Pinterest, and magazines for inspiration instead of just jumping in and doing the work. I know I’m guilty of this! So here is your homework: Read my tips for getting and staying organized and start with #1 – make a list. The next step is to clean out and organize just one small space on that list. Then check it off and you are one step closer to an organized home.

Let me know how it goes!

That’s all I have time for tonight friends! Sorry it is taking me so long to catch up on questions. I appreciate your patience! If you’ve asked me a question, I will get around to answering it at some point.

Enjoy your day. :)

xoxo, Erin

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Ellie and Addison

10.01.12

Iphone pics

Hi everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Here are a few pics I took with my new iPhone. I’ve decided I love more than just my ringer. Like the camera. And the Pinterest app. :)

Friday morning – getting ready for school (do you love my kids’ idea of how to get ready for school?). I clearly didn’t have the focus figured out. Plus toppling kids don’t make for the best practice material.

Figured out the focus by the time we got to school. Hello my sweet first grader!

Roses by our front door.

Lots of decorating this weekend. Inside my house it is officially Fall!
The weather outside my house is hotter than ever.

Dinner with friends at Cheesecake Factory. We went for the seasonal pumpkin cheesecake and they didn’t have it yet! BUMMER! They get it October 1st – we were two days too early. We had to settle for Snickers Cheesecake (poor us, right?). It was so good I had a dream about it last night. :) Guess we’ll just have to go back again for the pumpkin! Until then I’ll be doing double time on the treadmill.

Kenny and I stopped by Lowe’s to look at BBQ grills and they have their Christmas trees out! WHAT!? It was still September. I should have been appalled, but I was ecstatic. Made me simply giddy! I was worthless the rest of the night. I couldn’t focus on BBQ grills. All I could think about was twinkling lights and happy mail and Chestnut’s Roasting on an open fire. In fact, it made me want to start planning for the upcoming holiday season ASAP. I do like to be on top of things you know. :)

Have any of you starting thinking about Christmas yet? I have a few posts in mind to help us all jump start holiday planning. Are you ready for that? Or do most of you like to get Halloween behind you first? I’d love to hear if I need to be patient or if your thoughts about Christmas line up with mine: BRING IT ON!

And on that note… Happy October!

The countdown begins today!

xoxo, Erin

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