Welcome to Saturday Project Life Blog Hop! This is a great way to see what others are doing with their Project Life Albums, get some inspiration and encourage each other throughout the year. My hope is that you visit each one of their blogs and leave them wonderful comments!

To see past blog hops go, here.

As for my 2013 Project Life Album… come back on Tuesday where I will be posting week 19 of 2013. You can see my past Project Life posts, here.

Today’s Project Life tip comes from Tracy Larsen (Becky Higgin’s Creative Team Member)  This is what Tracy had to share:

Up next is…

Megan from Megan Liane’s Blog 

Megan has not one but two Project Life posts up this week. The first week is week 9 of her 2013 album.   I love all the different products on Megan’s pages. Especially those sequins! The stars are pretty great too (I love stars!) Make sure to stop by Megan’s week 9 blog post to take a closer look!

Megan’s second post this week is her July 2012 pages. I think that it is great the Megan is working on both her 2012 and 2013 albums at the same time.  Megan uses the Jade edition for her 2012 pages below – such great colors!  Make sure to stop by Megan’s blog to take a closer look!

Next up is….

Rachel from Open Heart

Rachel is doing a digital Project Life! I always enjoy looking at the digital pages.  Check out the Star Wars filler card that she got from Laura Kate!  Too much fun!   It looks like Rachel had a fun week -  look at those cute kiddos!  I totally relate to the snow picture also!!  Stop by Rachel’s blog to take a closer look.

And finally….

Violet from Scrumptiously 

You really have to stop by Violet’s blog to check out the digital Rain edition of Project Life!  I have to agree with Violet that I love the colors in the Rain edition. The purples, blues and green! I can see why Violet was so excited to dig in! I am so happy she found a kit that fit her style! And her pages are great – I can tell she has an eye for photography! Make sure to stop by Violet’s blog to see more.

Thank you to Tracy, Megan, Rachel and Violet for sharing their Project Life albums with us today!

If you are a Project Life blogger and would like to be featured right here on a future Saturday Project Life Blog Hop, please leave a comment below and let me know. Or send me an email mbostinelos@gmail.com . I am always looking for new Project Life bloggers to feature!

Don’t forget, while you are here, grab a button! (code in right menu bar)

Make sure to stop by my Project Life page to see my past Project Life layouts, learn about Project Life process and check out my Project Life Amazon Shop!

Don’t miss a single post from me… subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.  (sign up in the menu bar to your right). Thanks!

One thing to note is that my boys are indeed wearing snow boots in the pictures below. They need new rain boots – and they felt that the puddles outside deserved some type of boots. So snow boots it was.  I know – odd.   And Zooey who insisted on wearing rain boots the other day while the sun was shining, had no interest in wearing her boots last night. I try my best not to figure it out – but just go with the flow. Put some type of shoe on your feet and get outside. I think this type of “whatever” attitude about my children’s fashion choices only comes with having 3 kids and realizing life will not end if my boys wear snow boots in May (with no snow) or that daughter wears rain boots when the sun is shinning.  Let them be kids in all their crazy glory.

See rain boots and sunshine

And pictures on our walk (snow boots and all). Pictures taken with my Canon 60D

And other pictures from this week taken with my iPhone.

Ethan got some badges at Scouts this week:

Owen playing air hockey. Dimitri is slowly converting the basement playroom to game room. One of the first steps of the room makeover was the purchase of a big game table. (can you tell I am not in charge of this project??) 

Tuesday night Owen had baseball.

I purchased the new A Beautiful Mess app.  Which is very cute and fun. I used it all week! I love the idea of putting a little journaling right on my instagram pictures – especially thinking for Project Life.

And one more I took with my Canon.   Dimitri photo bombed my picture of Zooey watering the flowers:

Kinda freaky right??

And that is all I have for you on this Friday.

Saturday Project Life Post is up tomorrow!

Happy Weekend!

I am one that enjoys the changing of the seasons.  I enjoy that we live in an area that celebrates each season. Special traditions, sounds, food, activities are all centered around our seasons. We soak them in and enjoy each one of them knowing that they won’t last long.  Except for this year – when we just couldn’t shake winter and spring had to fight its way through.

And this week it finally happened.  Spring happened.  The grass is green. Leaves are on the trees. Flowers are blooming. Finally it’s here and we are so happy.

Although – I am not sure what happened yesterday. Spring got bypassed and Summer showed up when the temperature hit 106 Degrees Fahrenheit.  Which broke a record going back to 1934.

(picture from my iPhone – but before we topped off at 106. Also please note that 14 days before this picture it snowed)

Today we seemed to be back to spring. Which is OK by me.  And I am finally starting to feel confident that I can put away the winter coats, gloves, and hats that are still hanging on the hooks by our back door.

That is a good thing.

So Spring 2013 – I believe you will be a short one.  Soon summer days will be upon us and we will celebrate those too.  Days at the pool,  warm nights, bonfires, camping, fireflies, ice cream on the front porch, barefeet,  the smell of sunscreen and bug spray, fireworks, parades – oh it’s all coming soon.

But Spring we celebrate you too.  We celebrate growing new life in the form of plants, flowers, and trees. We celebrate longer days. We celebrate warm weather by soaking in the sunlight as we shed away layers of clothes. We clean up our yards, and dust off our flip-flops and roll down the windows in our car.  We sneak outside as much as we can and comment on how nice it is outside to strangers we meet at the store.  The sound of the bat hitting a ball at a Saturday afternoon Little League game is music to our ears.  The bikes and the balls that have been lost under piles of Christmas decorations come out of the garage.  And suddenly the driveway is full of wonderful sidewalk chalk drawings and the air is full of bubbles from little kids who giggle in delight. The neighborhood is alive with people out in their yards, walking their dogs and kids riding their bikes down the street.

Spring is here.

Hello Spring. We are so glad you are here.

So it’s safe for me to put away those winter coats, right?? 

So here is my official “I’ve been” list:

• Thinking a lot about our summer family road trip. Especially about what car to take, what to pack and what we are going to do when we get there.
• Thinking about where we should go next summer (2014) for our family trip. I am liking the idea of the beach.
• Loving anything that has stripes in it for clothes.
• Excited to see the leaves out on the trees.
• In amazement of our weather this spring from snow on May 1st to a record-setting temp of 106 yesterday. Crazy town.
• Excited for the pool to open
• wishing we had more discretionary income to finish all these house projects that we have either started or wanting to get going on.
• Having fun watching Owen play baseball
• Listening to Ethan tell me he wants to play next year
• Listening to Zooey tell me everything as she talks and talks and talks
• Wishing for more date nights with Dimitri
• Never getting tired of taking pictures and sharing stories
• Wishing I had more hours in the day
• Love the sound of chirping birds in the morning
• Wondering if it is ever going to get easier
• Love seeing flowers planted in pots on my front and back porch
• Thinking I need a bike helmet
• Always doing laundry and never being caught up.
• Looking forward to all summer has to offer
• feeling really, super busy at work
• Love watching on TV – New Girl, The  Office, Community, Parks and Rec, Modern Family
• thinking I put a lot of pressure on myself – trying to get it all done.
• needs to sleep more – setting my alarm clock for a bit later to catch some extra “zzzz”
• feeling a bit distracted
• reminding myself to keep it simple and go with the flow

And because every blog post needs a picture….

From my iPhone. Taken last night at Wal-Mart after Owen’s baseball game.

I hope you have a great Wednesday!

This week I wasn’t really feeling it as I put it all together. Do you ever have weeks like that?   I think next week I am going to change things up, try some new things and see how that goes.  What do you do when your Project Life is feeling a little stale?

Owen had a little accident at his after school program – I kept the accident report!

c

The bottom pocket – those are just lose sequins.  Although I kinda wish I would have just skipped the card and put the sequins in there alone…. there is always next week, right?

d

Ethan’s drawing with the questions marks. It’s a Mario game he made up and  you have to open the next level (the question marks).

I’ve really enjoyed using Picasa to make collages of my photos! This is one technique that I am going to continue using throughout the year.

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Not sure if you can tell – but there are some lose star sequins in that top right pocket (below).

And that was week 18!

One technique I am going to use next week is putting text on my pictures (digitally) before I print.  I think it will save me time and have a cleaner look.  I have also  looked into ways to print from the computer on to the 4×6 journal cards – I might give that a try also. However, I don’t want to do something that is overly time consuming or frustrating.  I also want to work on adding more white space to my pages. My pages are suddenly feeling busy and messy to me.  So that is my plan for next week – we will see how it goes!

And that was week 17!

Supplies Used (click on image):

I would love to hear from you! Please leave me any questions or comments below.

I am linking up with The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday!

If you want to know more about Project Life, grab my Saturday Project Life Blog Hop button, visit my Project Life Amazon Shop, or learn about my Project Life process, please visit my Project Life Page.

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It’s been a full weekend (they always are). With lots of things to do, places to go, people to see.  Here are a collection of pictures (iPhone + DSLR) from our weekend. Starting with Friday morning.

Hello to spending time in Ethan’s class on Friday morning.  Hello to cute 2nd graders with food, songs, poems and presents for their Mom’s.

Hello? Where is my baby girl?

Hello to watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Hello to cold conditions for a baseball game in May. Hello to Moms who suck it up and cheer for their boys.

Hello cute little baseball players.

Hello, spring? It said it was 60 degrees out, but the wind was so cold.

Hello to finding winter hats in Dimitri’s car to keep our ears warm.

Hello to Ethan finding some kids to play with – and this big board.

Hello to trying his hardest.

Hello to Moms that sneak into the dugout!

Hello to super fast Joey and being safe!

Hello to watching her brother play – shouting “Go Owen!”

Hello to our family filling up at least have of the bleachers!

Hello to finding warm things in the car to pile on top!

Hello to a pep talk from Daddy.

Hello to a good game!

Hello to my boy who loves yellow!

Hello to Saturday night – all ready for bed.

Hello to sneaking out on Saturday with Lisa to see Gatsby!

Hello to cute kids that think if they hide behind the curtain they don’t have to get dressed

Hello to Mother’s day! Hello to my Mom and I on the day I was born!

Hello to the best kind of gifts!

Hello to the 2 Mom’s in my life.

Hello to Mother’s Day Breakfast at our house:

Hello it’s good to be the Mommy.

Hello to Mom and Son:

Hello to Yia Yia:

Hello to Grandma!

Hello Moms:

Hello to a warmer spring day!

Hello to a trip to the Garden Center:

Hello? Anyone seen Zooey?

Hello to his snake face:

Hello to my helper:

Hello to eating outside! Hello to seeing my family outside the window and wishing I could freeze time.

Hello to the first s’more of the season!

Hello to our fancy fire-in-a-pot! But it gets the s’mores job done!

Hello to a wonderful Mother’s Day.

Hello Monday!

What are you saying Hello to today?

Did you like this post? See past Hello Monday posts, here.

Make sure to stop back tomorrow when I will be sharing week 17 of my 2013 Project Life!

Here are a few things I am pinning on this Sunday morning….

From my Houses Board:  I am kinda in love with this house. That’s all.

From my Maps Board:  Maps as wall paper, yes please (P.S. > light fixture!!)

From my Home Outside Board: I love this porch! Due to the cats we can’t have plants inside our house (cat salad bar).  But I like the idea of putting a lot of green out on the porch!

So those are just a few of the things I am pinning on Pinterest lately. What have you been pinning? I love finding new people to follow on Pinterest. Leave a link to your Pinterest boards in the comments and I will follow you! You can find me here.

You can check out past Pinspiration posts here.

Have a great Sunday! And Happy Mother’s Day!!

Welcome to Saturday Project Life Blog Hop! This is a great way to see what others are doing with their Project Life Albums, get some inspiration and encourage each other throughout the year. My hope is that you visit each one of their blogs and leave them wonderful comments!

To see past blog hops go, here.

As for my 2013 Project Life Album… come back on Tuesday where I will be posting week 18 of 2013. You can see my past Project Life posts, here.

I am also working on my daughter’s Project Life baby album! You can check out my progress, here.

Today’s Project Life tip comes from Stephanie Baxter (Becky Higgin’s Creative Team Member).   Stephanie shares with us her technique to slim down her album(s). This is what she had to say:

 I’m trying not to use too many inserts in my Project Life this year as I’m trying to make sure I can fit everything into just 2 albums! Because of this, I sometimes find that it’s tricky to fit all my journaling in to a week’s spread, particularly if there are some filler cards that I really want to use to pretty the spread up! To solve this problem, I love including journaling on my photos, either by typing directly on to a photo in Photoshop Elements or by using a photo template that includes a spot for some journaling. Sometimes this will be one or two sentences but other times it might just be one or two words. This then frees up a pocket that would otherwise have been used for a journaling card for that particular photo so I can either include journaling for a photo I didn’t have or a lovely filler card.

Thanks Stephanie! That is a great tip – I am going to try to add text to my pictures!

Next up on our blog hop is….

Alissa from Life on Lakeland

Alissa writes about using ephemera in her Project Life blog post this week. I have to agree with her that those everyday bits and pieces are my favorite parts of Project Life! Alissa has some great tips on how to keep your ephemera organized. Make sure to stop by her blog and check it out!

Next up is….

Brooke from Grace and Light 

Brooke has not one but two Project Life blog posts up this week! Oh my gosh, I love Brooke’s week 17 layout! Everything looks so neat and clean. The date card with the arrows! The washi… the paper!  I am in love with it all! Make sure to stop by Brooke’s Week 17 post!

Brooke’s second blog post this week was about her Project Life Art Journal. What a wonderful idea!  She named it her Bigger Things Book – love it!  A place to record things that bring her joy <3  Make sure to check out this post to see more of this amazing inspirational book.

And last but not least….

Jenni from The Hufford House

Um…. I don’t even know where to start.  You are going to have to visit Jenni’s blog to see it all!  First of all… I love those tiny tags from Elle’s Studio! Perfect for a adding journaling to the pictures!  Then you have to look how Jenni used a table “cloth” as part of her insert! And the 12×12 photo – I love this look and I need to do this in my own PL this year! Trust me – go to Jenni’s blog right now to see it all!

Thank you to Stephanie, Alissa, Brooke and Jenni for sharing their Project Life albums with us today!

If you are a Project Life blogger and would like to be featured right here on a future Saturday Project Life Blog Hop, please leave a comment below and let me know. Or send me an email mbostinelos@gmail.com . I am always looking for new Project Life bloggers to feature!

Don’t forget, while you are here, grab a button! (code in right menu bar)

Make sure to stop by my Project Life page to see my past Project Life layouts, learn about Project Life process and check out my Project Life Amazon Shop!

Don’t miss a single post from me… subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.  (sign up in the menu bar to your right). Thanks!

Here are some pictures from our week via my iPhone.

Owen had his first coach pitched baseball game on Monday night!  I thought he looked so handsome in his uniform!  He has a little scab under his lip – and it kinda looks like a soul patch.

His friend, Joey, is on the same team. Cute, cute, cute.

It was an amazing night. First, there was no snow (or rain)! The temperature was great and it felt like spring!

My favorite part was when he got up to bat, he looked at me through the fence and said very loud for all to hear “Hey Mom, when this is over can I go play at the playground?”. We all got a good chuckle out of that one.

Zooey had a blast at the game too – playing with Charlotte.

Ethan was around too – but he kept busy with some kids he met. He is starting to get to the age that he doesn’t necessarily want me following him around with my camera (or phone camera). So I just gave him some space.

You know what they say… Is this Heaven? No, its Iowa.

Switching gears…..

My friend Lisa made me sparkly wine glasses! She is a master with the glitter.

I really love these chairs, that’s all.

I painted Zooey’s nails this week. She requested pink (her favorite color) with sparkles!

Picture from my desk at work. Work has been super, crazy, busy these days.

Hanging out:

Zooey was sporting the look of no shirt and a tutu. Here she is crashed on my lap.

And these are pictures I found on Dimitri’s iPhone that make me smile.

And this picture of Ethan… He sits like this often. With his legs crossed and his hand up by his face. The funny thing is, this is how his Great Papou used to sit. And Ethan never met him. But everyday time Ethan does it, Dimitri always says “Look at him, sitting just like my Papou”. Genes are a very odd thing.

That’s all I got. Happy Friday!!

Make sure to stop by tomorrow for Saturday Project Life Blog Hop! Have a great weekend!!

All these pictures were taken using my iPhone and the Pictapgo and Instagram apps. You can find me on Instagram @michellebostinelos

Last week I shared with you Part I of Zooey’s Baby Album. I started the album while on a scrapbook weekend.  Today I have a couple more pages of the album to share with you. My plan is to add a few pages here and there as I work on my current weekly PL.  So not as many pages to show you as last week. But slow and steady wins the race, right? I figure that if I can try to finish a couple of pages each week, it won’t take me too long to finish.

I am breaking the album into months – so this was month 5 or December 2010. Zooey’s first Christmas.  I can tell in my face that I was still carrying a lot of baby weight (yikes!) – but that’s just how it was (reminding myself that I need to include pictures of her Mommy {me!} in the album despite baby weight).

So that is it… simple! That was the goal.  But another month done!
Supplies used (click on the pictures below):

If you want to know more about Project Life, Saturday Project Life Blog Hop, visit my Project Life Amazon Shop, or learn about my Project Life process, tips and inspiration, please visit my Project Life Page.