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Documenting Memories | Journaling Your Moments

We love having uplifting family-friendly TV shows to watch, and even learn from, as a family. I am excited to partner with Everywhere Agency and Bringing Up Bates to share some ways we document special memories and an update on Season 4.
 

If I don’t write things down, I tend to forget them. Please tell me I am not the only one! We are always making memories as a family and I want to remember them, so I want to share a few different methods we use for journaling our moments and documenting memories.

 

Documenting Memories Journaling Moments

 

What are some special memories you have wanted recorded?

 

I’ve been watching Bringing Up Bates Season 4 and enjoy seeing them share their special moments with viewers–pregnancy announcements, marriage, everyday sweet moments like the kids making “Get Well” cards–and I’m excited to see what new moments they share this week. We too have those moments and they are not ones I want to forget.

 

Bringing Up Bates Season 4

 

Now, we do not have a TV series following us to track those memories. We don’t have a vlog following our daily life. What we do have is the ability to capture and save those memories in special ways.
 

What are some ways you are journaling your special moments?

 

As I mentioned above, I have several different methods I use for journaling. You could say my recording system is “organized chaos.” There are many great ways to record memories if you have the time and energy for it–scrapbooking, a diary–but these are some go-to ways I use in my busy day-to-day life (until I get the time to organize them all in a scrapbook, that is.).

 

Using Facebook

That’s right. I use Facebook to journal memories. This may not be the easiest to keep track of and I may be “one of those” who shares just a little bit too much, but I share it more for myself and for close family to all get updates at the same time. I share milestones I am proud of, like when I discovered my 5-year-old can read, or when my husband did something extra sweet, or when my toddler first used the toilet instead of a diaper. When I want to find a memory, I try to utilize the Facebook search feature or scroll through all posts (make sure it’s showing all and not just top posts) in the year and month I remember each happening. I try to go back and record these somewhere else afterwards.

I also keep a lot of memories on Facebook via albums. I used to have them organized better into folders, but I have fallen a bit behind and most are in mobile uploads, but you can always go back and organize them into albums. If the pictures are mobile, you can also utilize online photo storage programs to create albums and track the dates.

 

4th Bday Memory

(Pictured above: E’s golden birthday. I am way behind on sharing the party post and tutorials, but some day I will get to it! Here’s a sneak peek in the meantime.)

 

Bullet Journaling

Rather than having a typical journal I write in nightly (tried that…failed), I keep a small notebook handy at all times. This notebook contains jotted notes of funny or memorable things that happened each day, my to do lists, my recipes, my doodles, my ideas I plan to work on…pretty much everything. I call this notebook my brain, and since my brain won’t ever turn off, I tend to go through about one journal a month. I do not always add dates to this, but I should! Usually I can figure out dates by going back and judging it against what happened around then. If I am recording things the kids did or due dates, I’ll include dates on those pages.

Speaking of journals, we have been working on one with our son the last couple months and I am planning to share it with you soon! It is so much fun and definitely a great keepsake full of silly and special memories.

You’ll love this Doodle Journal Coloring Book!

 

Bullet Journaling

 

Keeping Calendars

To record what we have planned for each day, I use a calendar on the wall and a small planner I carry along with me at all times. On the calendar I tend to put more of the big events and the planner is mostly what is due when, doctor’s appointments, etc., but I will also make notes in the margins or blank boxes of things that happened that month. For my boys’ first years, I actually had specific journals for them that I would write a small blurb in each night (it even came with milestone stickers) to keep track of new words, new abilities, appointments, silly things, when they met each family member, and more. I cherish those calendars because they bring back great memories (and help me fill in paperwork from the doctor’s office…bonus.). We have this calendar. There is a newer version available too–it’s undated so the year doesn’t matter.

 

Photographing

Of course I try to take a bunch of pictures to capture the moments! I do not always remember to have out the camera and I don’t always get the best quality pictures, but I try to capture everything from special events like birthdays to lazy days snuggling on the couch. As much as I don’t love being in pictures, I do try to take a few pictures with my boys and my husband as we enjoy various family activities. After all, the kids will want memories of Mommy too, right? I do not do a great job at organizing these at the moment, but they do automatically get sorted by month and year on my computer which helps. Some day (however far, far away that may be) I plan to organize each set of pictures into folders by event.

Having a point-and-shoot camera is a great idea if you want quick access to higher-quality pictures. Mine broke, so my options are a huge DSLR camera and my very slow, blurry smartphone camera. I plan to get a point-and-shoot camera soon to better capture each moment.

 

First Meet Daddy Memory

 

Blogging

You already know this one. I may not have a traditional “family blog” for giving all types of updates on my family (remember I have a hard time keeping track of things and writing them journal-style?), but everything I share with you is real. I share what my family eats, things I try, silly things my kids do, lessons we’ve learned…everything that I share with you is meant to be mutually-beneficial both to you as the reader and to me as someone wanting to preserve memories. Sometimes Arts & Crackers actually makes me create lasting memories when I didn’t plan on it. For instance, due to my health I do not always plan to or want to do fun activities with the kids or cook something new and exciting for dinner, but I will sign up for things or put it on my calendar and have to follow through and I am always glad I did, as is my family.

Read Why I Started Blogging.

 

Writing on Paper Journal

 

PS, I use my Instagram as a photo journal so readers can keep up with our family and I do a weekly recap of our family happenings in my newsletter, so be sure to subscribe if you want to “read my diary” and get to know me a little more! Feel free to respond to the emails too; I love feedback and would love to get to know my readers more.

 

Do you have any fun ideas to add?

 

Be sure to tune in this Thursday at 9PM ET for Season 4, Episode 3 of Bringing Up Bates for some quality time with your loved ones. I’ll be watching with you and maybe even making memories spending some girl time with a mommy friend! You can find it on the UP network for cable TV. This network focuses on real families and what real families go through. They share positive, inspiring, and relatable stories you will love to watch.

Don’t have cable TV? You can still watch by checking out full episodes on the UP website!

 

 

Read also: How to Tell a Bedtime Story and Let’s Talk Family Mottos

 

How do you journal your special moments? I’d love to hear! Have you watched Bringing Up Bates? What’s your favorite memory they have shared with viewers? Share with me in the comments below.

 

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2 Comments

  1. Sadly I am not good at journaling and keeping track of special moments. I post very little on Facebook or Instagram and take very few pictures. My daughters are good at picture taking and I rely a lot on them for that.

  2. Pingback: Spam Instagram Captions to Unleash Fun in Your Photos

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