Top 17 Posts of 2017

Every year, I do a round up of some of the most popular posts from the year. It's always fun to look back on the things we've experienced throughout the year and the memories we created. These 17 posts were the most popular this year. If you didn't get a chance to read them the first time around, and want to check them out, I'll link to each of them.

2017 was a year or adventure, particularly with our travels across eastern Canada this summer! I will always treasure the experiences we had during that road trip. We also had the chance to try out some cool new products (like a foam mattress that came all squished and rolled up in a box, and a couple of really cool cameras). I loved being able to share some of our favourite products in the two gift guide posts at the end of the year and to gather some awesome giveaways for you!

The Top 17 Posts of 2017

1.  Holiday Gift Guide for Moms
2. Canada 150 Travel Photography
3. Family & Kids Gift Guide
4. Sharing My Love of Photography with Instax Mini 8
5. Relaxing Adventure at the Couples Resort
6. Douglas Mattress Unboxing Video & Review
7. Orangetheory Results
8. Re-Embracing My Love of Photography with the Fujifilm X-A3
9. JORD Men's Watch
   
   

The First Week of 2018

I used to journal consistently. Somewhere along the line, I got out of the habit. This week I took some notes about our week and gathered them here. Maybe I'll do this more often and try to get more of our daily life recorded in this place. Let me know if this interests you because I'm not sure if this is the best spot for it. For now though, for the first week of the year, here it is:

January 1st

All four of us slept as 2018 came into being. We counted down from ten at 8pm on December 31st. It was a "down day", with a Christmas CD playing while we packed away the ornaments and took apart the tree. After dinner we had a family meeting where we discussed family goals and schedules and each wrote a list of goals and dreams for our futures (not just this year, but anytime in the next five).

January 2018 Link Party

Welcome to the January Link Party!

Christmas Morning Disney Surprise!

This Christmas we had a tiny package under our tree that held a big surprise inside and I've been waiting to share it with our girls and with you! Now that the secret's out, I'm excited to tell you about how we came to put Disney World under the tree for our family for the second time, when we once wondered if we'd even make it to Disney once. I've got a video of the surprise at the end of the post, and a photo of how we broke the news this time.

Simple 31 Day Decluttering Challenge

I know I'm not the only one who feels the need to declutter her home, particularly as we begin a fresh new year and make new resolutions! I have been thinking about doing a 31 day declutter challenge for a long time and this month, I'm finally doing it! 

Here are my Step-by-Step Instructions for a 31 Day Decluttering Journey:

1.  Make a declaration to the internet of your intentions, to keep you accountable (check)
2.  Commit to share daily before & after photos on social media (I'm doing this on my Instagram stories every day of January & I'd LOVE for you to follow along!)
3.  Invite friends to join in- Won't you join me?? I would be thrilled to know I'm not alone in this! If you want to participate, just share your before & after photos on Instagram (in your stories, or in a post) and tag me (@raisingmemories) so I can see them!  

If enough of you join in, it could be fun to share some of your before & afters in my stories, so we can all be inspired by each other!

I'm not going to lay out a list of areas to tackle.  This is for two reasons: First, I have no concrete plan for myself and if I waited until I had a list, it would probably take me months to start- so I'm just jumping in. Second, we all have different homes with different problem areas, so my goal is simply this:

Choose One Small Area of your home to tackle each day. 

Commit to 15 minutes of Decluttering each day.

You can certainly spend more than 15 minutes if you're really getting into it, but only commit to 15 minutes. This means your daily area must be manageable and you give yourself permission to stop after 15 minutes. (I'm hoping this will help to avoid feelings of overwhelm and/or the desire to give up!)

Well, that's it.  I'm jumping into this challenge and I hope some of you will follow along and let me know you're following along- keep me accountable! ;)  If you're joining in, I'd love to cheer you on too, so please tag me on instagram @raisingmemories. I'll see you over there!

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Mommy Daughter Spa Date at Glama Gals Tween Spa!

Katrina has been talking about wanting to go to a spa with me someday. She's mentioned it quite a few times over the last year, so when her birthday got closer, I started thinking about Glama Gals Tween Spa. I knew they had a special package that could be used for mothers and daughters (the VIP & Me package) and it seemed like the perfect place for her first spa experience!

I surprised her on her birthday with a card that told her we'd be going to Glama Gal Tween Spa together! This is a photo I took just after she finished reading her card. She's in the middle of saying thank you and I think you can see how happy she was! ;)