You've landed at HH just in time for Mommy Mondays. I give myself this one day a week to dissect and over-analyze all things pertaining to parenthood.
Over the years, I have embraced many forms of documentation. I've kept a diary (later calling it a "journal," because that sounds artistic instead of juvenile, though they're actually the same thing), and have always taken hundreds of pictures, starting with disposable cameras to my current Nikon.
When the scrapbook phase hit in the mid-90's, I was all over it. I bought stacks and stacks of colored paper. Looking back, my page layouts leave a lot to be desired, but I'm still so glad I have the memories documented.
In the last few years I've made iPhoto books and Blurb books and of course I keep this blog. But since Pigtail was born, my deep and itchy need to document every moment has increased tenfold. Like a lot of mothers, I teeter in the balance between capturing the moment with my camera and ruining the moment with my camera.
The problem with making those books - or scrapbooking, if that's your thing - is that it takes time. And if you get behind, you feel like you're drowning in your behinded-ness. Even if you're in the mood to sit down and make a little something to commemorate, say, the holiday season, you feel like you can't start there because you haven't made anything to represent 2009 yet. So then you just don't do any of it. Which means you fall further behind.
I really like the idea of something like Project Life and the digital layouts that Ali Edwards creates have such good style. But I know instinctively, though I couldn't articulate why, that those approaches aren't exactly for me.
I did buy a portable printer, for photo journaling on the fly or to make insta-presents. I'm not sure how or if it fits into the overall documentation dilemma, though.
I'm drawn to something really clean, like Beth's 52 weeks project or Rachel's Pregnancy Series. Things like that (one solid picture with a caption or paragraph) can be made into a book at the end of the year or trip or whatever.
Logically, I know I should just start where I am and not worry about the time that has passed without documentation. I should just implement my Life In Increments philosophy and get down to book-making business. But I'm hesitating. I don't want to start (or learn) a whole system and then hate it. I need some fresh inspiration.
So you tell me: How do you document your life? Do you have a system? Do you even feel pressure to document at all? Do you bother to catch up or do you just catch when catch can? Please help indecisive me.
