My One Little Word for 2015

Happy New Year!  Have I said that yet?

I have loved the holiday break.  Lots of fun, lots of time with the kids and extended family, plenty of down time to recharge.  But I also found myself a bit on edge - quick to lose my patience, cranky, maybe a little out of balance emotionally.  In among all this, I had been thinking about and selected my Word for this year (this is something I've been doing for the past few years in addition to setting goals.  It works as more of a touchstone or focus for me throughout the year.  See previous posts here) and one hit me out of the blue.

I think I'm pretty good at buckling down, working on the To Dos and Have Tos, being proactive, recognizing priorities, setting goals, looking for balance, and so on.  I've done plenty of work on being efficient, setting routines, and following through and I will have plenty of that going on this year without having to put extra focus on it.  Instead, I find myself wanting to reach for the softer things in life -  to be goofier with the kids, to be more patient, deal with interruptions better, more work on relationships with the people that mean the most to me, the fun, the laughter, peace, positivity.  Things that don't come as naturally to my mostly-serious self.
 
The word that came to me a couple weeks ago and has felt more and more right for me each day is

To me, light means joy.  Beauty.  Warmth.  Love.  Inspiration.  Giving.  Sharing talents and creativity.
So many many different ways and directions I can go with this and that's exciting.

This is the first year that my word comes to mind with its own visuals - light streaming through a break in the clouds on a stormy day or that hazy glowing backlight photographers are always trying to capture - lots of moods and nuances and all of them positive and affirming.  And that's what I want in 2015.    light


Do any of you choose a word for the year?  (ie: One Little Word along with Ali Edwards)  Set goals?  I'd love to hear about it.

All Set

I feel like we're on the final countdown here.  Last (partial) week of 2014, one more week of Christmas vacation then Real Life hits again in full force.  And I'm so NOT ready to get back to the normal routine.  Or maybe I just don't want to go down to the freezing cold shop and work on drying racks while the snow falls and the kids are home entertaining themselves -  and the attitude is just carrying over to everything?...
I have been enjoying the slower pace the past few days and not forcing myself to get up and go to the gym or work on a giant list of To Dos.  Though I do also enjoy being productive and being on top of things.  Both have their place and the art of balancing them has been on my mind a lot the last couple of days.  There are just so many parts and pieces that make up a life, aren't there?  And only limited quantities of energy, motivation, time, and money.
It may be cliche, but this time of year is when I get in that mode to really think about and reevaluate my life, my priorities, and the direction I want to take in the new year and I've been taking a few solid steps toward preparing to jump into the new year with both feet.  I am finishing up my final prompt for the OLW workshop I participated in this year (and starting to get excited for the process next year) and am pretty sure I have decided on my new Word for next year (that will get it's own blog post in a few days).  I sat down with Kaitlyn this morning and we revised and reprinted the Before Screens list for the kids (we haven't used the lists at all since the move and I've been having such a hard time keeping Tyler on track and self directed lately.  Hoping this alleviates some of the frustration and constant nagging) and have them hanging up ready to be used.  I have a few other things/ideas for interactions with the kiddos that are percolating in my head.  I even found homes for most of the new things we all got for Christmas and the clutter piles are nearly all gone.

I also picked up a weekly planner - something I haven't used in years.  I have a number of reasons for doing so.  First of all, I haven't been on the ball about putting things on my Google calendar and I'm hoping that having it all just in a hard copy will be easier for keeping track of appointments and schedules.  I know, right?  Old School.  But the bigger reason for purchasing a planner was for memory keeping/scrapbooking purposes.  My intention for the last few years has been to put together some kind of December Daily album (I know - lots of inspiration from Ali Edwards lately.  We must have similar personalities/tastes or something ;)  ) but I am never fully set up enough to do it as I go along, so this year I printed off a weekly calendar for December - you know the ones with a bunch of lines under each day of the week so you can take notes - and have been using it to keep track of some of the things I want to remember from each day.  I've seen that kind of idea before - using a calendar to write down one memory every day during your baby's first year and so on - and a light finally went off.  Those little squares on a calendar are not nearly enough room to write down a story from the day or any sort of detail but the idea of keeping it all in one place, in something that is easy to pick up and use, is a solid one.  So.  My plan for this year is to write down everything I want to remember in the weekly planner - funny quotes from the kids, details about daily life, stories of big events, etc.  Much easier than scrolling through Facebook posts, emails, and blog posts trying to figure out what happened during week ____ when trying to put together my layouts/albums.  Right now I'm thinking I'm pretty brilliant, but the true test will be a couple months into it to see if I have been following through on writing everything down on a regular basis.

I really am serious about doing more scrapbooking on a regular basis.  I even had the husband buy me a photo printer for Christmas - so exciting!  I still need to get another USB cord so I can hook it directly to my computer instead of printing solely from the camera's memory card but I have figured out the basics of how to use it and am very pleased with the photo prints so far.  So with the photo printer on hand and a weekly crafting date all set up with a friend I am looking forward to making a lot of progress with the scrapbooking this year.

Now I just need to finalize a few fun plans for New Years Eve (ack - someone tell me I'm not the only one that staying up until midnight doesn't appeal to! lol) and I think I'm all set to head into 2015.  Are you?

My New Normal

Winter in Utah - I'm not sure I'm ready for it!  Yesterday's light snowfall was gone by the time the sun went down, but we woke up to a few inches of new-fallen snow this morning and the kids couldn't be happier.  The adults, however, still have a few big outdoor projects to finish and the weather sure hasn't been helping with that.  We are just going to grit our teeth and do the best we can, as we can't be truly settled in here until we are finished with them.

As we finish up our third full week back in Utah, I find myself finally settling into what will probably be my New Normal for the next little while.  Things like:

Wearing fluffy socks all the time (generally ones that don't match my outfit because that's all I've got).  Predawn hours in the dark, sitting on the couch with my computer or a book and not making any noise so that the dogs don't know I'm up or they will bark and wake up the rest of the house.

 Extended morning routine for the kids.  It goes like this:  Me, awake at Alayna Time (that means earlier than most people want to be awake) followed by Kaitlyn up, usually without an alarm, by 6:30.  Dad is typically out the door by then.  Kate eats breakfast while I fix lunchboxes and clean up the kitchen.  Then we go downstairs to make sure the boys are awake and starting their day.  Sam keeps Kaitlyn company waiting for the bus while I nudge Tyler along, then Sam leaves for work.  Ty and I generally have another half hour to waste before putting him on the bus and Mom tries to leave for work before the bus arrives (usually she doesn't make it and has to follow the bus the whole way).  Then I have the house to myself - for maybe half an hour before my brother stops by to fix himself breakfast and chat.  Dad usually shows up again sometime before 9:00 to check in before he starts his actual work day.

 Some mornings I head to a friend's house for a yoga workout.  Love that.  Some days I unpack another few boxes, reorganize, or clear out a few clutter piles.  Others I head down to the freezing garage where we I'm all set up to work on drying racks.  Those big projects I mentioned?  Yeah - one of them is finding the old heater from the barn and installing it so that I can survive the winter in there.

Monday nights driving swim team carpool then taking Tyler to karate practice.
Meal planning and dinner prep for 6 hungry people - most of whom are picky eaters.
Not being able to complete the laundry in one day as half the time I find it in use by someone else or I'm too busy and not around enough to switch out the loads as soon as they finish.
Almost-daily discussions with my brother on healthy eating, exercise, and motivation - and still haven't made it to the gym for a true workout yet.
Dogs.  Everywhere.  In the way.  Wanting attention.

 The weekends are for putting the Men to work on projects, and me right along with them while the kids hang out at the house (with or without Grandma).

 This scenery.  Love that part of my new normal.  (this photo is taken from approx where we will be building our new house)

 Taking a break from the hard work and chatting with the husband.  Lots of long chats lately.

 My new work gloves - I purposely held out for something super girly. ;)  And you know what else I realized?  All these years I've never had a pair of my own - just borrowed my Dad's oversized ones any time I helped him out.

Did I mention it's COLD?

And did I mention the snow?! ;)  Ahhh Utah...

How I Handle Screen Time with the Kids

It's a constant internal battle right?  How much TV/video game/computer time is too much?  How do I get the kids to adhere to whatever rules I set without constantly monitoring or nagging?  I had  noticed during the summer that it was very easy for the kids to get sucked into the screens first thing in the morning and have a hard time redirecting themselves afterward.  I would be in the garage working and when I would take a break at 9 or 10AM I would go inside to find them both still in pjs  glued to the tablet and generally the little guy hadn't even fed himself breakfast yet.  (I know - some of your kids sleep until then so it doesn't sound like a big deal.  We are a house of early risers and generally my kids wake up on their own by 7:00)  Not good.

Well, about a month ago I ran across a brilliant idea (found here).  Instead of setting limits on screen time, this mom sets up a list of things the kids need to do BEFORE they spend any time on the computer or TV and once those things are done they are free to spend as much time as they want with the screens.  The beauty of the plan is that you customize your list and change them as needed so that a good chunk of the day is spent doing the items on the list if you so desire.  By putting things on the list that are likely to get the child involved in other activitiess (outside play, something artsy or creative, etc) chances are they will get wrapped up in those activities and be less likely to spend as much time on the screens anyway.

The night after I found the idea I brought it up for discussion at the dinner table.  The kids and the husband were on board and we took the time to discuss what we all thought should be included on the lists.  Kaitlyn was highly involved in the process (she's 10) while Tyler was less interested (he's 8) but both were enthusiastic to start in on the lists as soon as I got everything typed up and posted in their rooms.

 Kaitlyn wanted her lists on her bulletin board and we taped Tyler's inside the doors on his nightstand.

Kaitlyn was so excited she took the initiative and made herself and her brother duct tape organizers to hold the dry erase markers so they could be within easy reach of the lists ;)

 We had decided the format we wanted to use for the lists would be a checklist with spaces for an entire week.  To save myself from having to print and reprint the lists I inserted them in page protectors so the kids can use dry erase markers and the lists can just be wiped off when they are ready to start the next week.  We also did two lists - one for days when the kids have school and one for the days without school (weekends, summer, holidays).  The lists are fairly similar for each child, the only difference being the amount of time each needs to spend reading and things they need a little more help remembering - like Kaitlyn remembering her asthma meds and to apply deordorant in the morning while Tyler's has a reminder that playing with the dog DOES NOT mean wrestling in the living room ;) - and there is a slight difference in their daily chores.  I also divided the lists into sections for Morning, After School, and After Dinner.  My main focus was on getting them to be self-directed (especially with the daily routine/chores) along with giving them some balance between responsibilities, play, creativity, learning (reading), and exercise.

Kaitlyn's List: For Days Without School

Breakfast:  includes putting dishes in dishwasher, putting away food, wiping down counter/table where you ate

Vitamins, Medicine

Get Dressed: includes deodorant, comb hair

Brush Teeth:  with timer, rinse sink afterward and make sure towels are hanging up nicely

Make Bed

Unload Dishwasher (if it’s your day)

Feed/Water Bambi

Active:  60 Minutes

Reading:  30 Minutes

Creative/Productive (Play):  1 ½ hour

Play with Bambi

Chore(s)

Straighten up Bedroom

Clean Up Playroom

Dinner:  includes putting dishes in dishwasher, helping to clear table and put away food

Take Out Garbage

Kaitlyn's List:  For Days With School

Breakfast:  includes putting dishes in dishwasher, putting away food, wiping down counter/table where you ate, help pack lunchbox

Vitamins, Medicine

Get Dressed: includes deodorant, comb hair

Brush Teeth:  with timer, rinse sink afterward and make sure towels are hanging up nicely

Make Bed

Homework, put away lunchbox

Unload Dishwasher (if it’s your day)

Active:  30 Minutes

Reading:  30 Minutes

Creative/Productive (Play):  30 Min

Play with Bambi (not wrestling!)

Straighten up Bedroom

Clean Up Playroom

Dinner:  includes putting dishes in dishwasher, helping to clear table and put away food

Take Out Garbage

I'm happy to report that this system seems to be working really well and I have high hopes that the longer we keep at it the more self-sufficient and self-modifying my children will become.
Hey, a mom can hope, right? ;) 

Moving!

 I've alluded to it a couple of times on the blog but I don't think I've said it straight out.  We're moving!  I'm oh so excited!  And nervous.  And kinda overwhelmed.

Any move is a big life event but this one feels like a giant leap since we made the decision to move not based on financial reasons but because our priorities have changed.  We really feel that the most important thing is for our kids to grow up close to extended family and in a place we know will be good for them.  I am not knocking the reasons we chose to go active duty four years ago and make the move out here.  It has been an adventure full of valuable experiences and lessons, fun times, new friends and definitely new perspectives.  I wouldn't go back and change that.  However, the longer we were away from "home" the more we knew that was truly where we wanted/needed to be.  And now we are finally taking concrete steps to make that happen.

The house is up for sale (or rent - spread the word please if you get the chance!) and the paperwork is turned in for the husband to go back to the Reserves instead of full time active duty.  We have made plans with my parents to start building a house on the family property and to live in their basement until the house is finished (yikes!  That's going to be an...adventure in and of itself).  And here I sit with a notebook full of To Do lists and an ever-growing pile of stuff in the playroom full of items that won't be making the move with us.

Wish me luck!  We have just over two months before moving day!  That doesn't feel like enough time to take care of everything while the other part of me wants to be on the way right now.  Funny how that works.

Pantry Re-do

Organization and reorganization - we just can't get away from it, can we?  Or maybe that's just me... 

No I'm pretty sure it's everyone ;)  When I get the chance I've been working my way down the list of places that needed decluttering that I made for the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge (note to self - I need to post an update on that.  The official 40 days were over a few weeks ago lol).  Yesterday I had some time to waste before heading to my daughter's dance recital and I didn't want to get started on anything big, so I decided to finally add the labels to the containers in the pantry.  

I said that word again, didn't I?  Finally.  I've had those letters cut out (vinyl lettering using the silhouette) and sitting here for weeks now.  And the pantry itself?  We put shelves in it and repainted it, oh, a year and a half ago.  I don't suppose I will ever catch up completely or totally finish the projects on my list.  And I'm ok with that.  I'm ok that it takes a while to get things done, and even longer to share them on the blog.  At least things are getting done, and progress of any sort is really the goal.  That, and having a life outside of the To Do List, which is really what life is about right?

So before another one of the kids comes downstairs needing something or the dog insists on going outside and I get interrupted again, let me share my pantry photos.
This is the Before:

The biggest issue was the wire shelving, of course.  I'm probably a closet snob now that my husband is so good with installing built-ins.  I can't stand the wire stuff anymore.  So it had to go.  As did that metal post right in the middle of the closet.  It was always getting in the way.

And let's not forget the overall clutter. 

So I emptied it all out and stacked it in the sun room - can you believe ALL that was in that one closet?! - and turned the husband loose on the shelving.

Did I mention the closet re-do was what told him I wanted for my birthday that year?  Yep.  And I painted it myself too - happy DIY birthday! ;)

At the time I had been seeing a lot of fun walls in pantries and I wanted to do something unique and fun but without putting a lot of extra time into it.  What I ended up with was a series of stripes using leftover paint from the rest of the house.

Then I was all set to load everything back in.  I started off being methodical about it.  I put the seldom-used stuff in the back two corners and assigned specific shelves to certain types of food - baking, cereal, snacks, etc.  Then I realized I was having Kaitlyn's party that weekend and needed the sunroom and I shoved the rest of it in there willy nilly.

A few months later my friend Audrey came to visit and insisted on helping me finish organizing it one afternoon.  Everything got completely sorted, categorized, tossed (if expired or didn't look like I would ever use it), and reshelved.  And that was the point it has been in for quite some time - functional but not quite fully finished enough to take final photos.

 Until yesterday.  WOOHOO!  Labels are on and the pantry is finished!

 For the containers themselves I tried to work mostly with what I had already.  The sugar and flour were some I've had forever and after going back and forth and looking at all the fun and pretty containers available in many different stores I decided to stick with clear plastic ones.  That way I can just rinse them out if anything spills and we can easily see what's inside, even without the labels.  The jars for the brown sugar, powdered sugar, rice, granola, etc are actually containers that used to hold nuts.

 I purposely had my husband build that one shelf shorter just for cans.  It's working really well for us and freed up enough space that we could fit in one more shelf than had originally been able to fit.

I want to pick up a few of those under-shelf baskets the next time I'm at Ikea for potatoes, onions, and maybe those lunchboxes.  (There's always something on the list isn't there?)

I made sure when I was organizing everything that the things the kids need to access themselves were within easy reach (cereal, snacks, lunchbox stuff, drinks) and things like chips and candy were kept up out of easy reach.  The top shelf also holds things we use for entertaining.  That white bucket with the handle is a divided container that holds plastic utensils and napkins and I always keep it stocked and ready to pull out.  The other baskets hold napkins, paper plates, straws, cupcake wrappers, etc.

And there we have it.  It's not quite Pottery Barn catalog perfect, but it looks good and it's functional.

Decluttering, Shall We?

I open up my storage closets and what do I find?

 Yup, a big giant mess.  In BOTH of my upstairs storage closets.  Couldn't even walk into them, forget about finding anything.  For a couple of months now I had just been tossing things in there when I didn't know what else to do with them and sure enough, pretty soon they were both one big giant disaster.
One day, not that long ago, we realized Kaitlyn had hit a growth spurt and needed to go out shopping for new jeans.  She and I took a Saturday morning and had a blast - basically doing a second round of back to school shopping for the year.  If only the growth spurt could have waited for the summer season when we would have needed to re-outfit her anyway.  But it didn't, so shopping we went.  Then we came home and sorted through all her clothes and bagged up everything that was too small.  The very next day I was talking with a neighbor about how quickly our kids are growing and realized that both of her daughters are in the size the my Kate just grew out of - perfect!  So I went to the closet and pulled out not only the bags we had just set aside, but I started finding clothes I had previously been tossing in there here and there as they were outgrown.
Pretty soon I was pulling out everything in not only that closet but the second storage closet as well (they flank each side of the guest room and all are accessed through the playroom) and pretty soon the playroom looked like this.

 Yup.  The kids came home to find a complete disaster area.  In among homework, dinner, and the rest of the evening routine I found the time to sort through everything.
That same storage closet now looks like this:

 Look!  You can see the floor!
And the wall on the other side of the closet:

 Yes, that would be half of my wreath collection.  Originally I had purchased some of those wreath holder boxes, but my wreaths were too fluffy or too oddly shaped to fit in them.  So they all hang on the wall.
Here are the rest:

in storage closet #2

which also now has some clear floor space - yay!  Sure, it's not worthy of the Pottery Barn catalog or anything, but it's a lot better than it was.  In the process I also "discovered" a lot of things that I had forgotten I had, like an entire stack of photos I had blown up but never put up on the wall.  (Now you know what prompted me to get started on Tyler's Monogram Wall again, along with the photos in my bedroom and other things I have yet to post)  It was a bit like Christmas all over again ;)  It also got the motivation going to not only tackle some of the projects that have been waiting for attention for a very long time, but to see what else I needed to sort through to make my life easier.  And it was perfect timing when just a few days later a friend sent me the link to the 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge.

Of course I jumped right on board.  Within about 10 minutes the next morning (while waiting at the bus stop, no less) I had a list of more than 40 locations that could use a little TLC.  A lot of them are tech-related (like cleaning out my email inboxes and organizing/backing up photos) and most should take less than 30 minutes to tackle, which should make it easy to fit into the day.  Yesterday was day 7 for me (I counted the storage closet sort as the first two tasks lol.  It makes me feel like I got off to a good start) and so far so good.

Anyone else doing the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge?  Or want to join me now that you've heard about it? ;)

Sometimes Done Is Better Than Perfect

That's one of the quotes that has been popping into my head a lot lately.  Done is better than Perfect.  Seems like a good mantra, right?  It fits pretty well with what I've been trying to accomplish this month - to get some of those random things I've been meaning to do crossed off the list.  And it's working!
So far I have:

 

 Labeled the garbage can.  We know "right is recycle" but guests don't and I've been meaning to put some vinyl labels on it for months.

 Replaced the rug in the entry.  I've been meaning to do this ever since we moved into this house (over 3 years now).  The above photo is the poor old rug we've been using.  Waaaaaay past its prime.

And there is the new rug.  Found it at Home Goods yesterday for $15.  Awesome!  I'd been looking for something "perfect" and kept rejecting option after option over the months - too expensive, not enough color, found it in Utah and didn't want to bring it back on the plane, blah blah.  I'm really happy with this one.  I don't know if it was worth the wait, or if it's perfect.  But it looks good and was a great price and that's great.

 

Put all my store rewards cards on a keychain.  We all have of a ton of these right?  Usually the one I need is always in my "other wallet" and not with me.  And when I do remember to bring the wallet with all the cards, half of them fall out while I'm searching for the correct one.  So I finally got smart and punched holes in any that didn't already have keychain tags and threaded them all on a keychain.  Not only is my wallet no longer bursting at the seams, but I can keep this keychain in the console of the Yukon then when I'm out shopping and at a store that I know has a rewards cards I can just grab it and take it inside with me.

Some of my other goals:  getting some stuff up on the walls, displaying more of our photos instead of just storing them on the computer, and using some of the stuff I have in the closet that "might be useful someday."  These photos hit all three at once.  When I ran across the photos I had printed from our Christmas card photo session I decided then and there to go see if I had any frames for them.  The frames came from my friend, Audrey's house when she moved a few months ago.  They were painted different colors and there was a dried flower mounted on the matt in one.  So I spray painted the frames, flipped the mats over and painted them with acrylic and now they are a nice matched set that looks great in the bare-until-last-week hallway upstairs.

What do you think, Audrey? ;)

It feels really great to get some of these small things done.  I wonder what else I can tackle this week while the motivation is flowing...

Craft Room Pretties!

Happy Friday!  We're two weeks into the new year and already at the beginning of another long vacation, which I'm happy with, if only because it gives us the opportunity to make some fun plans as a family (sometimes I wonder who is in charge of the school calendar and why they insist on SO MANY long weekends).  But before I change my focus to having fun I thought I'd do a quick post on what I've been working on the last couple of weeks here at home.  In the spirit of my Word for the Year (see my OLW post here) I've been trying to make a real effort to turn my intentions (thoughts/plans) into action and be more aware of how I choose to spend my time.  I have also found myself with a lot more wiggle room/free time in my daily life (probably from not being up to my neck in Girl Scout Cookies as I was this time last year.  I'm sure this state of affairs is only temporary) the last few days - and it's been great! ;)  Not only have I been able to tackle a few deep cleaning chores, but I also spent some time almost every day trying to get my craft room decluttered and reorganized.

 

Look!  Isn't it pretty?!
Wait, wait.  I need to show you a couple of Before shots so you can get some perspective.  This is mid-December when the room was buried under all sort of Christmas, Girl Scout, Etsy orders, school projects, and all manner of other things.

And this is the room this morning.

 Just in case you might be looking for a little organizing inspiration of your own, let me walk you through what I've done.  In the black dresser I have:

 The top drawer with my Most Used small items like pens, scissors, and tape.

 The second drawer - which until two days ago was stuffed full of ribbon (I'll show you my solution for that one later, once I get it finished) - now holds packing/shipping stuff and a few larger items.

The bottom drawer has some crafting supplies that I don't use as often.  Though that big space on the right seems like it needs to be filled with more than just the hole punch.  I'll have to think about that.

 Under the printer holds printer paper, ink cartridges and more craft supplies (my CuttleBug die cut machine is in that blue bag)

 I love those craft storage boxes.  I have three of them, but I wish I had a lot more.  There is an inner tray on the top for smaller stuff.

 And plenty of room in the bottom for bigger things.

 And under the Silhouette I have all the vinyl, transfer tape, and more random craft/scrapbooking supplies.

 On the other wall is the scrapbook cabinet my husband built for me.  I keep my tool tote on top (even though I rarely use most of the tools in it since I haven't done much scrapbooking - though I fully intend to change that soon).  I bought the green bucket yesterday.  I had a smaller one there before but it was overflowing with the things I like to keep handy like my Ipod and headphones, phone cases (I have one for exercise, one that I put on when I'm painting so I don't ruin my good one, etc) and gift cards I haven't used yet.

 I also have this card sitting up there.  My mother-in-law sent it to me for Mother's Day a couple years ago and it's been on display ever since.  It serves as my reminder that I'm my own toughest critic and that it's ok to let things go because from the outside my life looks entirely different than how I view it.

 Inside the scrapbook cabinet is my paper (of course) and the things I use most often in my daily life or want easy access to whenever I get the time to work on it (like my One Little Word album).

 And I finished it all off yesterday with those large black and white photos - which I love!  I have had the photos printed for months now, just sitting in a closet.  Yesterday I spent the day shopping, with one of my main goals being to find frames for those photos (another one of my intentions - to get some of my photos off the computer and displayed where we can all enjoy them).  Found them for $15 each at AC Moore - score!  The photos are each 16 x 20, so I thought that was a great price for frames that big.  And thankfully I didn't have any problem talking my husband into helping me hang them up as soon as he got home.
Yay!  I now get to declare my craft room completely decorated!

 Don't be too jealous - I still have some clutter hiding in the craft room. SHHHH! LOL  Most of those boxes will be gone as soon as I finish up my final paperwork and drop offs for disbanding the GS troop.

 And I still have ongoing crafty messiness in my "other craft room" (as the husband likes to call it).  Bet you can't wait to see what I've been working on for Valentine's Day! ;)