Lacey,keepsakes and memories isn’t hoarding it’s called LOVE…I kept up on my kids baby books,saved their Christening gowns,cards,and their favorite toys etc,etc, it’s a beautiful thing.When my kids received their keepsakes as adults they cried and couldn’t believe I kept the things I did…It was so special to them ✌️❤️.I lost my oldest daughter in 2016 at the age of 32 and she had started a keepsake box for her son which he cried as well when received…Keep those memories and cherish them forever…🥰🥰
Lacey you are doing the best you can as being a mom and I still have things mean the same thing birthday cards. Since my grandmother passed away I have some of her clothing when I was like 12 years old there a reporter from one of the local newspapers came to my grandmother nursing home and I was teasing her like I wouldn't share my pepsi with her and we got on the front page of the newspapers it was for mother's day and one of my scrapbook I used for my graduation party with everyone who came to sign it. So I'm the same way. You are doing a beautiful job on rasing Blexy .
Love that your aware of your surroundings and lock the car doors even if your just sitting in a parking lot!!! I do the same thing all the time! Glad you’re staying safe and staying aware while recording🙏🌹
Lacey you’re such a great mom. I’m sure bexley will appreciate the love and care you’re putting into keeping her memories together for her to have in the future. so sweet.
Hi Lacey you are a great mum,Bexley is cute ❤.Nothing wrong in having memory boxes/containers etc .There are many different boxes,containers etc to store things.It's nice to look back all the different things that bring back memories 😀 😍
Girl Michael’s have really cute and big memory boxes, you can also get a large storage box from Home Depot for bigger items like toys, shoes, blankets etc
I do the exact same things as you Lacey. I've kept all Cards, My Childrens Bracelts from Hospital as Newborns, Their Pegs where the Ambilical Cord was, Their Teeth Etc ... Every single thing holds so many memories for me. I brought big tubs (you'd say Totes) and have at least one Per Child but I've had to buy more recently as sorting through things I realized I've blinked and they've Grown again.. People think I'm mental haha but I put them up in the Attic and when I do bring them down I actually see that they now hold as many memories for them as they do myself so it really is worth doing ❤ ... I know single parenting can be hard but you are absolutely rocking it and it's so clear to see how much Bex adores you. You truly are so inspiring and just beautiful inside/out.. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll not go wrong. ❤❤❤❤
I got a large plastic storage bin (keeps them all together and protects in case of flood or pet damage) and use shoe boxes for my kids memories and we decorate them every year. I also print photos too it's really cheap online, old school I know but I always worry I or my kids won't be able to access the digital media in the future old phones, forgotten passwords etc. I also set each kid up an email account and send them emails occasionally telling them what they did on their birthday, funny stories, sending photos and videos. I log in to them on the first of every month remove spam and to make sure the account is active. I will give them the log in when they are old enough 16/18/21 whatever seems right. You are doing an amazing job!
I take pictures of my kids holding cards, pictures they've drawn, art they make etc. Then we make a photo book for the year. That way we don't keep everything.
Lacey if you get all the cards and put them one inside the other from smallest on the inside and biggest on the outside then you can sew through the spines to make a book of her cards. That takes up far less space and you can do one after each birthday.
Separate bins. I literally have a treasures from my three boys that I have saved their entire lifetime. I have a couple Rubbermaid bins that I have kept them in. I have their soccer shirts, baseball shirts, basketball shirts, awards, special school papers, birthday cards, a few stuffed animals, bedspreads and sheets from their cribs.… I have kept them all. Being boys they think I’m crazy, but they’re so many memories. They are treasures to me that I will share with their children. My grandmother had a lot of treasures and I think that’s where I got it from. To this day, and I am 67, those treasures bring smiles to my face. Like you, I was a single mom and we went through some really rough times. Those treasures bring back so much happiness to me and I am forever grateful.❤️❤️❤️
Having kept lots of stuff over the years, I realised that I was hoarding junk. My grown up kids made it clear that the ‘stuff’ I was holding on to was going straight into a skip. When we started going through the stuff, I could not remember why we had it so, off it went to charity shops or down the dump as they had spoiled. However, I am in the process of putting time capsules for our grandchildren. It includes photos, old magazines and decorations from our wedding cake.Theyvwill also get a letter telling them the music we liked, films we enjoyed books we read and about our life.
Hey Lacey, Micheal’s craft store has memory boxes. Normally they are on sale so watch for a sale. And they have cute designs too. Also, keeping your things isn’t hoarding. My kids are 24-30 now and I have their newborn stuff and memories of things they made in school and such.
Same girl with the "hoarding" - I do this too (I had a very traumatic chilhood). Anything that has a positive memory attached to it, I cannot get rid of. I am organized though, so I have learned to embrace it. I genuinely sit down with my keepsake boxes and go through them every once in a while. I think it is super sweet you are doing it for Bexley 💞
you are a great Momma Lacey! It's hard sometimes when you are out by yourself with the lil one, but don't feel strange if she is crying in public or whatever, all kids do and they will at some point. My guy when he was 2 kept kicking the pew in church the music was on so people couldn't really hear it. We decided to go to the back of church and I whispered to him to be a good boy he's two and yells out just as the music stops I don't wanna be a good boy. Plus it was Easter and the church was more crowded. there were a few looks and some laughs but what can you do. you got that right Lacey, and once they start school time flies!!!
I promise you that the time feels like it speeds up as they get older. Cherish every little thing because you will look up and she will be grown before you know it. You're doing a great job, Lacey!
I have boxes like this too. Also some of the things are actually on my shelfes and I love it. I think as long as it's not actually trash from food or something that you keep it is totally fine and normal. So many things hold beautiful memories that I wouldn't want to forget or lose so why not keep it. We live in a fast and materialistic world that wants constant change acording to style, I never understand how people just live in empty rooms without little treasures from the past😅. (If you feel comfortable in minimalistic areas that's totally fine. It's just sad that the other way is seen as messy) My mom still has a lot of the drawings I did when I was little and I love it. I keep all the tickets from concerts or travels. It means you care and and cherish these moments and people and I see nothing wrong with that😊 Edit: My mom also has my first cut hair and all my lost teeth in a little box😂
I have the same problem in saving everything that holds memorable value, so I went out and got plastic file-holder bins for each of my kids, along with the folders that go in them. I labeled each folder with a year and put all the memories from that year in the corresponding folder. It helps you not only save more in one bin instead of a bunch, but it keeps it all nicely organized and protected if anything were to happen.
Such Cute clothes, great taste momma 😊. I love how Bex got so excited over the dress and then she started singing 😊😊❤❤. I guessed finally got to pee, lol 😂😂. Love ya Lacey 😊
Thank you for sharing your motivations and feelings about memory boxes. Many situations (war, separation, natural disaster) can lead to loss of tangible memories. I know some of your siblings have such a box as well. Btw, I have seen the video of foster toddler Luna leaving your family. But it isn't in the playlist any longer. I hope you can once find a photo or object of your early childhood. I still don't know what I find the hardest of mother- or parenthood. But I understand that it is different for every case. Maybe we become aware that we are all transitory, seeing our child grow? At a certain point, you might wish your elder to stop aging for the same reason. Catch the moments and stay aware.
I don’t have those items either. No pictures no blanket and so on. Would be nice. I also asked if my birth father had more children besides me. It’s like it’s taboo to tell me. Some of us adopted children understand very much.
I have memory boxes too, and it’s because I’m sentimental, not because I lacked anything as a child. My parents and grandparents were married til death did them part, and I am one of the few who wanted the old photos (even some from the 1800’s), some handmade furniture (grandpa made), paintings (grandma), etc. Personally I think those who don’t keep sentimental memory things are the weird ones, LOL! Never feel bad for doing what makes you happy, and other’s opinions are not to be worried about! You’re doing a great job! ❤
It's us being a mom Lacey! It's Ok to keep things bexley have while she's growing up, I too still have my 4 children's umbilical cords and their hospital baby tags until now, and they're all in their 20's now and my only daughter is already married.😊❤❤
Keep the baby box separate label it baby box, inside add a note of your favorite memories when bex could fit in all that stuff. ❤ the new box will be her life memory box, or maybe her childhood box, possibly may need to make her a new one when she’s a preteen! I love these. ❤ perfect memory keep sakes.
Your doing the best you can Lacey and Bexley is so cute keep smashing it being an amazing mum to Bexley so pleased she gets on well with Scarlett too ❤
Girl!! I do the same thing w the memory box for my kid! I even bought the 2 NY newspapers (im a nyer) the day he was born and put it in as well as the bracelet and tiny diapers for that exact reason!! I was trying to yell through my phone that Hobby Lobby has many many colors and size options for really great prices! Go check em out w Kylie :) Ur a great mom girl!! Love from another single mom 10 yrs older than you with a 6 yr old
I’m 71 & I never had trouble getting my kids & me ready to leave the house. I had 2 that was at least 18 months apart n diapers. Never had trouble going into adulthood. My youngest son was 3 weeks old when his cord came off. His 10 year old sister was giving him a bath. If your grandmother is still alive on your Dads side r aunts ask them if they have any pictures. I have just kept certain things from being a newborn. Walmart has lots of containers for keeping things. Bexley is getting so big & adorable. It’s hard to believe she’s 2 now. Before u know it she’ll b in preschool. ❤❤❤❤❤u
I'd keep the newborn stuff in the little box. You'll have plenty to add to the bigger box as she grows. Also I was so wanting you to get to a washroom when you were showing stuff in the car - I was crossing my legs for you!!!
Dollar general where I’m from in Indiana has these cute “cheap” decorative boxes of all sizes and would be perfect for a memory box. I have several sizes of the same theme and use mine just for that including jewelry etc. and looks cute in my bedroom and goes with the theme.
I was on bedrest with both of my because of premature labor. I had to go back to work right away. 6weeks with one 5 weeks with the other. When l went back after #2, they were at different places for daycare. I got them ready then went to work for 12 hours. Needless to say, breast feeding wasn't an option. And I had a 3 story house. Gezzzz how did I do it!
Hey Lacey I have a photo album book with some pictures of me when I was younger and my adult too and few pictures of my son when he was a baby but that is all but I had a rough childhood and I have medical issues too
Lacey I don't have any of my baby pictures. My mother took them when she walked out when I was 13 years old . She took my 16 year old sister with her. I was left at school she was supposed to pick me up. I had to walk home which wouldn't have been bad if it hadn't been cold and raining. I have 4 children 3 girls and 1boy . Prayers and Love 💞 From Oklahoma
I have kept most of my birthday cards and I’m glad I did bc my cousin passed away in 2017 and one day in 2021 when I was going thru my stuff as I was moving, I found a birthday card from her from my 11th (I think?) birthday and it made me cry when I found it. Also with my goddaughter, who is 5, I have kept quite a few of my favorite outfits of hers so I’ll have them forever because they are just the cutest and I can reuse them for when I have kids
I’m a hoarder with things like that too. I didn’t have no problems as a kid but love those memories my kids are 16 and 10. Agree seeing your kids growing up is bittersweet but why does it go way too fast.
Lacey, try either Michals or hobby lobby for a memory box, You can personalize each box and make each box for five or 10 years worth of stuff and then move on to the Nuage new box you know what I mean ha ha ha😊
i do the same but there not in a box there all over my room to the point you can't walk in there. my mom doesn't understand why i keep almost everything and not just throw or give it away. its hard to let go when you look at them you think of the memory that goes with it. so something that is helping me out is i take a photo of it and then i can let it go. but if it means more then anything to me i keep.
I think I have cards, Christmas cards, Easter cards, birthday cards, marriage cards. All imaginable from Early childhood. Well into my late twenties now. And I don't know what to do with them. And I did the same thing with all my kids stuff. They're only two and four but I don't. I don't know what to do and it's just cards. It's just the cards. I don't know why I do that but that's the thing I like to collect so I wouldn't call it hoarding. But maybe one day I'll make like a collage or something. 😂❤
Loved watching this vlog. Bexley is so cute. I totally get and understand of not having any of your baby stuff. All i got is 2 pics. One little baby pic and one of me about 11 month's old. I was a care kid. My social worker got me and my family on an access visit to do an all about me folder and a photo album of all my baby/early childhood pics. Unfortunately when i was in my care home a very jealous kid stole my album just before i left to go into foster care. We could never get it back as she denied having it. She stole from me quite a bit. When i went into care i had to leave my ragdoll that went every where with mw behind. Unfortunately ive not been able to have kids. Im 45.
I lost my mom at 18. Love that she wrote about me in a baby book I still have. She was funny. Apparently I would swear like a sailor and she would put ginger on my tongue. Not much has changed and I still am not a fan of ginger.
Lacey why don’t you put her cards in a scrap book. I love scrap booking, it’s very therapeutic and you are so creative, then the box can be for the bulkier stuff. You are a fabulous Mum, don’t doubt yourself. Jx
What I think you should do is just go get a tote from target decorate it with your own stickers or whatever and then buy individual Ziploc baggies and you can label them newborn stuff, pictures, artwork birthday cards and just individually put them in gallon baggies and maybe even a picture of her that yearand you’ll have one that you can carry everywhere she can carry everywhere. She wouldn’t have to worry about different ones.
Tjmaxx and Marshall’s gets makeup, skincare, haircare that is overstock, discontinued products or bc of package design changes… nothing is expired…. not that shampoo or conditioner does expire tho but so you know for the future not to worry about that! Edit… and Ross, Burlington… all the places… it’s the same for these stores as well
Lace your an amazing mommy and you will learn S you go just like every other good mommy. As for memory boxes dollar generals and dollar tree usually has some really nice ones on the low low. I have a lot of them
We use Dreft laundry detergent. They also make Dreft for family's. I switched after our daughter and my husband broke out to a different brand of free and clear
I have no idea how you guys handle the heat and Arizona during this time it’s 97 in New Jersey with humidity and it is absolutely terrible I can’t imagine 110+
How lovely are you too. I was never in Foster care (however I had lots of Foster siblings aswell as bio siblings) and I do this too. Not just my own stuff but my kids too when my eldest went from primary school (we live in Ireland he was 12/13) to secondary school (his birthday is in the summer holidays) I made not only a photo book for him but his 2 best friends also with all the photo memories of the 3 of them from literally age 3 to 12 birthday parties days out just hanging out each stage a different chapter with is own little essay with it. I've kept both my kids clothes baby things I kept a nappy (diaper) from each stage they both had dodies (pacifier) and I kept the last one they each had I've kept every copy book every picture they drew every card they made (my youngest is only 8 and eldest is 20) I kept the first mothers day card my eldest bought me with his own money that he earned himself. I keep everything I just love it all so much and I love my kids so much I want them to be able to look back on those things one day and remember. After my dad died my siblings took a lot of stuff (cos they would use it) and nearly everything else my mom gave away so I only have 2 things his guitar and a picture he drew on one of our Summer holidays so I treasure everything so I totally get it. But you have to be selective otherwise your house ends up full of stuff that you don't need I'm doing a huge clear out and believe me it's torture but it needs to be done. Keeping a box is the best way to do it you can just stack them on top of eachother when the bigger one gets full and I think its great if you have them separated and labelled new born 1-3 or whatever way you do it that way she can easily find each stage when she's older. Your doing such a great job you are a fantastic mom so don't feel bad for cherishing every memory. ❤❤❤
I don't have baby pictures either, house burnt down when I was a year old and when stuff was being pulled out people came and took stuff. one lady grabbed the photo albums and took off.
I have 2 grown children. I kept their umbilical cords as well. I kept their teeth. Hair from 1st hair cut. Artwork from preschool through 12th grade and so on and so on. Once they were settled in their own homes I presented them with their items. THEY DIDN'T WANT IT!! I was crushed. I did it for the same reasons. Very few pictures/memories of me as a baby but ton of my older sister.
Biological doesn't equal normal... You're not abnormal... But I know what you mean. It's the "real" parents thing for me... As an adopted kid I strongly feel we should normalize different types of families. 😢❤ I resonate with this...
