My Quarterly Mommy Post

Hold onto your hats, Dear Readers, it's a Mommy* Post!**

What kid-related and kid-created paperwork do you keep for posterity?

I'm talking about all the Daily Poop sheets from daycare. All the Good/Bad Kid Notes from preschool. The painted hand-prints on blue sheets of construction paper. And the footprints too.

I'm also talking about the kid-created stuff. The Picassoesque drawing of the family (giant stick kid, tiny stick parents, stick dog that looks like a tree). The coloring book sheets that are never colored "within the lines". *** The stickered, stamped, colored Masterpieces.

Do you keep it all? How do you decide what to keep and what to ditch?

Here's my thoughts to get things going:

I keep:
- Significant kid-related documents. Examples: Bad Notes from Preschool (these could be good for a laugh later), Good Notes from Preschool (stuff you feel proud about), and Milestone-related documents (first name-writing attempt)
- Size-related stuff: handprints, footprints (these will be fun to dig out in a few years and compare)
- Drawings that I like. I just don't think you can keep them all. And some are just doodling. That said, I still have a BUNCH. Goofy Junior is using a scissors like a fiend now and I showed him how to cut up pix in magazines and use glue to make a collage last weekend. And he knows how to use tape. Let's just say our entry hall looks like an art gallery installation right now. Or a daycare.
- Handmade cards. I'm a sucker for these. Hand-made Mother's Day cards, birthday cards, Just Because cards. I keep all of these.

I ditch:
- Most colored coloring book sheets.
- Stickered and stamped Masterpieces.
- Sheets that told me what GJ ate for lunch at daycare. Or when he pooped. Old news.

And....I totally get busted all the time for throwing these things away. You see, it seems that GJ does not approve of me throwing ANYTHING of his away. Here's how this conversation usually goes:

GJ (throwing something away in the trash can): Hey!!!
Me: What?
GJ (pulling the paper with the letter "e" stamped all over it): Who threw this away?
Me (totally acting dumb): Um, what? What is it?
GJ (gingerly pulling the e-stamped thing from the trash): This! My piece of paper. (makes sad face)
Me: Oh, that. Hmmm.... Wow. It must have gotten thrown away with some mail. Did you leave it lying around? Maybe Daddy threw it away. (note me shifting blame here to everyone but me. Ha!) Hey, what letter is that on there? (always teaching, I am...)

This usually results in having to keep the dreaded Masterpiece around for another day, until he's not looking, then putting it deeper in the trash can.


*This is really a Parent Post, since it applies to Mommies and Daddies. Always full disclosure here at Goofy Girl.

**Yes, I'm a Mommy. And no, I don't post a ton about being a Mommy. It's just one facet of who I am, so if it comes up, it comes up. Usually it is the LEAST goofy part of my world, so I just don't post a lot about it. You might think this is goofy. Well, did you notice the name of this blog? Okay then.

***Another side note (I'm into asterisks today): Does it bug you when you kid colors OUTSIDE the lines? This seems to drive some people crazy. I actually encourage it. There will be SO much time for conforming later, why pressure them with this now? Why stifle creative thinking at such a young age?