The measuring door...

Most homes have one... The door, you know the one, where all measurements of the growing kids are kept.  Most seem to be in either the kitchen or the laundry room.  I've seen them throughout my life in various houses- markings of old and new with slash marks, dates, and names all the way up.

I wanted that door for my children, but always knew that would be impossible.  Being married to a Navy man means never really putting roots down anywhere.  You get usually around 2 years, 3 years tops, to move all your things to, set the kids up at schools and with sports teams, and make that particular house your home.  Most of the time, you don't own that house... and if you did, you know that in just a few short years you will have to sell it.  So, with that knowledge, you certainly don't mark on the doors.

During our tour in Tennessee (Please don't make me explain why the Navy has a base in TN), my good friend Lauren, and I were discussing this very issue.  She had measured her kiddos on her rental house door frame in pencil.  I loved seeing it, but didn't really understand the purpose because it would just all have to be erased.  It was then that she suggested that we get door moulding from Home Depot and measure our kids on that, and then when we moved... we could just move it with us!!!  BRILLIANT!

I ran right out and bought one!  I went through the kids medical records and busily put any heights that I could find, along with their dates on my moulding.  The kids were almost as excited as I was to stand up and record their current height on the stick!  That was June 24, 2010.

My kids STILL get excited when it's time to measure on the moulding!  We measure about 4-5 times a year.  Always around someone's birthday... and with having 4 kiddos, we have just about every season covered!  They love seeing how much they have grown since the last time- and so do I!

Once all this Navy business is over, and we find our forever home... we will install the moulding into a door frame where we can sit back, admire it, and one day...

measure our grandchildren on it