Merry Christmas

1. wrapping presents in front of my oblivious girl 2. chirstmas eve dresses 3. little sister watching big sister 4. lil's first rc car experience 5. the reason for the season 6.&7. opening presents 8. pretty tree 9. tinsel

Merry Christmas Friends! We had a very low key couple of days and squeezed every bit of relaxation and joy out of Ben's time off. I hope you had a wonderful holiday too!

Felt Food


After Amy taught me how to make felt donuts I have become a little obsessed with making stuff out of felt. So when a friend invited us to her son's birthday party I knew what we were giving him. He is a chef in the making so I decided to stick to food and made him an assortment of breakfast foods. Toaster pastries, cinnamon rolls, an orange slice and a fried egg. So easy. So much fun.

And since I'm not going to attempt any sort of diy or tutorial here are some links to help you get or make some cute felt food for yourself!

Little Picklepotamus has felt food including this breakfast set that is ready to ship!

Sweet Emma Jean has a ton of felt food patterns and tutorials ready to go if you want to DIY.

Felt is definitely my current favorite craft medium. What's yours?

Winter Beach Days





Last weekend we went to a birthday party in Daytona Beach. "Winter" at the beach is a magical thing. The weather was beautiful and the beach was nearly empty. This is the best time of the year to be in Florida. Despite my complaints about the summer heat I really do love living here. Being near the ocean stirs something deep in my soul. Do you have a place that stirs you?

ps- that last picture is how Rosie felt about almost being left out of this post.

Stress Dreams


Yesterday Lilly told that there was an incident at school where she didn't get to color while everyone else did. Apparently a boy took her seat. (The nerve!)  I know better then to believe that this was as big of a deal as she made it out to be because she is three and doesn't share all sides of the story. (although my momma bear instinct did flare up a bit)

That night while I was sitting in the girls room feeding Rosie and Lilly shouted in her sleep, "I want to color!" It's those kind of moments that make me realize how big she is. Having stress related dreams is to grown up for her if you ask me. But I can't protect her from everything- and crayon related stress isn't too bad. Sometimes, as a momma, I forget that my end goal is to raise happy, successful and well adjusted adults. Not an adult sized child. It is better to allow stress into her life so I can teach her how to handle it then to keep her stress free. And it's better to teach her to be in control of her own circumstances (Next time just grab your own chair and color! Don't wait for someone else to make room for you!)  then for me to get in a fight with this neanderthal boy's mother, right?








or should we go get our pitchforks?

Halloween


Oh hey! Halloween was a few weeks ago and I made some stuff for it. So I thought I would share. 

Lillian decided that she wanted to be 'Punzel so we based all of our costumes around her. Rosie was Pascal, Ben was Flynn Rider and I was Mother Gothel. My cheapskate heart rejoiced at the fact that the only newly purchased item in  all of our costumes was the yarn for Lilly's wig. Ben's vest was made from an old sweat shirt. Rosie's hat was made from my yarn/felt stash and my cape was made from a sheet. Everything else was in our closets and Lilly's dress was a hand-me-down.

I also whipped this gem up last minute for a "community helpers" parade at Lil's school. It is made out of one of Ben's old undershirts. I totally winged it and was shocked when it worked. This will forever be known as the Halloween when I learned to sew. 

Hope yours was great too. 

Baby Talk V.10



Lilly's imagination is in full swing these days and it is awesome. She comes up with some of the craziest stuff (like the above) and as hard as I try to be all "That's not polite! Don't talk like that!" I am secretly giggling inside. Here are some more fun things Lilly says:

- Cram-ra: She is trying to say camera. This refers to either the camera or the video baby monitor.
- Hanatizer: Hand Sanitizer
- I: Used in place of "me". Let I see. 
- Sprinkley: Sparkle
- Hambanger: Hamburger

I can only imagine the stories Lilly and Rosie will come up with together once Rosie starts talking. 

Lilly's Punzel Wig


I think I may be a little more excited about Lilly's Halloween costume then she is. Which is saying something because she is pretty stoked. She is going to be "Punzel" and I used this tutorial by Kid Craft to make the wig. The tutorial was pretty great- I would only add two things that I tweaked a bit.

  • First, instead of cutting each length individually (which would have taken me ALL DAY) I spaced two chairs at the desired length, then wrapped the yarn around the backs of said chairs. Then I could cut all of the lengths at once. 
  • Second- I didn't tie a piece of yarn around the middle before sewing it to the cap (well, I did but was left with a big bald spot on the back of the head.) Instead I laid all the lengths across a table and sewed on about 10 strands at a time (from the middle) using a back stitch. This gave me a much longer "part" and covered more of her head. 
It probably took me about two hours total to make, which isn't too bad. And it turned out so well! The wig is pretty secure too. Lilly did some major dancing and jumping and whipping it around before it finally fell off. Now I just have to clean up the ends, add some flowers and she is set! Lilly told me it needed the flowers. She was all "Duh, mom!" 

Happy crafting!

Rosie's 4th month



Stats: weight 12 lbs 13oz (25%), height 24 1/4 inches (50%), head circ 16 1/4 inches (75%) so basically she is a match stick.

Mommy's thoughts: Remember when Rosie slept through the night? That didn't last. I hope think she is teething. She is drooling like crazy and generally more fussy then usual. Lilly hates the drool. She is constantly loosing it over the drool. MOMMY!! ROSIE IS GOING TO SPIT UP ON MY DRESS! Lilly, it's not spit up it's just drool and it won't hurt you. Lillian sprouted her first tooth around this time so I'm hoping that is whats up with my little angel. Because she has been less then angelic this month.

Rosie loves: Her daddy. She had been going through a mom only phase but that seems to be on it's way out. The second daddy walks in the door she is all wiggly and smiley. She really tries to get his attention and is over the moon when she gets it. I love watching my girls love their daddy and watching him love them back is even better. It is a healing balm to my daddy issue wounds.

Rosie likes: Her hands. She really enjoys grabbing at stuff like my hair (which is different from when Lilly was a baby because my hair wasn't long enough for her chubby fingers to get), Lilly's clothes (see above paragraph) etc. She also enjoys chewing on them and using them to grab at my face when she is nursing (which I kinda love).

Rosie dislikes: Being alone. She loves being the center of attention and does not like any time when that is not the case. If she can't be the center of attention then she does this almost cute whiney cry until someone picks her up. Mommy dislikes the whiney cry.

Just a mom.

Can I make a confession?  Some days I struggle with just being a mom. There are so many thoughts/ideas/plans swirling around in my head that I want to do now.

Some are little: crafts to make, things to learn, pictures to take.

Some are boring: nails to paint, food to eat, laundry to clean.

Some are big and exciting: trips to take, collaborations to make.

But for now most of these things are on hold because there is always someone who needs their mommy. And even though my pride urges me to pursue my selfish desires I know in my heart of hearts that I would rather be here to kiss scraped knees and tickle little toes. I know a time will come when I have all the free time I could want. And I'm told I will miss them terribly. Today I will just be their mommy and maybe after they go to bed I can paint my nails.

snap shots



Momma Style






True Story: Some days, despite my genuine desire to look "put together", I end up like this. Frizzy hair, flip flops, fussy baby. I meant to find shoes that matched and to do something fancy with my hair but it didn't happen. Also, Rosie was not content to simply watch mommy get her picture taken so she fussed until I let her join. But the best part of this story is that I wouldn't change it for the world. 

Doodlings

Lillian has been loving preschool and I have loved being the mama of a preschooler. On her first day I wanted to leave a little note with her lunch but realized that I would have to get creative since she can't read (der). So I just drew our little family. Then her teacher told me that she used the note as a place mat so, naturally, I can never stop making them. My goal is to show her that we love her and it has been so much fun. Now let's see how long I can keep it up. Any bets? Ha. 

Three Months Old




Little Miss. Rosie is 3 months old now and such a hoot. It is amazing how different she and Lilly are. I thought that all my kids would be basically the same as babies but BOY was I wrong. Here are some fun facts about Rosie's 3rd month of life:
  • Mommy was: so glad that Rosie is sleeping through the night. For the most part anyway. She nurses between 7 and 8pm and then wakes up to nurse again around 5am. Even though she goes back to sleep I try to stay up and get my day going because I am generally better at life when I get up before my kids.
  • Rosie loves: everyone. She is such a social little girl. She loves to talk and smile and blow bubbles. Lilly was a happy baby but Rosie makes it seem like she was a grouch! I'm totally not comparing them though (yes I am). She already have a special bond with her big sissy that melts my heart. Lilly loves when Rosie smiles at her. Sometimes it makes her laugh which makes Rosie laugh which makes Lilly laugh more and it is pretty much the best thing that has ever happened in the history of things.
  • Rosie likes: her mobile. It is one of those with a projector and it belonged to Lillian when she was a baby. Lilly liked it and would drift off to sleep while it played a soft tune but Rosie seems to think it's a disco ball. As soon as it turns on she starts to smile and sing garbley baby songs. To Rosie mobile = instant baby party.
  • Rosie dislikes: the car. This is new. Before she would fall asleep almost immediately in the car and now she just cries. To make her stop I must twist my arm like a circus performer and hold the pacifier in her mouth all while tapping it with my finger until she falls asleep. And God forbid I stop the car because then she wakes up and we have to start the process all over again. It is ridiculous. And I pretty sure I would lose my arm if I happened to be in a car accident while in that position.

PS-aren't those pictures hysterical!? I seriously can't take it.

The Mischief of Lillian Elouise & The Crayon



Last week Ben called me into the bedroom to see what Lillian had done. (Ruh Row.) Upon my arrival she confessed that she had colored on the wall.( Insert stern mama face.) I started to scold her until I saw what she drew. It was two people! Then I started to laugh/cry. I was so proud of her. (Insert confused toddler here.) 

Up until this point she had only drawn lines and the occasional circle. I was starting to become concerned (paranoid much?) because I saw other kids her age drawing figures. I eventually put my mom pants back on and told her how I was so proud of her drawings but preferred that she didn't do them on the walls. I started to make her clean it off which she actually enjoyed (fail) so I took the magic eraser from her and did it myself which made her cry (win?). 

I am one proud mama... I think.
( ♥ )

Baby Talk V.9


Well- she's not the baby anymore but Lillian is still the funniest girl I know. I love her tiny little brain. Here are some of the gems she has spit out recently:

  • Incredible- She actually means acceptable. She uses it like this: "That is not incredible!" meaning my behavior. Yep.
  • Puncuter- meaning computer. I totally encourage this one. It's so rare that she just straight up says a word wrong these days. So cute.
  • Pennies- all money. Occasionally when she does something really great (like go potty all by her self including flushing and wiping without any help or whining) she gets a few coins that she can spend at the candy store. She loves her pennies and often makes them talk to each other before trading them in for a lollipop.

She has also asked me two questions about Rosie that left me teary eyed from trying to withhold my laughter. 
1. Does Rosie have a tongue?
2. Did Rosie have a shirt on when she was in your tummy?

I love her so stinkin much.

First Day

spaced out // re-focusing // genuine smile // proud girl

Yesterday morning Lillian Elouise walked through the door to her first pre-school class and didn't look back. I am so proud of my brave little girl. When I picked her up she told me that she "didn't have ANY fun!" then smiled the whole way home. Faker.

I did pretty good too. I didn't shed any tears (got them all out the night before) and managed to go grocery shopping. I did however have a mini panic attack when I realized that for the first time my parenting skills are going to be public. The teachers and other moms will see through Lilly's words and behaviors what kind of parent I am. I imagine her teaching the other children to call their behinds "butt cheeks". The teachers will know we taught her that! And what if I've missed something major! What if I pack her the wrong kind of lunch?! What if she doesn't have the right backpack or shoes?! I want her to be liked and I want to be liked as well! 

Thankfully, I was reminded that the expectations/standards I have placed on myself are just that. MINE. The other moms may not be as crazy as I am (hopefully) and probably aren't even looking at Lilly's shoes. Everyone has a first time going to school. I have a great kid. I am a good parent. We will get through this together. 

Did you have a first timer this week? How was it for you?

More Birthday Pictures!

 Because I know that is how we all want to start our Tuesday. Happy Birthday Pictures! It was such a good day. 
 
 
Today is Lillian's first day of pre-school so I need all the happy I can look at. More on that later.