Projects

Man alive I love this girl. I am so lucky to be her mom!

These are some fabric covered button bracelets I've created! I am very proud of my work. My favorites are the vintage-looking ones!

And I made a felt wreath! It turned out great.

Baggage

Okay, I've got some serious baggage I need to unload. It's been over a year now since my daughter was born, and I'm still holding onto something that has made me frustrated  for a while. I'll simply state it here: my work never threw me a baby shower!

Okay, let me explain a little. I have worked at my job for over 5 years now. In that time, every co-worker of mine who has been pregnant with their first child has been thrown a baby shower. Until me, that is.

Now fast forward a little bit. Like I said, it's been over a year since my daughter was born. These feelings resurfaced recently when I was invited to a co-workers baby shower being thrown for her by two other co-workers of mine. This is her first baby, and she has been employed at my work for less than a year. I've worked there for over 5 years. Now I know that your personality has a lot to do with how you are perceived/liked by your coworkers. And my personality is very introverted while this other girl's is very extroverted and outgoing. So in the one year she's been at my work she may have made better relationships than I have in my 5+ years.

And to top it off, another co-worker of mine who recently had a baby quit her job and went to work somewhere else before she was even pregnant. And even she was thrown a baby shower by my work. And she didn't even work there!

Is it just me? Do my coworkers not think I wouldn't notice when NO ONE offered to throw me a baby shower?

I am pretty shy at work and I don't talk a lot or go out of my way to join conversations like everyone else. I listen to others, that's what I do. But just because I'm not as out going as every other employee doesn't mean my feelings won't get hurt when I'm not thrown a baby shower.

I know....I know.....

I'm thinking about this WAY too much and whining and complaining. But it is just something I had envisioned happening for so many years as I struggled to get pregnant. And many of my coworkers knew it was a struggle.

Rant over.

Living in the Moment

My entire life I've been trying to learn this lesson- to live in the moment.


It's not an easy thing to live by! Too often we feel like we aren't satisfied with the present, that we will be happy only when we achieve something.


All too often we fall into the thinking rut of "I'll be happy when I graduate......I'll be happy when I'm married......I'll be happy when I have kids.......I'll be happy when my kids are older.........I'll be happy when I retire........"


But I find myself wishing each day that I could just pause life. Just stand still in the moment for a while. Maybe it's because each day is so precious with a little one your home. They grow so much so fast. And you begin to wish that child could just stay the age they were when they were born, and then again at 6 months, and then at 1 year. But it's incredibly fun watching my girl grow up and develop. I just miss those other moments when she was younger!


We need to evaluate why we say we'll be happy in the future, and not in the present. I think it's because we take the present moment for granted. It's not until it's passed by us that we yearn to go back!


So I'm going to try to live in the moment. Right now.

Wanting What's Best

We all want what's best for our children right?

And I think most of us would agree that part of making our children strong is watching them go through adversity and learning from those experiences.

But how do we ensure that those adversities aren't "too" adverse? Do you know what I mean?

For instance, my baby girl is crawling all over the place. She is now starting to pull herself up to a standing position on furniture and to crawl up and down things. So this means more falls, and more bruises. More owies and bumps.

But I know that this is necessary for her to learn about the dangers around our house. For her to learn how to properly crawl up a stair and back down again without breaking her head.

At first I tried staying right next to her so that if she was going to fall, I could catch her. But I quickly learned that I can't hold her hand through everything. She needs some independence. This got me thinking about when she's older how I can give her some independence, but yet help her through those tough times.

My girl's not even in school yet but I find myself wondering about how to protect her during those vulnerable years. How do I protect her from all the bullying, name-calling, violence?

How do you other mothers do it? How do you teach your children independence and the importance of overcoming adversity without your child (or children) succumbing to those pressures?

I obviously don't want my child getting seriously injured as she learns how to walk, but I also can't be by her side constantly. I guess this is a predicament for all parents, one that must be learned perhaps through experience and trial-and-error.

I'd sure like to get a head start on this though! I just want what's best for her.

Birthday/Celebration Time!

My little girl just turned one! I cannot believe it's been a whole year since she was born. For the past few weeks I've been preparing for her birthday celebration. Most of these ideas can be used for any kind of party, whether it's a baby shower, baby's first birthday, any-age birthday party, or just to celebrate milestones or decorate for a holiday or season.


I made a cute birthday banner that can be used for anyone's birthday. I simply chose some fabric that I liked and cut out a triangle, then used liquid stitch crafting glue to stick the fabric pieces together front to back. Then I sewed some bias tape to the top and attached the triangles. Simple and cute!

I came up with this birthday "banner" all by myself and thought I'd share since it was pretty easy, and completely free! I was boxing up some of my baby's newborn clothing and thought that I could make a cute banner by simply stringing some twine through the sleeves of the clothing! It was a fun visual reminder of how much she has grown in her first year!


Then I simply used some colorful paper clips to attach two sets of newborn mittons. You could also use cute colored clothes pins to attach all sorts of items; hats, socks, shoes, bows, etc.

You could easily add anything onto this banner and make it longer or shorter. Other items you could use on the banner are:

Baby beanie hats

Baby socks

Ribbon

Pacifiers

Pictures of baby throughout their first year

Baby shoes/slippers

Footprints/handprints on paper

We had lots of yummy food including:

My favorite- chicken salad sandwiches!

For E's birthday bash, I also wanted to show some pictures of her from when she was just a newborn throughout her first year to show how much she has grown and changed! I simply printed out some 4 x 6 photos and then attached them using paper clips and other office supplies to a cute ribbon!

It was so easy (and free!) and I thought it turned out great! I strung two other ribbons with photos around the house.

More food! I love caprese and these little caprese kabobs were so good and easy to make!

Simply cut skewers in half, then assemble the kabobs by alternating cherry or grape tomatoes, mozzarella cheese cubes, and basil leaves. Then sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and voila!

Chips, crackers, and spinach/artichoke dip!

Veggie tray

Deviled eggs- a must have!

Fruit!

I loved these cute little containers I picked up for $1 at Target! They can be used for multiple things. I used them as utensil holders.

Another great idea I've implemented when we have company over is to fill this container with water and then to keep it cold, I simply freeze a plastic bundt cake pan full of water overnight then the next day I empty the beautiful ring of ice into the drink container! I also add slices of lemons and limes to the bundt pan so it looks pretty and adds flavor to the water!