Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day, a day we have to remember our mom and say "thank you" for all she has done for us. We usually go about with buying a super sappy card that makes a person cry in the card aisle. A card filled with with thanks, love, memories of a devoted mother and the desire to be "just like her". I, myself, always find myself tearing up when reading these cards thinking of all that my own mother has done for me. It brings out such emotion because most of us have such a strong love and appreciation for our mothers.


My mom, sister, and I enjoying our Mother's Day.




As I was looking through cards, I thought of my own experiences as a mother (my mere 3 years of it that is) and thought of what the younger and more inexperienced mother might want to read on her Mother's Day card. I feel this card would be slightly different then the ones I spoke of before...for this card speaks to the newbies.

The card may read something like this...

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Today is the day to say thank you for all you do for us. We would like to applaud your ability to "keep on keeping on". You never let little obstacles get in your way. Mom, here are some reasons why you are great!

~ When you are sitting in the back seat of a hot van nursing the baby while the older child is watching Finding Nemo for the 100th time, you simply sit back with a smile on your face. When, said baby, decides to have an explosion that would put Mount Vesuvius to shame...in the midst of you changing a diaper...you simply offer your favorite jacket as a buffer between the explosive lava and your tan cloth seats. Although, my recollection of this moment is a hot and sweaty me frantically trying to contain the orange staining liquid from getting on her clothes and my back seat.

~ When you are running to the bathroom with a baby latched on (nursing) because your potty-trained child is calling for you...telling you to "hurry" and upon arrival you hear "Wook! 2 big poops and 1 little poop. 3 poops, Mommy!"...you simply smile and say "That is right, 2 and 1 is three, good job"! Although, the reality would be the realization of my inability to multitask while trying to feed a baby.

~ When you are up at 2:00 in the morning and you have just finished nursing the baby (are we seeing a common theme here), changing her diaper, getting her settled in and asleep...and you finally lay your head down to sleep...you hear the bubbling sounds exploding into a "just changed" diaper. You simply drag your weary body with eyes half-shut and change the diaper...which will most likely lead to steps 1-3 again. Although, this is when my sleep deprived self cries inside and begs for just one night of sleep.

~ When at night, you look around at your massive king size bed and you find yourself hanging off the edge to accommodate the weary husband, the child who is sleeping with you because of "the mystery" that is in his room, and the newly arrived baby who only finds the comfort of sleep being next to mommy...you simply curl your body up to enjoy as much of the bed as you can and go to sleep, because you know it will only be moments before you are up nursing the baby again. Although, secretly I am contemplating adding on another room just so I can have my own bed to sleep in

Mom, for all these things and more...we thank you.

Love, Us.

Now, me being the mom, would read this card with puffy eyes (due from lack of the appropriate amount of sleep in the last six weeks) and simply smile. For within all those harried moments are great ones.

I would also remember -

A little boy who speaks of his love for me and has proceeded to tell me "Happy Birthday" everyday since my birthday...a month ago.

Staring, for what seems like eternity, into my daughter's eyes and falling even more in love with her.

Chasing pirates and solving mysteries with an energetic little boy.

Smelling the wonderful newness of my little girl as we snuggle together.

Making "panpapes" (pancakes) with my 3 year old chef.

Watching my spirited little girl discover the joys of smiling.

Hearing my sweet boy telling me that I am his best friend.

There is no card that can really capture what speaks the most to a mom. It is our memories of love lived out everyday that speaks the most to us. I find myself incredibly blessed to be called "mom"...in the crazy moments as well as the endearing ones too.

A typical night.



I am glad everyone else can sleep...at least I get to stare at my sweet girl.



Happy Mother's Day...I love my babies!








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No Oats About It...

My mom, in her unforeseen wisdom, shared with me this great recipe. It is from the blog Strangers and Pilgrims On Earth.

This recipe was a lifesaver for me right after I had my second child. She is definitely more...umm, high maintenance if you will, than my other child. Between caring for a newborn, a 3 year old and all the other stuff life throws your way, I found myself never finding the time to eat. If you know me at all, you know that this situation will not work for me. I like to eat. So, I decided to make something that I could eat in a hurry, with one hand (if needed), on-the-go, at home, yada yada...you get the picture. I remembered my mom sending me this link for homemade granola. I thought filling, yummy, nutritious...yeah, sure, I'll try it.
During a well planned nap time, I quickly gathered all my ingredients and made, what I consider to be, the best granola ever. I did not follow the recipe verbatim. I eliminated some ingredients I don't care for, added a couple extra anti-oxidant ingredients and altered some of the measurements (initially by mistake, thankfully my mother helped me fix it.)

My altered recipe:

I mixed the following ingredients together:
*use a large bowl*
6 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups of roasted chopped almonds
2 cups un-sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups wheat germ
1 cup chia seeds
1 cup flax seeds
2 cups dried blueberries
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

Set this bowl aside

Then, in a sauce pan, combine the following ingredients:
*cook on medium heat until boil, then remove from heat*
1 1/2 cups of coconut oil
1 1/2 cups of honey
1/3 cup of water
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
11/2 tsp. fine sea salt

Once I completed the above steps, I followed the rest of her directions:

* Pour sauce into the dry ingredients.
* Mix until everything is evenly coated.
* Place a single layer on cookie sheets (I used wax paper to prevent sticking) and bake in batches (275 degrees) according to how much you want to have on hand. (You can freeze the rest and bake later)
* It usually takes about thirty minutes (it took mine about 40 minutes) and needs to be stirred twice
* Remove granola once it is a golden brown, then let cool on a cooling rack
* Store in an airtight container.





Yummy! I now have enough granola to last me quite awhile. I enjoy it as a cereal, mixed in with yogurt, or I grab a handful to munch on as a snack.




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The Nursery...Ready and Waiting

We are 9 days away from the big day! I can't believe our new little addition to the family will be here soon. We have been busy getting everything ready for her arrival. Decorating a nursery for a little girl took awhile for us at first. We could not decide what we wanted to do...especially since we had already decided on a vintage sports decor if we had a little boy.
We decided to stick to the "vintage" feel and went with a shabby chic type look. Thanks to a few ideas from Pinterest and a few (quite a few) trips to Hobby Lobby, we finally have pieced together her nursery. Here is a peak at what we have done.

This is one of the first things I made for her room. I bought the wooden letters at Hobby Lobby, purchased some pink paint, bought the ribbon and curtain rod from Walmart, and the beads were Christmas garland that was on sale at Hobby Lobby(Thanks to my sweet hubby for cutting each bead off). I think I may have burned my fingerprints off entirely after finishing this project. Hot gluing that many beads is not fun...but when I saw the finished project I knew it was worth it.


Here is a  look at one of the letters.





Next, I knew I needed a bow board...mainly because my friend, Amber, said I would need one. :) So, of course, I headed to Hobby Lobby in search of a frame...and wouldn't you know, I found two of these unfinished frames on sale. I was fine with them being unfinished...I had a plan.



After grabbing a can of yellow spray paint from the paint aisle (and using the 40% online Hobby Lobby coupon), picking out some fabric that was on sale and some ribbon at Walmart, and cutting out some cardboard for a backing...this is what we created. My husband actually did the work for this one...I just hot-glued it together (I didn't see the point of both us burning off our fingerprints and mine were already gone from the previous project).




We were able to use the left over spray paint on one of our old lamps. I bought a cheap shade, some yellow flowers, and flower ribbon (not sure exactly what it is called) hot-glued it together...and ta-da...a new lamp!




Doesn't it, the lamp,look nice and quaint (I need to make a cord cover for it)



This is one of my favorite items in her room. I love this $1300 changing table from Pottery Barn that we got for $400 on Craigslist. The honey color wood did not match our decor at all...but no worries, my husband sanded it down and stained it to match the rest of what we had in the room. (There are a few pieces he is still finishing)

I also love the white baskets I found at Hobby Lobby...most of which I had to buy one day at a time. (You can only use the 40% coupon on one item a day...don't judge, I like to save money).



Here is something I am quite proud of...a blanket. Not just any blanket, but a blanket I MADE. Yes, with a sewing machine and thread. It isn't perfect, but I love it. I wanted her to have a lightweight blankie that she could use for a few years. (I probably should have ironed it before I posted a picture of it)


Now, here is something great. I can't claim this adorable piece (Well, I picked out the coordinating materials. Well, my husband and I picked out the materials).

Anyway, I saw these adorable rag quilts on Etsy. I thought to myself that a rag quilt would be PERFECT for her room. I browsed through the selections and found the one I wanted...for $180. Now don't get me wrong, I know that it is not a bad price for a really cute homemade quilt. BUT, I had another idea. I called my mom. I convinced her that she was more than capable of making a rag quilt, even though she had never made a blanket/quilt before. I had confidence in her. I purchased the material I wanted and sent it off to her mailbox.

Last week, she brought the finished product. I LOVE IT!



Here is a close up...



I decided to make some pillows to match the quilt. I was pretty proud of myself with these pillows. The experienced sewer may scoff at my handiwork...but for someone who couldn't even thread a machine a year ago, I am very pleased with my accomplishments.



Well, as I said. We have been very busy getting ready for our new little one... It has taken nearly every "spare" minute we have had...but it was worth it. We worked on a lot of these items late at night on the floor in the living room while watching some classy entertainment...Duck Dynasty. Seriously, how can you not love that show.

We love the way the nursery came out for our little girl. We now just need to wait patiently for her to get here...next week!


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