Craft

What Real Moms Want for Mother’s Day

Being a Mom is AWESOME. However, sometimes we have a hard time not letting it define us. Personally, I catch myself worrying about being the ‘best’ mom ever. It doesn’t matter if I am the ‘best’ Mom but rather a caring, attentive, adventurous, and patient Mom for our daughter. Lately I’ve been working on being more patient and resilient when it comes to arguments and tantrums with her. There are always good days and not so good days, which is why I’m looking forward to a day where I am the Queen Bee.

Mother's Day Flowers

Here is how my dream Mother’s Day would look.

8:00- Wake up: Breakfast in bed paired with big hugs.
9:00-12:00- Alone time: A mani/pedi, trip to Target or the house to myself (lunch included).
12:00-1:00- Nap: Snuggling my little girl.
1:00-2:00- Presents: Something homemade is always best for this DIY mama.
2:00-5:00- Help: Planting new flowers in my window box or help with a tough chore like window washing (yes, I would choose to work on my special day).
5:00-7:00- Dinner: Preferably out somewhere we haven’t been that has outdoor seating.
7:00-Bed- The following are based on how I’m feeling, either way, I want it to be relaxing. Either a bath and an early bed time or a martini and a movie of my choice.

If there were more hours I’d add in doing some kind of craft project but I’ll leave that for another day. If you’re looking to do a DIY project for a Mom you know, here are some of my favorites:

6 Easy DIY Mother’s Day Gifts

DIY Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Ceramic Ring Holder by The Style Files
Macrame Plant Hanger by heyLilahey
Embroidered Picnic Blanket by Lovely Indeed
No Sew Rope Basket by Alice and Lois
Dip Dyed Napkins by Sugar Bee Crafts
Incense Holder by Curbly

To me, Mother’s Day should be the perfect mix of alone time and family time. A little time pampering and a little time working. What would your perfect Mother’s Day look like?

HEALTH + MINIMAL Update

Last month I talked about not making any New Years resolutions in the traditional sense but to rather work on two areas of my life. Only two. It has been a month and a LOT has happened in America since then that I have been pulled in several directions on how I want to prioritize my time. I thought I would give you a HEALTH + MINIMAL update from last month.

2017 resolution

HEALTH

One might think ‘being healthy is obviously the most important thing in your life and should always be numero uno.’ ‘You can’t fully take care of others until you have taken care of yourself.’ In my case, I can not continue growing my family until I have lost weight to make sure I have a healthy pregnancy. Health = #1. Until I end up crying multiple times per day because 5 year old kids are being detained from their families at the airports. Or I cry because there’s a good chance that any rape victim will not be able to obtain a safe abortion resulting in an unwanted pregnancy or fatality from a self abortion. It’s possible the fact that I’m cringing when I’m telling my daughter she can be anything she wants when, if things continue, she won’t, and definitely at the same pay.

These things used to make me enraged. It would fuel my workouts. There are TVs in front of the treadmills and I would be redfaced with tears streaming down my cheeks but running that much faster to release my fear and frustration. Now I’m to the point of action. Supporting marches, going to ACLU meetings and signing up to volunteer at the Immigration Welcome Center. I proudly wear my ‘I Love You’ pin every day showing that I am a safe person to talk to, no matter who you are.

Because my head has been in 500 places at once, it has not been focused on eating healthy, food prep and making sure I’m keeping on schedule work my work outs. I had a rough couple weeks healing from an injury from said ‘anger running’. I am now healed and have a new plan for keeping my workouts consistent. I have rearranged my schedule to where I can go to the gym between work and picking up my daughter three days per week, giving me absolutely no excuse to not work out.

My nutrition coach, Michael with Thrive Culture, gave me the best Birthday present ever. He worked out with me! He showed me a workout routine and watched my form, adjusting if needed. I now have a plan of 30 min cardio intervals plus 30 min weights that I will do three times per week. I am mixing this plan with simple habits to follow regarding nutrition, like: palm sized protein at every meal, 4 fruits/veggies each day and choosing healthier carbs that are less (or not at all) processed (steel cut oats with fruit for breakfast instead of cereal). I’m feeling excited and confident in my new journey of health rather than the usual feeling of having to quit eating good food and being intimidated by the men at the gym.

MINIMAL

I’m slacking on minimizing. I’m constantly listening to The Minimalists podcasts and they inspire me to have a smaller footprint on this world. I’ve been great at making sure nothing new is coming in without something old leaving.  I am only on Day 10 of the #minsgame and my goal was to pair that game with the 30day cleaning challenge. I am still excited about the idea of ‘less is more’. Physical stuff is a reflection of our mental self and personally, right now, there is too much of both. I’ve just got to pick up the pace on this goal!

Let me know if you’re interested in learning more about my health plan or looking for recipes. If you’ve done the #minsgame or are going to see The Minimalists in Boston, you’ve got to message me so we can talk minimalism. If you have an organization dear to your heart that you want to share with me, I am always looking at ways to learn more about people and how to help.

Sweet Kids Valentine’s Day Ideas

Valentine’s Day is a tricky holiday for me. I love what Valentine’s Day stands for. LOVE! Sharing your love with those you care about should be celebrated everyday! Pinterest is great for ideas of how to celebrate holidays but it can sometimes feel overwhelming. The pressure to have the most clever or coolest Valentine can get the best of us sometimes. I wanted to do a simple round up of Sweet Kids Valentine’s Day  ideas showing a range of Valentine crafts, snacks and cards. There are simple print out Valentine’s Day cards or crafts as well as crafts that will help your child learn simple sewing techniques.

Sweet Kids Valentine’s Day Ideas

Crafts

Valentine's Day craft heart mobile
Felt Heart Mobile by sew yes!

Martha Stewart wax heart mobile
Crayon Hearts made by Martha Stewart

Valentine's Day envelopes
Valentine’s Day Envelope by Craft-O-Maniac

valentine's day heart garland
Valentine’s Day Heart Garland by DIY Mama


Rainbow Heart Suncatchers by Fireflies & Mudpies

ASL i love you hand valentines day card
ASL I Love You Card by Busy Mommy Media

Treats

teddy bear graham valentines treats
Teddy Graham Valentine’s Day Treats- hello, Wonderful

tic tac toe valentine treats
Tic-Tac-Toe Valentine’s Day Snacks by Sippy Cup Mom

heart rice krispy treats
Heart Rice Krispies Treats from Babies, Paper and Song

valentines chocolate pretzel bark
Valentine’s Chocolate Pretzel Bark from A Night Owl

valentines popcorn
Valentine’s Day Popcorn by Gimme Some Oven

Valentine’s Day Cards

crayons valentine cards
Color My World Crayon Valentine’s by Crazy Little Projects

valentine bookmark
Valentine Bookmark by Positively Splendid

magnifying glass valentine
Magnifying Glass Valentine from Dandee

valentine bracelet
Valentine Bracelet by Dandee Designs

animal valentines
Tiny Animal Valentines by Sweet C’s Designs

straw valentine printable
ExSTRAWdinary Valentine Printable by i Heart naptime

How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day with those you love? Do you give gifts or make a nice breakfast? I always hang my heart garland and have a little card and treat for my daughter and husband. Sophie and I usually create a Valentine’s Day craft together as well. I think we’ll try the Wax Crayon Hearts this year!

Check out my V-day board on Pinterest for more crafts, treats and Valentine ideas!

kid valentine ideas

Simple Embroidery for Beginners

Simple embroidery is my new favorite form of art. I gravitate towards crafts that have thread, ribbon, yarn or any type of string. I’d been in a crafting rut over the past couple months and wanted a craft that was simple. I was also looking for something I could put down when my 2 year old wanted to play without worrying about the mess I would be leaving out. This simple embroidery was the perfect intro to embroidery because I was able to pick it up where I left off without any hassle.

Embroidery Bunny

When I’d stumbled upon the adorable Penguin & Fish feed on IG, I knew exactly what my next crafting adventure would be! Embroidery is perfect for people who have multiple interruptions during their free time. I made this bunny embroidery for my niece Lyla in two days. If I’d had a longer chance to sit down, it easily would have been a one day project. It went so fast and was super addicting. I’m already looking for my next piece to work on.

I’d say my favorite part was learning each new stitch. The kits are laid out in a way that you do each stitch until you master it. I wanted to start with a kit as my first embroidery because of it’s simplicity and accessibility.

Embroidery

embroidery bunny

Simple Embroidery

Each hand embroidery kit includes:

  • Iron on pattern
  • Traceable pattern (if someone doesn’t want to use an iron)
  • Embroidery needle
  • Embroidery thread in several colors
  • 8″ Embroidery hoop
  • Cotton muslin fabric
  • Stitch and color guide
  • Simple embroidery instructions

I’m still a beginner but I definitely got better throughout this piece. I am able to see small mistakes I’d made but it’s difficult to see by the untrained eye- meaning, it’s hard to screw up! Alyssa from Penguin & Fish has great tutorials on her site but my favorite way of following her is Facebook. She does live chats where she’ll demonstrate stitches or products she’s using to help make embroidery easier. When her new patterns pop up I get the itch to start a new embroidery piece.

Embroidery Bunny

Embroidered Bunny

I added the small detail of my niece Lyla’s name as a personal touch. I’m excited about how fun and easy this project was. I’ve also bought the Unicorn embroidery pattern to try next and will likely hang it in Soph’s room. How awesome will it be to stitch out a unicorn on my back deck, sitting in my sun chair while my daughter plays on the swing set?! Have you tried embroidery? What crafts do you like to do that you can easily leave and come back to?

simple embroidery for beginners

Teacher Appreciation Gift

This post has been compensated by Nehemiah Manufacturing Company. All opinions are mine alone.
As room mom for Sophie’s class, I wanted to make sure her teacher felt appreciated. Teacher appreciation week is fast approaching and I know she’ll be getting lots of fun treats from the students but I wanted to make sure she had a relaxing, stress free vacation this spring break. She works so hard with the pre-schoolers, constantly bending over to their level. I was thinking how bad I would need a pampering vacation after working with those little kids and wanted to make her a Spring Break Relaxation Kit for her travels. We’re so excited to give her the teacher appreciation gift to help her be energized when she returns.

Teacher Appreciation Gift: Spring Break Kit

Teacher Appreciation Gift

It was fun choosing the items I thought would be convenient for her travels but help her feel relaxed on her trip.

Spring Break Kit Essentials:

  • Travel tote
  • Sunglasses
  • SPF lip balm
  • Soothing face wipes
  • Mini loofah
  • Sunscreen
  • Detox mask
  • Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus
  • DIY Sea salt hair spray (see below for instructions)
  • Nail polish
  • Dry shampoo
  • Airplane gum
  • Chocolate treat

Teacher Appreciation Gift

My main focus was making her life as easy as possible. I thought about the tasks I always dread while on a vacation; things I don’t like spending time doing because I want to be enjoying my trip. We always book the earliest flights so we can have as much time as possible at our destination. Starting with her early morning, I chose dry shampoo, face wipes, and gum for her flight helping her to freshen up. Once she gets off the plane, she can head to the hotel to drop off her luggage, spritzing some Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus on her ‘plane clothes’ in lieu of ironing. She’ll have polish, sunscreen, SPF lip balm, sunglasses and a chocolate treat to toss in her beach bag and head straight out for some ocean air. To relax after a day at the beach I’ve got her covered with some sea salt hair spray, a mini loofah and a detox mask so she’ll be refreshed for the rest of her vacation. Teacher Appreciation Gift

I have not found a sea salt hair spray that I like, so I tried making one and fell in love. I have naturally curly hair but the entire top layer is hardly wavy. The sea salt spray gives my hair the perfect beachy wave that is effortless to accomplish.

DIY Sea Salt Hair Spray

  • Plastic spray bottle (found in the travel section)
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp organic coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp leave in conditioner (I’ve also tried gel but my hair likes conditioner)
  • 1 cup warm water
  • a few drops of lemon juice or essential oil (optional)

Step 1: Pour warm water and sea salt in measuring cup and stir until salt dissolves.

Step 2: Combine melted coconut oil and leave in conditioner in separate bowl, then add mixture to measuring cup.

Step 3: Add a few drops of essential oil, add to spray bottle and shake until well mixed. Apply to towel dried hair.

Teacher Appreciation Gift

I’m not one for ironing. All of our clothes are wrinkle-free because neither my husband nor I will ever iron. I was bummed when I bought all new curtains for our new home because that meant I had to iron these huge pieces of fabric. I had complained about this to a friend and she suggested trying the Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus on my linen curtains. I will now never have to iron another piece of fabric again. I used the Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus on my curtains while they were hanging and was shocked at how smooth the fabric was once it had dried! I now only keep my iron for house guests.

If you are anti-iron, like me, you can use this link to get a coupon for $1 off. You can also check out what Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus is up to on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest for more tips on keeping those fabrics fresh!

I’m wishing I had bought two of everything so I could take a trip myself with this perfect Spring Break Kit! Are you heading anywhere for Spring Break or are you doing a Staycation like we are?

Check out my past teacher appreciation gift: Crayon Planter or my GIFTS board for more inspiration.

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