diy mama

lifestyle blog sharing diy, family, travel, organization & disney tips

Shelly

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I like you

i-like-you

I like you, just the way you are is a wonderful thing to hear. Since I’m a BAHM (blog-at-home-mom) I have a morning cartoon session with Sophie which usually involves Daniel Tiger or Baby Einstein.
Today, I saw a Daniel Tiger  episode teaching O the owl that his friends and family liked him for who he was, not for his things or talents he possessed. I loved that message and I feel, every once in a while, people wonder why or how someone could like them. Self deprecation is one of the worst traits I have but one I work the hardest at overcoming. It’s pointless and doesn’t help anyone, and I know that. Everyone is special and unique with a quality that someone will love. Be proud to be you, just the way you are.

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Thanksgiving Tablescapes

Greetings friends! I hope your first week of November has treated you well and you’ve managed to stay warm (and not blow away!) I’ve been seeing amazing ideas in the way of activities, decor and recipes for Thanksgiving that is getting me in the grateful spirit.
tablescapes-thanksgiving

I have a lot to be grateful for in my life. I’m blessed with a healthy family who is also happy. I’m thankful to have grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and neighbors that have so much love for Sophie, it’s unreal. I’m thankful to get to take my daughter and dog on a walk at the park and be confident that we’ll have fun and feel safe. I’m thankful that I get to choose whatever pumpkin recipe I want (and possibly fail at) for Thanksgiving because money and time (a helpful husband) allows me to do so. I’m thankful for Thanksgiving (and the month of November) that helps us get into the holiday spirit by recognizing what we’re thankful for. Also, I’m thankful for you! Thank you for reading my posts, sharing my posts, trying my crafts and giving me tips and tricks on what to improve!

Here are my top 10 inspirational Thanksgiving tablescapes to modernize my decor:Gather Thanksgiving Tablescapevia Laura

Nature inspired Thanksgiving tablescapevia Karen

Gold and glitzy Thanksgiving tablescapevia Destiny

Thrifty Thanksgiving Tablescapevia Justina

DIY Birch Place Card Holdersvia Kelly

Layered Thanksgiving Tablescapevia Desiree

blog-thanksgiving place mat kraft paper white ink 6via Chelsea

Rosemary wreath Thanksgiving Tablescapevia Teri

Adding pattern to your Thanksgiving tablescape Emily Hendersonvia Emily

Peach Wedding or Thanksgiving Tablescape

via Emily

If I had to choose a favorite, it’d be a tie between Emily’s multi patterned design and the nature feel of Karen’s. I really like different aspects of each of these set ups though so I may have to pull individual pieces from each to make a totally different tablescape! Which one do you like the best or are you more traditional in your Thanksgiving table settings?

For more Fall ideas, check out my Modern Fall Decor post, Fall Nail Ideas, or my Fall Recipes & Decor board on Pinterest!
Follow Shelly Bergman’s board Fall Decor & Recipes on Pinterest.

The photos and stylings of this post are not of my own. You can click the links to take you to the original masterminds behind the eyecandy in this round up. Also, please pin from their sites rather than this round up.

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November Goals

november goalsHappy November! I know, it’s been November for a couple days, we’ve even changed the clocks already to fall back, but I’m just getting around to my November goals. This weekend was a whirlwind, literally, with the crazy weather we had here in IL.
We were able to Trick or Treat at a few houses, then came back to share chili with some friends. We also got the house childproofed (more on that later)! We took it easy though, knowing the next few months ahead are pretty crazy with travel, by playing a few board games and watching some new movies.
IMG_6960Let’s see how I did for my October goals. I did fairly well with accomplishing my October goals, in my opinion! This was a huge month for our family. Sophie had her first Birthday, complete with awesome Sprinkle & Confetti party, she started walking, we had a vacation where we went to Medieval Times and watched our 90 year old Grandma fly a plane! I really focused on being present and putting my family first in regards to managing my time. If there was a choice between cleaning up the kitchen, writing a post or just playing chase with Soph and Jeffrey, I chose my family every time. I’m pretty sure the kitchen was never fully clean the entire month of October, but I’m ok with that.

I took Soph to every Babies Love Books but one, because she was still snoozing (you never wake a sleeping baby!) I found a couple people that volunteered to watch Sophie but I’d still like to have an emergency sitter on hand. We also did TERRIBLE at family walks. We took once/week which was 90% due to the cold weather, rain or it being dark by the time Jeffrey got home. I swam 2-3 times/week, read Eleanor & Park (not as good as Fangirl in my opinion) and did not do laundry on the weekends! My biggest disappointment of goal achieving this month was finishing Blog Life, but I worked on it a lot and it’s freaking huge (which is a good thing!) I did, however, make three new pinnable images and revamped 20 Date Ideas and Nail Polish Organization!
pinnable-imagesNow for the good stuff! My November goals are going to be more manageable since there are a lot of things already planned for this month.

Family

  • Continue Babies Love Books (even if it’s raining or snowing)
  • Teach Sophie 2 sign language signs
  • 1 night/week ‘couch dates’

Life

  •  1 Project Life spread
  • Swim 2 times/week & swim lesson
  • Meal plan every week & 1 freezer meal/week

Blog

  • Photos for TOP SECRET project coming in January
  • Blog Life
  • 2 pinnable images and revamp 1 post
  • Reach 1,000 followers on Pinterest

What are your goals for this month? Will you be taking it a bit easy on yourself knowing the madness that is to come, paired with cold/rainy weather and possible sickness? I encourage you to make at least 3 goals for this month that can be measured. It really does help me to stay focused on what I want to accomplish, helping my mind stay on track. I’ll leave you with the best photo taken this month:

leaves

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Busy Board

Hello Mamas and Papas (or anyone looking to make an awesome Christmas gift for a lil one!) I had been struggling with the fact that we don’t have a basement or play room designated for Sophie to have as her ‘fun zone.’
busy-board

I’d bounced it off of you guys and you put it into perspective for me. Kids are going to play wherever they can. It doesn’t matter if there’s a whole room or if it’s under your feet…they’re not picky. Sophie is usually under my feet, but when she’s not, you can find her at the latch board/ busy board we made for her.

She’s too young to practice latching, turning a key, and pretty much everything else on the board, but she still LOVES playing around with all of the different tools. Her favorite thing is the peek-a-boo doors that hide her cousin, Fiona.

Materials Needed:

  • Wood board of any size (we got one cut down to 2×2)
  • Stain or paint for the board
  • Brush or rag for the stain
  • Sand paper or router to make the edges kid-friendly
  • Tons of latches
  • Drill
  • Picture hanging cleat
  • Thin strip of wood

stain-board

It was fun going to the hardware store to pick out all of the materials needed to make Sophie’s busy board. First, we got the board cut down to size so we could hold up the latches to gauge the number needed to fill the board. In hind sight, that would have been an awesome idea but when you have a crying baby, you kind of just grab what you think looks best and save the receipt.

latches

Several days later (because we know that’s how projects happen) we chose the best of the best for the latch board. Some of the things we thought we’d really want on there, didn’t turn out to be the best idea (a tap light that could blind her with it’s super-bright LEDs.)

lay-latchesHere you can see how we’ve spaced things according to size, what she’ll play with and where cords/chains will hang. We probably spent too long trying to figure this out but I don’t regret the placement of anything on the board! Everything we bought came with hardware and was super easy to drill a hole and screw through the board. We used a counter sink on the drill bit to ensure everything would lay flat against the wall. As you’ll see below, there were a couple things that stuck out (the buttons) but it doesn’t seem to effect the board being unstable.

picture-hanger

We used a thin strip of spare wood to attach the picture hanging cleat to the back of the board. We’ve used these cleats on very heavy frames and mirrors and knew it would stand up to Soph pulling and hitting the board. The board does come off from the wall if she pulls a latch hard but it hasn’t left any dents in the wall (yet.) Nothing a little spackle and paint won’t fix when we go to move.

helping-daddy

We couldn’t wait to see her reaction so we brought it in to hang before she went to bed. She was so curious about the board and wanted to play with it right away! As always, she had to help Daddy hang it on the wall.

latch-boardWe’re super in love with her board. I’ve put it on ‘her wall’ where I have art that I’ve made for her and a sweet Muppets Alphabet print that she likes to sing to.

gallery-wallHere’s how sweetly nestled it is on the gallery wall. I like the fact that it’s a toy that’s on the wall, meaning I don’t have to constantly be putting it away or tripping on it in the middle of the night.

fiona-doorHer, and my, favorite part of the board are the peek-a-boo doors. She’ll pretty much play peek-a-boo with anything, but curtains and these doors are her favorite. The other door hides a photo of Jeffrey and I which she always takes off to hand to me. I think she’s asking when Daddy’s getting home! I have the photos up with washi tape because I wanted to be able to switch out the people as a fun surprise or even add flash cards of words she’s learning. Like I said, she pulls down the photo of us, but she always leaves Fiona, so that one may just stay there forever.

sophie-playI’m excited to watch her as she becomes more interested in the different latches and begins to start playing with the more difficult gadgets. Some of the latches are for a much older Sophie, which I LOVE! For now, the door stop, peek-a-boo doors and mirror keep her entertained for at least a few minutes while Mommy cleans up her lunch from the floor.

I’m proud of her latch board for a few reasons. 1. It looks stellar and she’ll be able to use it for years to come. 2. It was a fun project for Jeffrey and I to design and build together for our sweet daughter. Win win! What else would you put on the board to keep a baby-toddler busy? I was wanting to add a zipper, buttons or ties but wasn’t sure how yet. Any ideas?

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