With Love, Mommy

Welcome Fall!  Here in the desert, we are finally starting to feel the season change!  It's no longer 100 degrees, and I'm celebrating by wearing hoodies and scarves and drinking pumpkin lattes on a daily basis.  I really do love this season.  Tis the season to be thankful for what we have and who we get to share our lives with.  Of course, this year I have so much to be thankful for.  I have a wonderful husband, an amazing little boy, and a very supportive and loving extended family.  I have a very comfortable house, plenty of nutritious food, and a flexible new job.  What's new in our house?  J is walking!!!  He has figured out that walking can be an actual mode of transportation, not just a fun thing to do every once in awhile.  He is a problem solver!  If he tries to play with something and it doesn't work, he doesn't just cry for help like other munchkins.  He just tries something else until he figures it out!...

Let's get one thing straight: motherhood is tough!  I think every mother on the planet would agree that it is the hardest job out there.  Moms work 24 hours a day, even in their sleep.  They don't take breaks on weekends or holidays.  Everyone has heard the list of mom's responsibilities, including nurse, teacher, playmate, diplomat, cheerleader, and so much more.  And if moms don't have enough on their plate, they have to deal with this "Mommy Guilt" and these so called "Mommy Wars."  I never knew what the big deal was, until I was pregnant with Baby J. It started early, with people telling me about the "research" about genetic testing, about the importance of vaccinating/not vaccinating, and for goodness sakes, put those swollen pregnant feet up!  Then J was born.  And on top of the opinion of all of the other mom's on the planet, I had my own guilt.  I wanted to give this precious baby everything, but it's just not physically p...

I saw a sign recently that I must have!  It said "Excuse the mess, the children are making memories."  I love it!  My house is always a mess now, but I have recently made the decision that I would rather be spending my time playing with my son rather than scrubbing floors constantly or spending hours working out to attempt to get my body back.  Of course, I do clean (especially when it comes to anything that can go in my little boy's mouth) and the hubs and I have been making a real effort to wake up before the baby and take turns working out.  But, when there is a decision to do some exploring/playing that may get messy, the answer is always... YES!!!  This weekend was definitely a hands-on celebration of baby J turning 10 months old.  I also wanted to have some fun this weekend because I am officially done with my Masters Degree!  Our celebration included making a fort and Baby J's first finger painting.  J loved the fort, crawling in and...

I am so excited to share a few more Disney crafts with you!  I have been Disney crazy all my life, but the last few weeks I have been going a little overboard.  I have been making crafts for baby J and the whole family.  J is a growing boy and loves his snacks (aka every flavor of Puffs ever created), so I made a snack tin for our trip our of an old almond tin, some paper, and a whole lot of mod podge.  It says "Meeshka Moushka Mickey Mouse Mix."  Here is the finished product: I will be posting some other mod podge projects soon.  I entered late into the mod podging world, but now I'm here to stay! The next project I moved on to was for my mom's birthday.  I found this cute idea on pinterest, and I tweeked it, like I usually do for sewing projects.  I thought my mom needed something Disney inspired.  And although she doesn't drink coffee, she does like hot cocoa, tea, and apple cider, so I thought she might appreciate a Mickey coffee ...

Time for a craft!  In preparing for our Disneyland trip, I am making lots of crafts for the trip!  All of my crafts are either Mickey Mouse or Buzz Lightyear, because that seems to be Baby J's preference.  The craft that I'm showing off today is based on those pacifier clips that I see everywhere, but it has two clips instead of one (my baby boy is not a fan of the paci anyway).  I can think of about 10 ways to use these right off the top!  I liked the idea of two clips so I can use this to clip a light blanket to the stroller so it doesn't fall off.  I will also be using this to clip toys to the stroller so the beloved Mickey doll doesn't get lost.  It can be used to clip a blanket around your neck to make a quick nursing cover.  Or I'm sure it will be used to turn burp cloths into bibs, since we always have 5 burp cloths with us but can never seem to find a bib.  So many uses for these simple clips!!!! Supplies: -2 Suspender/Mitten ...

This month, my family will be going to the Happiest Place on Earth.  I was raised to have a deep love and respect for everything Disney, as was Hubby.  We carried on this love by spending a year as Cast Members in Walt Disney World.  So, naturally, Little J will be raised in the magic.  In true Disney fan fashion, baby J will be taking his first trip to Disneyland this month, at 9 months old.  We are so excited! I am busily preparing for our trip.  I want to make this trip as magical as possible (yes, I know that he will not remember this).  Last week I spent hours mod podging a special snack tin for little J's puffs.  I will post pictures of the "Meeshka Moushka Mickey Mouse Mix" tin soon, turned out so cute!  I have a wonderful friend who made adorable bag/stroller tags for the trip, and the cutest trip journal, which will also be a great scrapbook!  Now it's on to more crafts for the trip!  This weekend, I will be making suspen...

September is Craniofacial Acceptance Month!  Please take some time this month to learn about some craniofacial conditions and teach your children about acceptance!  Our family was thrown into this craniofacial world, and I have to admit that I did not know much about any of these conditions.  Baby J was diagnosed at 2 months old with Sagittal Craniosynostosis.  With the diagnosis came fear, frustration, anger, sadness, and a whole bunch of new friends. As a new parent, I thought the difficult part of living with a newborn would be sleepless nights and dirty diapers.  But that was nothing compared to a doctor telling us that our baby would need surgery.  Craniosynostosis affects about 1 in every 2000 babies.  The bones in a baby's skull are all separated by sutures, and do not fuse together until much later in life.  Craniosynostosis is the premature fusion of one or more sutures, which causes the baby's head to grow in an abnormal shape, and doe...