Weekend crafts- Fleece Blanket and Embroidered Onesie

I got this idea from my sweet friend Harlee's mother Lisa. Harlee brought her cute fleece blanket with her to the beach a couple of weeks ago and I set my mind on making one. Easy peasy, made with 1.5 yards of zebra and 1.5 of green fleece. 2 is recommended for older kids, though. I cut out Maddy's monogram in a coordinating fabric and hand stitched it on with a little "firepop" as embellishment.

Next, simply because I was bored and antsy after being home bound with a sweet and sick baby today, I decided to put a bird on a onesie and this is the result.

So, yeah...that was my weekend in craft world. YAY!

Stones, Amoxicillin, Saggy Baggy Eyes

Weeks like this one get under my skin, test my strength, and leave me feeling empty- though I know I am not.

From the complete and utter terror of a night in the ER with Maddy on Monday- the screaming, the ridiculous fevers, the wheezing and coughing. My heart- I swore it would just cease to beat at all. Terrible. Please believe me that it was terrible. Even with a great support system surrounding us- I felt completely helpless, totally guilt stricken, and endlessly exhausted.

From that point on, we have all simply existed to keep Maddy comfortable, loved upon, and healthy. Everyone in our house and my mom's house has had their turn with the meds and breathing treatments. Through it all, even the screaming, Maddy has remained her same precious and sweet baby self. In tears and in pain, she would still try to crack a smile at us or giggle when the cats ran by. She is made of sterner stuff than I for sure!

Chris had finals this week on top of that, and it was deadline at the magazine. Stress? AH YEAH! Sleep? When we got the chance! Even Tammy is ready to fall over from exhaustion I am sure.

I will spare you the rest of the details but today is just Thursday and this week has also included:

1. Identity Theft
2. An entire day (7-7) of meetings (fun but exhausting)
3. Busted trash bag all over kitchen
4. Job insecurity
5. Realizing that I am just not going to get it all right. I just can't.
6. Countless tears. 
7. Reading about Jacob setting up stones as memorials for things that God had done in his life.

This 7th part really is the reason I am writing. Not for you few who may read my words...but for me. To hold myself accountable for recognizing this week not as a burden, but as a blessing. To look not to the negative (croup, exhaustion, insurmountable stress), but to look to the overwhelming positive (amazing family, sacrificial love, God's fullness of grace). I could set up a stone for this week. For a week that I have almost survived (thinking positive), for a week that has taught me that my strength should mirror my daughter's, for a week that has shown me the power of selflessness. A stone for this week could be a bottle of amoxicillin or a footprint because Jacob's name meant "heel" and I AM a heel! A stone could be my heart- yet again, stretched, bent, expanded until there is room to hold all of this in.

We must not only place stones to remember the good times...the times of abundance and prosperity. Stones must remind us of the times we persevered, the times we trusted God and the strength of our hearts, and the times when we were forced to find joy in the simplest moments- sometimes the hardest part of all.

A clean slate. Please!

Yes I have had a sick and fussy baby all week. Yes she has had a double ear infection and throat infection. And YES...she screamed more than she did anything else from Sunday to Wednesday. BUT! She was still her sweet self and played quietly for long enough for me to drink too much coffee....

And I took this crazy mess of a pantry

and made this!!!

Then we rocked together until she slept soundly with a little tylenol in her system and a mom who will happily sing no less than ten songs to her to get her to sleep.

charmed.

There no longer exist any ordinary days.

I am always a little loopy and off these days. I ran into a column that has been in the same place for all 5 years I have owned this house. I lost my keys in the parking lot of Kroger. I washed my car and forgot there were groceries in the trunk. I fell on my head over the baby gate- on my head.

There are no more sleep late Saturdays, no more late night movie binges with Chris, no more do what I want when I want...but PLENTY has replaced them!

Like bumping my head and falling out of the shower. I do not attribute these new events to Maddy or motherhood, however. God knows I need constant entertaining, constant fodder for good introspection and journaling, and constant laughter. I am now my own best comedian, but no gift of my own. By sheer stupidity!

It is always a good time at our house, no doubt.

In other news....

I have started making a power lunch. Here is a photo:

The only items not shown are frozen edamame, a splash of balsamic vinaigrette, and sometimes kalamata olives or banana peppers.

This salad is rocking my world. I chase it with a huge glass of water and a small piece of dark chocolate. Avocados and other fresh veggies are now a staple in my diet, things I scour sales papers for, hoping for the best prices to keep coming until the farmer's markets open. Yum...yum...Yum...


I find that I only really feel halfway normal when I eat well. I fail sometimes...I have terrible self-control. But for the most part, the cleaner I eat, the more jaunty I feel! And the better able I am to keep up with this crazy kid!!!

She has learned to bang on things with this spoon and I find it quite hilarious to watch her play the drums on every hard surface, and even sometimes the cat.

There truly are no more ordinary days. Which is practically perfect to me!!!

The Bird-day decor

Here are a few shots of how the day came together!!

All the decor you see above is hand made...My mom made the pomander balls in 2007 for my wedding and we just spruced them up with new ribbon. You can see the felt wreaths I made, the bird mobile, and the coffee filter banner! Yes, I am quite proud!

Table with all the photos we had printed around the house...plus some new ones! Plates and napkins on sale!

I am just pleased as punch with this banner...had to post another picture.

My sweet sweet daddy took the story I wrote for Maddy and lovingly pasted paper together to mount it. So sweet.

Sweet chocolate cake my mom made and decorated with birds to match the mobile I made.

Her talent really knows no bounds...these cake pops were delish!

Finished table!

Even had time to steal a kiss!

No matter what...this girl smiled!!! She is listening to elmo sing to her at this specific moment!

And the grand finale...the smash cake!

After the festivities were done, friends and family joined in a huge badminton game with 7 people per team. Totally perfect and totally fun!!!!

Thanks for all who helped!

Scrap Paper Bird Mobile Tutorial

This was a fun, easy project.

Tools:

Two-sided scrapbook paper
Mod Podge (of course!)
Sharp scissors
rhinestones
yarn or twine
embroidery hoop
brown organza ribbon
hole punch

I started with a fancy little bird template that I hand drew from a photo I found online.

Then I traced it onto different patterned scraps of paper.

Once all of my bird shapes were cut out, I started free cutting little wings (think the shape of a basic flower pedal) in contrasting colors and variations of shape and glued a pair of wings to each side of the bird.

Then, you guessed it! Time to Mod Podge...and have I mentioned how much I love this stuff??

Time to glue on eyes, hole punch, and tie with yarn or twine.

I used the embroidery hoop to hang the birds by threading the yarn ends through the two layers of the hoop and tightening.

Then, measuring equal lengths of ribbon, I tied four bows to the hoop and looped the ribbon at the top to hang.

Finished product:

Hope you make it!!!

Coffee Filter Banner Tutorial

 The mere fact that I am calling this a tutorial makes me laugh. This was a laborious project for myself and my mother in law, Tammy (MIL). However, after seeing it here and HAD TO HAVE IT!!!

Here are the goods:

Natural colored coffee filters
various sheets of colored tissue paper from showers past
silver, white, and patterned cupcake liners
beads from the jewelry section of Hobby Lobby
yarn- this is part of the "What not to use" section. Ran out of twine after all pom poms were made and had to resort to using yarn. Because I procrastinate.
scotch tape

First, I cut the circles from the tissue paper in three sizes. I didn't measure and let them sort of each be a little unique. I wanted them to be smaller than the coffee filters- which I folded into fourths and trimmed half an inch.

Then, we crumpled up the tissue paper, cupcake liners, and coffee filters and flattened them back out.
Once everything was cut, we tried to organize them in some manner...which took up an entire room.

 All beads were cut from their string and placed in a semi-kitty-proof area.

Then, using a kabob skewer, we began to make our pom poms by gathering them together and poking a hole through the center. We put a very tightly rolled piece of tape over the end of the yarn to keep it firm so that it would pierce the papers. I was in charge of tying on beads and spacing each pom out by 10 inches while MIL put the poms together and threaded onto yarn. Again, please use twine or a thinner type of thread!!

You can see in the picture above that I was tying the beads on with separate pieces of yarn...which can be avoided if using twine...but the shorter pieces of yarn were easier to thread through each bead.

Once all are threaded onto the string, you just bunch up and hang. We had 20 feet to hang and this is what it looked like!!

If you make this, PLEASE let me know! I want to see more of them! It was so much fun and so beautiful! Hope you embrace adventure, though...this is a doozy!

A Very Happy Bird-day

Well, Maddy's first birthday has come and gone and so has my very first attempt at party planning...seriously.

To say that it was an amazing week would be a pitiful understatement. I have experienced a range of emotions this week that has allowed for some healing that needed to take place.

As I looked back on this past year, everything we have experienced since that cold April 7th morning, I felt both grieved and excited. I see God's hand at work in our lives so much now, because I have chosen to actual observe it rather than just assume He was there. I have seen His faithfulness through Maddy's fast healing and rapid growth. I have seen His provision throughout our dire financial straits. I have seen His joy in the family and friends we are so blessed to do life with. And mostly, I have enjoyed a refreshment of my personal salvation through the moments of fear and doubt that have been turned into rejoicing.

How humbling! How completely humbling to know that with all the world upon His shoulders, my sweet Lord has carried our little family safely through this year with a promise to never leave us or forsake us and to give us life ABUNDANT!

I am excited to see Maddy grow in the coming year. I am in love, not so much with the "act" of mothering, as the adventure that is Maddy. I love mothering...don't get me wrong...but it is not my ability to parent, or my passion for it that gives me cause to praise. It is the active and ever-changing life that I am responsible for in Maddy. It is Maddy that excites me. How could you not be excited about this?

There are a few things I have learned that I will carry with me forever!

•  I will never, ever know all of the answers to all of the questions in pregnancy or parenthood...my disappointment in such an obvious fact is humorous.

• I CAN survive on less than 4 hours of sleep a night due to teething and ear infections and no, it will not kill me.
• A marriage under great duress can actually be quite sweet and tender when the energy is directed towards encouragement and peace rather than solving all of the problems.
• A burp cloth can become a security blanket for a reflux baby and it is okay that they aren't all adorable.
• A 102 temp is considered "healthy" for baby.
• A husband tested and practically beaten down by the world can rise up and mount his noble steed and still come to the rescue.
• My heart's capacity to hold love really knows no bounds.
• Going out of the house without makeup is not an unforgivable offense.
• Forgetting that my shirt and pants are covered in spit up and going out to eat in them is a sign of hard work...not neglect.
• Holding onto my sweet baby, feeling her breath and warm skin, whispering prayers over her is the only job I really want to have for the rest of my life.
• Quality time with my husband is sometimes just Wendy's on the run or a late night knee to knee chat on the bed. Dating means something completely different now that we scarcely have a moment to steal together. 
• Healing is in His hands and I feel like maybe I have found my way out of the little hole I had dug. I know my worth now.
• I am a hot mom...right hubbs?

For now, our little family is savoring every moment....every precious second together....for life is fleeting, as this year has shown and I refuse to miss it.

I hope you all have a blessed week and thank you for your continued support of my meager blog!