Quick wall art.

I was in the scrapbooking aisle the other day trying to find supplies for a project. I saw this cute sheet of scrapbooking stickers and wanted to use it in my house. I bought the stickers trying to figure out what to do with it. Then I thought, why not just stick them on a canvas?
Because this art project was a quick revelation, I didnt think to take pictures until now.
Supplies:

• A Canvas -mine is 8x10
• A sheet of stickers....imagine they are still there :) 
• Mod Podge (to help secure the stickers down)

My Finished Art:

Once again, quick, cheap, and still cute!

Metal Letters.

I have this odd area in the kitchen where I have always wondered what to hang there for art. Its high above the cupboards, by the ceilings so I didn't want something too flashy. However, it does deserve something cute. I was planning on doing a project with nails and string to make letters, however fell into giant letters at Jo-Ann fabric. These seemed more appropriate with the space being so high and above our cabinets and I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to manage getting anything on the wall up there.

Before:

 Supplies Needed:

• A Container of Paint
• A Paintbrush
• A lid for dumping your paint on
• Another supply not pictured that I suggest would be papers to put under your project

Mid-Process I took a picture to show the letters.

Once they were coated well, I used 3M velcro strips to attach up above!

Cute, simple, but just enough to add something special up there :)

Sewing project central.

Ok so I have been in project overdrive lately and even more so tonight. I had a chance to run to the craft store and pick up a few supplies to put together a few projects. While rambling lots of project ideas to my husband, he reminded me (of course while I was doing another project) "One project at a time".
Well my mind doesn't function on one thing at a time. Its in overdrive brainstorming how to make things work better and look better all the time.
So with this overdrive mind, I have been able to pull together some pretty great projects over the past few months. You may remember that I took a long break from blogging.

Well I finally got all the pictures ready to be shown as proof and to share what I had been busy doing.

I made a few bibs.

Learned how to make self-binding blankets.

Made a few burp cloths for the neighbor

A little hat, also for the neighbor, who has an owl nursery.

My favorite projects. Owl pillows to match two baby girl nurseries 

that were born to our friends.

This last project is a special project and consumed a lot of time. I made these pillowcases for Conkerr Cancer  a project that collects pillowcases for children/teens in the hospital battling cancer. Once mine are donated, they will be given to the Sanford Children's Hospital in town. Isn't that so cool to bring a little brightness to a child who is facing such a big battle? I think its pretty awesome. Let me know if you want details for the contact person and you can help make some too!

Now you might understand why I have been super busy on top of being a new mom! :)

I put together a cute project tonight though so hopefully I can get it hung and debut it this weekend. Aren't you excited to see it?!? Its super cute, cheap and easy!

Check back soon!

A Parents Job.

Being a parent is a pretty big job to undertake and it unfortunately doesn't come with a guide book. With the Internet, I feel like I at least have some resources for figuring out what the heck I am supposed to do. However, I sometimes find myself freaking out about what to do in a certain situation. I sometimes feel like if I make this one minor choice for him now, it will forever affect the rest of his life. 
For instance, for a while Jack was having a hard time sleeping in his crib at night. I am adamant about not having him sleep with us because
A) it seems like a hard habit to break
B) I wouldn't get any sleep which gets ugly
C) Our Pomeranian already takes up too much room.
D) All of the Above!!
I was so worried about letting him sleep in the swing because I feared he would forever have a hard time sleeping by himself or soothing himself to sleep. In the end, I figured out that I as the momma, have to do what's neccesary in order to function and to get some sleep.

So with me being in control as his parent, I am forced to make all these decisions about his daily life and also what role I am going to play in it. I came across this quote on a mommy facebook page the other day and have been letting it sit on my desktop as I ponder it.
 

I have a feeling some people will not agree with this statement but I love it. I want to, of course, keep Jack safe; however I don't want to always protect him from everything unpleasant in the world. Having the knowledge of what is out there and how to handle it when it comes your way will help you to be successful and independent.
How else are children going to be strong, independent, decision making, thriving individuals in society on their own if you have made all their choices and protected them from the "bad" things?!?
I love the fact that my parents let me make my own choices-good or bad. Then if they weren't the most desirable of choices, I still had to face the situation and cope with it. I also had a chore list everyday during the Summer while my mom and dad worked. While I hated seeing the jobs such as "picking the tomatoes and green beans" on my list, I am glad they made me do chores. They built character, kept me out of trouble, taught me how to be responsible and helpful, to take initiative and more importantly made me who I am now which I believe is a hard working, loving, smart mommy!

Let's just hope I get this right and raise Jack to have some of the same qualities.

Guess I better plant a garden so he can "pick the tomatoes" HAHA.
Isn't that what kids are for? They can do all the jobs you don't like to do :)

Busy.

All I could think of when going to name this post was busy. I feel like we have been on the go lately and Jack especially is busy. He has gone from immobile to crawling and pulling himself up within a matter of a few weeks! Talk about dangerous! I feel like we should be looking for a helmet for his mini head. I just want to hold his hand forever to protect him but I know that he won't learn if I am always there to catch him. So I let him be a dare-devil with pillows around him of course ;)
Here are a few of his acts caught on camera--not too many because I am usually terrified to see what happens next...

 Case in Point. No worries. It was a slow motion slide to the ground. It just looks bad HAHA.

I also wanted to share a few pictures from our trip to the farm this past week. We love going to hang out with my parents and get away from the big city life for a little bit.

My first Palm Sunday at Grandma's Church

Getting fixed up at our favorite Marshall Chiropractor: Complete Health!

Playing with lots of random fun things at grandma and grandpas.

Looking cute for the ladies :)

Convincing Grandma that she should buy me this hat because it is too cute or as daddy says its my "Jack Mraz" hat

Enjoying a few tastes of ice cream. 

Touching (green!) grass for the first time--or petting it/yanking it. It kind of was like he thought it was a kitty the way he treated it!

Visiting with Great Grandpa who just returned home from his Winter in AZ to see me!

Catching up on Grandpas Angus Journal magazines that are now minus a few pages ;)

TONS of fun but we headed back so we could watch some of the last few Fargo Force season games and also celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. 

Flashback:

Happy Anniversary Partner in Crime ;)

We have something special!

I love us.

Stay Home vs Work Mama

For the longest time I always thought I would stay home with my kids if I had the luxury. When we got pregnant with Jack, I found myself suddenly wondering if that was what I truly wanted. I finally had a job that I loved and wasn't sure if I should give up my position. Plus, let's face it, the first few months with a newborn aren't really convincing to make you want to stay home.
After lots of thought, I decided that I would in fact give staying home with Jack a chance.
At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it. I felt isolated and like I was missing out on some adult interaction. I maybe even felt a little self pity. There I admit it. I am going to chalk those feelings up to my whacked out post pregnancy hormones. But it did seem like all the feelings I had in the beginning made me feel selfish, which in turn made me feel even worse that here I was blessed with a beautiful and healthy baby boy and all I could think about was what I was missing out on.

Fast forward a few months...
A job opportunity was presented to me and I was forced to again rehash the idea of staying home vs. working. After considering what I like and don't like about staying home with Jack, I realized that it was best for our family if I stayed home. However, I then became determined to fix what areas I felt like needed a little work to get more satisfaction from staying home.

Here are some of the important things I have found along the way that I feel are necessary for me to be a great stay at home mom:

• Adult time (without your child)
• Play Dates (a combo of adult time for me and playdate/exposure to other kids for Jack.)
• Personal Time. Hopefully this includes an hour of time to do whatever you want but honestly sometimes it might include even just alone time to use the shower/bathroom)
• A helpful spouse who appreciates what you do and steps in to provide relief when you are completely strung out. Love you Mitch, even though I may be a beast at times ;)
• An escape. For me that involves disappearing with Jack to my parents farm.
• My Scentsy business. I meet new people, sell a yummy smelling product, and make money which gives me that sense of accomplishment that my 40 hr/week job gave me.
• Hobbies. I have started sewing although i haven't spent too much time lately on it. More to come on that in a later post...
• Trips to the Mall, Target, etc. Although this one gets a little tricky for trying not to spend money, it does provide a change of scenery for both of us.
• Exercise. This one has been a hard thing for me to stick with but does give me a break while Jack goes to the daycare and he gets to play with other kids.
• Sunshine. Everybody feels better with sunshine, right? :) That nice weather last week gave me an even better outlook on life and allowed us to get out and take walks.

Even after implementing all these new things into my new life, I still was wondering if I would love being back in the classroom. So I decided to sub back in the classroom for a few days while Jack attended daycare in the same center. Although we were only there a few days and it would have taken more days to fully adjust, we both decided that daycare life was not for either one of us. We like our flexible, stay home schedule.

I no longer wonder if I should be back in the classroom because I like being a stay at home mom. Even on days like today where Jack is sick and crabby and I haven't had much sleep.

When deciding whether to go back to work or stay home, you need to make the best decision for your family and then alter it to meet your needs. For now, staying home is where Jack and I are happiest :)

To end this I must say thank you to my husband who works crazy amounts of hours at his job and with his photography so that I can stay home with Jack. Your work does not go unappreciated with us :)

First Family Vacation.

Holy Cow has it been forever since I last blogged! We are still kicking, in fact, more accurately I should say we are crawling. Yes. Thats correct. Jack, our 8 month old, is crawling! He is growing up so fast and getting more fun by the day. Still a happy go lucky little boy.

This past weekend we took our first family vacation to the cities. We visited the Mall of America, including SeaLIFE aquarium, IKEA, and stayed in a hotel. Jack got to swim in a pool for the first time there and could not have enjoyed himself more! He was splashing like crazy!

Here are a few pictures documenting our trip. I stole them off my husbands facebook page so hopefully they are ok resolution.

Sleeping like a champ in his pack and play. Sporting a green polo for St. Patricks Day too :)

His first meal in a restaurant. Family-friendly Ikea sells baby food :) 

Bananas were on the menu and inhaled practically. 

A collage of his swimming experience.

I think it is safe to say that we all enjoyed ourselves! 

Our next adventure: Jack and I going to daycare for the next several days so I can sub.

 He is going to hang out in the baby room and I will be with the 3's. 

Hope we enjoy it as much as our vacation ;)

Baby's Words to Mom.

Not a big advocate for Johnson baby products but they do make good commercials. Here is one of them.

Caution: It may make you cry.

Aww. Nothing like being told you are doing a good job :)

6 months.

Guess who is 6 months!!

Time has been flying by but man is the time with Jack fun!

I swear he has had a personality from the beginning but his contagious smiles are bigger and his laughter is more frequent.

I just love that little boy!

Here are a few recent videos we have captured lately. You will notice they aren't the best camera views because I must confess our little boy is quite entertained by cameras and pictures of himself. If he sees the camera, he stops what he is doing and smiles. His camera/photo fascination I am sure we had nothing to do with it with my husband being a photographer and us plastering his photo everywhere. It's quite the riot to see him spot one of his pictures. He grins at it huge!

Anyways, this first video captures him laughing at me. As long as I keep laughing, he can't stop.



This second video shows a major milestone our little 6 month-er has hit. Solid foods! He can't get enough. You will see how he eats. He likes to be in control and eat it up!



His most recent photoshoot picture:

That's a whole lot of Jack in this post! 

It's your lucky day ;)