A couple things I worked on in November and December. These are "quickies" which are my favorite projects. They took very little time, but turned out really cute.
I found a tutorial for a "bow cuff bracelet" online and I had some left over vinyl so I thought I'd give it a go. I used my vinyl (a remnant I picked up ages ago) and I got some sew on snaps (very tiny ones) at a craft store, because I wasn't about to mess with a snap putter onner (that's a technical term).




The 2nd project is a snowman face made from felt that I added magnets to (I cut up those advertising ones and hot glued them to the back of each piece)  so that my fridge would have a snowman face. The kids LOVE this one and I had a few friends ask me to make them a set as well. Both of these projects were super simple, but would make a cute gift to give.  P.S. My fridge is tiny and we are apartment dwellers so it came with the fine dents in the door you see there.

Words of love, not judgement.

 I've been thinking about this post for a long time. Weighing the importance of getting my piece out against the backlash I may get for it. I decided that it was time I spoke out about something that has been bothering me for a while. I have two children, they are six and three. My children are smart, beautiful and healthy. It doesn't seem like the choice our family made to feed them formula, from birth in a bottle, has made them unhealthy and our bond couldn't be stronger. There are so many people out there that make you feel guilty for making a decision that is right for your family, I wanted to be a voice that doesn't shame anyone for how making that choice.  As a first time mother, I took my oldest to my MOPS meetings at church. I was surrounded by mothers with babies at their breast. As I pulled out a bottle and held my daughter close, I felt overwhelming guilt.  I was frequently asked questions about why I didn't breast feed, the majority of people assumed it was a capability issue, not a choice, because why would anyone choose not to breast feed? Emotionally wrecked from having a newborn baby, I just chose to answer vaguely, that it just didn't work out for us. That wasn't the truth. I was telling lies because society made me feel guilty for making, what I felt was, the best decision for my family. I'm not talking about MOPS moms either, I'm talking about complete strangers, friends, family, all walks of life. People who didn't know me judged me because my child had a bottle in her mouth, and the people who loved me did too.
Fast forward almost three years to when my son was born. Born 8lbs 15.5oz, he was a little chunk of a baby. His thighs put my biceps to shame! We made the choice to use formula and bottles for him as well. Never having any troubles, except for his tear ducts that were too small, he has grown from a chunky newborn to a stocky preschooler. Always at 95th percentile for weight and healthy as a horse (or whatever that saying is!) he is ahead of schedule on his learning milestones and keeps me on my toes constantly. I felt less guilt, but it was still there.
Both of my children excel in the learning department, they are creative, loving and I share a very special relationship with each. There doesn't seem to have been any problems, long or short term, from feeding them formula. I suppose they each have a really special connection with their dad because of the special nights he spent hours with each of them while I was resting to be the best mom I could be the next day.
I really just wanted to write this all out, because I feel like there are so many out there that don't realize that what they say can be heard differently than they intended. When you have a baby people want to give you advice and help you. Mothers are one of the biggest 'word of mouth' groups I know of, and what we say to each other is meaningful and usually taken to heart. Be kind and graceful with your words, questioning someones decision about how they feed their child may be more hurtful than helpful. I wouldn't ask why your toddler only eats blue foods (and not just because I have been through the toddler years). As moms we try to be "fixers". We want to put band-aids on knee scrapes, and ice packs on bumps. We can't fix everything, but we can be more careful with our words. A new mom is so much more susceptible to guilt and that feeling like we don't know what we're doing. When my daughter was born I was sure I was going to end up breaking her in some way. Encourage your friends, your daughters, your sisters and loved ones in their new roles. Don't make them feel like they are making mistakes.
Thanks if you stuck around this long. I just needed to let that out. I can't say it directly to people who meant the best, but made me feel the worst. I sure hope that this finds just one mom who needed to hear that her decision is what is best for her and her baby and her family.

Pyrex; Better than your face

 This evening as I started my Martha Stewart pancakes and my husbands new favorite "oven scrambled eggs", I reached up for my mixing bowl. One of my casserole dishes was stacked on top of them and the lid came flying down into my face. I have a huge welt and a bad headache, but what was going through my mind was odd "I hope it doesn't break!" I was more concerned about losing another Pyrex dish than my own face.
I haven't blogged lately, I've been terribly lazy! I promise to come back more often and update with my projects. I sort of stalled out after the Christmas rush.