easy DIY flowers the kid can do

Even though I was extremely disappointed Friday when I picked Lovie up from school and found no Mother's Day "gift"-- not even a "Happy Mother's Day!" from anyone-- I still managed to have her create something for her grandmothers.

We didn't have a lot of time and I'm not really the crafitiest of people out there but we still did something... and I was super pleased with the results:

It's a card made from a thick piece of construction paper folded in half. On the outside I wrote HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY and then I wrote a note that Lovie dictated. On the inside, Lovie hand wrote her name (and mine) opposite the craft: a vase holding flowers. All made with construction paper.

• I took three pieces of different colored paper and drew a bunch of different sized circles on them. 
• Then I gave the paper to Lovie and had her cut out the circles. 
• Then she took a big circle and dabbed some glue on it and covered the glue with a smaller, different colored cirlce; dabbed some glue on that circle and covered it with an even smaller, different colored circle. 
• Once our flower heads were made, we glued them on to green pieces of construction paper folded and made to look like stems.
• The vase is another piece of paper cut out to look like a vase and glued on the sides and bottom. So the flowers are actually removable! : )

HOW FREAKING CUTE, RIGHT? 

#MothersDay

So Sunday is Mother's Day.

I wasn't always a big fan of the day, but since having Lovie, I've grown to enjoy it. Not to get away from her or have alone time, but to actually celebrate her-- she's the reason I'm a mother after all. And it's the most awesomest thing in the world.

taken at her dress rehearsal for her big recital on... Mother's Day!

Being her mama.

Happy Mother's Day to you!

Mother's Day-isticle, the Listicle

one:

Lovie slept in late. Of course. The one day I demand I not get up with her, she sleeps in later than ever (8:30am!).

two:

The hubs brought me coffee in bed whilst Lovie and I watched TV in bed as he destroyed the kitchen made breakfast.

three:

I washed clothes (my own).

four:

Lovie took a 2 hour nap and I watched an entire Lifetime movie (can't even recall the last time that happened- before Lovie was born, I believe).

five:

Lovie woke hungry so I made her a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and sliced an apple while the hubs conveniently washed his car.

six:

We went to the park.

apparently the secret to getting a decent photo with your two year old is to contain them in a swing or as they eat

seven:

We laughed and played and my most favorite Mommy and Me photos were magically captured.

eight:

We visited the in-laws.

nine:

We came home just in time for Lovie's bedtime and she... went to bed without a fight.

ten:

We ordered Giordano's stuffed pizza and pigged out. YUM.

autograph

the H handed me this Sunday night:

front of card

card opened ~ inside

closeup of ... THE autograph

monday morning

Friday night I baked a cake.

It was tasty and oh so easy to make.

We brought it over to my mom and grandmother's house to celebrate Mother's Day with them on Saturday.

We also checked out the flowers that are coming up.

(Lovie was mesmorized by the smoke coming from my mother's nasty cigarettes.)

After cake, coffee, a couple smoke/outside breaks, play/laugh time with Lovie, we took my mom out for dinner at a family joint she wanted to go to.

After a rough night of sleeping thanks to back teeth trying to poke through, we started our Sunday at 930 in the morning! Wow! Unfortunately I was sure Lovie was going to wake at any moment so I never really slept soundly. Such is life.

After a nice late morning start, we headed out to the in laws to pick up MIL and take her to a late (3pm) lunch at a brazillion restaurant. Lovie ate so much food and did such a fantastic job. I was so proud of her, so honored to be there with her as her Momma on Mother's Day.

Sadly no pictures were taken on Sunday.

Whatever.

And now it's Monday again, and I'm, once again, hankering to spend some time with my Lovie already!

These are the times when I really dislike you stay at home types.

3 mommas and an itty bitty girl

Four generations of women (ok more like 3 women, 1 itty bitty)

in one beautiful picture that will be cherished forever:

my mom, my Oma, me, and my Lovie

We're visiting these lovely ladies tomorrow and I'm hoping the H can capture this again- or something close to it. That will be enough Mother's Day gift to me.

Happy Mother's Day to you and yours!

xoxo

Tired and a little ticked off: Mother's Day review

Saturday night was rough, to say the least.

Lovie spent all last week sleeping thru the night for the first time in her life. It was kind of nice but also a little sad. Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy feeding her in the wee hours of night when everything is so quiet and peaceful. And the smile she gives me and the way she burrows into me when she's done is just so incredibly magical...

Well that all went out the window Saturday.  We had a good day, Lovie and I - like we always do when we're together.  We played, we laughed, we read, we sang, we played, we laughed, we napped during the day.  Daddy was gone from 630am until about 3pm so it was just us girls.  When it came time for her afternoon nap at about 330, Lovie wasn't having any part of it.  And while she can fuss like any baby, she is normally not a crier - unless something is really wrong.  After about 10 minutes of trying to soothe her, we popped a bottle in her mouth and she guzzled it down like crazy and took a nap right away following. Poor baby was starving - but how were we to know this when she just has 6 ounces an hour prior?!

Gotta love them growing babies. :)

I ended up having to wake Lovie because it was getting late and she needed to eat dinner (rice cereal and a bottle) before going down for the night.  All of this went off without a hitch.

I went to bed around 10pm. The hubs stayed up (he's a night owl).

Around 1230am I heard Lovie crying, but the hubs was still up so would take care of her so I tried going back to sleep. Again, I heard her crying and this time it was like 130 in the morning and the hubs still wasn't in bed. I laid there for a couple minutes listening to the crying and getting angry. Why wasn't my husband taking care of my baby girl?! I get up and Lovie is in hysterics and DH is lifting her up looking at her like Are you OK? WTF?!?! He tells me he thinks she has gas. I tell him to give her to me and when he does, I take her into our bedroom which is dark, cool, and very quiet. I rock her and sing to her quietly, holding onto her tightly. She calms down in about 10 minutes or so. After another 10 minutes of just rocking her and ensuring she's calm, I lay her down in the crib on her belly - something I don't normally do since she's not rolling on her own yet.  But she was able to remain calm and went to sleep.

Turns out a day of shaken formula (generally we make a batch the day before and heat as needed - yes, formula as my boobs don't work) makes for a gassy Lovie.

:(

After an hour, Lovie started screaming bloody murder again.  I quickly scooped her up and tried rocking/singing to her again but she just screamed and I ended up crying... my poor baby was in pain and nothing was helping! :(

Finally she calmed after about half an hour of rocking and singing. She fell asleep in my arms again and instead of laying her down again, I just kept her in my arms and rigged the couch up so that if I fell asleep she would not roll onto the floor.  We "slept" like this until she woke at 630 and looked at me and smiled.

I did my job. Sleep deprived like I haven't been in months, I was happy because Lovie was happy.

We picked up the hubs's mother at 11 and met my mom and grandmother for brunch at 1pm where Lovie was the star: Three people commented- one coming out of their way to stop at the table on their way out- that Lovie was a very good baby in addition to being incredibly cute.  Happy Mother's Day!  :)  After brunch, we said good bye to my mom and grandmother, and the hubs, MIL, Lovie and I went looking at high chairs (we have our eye on this one) where another person commented on how insanely good and cute Lovie is.   We dropped MIL off, stop for Peanut Parfait Busters from Dairy Queen (holla to the Ice cream gods!), and come home (fin.a.lly!).

By then it was like 530. Lovie and I played and laughed until dinner and she ate her rice cereal, drank her bottle, and when right to bed without fussing like normal.

And I was pissed... because this picture of my Lovie is the ONLY one taken from the day (from my cell phone in the car on our way to brunch)... my official first Mother's Day.

Whatever. I think the hubs took a pic or two of me and my Lovie after we got home (and changed - and she was dressed super damn cute during the day!) so I'll check. But as for now, I'm ass tired today because I have a horrible time sleeping on Sunday nights and I'm still trying to catch up from the non-sleep I got Saturday night, but it's all good because in 4 hours I get to leave and pick up my Lovie and smother her with hugs and kisses!

Post-free Weekends

Funny how I claim not to post on the weekends because I'm all up in Lovie's buisness and then, lo and behold, this is like week three with a post. But, again, it's because she's napping.

And I'm certain she's still napping (three hours now) because she's catching up on her lack of napping that gets done at daycare; because while there's classical music playing in the background pretty loudly, it's still pretty quiet here and she's able to sleep instead of catnap and be woken up by a screaming kid or a flying toy (or both, eh).

Happy early Mother's Day everyone... including those not officially moms. You know - like aunts, sisters, cousins, even some dads. I know it used to steam me every Mother's Day that passed and I would never get wished a HMD even though I always loved my nephews and nieces as if they were my own.  I don't believe there's an Aunt's Day or anything.

So Happy early Mother's Day to anyone and everyone out there who loves, nurtures, cares for another in a motherly way.