I love you.

She said it. "I love you". Just as plain as day. My baby said "I love you".
Ok, so maybe it was more like "IIWuuuUoooo". But, I'll take it.
I may cancel her birthday party on Saturday...if I cancel the party, she won't have a birthday, if she doesn't have a birthday, than she is NOT "officially" one year old. Right?
sniff, sniff, sniff.

Today, no worry

I'm choosing not to buy into the "worry" hype. I'm not freaking out about the economy. I'm not making plans for losing my house when my husband no longer has a job because of the govt cutting his program (this isn't happening, but I know some of my friends who are already freaking out when they have no indication that such cutting is happening). I am not stock piling groceries. I am not rushing out to buy a gun. I am not filled with a sense of doom for our country just because a man that I did not vote for won the presidency. BUT, many of you are.

I understand passion. I'm a passionate person. When I believe in something I role with it. BUT, this alternative type of behavior can't be good for you people.

Although, in the end, I supported the, (insert a loud GASP from the state of Alabama, and TX for that matter), winning candidate, my feelings of peace are not stemmed from that fact. My contentment with the way things will be does not come because of "him".

My faith is in God. My hope is in his son. My future is destined for greatness because I will one day be united with them both. My rewards do not lay on this earth...therefore if everything I have, including my life, liberty, and family, were lost, I would STILL be ok, joyous even....because my happiness and peace does not lay in man or the things he/she can provide.

So, today, I have no worries. Today, I am thankful for the things/people I have. And tomorrow...I will hold a newborn baby in my arms and as I smell the crown of her hair, I will praise God that I have the ability to do so, and I will be thankful for the heavenly crown i will one day wear. Today, I have no worries.

Oprah for President

S-O and I have been discussing politics over the past few weeks.

Yesterday I asked her to tell me the name of the new President...

She said, "Oprah."

I said, "No, it's Barack Obama."

She said, "Oh, sorry...Rock Yo Mamma."

Safe place.

If you were an 11 month old baby....where would you put your extra special toys, pens you aren't supposed to have, pieces of paper you've ripped from a magazine, random goldfish you've found on the floor, or other interesting yet precious items that you want to save for later but hope your parents don't find and take them away?
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Down your Mother's blouse of course!

These are just a few items I've had to try and keep Baby Rae from shoving down my shirt! The funniest most recent item included a green marker that I was letting her hold. I was distracted and became unaware that she had removed the cap when she struggled to slip it down my white shirt. Good thing it was a washable.

Snowman Game FREE Tutorial

Pin the Bow on the Snowbaby version:

This is my first try at creating a FREE TUTORIAL! Let me start by saying there are lots of blogs out there that offer free tutorials on everything from cloth baby shoes to super cool patchwork notebook covers. The purpose of sharing info like this is to inspire others to create!

I made this super fun snowman game for my baby's 1st birthday party. This particular version is called Pin the Bow on the Snowbaby. You can modify the pattern for a boy by adding a classic top hat, scarf, and corn cob pipe, and by changing it to a Pin the Nose on the Snowman Game. You can make it as fancy or basic as you wish. I found most of my supplies at Walmart.

SUPPLIES:
-1.25 yds background felt (Royal Blue)-cut in half to make 2 games

-1 yd white felt for body-makes 2 games with lots left over

-1 black felt square for eyes, buttons and mouth (2 squares if you're making a top hat)

-1 orange felt square for nose

-felt for the game piece (color and amount varies depending on how many game pieces you want to make...I used pink felt for the bows)

-velcro (I used sewable velcro)

-embelishments such as ribbon, tulle and sparklies (try actual buttons for the boy version)
-felt glue -or- thread used to affix Snowman to background (I chose to machine stitch all pieces to the background using a really tight zizag stitch set to zero length.)

-wooden dowel (mine is 1 yd long)

-string or ribbon

-sissors -or- rotory cutter and mat

-straight edge -or- ruler

STEP ONE: MEASURE and CUT fabric to the desired length and width using a straight edge. Mine measured aprox 26'x45' with 1/2 in. hem allowance. Make sure to include hem allowances on both long sides and bottom. Also include a few extra inches on the top side for the dowel casing. (FYI, these instructions will give you a finished background measuring aprox 25'x 38')

STEP TWO: PRESS and STITCH sides and bottom hem allowances. Create a casing for the top by folding over a few inches and PRESS and STITCH. INSERT dowel into casing and tie off ribbon or string to each end to create a hanger. Set aside

STEP THREE: Use pots/pans or plates to TRACE out the head, bodice, and base of the Snowman onto white fleece. DRAW eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons onto paper and cut out to use as templates. TRACE templates onto felt and cut out. EMBELLISH as desired.





STEP FOUR: ARRANGE and AFFIX pieces using your prefered method. I chose to machine stitch all the pieces to the background using a really tight zigzag stitch set to zero width.

STEP FIVE: DRAW game pieces onto tracing/butcher paper to use as templates. TRACE templates onto game piece felt. CUT out game pieces. AFFIX velcro to game pieces (I machine stitched strips of velcro to the back of game pieces).

STEP SIX: PLAY game and award prizes for the one who's closest to the target.

Interesting Conversation

(Disclaimer: No actual Husbands were harmed in the making of this conversation. Although this story is based on a true story, the names of the people involved have been changed for their protection:)


(wife, and stay at mother whose been on the go since 5:10am with a crying/teething baby, stands, cooking dinner at 8pm after a day filled with whining children, cleaning, shopping(not the fun kind), chauffeuring, volunteering, paying bills, working from home, listening to screaming children and dreaming of a bath)

wife: You know, Jane Doe, is going back to work. She's brave.

husband: Oh? She HAS to go back to work already?

wife: No, she WANTS to go back to work. I want to go back to work, but I think my mind wouldn't let me. I'd feel too guilty because I didn't HAVE to...I'd WANT to.

husband: That would be more stressful.

wife: For who?

husband: Well, it would stress me out thinking someone else would be caring for our children. And you too...it would be much more stressful for you to go back to work. You should see the ladies in my office. They have to get up at 5 am, fix lunches, get everybody to school/daycare, go to work all day, come home, cook dinner, baths, clean house etc....it never ends for them.

wife (seriously considering throwing the pan, hot grease included, on top of her husbands head, and biting her lip so hard she can taste copper on her tongue, but just too darn tired to even explain/debate/argue): Yeah, I guess so.

Moral of the story...about 10 minutes of extra sleep separates the Stay-At-Home-Mother from the Work-Outside-The-Home Mother...and that 10 minutes is subject to change. We should both respect each other as equals.

Drastic Times = Drastic Measures

I received a call from S-O's MDO teacher 3x's last week.

Hitting, pushing, pinching.

Ok, disobeying the teacher....I can deal with.

Not sitting still during circle time....dealable.

Having to be chased by, not one, not two, but three adults when it's time to come inside from recess...manageable.

Hitting, pushing, pinching....(long pause) (deep breath)

NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!

We WILL NOT, ABSOLUTELY IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM, ALLOW THIS BEHAVIOR FROM OUR CHILD!!!

The first day, we grounded her from watching Dora, explained what would happen if it happened again, and rehearsed how she is to respect her teachers and friends.

The second day, I informed her teachers upon drop off that I would appreciate a phone call if any of said behavior occurs.

38 minutes later....I got the call.

I was back up to the school in 11minutes with the intent to follow through with said spanking. (long pause, deep breath)

I thought about it. Conceptually. She hits...I hit. Something didn't fit.

I didn't spank. Instead, I talked to her about her friends feelings and tried to help her understand.

The 3rd day. Ah...that 3rd day. I got the call around 11:30.

Uncontrollable on the playground. Pushing. Pinching. Timeout. Trip to the Directors Office. Had to sit in the RED chair. Hysterical crying and flayling of the arms.

(long pause, deep breath)

Her punishment...John and I put EVERY (and I mean EVERY) toy she owns upstairs in the playroom....and left her favorite ones on the stair case for her to see everytime she goes down the hallway. The plan: make her earn back her toys one at a time by displaying proper behavior.

This weekend was rough. Every single good thing she did received a reward of one toy of her choice AND every single thing she did wrong resulted in a toy being taken away again. She earned and re-lost the same 4 toys about 50 times the first 2 days. We were stuck on 5 toys until today.

Today, she earned back 15 toys.

She's like a different child.

Yes ma'am. No sir. Thank you. Kisses to Mommy/Daddy/Baby Rae. She set the table for dinner (forks and napkins) and put her dirty dishes in the sink...unprompted! She even reminded me that she hadn't brushed her teeth yet when I went to tuck her in for bed.

I'm dumbfounded. I hope it lasts.

Tomorrow will be the BIG test day at school. We will see if our method worked. (BTW, thanks to Traci for sharing this idea with me) I'll provide an update later.