The Doctors Wife

I Am That Mom

 

I am that Mom who sends fruit to school for Valentines. (ha!) But with a peanut free rule, candy is pretty much out, plus I saw these somewhere (on a blog? in a magazine? I have no idea, but this is not an original idea of mine!) and thought they were so cute!

  

(the apple tag says, "You're the apple of my eye", the banana tag says, "I'm bananas for you") 

 

  

Curtastrophe

A couple of weeks ago when little Miss Hannah was feeling under the weather, I begged asked my Mom if she would like to come visit for few days so we could hang out and I could try to get a few things done around my house. I have been wanting to make curtains for our dining room since we moved in, but have never gotten around to it. What with the whole going to a fabric store with two small children while doing math in my head that involves conversions and getting out my sewing machine and all that goes with it and you know, actually sewing the curtains, well I just never found the time. But I could not stand curtain-less windows any longer and with my children in my Mother's very capable hands I made a solo trip for some fabric and came home and got down to business. As I began to pin the fabric, I began to regret my fabric choice. Let's just say that it involved puckering and gathers, and it was most unpleasant, especially when I realized that the lady who cut my fabric did not cut it straight (although if you were eye balling it and not measuring it looked fine) and by not straight I mean a difference of anywhere between 4-8 inches off, which is A LOT. So pinning one panel took me a sweet forever and when I actually began to sew the panel, I regretted my fabric choice even more. As nap time was running low and my frustration level was reaching its limit, I decided to sew the second panel guerrilla style, without pinning it. This horrified my sweet Mother and I asked that she leave the room so she would not witness the sewing atrocity that was getting ready to take place. I assured her that once they were hanging up, it would be fine. Just fine. Absolutely fine. And for $30 and a nap-time later, I think they look pretty great. They are assuredly far from perfect (much shorter than I planned- thank you for cutting the fabric all wonky fabric lady) but at the end of the day, mission accomplished.

The Before:

 

The After:

 

And a close up so you can see why the fabric was such a royal pain:

 

 
 
 

Taming The Two's- Make A Ribbon Wand

Did you play with ribbon wands when you were little? I remember playing with them in gym class, and I just loved them. I looked around online trying to find one for Hannah, and I could never find exactly what I was looking for, or it was more than I was willing to pay. So I decided to make one myself, and it was so easy. 

 

I bought a bracelet and a bag of random colorful ribbon from Hobby Lobby, and simply tied them all to the bracelet. SO EASY! Hannah (and David) loves it! She runs with it, dances with it and tickles her brother with it. So...if you are looking for a fun and easy project, make a ribbon wand!

 

 

Taming The Twos- Activity Ideas For Toddlers

 One of the goals I have as a Mom is to really enjoy my kids. I love my children and I want them to look back on their childhoods and have the same kind of happy memories that I did. I want my kids to have lots of wonderful experiences, I want their days to be filled with playing (inside and out), reading, crafting, creating, and enjoying this beautiful life. And while I love the care free, relaxed pace of summer days, I also don't want to get in an activity rut or worse, end up using the tv as a crutch. Now that Hannah is a little older (she just turned two in April) she is old enough to do so much more. I am always on the lookout for activities that are age appropriate and simple enough to actually do. Since David is still at an age that he requires lots of attention, they need to be easy to supervise or quick enough to do while David naps (he is a cat-napper just like his sister was). I am also all about themes- I love me a good theme, so I try to work them in when I can. I have also found that I am more likely to actually do things if I have done a little planning, so I try to be organized and have a loose plan of the activities I want to try out for the week. The craft closet has been great- since I have so many of the basic craft supplies on hand, I usually don't have to plan ahead too much, or make a special trip to purchase anything new.

 I thought I would share some books that have been really helpful to me, all By Trish Kuffner. We have tried lots of the activities, some I have modified to suit Hannah's tastes, what we have on hand, etc., and it has been a great source of inspiration. I am really loving the Picture Book Activities- because like I said, I love me a good theme. I love to read and did as a child, and want the same love of books to be passed on to my children. This book has not only offered up some great ideas for activities, crafts, snacks, etc. but has also proven to be a great resource for a list of quality children's books (because man are there some real duds that are such a shame to children's literature). Anyway, I have found these books super helpful, and thought some of you might too. I will try to remember to post some pictures of some of our activities, etc. and will also post later about other great resources for activities.

The Toddlers Busy Book, by Trish Kuffner

The Wiggle and Giggle Busy Book, by Trish Kuffner

Picture Book Activities, by Trish Kuffner

Toddler Thank You's

A couple of weeks ago, Hannah and I made thank-you notes for Christmas. I want to instill in her gratitude, and do not ever want her to take for granted or expect gifts, even on holidays like Christmas. So since she cannot write, I wanted a way for her to still be involved in the process (this also served as a great afternoon craft project!) and I love how our little notes turned out. Hopefully everyone enjoyed her sweet little hands, and hopefully this is the start of a foundation of appreciation and gratitude for my little sweetie. 

 I used two sided scrapbook paper for the notes, and we used finger paint to make a hand-print on the "blank" side, and I wrote out a little note on the other.

 

Nap Time Project

Since we are expecting baby number two in a couple of months, we moved the guest room furniture into Mike's office over the weekend in preparation for baby furniture. I think it looks really nice, and as I was patting myself on the back for a job well done, it occurred to me that the doors into the office/guest room are french doors. As in they have see through glass. As in not the best for privacy of guests. Also, my parents are coming up this weekend so I would have to find a solution quick as I'm sure they would appreciate a little privacy, especially since that room is now Hannah's favorite room in the house. So Wednesday night after getting Hannah to bed, I booked it to the fabric store and selected fabric, and made a trip to Lowe's for the hardware. Yesterday I spent the majority of Hannah's nap measuring, cutting, pinning and sewing up some curtains. Here are the results:

Oliver and Sophie would like to say hi and express that they feel they don't get nearly enough blog time

Not perfect, but pretty good for a nap time project!

The Craftiness Continues

Remember me talking about nesting? Well, the last bout of craftiness hasn't really ended, I just haven't posted about it. Here are a couple of my projects:

Remember my not so pleasant run-in with the UPS guy? Well I decided to make a bigger, more permanent sign. Since it is "permanent" I only asked that people knock instead of ringing the doorbell (We have the chimey kind)

And check out my wreath- I did it myself. I have discovered that I have very expensive taste in wreaths. Therefore to get the look I wanted without passing out at the price, I made it myself.

So there you go, and the nesting continues...

Pictures As Promised

I spent the majority of Hannah's nap yesterday looking for the battery charger for my camera- I finally found it, but didn't have time to post any pictures. So today here are some pictures of some of the things that I have been up to in Hannah's room:

Bow holders for all of Hannah's bows (and she has a lot!) These were super easy to make- all you need is ribbon that you like and a d-ring. I used a glue gun because I didn't want to get out my sewing machine for such a small project, and hand stitching...eh

Hannah's Initial- This was really easy and matches her letters that hang over her crib.

Here are Hannah's letters- I re-did them before we moved, but never got around to posting any pictures.