I have sewn my first project!

I got a sewing machine for Christmas. It only took me almost 8 months to finally get it out of the box. I have been completely intimidated by that little machine. Mostly because my background in sewing is very minimal. I learned to sew a button last year, finally.

But I have a very awesome, and patient, friend who offered to come offer and lend me her expertise. I am so thankful for her. I've always been sad because I had no idea how to sew. I really wanted to be able to pass this skill onto my little girl but felt completely inadequate.

Anyway, I digress. (I'm not sure who posted about this project and left the link so I have to say that I'm sorry for not being able to link to the middle man.)

I fell in love with this book case! It seems that at night she has to pull down every book in order to pick the one that she wants. This book case/shelf solves that problem. She is able to see the front of the book and not just the spine. Granted we have way more books then this shelf can hold so I will rotate the books out occasionally.

It is just her height. (Look to the right of the dresser.)

Close-up picture.
The pattern is of a mother and daughter. This may sound way too sentimental for a bookcase, but I had to have this pattern. I wanted to remember this project because it was the very first thing I sewed for her. I hope to pass on skills that make her an efficient wife and mother who glorifies the Lord.

Feather Activity

I made a new Tot tray for Michaela that I hope she enjoys. Here are the supplies you need:

Thick Styrofoam
Beads
Feathers that match the beads

Stick the beads in the styrofoam and you are done!

The object is for your Tot to stick the feathers into the matching beads on the Styrofoam board. Note: I originally tried using markers but they don't really write on the Styrofoam very well. Another variation is to use paint. I chose beads because it was simple and I could take them out and still use the Styrofoam for something else.

I love the smiles of my Little Man

No reason for this post except I had to show someone the recent pictures of Corbin. He is beginning to have such a sweet personality.

We finally made it back to church after many weeks. It was so good to be there!If you see him he will more then likely be laying like this. He loves, loves, loves to have his hands above his head!

I still can't get over seeing that smile. I can't help but remember being in the ambulance with him after our accident. It was so horrifying to scream and cry at him and still get no response from him. I made a deal with God that if he would just let him cry to get the oxygen I would never get upset when he cried ever again.

I think I've only failed once so far.

Mommy Confession Monday

There are so many things I probably need to confess. I think I'll just make a list instead of elaborating on each one. That might be easier!




1. I forgot to make dinner tonight. This might sound crazy but Sundays are always different since we have such a big lunch with the family after church. At 8:30 I realized we hadn't had dinner so I fed the family Apple Jacks.
2. I spent way too much time preparing and not playing. Is it really worth the prep time if I'm not actually spending time with them while their awake?
3. I've been extremely short with every member of my family this week, especially the last few days. I need to have an attitude check.
4. I bought a pint of Starbucks Carmel Macchiato ice cream at the store tonight even though 1/4 of the container has more then 40% of the fat I should have in one day. I couldn't resist!

Tot School- 23 Months, Week 2

This week didn't include a lot of 'actual' tot time. I spent a lot of the week organizing and trying to get my life back together a little bit. I did manage to sneak in a few exercises here and there.

Playing with a toy while I tended to Corbin.

This is a rare sighting: smiling for a picture!

She helped me make dinner. (If you can say putting frozen items on a stone is making dinner.)
Playing with a Melissa & Doug see and spell.

I love the way she lays on her belly to work. It's so cute!

I've never gotten this out for her because I thought it was too old for her but she wanted to play with it. It was a bit challenging for her but she enjoyed trying to match the shapes.

The week wouldn't be complete without transferring beans.

She did manage to actually use the spoon some this time.

But we always manage to end up with the same result..

Pouring the beans from one bowl to the other.

Corbin was being so good in the swing while we worked.

She practiced slicing bread with the sandwich making set.

Then she slice an apple.

We also did some rock climbing at a birthday party.

She came inside to find me and bring me outside to show off her new skill.

Check out this link for more great Tot School Ideas!

New Classroom - Before & After

I spent a lot of time this week organizing Michaela's school room. My wonderful sister came over to help me tackle this project. It's something I've wanted to do for awhile since my supplies outgrew my original idea for storing materials.

This room used to be my closet. Before I had children I worked as an assitant manager at a clothing store. I had tons of clothes but unfortunately I have outgrown almost all of them either by size or age. It's hard to believe this room was a closet at one point. I had way too much stuff!

Little did I know when I had my Papaw build the shelves in this room that it would one day be an awesome place for my children to learn! (Thanks Papaw!)

Overall Before

Overall After

Wall #1 Before

Wall #1 After

Wall #2 Before

Wall #2 After

Wall #2 Shelves: Tot Trays/Montessori Work

Wall #3 Before

Wall #3 After
Wall #3 Shelves: Bible, Art, Music and Misc. Educational Toys
Wall #4 Before
Wall #4 After: Finally a nice place to "plan" the week.

We did our trays in the kitchen for a long time. Please understand that it is not necessary to have a space like this to play purposefully with your tot. All it takes is a parent who wants to spend time with their little one and help them discover their world. I just like to see how other Momma's organize their supplies and thought that I would share.

Adding a signature to your blog

I'm stuck sitting at the computer printing many, many pages for a montessori album. I decided to try to learn how to create one of those cute little signatures that I see on other people's blogs. I am amazed to see that I could accomplish this! However, I am not smart enough to explain it to you. Here's the link to the how-to that I found thanks to Peter.

Tool for Learning Colors

I was reading about Rocker Mom's connect four cards and it reminded me to post about the color cards I made. We are on a tight budget and cannot really afford to buy colored ink for the printer. Hence the homemade matching squares. This is a super easy idea and you could use any colored items to match your papers.

I chose to use these small wooden blocks for matching.
I made some cards with a single color to focus on the individual colors

And cards with a pattern for more of a challenge.

Final Product:

Click on the button below for more great Tot Tools!