Made By Me- Felt Car Mat

You see that girl?

 

She is becoming quite the crafter if I do say so myself!

With a little inspiration from the Iowa Farmer's Wife and a little help from my mom, I made Drake his very own felt car mat.

 Complete with a grocery store

And a Dr. Office

And a school and football field

 And a little neighborhood with a pond

And Target ( no brainer I would put a Target in; Momma has to have a place to shop in the town!)

      

 And a Church

 All topped off with lots of roads for Drake to run all of his cars around on!

The little man really loves it!

                             Drake also decided that the mat makes the perfect place to read books!

    I would call this craft project a smashing success!

 

Now what to make next? What is something fun you've made recently?

P.S. I totally forgot to take pictures as I went along. Let me know if you want directions or more details and I can email them to you!

What's on My Mind

 At this exact second I'm thinking:

• I'm in love with the paint color and decorating changes in my kitchen and front room. IN.LOVE. Pictures coming soon.
• A nice cup of warm coffee is a great way to start out the morning.
• Someway, somehow Drake has managed to drop all 5 pacis out of his crib and has woke up crying for them at 1:00 am on Monday night and 5:30 am last night. Operation Time to Get Rid of Pacis is approaching fast.
• After watching home videos of Drake last night I've come to a few conclusions: 1. My voice sounds weird on video. 2. I feel like I might get motion sickness when I watch the ones I video tape. 3. My singing voice leaves a lot to be desired. 4. I used to be obsessed with the song I've Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas because it is playing in the background of numerous videos.5. I forgot how small Drake used to be. It ALMOST makes me want another baby. Almost.
• As soon as Drake outgrows his current pair of shoes he is getting these. Cutest shoes ever, no?

• My sister gave me a pair of Cookie Johnson jeans for Christmas and I'm smitten with them. They fit great (even better now that I'm finally starting to loose the last of the baby weight) looks stylish and are super flattering. My favorite part? The silk lined waist band.

What's on your mind right now?

Image Credit 1

Image Credit 2

Cabin Fever

 With snow, ice and temperatures below zero we have spent a lot of time inside this winter. Being inside is getting increasingly difficult with an active toddler who wants to run around and burn off energy. He is getting a bad case of cabin fever and and finding "creative" ways to entertain himself, like climbing on everything, including his new tool bench.

 So yesterday we decided we better take advantage of the warmer temperatures (it was 20 degrees and we ALL had a bad case of cabin fever) and play outside for a bit.

Drake helped Ben shovel the driveway.

But before long he decide he had enough of winter activities and was moving on to his summer toys!

 He quickly found out that riding a bike when you are puffy like a marshmallow from all the layer of clothing you are wearing is easier said than done.

 And mowing the snow just is not the same as mowing the grass!

Did I mention we have cabin fever?!?

Is it spring yet?

Friday Favorites Drake Edition

 

Hi! It's Drake here. I'm taking over Momma's Friday Favorite post today so I can share my most favorite thing with you...my paci!!

I really like to sleep with a bunch of pacis all lined up in my crib. I like to have one in mouth all night and at least one in my hand. I also do not want to be in the situation where they all fall out of the crib so that is why I really prefer having 5 in there at one time!

I'm going to be 18 months old in a few weeks and my Momma says I'm going to have to give them up soon. I still use the newborn pacis that they sent me home from the hospital with. They are the best! I can suck on them but I can also chew on the edges when I'm teething.

I'm only suppose to have the paci for nap and bedtime and when I'm in the car, but sometimes I sneak into my room and take as many as I can find.

Want to know a little secret?!? I don't actually even need my paci. I never use one at daycare and do great all day and at nap without it. I think I heard my daycare lady tell Momma that I do fine without them, so now she is on to me. I have a feeling the time is getting closer for the paci to go, but Momma did buy some new ones at Target today because I keep hiding all of mine (so I have a stash when they take all mine away) where they can't find them. 

I will do my best to put up a big fight and use my biggest sad face when they try and take them away, but just know I'm almost positive this is going to harder on Momma than me.

motherhood is...

Motherhood is getting up in the middle of the night with a teething toddler. Rocking him back and forth in the wee hours of the night while enjoying those moments of deep snuggles.

Motherhood is crying tears of exhaustion from caring for a sick baby all day and not knowing what you can do to make him feel better.

Motherhood is putting your child's needs  in front of your own and feeling guilty in those rare times when you put yourself first.

Motherhood is wondering what you used to fill you days and nights with. You can't remember, but you know it was nothing compared to this.

Motherhood is appreciating everything your parents did, because now you are in the same club and know just how hard it is.


Motherhood is looking into your son's eyes and seeing yourself and your spouse in the face of your child.

Motherhood is hot dogs and mac and cheese and bananas all over the floor.

Motherhood is being sad when you leave your baby but also feeling relief for a break.

Motherhood is listening to the Wiggles CD 5 million times because a certain little boy loves to jam with them.

Motherhood is big wet kisses and  tender hugs from tiny little bodies.

Motherhood is hoping for snow days just so you can spend a whole day snowed in as a family.

Motherhood is loving so much your heart hurts.

Motherhood is wishing that it was bedtime at 5:00 pm after a long day at home.

Motherhood is watching your son play in his room without him knowing and being amazed by his young imagination

Motherhood is scary and exciting. Exhausting and exhilarating. Fun and boring.

Motherhood is nothing I thought it would be.

Motherhood is better than I thought it would be.

Straight from a Momma's Mouth

• "Do not feed Skinner your cheese stick! Drake I mean it, don't let Skinner lick your cheese stick before you take a bite."
• "You are my best friend!"
• "The stool belongs on floor. You can't sit on your stool on top of the couch."
• "You are sooooo cute"
• "Don't hit yourself" (3 million times a day because that is how he takes his frustration out)
• "What's in your mouth?"
• "You do that one more time and you are going to time out"
• "Don't pull Skinner's tail."
• "When did you get so big?"
• "I said PLEASE not CHEESE"
• "Don't pee on the dog."
• "I love you so much"

Things that just a few short years ago I could not imagine saying, are now things that are said on the regular. Being a mom changed me in way I never expected and I love it!

Friday Favorites- Mrs. Meyer's

Call me weird, but nothing makes me happier than finding a really great cleaning product that works well. I've been searching high and low for a natural product to use on my counter tops with no luck. Then my good friend Twitter came through. I was stalking Twitter one day, when I ran across a discussion about the greatness that is Mrs Meyer's counter top spray.

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 I was intrigued so I bought some (I found it the cheapest on walmart.com.) and L.O.V.E it!!! It comes in all sorts of super awesome scents. I decided to try the lavender scent (think the smell of a beautiful spring day) and let's just say I am cleaning my counter tops even when they are sparkling, just for the fresh, non-chemically smell.  The best part? It gets all the grime and grub off my counter tops that my old stand-by Lysol wipes couldn't.

I'm a Mrs. Meyer's convert!

P.S.- Nobody from Mrs. Meyer's even has the slightest idea I'm writing this post. I just really love the product and wanted to share it with you!

Toddlerisms

 Time for another dose of Toddlerisms brought to you by Drake!

• Drake has learned how to say the word burp and loves to say it over and over. Yesterday morning while getting ready for daycare he tooted (what do you call it at your house?) and yelled "BURP".  On  the right track buddy, on the right track.
• Where the Wild Things Are & Going on a Bear Hunt are Drake's favorite books. So isn't funny that we caught him peeing all over them right before bath the other night?!?
• To say that Drake is obsessed with football would probably be an understatement. He love watching football on TV and runs around yelling "football" and  "touchdown" over and over.
• We have been working with Drake on saying please. This is not working well because he always thinks we say CHEESE instead of PLEASE and runs to the fridge begging for his favorite snack.
• Powering the 4-wheeler using his mouth really seems to be the way to go these days.

I really think this age might be my favorite yet!

Speaking of favorites, I will be back on Friday with Friday Favorites.

Less is More-Part III

If you missed the first two parts check them out here- Less is More- Part I and Less is More-Part II  

I really want to live by the 'Less is More' motto in all areas of my life, including blogging.

I love blogging.

I love the friends I have made.

I love the creative outlet.

I love the opportunities it has given me.

I love blogging.

But it is time for me to find a better balance between blogging and real life.

Time for me to better utilize my blogging time.

Time to focus on content.

Time to prioritize life and blogging.

Time to realize less really is more in so many ways.

Growing Up

Remember way back on Tuesday when I said I would be back tomorrow following up Less is More- Part I and Less is More-Part II with Less is More- Part III?

That didn't happen.
Because life did.

Drake came down with an awful ear infection, sore throat, and fever on Tuesday night (in addition to getting his 1 year molars) and we have been trying to get him better ever since. So my usual blogging time was replaced with cuddling a sick baby.

I will be back tomorrow with the conclusion of my Less is More series focusing on blogging.

Until then here are a few pictures of my boy looking oh-so grown up!