Giveaway Winner!

Sorry I'm a day late posting the winner of "The Paranoid Parents Guide" giveaway. It slipped my mind! Congratulations to.....

Contact me at MarriageToMotherhood@yahoo.com to set up shipping!

I wish I could give everyone who commented on this giveaway a copy of this book. It's pretty inexpensive so I encourage all of you who commented about how much it would benefit you, to purchase the book. Again, it can be found on Amazon here for just $10.17.

A Whole Lot of Randomness

• First and foremost, I am SO touched by all of the comments that I received on this post about why you have become a reader of my blog. The responses REALLY touched me and I sincerely thank all of you who took the time to write to me to let me know in one way or another how this blog of mine has inspired you, impacted you, or has just simply given you something to look forward to reading when you get the chance. I wish I could have all of you over for a super big "meet and greet" - not the stuffy un-social kind! No, no. One in which we create a lively atmosphere while engaging in some good home cooked food {and desserts too!}, lots of laughs fill the air, lots of stories are exchanged, "cheers" are being made across the table, and we all leave having new connections with wonderful people that we look forward to sharing our time with once again. Doesn't that sound great!?

• Last week Ilah started walking!! And by walking, I mean....her first few steps were cute, we all clapped, mommy got teary-eyed and we predicted that it would still take her a few more weeks {if not maybe a month} to really get the hang of it and really start walking for long periods of time. Well, Ilah is on the go! - walking from one end of the room to the other. She is doing so many new things now!! Her 10 month post is going to be full of lots of new milestones that she seems to be hitting very early. She is quite the active, funny, precious little girl! We can't get enough of her!!

• This week I went out in public in saggy butt pants {come on, you know what those are! Dare you admit that you've worn a pair in public too? You know...the kind of pants that have become a bit too stretched out to the point where they don't hug your butt like they used to. Hence, "saggy butt" pants}. I normally just wear this particular pair around the house {'cause an elastic waist band is my BFF} but I wanted to make a quick trip to JoAnne's Fabric to buy some more fabric to make hairbows, so I just threw on the saggy butt pants, without really thinking, and put on a baseball cap - sans makeup - and with Ilah in tow, headed out. Wouldn't it be my luck that I was spotted {for the very first time} by a fellow blogger!! I returned home and had an email from a sweet woman who lives near me telling me that she thought she saw me at JoAnne's! She was leaving as I was coming in. Had she had gotten a good close up, she would have seen that my eyebrows are long overdue for a waxing/plucking! Anyhow, we are meeting up next week for lunch and hopefully getting our little ones together for a play date soon {Hi Kimberly!}.

• I've been asked quite a few times if I would share pictures of our home. I do many posts on home decor {man would I love to bring some of those images to life!} and while I have given glimpses here and there of some spaces in our home, I haven't done a home tour. I always love to have a peek inside of someone's real home {I just love visiting model homes too!} and I just love it when other bloggers open their doors for their readers and I get to see inside. So I'll be doing the same starting next week!!

• My new, November 2010, issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine came in the mail this week and it's oh so lovely! This magazine is one of my favorites because it covers so many topics and has very few advertisements, which means the pages are filled with substantial content! Everything from recipes, to home decor, to tips and how-to's, to a plethora of swoon worthy ideas....I love this mag. And with Thankgiving, like, three seconds away, this November issue is PACKED with fabulous ideas!! If you will be hosting Thanksgiving at your house this year, get this issue!! I can't count how many pages I have doggy-eared.

• I ordered Thanksgiving cards to send out to our family & friends; they arrived last week and Ilah looks so adorable on them! They will be addressed, stamped and mailed off next week. Of course, I will be sharing them with you!

Enjoy your Friday and have a great weekend!!

Why Do You Read This Blog?

I wasn't sure if I was going to continue blogging after I had Ilah. In fact, I even proclaimed in one post that this blog would likely be coming to an end shortly after she was born. But here I am. Still here. And still blogging away.

While many bloggers say that they blog to document their life, my reason extends past that. As my profile says, in part: "...This blog houses my thoughts, highlights things that enthuse me, and showcases images that wow me. I live life to its fullest, have a heart for the things of God, am passionate about traveling the globe, take delight in yummy food, and love a good deep laugh...".

Through my blog, I love sharing all of the above things {everything from my faith, to motherhood experiences, to recipes, to lovely home decor images, to random musings - there are many of those!}. I don't aim to be a popular blogger. I don't sit and think about how to draw in the masses. I don't pay attention to my blogger stats like so many other bloggers do nor do I obsess about my ranking on third party sites. Instead, I sit happily and contently on my [very] small block of the blogging world and enjoy writing away when the urge hits me. And when I hear from those of you who choose to pop by it lets me know that you find my little 'ol blog to be an inviting place. In fact, when I get emails from my readers letting me know how much a certain post really touched them, it's what makes me want to continue to keep this blog around all the more. Because even if I've touched just one person in a positive way, than this blog has served its ultimate purpose.

The blogging community has become a very BIG place. Many people make their rounds and read a significant number of blogs per day. The most I have followed has maybe been five. I know what it's like to invest a bit of your time into certain bloggers and peer into their virtual window and keep up with their life story as it plays out daily/weekly/monthly/yearly. But I don't know how people follow so many blogs! I would get so tired from all that reading! Ha ha!

Some of you are long time readers of my blog, and some of you are fairly new. Some of you comment regularly, some of you comment sporadically, and some of you are closet readers and don't comment at all {I really found that out when I put up a poll about 6 months ago and over 900 individual people answered it. Wow!}. Some of you type in my blog address daily, and some of you just pass through occasionally. Whichever the case may be.....

I'm curious....and would really like to know....

Why do you read this blog? What keeps you coming back?

And is there something that you'd like for me to write more about?

This is my 733rd post. I can't believe I have written that many blog entries. It's certainly been a fun few years using this blog of mine as an outlet for so many various things. I look forward to connecting with you all the more : )

Are You a Paranoid Parent?

When I was pregnant with Ilah, my mind ran rampant with a million “what if's”. Just ask my husband – or my mother – the two people in my life who act as my sounding board.

I can’t count how many times I inhaled and exhaled during my pregnancy {it never really brought ease; but prayer definitely did…until I got back on the worry train the next day…. or just a few hours later}. I worried about the possibility of a miscarriage…I worried about my child being born with a condition or a deformity that went undetected in my ultrasounds….I worried about our baby being born stillborn {a few days before giving birth to Ilah, I didn’t feel her kick at all for most of the morning and I got so scared}….I worried that upon delivery of our baby that she would have to suddenly be swept away to the NICU….the list goes on. And really, it goes oooon.

You would think that once I held my beautiful, completely healthy baby in my arms, and finally saw that all was more than well, that my paranoia would have subsided. But it didn’t. Because for me, a whole new set of worries set in after birth. Everything from the big {the fear of autism} to the not so big {wondering if I was buying “the best” baby gear} made its way into my worried little head. And don’t get me started on how petrified I was of SIDS.

With each passing phase of fears, the former ones were replaced with newly developed ones. And I have noticed in the past several months that things have gotten increasingly worse. The things that I have visualized potentially happening to Ilah are just too horrific to write out.

I was a paranoid parent before my child was even born, and yes, I am still a paranoid parent today. Thus, reading the book “The Paranoid Parent’s Guide” REALLY helped me put MANY things in perspective. So much so that if I truly exercise the things outlined in this book, I will be well on my way to being a “Recovering Paranoid Parent” : )

In the author’s own words, she says, “I would love to say that this book will stop you from worrying. But let’s be realistic: would anything ever completely stop you from worrying about your kids? This is a book about how you can worry less”. When I read that I felt like, “she gets me”! I appreciated that I wasn’t being told to suppress my worries or that I was wrong for feeling them. But rather that I didn’t need to make them my focus and concentrate on every little unlikely thing that “might be”. The author of this book aims to help you determine what's really worth the worry.

The subtitle of “The Paranoid Parents Guide” is “Worry Less, Parent Better, and Raise a Resilient Child”. In chapter one, the author {who by the way, is a mom herself - to 4 children} is right on when she says, “the book may say that it’s about raising resilient children, and I hope that will happen. But first we need to become resilient parents”. She goes on to say that, “Real and perceived dangers will happen. The unexpected presents itself daily. How you experience those scares, threats, and false alarms makes the difference between a happy parent and a totally overwhelmed or over worried one”.

One thing, among many things in this book, that stood out to me was the follow two sentences that I will always remember:

“Your worries are not safety shields. If you worry “enough,” your child will not be protected by an invisible force field”.

Sarcastic line? Maybe. But it really made me “get it”.

I used to think that the worry and fears that go round and round in my head was because Ilah is my first child. But something tells me that based on how spastic I have been about so many things, that I will likely face the same bouts of paranoia with our future child/ren to come. Despite my fluctuating anxiety, I consider myself a pretty easy going mother {I have the quiz from Parents magazine to prove it! Ha!}….however, this book has REALLY opened my eyes as to how to be prepared, instead of being paranoid.

This book certainly did its job if giving me a bit of a reality check and I just love that the author backs up so many of her points with actual statistics.

Now instead of saying, “I just can’t help it. I’m a mom who worries”. I can now say, “I am being more conscious of adjusting my parenting mindset to keep my fears in alignment with reality”.

Last night my husband and I were watching Hillsong TV and I wrote down one particular line in the message preached by Pastor Brian Houston: “Always believe the best for the future”. I think that’s the best piece of advice I could give to any paranoid parent, like myself.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me courtesy of TLC Book Tours free of charge in exchange for a review, however, that did not influence my personal review of this book.

GIVEAWAY!

Would you like your own copy of The Paranoid Parents Guide? All you need to do is leave a comment letting me know how it would benefit you to have this book on your shelf! Note: 1 entry per person. If you leave more than one comment, only your first comment will count.

This giveaway will end on Friday, October 29th. The winner will be posted here, and will also be emailed - so be sure that you have a valid email address on your blogger profile or relay it within the comment section. The winner will have 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be chosen.

Giveaway open to US/Canada only.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information about Christine Barnes, Author of “The Paranoid Parents Guide”, check out the following:

The author writes and blogs here.

The Paranoid Parents Guide is for sale on Amazon here.

An Adorable Classroom Halloween Party!

Just this past weekend I was telling my husband that when the time comes for Ilah to go to school that I would love to be a homeroom mom. I remember when I was in school and the homeroom parents would come to set up for special parties - naturally all of us kids were counting down the minutes until we could close our text book and get the party started!

I saw a cute feature on Kara's Party Ideas {that was submitted from One Charming Party} of a classroom Halloween Party. Here are just a few pictures....

Below is one of the centerpieces put on one of the tables. I don't think I would be able to resist digging in to it right away! It was put together SO cute, wasn't it!?

One of the tabes had a station for creating your own owl cupcake!....

Some healthy treats too!....

The craft table.....


Cute and easy and fast!....

Go here to see the science station, here to see the games station, here to see the craft station, and here to see the food station. What an awesome classroom Halloween Party! These are also great ideas to do at home with your little one...and his or her friends too : )

This was another idea that I saw on One Charming Party's site. Wrapping up your child's drink to look like a mummy! This is all you will need....

To make this!....

This could also be another classroom activity {go here to see additional instructions and supplies needed}.

Also, these little candy bags are so cute! Again, so simple to create. The black and white polka dot ribbon is an adorable added touch, and combining the cat or "Happy Halloween" toppers {go here for the free download!} inside of the glassine bags, or placing them on a stick is an extra touch of cuteness!

House Beautiful's "101 Party Do's & Don'ts"

I love when I get new issues of my "mommy magazines" in the mail {I get monthly issues of Parents Magazine, Parenting Magazine, and Baby Talk Magazine}. And while I love delving into the pages of those magazines, when my House Beautiful magazine arrives, my heart skips a beat. I pair it with a long bubble bath {after Ilah has been put to bed for the night} and simultaneously delight in the glossy pages, and the eucalyptus-spearmint bubble bath, to the fullest.

The November 2010 issue of House Beautiful arrived in my mail box this week and like fine wine, I didn't rush to open it. No, no. House Beautiful {along with Traditional Home and Better Homes and Gardens {my other two home decor magazine that was one of my Mother's Day gifts from my husband} are magazines that are meant to be savored - and savoring them is exactly what I do. Based on what I said in the paragraph above, I guess you could say I have a monthly "date night" with these mag's!

The November 2010 [Ultimate Entertaining] issue of House Beautiful features one of its BEST articles yet {in my opinion}. If you like to entertain like me {something that I am new at, but take a lot of delight in}, the article inside called "101 Party Do's and Don'ts" is a MUST read for you.

Here are some of the tips {below is page 1 of 4} noted within the "101 party Do's & Don'ts" article.....

{click image to enlarge}

Some of the tips that I circled to remember were:

• #1 Create a music playlist that's ready to begin as soon as the doorbell rings and doesn't end until the last guest departs.

• #6 Warm plates before serving hot food on them.

• #11 Send out a proper invite. A handwritten one is preferable, but the online versions at paperlesspost.com are quite wonderful {gotta check out that site!}.

• #12 Serve the first course family style by placing platters on the table for everyone to share. It give you time to work on/plate your next course.

• #26 Offer a choice of desserts - something sweet and sinful like a peach crisp with vanilla ice-cream and something lighter like poached pears. Guests usually take some of each.

• #28 You should always have a cold bottle of bubbly stashed in your refrigerator in case friends drop by, and a bottle of something sparkly for non-alcoholic drinkers.

• #29 Always do favors. People love to leave with something {I think this depends on the type of party}.

• #30 Turn off cell phones!

• #32 Atmosphere is half the battle. A low-lit atmosphere with candles can even give pizza old-movie glamour.

• #33 Always starts with an empty dishwasher.

• #38 Don't tidy up the table too soon. Once the plates are cleared away, often so is the mood {I so agree!}.

• #43 Make a home cooked meal, even if it's just a bowl of Chili and a salad with garlic bread. There's nothing better than simple and delicious.

• #47 Get everything ready the day before.

• #60 Plan ahead. There's nothing worse than greeting your guests while you're still trying to light the candles, turn on the music, and get dressed.

• #85 You can never have too many white plates, platters, and bowls.

• #91 Clean as you go! That way you're not left with a kitchen that looks like a tornado made dinner.

• #100 Provide a place for guests to hang coats and leave bags.

Like I said, if you are someone who delights in entertaining, THIS article is for you!! Go get the November 2010 issue of House Beautiful on newstands now. And keep it...FOREVER. I definitely will!

Giveaway Winner & More Frilly Fabric Bows

Hi all! Hope you had a great weekend! I'm late posting the winner of the book giveaway - "The Gifts of Imperfection". The winners blogger profile is the name "ID" - whoever you are, you left such a great comment about wanting this book but you don't appear to have a blog and you didn't leave your email address. Please email me at MarriageToMotherhood@yahoo.com; I'd love to get this book to you!

Over the weekend, I made some more frilly hairbows out of fabric - and also did a few with a felt/fabric combo. Since the winter months are just around the corner, felt gives off a warm, comfy feel : )

I'm having so much fun with my new labor of love! : ) You can see the first fabric bows that I made here.

* I attach alligator clips lined in ribbon to the back of the pieces. These could also be worn on an article of clothing, or attached to a purse {or attached to just about anything} using a safety pin in lieu of the alligator clip.

Ilah, 9 Months Old

Ilah, on Tuesday you turned 9 months old!! Wow!! So what have you been up to?!....

• You went for your 9 month Dr. Visit this week. You now weight 23 lbs, 3 oz {97 percentile}, and you’re 29 inches long {91 percentile}.

• You still wear a size 4 diaper.

• You wear mostly 12 month clothes {yet you can still fit into some 6 – 9 month stuff, including onsies} but because of how tall you are, and how big your cute little feet are, you are quickly outgrowing your 12 month footed pj’s so we bought you some 18 month pj’s last weekend. You’re not ready for them just yet but I’m sure in another month, you will be!

• You still take 2 naps a day – you go down for your morning nap at 10 a.m, and again in the afternoon at 2:00 p.m.

• Separation anxiety has begun. You follow mommy all day from one room to the other. I can’t be out of your sight. In fact, Daddy has to lay you down for bed most nights because when you see me leave your room, you cry your little lungs out.

• Every time you wake up {whether it’s in the morning, or from a nap}, you always greet us with a HUGE smile – you are SO happy to see us!

• You have 5 teeth!! 2 up top and three on the bottom. I see a 6th one {on the bottom} popping through too!
  

• You started biting your crib rail, so we bought a protective cover for it this week. Now you can chomp away and sooth your gums, but not ruin your crib.
  

• You are babbling off more and more “words”. In general, you are very vocal – oh how you love to shriek!
  

• You imitate sounds and facial expressions that we make to you!
  
  
• You are definitely in the stage where you throw things on the floor – including yourself when you sometimes don’t get your way.
  

• You understand the word “no” but you are all about testing us!

• You love playing with the plastic balls that go to your toys.

• You love music! Anytime you hear music, you shake your little bum-bum!
  

• We transitioned you to a sippy cup appropriate for 9 month olds and you drink from it so well! {Your Abuela bought you Dora sippy cups!}

• The word you say the most is still Dada – just recently you said Ma, but just twice, and it was random. You haven’t said Mama yet. Can’t wait to hear it!
  

• You’ve started to take a few tiny little steps while we hold your arms up. In the past, you would just stand there, or drop to your bottom, a bit afraid to actually move - but now you are taking some small little steps. And you love your walking toy!

• You wave hello/good-bye now.

• Daddy has taught you how to “high-five”! Every time he lifts up his hand to you and says, “high-five!”, you put up your hand and give daddy a high-five. It’s the cutest thing!
  

• Gone are the days of you sitting still for a diaper change.

• You ate your first table food with mommy and daddy Tuesday night. You had some of what we ate - chicken and rice. At your 9 month visit, your pediatrician told us to try you on table foods from time to time, so we did – and you loved it – especially because you were feeding yourself!

• You are very exploratory!

• You love playing with pillows on the floor!

• You love playing hide-and-go-seek!

• You love rolling around in mommy and daddy’s bed!

• And while although you love the above things, your favorite thing to do these days is climb the stairs {of course, we are right behind you making sure you don’t fall – but you are rock solid!}.
  
  
• Anytime you see just a small spec of something on the floor, you play with it between your fingers – and then of course, you go to put it in your mouth. We are constantly making sure that nothing that’s not supposed to be in your mouth, doesn’t go in it!

• You are understanding some words and their associations {up, gentle, no, dada, bottle, food, come, hi/bye, high-five!}.

• You are always on the go; you hardly sit still. This is the view that mommy often has of you!!...

Ilah, at 9 months old, you are a bundle of fun! We love seeing you reach new milestones! Mommy and Daddy are constantly saying to each other how cuuute and amazing you are and how much we adore you. We thank God for bringing you into our lives; and although you’re already 9 months old, we still look at you sometimes and can’t believe you are ours! We love you to pieces little one!!

Book Review & Giveaway: The Gifts of Imperfection

I recently did three posts on the topic of authenticity {if you haven't already, you can read them here, here, and here}. While I was reading the book Friendship for Grown-Up's, I was simultaneously reading a book entitled The Gifts of Imperfection. While Friendship for Grown-Up's was written from a Christian perspective, The Gifts of Imperfection, still offered up some valuable substance although it didn't share the same spiritual connotations.

In the book, The Gifts of Imperfection, the author {Dr. Brene Brown}, outlines ten guideposts that engages readers in understanding that perfection simply isn't unattainable. That this thing called life is a challenge to us all - no matter who shows all their cards, or who doesn't. That, at the end of the day, no matter what gets done, and how much is left undone, we should all feel that we are enough.

In Guideposts 1 {Cultivating Authenticity}, some of the things that really stuck out to me were:

Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are.

Choosing Authenticity means:

• Cultivating the courage to be imperfect, to set boundaries, and allow ourselves to be vulnerable.
  
• Exercising the compassion that comes from knowing that we are all made of strength and struggle.
  
• Nurturing the connection and sense of belonging that can only happen when we believe that we are enough.

Guidepost 2 {Cultivating Self-Compassion} particularly stood out to me because this is another area in my own life that I am wanting to pay more attention to. As a stay-at-home mom and wife, my "perfect" day would be a day in which time spent with God is the opener of the day, a baby that is happy and content at all times, the house has been thouroughly cleaned, laundry {if there is any} has been washed/dryed/folded/put away, items on my to-do list are rapidly being checked off, excercise has been made a priority, dinner is ready right when my husband comes home from work....I could go on. And while although my desire is to be concious of the above things as I am going about my day, the fact of the matter is that there are days that I fall short. Some days I just can't {or don't want to} get around to it all. Which at the end of the day leaves me feeling frusterated at myself for falling short. Reading The Gifts of Imperfection made me see that I don't extend grace my way very much.

In Guidepost 2 some of the things that stuck out to me were:

Myths about Perfectionism:

• Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best.


• Perfectionism is a twenty pound shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us, when, in fact, it's the thing that's really preventing us from taking flight.


• Somewhere along the way, we adopted this dangerous and debilitating belief system: I am what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it. Please. Perform. Perfect.


• Perfectionism is other focused - What will they think?


• Perfectionism is self-destructive simply because there is no such thing as perfect. Perfectionism is an unattainable goal. Additionally, perfectionism is more about perception - we want to be perceived as perfect.


• "A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the entire course of your life." - Christopher K. Germer


• When we're kind to ourselves, we create a reservoir of compassion that we can extend to others. Our children learn how to be compassionate by watching us, and the people around us feel free to be authentic and connected.

I found this book to be an easy read, full of personal stories told from a light-hearted place, and while although I could have done without the small bouts of mild profanity, the book served as a reminder that life is meant to be lived whole heartedly - that we aren't meant to pick ourselves {or others} a part at the seams.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me courtesy of TLC Book Tours free of charge in exchange for a review, however, that did not influence my personal review of this book.

GIVEAWAY!

Would you like your own copy of The Gifts of Imperfection? All you need to do is leave a comment letting me know how it would benefit you to have this book on your shelf! Note: 1 entry per person. If you leave more than one comment, only your first comment will count.

This giveaway will end on Friday, October 15th at 12:00 Noon EST. The winner will be chosen via Random.org and will be announced by 5:00 p.m. that same day! The winner will be posted here, and will also be emailed - so be sure that you have a valid email address on your blogger profile or relay it in within the comment section. The winner will have 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be chosen.

Giveaway open to US/Canada only.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information about Dr. Brene Brown, check out the following:

Blog: No Ordinary Courage

Website: Brene Brown

Twitter: @BreneBrown

The Gifts of Imperfection is for sale on Amazon here. And at Barnes & Noble here.

Making Ilah's Fabric Hair Bows - How They Turned Out!

For those asking for a tutorial, it would take me quite a bit of time to do step-by-step instructions for all the various techniques that I used to make the fabric hair bow designs that you see below. Some I just played around with and the design sort of just formed itself. However, this blogger made some layered frilly bows very similiar to mine and she offers a tutorial on her site. Hope this helps!!

In yesterday's post I mentioned that I would be taking a stab at making some frilly hair bows for Ilah. I spent some time today doing just that and I love how they turned out!!

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE IF YOU WISH!

Three different fabrics used, with some tulle added in for extra frill:

Warm earthy colors with a button embellishment:

Flower made out of felt:

Single layer bow with a pretty center embellishment:

Rich red fabric with white tulle added in:

Grey felt paired with a whimsical fabric, accented with a white center embellishment:

A fun combo of yellow, black and white, and red:

Damask fabric {black, ivory and a soft lime green} paired with black and ivory fabric, with a fun polka dot button for the center embellishment:

I'll be making some more over the next few weeks and will share pictures of those ones as well : )

I hope you have a great weekend!

Making Ilah's Hair Bows & A Sweet Treat from Mr. Wonderful

As Ilah's wardrobe continues to expand, and things that no longer fit her are washed, folded and put away {tear!}, I realized that although she has a lot of hair bows, she needs some new ones to match the new outfits that she will be wearing.

When I buy Ilah's frilly hair bows {go here to see where they hang; many more have been added that aren't pictured!}, I do so with a mindset that they need to compliment many different outfits. As I was browsing this past week for a few new hair bows, a thought bubble emerged..."I made her pacifer clips, why not make her hairbows too". So that's exactly what I'm going to attempt to do. I'm tapping into the right side of my brain where creativity dwells, to see what immerses!

I was looking forward to heading to Hobby Lobby & Joanne's to pick out different ribbons, fabrics and embellishments, and I got to do so today {sidenote: Hobby Lobby is one of my favorite places to shop; I cannot believe that while I was there, I didn't divert from the sole purpose of my trip - I didnt even so much as browse the aisles. It was a miracle!}.

Ribbon wasn't on sale this week at Hobby Lobby so I passed on buying any. Since I will be making stacked hairbows and am wanting a variety of sizes and designs, I would have spent quite a bit of money so I passed and will wait until the ribbon goes on sale {which will probably be next week}. In the meantime, I remembered that I have ribbon already in the house which will be good for "practice runs" : )

Initially when I went to Joanne's I started pulling bundles of their fabric {my head started spinning from seeing SO MANY options} and then I realized that I was getting a bit ahead of myself so I put them all back and got these fabric quarters instead....a good starting point : )

Bows made of ribbon are cute but I just love the look of fabric flowers comprised of different patterns and textures, with an added embellishment to make it all the more cute. So that's my aim! Aside from purchasing various fabrics, I also bought some felt, tule, and even some burlap! Things are about to get interesting! Ha!

I purchased just 1/8 of a yard of my fabric selections since this is my first attempt at making these fancy-schmancy hair accessories. I figure if they don't turn out how I imagine, or are harder to make than I thought and don't want to keep at it, then at least I didn't spend a lot of money {but actually, I have a lot of faith in myself that I'm going to pull this off and they are going to be c-u-t-e!}

And of course I will post pictures of the final products once I'm finished! : )

On a totally different note: Tonight my willpower got trumped by a certain visitor that comes once a month. Mr. Wonderful knew and came home from work with some sweet treats from The Cheesecake Factory! Gotta love that man!!

Just in case you're wondering, mine is the bigger one!!! Ha!!

A Morning of Monkeying Around

No agenda today - just monkeying around in pj's at home....

Hi everyone! I started learning how to wave!....

I also got two top teeth now {and two more have come in on the bottom}! I've been handling teething pretty well!

Man, I do so much work around here, it's exhausting!....

I started making this face a few weeks ago; isn't it funny!?...

Sometimes I zone out and think about having acccess to a fountain of milk....

Mom, do you think you can drop the camera and get me out of this high chair?...

Ahhh. Much better! Freeeedom!!!....

Mommy & Daddy got me this walking toy last weekend and I just LOVE it!!

I wave to everything now. Even fake trees in the house....and I try to catch the sunlight when it comes through the window. Haven't had any luck with that just yet....

Hold on a sec. Someone is calling me on the hotline....

Ok, you have my attention now...

Let me call and place a food order...

Since I am always on the go, I just love these footed pajamas with the non-slip grips...

I got this toy as a gift a few months ago. At first the noise startled me and I didn't like it. But I'm used to it now and love playing with this toy!....

Who do you think is louder - me or the toy? Usually it's me ; )

For kicks, I sometimes try to eat the plastic balls....

My abuela bought me my own laptop computer! I'm learning about shapes, colors, actions, sounds, and lots of other fun stuff - it plays learning songs too!....

These days I enjoy playing with my exersaucer on the outside, rather than being inside of it....

When I go over to my abuela's house {where I get kissed and hugged 13,864 times while I'm there} mommy packs up my toys in this bag and takes them with us....

I'm always up to something! I'm known as a cute little bundle of fun!!

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!