Half of my Heart

[waiting with my little heartbreaker in the car on Sunday, 

while dad helped stack chairs at Cornwall.]

February Wreath

DIY//PSA: Please forgive me, as I did not visually document my step.by.step journey to creating this month's wreath. I'm sure you can imagine what it looked like to cut out paper hearts, wrap a foam wreath with yarn and then hot glue Bakers twine & a couple embellishments. 

The Inspiration

Source 

I was drawn to the hearts on the middle of this wreath, yet wasn't crazy about the paper embellishments. 

The Supplies

Yarn
Ribbon
Scissors
Embellishments
12 inch wreath
Glue gun + Hot glue
Assorted patterned paper

The Total Cost

This month, I raided my craft closet and found yarn, ribbon, scissors, a wreath, glue gun and glue. I picked up adorable .25 paper, and used a 40% off coupon to score a pack of two fabric embellishments. My total spending was $4.23. Cha Ching!

The Finished Product

 

100% Chance of Precipitation.

On this snowy winter day, Parker turned six months old.  The day which, according to our pediatrician, officially warrants him strong and mature enough to settle into his spotless highchair, chow down on solids, and graduate from a baby bottle to a sippy cup. Tis a big ol' day in the land of parenting and on this particular day, as the snow fell outside our kitchen windows, I cried. A lot. But not because this attachment mama found herself overwhelmed and saddened by how quickly time flies in the warped world of parenthood. Oh no no.

[Please prepare yourself for a couple runnnnnnn.on.and.on.and.on sentences.]

Imagine one burnt finger, two loads of laundry, one teething baby, two failed nap attempts, one explosive poo, two frustrating and non productive conversations with the local Pharmacist, and one gigantic blue paint stain forever soaked into our white carpet all before the clock struck 11:00am and my exhausted little man decided he’d like to ring in his half birthday by skipping out on his morning cat nap.  You know, the forty minute nap where I typically run around the house like a liberated yet crazy housewife, jumping in and out of the shower to rinse the lovely combination of milk, poo, and urine off my pale, vitamin-D deficient bod, brew a strong pot of tea, stuff an oversized and unsorted load of very dirty laundry into the washer, and quietly unload dishes from the world’s smallest dishwasher, all while munching on a quick sugar-packed snack. Today, Parkerman had other plans and declared those tasks rather unimportant on his ever-so-important half birthday.

I'll spare you the details of our snowy drive to visit the always-classy Super Walmart, and fast forward to our non-existent afternoon nap. Having sung, rocked, and set down my sleepy kiddo from 1:45-3:00pm I finally decided it was necessary to implement Operation: Cry It Out ---> this mama's LEAST favorite sleep strategy. Twenty-three long minutes after reluctantly beginning this cruel and unusual punishment, I surrendered to the sleep Gods and opened the door to my screaming son's nursery. And in that moment, instead of shedding a tear over how quickly my little boy was turning into a little man on his big and exciting half birthday, I found myself holding tight to my strong-willed, nap-less little man, curled up in the rocking chair, while many a’ tears streamed down our touching cheeks. His flesh was red hot, and soaked in tears, as we both sobbed together & shared a nice little moment together. One that I'd rather not relive any time soon.  

And now my friends, as the clock strikes 9:00pm and Parker rubs his red, sleepless eyes, while being rocked and sung to by his patient and wonderful daddio I find myself thanking God that in this chaotic and sleep-deprived home, parenthood is a team sport. And I do believe I’ve got the very best teammate in town. 

Here's to hoping Team Collier will score a few hours of sleep somewhere in the next six months!

Six Month Solids!

Call me, Baby.

I didn't do a whole lot of blogging back in the early days of mommyhood. Can't imagine why? Yet back in those incredibly beautiful, chaotic, engorged & sleepless first hours, days & weeks of parenthood, Jordan & I often found ourselves singing & dancing to the beat of the #one track of the summer: 
Call me Baby, by Parker Rae Jepsen.

Hey, I just met you. 

And this is cra-a-zy. 

But my name's Parker. 

And I'm your baby.

The Year of the Deer.

January Wreath

Over the course of 2013 I plan to create twelve wreaths, to hang on our front door as a visual reminder to celebrate the colors, seasons and holidays that makes each month unique and lovely. I am determined to create each wreath spending no more than ten buckaroos at our local craft store. Because let's be honest, last year I was a wee bit too generous with my dear friends Joann & Michael and this year our family is all about frugal livin' and making Dave Ramsey proud ;) Without further ado, my first wreath of the year ...

The Inspiration

The Supplies [+ a glue gun//glue]

I already had a wreath, tape + hot glue gun laying around, so I only had to purchase the two inch hole punch & assorted paper, which, after using a coupon cost me approximately $7.oo. 

A Snapshot of the Assembly Process

The Finished Product!