Mother's Day ~ Dahlias

Of all the "Hallmark holidays," Mother's Day finds me the most sentimental. 

On Mother's Day I think not only of my own mother's self-sacrificial love, but of all the moms out there who care for us in ways nobody else could. I think about the women who have been role models for me. And I think about my friends who started this journey of motherhood alongside me--who obsessed over pregnancy details with me, gave me advice when I felt completely helpless, and said those two words that make everything better somehow: "me too." I think I'll always feel a special bond with these women. My friends, new and old, continue to inspire me and encourage me to be a better mom. 

This year my mom commented that it's still strange for her to celebrate Mother's Day without having her mom around, even though she passed away long ago. I was 17 years at the time, and because Grandma Bosman lived in Washington state, I only saw her once a year.  What stands out when I think about her was her green thumb. Grandma grew the most incredible dahlias that would win prizes at the fair each year. 

Grandma in front of a few of her many dahlias

Ready to head to the fair

me with Grandma, at age 5

 When I got married, I used dahlias in the centerpieces as a way of honoring her memory. And when I saw this great mother's day gift idea by Megan Reardon at Holidash, I knew a dahlia pin/corsage was what I wanted to make for my mom. I created one in bright blue and one in yellow so that my mom could choose one based on whatever she was wearing to church that day. (She chose blue.)

 Of course we still gave mom real flowers, as is our mother's day tradition:

Flowers from my favorite greenhouse.

And this year I indulged myself with a dahlia plant of my own...just to see if maybe a bit of my grandma's green thumb was passed on to me.

Easy Valentine/Anniversary Gift

I had fun making this sentimental Valentine's/anniversary gift: print the lyrics to your first dance onto parchment/white birch-type paper and cut into a tree shape...I've seen this with 2 hearts hanging from the tree branch but I thought 2 love birds would be cute.  :)

a foray into crafting: rosette ball

First, let it be known, I have never really considered myself a "craft person."

I have to give credit to T. for sorta changing my life in that regard by inviting me to craft night and also pushing me to join Pinterest, which I had lots of misgivings about, and still do actually (addictive, materialistic time suck)...but there are redeeming qualities as well...

So, slowly, I am becoming more comfortable with the idea of me and crafting in the same room. My first project this month was something to hang in Molly Rose's room. Next up was this craft, basically because it looked easy to do, the components were cheap & easy to find, and our mantel could use a splash of color for February.

Now, I know there are hundreds of crafting blogs already out there with amazing layout, beautiful photography, and witty writing. I do not even begin to aspire to such crafting greatness, but I did think it might be helpful to add a few tips to the wonderful website I got my instructions from.

I purchased an extra large roll of crepe paper thinking surely I wouldn't need more, but I did almost use all of it. I also purchased a medium sized styrofoam ball. (Keep in mind that after you've added all the rosettes the ball will be much bigger than what you're starting from.) So materials (assuming you already have a glue gun) were less than $5.

It took me about 30 minutes to perfect my technique of rolling rhe rosettes and then a couple hours to create enough to glue onto the ball. I tell you this upfront so you know what you're getting into. I admit that the thought crossed my mind at least once that I could just be putting in some work hours from home and be able to purchase store bought decor. But, uh, that's not something a craft-y person would say, is it?

As the blog states, it's nice to crumple the crepe paper up first and then smooth it out so it's not so stiff. (I did this after I had cut it into many 24-inch-ish pieces.) Then fold the top third down--and it took me awhile to figure out that you don't crease the fold, but make it more of a gentle fold-then they'll look more like roses instead of tight little buds. It was a challenge to make the rosettes loose enough but I tried to keep my fingers at the bottom and loosely wrap the crepe paper around and around. I placed them and adjusted them as necessary before gluing to each other and the ball.

Toward the end I was getting really tired and got a little sloppy, which the perfectionists out there may have already noticed. However, I'm happy with the end result, and happy that I've been inspired and pushed to step out of my "non-crafting" box!

The Big Cheese

When Lauren announced that she wanted to be a "kitty" for Halloween this year, I immediately thought of the mouse costume we have that Jackson loves to play in. Cat and mouse, that's appropriate for them...which then led to the question of what Molly would be..and since she's a step down in the pecking order, of course it seemed natural for her to be THE CHEESE. (Farmer in the dell...are we tracking?)

I looked into cheeseheads for children, but didn't want to spend $18 on something I'd never use again. Little did I know then the time, money and energy that I'd be putting into a fruitless endeavor.

First, I got a box from Costco that was just the right size, and had holes for her head and arms. I planned to paint it to look like cheese. There was a slight risk that she might come out Sponge-Bob-ish, but little Molly quickly made it clear that she was not going to tolerate wearing any type of box.

This meant that I was going to have to get crafty, and let it be known that I am not the craft-y type. So I decided to go with a very simple homemade option--fleece cloth resembling the color of cheese made into a "no-sew poncho" while extra fabric could be shaped into some sort of soft hat. This initiated a trip to JoAnne's Fabric for the fleece, only to learn that Friday night is a popular time for the fabric store (who knew?) and there went one hour and a half, plus $6 for the fleece.

Another hour or two and the poncho was measured, cut, tied and actually turned out halfway decently, but when I tried it on our dear one year old, she immediately struggled to get out of it. Apparently not enough arm freedom. A soft fleece hat was also found not to her liking. So when, a few days later, she was having fun wearing a dress-up construction hat, I decided the ensemble would look more like this:

I hoped perhaps Molly would see her siblings dress up and get into the spirit of things.

This afternoon we prepared to head to Calvin's Light in the Night event and got the kids into their costumes. Jackson and Lauren, no problem. But as soon as I put the poncho on Molly, she immediately yanked it off.
You can almost see the wounded disdain in her eyes: "You actually thought I would wear this thing?"

And of course it was the same way with the hat...she wasn't having anything to do with it.

The closest I came was getting her to wear this pathetic attempt to let people know what she was...which lasted about 30 seconds.

And that's how I came to lose the Halloween costume battle. When we go trick-or-treating on Monday, Lauren will be a kitty. Jackson will be a fireman, which is what he wanted to be in the first place. And Molly will be whatever she wants to be...chances are she'll just go as herself.

And if we ever attempt a Halloween costume theme in the future, I'm thinking it will be Molly who decides what they'll be.

Book of Mom

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I somewhat resent these "Hallmark Holidays" because they put a lot of pressure on us to create these meaningful moments which can backfire and lead to unmet expectations or unnecessary stress. However, this year I was blessed to have all three kids sleep in, allowing me time to get ready *on my own*, lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, a phone date with a friend while relaxing in our hammock, and lots of love from my family.

I enjoyed reading this article in the Press, although I am always a bit perturbed that I can't think of any special quotes that my mom said to me on a regular basis.

I would love to be able to instill some wisdom and meaningful phrases that my children will be able to take with them in life. We have made a conscious effort to have our children take a positive outlook in life, so I often say "Have a cheerful heart" or if they are complaining, they have to come up with 3 things they are thankful for. But when I read about the mom who always asked "Did you make the world a better place today?" I knew immediately that was a quote I wanted to adopt for myself.

I was ready the next day when Lauren got off the bus. With a big hug, I greeted her with the question.

She wrinkled her nose..."What does THAT mean?"

I asked if she did some beautiful art or if she was kind to someone and she responded that she had so I said "Well, then you made the world a better place!"

I decided that I wouldn't continue to ask this *every* day as it might get old or annoying, but perhaps work it in every week or so.

But the next day as we were driving, Lauren brought up the fact that the girls had wanted her to tease the boys with them at recess. "What did you do?" I asked somewhat absentmindedly.

"I said no way! I said 'I want to make the world a better place so I do NOT want to tease the boys!'" was her sweet reply. My heart swelled with pride.

And those are the moments where it is really, really good to be a mama.

What about you? Are there memorable mom quotes or phrases that have stuck with you? What would be in your "Book of Mom"?