Mommy mess-ups: Part 2

As I said last week, I have had many less-than-stellar mommy moments over the past year. Having just been honored and pampered and spoiled yesterday by my loving husband and sweet baby girl, I hesitated on whether I should continue to display my parenting failings for all the blogsphere to see. But I decided hey, what is a mommy blog without equal parts truth and reality? Hopefully the following will bring a smile to your face and maybe a nod of sympathy and understanding, or even a chuckle as you recall a similar experience. At least I hope I'm not the only one who's made these mistakes.

Extreme Sippy Cup Training
A few weeks ago we started trying to teach Charlotte how to use a sippy cup. We tried all the tips - filling it with water only, trying different types of cups and nipples, making the cup available to her at all times - but no matter what we tried she really wasn't interested. To her the sippy was simply another toy to shake, bang, and water the carpet with. Then came the day of her one year photo shoot. The weather was in the high seventies, with sun shining brightly and a warm but stiff breeze blowing. We tried several different locations which involved rides in the car and the stroller, as well as a couple wardrobe changes and different props. The entire session lasted about two and a half hours. When we got back to the car I was very hot and thirsty. While guzzling down the water I'd left in the car, I realized guiltily that I had not offered my darling child anything to drink. We'd brought her sippy cup with us, but with all the distractions of trying to capture the perfect picture, I'd completely forgotten to give it to her. As soon as Baby Girl was buckled into her car seat I handed her the cup. She grabbed it eagerly and proceeded to down about half its contents in a few big gulps. She wouldn't let it go either, so I let her hold it during the ride back home. When we got out and I retrieved her sippy it was completely empty. She has not had a problem with drinking from her sippy cup since. NOTE: I do NOT advocate bringing your child to the brink of dehydration in order to get her to drink from a sippy cup. I'm sure there are many methods that are less severe. I suggest you Google it.

A Tasty Treat
We've had a pretty unusual spring here...as has most of the country I've gathered. We've had temps in the seventies and eighties, only to turn around and experience freezing temperatures and even snow a day later (I thought I was done with nine months of winter after I moved away from Colorado...apparently not). Anyway, after a long spell of cold weather last month the sun finally came out and warmed up the air enough for us to enjoy a walk around our neighborhood. Charlotte was as delighted as I was with the sunshine and change of scenery, babbling away in her stroller and pointing to all the pretty flowers. She was especially taken with the dandelions. On impulse I decided to pick one out of the yard we were passing (I'm sure they didn't mind) and hand it to her. She grabbed it enthusiastically, chirping and squealing, and began tearing off the petals (as she does to all flowers. She has some destructive tendencies I'm afraid.) When we got back to the house I bent down to unbuckle Sweetness and pull her out of the stroller when I noticed a bright yellow stain around her mouth. I looked for the dandelion remains, to no avail. Yep, she'd eaten it. Sigh. At least I know the weeds are edible. I can only pray that this particular plant hadn't been sprayed with the ubiquitous weed killer that had yellow flowers drooping all over the neighborhood. I haven't noticed any ill-effects.

When Obedience Leads to a Downfall
As I've written before, we decided to work on disciplining Charlotte early. I am happy to report that it seems to be working. It's been weeks since she's tried to push the buttons on the DVD player, and she quickly reacts by backing away or dropping her hand when we tell her "no touch." However, we both had to learn the hard way that mommy needs to be careful about how she phrases her commands for obedience.
For her birthday we bought Little Britches an arm chair that is just her size. She absolutely loves it. I think it really makes her feel like a big girl to have her own seat. The first day she got it, however, she took some rather scary tumbles off the back and over the arm. Chris and I decided we needed to to teach her right away that chairs are for sitting, not standing, and certainly are not to be used as a jungle gym. It only took a couple of days of constantly repeating "sit down" for her to grasp the concept. Still, she occasionally tests the boundaries.  One afternoon I was sitting on the couch reading while Baby Girl played on her chair. I glanced up to see her standing up backwards on the chair, facing me, trying to reach the remote that was sitting on the ottoman. I immediately commanded her to "SIT DOWN." She obeyed instantly. Unfortunately, since she was facing backward in the chair, when she sat down her bottom hit the edge of the seat, causing her to somersault backward out of the chair and onto the floor. As I gathered my now wailing child into my arms I vowed that I would first teach her to "turn around" before telling her to "sit down."

And there you have it. A few more examples of mommy lessons learned the hard way. It is certainly by God's grace that neither one of us have had any lasting injuries or permanent scars, though I'm sure those will come as my sweet daughter continues to become bolder, more sure on her feet, and more tenacious in her explorations. Please pray with me that her guardian angels will keep up better than I can.

Fingerpainting! Charlotte's first attempt at making some marvelous artwork! A future Michaelangelo? Hmmm...maybe not

I've been waiting rather impatiently for Charlotte to show some interest in creative expression. So far she is more interested in chewing on a pencil than drawing with it, and would rather knock blocks down than arrange them into a unique sculpture. Ok, so she's only one. I know. I should probably hold off on the artistic endeavors until she's out of the "I must taste everything first" stage. However, before my last MOPS meeting we were told to bring some samples of our child's artwork for a craft project. I decided this was the perfect chance to try that time-tested first art medium...fingerpainting! I thought I'd share the experience with you. :)
I had planned on trying the experiment outside to minimize the mess, but we were having our lovely return to winter last week and I decided Baby Girl would probably be more comfortable inside rather than out with snowflakes falling on her nose. I took the fabric covered off her high chair, just in case, and covered it with a dishtowel. I then taped several pieces of card stock directly onto the highchair tray using painter's tape. I thought the card stock would probably hold up better than regular printer paper.

I then stripped Little Britches down to her diaper and stuck her in the chair. I had thought about making my own finger paint using pudding and food coloring, but ended up just getting the non-toxic, washable variety. I figured she could taste it without harming herself, and after one lick she wouldn't be tempted to eat any more. I hoped.

I squirted the paint directly onto the paper, and waited for her to go at it. She was confused. She tried to pick the paint up, which didn't really work, then of course tried licking it off her fingers, which I discouraged. I finally took her hand and moved it around the paper, and she seemed to catch on. She had fun for about two minutes, then she was like, "Ok, that was great, now where's my snack and why is this messy stuff all over my hands if I can't eat it?" I persevered though, and had her create two more masterpieces before cleaning her up.

While I was wetting some paper towels at the sink apparently her eye started itching, so naturally she rubbed it. She started crying, so I guess she must have gotten some in her eye, and when I turned around to look at her she looked like a small Indian who had been through a war. She was a trooper though, only fussing a little bit while I cleaned off her hands and eye (of course I had to snap a picture or two first) and the tray. True to it's packaging the paint was indeed very washable and came easily off every surface with just a wet towel.

Instead of carrying my paint-splattered off-spring through the house to the bathroom, I took my friend Mysti's advice and just bathed her in the kitchen sink. It worked great! She's the perfect size to fit right into the larger side of the sink, and was quite taken with the novelty of so many bubbles and the spray nozzle.

Curious to know what we did at MOPS with our children's artwork? We made magnets. Super simple, but such a sweet way to preserve a bit of all those wonderful scribbles without having to invest in a giant portfolio (or storage unit).
Here's a brief tutorial:
materials:

• children's artwork
• flat clear marbles (found in the floral department of your local craft store)
• Mod podge
• scissors
• high temp hot glue gun
• round magnets 

1. cover the flat bottom of the marble with mod podge, then stick it on the art work. Find a spot where the colors are bright and pretty, or if you can find a little fingerprint that is precious too.
 2. Give the mod podge a few minutes to dry, then cut the artwork out around the marble, getting as close as you can. Use more mod podge to seal the edges if needed.
3. Using a high temp hot glue gun or some strong craft glue, stick the magnet onto the bottom of the marble.
4. Stick the magnets on your fridge and admire the tiny masterpieces!
I fully plan on doing this project again, as Baby Girl starts developing her love of scribbling artwork. :)

Mommy mess-ups: part 1

Looking back at my recent posts I realized that one might assume that I'm trying for some sort of super-mom title, what with the sentimental look at my child's first year, and the slightly-too-elaborate-for-a-first-birthday-party bash I put together. To balance this possible misconception, I thought I'd share with you a few of my "mommy mess-ups." I got the idea from the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group I attend. Often at the beginning of each meeting we are invited to share a story about a less than stellar parenting moment we've experienced. Invariably I end up drawing a blank during the meeting, only to remember a myriad of examples on my way home, so I started writing them down. Here are a few vignettes that will probably cost me my mother of the year nomination:
 
Running off with the Scissors
 I was working on birthday party prep one afternoon, when disaster almost hit. I was cutting out a decoration while sitting on the ottoman in the middle of the living room in an effort to quiet Baby Girl's whining because she couldn't see what I was doing. She was cruising around the couch and loveseat, cooing happily. I finished cutting out the flower and went to the card table where I had my glue gun set up so I could attach the flower to the stem. The next thing I heard was Charlotte squealing in glee, as she does whenever she gets a hold of anything that is off limits. I couldn't see her because she was between the ottoman and the couch, and in a panic I realized I couldn't find my super sharp "mommy" scissors either. In my distracted crafting state I had left them on the ottoman, within easy reach of my sweet child. I dashed toward her and she let out a squeal, crawling away from me as fast as she could. Sure enough, she had the scissors in her hands. I grab them away, using the sharpest tone of voice I've ever used with her, telling her "NO TOUCH!" with my heart pounding in my throat, at the same time grabbing her and cuddling her and looking for gushing blood. Thank the Lord there was no harm done. You can bet I kept much better track of my scissors after that!

Dangerous Oral Hygiene
I have a drawer in my bathroom that is full of safe items for Charlotte to play with while I'm getting ready. It's mostly empty travel bottles, some tubes of lip gloss and hand cream...all harmless. Or so I thought. As I was applying my make-up one morning Charlotte seemed particularly preoccupied. When I looked down I realized that was because she had found some super fun new toys. I had put a bag of those individual dental flossers in her "play drawer," but apparently not checked to make sure it was completely closed. Baby Girl had dumped out the whole bag on the floor around her, and was busy picking each one up and putting it into the drawer. That wouldn't have been so bad, except that each flosser ended in a very sharp plastic pick, not the kind of thing you want your one-year-old to be handling or putting in her mouth. I immediately picked them up and put them back in the bag, closing it tightly this time, but apparently Sweetums is much better at finding lost items than I am, because on several more occasions she found one of the picks that had fallen in the drawer or under the vanity and handed it to me. Glad she seems to have inherited her mom's neat nick tendencies. Sheesh.

The Disappearing Hair Accessory
Baby Girl was born with a ton of hair, and it's just kept on growing. I've tried everything to keep it out of her face. I used bows for a while, but she figured out how to pull them out. I decided to switch to barrettes since they are smaller and lighter, thinking maybe she wouldn't notice them. I was a bit worried about the choking hazard issue, but decided she wouldn't be likely to try to eat the barrettes. It worked great for a few days. She left the barrette in her hair, and I was careful to remove it before bedtime. Then came the day I put her down for a nap, forgetting to take the hair clip out first. When she got up the barrette was no longer in her hair, and I panicked. I searched through her bedding, under the crib, through the strands of her very fluffy rug, even moved the mattress. Nothing. The barrette was gone. I could only assume she had swallowed it, and pray it made it through her little intestines without puncturing them. I was contemplating calling poison control or possibly just heading off to the emergency room, when I decided to check her car seat. Sure enough, Little Britches had discovered a foreign object in her hair while we were driving back from Bible study and removed it, leaving it in the car. After a couple more incidences of disappearing barrettes I decided to try to ponytails instead. At least the hair band is smaller, and harder to pull out. So far. 

I have more, many more, incidents on my list, but wouldn't want to overwhelm you with my failures all at once. :) Each of these moments have taught me that I am not a perfect mother, that such a person does not exist, and that Charlotte has a very attentive Heavenly Father and perhaps a rotating team of guardian angels keeping her safe. I suspect the same is true for every baby, for how else do they manage to survive the exploratory stage and make it to kindergarten? :)

Look Whoo's ONE: Charlotte's owlish first birthday party - part 2

So what's a party without food? I really tried to keep the menu pretty simple, since the party took place right after lunch and I figured people wouldn't be super hungry. Still, yummy finger foods are pretty essential to throwing the perfect birthday party, and of course there must be cake! :)

I'd seen some cute food labels on several of the birthday planning sites, so I decided to make some myself. I tried to come up with clever names for all the food that had to do with the owl theme, but it was hard! I managed to be thematic with about half the names, and just went with cutesy for the rest.

The cookie dip with graham crackers was a huge hit...I found the recipe here (and yes, it does taste as good as it looks!)
I what do you think of that lace tablecloth? Isn't it pretty? It's plastic. I found it at Walmart for $2. I layered it on top of one of the aqua colored plastic tablecloths, and tied up the ends so it kind of looked draped. I used paper rosettes as an added detail (tutorial to come). It really looked like a fancy lace tablecloth, but I didn't have to worry about spills or having to wash it afterwards.

The month photo tree was the centerpiece, and I added my favorite framed picture from the first year photo shoot.

 for drinks I dressed up some mason jars with ribbon, paper straws, and labels (so that people could write their names to avoid mix-ups). I served pink lemonade in a pretty glass dispenser, but I guess that didn't get photographed. :)

I also stripped the labels off some Sam's Choice water bottles and added party-themed ones.

Cake! I decided cupcakes would be simpler than a sheet cake, and though I was willing to bake and frost them myself my wise hubby convinced me it would greatly reduce my stress level to just order some. I used the closest bakery, which happens to be Walmart. 

 They were very reasonably priced ($6.50 for a dozen) and even included a free smash cake! I gave the bakery worker samples of the colors I wanted, and they matched the icing perfectly! 

I dressed them up with some sprinkles and toppers, and arranged them on the cupcake tower I found at Home Goods. The cupcakes were delicious, and Charlotte thoroughly enjoyed the smash cake :).

Speaking of which...we decided to just put her in her high chair to eat the cake, but of course I had to fancy it up. :) I used the leftover tulle from her tutu and added ribbon and paper rosettes. It was maybe a smidge over the top...never mind, you can never to too far. :) I draped a plastic tablecloth over the back to cover up the un-matching brown seat cover and cut down on clean up.

We moved her to the photo booth area for the big moment...I love how it looks like she's actually wearing the tutu I attached to the tray.

Baby Girl had no idea what to do with the candle, so Mama and Daddy helped out.

She knew just what to do with the cake though!

Again, I must give credit where credit is due. My Daddy provided his super tasty salsa, Mom made the cookie and fruit dips and helped with setting out all the food, and my hubby and brother took gorgeous photos that made everything look so very elegant. Thanks to all my worker bees, the guests who came, and you dear readers! I hope you enjoyed the virtual party...sorry you didn't get to taste the cake. :)

If you missed part 1 of the party details, you can find it here.

Look Whoo's ONE: Charlotte's Owlish first birthday party - Part 1

Well it's done. Months of pinning, sewing, folding, taping, cutting, hole-punching, tying, gluing...all for an event that was over in an afternoon. Do I regret that all my hard work and fabulous creations were put up and taken down within 48 hours? Not a bit. Do I feel like all those naptimes I spent on party prep were wasted? Heck no! Thanks to you, dear readers, I get to relive the whole experience and revisit the fabulous day whenever I want to! (Or at least until google decides blogger is a waste of resources and it goes the way of google reader...but let's cross our fingers and hope that is a long time from now.)

For those of you who are not planning a one-year-old's birthday party in the near future, feel free to skip over my laborious descriptions and simply scroll through the pictures, taken by my very talented personal photography team (my hubby and brother).

The theme, of course, was owls, but I was kind of over the bright green and pink from her nursery, and decided to change it up a bit by using aqua and pink instead. I thought the color combo was dainty and pretty without being too wildly girly. Unfortunately I couldn't find a lot of aqua or turquoise for some reason (apparently it's not in vogue this year) but thanks to the half-off scrapbook paper sales at my favorite craft store I was able to bring in plenty of my chosen colors.

The original plan called for an indoor/outdoor set-up, but as the weather forecast became increasingly gloomier (pun intended) the closer we got to the big day, I reluctantly changed gears to an indoor layout. I was worried it would be too crowded in our cozy (read cramped) living room for all the guests, but we moved the ottoman out of the way to ease the flow of traffic to the couches, set up chairs around the perimeter, put toys within easy reach of the youngest party guests, and the room actually felt fairly spacious.

I read somewhere that your biggest impact decor-wise should be what the guests see when they first walk in, so I decided to start with the front door. I found the huge painted owl for half-off at Hobby Lobby, and cut the speech bubble out of scrapbook paper (the staple of my party decor, as you will see). I was planning on running the pennant bunting along the backyard fence, but moved it to the porch where I think it looked very cute and festive.

The birthday banner came with the invitations I ordered from Etsy. I had everything printed at Office Depot, since the cost of ink if we printed it ourselves would be just as much or more than having it done on professional machines. For some reason the setting on the printer was wrong, so it printed the first set of banner letters two-sided (which doesn't exactly work). Since he had to re-print it, the copy expert gave me the messed up pages for free. I realized I could spell out Charlotte's name, print it myself, cut out the letters, and tape them on top of the messed up pages to make the banner personalized! I love the finished result, and plan on reusing the banner every year (in fact, Charlotte may have a pink and aqua owl-themed party every year).

I was planning to set up a photo booth on the back porch, but when that was a washout (again, pun totally intended) I decided the entry would work in a pinch. We moved the bench from our dining table here, added tulle, paper owls and a vinyl sticker tree from my baby shower, and voila! A festive photo booth! Not everyone was into the props, but I conned a few friends into posing with them (I downloaded the templates here).

My dear friend and party planning expert, Joy, lent her expertise to fashioning the tissue paper pom poms for the "chandelier." My accommodating and oh so tall brother hung them for me, adjusted, and re-hung them until I was happy.

I had painted huge wooden letters spelling O-N-E for Charlotte's one year photo shoot, and decided I should definitely use them as decorations for her party. But where? Inspiration struck...the mantle! Of course that meant redecorating the whole thing...I left the shutters, but took down everything else and culled from my party decor stash (I've been buying and hording everything pink, aqua, girly, or owlish I could find cheap since February). I found the mini-pails in the bargain bins at Target, the paper flowers I made from an American Girl craft kit I found on clearance (also at Target), and the photos were taken by my very talented hubby, printed at Shutterfly, frames bought at Hobby Lobby. And of course the owl pillow that had inspired Baby Girl's nursery and been featured in every month pic needed to have a place of honor...the mantle seemed appropriate. :)

I found lots of examples of chalkboard "stats" boards on Pinterest, and since I just so happen to have a giant framed chalkboard I decided I definitely needed to make one for the party. It took me an evening to plan and two naptimes to execute (thank goodness it was the day Charlotte took two 2 hour naps!). We moved the console table from the entry to the living room to serve as a gift table and covered it with a plastic table cloth and a cloth runner (made out of fabric I had in my stash from one of C's Christmas presents). I had despaired at finding aqua tablecloths but Wally World came through for me. At 97 cents I bought three. :)

I used paper flower I had made with scrapbook paper and the craft kit to decorate the end tables in the living room, along with pictures of Baby Girl from the past year.

I will pause now to give credit to my wonderful hubby, parents, and brother, who spent three hours the night before the party putting up all the decorations while I directed, instructed, and generally bossed them around. I could never have done it all myself, not before midnight anyway, and it was such a treat to see my party vision come to life!

Next post: Part 2 - food and drink (and smash cake!)