The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood

Raise your hand if you are loving succulents right now. Everyone? Ok good, me too! (Who remembers these cute succulent teacher gifts I made one year?L) I’m even more so loving succulent art because I can’t over water it or let it die, ha! I’ve been playing around with some different ideas but I’m bursting to show you these succulents made from upcycling plastic green bottles. While I originally was trying to adapt this idea to work for preschool, it turned into an adult only (or supervised big kid) project that’s super cheap and equally fun to make. How do we make this succulent art? To create your own little collection of plastic succulent art sculptures, you basically need only ... read more

I’m not sure how it’s already March but here we are, headed into my oldest daughter Lilly’s birthday month! We love March. Spring is on the horizon, we get to celebrate lots of family birthdays, and St. Patty’s day is thrown into the mix. I recently released my brand new Botanical Directed Drawing Pack (a printable pack of how to draw pages) and wanted to include how to draw a shamrock as a fun freebie! This is how I teach my girls and my school kiddos to draw four leaf clovers aka shamrocks. I break it down into four easy steps just as I do in all of my previously released how to draw pages. Print them out, laminate them, use them at school or at home. They are great for teaching kids ... read more

I have to pop on here quickly and share something I didn’t make- Sally made this toy sushi with my Mom while I was at a doctors apt. and I was just blown away by her little creation. Sometimes being a hoarder of random recycled materials is a great thing. (And sometimes it’s not but that’s ok, right? Haha) Want to see what Sally made?! Little toy sushi play set! My mind kind of exploded with how cute this turned out. And my gosh that little girl is so proud of her plate. (Earlier this month we made some really fun recycled cardboard pretend valentine cookies for the play kitchen. Those of course were my idea but they were such a hit!) This right here was all her. I’m ... read more

A letter dedicated to Cochlear America’s on behalf of our daughter who is deaf.  Gracie Jane came bursting into this world with a grand but very quiet entrance. In what felt like one fell swoop she slipped into our arms for just a few moments, quiet, breathing, perfect. I don’t remember any cries though she must have cried because her apgar score was good. We had her without fear or worry for less than five minutes but I can still feel that contented feeling. Our daughter Grace was born minutes before midnight on Presidents Day, almost seven weeks premature, infected by a virus we would soon refer to as cCMV. But this story is not about a sick baby. This story is about a ... read more