Tears and a wet suit

I bottled up the emotions all day and when I got home I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. I got in the shower and began to sob. Shamefully sob. It was our very first valentines day as newlyweds and I was supposed to be putting on a dress and getting ready to frolick through fields of flowers with my new husband or something like that. But here I was crying in the shower over a "hard day at work". John was already dressed in a silk black suit that his dad had brought back from Turkey when he was in the Air Force. His dreads were in a man pony tail (wow- I miss those dreads). And here I was crying over basically nothing. I put my hands over my face feeling silly and having the little girl fear of "being too much" for this man who I feared at that instance would wonder what the %$^# he was getting himself into. But that's not what he was thinking.

He took one look at me and didn't say a word. What he did next baffled me. Soaking his one of a kind silk suit and drenching his black dress socks, he got into the shower. Just so he could hold me. To comfort me. It didn't matter how stupid it was or petty it was...

This was eight years ago but it is a moment I will never forget. It was the first time I really experienced the heart of Jesus and it was through my husband. In the midst of my shame- He scooped me up and assured me that my heart was significant to him. How much more are we loved by our Creator?

Happy Valentines Day!

" Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" I Cor. 13:4-8  

Mosquito bites

Sisters. Love- hate-LOVE. It's already starting. As obvious as it is from this picture Ruby looks up to her big sister Nevaeh. Even though they are opposites in every way, I'm sure she even wants to BE her big sister at times.

At least I know that I wanted to be like my big sis. Like wanting the curve bang wave thing that my sis pulled off back in the days of grunge and plaid. Questions like how did the hair spray hold it in this perfect shape all day and how she was able to brush her hair for such long periods of time occupied my 10 yr old mind...I wanted to BE her. More accurately and in every way profoundly, I wanted to grow up and get boobs. I remember crying to mom telling her my woes and dread of having "mosquito bites" FOREVER (can you guess where that nickname came from?).

 Attempting to keep it together...

Several attempts later = final serious pic

A shout out to you sis. Thank you for sharing your room with me growing up as I know how much of a sacrifice that is. For singing nerdy songs with me at night when I couldn't fall asleep. For playing with my hair and drawing shapes on my back. For warning me about boys. For making writing in a journal look so bad A. For being tough and showing me the ropes. For introducing me to REAL music. For all the times you let me tag along and adopt your friends as my own. For bringing me to some of my first shows and letting me mosh. For ALL of the joy rides and the times I forced you to take me places (admittedly in the middle of the night). For inside jokes. For being there. At my worst and at my best. At my wedding. Holding my newborns. You are so incredibly strong, thoughtful, and courageous and even after all of these years....I still look up to you and wouldn't mind being a little more like you.

From your little sis- A.K.A mosquito bites

Taking one for the team

John is with the band on the outskirts of Seattle and I am on home duty having a moment of well deserved couch time. At last. Yeah I've earned it. How bout you? Enjoying some much needed downtime by now?

To my left is a set of Thor headphones which I can't help but look forward to sport while I watch some mindless project runway reruns. Don't judge me. All around me- puke. On the carpet. On the kitchen floor. In the sink. Pretty much everywhere. I cleaned and sanitized but it's very much still lingering as well as the aroma (Poor sick kiddos- wish I could take it away). That's not all folks. I took out the bathroom trash to find it full of liquid which spilled all over (legs. feet. floor). Surprise- toilet water! Nevaeh had dropped a whole roll of toilet paper into the potty and fished it out- by hand. Confessions of a 5 yr old. 

So in light of my oh so glamorous night, I would like to COMPLETELY change the subject and write about something bright and clean like my new rug. I've found some rad ones that I wanted for the laundry room (an ongoing project that we've been working on here and there) but didn't want to spend the mula so I improvised and made one!

DIY Rug

Start out by finding some great fabric and a rug pad around the same size that you want your final rug to be.

I looooved this print but wanted it to pop a little bit more so I used a permanent marker to outline the shapes and create a pattern.

It gave it so much more contrast!

I sewed the fabric and the rug pad together with some THICK batting in-between so that it would hold it's shape. 

To finish the edges, I sewed a border of black fabric to tie in the black and yellow in the room.

Best part- No puke. 

Every Little Rugrat is Different

When it comes to our little ones, you've got to do what works! For our 5 yr old "reward" charts have worked great to recognize and encourage achievements whether it's the norm or going above and beyond to be polite and helpful, I am a strong believer in positive reinforcement. We started this a few years ago and used a sticker chart for basics such as when she slept ALL night or used the potty for a whole day without any reminders (we have already established I am a MOM so talking about the potty shouldn't phase you by now). For each accomplishment she received a sticker on her chart and even helped decorate it and choose her own rewards along the way. Sometimes it was a treat like ice cream or an outing like the local pool. When she got the poster all filled we had a bigger "reward " such as an overnighter at the beach or a trip to the Zoo or Aquarium.

The sticker chart looked something like this:

Let me clarify. These are incentives. That is different then bribing your kiddo to do something. They should be things that either they are working really hard on or something positive that you acknowledge at the end of the day.

Since she is 5 1/2 now and is ready to start college (laughing giggling moment of sarcasm) it is more for things like being helpful in the mornings by being all dressed with shoes on and teeth brushed, cereal bowl in the sink kind of stuff. Or at night it looks more like this..."Wow. Today I noticed that you were really helpful with your little sister" (Translation: you didn't get into a flat out brawl today with your sister or argue! Woohoo!)

To mark such maturity, I update her chart to a more reusable version with a magnetic board....Love =)

Here's how: To create the magnets you will need glass drops and decorative paper. You can find both at any craft warehouse or if you are looking to save in your creative endeavors you can also find them at the dollar store.

First, cut the decorative paper to match each designated glass drop and glue to the back using modpodge.

Look at the sweet 3-d effect!  Next, add a small magnet to the back using super glue or a glue gun.

Last but not least, glue your paper to a metal sheet!

Another final look:

I chose to cut out lines of paper to create a graph but drawing your own works just as well!

This may not work for all little ones but it is worth a try! Undoubtedly, it can give them a sense of accomplishment as well as empowerment. Oh yeah- it's pretty fun too =)