Events: Spring Bazaar

Hey friends...I just wanted to let you local readers know of an upcoming event that is a definite must! I usually tag along to a few bazaars in the winter time around the holidays to shop and to sell some of my handmade items. This year I found a great opportunity in the Poppies and Petunias Spring Bazaar and  had to snag a table to share some handmade goodies. 

My mom's precious little dolls will be there in a variety of styles... you HAVE to come see them and snag one for your favorite little girl (or guy!). 

My aunt + I have been crocheting up a storm and will have a variety of items. My most popular has been these crochet baby toys. 100% cotton, no filling. Get them wet, freeze them, or use them as is and just throw them in the wash whenever needed! Super easy and very popular with teething babies! 

We'll have hats, headbands, spa items, spring scarves, and more. 

Everything would make great gifts, especially with mother's day around the corner! Click on the link above to check out the Facebook event page and see items from us and other sellers ahead of time! Hope to see you there! 

Mother's Day 2012

This Mother's Day I somehow got spoiled enough to be celebrated for the entire weekend. Friday night we went out to eat at Red Lobster with Ben's parents which was more to celebrate our finalized refinances, but we did Mother's Day gifts as well.

We gave Grandma Debbie a card colored by Malakai + a gift card to a local garden supply so she could pick out some flowers, veggie starts, or hanging baskets. Debbie gave me a potholder that she had decorated with the boys. I have one from two years ago with Kai's hands and this year I got foot prints from both boys.

After dinner the boys took some time to marvel at the lobsters, or "monsters".

On Saturday Ben made me waffles and gave me a map of what we'd be doing that day to celebrate Mother's Day.

First we went to the church for a Mother's Craft day for mom's to bring their kiddos and create crafts together. It was a ton of fun! Malakai and I did a few crafts while Des got passed around. Then Kai got a bit antsy so Ben (who was there serving treats to all the moms and kids) took him outside to play and I got some time to just make something on my own, which NEVER happens at home so it was really enjoyable.

Afterwards we headed to lunch and sat outside, which is one of my favorite things about summer time. It was a beautiful 80 degree day (quite rare for these parts if you aren't familiar). Next we headed home for nap time.

Lastly Ben thought we could go out to eat and then to the park by our old house, we compromised and packed a picnic dinner to take with us to the park. That way Kai wouldn't have to try to sit still for the 3rd time that day and we wouldn't be spending extra money. It was a lot of fun to see how the neighborhood has changed and play in the sun.

On our way home we picked up some ice cream for after the kids went to bed and then we went to bed early!

Sunday morning I headed for work (church) and while I was there Ben called me on facetime and showed me pictures online of my present from him...

he made me two trellises for my sugar snap peas! This was something I had saved on Pinterest and he and I had even discussed making at some point. He made them while at work and is finishing them up. I am so excited!

After church (work) we headed home and ate leftovers for lunch and watched a few shows while the boys napped. Once they woke up we headed out to G'Pa + Mima's to celebrate Mother's Day with them. On the way there Ben gave me my last gift that he and the boys had made together...

Something I had also pinned! Apparently I made Mother's Day gift ideas easy on them without even trying. I love it and it's in the frame that I got for my first first Mother's Day. (Speaking of, I just came across this surprise post that Ben wrote last year, I'm one blessed gal!).

Once we got to my parents' place we enjoyed the first swim of the year (the pool was FREEZING though) and ate dinner. We also gave my mom a card colored by Kai and a gift card to a garden supply place as well.

I enjoyed a restful weekend surrounded by loved ones. I'm so blessed to be loved so well by my husband and children.

Thankful for Mothers

I know I'm late on my thankful post, but better late than never. I wanted to be sure to share my thankful list as it relates to mothers + mothering.

I'm thankful for...

1041.  the opportunity to mother my children every day. I get to learn and grow with them and I find that to be a huge blessing.

1042. my mom. She is thoughtful, caring, loving; everything a mother should be. She is my best friend and a fantastic grandmother to our boys.

1043.  my mother-in-law. She has become like a mom to me over the past 6 years and I'm increasingly grateful for our friendship. She's also a wonderful grandma.

1044. My gram. She is such a fun lady and we don't see her often enough.

1045. Ben's grandmas. I've enjoyed getting to know them over the years and they are so sweet with our boys.

1046. My late great-grandma. I miss her tons, I often wish she could be around to meet my kids and see me as a mother.

1047. Mama friends. I have so many friends of all ages with kids at every stage who are great role models for a young(ish) mom like me.

1048. Getting to parent with Ben. He is such a great father and husband and I credit him with much of my ability to mother our sons well. I especially look to him for guidance in being more patient; with our boys and with myself.

1049. teaching my children. As a teacher I enjoy and look forward to teaching my kids at home, but will most definitely be sending them to public school once they are kindergarten age (and of course supplementing their learning at home then as well!)

1050. the funny + sweet moments. As I write this, Malakai began to stir during his nap...and is currently falling asleep sitting up. Yesterday he called me a "stinker". Desmond's belly laughs are the best pick-me-ups of all time, and I just love watching his little personality begin to shine through. Watching my sons play and interact is one of the best rewards parenting has to offer.

{the three of us on a typical day; Kai trying to help Desmond out with a "rope"}

Motherhood has it's ups and downs and it would be very easy to get caught up in the difficult parts and be ungrateful for the rest. Just today Kai threw a pretty epic fit that had me clenching my teeth. Every single day I choose to love mothering, even the hard parts. 

{mama + her boys}

What/who are you thankful for this week?

my 2nd mother's day

Mother's day was quite a blur this year. Since I had to work from 8am- 1pm that morning Ben made me breakfast on Saturday morning instead. Waffles and hot decaf coffee, just want I wanted. The rest of the day went by quickly as I had to prepare for a team meeting of all my incredible volunteers that was happening that night. Had I known how busy the weekend where most Mother's get to relax would be, I would have rethought choosing to meet then, but it was the only day in all of May that wasn't crossed out when I took into account everyone's availability. The meeting went well and we ate a lot of great food!

Sunday I went off to church/work while the boys stayed home and concocted my Mother's Day surprises. I went about my morning during 1st service as usual. Just before logging off of my computer to oversee transitions in the classrooms I decided to change my desktop photo. I came here to my blog thinking I'd save a photo of Malakai as my background photo, but there was an unfamiliar post staring back at me. Ben had written some very beautiful and meaningful words and I'm so glad that I was alone when I read it because of course I cried. I also thought I had perhaps stumbled upon something that was meant for later.

Once Ben + Malakai arrived at church (with a special Mother's Day starbucks drink for me) I told him I'd seen his post and loved it. He assured me it was okay that I had discovered it already as he had meant for me to find it by surprise whenever I had happened to check in around here. What a thoughtful and surprising way to express his love and appreciation for me!

We checked Malakai into the nursery and he was having a really hard time transitioning. His whole life he has had no problem with us dropping him off. He barely notices we're gone, but lately he's been very attached. At first it was to me, but now it's both of us. It's sweet, but so very sad. I don't want him to get too upset for fear of him aggravating his hernia and I also feel like I've entered unfamiliar territory because he's not done this til now. I think his mood swings and attachment are due to a combination of teething and him sensing the changes happening around us (my pregnancy and his upcoming surgery).

Ben and I rarely argue and if we do, it's quite subdued. We never raise our voices or use harsh tones that would indicate to Malakai that something were wrong, but I think he can just feel it. I'm hoping that after his surgery everything settles down a bit and we can all breathe a little easier.

Anyway, after church Malakai napped and Ben told me I could request whatever I wanted for lunch. I chose Cafe Yumm! and we ate while watching the SNL Mother's Day episode. Once Kai woke up he and Ben presented me with a gift.

{It says "Happy Mother's Day" and "+1" with an arrow toward the mama's belly}

Malakai was hesitant to hand it over, but once I got it he watched me open it. Then he reluctantly posed for a photo. I love handmade gifts and that Malakai is old enough to do some art projects. He and daddy collaborated on this one and it will take a very special place in my frame, which was last year's gift!

Later that afternoon we headed over to celebrate my mom and have dinner with my immediate family. The last part of my gift, which is also our gift to my mom is a date for us girls to go to Sweet Life for dessert.

Overall it was a wonderful day and turned out to be more relaxing than I had anticipated. Now I am working tirelessly to get our house in order before Malakai's surgery so we can focus all our time and energy on him and his recovery (more on that later).

How was your Mother's Day? I hope it was special!

A Mother's Day Surprise

Hello everyone. Before you read any further, you should probably know that this isn't a regular post. 

That's probably because Shandell isn't writing it.

She's actually at work right now, on Mother's Day of all days. Kai is watching some Elmo while I (Ben) type this out before we head out the door as well.

It's been really fun to watch this little blog develop and grow over the past couple years. Being a full-time mom, full-time wife (which can really be a chore sometimes...), part-time Nursery Director, and whatever else Shan gets doing takes up a lot of her time. Her little corner of the internet has been a great way for her creative and artistic side to really flourish. 

I've always thought that writing is one of the best ways to get our thoughts out of our heads and sorted out. It's one of the highlights of my day to read her latest post, as it makes me feel like I'm at home and a part of what's going on, even when I can't be there during the work week. A big thank you to all of YOU who come here and read about us, enjoy Shan's photography, giveaways, craft ideas, recipes, et cetera. It's additional fuel to keep her writing, and for that I am quite grateful.

However, my main reason for writing this post is that I feel that you don't always get the whole picture. This comes at no fault to Shan, as she's not going to sit here and tell you how amazing she is. It's just not in her nature.

So I'll do it for you.

Shandell is the most amazing person ever to come into my life. We've been together for almost 6 years (4 years of marriage this July!), and I can't wait for what's coming next for us. October is going to be here before we know it (and with it a new little one)!

I'm positive that you won't find someone more loyal than Shan. She is incredibly empathetic, truly understanding where someone is coming from and finds ways to help them. When the Nursery Director position came up, she was a natural fit. Kiddos are her passion, and I think that the program has really started to develop under her leadership.

Speaking of kiddos being her passion, watching Shan with Malakai is one of my favorite things.

I could do it all day.

Even when our little one is being a bit of a terror - which he does on occasion - she is patient and caring. Whenever Kai is acting a little...off, she knows immediately that he doesn't feel well and does whatever she can to make him feel better. The teacher in her has benefitted our little sponge significantly. Every day he picks up something new, and while I feel like I sometimes sneak a couple of new words for him to say, I know that Shan is instrumental in his learning.

Ok. I could go on-and-on about my lovely wife. I really could. And she deserves it.

But Kai and I have a present to finish.

Happy Mother's Day my love.

more on Mother's Day

I forgot to mention yesterday that my mother-in-law also got me these lovelies.

Stargazers are my favorite flower. She got some for my  baby shower for Malakai, which was around this same time last year but they were left behind at our rental so she got me another one to plant at our new house. Wish me luck in keeping them alive!

My boys made yesterday such a wonderful experience. I felt so special all day long and had a lot of fun.

Ben + I got up at 7am and had a relaxing breakfast while Malakai slept in. Once he got up Ben showed me the video of them getting Malakai to do the handprints on the potholder. Then there was more video of he and Malakai working on another art project. After it was over Ben pulled a gift out from behind the couch.

{Isn't Malakai cute in his Christmas PJ's in May?}

{I got teary eyed as soon as I saw it, oh motherhood}

Then we went to 1st service at church around 9am, worked in the nursery together during 2nd at 10:30am and afterwards Ben had another surprise planned. We went to Starbucks and got my favorite sunny day drink {iced caramel machiatto} and headed to the park to take a walk by the river. However, I was wearing high heeled wedges that were not made for long walks and Malakai had fallen asleep. We decided to post-pone the walk for another day and take Kai home to keep napping while we ate lunch. 

When we got in the car later that afternoon to head to my parent's place there was ANOTHER gift waiting for me! Ben had picked out an adorable top for Malakai (because he knows how much I love it when he picks out his clothes) and a giftcard for me that specified I can ONLY buy things for me with it. 

We spent the rest of the day relaxing with my family and celebrating my wonderful mom. Here she is with all her lovely gifts from us kids. Sadly I don't think we got a photo of her with all of us. 

And here is Malakai in much more appropriate attire for the spring season. 

We had a fantastic day and I was truly blessed by all the things Ben had planned for me. Then when I went to get into bed for the night there was one last thing waiting on my pillow. A beautiful card just from Ben. He wrote me a sweet note that brought tears to my eyes. I don't know what I did to deserve such a wonderful man. I thank God for these boys every single day.

What did you do for Mother's day? How did you celebrate your mom, or get celebrated by your children?

my first mother's day

This past Wednesday Ben kicked me out of the house so he and Malakai could work on part of my Mother's Day present. I went out and did some shopping and came back 90 minutes later to my smiling boys. Shortly after I noticed a bright red mark on Kai's thumb and thought he was bleeding somehow. Upon closer inspection I realized it was marker or paint of some kind. I looked at Ben and said, "If you know what this is and it's non-toxic I'll stop asking questions". You see, he has a VERY hard time keeping secrets, especially when they involve something he is excited about. If I ask enough questions I can get him to spill the beans, but I happen to like surprises so I do my best to help him keep things secret.

Today we celebrated Mother's Day with my in laws and I found out what the red fingers were all about.

{TO MY MOMMY ON HER FIRST MOTHER'S DAY 2010- LOVE, MALAKAI}

It was my mother-in-law's idea to make this for me from Malakai. She also made one for his great-grandma on their side and herself. Ben video taped the whole process and I get to watch it tomorrow. I have a feeling it's going to be hilarious, I mean just look at those messy little handprints!

My boys are still holding on to a few more secrets. I have no idea what's going on after church tomorrow other than we'll eventually end up seeing my mom. And at this very moment Ben is wrapping things in the other room. I can't wait!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there. I hope that your children, your significant others, and the rest of your family and friends make it extra special and memorable for you like mine already have.