My Sweet Babu

The garden party

I can't help but think of my baby girl's firt birthday party from last June, as I am preparing for her second birthday party next weekend.  Time goes by way too fast!  The theme of this party was a "garden party", and well, it was just beautiful!  This one is going to be a tough act to follow!

Feeling rather sentimental as I reminisce through these photographs, I wanted to share some of my favourite things that I created for this party.  We had scattered the bouncy balls around the yard...they were such a whimsical fun decoration!  At the end of the party, each guest brought one (or two) home as part of their party favor.  I also loved the way the cupcakes turned out!  By randomly placing some of those feathered butterflies on wires on the cupcakes, it appeared that there were actually butterflies floating around in the air!

 

And I just can't say enough about the decorative powers of pink tulle!  I must admit that I have never been a "pink person".  I'm not sure why, I guess I just never felt like it was very "me"?  However, I have come to embrace the color pink!  I was still never one to dress Fifi in head to toe pink every day, but I think for certain times, like this party, it was perfect!  The other thing that I liked about using tulle instead of traditional paper decorations is that when I took it down, I was able to save it and reuse it.  Tulle bows look amazing on a gift!

 

As part of the party favor, with the bouncey balls, each guest took home one of these chocolate lollipops that I made.  I discovered that if you painted the lighter pink and white into the mold first and let it set up, then you could pour the milk chocolate into the rest of the mold without mixing the colors!  To create the hill, I cut (chopped) up a styrofoam ball used for making flower displays and then used hot glue to adhere the spanish moss.  Too cute and so delicious...and the lollipops were good too!

 

Have a lovely weekend!

a. 

A little girl's room...

Next week is "birthday week", the week leading up to my baby girl's second birthday!  All of the posts will be about something I have have been working on in preparation for her party.  The theme will be a Japanese tea party, which was largely inspired by the way her room came to be decorated...

 

I know you are probably thinking, "WOW, that is really pink!"  This is one of those colors that came out a bit darker than it appeared on the swatch, but I have come to really love it!  The birds on the wall I sentciled in red and her name is from www.wallwords.com.  The name was really easy to apply and I think the combination of her name, the swallows and the art on her walls works well with the color. 

 Fifi's furniture and vibe of her room began with more of a 'shabby chic' feel.  I fell in love with the vinatge print of the mermaid with the parasol umbrella and gradually came to find other similar items (like the 2 postcards on the shelf above that also have mermaids with parasol umbellas on them) that I thought were really neat.                 

I randomly came across some bedding that was not only adorable but also ridiculously soft!  I loved the color combinations of red, pink and a bit of green embroidery on the blanket and dust ruffle and the way the colors popped against the white background.  I also loved the sheeting.  I think that the intention was for this set to be modern, but the way they teeny clusters of flowers were organized, it appeared almost vintage!

I ran into an issue with this table, (which was only supposed to be temporary), in that it only had the white table cloth on it...wasn't loving that.  My solution to this problem was to cut the back of the dust ruffle off and sew the pieces together to create this little table covering.  Since the crib was against the wall, no one would see the back anyway!

    

This room, like the others in my home, were not planned, but have evolved into the way they are and how they are decorated.  I am a big bargain shopper and thrifter, so I can never tell when I will happen across something that catches my eye.  But that is kind of my point, one might never have dreamed that combining Asian influences with vintage mermaids would work, but I think it has! 

We spend so much time in our home; it is where we raise our family and spend time with our friends.  It is important to me that it is filled with things that we enjoy, that reflect what is important to us and 'what we are about'.  My thoughts are this, if you fill your home with what you love, then it will always be great!  I can only hope that my interpretation of this space turns into a successful party next weekend! 

alison

Being Mama

My life has changed in so many ways since my oldest son was born five and a half years ago.  Some of my friends have younger children or have just had their first babies, and I am reminded of when my son was only one, two, three years old.  Things were very different then; life was slower and less complicated. 

 

Yesterday, I randomly thought of someone I had been friends with years ago, before I was married or had children.  When my son was around two years old, this friend and I ran into each other.  It was great to catch up with her and to find out what had been happening in her life since we last spoke.  She had two sons, five and eighteen months old at the time.  I clearly remember asking her if she was raising them as vegetarians (this was something that had been very important to both of us back when we were friends). 

I remember feeling as though I was judging her (I know I should not have been) as she explained to me that she was not a vegetarian anymore.  At that time, I believed that I would always have the control that I had at that moment when my son was only two years old.  Today I know that this is not the case.  My life as a mama is not always the way I thought it would be.  It is better than I could have imagined!  I am in awe of my son and the person he has become, full of ideas, love, joy, opinions...

 However, there are times as a mama when things do not go the way I want them to go.  The times when 5 year olds act like 5 year olds.  The times when they will not eat their dinner, or they talk back, or come home with a button from the craft store that they said they "found on the floor".  This is why I am begining this category, so that as my son (and daughter) grow, I can also grow.  When my children and I disagree about something, I hope to be able to be objective and open minded and not force things because I think I am right.  My children have taught me so much and have helped me to grow tremendously as a person.  I think that whether you are a mama or not, it is important to challenge the way we think about things and learn to be able to see the world through another person's eyes. I believe that writing about these things will help me to be the best mama I can be! 

 

This journey of mama-hood can be an overwhelming one at times, we want so badly to do a good job- a perfect job.  I am fortunate for the things in my life that I am overwhelmed by.  I will not take life more seriously than I should.  I will see each parenting obstacle as an opportunity to grow and be the best that I can be...but I will spend most of my day having as much fun as possible!  

alison

Our garden

We planted our first garden this past weekend!  Prior to this, we have only ever had potted patio plants...we do still have a couple of potted tomato plants out back. This garden came to be for two reasons, first, Fifi insisted on picking everything off of our potted plants before they were ripe.  It was a lesson in frustration to try explain to an almost two year old that the fruit and veggies were not ready when they were green...especially since we do let the kiddos pick their own veggies once they are ripe.  Arrgh!

The second reason we came to have this lovely little garden is becasue we had a perfect place for it.  For where we live, we had a pretty good size piece of property, however, when we rennovated and added onto our home, we decided that we wanted whatever room was left in the backyard to be for the kids to run around in.  Since we were having issues with keeping tiny hands off of the plants anyway, it seeemed like the perfect solution to move our garden to a full sun flower bed in the front yard where I have notoriously had difficulty growing perrenials.   

I wish I could say that the kids were completely taken with the majesty of planting our tiny crop, intuitively knowing that one day soon it would yeild food that we could eat.  No.  They were more interested in watering the plants, but you know, that's cool too.  Honestly, I am just very pleased that they were a part of the experience; that between this and the CSA that we joined this year, they might begin to understand and have an appreciation for the food that we are fortunate enough to have and where it comes from.

So this year we have planted tomatoes, pole beans, butternut squash, cucumbers (at Tobin's request), mini watermelon plants and some strawberry plants.  I am looking foward to watching these plants grow...I am also looking foward to the learning experience, all of this is new to us.  Sometimes I question where it is in the day I will find time tend a garden, am I loopy?  Already, though, I feel that my heart is warmed by the thought of the beatiful work that comes with a garden...it reminds me of the feeling of joy that comes with doing laundry when you are folding tiny infant onesies.  It's so good.

alison.      

Butterflies!

For Christmas, my children were given one of those butterfly habitats; have you seen them advertised?  Once the weather is warmer, you can send away for caterpillars through the mail and then watch them up close throughout their metamorphosis.

I thought this was a really great experience, especially for Tobin, who will be six in November.  Each day he would rush to the kitchen, first to see if the caterpillars had grown larger, and then to see if they had made their chrysallis' (chrysalli?) yet.

Over the last week, our five painted lady butterflies have emerged from their cocoons!  It was so exciting... for all of us, really!  We watched them sitting patiently while they allowed their beautiful new wings to dry out, then take their first flight around their little home.  We gave them flower buds from the garden and cotton balls with sugar water on them to eat and it seems as if they have actually become stronger and more lively over the last week.

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I have been reading the book, Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times. by Zoe Weil.  In her book, Weil talks about the three R's (not reading, 'riting and 'rithmatic) which are Reverence, Respect and Responsibility.  Weil startes that t"his process is easy to begin with children as it seems that Reverence (feeling wonder and awe) comes naturally to them.  The world is a beautiful, complex and mysterious place to them and it is important to give children the opportunity to feel the emotion of reverence.  Reverence will lead children towards compassionate choices and a humane way of life."

I thought that this butterfly habitat was a great opportunity for my children to be amazed...and I am pretty certain they were!  Weil suggest that when we feel "reverence for what is most worthy", we are paving the way for Respect and Responsibility.  Respect is when the emotion of reverence is transformed into an attitude and responsibility is when the emotion and attitude of reverence and respect become and action. 

 

The 3R's may seem like a simple concept, but I agree with Weil when she states that "feelings of reverence can be damaged by cynicism and the commercial values of society".  It is my hope that my children (* and I) can maintian these emotions and continue to be amazed.  It is time to let our butterly friends go.  I hope that this will be a wonderful memory for our family and perhaps might even become a spring time tradition?

There is a Vietnamese saying, "When eating a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree".  When we  live in this way, thinking of the people who make our life possible, the miracle of the earth, the wonders of the air and water, then we are living with reverence.  Z. Weil      

a.           

Finished flipdolls...

I wasn't planning to post for the holiday, but I finished the Flipdolls this weekend and wanted to share them with you!  I believe that I mentioned that one of the dolls was a gift for my friend's daughter who is having her second birthday party this afternoon.  I can't wait to give her this gift!

 

I think that they came out really well!  I love that they are printed on all organic materials and I chose to stuff them with bamboo, which was a nice sustainable option.  These dolls and the kits to make them are available at www.umbrellaprints.etsy.com.  My son is even getting a kick out of these little ladies and keeps asking me when I will be making him one...lucky for me, umbrellaprints will be making a boy version of these dolls in the near future!

Have a great holiday!

alison