teaching an "i can" attitude

i have notice lately that emma says "i can't" like 50 times a day. at first it was just annoying and i figured she just didn't want to do what i was asking/telling her to do. then after seeing her reaction to actually doing something she said "i can't" to at first,  i realized that most of the time she actually believes that she can't do something.

after much thought over the past few weeks i have come to realize that most of this is my fault. 

you see, emma is my first born and a girl. that combination=over protective mom.

i have told her way too many times that she can't do things because she is too little, may get hurt, or worse....dirty! all this time i thought i was protecting her but now it seems to have backfired and she has an "i can't" attitude.

it's kind of interesting to me that i am just now figuring this all out and i think it is actually because of kellen. since he is a boy and all i let him pretty much do whatever he wants like play in the dog water, dig in the dirt, climb anything he thinks he can and feed himself messy foods. he is only one and has probably had more bumps and bruises than emma. now the kid thinks he is king of the world, is determined and can master most things he puts his mind to. 

unfortunately i can't take back the 3 1/2 years of over protective parenting with emma but i can help to rebuild her confidence now. i need to teach her that clothes wash and scrapes heal as long as you are trying your best it's all okay. i want her to feel the sense of accomplishment when she does something hard, even if it is just climbing the ladder at the park. i want her to actually believe that she can do anything she sets her mind to. so for now i am going to help her, push her, and believe in her until she can learn for herself that she can do hard things.

via

Brooklyn & Mitchell {wedding}

so i have neglected to post for a while but with good reason. i was able to fly half way across the country to kansas {alone with my two kids....more on that later} for my little sisters wedding!

planning and crafting and vacationing basically took up all my time. and now i am so jealous and wish i would have done my reception in my parents back yard too because it was SO beautiful.

free-hand painting this sign was quite stressful for me.

 sibling love

 my mom made the cake and it was awesome!

DIY bow ties

ever since i had kellen i have wanted to buy him some cute bow ties but there wern't any cute ones in stores and i wasn't going to pay $10+ on etsy for someone to make me one. so here we are a year later and i am actually giving it a try!

 

here are the ones i made during nap time today!

 

 

i found this tutorial on pinterest and it is SO easy.

 

here are some other tips for attaching to fabric to wear around the neck...

 

-first hot glue the main part of the bow to the neck piece

 

-then use hot glue to attach the little piece around the bow & neck piece

 

-use hot glue to attach velcro to the neck piece

 

but here is the best thing i learned...use 1/2 in. bias tape for the around the neck part! it is less sewing and SO much easier! plus you dont really see it with a collared shirt so it doesn't even mattter what color it is : ) plus on the yellow one i just used the bias tape around the middle too!

 

and as far as measurements go i pretty much eye balled it and used my kids necks but here is a guide to go off of:

 

Necktie Lengths
Small (6M -18M) 7-9"
Medium (18M - 3T) 9-11"
Large (3T - 6 years) 11-13"
Extra Large (6 - 9 years) 13-15"

Bowtie Widths
Small (6M -18M) 3"
Medium (18M - 3T) 3.25"
Large (3T - 6 years) 3.5"
Extra Large (6 - 9 years) 3.75"

E is for Emma

about 2 months ago i decided to put together a binder for emma to start leaning her letters and numbers. she has been very curious and asking about letters and numbers wherever she sees them! so during kellen's nap time {when she doesn't need a rest herself}we try and pull it out. em calls it her "homework" and loves it! since then she has recognized so many more letters and numbers on her own and we find "E's" written everywhere because that's her favorite letter, naturally.

dry erase marker, pencils, letter cards

flash cards are SO cheap at walmart or the dollar store or you can print them free here!

 

 You you don't even have to necessarily print off anything! You could make your own letter and number pages with just a hi-liter!

find these letter pages here

 like i said, we find the letter "E" everywhere : )


here are some other learning activities i love and plan on adding to her binder as well...
*popsicle stick puzzzles
*glue practice
*handwriting paper
*number pages
*cutting practice(straight lines)
*cutting practice(non-straight lines)

sewing saturday {mini maxi's}

trevor was golfing, kellen was napping, emma was playing with the neighbor, so i decided to sew! 

i bought fabric to make emma two dresses about 3 months ago and am just now getting around to it! i had a vision and was kinda scared to get started, afraid that they wouldn't turn out how i planned. 

i was pleasantly surprised! 

here are the two dresses i made emma today! 

 added ribbon after i hemmed the bottom

 i actually hot glued these bows on...i found out last year when i made emma's 4th of july shirt that it holds even after being washed!

after i made the first dress i took pictures right away and then went back to work to do the second. she had obviously had enough pictures from the first little photo shoot and was "over" smiling for the camera. i was bummed because it got all cloudy!

 decided to put the ribbon between the two different patterned parts of the dress instead for this one!

 and again...hot glued the ribbons on!

#OOTD

now a days there isn't much reason to dress up. i mean really, who gets dressed up just to stay home with two kids all day? {apparently everyone who posts all their outfits of the day on instagram} not me. so things like going grocery shopping and visiting teaching become reason enough to try something new!

i have had these mint skinnies for a few months and have ALWAYS played it safe by just wearing a black or white shirt with them but today i decided "hey, it's spring! lets mix things up!" thus the mint, choral, nude combo was born.

i know, i know y'all are thinking "i have seen that combo all over pinterest since like forever!" but it's new for me and creating a new outfit is almost as exciting as buying one, almost.

so get shopping in your closets and try something new, mix it up for goodness sake! 

crazy mom syndrome

crazy mom syndrome- a condition that occurs when a women has been around her children for an extended amount of time without a break.
                               

i strongly believe that the cure for "crazy mom syndrome" is to just get away. sometimes all you need is a little over the counter drug like going grocery shopping alone or a date night. but sometimes you need something stronger and that's when you write yourself a prescription for a weekend away from the kids.

lucky for me trevor, his mom and i bought him tickets to the real salt lake vs. la galaxy game back in February for his birthday. it could not have come at a more perfect time for me or him. so after emma's soccer game, my 5k {finished in under 30min!}and a round of golf, trevor and i packed up and headed to salt lake!

we headed straight to the game and loved every minute of it even though landon donovan didn't get to play{trevor's favorite player}. the we went and checked into our room for the night {trevor's grandma's time share RIGHT on temple square}and proceeded to walk around down town salt lake at 10:30 at night before finding a cute little cafe to eat dinner. 

sunday morning we went to music and the spoken word on temple square. it was my first time and absolutely amazing!

 then we walked around temple square. it was the most perfect weather.

and my breath was taken away by the thousands of beautiful flowers!

yes, my children drive me insane sometimes and every once in a while i just need an extended break but i am always happy to come home refreshed and see my little crazies again. 

and a shout out to my mother in law who is always SO willing to watch these kiddos!