Routine

"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul."
                -Judy Garland

College Park Patch: Advice for a New Mom

One of my dear friends just had a baby, her fourth. She’s an experienced mom who has gone through the trials of motherhood. She knows the sleepless nights, has mastered nursing in public, and she already knows how to use one hand to feed herself while nursing her baby and correcting an older child’s homework at the same time. None of this is new for her. In a way though, it is. This time the bundle of love lying in her arms is a boy!

As an (ahem) experienced mom to two boys, I have this urge to fill her with advice. I had to stifle myself when I was at her house for a visit to meet the new little one. I wanted to shower her with my words of wisdom, an avalanche on her tired brain.

I grew up in a family of girls; I’m the youngest of five. When I gave birth to a boy, I had no idea what to do with one. I knew how to play Barbies and dress up; not just from my own upbringing but all of my sisters had daughters of their own.

My friend is a phenomenal mother, I watch her with her children and I’m amazed by her patience. But this new gender in her family dynamic is going to shift the way she has always parented. And it’s going to make her notice things in our society about gender, what is expected of her son but not of her daughters. Expectations of his behavior and family traditions that weren’t addressed before he was born will suddenly become important to certain family members.
What would my advice be?
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Routine

Some days- this is the hardest decision you have to make.

On other days... remember.... that it is simply a choice.

Sublime Stitching Embroidered Bird Pillow

One of my personal goals is to create covers for the throw pillows on our sofa and to change them seasonally. We live in a small house, storing several seasonal decorations is not really an option.
Changing covers on the pillows is a great way for me to decorate for the holidays and seasons without compromising our living space.

This pattern is from Sublime Stitching Craft Pad. I embroidered the design on white cotton fabric and then coordinated the additional cotton prints with our living room decor.

Routine

During the hustle and bustle of the holidays I made sure to roll out my yoga mat, even with jeans on and a mere hour before my family arrived for dinner I rolled out the mat and did five rounds of Surya Namaskara A.
My spirit needed the time to breathe. And my soul needed to feel connected to my body. I needed to tune in to me.

“All your wounds from craving love

Exist because of heroic deeds.” -Hafiz

An Everyday Hobo Bag

Just like you I am swimming in free grocery shopping bags. But when I recently received a bag of fabric from a local friend who was clearing out her fabric stash and discovered this hobo bag precut in the fabric pieces it inspired me to make an everyday bag as a gift for my best friend in Pittsburgh.

I paired the precut bag with other fabric I had in my stash to create the lining and front pocket. The size is perfect for picking up a bottle of wine and a baguette for an impromptu picnic or running errands around the city while still being fashionable.

To "Mom-friend Lauren": whenever you want to purge your fabric, let me know. It helps me cross gifts off my list. Thanks!

Dollar Days at Baltimore Museums Dec 8-9th, 2012

Mark your calendar! December 8th and 9th, 2012 are the dollar days at many Baltimore museums and attractions!

My children love the Children's Museum (picture above in the water room), the science center and the aquarium. All three are listed as participating again this year.

Check the guide to see if your favorite Baltimore destination is participating.

Pack a lunch and make a day of it, visit as many destinations as you can. For a buck it's worth it!!!

Logan is 9! Thank You Cards

If you've been reading the CocktailMom Blog for a while you know that I'm a huge fan of thank you cards. I think sitting and writing a handwritten thank you note is such an important lesson for parents to teach their children. Not only does it develop their handwriting and letter writing abilities but it also teaches them to acknowledge thanks and to be mindful of living life with compassion to others.

Here are a few of Logan's previous thank you cards over the years; Age 7, Age 6, Age 5.

This year Logan had a New York themed birthday party and we made party hats out of MTA subway maps that I printed onto card stock. Using the leftover scraps of paper from the party hats I made small party hats to adhere to white card stock and decorated with a black sharpie. All of the birthday party thank you cards includes a current photo of the child. And Logan wrote on the back of each card thanking the person for his gift and coming to his party.

If you don't already send out thank you notes, have your children start this holiday season. It's never too late to begin a new tradition.

Routine

Aim for what you want and go for it!

POPular Teacher Appreciation Gift

At my children's school we have a PTA Hospitality Committee, volunteer parents who every month surprise the teachers with a little goodie in their mailbox. Our goal is to extend Teacher Appreciation for the entire school year. We live in a county where the teachers have not seen a raise in many years and as parents we want them to know how much we appreciate their hard work for our children.

September was my month and when I saw this recipe all over Pinterest I knew I had to try it. I actually loathe popcorn and I realize that I am a small percentage of the population who feels this way about popcorn.

I followed Nest of Posies' recipe; I did batches of 3 microwave bags of popcorn to 1 bag of candy melts and simply eyeballed the amount of m&ms in each batch. I will warn you- the best way to get the popcorn coated without breaking the puffed kernels into tiny specks is to get dirty and mix it with your hands.

 I divided the treats into small plastic bags and tied with ribbon and a tag, I used the wonderful free printable over at Domesticated Lady. Surprise your children's teachers with a quick, easy and affordable treat.

Click on the image to enlarge to print.

Halloween Lunch Box Fun Printable

My boys LOVE Halloween. They also love jokes. We have several joke books laying around the house just in case the moment calls for a good knock-knock-joke.
When I saw this free printable on Today's Creative Blog, I knew I'd have to share them with you.
Click on the image above and print out, place one joke in your child's lunchbox to count down the days till Halloween.

Routine

"No object is mysterious.  The mystery is your eye."  

   ~Elizabeth Bowen, The House in Paris, 1935

Mommy's Time Out

Do you feel like you never have time for yourself? You give and give...

• to your spouse 
• your kids
• your kids' school
• your job
• your kids' sports team
• your extended family
• the dog...and the list goes on and on.

Where are you on that list?

If you are like many moms you are at the bottom of that list, typically after the dog. This has got to change- TODAY!

I know many women who give until they have nothing left, exhausted physically, emotionally and mentally. Finally her spouse notices and rewards her with a day at the spa, friends ooh-and-ahh at how lucky she is to spend the day relaxing only concerning herself with what type of massage to get. But then the day after the spa visit life resumes back to "normal", she is back to giving until her well runs dry yet again.
I use to be one of those moms, putting myself at the bottom of the list of needs. And then I woke up; unhappy in my marriage, unhappy with myself and my life's purpose. So I overhauled my life. I got a divorce, started my own business and began putting myself at the top of the list.

Now I'm not suggesting you get a divorce or change careers; unless you are headed in that direction. What I am suggesting is that you make yourself a priority EVERY DAY!
Take five minutes and sit on a pillow or in a chair, close your eyes and breathe.
Just breathe.
Turn off your Facebook and email alerts, silence your phone. Inform your spouse and children that when you are sitting on the pillow with your eyes closed you are NOT to be disturbed. This will be hard for them, so it's best to choose a time of day when there is not a lot of activity going on. That doesn't mean when no one is home, they can be there too. Just inform them of the new rule and that you expect them to be respectful of your time.

Allow yourself five minutes to clear your mind and fill your well. The world will not come to an end because Mommy sat down and breathed for 5 minutes.
You deserve this- make yourself a priority TODAY!

Organize that Junk Drawer!

We all have that kitchen drawer that holds the odds and ends of our life. Some refer to it as the "junk drawer", housing such items as take out menus, rubber bands and watch batteries. In my house we have a vitamin drawer, which also holds other bits of randomness.... box tops for education, essential oils, chore magnets etc.
Using berry baskets and the Styrofoam containers that mushrooms are sold in is a great way to organize your kitchen drawers that catch the randomness of your life.
Sure you could go to Target and buy cute, hot pink plastic organizing baskets....but why?
Who is coming to your house to check out your junk drawer? No one is seeing it but you, save your money for family vacation!

Instead of recycling those mushroom Styrofoam containers- give them another lease on life.
Tackle that junk drawer- once and for all!

College Park Patch: Walking Children Through a Death in the Family

                                                                                                   This article was originally published on the College Park Patch.

We are coming up on the one-year anniversary of the death of a dear friend of mine.

I met Monte in college. He was flamboyant and loud and, as a freshman away from home, I was both terrified and fascinated by him.

He had a voice like a gospel angel and wasn’t afraid of conducting a public performance, wherever that might be: Walgreens, a bar or restaurant or randomly in the middle of the sidewalk in New York City where we both went to live after college. When his spirit was moved to song… he sang!

Monte struggled with cancer and died too young at 39 years old. I've been thinking about Monte a lot lately, I’ve been having dreams about him and I know it’s because the anniversary of him dying is only days away. Randomly, when I see someone that reminds me of him or hear a song that I know he’d like, my eyes begin to tear up and I’m instantly reminded that he isn’t here to pick up the phone and call to tell unimportant details of my day to.

“Oh my word Monte, you’ll never believe what this woman at the DMV is wearing!”

My children have noticed my moments of sadness. The other day, out of the blue, my youngest son said, “Mommy can we watch that video of your friend singing to L in your belly?”

I have a video of Monte singing to my belly at my baby shower when I was pregnant with L. If the house were on fire, I’d grab my children and that VHS tape and run. 

We watched it and halfway through my older son appeared in the room, realizing what were watching and said, “I want to see it from the beginning!” So we watched it again and again, never tiring of hearing his beloved voice.

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