Let Her Eat Cake!

Our daughter will be 3 years old very soon. In preparation for her birthday I've asked her a couple questions, including what kind of cake she wants. She wants a pink cake with her picture on it. Ok. I'm thinking, how can i put her picture on a cake without doing one of those edible photo things?? I'm not sure how she'd feel about a knife going through her photo or someone eating her face, right!?

Bonjour Wilton. I love this idea of putting a plastic picture frame on top of a cake. Now this princess cake is bit blah for me, but the frame on top couldn't get any easier! 

Oh yes, she loves princesses...another idea (thanks mom!) is to simply place a princess tiara (like this one) on top of a cake. I would swap out Jasmine's photo with a photo of our princess, and voila, a princess cake with her picture on it.

I think cakes can make us feel special. If we're lucky enough, we have photos of ourselves as children in front of our birthday cakes, tongues wagging, waiting to dive in! 

Why wait for a "special" occasion to eat cake? If it means hitting your local grocery store and picking up something Yum - Do It! Let's enjoy our lives, that's what they are there for!

Good for Fall - Sparkly Nail Treatment (!)

Yes! Bling up your hands/feet with a little sparkle this fall - check out this easy glitter glue treatment...
If not for everyday, perhaps Halloween? From here. P.S. I love stone colours for nails...

[Short cut - 2 coats of each: polish, glitter glue, clear lacquer)

Still Updating the Baby Book...

Ok. Our daughter will be 3 in less than 3 weeks (what?! subject for another post) and I'm STILL updating her baby book. How is this possible? How can I remember what happened those sleep deprived days and nights ago? Well I'll tell you...it's been part improvisation as far as dates and first go (When did she sleep through the night? Really? I can't remember when I slept through the night).

I've put pressure on myself to fill in every little detail and there are so, so, many details I'm "supposed" to remember. Yes, I know I was "supposed" to fill everything in the first year, not three years later...but in time of warfare and pure survival the last thing on my mind was to grab the baby book and a pen.

 I did pretty well, I think. Even so, I still sat there the other day sweating over the blanks taunting me: "What?! You don't remember when your child got her 3rd tooth (really)?"... Finally, finally I resigned myself to the fact that I was not going to complete the book the way I thought it should be completed. I felt like I hit the wall and put the pen down. Done and done and done. I want to be the perfect mother but I know that perfection is boring and unrealistic. I'm trying not to feel guilty and you know what, a few days later I don't.

In fact I've got a great idea...

There should be a Book of First for Parents. Here are some momentous firsts I think would be suitable:

FIRST TIME YOU:

• though, oh God...what have we done?
• used your hand as a baby wipe
• accused your husband of "pretending" to sleep in the middle of the night so they didn't have to get up and attend to the crying baby (because they were pretending to sleep!)
• pretended YOU were sleeping in the middle of the night so your husband had to get up and attend to the crying baby (I recommend this)
• cried over a pile of laundry that seemed to multiply before your eyes
• felt like asking for a divorce when your husband asked, "what's for dinner?"
• tried to assemble an outfit that didn't have bodily fluid on it and accepted that this was no longer possible
• locked yourself in the bathroom and lied that you had diarrhea so you could just get a moment to yourself (I haven't done this, yet)
• considered grocery shopping as an exciting night out
• picked your child's nose with your hand, held it up and shouted, "I GOT IT!"
• decided that you may was well laugh about things or else you may as well shoot yourself in the foot (my grandma's suggestion)

I love where I'm at in my life. I know that it's going by way too fast and soon I look back on things like baby books I'll be happy I took the time to fill out the details (the funniest things so far are looking back at what my daughter has said at what age...). Whether it was April 28 or June 1 - who cares? Nobody will know but you.

Recycled Book Page Bird Ornament

This recycled book page bird ornament would be pretty on a card, as a gift tag, on the christmas tree or even as a fridge magnet. I would only love it more if it was fashioned out of pages from an old dictionary. From here.

What do you know, it's Wednesday...

I'm tired. The baby is sick. The house needs a good cleaning (walls and everything). I want our basement renos finished, now. We have paperwork to sort through and complete asap (as in four months ago). I feel like a nag and at the same time I don't want to do any of it...in fact I don't want to do anything...

Blah. It's Wednesday. It's supposed to be the original The We Can Do It Day but today it feels more like the I Suck and Don't Want To Do Anything But Run Away Day.

I want to feel better. So, with all that being said (and a lot more being held back), I'm going to try my best to have a better Wednesday...starting...now, if you'd care to join me...

This post (Trials and Tribulations of Motherhood) has a link to Karen Maezen Miller's Book and Blog Momma Zen. It's good. Here's a excerpt from her August newsletter that has been sitting in my inbox, unread, until today. I've copy pasted it all. Maybe you're lucky enough to be somewhere in the States and can attend a retreat? The links to the blogs are good (note: not all of them are Karen Maezen Miller's).

Voila. I feel a little better already.

The rest is easy

Let the future come to you. – Momma Zen

The future haunts these dwindling days of summer. Around the corner, school starts, if it hasn't already. Ready or not comes the rush and tumble of fall, the holidays – bam! – and the year's over. Or at least, we live that way. Are you living that way today? Racing toward the end of something? Getting ahead of yourself?
 
My daughter turned 12 last week. Yes, the baby in the book turned 12. She said to me "Mom, this year has gone by so fast!" Then I knew she had merged into the fast lane, the lane I'm trying to exit, where the days whirr past the window like tumbleweeds.
 
Here is your invitation to slow down for a day, to focus on the scenery and not the road. Ready or not the future always arrives on schedule. And this way, you might notice what is right here.

Mother yourself – Do you give yourself permission to rest?

Look at me – "What have you done with your life?"

Making a pie – The principal ingredient to human healing.

Taking some shots – Before the bus comes.

Showing up – To right here.

Easy ways in

The Art of Mindfulness retreat in Houston, Sat., Sept. 10. Having the good life is simple when you savor the one you have. Plug in discount code: MAEZEN for special savings on registration.The Practice of Everyday Life weekend retreat at Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado, Fri., Sept. 16-Sun. Sept. 18. Deeply personal, deeply practical.The Plunge retreat Sat., Oct. 1 in Pittsburgh. The peace and patience you thought you'd lost forever.Love Beyond Limits workshop Sat., Oct. 22 in Athens, Georgia.

No Sew Felt Wine Bags

Wouldn't you be happy to receive one of these no-sew felt wine bags (complete with wine, perhaps!)?From here.

P.S. It's only 4 months until Christmas...