Tales of #MOMLIFE

I know this is coming days late but since the Hubby could have seen this ahead of time I couldn't post. Anyway, just wanted to share this super quick but super cute Father's Day gift that Aria made for her daddy.

For this project I used permanent markers and a white mug that I snatched up from Target (10% off with cartwheel. Score!) And yes, I let my two-year old use permanent markers. We went one at a time and she managed to keep it off of her body. Woot! So first I printed off the word DAD onvinyl with my handy dandy cricut. Then I stuck it on the mug and let Aria have at it with the markers. She was pretty stoked. I then let the ink dry a bit and took off the letters. Lastly, bake the sucker on 375 for 30 minutes to make it permanent and voila!



You can find the original source here. She used paint with her little ones but since I have used permanent marker in the same fashion before, I stuck with those. Personal preference.  You can definitely use this technique in many different ways for all sorts of cool things. Let me know what sorts of awesome projects like this that you imagine up!

Well, I officially made it through day one of staying home with Aria and as I lay here nodding off I realize I may have been a little ambitious. I guess ambitious is the best word here. Altogether though, the day was a great success with only one meltdown. Yay for me!

 We started off with what I was trying to make a healthy breakfast. Needless to say, blueberries did not go over well with Aria. I'll give them one more try but I'm thinking those need to come off of the list. Her face as she stuck the blueberry in her mouth was nothing less than priceless. Even Mommy over-exaggerating about how AMAZING those little blue things taste didn't do the trick. At least she ate some and we were off on our walk. Aria was very excited about getting in her stroller and "driving" around, hitting the music button over, and over, and over, and over again. Another thing I learned today, bring headphones tomorrow.
I'm pretty proud of how well Aria is playing by herself these days. I purposefully scheduled independent play into our daily schedule so that I can get a few things done. I was able to send e-mails regarding potential teaching jobs and started working on our PCS binder. During this time Aria played in her swimming pool (in the living room) and tortured poor Riley with her squeals and screams.

 I have very lofty goals for this summer for teaching Aria. I really want her to know her basic colors and be able to count to at least 5. Today we worked on colors. Her favorite is apparently blue, because every color was blue, blue, blue. Pretty cute huh? Anyways, I colored large colored circles on paper plates and got out our trusty fruit loops. We found fruit loops in every color and repeated the color names. Then, we sorted them together. She desperately wanted to do it all on her own so I gave her a handful and let her have at it. She did so well! I was pretty impressed. If you haven't already, check out my Instagram for a short video of her sorting the colors. This was such an easy and quick little activity but so very effective! I would recommend giving it a shot if you are teaching your little one basic colors.



 After nap-time we made our way to the park and played to our little hearts' content. It's so much fun to watch her run around with her little horsey prance climbing and sliding and doing it all over again. I will never get used to how cute she is. Ever.

 We ended our day with some yummy ice cream and was joined by daddy. All in all a great day, but one that left me super exhausted. Successful first day!!

                               


 

As we are ending Aria's first stint at daycare and I am looking back at her 2 years there, I can't help but start to realize all of the "rules" I have broken over the past two years. This became very apparent today as I left daycare without Aria. (Sidebar: I love Aria's daycare and have been very pleased with most of her teachers and the staff. Sometimes though, mommy just really needs a break!)

Today is King Kamehameha day here in Hawaii and naturally daycare had a little gathering to celebrate, so Daddy and I made sure to both be there. Let me just tell you, it was a BIG deal to a couple of her teachers that we were there. Obviously during the school year I am working and Daddy is always working, but I have found that one of the unspoken rules is you need to show up. Doesn't matter if you are on your death bed. When you don't show up you get the inevitable guilt trip. "Oh Mom, we really missed you today!" "Dad, Aria had fun making things with the other parents." Wow. Just wow. Being a working mom is hard. Like, really hard. I believe they reminded me 10 times about this event because they knew I was off work. I am fully aware that Aria will have many things that I won't be able to attend but I will always be there for the big things. As a working mom, I have to make sacrifices. Are you with me moms?

Another rule: check your child's cubby. Often. Oops, I carried out 20 sheets of finger painting today... 20. Again, I was told at least 5 times to clean it out as if I would forget in the 30 minutes I was there. I will keep this in mind for her next daycare. Granted that when we drop her off in the morning, she goes to room D4. When we pick her up, she's in room B4 and the other room is locked. So yeah.

And the biggest oopsie daisy today was leaving Aria at daycare after the event when everyone knew I was off work. "Oh Mom where is Aria? She must be sad she has to stay here!" In my defense, I only have two more days of freedom. And I take that very seriously! Haha! All us moms know that running errands with our little ones is super difficult. So when I have to run to the store, why take her when I don't have to? I wanted to peruse the makeup section and clearance racks without calling for Aria to stay put or hearing her scream because I put her in a cart. Maybe its because its been years since these ladies have had children, but let me just tell you, it was worth the guilty comments. I snagged three new lipsticks and some new eye shadow while also hitting the clearance tent for beach stuff and grabbing some things just for Aria.

I'm positive I have done many other things that have ensured I won't win the mommy of the year award in their eyes over the past two years (like "letting" Aria get bitten by mosquitoes or forgetting to bring wipes.) But I have come to realize that their are always going to be those that question my amazing mommy skills. But for those that question them I have just as many who are in the same boat. Mommies who are doing their absolute best for their little ones. Who don't always know the answers and may frantically call their own mommies for help now and then. Moms who work and feel guilty when they miss those little daycare events, but know that in the long run they are doing what is best for their families. I have come to realize that I am a strong mom. Sometimes we need to toot our own horns. ;)

Aria loved making leis, by the way, and I was very impressed with her lei making skills. She's a little pro! Mommy and Daddy didn't do half bad either!