A Mommy Respite

I love being a mom. I love my kids. I love my husband. I even, sort-of, love my dog.

So call me crazy (which you might) but why, on a day celebrating being a mom, would I want all those things gone?

Am I saying I don't enjoy free time? Not at all. Breaks are great. Alone time is great. I'm saying, to feel truly special on Mother's Day, give me a day off from the other stuff.

You know what I'm talking about: the late nights, early mornings, being the last to eat at every meal, constantly washing dishes and picking up toys, diaper changes, dinner plans, lunch plans, breakfast plans (you get it), getting kids dressed, brushing teeth, putting them down for naps, getting them up from naps. And about a thousand other things.

What I want more than a day by myself is a day with my family and a break from all that. The stuff I don't necessarily LOVE to do every day, 365 days a year. All the "extra" stuff that motherhood seems to come hand in hand with.

Just one day where I don't have to do it all - where I can just play with my kids, read book after book with my baby on the couch, push my toddler on the swings as long as she wants, hang out with my husband, eat as many Oreos as I want, or take a nap with my dog. No chores. No cooking. Certainly no diaper changes. Definitely no trips to Walmart.

A Mother's Day respite for me isn't a break from my family it's a break from those little things we do each day that often go unnoticed.

So, to my family, I know you love me. I get it. I don't need, or want, you to buy me things. I don't need expensive spa treatments (though I'm not opposed to them on occasion, maybe my birthday!). I just want you. Only you. Because I love being your mom.

DIY Coloring Page Tshirt

So, I had a problem. My daughter is SO in to Doc McStuffins right now it is CRAZY. But I can't afford to get all the "stuff" because I'm not sure if it will last a week or a year. So, I have been DIY-ing some things for her: felt characters for her board, felt Band-Aids for her doctor kit, etc.

I Google coloring pages ALL the time for whatever she likes at the moment. I happened to think, 'I could paint this onto a shirt!' So I decided to try.

I made Stuffy first on a blue shirt. That one was just okay, but she liked it. I decided to try again and make some changes. Since it is a coloring book page, I decided to try Lambie because she's white and pink. Easy colors. So I painted her black and added two felt pink additions (her skirt and bow).

A couple moms asked how I made it, so I decided to make another and take pictures this time because ANYONE can do this. It's so easy. I decided to make Olaf for my niece's birthday. He's also easy! White and black and a flashy orange nose.

Here's what you need:

a picture (from a coloring book or just Google Image ANY character you like)

black puffy paint

a white shirt or dress (if you do a colored shirt, you can't trace the picture ... you have to stencil or free draw it, which I did with Stuffy on a blue shirt)

felt

scissors

a pencil

needle/thread (I used embroidery thread because I had it already)

First, put the picture under the shirt and trace on your picture to the shirt (you'll need good light to see it under the shirt) in pencil. Next, paint the lines black with the puffy paint. Try not to make it too puffy.

Next, choose something to POP in the picture. For Lambie, I chose her pink bow and pink skirt. For Olaf, I chose his orange nose. Cut THAT item out of the original picture and use it as a stencil on the felt. Cut out the item and outline the item in black, just like the picture has it.

Let dry OVER NIGHT.

Finally, stitch on the colored items using the same colored thread. You can use a basic stitch, but I like to back stitch for added strength. Whatever you like. But stitch inside the black paint (right along the outline).

I used the extra felt to make a bow for her hair, and you could add rick-rack to the dress for more color if you wanted to. Less is more, to me.

Do not wash for 36 hours (after painting), and I try to wash it inside out on a gentle cycle.

Easy Peasy, friends. I would make and sell these if I could legally.