The Kind of Mom I Want To Be

Every now and then I stop to think about the kind of mom I want to be, the kind of mom I hope I am and the kind of mom that I want to change.  Life can get crazy and we make mistakes.  My prayer is that my mistakes are far and few in between, but honestly sometimes they are close and too many for my liking.  I fail. I struggle with the balance of household chores, school, and just being and enjoying my kids.  Maybe I stress a little too much sometimes. I will never be the perfect mom that I want to be, but I will never give up trying.  I have an awesome God who stands by me and gives me strength when I need it and forgives when I need it. I have a husband who encourages me to stand up and try again when I fail. I have loving kids that forgive in a heartbeat, they show me God's love in their quick and unconditional forgiveness and love.

So what do I imagine when I think of the mom I want to be?  I think of snuggles, lots and lots of snuggles.  Have I snuggled my kids enough today?  I think of hugs and kisses, an over abundance of hugs and kisses.  Have I hugged and kissed my kids enough today?  I think of play, inside, outside, silly, good old fashioned fun play. Have I played enough with my kids today?  Have I played with my kids at all?  I think of crafts and baking. Have I been creative with my kids today?  I think of laughter.  Have I laughed with my kids today?  Can we laugh more? I think of smiles.  Have I smiled at my kids today? I imagine one day when my kids are grown and they're looking back on life's memories, they will have more happy memories than they can count.  I imagine they will remember the Christmas cookies we baked and decorated, yes it was messy and they may not have been the 'prettiest' Christmas cookies, but they were our Christmas cookies and so much more. They were our memories.  I imagine they will remember climbing trees and Mama taking pictures and saying how strong they were.  I imagine they will remember all those silly stories we made up that were so funny we would crack up together.  I imagine they will remember hide-and-seek, telling jokes, walks, bike rides, dolphin cruises and so much more.  I imagine that when they remember; a smile will sneak it's way onto their face, they will feel warm, happy, content and loved. 

We don't know how long we have. "Life is but a vapor". We need to live this way everyday, not in going places and doing things, making checks off our bucket lists. But in loving, being and giving.  So I'm off to take some of my own advice and live this day loving, being and giving to the fullest.

Craftiness

I am not the best blogger, but you probably already know that.  I am one of those people who always have to have at least one project in the works and a million  ideas floating around in my head at all times. I may be a little ADD when it comes to things, because sometimes my projects tend to sit especially if I get frustrated with them or I'm just not really inspired by them.  I love to love what I am working on and if I don't love it I just don't enjoy it.  That is why I would rather sew an entire new outfit than sew a button on. :-P
I absolutely love my latest projects and I couldn't wait to share.  I made these for a dear friend's soon to be little man.  Her husband recently joined the Marine Corp so that became my theme.

First up the car seat cover.  I love how sharp this turned out.  It looks even better in person.

 And next the Marine Corp cover and cocoon. All that's missing is the globe and anchor button for the front of the cover.

Patterns used:
Car seat cover is my own design with ideas I picked up from several blog tutorials out there.

Marine Corp Cover pattern can be found and purchased at Penguin Place Props on etsy.
I will be honest this pattern was a bit confusing, but once I figured it out worked up easily and quickly. 

Cocoon pattern can be found at Melody Crochet blog for free.
This pattern was super easy and quick.  No confusion here. ;-)