DIY Lego Tray

My oldest is OBSESSED with Legos! He has so many and they were all over his room (we told him they had to stay in his room because they were getting everywhere in our house) and all over his floor!

So for his 7th birthday I decided to get creative: I love going to Antique stores with my parents and they always have handmade "Lego Trays" but they are always over $20 at the very least. There had to be a cheaper, better way for me to get this gift of my son. So we went to our local Goodwill and luckily they had an array trays there! I found a breakfast-in-bed type of tray where there were legs that extended and it was clean-ish and functioning. Bonus was the price: $3!

So then we went to our local Walmart and bought 2 Lego base plates for about $8 each. Now if you are adding up the numbers, yes it was over the $20 I didn't want to spend at an Antique store but those trays didn't stand up like this one does so I was willing to pay a little more for it.

So after cleaning the tray with multi-surface Windex, I followed the directions to use Gorilla Glue for the Lego bases.

And then used Lego pieces to make sure the bases were together the right way because putting them side by side would have left it impossible to build in the middle where they meet. There was a very small amount of space in between needed to make it smooth and build-able. Then I placed 2 huge glasses on top and allowed it to dry for 24 hours! 

Now our son has a Lego Tray of his own that he can keep his current project on and free from the cats, his little brother and the evil vacuum that loves eating Legos. 

Happy Mommy-ing!

The Proximity Best Friend

The definition of proximity is: nearness in space, time, or relationship. And the definition of best friend is: a person's closest friend. My mother has had the same best friend for decades now and I envy her. I have meant some really incredible ladies and it's been my privilege to call them my best friends. But it always happens for me, we move away from one another and slowly but surely the texts and conversations through social media start getting fewer and farther in between. That's not a bad thing mind you! It just means that they are busy having their lives wherever they are; even though I am no longer apart of it. I would never want them to be sitting around their houses, doing nothing just because I'm not around them. Heck no! I want them laughing, and loving life! 

While most people, like my mom, are super lucky to have just 1 incredible best friend for decades, I've been pretty lucky in my own right because I've had 6 in my short life time.

As a kid, there were these 2 guys I did everything with from the age of 6 until we hit age 16. Our parents were all heavily involved in church so we were always together. One of them got married to another one of my best friends, a lady I knew in college for an amazing few years. Whenever we were lonely, missing our husbands whom were out of town working all the time, she was always there to make sweets and watch Disney movies with. The other guy got married and they are all living their lives happily. We grew up and grew apart, as it sometimes happens. 

I also had a girl best friend from school during that time and we were always together from around 4th grade until high school. Now she's an awesome mom of 2, living a few states away from me. 

In the most recent years I have meant 2 incredible ladies: 1 went to school with my younger sister and after connecting through Facebook, we end up being best friends for 5 years. Doing everything together and even living next door to one another! She was there when I had my youngest son and she watched our oldest while we were in the hospital. Any mom knows if you're allowed to watch someone else's kids, especially over night, that means they trust immensely! Her husband got a different job and that was that. She moved away and is working herself, making new friends and enjoying her life as a mommy to a sweet lil guy. I'm so happy that she's having a great life in her new area! 

Now the last lady I had the incredible pleasure of calling my best friend was someone I knew less than a year. We met at a play-group for our younger kids and after a few times seeing and talking to each other a little, we clicked and became inseparable! We ended up teaching together twice a week and although play-group was only 2 hours (set up, teaching, and clean up) we often stayed hours after just talking about anything and everything in the parking lot! We just couldn't stop talking! We were like peas in a pod, or like peanut butter and jelly... when you saw one of us, you saw the other too. She made me believe I wasn't failing in my mommy journey, since there's a million parenting books out there but nothing truly works because as soon as you feel like you're getting ahead...the kids switch up the game on you. She was older than me with 2 sons around the same ages as mine so bouncing ideas off her really helped me and she never made me feel judged. When my husband was away on business and I had an abscessed tooth, she was there to watch my kids while I went to the dentist to get it looked at. And sadly when we found out we were moving due to my husband's work, she got together all the ladies from play-group and organized a going away party for me. And she also made car packs for me and my boys for our road trip to our new house. It's very hard saying goodbye and it's hard not seeing her everyday but I am grateful for the time we had together. 

I'm not bitter about not talking to these special people any more. Of course I miss them but I have my wonderful memories with them and the universe took us apart for a reason. So far in my new area I have met a wonderful lady with 2 boys around the age of my oldest and she just happens to be my neighbor! With each friendship, I learn from them about life, mommy-hood, marriage and about myself. I am very blessed by all the people that have been so special and dear to my heart. I am looking forward to the future friendships and hope these people know how very special they were/are to me. 

Happy Mommy-ing!

When Mommy Needs a "Mommy Moment"

Have you stopped today to tell yourself that you are amazing? I'm serious here! I once saw a comic strip depicting a "mom-bie" like a mom as a zombie. I think that and the picture of a mom as a super hero are the 2 most correct ways of describing moms everywhere!

Think about it for a moment...we moms do SO MUCH and so many things in just a day. My eldest the other day told me the same story about a game on his tablet over fifteen times in a matter of hours! He told the lady at the store, he told the guy at the gas station, he told his baby brother, he told his Great Grandmother on a Skype call and he even told the cat! My sweet husband, got to hear the story once. One time! While I heard it so many times that by the time we were eating dinner and he told his daddy it once, I was so frustrated that I blew up at him. My eldest just wanted to tell his story because he was excited and passionate and I blew right past it because I didn't want to hear it again. How shameful is that!? But what do you expect?

We as moms can't go to the bathroom by ourselves, or eat forbidden yummy foods without sharing. We have to multitask chores like dishes, laundry, making dinner and referring the kids. We do all this (and more sometimes!) while our husbands go potty for 45 minutes ALONE, read an enlightening article, watch hilarious videos, go to the gym, work on the car or on their new high score on a video game. Sure the husbands might work full time, stressful jobs so that we as stay-at-home moms can do just that: stay at home. I love being able to do just that! I really do appreciate that my husband works at a job that brings in enough money for me to get to stay home with my kids! However, his job ends once he's home and then he can relax. My job, as a mommy, is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year! It is a never ending job!
No wonder I blew up at my eldest after I had heard the same story all day... but I wonder if I had left the room or mentally checked out during that story, would I have reacted the same way? One of my dear friends said this once to me: "when my husband is off of work at 5PM, so am I. He is off the clock and so am I." That's a wonderful thought and that works well for her but someone's solution isn't always your solution. This test of life is not a cheat-able one; it's a scientific theory kind of test. Tons and tons of trial and error! I wonder if I would have taken a "mommy moment" to clear my head, and breathe deeply to calm myself if I would have reacted better and with more love.
Kids are like the water that slowly wears down a rock. It takes a little bit with every current. My patience wears down bit by bit, my happiness bit by bit and my love seems to sink while the anger comes full force. How horrible! How horrible to think that's what my children might only be seeing: my impatience, my unhappiness and my anger.
I stay up late in the evenings because I love the silence of my house. I love getting the house back in order and everything ready for the next morning. I watch my romantic dramas and crocheting. That's my favorite "mommy moment". I used to get up before everyone too, eat breakfast in peace, and have a cup of tea, while it's hot to get me going. I'd be dressed and fully ready for the day by the time I needed to wake up the kids and then I could focus on them. Unfortunately, late nights and early mornings don't work together and no one likes or gets along with a grumpy, tired mom! When my boys get frustrated or upset about something, I tell them to "cool off" for a bit, take a break from whatever is making them feel that way and relax. Why am I not doing it myself?! I should be "practicing what I preach"! Why not say, "I need a mommy moment" and cool off?! I think I'm a bad mom that's a bit too uptight... but I know that I can get to that happy mom status I'm so desperately trying to achieve. Maybe more "mommy moments" can help get me to that goal and help me show more love and happiness for my amazing boys!!

Happy Mommy-ing!

Holy Ink!

It happens to us all at one point or another, a pen was left in the wash and exploded in the dryer! WHAT. A. DISASTER! What do you do first?! Buy a new dryer and start over maybe?! 

Before you run out and spend hundreds of dollars, here is a simple solution: 

Nail polish remover works wonders on removing those ink stains in the dryer! Use gloves to prevent your fingers from getting stained with ink and getting dried out from the nail polish remover. Also make sure to have a fan or proper air flow to prevent any head or health issues. 

This was what my whole dryer looked like to begin with:

This is halfway through using paper towels and nail polish remover:

I had a nice pile of paper towels by the time I was finished cleaning:

My husband ending up lending me some of his elbow grease but it took the two of us less than 20 minutes to clean our whole dryer. It is not perfect but it looks a whole heck of a lot better than it did to begin with and now our clothes won't come out of the dryer with ink stains on them. We left the dryer open over night to make sure the alcohol fumes were completely away and I washed it with some soap and water on a rag. 

That's it! Simple solution for what seemed like a huge problem!

Happy Mommy-ing!