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A Walk Down The Aisle.. The Frozen Food Aisle That Is!

Miranda — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:28:57 +0000

I would like to blame my sudden health freak behavior on my sister who’s lost a ton of weight over the past couple years and who now looks like she could be my younger sister as she’s quite the inspiration but truth be told.. she doesn’t have much to do with this, okay, a little but not really. You see, a month ago I was grocery shopping. No big deal and nothing new until I was walking down the frozen food section and I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass doors.

IT.

WAS.

SO.

SAD? AWFUL? HORRIFYING? I’m not even sure there was a word for what I felt in that moment.

I had bags under my eyes, my hair was a mess, the makeup I had on didn’t cover up nearly as much as I thought it did, and to top it all off I realized my butt, hips, and thighs were big.. like the biggest I’d ever seen them. Oh, and my three year old was crying while my nine year old was begging for TV dinners. I didn’t even recognize myself anymore.

Who was that sleep-deprived chunky-butt girl with the whiny kids and ugly hair? Was it really me? I stared at the reflection of myself so long I think I went cross-eyed before realizing that hating myself wasn’t going to do me any good. My kids were just having a moment but what was MY excuse for looking like the walking dead with a bloated tush? I had none.

That was the day I decided I would no longer be THAT girl and I began to do something about it. I couldn’t keep eating the way I’d been eating so I’ve been counting calories for a month, making healthier eating choices, and I’ve become more active and exercise regularly (as my heart allows me to of course). I’ve lost 8 pounds in one month and my pants are starting to fit differently. I feel like I’m in control of my out-of-control body now and I feel good about that. I don’t think I’m fat necessarily but I see problem areas and I realized I just needed to take better care of myself.. and invest in some better under eye concealer. It’s just too easy as moms to put ourselves on the backburner while we care for our families and it just took me a walk down the frozen food aisle to see that it isn’t just my family that is important.. I am too and I need to treat myself better. No more excuses.

My Thoughts on Motherhood

Miranda — Sun, 09 May 2010 07:13:21 +0000

I begin my day every day at 6:30 a.m. if not earlier. I never get vacation days and I certainly don’t get sick days. I clean vomit (unless my husband is around and then I make him), snot, and other disgusting things I never imagined myself coming close to. I often go to the store clothed in child-stained shirts. I feel like a taxi driver, the maid, a nurse, and quite frankly completely underpaid. I’m the butt-wiper, the laundry lady, the chef, the entertainer, the teacher, the receiver of dirty looks, and the list goes on. I enjoy long nap times, bed time, and headache medication… I’m just like every other mom. Strangely enough I think this is the best job ever. Thankfully the good outweighs the bad more often than not.

Motherhood really is such a rewarding job. I’m showered with sticky hugs and slobbery kisses a billion times a day. I’m told “I wub you mommy” by my three year old at least 20 times a day and my nine year old often tells me “I’m glad you’re my mom” or “you’re a good mom” when she’s not giving me dirty looks of course. I get to hear my children laughing, singing, playing, and learning and it’s awesome. They’re happy and healthy and I love them more than life itself. I live for giggles, tickles, belly laughs, rocking my youngest to sleep at night, story time, and I melt when they smile at me. I remember vividly the first time I got to hold each of them, their funny little first smiles, their silly first laughs, their clumsy first steps. I spend a lot of time wishing the day would go by faster but in the end I always wish time would slow down or that I had just a little more time to enjoy them being this young.

“Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.” – Lin Yutang

What is your favorite mommy moment?

Best Felt Food Patterns From Around the Web

Miranda — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:21:00 +0000

Inquiring minds want to know where I got some of my patterns.. well, I used some patterns that I purchased online and also made up some by myself. I also found a lot of free felt food patterns as well and I’m finding more and more across the web as time goes by. I became interested in making felt food when I decided to buy my son a pretend kitchen for Christmas last year. After coming across felt food patterns on Etsy I’ve been completely hooked ever since. It’s a great alternative to plastic play foods and let’s face it, it’s CUTE! It’s detailed and makes play time so much more fun for the kids and making it is a bit addicting to say the least. So I know you didn’t all come here for me, you came here for the huge list of free patterns and tutorials for felt food that I’ve acquired over this past year and that I continue to add to as time goes by. Here goes…

1. Felt donut

2. Fried Eggs and Orange Slices (when I printed this one it didn’t print the right size but it gave me the general idea so I could figure it out myself.)

3. Ravioli (I just LOVED making these!)

4. Whipped Cream or Ice Cream (whichever size you prefer to make it)

5. Felt Fortune Cookies (clicking on “felt fortune cookies” will download the PDF file)

6. Felt Cherries

7. My very own Felt Cookie Tutorial (if you have printing issues please let me know so I can fix it)

8. Felt Strawberry

9. Felt Cupcake tutorial

10. Felt Pizza Tutorial

11. Small Bread Loaf (even has a cute smiley face)

12. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Tutorial

13. Felt Oreo Cookie or Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich

14. Waffle Cone & Ice Cream Tutorial

15. Felt Peas in a Pod Tutorial

16. Felt Sandwich & Chips Tutorial

17. Felt Chinese Takeout Box

18. Free Pattern & Tutorial for animal cookies

19. Felt picnic basket

20. Slice of cake

21. Strawberry Scroll Dessert

22. Corned Beef and Cabbage with Baby Carrots

23. Popsicle, Tomato, and Lemon Slices

24. Felt Lettuce

25. Felt Paper Bag

26. Cut Apart Felt Carrot

27. Cherry Pie

28. Marshmallow Peeps or Bunny

29. Banana in Peel

30. Corn in Husk

31. Salty Crackers

32. Layered Cake, Cake Slices, and Decorations

33. Cherry Pie (Martha Stewart)

34. Fortune Cookies (video)

35. Felt Carrot Tutorial & Pattern

My favorite felt food patterns available for purchase:

1. Gulf Coast Cottage
I bought most of my patterns from her including:
* Bountiful Harvest Felt Food PDF Pattern
* Little Cake Decorator Set Pattern
* Tea Party Sweets Pattern
* Market Tote with Groceries Pattern (I bought this specifically for the paper bag and modified my pattern since I wanted it to be taller and bigger)
* Peanut Butter & Jelly Lunch Set

I bought them but didn’t necessarily use all the patterns, I just didn’t have the time but I plan to at some point. She also has a buy 3 get 1 free sale right now! I really loved her patterns and the instructions were so easy to follow along with.

2. July Hobby (she has really cute patterns, I love the Happy Meal set)

3. Ume Crafts (great detailed felt food items but still looks easy to make)

4. Bugga Bugs (tons of cute patterns, I’m loving her homemade bread set and the chinese take out)

5. Little Cricket (fun patterns like the Ballpark Fun pattern can be found here)