Making a No-Sew Ballerina Tutu for a Birthday Girl

I love fabric. If I could, I would have a job that would give me the excuse to visit the local fabric market every week in search of my next conquest. When I enter a fabric store, I always find beautiful fabric that, sadly, doesn't go with our home's color palette, our party's theme, or any possible project in the horizon. It truly pains me.

On the flip side, I'm overjoyed whenever I'm able to give a beautiful print or pattern its new home. I feel my true calling is to pair a fabric with a purpose: life as an upholstered coffee table, a fabulous future as home office blinds, or a courageous mission as a changing table cover (it's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it, cutely).

One hurdle to my dream? I can't sew. Or upholster. Or afford the materials or spare the time I'd need to learn.

But I can tie a knot—or 72. Which is why I'm glad there are no-sew projects any mom can do.

10 Links I Shared with Friends #6

Parenting

• Attachment bridging is a thing—and we need to be doing it (yummy mummy club)
• The different learning styles of kids. This explains so much. (feels like home)
• Books with lessons worth learning (smart parenting) 
• The secret to a zen baby (janet lansbury)

Productivity/Creativity

• Read these and start creating (shutterbean)
• Creativity and motherhood can mix. Here are tips. (psych central)
• Creativity starts with showing up (jonas ellison via medium)

Miscellany

• We need more role models for my daughter, like this scientist/inventor (time)
• Be your best self with these printable posters as inspiration (the girl creative)
• Thanks to the one who got away (craigslist via glamour)

Mom-Made! DIY Upcycled Cardboard Laptop Computer

I had no plans to do a DIY project today, but a housewide decluttering session threatened the stash of old cardboard boxes that I'd been saving for "some project, some day". Use 'em or lose 'em was the ultimatum. The decluttering also unearthed an old iPad case that I'd also been saving for a rainy, nothing-to-do day (this day, by the way, was neither). So, I got to work.

Why I'm Blogging: A New Mission Statement

If you give a mom a blog, she will overthink it (or maybe that's just me). But the more I blog, the more I'm learning about what I want this space to become.

The truth is, I haven't told anyone about this blog. The problem with me and any project that I start is that after I take the first step, the step that's way up there beyond my reach suddenly seems so appealing. Give me a potted succulent and I will start Googling propagation. Give me an oven and I'll want to make a layer cake. 

It's the reason it took me so long to get this blog started in the first place. After I quit blogging after college (on Blogger, when it was still Blogger—I even had the t-shirt),  I tried to start a new blog at least six times, always stopping after the first entry, always stuck in draft mode. On my computer, I've started so many blog folders that the one I'm working with right now is called "Blog Again—Really." Whatever I did just never seemed good enough. Nothing I did was ever at par with all the shiny, pretty blogs out there. Of course, I knew it had taken them years of practice and polishing to get that way, but try telling that to this perfectionist.

And if that's how much I second-guess my blog and myself as a blogger , you can probably guess how harshly I judge myself as a mom.

There are a lot of amazing moms in the blogosphere who can do it all: teach homeschool while running their own business or creative endeavor while wearing the trendiest, figure-flattering clothes while staying slim even though they cook the most delicious dishes, all while remaining charmingly humble and relatable. How I wish that were me, but I'm finally (almost) making my peace with the fact that that's not who I am.

For one thing, I can't cook. I can't tell you how to get fit after baby or how to look stylish in a nursing top. I don't know how to choose the right lipstick for you skin tone. And I can't even fake wanting to learn.

The thing is, I shouldn't have to. 

It's time to let go. It's exhausting just thinking about trying to keep up with the moms with the budget, the body, the blog experience, and the business savvy needed to be that mom. More power to them; I'll enjoy watching their lives blossom and their children grow from the comfort of my unmade bed (and the discomfort of the monoblock chair I crop out of every home office photo). As for my blog, my life, I can only bring to the table what I have:

Words. Ideas. A love for learning. The courage to make mistakes and admit them. And the two cutest multicultural kids east of Manila. 

So here's what you'll be seeing more of moving forward:

• Playtime and playschool ideas (and war stories) 
• Products, places, books, and other things we love 
• Creativity prompts for the busy and sleep-deprived 
• Nap time projects and printables
• Words to live by
• Shared knowledge (I will always, always be learning something new!)
• Stories from my life as a mom of a toddler/preschooler and an infant

The craft projects and artwork won't always be pretty  The reflections won't always be positive or have a happy ending. The mom you see won't always have her hair brushed or her act together. I think I'll be okay with that. I hope you will be, too. 

Maybe you're a mom like me: a reforming perfectionist trying to embrace and engage with the messiness of life. If you are, say hi, stick around, and grow with me! It's going to be an interesting journey!

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Starting Out with Cloth Diapers (Again!)

Our tiny baby has grown! He's more than doubled his birth weight and is quite the chubster (Sorry, J. I promise we will never call you that when you're older.). While we're sad that he's outgrowing his newborn and 0-3 month clothes much faster than we'd thought he would, we're glad to be able to use our cloth diaper stash again for our second baby. With the cost of disposable diapers—and the number of times in a day that this little milk monster needs a change—I think Papa is especially looking forward to having a lower grocery bill. Me, can't lie, I'm mostly looking forward to the cloth diaper cuteness!