I'm gonna brag (part deux)

About a month ago I posted the Mother's Day gift I received from Ella (read it here).  Kids are so unfiltered and so precious.  Of course I cannot leave out the thoughtful gift from my other daughter, Rose (9). Along with a copy of her class picture, she gave me a book with a lovely letter and a story about helping me. It always amazes me what kids pick up on, not thinking that they will ever remember, or even cared about a particular event or gift. But they are definitely little "sponges".  This story turned out to be more about her helping me (which in my book is a wonderful Mother's Day gift - any day of the week!) than it was about how I made her feel.  Apparently, it make her feel super special to take the lead. 
Rose's story reads:

"One time when I helped my mom was when I woke up early and got dressed, fed my dog Tate, and then quietly woke up Ella, my sister. After I woke up Ella, I went up stairs and packed the lunches. I packed a PB and J sandwich, some pretzels, 2 cuties (oranges, and a bag of M&M's. What I felt when my mom woke up and I told her what I did - I really felt her thanking me because my mom just had a baby and she wakes up like, 3 times each night. I tried to get her to go back to sleep but she said no! And I poured her coffee and my step dad came back and he was so happy that we got to go to the mall and pick out lunch from the food bank (this was supposed to read "court" ha! ha!) at the mall. And I thought that my mom would just tell my step dad that "Rose woke up early and packed the lunches" But no. My step dad really said when we were eating lunch "Thank you so much for helping your mom. I really do appreciate it!". I took that as 2 whole thank yous, just because I packed the lunches. I thought it would be no big deal. But my mom and step dad took it very deeply and seriously. And now I just really want to squeeze my mom and my step dad because they thanked me for just packing lunches."

Wow! I had no idea she would love picking out her own lunch at the food bank, errr, food court  (ha! ha!) so much. It was definitely something she remembered. And of course, I remember that morning and how much it meant to me to have her help. Rose is going to be a good little mommy when she grows up!

I'm gonna brag (part un)

I LOVE the little projects I get from my kiddos. They are usually pretty well thought out from the teachers (usually the art teacher) at school. I've got all their little nick-nacks displayed on my end-table shelves for any of our guests to look at. This year I was so pleasantly surprised to receive sweet sentiments from my girls. I want to share with you Ella's little love "book". She was so proud to hand the book to me and point out her best pictures and why she chose the order she did.

The most charming part of her gift was the card, which reads:

Happy Mother's Day!
Dear Mom, You look after me like I'm an egg in your nest.
I need you to keep me warm and cozy.
I love you with all my heart!
Love, Ella

Such darling words from my dear girl - she totally makes my heart smile.

What did your kiddos make you?

Mama's Day

I had the best Mama's Day ever. I have a new little boy, I've got two great girls and an AMAZING husband who makes me want to be a great mom and wife. He is truly is a gift from God. This year, I was so lucky to wake up to a new pair of shoes and a gift card to spend however I want. We even ended the night by eating chocolate cake in bed. (If you know me, you know I love my sweets, and especially love them in bed!)

I decided on a few personalized items for our mom's this year - we've got three of them to buy for. A Grandma, Grammy and a Nana - they all mean so much to us and it's tough to show your love/appreciation with just a gift. I love anything personalized so the gifts were easy.

For Grandma F. - She's always admiring a our mantle art so I thought I would make one of her own. It was super easy to create and with millions of fonts and colors you can create something that suits your personal style best. This quick project took only a few supplies (stretched canvas, acrylic paint, paint sponge) and a vinyl wall letter, for us it was an "F" for Ford (I made sure the letter was 2" smaller than my canvas to create and inch on top and bottom - you do what feels right). You can't tell from the picture but the canvas is matte and the letter is shiny, which makes a cool contrast.

Vinyl letter was purchased from Etsy.com - KNDChicago, Stretched canvas, paint, paint sponge - Michaels Craft store

For Grammy & Nana I had personalized polished sterling silver key chains hand stamped, also purchased on Etsy.com (can you tell I'm obsessed??). The front is adorned their "grandma name" and on the back we listed the grandkids - Rose, Ella, Oscar and Gwen. Aren't they gorgeous?Keychains created by Jeneri Jewelry (one of my fave jewelry designers on Etsy) - always exceptional quality

How was your Mama's Day? What did you give your Mama? Did you make something or store buy? Share your ideas with me! I wanna hear them...