Little Red Tea Cart

Little Red Tea Cart Revamp: Weekend Project

This was a relatively effortless, affordable revamp to a tea cart for my kitchen- but would also make a charming addition to a hallway or bedroom if painted in a different color. 

• How I did it: 
• First I nailed down some loose boards on the bottom that were warped from water, then lightly sanded the wood and stains. Then I removed the wheels and painted with primer (extra primer on stained parts).
• For color I used an indoor/outdoor lacquer spray paint as I was looking for a high-gloss effect. It took lots of layers and my fingers were sore!! I went through about 3 cans and had to wait between application.

• But in one weekend the little cart went from drab to delectable and is now the "bread station" in our kitchen holding the toaster and vintage bread tin (another one of my favorite things). 

Love and charm,

Kerry the Momster

Fluttering Hearts

Mine.

Theirs

I saw this lovely heart paper chandelier in the pottery barn kids' catalog with it's not-so-lovely price of $45. I figured it seemed easy enough to make so I had a go at it for about $3 and a little bit of time spent with my darling daughter. Okay, mine is not quite as fancy but it was my first try at it, and I made it fairly quickly. Still it does the job of adding heart flair, but I think I will make more and add ribbons and fun sparkly things too.

Here's how...

What you need:

2 wire hangers

old magazines

fishing string or sewing thread

scissors

glue

hole punch (optional)

1. Start with 2 wire hangers. Twist them around each other to make a plus sign with one hook at the top. Bind the hangers with fishing string or wool. Next time I think I would cover it with ribbon before I tied the strings on to cover the wire.

2. Tear red, pink and white colors from magazines (great for a child to do). You don't need the pages to be free of writing-as you can see I used Gerber ads here.
3.Glue them into full "pages" so that both back and front are in valentine colors.
4.Then cut out heart shapes, or use a template and have your child cut out hearts. You can also use construction paper if you don't want to go through the hassle of magazine scrap hunting.
5. Punch holes into the hearts or just cut a little slit at the top.

6. String the hearts together, tying double knots at the top of the heart to hold them in place. I used 3-5 per string. 

7. Tie them on to the hanger 

8. Hang :) 

Love and fluttering hearts,
Kerry the Momster

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, me up!

Gobble Gobble!

My love for cake-pops knows no seasonal boundaries. I wish I could say these were the lovechild of my own creativeness, but they are in fact inspired by the beautiful Bakerella(search for turkey cakepops on her site).

The turkey making station.

Mine were made with the left over cake from my son's first birthday, which I had frozen. Then crumbled the chocolate-deliciousness into chocolate frosting and froze into little balls. The I experimented with various candies to come up with a turkey face I was happy with. I settled on rolled fondant icing for the heads, cracked orange circle sprinkles for the beaks, pink starbursts for the wattles, and tiny rolled up pieces of tootsie rolls for the eyes. The tail feathers are candy corns pushed into the cakes after dipping in the candy coating.

It was a fun little project that my daughter and niece are going to love at their place settings at dinner.

     I am thankful for so much this year, the usual stuff:family, friends, my health- but I REALLY feel it this year. Straight through the heart. As my good buddy Bjork says (okay we are not buddies in the real sense, only in the creepy I hang on to every note she sings sense), "All is full of love."

Happy Thanksgiving Momsters!
Love and grateful hearts,
Kerry, the Momster

Kindness is a verb

Tell me, I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand.~ Chinese Proverb I am working on trying to help my 6 yr old understand what it means to be kind. Contrary to popular belief, this is not something that children are born with and I often see people aghast at young childrens' displays of anger or meanness towards others. All it means is that these children have not been taught kindness or empathy yet. Even at 6 it can often be a hard concept to grasp, as their own impulses and urges can still be overwhelming. According to greatschools.org, these are the social milestones for this age:

Social and Emotional Development

• grows more independent, yet feels less secure
• craves affection from parents and teachers
• friendships are unstable; can be unkind to peers
• needs to win and may change rules to suit herself
• may be hurt by criticism, blame, or punishment
• can be rigid, demanding, and unable to adapt
• increasingly aware that others have may have different feelings

As I have personally witnessed how my daughter internalizes any reprimanding, I know this is not the way to show her when her behavior towards others is wrong. It just makes her feel like she is a bad person, instead of a person who just made a mistake. So I have compiled a list of activities to involve my daughter in, to try and demonstrate acts of kindness:

•  demonstrate it, by never talking about others negatively, and pointing out kind acts that I do
  
• write letters of appreciation to past teachers/friends/relatives that made a difference in her life
• bake cookies of thanks for dance teacher/school teacher and talk about how it will make them feel to receive these
• pick a friend each week and talk about kind acts she could do for that child (ie let her pick the game they play on the playground, or tell her something good about herself.)
• make a backpack for a homeless person, and let her choose the things that he/she might need
• volunteer at a shelter
• draw a special picture for our neighbor (whom she adores) letting her know why she is so special.
• write a letter to one of our sponsored children
• learn about an animals environment and how to protect/take care of it
• teach her to care for our dog (giving her food and water, walking her) and be gentle with her
  
• "catch" her being kind to her brother, dog, relative or whoever and give praise for it
• lastly, I am writing a story for her, with her being the main character being kind to everyone she meets, called "The Kindest Girl in the World". Children love having stories about themselves.

For more ideas of acts of kindness, go to this website. It's fun!
Remember to acknowledge your child's age and don't admonish them for being well, children! But also give them the tools they need to navigate through life with a good conscious.

Love and parenting power,
Kerry, the Momster

Mommy Meditations

According to how-to-meditate.org, "if we train in meditation, our mind will gradually become more and more peaceful, and we will experience a purer and purer form of happiness." That's all well and good, but as a mother of two, working at home, and enjoying a social life, I do not have time to meditate. Even if I happened to carve out 20 minutes a day, there would be so much chaos and noise, I don't think I would find much peace.

But I do have my own form of mommy mediation.When I have been rocking my baby to sleep, and that moment when he finally drifts off. His eyes close, and a peace overcomes me. My heart rate slows as I watch his tiny lips pucker, and listen to his steady breathing. I get stuck somewhere between wanting to finally get things done while he sleeps, and needing to hold him longer.As I sit mesmerized by the beauty of my child's face, thoughts of all the spit-up, screaming, and poopy diapers dissipate. These are the most peaceful, happy moments of my life-- rocking my babies to sleep.

So next time you finally get into the "sleep zone", take those moments to really ingest the beauty of your baby, revel in the awe of motherhood, breathe slowly and smile :).

Love and peace,
Kerry the Momster

i am momster

A little homage to the goose who started it all. The soul who grew me into a mother. I was her skin, her food, her very heartbeat for a while until the world breathed its breath into her and started her slow ascension away from me. And now every hop, wiggle and jump she takes towards independence my hearts stands still as its missing a part of its rythm. But oh what poetry she is to watch. And what a blessing. To all the momsters who live and breathe for their children and are consumed by the unimaginable love we feel for them, this one is for you. Go squeeze your goslings tight.

Love and lightness,
Kerry the Momster

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Inspiration

"It doesn't matter what we do until we accept ourselves. Once we accept ourselves, it doesnt matter what we do." Charly Heavenrich.

Accept and love yourself today and every day, Momsters. The best gift you can give your child is a healthy, happy mom.

Love and laughter,
Kerry, the Momster

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Delicious Dates

There are many quotes out there that try to epitomize the essence of love and the lessons people who have "been there-done that" have learned. I am using some of these quotes to inspire creative date ideas for me and my hubby. Feel free to steal some for stolen moments with your special other.

1. True love is not gazing into each others'  eyes, but gazing together towards the same future. Go to the top of a lighthouse...and gaze out. Bring a picnic.
2. The love game is never called off on account of darkness. Go to Boomers or Dave and Busters and get your love game on. 
3. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Have a board game night, and test your love's ability to stay true to these little nuggets. (Warning: board games can be dangerous for fragile relationships. If this is you, save this for when you two are on more solid ground. I have seen too many relationships ripped at the seams thanks to a hotel on Boardwalk)
4. "We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. " Let the moonlight help you see your spouse in a more perfect light by going on a wonderful nighttime kayak. Moonlight kayaking atlanticcoastkayak.com $45
5. Love is a game that two can play and both win. Play a game of laser tag or paintball together. You can work up some friendly competition by playing against each other, or on the same team where your love can be your "hero", or you can show him how much but you kick.
6. "I'm so in love, every time I look at you my soul gets dizzy." Get your head's as dizzy as your heart by skating round and round in circles (roller-rink or ice-rink). If you go to an ice-rink you can bundle up, have some hot chocolate and even if you live in a warm climate, partake in a good old- fashioned snow fight behind the rink with ice shavings. My hubby and I did this on one of our first dates and even built a mini-igloo.
7. "Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own." Keep this in mind as you set up a treasure hunt for your other part. Have it end with a special gift (my husband's favorite are video games, but a naked wife at the end works wonders too) . Make your clues romantic or provocative, they can be through the house or through your city. Write clues on index cards with bows or frills on them.
8. "We find rest in those we love, and we provide a resting place in ourselves for those who love us."  Reach a place of rest together- high up on a rock climbing wall. Encourage each other, and feel that amazing rush as you achieve something great together.
9. The most eloquent silence; that of two mouths meeting in a kiss." Take a bottle of wine, a delicious take out dinner and head to a drive in movie. Kiss, snuggle, eat and be entertained on the cheap-ish.Extra points for romantic movies.
10. "Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same. " Go out and leave your relationship's footprints in the sand with some hooves... horse hooves. Horseback riding is adventurous and romantic, and I plan to do this the moment I'm not pregnant anymore. I am especially eager to go horse riding on a beach. Maybe followed by a picnic (have you noticed yet how much I love romantic picnics?). 

I hope you and yours can utilize some of these ideas to romance each other. Time is short, love is precious, so be sure to cultivate it whenever you can.

Love and more love,
Kerry the Momster