Barefoot Baby Gladiator Sandals?!?

So I never knew barefoot sandals were a thing before I had my kiddo. Like at all. Who knew they were all the rage? (She says sounding like a sixty year old woman.)

Anyhow.. After I started making headbands I caught the baby accessory bug and decided to branch out and make a few other items.

The typical barefoot baby sandal is super  cute and surprisingly comfy for little feet. 

 

I love the two strap style with various types of flowers but I also love this style:

Essentially these are gladiator-style sandals (with a bad-ass fringe and chain.. You know, for the hard core babies..) and they are just as comfy and a little different!

I haven't posted these items on Etsy yet but they are coming soon. I would love to get your input on which items you like and what you would want to see in the shop. Thanks!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/FromtheByrdsNest

Baby Headbands and Barefoot Sandals

So while I still haven't really got the hang of the whole blogging on a daily basis thing, I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of the whole being a mom thing. 

My sweet girl is now 9 months old (so crazy!) and walking around with (*back-breaking help* from her mother) and getting into tons of trouble. She amazes me every day with the new things she is learning to do.

We seem to have a routine now and a schedule that keeps me sane (although she still isn't a good sleeper and only naps for 45 mins twice a day).

As soon as I got a handle on being someone's parent, I started to realize that I was really missing crafting and the creative outlet that teaching has always provided me. When Renna was born I had started to make her little headbands to match her sweet little outfits. I never thought I'd turn her into a girly girl but I loved how cute she looked when she accessorized. (And since she didn't have much hair she looked like a balding old man without them)

So my little old man inspired me to start making more headbands in different styles and selling them on Etsy! After much thought, research and gentle encouragement from the hubby, From the Byrd's Nest Baby Accessories was born!

I have only just launched the shop a couple days ago and got a wonderful response and tons of support and encouragement from my wonderful family and friends! 

In the shop so far, we have several different styles of headbands

And barefoot baby sandals! Great for the summer months when babies refuse to keep shoes on their feet but still want to look cute (because you know they're really concerned about looking cute lol)

I would love it if you checked out my shop! 

Www.etsy.com/ca/shop/fromthebyrdsnest  

Biggest Surprises of Motherhood

Someone asked me the other day what the biggest surprise was about becoming a parent. When I stared blankly back at her she must have assumed I had fallen asleep during our conversation (ok so my eyes are always sort of half open now so I can't blame her) and she repeated her question and elaborated so that even this sleep deprived, groggy new mom could understand. 

"You know, what is something that you weren't expecting. Something that no one prepared you for". Well, that was a doozy of a question, let me tell you. 

I could have answered about a million different things. 

I could have said that no one warned me just how tired and overwhelmed I would be. That there would be times when I literally felt like I didn't know which way was up, had no idea what day it was and hadn't showered in days.

I could have said that the biggest surprise was the indecision. That motherhood has turned a totally capable, confident, headstrong woman into a complete basket case (or my preferred term- numpty. A total numpty.) who is unable to decide whether to bring the stroller or the carrier. I mean what if she's too cold in the carrier?! And what if the stroller is too big and bulky?! And what if...

I could have answered that it was the shift in priorities that occurred in my life. How making sure my baby was happy, healthy and well fed would take precedence over pretty much anything (and anyone) else. Who knew that I could care so little about makeup, showers and teeth brushing. I mean, over rated, right? 

I very easily could have answered that it baffled me that I could ever love my husband more than I already did. I know it sounds cheesy but I fall a little more in love with him every time I watch him with  our little monkey. I knew he would be a great dad but I didn't realize just how great. Nor did I realize how being parents together, freaking out about baby skin rashes together, and dealing with poo-splosions together (a poo-splosion is a poo explosion folks- NOT fun) would strengthen our bond and bring us even closer.

I could have (and should have) answered that what surprised me the most was how freaking much I ADORE her. I can't even believe how much. It occurs to me several times a day that I wish there was a word in existence that was bigger and stronger than 'love'. Saying that I love her seems insignificant somehow. I SO much more than love her. 

I should have answered any of those things. 

Instead I said: "How much my life has changed." To which she replied: "Oh I could have told you that." 

Ya, thanks for the heads up lady.

Day #52 of Mommyhood...

...so I'm only about 51 days late with this post! I had intended to start blogging about Mommyhood during the final stages of my pregnancy but, let's face it - I was way too tired, slash cranky, slash bloated to do much of anything and since it was mid August, I was parked in front of my fan and not my computer. 

Then I promised myself I would start blogging right after my precious baby was born... Ha! (That was me scoffing at my former foolish and naive, baby-less self.) I certainly did not have time for blogging when my sweet baby girl arrived. If I wasn't up to my elbows in baby poo or worrying my butt off about all the new decisions I had to make, I was taking time to stare at the perfection that is Renna. 

Anyway.. Today is day 52 (but who's counting, right?) and I finally feel like I can get back to my goal of starting a new mom blog (plus I found a great iPhone app that I can blog from while I nurse which is kind of all I do..) This blog will (tiny dictator willing) be full of tips and ideas I've learned from other moms, birth stories, good things to buy, pregnancy tips, fun photos, links to other mom blogs, great Pinterest finds, and more. I really hope you become a follower if you are a mom or mom-to-be. So many things have helped me so far along this crazy journey and I'd love to share them with you! 

March Break, Baby Showers and Cupcakes.. Oh My!

My apologies for the blog hiatus. Life got a little crazy around here. What with our new roomies and the district review at school, life just sort of got away from me. Oh mon dieu! I have been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.

It's finally March Break though and I have some time to (breathe) get some blogging done. Hubs and I decided this year that we would not be going away for the break because (to add to the long list of craziness that has happened in the last month) we have BOUGHT A COTTAGE!

That's right mes amis de les blogs- we bought a little slice of heaven on a small island on the St. Lawrence about 40 minutes from our home. It needs a lot of work but the location is amazing and we plan on doing some serious renovations. (Pictures and details to follow)

So instead of a little March Break getaway, I am tackling all of those nagging projects that I haven't gotten around to and have been on my list for ages.

I'll keep you posted on how my projects are going:

Project Number One:

A trial run of the cupcakes I am making for a friend's co-ed baby shower.

My lovely friends are having a baby and decided to have a co-ed baby shower (a fantastic idea!). I offered to make the cupcakes and decided to get a little creative with them. The theme of their nursery is animals and dad-to-be is a huge baseball fan so why not cupcakes for both mom and pop?

I started with this little guy. A baby in  a tiger suit :)

Then I made him some friends :)

Now it's a whole zoo!! I also made a little guy with a baseball hat for the dad to be and a cupcake (not shown) that looks like a baseball.

What do you think guys? Will the mom and dad-to-be like them?

My Teaching Blog!

I was very ambitious (and surprisingly quite productive) this past week and I managed to change my blog design, write a few posts, post some teaching units on Teachers Pay Teachers AND launched my teaching blog: MADAME'S LITTLE MONKEYS!!

I often refer to my students as my little monkeys (because truly they are so adorable and silly) and I thought that my blog name should be billingual (because my life is billingual.. I hardly ever make it through a sentence without mixing in some French or Spanish words). So I came up with Madame's Little Monkeys and it stuck. I'm hoping to use that blog to blog about teaching stuff and keep this one for the rest of my ramblings.

I've noticed that there is a serious lack of blogs for French Immersion teachers and thought that I would try to start to fill that void and start posting materials and resources for French teachers. I would love it if you would check it out!

A Post-Valentine's Day Love Post

I have always had mixed feelings about Valentine's Day. When single, V-Day sucks. When hitched, V-Day can be great. I feel that Valentine's Day has become way too commercialized and over the top but I don't want to be a jaded person who can't celebrate this romantic day. I decided to start to view Valentine's Day as a day that is not just about romantic love but about love in general. I tried to tell as many people as possible that I loved them (my mom, dad, husband, siblings, roommates, students and girlfriends) and we celebrated love at school.

Here are a few things that I loved about LOVE day:

I LOVE that one of my students hand wrote and decorated every single one of his valentines and included personalized messages for his friends (for his little girlfriend, he wrote "You are really pretty and very kind") and for me "Tu es tres gentille et jolie. J'aime toi" (which roughly translates to "You are really nice and pretty. I love you")

I LOVE that my husband left me a little surprise gift beside the bed in the morning to start my day off with a huge smile in my heart.

I LOVE that nearly everyone at school wore pink or red- SO pretty to see!

I LOVE that a little boy in my class brought me a single rose the day AFTER Valentine's Day (likely taken from his mom's V-Day gift haha) and shoved it at me and said "This is for you Madame!" and ran away.



 I LOVE the mushy romantic country songs being played on my fave country station all day.

I LOVE that hubs and I didn't do something crazy and just stayed in with take out and candles and celebrated in a low-key way.

I LOVE that I sold my first teaching unit on Teachers Pay Teachers today!! (If you're a teacher, check out my Valentine's Day and Penguin themed units on TPT! I'm brand new to it but I think I've made some pretty ok units). This seriously made me jump up and down for joy.

I LOVE that my kinders created Project Love kits (a education project where students in Canada raise money and send school supplies to students in developing countries) and were given only the basic supplies to put in their kits but tried to add their own crayons and supplies from our classroom because "the kids don't have much and we have lots". SO stinkin adorable!

I hope you all had LOVE-filled V-Days! xoxo