Confession. I slacked for Mothers Day. I knew I wanted to either make something or buy something homemade. In my defense I was very sick on Friday and Saturday so I couldn't do anything, but this kind of should already been done. So on Mothers Day I decided to go to JoAnn's and get the supplies to make a wood flower sign. I've seen a few around, but are upwards of $40+ (the one I really wanted was $68!!!???) Besides, I wanted to get my craft on so I went for it and for only $14 I made exactly what I wanted! 

I found these flowers at JoAnn's and they were made out of paper or something. They felt almost as if they had been dried, but they totally weren't real. I thought they were awesome and perfect for this craft!

I cut the flowers off of their stems, keeping about two inches of the stem on the flowers. I needed to have a bit extra so they could be glued down onto the wood.

I randomly laid the flowers out on the piece of wood and moved them around until I liked the placement. I did go back and cut the stems off some of the flowers so the ends wouldn't show and throw off the arrangement.

I glued the flowers directly onto the wood with a hot glue gun. I also painted the Family with a light tan brown color. I didn't like how it was all the same unfinished wood color. I think it gave it a nice "pop"!

Supplies
Wood piece (mine is an 8x10)
Wood word cut out (tongue twister there)
Paper or fake silk flowers
Glue gun and Glue
Scissors
Paint

Paint the wood word whatever color you like then hot glue onto the wood once it's dry. Cut down the flower stems to desired length and arrange on bottom half of wood. Hot glue flowers to wood. 

That's it!  I love that this can be personalized with any color combination you want! I think it'd be so cute to use colors for Holidays (red and pink flowers for Valentines Day, Holly and greenery for Christmas) and could be used as a door hanger or displayed inside your house on a wall! Spoiler alert this is definitely going to be in my repetoire of gift giving! 
So sorry mom this is super late, but I hope it's worth it and you love it as much as I do! :)

Do you like making homemade gifts? What's one of your favorites you've made?

Thanks for reading!

As some of you might know way back 10 years ago I moved from the Pacific Northwest to Florida. I was much much younger, didn't know anyone in Florida and just picked up and did it. Not really on a whim, but not any planning really went into it. I came to the Sunshine State with two bags of clothes and that was it. Over the course of 10 years I met my husband, gained a family, had two little girls and met so many amazing, lifelong friends. For the past few years I have been really aching to go back home to my family. The good byes get harder and harder and being away for so long I have missed so many things. My husband truly loves me and my family because we started putting into motion a move back to the Northwest two years ago when we moved to Orlando. We wanted to be close to his family for awhile and spend as much time with them as we can before heading to Washington State. 
Early this year we started looking for a transfer with my husbands job and after months of waiting the offer came in! We are moving as of June 14 and becoming residents in the Pacific Northwest! There are so many mixed emotions going on. My life with my little family has only been in Florida. We are leaving behind family and I know how hard it will be for my husband, myself and my girls because I did it so long ago. So many people have impacted and changed my life here. A few major life changing people; Ron, Nick and my teams from my working life at the Bank. The Moms Club in Wesley, Waterford Lakes Moms Group, Angie,Yvette, Keely, Chrissy and my husbands family for taking me in as their daughter without hesitation and providing me a family in Florida that I love as much as mine in Washington. 

Florida has been so good to me and we will be back often to visit. I am really excited to be able to live near my family and see where this new adventure takes our little family!

This was my last night in Washington back in October 2005 with my bestie Maegs and my sister Kate. 

I came such a long way in the last 10 years! So much has changed and I am so grateful for everything Florida has given me! 

My blogging might be sparse in the next few weeks since we have to pack, find a place to live and move 3500 miles away, but I'll make sure to blog at least once a week and I'll just have to see how it goes. You can follow me on instagram @ruthyannie

Thank you all for reading and continuing to follow me into this next chapter of my families life!

Have you done a huge move? Any tips? I'd enjoy hearing your suggestions in the comments below!

For the last two weeks I have been basically holed up in our house. It all started with an intense neurological migraine followed by a corneal abrasion on Millie's eye followed by a stomach bug. It's been a whirlwind of crazy. I realized quite some time ago that since I do stay at home with my girls I need to spend some money on the "mom" outfit. Yoga pants. But not yoga pants. Joggers. They are super comfy, super cute and right now very trendy. I have a few pairs that I love and that helped me feel like I got dressed for a day around the house without really getting dressed. I have put together some stylish, fun lounge wear to wear around the house or (bonus!) even out to run errands! 

Sure you can put some slippers on at home to be super comfy, but pairing joggers with booties or even heels to go outside of the house works! Pajamas to go pick up groceries???? Um yes please!

I have learned that all t shirts are not created equal. Spending a little bit more on some fun t shirts to wear around the house to feel like you're not in those PJ tee's makes a huge difference for me. Aaaaaand you can the cute tee's with jeans or shorts!

And lastly, for me, if I'm planning on being comfy might as well have "the girls" comfy too!  Some cute little lace or soft bralettes are perfect for a lazy loungy day! These have made me feel like a human and simply changing into something that is comfy, stylish and put the PJ's back in the dresser makes me feel more accomplished even if I'm just staying at home for the day!

What about you?Do you wear lounge wear around the house or do you get "fully dressed" when you stay at home?

This week has been a doozy. One that one day we will look back on and maybe be able to laugh. Maybe not. We're still getting over it so everything is still hazy. 

Sophia's 4th birthday will go down in the Maldonado history books for sure. Sick girls, A/C going out, no energy and lastly a sick Daddy. There's so much else going on that I can't say yet (buzz kill I know but more on that subject later)
My little Sophia was up the night of her birthday with a stomach virus. Every hour. I slept on the floor and rubbed her back whenever she woke up. Sweet baby finally woke up for the day early and she just cried and cried until she fell asleep. So hearbreakingly sad for mama. 
My little tornado was down for the count. So this post it really needs to be about her past 3rd year building up this point and what better way to do than in pictures.

Sophia is my sweet sweet firecracker! She loves life and loves to experience life in her way! She keeps me on my toes and has shown me how much love I can have for such a tiny person. You love your family fiercely and I love seeing you grow into a little girl!

 I can't wait to see what this next year brings you my little bug. Mommy loves you so very much!

So because of the craziness of last weekend (my neurological migraine) I had to cancel the girls' joint birthday party. Heartbreaking. We had all the party supplies and in all honesty just wanted to get it done with. I mean with all the planning and all the little projects I had been working on and all the talk about parties and what Sophia wanted for it....we just needed it to happen. We ended up with a small little group of close friends and family and it could not have been any better! The weather was perfect and all the little kiddos had a blast! It was so fun to see how excited Sophia was the day of the party! She totally understands birthday parties now and having her little besties come and celebrate with her meant the world to her! Millie just loved splashing and playing in the water while watching the big girls run around like crazy! Millie loves to be around people and it was fun to see her walking around with a smile on her face! It took me awhile to put everything together (thank you in-laws for watching the girls) but it got done and in the end the kids were able to make their own Super Hero masks, throw water balloons, run on a slip n slide, splash in the pool, eat tons food and candy and take Super Hero pictures with a backdrop I made! All in all I'd say it was a "Super" success! Here are some of the fun pictures of the party!

^Little buddies

^My attempt at the Telephone Booth from Superman....only my generation got it....(Sometimes I think these parties are more to entertain adults than kids)  :)

Cupcake toppers on Etsy found here

Water bottle printables from Etsy found here

Make your own masks! The kids LOVED this and so did the adults! I got the kit off of Amazon and added a few craft items we had on hand!

A few ideas for a Superhero themed food table! Printable tent cards found here

What's better than a pineapple bathing suit and this little girls smile?!?

A 1 and 4 year old! Time just flies by!

My biggest little is  my little fireball and I love her so much!

And it's never a party until the Birthday Girl cries. This picture says so much about each of their personalities. Sophia didn't want Millie in the picture and so she let us know it and Millie just kind of sits back and watches the drama happen! It is just too funny! 

It was so fun celebrating these two little girls of mine. They are so different and unique and I am so lucky to be their mama! 

Thank you for reading!

First off, this has been a crazy crazy week. Holy moly it'll be nice to get back to "normal". Honestly though with two littles I guess the craziness is normal! Hah! I'll post next week some of the stuff that's been going on, but just waiting a bit so things even out. So onto the actual post....since Summer is just around the corner (helllooooo June 22) I decided I wanted to put together a couple different styles of Summer outfits for my Friday posts. You can see my Classic Preppy look here. I decided to go outside my comfort zone and have my second Summer Fashion Session be the Edgy look.

Boots/booties, strappy sandals, black, crop tops, short shorts, skin. Yikes. This is for the younger (or young at heart) I have some of these styles, however, putting them all together into one look is kind of out of my element. 

I knew right of the bat I wanted to use these Zara booties I thrifted. They are edgy and fun and I love them. I also love my American Eagle shorts and wear them ALL THE TIME. This top from Free People I've had for a few years. I got it the year I got pregnant with Millie and now that I am almost back to my pre pregnancy weight I decided to break it out! 
I actually really like this look I put together. I know it might not be SUPER super edgy, but for me this is a step out of my fashion comfort zone. No tank under a lace strip on a shirt while not appropriate for the playground or kid play date, maybe perfect for a Moms Night Out or a fun date night with the hubs. Maybe even wearing a black bra (if I dare) would up the ante of edginess (and sex appeal for the hubs)!

What about your style? Leave a comment and let me know how do you add some edginess to your look? 

Thanks for reading!

I think this past weekend was one of the most stressful, crazy weekends in a long time.  We were supposed to have the girls Superhero party this weekend and we had to cancel. This post was supposed to be filled with joyous pictures of them playing and opening presents all decked out in their matching outfits. Unfortunately on Friday morning I was getting ready for the day when out of the blue I got hit with a migraine. Now, I know there are people out there who get migraines daily, (I am on track to get them every 6-12 months) and they present themselves in so many different forms. Mine are just outright scary. The Dr. has called them a Neurological Migraine Event. It basically presents itself like I am having a stroke even thought I am not. It starts out with my vision going. in one eye. I can literally wave my hand in front of my face and if it's the black part (or aura) my hand disappears. It makes me off balance and it's  hard to read or look at anything. It can last anywhere from a few minutes to 30 minutes usually. This is where I start to freak out because I know what's happening and what is going to happen. I loose control of my muscles and basically collapse. I can't hold anything or pick anything up. I can't hold my head up and I can feel lightheaded like I might pass out. That usually lasts for a few minutes. Afterwards I feel weak and I get tingling and numbness in one side of my face and arm. It feels like it's gone to sleep except I can't shake my arm to bring the feeling back. It goes away on its own. Some time after all those symptoms disappear the headache starts. Usually. This happened when I was pregnant with Amelia (the scariest event of my whole life because we didn't know I was having a migraine and to top it off I couldn't form thoughts or put sentences together along with everything else) but I never got a headache. When I was pregnant they did an MRI and tons of tests which they couldn't find evidence of a stroke or blood clot and since I had a history (when I was a teen) of migraines they called it an A Typical Neurological Event. I was surprised they would still classify it as a migraine even if a headache isn't present. Anyways, this happened in the morning and my husband was having a procedure done that afternoon. Thank God for in-laws because they literally saved us. My sister in law watched both girls all day and my father in law took the hubs to get his procedure done. Needless to say I was out the next day resting and couldn't have the girls party. I felt terrible on all levels of life at that point. 

Since Mother's Day was on Sunday and I was feeling better we went over to my hubby's parents house for a delicious turkey meal and relaxed and chatted. I also worked on a craft project for a late Mother's Day present (sorry mom) for my Mom. I was able to skype and see my lovely siblings and my parents, which ended our crazy weekend. I was in recovery mode over the weekend so I didn't get too many pictures (and really most of the time I was in PJ's and laying down in bed so it'd be pictures of my ceiling anyways) but here are a few from our weekend..

What I wore two days straight. 

Lots of books and the girls entertained themselves quite a bit. Hubby was off for a long weekend (hurray!) so he helped on Saturday with both girls.

So nice to get out of those pink sweats and into some normal clothes for Mothers Day! 

And these two literally tackle each other with hugs now! Blurry but still adorable! (at least in my opinion)

Our weekend totally didn't go how we had planned, but I am so thankful for my family and how they stepped up and took care of me! They reminded me how much I am loved and how special I am as a Mom and as a person!

Thanks for reading!

Ah, the one's who know the true meaning of a 24/7 job. (even more so for the working mama-I don't know how you get up everyday, go to work, come home, make dinner, clean the house AND have time with your children and hubby -hats off to you!) whether you stay at home with your littles or you are working full time or part time does not change the way you feel about your child. I know mom's want the best for their kids, worry about their kids and are just hoping and praying that you're raising them to be functioning adults. For me sometimes I feel like I am just trying to not have a dysfunctional tantrum throwing hot dog only eating three year old that wants to see what she can have Millie do to get a laugh. and mama a heart attack.. (running through the house with Millie in a doll stroller facing the wrong way and letting go while the stroller is still moving happened...... Millie loved it and of course Sophia was happy to try something new) :)  It's a tough job to do. And you can never know the real meaning of being a mom until you join the Mommy Club. This is when I started understanding my mom.
Five kids. Homeschooled. Just those three words right there I can't imagine doing. Honestly thinking about having any more than two kids my palms start to sweat. Not. Going. To. Happen. So after I had my first daughter I finally understood why things were done a certain way when I was younger. It HAD to be a certain way because there were so many of us. Rules. I get it. I know why they are there. Being a kid saying I'll NEVER do that to my kid. Yeah. That's a big fat lie. You'll do it. You'll even hear the same words that came out of her mouth come out of yours. And worse. You'll understand why.
In understanding the why part added a new depth in my relationship with my own mom. I began to understand the love behind it all. I know all my mom wanted was the best for me. My mom and I used to leave each other notes on our pillows after fights. Being that there were so many other siblings there wasn't a ton of time to just sit and talk one on one. (Those times have come later) Looking back however I think those notes guided me throughout my kid and teenage years. For me it's always been easier to write my feelings and having my mom return the favor and allowing me to write them down instead of rushing through a talk helped me. (it's especially tough to articulate your thoughts rationally as a teenager) It gave me and her time to cool off when we needed it. It allowed us to say our views or apologize without any push back or interruption. It gave me a sense of security in knowing that my mom  cared about me enough to sit down and write me a letter. It was uninterrupted time that I could sit and read what my mom wrote to me. I understand how much a moms love is now that I have my own daughters. I hope to continue this :tradition: with both my girls so that when they are grown they can feel and hold pieces of their childhood and teenage hood with them. Hopefully they can see how much their mother loves them and just wants the best for them in whatever they do. Just like my mom did for me. I love you mom and am so glad I have you as my mommy. Happy Mother's Day!

Me, My mom and my sister circa 1984

Me and my two littles.

Our whole family.

To all the Mom's out there hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! Thanks for reading!