Let's move to Happy Doodle Land.

Happy Doodle Land, found on decor8

 . . do you want to join?
How cute are these pillows? I can see them in a child's bed as a little guardian for the night. Or on my shelf....
The best thing is that they originate from a print which you should look up in her shop. Just darling.

DIY Clothline - decor for toddler's room.

I just found this fun and somewhat easy DIY over at make it and love it. I guess you could also use paper for it, but the little clothes made out of fabric are just to die for.

Haciendo el indio.

I really like the color palette on these prints. So pretty. For more go here.
Oh, and there is a freebie on their website. Can't start early enough on Xmas tags - hihi. 

 

Catching the good moments.

Lately, things have been a little rough with my sweet little girl. I can tell she is going through a phase. Well, let's all hope this IS a PHASE and nothing permanent. In the past two weeks, everything is very frustrating, or just not good enough. Everything ends with a 'no'. Everything ends in tears, screaming, and the occasional tossing of toys. I must admit, this is draining. It brings you to a point of plain out being annoyed. This pushes my limits and yet I need to stay calm and cool. I need to teach her that things are just not always going her way. I sometimes leave the room to wipe the tears in my eyes. I tell myself that she is a smart girl, she wants to be like older kids, she is independent, but you need to tell her to come down a bit. I then tell myself that hopefully she will understand me. That she hold it not against me. I love her and care so much about her that sometimes our needs and wants are conflicting.
This is tough. I know, there are many moms out there going through the same thing.
But in between the good moments. Hence the pics. I know she has fun. I know she knows she is being loved so much.
Raising a child is a very big task. Luckily, you can take it one day at a time.
I love you, Sofia.

On sleeping toddlers.

My heart feels so weak and full of joy when she falls asleep like that. It doesn't happen very often anymore. These are the moments I feel motherhood going through my veins like crazy.
I love it. I need it.
It is simple. It is real.
I enjoy it until my hands feel numb and I have to lay her down in her bed.

Just a few more silent minutes until the craziness starts all over.  Oh, how I love her.

The art of speaking three languages.

rabbit print

Daddy speaks Spanish.

Mommy speaks German.

Together they speak English.

I speak all of it in one single sentence.

"Morrrniiing! Mono? Mono alle."
("Morning? Monkey? Monkey gone (the actual meaning of 'alle' is empty. Details).

Let's be practical.

Ok, now that the days are getting longer, I am thinking outdoors. But spending time outside of the house does indeed take some time in terms of getting all the stuff together once you have a family. Back in the day it went something like this:

1. Get your hair done, check the make up.
2. Grab your purse (make sure you got the wallet, camera, and the cellphone)
3. Put on some shoes and grab your keys.
4. Go.

Now with a family in tow, this whole scenario has changed. Completely. You need to think for three (at least. Always keep in mind that both you and your husband have both keys...in the bag, not inside of the door).

Now the routine goes something like this:

1. Check daughter's diaper.
2. Last minute snack/ zip from the water cup.
3. Pack snacks for kid.
4. Grab random toys and stash them in your bag (preferably sth. she plays a lot with, easy to carry, and not too loud).
5. Put on her shoes and jacket.
6. Make sure the wallet is in the bag (with ALL of its content, incl. the usual plastic. Our daughter tends to play with all kinds of cards in it so that they eventually can be found underneath drawers, fridges, etc.)
7. Enough diapers, wipes?
8. Keys?
9. Hair? Nah, it's combed. Makeup? Those tiny strokes of mascara? Guess it's still on. Teeth? Anything stuck there? No? Check.
10. Ready.

But why not making this whole ordeal a little bit more fun, at least on the eyes?

Here a quick list for all the stashing and hiding of things that come along with a child:

Cooling bag

Reusable snack bag

crayon case

 

Fabric bin

 (Ok, this one may not be suitable for carrying things around, but would work as great storage in the car.)

Let the sunshine in!

Karin Mannerstål

My family tends to make fun of me. Yes, well, that's ok. You want to know why? I live about ten minutes from IKEA, I go there a LOT, and I can tell you where to find each item in a heartbeat. I am a walking IKEA catalog. I don't even know how this started. Maybe because my husband and I went there a lot during our time in LA. It was one of our places to stop by, get a bite and maybe something small to take home. Since we moved to Germany, money happened to be tight. Voila, IKEA was the answer. Nice things for little money.

Anyway.

Now that my girl is asleep I took some time to browse the internet and who do I come across at?

Karin Mannerstål.

I had never heard of her before. But she simply rocks. I took a look at her kids' stuff (a common thing to do every since I had my girl: kids stuff first) and fell in love (love her hair as much as her designs).

Go and check her out.

BTW, she happened to design a lot of your favourite IKEA items....

source