Baby Shower

I had the pleasure of co-hosting my cousin's baby shower this past weekend.  When I begged was asked to help I immediately hit Pinterest for inspiration.  Oh how I LOVE Pinterest!!  The nursery colors are yellow and grey for a sweet little guy arriving soon and so that became our theme!

The invitations were fun and easy.  I was trying to go with a bicycle theme (since mom & dad are triathletes!) but I couldn't find any bike stickers or punches.  Bummer!  I remembered that my cousin had mentioned some cute elephant fabric she had purchased for an accent piece in the nursery and so I ran with that thanks to a Martha Stewart punch.

I also decided that I absolutely needed a Cricut machine to do these decorations right.  Oh how I LOVE my Cricut machine!  So with a cute idea from Apartment Therapy (found on Pinterest) in mind, I created this:

The circles are 5" in diameter and went home with the new mama to find a home in the nursery or in her future scrapbooking, or really whatever her heart desires.

Also on Pinterest I found Bump Smitten's blog where you can download an entire yellow and grey elephant themed baby shower!  I picked a few pieces such as these two mellow baby shower games.

                   ...and this cute elephant!

I used the Cricut to cut out Drake's name.  Since I'm new at "Cricutting" I ended up with a lot of extra letters in sizes I wasn't trying for.  But never fear, I found uses for them!






Sister of the mom-to-be, aka Aunt Kelly, hosted the shower at her house and did all the food!  I must say this was the best way to do a shower.  I got to do the fun crafty stuff and I didn't have to clean my house or cook!  We made a great team!  Her scrambled egg & bacon mini quiches were amazing and I'm craving them as I type this!  Cranberry & Orange muffins, Blueberry with Brown Sugar muffins, fruit salad (oops, it's missing from the picture), coffee, and lemonade...my kind of breakfast/brunch!

(more "extra" Cricut letters on the mirror and over the present table)

We also had an inspirational craft for the mom-to-be.  You guessed it, this was also inspired by Pinterest!


In the invitation I included this note:

Prior to the shower I taped ribbons onto cardboard for easier writing ability.  We used fabric markers to each write our messages for the soon-to-be mama.

(disclaimer: This is not the full Bible verse, I messed up while 

writing this one for someone else and started over on another ribbon)

And here is the finished craft!  Each ribbon has a verse or quote from the friends and family who attended the shower.  They were tied onto an extra large key ring (4" diameter) and can hang in the nursery anytime Mom needs a bit of encouragement...you moms know what I'm talking about!

We all had a wonderful time and I feel so blessed to be a part of the family I am.  I forgot to take pictures of the blanket I made for baby Drake but I used this Michael Miller print:

DIY Trellis

We're selling our house and needed plants for the front stairs to "spruce it up" a bit.  So I bought Mandevillas because I heard they are hard to kill and since I tend to kill most plants I buy, I thought these were a good match.  And my goodness, I've done nothing to them and they're growing like crazy!!  So crazy that they outgrew the mini trellises they came with.  So I went to Walmart and Lowes looking for trellises....are those out of style these days?  Because no one carries them.  So I made my own.

Step One: Find two 4 ft long sturdy sticks and two 12" sticks.  These are the sizes I used, but you can make them bigger or smaller depending on where you want to put your trellis.

Step Two:  Lay out your trellis to the pattern you want.

Step Three:  Use twine to secure each intersection.  Wrap a few times around one diagonal then switch to the other direction.  Tie in a secure knot in the back of the trellis.

Step Four:  Stick in your planter and place your vines accordingly.  Looks like I'll need a bigger trellis soon.

Rear-Facing Carseat for your TODDLERS

I've posted about this on facebook before, but I feel like it fell on deaf ears (or blind eyes?)  So after reading an article on Parenting.com today about child safety, I feel like saying this about kids in carseats again: “REAR-facing is 5 times safer for two-year-olds.” -Dr. Baer, child safety expert

"The fix: Follow the newly-issued guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics that advise parents to keep their toddlers in REAR-facing car seats until age 2 OR until they exceed the height or weight limit for their car seat, which is typically 20 pounds for an infant seat, and 35 to 40 pounds for a convertible seat. Even if your child’s legs are touching the back seat of the car, or even bending so they’ll fit, it’s not unsafe and NOT a reason to turn your child around too soon."

(*info taken from a recent article about Child Safety on Parenting.com http://www.parenting.com/gallery/car-seat-laws-requirements-installation?pnid=318525 )

Don't want to believe me?  Watch this... Crash Test Dummies  Google it for more.  Head on collisions are far more serious than a rear-ender.  

I've heard these arguments:

1. I've already turned her around forward facing, she'll be mad if I turn her back around.

I say: So you don't want to enforce rules with your child? Your 2 yr old knows more about safety than you do? And you'd rather her have a broken neck?

2. I don't know how to install the seat.

I say: Take it to a fire station, they'll do it for you. Not an excuse.

3. Other kids will make fun of him for being rear facing still.

I say: Kids make fun of kids no matter what. Wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry? Wouldn't you rather have your child tell you when they're an adult that they remember being made fun of, vs not having your child make it to their adult years?

4. A rear-ended accident would cause the whiplash if they're forward facing. 

I say: Do you want whip-lash from a minor rear ended accident, or broken neck, paralysis, or death from a head on collision. You choose.

5. The odds of getting into a fatal head-on collision are so small, it won't happen to us. 

I say: I don't have those statistics, but my mom was killed in a head on collision so they do happen to normal people.

This is such a simple fix.  You may be one of the lucky ones who never gets in the accident which would be wonderful on so many levels.  You might be one of those parents who has had 3 or 4 kids already and never had an accident so why not keep doing things the way you have been, right?  If you got cancer would you want the same treatment doctors were doing 10 years ago?  nope.  Maybe you're a grandparent who isn't up to date on all the new research...tell your kids!

I can't say it enough, this is such a SIMPLE thing to do to protect your sweet babies and toddlers!  We run around our houses making them childproof, buying covers for our outlets, gates for stairways, locks for cabinets...why not childproof your car!?! 

Making Dinner Fun!

I really lucked out with a non-picky eater.  Kaylee will go for anything green and leafy before eating anything else on her plate.  She loves chicken, turkey, hamburger, steak, potatoes, pasta, fruit, and veggies.  In fact, she refuses to eat cake!  She does like cake pops though!

Tonight's dinner was Love Burgers with spinach salad.  I could have given Kaylee a regular burger and she wouldn't have cared, but I wanted to spruce up her plate just for fun.  Normally I would chop the mozarella up into cubes but Kaylee likes to eat cheesesticks, so I left hers long.  I used a large heart cookie cutter to cut the bun and burger.

Salads can be fun!  Add random things to your salads to entice your kids to eat the whole salad...we eat fresh spinach because I think it tastes better than romaine or iceburg.  Items I add are: cheese, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, apples, mandarin oranges, hardboiled eggs cut up or sliced!  Heck, let your kids put ingredients onto a spinach leaf and make a little taco!  The bright colors make them more fun too!

Make a "Hamburger Salad" - croutons (cut up buns), crumbled hamburger, tomatoes, onions, cheese cubes, maybe a honey mustard dressing

How about a "Pizza Salad" - shredded cheese, pepperoni, olives, mushrooms

Have you tried a Salad on a Stick?  Use shish-ka-bob skewers, slide on different salad items then eat right off the stick!  That idea just came to me, I think we'll make those tomorrow!

This salad has steak, chicken, olives, cheese, apples, blueberries.  She ate that entire plate full.

I'm not an expert but I don't see anything wrong with letting kids "play" with their foods enough for them to get the feel for the textures.  Toddlers explore with their hands, so why not let them "explore" their food before they commit to eating it?  

Here's Kaylee "exploring" spaghetti at about 11 months old.

With that said, if we're in a restaurant I don't let Kaylee eat her macaroni and cheese with her hands, she has to use a fork....or two forks.

okay, okay you caught me...I did let her go forkless at Smokey Bones once.  In her (my) defense, she was only 15 months old and I forgot to bring a little fork for her.

Well, my goal in writing this blog was to give you ideas on how to spruce up dinner for your kids, but it turned into a "scroll through iPhoto reminiscing about the last 2 years" instead.  So I hope you enjoyed my food lover!

Bowtique!

Many of you know that I used to make Kayteedids Hairbows.  I've stopped selling them now but I still make Kaylee's bows.  I love being able to whip one up before we head out somewhere (a girl has to match at all times you know!)  But alas, I've outgrown my love affair with making hairbows.  So I was delighted to stumble upon a shop on facebook awhile back.  Here's my disclaimer:  They have no idea I am writing this blog, I don't know the shop owners, I have paid for every single bow I own of theirs, and I never told them that I would advertise for them.  I am strictly writing this as a mom who has fallen in love with someone else's bows and wants to tell the world...or at least all 6 of you who read this blog. :)

I'm unsure of how I stumbled upon Julia's Bowtique, but I did and I'm never looking back.  She had posted a set of basic hair bows for sale and I couldn't pass up her amazing price!  I don't remember the price for my first set but it was something along the lines of $1 per bow...UNHEARD of in the bow-world!  The set of 5 I purchased were red, green, blue, yellow, and purple 4" bows on alligator clips.

Now, I have to say that I am a skeptic when it comes to online shopping.  (I know that's bad to say since I'm an online seller myself!)  But Julia's Bows were AMAZING!  I'll say it again, A-MAZ-ING! They are the perfect size, well made, quality ribbon, fast shipping, and GREAT prices!!  Just this week I realized that Kaylee *needed* more bows for her collection, so I got this set of 12 for $16 total (including shipping)!!!  That is $1.34 per bow...did I mention that this price is UNHEARD of?!  She has an extensive list of colors to choose from and I got these bows in less than a week from when I paid.  Impressive all around.

My daughter isn't a super frilly, girly-girl so these solid colors and polka dots are right up her alley.











BUT never fear, check out the Julia's Bowtique website for more amazing, elaborate, and fun bows for all occasions!!  You can find them on facebook too!  http://www.facebook.com/juliasbowtique

Auction for CureSearch for Children's Cancer

Through a friend in my mom's Bible Study a couple of years ago I was introduced to the story of Eve, a 2 year old (at the time) who was diagnosed with bilateral Wilms Tumor (cancer of the kidneys). As much as I feel like I stalk her mom's blog, I won't try to wow you with statistics because I'm sure I'll get them wrong. BUT you can read her blog for yourself... Eve vs. Wilms

Eve's mom Christy is absolutely hilarious and writes from the heart. Eve is currently cancer-free...woohoo! But Christy continues to be a warrior in raising money for research to help current and future families. She'll be hiking The Ultimate Hike in October as one of her many fundraising gigs.

So in honor of Eve and to help Christy, I am auctioning off a Kayteedids Lovey and 100% of the total sold price will be donated to CureSearch for Children's Cancer - the organization that the Ultimate Hike is designed for.

The auction is on Facebook with the help of The Mom Shoppe who has a lot more followers than I do. Click here to go to The Mom Shoppe, "like" the page, then go to the multi-vendor album. Look for this blanket to bid on (#33)!  Just to clarify, my blanket is the only one being donated to this charity.  The other items are strictly for the vendor unless it states otherwise.

If you don't have a facebook account but would like to contribute to the fundraiser, click here to donate The Ultimate Hike.

I did it!

I finished knitting my very first scarf!  In my previous post you'll notice that I started with red yarn and skinny needles.  Well, my hands hurt so bad after get that far along that friends suggested I try larger needles.  That worked!!  I upgraded to a 15 instead of 10's.  And I found yarn that was less "stringy" which made it difficult for a first timer like me to follow where my actual stitches were.

Here is my finished product!

I used the basic knitting stitch for the entire thing.  And I didn't follow a pattern (because I never follow directions until I'm half way through with something and realize I did it wrong) so it's a bit wide for a scarf, but the person who is receiving it as a gift will love it no matter what it looks like.  He'll have to remain nameless though incase he's reading this. ha!

Up next?  Another scarf! This time I'm learning the Purl stitch, and I learned my lesson so I'll be making this one skinnier.

I followed this youtube video.  There are no words so you don't have to have your sound on!