Gingham Skies

Fantastic Homemade Play Dough!

2011-10-16T08:34:00.002-04:00

Homemade play dough, a photo by FrankenberrysKiss on Flickr.

I was teaching a small group of students in September and my program was primarily sensory based therefore play dough play was a daily event in our space. A few of the kids couldn't stop themselves from eating the yummy looking materials and although Playdoh is considered non-toxic I have read that there is petroleum in it which is just nasty and it is definitely not for those with gluten allergies so I went on the hunt for Gluten Free Play Dough recipes.

Google turns up a million possible recipes but I also read a load of posts from people complaining about gritty, stinky, sticky results so I spent a good deal of time reading reviews before settling on the first recipe I'm going to share with you. Super easy to make and the finished product is comparable to 'real' Play doh without the nasty smell.

Gluten Free Playdough
Recipe snagged from THIS site

WHAT YOU NEED
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup hot water
1 tsp. cooking oil
food coloring

WHAT YOU DO
1. Mix all ingredients together in a pot, cook on low heat, stirring occasionally for at least 5 minutes or until it forms a ball.

2. Remove from heat, let cool for 10 minutes.

3. Scoop into a large bowl, add at least 1/2 cup more rice flour, and 1/2 cup more corn starch, knead until well mixed and no longer sticky. Store in airtight container.

Rice flour is a little pricey and I'm cheap so I hunted further for recipe that wasn't gluten free. I found a blog called Robin's Song and the author shares an awesome recipe there. I made a batch of her dough for the Rockstar yesterday and it turned out really well - not at all sticky or stinky. My only word of advice would be to split the batch up once you've mixed all the ingredients together so that you can make various colours. I was a bonehead and added the colour to the whole batch which left me with an insane amount of blue play dough. Whoops! Looks like the Rockstar will be arriving at daycare with the gift of a big ass ball of blue dough tomorrow.

Homemade Playdough

Recipe snagged from THIS site

WHAT YOU NEED
3 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Salt
3 cups Water
2 TB vegetable oil
1 TB Cream of Tartar
Food coloring or unsweetened Kool-Aid pkg for color.

WHAT YOU DO
1. In a large saucepan mix all ingredients together

2. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and gets too thick to stir (about 10-15 minutes).

4. Remove from heat and let cool until it can be handled.

5. Place on counter or wax paper and knead several times until smooth. Store in an air-tight container.

I will never purchase Play doh for my child now that I know how easy it is to make non-toxic, non-stinky dough myself.
AWESOME! Love this recipe and will use it again and again.

A Reason to Celebrate the Number ONE

2011-10-15T08:56:00.008-04:00

Alright so it was almost 4 months ago now but our Rockstar turned ONE on June 24th!! What a strange feeling to look at him asleep in his crib that morning and think that a year earlier we were in the hospital staring at this little man for the first time.

We had cupcakes for breakfast. Yum!

He really wasn't a huge fan of the chocolate cupcake but he did try a little (his first taste of chocolate) and made a minor mess. Mike took the day off work and we spent the day playing, the Rockstar's grandparents all popped over to with him a happy day and of course he ate his favourite foods and watched an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba.

We went to African Lion's Safari the following day; it was the first time for both the Rockstar and his Daddy and we had a great time!!

Daddy's first time carrying The Rockstar in the carrier
I think they were both pretty comfortable with this arrangement. :)

We threw a first birthday party for the wee man in July. Immediate family and a few close friends made up the guest list; the kids played in the kiddie pool and had a blast on The Rockstar's roller coaster while the adults roasted in the afternoon heat. Despite the crazy heat I think everyone had a good time; I know the Birthday Boy and his parents did! I'll share more details around the party in another post.

The Rockstar's 12th month (June) was really an awesome month. We took our first solo trip to visit my girlfriend Cara and her family - just the Rockstar and I on a 5 hour flight - I was a bit nervous but he was a stellar traveler. We had an amazing time out West, we spent loads of quality time with Cara and Rosie which is rarely possible due to the distance obviously but also the many obligations Cara and Herwig have when they come home to visit. I wish I could afford to travel to Van every year for a few days to catch up...maybe one day!

Mike was happy we were able to get away but obviously disappointed he wasn't able to join us; we missed him!! I purposely did not encourage the Rockstar to work on standing skills while we were away, I didn't let his hand go AT ALL when he was standing in open spaces for fear of him standing on his own and Mike missing it. Clearly my tactic worked!! When we returned home following our trip he showed off immediately by standing independently for about 20 seconds!! A few stumbling steps happened in June as well, and of course that was super exciting!

I still can't believe we have celebrated our son's first birthday. He is now going to experience all of the special holidays a second time which is crazy to me. It blows me away to think of how much he has changed in the last year and I cannot even begin to imagine what changes will take place this year. Of course I'm not going to worry too much about it, I'll just continue to do what has been working well so far: live in the moment and enjoy every second of our time together as a family

Happy Belated First Birthday, Baby Boy!! Mommy & Daddy love you to the moon and back, times infinity. xoxoxo

A late 11 month update!

2011-10-15T08:49:00.002-04:00

May was the great sleepover month!! The Rockstar had his first sleep over at Granny and Grandad's and another at Grams and Papa's house; of course he slept through the night. Tooth number five arrived this month! Lots of gross motor development: sitting up for the first time with no help, standing without support for about seven seconds, standing up in his crib using the rails for support!! So awesome!

This month The Rockstar started signing "finished" and "bath" independently!! After dinner he would sign "finished" followed by "bath" and then point upstairs. "Cute" doesn't cut it, this kid is ridiculously adorable and of course brilliant!

I love the baby signing, it gives little peanuts some control over their world. I think so much of infant/toddler frustration comes from the inability to clearly communicate (both receptively and expressively) and signing takes some of this frustration away. Our Rockstar is big on pointing and it is super helpful, he still points a lot at almost 16 months but he started early and it has saved us many moments of stress.

Month 11 meant the introduction of one of the Rockstar's favourite foods: strawberries! He still can't get enough of his berries.

It's funny, my crazy monkey is almost 16 months old now, he's such a big boy now I can barely remember May - it's hard to picture him at a point when he was unable to get himself to a sitting position or stand all by himself. You've read it a trillion times and will read it a trillion more: time flies when you have kids. I thought it moved quickly before but had no idea how fast it could really fly by.

Happy Belated 11 months, Sweet Boy!!

Still kickin'

2011-10-15T08:28:00.002-04:00

I keep popping over here thinking about how I really should get back to blogging, and then one of 8 million other tasks pop into my head and I don't post anything. I miss leisurely reading my favourite blogs and I miss posting bits too so here's my umpteenth attempt at returning to it.

I have to apologize to my little Rockstar for missing his 11 and 12 month posts. He's almost 16 months old now and I had hoped to at least keep up with my monthly updates for his first year!! I'll to post a quick run down of months 11 and 12 now so that they have been taken care of. Thankfully I was still writing updates on the calendar then... I've bombed on that job recently as well. Whoops!

Here goes...

Vote: Rockstar for President!

2011-07-30T22:00:00.004-04:00

I'm not going to begin with an apology because I'm pretty sure I said I would stop commenting on how long it has been since my last post but wow has it been a long time since I last posted. I hope to return to regular posts soon - it's time I updated you on my world assuming "you" are out there (anyone? Anyone?!) That being said I'm suddenly busier than ever so 'regular' certainly won't be daily. I can't sort out how the mamas out there with a pile of kids, jobs (whether out of the home or in) and no nanny/cleaning lady/butler/man slave, manage to blog regularly. *sigh* Maybe I'll sort it out eventually.

In the meantime do me a huge favor please and vote for my sweet little man!! A local photographer is running a contest and the baby with the most votes wins a family photo shoot. She's an amazing photographer and I would LOVE some family portraits taken this fall, a free shoot would be amazing, don't you think??

I entered the photo above (without the text) and obviously he's the cutest baby ever (and no I'm not biased) but unfortunately it's a popularity contest so the most votes wins. Basically the person with the most friends or friends who are willing to vote daily will take the main prize but we're trying anyway. My husband had a great idea and if you ever decide to run a contest I think you should take his idea and run with it: run a popularity vote to determine the top ten or even five entries and then have a panel judge for the final winner. Geesh, where was Mike when the contest was being organized?! ;)

If you have a moment please click HERE and vote for the Rockstar on Nova Photography's facebook page.

Little People Prezzies

2011-05-19T11:42:00.002-04:00

I admired a ton (or is it tonne?) of alphabet prints when I was preggers. The plan was to purchase a print for the Rockstar once he arrived but we never got around to it. The more I thought of it the more I disliked the idea of spending money on something that I knew would be easy to make on my own. Now I'm picturing Mike shaking his head and saying something about me being frugal followed by "I'd rather you were frugal than shopping for Gucci".

Anyway, since my favourite photo editing site Picnik can be used for so much more than photos I figured I would try to make some printables over there. If you've never used Picnik you MUST try it out: it's perfect for invites and cards (I'll be showing you the Rockstar's first birthday invite soon), creating freezer paper stencils and transfers (I haven't used it for either but I have plans to do so), and of course creating hangable art. I used the free bits for at least a year and just purchased a premium account a few months ago - the extra features with the premium account are great and I received a free book through Snapfish when I signed up which actually cost more than the year subscription.

Back to the point of this post! I finally took some time a few nights ago to play around and I made up an 8 x 10 alphabet print.

Once I had created one version it was easy to go back and change the background and font colours and of course change the names.

The first letters on the lines the four letter names are on don't sit in the right place according to my eyes but I figure these will be framed and the letter will be cut off anyway. We'll see... I have to pick up a frame and print one to see how it looks.

I did create one for The Rockstar but I'm not sure whether I'm going to print it on paper to hang or on iron-on transfer paper for him to wear. Decisions, decisions!

I think these would make great new baby presents and I also thinking they would be cute transferred on to little tote bags for kids to use as library book bags. Maybe that's what I'll do with the Rockstar's.

Tiny Tasties

2011-05-17T21:07:00.006-04:00

photo credit: Bakers Royale

I'm super proud of both of my parents. They have been working hard for the past few months to lose weight and both of them look fabulous!! More important than how they look is how they feel and they are both feeling fantastic!

It certainly isn't easy to lose weight and anyone who has tried knows how important it is to indulge every now and then in order to avoid an all out binge on a really crappy day. Someone (and for the life of me I can't remember who) linked to these super sweet treats which led to the recipe for the cute and delicious looking Banana Split Bites pictured above and a new-to-me awesomely yummy blog Bakers Royale.

I haven't taken the time to figure out how many points each would be (my parents are using the Weight Watchers point system) but I think that it would be minimal and even less if I substitute frozen yogurt for the ice cream. I remember my mom ordering banana splits from Dairy Queen when I was little and although I haven't seen her eat one in years I have a feeling she would share a couple of these with me if I made them. I'm looking forward to giving this sweet little treat a test run once the weather warms up again.

There are a pile of recipes that make me go "YUM!" over at Bakers Royale but of course the most yum inducing for me involves a chocolate peanut butter combo.

image source: Bakers Royale

Frozen Reese Peanut Butter Pie: I am holding back tears of joy while thinking about the yum factor. Oreo cookie crumb crust?! Seriously. Genius. Naomi mentions that you can make four mini cakes or one large one. Of course the mini cakes would mean less waste. Hahahahahaaha! Who am I kidding?? Waste? I could scarf back this cake all on my lonesome and I'm sure I could find a few people to share it with if I decide to skip the terrible greedy girl bellyache.

Check out Bakers Royale and leave a comment linking to your favourite find if you feel the urge to share!

Boing

2011-05-15T20:26:00.005-04:00

Spring finally sprung around these parts; we've had loads of rain and a fair amount of sunshine. The Rockstar was showing off his chunky little legs in a pair of shorts on Friday while I donned a tank top and now it's chilly again and he's sleeping in a fleece sleep sac with his window shut tight. At least we have had a taste of warmth and know that it really isn't too far out of reach now.

Once again I forgot to post my entry for the Iron Craft challenge. The theme was Spring and with Mother's Day falling during the challenge week it was a perfect excuse (not that I need one) to make a little something for one of my very best friends: my unbelievably amazing mom.

My mom loves birds and my parents backyard is a little oasis for them so I thought a birdhouse would be the perfect gift. I learned my frugal ways from my parents so she was pleased to hear I scored the unfinished bird house from the dollar store.

I was ready to hit Michael's to purchase some decals but found some that were just perfect for this project in the same shop I found the house in.

I used three coats of tung oil (left over from the deck project last year) to finish the houses and then applied the decals. I finished the houses off with a couple of coats of spray-on clear finish meant for outdoor projects. There is one step I didn't think of but thankfully my dad did so I've taken the house back for a few days in order to get this done: drilling holes in the bottom of the house to let any water/waste escape.

I have two more houses waiting for me to tackle them. I bought some funky shape decals to use on the one that will hang in our backyard: here's hoping it will attract some pretty birdies for the Rockstar to admire.

Speaking of moms I didn't get around to posting on Mother's Day! I hope all of you fabulous Mamas out there had a lovely day! A special Happy Mama's Day to my superfantabulous mom Lois and my amazingly awesome mom-by-marriage Bridie.

I was spoiled with sleeping in, a yummy brunch, coffee on the deck, an afternoon walk, swings, chocolate peanut butter, a beautiful photo FAMILY photo frame and a delicious bbq dinner: an absolutely wonderful first Mother's Day. Two cards, one from my baby boy and one from my big boy made me sniffle. Love and hugs and smooches to my two boys for making my day perfect.

Sunny Resort Blouse Take 1

2011-05-15T15:51:00.005-04:00

I finally got around to snapping a few pics of the shirt I made for myself using the freebie pattern from Adey of The Sew Convert found over at Grosgrain. I would certainly use this pattern again but I would choose a more flowy fabric like she suggested. I went with a quilting cotton for my first attempt because I didn't want to spend a pile of money on fabric to find out that the style didn't suit me.

I learned a few things while making this puppy:

1) Use double sided bias tape for the edging. The nasty woman I dealt with at the fabric store looked at me like I was an idiot when I asked whether she recommended single or double sided so I (stupidly) took her snapped advice of single sided. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo but I used the single sided to edge the neck and it's wrinkled. I spent ages online trying to find a tutorial for using single sided bias tape after the neck difficulties and found nothing. In the end I found a few packages of double sided bias tape in my stash and used that for the rest of the shirt and five minutes later it was finished: easy peasy! I should have ripped out the neck and edged it with the double sided tape but oh well.

2) Remember to consider shrinkage when deciding how much fabric to purchase. Duh - this seems like an obvious thing to do but I didn't think of it. Thankfully I had a bit of cute purple fabric in my stash that worked out perfectly for adding some length to the shirt (actually I'm happy the oops led to this addition, I think it adds something to the finished product)

3) Don't make the belt and belt holes. I debated whether or not to add the belt and in the end I made one and added the holes to the shirt and I shouldn't have bothered. The belt looks super cute on Adey but it does nothing for my shape -- should have followed my gut on this one. Thankfully the pattern on my shirt hides the button hole belt loops pretty well so I can still wear it without the belt.

I would highly recommend this pattern to beginners. Super easy to follow instructions and a relatively quick start to finish project.

It's About Time

2011-04-28T21:02:00.004-04:00

I can't believe I FINALLY did it!! I sewed a piece of clothing for myself and not only does it fit: it looks cute! I have one final thing to do before sharing the details with you. I intend to finish up tomorrow and will have Mike snap some pics of my creation on Saturday so I can post. I can't believe I didn't take the plunge sooner: this little project has given me the itch to make more and the itch is going to be scratched with today's free pattern over at Grosgrain. The knot shorts by Elsie Marley are adorable!! My only issue is the length... I think the knot might look odd on a long pair of shorts but I don't want to go Daisy Duke short either. What to do, what to do...

Oh My!! Free Patterns!!

2011-04-26T21:55:00.003-04:00

Mmm Grosgrain. I wish I could create patterns and sew clothing like Kathleen; she is one talented woman! I used to visit her blog often to gaze at her beautiful creations but I've been neglecting my regular reads for months and months and... you get the picture.

Thankfully Jennifer from All Things Belle (a new regular read of mine that I'm actually reading regularly) mentioned Grograin in a recent post which reminded me to slip over for a peek and WOW have I been missing out. There is so much yummy eye candy I need to gobble up! I'm loving the new regular features Kathleen has come up with and can't wait to see what fabulous bits she has in store.

The best part of popping over to Grosgrain now is that it's Free Pattern Month which means tutorial central!! One of the patterns from Day 1 shared by The Sew Convert is for a super funky blouse that looks totally doable!! It's time for me to FINALLY make a piece of clothing for myself. I need to find the right material for this project but have a feeling it will take me a ridiculous length of time to pick it out. Hmmm... tomorrow the Rockstar is going to his Granny's to be spoiled for the day. The fabric store is between the stable where I'm volunteering in the morning and my house; I might have to make a pit stop on my way home. I'll let you know how it goes.

Looking for some inspiration? Hop on over to Grosgrain and you'll find lots!

10 Months Young

2011-04-24T08:24:00.000-04:00

Only two months until your birthday!! I know I say it every month (really I think it at least ten times a day) but I can't believe how quickly time has gone since you arrived on the scene. Our days are filled with toys, giggles, books, walks, cuddles, snacks, swimming, music, kisses and did I mention cuddles?

A big moment this month was when you said DaDa for the first time. Daddy and Mommy were both in the room when you said it and now it's part of your daily chatter. You have a few other new weird and wonderful noises (you've discovered talking with your mouth closed which produces some pretty funny sounds) and really seem to enjoy practicing different volumes. You definitely prefer the high pitched squealing over anything else; we had to leave the gelato shop last week due to your screeches of delight. When you see a kitty cat now (real or in a book) you often make a soft squealing sound as if you are trying to meow. You love EC so much and if she would just stay still long enough you would certainly eat her tail and pull her hair, thankfully she moves fast.

You have discovered that breathing quickly through your nose only makes a cool sound - much to our amusement - you make the cutest scrunched up face when you do this. Ahhh yes and there is the head shake. Daddy taught you to shake your head back and forth while playing peek-a-boo with the curtains a couple days ago. You have put two and two together and seem to understand that besides being a fun thing to do it also means no.

Whining when you want something or don't want something or are tired or are hungry is happening on a daily basis now. Sometimes you bellow MummmmmmMummmmMummmm while whining and other times it's just a steady whimpering. Oh how I love you and all of the things you do but the whine is a noise I could easily do without. I know you are communicating your needs/wants and when I'm not listening to the mewing I can think about this logically and be happy you've figured this out but when it's happening it's a little like nails on a chalkboard. I'm learning to tune out the sound while trying to figure out what it is you want, I figure I better learn to ignore it now because I'll be hearing this tone (hopefully not daily) for at least the next 20 years.

A great deal of the whining happens because you are having to sit/lay down when you want to be walking. Walking, walking, walking, walking: if you could walk every waking moment you would be the happiest baby on earth!! It's great and exhausting but more great than exhausting. Unfortunately I still have to make your lunch and change your bum and those things we can't do while walking, hence the whining. You haven't started cruising yet but will stand holding onto the couch for long periods of time; the only reason you collapse is because you have yet to figure out that letting go or pushing back means landing in a heap on the floor. You'll figure it out soon enough and then we are in big trouble. You don't like being told no and had your first temper tantrum a couple weeks ago: foot stomping and all. Crazy monkey.

Your top front teeth have popped through! Now you have a grand total of four teeth and I'm pretty sure the fifth is about to join the others. You handled the arrival of these new visitors like a champion and look extra cute when you smile big enough for us to see the new little bumps.

The weather is finally acting more like spring than winter so we have been going out for long walks when we can. What a change from last summer/fall when we could only make it around the block (if that) before you would start to cry and want out of the stroller. Now we are out for an hour at a time and you are thrilled! You love watching the geese in the pond and checking out all the doggies we see walking with their owners. You met Uncle Garry's husky Cody last weekend and that was the closest you have been to a big dog: you weren't entirely sure about him but gave tiny half smiles and put one finger out showing us you were seriously considering touching him.

Swings!! Wow do you love the swings! We took you to Waterloo Park a couple weeks ago for the first time this year and had so much fun. You absolutely loved playing on the swings and looking at all of the animals. You wanted to touch the llama and mini-horses so badly; we are definitely going to be taking you to a petting zoo this spring/summer. We have found a bucket swing a 15 minute walk away at the Pirate park and have been there a few times now. We are buying you a swing set for the yard and I have a feeling you'll be reaching for the swing often.

Bubbles are another new found love. You haven't quite figured them out but you like watching them float by and sometimes you're quick enough to pop one. Once the weather cooperates again (we have had lots of rain) you can play in your jolly jumper on the deck and pop some more bubbles.
What will your eleventh month have in store for us?? Will you start to move around independently: crawling or walking maybe? Will you have new words? Try eating some new foods? More teeth?? No doubt you'll surprise us over and over again as you seem to do each and every day.

You are becoming your own little man Baby Boy and Mommy and Daddy are super lucky to have front row seats for the show!! xoxo

Dedicated to the Nasty Taxman

2011-04-21T09:37:00.006-04:00

This week's Iron Craft challenge was titled "The Taxman". When I say those words I picture a scary man with big gnashing teeth snatching at my wallet so I thought it was appropriate to finally make this ridiculously ~~cute~~ scary monster pillow that eats teeth in exchange for money. A super big thanks to Ellen from The Long Thread for sharing the tutorial during Celebrate the Boy.

The Rockstar is teething again (hence the drooling in the photo below). The poor nut had both top teeth make their entrance in a three day time span. Ouch. This monster is dedicated to his mean but cute new teeth.

Side note from the Tooth Fairy to the Rockstar: This particular monster will spit out Canadian funds in the future, all the photographer had on hand for this snapshot was an American bill from the travel stash.

Fab Pick of A Few Weeks Ago

2011-04-14T11:37:00.003-04:00

My super awesome fantabulous girl Tanya gave me this funky bracelet for my birthday. Not only does it look cool, it's designed to be baby friendly. Roundhouse has created these fab Oh Plah! bracelets from "medical grade thermoplastic- non-toxic, bacteria resistant, and free of lead, latex, PVC, BPA and phthalates." In other words your babe can gnaw on this piece of jewelery and you don't have to wonder whether they really should be or not.

Lovin' Our 'My Monkey Moo' Winnings

2011-04-13T22:12:00.003-04:00

You may remember me mentioning my streak of good luck a couple weeks ago. Well we received a package in the mail last week with the goods from the second giveaway I won and WOW! Lusso Baby (check out their blog for awesome daily giveaways) sent us a gorgeous stroller set from My Monkey Moo. I thought the set looked fantastic online but I've got to say I was really impressed when I opened the box and saw the quality of the pieces.

I finally got around to rounding up some photos of the Rockstar and his new goods. Here he is modeling the awesome stroller pad we received. I love the fact that there's now a cozy layer between him and the stroller. I was a bit worried that his lap belt clip thingos wouldn't fit through the holes in the pad (the clips are heavy duty on the Baby Jogger) but they fit just fine. My other concern was around folding the Jogger with the pad on (the fold strap is under the pad) but all I have to do is reach under and grab the strap, it doesn't get in the way at all.

The matching stroller blanket is awesome! It's large enough to wrap around the Rockstar but small enough to tuck in the basket under him when it isn't being used. I love the minky backing - super cozy! This blanket is basically a larger version of the baby blanket I made for my little man so of course I love it.

And finally the matching Monkey Bucket. Funny that I made a fabric bucket just a few weeks before winning this one. I didn't have handles on my original bucket but will on the next one I make. The Monkey Bucket is a good size and the perfect place to stash the million little balls, cubes and rattles we have scattered around the house.

A super huge thank you to the giveaway host Lusso Baby (a baby bits store located in North Vancouver) and to Christine in particular who went out of her way to switch the pattern of the set to suit my little man - the original winning set was in pink and brown which was a super cute but not ideal for my Rockstar and his green stroller.

Of course thank you to My Monkey Moo as well!! We LOVE the set and have used it daily since receiving it. Yippeeeeeeeeeee!

Iron Craft Challenge 15: Peeps!

2011-04-13T12:40:00.003-04:00

The end result may not be pretty but they were certainly tasty. Notice that sentence was written in the past tense? They didn't last long,

For this week's Iron Craft Challenge we were asked to use Peeps (either bunnies or chicks). I went the edible route rather than the crafty route.

These not-so-pretty-in-pink bunnies were stuffed with a fantastic peanut butter filling (recipe can be found at 17 and Baking but I'll be posting the recipe in a few days because the original peanut butter pretzel bites are to DIE for) and then dipped in chocolate. The two that were dipped entirely in chocolate didn't live very long, I couldn't help myself plus they looked like big chocolate blobs and not Peepish at all.

Believe it or not this challenge forced me (twist my rubber arm) to try Peeps for the first time. I wasn't a huge fan until I sliced one open and filled it with peanut butter goodness. Yum!

Happy Day!

2011-04-12T22:18:00.003-04:00

I am one lucky girl. Not only am I blessed with an amazing husband and a perfect son but I have the best dad a girl could possibly hope for. I'm not just saying that because it's his birthday either, he truly is an awesome man. My dad would give you the shirt off his back without hesitation. He smiles easily and laughs often. Did I mention he's a total softie? He is definitely a man who isn't afraid to show his emotions and that is just one of the million reasons why I love my dad so much.

Today the Rockstar and I helped Dad/Papa celebrate his birthday with lunch and a walk to the park. The Baby Extraordinaire and I had an awesome afternoon and I think the birthday boy did too.

Thanks for spending your special day with us, Dad! We love you!! xox

Iron Craft: Best in Show

2011-03-30T07:43:00.002-04:00

For Iron Craft's 13th challenge we were given the theme 'Best in Show'.

I think my entry kind is kind of pathetic but the kitty likes it and really that's the most important thing. Here is my oh so lovely (note the sarcasm) catnip fish.

Hop over to the Iron Craft blog to see the rest of the entries this week.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2011-03-29T09:41:00.000-04:00

Mike would happily eat taco salad five nights a week if I made it that often. Last week I had everything ready to rock for tacos but when I reached for the tried and true Old El Paso packaged seasoning I found zip zilch nada in the cupboard. Annoying.

A few choice words were muttered and then in walked Google to the rescue. I don't think I'll buy the packaged goods now that I've found this recipe. I intend to make up a bunch of it and stash it on the spice shelf for easy access.

Taco Salad Tuesdays

What You Need:

Taco Seasoning
1 tbs chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp course salt

Taco Salad
crushed tortilla chips (multigrain are yummy)
lettuce
grated cheese
salsa
assorted fruits and veggies (whatever you like on tacos: onions, tomatoes, avocado)
ground beef
sour cream

What You Do:
1. Mix all the spices together.
2. Brown your ground beef on med-high as usual.
3. Turn heat down to med-low.
4. Add some water (I add half a cup for half a pound of beef).
5. Add a bunch of the spice mix (how helpful is that? "A bunch". I used a couple heaping tablespoons but tasted as I added.)
6. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
7. Layer your goods however you like. Crushed tortillas, cheese, meat, cheese, salsa, lettuce, sour cream etc.
8. EAT!

Great. Thank you, Tanya. Another addiction.

2011-03-25T20:08:00.002-04:00

Japanese Washi masking tape is lovely. There are a million beautiful designs and it can be used for a billion different projects. I love the fact that it can be easily removed and reused. It doesn't lose it's stick, how great is that??

I was lucky enough to receive two rolls of tape for my birthday from Tanya. Rather than oohing and aahing over it for a year and saving it for that 'perfect project' that never seems to show itself I went ahead and used some to prettify a jar to hold safety pins.

I started with this:

and finished with this:
Excuse the not-so-fabulous photo, it was taken with my cell phone.

Create your own little jar by simply wrapping a jar with pretty tape. I added a felt circle with a safety pin attached to the lid. The circle hides the writing on the lid and tells me at a glance what's in the jar. The felt bit was attached to the top of the jar with another new-to-me supply that I can't get enough of: spray adhesive. I have had a thing for office supplies for a long time (as weird as that sounds I know I'm not alone, there ARE other office supply loving freaks out there) and now craft supplies have crept into my heart. I'm blaming this new love on my mom.

If you do a search on Etsy under 'supplies' for Japanese masking tape you'll find loads of shops that carry it. You'll see a post with some of my favourite designs with links to shops sometime soon.

Lucky Me!

2011-03-24T20:57:00.006-04:00

Lucky me!! I've been on a bit of a winning streak these last few weeks. Maybe I shouldn't say that out loud, I may have just jinxed myself. Then again I didn't technically say it, I wrote it which means I should be all good. I'm rambling.

Two weeks ago I had three lucky moments in a 24 hour period so I figured that was it, but then I won another great giveaway this week so it seems the streak is not over yet. Not that I'm greedy but who doesn't enjoy it when fantastic bits come their way??

The first three events started with a tiny woo hoo: I won a coffee. I was pretty excited about the free wake-up (see it doesn't take much) and then I received some amazing news! I am enrolling in a three week AQ (Additional Qualifications) course this summer to become "officially" qualified to teach children who are deafblind - this isn't the good news but I'm getting there. My college diploma and ten years experience as an intervenor certainly mean something but this course will be a great refresher, will be an opportunity to see what's new and exciting in the field, will ease me back into 'teaching' mode prior to my return to work in September (a somewhat tender topic for me right now), and of course it will look great on paper. POINT BEING: I've been planning to take this course and was waiting for registration to open when I received a phone call and a text message within minutes of each other from two of my friends/colleagues - oddly enough neither knew that the other was contacting me. Yep I'm finally getting to the point: here's the news, wait for it.... A fabulous advocacy group - I'm unsure whether or not I should name them at this point in time so I'll keep that info to myself - has offered to pay the tuition for those taking this particular AQ course this summer!! That's beyond generous and I couldn't be happier! See?! LUCKY. I'm still floating around thanks to this unbelievable news.

The third bit of luck came when I won a giveaway! I haven't entered any for quite some time and then Kristy from Manager to Mom started posting giveaway roundups and I found myself once again hunting for fabulous free goodies. The best part of giveaway hunting is finding new blogs, shops and goods worth knowing about. Everything Mom and Baby put a Tot Seat from Lil Mango up for grabs on their Facebook page and I won!! Yay for me!!

Of course the Rockstar landed in the seat just moments after we tore into the package today. The fabric seat cover was super easy to figure out and it held the wee man snugly: I had no worries of him falling out of the chair and he was super wiggly while modeling. He seemed quite comfy and didn't complain one bit about sitting in the big person chair.

You can see from this photo that my son is not only a Rockstar but also a genius. Notice the instruction manual in his hand? He was reading the instructions to Beary and me while I worked.

Thanks to Everything Mom and Baby and Lil Mango for this awesome prize and thanks also to Kristy for mentioning it on her Facebook page!! The Tot Seat has been tucked into our diaper bag and will put to good use.

It's Cool to be a Follower

2011-03-23T15:24:00.004-04:00

We teach kids to be a leader not a follower but today's lesson is just the opposite: FOLLOW ME, PEOPLE!

Jennifer from All Things Belle made a fantastic point in a post last week: blogs with Facebook pages tend to get more traffic. I'm not overly concerned about the number of visitors I get - okay I'm honestly not even a tiny bit concerned - but I thought that a FB page would help save all of you fabulous (8 billion plus) followers time popping over here to find out that YET AGAIN I have not posted anything new. LIKE me on FB and if your settings are so that posts on the pages you LIKE show up in your feed you'll see my updates on your News Feed when you log in.

Once I open the shop up again (I think I will in June but we'll see how things are rolling at that time) I think the FB page will really come in handy.

Thanks, Jennifer for motivating me to make a page and for adding another online TO DO to my list.

Super late Happy Eight Months!

2011-03-23T11:00:00.000-04:00

Note: This post was written a month ago but somehow I managed to hit save instead of post! Whoops!

Three quarters of a year old and some how you manage to make your mommy and daddy fall more deeply in love with you every day. I'm not sure how you do it because we both love you to infinity and beyond but every time you smile, nuzzle your little head into our neck or cry your giant crocodile tears our hearts swell even more. You are truly an amazing little boy.

You sit up like such a big boy now and rarely do you topple over. When you do fall you smile more often than you cry. You roll like a champion and are pushing up and straightening your arms while on your belly now, we're sure you'll be moving around commando style very soon.

You definitely take after your daddy and are a musician in the making! You started clapping your hands this month at music class and can't get enough of it. You love to shake and bang things, everything is a drum: you are a pro at banging things together, smacking things with your hands and whacking things with your toys.

You make a funny clicking noise with your tongue and get a kick out of it when we make the sound back to you. We have many conversations made up entirely of tongue clicks these days. You've also figured out how to blow raspberries so rarely are you seen without a bib thanks to the streams of raspberry bubbles flowing from your lips.

The biggest news this month involves not one but two little teeth who pushed their way through!

Teething is not our favourite activity. You're a trooper and are pretty much your normal happy little self during the day but nights are awful. I think we may take out stocks in Gripe Water since it's the one thing that helps you calm down enough to eat during the night; I swear you would drink the entire bottle if I let you. Thankfully it was just a week of sleepless nights and it was worth it because now you can bite your crackers! I think you like the crunching sound your single tooth makes when you chomp down on your Mum Mums: silly goose.

Three quarters of a year!! That's unbelievable to me. It feels like just yesterday when you were placed in my arms... on the other hand I can't remember life without you.

Watching you learn and grow is the best part of my day. I love seeing your smile first thing in the morning and have a hard time leaving your sweet sleepy face at night. You truly are the best little being on earth. Thank you for choosing Daddy and I, Baby Boy!! We love you!

Iron Craft Challenge 11: Green (the colour not the Movement

2011-03-17T19:41:00.005-04:00

We are living with a Sleep Warrior which means nobody is getting a whole lot of the S word around here. I'm a sleepy mommy but I really want to participate in Iron Craft still so I may look like I'm slacking but until a certain someone starts sleeping a little better or I have a serious increase in energy (the sunshine and warmer weather are sure to help with that) I'll be taking the quick craft route. Holy run on sentence.

I heart buttons and have loads of them. I ended up with button sandwich magnets (which I love) but that was after I made hairclips that were cute but would never be worn:

See? Cute but they just don't work with my current do aka messy mop that is in the inbetween stage of growing out and desperately in need of a trim. Soooo I ripped off the buttons and revamped them into magnets.

I may end up making a million of these magnets. Super duper easy to do. I simply stitched two magnets together using a needle and thread (I guess that goes without saying. Duh. What else would you stitch them together with??), plopped a glob of glue gun glue on a small round magnet (found at the dollar) store and pushed the back of the button sandwich onto the glue. TA DA!

The buttons are now in charge of holding up this flyer we picked up while vacationing in Mexico a few years ago. It's stuck on our fridge and makes me laugh every time I read it.

My favourites from this week's challenge will be posted soon.

Fab Pick of Last Week... or was in the week before

2011-03-12T12:03:00.001-05:00

Only boy bits allowed for Fab Picks this month in honour of Celebrate the Boy. Little Lark was featured on Made and Made by Rae and wow do they have fabulous goods for sale in their shop. I had a hard time choosing just one item but I'm a bit robot obsessed these days so the Build a Bot onesie seemed most appropriate. Check out Little Lark for sweet gifts for both kids and adults (many of the images are available on grown up items too).

Iron Craft Challenge Love

2011-03-11T20:41:00.004-05:00

Time to pass out some love to the Iron Craft participants. Here are my favourite projects from challenge number 9 and 10.

Top picks from challenge #9 'and the Oscar goes to'

Not only are these paper flowers stunning there is something extra special about them. They were made from war veteran's uniforms that were turned into paper (called combat paper) as part of PTSD therapy. Read more at the flower creator's blog Ferntree Studio. Oh and the additional extra special thing: these combat paper flowers were created to be used in corsages that were worn to the Oscar's this year by a few key players from the movie Poster Girl!

More love for Paper, Plate and Plane. I love her creations!! Kill Bill inspired push pins: brilliant. A tutorial is available for these awesome little swords over at the Paper, Plate and Plane blog.

I had no trouble guessing that Black Swan inspired this beautiful project. I was impressed with the simplicity of this stunning craft (feathers in a glass display seems easy enough) and then I read the description: the feathers are made from card stock! Gorgeous!

My top three picks from this week's Fat Quarter challenge.

Dr. Russ does it again. Another beautiful project! A paper backed fabric piece looks stunning inserted into the top of this wooden box.

Adorable fabric matching game by All Things Belle. I've seen various tutorials for these sweet homemade matching games but this one means doesn't involve a sewing machine. Love it!

Thing 1 and Thing 2 created these fantastic fabric covered composition books. Great gift idea!

Fat Quarter Turned Tiny Bucket

2011-03-10T14:29:00.003-05:00

Between teething and a nasty virus there hasn't been much sleep around these parts lately. I've been on a blogging hiatus (and a cleaning hiatus, and a sleep hiatus, and a... you get the pont) and I missed the last two Iron Craft challenges. Honestly haven't even taken time to look through the flickr pool to see what the others came up with. By the time the Rockstar goes down at night I have found myself staring at the TV in daze or passed out in bed waiting for the sound of a sad little man in need of his mama.

I did start on a little something for last week's Oscar challenge but it was last on my list of TO DOs and never made it to the top; I may or may not end up finishing the project but if I do I'll be sure to share it with you. I do intend to post a roundup of my fav bits from challenge 8 and 9 still, hopefully within the next 24 hours.

On to this week's challenge!! The challenge was to use a fat quarter (18 x 22" piece of fabric) to create a little something. I've been itching to make some fabric buckets and I found a tutorial for a tiny one over at Ric Rac that required the exact amount of fabric needed (I adjusted the measurements so it was right on, otherwise I would have been over by a couple inches). I was pretty pleased with myself until just now... I may have broken the rules: is interfacing considered fabric? I'm going to say NO.

I heart this little bucket!! It's the perfect size to hold my fabric painting supplies. I can totally see myself making these little puppies to hold a bib, burp cloth and change pad for future baby shower gifts. I'm also thinking of making a bunch of them to hold the Rockstar's tiny toys (balls, cars etc) - wouldn't this be cute with some freezer paper stenciling or an applique?? Oh the possibilities!

Pop over to Iron Craft to see what everyone else has been up to this week!

Tantalizing Tuesday

2011-03-08T22:07:00.002-05:00

I'm always looking for new cookie recipes and last week I googled Best Chocolate Chip Cookies and found a fantastic new to me recipe on All Recipes. The recipe suggests it yields just 18 cookies but that's if you make MASSIVE cookies using a quarter cup to measure your dough drops. I made a few big ones and a pile of smaller cookies; I wish I could tell you the total number I ended up with but they were eaten too quickly for counting to take place.

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe taken from AllRecipes

What You Need
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

What You Do
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.
5. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.
6. Mix in the dry ingredients until just blended.
7. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
8. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time (if you want massive cookies) onto the parchment paper.
9. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.
10. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
11. Pour a glass of cold milk and take a bite. Yum.

BORING ALERT: Meal Planning Sunday

2011-03-06T11:08:00.005-05:00

Boring for you but hopefully this is going to save me many no longer quick (due to a tiny but mighty Rockstar) trips to the grocery store. I'm going to get back to my weekly menu planning. This is where I would sign off if I were you and if you choose not to than don't say you weren't warned if you fall asleep on your keyboard and cause permanent damage to it with your sleepy drool.

Sunday: fajitas (epicure fajita seasoning was finally tasted and I may have created a monster. Mike would eat these every night of the week if I agreed. I agree they are delish but do not agree to fajitas seven days a week). I mixed 2 tbsp of the seasoning with 1 tbsp olive oil and the juice of one lime. Yum!
Monday: spaghetti with meat sauce and - wow does this sound gross to me- hot italian sausage spaghetti sauce. I grabbed the wrong bottle of sauce off the shelf a few weeks ago and didn't realize it until I dumped it over the cooked ground beef; the initial aroma was not pleasant and I thought something was terribly wrong. I grabbed the jar and groaned, then shrugged my shoulders and thought "tough". The sauce mixed with ground beef and a couple spoonfuls of the epicure bolognese spice mix was AWESOME. Sometimes big oopsies turn out to be fabulous.
Tuesday: Pork with fruit salsa and rice
Wednesday: chicken and wee roasties - thinking the slow cooker will come into play here but have yet to find a super yummy recipe for chicken breasts in the slow cooker
Thursday: taco salad
Friday: order pizza
Saturday: beef stir fry

WAKE UP!

Happy Birthday Me

2011-02-21T08:35:00.004-05:00

I turned thirty-three yesterday. Another year older and another year wiser (so they say but my baby brain spits out things that certainly don't sound very wise). I do know that 32 will be a hard year to beat with it being the year the Rockstar entered our world.

That being said I already have something HUGE to look forward to thanks to an amazing birthday surprise from Mike! He and one of my best girlfriends have been chatting on the sly and they have arranged for the Rockstar and I to fly out to Vancouver in July for 4 or 5 days to visit with Cara and her sweet peanut. I can't wait!!! Cara's husband will be on a golf trip when we visit so it will be some quality time with the girls and babes.

Having most of my closest friends living flying distance from me can be tough (thankfully one returned home from Russia last summer - yay for me!) so this gift means an awful lot to me. It will be weird leaving Mike and home while the Rockstar and I fly off on an adventure and of course we'll miss him like crazy (we will definitely skype daily) but he has assured me he is all good and wants us to go and spend some time with Neen and her little lady.

We had a super yummy lunch with my family yesterday and I received some moolah from my parents: I have promised myself I'll put it towards something I want and not pay a bill with it. Now the question is what to buy: clothes, shoes, a cutting mat?? I'm seriously leaning towards the mat since it's something I curse myself for not having on a regular basis. A quiet afternoon with my boys was topped off with an evening of Scrabble with one of my best ladies (Tanya gave me a super cool gift too but I'll save that for another post).

image source

This past Tuesday I was treated to an evening at the ballet with my fabulous second mom and sister. Moulin Rouge put on by Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet. It has been a very long time since I attended a ballet and the last one I saw I wasn't uber impressed with which made this performance that much sweeter! The dancers were unbelievable, the choreographer was fantastic, the sets were wow, the costumes were beautiful: overall it was superb. Even those of us who couldn't remember the story from the movie knew exactly what was happening without help from a program thanks to the talented dancers and choreographers. I had a wonderful evening, thank you ladies!!

Saturday night my parents came over and babysat the Rockstar so that Mike and I could go out on our first date in eight months! We had a super delicious dinner and then hit the early showing of the movie Unknown (not bad). It felt good to be out on a date and we are definitely going to do this more often. It was the first time someone other than Mike or I ran through the Rockstar's evening routine with him so the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed myself and didn't stress about it all evening was a relief. I knew he would be fine, I was just slightly concerned about whether or not I had left enough food for him (pumping is not my friend). I wasn't worried about leaving him, I was worried about starting to worry though. Hehe. Of course he was his typical Rockstar self and went to bed with little trouble and didn't wake up hungry until after we arrived home. Thanks for watching the wee fiend, Mom and Dad.

Overall a fantabulous birthday week! A super big thanks to everyone for the lovely celebrations and an extra special thanks to Mike and the Rockstar for a perfect weekend full of treats and cuddles. Thirty-three has started off wonderfully.

Fab Pick

2011-02-17T23:05:00.004-05:00

Tell me you didn't have to look twice to figure out that it's a laptop and not a ghetto blaster! A stellar decal by Beepart: love the old school style. This is definitely for the the older crowd; I was with our school board's audiologist at an assessment last Spring and he turned to me and said, "This will make you feel old: watch this." He pulled out a cassette tape deck (picture the old flat ones used in your elementary school) , set it in front of the 8 year old child we were working with and asked, "Do you know what this is?" She gave it a good look, pushed a couple buttons and looked up at us with a confused expression. Enough said. A student a few years ago had no clue what a record was but a cassette deck?! Oh boy.

Loads of cool designs can be found in this etsy shop and the fact that it's a Canadian company is a bonus.

Iron Craft Challenge #7: Bling for My Baby

2011-02-16T20:36:00.003-05:00

This week's tast for the challenge was titled 'Midas Touch'. Bling bling! I wasn't so sure of this theme because I'm not a huge fan of yellow gold. After much thought I decided to use gold fabric paint on a hand-me-down brown hoodie the Rockstar had hanging in his closet.

I hunted online for free stencils and ended up at Lil Blue Boo (a blog I've been a zillion times) where I found an adorable robot stencil. I finally tried freezer paper stenciling using the tutorial I watched over at I Am Momma ages ago: I'm hooked.

Doesn't this photo kill you? He totally looks like he's posing, such a great little model. As soon as I ironed the stencil to the shirt I knew I wanted to add a little heart to the robot. A robot can't have just any old heart though so he has a star shaped heart.

Decided the Rockstar needed some bling on the front of his hoodie too and why not create a matching star-heart? I added a tiny initial letter because I was struggling to put the exacto knife down.

I'm loving Iron Craft!! It's motivating me to get going on projects (like freezer paper stenciling) that I have been itching to try. Wonder what the others have created, off to the flickr pool to find out.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T12:31:00.005-05:00

I promised you more photos of the sweet little angel from THE photo shoot but you'll have to wait a few more days because his grandparents have yet to receive their valentines in the mail and I don't want to spoil the surprise (hopefully the postman will pass them their way today).

I ordered a special something for Mike for V-day but it didn't make it to us in time SO I whipped up this little card for him. My hand sewing really needs some work but he loves me and my crumby stitches which is one of the 8.5 zillion reasons I love him.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Valentine's day - I spent it cuddling with my two fav boys and filling my belly with chocolate peanut butter. In other words it was a perfect day.

Tantalizing Tuesday

2011-02-15T12:21:00.003-05:00

For the 8 trillionth time I'm going to try to get back into posting a recipe on Tuesdays. When I've done this in the past it has motivated me to try new recipes and I would really like to add a few new meals and treats to our rotation. The slow cooker is going to be used one a week so if you have any suggestions for recipes you think I should try please leave a comment!

image source: Amanda's Cookin

I was googling my fav combo of 'chocolate peanut butter' and came across a yummy new-to-me blog titled Amanda's Cookin'. These Chocolate Topped Peanut Butter Bars looked so delicious I had to try them immediately; the Rockstar and I took a trip the grocery store and during his nap I whipped up a batch.

I followed Amanda's recipe almost exactly and the squares are yummmmmmmmy! I especially like the addition of pretzels to the base. The salty/sweet combo is delish. When I make this recipe again (and I most definitely will) I'll make two minor changes: add a few more pretzels and subtract a little bit of the powdered sugar so that the middle layer is a little more peanut buttery. If you would like to try this fab recipe visit Amanda's Cookin'.

Organized Home Project of the Week

2011-02-13T15:13:00.002-05:00

I'm still plugging away at the kitchen but have yet to take any before or after photos. This week I tackled the Rockstar's bookshelf. It was stuffed full of fabulous books but 80% of them were thin page books which he can't play with right now (think paper cuts, ripped pages and permanent drool damage). I removed all of the 'off limits' books and stacked them on a high shelf in his closet. Thanks to the removal of so many books the Rockstar's stuffies now have a home (at least temporarily - I need to find a good stuffed animal storage solution).

Slowly but surely things are coming together. The kitchen counter needs to be dealt with this week so I'm off to hunt for some organization solutions.

Gigantic Decals

2011-02-13T08:30:00.005-05:00

I'm always on the hunt for cool wall decals. We receive so many compliments on the huge tree in the Rockstar's nursery, it is a fantastic focal point. When he moves out of his room into his big boy room decals are definitely on the menu.

I found this shop e-glue and absolutely adore their collections!

I couldn't snag a photo but they sell individual decal creatures for the bathtub that are made especially for water so they can be placed in the bathtub without fear of peeling off. Fantastic idea! We have foam animals along the upper edge of our tub and the Rockstar loves staring at them but he can't reach them. It would be super cool to have a couple of these on the side of the tub where he can touch them.

The designs that initially caught my eye are the giga-kits. Superb gigantic decals that would look awesome in a child's room.

Don't be put off by the colours in the photos, you have your choice of primary and secondary colours - hop over to the e-glue site and see for yourself.

Iron Craft Challenge 6: Winter

2011-02-11T10:33:00.005-05:00

I've been wanting to chop up a map for a project for ages now so I took advantage of the Winter theme this week to do it. How does a map relate to winter? Well..... Mike and I have gone on a trip almost every winter since we met ten years ago AND our wedding took place in Mexico on Feb 1, 2007. I chose to use bits of the map that have some sort of meaning to us: places we have been together, places Mike grew up (South Africa, Ireland, Detroit) and places where we would love to visit one day.

This was my first attempt at using mod podge and paper to create a frame, the finished product isn't perfect but I'm pretty happy with it and I'm looking forward to creating more paper covered frames. I see the possibility of buttons and ribbon and glitter OH MY!

I was late posting my entry this week so I am not entered in the Challenge Vote BUT that doesn't mean you shouldn't hop over to the Iron Craft blog and vote for one of the other fantastic entries.

The reason I was late posting was because I was waiting for a time when I could take a decent no-flash photo of the frame (you can see from the picture that this didn't happen). The moral of this story is that I really need to make myself a light box so that I can snap good product photos after the monkey is in bed at night. That and I should seriously consider a new flash for my camera - maybe I'll ask for one for Christmas or treat myself if I am lucky enough to get a permanent contract come September.

I digress. I need a light box and there are loads of great tutorials for creating an inexpensive one. I figured some of you may also be interested so here are two great tutorials I'm considering: Polka Dots and Paper, JYO. Enjoy!

Mum Mum Mum Mum

2011-02-07T20:55:00.003-05:00

image source and awesome shirt from Small Roar

Our little Rockstar started saying Mamamamamamamama awhile ago but now he's saying Mummmmm. I know he doesn't know what it means but hearing him yell it over and over again today made my heart smile. I love hearing the word from his sweet little lips - a good thing because I'm going to hear it a zillion times in my lifetime - even the whiney wail muuuuuuummmmm is music to my ears (no doubt the novelty of the whiney version will wear off one day).

I'm hoping Dadadadada is the next big thing around here; he has said it once or twice but hasn't gotten the hang of making the 'd' sound just yet. Mamama, Babababa, Muuuum, and ppppfllllbt (accompanied by bubbles and spit) are his favourite "words" these days. Mike and I swear he said "apple" last week. I asked Mike if he wanted an apple and the Rockstar blurted out "Ab-bul". We both heard it and had equally stunned looks on our faces. Yes that's right, our child's first word was APPLE at 7 months of age. Brilliant.

Super Delicious and Super Easy

2011-02-07T20:20:00.002-05:00

I had a friend over for lunch today and whipped up this crazy quick and easy quiche in no time: we were both super impressed with the end result. I should have taken a pic because not only did this taste mega yummy but it looked awesome too. Next time I think I'll replace the broccoli and ham with spinach and mushrooms just to try something different BUT the broc and ham was fantabulous.

What You Need
2 cups milk
4 eggs
3/4 cup biscuit baking mix
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (10 ounce) package chopped frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
1 cup cubed cooked ham
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

What You Do
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Lightly grease a 10 inch quiche dish. (if you're like me you have no clue what a quiche dish is. I used a round 10 inch across, 4" (ish) deep baking dish)
4. In a large bowl, beat together milk, eggs, baking mix, butter and parmesan cheese. Batter will be lumpy.
5. Stir in broccoli, ham and Cheddar cheese.
6. Pour into prepared quiche dish. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, until eggs are set and top is golden brown.

Serve with a crunchy salad and be sure to start with an empty belly because you'll want more than one serving of this fab dish! Thanks, Allrecipes

Top Picks for Iron Craft Challenge #5

2011-02-05T11:26:00.003-05:00

I couldn't narrow it down to three this week so here are my fav four from the Be Mine Iron Craft Challenge this week.

Fantabulous zombie valentine from My Pursuit of Craftiness - Mike would looooove this.
Extra awesome because the zombie is a hand carved stamp modeled after her husband. Check out her blog for more details.

I am definitely going to try my hand at embroidery this year and this project looks like something I could handle! Love the design and the fact that The Modern Lady has shared her pattern over here.

Kitties need love too. Subliminalrabbit made some super sweet catnip toys for her feline friends.

Definite pop-up card inspiration created by Kat. More pics of this adorable card with a fantastic tutorial can be found here.

Next week's theme is WINTER. Still trying to decide what I'm going to make and looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with!

A Slow and Painful Death by Clutter

2011-02-02T20:42:00.005-05:00

Slightly over dramatic? Maybe BUT now that I'm home full-time with the Rockstar and we are into a routine I am beginning to feel like the clutter in our home is slowly suffocating me. I'm not an overly neat person and neither is Mike, this means we don't argue about the mess which is wonderful but we both contribute to it which isn't wonderful at all. Our home is clean (usually) but rarely looks tidy. It's hard to keep a home tidy when you have STUFF everywhere.

I've wasted a ridiculous amount of time recently looking for things because they don't have a place of their own. Previously I don't think this bothered me as much because I had time to waste: since the Rockstar arrived every moment feels full (in a good way) so wasting time looking for things frustrates me to no end. I spent 20 minutes wandering around the house with the Rockstar on my hip last week hunting for his nail clippers; this was after spending a good 15 minutes the day before doing the same thing. We could have been playing but instead we were on fruitless mission. I knew I had put them down somewhere a couple days before in a spot that I thought made sense at the time but for the life of me I couldn't remember where that spot was. Of course once I gave up in frustration I walked over to the sink to fill the kettle and TA DA there they were sitting on the windowsill because - well obviously - the windowsill is a sensible place to store a tiny pair of nail clippers. Silly, silly.

I am promising myself that I am going to make a serious attempt to declutter the house AND organize things so that I feel less stressed when I move around our space. Obviously I want this not only for myself but for the Rockstar and Mike as well.

This is where Megan's Organised Home Challenge of 2011 comes into play. I'm hoping that by joining the challenge I'll be more motivated to stick with my mission. The timing really couldn't be any better. Coincidentally last week I listed a handful of items on Kijiji (most of them have sold already) and I organized a few kitchen cupboards last week that were driving me mental. No longer do the spices look like a game of Jenga, nor are you risking a concussion by reaching for a mug. The Rockstar and I stopped mid-job to run to Walmart where we purchased a few expandable shelves which made a world of difference. By no means is the kitchen finished but I have made a good dent in sorting it out and when I open the three newly organized cupboards I can't help but smile. Funny how the very little things in life (like an organized cupboard) can make you feel good, isn't it? Is that ridiculous?

I have to figure out how I want to deal with the remainder of the kitchen before I work any further in there. I have been going over possible arrangements in my head but haven't found a plan that I'm in love with just yet. I'm setting the goal of completing the kitchen by the end of February. Fingers crossed!

Today after I read about Megan's challenge I cleaned out the linen cupboard: rolled up towels, tucked sheet sets into matching pillowcases (thank you Martha Stewart for that idea), tossed a bunch of useless bits in the garbage and a threw a pile of random things in the giveaway box. I should have taken a before and after photo: less than 30 minutes of work and the closet looks completely revamped.

I intend to post about my organizing/decluttering so that I can look back and remind myself of what I've accomplished and I may share some photos of the completed projects. Sorry there's no pictures today (I know you are deeply saddened by this - note the sarcasm) but I didn't have the time or the energy to take photos of the linen cupboard.

Wow this is a really wordy post; hopefully you don't feel like you're dying a slow and painful death by Jaime's jabbering. I feel like I should end with something that doesn't involve me blabbering on and on so here's a random photo of my Rockstar which shows off his stunning little eyeballs quite nicely. Unbelievably cute and definitely clutter free.

Iron Craft Challenge #5: Be Mine

2011-02-02T08:15:00.004-05:00

WARNING: Grams, Papa, Granny, Grandad, Aunts (both biological and pseudo) and Uncles DO NOT READ THIS POST IF you want your Valentine's card from the Rockstar to be a complete surprise!!

Iron Craft's challenge this week is titled Be Mine. It didn't take me long to decide what I wanted to pull together for this challenge: the Rockstar's first valentine's day card. Although I'm posting one photo of the finished product on flickr in the Iron Craft group I won't post any of the final photo shoot pics here at Gingham Skies until V-day. Okay, maybe you'll get one teaser but it won't show much because I don't want to ruin the surprise for the Rockstar's fans.

The fans are going to swoon due to the overwhelming cuteness of these pictures. I was literally rolling on the floor giggling over how adorable he looked while snapping the pictures (yes I admit I may be a teeny tiny bit biased but seriously it was ridiculous). Mike was rolling too but not on the floor: his eyes were rolling around in his head while he groaned and assured the Rockstar over and over again how he had absolutely nothing to do with this and how it was all "his mother's fault". That being said he couldn't help but smile (over and over again during the actual shoot) and did admit that the Rockstar was hands down the cutest cupid ever. I think all the groaning was for the benefit of the future teenage Rockstar who Mike feels will not be impressed the photographs his mom snapped of him in his awesome cupid gear at 7 months old. I would tend to disagree: he's going to show these pictures to his girl friends (not girlfriends, but girls who are friends since obviously he won't be dating until he's 25) and they are going to melt.

After all this hype I better show you a little something. The crafting I completed for this challenge included making wings as well as a softie bow and arrow. I was pleasantly surprised with my final results.

The Rockstar didn't have any issues with his gear and he didn't even bother much with the feathers which I initially thought would lead to a wrestling match between him and I (me trying to keep them out of his mouth and him trying to gobble them up). The softies turned out pretty good, I wasn't sure if they would actually look like a bow and arrow but I think they do - what do you think? The Rockstar love love LOVES the bow. The red elasticy bit is his favourite, he likes pulling on it and letting it go (my crystal ball shows me being whacked with many an elastic band in the future) and thinks it's absolutely hilarious when Mike makes a funny noise to go with the action.

Here's a shot of the original wings I made.

They ended up being waaaay too big so I snipped them down to a more appropriate size and added a ribbon to hold them in place.

And here's a sneak peek of the Rockstar: a quiet moment where he is getting into character.

Come back on Valentine's day to see the final valentine's day card I designed for the challenge as well as a few other pics from our photo shoot OR if you just can't wait and you're not a Grandparent of the Rockstar you can hop over to the Iron Craft flickr pool to see the card now.

I Did

2011-02-01T16:55:00.003-05:00

Four years ago today I married my best friend.

I thought I married the best of Mike, I honestly didn't think he could be any more wonderful than he was on February 1st, 2007 but I was wrong: the best was yet to come. After being with someone for almost eleven years you have a pretty good idea of who they are but the only way to determine what kind of parent they will be is to see them in action when/if the time comes. I've lucked out and am truly blessed to be married to a man who is not only an amazing husband but also an outstanding father. I love watching Mike with his little mini-me, the adoration that is mirrored in their eyes when they look at one another makes my heart skip a beat.

Four fantastic years under our rings and a new addition to share the rest of our lives with: what will the next four have in store for us?! I can't wait to find out! Happy Anniversary, Baby!!

Inspiration

2011-01-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

I've been tossing around the idea of making a book for the Rockstar and then Prudent Baby linked to this FABULOUS creation by Megan of mousehouse.

image source (mousehouse)

I can only imagine how much little Amelie adores her book, I could sit and stare at the pictures for ages and the sweet bits in the photographs don't have any personal meaning to me. I'm stashing this idea away for future use (a perfect gift for the wee man once he gets to a stage where eating and ripping paper isn't a high priority).

image source (mousehouse)

I love when I find a fantastic idea for a new project and it's even better when a fabulous blog is added to my regular reads because of it. Thanks, Prudent Baby!

Until my book eating boy is out of the paper shredding stage I think it's safest to stick with fabric and board books. I've been hunting for a site where I can order a custom board book and I found three decent options: My Custom Story, Custom Board Books and Hullabaloo Stories. Custom Board Books would be my first choice but unfortunately they are currently closed and there's no hint of when the shop will be reopening. I think My Custom Story is the best available option right now. The reviews are all good except for one minor detail: the words MY CUSTOM STORY are printed in big bold black ink along the spine of the book. I figure if this bugs me as much as it does others I can fix it with a little tlc.

The other option is for me to make my own book from scratch. I think I might try this first and if it's a total disaster I'll go ahead and order a custom book online. Have you ever heard of Bare Books?? Awesome site with inexpensive blank books available for purchase. Less than $2.00 for a blank 5" x 5" or 8" x 8" board book! There are great options for older kids as well: check out the blank comic books. Who knows when I'll get this project started, I'm hoping sooner than later though so stay tuned!

My Fav Three

2011-01-27T22:27:00.002-05:00

This is my favourite submission for Iron Craft challenge four and it makes me A: want to finally get off my butt and try freezer stenciling, B: buy a Cricut or Silhouette (as if I didn't want one bad enough already) and C: try iron-on velcro! Where have I been? I had no idea such a thing existed and I HATE sewing velcro strips on projects. Hop over to The Modern Lady blog to read more about this project.

Can't get over how cute this sweet little froggie is. It totally reminds me of Keroppi the Sanrio frog.

And there's this clever Cup of Tea cozy by Mrs. Green. The Pattern can be found HERE.

There are loads of great entries! Check them out in the flickr pool.

Fab Pick of Last Week

2011-01-27T22:22:00.002-05:00

Absolutely in love with the head phone hats made by ESCAO Designs. Total Bohemian Princess Leia: L.O.V.E.

Just a little late

2011-01-27T22:16:00.003-05:00

Late last week I received three emails from friends thanking me for the Christmas card that they had JUST received in the mail. I thought it was fitting to share it with you now since I never got around to it in December. Better late than never: HAPPY HO HO!

Iron Craft Challenge 4: Coffee Cozy

2011-01-26T20:10:00.002-05:00

Quick and easy challenge this week which - considering our weekend - was just what I needed in order to get it done. No more disposable coffee cozies for me, this little lady will be tucked into my car and put to good use on a regular basis. What a great way to use up some of my fav fabric scraps!

7 Months?!

2011-01-25T14:51:00.002-05:00

7 months old and visiting the salon already! The Rockstar has been rubbing his eyes non-stop thanks to his pesky bangs poking his little eyeballs so we took him in today to have them trimmed. He sat super still and admired his new do in the mirror when it was all said and done (a whole thirty seconds after the scissors started snipping). A comment was made by the owner of the salon that he has a total Brit Pop style happening and Emily (his stylist) said that she didn't want to ruin his look so she was only taking the bangs up a bit and we can visit in a few weeks for another trim. Yep, The Rockstar used his good looks and sweet demeanor to earn himself a free fringe trim: well done Baby Boy!

Another big month around here for the wee man. Rolling from his back to his front is his new favourite activity, I found him on his belly in his crib yesterday morning and he looked awfully proud of himself. He's back to sticking his tongue out and making lots of sounds. Oh and there are the kisses, can't forget those: he has started opening his mouth to give kisses. We are now attending Music Together classes on Tuesdays with Jess and Reid and The Rockstar loves it!! Mommy does too, it's a fun outing and it tires out a certain someone to the point where I can move him from his car seat to his crib without waking him (a task previously considered impossible). If you are a parent and have never heard of Music Together I highly recommend that you check out the program: it's a stellar music program with songs that sound like "real" music.

Seven months and better than ever! I say it every month but I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. We are loving every moment with the Rockstar, it's hard to believe because I truly believed he was as awesome as he could get the moment he was born but he continues to surprise us and is more amazing each and every day. We love you little man!! Happy 7 months!

Ribbon Love

2011-01-23T16:36:00.000-05:00

Cute ribbon is almost at par with fabulous buttons in my books. I killed some time a few nights ago ribbon hopping on etsy and here are some of my fav boyish finds:

shop for Knights

shop for Heroes

shop for Woodland creatures

shop for gators

shop for cars

shop for green polka dots

shop for blue polkadots

shop for sports balls

shop for Spaceships and Aliens

shop for Cars and Trucks

shop for Rockets

Boys Boys Boys!!

2011-01-23T15:32:00.000-05:00

image source

Anyone who sews or crafts and has boys in their world will know that finding tutorials and projects for cute boy bits online isn't the easiest thing to do. There are zillions of adorable sparkly, ruffly, sweet girlie bits to be found but not so many awesome boy goods. This is where Celebrate the Boy swoops in and comes to the rescue. Last year over at Made there was a month featuring BOYS: loads of tutorials, giveaways and links relating to fantabulous things for mini men. Click here to see the archives and find lots of fab tutorials.

The only thing better than Celebrate the Boy's well laid out archives would be a second round of celebrating, don't you think? Well lucky us! Dana from Made and Rae from Made by Rae
are preparing for round two of Celebrate the Boy. I can't wait for February 15th to arrive so we see what they have in store for us!

Do you believe in miracles? I do now.

2011-01-23T07:50:00.003-05:00

image source: valche's etsy shop

If I had any doubt in the existence of angels and miracles before I certainly do not now. Mike defied the odds and walked away from not one but two major highway accidents early Friday morning. TWO! Yes that's two totaled cars (our Lexus and a rental car) and three people including Mike who managed to leave two terrible accidents without any major injuries. Nobody was hurt in the other vehicles either: insane.

Thankfully neither accident was Mike's fault, not that I would be concerned if they were - that's why they are called accidents - but it's one less thing for him to think about. Reliving the second crash every time he closes his eyes - it involved a lot of crashing, spinning, rocking and three lanes of highway traffic speeding towards them while they were trapped in the car sitting in the fast lane - is enough for one person to worry. Adding guilty feelings to the mix is simply not necessary.

To think that things could have easily ended very differently... well I'm trying not to let my mind go there. I'm just grateful to have a very sore but able bodied Mike home safe and sound with us. Miracles do happen and we have proof: he is the love of my life and his name is Mike.

Another Milestone!

2011-01-21T07:43:00.000-05:00

I can see the headlines now: January 20th, 2011 The Rockstar Rocks and Rolls! Yes folks, the wee man is on the move, he finally went from his back to his belly and as you can see Daddy couldn't be more proud. Of course Mommy was thrilled about it as well but Daddy wasn't present for the first roll from front to back so he was excited to witness the roll. Of course the fact that the main event took place while our baby boy was reaching for Daddy's work tags was the icing on the cake for Mike. And not only did he roll once but after the first roll he went back to his starting position and did it all over again! Congratulations sweet boy, Mommy and Daddy are very proud of you! (and a little afraid - we better get baby proofing)

Serenity Wednesdays

2011-01-20T20:11:00.003-05:00

image source

I pledged (to myself) to find some 'me time' in 2011 and not feel guilty about it: so far so good. We are lucky enough to live in the same city as both Mike and my parents and both sets LOVE spending time with the Rockstar so finding someone to watch the wee man is not an issue. Did I mention how lucky AND grateful we are for this, because we do realize just how blessed we are.

Yesterday I was a total mombie after a long night with a terribly sad little shark who is teething - that Tooth Fairy better not cross my path, she won't like what I have to say to her - so honestly the last thing I wanted to do was get dressed and leave the house. Unfortunately we had our first swim lesson of the year at 845 am ARGH which went really well until the Rockstar dropped his face into the water and took a big gulp (I'm not sure who was more surprised, him or me), The remaining ten minutes of class was spent sniffing back tears (his, not mine) and chewing on a rubber fish (him, not me) while snuggling in the pool. Poor little guy was out of sorts thanks to those nasty teeth.

As if an early morning outing wasn't enough for one tired mombie, I had a yoga class booked for 330 pm. I could have bailed but I said I was going to try to be more active this year and I'm sure I'll miss another class or two somewhere along the line for a legitimate reason (being tired just didn't seem like a good enough reason to me). The Rockstar's Granny came to play with him and I stumbled out of the house...

Was it worth it? OH. MY. GOD.

Yes that's appropriate wording because it was a heavenly experience. It's not that I haven't been out of the house since The Rockstar made his first appearance on June 24th, because I have. It's just that I haven't been out for an extended period of time doing something purely for me that doesn't involve me talking to someone (keep the smart ass remarks to yourself big bro) such as a hair dresser or massage therapist.

It was by far the best yoga class I have ever attended and that's saying a lot because I loved my pre-natal yoga classes. The instructor is fabulous (she's a friend and colleague who I thought would be a wonderful yogi and she did not disappoint), the space is one where you are instantly relaxed just walking through the doors (same place I did my pre-natal and Baby & Me yoga), and the 1.25 hour class was exactly what the doctor ordered. I left that class feeling like a million bucks: I couldn't stop smiling and I felt fully rejuvenated.

Did I easily clear my mind and focus on the task at hand? Definitely not but I was conscious of the fact that my mind continuously wandered to The Rockstar, dinner, The Rockstar, returning to work eventually, The Rockstar (you get the picture) and every time I realized I was thinking of something other than my breath/my body/my being I pulled myself back into the moment and concentrated on me at that point in time. Wow, who knew an hour could make such a huge difference. It was another long night last night and although I was super tired today it seemed so much more bearable than it did yesterday.

I can't wait for next Wednesday! Thank you, Wendy!

Challenge 3 Favs

2011-01-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

There were so many fabulous buntings submitted for the Iron Craft challenge this week! I'm thinking I'll create a post featuring my three favourite Iron Craft entries following each challenge. Hopefully some will include tutorials: two of the three I'm featuring today do! Yippee!

Alright so here we go: my favs from Just Bunt and then I promise you I won't type the word BUNTING for at least a week.

Amy from Glitter, Vinyl and Thread made this stunning pillow and bonus: it's up for auction! Hop over to this post on her blog and leave a comment with your bid to get in on the action.
All proceeds will be donated to the Queensland Flood Relief via Make It Perfect (worth checking out the master list here to see the loads of awesome bits available to bid on).

This magnetic bunting was made by Chrissy from Hickety Pickety and I think it's my favourite entry this week. Lucky us!! Chrissy created an easy to follow tutorial so you can make one of your own. I'll be revisiting this tutorial eventually so that I can make a mini bunting for the magnetic board that will be going up in my studio (once the room is painted and revamped - assuming this happens in my lifetime)

Yum yum YUM!! A bunting made of candy?! No further explanation necessary. Oh, but I should mention that this amazingly brilliant piece of work was made by Jeromina from Paper, Plate and Plane and if you slip over there you'll find a tutorial p.s. loving her blog

Fabulous work ladies!

Ridiculously Cute

2011-01-19T20:05:00.004-05:00

The Rockstar is to die for cute but this little snub-nosed monkey certainly gives him a run for his money.

That's it. I have no more to say on the subject, just had to share this photo that Mike sent to me because he is just THAT cute (both Mike and the monkey).

Flying High Baby Bunting

2011-01-19T07:34:00.001-05:00

Iron Craft's challenge # 3 is titled Just Bunt. If you're a blog hopper I'm sure you've noticed the bunting trend: they are EVERYWHERE. I highlighted a few samples the other day but google "bunting" and you'll find a zillion more.

We've been planning to put our little Rockstar's name on the wall above his crib for ages so I figured I would knock that project off the list of TO DOs while completing this challenge. I found a sheet of cute little airplanes and clouds a couple weeks ago that the wee man was gifted from Grams & Papa last Christmas (2009: while still in my belly) and one little propeller plane was the inspiration for my bunting. Doesn't it look like it was built to pull a banner through the clouds?

I guess there's a bit of a travel theme happening with this bunting: a map, rocket ships, trains & trucks and polka dots were the fabric choices. Yes I do realize polka dots aren't really travel related but I ♥ polka dots so they made the cut.

Speaking of cut (insert laugh track here - yes I am officially a mom with the bad jokes and all) this super easy bunting provided me with the perfect opportunity to use my new pinking shears. They were a Christmas gift and it's ridiculous how much pleasure I get from cutting fabric with them. Rereading that line made me realize JUST how how much of a crafty nerd I am but I stand by my love of pinking shears dammit.

Can't wait to see what the other Iron Crafters have whipped up and of course I'm itching to find out what week 4's challenge involves.

Tasty Tuesdays: Banana Muffins

2011-01-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

I have a bad habit of collecting old bananas and then never getting around to making them into anything. At any given time I may have a dozen black bananas looking nasty and taking up space in my freezer. I had a few creepy looking guys hanging out on my counter so I whipped up some muffins using this yummy recipe I found over at The Joy of Baking. Let's be honest, "whipped up" for me these days means it took me an hour to get the mix together but if you aren't running up and down stairs to calm a (supposed to be napping) baby and changing loads of laundry you could prepare these puppies in record time.

Love this recipe: taking the time to write it on a card in my recipe book which means I REALLY like it.

What You Need to make 12 regular sized muffins (copied from The Joy of Baking website with my notes in italics)

1 cup walnuts or pecans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (didn't have any or couldn't find it in my mess of a cupboard so I omitted this)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (whoops just realized I left this out. Yes I definitely was distracted)

What You Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
Line a 12 - 1/2 cup muffin pan with paper liners or butter or spray with a non stick spray.
Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. I didn't bother doing this and they turned out FANTASTIC still
Let cool and then chop coarsely.
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts.
In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.)
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Place on a wire rack to cool for five minutes and then remove muffins from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Or gobble immediately after removing from the pan while downing a glass of cold milk

Buntings on the brain

2011-01-17T11:46:00.006-05:00

This week's Iron Craft challenge is to make a bunting. I thought I was finished my project already but then Mike made a comment (he hadn't noticed a key element until I pointed it out) that made me rethink things and I'm now going to disassemble and fix it before saying it's complete. For me this is a big deal, I tend to take the easy route with my crafty bits and even if I'm not 100% happy with it I'll settle with a mediocre finished product just to be done with it. I want to stop that bad (for me) habit and this is the perfect opportunity to start.

Since buntings are running through my head I thought I would share a few cute tutorials I've found for those non-sewers out there who might want one of their own.

How About Orange shows you how to make a sweet little card with a teeny tiny bunting

Lil Blue Boo shares an easy no-sew bunting tutorial

A super cute Anthropology inspired leather bunting necklace tute over at Mandipidy

I lied, they aren't ALL no-sew tutorials. The last one involves sewing and it's not a tutorial but it's super cute so I had to share. A bunting quilt found at Little Birdie Secrets: LOVE this

Have you found any cute buntings online? Share them, please!

Fab Pick of A Couple Weeks Ago

2011-01-16T16:42:00.000-05:00

These super sweet felted slippers are handmade in an artisan cooperate in Mongolia. They are far too cute for their own good and their cute factor would be off the charts if they were being modeled by the Rockstar (if I don't say so myself). I have added these to my ever growing baby bits wish list. Check out Satch and Sol - a lovely little shop where you can find a pile of lovely goods from fair trade artisan cooperatives they partner with.

Dodging the Draft

2011-01-13T10:02:00.003-05:00

Iron Craft's challenge #2 was to create a draft dodger. You know the snakes or wiener dogs you've seen laying on the floor in front of people's doors to stop the wind from creeping in: apparently the official name is a draft dodger, who knew?

I made one for the front door, we need to replace the weather stripping and have been planning to do it for the past two years. This dodger should help keep the heat in and the cold out until we get around to it. Don't mind the less than lovely photo.

My dodger has an outside tube made of a heavy jean-like material that can be washed and the inner tube is easily removable and holds the beans which act as insulation.

I originally planned to have three little birds appliqued on my tube (think Bob Marley: "three little birds, sitting on my doorstep") but then I decided peek-a-boo circles were a better idea with this fabric. I still used some birds but there are more than three so disregard Bob.

I love that the little mermaid is checking out the birdies. Although you can't see her tail so really it just looks like a naked girl is checking them out: oh well.

There are some fantastic completed dodgers and you can check them all out in the Iron Craft flickr pool!

Iron Craft

2011-01-13T10:00:00.001-05:00

Have you heard of Iron Craft?! Well there's little doubt you've heard of the Iron Chef so think Iron Chef but with crafts rather than food. Every week in 2011 those taking part are given a theme or pattern and asked to run with it. One of my resolutions was to make more time for me and of course that means finding time to sew or craft each week. A perfect solution: join Iron Craft! I'm a week late since I just stumbled across the blog a few days ago but hey, better late than never.

By no means can I match the talents of the crafty people taking part in this challenge but I intend to try to stretch my crafting limits and have fun while I'm at it.

Looking for a kick in the butt to get crafty?! Join the challenge!! You can use tutorials online to help you out with your crafts, just be sure to credit the creators: you don't have to recreate the wheel. Let me know if you decide to join in the fun and of course read this intro post over at the Iron Craft blog to find out how to officially join.

The Princess and the Pea

2011-01-08T15:19:00.003-05:00

I stumbled across Sewing In No Man's Land in the summer and ever since she posted the Princess and the Pea softie tutorial I've been itching to make a princess of my own. I finally got around to it just before Christmas. The tutorial is fantastic: super easy to follow and yes it does take longer to choose your fabrics then it does to whip up this sweet little number. Isn't that always the way?

My niece seemed quite pleased with the finished product which she received as one of her Christmas gifts on Christmas eve.

I paired the set with this awesome version of the Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child. I chose this particular book by this particular author because of the fabulous pictures.

Photographs of doll sized furniture and paper cut characters: perfection. I ordered it off of Amazon and was was super pleased to find that not only is it visually appealing but Child has a lovely way with words. I could read this story over and over again and hope Neve does.

I must order a copy for myself and while I'm at it I think I'll order ALL OF HER BOOKS because I read a page from each of those listed on her website and now I need to read every page of every book. There are few things as satisfying as finding a new (to me) author who makes me want to run out and buy their entire collection.

Quick and Cute

2011-01-05T21:30:00.002-05:00

My sister-in-law asked for a travel sewing kit for Christmas and I just happened to draw her name for stockings. I snagged a little kit for a dollar at Dollarama but it was absolutely hideous so I spent five minutes with my friend Google and found a fantastic little tutorial here for turning a candy tin into a sewing kit.

Of course it wasn't until Christmas eve morning that I finally got around to pulling the kit together and I only had one tin on hand (thank you, Mom) so I decided to take the safe route and leave the outside alone. Thankfully Sarah likes tea, and well... hopefully she likes bears in pajamas too.

I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for tins in thrift shops from now on, I'd like to experiment with scrapbook paper and mod podge on the outside: so many possibilities.

This is how the inside of the tin turned out. I was tempted to keep it for myself BUT that would be selfish and not very Merry of me.

I had a moment of panic when I realized I should have purchased bobbins for the thread because the little spools from the dollar store were too tall to fit in the tin BUT I improvised and used little pieces of cardboard with tiny slits cut in them to wrap the thread around - this worked out really well and in retrospect I should have included a few 'blank' cards for Sarah. Swapping the thread from the spools to the cardboard was what took the most time for this project. I was finished the tin in under 15 minutes and what took the longest was removing and resizing the pin cushion after I had already glued it in. If you make one I would suggest making the pin cushion shorter than I did - even after I took it all apart to cut it down a little it still caused the lid to stick a little when opening and closing.

Let me know if you end up making one of these puppies, especially if you mess with the outside. I'm curious to see what you come up with!

If I was 5...

2011-01-05T20:55:00.004-05:00

I would want this dollhouse.

And if I was honest I would have left out the "If I was 5" and just said "I want this dollhouse."

Honestly this is the sweetest (in every sense of the word) dollhouse I have ever seen and it didn't cost $300 like the one I was eying in a children's boutique over the holidays (and that was for just the house). Hop on over to Darlybird (a new blog love) for more pictures and tonnes of tips on how to make a little house similar to this for your little people. I'm thinking a boy version may be in my crafting future.

Fab Pick of Who Knows When

2011-01-05T20:46:00.002-05:00

I fell for this apron months ago: love the cut and the fabric is one of my more recent favs. I wonder if this style would be as flattering on me as it is on the dummy. Check out loads of sweet aprons in various styles in Creative Chic's etsy shop.

A Belated Happy Ho Ho and of course HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011-01-05T19:28:00.009-05:00

Another month gone with no posts, where do the days go?! I thought I would make time to post on a more regular basis but obviously that hasn't happened. I have a bunch of things to share with you: mostly cute tutorials and new blogs I've stumbled across on the iPod in the middle of the night while Kian sleepy nurses. I promise they'll be coming your way soon - if there's anyone out there still visiting my blog I'm talking to you. :)

I managed to complete a few little projects for Christmas and of course I've added a million more to my "TO DO" list. Christmas was the best ever this year: our Rockstar took all of the excitement in stride. He was his typical delightful little self at all of the family events and thoroughly enjoyed being spoiled by all of his grandparents, aunts (both blood related and pseudo), uncles and cousins. Here are my fav shot of the Rockstar with his biggest fans (his grandparents of course)

Of course Mike and I were also showered with goodies by both of our families and Mike went waaaaaaaaay overboard on gifts for me. I have a new point and shoot camera that is so small it fits in my pocket which means the Rockstar will never escape the Mamarazzi now. Here's a family 'self-portrait' taken with my new clicker:

Santa brought a super kickass highchair for the monkey boy: a SVAN. Absolutely love it, looks super cool and holds our little man perfectly (he tends to be swallowed in the classic plastic chairs because he's still such a slight guy).

On Christmas Eve the Rockstar turned 6 months old!! WHAT THE?!

December was the month of the roll! He's rolling from his tummy to his back happily now and will roll onto his side but has yet to roll onto his belly from his back, I'm sure it will happen eventually. Oh and Mr Man started sitting up by himself for fairly lengthy periods of time! Of course he tips over every now and then but he's really very stable for such a little guy.

A few days of a funny face (he looked like he was talking but no sound came out) led to "Maaamaaaamaaaamaaaa" and "baaaaabaaaaabaaaa" just before Christmas which was very exciting! We haven't heard much of it in the last week but that's probably because he's so busy "coughing" his "terrible cough" and sticking his tongue out (his latest tricks).

Ahhh yes and the big announcement: SOLID FOOD!! Cereal was a hit from the first bite, peas were hilarious (what a face!) but are now gobbled up without complaint, carrots have been introduced and are one of the most loved foods, prunes have solved our solid food belly woes and are enjoyed more each day and squash was introduced today and I think we may have a new contender for most loved food. Solids are our friend. We had a few rough weeks of sleep (another growth spurt along with too much excitement over the holidays I think) but the Rockstar is sleeping for good long stretches now and I thank the solids for that. We upped him to three small meals a day as of today when I fed him solids for breakfast (which doesn't normally happen) and this morning he had an hour and a half nap after just five minutes of rocking and cuddling. I literally dropped to my knees and thanks the sleep gods much to Mike's amusement.

New Years Eve was definitely not our typical shaker but we have started a new tradition which was wonderful: an evening with friends and the kidlets. I was thinking about it the other day and we have spent 9 out of the last 10 NYE with our good friends Colin and Jessy. They were blessed with a perfect little man just three months before us so they are in the exact same place we are which is really awesome. We spent the evening filling our faces, sipping some yummy bevies and (yes we are nerds) playing video games while the boys slept peacefully upstairs. Jess and I were out cold by 1pm and it was perfectly wonderful.

Did you make any new year resolutions?? Mine are simple: devote a little more time to ME and be more active. Two resolutions that are completely doable and go hand in hand. I went for a massage this week and have spent some nap time working on projects I've had on my 'want' list which means I've started working on the first resolution. I'll let you know how the second goes...

I hope all of you had a fantastic holiday season!

Fab Pick of Far Too Long Agof

2010-12-09T21:27:00.002-05:00

Look super stylish while snapping photos with a fabulous camera strap cover by *Shey*[B]. Of course there are a load of easy to follow tutorials online for you to follow if you want to make your own cover but the designs in the *Shey*[B] shop are uber cute and the price is right.

4 Months Already? Nope: 5 going on 6.

2010-12-09T21:08:00.001-05:00

Yep it's true: my little teeny tiny peanut is turning into a big boy. The Rockstar turned four months old when I started this post at the end of October. October was a big month for the Rockstar , he rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first and (until earlier this week) only time, started swimming lessons and became the Jolly Jumper extraordinaire.

Oh and we can't forget Halloween! The he Great White shark terrified everyone who came to the door trick-or-treating.

Scary, huh?

November was a blur but a fabulous blur. The Rockstar turned five months old two days before his Daddy turned thirty four. The boys celebrate their special days in style: in MEXICO!!

We had an awesome trip! The weather was fantastic and the Rockstar was the best behaved baby on the resort: he loved all of the sunshine, swimming and attention from his Mexican peeps but of course his favourite part of the trip was having so much time with his daddy.

Spending my boys' special days drinking pina colodas next to the pool was heavenly.

Our week in the Mayan Riviera was amazing. The Rockstar and I miss having Mike with us all day every day like we did in the summer so it was a treat to have him all to ourselves for an entire week.

Happy belated Birthday to the most amazing husband and daddy on earth!! I love you, Baby!

31 Days

2010-10-16T11:06:00.005-04:00

Not shot manually but a recent fav of our Rockstar

I've been planning to get to know my Digital SLR better since we purchased it six years ago. It's ridiculous really. Instead of taking the time to play with the manual settings I've taken the easy route time and time again: set the dial to automatic and snap snap snap. I've been happy with my photographs most of the time but I know I can take them to the next level by using the manual settings. So why haven't I done so? Good question. I don't have an answer to it but I will share my snapshot background with you.

In high school I took two photography courses and fell in love with the challenge of taking a perfect (for me) photo. I spent hours in the darkroom at school developing film and my parents being the amazing people they are set up a darkroom in the basement for me. I applied to attend college to become a professional photographer, was accepted and then the night before my acceptance was due I changed my mind. I don't regret the decision one little bit: I wasn't entirely convinced that photography was what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing and I wasn't ready to move away from home just yet (needed another year). Eventually I came to the realization that spending time behind a camera photographing people and things was a perfect hobby for me but wouldn't make me happy in the grand scheme of things, I needed to work with and care for children to feel fulfilled.

Unfortunately after I made the decision not to pursue photography professionally I sort of set it aside for a number of years. I always had a simple point and shoot camera in my backpack in my early 20s and took a zillion shots of friends and family but rarely did I take the time to compose an excellent shot. In the last few years I've spent a little more time shooting random bits, landscapes etc but more often than not I catch myself thinking *I wish I had my camera with me*. Now that the Rockstar is here I'm pulling the camera out almost daily and trying to take it with us when we head out and about. I'm in the habit of wearing the camera so now I need to get back into the habit of using the manual settings.

It hit me this morning that it has been nearly 15 years since I took that the advanced (high school) photography course so I really shouldn't beat myself up for not remembering the details, of course I learned on an old school SLR but let's not go there, I'm dating myself. Side note: the fact that I am able to use the words "dating myself" is a little bit depressing. Rather than dwelling on what I don't remember and don't know I've decided now is the time to start from square one to relearn how to use manual settings and refresh my composition skills as well.

While searching for something completely unrelated (moments after making the decision to stop talking about it and to start learning to use the camera properly) I found this 31 Days to a Better Photo Series over at life with my 3 boybarians. This series is going to deliver the kick in the ass I need to get started.

Expect some upcoming posts focusing on my mission to improve my photographs! Hopefully I'll have some cool pics to share with you.

Fab Pick of Last Week

2010-10-15T11:33:00.001-04:00

Check out the sweet pieces in Whitney Smith's shop. These cupcake stands are absolutely adorable and the cake stands are to die for!

Pineapple Salsa? Mikey Likes It!

2010-10-14T15:03:00.006-04:00

You remember the Life cereal commercials with Mikey, right? If not here's a refresher:

Whenever I find something new that my "selective eater" husband Mike likes to eat I can't help but think of this commercial. His repertoire of fond foods has grown substantially over the ten years we have been together but it is still exciting for me (the lover of all things edible) when we find a new dish that he really likes.

Ridiculously small image courtesy of Homemade Simple

I admit I was a bit surprised when he said he wanted to try out the recipe I'm sharing here today. I was watching Homemade Simple and they made a pineapple salsa served over pork chops; it looked super yummy to me and Mike said he thought it looked good too (crunchy foods are his friend). We made it the next evening and WOW.

This recipe has definitely made the cut and will be added to the weeknight dinner rotation. It's super easy to make, healthy and over the top yummy.

The recipe link isn't opening up for me so I'll go from memory and tell you what quantities I used to serve two people heaping servings of the salsa and a fair amount left over for a fabulous crunchy snack (good on its own or scooped onto tortilla chips).

What you need:
1/2 green apple (I only used half)
1/3 red onion (I would use less next time but go with what looks good to you)
1/2 a red pepper
1 can of pineapple (only used about a quarter of a can it)
1 lime
fresh cilantro (appx 2 tbsp)

What you do:
Chop up the apple, onion, red pepper and pineapple into tiny salsa-ish chunks. Finely chop the cilantro. Mix this all together and then squeeze the lime over the mixture. I also added a few spoonfuls of pineapple juice to the mix and in the end I tossed in a bit of salt just because.

The original recipe has you broil porkchops in the oven after you spoon a bunch of pineapple juice over them and toss on some salt and pepper. I went with this and the end result was great but I think it would be even better served with pork tenderloin cooked with apple slices and the pineapple juice.

Once the pork is cooked spoon a mountain of salsa onto it and proceed to fill your face. Be sure to make extra salsa because you'll want more than your one serving once you taste it.

I will definitely be making more of the quick 20 minutes or less recipes featured over at Homemade Simple. Yum!!

Buy One Superhero Get One Free

2010-10-10T08:31:00.003-04:00

Photo from Sewing in No Mans Land

Kian's still too little to fully appreciate the awesomeness of this tutorial but one day he will. Whipping up a superhero cape is a pretty simple task but Kelly from Sewing In No Mans Land took it up a notch by creating a two-in-one reversible cape: brilliant!

Fab Pick of Last Week

2010-09-30T09:46:00.000-04:00

I'm planning to create a girlie creative space for myself this fall and I'm certain at least one of these funky memo boards by Ekoh Design will be on display in my lair. I have a thing for magnets and have been on the hunt for the perfect magnetic board: mission accomplished! there are a pile of sweet designs to choose from over at Ekoh Design's etsy shop so hop over and check them out.

Even Better with Age

2010-09-25T08:40:00.008-04:00

Every day I fall more in love with my SON which should be impossible considering how I feel about him. I'm amazed at just how much love we are capable of feeling - I thought I knew and then I became a mom.

Mike and I put the Rockstar to bed on Thursday and then spent two hours talking about the million and one cute things he does. Not only am I madly in love with the Rockstar but since he arrived I've fallen even deeper in love with Mike (another thing I didn't think was possible considering I'm already head over heels). Seeing my husband as a dad is incredible. There's nothing better than seeing the Rockstar's face light up when he spots his daddy. I think they have an extra special bond thanks to the awful foot surgery which allowed Mike to spend the Rockstar's first two months at home with us. We're also super lucky that Mike works less than five minutes from our house so he is able to come see us every lunch hour for some cuddles with the Rockstar.

During the past month our Rockstar found his volume increase knob. He still doesn't cry often but when he does the entire street knows it. He has definitely found his voice and chatters away almost none stop when he's at home with Mike and I. When we're out and about he's usually too busy smiling at people and staring at all the sights to chat.

One of his new sounds is a perfect imitation of The Count from Sesame Street. We killed ourselves laughing the other night after I counted and the Rockstar followed the numbers with "Aaaa Aaaa Aaaa Aaaa".

I truly believe there is no better experience than being a mom. The past three months have easily been the best of my life: thank you baby boy for choosing me to be your mom, I am definitely the luckiest woman alive.

Crunch

2010-09-11T12:01:00.006-04:00

A super yummy crunchy salad: the perfect healthy snack to whip up on a Sunday and then stash in the fridge to munch on during the week. Thanks to Jessy for turning me on to this awesome Nicoise Salad. I'm now on the hunt for more recipes like this: yummy, healthy and good for a few days worth of meals. The perfect mommy meal.

Fab Pick of Last Week

2010-09-06T09:08:00.003-04:00

I don't do it on purpose but I seem to kill all things that don't make noise. Thankfully my son and the cat are noisy little creatures. Yep, I can admit it: I have a serious brown thumb. These super cute self watering plant pots by QUALY let you know when your plants need to be watered (the squirrel hides when it's time to refill) which means I might actually have a chance of keeping a houseplant alive!! Add this little pot to my Christmas list please and thank you. A big thanks to Made by Petchy for mentioning QUALY on her blog - so many cute products!

Kids on the brain

2010-09-04T12:19:00.011-04:00

There are so many well written tutorials out there for kick ass bits for kids. Here are a few I've tagged lately with the hope of whipping up sometime soon.

photo snagged from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar

I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar is such a fantastic blog. I visit daily now to get my fix. One of her recent tutorials that I'm dying to make for the Rockstar is for the Upcycled Boy Hat seen above. Ear flaps are just too cute and I can totally see the Rockstar in a mini version. I think a trip to Value Village is in order - I need to snag some t-shirts to shred.

photo borrowed from homemadebyjill.blogspot.com

ADORABLE baby jean skirt from Homemade by Jill (love love love this blog) featured on a new for me blog Kojo Designs which is run by two very creative sisters. Too bad Mike won't let me put a skirt on the Rockstar: no sense of adventure. Kim, I'm sending girl vibes your way so that I have an excuse to make one of these teeny tiny skirts.

photo borrowed from Living with Punks

I was hunting for a tutorial for floor cushions and came across another fabulous blog that I have added to my list of places to visit often. Living with Punks: awesome blog with fantabulous tutorials. This kid size floor cushion has been added to my ever growing list of things to make: might whip up a couple for Christmas presents and am definitely going to make a few larger sized cushions for the deck.

photo borrowed from Thimble

Maybe I'm behind the times but I didn't know that wannabe chalkboard fabric existed! If you're out of the loop too yes it is fabric you can draw on with chalk. Genius! Love this little travel roll-up chalk mat found on Thimble. Such a simple project. Hmm, a potential Christmas gift for a couple little ladies I know.

Move over 'Pimp My Ride'

2010-08-30T14:57:00.011-04:00

The Rockstar's toy repertoire is slowly expanding and his bouncy chair is a heavenly easy-to-move item that he now tolerates and borders on enjoying BUT I managed to register for the most boring chair imaginable. So boring in fact that I didn't take a photo of it before I tore it apart so here's an image borrowed from the Bright Starts website:

Adorable baby, cute fabric on the chair and fun looking animals for the baby to whack, right? That's what I thought when I chose it but I picked it based off of the photo and didn't have a chance to actually play with it. The rattle in the middle is decent and it is removable - thanks to a bit of velcro on the hanger thingo - therefore it's easy enough to swap with other toys if baby gets bored BUT the other two soft toys hanging on either side of the rattle are B.O.R.I.N.G. They don't do anything, no jingle, no rattle, no squeak: NOTHING. Not only do they not do anything but you can't remove them, they are permanently attached to the bar.

Permanence was what the company had in mind anyways. Yesterday I armed myself with a pair of scissors, a needle, thread and velcro and set off on a mission to Pimp the Rockstar's Chair. The finished result:
Yep, he's winking at me saying "That's my kick ass mom!" Thanks, Baby Boy.

Lessons learned from this experience:
1. the less expensive (aka cheap) toys are often priced that way for a reason *insert husband telling me "You get what you pay for." here*
2. you can fix a boring bouncy chair without spending a cent (the toys I hung on there are some of the Rockstar's favs that usually hang in his play gym)
3. I need to learn how to hand sew, if this picture was sharp you would see the hideous job I did sewing the velcro on, hence the not so sharp image: embroidery 101 here I come
4. thimbles were invented for a reason and I should probably purchase one

Next issue to deal with is the control panel that was installed in the perfect place for a kicking baby to whack their little heels on. Booooo!

Until I fix a bit of foam to cover that sucker, the Rockstar will be wearing his dino slippers for protection. I didn't think of covering the panel until I watched him whack it today so that's next on my to do list.

My second mission yesterday was to improve the Fischer Price Little Lamb Swing (a big ticket baby item worth every penny) that the Rockstar spends a lot of time in. I had big plans for this puppy, I was going to make colourful felt stuffies to hang down to replace the boring muted lambs you see here:

But then I had a thought: why not recycle the 'don't d0 anything' toys from the bouncy chair since these little buddies are just for admiring anyways? And why not jazz up one of the pastel lambs with a bit of ribbon?

I wish I had armed myself with the video camera when I put the Rockstar in his swing after the upgrades, his reaction was priceless. Clearly he thought the lambs were boring too, his face lit up like a Christmas tree when he looked up and noticed the new bits, While grinning from ear to ear he cooed and gurgled at the rotating toys. It certainly doesn't take much to make our munchkin happy. Mission accomplished!

The kids is a...

2010-08-28T08:05:00.005-04:00

Yes ladies and gentlemen the 9 week old Rockstar slept from 9pm until 6:15am, woke up smiling, ate and then went right back to sleep. I am sipping a coffee and enjoying the silence while my two boys sleep. A full night of sleep for the first time in I don't remember how long is the perfect start to what is bound to be a fabulous weekend.

Boing Boing

2010-08-28T07:56:00.004-04:00

If you have never visited the blog Boing Boing you should. There are loads of interesting articles/photographs/videos submitted by people and of course there are a tonne that will get you giggling.

Two of the posts that had me laughing on my most recent visit included this photograph
that definitely needs to be made into a t-shirt:

HOW TRUE!

And this one titled Women: ask for a Raise, you douche! The title alone kills me, it's perfect for the article pictured below.

Seriously, who gave the thumbs up for this ad to print?! Ridiculous but funny.

Fab Pick of Last Week (or the week before??)

2010-08-26T16:56:00.000-04:00

Dicky Bird was featured over at Bloesem (a beautiful blog that makes me swoon on a daily basis) and I immediately fell in love with the sweet designs of these greeting cards. Simple yet sweet!

Blog Love

2010-08-25T21:55:00.005-04:00

I dare you to visit Mila's Daydreams and not crack a smile. I'm betting you'll also giggle while you're there. Brilliant!

Time Flies...

2010-08-24T11:39:00.004-04:00

We love you, Little Man!

Dynamic Duo

2010-08-16T09:16:00.005-04:00

I'm amazed at how fast the days fly by since our boy entered our world, it's kind of scary. I'm going to try to post a little more regularly now that we are getting into a routine around here and now that the swing is the Rockstar's friend. All should bow to the creator of the little lamb baby swing.

NOTE: HA! I wrote that paragraph a week ago, our daytime 'routine' seems to change every day which I guess means it's not really a routine yet. We'll get there eventually!

Today marks the first day of the second week my little man and I are a duo for the day!

It has been such a busy couple of months that I haven't even taken the time to explain that Mike has been home with us since the day the Rockstar was born. He took two weeks off to stare at our boy, went back to work for one day and then had the surgery that he has been waiting 10 months for. It has been a crazy homebound summer with a new baby and a barely mobile husband but it has been fantastic having Mike around so much. He is now working from home until he gets the okay to return to the office. Fingers crossed that his appt goes well tomorrow, assuming it does then he'll move into a walking boot and begin his mobility recovery.

I'm now getting a taste of the reality of weekday mommyhood: so far so good! I've managed to shower most days and slapped three coats of oil on our new deck last week while the Rockstar practiced kickboxing (another shout out, this one to Baby Einstein and their playgym/mat thingo). The little man LOVES being outside and spent the entire time smiling and 'talking' to his toys and me. Yes we FINALLY have a full deck out back (five years after moving in) and it looks amazing - I'll post pics once it is all done..

I'm going to post this puppy now or it may never happen and then maybe, just maybe I'll get to cutting some fabric for one of a million projects I'd like to get going on. Christmas isn't too far away and I would REALLY like to make a pile of prezzies and for the remaining gifts I'm hoping to buy mostly homemade: gotta love Etsy!

Fantastic Firsts

2010-08-02T09:13:00.002-04:00

July was a big month! The Rockstar turned 5 weeks old last Thursday and he's so advanced (definitely a genius in the making) he's already had a bunch of 'firsts'.

Boo hoo! My baby is growing so quickly.

Fab Pick of Ages Ago

2010-08-02T09:10:00.002-04:00

InkTree Press has beautiful art "inspired by the wonder of childhood." We chose the Cosmic ABCs and Animal 123s designs for Kian's space and had the colours customized to match perfectly: they look fabulous on his walls! The designs are crisp and the colours are bright, they are perfect for a nursery or children's playroom. Pop over to InkTree Press to check out all of the sweet designs.

3 Weeks!!

2010-07-15T12:12:00.004-04:00

Something tells me this is going to turn into a place to post a million pictures of the cutest boy on the face of the earth.

Happy Three Week Birthday to the king of our castle!

p.s. I thought Picnik was fantabulous before but I upgraded to a premium account and it just got a WHOLE lot better. Definitely worth considering for those who like to use this awesome site.

No Longer Just a Smidge

2010-07-14T14:10:00.007-04:00

I've been absent for a good reason...

We went from giving 'Smidge' kisses like this:

To giving baby Rockstar kisses like this:Our Rockstar was born on June 24th at 1:49 a.m. Our son (I LOVE saying that) weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 19 inches long on his birthday. We have fallen head over heels hard and fast. I knew being a mom would be incredible but I had no idea just how incredible "incredible" could be.

As you can see the Rockstar was born with a ridiculous amount of black hair! It hangs over his shirt collar and so far it's staying put and not thinning too much. He's our little werewolf: born on a full moon with a full head of hair and a little patch of fuzz above his bum which sort of looks like a tiny tail. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to read that one day.

In a few hours it will be three weeks since the Rockstar entered our lives but it seems like he has been part of our family forever. Mike is the most amazing dad and seeing him doting on the Rockstar makes me love him in a whole new way.

The Rockstar smiled on his birthday and it wasn't because of gas, it's just one of his sweet expressions. Smiles and his "O" face were the most common expressions for the first week but now he has a whole array of faces that amuse us. He loves kisses, being outside and bath time but doesn't particularly like having his face washed. Being cuddled, carried and swinging in his swing are all good times while laying in his stroller's bassinet is pretty much torture (he obviously has no idea what it took to find that stupid bassinet!! Here's hoping it becomes less of a torture device in the next couple weeks).

Our birth story is a positive one so I'll definitely share it with you in the not so distant future - I think more women need to tell their happy, positive labour stories since women tend to scare the hell out of first time pregnant mamas by telling them their horror stories or by focusing on all the negative parts of their not so terrible experiences.

Welcome to the world Rockstar: Mommy and Daddy love you more than you could ever fathom.

Two Days Past Due

2010-06-20T15:37:00.003-04:00

Well the wee man's due date has come and gone... I was hoping he might make an appearance today as a Father's Day prezzie for his daddy but it's not looking or feeling like that's going to happen. Tomorrow is the 21st which is the date that Mike has been 'forecasting' since the beginning so fingers crossed! I see my OB tomorrow anyways and he agreed that he will help the little guy along if I make it in to the appointment.

We just found out that Mike will be having surgery FINALLY on his very broken foot (it has been 10 months now) on July 12th so we would like the baby to be here a few weeks to give us a chance to become somewhat comfortable with this whole new parenting thang before Mike is knocked off his feet for a couple months. Thankfully my OB agreed that this would be a good thing.

Everyone says that nesting kicks in just before the baby arrives and I have definitely had a sudden burst of energy. I'm not a big fan of cleaning but the house has been vacuumed more in the last week than it ever has and the floors have been mopped, the freezers are stocked and laundry is done... I could clean cupboards but I'd rather poke my eyes out so instead I've been sewing.

I finally made a minky blankie for our boy using this super sweet alien fabric. I whipped up a peanut burp cloth and bib to match. I'm hoping to snag some more of this print for future baby gifts - it's so cute! A pile of other little bibs and burp cloths have been sewn this week, a few for our little man and a bunch for gifts.

Oh and I made a mini wet bag for our cloth diapers to tuck in our diaper bag! I'm really happy with the bag: it's lined with white PUL and the exterior is an awesome birdie print (as you can see). I love this print and the sprinkle of pink birds and the bright pink zipper are a girlie addition for Mommy's sake.

Now everyone repeat after me: COME OUT AND PLAY, LITTLE BABY!!!!!!!

The Shoe Collecting Has Started Already!!

2010-06-15T16:55:00.004-04:00

Daddy loves shoes and it looks like our little man is going to be competing with with him to see who can own the most pairs. The little bum has yet to arrive and his collection is larger than mine!

I started planning and cutting bits out to make a hanging shoe organizer for the wee man a few months back and let me tell you this was the most frustrating sewing project I've taken on yet. Sewing with this plastic was a royal pain in the butt - my teflon foot worked wonders but the plastic kept sticking to itself and to the plastic casing of my machine: annoying!!

Frustration aside I'm SUPER happy with the finished project and stoked that I completed it before the baby's birthday! I love the map print fabric I found at a local fabric store: our little boy is going to stomp all over the world with his sweet little feet.

Now I'm off to make a baby blanket, hopefully I can finish it before the big arrival!

Belly Pics!

2010-06-13T13:33:00.005-04:00

We had belly shots taken a couple weeks ago: I was almost 37 weeks on the day of the shoot. Lorie from Emilly Grayce Photography did a FANTASTIC job, she came to our home and made us completely comfortable during the session. It was fun working with Lorie, we can't wait to see the rest of the photos and look forward to having her take our wee man's newborn photos after he arrives.

Here are a few of the shots she has shared with us so far.

I'll share some more pics once we get our paws on them but if you want to check out a few more pop over HERE.

Recipes

2010-06-13T13:10:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to stock the freezer with quick meals and snacks for when the babe arrives, which should be any day now! I thought I would share a couple recipes that I tried this week. The Rotisserie Chicken from Once a Month Mom is AWESOME and super easy, all you need is a crock pot, some balled up tin foil and whatever spices you like on chicken. The result after 6 hours was a super moist and delicious mini chicken, the remains were used to make a yummy chicken soup which has been divided into freezer containers and tucked away for quick lunches. I bought another chicken and put it in the freezer for an easy to make hot meal during the crazy new parents and baby phase.

I froze muffins this week as well (chocolate chip and banana). After reading great reviews of this Banana Sour Cream Bread recipe I decided to make the mix into both loaves and muffins. The big oops of this recipe was me forgetting the SOUR CREAM that is clearly stated in the name of the recipe. Duh. Blaming it on baby brain (once again). Thankfully the final results still taste good! They're a little dense but still yummy. I'll have to try this recipe again but next time I'll add the main ingredient.

Fab Pick of...Too Long Ago

2010-06-13T12:40:00.000-04:00

I've been hunting for a shelf for my sewing room and I think I've found the store to buy one from! Check out Old New Again's etsy shop for FABULOUS shelves and other funky old bits made... you guessed it: new again.

Showered with Love Once Again!

2010-05-23T09:05:00.008-04:00

Isn't this the most beautiful baby shower cake you've ever seen?! It looks like something from Martha Stewart magazine but it's not... it was the gorgeous cake (which matched the invites) at my baby shower yesterday afternoon! Another day of spoilage, this one thanks to my awesome sis-in-law Joanne and my mom-in-law Bridie!

The ladies hosted High Tea with cucumber sandwiches and cheese sandwiches; homemade scones with cream, butter and jam (recipe coming soon); fruit and all sorts of yummy cookies. Of course there was the fabulous cake and adorable cupcakes (with booties on top) as well! Auntie Phil brought the beautiful teacups pictures above.

Thanks to everyone for spoiling our little man! At this rate we really are going to have to move into a bigger house.

It's Coming Together!

2010-05-21T23:34:00.005-04:00

Just four weeks to go until our due date!! C.R.A.Z.Y!

The prints we ordered from Ink Tree Press Art arrived today and we LOVE them.

I made the cloud valence and the gauzy curtains were a steal from ikea. A steal as in a good deal, not as in the five finger discount kind of steal.

You should take a closer look at the prints because they're sweeeeeeet.

We could have purchased two matching print themes (cosmos like you see on the alphabet print or animals like the numbers) but we wanted to mix things up so the artist and owner, Erin, customized the number print for us so that the colours matched the alphabet print.

They look even better in person than they do in pictures, THANK YOU ERIN!!

And just to refresh your memory... this is where things stand in the nursery right now.

Stay tuned for more nursery photos!

Shut 'Er Down

2010-05-21T15:01:00.002-04:00

The time has come for Gingham Skies' shop doors to close. Boo hoo! Of course this doesn't mean I won't be sewing and it doesn't mean I won't still be making things for family and friends - there's no tax on bartering yet, is there? No doubt there will be in time.

I've bit the bullet and officially closed shop since I'll be starting my mat leave in a month (if not sooner) and the last thing I want to have to worry about while I'm focusing on my little man is bookkeeping and weighing packages.

I haven't been great at keeping my etsy shop stocked anyways so maybe what I'll do in a few months when I feel like sewing regularly again is start building up inventory so that when I open shop again down the road (I should say IF not WHEN) I'll be able to WOW you with my goods. We'll see...

Thanks to everyone who supported me and my shop over the last two years. Hard to believe it has been that long, but it has! Oh and just because the shops doors have closed doesn't mean my blog will stop - you'll be hearing from me as usual.

Slothy Sweetness

2010-05-19T16:39:00.002-04:00

Oh my cuteness! My husband sent me this because they are just too cute for words:

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

Fab Pick of Last Week

2010-05-19T15:59:00.001-04:00

These futuristic looking AirPlant Pods by mudpuppy would look sweet hanging in just about any room. They're tiny pods so be sure to look at the dimensions before you order - I think they would be best hanging in groups OR sitting on shelves if you're displaying one on its lonesome.

Weeble Wobbles wobble but they don't fall down? Well this one did.

2010-05-19T07:42:00.005-04:00

That's exactly what I looked like before landing flat on my arse last night. Lesson learned: at 35.5 weeks pregnant one should bend rather than squat OR spread the feet further apart to accommodate the gino-belly. From the look on Mike's face it was a rather amusing moment, then again I was laughing as it happened too. It was one of those slow motion moments. All of those Judo break falls from when I was a kid finally came in handy, it was a smooth fall (picture someone sitting in a rocking chair without the chair).