Halloween Craftiness and A Recipe

Last year I got all crafty and made some Halloween/Fall decorations.

Here are some glittered pumpkins which work great for the entire fall season.

The pumpkins came from the Dollar Store and then I used Martha Stewart glitter and glue to cover them.
Next is my mummy candy pots.

I cut strips of muslin and wrapped them twisting and turning around terra cotta pots.  In the middle I added a little extra fabric to make the nose.  Then I added two black beads for the eyes.  Add candy and you've got some pretty cute Halloween decor.
Last but not least...this year my favorite new recipe is Pumpkin Dip.
It is great with vanilla wafers, graham crackers, apples, or ginger snaps.

The recipe is:
1 (8oz) package of Cream Cheese
(I use Fat Free and it tastes just as good)
2 C. Confectioner's Sugar
1 (15oz) Can of Pure Pumpkin (not the pie mixed stuff)
3 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice 
1 tsp Vanilla

Mix it all together...add some goodies like vanilla wafers or apples and you have a great, wonderful, awesome dip.

Linking up over at The Sits Girls where you can get awesome blogging tips or check out the other Halloween Craftiness.

Halloween Costumes a Year Ago

Every Year we spend Halloween almost the same.  We attend and help out at a carnival called Pumpkinfest that is put on by our church.  It is indoors so we don't have to brave the cold...sometimes snowy...weather here in Michigan.  There is popcorn, cotton candy, and cupcakes to eat (of course you get to decorate them first) and a bunch of cool carnival games to play. 

Last year I was a couple of months pregnant and I really wanted to be comfortable.  We went along with the movie "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." I dressed up as Peppermint Patty, my husband dressed as Charlie Brown and our daughter was a pumpkin. 

 Yes, I did make my hubby's shirt from a yellow t-shirt and some felt that I sewed across the middle to make the zig-zag stripe.

Here is Zoie as the Great Pumpkin!

 Oh Yea...I just have to share...my mother-in-law is an identical twin...here are the twins at Pumpkinfest last year.

 

Showing off Costumes of the Past over at The SITS Girls!

Changing Table Revamp

I never had a changing table with my first baby but I probably could have used one.  I recently picked one up off of Craigs list for $25.  It was in really good condition but I just couldn't help myself...I had to spice it up a bit. 

I wish I had before pics but I forgot to take some.  

First I took it apart and added some cute fabric to each of the shelves.  I basically laid it out on a table and cut the fabric a bit bigger than the shelf board and then glued the fabric to the bottom.  I did this with all three shelves with three different fabrics that coordinated.  Then I put it back together.

  I just had to add something else to give it some more pizazz...so I added some ribbons to the spindles on the top shelf.  I just simply tied different coordinating ribbons to the spindles and I heat sealed the ends.

 I don't want to go overboard but I may add some more ribbon as I find more that matches.  This was so simple to do and I just love the outcome.  I can't wait to get it in the baby's room so that we can start using it.

PlayStation®Move Looks Like Fun

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PlayStation MOVE. All opinions are 100% mine.

If we were given a PlayStation^®Move…our whole family (well except for the baby) could get involved in gaming.  I love to play games (in case you didn’t already know)…all games….I really enjoy video games (even though I am not any good at them).  I have been checking out the PlayStation^®Move and it looks AWESOME!  There’s all kinds of fun for the whole family.  The PlayStation^®Move is a combo of the PlayStation^®3 system, the PlayStation^®Eye camera and the PlayStation^®Move motion controller.  Yes you have to have a PlayStation^®3 to be able to use the Move system…bummer I don’t have one (Yet!)  

The motion controller has pinpoint accuracy…and the bulb on the top changes color depending on what you are playing.  It brings a more realistic gaming experience.  We could use this to have some great family game nights or some light and easy competition with our friends.  We could even all get together and exercise using the PlayStation^®Move system.  This could be used as a great tool to get connected and make some memories with our family and even the grandparents could get involved. 

There are some awesome looking games too.  The one that I would love to play the most would be… LittleBigPlanet™ 2.  It is an action-adventure game that looks to be right up my alley.  You can have endless multiplayer fun and you can even create your own Sackboy™ (your character in the LittleBigPlanet™ 2 game).  You can check out LittleBigPlanet™ 2 here.  But the fun doesn’t stop there…I think our entire family could enjoy the EyePet™.  It is a game that gives your family a pet virtually projected into your living room (using the Eye camera).  Zoie (our 2 year old) would love this because we don’t have any real pets in our home and she could enjoy so many activities with this pet.  You can check out this game and more of its feature here. 

You can get this motion gaming exclusively for your PlayStation^®3 with the Move bundle package for $99.  The bundle includes: 

PlayStation^®Move motion controller
PlayStation^®Eye camera
Sports Champions™ game
Bonus game demo disc

 

This will probably be on the Christmas list for our family because it looks like so much fun.

First Week of Cereal

There were some bittersweet moments this week as I started feeding Taylor cereal.  Time has already gone by so fast...and I can't believe she is starting solid foods.  I started feeding her one meal a day of cereal.  Her reactions...funny and different every time.  I can't really remember only 2 years ago when I had started feeding Zoie cereal.  It seems like a whole new experience this time.

   Introducing Taylor to the world of solid foods has been sweet because she is growing and getting stronger and needing more sustenance.  It will be wonderful to be relieved of spit-up and the great messes it makes.  It has been a pleasure to take small breaks from nursing her and it will be nice that my husband can start to feed her.  I will also be able to enjoy her reactions from each new food that we introduce to her.

On the other hand it has been bitter because my baby is growing up and before I know it she is going to be walking, talking, and driving cars.  I will sorely miss the bonding and cuddling of breastfeeding as it starts to dwindle.  It will also mean more time in preparing foods for the little one (breast milk was so easy...always warm, always ready, and the ever so wonderful...always free).

All I can do is treasure and enjoy this next part of my journey in life as a mom.

 

Candy Corn Peanuts

One of the favorites in our house this fall....Candy Corn and Peanuts.

 It is a simple combination that brings much happiness. 

I just take a bag of candy corn and a can of peanuts and mix them together.

They will be gone before you know it. Easy Peasy!
(By the time I wrote this post...they were all gone!)
Ps...Another great combo is Peanuts with Red Hots...Yum!

She Seemed Fine...

Normally I have fun and light-hearted posts but today I just need to share my heart. 

 About a month ago (on a Thursday) Taylor had her 4 month well child check-up...she was doing great...everything seemed fine...she was a happy baby and I had no complaints.  She wasn't rolling over yet but no big deal.  The nurse weighed her and measured her height and head circumference.  When our pediatrician came in she wanted to measure her head again to make sure that the measurement was accurate.  What for I wondered?...but didn't think much of it.  Yep she got the same measurement.  As we continued through the check-up the doctor stated that she was a bit concerned about the size of my baby's head....she suggested an ultrasound...

What?  An Ultrasound on my baby's head?  Why?

The emotions started running and I could feel the tears welling up...all I could think was what is wrong with my baby?

She continued to show me the growth chart and her head circumference had significantly jumped while her body had made normal progress.  She explained that Taylor could have fluid on her brain or a tissue mass causing it to swell or be rather large. 

Are you sure?  My baby who seems perfectly healthy?  If she does...what does it mean?

We discussed a couple of other findings that could be a result of some kind of pressure or swelling in her head.  After talking to my husband we scheduled an ultrasound for the next day and we started praying that nothing would show up and she would be healthy.  We also prayed that if there was something that God would heal her.

Sometimes the waiting is the hardest part....our appointment wasn't until 4:15pm (Friday).  My husband was trying to make sure that he was home from work so that he could go with me...as a family.  I needed him for support and he needed me.

We get called to go back to the ultrasound room...it happens to be one of the same techs that had done one of my OB ultrasounds.  A little comforting...I had at least met her before.  There was lots of small talk but the whole time we really just wanted to know if our baby was okay.  She did the ultrasound as Taylor cried laying on the bed.  It just broke my heart to listen to her cry and there was nothing I could do because this was so important to finding out if she was healthy.   Thankfully it was fairly short...I was able to hold her fairly still so that the images could be taken.  Of course the tech can't tell you anything so we would have to wait to have the images read and we wouldn't hear anything through the weekend.

So we waited.

And prayed.

And waited.

And prayed.
(Along with our family, friends, and church).

Monday rolls around and still no word from the doctor.

Tuesday nothing again.

Do they realize what a family goes through while waiting for results?

 Tuesday afternoon...I called to see if they had any results yet.  I only got to leave a message with the receptionist and she told me I would get a call back.  Of course...I wondered when?  I had already been waiting several days and I didn't want to wait much longer.

Finally...Wednesday rolls around and the doctor calls. 
She said that the results from the ultrasound were normal.  She also said that there was nothing else to do at this point but we would continue to monitor her at her well child check-ups.  YAY!  Praise God!  I couldn't wait to share the wonderful news with everyone.  God answered our prayers!
We are so thankful for our healthy children and we make the most out of every moment we have with them.   Taylor brings us such JOY  and we count our blessings that the results were normal.
(We can't thank God enough.)

Flower Hair Barrettes

Cute, adorable and so much fun!

I have been crafting away making these beautiful hair barrettes for both of my girls. 

 

There are a couple of ways to make them but here is how I did it. 

 Supplies needed to get crafty:

Glue gun and Glue Sticks

Lighter or Fray Check

Ribbon (I used 3/8")

1 3/4" Single Prong Alligator Clips

Scissors

Flowers

I bought most of my flowers at the dollar store...some of them are a bit skimpy so I combined 2 flowers to make one.

I removed all the flowers off the stems and then I removed the back off of both flowers.

 I took the center out of one so that I just had the petals and I added them to the other for a fuller flower.

 Then I cut the stem down fairly short and melted it with the lighter.

Now the flower is ready to go...I need to cover the alligator clip.

I started by using the lighter to melt the end of the ribbon so it won't fray.

I added some glue to the inside of the clip and attached the start of the ribbon.

 Then I add some more hot glue to the other side of the clip and gradually keep adding glue and wrapping the ribbon around.

When the entire clip is covered it looks like this:

After you have gotten your flower ready and you have covered your alligator clip...you are ready to put them together.  I just added some hot glue to the top of the clip and stuck the flower on.  

 
These are just adorable and here is my little model showing off her beautiful flower:

 My toddler loves to wear them in her hair too.  I used lots of colors and different flowers so that we could match them to their clothes.