DIY

Alphabet Board

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I spent my Tuesday making an alphabet board for K. I saw these self adhesive poster letters at Target and thought hmm, these might work nicely. Lies, they don’t stick so I had to glue them on. When I was all done I went to read the alphabet to Kaili, ABCDE….f*ck, I forgot the f*ck*ng F! And yes, I had already glued them onto the poster board. So I threw a mini temper tantrum and opened some wine. I started over the next morning, remembering the F this time.

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Then I went ahead and made flash cards to go with them.

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And maybe if I get the urge, I will print out pictures to put on the back. We shall see.

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Kaili has become a bit demanding lately. She insisted on coloring for the majority of the day, but if I stopped moving the crayon for one second she reprimanded me. Clothes were optional, hers not mine.

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Operation Christmas Tree and Fatten Up The Baby

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To put some LBs on the little one I hit the store and bought bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter { I made my own and didn’t love the results so store bought it is } oatmeal, ritz crackers, cheese, noodles, Alfredo sauce and  vanilla Carnation instant breakfast to add to her milk. I am stopping short of giving her whipped cream with her fruit and ice cream for dessert. Hopefully this crap food does the trick.

I also got around to making this felt Christmas tree I saw on Pinterest months ago. After  $15 and 45 minutes this is what we have.

I cut it all free hand except the star, stars are hard. I bought double sided mounting  tape and it was a waste of money because it didn’t stick to the felt, even though I was told that it would. I found some sticky velcro and the rough part holds it up just great.

There you have it, our Christmas tree for the year!

Homemade Edible Finger Paint, The Scary Fish Song and A Masterpiece

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

You can hit the store and spend 7 to 8 dollars on finger paint OR you can make your own with what you have in your pantry for FREE. See where I am going with this?

The great thing about making your own paint, besides the $ you save is that you know exactly what is going into your child’s mouth. Oh your child doesn’t try to eat paint {yeah sure!} Well mine does and I don’t have to cringe as much as if she does it with store bought paint.

To make it is simple:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup cold water

1 cup hot water

* you can add more water if the consistency is too think or vice versa.

Mix together the dry ingredients.

Stir in cold water. Once it is mixed well, stir in the hot water.

Divide into separate containers and add a few drops of food coloring to each container. Use as much or as little food coloring to achieve your desired color.

Simple right?

The next thing I did was tape off Kaili’s name on a big piece of white paper, like this. I have a plan people!

She was SO eager to get started. I dribbled a little paint on the paper and she slowly got into it.

Once she was done, she wiped her hands on her face and in her hair. Sweeet!

Next up, a bath. I started singing a fish song to her and she CRIED what a little whimp..ha just kidding. So being the great mom I am, I sang it again for you. Here ya go!

Once her picture was dry, I peeled off the tape and here is what we have…

Pretty cute, am I right?

Halloween [Pin]spiration

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1 week until Halloween. Did you make all the crafty decorations you wanted? How about those cute pumpkin cupcakes? No? Well you have time so here are some fun ideas.

For the Children’s Halloween Party

Spider Eggs

Source: keentobeseen.blogspot.com

Mummy Juice Boxes

Source: landee See, Landee Do

{Very Simple }Jack O Lantern Mandarin Oranges

Source: Pimp My Dinner

Pumpkin Rice Krispy Treat

Source: Grin and Bake it

Witch Broomsticks

Source: Cocinandocon CatMan

For the Adult Halloween Party

Ginger Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Source: The Outlaw Mom

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

Source: Joy of Baking

Black Widow Martini

Source: Hostess with the Mostess

Black Widow Goat Cheese Log

Source: Food and Wine

Dexter Blood Slide Suckers

Source: Forkable

DIY Decorations

Mummy Pumpkin

Source: BHG

BOO Balloons

Source: Martha Stewart

Ghosts In The Yard

Source: Inspiring Pretty

Glitter Pumpkin

Source: HGTV

Do It, For The WOW Factor!

Black Cat Cookies

Source: Gescmack

Incognito Pumpkins

Source: Etsy

Black Cat Paw Cookies

Source: Martha Stewart

Skull Cupcakes

Source: Instructables

Halloween Hoot Owl Cupcakes

Source: Land O Lakes

Getting Crafty

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Halfway through October and it’s 90 degrees outside. I would have no clue that Halloween is around the corner if it weren’t for the tacky  decorations strewed along my neighbors houses. Ok Fall (disguising yourself as Summer) with your freakish weather, I give in, you win.

I am not a huge fan of Halloween but I do get excited about all the fun crafts there are to do with the kids. I  dug  into my teaching supply boxes for a couple of activities to do with Kaili. Well if I am being honest, the hand and footprint ghosts is really an activity for the adults to do but we just say it’s a kids crafts because it’s cute, a keepsake if you will.

I gave K bear a piece of paper, some Halloween stickers, showed her how to peel of the backing and let her do her thing.

Stickers =Concentration and fine motor skills. After she stuck them on she pulled them off and that is fine, but we were left with an empty canvas. So sorry, no picture for you!

The hand and footprint ghosts turned out super cute. I took her outside, mixed a little dish soap with white paint ( comes right off with water ) and once I got one footprint done, I put her foot into a bucket of water and rinsed it off. Rinse , paint, repeat. Simple!

Spook-Tacular!

While she was doing her craft I sang ? told?  Kaili the Five Little Pumpkins poem and she laughed at me. WTF?

I also made a failed recipe of edible Pumpkin play dough, it is in the trash now. Boo! But I have some yummy recipes to share with you soon to make up for the botched play dough.

Homemade Teething Biscuit

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This is what has been going on at our house the past few weeks.

Yep, teething. Kaili has been cutting two top molars for weeks now and they aren’t in any hurry. I have heard some moms say that teeth can take months to break through, I really hope this wont be the case for us. For the most part teething hasn’t really given us to much of a problem. You wouldn’t know it was even happening during the day if she didn’t have her whole hand in her mouth and drool pooling all over the place. Nighttime is a little different. It wakes her once in awhile, but the Advil helps a lot.

I remembered seeing this on Pinterest a while back. I decided to give it a try and must say I was impressed. I followed the directions exact, cooked it in the microwave for 80 seconds and voila, a teething biscuit.

Kaili gnawed on that thing for a good 15 minutes. Once she was over it, I put it in the fridge until I saw her hand go into her mouth, then I gave it to her again. Such a great idea, easy to make and much cheaper than buying a box of those Earth Organic teething biscuits.

get it girl

Weekly {4th of July} Faves

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This time last year we took a trip to Paso Robles for some wine tasting, that was Kaili’s first road trip. We ended the trip on the 4th of July and I remember being so concerned that the fireworks were going to wake her up.

This year we are having a block party and I have so many fun ideas floating around. Here are some of my favorites…will I do any of them? Your guess is as good as mine.

Favorite Picture

I wish I had the talent to take this picture

Favorite Recipes

Wouldn’t you just love someone to make this for you for breakfast on the 4th? How festive!

4th of July Breakfast

Toast with cream cheese, jam, blueberries and bananas.

I am so in love with this cake. It’s a little too time consuming for me these days, but please don’t hesitate to make it and share.

4th of July Cake

the coolest flag cake

 

 Favorite DIY

Now this is something I can see doing. I am a pro at tracing and cutting things out, I have had years of practice.

 Stars and Stripes Banner

DIY banner using paint swatches

I want to be invited to this party, you know it would be a happening shindig.

Vintage Soda Pop Banner & Tub 

How very retro

Favorite Destination to see fireworks

Warm weather, ocean breeze. Who wouldn’t want to take in the firework show from a Hawaiian island?

Maui 4th of July Fireworks

Fireworks cruise

How Does Your Garden Grow?

~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

Mine grows like crap. Every year Shane and I head to the garden store and pick up the essentials to start our container garden and every year I end up with the same result, the plants either die or get infested by caterpillars. Every year I end up back at the garden store asking someone to help me find a product that will keep my plants alive and the caterpillars dead. This year I was hopeful, my Serrano chili’s took off and they are thriving, although they aren’t very spicy. My tomato plants are looking a little rough but I was so excited about turning my home-grown heirloom tomatoes into an amazing Caprese salad. Well guess what?

stupid caterpillar ruined everything

This is what I found when I finally picked the tomato, I think I cried. So once I again I am wondering why I do this every year. If you have a container garden that thrives, could you please tell me what I am doing wrong?