Sunday, January 31, 2010

Lego Necklace! Spotlight Sunday!

As soon as I saw this tutorial on how to make a Lego Necklace, I knew I had to make a red one for my cousin Shelby! It is SO cool, and I loved making it. It was so easy, it took about 30 seconds to make. Head over to We Are That Family, to see how to make your own.

Hope you love it Shelby!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Toddler Time Thursday! Deanna's Playhouse

Today was one of those days when I had no motivation to be creative. We had nothing planned at all (which never happens) and it was so unbelievably cold outside, I knew I had to come up with something fun indoors. Well, since painting wasn't happening and I could hardly think about playing dress up all day, I had to think fast...

Then I remember I had a free coupon for Deanna's Playhouse in Holland, Michigan that expired on Saturday. So we got dressed and headed on our way. Burr, I think it took the entire 20 minute drive for my car to warm up, but it was worth it.

This was our first time here, and there we a few things that I loved about it!
-It is all open, with nook type play areas around the perimeter, so I could always see Molly no matter where she was playing.
-There was a preschool field trip there, so she had lots of kids to play with, which she really needs to practice. :)
-They had a place for us to eat our own packed lunch, so nice for this frugal momma
-Also, bonus! If you signed up for there e-mail mailing you got a certificate for another free visit!

Aren't these giant tinker toys awesome!!!

Tool sets are always a favorite of Molly's. She plays with her tool box at home everyday, so she was thrilled to play on an actual tool bench!!!

We had so much fun, and played forever. I am exhausted, I'm sure we will both be sleeping good tonight! This was so great for Molly to get to play with other kids all morning, it really makes me want to find more moms and kids to start play dates with. I never realized how hard that would be, I guess I just need to get more social. :)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Yummy Snowman Donuts!

I'm sure you can tell by my blog lately where my mind is.... CRAVING SWEETS! :) I saw these adorable snowman donuts over at The Creative Crate and was so excited to make them. Tonight Randal is working late, so Miss Molly and I had a girls night which was the perfect opportunity to whip these babies up. They are super easy and oh so yummy. Enjoy! ( I sure did)


How can you not love a snack that is powdered donuts and frosting... yum yum! I ran out of black coloring, so my black frosting turned out a little gray, but that just means I need to plan a trip to Hobby Lobby to restock, oh man! :)

Monday, January 25, 2010

Menu Monday!

With these last couple weeks of being pregnant, and my husband trying to eat healthier before his yearly doctors appointment, our meal plan is a bit unique. I don't really have any new recipes or anything lately, but I have found one that I am dying to try.

Oreo Truffles!!!


Yum, Yum, Yum, these Oreo Truffles from Celebrations at Home look AMAZING and so easy. I can't wait to come up with an excuse to make these for something. Head over here and see how to make them, seriously, they only have 3 ingredients! Any of my local friends what to have a "Truffle" get together, hehe. :)

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Sew Something Saturday! I-Spy Swap

I am SO EXCITED to be part of Obsessively Stitching's I-Spy fabric swap 2.0. I really wanted to join last time she did they great swap, but wasn't fast enough to get signed up, so I am very happy I made it in this time. Head over and check it out.

Basically 20 of us all pick out 10 different fabrics for an I-Spy quilt and cut out 20 squares of each. Then we send them in, and get back one of everyones fabric, so I'll have 200 different I-Spy fabric squares! Yup, 200 different!!!!! It has taken me 6 months to save up 5 squares on my own, so this is huge!

Here are the 10 fabrics I choose and cut to send in for the swap. It was fun thinking about what would be easy and hard to look for in the quilt. I am SO EXCITED to make this quilt, that I have be dreaming about how I am going to put it together. I think something like this.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Wordless Wednesday!

This "Wordless Wednesday" is going to be a little wordy, but I thought I should explain my daughters amazing outfit. :)

Let's just say, these last few weeks of being pregnant are harder than I remember, so Molly has been really enjoying a lot of freedom in what she plays and what she wears, lol.

Yesterday she told me... "Be Right Back Mommy," and a few minutes later came out of her room dressed like this bringing me "Valentines Treats." Not sure what the winter hat and water spray bottle fan have to do with delivering Valentines Treats are all about, but I did laugh pretty hard, and Molly had a blast playing like this for hours.

For more great "Wordless Wednesday" pictures, visit 5minutesformom.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Tip Tuesday!

Blue Cricket Designs has an AMAZING recipe collection, and here's the best part... it is all set up to be printed off into a book!

Yum! The Taco Stromboli looks so good. And all I can say is, Cinnamon Rolls w/ Cream Cheese Frosting... Seriously, it's 9:30 at night here and I'm sure I'm going to be dreaming about those tonight. :)

Head over to one of my favorite blogs, Blue Cricket Designs, and make sure to print out a copy of the 2009 Recipe Collection.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Frugal Friday! Free Taco Bell

Taco Bell is giving away 1 Million free taco coupons to try out there Fresco Taco. Head over and print one before they're gone. We got ours for dinner tonight, YUM!

It is good for one Fresco Beef, Fresco Chicken or Fresco Steak soft taco. These are the healthier tacos, so if you are counting Weight Watchers points here they are:
The Fresco Beef Soft Taco- Only 4 points
The Fresco Chicken Soft Taco- Only 3 points
The Fresco Steak Soft Taco- Only 3 points

Loving Games!!!

(Playing Hullabaloo, I couldn't get her to look up for a picture, she was to into the game)

Anyone who knows us, knows that my family LOVES games. I have a problem, you should see my game cupboardS, yup, way to many games. So when Molly got some of her own games for Christmas, I was very excited to start her playing.

Cranium is an all time favorite in this house, so when Molly got Hullabaloo (a cranium brand game) I was super excited. She LOVES it. She is doing really good at following the directions it says and finding the right piece to stand on. Her favorite part is the "Funny Dance" you do at the end. :) It's a lot of fun right now, but there are harder levels and more that she will be able to grow into.

So also got Don't Break The Ice, which is fantastic. I really underestimated her on this one, I figured that she would just enjoy knocking the ice down. But, she actually can play the game the right way. It's great for working on taking turns and she even knows to try not to let the bear fall. The only thing is she likes to call it "Ice Hockey." :)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Wordless Wednesday!

So proud of my little swimmer! Molly loves swimming lessons.


For more great "Wordless Wednesday" pictures, visit 5minutesformom.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Cravings....

This post is a little different than my normal but...

WHY....
When I'm pregnant why do I always crave foods that no longer exist. For days, I crave, crave, crave, and there is not way to fulfill it. :)

All I want right now if a chocolate Fudge Covered Oreo, and a big glass of Crystal Clear Pepsi!

Anyone else ever crave something that you can't get anymore? What do you wish was still around???

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Spotlight Sunday! Pink Big Girl Room

Back in October, right after Molly turned 2, we switched her room over to a "Big Girl Room." I wanted to make sure she was used to sleeping in a big bed long before we had the new baby. And being potty trained we figured she should be able to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. The switch went REALLY well. I was prepared for many nights of her getting out of bed and such, but she actually was so excited it went great from the beginning. I could hardly believe it!

Well, I don't know if I was nesting or just crazy, then I decided it was time to get new carpet in all the bedrooms and hallway. I also had the great idea to paint Molly's room PINK, yup pink. :) My husband thought I was crazy, but we all love the pink room now.

So I had my mom come over and paint the room pink before the carpet came in, she did such a good job. It looks so much different, the walls used to be a silver color. Now when ever anyone comes over, Molly asks if they want to see her pink room. She also tells them that her and her Grandma painted it. :)

Anyways, I haven't had a chance to get pictures up of the room yet. So here they finally are for all the friends and family who haven't seem the new "Pink Big Girl Room."

Ahhh!!!! Pink everywhere. :)

New Big Girl Bed. The side rails come off, but I love having them on for now, except they make making the bed a challenge.

Yup, It's a good thing Molly was a girl. Love the pink!

Super excited to find the bookcase on sale at Target, I LOVE YOU TARGET!





PEEK AT THE NURSERY

And I know I have a lot of you anxious to see the new nursery, so here is a "Peek" at what is coming. :)

Yup, that's Chalkboard Paint on the closet door, I know some of you thought I was crazy, but I LOVE how it turned out. And my wonderfully creative Aunt helped me make the photo board.

Bedding! :)

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Sew Something Saturday! Play Dr. Scrubs

This week I decided to sew some play Dr. scrubs for Mollycakes. She is very in to dress up and imaginary play lately, and just loves the Dr. kit that she got from her cousin for Christmas, so this was something I knew she had to have.

I actually used a store bought pattern for this project. I picked up Butterick 5565 at the fabric store, which was classified as "Very Easy." Um... sure... although some parts were super easy, it seemed like some of the other instructions were missing or I just didn't get what they were asking. Even with my mom's help, it wasn't all "Very Easy." But in the end I think we got close to what they wanted. :)

Molly absolutely LOVES them! She hasn't stopped wearing them for 3 days, even the hat. Here she is "Fixing" a kangaroo. Now, what to make next...

Happy Sewing! For more "Sew Something Saturday" projects, scroll down to the bottom of my blog and click on Sew Something Saturday.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Toddler Time Thursday!

I saw this great craft idea over at Funny Days with Mommy and Maddie, and knew I had to try it with Molly. She is always, always, always, asking when she can paint! It is so fun and simple. Head over and see. All you need is contact paper, cardstock, foam brush or sponge and paint. (they used glitter too which would be so adorable, but... I was to pregnant and lazy to go searching through boxes in the basement for my glitter, hee hee)

Molly loved painting the blue ALL over the page, and was really excited when I peeled off the contact paper and she had a "snowman" picture. Only one snowflake I didn't quite get all the way stuck down, but it turned out so cute, we will definitely be making some more of these.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Wordless Wednesday!

Molly and the cat watching out the window for Grandma to come...

For more great "Wordless Wednesday" pictures, visit 5minutesformom.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Menu Monday!

This week, my husband is on vacation which means two things for my menu....
1. We are all home for ALL 3 meals so I am really going to have to plan, and
2. I can put him to work making super. :)
Here is what we are planning for the week:

Monday- Taco Soup (from freezer)
Tuesday- Zesty Chicken and Pasta
Wednesday- Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Thursday- Penne Pasta Skillet (new one)
Friday- Cheesy Chicken and Salsa Skillet

For more great Menu Plans visit, orgjunkie.com

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Spotlight Sunday! Kids games on Ipod

I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and start to the New Year. I am looking forward to a great week with my family! My husband has vacation this entire week and I can't say enough how nice it is to have him home to help with Molly and such. I don't talk about this much on my blog, but I am still so sick and there comes a point when you've been sick for so long that you just can't get ontop of it and are totally worn down. I am looking forward to hopefully getting such much needed rest this week, but... it's hard for me to sit still, so we will see... :)

(Here is Molly playing on the Ipod, yup, she has some major bed head)

Anyways, on to my VERY COOL spotlight this week. We splurged a bit for Christmas and got my husband and Ipod Touch. (granted he did laugh because I actually had a coupon for an Ipod, haha) It was long overdue, since my old Ipod is 1/3 songs I don't know that he keeps adding!

What I didn't expect was how many AMAZING apps you can add for free for Molly to play. She is loving playing the Shapes Game by Toddler Teasers. It asks her to touch the different shapes and gives her virtual stickers when she gets them right. And it really helps work on her fine motor skills. I think she might even be better than me at using his Ipod.

If you have an Ipod Touch or Phone, check out this site that lists the best Ipod Apps for kids, and here are 50 Fun Learning Ipod Apps for Kids.