Archives for February 2013

I Love My Baby Girl

I love my baby girl! I can't get enough of her! She brings me so much joy. It's no wonder I take hundreds of pictures of her a week. I don't know if it's hundreds, but it's a lot. At this age, the return of good pictures is not many compared to the hundreds I take. I shouldn't say that. They are all cute. It's just difficult to get her to look at the camera. She's at that age- she's moving all over the place. Just when I think I've captured the perfect one, she throws the binky in her mouth! I love my baby girl. She inspires me in so many ways. I love the sweet open mouth kisses she gives. I love her little giggle. I love giving her baths and getting her dressed in the morning. She's growing and changing so much and I'm grateful for the hundreds of pictures (whether she's looking at the camera or not) I get to take of her every day.  Just a few pics from this week … [Read more...]

Jewelry Hanger

Over the holidays, I took this picture while shopping at Anthropologie. It’s a display of ornaments hung on little nails on branches. I thought it was a really cute idea. I imagined my necklaces and bracelets hanging this way. Anyway, I finally got around to doing it the other day and it was super easy and came out pretty good. Step 1 Cut down some branches (however many you want). I used two. Wash them off and then spray with Tree House Studio Clear Acrylic High Gloss Coating Spray. I did it over two days and used 3 coats. Step 2 Once the gloss coating is dry, tie heavy duty jute string around each end. I wrapped it around several times and left a generous amount after wrapping it. The extra amount is used to hang the branches up. See images below to show you how it will be hung (this will give you an idea of how much extra string to allow). Step 3 Once the string is wrapped around each end, hammer small nails across the front wherever you want them (these nails will be used to hang your jewelry on). Measure out where you want the rack on the wall and put the nails up. Hang up your new rack. Hang your jewelry up on your new hanger. … [Read more...]

First Birthday Invitations

I just made Sophia's first birthday invitations and they came out pretty cute. They were easy to make- just a few simple steps to follow. Supplies I Used 1. Wrapping Paper 2. Ribbon 3. Glue Stick 4. Card Stock (white and pink) 5. Envelopes 6. Foam mounting tape 7. Double sided tape 8. Scissors Steps 1-6 Create an invitation on your computer. I use indesign but you can do it in word or however you usually type up a document (center it, change the color, font, and whatever else you like). Print out invitations on card stock. Cut the invitations slightly smaller than the card stock you will use behind the invitation. I cut the mounting foam in four small quares. Stick the mounting foam on the background card stock. Stick your invitation on top. Add Ribbon Feed your ribbon between the two cards and tie in a knot or bow. Used the double sided tape behind the knot to hold in place. Trim the ends. Line the Envelopes I created a template for a lining using my envelope then traced onto the wrapping paper. Cut out the liners, use glue stick on the back and glue on the inside of the envelope. … [Read more...]

Happy Birthday Dada

Happy Birthday Dada. I love you. You're the best! Thank you for playing ball with me, taking me on walks, giving me baths, and watching Yo Gaba Gaba with me. I hope you have the best birthday ever! Love, Sophia … [Read more...]

Lemon Bars

What You Will Need 1.  1  1/2 cups of flour 2. 1/2 cup powdered sugar 3. 1  1/2 sticks of butter 4. 4 eggs 5. 1  1/2 cups granulated sugar 6. 1/2 cup  of lemon juice 7. 2 to 3 teaspoons grated lemon 8. parchment paper Steps 1-3 Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 13x9x2 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Mix the first three ingredients in a large bowl until mixture is crumbly. Press mixture evenly into parchment lined pan. Bake for 20 minutes until crust is light brown. Take out of the oven. Steps 4-6 Mix together the remaining ingredients until well blended and poor over warm baked crust. Return to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until filling is set and bars are brown around the edges. Pour powdered sugar over the top, slice up, and serve.   … [Read more...]

Does Your Infant Need Iron?

Does your infant need iron? Oxygen is essential for the life of every cell in the body. When we breath, the oxygen in the air goes into our lungs. From our lungs, the oxygen is transported by our blood throughout the body. Actually hemoglobin; the red pigment found inside the red blood cells do this job. So what does iron do? Iron is a main component of hemoglobin. One hemoglobin molecule has four iron molecules.The oxygen temporarily binds with the iron molecule and is transported to our organs and tissues. Without iron, our body cannot produce hemoglobin. Low levels of this red substance in the blood is called anemia. Your baby probably doesn't need to take supplemental iron drops (at least not for the first four months). It depends on whether she's formula fed or breastfed and whether she's eating solid food. It's important for babies to get enough iron, because iron deficiency can cause serious delays in growth and development and have long-term effects. In general though, healthy, full-term infants get enough iron from their mother in the last trimester of pregnancy to last them for the first four months of life. Premature babies have less of an iron reserve and need … [Read more...]

Baked Apple Pie

This is another very simple recipe. It's so simple my friend and I did it while our babies had a play date. They are 6 and 10 months. That should tell you how easy it is. We did this extremely quick and they came out great. What You will Need 1. 2 pie crusts (we used Pillsbury pre-made) 2. 6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (6 medium) 3. 3/4 cup sugar 4. 2 tbsp flour 5. 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 6. 1/4 tsp salt 7. 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 8. 1 tbsp lemon juice Step 1 Pre-heat oven t0 425. Place the sliced apples in large bowl (as you can see we didn't completely slice the apples-we had infant children who needed us). Mix all the filling ingredients in the bowl with the apples. Step 2 Place the pie crust in the pie plate. Pour in the sliced apples with the mixed ingredients. Step 3 Place the second pie crust over the top. Press the two edges of the pie crusts together. Cut slits in several places in the top crust. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cover 2 inches of the edge of the crust with foil after 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. When apples are tender and crust is golden brown, pull out of oven and place on cooking rack to cool. Slice up … [Read more...]

A Valentine Blessing {Happy Valentines Day}

A Valentine Blessing... May God Bless you with a happy life That's filled up to the brim With special blessings of the heart That can only come from Him. Take time each day For quiet contemplation Make time to love And to be loved... A simple act of kindness Can change the course of a lifetime May God bless you today and Always! Happy Valentine's Day! author unknown … [Read more...]

Valentine Ornament Tree

A Valentines ornament tree project is a simple project you can do with your kids. It requires few supplies including branches and sticks you can gather from your backyard. Gather some sticks and branches from your yard and put in a vase. Valentines Ornament Tree Project: what you will need & steps 1. You will need felt, fabric, scissors, ribbon, needle & thread, and anything else you want to use to decorate hearts with. 2. Draw hearts on fabric and felt and cut out. You'll need two for each ornament. Make as many as you like. 3. Cut pieces of ribbon you will use to hang ornaments. 4. Sew two hearts together with ribbon in between as you can see in bottom right picture above. have your helper help you hang your ornaments … [Read more...]

11 Months Old!

I can't believe Sophia is 11 months old! … [Read more...]