Mommy Does
It's a race against the clock! I sewed the other pair of pants for my twin nephews but have to wait for the applique to dry so I can iron it on. Yay for progress!!! I will get some pictures up in a bit along with a super quick tutorial on how to sew your own pants and finish up the seams without a reamer (it's so easy you'll kick yourself for not thinking of it first....or laugh that someone had to tell me about). At any rate it's a race against Christmas to be finished in time - wish me the best!
Mommy Does
Well I've been into this whole taggie thing and I saw a really cute triangle taggie with a link-a-doo:
Think I could make something like that? Trying to plan it out. In the meantime I will probably make the taggie block for my sister's baby. I know, I know the pants need to be finished at SOME point.
Mommy Does


Ok so I didn't sew pants today - that will be happening tomorrow methinks. Instead I made a taggie block to match the monster taggie I made yesterday! Ultra cute, ultra plush, and ultra taggie. I just love making these! Now if only one of my dear friend's would have a girl...for anyone curious on how to make their own combine the taggie post with this tutorial and viola! http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2009/03/as-promisedcloth-blocks.html


Another view - I sewed ribbon across the blue because I had two solid colors and one print so it was my way of jazzing it up. The orange is flannel, the blue is a slightly stretchy satin, and the monster is anti-pill fleece.

A little closer look. I sew over the ribbon areas at least three times for the extra hard tugs little one give loved items.
Mommy Does
In case you haven't guessed I learned to sew recently which has led to a whole new crafting addiction. Just what I needed right? Anyhow I've set out to sew pants for all my little nephews with matching drawstring bags. I've bought light weight flannel and started on some but I still have quite a few to go. Later I'll post pictures on how to make these easy and the finished result.
Mommy Does

So my dear friend Frankie walks in and sees the taggie I posted previously and tells me she's been looking everywhere for a taggie and could I possibly make her one? I said yes, but she still felt the need to bribe me with the leftover materials and really what self respecting crafter could say no to such a proposition? ....even though I had already said yes....well you know how it goes. Anyhow we hit Joann's and she picked out some fun fabric, LOTS of ribbon, and asked for a 12x18 instead of 12x12. Easy, easy!


The materials used were ribbons cut into 5 in. lengths of varying sizes and textures, a stretchy satin back and monster print anti-pill fleece for the front. Why all the different things? Sensory items are perfect for little guys and gals!


Ribbon and LOTS of it. I take the thinner pieces and clip two together with either an office clamp or pin them with a safety pin before sewing them into the taggie. Makes for a double the texture and fun! The squiggly one there is felt.


Details of the ribbons. These are so fun and easy to make - plus it's pretty fantastic to have leftovers to make more!!! Another thing my dear friend pointed out is that the scraps bin that is clearanced is a perfect place to locate pieces big enough for taggies at deeply discounted prices so you can score some very expensive fabrics for that special little one. Have fun!
Mommy Does
To make up my own things but I'm going to start updating with my day to day activities in creativity. What I'm making today is something of a surprise but I will post the tutorial and finished product tomorrow!



And now it's tomorrow so here's some pictures of the fantastic tutorial the Money Saving Mom posted by I Can Teach My Child. Please click over for the tutorial and to browse around as she has some fantastic ideas/crafts/family activities. At any rate mine took longer then an hour because of the thick and very fuzzy fabric (if you are a beginner I suggest starting with something with less tendency to jam your machine and that won't fray as easily).


This is some of the materials I used. The mommy this is for is doing a forest animal theme and LOVES owls. I couldn't find material with forest so I had to settle for safari with owl ribbon.


This is a close-up of the oh so adorable owl ribbon I found! Isn't it delightful?? Another detail I put into mine which differs from the original is that I found some thinner ribbons and put them together for an altogether different texture. To sew them in I clamped them together with a small office supply clamp then pinned them in.


And here's how they came out! Such a fun project and great for showers or your own little one. I intend to make one for my baby.
Mommy Does

So I am embarking on a new journey...to get the grocery budget under control! Money Saving Mom has some pretty amazing ideas and so here's to my first freezer meal:




I did a batch of taquitos - simply shredded two chicken breasts, poured in enough Lawry's Mexican and Chile marinade to evenly coat and be sightly saucy (ONLY SLIGHTLY), did the corn tortillas in hot oil to soften them for rolling (medium heat - then put the tortilla in and quickly flip it 3-4 times with a pair of tongs - no longer then 10 seconds), put filling in, rolled and assembled in container.


My container is stoneware - DO NOT PUT STONEWARE INTO FREEZER! While, yes, it is techinically safe stoneware can crack when going from one temperature extreme to another. I assembled the food on aluminum like Money Saving Mom suggested then lifted out to a tempered glass board and put it in the freezer. This is my first run, but I already feel prepared for a night where I don't feel like cooking.

Simply take taquitos, place in dish, top with cheese and bake for 25 min. at 350 degrees. Allow to cool for about 10 min., top with sour cream and salsa and dig in! I am so excited!!!
Mommy Does
So on Money Saving Mom (one of my favorite blogs) there was a blog about freezer day. I feel inspired, but she referred to a site. When I got there I nearly clicked away but in the maze of a site lies a true gem! I will be following the 31 day guide to getting a grip on my home. I am notoriously disorganized, messy and attracted to, well, the overwhelming sense of never being able to find anything...maybe it's the adrenaline that one gets from a horror movie only put me in the victim's spot and give the tormentor some catchy phrase like, "You have to go get diapers since your son filled his with a biologic weapon of mass destruction and it was the last one but you can't find your license or debit card....and I'll never tell you where it is!!!" Probably should throw in a creepy voice and maybe a twisted laugh.

At any rate a new chapter in my life has opened and we are moving into a bigger place which means, you guessed it, more room to create chaos in! So here we go people...Flylady I hope you're everything everyone claims you are!
Mommy Does
Who says a cheap date isn't fun....and jam-packed with deals? If you shop right, print coupons and sign up for eclubs it's simply amazing how the freebies piles up!

We started our date at Orange Julius with a BOGO - two big smoothies for the price of one! We ate food court style which cut our meal cost in half...and left us nearly overly full at that. Top that off with some caffeine with another BOGO on granitas from The Human Bean (delish!) Lastly, to round out our date we went to a movie. This is the part that usually costs and arm and a leg. But using a Fandango promotion we got tickets to The Socerer's Apprentice at...you guessed it....BOGO! Our entire date cost approximately 35 bucks. For a movie, four drinks, and a meal that is a cheap date on a deal. Oh yeah!
Mommy Does
So if you would have told us two and half weeks ago we were going to be moving we would have told you that you are just plain crazy...nuts....and then hastily moved onto the weather. That's how not interested we were in moving....until we saw this house.
I swear it all started out as an innocent peek at a craigslist.com. You know curiosity and all that. My sweet hubby sends me this post with a "Would you just look at that kitchen!" I open it and so begins our journey.

This Victorian home is on 5th St. It's not that far of a move right? But wait! We said we were staying here until we are done with school and get job offers! Our place isn't bad...ok sure the neighbors are multiplying like rabbits and they seem to think the cul-de-sac here is their own personal parking lot, but those are minor things right? RIGHT?

Ok so they are frustrating us, but really this place couldn't be affordable could it? Oh but it could. For only a little more a month more we get another bedroom, two stories, a full basement and something you don't find in modern, factory pumped out homes: character. So, yes, we went and we looked, and we fell in love. Affordable, bigger, better. Could we ask for more? Yes we can. Our landlord is actually an officer who works in Salem!!!! So yesterday in went the 30-day notice. We signed the papers last week and put down the deposit and next month we will be living in a gorgeous home with plenty of room for our rambunctious kiddos, playdates, game nights and so much more!



Mommy Does
So my perfect husband made me an incredible dinner on the grill - completely on the grill! Men are simply amazing with what they come up with. All of the recipes he made came from www.mantestedrecipes.com

As for me I needed a creativity splurge so I made homemade cream cheese frosting from www.allrecipes.com - it was simply fantastic! Here's the pictures from last night's foray into delightfully delicious dishes:

These are the beginnings of bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers.

Tim is putting the jalapenos together using splintered pieces of skewers. Seriously men are ingenious!!

Three skewers waiting to hit the grill. This recipe is Grilled Garlic Fury Shrimp.

Don't they look sensational?

This last part was Grilled Cheesy Potatoes. Wonderful flavor, but a few minor tweaks and it'll be perfection!

Salivating yet?

Then there was desert. We aren't actually desert people - this happens once every so often. I made a triple chocolate chunk cake by Betty Crocker, but used coconut oil in place of the vegetable oil (it's way better for you). The frosting is Cream Cheese Frosting II form allrecipes as I said above and it was INCREDIBLE. Please know this is a CHEESE frosting and not a SUGAR frosting. The rest is creativity:





Don't they all look so fun and bright?


Needless to say the cupcakes were a big hit!






Mommy Does
So I just told my hubby that I want to do a freebie birthday this year! I've been looking for some birthday deals and here's what I've signed up for so far:



If you know of a fab birthday freebie (my birthday is November 9th) or have a great coupon for a freebie you wanna donate let me know in the comments!
Mommy Does
So it's been crazy over here - I graduate college in two weeks....two weeks!! Mister mister is mommy clingy to the max so entering the workforce will involve a lot of tears. That's always tough. Some snippets:

Gabriel:
"Mom you are my girl and I am your boy."
"Mom I am the vulture and you are the boss."
"When I grow up I'm going to be bigger than dad."
"Then I'll break it so you can't play with it either!"



Cameron:
"Our nap will be this big right?" *Holds fingers up about a cm apart*
"I wish you were a bug so I could squish you!"
"What? He's my brother?!"
"But I didn't do it, fox did it." *While holding up his stuffed fox*



Harvest:
"I don't like fire - I like cupcakes!"
"Oh but I am that cute mom."
"Earring are pretties just for me cause I am not a boy."
"Gabriel's name is penis!" *Exclaimed in a parking lot*



Zachariah:
"Mama" *said with smooshed mad face*
"Dada" *see above*
"Uh-oh"
"Whoah"



This year is turning out to be....interesting.
Mommy Does
Today was pretty much one of those days. You know the ones. Where you wake up much earlier than your body wants to simply because your brain and body are somewhat out of sync. I squirmed around in the softness of the silky feeling sheets, but no amount of tired body bribing could convince my brain to shut back down. So I got up and allowed for the hot streams of water to caress my still sleeping muscles and attempt to convince them that they should wake up. They refused, which, as you know, makes a shampoo job seem more like a cat washing affair in all the trouble it is.

When you have a day like this the brain, which was the root of this whole ordeal, stays awake until your body begins to respond and then steps back out for a cat nap leaving you with a dreary feeling. Nice trick if you ask me. Wake up just enough to leave your victim feeling strung out. It's at these moments that I appreciate the elixir of life. That dark stream of richness which promises to beat some sense into that awful organ who had the indecency to leave you in the situation which you have, ponderously, found yourself in.

A cup (or three) of God's sure sign he's still thinking of me and I surveyed the damage. See I reside in a domicile filled with destructive forces with black holes where stomachs should be. The morning routine? Carelessly dump toys in the walking path of the mindless zombie who will be roused from her precious sleep to stumble into the kitchen in hopes of a cure....sound familiar? If not allow me to expound: zombies are not generally assosciated with pleasant heart and flower type thoughts. More along the lines of monstrous and avoid at all costs type thoughts. Do destructive forces follow these rules? Most certainly not! They enrage it with sharp toys placed in, what I believe are, carefully chosen places to maximize damage. Actually when I think about it it's quite brilliant...

This morning was particularly tiresome since we were supposed to be entertaining guests. So I am standing there with my three incredible wound up, hyped up, loud and obnoxious bundles of joy (whoever came up with that saying has never been up at three in the AM with a leech carelessly tearing at a teat that has about nothing in common with a cows and therefore is swollen, sore, and quite indignant said bundle of joy) and thinking.....oh boy it's going to be one of those days.
Mommy Does
Ok, granted, you'll have to actually pay to use some of these commercially they are still fantastic and my three favorite sources for stock. Check them out:

10 free HIGH RESOLUTIONS a DAY! Photoexpress.com

A nice medley with sizes ranging from 72 - 300 dpi is morguefile.com

This is the free portion of one of the biggest online stock photo communities: Stock Exchange

Hope you enjoy and find something useful!
Mommy Does
Husband: *Makes awkward squawk sound*

Me: *Looks startled...and seriously concerned*

Husband: What?

Me: Yeah, that's what I was about to ask...*still a bit concerned*

Husband: That was the sound a pterodactyl makes

Me: And you know this how....

Husband: Stephen Hawking told me

Me: *Back to concerned look*

Husband: Seriously, he went back in time to study the sounds that pterodactyls make, then came back, and, in secrecy, told me.

Me: Few flaws in your story, but ok, I'll bite. How, pray tell, did Stephen Hawking convey HOW to make that particular sound?

Husband: Sounded it out...you know "beep, boop, beep" (which, by the way, sounds amazingly like a squawk?)

Me: Why would he tell you? He could tell anyone, why you?

Husband: It's apart of a super secret plan, but he knew that since I wasn't famous I'd pose no risk.

Me: Risk to what?

Husband: *Matter of factly* to the PLAN....geesh

This is a paraphrase, but you get the gist of our conversations. Title sums it all up.
Mommy Does
I have about 8 hundred million things to do (btw that is my default exaggeration number). Woke up to ANOTHER overflowed diaper. Seriously?? This peanut goes to bed in a dry diaper and wakes up with it overflowed....I just don't get it. The litter box desperately needs changed. Quizzes, critiques, posts and assignments (actually have a cool one this week!). But you know what I really want to do? Get curled up on the couch with my princess and make jewelry while sipping hot chocolate. Doesn't that sound sublime? Well I could throw a fit or realize I'm an adult. So I'm off to conque....wait a minute! I'm an adult!

"Harvest?"

"Yes, mom?"

"Wanna blow off life and make pretties" (she's three so give me a break).

*Excited voice* "Yeah!"

Well it's decided then! Later peeps!
Mommy Does
everything unholy! Seems a little extreme right? Wrong! I began week three of this lovely term with this unbelievably cruel class and high hopes. By Sunday I was a miserable, sobbing heap with a husband who shielded the children from various flying objects that varied from calculators to notebooks with what appears to be a foreign language scribbled all over them. Oh dear God help us all! Just take a look:


If you screamed in terror I must apologize for shocking you with that horrifying image. Now the book starts out with "This is not a math course..." WTF?!?! Am I the only one that sees math symbols ALL OVER THOSE PAGES?? If it's not a math class then what is it? To solve one problem....ONE....takes about 2-3 pages of notations. Ok now if that isn't math I just don't know what is. The best part? If you are off by one digit the answer is wrong. So my wonderfully, stressful Sunday where my family feared for their very lives....did it end fruitfully with a finished assignment? Oh no - no it did not. It ended with a C. Moral of the story....eat, drink, live long, prosper - hopefully without a statistics class!

P.S. I had actually spent hours the entire week trying to do this assignment...it all just boiled over on Sunday!
Mommy Does
To download this pack click here. If you use this pack please leave me a note and tell me how it worked out! I'd love to see how it was used. Thanks and enjoy!

Mommy Does
Who is Coffee part 1
The dark liquid pours into a cup
The seething, churning cauldron
A roast as rich as night's corrupt
A lustful brew most like it's chosen

A hand that caresses the mocha
Is sinful as the cocoa it's made of
Creamy as thighs he spoke of
Daring as journeys forbade from

A latte is bitter- frustration it cries
Froth and foam form and fight
Seething dies into stolen sighs
A liquid strength of iron might

Desire: Who is Coffee part 2
The will of the follower
Broken at day and broken at night
A caffeine hold upon the brawler
A hold that tests resolves might

The morning light grips her head
The strongest brew grasps her heart
The demon inside demands to be fed
She and her cup are never apart

Though her adventure lies
In steamy nights and frothy ties
Lustful beans are all she spies
As seductively pursed lip implies

No lover knows her in ways like Joe
Her manic eyes say it all
This depth of darkness always flows
Her answer will always be to his call

Treachery: Who is Coffee part 3
Tea once tried to come between
His good nature questioned her will
Rooibos, black, and even green
He somehow lacked Joe’s deep thrill

The innocence: so light, so pure
Thought to stir away her madness
His sweet touch just could not lure
The addictions depth left her breathless

Her night’s passion lies too deep
The mocha, the latte, the need
The coffee is balanced, bitter and steep
The darkness’ penetrating seed
Mommy Does
It's no secret that I love grunge. I also love clean designs...it's, confusing? Anyhow moving right along. I have a few sites I visit on a regular basis. I hit psdtuts.com today to see what's new and boy did they have a gem!! Tons - and I literally mean TONS - of high resolution, tileable grunge patters. I'm trying some out as we speak (type?) and they are simply wonderful. Thanks psdtuts - you've done it again! I'm posting some pictures of the patterns of tiled from various packs so you can see the seamless results. If you use photoshop (any version including elements), these will work. They also make great digital scrapbook pages. To visit the linked page click here. Click the patterns to go directly to the download for that pattern pack.





Mommy Does


I don't know if any of you have read this before, but if you have, read it again because it's effin hilarious.

Here's a prime example of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" offered by an English professor from the University of Colorado for an actual class assignment:

The professor told his class one day: "Today we will experiment with a new
form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will pair
off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right.

As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short
story. You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send another copy to
me. The partner will read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph
to the story and send it back, also sending another copy to me. The first
person will then add a third paragraph, and so on back-and-forth.

Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the
story coherent. There is to be absolutely NO talking outside of the e-mails
and anything you wish to say must be written in the e-mail. The story is
over when both agree a conclusion has been reached."

The following was actually turned in by two of his English students:
Rebecca and Bill


THE STORY:
(first paragraph by Rebecca)

At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The
chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home, now
reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that he
liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her mind off
Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought about him too
much her asthma started acting up again. So chamomile was out of the
question.

(second paragraph by Bill )

Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron now
in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about than the
neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with whom he had
spent one sweaty night over a year ago. "A.S. Harris to Geostation 17," he
said into his transgalactic communicator. " Polar orbit established. No sign
of resistance so far..." But before he could sign off a bluish particle beam
flashed out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his ship's cargo bay. The
jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his seat and across the
cockpit.
(Rebecca)

He bumped his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt one
last pang of regret for psychologically brutalizing the one woman who had ever
had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its pointless
hostilities towards the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4. "Congress Passes Law
Permanently Abolishing War and Space Travel," Laurie read in her newspaper
one morning. The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She stared
out the window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly
and carefree, with no newspaper to read, no television to distract her from
her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around her. "Why
must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she pondered wistfully.

( Bill )

Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live. Thousands of
miles above the city, the Anu'udrian mothership launched the first of its
lithium fusion missiles. The dimwitted wimpy peaceniks who pushed the
Unilateral Aerospace disarmament Treaty through the congress had left Earth
a defenseless target for the hostile alien empires who were determined to
destroy the human race. Within two hours after the passage of the treaty the
Anu'udrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough firepower to
pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they swiftly
initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered the
atmosphere unimpeded. The President, in his top-secret mobile submarine
headquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam , felt the
inconceivably massive explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid Laurie.

(Rebecca)

This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My writing
partner is a violent, chauvinistic semi-literate adolescent.



( Bill )

Yeah? Well, my writing partner is a self-centered tedious neurotic whose
attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. " Oh, shall I
have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of F--KING TEA??? Oh no,
what am I to do? I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many Danielle
Steele novels!"



(Rebecca)

A$$hole

( Bill )

B*tch!

(Rebecca)

F*** YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL!!

( Bill )

In your dreams, Ho. Go drink some tea.


(TEACHER)

A+ - I really liked this one.