Happy Halloween

I've been thinking about getting back to blogging one of these days!  

We'll see what happens...  

Some day I'll be back, but for now it's just to wish you all a Happy Halloween from the newest pumpkin in our patch!

We love those buns, Chase James!

a little more Easter decor

Here's another simple, toddler friendly project, that makes some really pretty Easter decor!

Chances are you've got all you need for this project lying around the house.
Scrounge up some balloons and twine/string/yarn, then hit the kitchen for some flour and water and you're ready to start!
Blow up balloons to the size and shape that you'd like your eggs.  If you're going for "real" egg size you may want to try water balloons.  
Make a paste with the flour and water.  I used 1/4 cup flour and slightly less than 3/4 cup water.  You want the paste fairly runny so you don't up with chunky eggs.  Whisk well until no lumps remain. 

I found that it took about 18yds of twine per egg.  Our eggs were pretty large, though, so you may need to experiment to get the perfect amount of twine.  We used regular jute twine (that I buy at home depot) and some cute baker's twine.  I actually like the look of the regular twine better and it's a whole lot cheaper.  Plain old yarn would work great too!

Make sure to saturate the twine with your paste, then wring it out so it's not lumpy.  Wrap the twine around the balloon however you'd like!

It takes about 24 hours for these to fully dry.  You might be able to get away with less time if you dry them outdoors? 

The really fun part comes in when you pop the balloons and are left with these great twine eggs!

Now the house is all decorated for Easter!  Happy Easter everyone!

It's Easter time!

It's Easter week!  That means no school, lots of messes, a little bit of a headache and mostly lots of FUN.  I've got a few Easter themed projects in mind for the week and the best of intentions to get them up on the blog!

We kicked off the week with a super simple (and tasty) one this weekend.  We call them Krispie eggs.

This is quick, delicious, festive and definitely toddler friendly!

All you need are those plastic eggs that the easter bunny keeps leaving you (if you're like us you've accumulated WAY too many) and the ingredients for some good old fashioned Rice Krispie treats (that's butter, marshmallows and Rice Krispies).  We added some spring colored non-pareils to make these look extra festive!

Here's how to make these cute Krispie eggs!

Butter the insides of your plastic eggs (it made about 18 small eggs) and set aside
Melt 3 Tbs butter in a saucepan over low heat.
Add 40 large marshmallows and continue to stir over low heat until completely melted.
Remove from heat and add 6 cups Rice Krispies (and non-pareils if you choose).
Stir well, until completely combined and very sticky.

Once you've got your super gooey goodness ready, just shove it into the eggs!  You want them pretty full, but they need to be able to close.  It's super simple - my 3 year old was great at it.

To make things easier and prevent way to much stickiness, dip your fingers in water before touching the krispie goo.  It really helps.

Leave the Krispie goo in the eggs until completely cool, then open up the eggs to reveal your treats!  

So cute, so tasty.  I bet we'll make these again before Easter!

Love . . . and a little chocolate

I'm back on the blog (at least for today)!  I've been busy enjoying life with the little one's.  They are as fun as can be right now.  I wish I could push the pause button for a while!

We're loving Valentines season this year.  It's a lovely little holiday.  I've got some real sweeties in my life and it's a good reminder to tell everyone how wonderful they are.  Plus, there's chocolate around every corner and you can't beat that.  Carson and I have eaten our weight in Valentine's M&Ms this week.

We whipped up a batch of M&M blondies for dad's office!  Those lawyers could always use some sweet stuff.

This is the simplest recipe ever.  It's perfect with chocolate chips, nuts or whatever you like.  It's obviously DELICIOUS with festive M&Ms.

We love it because it's similar to chocolate chip cookies, but much simpler.  It takes about 10 minutes to get these made and into the oven and they turn out great every time.  Just don't overcook!

PERFECT BLONDIES

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup melted butter
1 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 Tablespooons vanilla extract
A bag of M&Ms (or chocolate chips/nuts/whatever you fancy)

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a mixing bowl.  Cream together melted butter and brown sugar in a separate bowl.   Beat together eggs and vanilla.  Add to the brown sugar mixture.  Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients, mixing well.  Fold in your M&Ms (we also used chocolate chips), saving some to decorate the top.  Smooth the batter into a 9x13" pan and sprinkle the top with the reserved M&Ms.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and set on top.  Do not overcook!

Share them with your loves!

HAPPY HEART DAY!!!

pumpkin practice

 We've had a warm October here in California (as usual), so we're not quite ready to carve our pumpkins yet.  But that doesn't mean we're not practicing and planning our perfect jack o' lantern face every day!

I found these really inexpensive wood pumpkins at Michaels, painted them with a batch of homemade chalkboard paint (recipe below), and we've been practicing our decorating ever since.

All you need to make your own chalkboard paint is:

• latex paint (any color, any finish)
• unsanded grout

Mix one Tablespoon of grout for each 1/2 cup of paint (you don't need to be exact).  Simply mix the ingredients together until the big lumps are gone and get painting.  Two coats should work just fine.

let freedom ring!

Happy 4th of July!
We just love this holiday and we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves today.

Riding around in town in style

Racing in the "Independence Day Diaper Derby"

Daddy is so proud...

of his 2nd place finisher!

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful day.
Here's to the land of the free!

32 years...

I'm a year older today and I'm feeling pretty good about it.  I've spent the day enjoying some of life's simple pleasures (a perfect cup of coffee, the park with a happy toddler and a nice workout).

I got the loveliest surprise this morning when my sweet pea's first bloom opened up.  It smells so good!

I hope April 24th is treating everyone sweetly!

hap birt

Our little guy is 1 and a 1/2 years old!  These have been unquestionably the best 18 months of my life.  Carson is my best buddy (along with Jeff and Jake).  He gets more fun by the day.  We've experienced so much joy and laughter (and a few tears too) throughout the past 18 months.  It's hard to remember what life was like without him.  I do remember that it involved a lot more sleeping in and a much cleaner house, but I certainly wouldn't trade a day!

Anyway, growing up we celebrated 1/2 birthdays.  It's a tradition that I love and remember so fondly.  I mean, a year is just too long to wait when you're only 547.5 days old.

So...

HAP BIRT CAR!

I made him a layer cake in his favorite colors (blue and green), with whip cream frosting.
It's a half cake, of course!

Here's the recipe for the colorful layer cake (thanks Martha Stewart)!
Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups sugar
• 5 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
• Gel food coloring in whatever colors you choose (I went with royal blue and teal)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush your 9-inch-round cake pans with butter.  The number of pans you'll need will depend on how many layers you'd like.  I only needed two pans since I was making a four layer 1/2 cake.  I cut each pan in half!  Line the bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper; brush again and set aside.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Slowly add egg whites and mix until well combined. Add vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture and milk in two alternating additions, beginning with the flour and ending with the milk. Mix until well combined.
   
3. Divide batter evenly between two medium bowls (use a bowl for each colored layer). Add food coloring to each bowl, whisking, until desired shade is reached. Transfer each color to an individual cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 15 minutes.
   
4. Remove cakes from oven and transfer to a wire rack.  Let cool for 10 minutes.  Invert cakes onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
   
5. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level.  Use a plate/cake stand or lazy susan to decorate your cake.  Place the first layer on the stand and top with desired frosting (see below for the whip cream frosting that I used. Use an offset spatula so it extends just beyond edges. Repeat process with all layers (or half layers if you're celebrating a half bday!).
   
6. Place the final layer on top, bottom-side up. Gently sweep away any loose crumbs with a pastry brush. Using an offset spatula, cover the top and sides with a very thin layer of frosting (also use any of the excess frosting visible between the layers). Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
   
7. Using an offset spatula, cover cake again with remaining frosting.

Cool Whip Frosting 
(SO delicious - not too sweet)
Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 small box vanilla pudding
• 8 oz cool whip

Beat together milk, sugar and vanilla pudding for 2 minutes.  Fold in cool whip until completely combined.

ENJOY!  We sure did!

eggs, eggs, eggs

It's the season for eggs!  We're waiting until the last minute to color our real eggs this year.  Jeff is crazy at work and we can't have all the fun without him, so we'll do it Saturday morning.  We may go the traditional route to get brightly colored eggs (seems appropriate since we're teaching Carson his colors). 

Here's our go to egg dye recipe:

10 drops food coloring (I love these)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 cup boiling water

I tried the all natural method a couple of years ago, we had a great time, but our colors came out pretty light.   However, my sister in law went this route this season and her eggs look lovely!  You can check them out here or read this great article, from Better Homes & Gardens, on all natural egg dye (complete with recipes).

Better Homes & Gardens

I'd definitely go this route again if we were planning to eat the eggs, but they're just for fun!

Here's another bright idea.  Sounds a little messy, but I'm not one to shy away from a mess.  No dipping required for these beauties, just paper towels and food coloring.  Here are the directions.

Better Homes & Gardens

We'll see how crazy we're feeling on Saturday.

In the meantime, Carson and I did create some eggs that will last a lot longer than the real ones.

I had some wooden eggs just waiting to be transformed.  Lately, Carson has been really into drawing with sidewalk chalk so...
we painted them with homemade chalkboard paint.  They're sure providing for lots of entertainment!

We've been drawing on them (of course),

practicing our egg hunting skills (gotta get prepared for the big community egg hunt on Saturday!),

and doing a little holiday decorating.

Chalkboard paint is super easy to make.  My mom taught me how to do this WAY before chalkboards were chic.
We had all the ingredients in the garage (what don't we have in the garage?) so this project was a snap.

Here's what you need to make your own chalkboard paint:
latex paint (ANY color - I used a satin finish, but anything works)
and
UNsanded grout (if you live near me I have enough to last a lifetime - help yourself!)

I use about a Tablespoon of grout for each 1/2 cup of paint (you don't need to be exact).  You simply mix the ingredients together until the big lumps are gone and get painting.  Two coats should work just fine.

HAPPY EASTER!

the magic of spring

Me and my little gardening buddy are just loving the beautiful spring weather.  It feels extra great now that it's REALLY spring! 

I meant to do this fun little activity on the eve of the spring equinox, but life (actually, a super early work morning) got in the way.  Plus, everything is a little more fun when daddy is home to play with us!  Anyway, this activity is too fun to pass up so we celebrated the beginning of spring this weekend.  The season is pretty full of magic without any help from me, but I just couldn't resist adding a little magic of our own.

I gave Carson a handful of "magic beans".  They may look like jelly beans to you, but they're definitely magic beans because... 
He planted them...

 and woke up the next morning to...

 MAGIC!

Happy Spring Everyone!

May the luck o' the IRISH be with you...

Happy St. Patrick's day!  I love this holiday, it always reminds me of my very Irish grandfather. 
Our Irish roots must be the reason that the leprechauns come to visit us each year! 

Their dirty green feet left prints all over the house, they played with all of Carson's green toys and didn't pick up a thing! 

 They didn't even flush the toilets!

I guess we can put up with the messy little guests one day a year!  Carson thought they were pretty silly!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone's day is filled with lots of hugs and kisses.

Carson's loving his new Valentine's T-shirt.  He's celebrating with a little dance party!

Here's how Carson painted his shirt himself!

a messy little valentine

This morning our day took an unexpected turn for the messier.  Carson is very into feeding himself and it makes things pretty interesting.

I couldn't help but have a good laugh this morning...
I may have even joined in a little oatmeal squishing.

I figure anything that makes my guy this happy, is worth a mess!

 

 And, more mess = more fun, so we took the messy opportunity to break out the paint and create Carson's Valentine's day T-shirt.

He's got a date with his auntie on Valentine's (I have to work), so he's got to look pretty handsome.  I haven't had much time to check out the Valentine's attire possibilities out there this year, but it's usually a little tricky to find something in tough guy colors.

So, we took out our fabric paints and got to it.

First I used some paper and drew and cut out a quick heart.

I grabbed one of Carson's old white T-shirts and a nice big box we had laying around.  (We've always got plenty thanks to diapers.com!)

I taped the shirt to the box so it was nice and flat.  I then used my handy elmer's tape runner (it's basically double stick tape, but it's a crafter must-have) and taped right along the heart so it would stick nice and tight to the T-shirt.

The whole shirt was safely covered with tape, except the space inside the heart.

 Carson donned his smock (one of dad's old shirts) and got to creating his masterpiece.

  

This was no where near as messy as I anticipated!  Maybe we have a little artist in the making.

I had originally planned to keep things simple and stop with the painted heart, but it was so quick and easy that we added a little extra!

 I taped off stripes.

 Carson added some blue paint.

I used my favorite stamp set to add his name.

I think he'll make a handsome little valentine!

vintage circus party ~ fun & games

It wouldn't be a kid's party without lots of entertainment!  We invited plenty of pint-sized guests to Carson's big party.  It seems that these days most of our good times revolve around our little fella's good times, so we figured as long as the kid's were having fun, the grown-ups would be too. 

The front yard was filled with vintage inspired carnival games, picnic blankets, bubbles and balls.   

It sure seemed like the entertainment was a hit!

{1}

BEAN BAG TOSS

 

 I created the bean bag toss with a 1"x 8" board cut to the right length and spray painted white.  I super glued industrial strength magnets to the board where I wanted to place each of the 5 buckets (I wanted them to be removable).  I then used these buckets from JoAnn's.  I customized each bucket with a number 1-5 printed on one of Luvalexa's printable papers, cut out with this craft punch, and glued on and sealed with mod podge.  The bean bags are from Oriental Trading Co. and they're sitting in this crate from JoAnn's, which I stained with Minwax dark walnut stain.

{2}

RING TOSS

I used an antique bottle crate that I already owned (they're easy to find at flea markets or Pottery Barn has reproductions) to hold the glass coke bottles (available at Costco or Smart & Final).  The cane rack rings are available through Oriental Trading Co.

{3}

DUCK, DUCK, MATCH

 The ducks are from Oriental Trading Co., they're floating in an old ice bucket.

{4}

BUBBLES & BALLS

 

I found the "super miracle bubbles" at Party City.  They're customized with the cupcake toppers from Luvalexa's party printables and some mod podge.   The mini beach balls are from Oriental Trading Co. and are in a larger stained JoAnn's crate.

Looks like all the games were quite a hit!

The birthday boy sure enjoyed himself .  That is what this day was ALL about, after all!

You can find more details from Carson's 1st Birthday party here and here.

Carson's shirt is from the adorable etsy shop flyduds!

Photos are by SDK photo!