Crafty Saturday 1-14-2012

Hello!
I don't know about you, but I have this beautiful blank canvas of a living room just DYING to be decorated. One of the hardest things I find, is decorating my own home. I can pin ideas and dream about this breathe taking room I am going to have but I never follow through. Mainly, my problem is that I can't find inexpensive wall art. One can really only have so many pictures of their family and themselves lined up on the walls (right?)

This I think I could do. Especially since I've been mastering the photo canvas technique! Mod Podge is my new best friend.. Shit.. Mod Podge is my boyfriend!

This was another pinterest idea but was taken from here. The original creator used styrofoam, but I think you could easily go down to Home Depot (or your local hardware store that sells wood) and have them cut out 12 x 12 pieces of plywood or some sort of wood. and you could paint it black, go buy some scrapbook paper at your local craft store (My Michaels and Home Depot are next door to each other.. YAY) and call it a day. This is easy and would probably take you about 2 hours including the time it takes to go to Michaels, Home Depot and get to crafting!

Awesome right?

Tah Tah For Now!
Jessica

Flashback Friday 1-13-2012

Happy Friday The 13th!! (DUN DUN DUN)

I was going through the Oriental Trading company website looking for (yet again) favors for my friend's baby shower and I found these. Talk about Flashback!

Do you remember Slap Bracelets? I remember them! I have this vague memory of running around at the park playing with my slap bracelet as I jumped around from the swings to the slide to the rocket (We had a rocket that you could climb up and get to the very top and see the entire park and surrounding neighborhood.. They removed it as I grew up because too many kids were monkeys and fell of the rocket and broke bones and God knows what else) I also had one of those cool rings that you could bunch your shirt through. I feel so old. BUT! I can't believe these horrible things are making a comeback! Well played snap bracelet.. Well Played.

Until Tomorrow!
Jessica

Thirsty Thursday 1-12-2011

I have a WHOLE board dedicated to beverages on Pinterest. I freaking LOVE pinterest and I spend many a sleepless nights pinning like mad when the baby won't sleep. As I've already shared, my dear friend is having a baby next month and her baby shower is next Saturday. I've pinned a bunch of ideas that will probably just die in my pinterest board, but I'm bound and determined to do this one. I love the idea. I just  need to find a punch bowl big enough to fit the awesome.

Here are the instructions and ingredients I got from TidyMom. (Who is awesome BTW) I tried to make the picture clicky so it should take you to the full post on this awesome concoction.If that doesn't work, here is the website :TidyMom.Net

Recipe: Ducky Bath Baby Shower Punch

Summary: Adorable Ducky Bath Punch – The blue Kool-Aid makes it look like bath water and the sherbet mixed with the ginger ale gives it “bath bubbles”.

Number of servings (yield): 24

Wordless Wednesday 1-11-2012

Inspiration Tuesday 1-10-2012

So! I have new neighbors. My block has been a victim of the bad economy and I have been living in the middle of a foreclosure sandwich for about 3 months. It's been quite depressing coming home to a row of for sale signs and empty creepy houses. YAY for new neighbors.. Well at least on one side.

When I first moved in to my house I "Boo'd" my neighbors. This was basically like a ding-dong-ditch around Halloween where you "BOO" them and you knock on the door and you leave a bag of Halloween treats at their door. I did this and left some candy in a "BOO" bag and some Halloween themed kitchen stuff (towels and I think a pot holder). Turns out, they didn't celebrate Halloween.. HA! (What a great way to get to know your neighbors) but they did like the candy!

Now, with my new neighbors who coincidentally have a 3 month old (YAY) I wanted to do something cute for them to "welcome" them to the neighborhood. So I saw this on Pinterest and I just refilled my printer ink so I think I will whip something out for them.

Who doesn't love Ding Dongs?!

Have a good day!
Jessica

Follow Up To Crafty Saturday

Hey All,
 So my invitations were a complete fail (suprised?) apparently, the cricut cartridge I needed is no longer sold at any local craft store in my area AND it is all sold out on Cricut's website BOO. I found it on Amazon, but by the time I realized no store around me sold it I couldn't even pay to have it overnighted.

This is what the invitations turned out like :

It was the best that I could do.. They are pretty dull and plain, but it does the job.

Tah Tah!
Jessica

Show Me The Monkey (Monday) 1-9-2012

Happy Monday (insert sigh here)
 Today is Jericho's first day at Daycare. I had to switch baby sitters and met the new one on Monday. I like her a lot. So we will see how Jericho does today. (Cross your fingers and toes for me)
 This weekend was filled with stress and fun. I love that I bite off more than I can chew and then I get upset at how stressed I am. Oh Well! Enough about me.. I have a baby to brag about!
 So Jericho crawls really well now. Hyper speed.. towards the cats. He is now sporting a scratch on his nose because I couldn't get to him fast enough. I now sit with a squirt bottle by me to ward off the kitties. They love to sit by him and watch him but they expect him to not pay any attention to them. He LOVES animals. I just find it funny that they refuse to move when they see him turbo crawling towards them.. What do you think is going to happen? Well.. The cat won one this time.
 In addition to crawling. Jericho picked up pulling himself up onto people (legs arms whatever is available for him to climb up) really quickly. I would say about two days he learned how to pull himself up on everything. The SMTM pictures for today are Jericho doing just that.. BTW.. He hates clothes. He acts like I'm trying to kill him when I attempt to put his arms through his shirts. Don't you worry.. He doesn't do the same for Daddy. DAMN YOU DADDY!! :)

Have a good week!

Jessica

Awesome Product Sunday!!! 1-8-2012

** For the record.. I did this last night but I forgot to publish it :) **

Happy Sunday everyone!
 I actually don't like Sunday's very much because it means I have to go back to the grind the next day. :( Awesome product Sunday though kind of brings a twinkle to my eye because I love buying and trying things. Is there a job to do this? If so.. I want it.
 My parents bought my husband this cereal dispenser for Christmas. That husband of mine.. is a strange one. He's wanted one of these for YEARS! I refused and would drag my feet because I thought the spinny things in the dispenser would just make a crumbly mess out of the cereal. NOPE.
 Not only does this cool little contraption not make a mess out of my cereal, each spin is approx. 1 ounces of food. What is great about this is that with this little baby I have of mine, I can measure out approx 1 ounce of cereal and know how much I am feeding him. (We haven't gotten here yet.. but the options are ENDLESS) this cool little dispenser can hold more than cereal.. Imagine M&M's, Hot Tamales, Trail Mix.. WHATEVER YOU WANT. We currently have Capt'n Crunch and Fruit Loops in ours.
 I've been sold on this bad boy.. It's pretty awesome.

Crafty Saturday! 1-7-2012

Hey All,
 So I am hosting a baby shower for one of my good friends this month. I've been procrastinating on making the invitations and they MUST go out on Monday!!! So this weekend I am going to be spending the majority of my free time making 50 invitations. Here is what I'm going to be using to help me make them. I don't know what they will come out like.. but these are my ideas so far.

Wish Me Luck!!

I will post (hopefully) the after.. Even if I end up getting frustrated and buying pre made ones at Target or Party City.


Jessica

Flashback Friday 1-6-2012

I never knew where to look to see what the #1 song was on the day I was born. Turns out, thanks to http://www.joshhosler.biz/ I found it!! Lionel Richie's All Night Long. Enjoy today's Flashback Friday. The number one song on November 10, 1983. :) Gotta love the 80's hair and wardrobe!

Belated Thankful Thursday 1-5-2012

Yesterday I was too busy playing with my little bundle of joy (and bath night) that I didn't get a chance to write :( I did however know right when I was thankful for Thursday so it was important to me not to miss yesterday's Thankful Thursday.

I have been pretty sick and took Tuesday and Wednesday off from work so I've only had to go to work 3 days this week instead of five. Originally, I was going to be thankful for having an awesome job that gives me PTO so that I can take time off (paid) to be sick. Then.. something happened.

Jericho has learned to crawl AND started pulling himself  up on things just a couple days ago. The growth he's made in his motor skills just in the past week is mind boggling. When I first saw him crawling I was devastated. All it meant to me was that my little boy was growing up faster then he wanted. Although I knew that if he wasn't I would've been worried about his development.. It's always a double edge sword.

I was so Thankful yesterday that even though I really REALLY didn't want him to crawl and become mobile for another 2-3 years :) (A new mom can dream right?) and be my little baby forever. I am Thankful that he didn't listen to me. Coming home from work yesterday was fabulous. I walked into the family room where my little boy was laying on the floor playing with his toys. I said HEY BABY BOY and he immediate picked his adorable little head up and looked right towards me. He crawled with gusto towards me and tried to pull himself up using my jeans. Begging to be picked up and kissed and hugged. It almost brought a tear to my eye but I struggled to stay strong and not lose my shit over the adorableness that was happening.

So there you have it. I am thankful that despite going against his mommy's wishes my little boy continues to improve in his motor skills, growth and development every day. It saddens me daily that I have to miss a lot of it because I work full time, but coming home to a little baby who crawls right towards you in super-crawl-power-speed made everything all worth it.

Sleepy but crawling/climbing on Mommy (7 months 2 days)

Wordless Wednesday 1-4-2012

Inspiration Tuesday 1-3-2012

Do you know how fast do your hands age? I have eczema so it looks like my hands belong to a 50 year old lady. They look wise beyond their years. Surprisingly, they belong to a 28 year old lady who LOVES to scratch them.

Have you ever looked at pictures taken of yourself and think.. wow I looked so young? What would your hands look like if you did that? I love this picture because it sparked my imagination. How cool would it be to take a picture of your hands (with your wedding rings) every single year on your anniversary? Sure your significant other would think that you are cheesy and it was lame but what a cool thing to look back on. Think of all the creative things you could do!

Happy Tuesday All!

Show Me The Monkey (Monday) 1-2-2012

Happy Monday All!

Today is the first day (even though I'm a day late) of my Project 365. Today is Show Me The Monkey Monday where I will be flaunting my adorable little guy for the whole world to see. :)

My mom is in town for the holidays and despite Jericho being sick with either Croup or RSV (No one has told me what is wrong with him they just keep throwing meds at us) we decided that he needed some Vitamin D and we took him to the Park on Saturday. Please don't think I am a horrible mother for taking my ill child to the park in the middle of the winter. It was 80 degrees on Saturday and the only reason why I didn't have him in shorts was because I knew he would be crawling around and I didn't want his little knees to get grass stained.

One of the hardest things I face when I am posting pictures of Jericho is to only post one. I think between my mom and I we took about 40 pictures of Jericho on the way to the park, at the park, and on our way home from the park. For Christmas Santa Claus got him a Radio Flyer wagon. I was thinking that this wagon would be something Jericho could grow into and love for a very long time. I wasn't expecting for him to fit in it but since he can sit up on his own VERY well now I thought what the heck.. why not take him to the park in his wagon. I prepared myself for this to be a horrible fail and I imagined having to carry him home on my hip sans baby carrier for about a block.

Much to my surprise and sadness my little guy is growing up too fast and he LOVED his wagon. He sat in it patiently with his adorable little hands on his lap like a good pupil and watched in awe as I pulled him slowely by each house. He looked from side to side taking everything in. He was securely seat belted in but he never once attempted to get out. He enjoyed it thoroughly. 

Excited! We rocked back and forth in the wagon if Mommy wasn't moving fast enough!

Doesn't he look like a little boy here? So Happy!

Watching the bushes and we ride by

I love those baby blue eyes of his!

Okay, so I don't have to ONLY post one right? Because that is never going to happen.

Day 1 Down.. 364 More to go!

<3 Jessica

365 Days of Awesome 1-1-2012

Hello All,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 Long time no talk! I know this is shocking but one of my new years resolutions (which I kind of already failed at) is to do a 365 blog. Basically, it is posting on a blog every day. It is a spin-off of the 365 photo blogs, which this may become (we shall see).

Here is the format I'm going to be "ATTEMPTING" to follow.

Mondays - Show Me The Monkey
As you know I have a new baby.. well he is not very new any more. Last I posted I had just had him but he is 6 months old now. Oh, how sad. He'll be 7 months old tomorrow! I've been a lot better at keeping up on his blog then my own though, so don't worry.

Tuesdays - Inspiration Tuesday
This is a new topic, I am hoping to find things that inspire me. I am actually inspired quite often so it shouldn't be too hard to post on Tuesdays. Doing what inspires me, now that is a bit harder!

Wednesday - Wordless Wednesday
This is a carry over from when I use to blog a little more regularly. Wordless Wednesday can be anything (pictures, videos, links etc) I just won't be typing anything those days.

Thursday - Thankful Thursday / Thirsty Thirstday
I know it is kind of weird to spin off Thankful Thursday with Thirsty Thirstday but this is really for your own benefit. If I did a Thankful Thursday every Thursday you are going to see a bunch of "Today I am thankful for my adorable baby" posts and be done with it. Hopefully by throwing in some Thirsty Thirstdays in the mix you will have something to look forward to.

Friday - Flashback Friday
I really liked doing Flashback Friday before when I was keeping up with my blog so I am going to carry that over. What is sad about this is now I can flashback to the 80's, 90's, 2000's, and 2010's. God I feel old!

Saturday - Crafty Saturday
Okay, so I am not going to set you all up for disappointment here. I'm going to be honest. Crafty Saturday is not going to be me finishing a craft project let's just get that straight first and foremost because I'm not that awesome. Crafty Saturday MAY have some finished craft projects if my little guy loves me enough to sleep but it may just be craft ideas from the interwebs I share with you. Maybe this will end up like my Inspiration Tuesdays.. We shall wait and see!

Sunday - Awesome Product Sunday
I am always getting on my pedestol about some cool product I found or use at my house. I will be sharing those kind of things with you on Sundays!

As you can already tell. I failed for yesterday. So we are just going to start off fresh starting today and see where this takes us!

Have a great day!
Jessica