Small Little Baby Shower...

This year my aunt asked me to organize a little baby shower for my cousin's wife who is due in February. They live in Texas so we don't get to see them very often. She felt that Thanksgiving, when the whole family would already be together and my cousin would be in town, would be the perfect time and venue. There were some challenges though. She requested games (but not too gamey), something crafty (but not too crafty) and small (but not too small) since they were flying back and wouldn't be able to take much. Hmmm... games but no games, crafts but no crafts and small but not small. Ummm... no problem? So, I brainstormed, researched, and reached deep down for some creative juices and this is what I came up with.

For the not crafty, which I had a hard time relating to, I did two things. Which I think they were positively accepted!

First, we did a family tree. I had seen some ideas for this on pinterest but only for weddings. So I decided to tweak it a little. I sketched a bare tree using pen and ink and in my most nervous cursive, wrote "Our Family" underneath it. I sketched a little nest in the tree and used a blue sharpie to make an egg. I wanted them to add more "eggs" as their family grew. I framed it and had it sitting on the table when everyone came in. I had two shades of green ink pads and everyone placed their fingerprint on a branch (the leaves) and I wrote their initials underneath. I had the mommy and daddy do theirs near the nest in yellow and I made them the birdies. Not too crafty right?  All it required was a finger.  I thought it turned out very cute and I am excited to do it for myself :)

The other "crafty" thing we did was I set out colored index cards and fine point sharpies.  Everyone was asked to share their best motherly advice.  I then glued them on corresponding cards, hole punched and attached them all together on a utility ring.  Crafty?  For me.  No one else :)

Lastly, the game I chose was one my inlaws organized for me for one of my showers and I loved it.  I got my list from http://baby-shower.yeahbaby.com/game.php?page=candy-bar-baby-shower-game.  I made a poster board with post it notes.  On the note I wrote a phrase like "Hospital Bill"  and underneath I wrote the corresponding candy.  In this case "100 Grand".  When someone correctly guessed they got that candy.  I removed the post it note so we could remember which ones we had done.  A game, yes.  But it didn't require anyone to do anything silly and you won candy.  CANDY. 

Overall, I was excited with my little shower ideas and I think the surprise was a blessing to my cousin and his wife!

There Was Not a Pot of Gold at the End of Adelyn's Crayon Rainbow...

So, Adelyn is imaginative, a little off the wall and creative. She is one of those kids that on a daily basis begs the question, "What in the world? Where did that come from?" Therefore, I wasn't too surprised when I glanced over at breakfast to see her working very intently on something under the table. She had been talking to me about whatever she was doing for about ten minutes, no breathing in between words, but when you have a kid that talks as much as Adelyn it's only natural to tune out all but the dangerous signal words. I walked over to discover her storing all her crayons in the legs of her footy pajamas. She had pushed them all down into the feet area. "Adelyn, what are you doing?" "Mom, I'm storing them like a squirrel. Now I can take them everywhere with me." Oh, yeah. Duh, how did I not think of that? With a little power struggle, I convinced her that squirrels store their nuts in trees. One location, like her crayon box. She began to pull them out reluctantly. After much morning playtime and wild crazy running, it was time to change out of the jammies and start the day. I threw them down in the hamper and that was that. Or so I thought...

Two days later when I went to place her adorable feetsies in her freshly washed jammie jams, I couldn't. That's because they were hard as a rock and sealed shut with redness. Crayon redness. "oooohhh, Mom they're pretty." No, Adelyn. No they are not. I asked her about removing the crayons from her footies and she responded, "But Mom, I needed one for on the go." AAHHHH! I put her down for nigh night and rushed to my dryer to explore the damage. My worst nightmare. Red crayon melted throughout the dryer drum. By the grace of God only a few items were destroyed in the load but what now? So, I did some research.

Come to find out WD-40 will remove crayon. Now, since my dryer is electric I was ok with this suggestion. If it were gas I think I would have found another route. Since, WD-40 is a flammable substance! I ran the dryer on its hottest setting for ten minutes. I then sprayed WD-40 onto a rag and gently scrubbed the drum so I wouldn't scratch the enamel. I used a toothbrush to clean out the crevices. I then took a damp cloth and wiped out the WD-40. I placed a few damp rags in the dryer and ran in for a cycle to make sure there wasn't an residual wax. Awesome it worked. My back up plan was to use toothpaste (yes, someone swore by this method) but fortunately I was able to eliminate it the first try.

I've always been a pocket checker when doing laundry, but now with a toddler, I know that I must be a footie and hoodie checker as well!

Journaling...

I have always had a desire to write but haven't always known the best medium in which to or realistic habitual way to keep it up. Jason has encouraged me for a long time to journal and I've always used the excuse of not being able to be consistent enough, so what's the point. However, recently my wonderful grandma brought some of her journals with her to a family function and a new spark and motivation was ignited in me. I thought it was so neat that she could look up our birthdays twenty years ago and have a brief synopsis of what was going on in our family's life. I felt what a great gift that would make for my kids and my grandkids one day. So, for Valentine's Day this year Jason gifted me with two archival leather journals, one for each of my girls. I didn't know what shape they would take. I thought maybe writing a brief line or two about just the events of the day, but anyone who knows me or has read this blog... knows I'm wordy. Mine evolved into letters. Not necessarily long but a descriptive personal letter to my girls detailing their day, developments, attitude and just plain silliness that is a blessing of this age. I don't put the pressure on myself to feel obligated to write everyday. I think that's why it works. When a note worthy event happens and I have a moment to breathe I share it with my girls, one day I believe they will enjoy it :)

Personal Pizzas...

I stumbled across a variation of this recipe on www.eatbetteramerica.com and it has quickly become a go to favorite at our house. 1. because it's cheap 2. because it's fast and easy 3. because it can be a much healthier version then the real deal!

K, here is what you need for your basic cheese pizza...

Flat Out Flatbread Healthy Grain (I find it at Shop & Save and usually if you can find it there you can find it anywhere!).  Each package will make 7 pizzas.  You could also use pita bread.
Pizza sauce
Reduced fat Mozzeralla cheese
Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees.  On an aluminum covered baking sheet place flat bread, coat with about 2 heaping spoonfuls of pizza sauce and two handfuls of shredded cheese.  Top with Parmesan.  Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Now as far as toppings, the skies the limit and that's why these are so versatile and fun.  One of my favorites is pesto chicken.  I use a pound of cut up boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 in. chunks.  I saute it in a frying pan with a tbsp of olive oil and a liberal amount of minced garlic.  Once cooked through, I add regular refrigerated basil pesto and simmer for a few minutes.  I add it to my pizza before adding the cheese. Yum!  Jason has made his pizza using BBQ chicken, grilled onions and replaced the pizza sauce with BBQ sauce.  The girls always request the basics; peperoni, bacon bits, mushrooms and/or black olives.  Jason has requested that next time we make hot wing chicken pizza!

I make simple cheese pizza for the girls when I'm out of lunch ideas.  I made the mistake today thinking that Adelyn and Marcella could actually split one!  Best part is absolutely no clean up if you use aluminum foil!