custom made book!

Many of you may know my love for custom-made things for Rory.  I love making everything from cups, to plates, to books.  I love making Rory books because I get to create stories and put pictures of her family in it, and Rory loves reading books!   A few of her favorites include: Rory’s ABC’s and Go Shanny Go (made by my sister)! It is so much fun to see her face as she sees pictures of herself, of me, daddy, and her aunts and cousins.  

Many of you also know my love for bargains!  I found one today for a custom made book.   It is through the company SNAPFISH; www.snapfish.com It is for a 5*7 softcover photo book for free, all you have to pay is shipping and handling, which is $1.99! 

This is an amazing deal!   Whenever it is time to check out, add the promo code HPREWARD and all you have to pay is $1.99 for shipping!  I'm already making a book right now, Im going through all my pictures and thinking of fun stories!   I hope you enjoy  making these books.  If you have any problems feel free to send me an e-mail and I'll be more than happy to help you.   Time to get creative!

Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day!  I think that Mother's Day and Father's Day is always such a great time to thank and appreciate how extremely difficult it is being a GOOD parent.  (I stress the good, because it is easy to just be a “parent”).   I never, in a million years, thought being a good parent was as difficult as it is.   Today I want to share a little bit about our special Daddy! 

I am going to write today about the best father anyone could ask for, my husband Jon.   Jon is the best father to Aurora.  Although I always knew he would be an amazing father, he has completely exceeded all of my expectations.  I felt so upset because yesterday we didn't have a lot of time to celebrate Father's Day.   Rory was insanely crazy, we were backed up on our house duties because of our busy week both jon had at work and I had here with Rory.  

Rory and I woke up making him “Jelly doughnut muffins” and then gave him his father’s day presents.  We gave him the tie we made and showed him The matching dresses that I made for Rory and I to match.  We also made him some coasters and I barbecued for him on our weekly “grill night.”  I really wanted Jon to have a great Father's Day.  I wanted to plan a whole weekend just to let him know how much we appreciate him and how much we love him, even though I know he knows.... it is always nice to have a little remind.

 Jon has always been there for me and Rory.  It is one of the many reasons why I love him so much.  He always puts us first before anything else in his life.  Jon I have been married for almost 7 years to be seven years (next month will be our anniversary) and although we do have our ups and downs we could not be more compatible together.  Part of what makes our marriage work so much is our communication.  I could not be more happy as a wife and mother and part of that is because I have such a great husband who is there for us no matter what.   I always knew that Jon would be a great father, but I didn't know just how good!  Once Rory was born Jon just turned into super dad!  He is amazing!  I am so lucky to have him!  

Rory loves him so much!   It is so funny because when Jon is home, all Rory wants to do is spend time with her daddy!  Even when Jon is outside cutting grass Rory and I are by the window watching him waving every time he passes us!  She always wants to do what her daddy is doing...And who could blame her! I love watching the two of them play together- nothing makes me smile more than watching the two of them play!

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day.  I am very happy and lucky that Rory has the best daddy!  Jon, happy Father's Day and I love you!

Potty Training!!!

Thank you to P&G and Kroger stores for celebrating “Team Mom’s Everyday Victories”! Please visit the P&G's event page to play games, win money off your next Kroger trip and more fun!

Rory always amazes me.  Everyday she does something new that completely blows me out of the water!  Today, was no exception...it isn’t even noon and yours truely has used the potty chair twice!  Yesterday she used her potty chair 3 times!  Of course; we now have a whole new toilet paper budget, but it it is no doubt cheaper than diapers!  

Rory loves to take pictures with my phone!

I know everyone has their ways of potty training and different methods work for different kids.  Currently, Rory loves to use her potty chair for: 

• lots of toilet paper
• Mommy singing and doing a happy dance
• She often will ask to call Dada, Mimi, or Papa after she goes potty- and so loves to use the phone

Growing so fast!

I can’t believe that Rory is getting so big!  The other night we were looking at pictures and videos last year of her and I am completely shocked at what one year can do!   I bought pull ups yesterday because I know that is our next step.  She is just growing up so fast!  And I am so proud of her for doing so well with her potty chair!


Since Rory is in that "in-between" diapers and pull ups stage, I am not going to go all 100% pull ups.  Which is good for me because Kroger is having a big P&G sale June 10-23 and I know they are going to have a huge sale on Pampers and other items throughout the store, which is good for this coupon-clipping-mamma!  They will also have sales on Charmin Basic, which is good since Rory uses SO much toilet paper!  


Before hitting the store, visit P&G’s event page on Kroger.com: http://bit.ly/KG6dw5 

I was selected for participation in this campaign as a member of Clever Girls Collective.

Father's Day Ties!

It is almost Father’s day! 

Because Rory has the best Daddy we are trying to make some great gifts for him Father’s day so he truly knows how much he means to us.   Daddy loves all of Rory’s art work, it is hung up all over his office; but for father’s day I wanted to make something different!  I thought we could make him something he could wear to work.   We decided to make Daddy a nice fancy tie! 

Materials needed:

• Tie
• fabric crayons
• paper to color on
• iron

*It does require an iron, but I made sure to use the iron when she was napping. 

This activity really affordable and easy.   We bought a nice white tie and some Fabric crayons and started to color!  

I have always wanted to use Fabric crayons, just to see if they worked and how well they worked.  I had Rory color on a big piece of white paper, we went through each color and she had a great time scribbling.  I made sure she pressed hard with the colors, so when I needed to iron the drawing on the tie the colors would be bright and vibrant!

I cut the paper up into strips so that the whole tie would be covered.  When Rory went down for a nap; I put the paper, colored side down, on the tie.  I held the iron down on the coloring for a few minutes at a time.   The crayons worked great!  When I removed the paper there was beautiful scribbles all over the tie!  The color was so bright and I know Daddy will love it!

Then your done!  A beautiful, one and only, Rory designed tie!  I can’t wait for Father’s day!   

Easter Bunny Fingerprints!

 Rory and I were already upstairs playing, so I thought we could play with some of my old stamp pads and make some more Easter decorations!

This activity was so much fun, and Rory really got into it.  As most of my little crafts are; this one is very inexpensive and can take as little or as much time as possible.  Ours took a long time, but it was mainly because we were having so much fun!

Materials:

stamp pads- for the bunny ears

paper- whatever colors you want- we chose dark colors of paper because we had a white stamp pad

paper to make the bunny faces and bodies

pens to draw faces

pom poms for the tails!

optional: any stickers you want to use!

We stamped our fingers on the stamp pad and pressed them down on the paper.  It took a few tries to get them right- Rory wasn't too used to using the stamp pad.  We tried several different ways to make the ears- we tried just using one finger and then tried using two fingers.  We just had fun playing with the stamp pad.

(As usual, we used this to reiterate colors: put your fingers on the WHITE ink pad and press it on the PURPLE paper.)  

I thought this would be a really cute Mommy and me project, so we did both of our fingers on the same piece of paper!  We waited for the stamp ink to dry, which is not very long, and while we were waiting we cut out circles for the bunnies heads and bodies.  (Rory colored on some of the bodies, but I think that adds to the cuteness of the activity.)  We drew faces on the bunnies and glued them to the paper.

We added a little “Some bunny loves you” phrase with stickers, and we will probably add a note on the top for Rory’s dad!  

Presto!  you now have cute mommy and me finger print bunnies- perfect for cards for grandparents, to hang on your walls, or to put in dads easter basket!  

Find the time...

I have been so busy lately and can't believe how long it has been since I posted!  Things here have been crazy, as normal, and I have been 100% overwhelmed.  Something today made me smile and laugh.
My husband is always up to date with his current events, unlike me, whose current events include play dates and doctor appointments.  Today he told me about an article in USA today about two women who was leaving the house without their beauty routine, makeup, not shaving their legs, etc....
My first words was "Did they both have kids?"
I could not believe this was in USA today!!!!
Perhaps I am not much of a "girly girl" but I don't have a lot of time for a beauty routine!  I guess you could consider my workouts my beauty routines, but I really don't have much of fancy routine.
Jon said, "So are you going to do your 15 min beauty routine," referring to my shower....
I don't wear a lot of make up- I usually smell more like deodorant than perfume, and the thought of spending 30 minutes a day on getting pretty seems awfully pointless to me when I have an insane toddler running around.
There is always something that needs to be cleaned, paperwork that needs to be filled out, errands to be ran, or something else I have to do....
I just choose to spend my time differently.  I have to remember that people choose to spend their time on different things.  Some people choose to beautify themselves, and I choose to work out.

Proud Mommy!

I could not have been more proud of Rory- I know most moms feel this way (as they should) but I just can’t even begin to explain how much I love my daughter!  I was thinking back to last year, and how far she has come in her development.  She has learned to scoot, then crawl, then walk, and now she is running.  Our days went from being just me and Rory and now we have such great friends.  

Just the other day Rory got her 2nd certificate from the Winter Reading Program at the Virginia Beach Public Library.  Last year, we read so many books, and she liked to look at the pictures and would touch some of the pictures.  She now grabs the books, runs to my lap and loves to point and sign at every animal in the book.  

I am just so lucky to have her, and be able to stay home with her!

A Bed for Kind of!

A Bed for Kind of!

Rory has nothing but love for her baby, Kind of.  (Yes, that is her name, “Kind of”, she was Rory’s 1st birthday present from my 4 year old niece, Shannon who originally named her.)  One thing that we like to do is pretend that Kind of is a real baby;  Kind of eats with us, plays itsy bitsy spider with us, dances with us, etc.  We have recently started to get Kind of ready for bed, but it was really hard for us to put her in Rory’s big crib so we decided to make our own bed for her!  

Materials:

• A box: a shoe box, or any small to medium size box
• old wrapping paper, or paper to wrap the box in
• tape
• decorating supplies: we used crayons, letters, stickers 

The first thing we did was get an old box and cut down the top flaps.  

To cover the box, we used some old wrapping paper left over from Christmas.  I turned the wrapping paper inside out, so that the white side was on the outside for Rory to draw and decorate, which was a huge part of the fun.  Rory could hardly wait to color in it, so it was being colored on while I was wrapping it!

I wrapped it up like a present, I cut the wrapping paper large so some of it would overlap and fit on the inside of the box as well (if you choose to wrap the inside of the box, this will help make wrapping the inside of the box easier).   

If you are struggling for time or your toddler is being crazy, you do not need to wrap the inside of the box, the baby and blanket will cover up most of it; however I chose to wrap it.  I cut slits in the corners so they would wrap nice and pretty.  Again, it does not need  to be really nice and pretty looking on the inside since the blanket and baby will be covering. 

Finished Bed!

Then comes the fun part....DECORATING!  I had many old stickers laying around from my scrap booking days, and let Rory pick out what kind she wanted to use.  We also found letters to spell out “Kind of.”  (Of course I had to help spell them, but Rory put them on herself!).

After it was made, we were able to put  Kind of in her bed and sing to her.  It has now become a daily activity where we put Kind of to bed, get her changed in her pajamas, give her a blanket, sing her “Twinkle Twinkle,” give her kisses, and tell everyone in the house “shhhh, Kind of is sleeping.”  

Kissing Kind of Goodnight!

Cousin Love!

Sometimes, something so wonderful happens that it leaves you completely speechless.  


The other day, I was left completely wordless; just silent, but with a huge smile on my face.  My uncle John and Aunt Melissa sent Rory a package today.  It was as if they knew everything she liked because they sent her a puzzle, a stuffed dog, those goofy glasses with the mustache and big nose, a bee bubble blower, and some stickers.  It was like Christmas morning for Rory.  

Rory loves the puzzle, she makes animal noises as she puts the animals in their spots.

The package made me smile from ear to ear.  It just reinforced what I already knew: I have the best family ever.   While Rory was putting stickers on me, Jon and the Dogs, I opened up the cards that were inside; and that is when I went speechless.

Inside was a card from my cousin Jack, who I haven’t seen in a long time.   Jack is older now, and in his pictures he looks like a bundle of energy.  (I have a few favorite memories of Jack; see below.)  

I love how he wrote her name at the top of the card.  Rory kisses the puppy on it too!

Jack wrote a sweet note to Rory about how he knows she will be OK at the Doctor’s, because he was in the doctor and they took care of him.  I am by far not a crier, but this brought tears to my eyes!  It was the cutest thing ever.  

It makes me wish that we were closer so Rory could play with her cousins all the time, but until then; Rory will be sending Jack some mail ;).  No one can argue with me, I do have the best family ever!

Favorite Jack Memories

The day after my wedding, all of our family went over to my moms house and we went swimming, had a bbq, and opened presents.  Jon adn I were outside with Jack adn he was very curious about our cat.  He kept touching its tail and then letting go, adn he asked us, “What happens if you pull his tail?”  (Little did he know, Jon and I say that all the time when ever we see a cat or when Rory yanks on their tails!).  This is my favorite memory #1.

My second favorite memory of Jack happened at my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.   It was towards the end of the night when all the kids were all hopped up on cake, candies and soda.  My cousin Jack was running around with my other cousins, and you know how little boys run- their arms flail at that magical height for men.  Yep thats right, in an instant jon had his head between his legs and informed me he felt like throwing 

King Cake; with Rory's help!

I got this recipe online, adn then tweeked it a bit!

Dough

1⁄8 cup butter 

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream (I used reduced fat)

1/4 cinnamon

1⁄4 cup sugar 

1⁄2 teaspoon salt 

1 envelopes active dry yeast 

1⁄2 tablespoon white sugar 

1⁄4 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees) 

1 egg

3 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour , divided

Cream Cheese Filling

2 (4 ounce) packages cream cheese , softened (16 ounces total)

 1⁄2 egg 

1⁄2 cup sugar 

1⁄16; teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Colored Frosting

1 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar

1 1⁄2 tablespoons butter , melted 

1 1⁄2 tablespoons milk 

1⁄8; teaspoon vanilla extract 

Food coloring

Colored sugars

I didn’t use colored sugars but they are really easy to make...Rory just woke up too early!

3⁄4 cup white sugar 

Food coloring

Directions: Cook first 5 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts.

Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until foamy.  

Add butter mixture, egg, and 2 cups flour; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until smooth.

 Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes; Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top; Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.   

While the cake is rising, with an electric mixer, mix cream cheese until smooth; Add egg and blend well; Add sugar, salt and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy; Set aside.

Punch dough down; roll out onto a lightly floured surface; roll to a 28- x 10-inch rectangle.  

Spread cream cheese mixture on dough; Roll up the dough, jellyroll fashion, starting at long side.  

Place dough roll, seam side down, on parchment paper.  Bring ends together to form an oval ring, moistening and punching edges together to seal.

Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 20 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375 degrees for 15- 20 minutes or until golden.

Decorate with bands of Colored Frostings, and sprinkle with Colored Sugars. 

Rory did SO good with her frostings!

for the frosting: Stir together powdered sugar and melted butter; Add milk to reach desired consistency for drizzling; stir in vanilla; Divide frosting into 3 batches, tinting 1 green, 1 yellow, and combining red and blue food coloring for purple frosting. 

For the Sugars:Place 1/2 cup sugar and drop of green food coloring in a zip-top plastic bag; seal; Shake and squeeze vigorously to evenly mix color with sugar; Repeat procedure with 1/2 cup sugar and yellow food coloring; For purple, combine 1 drop red and 1 drop blue food coloring before adding to remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

Rory makes me laugh!!!

So Jon just farted really loud and Rory signed "diaper change" and said dada! Hahaha

All About James

Rory normally doesn't do much interactive play with other kids, but James and Shannon were different.  She loved just watching them adn doign whatever they were doing!  It was so sweet to see them all interact together.


Since we have been back, Rory has asked to see James many many times.  When she does I just pull up his picture on the computer and let her look at a slide show of them playing.  She often cries when I decide its time to stop looking at his pictures!  

This is a video of my sweet Nephew James smelling Rory’s feet.  Rory went crazy- she loves smelling feet so naturally, when James smells them and acts crazy she is going to be hysterical!