Baby J is nearly 6 weeks old! Sometimes it feels like just yesterday she was born. And other times it feels like it was centuries ago.
She went to the Dr today and her big sister, the Little One insisted on coming along (I guess to be supportive). Luckily there were no shots.
Well, not yet. But if you cruise the store isles you’d think that Christmas was right around the corner. Well, I guess it is, but not close enough to buy a Christmas tree now! Anyways, it’s fall and I love it. The beautiful changing leaves. The cooler weather. The great food. The holidays. The comfortable clothes. What’s not to love.
This month we have a few fall activities planned:
That counts right? (Thanks Ted, it was finger lickin’ good)
I’m sure we’ll have a great time.
Who doesn’t love Halloween. Is it the candy, the dressing up, staying up late, or watching scary movies? Either way kids love Halloween. Our two oldest can’t decide if they want to dress up for Halloween yet. The last time I asked there was an argument over who came up with the idea of being Nicki Minaj…………….Ok, that’s not happening!
Anyways. Last year I made the Little One’s costume due to my over confidence in my diy-ing skills and my unwillingness to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a baby costume. Plus if it looked a mess she still couldn’t talk much yet to complain about it! She was Minnie Mouse, naturally because she already had the major prop needed. Huge fro puffs= Minnie Mouse ears.
Here she is as Minnie Mouse
Halloween is now less than a week away, and I still have no clue what the Little One will be this year. Here are a few of the Little One’s favorites that are possibilities:
Minnie Mouse (again)- I could re-use last years costume, but she’s a lot more active this year than last year. And I’m afraid that because my sewing skills aren’t the best, her costume may have a chance of falling apart in the middle of one of her “I got candy!” celebration dances. So in the next few days I could make another one.
OR
Peppa Pig – She loves the cartoon and has even been calling herself Peppa Pig lately. But no one would know who she was.
OR
Homemade animal costume, like this giraffe (it’s the Little One’s fav animal). I found this one online with easy instructions.
Either I have to get busy. Wish me luck.
Antonio’s cousin Val delivered a healthy baby girl today. She will be a lucky and loved new addition to the family.
Congratulations!
The Little One is now in the stage where she likes to pick out her own clothes. If it were left to her, she’d leave the house looking like Kelis 
(ok, that’s a bit much, not that bad!)
So instead I pick out a few things and she chooses from them. That way she leaves the house still looking like she has a home and parents, while still believing that she’s the boss and chose her clothes all by herself.
Here in Ga it’s not quite cool enough for scarfs and gloves, but the Little One did manage to put together this little number that evoked more than a few smiles while out with me running errands. I was only responsible for the outfit sans ski hat and faux armwarmers (they’re really socks with the toe portion cut out to wear after a pedicure).
She’s really too cute, and I’m so glad she’s mine.
This weekend when we went to the zoo my parents watched Baby J. for us. It’s nice to always have someone nearby that you know and trust that can lend a hand when you need it. Thanks Mom and Pops.
When we got back I asked all the usual questions and was told that she was no trouble, but she didn’t sleep much. Which is weird because at home she usually tries to sleep all day so that she can keep us up at night. When we were leaving my Mom gave me a flash drive and said it had a few pictures that I may not have. And upon opening it I immediately started laughing.
It seems that while the rest of her family was at the zoo, Baby J had a few animal encounters of her own.
No wonder she didn’t sleep much!
OK, this seemed like a good title for this post beforehand because I figured that sometime before leaving the zoo there would be tears shed, and I’d get a cute pic of it. But we all had such a great time it never happened. But I still didn’t want to change the title! Hey, it rhymes
Anyways, this weekend we went to the zoo. And we had a great time. This was the Little One’s first time and she was excited. We planned on waking up and heading out early. We did wake up KIND OF early. But somehow we didn’t get on the road until about 2 . Baby J is way too young to be out in such a public place so we took her to my parents for the day, then hit the road. The zoo is in Columbia, SC so we had a short, nearly an hour, drive across the river to get there. Surprisingly, I was the only one that fell asleep.
Once there we were surprised to find out that they closed at 5! Which meant that we had a little over 2 hours to check it all out. The Little One rode on her Daddy’s shoulders for most of the day.
So we were off, fast and furious to check off all the animals on our list.
While navigating our way thru the zoo looking for the “cool” animals we saw a miniature train. The Little One got sooooo excited. So we ALL rode it. The best part was seeing how much fun she was having. She said “Weee!!!!” at least a hundred times
Antonio and the Little One checking out the lions.
Monkey taking in the sights.
It was nearly 4:40 and I could hear the clock ticking in my ear.
Lions…..CHECK Elephants…..CHECK
Gorillas…..CHECK Tigers…..CHECK
Monkeys…..CHECK Bears…..CHECK
Giraffes….. …… ……
We still hadn’t seen the giraffes! And it would be a shame to go all the way to the zoo and not see the Little One’s favorite animal. So we began our mad dash with less than 20 minutes before the zoo closed to find the giraffes.
Of course, with minutes to spare we found both the zebras and giraffes. Just in time.
Our timing was perfect. Once we saw the giraffes I think we were all pretty much ready to call it a day. This is where I figured there’d be some crying. But the Little One was still so happy that she didn’t seem to mind. Wow, a whole afternoon without whining! We had a great time. And the Little One said she wants to go back tomorrow.
Last week I did my usual blog rounds and saw over at YOUNGHOUSELOVE that they were having another Pinterest challenge, along with “house of earnest” and Bower Power. I didn’t participate in the first one, but did enjoy seeing all the neat projects that their readers completed. I seriously spent hours just browsing and linking to various blogs. So this time I wanted to get in on the action. BUT, we had plans for the weekend, so there was no time to scour the web for inspiration and then attempt to recreate it. So instead I’m sharing a project that I previously did. Hope you enjoy.
The finishing touches in a room can really make a difference. I always browse the web, and window shop for cool accessories that match our taste, style and almost as important……. our budget.
I saw these marquee lights and wanted to get a “L” for our last name. However the prices are always a bit too much for a mere accessory. This one is available at Urban Outfitters for $179
So of course I decided that the next best thing would be to make one myself. Initially, I thought I would make a light that ACTUALLY worked. But after planning out the project that seemed a bit more complicated than I wanted. Instead I settled on creating one that is purely just for looks.
my version
Here’s how I did it.
Supplies:
large paper mache letter -$3.50 (with a 40% off coupon)
acrylic paint -already had
paint brush -already had
exacto knife -already had
mini silver Christmas ornaments -$1
glue gun -already had
Total= $4.50 !!!!
Carefully cut the face of the letter off using the exacto knife. Discard.
Paint all surfaces of the letter.
After it dries, measure where the light bulbs (ornaments) will go (evenly spaced), and mark with a pencil.
Using the exacto knife, cut small holes at each mark.
Pull the hook portion off each ornament.
Put a ring of glue around the bottom end of ornament and insert into holes.
This was a really simple project to do and I was surprised at how well it turned out. I love it. And it cost less than $5 to make. It’s a great addition to the room and looks like the real versions.
Whenever Antonio is away I always record our favorite shows on the DVR to watch later. Technology, where would we be without it?! Imagine, in the old days, you actually had to watch it when it came on tv. That had to suck!
Anyways, although the suspense sometimes kills me, I record shows that we like to watch together and save them to watch later. So there’s quite a few shows that we are catching up on. The initial plan was to watch some of them while we’re up during Baby J’s late night feedings. But honestly, the only thing I want to see at 3:37 AM is the back of my eyelids.
So here’s what’s on our list of shows to catch up on that we are slowly making a dent in.
What are you watching? Any suggestions?
Last week I did my usual blog rounds and saw over at YOUNGHOUSELOVE that they were having another Pinterest challenge, along with “house of earnest” and Bower Power. I didn’t participate in the first one, but did enjoy seeing all the neat projects that their readers completed. I seriously spent hours just browsing and linking to various blogs. So this time I wanted to get in on the action. BUT, we had plans for the weekend, so there was no time to scour the web for inspiration and then attempt to recreate it. So instead I’m sharing a project that I previously did. Hope you enjoy.
We’ve been pretty busy around here lately with the arrival of Baby J.
Actually, it’s not that there’s that much going on, but when you can’t remember what day it is, because of lack of sleep, everything just starts to blur together.
So I thought I’d share a project I did for the Little One’s birthday, late this summer. I’ve been seeing these cool play kitchens all over the web. Like this one from Pottery Barn Kids. It’s a bit more retro than I like, but it’s still cool enough for me to wish I had it as a kid. But the price!!! Ummm… it’s $699 for all four pieces. Which is too steep for my taste, especially for a toy.
Pottery Barn play kitchen
But luckily there are some pretty amazing DIY versions out there that convinced me that I could totally pull this off for the Little One in time for her birthday. Since I was pregnant all summer and started to show signs of slowing down, I decided that I should start well in advance. As I gave myself a couple of months, to compensate for my procrastination issues. And this time I had quite a bit of help from my parents.
So this is what I started with. Two old nightstands, and some random but perfect cabinet of some sort that I found at Goodwill. Doesn’t it look like a refrigerator?!
I wanted to spend as little as possible on this project, considering that I didn’t even know if the Little One would play with it. But I still thought it was worth the try because she’s still way too young to object to a homemade gift. Now the older two are a whole ‘nother story.
Here’s a list of all materials I used and the cost:
two nightstands (stove and dishwasher) -free already had
cabinet (refrigerator)- $15
primer- free already had
four cans of spray paint- $16
sand paper
wood glue
decorative finishings- $5
interior of appliances- $5
pots and pans- $5
pretend food- $10 already had half
The plan was to make a refrigerator, stove and sink/dishwasher. We basically just figured it out as we went. And it was a lot of fun. Here’s two of the pieces after the first two coats of red paint. At first we hid the process from the Little One, but after a while she saw us as we worked, but didn’t seem too interested. Maybe she wasn’t impressed!
This probably could have been completed in a weekend or two, but I didn’t have my cape on. In fact, I think it’s been out at the cleaners for months now. (or lost at the bottom of the hamper)
Here’s the finished project.
So on her birthday she acted as though it were a complete surprise. And she loved it. She’s been playing with it ever since, making “cookies” and having tea parties. I’ve crossed my fingers that she wouldn’t lose interest in the kitchen, but today, nearly four months later she’s still playing with it.
Hi! I'm Sherry, wife to an amazing man and mother of 4 beautiful girls. Welcome to my blog.
