Modified Babyfood Jar

What do you get with a baby now eating baby food? Lots of empty baby food jars! I just can't throw these cute little glass jars away! So they end up sitting in my craft cabinet until I find the time to modify them for another purpose. While children napped I found just enough time to put a cute jar together!

So what do you get when you have a baby food jar and lots of crafty things? A few hours of fun!!

They make these rub on decals that stick great to paper and glass.You can find them in your scrapbooking isles at any local craft stores. :) I just rubbed one on that had butterflies and the word "Brilliant" in a fun font. Since the decal had blue and purple with green, I

Then I started adding ribbon and trim to decorate the not so pretty looking lid. You can use a hot glue gun to attach things. To me glue gun glue is very stringy and I am clumsy and burn myself to many times. So I prefer to use ModgePodge glue. It takes a little longer to dry than hot glue, but still dries pretty fast and too me leaves a cleaner look.

Glued some flower to the top in the same lovely blue shade.I also glued another ribbon over the trim around the rim of the lid.

I filled the jar with some fake flowers I had used from my wedding. You can also use the jar for storage purposes for buttons or bobby pins.

I liked the jar storage idea for bobby pins and hair things. Maybe I will do a few pink themed baby food jar storage unit for my daughter. And maybe another for a Baby Boy when he gets older to store little things like Legos. Baby food jars also make cute little favor gifts for parties!

Thanks! I am Awesome

 It was a recipe you found on Pinterest. After 2 hours shopping at the store, you spent 3 more slaving over a hot stove and oven for it to turn out perfectly. Just moments before your guests arrive you set a gorgeous table display (probably also from Pinterest), and your kids even decided that today they would be at their best. A few moments into the conversation with a good friend, she says,

"Oh my goodness! That looks great! You must have worked so hard! You are such a natural as these things."

You pause. The air enters your mouth to speak, but it takes another pause to form words.

"Oh! it is not that great. I just tried the recipe."

Seriously?! After working your butt off and you have to respond to a compliment with a negative jab at yourself. Rather you meant to brush off the remark or couldn't come up with some smart to reply back, it was an epic failure. If this was an attempt to be humble, you failed. You were already humble by not bragging about all your hard work.

Learn to take a compliment! There is nothing wrong with the reply,

"Thanks. I hope it tastes good!"

And if someone thinks you are being too boastful by a simple "Thank you", than that person over analytical.


By no means do I say start tooting your own horn when some makes a positive remark, but do not down play yourself like your hard work is worthless. You worked hard, a little pat on the back for your awesomeness, is fine. A simple thanks is the perfect answer to say you appreciate that someone is acknowledging your work.





Until another day

Toodles.

Buffalo Chick Pea Zuccini Stir Fry

H Our Dinner for tonight

1 small Zucchini (chopped up in small pieces)
1 can of chick peas (garbanzo beans)
2 peppers or about 1 cup and a 1/2 of frozen. (Chopped up.)
1 tablespoon of butter
1/8 to 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce
Spaghetti or noodle of your choice cooked by the direction on the box.

Melt butter at the bottom of the pan over medium high heat. Cook peppers and Zucchini until tender then add can of chick peas and cook for 2-4 minutes. Add buffalo sauce to taste.  Add noodles, and cook until everything is even heated, for about 1-2 minutes.

Some people like more spice than others. You could also add onions if you want and even use rice instead of noodles, if you like. I ate mine without noodles because of diet reasons but Hubby and Baby Girl ate with:)

Enjoy!

Toodles

The Potty Chronicles: CLeaing Ritual-Not What You would think!

Day: 2 jillion and forty Infinity!

Positive Reinforcement...

Patient Consistency...

Rewards for good habits...

All those potty training methods after months and months of trial and error...epic failure!

Now my two year old toddler stalks around the house butt naked taunting me! She get a real kick out it I believe. You can see it her eyes.

She refuses the diaper...refuse the pull-ups. The panties? Well the may have puppies and ponies on them, but she prefers to wear them as a vest rather than as booty covers.

Here is the real kicker! After she leaves a lovely puddle on the floor she is so kind enough to get a towel or blanket from the couch to use and clean it up. And! And she put the dirty towel or blanket in the laundry basket in the bathroom!!!

When she did this the first time I saw this my jaw dropped. Then after she continued to this little ritual, I swear it to taunt to me that I have yet to successfully get her to do her business in the potty...

I don't know how much longer I can last. I might need to call in the professionals...My mother!

The Potty Chronicles- Training My Toddler

Lets face it! We were all potty trained at one point. Sure it was scary for us, if we could remember that far back. The potty was a whole new concept. We go from wearing our comfortable strap on toilets, to this white porcelain throne! And by golly it is no royal treatment. In a toddler's eyes, the parents probably go from  loving and adoring adults, to terrifing, tribal savages forcing the little tykes on into the flushing fiery and then chant sacrificial songs, "Pee pee in the potty! Pee pee in the Potty!"And after escaping the near death expeirence and being swirled away, adults proceed with praise of a job well done.

What!? Give me a pat on the back for job well done for escaping death which you sat me on?


But setting tha aside, now as a parent training my own child to use the potty, I can see why people have said potty training will be one of the hardest lessons to learn from both ends. Baby girl is doing things in leaps in bounds, but when it comes to using the toilet...well....


We got the flushing part down. After weeks of showing her that flushing is not scary, she loves to flush the potty now.

We learned to sit on the potty and sing while we wait.

We learned the concepts of toilet paper.

We learned about panties, and when you have an accident, you change into a new pair of panties. (My Little Pony Panties preferably.)

And even got the concept of poo-poo  and pee-pee go in the potty...

...We just never do it in order...ever....

I have now been reduced to trying crazy people methods...I am not sure I can make it

Here's a cute picture of my son.

Toodles

4th of July PARTY!!!

Happy Independence Day Everyone! I just thought I would share some of things we are doing for the 4th of July.
We are having BBQ at our place this year and invited close friends and family over to eat and set off fireworks. Luckily we live in an area where we are allowed to set off fireworks. :)
I didn't deck my house like crazy. I save the kind of decorating for birthday parties. However, I like to do a few things in our nation's colors of red, white, and blue. :) Most of the stuff I did was with ribbons. Ribbons are great because you can use them just about anywhere

I already them as my regular ice trays, but they sell these anywhere during the 4th of July season. They are a cute added detail for cold drinks.

Back to ribbons you can tie them around anywhere. Here I tied a blue ribbon around a red basket that I am using for napkins. :)

I always like giving favors at parties. Even small simple ones like today. It is a gift that say, "Thanks for coming and celebrating with us." These are simple cardboard toilet paper tubes wrapped in tissue paper and then filled with old fashioned caramels. And you guessed it, I used ribbons to tie at the ends and white ribbon to decorate the centers.

I know as unhealthy as soda is, I could not help but drink a extra one to have a few of these red metal cola bottles. I got these from my friend's wedding last Saturday. With a simple blue button, I threaded a thin white ribbon through the button holes and tied a bow around the bottle. and Viola' a simple decorative piece to put on a table.

Add some white daises and you have pretty centerpiece for you table :)

Now I can't really do much to my deck, but I put up a strand of outdoor lights to add some light for when it get dark outside and we got to set off fireworks.(Yes those are staples holding the wire down, do not worry! It was not through the electric wire, it was just to keep it down for the time being.)

This is probably one of my favorite things to do with ribbon. I already had the blue pillows, but as red ribbon, cut the ends, and you have festive pillows :) 

Throw a few lawn chairs outside, light up the fire pit and grill, and enjoy the evening! 

We'll be enjoying some good BBQ, and Hubby-man's special treat homemade funnel cakes! 

Until another day, Happy Independence Day!

Toodles