Embrace the Camera!

OK.  I am totally ripping off a fellow mommy blogger today.  My good friend over at http://www.50stickyfingers.blogspot.com/ started an "embrace the camera" day.  The idea is to capture photos your children will cherish. 

Pictures of my mother and I are few and far between.  SOOOO here goes.  Embrace the camera....which can be hard because I am camera shy, PLUS who do you think takes all the pictures?? 

This picture just proves how out numbered I am!  HA!
(please ignore the unfinished baseboards....we've been remodeling)

Bandana Dress

Have you heard of the pillowcase dress?  I have been wanting to make them for quite some time now.  They are super cute play dresses that grow with your child.  Long dress when they are a toddler and still fits them as a shirt when they are in grade school.  This is assuming that my sewing will last the test of time! 

Every time I go to a garage sale or thrift store I keep my eye out for cute prints.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about just google "pillowcase dress" and see all the possibilities!  So precious.  Here are some easy  instructions if your feeling crafty. 

Well, I didn't have any pillowcases that I wanted to cut up....but I did have 8 bandannas that I bought from the Salvation Army ($2!) several months ago.  At the time I had no idea why I was buying them....I just liked the print.  Lately I've been really into making the girls clothes out of recycled material.  I decided to sew 2 of them together for my "pillowcase."

Considering I'm a major "newbie" at sewing (I got my first sewing machine for Christmas this past year!) I think they turned out pretty cute.

Next time I think I'm going to use ribbon instead of making the straps myself.  They took a lot of time and don't look very good up close.  But then again, maybe I need the practice! 

Homemade Wipes

A friend of mine gave me a recipe for making homemade baby wipes last month. *Thanks Debrah* I've been telling everyone I know about them. I haven't used store bought wipes since. It's SO SIMPLE! My girls have such sensitive skin. Did you know most baby wipes have alcohol in them? Read the ingredients....I can't even pronounce most of it.



We go through so many wipes in our house. We use them to wipe dirty faces, clean grubby hands, and of course wipe bottoms. We are saving over $20 a month making our own wipes...hey, every penny counts! For those of you with more than one child in diapers this is a must!


OK, here's how I do it.

1. Cut a roll of paper towels in half. (This can be tough if you don't have a sharp knife!)
2. Take the cardboard center out. You will pull the wipes from the center when using them.
3. Place in a tall Tupperware container.
4. In a separate bowl mix 2 1/4 cups of HOT tap water, 1 tbsp of baby oil, and 2 tbsp of your favorite baby soap.
5. Mix and pour on top of wipes.
6. Place lid on wipes and let the paper towels absorb all the water.

Viola! It's that easy!

Running into problems? Here's some FAQ

What soap works best? I prefer Aveno or California Baby wash, but any baby soap will work. If it's really "bubbly" soap it makes your wipes tooo soapy (is that even a word?).
Baby is allergic to mineral oil? I read that you can use a tsp of tea tree oil instead. This probably would not smell as nice, but would work just fine! I LOVE tea tree oil.
Why do I have a pool of water at the bottom of the bowl? Your paper towel absorbency is probably different then mine. Just adjust the water amount. If using off brand paper towel maybe only use 2 cups of water....don't be afraid to experiment!
Mold problems? We go through wipes so quickly in my house I've never run into this problem. But remember, your using all natural ingredients so there is no chemicals preventing mold to grow. Be sure to wash your Tupperware out between each use.

FREE TOYS!

I am ALWAYS looking for new ways to keep my little ones entertained. Here's a fun and free way to break their boredom and let them use their imaginations.

Let them play with trash. I'm not suggesting you throw your kids in a dumpster, even though I have thought about it....I kid, I kid.

Save your used food containers for a couple of weeks...boxed cereals, yogurt and milk cartons, egg crates, etc. I tape the ends of the cardboard to make them sturdier and put them in a large box in the garage. Then when you have a day when the the kids don't want to go outside, or play with their toys and they just keep pestering each other bring them in!

Me and the boys like to play grocery store with them. It's a great opportunity to teach them age appropriate math. Gavin and I count the items he's purchasing. Zander always wants to be the cashier, so we're introducing addition and coin money to him.


If the girls are awake, they "mess everything up" according to Zander. The twins love to take everything out of the box (aka shopping cart) and put them all back in. Who would of thought playing with trash could be so much fun? Zander, my very imaginative 5 yr old, built a city of towers so the giant baby monsters could knock them down....it was so cute, they growled and everything!



Seriously, last weeks garbage has kept my kids busy for going on 3 hours today. The 3 youngest are down for a nap and Zander is making a "space station" out of them for his Star Wars action figures.