Let's get Seussical

Tomorrow is Dr. Seuss's birthday, so Lincoln's preschool celebrated Seuss Day today. The kids were allowed to wear costumes, and since we already had a Cat in the Hat hat in our dress up collection, we went with that. Of course, I forgot all about it until Thursday night, so had to pull the costume together with things we had on hand. He had black sweatpants and sweatshirt, and with a white t-shirt underneath he started to look like the cat. But we needed that big red bow.

Lucky for him, I'm a crafty momma, and had all the supplies to make him one.

A google search came up with zip on how to make a Cat in the Hat style bow, so I had to figure it out on my own, and thought I'd share in case anyone else was searching! 

And sorry for the crap pictures. It was late. And I had been drinking.

Cat in the Hat Bow Tie

You'll need red fleece or felt. I used felt because I had some leftover from another project, but I think felt would work just as well, except it might not be as fluffy. You'll also need some skinny elastic and your hot glue gun. Start by cutting a 13x10" rectangle from the fabric, as well as a wonky piece that is 10" long. This piece looks like a turkey wattle, and there is no template, just start cutting a slender piece of material, 1" wide, and at the end, make it wonky.

You understand.

Next, fold you rectangle so the 2 shorter edges are just overlapping. Flip it over, and pinch the fabric in the center. Add a dot of hot glue to either side of the fold, then pull the sides into form an accordion fold.

Hold for 10-20 seconds to let the glue dry. Now take your wonky strip, and put the non-wonky edge on the underside of your bow. Wrap it around, and use a dab of hot glue to secure in place. 

Cut your elastic to a size that fits your child's head, adding a a few inches so it can be knotted. Pull the elastic through the space under the wrapped piece. Then I just knotted the ends of the elastic, then hid the knot under the wrapped piece. 

And there you have it:

President's Day=An extra child at home. And Ice Cream

Yesterday was the first day since my new "work from home" status change that I had both kids home with me. Thank you, President's Day, for reassuring me that our decision to leave Lincoln in preschool was the right choice. I really love my first born, but that child is intense, to say the least. He is so energetic. and talkative. and inquisitive. Having him around other kids (and adults who know what they are doing) is definitely for the best.

He booby trapped the living room with tiny army men. Stepping on the pointy gun of a little army man is almost as bad as stepping on a lego. Almost.

But having him home had some perks. He helped me clean, and really got into it. 

He has wanted to help in the past, and I've always been the type to just want to do it myself to not waste time and energy. But letting Lincoln help was actually...helpful! He did a pretty good job, even cleaning things I never clean. I couldn't tell you the last time the chairs had been wiped down, but they're sparkling now! 

Plus, it helped him realize how much work it is cleaning up all those little messes. He was careful to not make a mess at lunchtime, and I think helping with such an "adult" task gave him a real sense of pride.

As a reward for all his hard work (and because I had some cream that was about to expire) we made ice cream! 

I always try to feed my family "real" food, which is why I like to make my own ice cream. Plus, homemade ALWAYS taste better. We decided we wanted cookies and cream, so we added crushed up WhoNu? cookies to the vanilla base. While these Oreo like cookies still have the same amount of sugar and junk as the real thing, they have added fiber, calcium, and vitamin c, which I figure can't hurt.  

so good.

Want to make some? Here's what I used:

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

4-6 tablespoons pure maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 pint organic heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon vanilla

15 crushed chocolate sandwich cookies

Whisk the milk and syrup in mixing bowl until combined. Add in heavy cream and vanilla.

Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker, and just follow the directions for your machine. For my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker I turn on the machine, pour the mixture into the frozen bowl, and let it run for about 20 minutes. Add your crushed cookies in when the ice cream is almost done, after about 15 minutes. 

Transfer ice cream to a container and put in the freezer to let it harden. Or eat it immediately, as you know we did. So, so good.

And Lincoln is back at school today which means 

A) my life is a little bit easier today

and

B) I don't have to share my ice cream with anyone.

So Sweet...

I got a Baby Bullet for Christmas last year, and have been waiting patiently for my little man to be old enough so I could puree the shit out of anything/everything. 

That time has come. 

Well, so far I've only pureed sweet potatoes, but soon enough I will be trowing all kinds of random stuff into this bad boy. And just look how happy he is about it:

Brooks, on the other hand, is a little skeptical. He's like "WTF is that guy all pumped about?? It's JUST sweet potatoes." Even so, he ate the WHOLE thing. I mean, look at those chubby cheeks...does he look like he's turning down food? No ma'am..

And just as a side note, I love this kid:

LOOK at that face!! I just want to eat him up.

That is all. Have a great day♥

Vampire Pirates

Asked Lincoln what he wants to be when he grows up.

His answer? Vampire pirate. Obviously.

Lately...

Family fun nights every Friday night...

Pregnancy Cravings: Homemade chocolate chip cookies & homemade icecream,

St. Patricks Day play at school...no idea what the story was about or what this costume is.

Horses in the field next to The Garden School having babies

 Never get sick of watching this guy sleep. And check those postions...he takes comfort to the max.



the force.

My little man turned three last month. Not so little anymore....

I must have mentioned to him and one time or another that I would be sad to see him grow up, and to not have him be my baby anymore. So now anytime I mention how big he is getting, he says, with the widest eyes imaginable, "And your going to cry when me gets big??"  And I say "maybe just a little bit...."

My (not-so) little man had his heart set on having a Star Wars birthday party, so a Star Wars birthday party we had. It was only a mild 100° outside, so we said what the heck, an outside party seems divine!
and it was.

waiting patiently for the party to get started....in snow boots.

the spread.

Including such treats as Droid Dip with Tuscan Taters; Death Star Cheese Ball; Yoda Soda;
Bossk Beans; Sith Salad; Jar-Jar links; The Force fruit bowl

Light Saber napkins and Han Sandwiches.

Get it? HAN sandwiches?? Like HAN Solo??? Only their HAM sandwiches???? Stay with my folks...

Yes, I cut 60 tiny sandwiches out with cookie cutters. It took no time at all, really.

Boys will be boys, no matter how old they get. The pool noodle light sabers were a big hit.

Star Wars mask...kinda creepy, but everything looks cute on my sweet neice Izzy.

Red velvet and white cupcakes with cream cheese icing...so good

Pretzal stick "light sabers" and strawberry banana ice cream...this one stole the show.

This ice cream is amazing.

Ratatouille sounds like "rat" and "patootie." Rat-patootie, which does not sound delicious.

But it IS.



Of course with having a kid I can't help but think of Remy & Linguini whenever I hear Ratatouille. But (huge suprise to Lincoln) it is actually food. When I told him what we were having for dinner last night, to say he was confused would be putting it mildley. Pretty sure he thought we were eatting Remy and all his little mice friends....

Ratatouille Wraps-As promised, awesome vegetarian recipe!


½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large eggplant, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Salt & Pepper
4 large whole wheat wraps
Shredded Montery Jack cheese

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the zucchini, onion, bell pepper and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and thyme, partially cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes more to cook off any liquid. Transfer to a large bowl and wipe the skillet clean.

Lay the wraps on a work surface. Sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of cheese in the center of each wrap and top with about 3/4 cup ratatouille. Fold burrito-style to enclose.

In the same skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add 2 wraps, seam side down, and cook, turning once, until golden, about 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and wraps.



This was so easy, and so delicious! I just ate another one for lunch today, and I think it might have been even better as leftovers.

T.G.I.F....Have an awesome weekend!!!!

the joys of parenting

*Lincoln woke up at about 3:30 am, screaming bloody murder. We usually let him cry for a bit, and he'll put himself to sleep. But not this time. He screams on and off for well over 2 hours, which is confusing because he's totally capable of getting his butt out of bed and walking into our room, where in most cases he could just crawl into our bed and go back to sleep, as we are WAY to lazy to take him back to his own room. So finally around 6 I go into his room, and ask him what the fuck his problem is. He looks at me with a straight face and says "you left your book in my room." I thought for sure that the cause of his distress was a creepy shawdow outside his window or the typical "my pee pee hurts" (damn morning wood), not the fact that I left the book I had been reading the nght before laying in his chair. Really makes me rethink having more kids...

* I ask Lincoln what he wants for breakfast. He says candy, and, as if it makes any difference, goes to great lengths to stress that he only wants ONE peice of candy when I say no. I leave him screaming and crying in his chair for a few minutes, then return to see if he's changed his mind. He has! YAY! He now wants mac and cheese. The kind with Cars on it. And honestly, I would have fixed the kid mac and cheese just to shut him up, but there was no time. So he had to suffer through a bowl of instant oatmeal, giving me the stink eye the entire time.

*Lincoln called Richard a "stupid head." I'm sure that this language is the work of Kendall...the biggest bitch at the playground. I never thought it was possible to hate a small child, but Kendall is quickly becoming the bane of my existence. Bitch.

This is obviously Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka, but dude, if you knew Kendall, you would think this was HILARIOUS, as she looks and acts just like the side eye pictured above.

 *And now I'm at work, counting down the minutes to 5 o'clock....because it's Friday, and I'm ready to get the heck outta dodge!

No big plans, maybe a date with Monsier Cheese, at what can only be described as the happiest place on earth in southern Indiana. Me and Chuck, we go way back. I'm saving my tickets for a life size version of the Big Cheese himself...i'll let you know how that goes!

Have a great weekend!!

Be sure to check out my giveaway if you have kids...or like to smell like a kid.

TruKid Skincare Giveaway!**CLOSED**

I love finding good skincare products for myself, but dont usually put much thought into what Lincoln uses. I typically just buy whatever is on sale, or which bottle has his favorite cartoon character on it. I just got to try some skincare products from TruKid, and I was really impressed.





The "Happy Face and Body Lotion" smells AMAZING, and goes on super smooth and dries fast, perfect for little kids on the go. And Lincoln LOVES putting it on, like his own little spa time:)





We also tried out the "Sunny Days All Natural SPF" in the lotion and the face stick. Im a BIG fan of stick sunscreen, so easy to apply and carry everywhere.






The best part of these products? They are natural, non-toxic and safe for kids to use, as well as being free of Parabens, Phthalates, Gluten, BPA, SLS, 1-4 Dioxzane and fragrances. They also use a really fun and easy learning system with colors and symbols. The bottles are color coded so kids can see at a glance which product is for their bodies, hair and faces. Plus, with easy to read symbols, kids can quickly identify each products use. Such as:





This is clearly products meant for your crazy hair!



This one means: get a big person to help!

Now for you!


*TruKid has offered all of you a coupon code! Get a free hand lotion with any order of $35 or more, just enter coupon code happymom when you make a purchase at http://trukid.3dcartstores.com/


*One reader will get a selection of 3 products from TruKids line! Here's 3 ways to enter:
1. Be a follower of my blog, please!
2. Like TruKid on Facebook
3. Subscribe to TruKids mailing list:http://www.trukid.com/ (On the right, about halfway down the page)

Leave me a comment letting me know which ones you did, and get up to 3 entries!
The giveaway will close Sunday May 29th at midnight...good luck!!