Plaid + Dots

ladybug birthday party

Miss N turned two over the weekend and I took the opportunity to "create" a ladybug garden party fit for my little "lady" bug.  Yes, I may have gone a little overboard with the DIY, but I loved the process and am really pleased with the result.  Here are a few pics of the event (photos courtesy of my sister).

Here's the table setting at the ladybug garden party. I made the red and white polka dot table runner for the table and matching tea towels.  To add a little color to the table, I pulled together a colorful array of seasonal flowers (from the grocery store no less!) and placed them in this vase which was tied with a red and white polka dot bow.

I love buntings and banners so I made this "Happy Birthday" banner for the party and added a few ladybugs as accents.  

Using the same paper as the ladybug birthday banner, I made this adorable confetti garland to accent the mantle.   

We also adorned the mantle with a couple of pom-pom ladybugs made during "craft day" with Miss N.  I wanted to make some of the decorations with her so we used some felt, pom-poms, googly eyes and glue to make these adorable ladybugs.  Aren't they cute?!?!  Plus, this is a really fun and easy craft for toddlers and kids of all ages too!

Finally, I made these adorable and yummy ladybug cupcakes.  The ladybugs were made using Wilton Candy Melts and I used Martha Stewart's Yellow Cupcake recipe for the cupcakes.  Not only did the cupcakes look good but they were very tasty too! 

Best of all Miss N had fun with all of her friends and seemed to enjoy the ladybug birthday party!

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Miss!!  xoxo!

turning two (although she says she's ONE)

Miss N turned two yesterday and it amazes me how quickly this past year flew by.  My lil peanut transitioned from a toddling wee one into a bouncing little girl who's putting words together to explain her thoughts.  As much as I have mixed emotions about this birthday (she's not as much of a baby now), I love this age.  I love being able to communicate with her and understand what she's trying to say.  I love being able to teach her new things and explore her curiosity (and this kid's curiosity is endless!).  I love crafting with her and helping her explore color and texture as she becomes her own creative self.  I love her made up words which are meaningless to the outside world but represent a whole lot to those of us in the inner circle.  Most of all I love her hugs 'n kisses, giggles and endless energy.  The past two years were so much fun and I cannot wait to see what the next year brings ;-).   Happy 2nd Birthday little Miss!

 

missing in action...

I just looked at the date of my last post and realized that I have been completely MIA for over a month now..  I am so sorry!!  My absence, however, is with good reason.  We are expecting our second baby (yeah!) and the first trimester zapped all my energy.  The time I used to spend crafting, cooking and blogging was spent napping.  Thankfully my energy is starting to come back and hopefully I'll have some good nuggets to share with you all over the next few months.  Stay tuned for more...

 

Xoxo,

Kristen

miss n and baby

I am not sure exactly when it happened but within the past few weeks my little miss started "pretend play" and has a new found adoration for her baby doll.  Babee (so affectionately called) goes everywhere with us - to the swimming pool, grocery store and even the potty.  Babee poops 30 times a day so there's A LOT of diaper changing going on around here.  And Babee gets tucked into her "bed" (really an old basket filled with blankets) every night before sleep.  What I think is the absolute cutest, though, is when Miss N gives her Babee a hug and kiss good night.  It's the sweetest little thing I've ever seen.  

college savings with uPromise

Here's my Public Service Announcement for all parents out there and no, uPromise did not pay me to praise them ;-).

Not many people understand the value of uPromise  and use it to its full potential.  This website provides a quick and easy way to save money for college.  And the best part... it's FREE!  Signing up for the website is FREE and even the money you earn for college is FREE.  You really can't beat that, especially with college costs increasing yearly at a rate of 6-8%.  

Here's how it works.  uPromise has arrangements with many companies in categories like retail and travel.  For each purchase you make with these retailers you get a portion of your purchase back into an account with uPromise. If you link your uPromise account to your 529 or other college savings accounts they will transfer money from your uPromise account on a quarterly basis into your college savings account.  In order to get the rebates, however, you need to start your "shopping" process on uPromise.  

Here's an example of how we earn on uPromise.  The other day I needed to purchase a gift for a baby shower.  I went to uPromise and searched for "Diapers.com".  The search result showed Diapers.com with the current contribution rate of 5% and also listed the "deals" they have for special purchases on their website.  One deal, "Free 2 Day shipping on orders over $49" sparked my interest so I clicked on the link and was directed to the Diapers.com website.  I found some really cute things for the little baby, checked out and spent $166 (oh, and I bought stuff for Miss N too!).  As a result of this purchase, I got free shipping and uPromise will put $8.30 into my account.  As long as I don't return these items, that $8.30 will work its way into Miss N's 529 within the next few quarters.  It's as simple as that!

That $8.30 may seem like chump change compared to the rising costs of college (I estimate our Miss N's tuition to be about $75-100K a year by the time she's 18.. yikes!) but it all adds up quickly. I try to go through the portal when I shop and in 19 months we've saved over $800 for college.  To me, it's worth the extra step to take advantage of this service and after all, it's FREE money.

 

the "n" word

Miss N is 19 months going on 2+ years depending on the day.  As many wee ones do, she loves the dreaded "N" word and has started using this word very frequently.  Sometimes she's uses it for "yes", others she uses it for "no" and we're convinced that it's default answer to any question when she has no idea what we're talking about.  The way she says it is the best - she says it like a question and it sounds like "naow?".  It's pretty stinking cute.  I know the cuteness won't last for long but I am going to revel in it for a bit until she really hits the terrible twos!

 

green applesauce

I am totally convinced that Miss N will be at school someday and wondering why her fellow classmates eat applesauce that is yellow and not green. This lil one is in for a rude awakening when she realizes that she's been fooled by her sweet mommy who likes to hide veggies in her applesauce.  See, Miss N is not fond of "trees" or "peas" or anything really leafy for the matter so I started pureeing her greens and adding it to applesauce.  I make green "spinach" applesauce, green "tree" (aka broccoli) applesauce, greenbean applesauce, green pea applesauce, and even sometimes I've ben known to combine all of those greens together to make super gro-gro applesauce. The best part, SHE LOVES IT!  So, I guess we'll keep on hiding those greens and deal with the damage when she starts to catch on. 

{pinterest fun} : {memory game}

I have a lot of fabric and felt remnants hanging around the house that are quite small.  I've thought of making a hodge-podge quilt out of them but am not sure if it would look okay.  Well, my friend Erinn recently pinned this great memory game project from PurlBee and it solves two things for me... it helps me use those remnants and is an adorable way to create a fun memory game for Miss N.  I cannot wait to add this to the project list and get started.  Check it out...

PHOTO CREDIT:  Purl Bee 

february resolution: one project in progress...

So, I finally started on the most daunting task on my project list for the month. I started Miss N's first year scrapbook today and am using Shutterfly to make a beautiful bound book.  I'm on "month 2" so I may not have this finished by the end of the month but at least I'll have a good start.

february resolution: one project done!

Finally one thing to "check" off my February Resolution list.  I finished the artwork for Miss N's nursery and it's even hanging up in her room.  Hooray!  I am really happy with how it turned out and it adds a cute touch to her walls.

Here's a close up of the finished art....

And, here it is hanging in her room..