Owl themed Baby Shower

Here is a peak at the Owl themed baby shower for a dear friend.  The colors where blue, aqua, orange, green, and brown- to match her nursery of course.

I made the "BABY" bunting out of scrapbook paper and accoridan folded stips of paper to make the medallion.

 This is a piece I made to decorate the table and use in her nursery as wall art. I made it out of pieced scrapbook paper. 

 Nichelle made an adorable cake but unfortunatly we live in hill country so it tipped on the way to my house, but I thought it was still adorable!!!  She made the dots using fondant.

 For the centerpiece I snagged some dead branches from a friends yard and took of  all the peeling bark, then I cut out leaves from cardstock and carefully hot glued them to the branch and natural spots to look like a fresh spring branch. This is also now being used in her nursery. It has kind of a fun whimsical look! For a personal touch, baby photos of the proud parents to be were clipped onto the branches.
*all these photos were taken by Tara at Forever Bliss Photography

 This is printable subway art that I made with some amazing free fonts I found on the internet. We customized it with the babies name, but this is generic.

Summer Reading List #2

Here is my second list of must read or must own books.   

Anything by Sandra Boynton!  My kids liked these books from the youngest ages...We have most the collection and there are SEVERAL more books not pictured that she has cleverly authored and illustrated.  My favorite is "Doggies" if you have a child that likes dogs, this is a must!!  We have a blast reading this one- over and over and over- some of these I have memorized! 

Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type By Doreen Cronin

A great modern take on the good ole farm animal theme!

Mixed Up Chamelion by Eric Carle

True to any book by Eric Carle, this book is not just simple pages, it like many of his books incorporates di-cut pages but what sold me on this book was the theme of loving yourself the way you are!

Round Trip by Ann Jonas

I  had remembered a librarian reading this to my class in early grade school, maybe as early as kindergartin.... It was a magical book!  I never forgot about it and asked several librarians for years if they had heard of book that made a different picture when you flipped it upside down with no luck, but finally as an adult I was walking through Barnes and Noble and there was a random misplaced book on a shelf and there is was!  This is a must own!!!

what makes this book so amazing is you flip it up side down to read the rest of the story...

for example the negative of the space becomes a new picture...

This is a bridge....

Flip it around- telephone poles!

Anything by David Shannon!

We own several but No, David! Is a favorite of mine and my son adores this book too!!
Check your library for anything by him, the pictures are sure to make any child giggle!

If I Built A Car by Chris Van Dusen
This book is about an creative boy who invents his own car with out of this world featurs!  It is sure to spark the inventor in each child!  The illustrations are incredible too!!  Chris Van Dusen also other books as well! Check for them in your library and book stores!

I'm Not Going to Get up Today by: Dr. Seuss
No childrens book list would be complete with at least one Dr. Seuss book...I like all his books but this one is not as common but is certainly a great one!

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by: Collin and Jacqui Hawkins
They have done several books and they never get old. This one is a lift the flap book and captures the "Old Lady" story perfectly!


*all images on this post are from google images and are not mine.

Summer reading- Must read book list for children

I have an obsession with childrens books... I have a hard time not controlling myself.

So I have put together a list of some of our families favortie books. Look for them and your local library or book store. They will not disappoint!!

*all photos of books are not mine and were from google images.

Night House Bright House- by: Monica Wellington
This book is rythmic delight that your kids will love! Have them help guess the rhyming word at the end of each sentence!  Play seek and find with the many objects on each page!  The illustrations also include cameos of famous paintings. My 2 yr old has me read this one to him a couple times a day!

Any book by Laura Numeroff will be entertaining for both parent and child alike!

These books will take you on familiar journey of how these characters are constantly going from one demand to the other trhoughout the day...it will strike a chord with parents!

Which One Would You Choose by: Edith Kunhardt

An interactive book that poses the question of "Which one would you Choose?"  Great book to get conversation going and glimpses into the mind of your little one!

A Guest Ss a Guest by John Himmelman

A silly book about animals taking over a farm house!  My kids giggle everytime!

The Boss Baby by: Marla Frazee

This is a must read for any big brother or big sister!  This cleverly written book details life with the "Boss Baby"  calling all the shots for the family!

Not a Stick by: Antoinette Portis

One of my favorite for its simple, yet creative storyline and basic drawings! This book captures the art of imagineing!  Check out other books by this author as well such as Not A Box!

What Moms Can't Do by: Douglas Wood

A hillarous books about all the things mom can't do well from the perspective of a child. 

Neat color coded bookshelf

You all know I have some serious OCD tendency...  Childrens book shelves often look slightly disheveled...sorting childrens books by color rather than size helps the eye to not get so overwhelmed... plus it looks great and adds a pop of color!

around the yard- Texas style

The heavens have opened and we have recieved rain!!!  Yay!! Lots of people from all faiths have been praying for rain here!  I wanted to soak in (no pun intended) all the beauty and GREEN that has come from all this rain and am using it an excuse to do a tour around the yard.

First up:  A Lisbon Lemon, yes there ware small little lemons on it and the blooms smell divine! This is a patio lemon, and will have to be covered or brought indoors should harsh winter condition come but we got the tree for $5 so well worth it! And growing your own citrus? Priceless?

  

Despite the conception that Texas is flat, there are hills in certain areas..we are located on such a hill, ence the terrace walls....Fig vines, crepe myrtles, and way up top is a volunteer tree that myust have deep roots and came up even after the lot was cleared and graded...yes, it is growing in river rock!  Thats an example of what strong deep roots can do for you. 

The Garden- Tomatoes do well in Texas, although blossom rot and splitting are common.  The majority of the tomatoes turn out, we go with inderminate varrieties because they will keep producing through the summer.  We have also had success with bell peppers, cilantro, basil, Swiss chard, green beans, cucumbers, onions, squasg and carrots (although the carrots are kind of well, gnarly looking). I think the trick is in the dirt...a good organic mix with natural compost and fertilizer.... We brought in dirt and mixed it with what top soil we had.

The peach trees....these were a total bust this year!!! Right after they set their blooms, a strong hail storm rolled through beating all the blossoms off.....just like that a peach crop gone....and last year? Well a couple days BEFORE they were ripe for the picking apparently we hosted a feast to squirrels or birds...Darn those critters! I usually dont mind uninvited guests....(deep sigh)!

As I mentioned, there is little top soil here...and lots of limestone, so water run-off is an issue. This corner had lots of moisture so two french drains later and lots of plants its doing better... We have some wild grapes, Primrose Jasmine, cannas, Iris, Ferns, Lillies, things that can tollerate wet feet.

We turned this narrow side yard into a sandbox play area for the kids...it is right under a kitchen window so while I am cooking I can keep and eye on them...A french drain runs through this so we had to do a non permanant floor-  Limestone slabs, of course!

Gerber Daisies!  LOVE! And they come back each year! They just look happy!

Rosemary, ornamental garlic, yupon holly?

Baptisim Gift idea

For the children who turned 8 and got baptized in my ward I got paint cans and made little books for them and put candy in them...

Left click on image then save and print (girl version available too!)

(*not for commercial use, if sharing on another site, please note source- I wanted to be kind and not plaster my blog address all over these as I hope they will be a keepsake for many children in helping preserve their feelings of such a big day!...)

Baby Boy printable

This is a cute baby boy printable for you to enjoy!!  If you cant download/print it let me know!

going green and using better products

Safe products, organic, green cleaning, these are all the buzz lately!! You can go crazy trying to rid your life of all the chemicals that are being splashed all over the news as being dangerous.   So what do we make of it?  Where is that balance of living yet making good choices? It is a personal choice.  While i don't subscribe fully to the green and organic movement, it never hurts to swap products out that "may" be harmful for ones that seem safer.....especially if they are comparable in price and effectiveness.

Some of the the products that I have opted to be more "conscious" with include:

A PVC free diaper bag (did the same with my handbag...just go leather rather than the plastic synthetic stuff....)  This is a JJ cole-  they are made with safe chemicals.  I avoid PVC in shower curtains, bibs, table cloths etc...

 St Ives products- they have some great lotions and body washes that are paraben and phthalate free... while there is no conclusive evidence on phthalates they do appear to be in higher concentration in our bodies than they used to be and parabens can have a similar effect as estrogen on the body...BUT St Ives products are CHEAP and work GREAT!!  So even if there is no real conclusive data, this is a switch that doesn't hurt!

 Burts Bees eye cream-  I love this stuff! It is cost effective and natural!!

 This stuff is amazing and smells great!  I like Burts Bees baby line BUT the lotions and washes don't smell that amazing so I still use Johnsons and Johnsons for the nice baby smell sometimes...

 This is a great lip balm....100% natural and organic.  Slightly more costly but I seem to not loose this one as easily (or send it through the wash)....

 This is a fairly new line by Neutrogena- while it is not as "natural" as some, it is very great and very effective... I have bad skin, so products still have to work....I feel some times the benefits of some chemicals out weigh possible concerns....

 Palmolive free and clear- works and smells great! 

 Pyrex- I use these to heat ANYTHING in the microwave....I do not do plastic in the microwave...EVER.   These are great to store leftovers in.  They have plastic lids but they don't come in contact with the food....do not microwave with the lids... They are very cost effective and can be found and grocery stores and Walmart.

 Love this stuff!!  My mom used Watkins products long before being green was cool!! They smell amazing!! They are safe around kids and cut the grease and actually work.

 This yogurt is yummy!  It has no artificial sweeteners or artificial growth hormone.  I try to avoid aspartame. I feel the extra calories are better for you in the long run than artificial sweeteners.....

As far as the golden question on milk... I do not go organic BUT I always choose milk that has not been treated with artificial growth hormone....

So those are a few changes that you will not feel in your pocket book and you will get the same results as other products....