Here’s the tutorial for how to make a crinkle square mini blanket with taggies like the one below for a baby.  It’s super easy, quick, and doesn’t cost much.  If you don’t have ribbon on hand, that might be your biggest expense. 

Supplies

• thread
• 2 squares of flannel (I used 9×9 inches)
• ribbons cut to about 4 inches long and folded in half (I used 4 big pieces, 4 medium pieces, and 4 skinny pieces)
• crinkly sheet/package, the same size as your flannel (I used a wrapper from a sample diaper I got in the mail).  Some other options: wipes package, microwave popcorn wrappers, chips bag, clear gift wrap . . . Just make sure that you cut your flannel pieces to whatever size your crinkle sheet ends up being
  

Directions

1. Put one piece of flannel right side up and pin ribbons along the edges with the cut sides off of the flannel.  between the two pieces of material (wrong sides together).
2. Put the second flannel sheet on top of the ribbons right side down.
3. Put the crinkle sheet on top of the flannel and pin all layers together.
4. Sew along all the edges– except, make sure to leave a big enough section not sewn so that you can turn the blanket right side out.  Take the pins out.
5. After sewing, turn the blanket right side out.
6. Then, sew all the way around the square, and you’re done!

   

Back in November, we decided to grow my daughters hair out, but her hair kept getting in her eyes.  Bows come in and out easily, so I decided I’d try to make her some headbands.  You could make some for yourself, too, and your daughter might be extra excited about wearing headbands, just like Mommy.

Materials Needed:

• material
• an elastic hair band/ponytail holder without the metal
• coordinating thread

Instructions

1. Measure around your toddler’s head to the nape of her neck.
2. Cut your material to the appropriate size and iron flat.  [Cut a rectangle that is double the width of what you want your headband to end up, plus about 1/2 in for seam allowance and 3 inches less than measurement you got from step 1.  I think I cut mine 3.5 x 15.5inches.  If you want it to be reversible with two different patterns, cut accordingly.]
3. Measure in on the bottom ends in about 1/2 “  on each side and mark, draw a line up to the top corners and you will have a tapered rectangle.
4. Fold right sides together “hot dog style” and iron flat.
5. Then pin together and sew around, but leave a “U shape” opening in the bottom, as if you were sewing a pillow.
6. Turn tube of fabric inside out and iron flat.  Also, fold a 1/4 inch or so on each end and iron down.
7. Put elastic pony tail on one end inside the flap created in step 6.  Fold the 1/4 over the pony tail, and sew straight down.
8. Do the same with the other side.
9. And you’re all done.

I made the headband in the pictures and a pink one.  I also made a reversible one: one side black and one side red.  Abi loves them.  Let me know if you have any questions.

I love these soaps from Bath and Body Works.  Not only do they smell great, but they’re soft on your hands, and it’s so much easier for Abi to wash her hands with the “bubble soap.”

I had even put them on my wish list for Christmas this year because we just ran out of the bottles in our kitchen and guest bathroom.  Then, I discovered there might be a way to make the foaming soap with regular soap and save lots of money.  Easy and super quick.

Ingredients

• An empty bottle of Bath & Body Works Gentle Foaming Hand soap
• Any liquid antibacterial soap (I used Bath & Body Works)

Directions

1. Put about an inch of the liquid soap into the empty foaming bottle.
2. Pour water into the bottle pretty slowly.
3. Screw the lid on, and turn the bottle upside down slowly several times.  Try not to shake it up because it’ll get too soapy.  And you’re finished!

Also, you could just keep pouring a little water into your regular Bath & Body works Foamy Soap whenever it gets a low.

*In these pictures I used a creamy hand soap, which didn’t work as well as when I used a liquid hand soap.

If you have a baby like Abigail, you can never have too many burp cloths.  Abigail had GERD, so spitting up was a very regular event.  We literally kept two burp cloths in every room and constantly had cloths over our shoulders.

A lot of the burp cloths that you’ll find in stores are so thin and ineffective for a baby like Abigail.  So, what I found worked best were cloth diapers. But they’re kinda plain, so here’s how you can dress them up.

And I am definitely a novice sewer, so know that these are so easy to make!

Items Needed

• Sewing machine
• Cloth Diapers.  Make sure they’re pre folded and 3-ply
• Ribbon
• Matching Thread and White Thread

Directions

1. Wash the cloth diapers and iron them before you begin sewing, so that sewing the ribbon won’t cause shrinkage.
2. Measure your ribbon for the an inch or so wider than the width of the cloth bottom and cut.
3. Then, fold the ends of the ribbon and iron so you can sew more easily.
4. Sew the ends of the ribbon.
5. Sew the edges of the ribbon onto the bottom of the cloth.  
6. Fold the burp rag like this, and you’re all done.

I’ve never liked Fruit Salad because most of the ones I’ve had at potlucks have marshmallows, gelatin, whip cream, or nuts in them.  But when I tried Diana’s, I loved it.  Here’s the easy, yummy recipe below:

1. Pour 1 Medium can crushed pineapple (in its own juice) into a bowl.
2. Stir in 1 Small box vanilla instant pudding.
3. Then add 3 - 4  Tablespoons of Tang (or you could save this step until the end**)
4. Add any amount of diced fruit: apples (Jonathan said he liked the apples in the mixture, but I didn’t like the hard texture with everything else being softer), grapes, bananas, strawberries, kiwi, oranges, etc.  Cutting up the fruit took awhile, but at least it’s easy and ready to serve right away.

**In hind sight, I think you should wait to mix the Tang until you’ve got your fruit in there.  I think 3 TBS was too much Tang for the amount of fruit I used.

Jonathan wanted a different cake for his bday this year.  I know he’s a fan of Mint Chocolate Chip, so I made him a Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake.

He liked it so much, he had me make another one with Cookies n Cream Ice Cream.  Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 26 Oreo cookies, crushed
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 gallon ice cream, any kind (Mint Chocolate Chip was what he liked best)
• 1 (15 ounce) jar chocolate fudge topping
• 10 ounces of cool whip, thawed

Directions:

1. Reserve about 1/3 cup of cookie crumbs for topping.
2. Mix remaining crumbs with butter, and press into the bottom of a 9×13 inch dish.
3. Freeze for 20 minutes.
4. Put 1 layer of ice cream (1/2 of ice cream) on top of the crumbs.
5. Put 1 layer of hot fudge (1/2 of hot fudge) on top of the ice cream.
6. Put remaining 1/2 of ice cream.
7. Put down remaining 1/2 of hot fudge.
8. Freeze for 20 minutes.
9. Spread the cool whip on top.
10. Freeze until ready to serve.
11. Sprinkle with the 1/3 cup of cookie crumbs on top just before serving.

I love lasagna when its made without ricotta or cottage cheese.  Just give me the mozzarella, and I’m good.  My Grandma makes the best lasagna, but she uses a tomato paste mixture, etc.  I found it easier to just use spaghetti sauce, so, here’s my altered recipe for Lasagna from my Grandma:

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 lbs of Ground Beef, depending on how much meat you like
• 32 oz of Spaghetti Sauce
• 1/4 cup of Water
• 9 Lasagna Noodles
• 3 cups of Mozzarella Cheese (I also add some Parmesan blend)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine sauce, meat, and water.
3. Spread 1 1/4 cup of suace mixture on the bottom of a 9×13 dish.
4. Top with half of the Uncooked lasagna noodles.
5. Top with half of the mozzarella cheese
6. Repeat all layers (sauce, noodles, cheese).
7. Cover tightly with foil, and bake for 1 hour.

I’m kinda lazy this week.  My 5 Year Wedding Anniversary is coming up on Thursday, and we’ll be spending our first day/night away from Abigail (she’s 16 months now).  Needless to say, we’re very excited! I’ve never been away from her for more than 2.5 hours– at the most (and that’s only happened maybe 3 times)– so, I’m really excited!

And the day after our anniversary, we’ll be traveling with Abigail to meet our baby niece.

So, I’m a little more occupied with celebrating an anniversary (Husband is taking off work!), laundry, packing, driving, playing with a newborn, and spending time with family this week than blogging.  My apologies.

However, I did see this article that had some good tips for cleaning and other things at Woman’s Day.  Here are a few of their tips:

8.  Before pouring honey into a cup or measuring spoon, coat the tools with a few drops of cooking oil so the honey will slide out more easily.  [I wonder if this would work for peanut butter, too.]

18.  Unstick a zipper by running a pencil along it.; the graphite lubricates the teeth.

22.  Did you over bake cookies?  Store them in an airtight container for a day, and they’ll start to soften.   [I would also add that if you put a slice of bread on top on the cookies, that will make them moister.]

Head on over here to see their 30 tips.

Contrary to what some of you might think, I am not pregnant.  I do baby posts every now and then because I feel like it’s what I know (other than sports and grammar, and I don’t think any of my readers are interested in either of those things).  Anyway . . .

If you have a pet and are pregnant, you might be worried about how your animal will react to a new baby.  I was!  I don’t know if these things would work well for a cat or other animal, but they worked well for our dog, Sabra.

1. Desensitize your pet to the rough handling of babies and toddlers.  This is best to start when you have a puppy: touch the puppy in places where a child most likely will: tail, ears, nose, mouth, and in between their paws.  If you don’t consciously do this, a dog will probably not be touched/pulled/grabbed here, so when a child does it, the dog will snap and react.  So, if you prep the dog enough to where he’s not bothered by it, it should help.
2. Take the dog to places where there are little kids like parks.  The goal is not necessarily to have the dog interact with the kids but to let the dog see how kids act.
3. Let your dog hear baby sounds.  I would watch A Baby Story on TLC and other shows that had babies crying.  Each time the baby would cry, I say to Sabra, “See that’s a baby.  The baby is crying.”  She needed to hear these sounds so she could adjust and wouldn’t be caught off guard by a newborn crying all day.
4. Carry around a baby doll.  Your dog will become familiar with you holding something delicate.  You can let your dog investigate the baby doll, so you can teach him boundaries like, “Don’t lick the baby.  Please don’t scratch her arm.”
5. Let your dog smell the baby.  We had my in-laws take home a baby blanket that had been wrapped around Abigail in the hospital.  They let Sabra become familiar with her smell.
6. Praise the dog for good behavior around the baby.
7. Ask your veterinarian for other tips.

Just because your dog may not act well around certain kids, doesn’t mean the dog will be bad with your child.  When our one year old nephew would come over, Sabra would start to nip at him and herd him when he got near her food.  This really concerned me.

But Sabra is great with Abigail.  Abigail goes near Sabra’s food, touches it, and Sabra doesn’t bat an eye.  They are great friends.  Well, Sabra tolerates her, but Abby ADORES Sabra.  Abigail gives her biggest smiles and laughs because of Sabra, and it makes my heart happy.

Any other tips?

I am definitely not an expert in this.  My prices may be too high and/or too low, but I thought I would share so you could get a rough guideline of how to price for a Garage Sale.

All of the following items were grouped together, and I marked the prices on a computer sheet of paper and taped that paper onto the table or box holding the items.

Clothes that were Hanging Up

• Baby Clothes- $1
• Shirts- $1
• Skirts- $1
• Dresses- $2
• Hoodies & Coats- $3

Clothes that were on Tables

• T Shirts-$0.50
• Shorts- $1
• PJ Pants- $1
• Jeans- $2

CDs- $1.50

Used DVDs- $4; New DVDs- $6

Books- 75% off the cover price

Make up- $0.50

Stickers- $0.50

Jewelry- $0.10

Bags/Backpacks- $1