Blog-land I have missed you...

green your air. perfect for a nursery.

a wake-up story.

being a fashionista tot on a budget.

Thank you Old Navy for sponsoring my post today about baby and toddler styles. Old Navy is giving you 30% off everything in their baby and toddler summer collection, plus get an additional 15% off in-store.
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I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

happy mothers day.

earth day.

uh huh. more owls.

owls again.

owls.

so i am designing taylor's new big girl room with a hint of owls. i know owls are the big thing right now, because they are so stinking cute!  girl or boy, owls are fun!

in my search for cute owl stuff, i found a lot of stuff that i wanted to share! here is the first thing...

 

I HEART YOU :: 2.14.11

my favorite things.

happy new year everyone!  i hope that you, your tots, and your family had a wonderful holiday and a fabulous 2010!!

now that its time to start a new year...i wanted to flood you with some amazing finds that i just have to tell you about...

 

its december already!!!???

oops. i guess i skipped over thankgiving. i don't know about you, by my house gets crazy!  we are just now settling down, but now its  time to get ready for christmas!

well thanks to one of my bestie gal pals, claudia...i have this cool tool to share with you and your kids. its a must have, and you can use it as much as you like!

all you do is enter your childs info, what they need to work on (please, thank you, tantrums, etc.),  and pics, and bam...good ol' santa clause has a message for them.  you can have it emailed to you, or if your child is old enough, you can have it go straight to their email box.

its so much fun!

ho ho ho!

-jenn

halloween costumes to die for...

COSTUMES 

here are some FUN ones i found.

available on ETSY from Katesy's Shop.

also available on ETSY from Katesy's Shop.

available on ETSY from Bethany's 5 shop.

available on ETSY from The Green Hedgehog.

available on ETSY from The Green Hedgehog.

available on ETSY from babybayrs 's shop.

its that halloween time again...

its that halloween time again! i have been really busy this october and i have some great ideas for you, in case you have been busy too! 

DECORATING YER PUMPKIN.

here are some fun and FREE jack-o-lantern faces from SWAN'S PUMPKIN FARM in WI that you can download and print out and use as a stencil on your very own pumpkin!

                

all you do is tape on your pumpkin and punch small holes on the outline of the black images. take the paper off and start cutting your design! remember to put vaseline all over the edge of your design and the inside of the pumpkin. it helps your pumpkin from turning yucky before your ready for it to go!

{tips:}

1.  lay parchment paper down for easy cleaning. newspaper can get wet and the ink can stain your kitchen table.

2. get two bowls to divide your pumpkin scraps in.  scoop all of the insides into one bowl, including the seeds.  

once you have cleaned out the "guts" then you can scrape the good pumpkin off the walls of the inside of the pumpkin and place in another bowl.  

scrap as much fresh pumpkin as you want or need for your favorite recipe. you can always steam + puree + freeze it for a recipe later.  (DONT MISS directions on what to do with the fresh pumpkin. recipes to come!)

3. sort your pumkin seeds out of the "guts" bowl and lay out on a cookie sheet until they dry out. these will be good for making your own roasted pumpkin seeds! yum!

Here is how our pumpkin turned out! 

here is a NO MESS pumpkin decoration idea.  these are great if you have lil ones and they aren't old enough to help clean and carve a pumpkin! i found both of these items in the halloween decorating section of TARGET.

FOAM PUNKIN'

MR. POTATO HEAD PUMPKIN

slip on converse.

we all know (or if you don't...you do now!) that my little taylor is obsessed with converse. this is thanks to her dad.

here is our new obsession. slip on's.

for girlz ::
EASY STRIDER (raspberry/black).

for boyz::
EASY STRIDER (black/gray)


need i say more?

my crafty weekend finds.

i thought these were so cute! they are made by THE LITTLE EXPERIENCE, a company dedicated to making fun crafty things for kids.  I found these two cute stitch-it kits when i was out and about this weekend. this is something i am going to give as gifts and try with my tot when she gets a bit older.  (for 6 yrs +)

the two kits i had my eyes on were the STITCH-IT RACOON KEYRING KIT and the STITCH-IT BEAR KEY RING KIT !  these kits include pre-cut bear felt pieces, printed canvas and floss, ready to stitch together to make a cute keyring!  they are reasonably priced and a fun activity, and you end up with a cute little animal in the end! They also have KNIT-IT, BUILD-IT, and CREATE-IT items as well, for whatever you and your babes fancy! awww, what better way to get your tot moving creatively!

check out this cute SOCK MONKEY + FRIENDS book. you know those extra socks you have around the house that lost it's pair?  well now you have a use for them!!  you can make socks into stuffed-animal friends with this sock monkey craft kit by CHRONICAL BOOKS! it features step-by-step instructions for 9 unique sock creatures—including a cat, bear, pig, rabbit, elephant, and even a crocodile—plus basic sewing instructions for beginners and all the materials needed to create one adorable sock animal. the kit includes ::  instruction book, two colorful socks, stuffing, and two buttons. reccommended for 8+ to make, but the results can be an adorable animal for any age!!
i love this.

sweet potato pancakes!

 

WOW!  can you believe i already have a recipe for you?  well this one is a good one, if i do say so myself.

my tot has a hard time getting down veggies.  its not because i don't put them in front of her. so with plenty of reading i have found great ways to hide the veggies. shhhhh........

YOU NEED:

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1 CUP OF WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKE MIX
1 CUP OF MILK or WATER
1 EGG
1/4 TSP OF CINNAMON
1/2 CUP SWEET POTATO PUREE
1 TBSP VEG OIL
ALL NATURAL MAPLE SYRUP
1 CUP BLUEBERRIES (OPTIONAL)

-BLEND ALL INGREDIENTS IN MIXING BOWL TIL SMOOTH.

- TURN STOVE ON MEDIUM.
(i have a gas stove and i turn the heat up to 3)

- SCOOP PANCAKE MIX IN SKILLET AND FLIP TIL DONE.

- POUR THE MAPLE SYRUP ON TOP AND EAT!

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these pancakes come out almost cake-like and delish!  we couldn't quit eating ours!

would love to know how yours turns out!

x
-jenn

recipes for yer tot.

FOOD! you know you love it!  i do, but i don't think my babes does. so that is why i got this idea!!

i will be blogging about fun, healthy recipes for your tot. hopefully it will give you ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks!  i feel like i am making the same thing all the time, so i thought this would be fun to share my recipes, recipes that i find, and our readers' recipes.  hopefully, i will learn something as well!!

if you have a recipe that you would like to submit, please EMAIL me and i will post!

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here is a fun way to keep your recipes cards for you AND your tot!

photo courtesy of www.aviedesigns.blogspot.com

avie gives a cute recipe card idea and some cute download-able cards for you to make your own recipe book!  Print them out and get ready!  I will have some good recipes for you and yer tot to fill them up soon!