Craft Power!

There has been lots of crafting going on here lately. I've been doing lots of DIY stuff for the kiddo's second birthday party. It's going to be a zoo/safari themed party. I made the invitations. (Yep, me! I did it all by myself!) I found some awesome printables through Pinterest for the goodie bags, drink holders, and a birthday banner. I've also been trying to decide what DIY decorations of the animal variety that I want to do. I have opted to go with this cute zebra print table cloth since I want to decorate with animals. I found this on the Martha Stewart website, and instantly fell in love it with.  I decided to try and make one today. It came out SO cute!

So, the coloring part was easy. I wonder how the rest of it is going to go. 

ADORABLE!

I forgot about backing it with something, so my little guy is very flimsy, but I'm sure I can make him work. Also, my blowers were too big for the hole. I think I'm going to just cut that part off and use him as a decoration.

Also, the kiddo LOVES Super Why, and I found this puzzle at Kohl's on sale for $5. Since she's too little to actually put it together, I thought it would make a great decoration for her bedroom. (Her bedroom just has bare walls, minus the frog on a mini-canvas I got out of the dollar bin at Target.) Once I find my hammer and some nails, she will now have this:

So, my border isn't perfect, but I think it turned out pretty awesome for my first time with puzzle glue! 

Cute Kid Moment Montage

Cute Kid Moment #1

The other day, the kiddo and the g-rents bought her some kangaroos for her Little People zoo. The kiddo sometimes has a difficult time understanding that she has to hand the cashier the toy so we can pay for it and then she gets it back. Bebe (g-ma) told her that once you pay for something it's yours and you can keep it forever and ever. The kiddo has taken this to heart and now likes to pick up her toys and conversations go like this:

Kiddo, "Paid?"

Mommy, "Yes, puddin, we paid for it."

Kiddo, "Yours"

Mommy, "Yes, puddin, it's all yours"

Kiddo, "Ev n ev" 

Mommy, "Yes, it's yours forever and ever." 

Cute Kid Moment #2

The kiddo has started to try and figure out how to dress herself. This usually includes her hand constantly being in her diaper. We like to keep the blinds open during the day because it allows the kiddo to look out the window and see people and their pets. It's an easy way to keep her easily entertained. This morning, she took her diaper off in stripper fashion (or like a basketball player with tear-away track pants) and then tossed it on the floor and ran to jump up on the couch. I'm such a good mom that I missed this perfect video opportunity, but I did enjoy laughing the entire time it was going on. 

Cute Kid Moment #3

Before leaving for lunch today, the kiddo felt the need to put a pair of her bloomers from when she was a baby on her head like a hat. To her credit, it did match her outfit but we had a slight fuss when it fell off her head and I put them in my pocket before she could find them. No sweat though, she got excited about the idea of going out to lunch. We pull into one of my favorite local pizza places and as I go to get her out she says, "lunch! shrimp! fries!" Oops. She didn't tell me she had a preference for lunch! Oh well, kiddo was a trooper and ate her pizza and plate from the salad bar like it was going out of style. 

Proud MOTY Candidate

#MOTY MOMENT
I have to say that nothing makes me prouder as a mom than the fact that my kiddo loves books. In fact, she usually goes for the books before she'll go for her toys. She can't read yet (she's only 1) but she loves to babble as she turns pages and always wants someone to read to her.

Some people double fists drinks, my kid double fists books.

Her room at Grammy and Granddad's

 less than 30 minutes after walking up. 

CUTE KIDDO MOMENT

Today the kiddo kept saying "mama" and pointing and I could not for the life of me figure out what she was asking for. I asked her to show me what she wanted and I held up a bag of Cheetos and she pointed to them and said "mama". My mom laughed and told me that she also calls Dr. Pepper "mama". I know she has seen me drink Dr. Pepper, but I don't keep Cheetos in the house. She must have saw me eat them once at Grammy's and then I shared some with her so that's how she came to associate me with Cheetos. At least I would make a tasty communion if the need ever arose. 

DADDY/DAUGHTER DATE

If there is one thing that I'm sad that my daughter won't get to experience, it is the daddy/daughter date. I'm lucky that she has an amazing granddad and unkie though who can provide her with the male part of that. My dad and I had a date to the Lamar/McNeese basketball game. We had some pretty sweet seats thanks to my buddies at McNeese. Girls won, guys lost. At least we got one win today. 

#MOTY MOMENT PART DEUX

I bought this for my daughter today. I'm sure that the next sandwich that she has will make her extra excited. 

Cooking Twice in One Week?

Oh yea, you read that title right. I cooked not just twice in one week, but two nights in a row. Tonight, was baked taco night. I saw this recipe on Pinterest and have been wanting to try it for a while now. It seemed so easy and it was. We'll just let the pictures tell you how this one turned out.

Yep, there's all the goodness that is about to go in the oven. 

You can't go wrong with rice, right? 

How good does that look? 

My mom and I are diehard hard taco fans, 

while the kiddo and my dad are soft taco fans. 

Time to bring on the cheese. The more cheese the better in my opinion. 

Who doesn't want some of that? 

Way better than I thought it would be. 

CUTE KIDDO MOMENT

My daughter loves to read. To her, reading is turning the pages in books and babbling. She loves being read to as well as reading to me. Her favorite place to play is in the bathroom. Tonight, we combined both of these as she wanted to read to me in the bathroom. #moty2013 

Isn't she a cutie? 

Moment of Panic

This post just contains a quick moment of panic. I have lost the birth certificate for Emily, my daughter's Cabbage Patch doll. They all come with birth certificates, which means they must have a birthday party. (OF COURSE!) Being the worthy #moty candidate that I am, I put Emily's birthday on the calendar. (January 25th) However, without this small piece of paper, I don't remember how old Emily is going to be. I'm going to say that she'll be one because that will keep her the same age as my daughter and it'll be easy for me to remember. #motyfail

Adventures in Cooking - Round 1

Today was truly one of those adventures in mommy hood that lead to a prestigious #moty award. I’m hitting the campaign trail early in the year! Today was my last day of Christmas break before returning to work tomorrow, so the kiddo and I had big plans of not getting out of our pjs unless it was necessary. (I got out of mine to go to Wal-Mart, but she stayed in hers pretty much all day)

First things first, we started the morning off with The Dinosaur Train. I love this show on PBS and feel like it is one that should be a steady viewing schedule. Also, Dr. Scott is pretty hot. If I find out that man is not a real paleontologist then he will lose some of his hotness. I actually feel like I’m learning something by watching the show. Today, I learned about the Nodosaurus, it had four short legs, five-toed feet, a short neck, and a long, stiff, clubless tail. The head was narrow, with a pointed snout, powerful jaws, and small teeth. Thanks for the lesson, Dr. Scott! #MOTY Moment – Educational Programming.

After that, my day was dominated by playing chase with the kiddo and Gobble Gobble, our turkey windsock from Thanksgiving. I found him in the dollar section at Target and today was his last day with us as he has officially fallen apart.

RIP Gobble Gobble

But the real focus of this post, is my first adventure in cooking. Some people may feel that I cheated a little by using a crock pot recipe, but these Sweet and Tangy Meatballs are AMAZING! The best part? It only has three ingredients and I didn't really have to do any work!

Meatballs, grape jelly and chili sauce = yummy!

Running this kitchen like a boss! Yea, I even added some rice and

 garlic bread and some peas for the kiddo.

Mommy, is it ready, yet?

BOOM! Elise – 1, Kitchen – 0

Overall, today was a major accomplishment on the fast track to #moty2013. I made an awesome meal, watched some educational program with the kiddo and had some great play time before heading back to work tomorrow. Oh, another great highlight of the day, when my daughter decided to take her diaper off in front of the large open window in the living room. #moty2013