Rainbow Ice

We've been HOT in Texas this summer and have had to keep most of our activities indoors. One afternoon my 3-year-old and I made a tray of rainbow ice cubes, and they were a huge hit! I just filled up a small plastic tea pot with water for her to fill each cube, then we squeezed one small drop of food coloring into each one. We stuck to mainly primary colors. She used a toothpick to stir each cube.

Once these were frozen, the possibilities are absolutely endless. My daughter had so much fun mixing a couple of cubes into a Sprite to see what color it would turn. I always cool her oatmeal with 2 ice cubes after it's cooked, so I used a blue and a red one. As she stirred and her oatmeal turned purple, she was thrilled. You can also stick a toothpick in these as they're freezing to use as a handle. Then, when they're frozen, the kids can use the toothpick to hold it to paint on paper outside. They could also use the colored cubes as a sensory activity floating in water in the sink.

Hope you have as much fun with these as we did!

Long-distance Baby Shower

Some of our great friends from our neighborhood had their second child, a baby girl, Saturday. They are a part of our neighborhood group of 4 couples who meet every other weekend for Bible study and dinner, and we are so incredibly blessed by them. They moved here a year ago from the west coast, so most of their close friends and family are way too far away to have made it in for a baby shower. The rest of us girls from the group wanted to throw an unforgettable shower that somehow included the long-distance friends and family. We had so much fun, and it turned out to be a hit.

We decided to send invitations to everyone with information on the when's and where's of the shower in case they wanted to send a gift. We also included a little note asking everyone to email a family photo along with a message or favorite quote that we could turn into a photobook for the nursery. The invitations were simple - plain cardstock cards (sold in bulk at Hobby Lobby) with a 2D cupcake sticker. I just ran them through my printer before attaching the stickers.

Since the guests were our four couples, we wanted to do something a little different than traditional shower foods. Instead we made up a menu of the mom-to-be's pregnancy cravings. Chili-cheese dogs, french fries, strawberry limeades, and some crunchy snack-food appetizers rounded out the menu. She also loves all-things-s'mores, so dessert were these delicious s'mores cupcakes (recipe here).

We really wanted to keep the decor simple too and focus our budget more on our gifts. We made tissue paper pom poms in the nursery colors to hang from the chandelier.

We also used my Onesie Kit (more in the shop asap!) to make a clothesline filled with precious girly gifts.

It was so fun to have a table filled with gifts from friends and family from so far away.

We wanted to be sure to include something special from our kids. So we gathered them all up (including the baby's big brother secretly), and used their fingerprints as "sprinkles" on this cupcake decoration for the nursery.

We played two fun shower games - Math the Mom-to-Be, and Celebrity Baby Names.

And then we opened gifts. The finished photobook was priceless. I used Mixbook for the first time, and it was quick, easy, and precious!

What a neat memory of such a special evening.

We had such a great night celebrating!

Freezer Paper Stenciling

Have you ever tried freezer paper stenciling? I tried my hand at it a few weeks ago for the first time, and I am hooked! I offered to make a t-shirt for a friend's little boy's first birthday. It was an Uno themed party, and she couldn't find the shirt she had in mind. She described it to me, and I got to work. I wanted a very clean, almost screen-printed look - not a handmade, artsy look. I bought a handful of shirts thinking this probably wouldn't work, and I had a Plan B and Plan C. I was shocked when it turned out almost flawless after my first attempt! The design itself was the most complicated part as I had to create it from scratch. But I used my SCAL software, Inkscape, and my Cricut to cut the stencil. But it was a lot easier than I imagined despite the many steps. Then I just ironed the freezer paper onto the shirt, and painted 3 thin coats of white fabric paint. I held my breath as I peeled the freezer paper off, and I was so pleased with how crisp the lines were. If you haven't tried this, you should!

Here's a great tutorial if you're interested. Happy stenciling!

Infant Carrier Tent

I'm so sorry for my blog hiatus. Life just sneaks up on me sometimes, and I can't find a spare moment. I'm hoping to be a bit more disciplined now that Fall is almost here and things have started back into a much more normal routine.

For now, I wanted to share my latest project. We had some friends in town last weekend, and they brought their precious twins over one night for dinner. A friend had made them infant carrier tents that I thought were so clever! I had never seen one before, and I instantly knew I had to make one for one of my good friends who actually delivered baby #2 this morning. The twins' mommy went over the features she loved and the features she thought could be improved upon. And I set to work...

I love the finished product (so much so that my baby fever hit an all-time high after completing this! I better get out to meet that new baby asap to cure the fever!).

I copied the binding on the twins' tents, and I think it is precious. Basically I just sewed the top and bottom pieces together wrong-sides facing. Then I cut the edge into fringe. It should fray a bit when washed. So cute and unique.

I also gave the straps a little ruffle decor which I think adds so much to what could be a very plain piece.

Since my friend plans to nurse, I made this strap that matched which can be thrown in the diaper bag to turn any blanket into a nursing cover.

I love whipping up quick, easy, and precious baby goodies!

Almond Flour Pancakes

We eat a LOT of pancakes around here. It's one of the handful of things that I can count on actually getting into my kids on a regular basis, and it's so nice to have them already cooked and ready-to-go in the mornings. Both of my kids eat them plain and even cold, so I can grab the straight from the fridge as I'm making my cup of coffee and toss them at the hungry babes. =)

I'm always trying new things to increase their nutritional punch, and I recently stumbled upon recipes using almond flour. At my last visit to Sprouts the raw almonds were only $3.99/lb, so I grabbed a bunch. Using my coffee grinder, I ground all of them into flour, dumped it into a Mason jar, and stored it in the freezer. It can be used just like regular flour to boost the protein in things like pancakes, muffins, etc. A word of caution - it is incredibly bland. I'm looking to test out roasting the flour a little before baking with it. I wonder how that would affect the flavor.

So, here's my newest pancake recipe using almond flour. It's an evolving recipe for certain, and I'll be sure to post updates.

Almond-Flour Pancakes

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup fruit/veggie puree (these were banana and sweet potato)

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl with a wire whisk. Add the wet ingredients, and stir just to combine. Let this sit for 10 minutes, then cook on a hot griddle. I set my griddle to 375 and cook them for approximately 3 minutes per side. But I've found that this varies tremendously depending on the cooking method, so make sure to test it out.

Serve with butter and syrup. Or, for the kids, serve cut into strips to dip into applesauce, yogurt, syrup, or fruit puree. Yum!

Storage containers I couldn't live without

I am a very organization-minded person. When I'm considering anything, my first question is "Where am I going to put it?" We have a very small house with only one living area, so it's very easy to feel overrun by stuff. I love to streamline, purge things, and keep everything organized, and I thought it might be helpful to share with you my favorite storage containers.

Small Toy Storage:

For most of our toys with lots of pieces (Mr. Potato Head sets, building blocks, Little People, all letter toys - magnetic, foam, and letter blocks, etc.) I use the Expedit storage system from Ikea. I absolutely love these pieces because they're very sturdy, very inexpensive, and look higher-end than the equivalent at Target or Walmart. The good: price, quality, style. The bad: the storage shelves are not the standard 12x12. The fact that they are bigger (15x16, I think) is good for more storage room, but it limits the options for baskets. After 5 months of using what we already had basket-wise, I saved up for all of the baskets that actually fit the system. I twas well worth the cost. Now the toys are completely hidden, it's stylish, and the baskets are HUGE!

Here my son demonstrates their use while wearing his favorite storage container. ;) Goofball.

Expedit Storage Shelf

Nasum storage basket

Large Toy Storage:

Big toys (Fisher Price racetrack, farm and animals, basically anything awkwardly shaped and that does not fold) are so very hard to store. If I have them out on a shelf, my house looks like a toy store. They don't fit underneath couches or beds, and most cabinets are too shallow to fit them. We got a wardrobe, also from Ikea, several years back - way before kids. It has changed rooms and purposes more than any other piece of furniture in our house, and we LOVE it. It was only $199, and it has held up very well. It now resides in our family room and holds (and fits!) all of our bulky toys, all of our kids' art supplies, my sewing machine and a box of current projects, diapering supplies for the main living area, books (which I rotate out often), puzzles, games, and stationary/office supplies.

Hemnes Wardrobe

Books, Art Supplies, Puzzles, Computer Supplies:

I absolutely love these locking-lid storage boxes. We have them all over the house for various things. I love that they have a handle on top for easy transporting. These hold art supplies that we can easily grab and carry to the table, books that can be carried outside to read on a blanket, and even our bubbles that we keep in the pantry but carry outside to play. They're inexpensive and sturdy and incredibly handy.

Sterlite Show-off with Locking Lid

Sand, Rice, Other Small Manipulatives:

As you all know by now, we measure, pour, stir, rake, and funnel sand, rice, beans, etc. on a daily basis. My kids love to play with these types of small manipulatives, so we needed a quick, easy, and secure way to store them. In our wardrobe, I have one of these 9x13's of rice, beans, and sand. I also have a separate container with spoons, funnels, measuring cups, etc. They stack easily, are shallow enough that the kids can play with the contents right in this container, and they're sturdy. These are also the perfect size for cookies and casserole leftovers. I think I probably have 15 of these, and I use them ALL the time.

Rubbermaid TakeAlong Container

Shoes, Bed Linens, Unseasonal Clothes

As for just about everything else that doesn't have a home, we keep them in under-the-bed containers. We do not have a linen closet in our house - not even closets in our bathrooms. We have one small coat closet (where I have to store things like the high chair, gift wrapping supplies, pool floaties, life jackets, rain gear, etc.), and that's it save for the closets in the bedrooms. So we store all of our bed linens in under-the-bed containers under the bed for which they're intended. We also use under-the-bed containers for shoes and all of the opposite-season clothing. These are so convenient because they can be easily moved for cleaning. I typically use my Roomba for under-the-bed vacuuming. So, I just lift the dust ruffles, pile the under-the-bed boxes on top of the beds, and let the Roomba run. This way there are no loose things to pick up to clean. Nice and simple.

Sterlite Underbed Storage Box (with wheels - a must!)

Hope these solutions are helpful for you! What are your favorite storage solutions?

Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

One of the many benefits of having a 3-year-old daughter is that there is always a reason to make pink cupcakes. =) I was browsing blogs Thursday afternoon, my daughter just happened to glance at the computer when I was on this site, and we were making cupcakes by the next morning. They sounded perfect as-is, but I couldn't resist making a coconut cream cheese frosting instead. They turned out to be delicious, and we can't stop eating them! Delicious.

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

(Followed exactly from this recipe)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup fresh chopped strawberries

4 tablespoons milk

Using my stand mixer, I beat the butter and sugar for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add eggs to the creamed sugar and butter one-at-a-time, and mix until combined. Add vanilla. Increase the speed to high, and add the strawberries mixing thoroughly to break down (this took 2-3 minutes for me). Turn down the speed, and add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, and mix until well-combined.

Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full, and bake for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let cool completely, and then frost.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

1 block of cream cheese, softened

1 stick of butter, softened

1-2 cups of powdered sugar (I used 1 because I don't like it super-sweet)

1 tsp coconut extract

1 1/2 cups sweetened and shredded coconut flakes

Beat the cream cheese and butter in a sand mixer until well-combined. Add the sugar and coconut extract, and beat until smooth. If the frosting is too thick, you can add milk 1 tablespoon at a time to thin. Using one cup of powdered sugar made mine the perfect consistency. Stir in the coconut by hand, and use to frost your favorite fruity cupcake.