Pantry Canister Labels

Since I've been in the kitchen cooking so much, I wanted to make my life a little easier and labels the canisters I keep flour, sugar, brown sugar, etc in. After all - just sitting on the shelf flour, sugar and powdered sugar look a lot alike in the pantry next to each other. I used black vinyl and my Silhouette machine to make some labels for each jar.


They look nice, were inexpensive and quick to make and it's so much easier to see what I have now!

Sleepy Girl

Coco and I have been sleeping on the floor in the office, on an air mattress because that's the only place that I can get comfortable enough to get some sleep. In the evenings, when I'm on the computer she lays down on the air mattress and stakes her claim before I get in bed.


See how she picks her spot right out of the middle? She's such a stinker!

Mama's Helper

I don't allow Coco in the kitchen while I'm cooking but she is so afraid she's going to miss something (she could be a little bit nosey) that she doesn't like to be too far away. I've been cooking stuff up for when Denver arrives so I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen and Coco has been spending a lot of time right at the edge of the kitchen. Isn't she the cutest thing? She's definitely mama's helper!

Denver's Nursery

I finished Denver's nursery about a week ago and (finally) got around to taking some pictures. So, here they are (starting from the left side of his room and working our way around):

A sign for his bedroom door. It's a store bought metal sign from Hobby Lobby (half off for like $3). I added the vinyl and my mom bought this little owl and then added some "details" to it.

My Center Baby Shower Corsage that my sister in law made.

The left side of his book shelf. I found that frame at Ross for $4.99

The right side.

A friend of mine (and hostess at the Center shower) made us the picture frame with his ultrasound picture in it.

Here you can see the whole thing and the entrance to his room.

This wreath is on his closet door that my sister in law made. (I forgot to take pictures of his closet). Oh well, just know that it's full. :)

Another book shelf. It holds 2 more picture frames a friend of mine made, picture albums, 2 of his 3 piggy banks and just some little "forest" knicknacks.

This is the "wishing tree", that my mother made, sitting on top of that bookshelf. It was at the Waller shower and everyone was asked to leave a wish (on a leaf) for us. It's so sweet!

On the side of that bookshelf, I hung up my Waller baby shower corsage that my older sister made me.

To the side of that bookshelf is our glider and ottoman. I asked D's mother to make that blanket to hang over the back. Isn't it sweet?

This is all the little stuff on the table next to the glider.

And if you step back, this is what it looks like.

I made him a little toy bucket that sits beside that small table and his dresser. The first toy bucket wasn't big enough to hold everything he kept getting so I just spray painted another bucket (we received with bath stuff inside) and put "toys" on it with my Silhouette machine.

And this is the top of his dresser. I spray painted the white frame in the front. I had gotten it from the dollar store for just $1 :) The frame to the left, I got on clearance at Michael's for $6.99 and the frame on the right is a $3 frame from Wal-Mart. The plate I made this summer, the piggy bank was a gift from my little sister and the acorns and owl were decorations they used at the Waller shower, and were later given to us.

Stepping back, that's what his dresser looks like. My mother painted those little letters above the frame. On the other side of the dresser, I have his bouncer waiting for him. We'll be moving before too long so I decided not to paint or put up window coverings.

My mother bought him this cross that hangs on the wall to the side of his crib. My sister in law made him these sweet nursery letters that go above his crib. This is looking in his bed, on the left. I had my mother-in-law make his boppy pillow to match his nursery decor and D and I bought him his first little gloworm. The frog in the back is the stuffed animal D and I bought the day we found out Denver was a boy. It has an "It's a Boy" ribbon around his neck and when you press on him, you can hear Denver's heartbeat. Sitting with him is a bear a friend of ours gave him and the sweet little forest friends we bought him.

And stepping back, that is what his crib looks like. The sleigh -style sides don't allow the mobile to fit on the ends, so it has to sit in the front of his crib. The blankets and bumper are just for decoration. I'll be removing all of that and taking everything out of the crib when he starts sleeping in it (which will be a LONG time from now). :)

And in the corner, is his swing, the base to his bassinet (which I'll be putting in the living room), his diaper pail and then his changing table.

His changing table. Lots of goodies in each basket! :)

And the first toy bucket that I made him. :) And standing in his doorway, this is the best picture that I could get. This is his nursery. :) Now all we need is a little boy to arrive so we can use it!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I made these today and oh my goodness my kitchen smelled SO delicious! I decided that I needed to act as "quality control" so I ate a couple of the mini muffins and oh they are just as delicious as they smell. I decided to divide them up into freezer safe bags (12 mini muffins in one, and 6 regular muffins into 2 other bags) and freeze them so that we can have yummy treats when Denver arrives.

I ate two and then I made 2 snack bags of 5 muffins for D to take to work. Needless to say, he was a happy camper.

Here is the recipe, in case you want to try them:

Ingredients 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I used 2 bananas) 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, milk and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Enjoy!

Homemade Coco Treats

I found this recipe in one of my mother-in-laws Paula Deen holiday magazines. She had made them for Coco at Christmas time and she loved them so I thought I'd make them for her again. These are like crack to her. I keep them in the fridge and she will run to the fridge every time you go into the kitchen, hoping to get one (or two) of these.

First of all, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Then mix together the following:

2 (4 ounce) jars of Chicken & Vegetable baby food

1/2 cup of powdered milk

1 cup of wheat germ

It will look like this! I mixed it all together and then used my smallest ice cream scoop (the size you use for mini muffins) to make little balls.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then drop the treats onto it, just like you would with cookies.

Then take a fork, dip it into warm water, shake off excess and gently press the treats down, like the picture shows.

Bake for 15 minutes and then move to a cooling rack. This recipe will make 2 dozen treats. Hope your furry little friends enjoy them!

36 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights: How Far Along: 36 Weeks (9 Months Pregnant)!!! Size of baby: Watermelon (19 - 22" long, 6.5 pounds) Total Weight Gain/Loss: +12 pounds Maternity Clothes: Just the one dress I bought and the one shirt that was a hand me down. Everything else is regular clothes (mostly pjs these days). Gender: It's a boy! Denver Ray Fountain Movement: I can feel him rolling around in there - to watch it looks like my stomach is possessed. It's pretty cool and creepy all at the same time! Sleep: Not sleeping that great here lately. It's VERY hard to get comfortable! What I miss: The occasional glass of wine or margarita! Cravings: Nothing and nothing even sounds good to eat - it's too darn hot! Symptoms: Nausea, upset stomach, headaches, backaches, hip pain, pelvic pain, heartburn - I'm a barrel of fun these days. Best moment this week: D turning 30! Only 4 more weeks (and only 1 more week 1 until we're full term)! The Dr confirmed that we will have to schedule a c-section for Denver's birth. Denver is just a big boy (was already in the 85th percentile for weight as of 2 weeks ago), so he is concerned about trying to deliver him vaginally. It looks as if Denver will be here around September 9th. We'll find out for sure in the next two weeks. We start going weekly now, so we'll have another appointment on Monday!

Bunny Slippers

Denver got lots of pajamas at his showers and one of the sets came with a pair of baby bunny slippers... Are these not the cutest things you've ever seen? *Ignore the background - I just finished folding all of his clothes and am "trying" to keep my feet up to help the swelling.*

35 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights: How Far Along: 35 Weeks Size of baby: Large Cantaloupe (19 - 22" long, 6 pounds) Total Weight Gain/Loss: +8 pounds Maternity Clothes: Just the one dress I bought and the one shirt that was a hand me down. Everything else is regular clothes (mostly pjs these days). Gender: It's a boy! Denver Ray Fountain Movement: He's slowling down quite a bit - my big boy is running out of room. Sleep: Not sleeping that great here lately. It's VERY hard to get comfortable! What I miss: The occasional glass of wine or margarita! Cravings: Nothing and nothing even sounds good to eat - it's too darn hot! Symptoms: A lot of numbness in my arms and legs, lots and lots of swelling and some headaches. Best moment this week: Our second baby shower! It was really nice! Only 5 more weeks (and only 2 more weeks until we're full term)! The Dr mentioned at my last appointment that he's almost certain we'll have to have a c-section because of Denver's size and he doesn't want us going past 39 weeks. We'll have another ultrasound at around 37 weeks, so we'll know more then!

Personalized Toy Bucket

The other day I had to run into the Dollar Store for something and as I was going in, a woman was coming out with these brightly colored plastic buckets and I immediately went and and forgot all about everything I was there to get and went in search of the buckets.

I bought a lime gree one, for $3 and just knew that I could do something for Denver's room with it.

I took it outside and spray painted it "Nutmeg" to go with his nursery colors.

I probably should have used spray paint that is made for plastic because you can see a few small bubbles on the lip of the bucket, but I used what I had beccause I'm cheap.

Then I got out my Silhouette machine and ivory vinyl and made a label for his new bucket.

And this is it in the floor of his room. I know it will only be useful for a short while because baby toys are only small for so long and since this picture the bucket is pretty much overflowing but the good thing about vinyl is that it can be scraped off and this can become a bucket for anything! I'm still working on putting everything up in his room and decorating. Hopefully I'll be done soon so I can post some pictures!

Owl Treat Bags

I wanted to make a little "thank you" for the hostesses at Denver and my baby shower but was really unsure of what to make until I saw the cutest little owl treat bag online. Isn't this adorable? Of course, I wanted to make just a regular (boy) owl since it's or a boy shower. I bought a package of construction paper and a pack of brown lunch sacks - both from the dollar store. Then I pulled up my Silhouette program and started making shapes to match the girly Owl bag. I started with eyes. Then I moved to the chest area. It's easy to just make the first shape and copy & paste so that each bag is exactly alike. Then I moved on to cutting little owl "feet". The Silhouette just cuts the paper, you remove the blank space and are left with the shapes you cut. Then I made lots of triangles for the beak and the ears. I made them all the same size. Then I took out a glue stick and started going to work. First the chest, then feet, then eyes and so on. And this is "him" all put together. Isn't he adorable? I just folded over the top so that I could tape it closed. Tomorrow I'll share what I put in them!