Happy Halloween!

Thanks to www.picnik.com for the picture editing tools. If you haven't checked them out yet, you should!

So, let's say your door bell rings tonight, and there is a group of trick or treaters there. You hand out your candy, say the usual "great costumes" and they all turn and walk away... but one. He just stands there, staring at you. How would you react? Take a look at this video to see how other people did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoSSvLpXWpM

Hope you all have a great, safe Halloween!

DIY Halloween puppy costume

Here is how me and my husband made Little Man his puppy Halloween costume.

What we used:

- Oversize hoodie jacket

- Felt squares in coordinating colors of hoodie

- Fabric glue

- Needle & thread



< Cut off arms to hoodie at the shoulder seams

   (hang onto extra fabric for use later)



< Cut different sized circles out of felt squares

   (hang onto left over felt for later use)

< Using the left over fabric from the arms of the hoodie, we drew out the form of dog ears and cut out 4 pieces.

< We sewed 2 ear pieces together to form the ears, and used the left over felt pieces to stuff them. We then sewed them to the hood of the jacket.

< Glue the felt circles onto jacket to make various spots

<We used the other left over arm fabric for the tail. We rolled it up and sewed it to the bottom area of the jacket.

Results:



Little Man's home made costume

I started the search for Little Man's Halloween costume early this year. Around September I started combing through stores trying to find the perfect getup for him for his first Halloween that he would be alert enough to enjoy. My disappointment was more and more apparent the more I looked. I came across the usual suspects- Scooby, Thomas, Diego, Giraffe and so on. My problem is that Little Man has big feet. And many of these costumes had bands at the bottom of each foot, that would not fit him. Also, the weather in the Carolina's this time of year can change in an instant so I was afraid of getting him something too warm, or too cold. So I was left with the challenge of making him a costume myself. I searched online and came across several ideas that were pretty neat, and didn't require a sewing machine (yay).
In the end we only spent about $8 total for CJ's costume, and we were pretty happy with the outcome.

Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting- CJ the Puppy

I will be posting the step by step of how this was made shortly.

Fun Friday!

I am starting a new series today titled- Fun Friday! Because... everyone needs a little fun! I will post funny videos, or links to websites, or a funny blog post that I've come across. I hope you enjoy this series!

So without further ado:

Ode to home made Halloween costumes~

Holiday to-do lists...

The end of October always brings about a bit of stress and to-do lists for many. Plan Thanksgiving dinner, start shopping, have Christmas photo taken, make list of people to send Christmas cards to, etc. Last year after Little Man was born I never had the chance to do the Christmas photo card, so I just sent this picture out with general holiday cards.

Yea, I thought it was cute too. But, this year my plan is to have a family picture done, dogs included!

I used Shutterfly for a photo book for our Nana earlier this year and was pleased with how simple it was to use, and thrilled with the book when it was done. So no question I will use them for our Christmas cards this year. Shutterfly.com has a great selection of cards to choose from. The most beautiful Christmas and Hanukkah cards. My favorites though are the Holiday story cards. What a great idea! This one is my favorite.

That would be a gift itself for some of my out of state family that I have not been so on top of sending out pictures for! So there is 1 less thing off my 1000 to-do's for the holiday's this year.

Here is to hoping that you sit back and relax this holiday season, and not let the stress get you down. Be jolly, be merry, and be blessed. Oh yeah, and be happy eating lots of Christmas cookies!

Disclosure: In exchange for writing about Shutterfly's holiday cards, I will receive 50 free cards of my choice

An email I received about this blog...

A couple of days ago I received this email about my blog. I've debated on sharing it... but figured I would go ahead since it made me smile.

"Miranda, I read your blog and was very impressed. I found it to be funny, informative, lighthearted and very interesting to read. The YOGABBA feature was adorable. Great job. I am very proud of you!"

Isn't that nice? It instantly made me smile when I read it. And just to know that people are reading my blog makes me feel like I'm not just doing it for me.

P.S. - thanks for the email Mom. :)

Little Man versus Couch

Little Man loves to climb on the couch. I mean really, can't you see that sparkle in a child's eye as they bounce from cushion to cushion? His favorite time to do this is when our helpless dogs are sleeping on the floor, so he can dive bomb them. Yesterday, he jumped/fell (not sure which) before I had a chance to get to him. He landed on the side of his head, and his body folded like a pancake. O.M.G. Thank God his head landed on a pillow, but still. It scared me. After cuddling him while he cried for about 10 minutes trying to calm him, I sat him down on the floor and went back to what I was doing. Of course, he went right back to the couch. It's like an addiction for him. He knows he is going to get hurt, but he does it again and again. I try to keep a good eye on him, but I am not the perfect mom. Sometimes I have to pee. Or put away laundry. Or just leave the room when I cannot take listening to D-D-D-D-D-Dora for another second. So I cannot keep one eye on him ALL THE TIME. How am I supposed to keep him from climbing the couch? Tell him no? Pffft. Telling CJ "no" is like telling a plastic surgery addict not to use the $10,000 gift card to Dr. 90120 you just handed her.
I understand that you cannot keep your children safe from everything in world. They are going to get bruises and bumps, scraps and broken body parts (cringe). Maybe I should just get him a parachute and let him have his fun. After all, my living room is cheaper than Monkey Joe's. :)

Tiny Dancer

A couple of weeks ago Little Man started to dance. He was sitting on the floor playing with a toy he received for his Birthday, stood up and danced! It was so funny, he looked like he was trying to do the running man! I went and grabbed my camera, and of course he stopped. So I've been chasing him around since then trying to capture his fancy foot work, and FINALLY did last night!

The best Roast. Ever.

I made this roast a couple of months ago, and my husband let me know it was worthy of a marriage proposal... if we weren't already hitched. Just thought I'd share the yummy goodness since I'm making it again tonight.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef

I follow the recipe, but I put in 1 1/2 cups beef stock and 1 1/2 cups water, along with 2 packets of the dry Italian seasoning. I like it on a hoagie roll with provolone cheese and roasted red peppers. The hubby prefers it over rice. Either way, it's really good! Cheers!

My purse debacle...

While I was at Target last night checking out, I placed my purse on the counter when the lady in line behind me kindly pointed out "Honey, I think it might be time for a new purse" and nodded towards mine. I looked down, immediately embarrassed then looked back at her and smiled. What was I supposed to say to that? Looking back now I should have asked her if that was an invitation to buy me one.

But in all actuality she was right. My purse is not treated kindly these days. It's abused, thrown, tugged around by little man and occasionally sat on. I don't really think about it though, how worn this particular purse looks. I don't carry it everyday. I really only carry my diaper bag, because typically I have a toddler in tote. The purse in question was not even purchased by me. It was given to me last year by a friend who was replacing it with a new one, and it was in great condition at the time. Now, it is fraying on the handles and looks like it's been put through a shredder. Sure, I have plenty of other purses I could switch this one out with. But they are packed away in a box that I haven't looked in since before CJ was born. I also have a very beautiful purse my aunt gave me around Christmas time last year... but I fear the damage that would be done to it if I expose it to the elements (little man).
Maybe it is time I treat myself, and buy a new purse and vow to not allow the same abuse my current purse has endured. Or maybe, I could just cut the frays off and call it a day?

I'm on Twitter now too...

I'm going so high-tech. Hah. I am still learning the ropes of how to manage this blog, and then I go and sign up for Twitter. What did I get myself into? I have no followers yet... there or here. But that's ok. From my blogger dashboard I can moniter my page views, traffic sources and where the traffic is coming from (awesome)! Someone in Canada even viewed this blog! So even if no one is following me, I still know some people are reading. Keep in mind though that you can follow this blog, via the little box on the right to here that says something along the lines of "follow".

Also my Twitter address is www.twitter.com/littlemanandme .

So there you go. I'm high-tech, or at least I'm trying to be.

Pickin' Pumpkins!

We took little man to Hodges Dairy Farm this afternoon to pick some pumpkins. We all had a blast. CJ saw horses, pigs, goats and his favorite- a chicken. I was very warm this afternoon so we didn't do the maze, maybe another day when it's cooler out. But we did get some awesome pics.

He loved this wagon! (Added to Christmas list)

We got a lot more pictures, but until I can figure out how to re-size pictures on this new laptop, so it doesn't take 10  minutes to load one- that is all for now!

I'll take a cookie too, please!

So because little man was sick during his 1year pedi check up, we had to postpone his shots until today. 3 shots, one visit. I hate shot day, because... well- I am a wimp. And yes, I know that my son is the one getting the shots and not me. But when it comes to needles, ick.

This morning when me and my husband went to get CJ out of bed, he was in such a happy go lucky mood. The poor kid had no idea what was coming. In the waiting room at the doctors office he was walking around smiling at all the people, laughing having a good time. I knew this mood would not last long. Of course we waited for ever for the nurse to come in and in the mean time my nerves were on end. When the sweet little nurse finally came in with her bucket of needles, band aids, and alcohol wipes CJ was already fussy and ready to go. When she administered the 1st shot, little man lost it. I am sure you could hear his scream across the state. Then the 2nd shot, I lost it. Keep in mind please that I have to have my husband hold CJ will he gets his shots. I would rather be the comforter. 3rd shot, agony. The tears, the screams... my poor little red faced baby. Then I remembered I came prepared. I packed the diaper bag with reinforcement. Cookies! One cookie in my son's hand later and he is fine. I am the one having to hide the tears forming in my eyes. Maybe I should have had a cookie too. Next time I'll pack some for myself.

I wonder when someone will write the book "Diary of a wimpy Mom"?

CJ's 1st Birthday party- Gabba style!

Recently my son's 1st Birthday party was featured on Gabba Friends . I am not sure if you are familiar with the show Yo Gabba Gabba, but finding merchandise for a Birthday party is difficult. About 90% of the decorations and "special touches" were made by me and my husband. Here is a link, with tutorials on some of the things we made.


CJ's 1st Birthday! Gabba Style

Hi! I'm Little Man's Mommy... and I'm a new blogger!

I've always wanted to start a blog, I've just never been quite sure what to blog about. Sure, I have a lot to say... but the typical fears set it. Would anyone read it? Would anyone even care? Would I even know what to do? Then as I was researching crafts and DIY stuff for my son's 1st Birthday I came across so many blogs. Blogs about everything and nothing. So I figured now is as good a time as any to start. Also, if no one ever reads this, at least I can mark something off the life "to-do" list. So here goes... I'm officially a Bloggin' Mommy!