Homemade Minnie Mouse for Halloween

This Halloween my daughter was old enough to actually have fun on Halloween. I decided she had to have a handmade costume. After much deliberation I decided she would be Minnie Mouse, as I was when a was young and my mom made my costume.

I also happened to be broke, so I was determined to make the outfit out of materials I already owned.

Here's what I used:

1 small womens pink shirt (cost $1 at the dollar tree, which I had previously purchased)

1 Large mens Black shirt

1Large mens White shirt

White thread

Fluff from a pillow we own

Cardboard from empty snack boxes (that I save for all kinds of crafting purposes)

Pink duct tape

black tights

To make the ears I made two cardboard circles and attached them to a flat cardboard rectangle with the duct tape, then I cut and sewed circle pouches out of the black t-shit to fit perfectly over the cardboard for the ears. I used hair clips to attach it to her head. (Of course, mommy had to be the guinea pig to make sure their construction was solid) Then I sewed 4 squares out of the pink T to make the bow. 2 small 2 large, stuffed with Corbyns pillow fluff. Sewed on dots cut from the white T and sewn all together and to the ears. This process took hours, but in the end it was totally worth it. The only downside is once the fluff was added, the head piece became alot heavier! Took many many more pins to keep it in her hair! (Right after I got them together, we went to the mirror to try them out..obviously Corbyn loved them! 

I spend 25+ hours hand stitching each seam, attaching each dot that I had free form cut from the white T-shirt, fashioning a little white collar, giving her one black stitched heart patch, creating the perfect (and totally made up) puff sleeves, which I remade twice out of the same material.
The first picture was my first attempt at the sleeve. I wasn't happy with it, so I pulled out the stitches and added white panels, then cinched the top and bottom of the sleeve hoping it would make it a little more puffy. It totally worked!

For the skirt, I really just had to sew on as many dots as it took to look good. There was no real pattern, I just spaced them out as evenly as possible. It was very time consuming, and made my hand hurt. :) Finally I cinched the top of the skirt in 4 placed and added a long strip of white T-shirt in order to adjust the size as needed once it was done. And also to have enough material to make a big bow in the back.

The results, a perfect Minnie Mouse. I shocked myself by how well it turned out when I have very little sewing experience. All I had was a vision in my head and a desire to make it perfect for my almost 2 year old!

Its a lonely world, sometimes.

There are obviously a lot of great things about being a stay at home mom. But, We often don't consider the downsides.
My husband works 50 hours a week with an hour drive each way, to and from work. This means he leaves before Corbyn and I are out of bed in the morning and he gets home as the sun is going down at night. I am proud that he works so hard to make sure I can stay home with our toddler, to teach and to train her. But in exchange for that, it also means I don't ever get a break. He comes home exhausted and I obviously don't expect him to do all the baby duties after putting in a 12 hour day at work. Even tho I've made 5-6 meals today and changed 5-6 diapers, cleaned up 5-6 spills, done laundry, swept/mopped floors, dishes, bathed and played with a demanding 2 year old. I can't just take a break when her daddy comes home. Being a stay at home mom is literally a 24-7 job. It's exhausting to say the least.
Not to mention it also puts a damper on any time he and I get together. When Daddy comes home not only is he sore and exhausted but Corbyn is excited to see him and play with him. She hoards him while I clean up the dinner I've prepared for his arrival. He spend the next while unraveling from work. And usually within 3-4 hours of him being home it's time for me to lay down for at least an hour to put her to sleep. By then it's 10 o'clock and I'm too exhausted to get back up.

Staying at home with your baby is extremely rewarding, but it can also get quite lonely for the grown up mind.
I'm sure someday that will change. But we'll never get to go back to the fun and fancy free life we shared together, before. Where we could call in sick to work to both veg out, or opt for a midnight movie, laze around eating potato chips all day or spending hours glued to our favorite games.

I'm a mom now..

Chicken, cheese, broccoli and cauliflower tortellini

I love Olive Garden's former dish "chicken con broccoli." I tried to make it happen in my kitchen mostly from scratch.

What you'll need:
 2-3 cups of fresh mixed broccoli and cauliflower
2 tablespoons of olive oil (I used extra virgin)
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
boneless skinless chicken breasts
Garlic salt
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese


First, steam your broccoli and cauliflower in a cup of water. Set aside when done.
Boil your noodle of choice according to the package. (I chose pre-stuffed cheese tortellini)
Fry and brown your chicken breasts in  a skillet with the olive oil, once cooked all the way through. Slice and set aside.
Use the leftover chicken juice/oil and add your minced garlic on medium until they caramelize.
Add your heavy whipping cream and corn starch. continue cooking and stirring on medium until your sauce thickens (Mine was bubbling the entire time)
Once it looks thick and tastes coagulated, add your steamed and veggies and sliced chicken.
Sprinkle garlic salt, salt, pepper and Parmesan to taste.

And viola! It's that simple! Enjoy your delicious dish filled with protein and vitamins! :)

Pizza Cups

Inspired by pintrest, I decided to bake some biscuit pizza cups! They're delicious and upper easy! This is my second time making them this month.

All you need are biscuits, muffin tins, pizza sauce, garlic salt, mozzarella cheese and whatever topping you want! I always just do extra cheese and pepperoni! Just follow the biscuit instructions and you've got delicious pizza!

I add a side of green leaf lettuce and colossal olives and dinner is served!

Kitchen state of mind.

Today, I felt a little domestic.

Filling the dishwasher led to washing the counters inspiring me to cut the veggies. Corbyn has a tendency not to eat anything but fresh produce. I cut it all at once and store in tupperware for the week. My house wifin' only got worst from there.


After cutting the broccoli, cauliflower and carrots I realized I didn't want to waste the tree stumps. So I boiled them and dropped in a chicken bullion cube. Then all of a sudden I was adding ingredients. Corn, red beans, carrots and noodles. It was madness!


At that point I realized it was too close to dinner time not to fry up some chicken. The kind that tastes like chic-fil-a. Then, of course, I was enticed to brew some fresh southern style sweet tea!

Just as I had finally sat down, my hardworking Sugar Bunny called on his way home requesting a fresh pot of coffee. 
 (That's a whole 'nother story, entirely. As it took me 10 years to get him to enjoy coffee)
Once I could smell the brew I had to fluff up some fresh whipped cream to give it that cappuccino effect.



Ive spent a majority of my time in the kitchen, today.

 Much like every other day. It got used and abused.

Somewhere along the way, my back began to hurt. But, in the end, my husband is happy and our tummies are full.

Child development.

For the last three weeks my 21 month old has been changing. She hasn't wanted to sleep much, her appetite is at an all time low, and she's been quite winey.

During this time she has most definitely displayed that she's having a metal and possibly physically growth spurt.

She has been picking up trash, mostly empty wrappers, and putting them in the kitchen trash without being asked to! Last week, I opened a granola bar for her. As I was tearing it into bite sized pieces she disappeared. A second later I heard the trash can close and the wrapper was gone. She had thrown it away in the 5 seconds I was helping her out!

Lately, it only takes her a few minutes to learn new words. We start in the morning and by lunch she's repeating them. We even learned her friend Booboos name on the 30 minute stroller walk to his house.

She has also been assembling sentences with words we haven't even practiced.
"mama's there!"

And FINALLY, my baby has started singing. Yesterday she made up her very first song!!!!
Verse one: Love ya, love ya, Dada.
Verse two: Love ya, love ya, kitty cat!

I was so proud, I didn't even mind that I wasn't included in the lyrics!

It's absolutely incredible to watch this toddler develop into a big girl! Especially when you realize most of the things she's saying, you've taught her!


                           I'm so proud of my little Corn Muffin!

Seasons are changing!

Can you feel it today, Florida?

Corbyns daddy got her a nickolodian pool, so we decided today was a great day to play in it!
We sat and splashed, as the sun warmed our skin. The cold water from the hose filled our pool and cooled our feet.
It felt like fall. Finally. Not steaming, not smoldering, just warm!
I honestly thought about how perfect it would feel to be carving a pumpkin!
The holidays can't come soon enough for me!!

By the way. An hour of pool time means instant nap time! Our little secret! ;)

Days like today..

As if being a mother isn't hard enough. We women have to deal with hormones, too.

Long gone are the days when you could lay up while you were PMSing. Hot flashes, no sleep, mood swing, nausea, all the while having to cater to this little hellion who wants nothing more than to make the biggest mess she can possibly create. Oh and to add insult to injury, she won't eat or sleep, either. Why, You ask? Because she's getting her 2 year old molars in. And I'm in luck, it takes months for them to come in. Extra winey, super annoying baby, activate.

Days like today really make me wanna dig a hole in the ground and stick my head in it.

What do you do, moms, when you're at your whits end with me relief in sight?

Youth

August 20, 2010
My Youth was shared, not wasted. 
Dedicated to Love and affection.
Never a question!
Under pressure, simplicity. 
Every challenge a lesson.

Duct tape storage DIY.

Who doesn't love duct tape?

I took a Walmart brand diaper box and covered it with pink duct tape.

 I'm now in the process of designing it. :)

Very fun project especially when the pink tape only cost me $.99 at old time pottery!

I snapped shots through the process. 

 It's still not done but most certainly a fun project with a cool outcome! Want to choose a specific color pattern?
Duck Brand Color Duck Tape Orange, 1.88" x 15 yd., 1/pk. (Google Affiliate Ad)Duck Brand Color Duck Tape Orange, 1.88" x 15 yd., 1/pk. (Google Affiliate Ad)