Photo Friday! First Family Trip in the Boat!

Robyn's Grandfather has a boat its a nice boat but in the almost 10 years we have been together I have flat out refused to get into the boat as well I am afraid... ok not so much afraid of the boat more so afraid of 1) Throwing up in the boat and B) Drowning... both very rational if you ask me...

Either way if you ask any mother can the kids go in the boat and she says yes you better bet your behind that no matter how afraid she is she will be going with you because 1) She will refuse for her children to do something for the first time without her there if she can help it and B) Her children will not drown without her...

So on our last rip out to visit Robyn's family we went for a trip in the boat and it was FABULOUS!

So for this Photo Friday I have just a few of the 170 photos that I did take! Enjoy!

 

Well as you can tell neither of us drowned and even better I didn't throw up either!
Happy Friday Friends!

Kid Craft! Thanksgiving Turkeys!

This Thanksgiving myself and Delaney took it upon ourselves to make a few super cool TURKEYS!

No we didn't make the dinner and serve it up for our family and friends but we made a few decorations for the dinner table to show just how happy we were that it was turkey day and what we were thankful for!

Now I'm not gonna lie I got inspired by many posts on Pinterest and I am sure that I am not the only Momma to think this up and post it on her blog so I will preface this craft by saying that I am in no way saying this was my own idea... lets face it I'm just not that smart!

So here is how we got our turkeys started...

For our Thankful turkey I cut out feather shapes from cardboard that I felt were Fall colored and I asked Delaney and all of our family members what they were thankful for.... notice that even little Max got in on the action... (Delaney insisted that we include some from Max and then said what she felt he was thankful for)

Then with double sided tape I added them to the back of a toilet paper roll but you could very easily replace that with glue....

For our other turkey I had Delaney trace her hand on more Fall colored cardboard and then I cut them out and we stuck them to the back of another roll... (sorry I was kinda busy watching a 4 year old eye the scissors to take any photos but its pretty self explanatory anyway...)

Finally we added googly eyes and a beak and then drew on the feet!

Presto two adorable centerpieces for our Thanksgiving table!

Sesame Street Party Overview!

So as I have mentioned a few times we celebrated Max's BIG first Birthday last weekend (the day after his actual birthday) and I have to say it was quite a success!

So I figured I'd give you a run down of what happened and how it went before I give you anymore of the DIY's... so be prepared you are about to see LOTS of adorable pictures of my FABULOUS ONE YEAR OLD and his soon to be FOUR YEAR OLD big sis!

Birthday Boy waiting for friends to show up for some fun!

I love to DIY my decorations and while I have already shared the balloon wreath there is oh so much more to come... Including a whole post on a scalloped edge circle punch!

Playing Oscars Trash Toss!

Super easy Sesame Street theme game, just get a garbage can, I happened upon this Sesame Street one but a regular one would be fine too, and give the kids three pieces of "trash" have them throw each piece toward the can and try to get them in. If you get at least one piece in then you move on, move the trash can a little further away and you just keep going until only one kid gets the trash in the bucket.

CAKE!

What's a party without cake??? 

I make my kiddos their own smash cake up to age three, that way they can dig in get as messy as they want and eat as much as they want without man handling the cake for me the guests.....

 

Max's smash cake was seen on Facebook already but I will give you a few more details in a future post all about the cake... including the secret recipe to the cookie dough filling!

Of course there were presents! 

I wanted to make this area a little special and to make it a little Sesame street too I hung some of my DIY decorations and used a Sesame Street quilt that was given to Max as the present table cloth.

He's a proper member of the Kiss army now... and got lots of Big Boy Toys too!

There was food all around as well... 

Lots of cupcakes and cookies were served up along side of the BBQ and of course they were all topped off with DIY cupcake toppers!

Look for a quick cupcake topper section in the DIY decorations post next week!

I was so inspired by this post (that I found surprise surprise on Pinterest) that I just had to make a Cookie Monster Pinata!

It was super fun and the kids loved it! Look for a full post on making a Cookie Monster Pinata and what to fill it with soon!

So that is the Sesame Street Party in a nutshell.... It was a blast to plan, to DIY and to enjoy with my baby boy! I hope that you will join me next week to have a look at how it all came together from Invites to decorations and of course no birthday part series is complete without a cake post! 

Hows that for a Photo Friday?

Happy Friday!

Photos by Momma Made It! and family!

Photo Friday! A Little Beach Get Away!

One thing you likely don't know about me it that I love the ocean, I can't imagine not living by the sea and the fact that I can see the water from my home and my second home (at my mom's place in Bay Bulls NL) and for that matter my third home (Robyn's childhood home of Little Heart's Ease NL) makes me a little giddy...

To me the world make a little more sense when I'm by the waters edge looking out at the waves or even just the little ripples in the bay... I say a little more sense because after loosing my father In-law so suddenly last month the world seems a little more than off, a little more than wrong...

The photos I'm sharing today are from a quick trip to the beach we took the afternoon after his funeral and it just seemed that the sun was shining for him, the waves were rolling for him and to be honest it put me a little more at peace with everything.

Wild Iris

Sea Urchin

Sea Star dried on the rocks

I love that the beach offers so many things to capture in a photo its like a playground for nature....

Happy Friday Friends!

Tell the Truth Thursday! The Only Thing I Like About Dora!

Ive never kept it a secret... I'm not Dora's biggest fan. It's an ok show and if your kids like it and you do too well that's great but at our house we don't watch Dora and have only one Dora DVD and the only reason we have that is because it was given to Delaney as a gift. Personally I find it to be too repetitive and too to tell the TRUTH annoying... But like I said that's my opinion.

However there is one thing that I am greatful that Delaney has learned from Dora. At the end of each show Dora asks what was your favorite part of the day... And after seeing this on tv and in the one DVD she does have Delaney has been asking us what our favorite part of the day was as we are tucking her into her bed at night...

She always asks us for more than one favorite thing... usually she asks for 5.

As much as I dislike Dora I do love this little snippet we have picked up from her... It gets us to stop and think about what we did during the day and pick out what made us happiest. It gives me a little more insight into Delaney as well... I get to hear straight from her adorable little mouth what sparked her thinking, what put a smile on her face, what made her happiest.

And as much as it is good for us to hear and participate in, I think its so fabulous to hear Delaney appreciate all the little things in her day, for her to be grateful for the things that make her happy and for her to see that its not the things you buy or the money you have its the people and the experiences that make your life rich!

What do you and your kids do to appreciate the little things? Do you have a little Dora watcher? Tell your TRUTH in the comments.

(Please keep in mind that this is just one Momma's opinion and I am in no way paid or compensated to share this opinion nor am I trying to put down the Dora brand or Nickelodeon.) 

Kid Activity! All About ME!

Once a month I set aside a day for just DELANEY! (When Max gets a bit bigger he will have his own day too of course!)

Its called "All About ME" day... easy to remember hey!

On this one day each month Delaney gets to pick out her own clothes, how she wants her hair, what she wants to eat for Breakfast, Lunch and Supper as well as the activities that we do through out the day. What she doesn't realize is that during the day I get her to draw a picture of herself or her family, I take a picture of her, and I ask her the same questions and record them into a note/scrapbook for her.

Its my way of capturing the little changes in her each month and seeing how much she changes so when I am sitting home alone drying my tears and she is at her prom I will still have a little something that shows me that she was just a little girl once...

Want to do it yourself but wondering what to ask your own kids.... well here is a list of questions I ask delaney some of them might change depending on how old your child is or what their interests are....

What is your name?
How old are you?
Where do you live?
Who is in your family?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your best friend?
What is your favorite show or movie?
What is your favorite thing about Momma or your favorite thing to do with Momma?
What is your favorite thing about Daddy or your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
What is your favorite thing about your sibling(s)?
Where is your favorite place to go?
What is your favorite toy?
What is your favorite food?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Are you excited to go to school? and Why?

Some of her answers crack me up.... and some leave me with more questions. Either way I get to hear straight from her what she is thinking and what she likes...

For example the last time I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up this was her response. "Momma could you tell me what I want to be?" I said no... "I'd like to be, I'd like to be CINDERELLA!"

When I asked if she was excited for school " Yeah when I'm 4 years old" Why? "because school is my favorite time of year" Why? "Because I really like my favorite time of year!" pretty sure when she is 12 or 15 this will not be her answer about school... that is if she is anything like me.

She loves her All About Me days and I love being able to give her the attention she deserves. Do you set aside time for each of your kids individually? and what do you do with them during their one on one time?

Tell The Truth Thursday! Why We Don't Have Cable...

I don't think that I have mentioned this before but we don't have cable... up until recently we didn't have anything to watch shows or movies on other than our DVD players and our PS3. A few months ago we decided that we would give Netflix a try and it's been great! Either way I don't think we will ever go back to having cable...

There are so many benifits to not having cable...

- No "just one more show", no "but this is about to come on", no "I saw it on TV" from Delaney
- No issues with what we feel is appropriate for our kids to watch because we decide everything they see and just don't put on what isn't appropriate.
- But the best is no outrageous cable bill! I honestly think that cable is so over rated and over priced! To be honest we don't even watch half of the shows/channels you get with cable.

What is great about it for Delaney...

- We borrow for free from the library.
- We watch her favorites on Netflix for kids.
- We have lots of movies of her favorites at home anyway. Plus we ask family and friends to get the ones she LOVES for hollidays and birthdays.

It's not perfect... I will admit that there are certainly somethings that I miss...

- I love reality TV but it isn't on Netflix and its just not the same to watch on DVD.
- I miss some shows that I really love like Glee or Grey's Anatomy (but you can usually watch them online on the network websites...)

With that said there is certainly a few major things that I don't miss!!

- Commercials need I say more...
- Waiting for the next season of a really great show to find out what happens (in most cases)!
- Bills
- Reruns! Unless you want to re-watch a show... which I do all the time!
- No crappy shows!


In short it works for us not to have cable, we like it and it saves us quite a bit of money each month... I know the day will come when the kids get mad that we don't have cable because all their friends have it and they want to watch a show so they can talk about it with their friends or just so they aren't left out...

But we will cross that bridge when we get to it...


Edit... I should mention that this is NOT a sponsored post, lets face it friends my blog aint that big...

Photo Friday! A day with the Family!

As a part of my birthday gift I asked my sister to take some baby and family photos of us...

So I thought I would share my favorites with you!

Have you had any new family photos taken lately? If you have a family member or friend that has a good camera and an eye for portraits you can do it on the cheap!

Happy Friday!

3D Chalk Fun!

A few weeks ago my Friends Mom asked me if Delaney had any 3D chalk? 

I had no idea what she was talking about... 

So she told me about the new chalk that is out there with 3D glasses, she had bought some for her niece and she loved it! I thought hey that's cool I will have to look for it, but the next day what should show up on my doorstep but some  3D chalk.... 

I was so grateful that 1) I didn't have to go looking for it (I likely would have forgotten anyway) and 2) that I have such wonderful people in my life who love Delaney (and us as well) that they enjoy leaving little surprises and gifts for her knowing they will put a smile on her darling face, and I think Delaney was jumping up and down inside that she had new chalk. Little did Delaney know that this is the coolest chalk ever!

So we headed outside to give it a try!

 The directions...(yes directions with chalk) say to use the colors in certain combinations to make your pictures jump out at you even more! So that one color will look like it is higher than the other and vice versa.

So naturally we copied the picture shown in said instructions using the colors the way they did.... 

AND.... 

you can't see it really well here but it works.... 

I love this and so did our little miss...

 She loved the glasses! She wanted to wear them even when we came inside!

She spent forever playing and trying out the chalk! 

It was super fun, we all had a blast and because it was a gift 

(and one that I would recommend for any child!) it was completely free! 

We had a great afternoon of frugal family fun!

If you haven't tried this chalk you should! If you have, don't you love it! So much fun and such a great way to spend an afternoon... plus you get to look super cool with the 3D glasses! hehe

Safari Jeff and Shannon Show!

Do your kids love animals? 

Do your kids love reptiles? 

Do you love a free afternoon of family fun?

I know that we can answer YES to all of the above! 

So when I heard that Safari Jeff and Shannon were coming to our local mall to do a free reptile show with lots of animals and snakes and such I knew where we were spending an afternoon!

Safari Jeff and Shannon are kinda like Jack Hanna they educate kids on animals and reptiles and get them up close and personal to these creatures, so they can learn as much as possible! 

Delaney loves to look at animals in the pet store and thinks the snakes and spiders are super cool... (they aren't for Momma... but she loves them and as long as they are in cages at a store and not in my house, hey look away and thing they are cool!) So she was super excited to look and touch (until they were in front of her) the cool reptiles!

When it started She was so attentive! She listened very well!

This lucky kiddo got to be Shannon's helper for the whole show!

 Then they started to bring around the reptiles so the kids could touch... and my very excited daughter started to cry!

But by the end she was excited again! It's so great that kids forget so quick.... not sure how long I could have delt with her crying over the snake....

 She had so much fun!

It was great to go out and learn a few new things about reptiles and see some up close and personal and while she did have a few minutes of fear and shed a tear or two I think it was a success!

Another day of frugal family fun!

Have you taken your kids to a show like this? As creepy as I find the spiders and the snakes it wasn't that bad!

To find out more you can look up Safari Jeff and Shannon on FaceBook or at 

http://safarijeff.com/

Book Sale Finds!

I've mentioned before that I love a great bargain....  (AKA I'm cheap!) 

So when I hear gently used at good prices I get excited! 

Yesterday we went to a GIANT book sale in aid of our local Canadian Federation of University Women group!

They hold this every year (this is our second year going!)  We got so many great books and help raise money for scholarships for women to go to college! (In the word of Charlie..... WINNING!)

I know I've said before I'm not a reader but my whole family is! And they are trying to convert me I think... plus I do read cook books... as a matter of fact I love old 60's, 70's and 80's cookbooks... It's almost a sickness! And you'd be amazed how many cookbooks one can accumulate if they try...

So here is my haul!

They have a section where you can fill a bag for $2! 

Here's our bag! 

(we paid $4 because I felt like we had stuffed 2 bags worth of books into 1 reusable bag...)

there are all kinds of books in this section from self help to crafts to religion and fiction...you name it it's there!

Once I opened up the bag and saw what we got I was shocked! 

 Here's what I got from the craft/cooking section!

And a few that daddy and Delaney picked out! (can you tell who was holding the bag...)

Here are  few of the ones I am  most excited about!

A reprint of a dress making book from the 1870's (If nothing else I will be framing a few of these pages and putting them on the walls!)

Sheet Music.... already have a few crafts in mind to use these for!

Great Cooking Ideas.... They weren't kidding when they named this baby, this book is huge! And there is a recipe on every page! (sure to show up on future Make it Monday's!)

This one I am flipping out over still! James Beard! YES PLEASE!

And this one I got to try some things for Miss Delaney! I may have to YouTube some video's on how to do needle point as I have no freaking idea how I mean experience... 

We also got a  few other books in the regular sections of the sale... 

A few for Delaney... a couple for Daddy and a couple for me to try... My Sister is a good influence what can I say... (she secretly wishes me a reader I think)

Daddy also nabbed us a World Atlas...

It's a bit out of date... as in it still has the USSR... but hey it suits our needs... 

and Delaney is already in love with it!

All in all a great day, we got so many great books, had so much fun looking through everything over and over and everyone went home with a few new reads at super cheap prices! (not to mention that we helped raise money for the Canadian Federation of University Women Scholarship Fund!) 

Have you picked up anything at a great price and gotten a little too excited about it lately? Any great books you've picked up or any great crafty reads?? Please Share it in the comments I'd love to hear all about it!