Fashion Friday-- Retro Baby Vintage Tees for Kids

You all know that I try to find something fabulously fashionable for Fridays. Well Grayson has gotten into Star Wars. “Gotten into” is an understatement. He is obsessed. So I’ve been doing a little searching to get ready for Christmas and was looking for a cool Star Wars tee. Now it’s just not my taste to let my kids wear cartoon character clothes. They don’t have Dora, Cars, Disney Princesses or anything like that unless it’s on their underwear where it can’t be seen. I just don’t like those clothes. So I was looking for a Star Wars tee that isn’t too tacky—something vintage looking. TAADAA....found it at the Retro Baby.

Retro Baby has adorable onesies and tees for your little ones. Grayson is going to love the Star Wars tees I’m going to get him. And whether you have a rocker babe or are into vintage prints, this shop has something you and your kids are bound to love.

Go ahead and browse the Retro Baby shop. You’re going to find some cute stuff at great prices. And with Christmas right around the corner, these tees could make great gifts.

Crafty Wednesday- How to Make Hair Bows

Well, if you got a chance to stop by here yesterday, you saw that Tuesday’s Toot was about my learning to make hair bows for my little darling. So far I have made three types of bows. One is a Pony-O, one is a Pinwheel Bow, and one is a Butterfly Bow. I am by no means an expert yet, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. It was actually pretty easy and fun. The best part is that this is a craft that is not only rewarding for me, but my little girl loves the bows too.
If you would like to know how to make hair bows for your little cutie pie, just follow these steps.

1. Find free “How to Make a Hair Bow” instructions on the internet. I used the following:
http://bowdesigns.50webs.com/index.html

The Pony-O was so easy and turned out really cute. See instructions http://bowdesigns.50webs.com/festive_ponytail_holder.html

Take note – the Aleene’s Stop Fraying glue darkens the edge of sheer fabric. However, once the Pony-O is in the hair, you can’t tell.

The Pinwheel Bow was the most difficult to make. I had trouble with the pinching/folding and with getting the tails to act right. It still turned out cute, but I will have to practice it a few times before it will turn out the way I want it-can’t help it-I’m a perfectionist.
http://bowdesigns.50webs.com/pinwheel_bow.html

The Butterfly Bow turned out really well. It wasn’t very difficult and you can use so many different sizes of ribbon. I will be making this one again for sure.
http://bowdesigns.50webs.com/perky_loops.html

2. Get your materials. I didn’t find everything I needed from Michael’s craft store. The ribbon was reasonably priced, but they didn’t have the alligator clips I wanted. I will be buying off the internet from now on. Hair Hardware looked like they had some good deals.
http://www.hair-hardware.com/

3. Set aside some time and enjoy making your little princess some cute hair bows.
I have definitely found myself a new craft that I love. I’ll be sure to share photos! Have fun!

Tuesday Toot--Bows for my Cutie Pie

I may not be the craftiest person in the world, but lately I have been trying a few things. Taylor is going to be a Georgia Bulldog cheerleader for Halloween this year and I was having trouble finding a cute bow to go with her uniform. So I decided to make one. Toot Toot! Here it is. I'm very proud of it. It really did turn out cute.

Here is another bow I made to match a few of her outfits. I'm hoping to get good enough at making them to sell a few throughout our neighborhood. It is full of little girls--and little girls just gotta have cute bows.

I just got some cute pink and white polka dot ribbon and blue and brown striped ribbon. Once I make up some more bows for my little cutie pie, I'll be sure to share. And if you are interested in learning how to make bows, come back tomorrow for my Crafty Wednesday post and I'll share.

Lima Bean Kids T-shirt Giveaway at The Not-So-Blog Blog

Let's all start the day off right with news of another giveaway. Woohoo! We all love giveaways right? Well, The Not So Blog Blog is giving away a Lima Bean Kids Halloween or Thanksgiving tee. And these t-shirts are precious. I'm thinking Taylor would look fantabulous in the Lets Play Dress Up tee, and I'm loving the Christmas tees too.

Boon Giveaway

Ok, you all know how much I LOVE Boon. Just look at my blog and you'll see the Frogpod post, links to Boon, Widgets for Boon, etc. Becky, the designer behind the Boon products is a personal friend of mine and so anything I can do to promote Boon, I'll do it. Well, there is a Boon giveaway--and a big one. The Flair high chair. Yep, you read it right. They are giving away a Flair ($229.99 value)! Go ahead, squeal with delight. Head over to Berry Sweet Picks for all the details on how you can win this awesome prize. THANK YOU BOON !

Gift Buckets-Craft Sharing

I have to admit that even though I love the end result of craft projects, I'm NO Martha Stewart. I'm not crafty--I just don't have that "crafty" gene that some women have. I love all the fabrics, papers, stamps, ribbons, etc. but I don't have the desire to sit down to a craft project and complete it. There is only one real "crafty" hobby I have and so in an effort to explore my crafty side and become--well, more crafty--I am going to try to share a craft with everyone each week. This week I am going to share with you my one crafty hobby--GIFT BUCKETS.

I love making my gift buckets. When we lived in Georgia, I opened my own business making these unique and special gifts. We moved to California and then again to Florida (where we are now) and it just got to be too much to keep up with so now it's back to being my hobby. But I love this craft so much that I want to share it with you all.

Making a gift bucket is very much like making a gift basket--except you are using a bucket. My favorite sizes to use are the 2 quart pails, 10 quart pails, 16 quart pails and wash tubs.

Supplies you will need:

bucket
paper

shreds

gift items

glue dots

cellophane gift bag

rubberbands

scissors
ribbon

gift card/tag

Here are the steps to making a basic gift bucket:

Step 1-

First, decide on the products you will be placing in the gift bucket and create your color scheme from there.

Step 2-

Fill your bucket with crumpled paper so everything won't sink to the bottom. Then cover your paper with shreds. You want your gifts to stand up and be seen so the recipient with go "Wow!" when they see it.

Step 3-

Arrange the gifts into the bucket so that they can all be seen. It usually works best to put taller items in the back and smaller items in the front. It may take several arrangements to find the perfect one. Once you've got it, use glue dots to keep items in place.

Step 4-

Fill in gaps between items with shreds. You can also use shreds to make items stand up better.

Step 5-

Place bucket inside a clear cellophane gift bag. Pull up the sides getting rid of the trapped air. Tie off the top with a rubberband and cover the band with raffia ribbon.

Step 6-

Top it off with a decorative bow, tying the ribbon around the band tightly to be sure it is secure.

Add your gift card, deliver and enjoy the look on the person's face when they see their beautiful, CRAFTY gift bucket that you made especially for them by hand.

Books for your Little Ones

Well it seems that everyone around me is either having a baby or just popped one out. Family, friends and neighbors are celebrating new arrivals back to back to back. Now most of my family and friends already have children so this post may or may not help them out. The books I am going to mention are classic tales and are very popular. This post is for my friends who are new to motherhood or will be soon.
I've had several friends ask me what books I recommend they purchase in order to start their baby's library. As a mom of two children, a former English teacher and an aspiring children's book author, my short list consists of five classic titles and I must say that I weigh heavily upon the fact that my two children have loved all five of these books since birth and still don't go a day without reading at least two of them during our nightly routine of reading before bedtime.

Here is the list, and it is ordered based on what I recommend going from youngest (birth) to oldest (age 5).

#1- Goodnight Moon by Margarent Wise Brown This is a classic, rhyming bedtime story. It is a picture book in which your child will love looking at the bunny, the cow, the bears, the kittens, and that elusive little mouse hiding in different spots around the room. This is a great first book for a baby.

#2- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

This is a classic tale of a little caterpillar's journey (eating alot of food along the way) to becoming a butterfly. This picture book teaches the days of the week and counting with its repetition and rhythm. This is an excellent choice for young children as well as preschoolers and kindergarteners. My son has had this book memorized since he was 18 months old (I know it's hard to believe, but he has always been a very verbal child) and he is also reading it now in his Kindergarten class at school. It's just one of those books that all young children love.

#3- Dr. Seuss's ABC by Dr. Seuss

I'm not sure Dr. Seuss even needs an introduction, but just in case-- in this book, he teaches the ABC's with rhyming and alliteration along with his world-famous humor and creative illustrations. With lines like "Ten tired turtles on a tuttle-tuttle tree" and "Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo," your child will be giggling and reciting this book before you know it.

#4- The Little Engine That Could retold by Watty Piper

This generations-old classic tale of the tiny engine's dedication to climbing up the mountain with its heavy load is just as endearing as it was when I read it as a child over 25 years ago. Your child will love the adorable illustrations as you read the "chug, chug, chug" and "puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong" of the little train. Your child will be chanting "I think I can-I think I can-I think I can" right along with you and will be sure to learn the book's timeless message of not giving up.

#5- The House that Jack Built by Jeanette Winter

This book is full of rhyme, repetition, humor and cute illustrations that will have your child saying, "Read it again ,Mama, read it again." With its nursery rhyme style, it is easy to follow and your child will remember each and every page with visual clues and repitious lines. This is a book your little one is sure to love.

Now that I have listed my top five books for you, please know that there are just too many good books to list in this one post. We have shelf after shelf of books that my kids love. And for you new moms out there, soon enough you will too. Once your child is old enough to have a special interest, you will find yourself thumbing through twenty or so books on trains like I do with my son. And with each new interest will come more books--cars, sharks, Star Wars--you get my picture. My recommendation is to head over to your library or your favorite book store and start with the classics. If you need help, just ask. Or you can also visit http://www.kidsreads.com/lists/pic-classic.asp#topfor book lists that are sure to get you started.

Happy reading!!

Suave Kids Body Wash and 2 in 1 Shampoo for our Stinky Little Kids

This is especially for the moms who have little boys who have reached the age in which they have become stinky, sweaty little monsters. My son Grayson has just reached this milestone. I blame it on the Florida heat and humidity that causes you to sweat if you step foot outside. Combine that with the fact that he has PE at school and is playing soccer now, and we have us a stinky, sweaty little monster living with us. He is sweaty, his clothes are stinky and his room has become a magnet for odor. While I have been tempted to spray him down with the same Lysol disinfectant spray I use on his room, I have discovered the Suave line of products for kids and love them enough to use them instead.

The body wash is fantastic and the shampoo is amazing. Every single fragrance they offer smells wonderful, but Grayson's favorites are the shampoos--Wild Watermelon, Orange Mango Outburst and Cowabunga Coconut (which is also my favorite). The body wash produces a lot of lather with just a small bit on a sponge. And the Suave 2 in 1 Shampoo has a rich, creamy lather that suds up thick and quick, but rinses out of Grayson's longer, thicker hair easily. The bottles are kid friendly too. The lids are secure enough that Taylor (age 2) can't open them too easily, but Grayson(age 5) can-- so he can squirt out the body wash and shampoo himself which is helping him learn to bathe himself now. Another great quality the Suave kids products have is that they have the same tear-free formulas that the baby products have. I was concerned at first about using the shampoo on my daughter because she is still so young, but we haven't had a problem. The shampoo doesn't irritate her eyes at all. It really is tear-free. If these reasons aren't enough to get you to try the Suave kids products, maybe the low prices will. Suave is almost always the least expensive name brand item on the shelf. I have found the shampoo for as little as $1.99.

With all that being said, my new favorite time of day is late in the evening when everyone has had a bath, they smell wonderful, and we snuggle together in Grayson's bed for reading time before bed time. They aren't stinky, sweaty little monsters anymore. I pull my children close and take a big whiff of their hair and smile as I relish in their cleanliness and fragrance.

The Frog Pod

I have promised you all that I would begin posting reviews of some of my favorite baby/toddler products, and one of my favorites is the Frog Pod. And new to the Boon family of products is the Frog Pod's sister-- the Bug Pod (a ladybug). For those of you who haven't fallen in love with the Boon line of baby gear, check out the website at www.booninc.com. The genius behind the Boon designs is Rebecca Westover Finell (a fellow native of Newnan, Georgia.) She has created the ultimate bath tub organizer that both children and parents will love. I love everything about the Frog Pod--from it large scoop that drains water as it picks up tub toys to its shelf for shampoo. And let's not forget the frog's widespread toes that are perfect for hanging a sponge. The Frog Pod is easily mounted on the tub wall. Just follow the instructions carefully so that the Frog Pod will remain mounted (you really do have to use the alcohol.) Priced at around $35, the Frog Pod can be found at a variety of stores including Target and Babies R Us. It makes a great baby shower gift so keep it in mind. For all you expectant moms--- register for the Frog Pod. You will love it.