Paint Eggs

Another idea I stumbled across that I knew I just had to do was paint filled eggs. So back when I was cooking for our last camping trip I made a whole mess of breakfast burritos, which entails scrambling 20 eggs. I kept all the egg shells and washed them all with nice hot water and soap. Since then I have been collecting more shell halves for "lids".

This morning I finally got enough to fill an 18 count egg carton.

I played around with the lids to see which fit better on what egg.

Instead of using store bought sidewalk paint, I decided to use another pin that has been hanging out on one of my boards for sometime now. All you need is some corn starch, cold water, and food coloring.

I made a double batch of each color, which just so happened to fill 3 eggs perfectly! So 8 tablespoons of cold water, 4 tablespoons of corn starch, and I used 20 drops of food coloring. For the orange I used 15 yellow and 5 red. For the purple I used 17 blue and 3 red. Mixed it up nice a slow (the corn starch takes a minute to dissolve so be careful not to splash it everywhere)

Then I filled up the eggs. The pour spout on my measuring cup made this step a breeze.

Next you want to glue on the lids, hot glue works best. Just put a nice ring of glue right around the opening of the egg and place the lid on. Be careful not to push the lid on to hard, the shells are pretty fragile after being empty for some time.

Here are my "Franken-Eggs"! You may notice a little extra glue on the outside of a few of the eggs. I wanted to make sure they had a good seal so they didn't leak before we had the chance to throw them.

His very first egg he dropped just pulling it out of the carton, so he pretty much just watched as all the paint dribbled out.

He soon got the hang of it!

"All my eggs are gone!"

Once all the new eggs were smashed he started picking up the ones that looked like they were still in one piece and decided that they needed to be thrown again!

He was pretty proud of his finished product.

And so am I! <3

Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin

So we finally got a decent day of weather (read: it wasn't a million degrees outside!) and some down time to break out the dyed rice I made earlier in the week. YAY!

Here is my set up. A few fun "toys" for him to dig and play with. I really think the orange could have used another drop of red and the teal was a little more blue.... but I still think it turned out pretty awesome.

A couple more of the rice.... so pretty!

J was off playing in the yard, as soon as he came over to find his freshly filled sippy cup he stumbled upon his sensory bin and the water was a thing of the past. The tablespoon I had sitting at instantly became a shovel..... This kid loves to dig.

I was very happy I waited until we were able to play with this OUTSIDE as he continued to "shovel" the rice out of the bin for a good laugh every so often during the hour and a half he continued to play.

Don't let that face fool you, he was having a blast!

After playing so nicely he stood up out of no where yelling "AAAA DONE!!!" and attacking me with the spoon. Then ran off like the crazy monkey he is.

I took a final picture before I placed the lid back on the bin.

Not a minute passes by and my little monster runs up slamming the spoon on the lid. My guess was he wanted back in..... and in he got once I opened it.

He didn't stay in there long. But I would call the rice bin a total success. I am keeping it as is for a few more "play dates" Maybe I will be a little more productive next time, I could get a ton of work done in an hour and a half!

More Than Skin Deep

A mothers love is more than skin deep. My mom and I have had matching (but not so matching) tattoos for about 5 years now. Today we decided they needed a little revamp. I couldn't be more happy with how they look.

Handsome

Since my photography blog isn't up and running just yet, I though I would just share a couple photos of my handsome man I shot today while he was goofing off at my parents house.

Brave Boy

I took my big boy to a routine blood draw today. He sat right on my lap the whole time and just watched them take his blood. I held his free arm down expecting him to try and grab at the nurse but he didn't even flinch! He sat there in AW of what they were doing. He didn't cry or even make a peep. He just sat there like he had done it a million times before. I couldn't be more proud of my little man. We had to run to the store to pick up a couple things so I decided he needed a little treat for being so amazing.

Since he loves to color so much and I never have anything nice for him to color with I got him his first coloring book and his very own crayons.

I think this kid would color all day if I would let him. He is so great at sharing I got to help him color his picture.

I am so proud.... <3

Dyed Rice

So I finally went to Target and remembered to get Jameson a bin to use for sensory play! I am so excited about it, so naturally all the fun ideas start running threw my head.

I have been looking at this idea for a rainbow rice sensory bin for some time now. I thought what a perfect first bin for my little man.

All you need is some white rice (you can use noodles as well but I am only working with rice), rubbing alcohol, and food coloring. A cup or bowl (use glass or metal, plastic will stain) and a plastic bag.

Mix up 2 teaspoons of rubbing alcohol with your food coloring (I used about 10 drops for each batch) in your cup/bowl. Pour 2 cups of rice and your liquid in a plastic bag (I highly recommend the quart size for 2 cups of rice, I tried the sandwich size and it was hard to mix evenly). Seal the bag and shake around until the color is spread evenly.

Next lay out the rice on wax or parchment paper and let dry for a few hours. I rinsed out my cup and started with a fresh bag every batch.

I played around with the food coloring and made an orange (9 drops of yellow and 1 drop of red), teal (8 drops of green and 3 drops of blue), light(6 drops of red and 2 drops of blue) and dark purple (9 drops of blue and 3 drops of red).

Once everything was all nice and dry I placed them in separate bags. Seeing as how I know this is going to make a super big mess and we were unable to play outside today since our yard is being sprayed for bugs, this is as far as I got. We have yet to play with the rice, but I am so excited for when we do!

Rubicon

J's first trip on the Rubicon was a very big success. It wasn't to terribly hot, or dusty which was so nice. The water at Buck Island was nice and warm enough to rinse off multiple times a day. Here are a few pictures.

Camping Prep

We are taking J for his first trip on the Rubicon. Two night stay at Buck Island. I am so excited but today was jam packed of camping prep. I am almost done, just taking a small break for a bowl of Veggie Spaghetti and then finishing up with a nice warm shower and off to bed.

The main thing about camping is we always just eat a bunch of junk food. Well, since I became a mom and my son started eating solid food I have become quite the health food freak. I hate (I repeat HATE) giving my child processed food, it makes me cringe just thinking about it. Another thing is I absolutely dislike doing dishes while camping, I really just want to enjoy my time outdoors. So best thing is to have everything ready before hand so really all you need to do is heat up the grill, or campfire, and warm up food and throw away your foil. Yes FOIL! My best friend when it comes to camping. And it is a saint when if comes to wheeling. Throw your food on the engine, and when you are ready to stop for food it is good warm and ready for you!

So here is whats on the menu for this weekend.
-Breakfast Burritos: at my husbands request, I have made them before and he eats them like there is nothing else in the world. I made all 36 but only am packing a few the rest are staying the the freezer at home for a later date.
-Apple Cinnamon Muffins: I made these a while back and have been eating them out of the freezer for sometime, J loves them.
-Real Babies Do Eat "Quiche": I have made these multiple times, another one of J's favorite breakfast foods!
-Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches
-Shredded Chicken Burritos
-Chicken Quesadilla
-Hawaiian Pizza Pockets: Made with the whole wee-eat pizza dough
-Corn Dog Muffin Bites: I use organic turkey dogs. This is also the second time I have made these. Last time I used a box corn bread and they did not turn out at all, I highly recommend using the recipe provided.
-Sweet Beet Cookies: These are surprisingly delicious. J kept begging me for more.
-Spinach Chicken Burgers: Another thing that was pre-made and hanging out in the freezer.

And of course I did bring a few snack type things, I am not super woman after all. I am a bit of a Revolution Foods junkie when it comes to J (the only "snack" foods he gets), so along came some Mashups, Jammy/Grammy Sammy's, Yo' Drops, and Fruit Shredz.


There is so much more to pack other than just food. Last time we went camping I wrote up a little check off list to make sure we didn't forget anything important. My dear husband thought it was just about the coolest thing ever and we really didn't forget anything! So I typed it up and used it again for this trip. So here I am sharing it with you.
-Tent
-Sleeping Bags
-Pack-n-Play with sheet
-Pillows
-Air Mattress
-Extra Blankets
-Sleep Giraffe (white noise machine)
-Baby Monitor
-Flashlights
-Glow-sticks
-Lantern & Mantels
-Cloths (changes depending on length of trip and weather)
-Tent Heater
-Chairs
-J's Picnic Table (or some sort of highchair)
-Camping Stove
-Matches/Lighter
-Coffee Peculator
-Pots/Pans
-Cooking utensils
-Plastic Silverware
-Paper Plates
-Coffee Mug
-Sippy Cups
-Snack Cup
-Sun Block
-Bug Spray
-First Aid Kit
-Baby Carrier
-Food (varies trip to trip)
-Ice Chest
-Toothbrush/paste
-Deodorant
-Hair Brush/Ties
-Soap
-Baby Wipes
-Towels

This list does well for us. Please let me know if you use something camping that makes life easier for you that I may have missed! I must get back to work. ;)

Preping Prefolds

Back when J was first born I wanted to expand my cloth diaper stash and had purchased some Blueberry Coveralls.... now at 14 months I have yet to use them since I have been slacking on buying prefolds. This has now changed. My mom and I went to a new/used children's store and she purchased me 7 unbleached prefolds. Why 7 you may ask? Well because that is all they had in his size. I though it would be a good amount to try out, and I'll buy more later if I really like them.

As soon as I got home, I started my research on how to prep these babies, and there are sooooo many different ways. Unhappy with all my choices, I just kinda did my own thing. (Disclaimer: I am by no means a cloth diapering expert! I am simply sharing with you how I prepped my prefolds and it worked well for me.)

Here are the Blueberry Coveralls I have been holding onto of about a year now. And of course some Snappis!

Here are the 7 unbleached prefolds. Unprepared prefolds are extremely flat and almost a little scratchy, this will change once you prep them.

I liked the boiling method as it didn't involve 6-8 cycles in the washing machine! So out came my stock pot, I filled with water and applied high heat until boiling.

Most boiling methods use Dawn. I am a big Rockin Green fan, and have never used anything on my diapers but their detergent. I placed one tablespoon of Rockin Green in the boiling water.

Then I added the diapers and boiled them for about 25 minutes. Once done boiling, I rang them out the best I could, threw them in the washer and did a warm rinse to get the detergent out. After the rinse they went in the dryer. From what I have read, most people only boil their diapers once, but I am a little bit of a freak so I went ahead and started the process over again. After I took them out of the dyer the second time, I went ahead and washed them in the washing machine like as if they were a normal solid diaper load, and in the dyer for the last time.

See now that they are all prepped, nice and fluffy with that quilted look.

I wanted to make sure they didn't need another wash, so I tested the absorbancy by pouring about a half a cup of water on one. It soaked it up like a champ! I'm so proud!

I was so excited we ran in the other room immediately and changed diapers. Look how cute! My folding could use a little work, but I am pretty proud. Then I pondered about what color cover we should try out first (a very hard decision).

After I couldn't decide on color I let J choose... and of course it was the green! Look how handsome he looks! And he is stumped with the snaps. I'm sure he will figure them out shortly but I am glad I can let him run around on hot days with just a diaper again without having to put it back on 50+ times. ;) YAY!