Baby Shower Cupcakes

I was sorting through some photos for my next project post (finally!), and ran across this photo of my adorable cupcakes from one of my baby showers:

Aren't they cute?! The colors and patterns match baby's room. Now, if only I had one... or three... to eat right now...

Entertaining Baby on a Budget

Entertaining a 6-month old has become more challenging. And, doing it on a budget can sometimes be even more challenging. Face it, there are times when feeding, toys, spit up, explosive diaper, tummy time, nap, toys, diaper, tummy time, assisted sitting time, diaper, spit up, feed, nap, repeat repeat repeat wears out even the best of mommas. It's always nice to get out of the house and do something -- for not only your own sanity, but to help stimulate baby's developing body & brain with something different. Especially when baby's a social butterfly like E.

But, it's not always easy to do that when you want to save money -- a daily outing can add up quickly. So, here's a few of the ways baby and I like to spend the day... without spending a dime (except, of course, for gas):

1. Feed ducks at the park, using whatever stale bread or crackers you have at home
2. Hang out at the library and let baby stare at the other kids... or beat books against the table.
3. Set up a play date with friends who have babies similar in age.
4. Go to Cabelas and visit the fish tank -- baby will be mesmerized for hours... and it's free!
5. Dress baby up super cute (and I mean SUPER cute), take him into any store, and let him squeal & smile at every person that stops to talk to him. After the 20th person, he'll be worn out and ready to nap all the way home.
6. Walk the mall, provided you can skip the good sales and bypass the uber-good smelling pretzels. Combine this and #5, and you've got a winner!
7. Go to a dog park and watch the pups from outside the fence. Granted, if your baby doesn't like dogs, this might not be the best idea...
8. Take a walk around the neighborhood. Or, load up the stroller and take a walk around a new neighborhood. Never know when you'll discover a new park.
9. And, if all else fails, lay out a blanket in the backyard. When he gets bored looking at the trees, lay down a magazine for him to rip up. Holy moly, he'll stay so entertained, he'll forget about his dirty diaper.

Of course, I'm sure there are a million ideas on Pinterest that I have yet to explore. What are / were some of your favorites?

WIWW: Stay-at-home Mom Edition

So it's been awhile since I posted for "What I Wore Wednesday" -- created by the lovely Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy. But I figured this is the perfect time to start up again. After much soul-searching, financial calculating and a horrifying daycare experience, J and I decided that I should quit my job and stay home with baby E. I was elated and terrified!

While I'm going to miss my work peeps, I love having this opportunity to soak in every moment with Easton. It's only been a week, but I can already tell some bad habits are setting in. Like not showering. And wearing hoodies and slippers. What Not to Wear would have a field day.

At least before I had the excuse of working from home while taking care of a squirmy baby {conference calls + crying baby = stressed out momma who didn't have time to even think about what she was wearing}. But now? No excuses really, just haven't found the urge to put in a lot of effort. Which is fine on some days. But what happens if it snowballs into weeks? Months? Years? I want to take pride in how I look, set a good example for Easton, and be the hot momma J dreams about.

It really does help to have accountability in these WIWW posts. And, it's fun -- it helps me take a second look at my closet, and I find fun ideas from other WIWW posters. With being a stay-at-home momma and all, buying new stuff isn't exactly a top priority for our budget right now. Will be interesting to see just how far I can stretch my closet -- and adds another ounce of motivation to keep dropping the baby weight.

playing with baby

North Face hoodie ~ Sports Authority

grey sweats ~ Kohls

cleaning house

old work tee

old Seven jeans ~ Nordstrom

grey slippers ~ Target

lunch date

sequin tank ~ Target

striped cardi ~ PacSun

jeans ~ Target

boots ~ Target

running errands

brown hoodie ~ Estes Park, CO

same Target jeans

fuzzy boots ~ Burlington Coat Factory

Wow, I looked worse than I remembered! Ohwell. Just know that -- hopefully -- this next week will look better. And, hopefully, I'll finally get into the eye doctor so I can swap the glasses for new contacts!

Photo Op

Pinterest is an amazing, addicting thing. So many ideas, so little time! And when I do find something cute, I always hope I can remember it when the opportunity presents itself. I came across this absolutely adorable picture before Christmas:

Precious! So when we were putting up our tree, I scared the bee-jeebies out of J, the hubs, when I said to stop with the lights and grab the baby while I grab the camera.

Didn't work quite as well, but still a cute picture. Love the expression on his face, like "Momma, are you sure this is safe?" :)

1/2 Year Birthday Cake

Awhile back, my mom told me a cute story of how my grandma had made my brother a "1/2" year birthday cake. So when my munchkin's 6-month birthday rolled around on Wednesday, I thought about doing the same. But, after a day of reading books at the library (read: trying to keep him from chewing on books at the library) and feeding the ducks at the park, I kind of forgot about the whole cake thing until on our way home. So, I stopped at Kroger and saw the cutest little cakes -- and only $3.99!

I picked up one, along with a blue gel icing tube (pen?) and some star candles.

I cut the tip of the gel tube off at an angle so it would be easier to write on the side of the cake. Surprisingly, it was super easy and didn't drip.

Then, I cleared sprinkles off the top and wrote his age -- "1/2" :)

Cute, huh? After dinner we added the candles and let E stare at it for awhile before blowing them out, cutting him off a piece, and letting him smash it to bits. Luckily he didn't put any of it in his mouth, though his clothes (and us) were covered.

Cheers to many many more wonderful months ahead, sweet boy!

Super Easy Candle Re-do

Well, the cleaning schedule is going so-so. As the blogger clearly states, your house can't be a total wreck for it to work. And, well, my house IS a total wreck. For now anyway, although it's slowly (and I mean s-l-o-w-l-y) looking better.

While I've been home with baby E, there's a candle that I never really noticed before on top of our armoire in the living room that was starting to drive me nuts. It was one J had before we got married.

Not particularly crazy about the yellow one, either, but thought I'd start small. So, I rummaged through all of my scrapbook paper and found a brown & blue print I liked. I laid the candle on it to figure out how much paper would cover it, cut, then folded the paper around and ended with a little tape on the back. See? I said "super easy"! Because this one sits up high, I didn't have to worry about what the top looked like.

My mom saw it and said she loved the new candle. Ha! :)

Happy New Year + Getting Organized

Hi there! Wow, I can't believe it's another new year already. Seems like I just got used to writing "2011". While I haven't officially formed my resolutions yet (maybe not procrastinating should be one of them?), blogging more is definitely one of them. Which goes hand-in-hand with finishing all of the projects I half-way started and getting organized around the house.

Another priority is getting -- and keeping -- the house clean. I cringe at the word, as the house is a total dump right now. Working from home while taking care of my now almost 6 month old has resulted in a quite neglected house. I found a great 15-minute cleaning schedule on Pinterest, and I'm hoping it's the miracle I'm looking for! You can check it out at Organizing Made Fun. Starting it today, so I'll let you know how it goes next week.

And, just because I'm a proud momma and love showing off his royal cuteness, a family photo with E taken back in November (copyrighted!):

They really DO grow up fast! :)