September 25, 2008

...we did it...

bedtime has never been my favorite time of the day for more than one reason. zac...he's not a problem. we have our nice little routine with him of brushing our teeth, reading three books, a prayer, and some milk. pretty simple...minus the fact that sometimes i end up sitting on his floor for close to an hour until he falls asleep. but for the most part, it's not bad.

emerson on the other hand...now that's where i get stressed out of my mind when it comes to going to sleep. and not only at night, but for naptime as well. and the main reason is because, i hate to admit it, but i have still been nursing her to sleep. actually, i should say i have been pacifying her to sleep. she has never taken a binky, and hasn't been crazy about the bottle or the sippy cup, so i'm the lucky one! and it really is not her fault, i know it's me...but i just haven't had the energy to just stick it out and get the whole weening thing done! until this week...

thankfully my friends jessica & kelli came and stayed with us for a few days and they were the perfect moral support that i needed in order to start this whole process. jess referred me to supernanny's website and i got on and found some great information...and i learned that i'm not the only one that has struggled with this problem...which of course helped me feel better. anyway, long story short...the first night...she woke up at 11 p.m. and cried & screamed like no other. at 2:30, i had had enough and shut her door as well as my door and went to bed. i'm not sure exactly when she finally fell asleep...but she did. anyway...second night, i was all geared up to do the same thing....but it was amazing what happened. i did the little routine that i found on the supernanny website of a warm bath, reading, rocking, bottle, and soft lullabies, and she was asleep within 15 minutes...no crying at all!!! and no boob, just a bottle! and even more amazing, the same thing happened tonight!! yes, i am so happy! and yes, i am so proud of myself for just sticking it out and being strong and getting the job done. it was way easier than i thought it would be...thanks to supernanny's website, and of course, the support of my friends!! now i'm going to bed to enjoy a good night's sleep...so great! :)

...mini-cakes how-to...

are you impressed?! only a little after a week of me telling you i would post instructions on how to make these cute little cakes, and i'm actually doing it! you may not be, but i'm actually quite proud of myself, seeing as how i tend to be a procrastinator at times...

anyway...let's get on with some really basic, simple instructions on how to make some mini cakes like these...

so you first want to buy one of these frozen sara lee pound cakes. before cutting it, you want to make sure it's not completely frozen. maybe take it out of the freezer like 10-15 minutes before you're ready to start cutting it.

so then basically, you just cut the pound cake into whatever size/shape you want. for the cakes we made for brooke's party, brynn actually cut the cake into 2 layers. that way, if you want, you can always put some jam or frosting in the middle to make it extra tasty! we also made some round ones a few years back by using a glass to make a circular indentation on top of the cake & then using a knife to cut it out. don't try cutting it out 'cookie-cutter style'...i think it would smash the cake and just make a mess...a knife is your best bet.

then onto the frosting of the cake...buy some basic frosting from the store...don't get the "whipped" kind. you want creamy frosting, like this...

then you want to melt this in your microwave. to be safe, i would do it in 30 second intervals, until it's runny. like the consistency of hot maple syrup. this would be the time to add any food coloring.

then basically you just want to pour the frosting over the cakes. do atleast 2 thin layers to give a good coating...(make sure that each layer of frosting has dried before you add another layer)... & voila...you have some of the yummiest & easiest little petit fours around.

**side note**
for brooke's cakes, we used TWO of the frozen pound cakes & about 3-4 tubs of frosting.

September 18, 2008

..."grow old with me"...

so almost a week later, i'm getting around to posting these pictures. cute annie, a friend of my sister's, is marrying a guy with the last name of grow. so the so-called theme of the shower was based around the saying/song "grow old along with me...the best is yet to be..." you know how it goes. it was so much fun doing it...and i think it turned out really cute in the end...



i saw this idea for the "a" on martha stewart quite a while ago, and i've never gotten around to trying it out until now...i was so excited that it worked as well as it did! the "a" is made out of white chocolate. and i think that i need to give you a "picture tutorial" on the how-to process. i'll try to do that here in the next week or so...really. :)


we had a few different sayings or quotes about love placed around the rooms...just for readings sake...and it made a nice little touch...(or atleast i thought it did)!


the yummy food...thanks to heather! she's the expert when it comes to finding good recipes...


the favors...


and here are a few of the girls at the shower. annie is the third one from the left on the top row...she really is so cute! i only have good things to say about her & wish her and alex the best!! :)

September 16, 2008

...brooke's glamour party...

so our busy weekend turned out to be lots of fun!! but i'm not kidding when i say it was busy. we went non-stop from thursday afternoon till saturday night. i'll post pictures from the shower later, as for now, here's a few highlights from the birthday party...

the birthday girl, whose birthday is actually today...happy birthday brooke!!


the cake and favor bags...


my friend britnee did a great job on the flowers...i especially loved the little crown she made...such a cute accent! and the "b"...incase any of you are wondering...i bought it at a scrapbook store for like $2...and then painted it black and mod podged some paper onto it. it was so easy & cheap...and made a cute little centerpiece.


i love tulle. it is one of the easiest and most forgiving things to use when decorating or wrapping a gift. i say forgiving because your bows don't have to be perfect...and it still looks cute. also, zurchers is a great place to find tulle in a variety of colors for a decent price.


we made these little cakes for the girls to go home with...brynn, my sister actually gets the credit for these. they turned out so cute...and of course the little girls loved them! i'll have to post instructions on how to make them later...you'll all be surprised at how easy they really are.



we set up a little beauty bar and did the girls nails, hair, and makeup...they kept saying over and over, "this is sooo fun! oh, i love this! i don't want to take my hair off ever!" hearing that, made all the craziness worth it...



drinks, popcorn, and candy for the movie...



so there you have it...brooke's glamour party! now we're off to have dinner and celebrate her actual birthday tonight!! :)

September 10, 2008

...preschool & party planning...

according to zac, he is now "a busy boy". he had his first day of preschool yesterday and loved it...i knew he would. it was weird not having him home...i almost didn't know what to do with myself. i was looking forward to having a little break, but he's always so much fun to talk to & such a big helper with emerson, it's almost more work without him. after 2 1/2 hours, i was glad to have him home...


and emerson had to join in on the picture taking action. lately, this sweet little girl has turned into a sweet but fiesty little girl...like yesterday, she pushed her brother down the stairs and giggled as he fell from the top to the bottom of the stairs & landed hitting his head on the tile floor. so sad for zac. times like those, all that runs through my mind is that i really hope this is just a phase...really. however...i must say that emmy was very good at giving zac hugs & kisses better...so there's still hope! :)


for the past three weeks or so, my sisters & i have been staying busy planning this for friday...


and this for saturday...


hopefully we can pull it off...and once we do, my mind won't be such a big jumbled mess anymore. it's been a little crazy, probably because i don't have a planner...but i need one. or maybe i should just start using the i-calendar on my computer. something needs to change, my brain can't keep everything straight anymore. any suggestions on how you keep yourself organized?? anyway, it should be a fun-filled & busy weekend...

September 5, 2008

...banner how-to...

a few months ago, i posted pictures of this banner and this banner that i made for kalle's & emerson's birthdays. i said that i would post instructions on how to do it...and lo and behold it has taken me like 6 months to get around to doing it. weird i know! better late than never, right?

so you'll want to print off some letters spelling out whatever it is you're wanting to say. i sometimes like to use different fonts for each letter...but it all depends on how much time i have because that is a little more time consuming. you'll want to make sure and space the letters out on the page so you have room to cut them out. i usually can fit around 6 letters on each 8.5 x 11" sheet of paper.


i like to round the edges of my letters. this isn't something you HAVE to do, but i just like the look of it for most of the banners i make.


i also like to distress the letters. it just gives it a nice finishing touch...


then what you'll want to do, is cut down your 12 x 12" sheets of paper to a regular size sheet of paper which is 8.5 x 11". also, i usually like to use around 3-4 different styles of paper...all coordinating of course!


flip the paper over onto the side that won't be seen and make a marking in the middle of the longest side of the paper. this would mean, you'll make a marking at the 5.5" mark.


then straight across from the marking you just made (on the other longest side of the paper), you want to make two more markings. they will be at the 2.75" & 8.25" marks. is this making any sense at all??! scroll down to the next picture, it'll make more sense then.


so you'll draw some lines, connecting the marks you just made like this...and then cut along the lines. super easy, if it sounds complicated, it's just because i don't know how to explain the simplest of tasks. after you have cut all the triangles out, tape the letters on and whatever little embellishments you want to add. i also usually distress the triangles as well...


then you'll want to place them out on some ribbon, just to get them all centered right. i like to use a ribbon that's around 1" thick, it works great...but i haven't used anything else to be honest. once you've laid them out and know where you want them placed use some REALLY good double stick tape to adhere them to the ribbon. if the tape you have doesn't work all that well, i would try using a hot glue gun.


also, make sure to leave some extra ribbon at the ends of the banner for hanging purposes. i made this banner for a friend of mine who was throwing a baby shower...so this isn't really the finished product...i think it would have been cute to add some sort of extra ribbon/tule/flowers or something to the ends...just to frill it up a bit. it's up to you though!


anyway...hopefully this atleast gives you an idea as to how i make the banners. they're fun and are a nice little touch to those special occassions!