Think about it Sunday- 2 year olds....

See that sweet face? Well I know it is hard to believe but there are *many* times each day when she is just a bit more than I can handle! Terrible two's have been with us since she turned 1 or before, but they seem to be getting much worse! She has a VERY short attention span. She loved to color and is into a real stacking kick right now. I need some ideas on good ways to distract her... I mean keep her entertained! Things she can do on the floor, quietly.... Since it is also Christmas time I figure now is the time to ask what your kids fav toys were when they were 2. Lets get some ideas!

Also, this is post 297! I have a really cool review post coming for 300 that includes and awesome discount code for a great product! So be on the lookout for that most likely Tuesday or Wed!

Im so thankful!

We had a great thanksgiving and I hope you did too! We just ate with my parents and family and then stopped by the big family party on our way home. We ate too much and had a great time! Best of all, we came home and put up our Christmas! This is BY FAR my favorite thing about the day after Thanksgiving! DH and I bought a tree and all the lights the year before we got married and I am SO thankful we did, because we have pretty much been broke ever since! HAHA. Its just a fairly barren fake tree that we spend hours wrapping lights around and some silver balls and all the ornaments are hand made! Most are wooden and painted by me, some are made by friends and a few extra special ones we bought! Each year I try to get a special orniment for each of us- some times it works, some times not so much! (They are SO expensive!) But one of our favorate parts that makes our tree special is the awesome, working steam train that runs around the track around our tree, tooting and blowing toxic smoke into the air! SO fun and the baby LOVES it! She didnt get a nap last night so she got put to bed before we even started putting up the tree. We thought- "hey, she will LOVE this, lets go wake her up and show her!" NOT a good idea! She hated it and screamed until she was back in bed, where she instantly fell back to sleep..... But she loved it this morning when she woke up! :)

We dont do black Friday- too many people, too much camotion and it just doesnt even sound fun! So today we have been putting up more Christmas and relaxing as a family! Pandora sure makes a great "Country Christmas" station! :)

Heres hopeing you and yours had a great Thanksgiving and that you are getting ready for the holidays to come!

Wordless Wed

Big Sale from Black Wedenszday until Monday!

I am very excited to announce that I am having a HUGE sale at both my etsy sites! BUY 1 GET 1 FREE!!! This is a KILLER deal! (2 hats for $15?!?) This sale is going on at both of my stores Oh baby boutique and Payley . Make sure you take advantage of this sale! And if you have a custom request please let me know! If you buy, please buy the item of greater value and then in the message to seller please let me know what you want your free item to be! Make sure you include colors and sizes too!

Also, have you see this list of stores offering huge deals tomarrow? well go check it out and be sure to support moms trying to make some extra money this Holiday season by making you one of a kind products!!

LIST FOR BLACK WEDENSDAY

My friend Callie could use your help!

My friend Callie Robbins has been giving the AMAZING chance of a lifetime to win a FREE lapband surgery from the surgical weight loss center of Utah. She is a young mother of an almost 1 year old little girl and she knows how much this will change her life! I told her I would pass some info on to you and ask you for your help in helping cast your vote for her win! She is in the lead right now, but every single vote counts! Can you even imagine what winning something like this could do for someones life?!?!? Here is a word from Callie so you can read a little about her! There is also a little bio about her on the website! VOTE NOW You can vote every day!

From Callie-

First of all, I'm going to throw my pride out the window and ask you to throw your judgements out as well. I am in need of your help to try and win a contest of great importance to me.

About 2 weeks ago I entered a contest online for a Free Lap Band Surgery from the Weight Loss Center of Utah. I have been selected from over a thousand applicants as a finalist.

I have struggled with my weight for the last 10 years and took this opportunity to hopefully have an aid for a permanent solution. I know that not everyone agrees with the use of surgery as a "solution" to weight problems. I however, know myself well enough that I need something to somewhat FORCE me to get my weight under control.

I don't need this surgery to be happy, because I'm a very blessed person and already have joy in my life. The choices that got me where I am today are my own and are my responsibility. I don't see this as an easy way out, but something that is going to give me determination and dedication to get healthy, for me and for my family.

I'm asking for your support and petitioning your votes. I would greatly appreciate it. You can vote once a day. Please vote EVERY DAY!!!

http://www.freelapbandcontest.com/vote.html

Thanks!!

Callie Robbins

Free Lap-Band Contest | Surgical Weight Loss Center of Utah

Source: www.freelapbandcontest.com

My silly girl HATES chickens!

We are pet/ house sitting all week for a family with LOTS of pets.... 4 chickens, 6 fish, 2 cats, 2 dogs, 1 horse, 2 rabbits, 1 sheep..... Ray Ray LOVES animals and has been having a blast! She does NOT like the super friendly chickens who love kids and want to peck the button on her pants.... She is quite amusing to watch lecture them! If you need a good laugh this is a great one I think! So what animals do your kids not like?

It sucks to be poor!

Seriously.... I hate it! Christmas is going to be such a bust this year- but that is ok- we will make it work! I have some awesome things in the works for hand made gifts, but time, time, time..... I have finished my homework and I am now working on an externship and then I will be able to move onto employment! Only problem is that I have to do 100 hours of work by December 15... that is A LOT, especially with a husband, daughter, 2 buisnesses, orders, demands, house work, visiting, driving DH to and from..... yikes- it is going to be quite the complicated process! Not to mention one of the main things I need to make my externship easier is NOT working and it is driving me NUTS and making everything at least 200% harder... so lets hope I figure it out soon! And we just found out that not only do we have to house sit for DH's boss's animals for the next 9 days, (driving 5 miles there and back twice a day) we are also not getting paid for this AT ALL.... uh..... who does THAT? Also, DH was told her got Thanksgiving because he has to work Halloween, Christmas AND Newyears- well he found out this morning they lied! So he is NOT happy, and there goes my babysitter! :(

So on to the fun stuff- I am going to do a stocking tutorial as well as a advent callender tutorial this weekend, so be on the look out for that! As for now, I am going to try to come up with a list of things I am going to make this year for our homemade Christmas-
DD- Alphabet magnets, Doll, crochet stuffies, crochet play food, new dress, new quilt for bed, chalkboard mat.
DH- New scrubs? Pillow case, remote control caddy, And now I will be looking online the rest of the day because that is a pretty pitiful list for him! HAHAHAHA

SO what are you making or getting the fam this year. I expecially need ideas for DH!

Wordless Wed

Check out My STORE for more info!

Mom contest #2

The winner of mom contest #1 was Brandy at The Buzz . So now we are on to the next mom contest. This contest is called- "How fast can you change a diaper"? SO here are the rules- (I need to explain a bit better so no one gets confused....)
#1. This contest is to see who can change a baby the fastest. Dont have a baby, well you can practice on someone elses baby, a doll, or wait until next week! :)
#2. You will need a stop watch or clock of some sort- we want accuracy here people!
#3. Diaper change must start with pants on and end with pants on. meaning you take pants completely off, take off old diaper, put on new diaper and put pants back on. Once pants are back on you stop your time!

Lets see who can do this the fastest! Make sure to leave a comment and your post link in McKlinky so we can all come see how you did! Contest ends at 12 midnight next Tuesday night!

I got tagged

Brandy over at the buzz tagged me in a photo tag. The point is to go to the 1st folder on your computer and post the 10th picture in that folder. Well, since my computer just lost ALL my pictures AgAiN all I have is what is on my camera card, and here is the 10th picture.....

I dont know what these pictures are.... I can see she is eating string cheese and is in the backyard playing, but that is about it hehe! Crazy how much they change in 6 months isnt it! I do know that I got that dress at Walmart for $2 and was pretty proud of it! heheI tag
Jackie
Too many hats
Amy

Think about it Sunday- whats for dinner?

As a little girl we had a roast for Sunday dinner EVERY week. Each week the same, roast, carrots and some kind of potatos. I switched from liking carrots to hating them, and the same with the other components of the meal- it gets kind of old EVERY Sunday. Then when I got older we would rotate between Turkey Breast, Turkey Steak ( anyone had one of THOSE before?!?) And roast. I pretty much swore I wouldnt make my family eat roast on Sundays, but I have come to the conclusion that it is the quickest and best meal to pop into the crock pot in the morning and be ready to eat when we get home from church- so this is what we eat most Sundays! hehe, or else it isnt anything special! I like having a good meal for my family, and I like having meat for sandwiches for DH's lunch for the rest of the week too! Today I made roast with carrots drenched in season salt and splashed with orange juice. Then I made twice baked potatos too. DD liked them out of the bowl, which is SO weird because she has not liked potatos one time in her life that I have tried to feed them to her! But DH refused to eat them once they were done because "they smell weird". It makes me mad I try sometimes! lol
I was suprised and happy to see that the baby ate EVERYTHING (ok, not the potato on her plate, but in the bowl!) She ate all the meat and all the carrots on her plate! YIPEE!

So what do you have for Sunday dinner at your house? What did you eat when you were growing up for Sunday dinner? Have any big family traditions that involve Sunday's or Sunday dinner? Lets hear them! Make a seperate blog post and link up, or just leave me a comment!

Treats the kids can help with!

Sorry about the serious lack in posting. It started with my computer cord going out last weekend, and then when I turned on my computer on Thursday it crashed.... Awesome! So anyway, I am back now with a new computer cord and im ready to get back at it!

So last night we were board around here, and "I hungy" so we made some pizza! Boo Boo had a TON of fun and I am convinced this is one of those meals any aged kid would love to help with!

Ingredients:
1 tube Pillsbury pizza dough
1 jar pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
pizza toppings (we used pepperoni)

So all you do is spread out the dough on a grease pan. Pop open the sauce and give your kid a spoon. Show them how to spoon and spread it on and let them go to town. Mine was pounding the spoon onto the dough because she thought that was what I was doing... made some fun holes in the dough lol!
Then let them spread out the cheese
Then we put our toppings on and cover with another layer of cheese.
(Mine wanted to see how it tasted I guess.... She took a big handful out lol!)
Cook as directions say and make sure to praise your kid about being the chef for the night! No brain activity that can save your sanity and make your kids super proud of themselves for "making dinner!"

Completely free Christmas cards!!!

If you are anything like me- poor- well then you will really appreciate the deal that they have going on over at seehere photo sharing. Freebies 4 mom has teamed up with the company and they are offering 50 FREE photo cards plus completely FREE shipping! I ordered mine this morning because it has been quite slow lately with everyone trying to take advantage of the deal! The price went from $39.50 down to $0.00 with the coupon code freebies4mom-1109 at checkout. They have close to 40 cute designs and this deal can be used on ANY of their cards, not just Christmas cards! So head on over there now and dont forget to tell all your friends!!! This offer lasts until November 30 so there is still plenty of time!

Sorry for the lack of posts....

Things have been a little crazy around here lately.... I finally finished my homework and am moving on to my externship- well that is once I get a new plug for my laptop... also a reason for the lack of posting! As soon as I finished my homework and was getting excited for a weekend away from home, of CoUrSe the baby gets sick, which all you moms out there know what that means- yep, now im sick too! I can handle the runny nose and fever, but coughs drive me NUTS! Poor baby was coughing every 3-5 seconds last night without stop! I had taken her to the dr. earlier in the day in hopes of geting some medicine, but he was more concerned with the lingering cough she has had for over 3 months.... So he sent us for chest x-rays.... Raise your hand if you have had to sit through one of these watching your child in the plastic torture be- NOT my idea of fun.

Everything turned out fine and he gave her some meds to try to make the cough go away. Good for the long term, BAD for the short term. She has been coughing so hard tonight that she just puked ALL down my shirt- this is what being a mom is all about.....

If you dont have kids yet- look what you get to look forward to!

Awards time!

I want to start off by saying that I love each and every one of my followers and commenters! When I started this blog last year I didnt know if anyone was even going to care what I have to say, but you guys have proved me wrong and stuck by me weather I have something good going on or not! I am sorry I have been slacking lately- we are sick and I have been working my bum off trying to finish up my schooling! Also, my computer cord completely pooped out on me (3rd one in 3 years!) and now I cant even turn my computer on to finish my last bit of homework! But I will be getting better as things start to slow down, and I will be coming back with lots of fun Christmas crafts and recipes! If you are a new follower please leave me a comment so I can come check out your blog and say hello! I love to get to know my readers!
This week I received lots of awards! I got the one lovely blog award from Lady Laduke .
The requirements to receive this award say that I should pass it along to 15 blogs I think are lovely!
Beth @ Laugh until you cry
Apples at the chapel
Creatively crafty baby
Natalie @ No sex and the city
Olga @ Twinsprational runner
Joy @ not quite newlyweds anymore
Shana @ Blaze 'n' crochet
Daddy's chicks
Christina @ Little BGCG
3 peas in a pod
A pocket full of posies
Christy @ A lil dash of diva
Trisha @ lived to blog about it
Kari @ p.s. love. love
A little piece of heaven

I received both the Honest Scrap award and the friendly blogger award from Amy over at Keeping up with the Schultz family . She has such a fun blog and always has the best comments! If you have not met her yet I encourage you to stop by her blog and say hello! The rules of this award are-

Honest Scrap Award Rules:

Requires that I write 10 honest things about me, and then I have to pass it on to 7 people with blogs “I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.”

1. My bed has to be made first thing every morning for my day to be a good one.
2. I must have cold water by my bed in order to sleep.
3. I use nap time to watch soap opera's.
4. My family eats veggies VERY rarely.
5. My daughter is exclusively cloth diapered and I have made 95% of them.
6. I drink Nestle breakfast mix for breakfast every morning.
7. I have a VERY hard time folding and putting away laundry.
8. I drive my husband to and from school multiple times EVERY day.
9. I think handmade gifts are the best kind and will be doing a 95% handmade Christmas.
10. I HATE it when people bring their kids to your house or the park or anywhere and dont tell you they are sick, or brag about how they were sick all morning but when you told them you were going to the park they perked right up. (True story that has resulted in us being sick now.... :( )

Now for my 7 bloggers
Jen at Baby Makin Machine - If you didnt know yet she is finally pregnant and I couldnt be more happy for her! She is such a great blogger and a great friend! I have really enjoyed getting to know her! Plus she always has GREAT giveaways!

Sarah @ Minnesota Mama's must haves- She has the best giveaways and her blog is lots of fun!

Danyelle @ Queen of the clan- She has a great blog and I always learn lots from her!

Katz @ My endless day of diaper changes always has a funny story!

My life or is it SHe is a great inspiration to us all!

Too many hats Love this blog! And I love when she shares her meal plans!

Heather@ A day with Jake I love to read about what her little guy is up to this week!

Jackie @ House of sarager She always has a new idea or project and I love reading about them!

Wordless wed

Enjoying her first tuna sandwich- she LOVED it!

Crunchy Tuesday and randomness

Sorry I have been slow lately, I havnt had the motivation to do much of anything lately haha- So today I was thinking for Crunchy Tuesday we should do a recipe swap that involves fall veggies. Squash, pumpkins, carrots and onions are just a few of the very plentiful veggies in season right now and everyone could use a few new ideas- so leave one if you have one!

On a side note- if you want to enter your kids/self/SO in the halloween costume contest send me an email to ohbabyboutique@live.com and I will get them up after I get a few more!

So as I was thinking about the fall veggies I decided to chuck our carved pumpkins. We have one each that DH and I carved and then there was one he stuck a big pumpkin welcoming sign lawn thing into, and it was looking a little wet where it was sitting. So I grabbed the top of that one and one of the carved ones and headed to the garbage. I made it to the 2nd apartment past ours in our 6plex and what do you know, the bottom fell out of the stick one. I frantically tried to scoop the contents back in because it was right on said apartment's front step! As I am doing so about 10 HUGE and very scary looking spiders came running out AGH! The mold, the hotness of the rot and the nastyness.... oh my goodness, I am sure you can only imagine! SO happy late Halloween neighbors... uh, Sorry bout that!

Think about it Sunday

Since we are all still thinking Halloween, I will ask-
What was the best costume you ever dressed up in?
I have never had a hugly elaborate costume, in fact, mine were bought from the store every year- so nothing too exciting! I do remember being a genie once lol

And what do you think about daylight savings time? I think it sucks that it is only 3 and feels like 6:30... Plus baby woke up at 6 and took a 45 minute nap.... (usually 2-3 hours) so it is going to be a long night! Plus im not sure if I put her to bed early, same time or late tonight lol