A day in the life of...Starfz !

Now that C.A.P is getting older, I thought it would be a fun idea to start some family traditions, and what better way to start but with a Christmas one !

I'm kind of a Christmas junky, you know one of those "I would honestly keep my tree up for the whole year if it was socially acceptable...and if the tree wouldn't eventually die"

With that being said, I couldn't help but embark on the "Elf on the Shelf" tradition.

 With all the talk and pictures of him her it over the Internet, I gladly purchased one at Chapters asked Santa if he could send me one from the North Pole.

So on December 1st 2012, our new family Christmas Elf tradition started.

C.A.P was beyond excited when he discovered a wrapped book sent from Santa on our front door step the night before the elf appeared.

If anyone isn't familiar with the Elf on the Shelf, here is the down low.

It's an Elf, it comes as either a boy or a girl.

The Elf comes with a hard cover book explaining that he is being sent from Santa to watch over the kiddos behaviour until Santa comes.

He flies back the north pole every night to report.

Rules are : 

The child(ren) must name their Elf.

You or the children must not touch the Elf. 

Every night the Elf moves around the house and in the morning the kids must look around the house to find him.

C.A.P named his elf Starfz.

Here is a peak into his journey so far...

So far, it's been just as exciting for me as it is from C.A.P

I just love to see the excitement on his little face every morning on his search for Starfz.

Stay tuned for the next 13 days if his adventure in a post closer to Christmas !

Thanks for stopping in today.

Bye.Cya

I'm linking this post up to Ashley's GOT ELF? post over at Lil Blue Boo

DIY Chevron Frames

Hey guys !

This next project is a little DIY I recently finished for our master bedroom.

Again, like almost all my projects this one is for a small price, but it makes a big statement.

 What I used :

3 pieces of 4 foot long pine board (Cut into 9 -15 inch long pieces)

Masking tape

Sand paper 

Left over grey, black and yellow paint

9 - 5x7 printed pictures

36 decorative black nail heads

Once I cut my Mr. cut the pieces of wood into 15 inch long pieces I painted them grey.

Once the paint dried, I started with the chevron pattern using making tape.

This was the longest part of the project taking about 55 minutes.

Chevron pattern down now onto the blank paint, covering again the whole piece of wood

Once dried, I pealed my masking tape off, just to notice that since the pine wasn't completely even, my paint bled through.

To touch this up, I used my sanding block and lightly sanded all 9 of my soon to be "faux frames"

This did the trick enough to avoid having a small panic attack.

Final step to the project is adding my 9 printed pictures to the "faux frames" by using the decorative nail heads.

Easy Peasy.

Remember : If you want all of your frames to be the exact same your chevron work will take a bit more time.

This wasn't the case for me, as I wanted all 9 faux frames to look a bit different, adding character to the wall.

Here it is, the final look ! 

It's a great way to use up a whole wall since the faux frames can be made so large in size.

Cheap, Easy and Quick - my favorite kind of projects.

Thanks for reading today - Hope everyone has themselves a great weekend !

Bye.Cya

Where to start...

It's been a while.

A very long while...and to be honest, I feel guilty, but unfortunately my morning all day sickness trumps my guilt.

As previously "not officially" announced with my "11 things they don't tell you about pregnancy", we are expecting our second little miracle.

I feel ecstatic. I feel overwhelmed with happy thoughts, and I feel blessed but most of all...

...I feel sicker than I have ever felt in my life.

It started at 6 weeks, and much like when I was pregnant for little C.A.P I thought it would be a long road of feeling like I was going to vomit every second of the day for 9 months but without it ever actually happening.

Instead, this time, I actually do. 

It  happens...a lot. 

Let's just say potty time with C.A.P has never been messier, and let's leave it at that, no need to create more of a visual image for you is there?

Thankfully, and without dragging my pity party on much longer, my doctor saved the day kind of saved the day when he gave me Diclectin to ease sickness.

It works, well, kind of, most days, sometimes.

But for that I am thankful. 

For that little bit of relief.

Things were finally looking up.

Until about 2 weeks ago, when I started getting huge cramps and aches in my,well...butt cheek.

After many days of getting up from bed and limping my way downstairs to the couch where I spent most of my days, I decided to seek help.

Long story short, it's my siactic nerve, and the good news is, it will only get worse as I grow bigger.

Catch my sarcasm there?

Someone pour me a spiced eggnog. 

Oh, wait.

Moving on, a few days later, C.A.P catches a wicked flu.  

Moving on some more, a few days after that, I catch what C.A.P has.

All day sickness, siactic nerve pain all day long, and a flu.

You get the picture?

To top off all that wonderful stuff the Victoria Secret fashion show aired last night.

Seriously ? 

Why are the thin girls watching me eat my ice cream sandwiches? 

Yes, plural.

Get off my TV you girls with your perfectly set hair !

No one has hair that perfect right ?

I digress.

Here's the thing about being a stay at home mom. 

It's pretty freakin' amazing...like 98 percent of the time.

That 2 percent is when you feel like you are the latest road kill and can't peal yourself of your own sofa, let alone play trains and cars with your adorable little 3 and a half year old.

And unless you are part of the cast of Real Housewives, you don't have a Nanny that takes care of your children while you rest.

Those don't exists....in my world.

Disclaimer : Accepting volunteer Nanny applications.

So let's just say C.A.P and I watched far too much TV, and ate more KD than any child probably should.

Then my mommy guilt kicked in.

And it formed a big yellow snowball effect.

Let's end it there, because, let's get serious, I could rock this pity party all day long.

Actually, no, let's end it here...

I am one of the luckiest Mamas ever.

Despite all the bad things, my blessing trump them by a mile.

I have a beautiful little boy who loves his mommy to the moon and back and another little bean on the way who will hopefully love me just as much.

They are my whole world.

And I wouldn't change my journey to get to them in any way.

Thanks for stopping in today.

Bye.Cya

DIY Baby Shower Gift

At sometime in your life you or someone you know will be having a baby, and let's be serious, everyone loves to give the "Oh my goodness that is just THE sweetest little thing" gift.

No secrets here guys.

Buying store gifts are usually the way most people go, I know I usually do. 

But this time I decided to switch things up and try a DIY Baby Shower Gift, since I knew the Mama who was getting it would love a cute little homemade gift. 

Mostly because she is one of my besties and is a big DIY'er herself. 

Yes, you read right, I still use the word bestie.

So, check out the goodies I made !

Here's what I used :

12 onesies (sized from 1 to 12 months) - I found mine at Walmart for 3.50 a piece

Fabric Paint color of your choice 

Small paint brush

Freezer paper

Iron

A cutting machine - I used my cricut 

Basket or box to neatly place your finished onesies in.

Source

First step is making your design on your cutting machine computer program.

If a cutting machine is not available to you, another option would be printing your image and tracing it onto your freezer paper using an straight blade.

Cheri over at I am Momma Hear Me Roar gives a great video tutorial on this HERE. 

After your personal design is made - Print it ! 

All 12 of them.

Next, place the printed stencil shiny side down onto your onesie and iron it on.

The shiny side of the freezer paper will form its own adhesive and seal to your onesie, allowing for you to start the next step - Painting !

Paint your stencil onto your onesie and allow the paint to dry before you remove your freezer paper. 

The paint won't bleed through your stencil as long as you have sealed it properly with the ironing step.

One done...11 more to go !

A couple of hours later and you have yourself a very unique baby shower gift.

I folded my onsies into a box and attached a clever little saying my Mr. helped me come up with !

Sweet isn't it ?

There you have it - now you are ready to rock the baby shower with your awesome personalised gift !

Thanks for stopping in - Have a great day !

Bye.Cya

Fab Four Favorites.

...because once you've had it, you can't live without it.

Naturally when on Pinterest I look up food recipes. 

"Different ways of using Nutella" would of course be my number one search...everyday.

I picked my top 4 favorite pins to share with you ! 

All in which I have tried and enjoyed.

...haven't I mentioned I buy my Nutella Costco bulk size?

Let's get right to it.

Click each picture to be linked to it's original website and recipe.

Enjoy your fun filled Nutella weekend !

Bye.Cya

Upcycled Chair

I love this project because it can be done to any old or cheaper chair to give it a whole new and improved look !

The Mr. and I bought these chairs about 4 years ago when we first moved in together and needed to fill our once very empty looking living room. 

They are cheapies from Walmart that we picked up for about 80 bones each.

 I've since fallen in love with their simple yet classic look, but they always lacked a little "somethin' somethin'" to be just right.

I picked up 16 packs of these decorative furniture nails from our local hardware store for 1.69$ a pack (25 pieces in each)

Stole the Mr.'s rubber hammer and got down to business.

The whole project (2 chairs) took me about an 1 hour to complete.

Who doesn't have time to spare an hour ?

I now love their new look and they fit perfectly in our new home !

Heads up : Working with furniture nails can sometimes become frustrating, especially if using a cheap piece of furniture as the lines of the material are sometimes not perfectly set; therefor, the nails can sometimes go in sideways. 

Take a deep breath, get a knife, pull the nail out and start again. 

Practise makes perfect - trust me !

Hope this has inspired you to upcycle a piece in your home !

Thanks for stopping in today

Bye.Cya