JOY...year round

I have loved the idea of alphabet photography since I first came across it in another blog post about a little one's nursery. I contemplated doing it in little man's nursery, but it can be expensive to purchase the prints and we just didn't have the money for it at the time.

Well imagine my excitement when I came across this post from Craftily Ever After. FREE alphabet photography! Score. She has the letters J-O-Y available for free. By time I came across the post, Christmas had already come and gone. But, who says you have to use it just for Christmas decor? Not me.

I saved them to my computer, uploaded them to Walgreens.com, ordered 3 5x7's, and they were ready within an hour for pick up.

I planned to frame them individually with white mattes, so I headed to the Dollar Tree to find some inexpensive frames and mattes. Found the frames, no luck with the mattes.

Plan B. I found a roll of brown postal wrap. *Light Bulb*. I can use this to make my own mattes! So when I got home I popped out the paper that comes in the frame and traced it 3 times onto the brown postal paper. I then cut out the 3 rectangles and used scotch tape to tape each of my pictures into the middle of the page.

They were framed and hung, and voila, I think they look beautiful! You'd never know that they weren't really matted and they don't scream Christmas to me. Do they to you? Too bad, they're here to stay! :)

Head on over to  Craftily Ever After and you can have your own too!

It only cost me about $9 total ($5 prints, $1 frame x 3, $1 postal wrap). It could be even cheaper if you waited until Walgreens had a deal running/coupon for the prints.

xoxo,

Ash

Embrace The Camera Thursday

Emily over at the anderson crew started Embrace the Camera Thursdays to encourage mommas to come out from behind the camera and to get in front of it with their little ones.

The idea is that while your kids some day will love and appreciate all the (5 billion) pictures you have taken of them, they also will love to see pictures of YOU with them.

So that's what Embrace the Camera Thursdays are all about. Every Thursday you take a pic of you and your kid(s) so that someday you will have a wonderful collection for your little ones to enjoy.

So onto my picture captured for the occasion. Please ignore my lack of make-up and Morgan's fashion faux pas, wearing a Christmas shirt AFTER Christmas. *GASP* What can I say? The kid really digs Santa ;)

This was pure coincidence but so cool that I captured it. All day long Morgan has been sticking out his tongue so when I snapped this pic of us I said "Stick out your tongue" and stuck mine out too. And he did and I caught it! Baby genius I got here. I kid, I kid. No, but really... :)

You can find Emily's original post about how this all came to be here.

xoxo,

Ash

slow down, baby!

I don't know if it was the fact that it was little man's 5 month "birthday" or what, but I had a few moments of sentiment and weepiness today.

Morgan had just finished his bottle and it was just the two of us home cuddling on the couch. One of those quiet, content moments when he's simply happy to stare at each other and kiss and cuddle.

It hit me all of a sudden that he's growing so fast and he won't be this tiny ever again. Before long he won't have that sweet baby smell anymore.

I don't ever want to forget these moments because you don't get them back.

I got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes because as exciting as it is to watch him grow and learn new things, it's bittersweet because it's a reminder that he won't be my tiny baby forever. 

Quickly he will grow to be a big boy and one day he will be a great man. It's crazy to think, but if there's one thing being a mom teaches you (and there are many), is that time really does fly. 

You have to take the time to enjoy the moment, write things down, take too many pictures, and breathe in as much of that sweet baby smell as you can. It can't be bottled and clocks can't be stopped.

xoxo,

Morgan's Mommy

21 Days to Organization Challenge

One of the blogs I follow, A bowl full of lemons, is hosting a 21 day Organization Challenge. Each day she will post 1 easy challenge for you to complete in order to start 2011 off with a nice, organized house.

I've already been trying to work on my organization so this is right up my alley. Plus, a little guidance and fresh ideas are always welcome.

Want to do it with me?

I have a few little plastic bins/baskets that I bought at the Dollar Tree and plan to go there if I have to pick up any more. There's no sense spending a lot of money on organization supplies when the idea is to organize and downsize. I also invested in a labeler for $14 at Walmart today. I've already put that bad boy to use making a "command station" as also featured on her blog here.

A box for donation to Goodwill has also been set up to rid the place of all excess crap we don't use or need.

I'm waaaay too excited about this whole organization thing, can you tell? But, hey, don't you feel better when everything is clean and organized? I do. Here's to hoping it stays that way after the 21 days is up ;)

 

Join me.

xoxo,

Ash

DIY Cheap, Easy Rug

Well I haven't gotten around to making the fabric rug I mentioned in a previous post, but while out shopping today I did pick up the supplies to make a different rug project I found saved in my bookmarks. You can find the original post here on apartmenttherapy.com

Here is the short list of supplies needed:

3 rag rugs(or more depending on the size you want to make) 

        I got mine for $4.99 each at Target

Large yarn needle 

        $1.47 for a 4 pack at Walmart (can be found by the crochet hooks)

Skane of yarn 

        $1.47 at Walmart

It's very simple to make but can be a little monotonous. 

I'd suggest doing it while watching tv or do what I did and sit next to your little one on the floor and try to recall all the animals on "Old McDonald's Farm". I always run out of animals after cow and pig!

Anyways, you basically just whip stitch the rugs together using the yarn and yarn needle. It's pretty self explanatory and easy peasy.

I put mine in my kitchen. They also had a really cool green color, but I figured red went more with the rest of the house and brought out the colors of this picture I have hanging above the sink which is the only color in our kitchen, really.

So there you have it. Go forth and make rugs.

xoxo,

Ash

Hello, my name's Ashley...

....and I'm a blog-a-holic. It's true.

I think it's partly because I inherited some of my moms voyeurism and partly because there are so many cool ideas out there in the blog-o-sphere. 

Frank probably thinks I'm crazy because since I've gotten into reading blogs I have become a weekly frequenter of Goodwill for trash to treasures and the Dollar Tree for thrifty craft supplies. 

I thought I'd share what I'm reading and where I get my inspiration. Here is a list of what's on my Google Reader. 

If you are into reading blogs, definitely set up a Google Reader account, it helps you keep everything in one spot and keep track of what posts you've read and what's new. You can also get it on your phone so you have reading material anywhere and everywhere (...waiting in line, on the toilet....). 

I do a lot of my blog reading on my phone, one handed, while I'm feeding little man at 4:30am. What did I ever do without a smart phone?

Anyways onto the list of blogs I <3 : 

A bowl full of lemons.

Craftily Ever After

Creative Home Expressions

Fingerprints on the Fridge

from the nato's

giverslog

House of Hepworths "hoh"

In Between Laundry

It's A Priceless Life

Mod Podge Rocks!

On the V Side

tatertots & jello

the anderson crew

The Shabby Chic Cottage

whatever

Wholesome Baby Food

Young House Love (My absolute favorite!)

See? I wasn't kidding. :) Happy Reading.

xoxo,

Ash

The Importance of Blogging

Jami at from the nato's really summed it up well in a recent post. 

There are many reasons for blogging, and I'll list hers and add a few of my own.

1. It records YOUR history. There are so many little things that happen or that you do that you forget. Blogging is the modern day journal.

2. Keeps family and friends up to date on what you and yours have been up to.

3. It's yet another forum for bragging about your kid and how cute they look in their Christmas best... or picking their nose.

4. It challenges you creatively. You have to come up with something interesting to talk about, or make something mundane sound interesting.

5. It challenges you intellectually. You have to use dat der vocabulary you've picked up along the way, and hopefully add to it. And sentences. Yes, you get to practice forming sentences.

Go ahead, start a blog, ya know you wanna. All the cool kids are doing it.

xoxo,

Ash

Salsa Chicken

I've posted this recipe before on my other blog, but I thought I'd post it again since it's what we're having for dinner tonight.

I had a pack of chicken breasts in the freezer and I happened to have a jar of pineapple salsa and no other ideas for dinner, so Salsa Chicken it is!

This is so easy to make, and so yummy. When I made it in the past, I used the crock pot, but since ours was recalled (and has yet to be returned or replaced) I made it in the oven this time.

Just like any recipe you can doctor it up any way you choose. It's great with shredded cheese and sour cream. You could even add some veggies like green pepper and corn.

Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

1 package of chicken breasts

1 jar of salsa (any kind)

Directions:

1. Place chicken in crock pot on low.

2. Pour salsa over chicken.

3. Let cook for 5ish hours.

4. Serve however you like (over rice, with tortillas, or by itself). 

Side note: Don't make it in the oven. It doesn't turn out nearly as good, we learned this tonight, unfortunately.

xoxo,

Ash

Breakfast Casserole

I found this recipe on a message board and tweaked it a little bit. We had it for dinner last night. I thought it was delicious. Frank thought it was a little too cheesy, thus the tweaking. Side note: breakfast for dinner rocks. On to the recipe: 

Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb sausage or bacon crumbled
2 eggs 3 eggs
2 cups cheese 1.5 cups cheese
2 8oz cans refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook sausage and/or bacon.
3. In a medium bowl mix cheese, eggs and meat.
4. In a greased 13 x 9 glass dish layer one can of the crescent rolls.
5. Spread the cheese, egg and meat mixture on top of the crescent rolls.
6. Cover with the second can of crescent rolls.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 mins. 
8. Slice, Eat and Enjoy.  

xoxo,
Ash

Butt Wipes

Well this evening I decided to pull my Brother out of his box. No, not my actual brother, the sewing machine, silly.

I think it would be hard to find a box big enough to house my brother. And, I'm sure if it could be done, my mother would have already achieved it. :)

Anyways, I've gotten off topic. The sewing machine. Yes, I took it out and decided to try my hand at making cloth wipes.

It was not as simple as I envisioned.

An hour later I was actually sewing. It took for-freaking-ever to just get the damn delightful thing set up and ready to go.

Once I got it ready to go I started on my first wipe.

I decided to just "serge" (I believe this is the correct term) the edges so that they wouldn't fray and fall apart. The first 3 sides of the cloth were sewn without a hitch. I don't know what the hell happened on the last side, but I had a horrible mess of bunched up thread.

I started picking away at it with that stitch-remover-thingy-ma-bobber. When I thought "screw this" and just chopped off that side and made the cloth smaller. I re-stitched that side and ta-da, I had myself my first homemade cloth wipe. I made one more before I called it a night. This sewing business is exhausting.

This project was tackled while the little one sleeps was wide awake and the big one was playing his Wii. Little man was sitting next to me in his high chair, unimpressed with the new fangled sewing box Mom had recently acquired.

Come to think of it, it could have been the spinning of the noise maker and popping the pacifier into the mouth, only to have him yank it out 2 seconds later that was frustrating me. Nah, that sewing business was pretty frustrating too.


As I write, he is now fast asleep. I should be cleaning up the mess I made.

Nah, I'll save that for later. 

xoxo,

Ash

P.S. I'm working on a cloth diaper post (more likely series of posts) so you'll be able to see what this cloth wipe thing is all about. That is if you even care ;)

Visions of sewing projects dancing in my head

Thanks to my wonderful parents, I am now the proud new owner of a sewing machine. He has yet to leave his box, but I already have big plans for him.

1. Firstly I plan to make some more cloth wipes out of the mountain of flannel receiving blankets we have. We currently just use Circo washcloths from Target but could use some more. Especially after we tragically lost one last week during a flushing mishap. Oops!

They will look something like this:

IMAGE FROM HERE.

2. I also have been in search of a rug for our living room. We have carpeting, but it's covered in ugly stains and is begging to be covered. However, most rugs are incredibly pricey and I'm incredibly cheap so for now we are living with the spotted floor. 

I found this tutorial to make your own out of fabric, drop cloth, and rug gripper. Mr. sewing machine shall come in handy with this project too whenever I may decide to tackle it. 

Here is an image of the rug she made:

Image from site linked above ^

I'm picturing brown with a tan paisley print. I love me some paisley.

3. The final project I have in mind also utilizes drop cloths to make curtains. I can't seem to find that link at the moment, but I'll post it when I find it.

That's all for now, the little man has risen from his nap and is currently pulling on my finger :)

xoxo, 

Ash

I Love Target

We had to make a late night Target run for formula. And by late night I mean 7pm. Yep that's late around these parts.

Anyways, we hit up the 50% off Christmas clearance sale and got all 3 of us stockings, some adorable wrapping paper, and some ornaments for less than $25!

I can't wait till they mark everything down to 70 and 90% off. I need to build up my holiday decorating stash!

At least next year we will have stockings. I've already informed Frank that it's his job to fill mine. I'll let you know how that actually turns out next Dec 26th.

So if you haven't already, check out the Target after Christmas clearance sale. Good stuff to be had there.

xoxo,
Ash

we had ourselves a merry little christmas

Despite spending the first 8 or so hours of Christmas day at work with the old folks, Frank and I had a wonderful 1st Christmas with little man.

Our afternoon and evening were filled with playing with new toys, reading a Christmas story, opening presents, napping (Morgan, not us - boo!), eating yummy food and spending time with family.

Morgan, of course, looked adorable for the occasion. But seriously, when does the kid not look absolutely adorable. I may be a tad bit biased, but I'm pretty sure he's the coolest thing since - cooler than sliced bread.

He spent the morning in a cute 1st Christmas sleeper and santa hat that was mine when I was a babe! I was born in March...Morgan was born in July and it fit him perfectly. You do the math.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see him in it because he wasn't up when I left for work and he was already changed out of it by time I got off. *tear*

I saw some adorable pics on my mom's phone though that really did bring a tear to my eye. It sucks big time that I missed it. Verizon was being stupid today so I can't load them on here. You'll have to take my word for it and use your imagination ::insert chubby cheeks, santa hat, and little man covered in red from head to toe::.

Anyways, here are some pics captured today that I can share with you. Enjoy.

 Chubby cheeks!! Squeee!!!

 Obligatory diaper pic. Look at those rolls!!

 He was pretty cranky at this point and fighting a nap.

 Morgan looks like a deer in head lights, Frank looks like he's posing for a mug shot, but damn it, I'm smiling!

Daddy opening a present for Morgan.

Finally succumbed to the nap. Zonked out at the dinner table.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. I know I sure did!

xoxo,

Ash

He likes it, he really likes it!

liWe tried oatmeal again this morning.

Side note: Why do parents say "we tried"? I wouldn't have eaten that crap if you paid me.

Let's try that again. Little man tried oatmeal again and *gasp* he liked it! He ate all of it. And by all I mean 1 teaspoon, but this is progress, people. Last time he tongue thrusted out nearly every bit I gave him.

Next up on the menu is avocado! I can't wait to see his face all covered in green. Maybe we'll try this before the morning bath. Yea, that would probably be best.

If you're reading this and you have a little man/girl of your own, check out this site for great tips, recipes, and advice on starting baby on solids. Gone are the days when you have to start with rice and then veggies. That's all a crock (although no one has filled our dumb pedi in on this, but that's another story). You can start with any of the stage 1 foods as long as you introduce no sooner than 3 days apart to check for allergies.

I'll leave you with some pics of our morning cereal adventure:

 "Oh, the bib wasn't on the menu?"

 Yummm

 

 This oatmeal business is funny.

Bring on the avocado!

xoxo, 

Ash

Christmas Celebration Numero Uno

Tonight we had our first celebration for little man's first Christmas as we got together with my Dad's side of the family.

Little man did so great with the crowd. He only busted out the pouty face a couple of times, but no full on melt downs as I was anticipating.

Side note: The pouty face is definitely something to see. On one hand it'll break your heart and on the other it's so gosh darned cute. We've tried unsuccessfully to snap a pic of it, but no dice yet....does that make us bad parents? Oh well.

Anyways, we've got a sensitive little fella on our hands and he's not always so sure about crowds and lots of noise. But, he took it all in stride. Can you blame him? There were presents to be had! And speaking of presents, boy did he clean up! He got lots of cool toys, a book, a christmas ornament and an outfit!

And of course he looked absolutely adorable for the occasion. We had him dressed up in a cute little knitted one piece and festive reindeer ears.

Here's a pic we snapped of the two of us before we left:

 

And one of him checkin' out his loot. The bow was much more appealing than what was inside the box:

 All in all it was a good, fun night and I can't wait to do it all again Saturday.

xoxo,
Ash

Napping...

Daddy came home and little man got all Cranky-pants McGee on us, but luckily his swing was able to lull him to sleep.

Thus, I have a new layout and cute banner (I think so, anyways).

More later...

xoxo,
Ash

Here we go again!

Well, I did a little blogging while I was pregnant with little man. Although I must admit using the word "blog" to describe it is a being rather generous. It mostly consisted of weekly updates via survey format of how me and the bambino were getting along. Ya know wonderful tidbits about the amazingness that is my cervix or how many god forsaken times I had to wake up and pee every night, that kind of thing. Good stuff.

Well don't get the wrong idea, I plan to do just as much over sharing this go around and talk about my kid till I'm blue in the face because he is my all time favorite topic and the kid has a good firm grip on my brain these days.

I also plan to write about my crafting/decorating/DIY adventures as this is my latest hobby. 

Excuse the ugly format until I can pretty it up after the little man is fast asleep tonight. Hence the name of the blog. It's not so easy to crank out a blog post when he's digging his claws into my arms (his awful mother is too terrified to clip his nails on a regular basis) or pulling on  my hair - hell I've lost enough of that already thanks to lovely post-partum hair loss, I need to salvage all I can!

Until then...


xoxo,
Ash