pumpkins

I had planned to post about our local apple orchards before I ever got into Pumpkins.. but I came across a nifty Halloween craft at GoodHousekeeping that I wanted to share with you. Pumpkins decorated with ribbon. No messy carving! I have to try this!

loving family recipes

I've been loving moms banana chocolate chip muffins for longer than I care to disclose.. and now I thought it was time to share them with you:)

3 very ripe bananas (to make one cup mashed)

6 tbsp melted shortening or vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg well beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Turn oven to 350 degrees. Mash bananas. Add shortening, sugar & salt. Beat till well mixed. Add egg and vanilla and beat again. Sift a little flour, baking soda and baking powder over mixture. Stir in remaining flour. Add chocolate chips with a few strokes of the spatula (until moistened) Drop spoonfuls into buttered muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

about cloth diapers

When E was born I considered cloth and bought what was available at Sears.. I used them a few times a week for the first 6 months, but I found they leaked often and eventually I gave up completely. My experience with J was even worse.. he was so colicky that I didn't have time to shop and socialize the way I could with E. I might be crazy but now even though J is 21 months old, I'm ordering some Fuzzibunz cloth diapers for him. At this point I don't think I'll go completely disposable free but I'd like to use them as much as possible until he's using the potty all the time.

So why would I even bother to get into cloth at this stage in the game you ask? Well... I'm hoping the wet feeling he'll get with cloth will be extra incentive to potty train and they are better for the environment, cut down on diaper rash and it's better on my wallet. Besides.. have you seen cloth diapers lately? There have been many advancements in just a few years time and these diapers are just as easy to use as disposables and a whole lot cuter! You just do one or two extra loads of laundry per week. I can handle that.

For anyone out there looking for more info, check out BellyLaughs.ca or look around your town for your local baby shop and see what they carry. Even Costco is now offering a cloth diaper package. If you want to make things really easy- try a cloth diaper service, they will drop off a weeks worth of clean cloth diapers and pick up last weeks dirty ones while they're at it!

school has begun

The Dabbawalla Neoprene backpacks and lunch bags are being touted as this years "it" thing for kids. They are said to be durable, washable and light weight. But enough of the practicalities- how cute is this?
You can find these online at Lavish & Lime in Canada and at PolkaDotPatchBoutique in the US.

looking forward..

Now that the kids are heading back to school it's hard to pretend that autumn isn't upon us. So I was very excited to come accross the most wonderful blog! Skip to My Lou has a fabulous collection of Holiday printables that makes me very happy. I hope it makes you happy too!

party ideas...

Several posts ago I mentioned that I would be sharing with you some of the great products and ideas I came upon when researching for my daughters 4th birthday party. Weeks later.. I'm finally getting back to the task and want to share a wonderful Esty shop that makes the cutest birthday stuff out there. The Polka Dot Tot Spot has these wonderful birthday shirts and matching birthday banners that are reusable for years to come. How cool is that!

Throwing a Princess Party

If you've read my blog.. E's Princess party included a cardboard castle, an Etsy style birthday banner, cupcakes and what I haven't mentioned yet.... a real live Princess! It was wonderful to see 9 girls completely entertained for an hour and a half by someone- other than me, so I loved the experience. I would recommend Princess Parties and Pirates too to anyone with a four year old in Ottawa.
Our Princess arrived with her own music, balloon animals, face painting, magic tricks, craft activity and a picture with the princess - printed out on site! She was wonderful and all the kids & moms seemed to really enjoy her. I'll be looking them up when J turns 3 and I'm sure Batman will rock his world!

kid activity craft # 2

Ever hold onto something because you just know it will come in handy someday? Well for me it was when our play structure arrived in one large box- I knew we could do something awesome with this. So when E's princess party called out for a castle.. we had just the stuff.

This is a great activity to get the kids involved with. E & J added stickers, markers and even some of E's nail polish to decorate this castle and we added throw pillows inside for comfort.