Back in a Bit

Hello, my lovely readers.  I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season so far!


I am going to take a couple weeks off from blogging here so I can take something off my plate and enjoy the holidays more.  


I also want to spend some time on other computer/writing projects that always seem to get put on the back burner. 


And really enjoyed my week off for Thanksgiving.  I was able to read 5 different books (yes, I read fast and one of them was short) that week!  It made me remember what I used to do before I spent all my free time writing...it was reading!


I have some fabulous guest posts lined up and I will probably refurbish some of my old posts since the majority of you all are new!  If you would like to guest post here, please email me at mamaandbabylove@gmail.com


And I will stay active on Facebook and Pinterest throughout the holidays, because they are such a joy for me to be apart of.


I will back with fresh and new content the week of January 9th. 


I wish you all lots of love and light and Happy Holidays to you all! 



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Easy DIY Christmas Decoration Ideas

It is a Pinterest kind of Christmas around here.  I mean really, do you even remember what the world was like before Pinterest?  


Last year, I gave away an entire bin of decorations, in an effort to just have less stuff.  We live in a house with over 2000 sq feet and in a matter of 7 years, we have filled every inch and corner with stuff.  


It all started last July, when I started packing, when we were about to move to Chile.  I just gave away everything I had packed up, because I realized I didn't even need it or miss it!  I have been slowing clearing out stuff, ever since.


So this year, I reduced down again, and gave another two boxes of Christmas stuff away.  I only kept the stuff I really, really loved or that was a family heirloom.  Has anyone else gotten rid of Christmas decorations this year to simply life and have less stuff?


Of course, I also wanted to make room for a few new pieces, but overall I still have way less stuff in the house.


Ok, so the felt Christmas tree.  Took all of 20 minutes.  Cut out a big ole tree, mine is about 3 feet tall.  I got the green felt for a couple of dollars in the remnant bin at Joann's last Christmas.  I had enough to make two trees and gave one to my friend.  Miss P is not the biggest fan of it yet, but I really like it.  She likes to make Mickey Mouse's out of the ornaments.  I just did circles for the ornaments (I used some of my gorg bamboo felt) but if you get really inspired you could make fancy ones like these.

As I was cleaning out all of my decorations, I realized I had 9 boxes of red glass ornaments in one bin.  I slightly remember buying them, thinking, they are so cheap!  I could do a ton of different projects with them!  And never did.  Because there was no Pinterest back then to light a fire under my arse.  


I finally put them to use and made a wreath.  I used this tutorial, it called for more balls (hee, hee that's what she said), but I was not about to run to Micheal's just to get one more box, of balls, so I made due.   You can see that mine could have used a couple of more (can I get away with another that's what she said joke here?) to make it more full, but whatever. 

I saw this idea from the one and only Martha.  I used all of Penelope's old Christmas socks and went out and bought the rest.  You can get Christmas socks at Target for $1.  I hung it up in front of her play room.  It is not exactly functional this year, because I didn't put anything in them.  But baby steps!  I was thrilled just to get it done!

I put stickers on the socks instead of embroidering on them.  Less time and if for some reason I want to use them or repurpose them, I can just rip the stickers off.


See that little red and white stripe one with the green ball on the heel?  I bought those for Penelope her first Christmas.  Her feet were so small then!  Sigh.  

Yes, here is Miss P, at 4 weeks, in jeans.  There was no lounging around in plain onesies for her.


I also made Christmas trees with lights for the front porch.  I had both the tomato wire and the garland already.   I couldn't get a good picture of mine, but you can sort of see them in the background here.

I was also inspired by my Candy Cane board and instead of putting cranberries into my glass vases like I normally do, I put candy canes inside. I also wrapped red ribbon (that I had on hand) around the big white columns on my front porch and made them look like candy canes.


And lastly, I changed up my shelf/mantel from last year and did a couple string of lights instead of pine tree branches.   


So there you have it!  Do you have any easy, cost-effective holiday decorating ideas to share?  






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Get Rid of Back Pain with Tennis Balls!

Got back pain?  Read this!


I learned about this little trick from my Aunt Michelle years ago.  I am not sure where she heard it from, I think maybe her chiropractor told her about it.


Changed. my. life.


Ya'll know I am massage therapist and a fan of getting regular massage and going to the chiropractor.  


But what about those moments when you are in PAIN and you are begging your spouse to massage your back and they either refuse or they are so horrible, you are in worse pain after the massage than you were before!  OR you need a full massage from a professional but you don't have an appointment for another week.  OR you are out of town and back got into a funk from sitting the car for 6 hours and you don't even have access to a professional.


My friends, you need tennis balls in a sock.


You could also buy a similar wooden contraption, but I do not like them.  In my opinion, tennis balls work better, and they are much, much cheaper.


So first you get on the floor and place the tennis ball sock behind you.

Then you slowly lower yourself down so that you are laying on the floor, on the tennis ball sock.


Adjust it so one tennis ball is on either side of your spine.

Then roll the tennis ball sock up and down your spine.  If you feel a knot or sore spot, just stay on it for a few deep breaths.  This is called pressure point therapy.  Basically, you just press and hold in one spot and it releases the entire muscle.  


If you feel your back crack, awesome.  You just gave yourself a DIY chiropractic adjustment.  Remember, this does not replace regular appointments with professionals, it simply is something you can do in the mean time to get you by and relieve pain immediately.


You can lift your butt off the ground and press the weight of your legs into the floor to increase the pressure of the balls on your back (insert giggle here, from my mind that is always in the gutter!)


I also like to sit on them (oh man, I am really not trying to be dirty, I swear) and massage my glutes and my hips.   My hips have always been my problem area, they get so tight, especially when I hold Penelope on my hip instead of in a carrier. 


But just a few minutes with my tennis balls in a sock and I am good to go.


Now go, make some tennis ball socks!  You can thank me later.  





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$2 Dishtowel Christmas Pillowcase Dress

Yup,  I made my daughter I dress out of dishtowels.  

It is one of those things that could go very wrong or very right.  I wasn't convinced it was right, until she tried it on and then I felt pretty damn good.  But Penelope would look cute in a potato sack, so I am not sure if I am seeing clearly. 


I have seen dishtowel skirt tutorials online and that is what planted the seed for the idea in the first place.  Apparently, people are making other types of children's clothing with dishtowels.  I am not sure about this, but mad props to this mom for being creative.


In my mind a dishtowel is thicker and a tea towel is thinner.  This dress would probably be easier to sew with a thinner tea towel, but I liked that the dish towel was thicker, because it would give her added warmth this month.  Not that we need it, the high was 80 yesterday!

Miss P was not really in the mood to be photographed this day.  She just wanted to play, can't really blame her.

I originally planned to make her a Christmas dress with some amazing, vintage inspired Christmas fabric I found, but after I paid for it, I got an email saying they were sold out.


I needed to come up with plan B and I did not want to go into Joanne's and wait in line for an hour, so I decided to tempt fate and experiment with the dish towels!

I got the towels at Target, the day after Christmas last year, and got them 50% off.  They came in a bundle of two, and with the sale cost $2.  I used one for the front and one for the back.  I had the ribbon and bias tape on hand from another project.


I think the pattern design of the towel is what is going to make or break a sewing project with a dish towel.  It has really got to be super cute. I love this modern Christmas design, I think it makes the dress pop.


You sew the towels together, along the long sides, right sides facing.  This gives you a tube of dish towel.  Then you cut out your arm holes, sew the bias tape on, and make a regular pillow case dress like here and here.

I also made this little cutie, inspired from where else, Pinterest.  I wanted to make a shirt that could be worn with her red and green skirt that Penelope wore for her birthday.  You did see the Apple Party pictures, right?!


So what do you think?  Is the dish towel, pillow case dress, a right or a wrong? 






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Coton Colors Personalized Ornaments Giveaway!

Oh, I am so excited for this giveaway, just in time for Christmas!  Coton Colors is a local company that started out teeny and is now ginourmous and sold all over the country.  


I love to support entrepreneurial moms and the woman who started Coton Colors has done such an amazing job with her company, it is truly impressive what she has accomplished.


They have a great website and you can order from anywhere. They also have a super inspiring and fun blog.


I have bought personalized ornaments from them before and been really pleased with my purchase.  I gave some to my flower girls at my wedding and I bought a baby's first Christmas one for Penelope in 09. 


Now if I can get Santa to buy me this...I have been pinning over their Happy Everything plate for years, it is so cute and such a great idea.


I am giving away all five of these ornaments!   I am giving them away on Facebook all week, one each day, so check back there to enter.  All you have to do is comment under the picture to enter.  You can enter all 5 if you like!


Merry Christmas!



DISCLAIMER: I was not paid for this post.  Thank you Coton Colors for allowing me to review your products and for the awesome giveaway. If you are interested in having me do a review and giveaway for your business or product, or about my affordable advertising pricing, send me an email at mamaandbabylove@gmail.com

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Christmas Bucket List!

                                                Free printable here.

Oh, I am so excited it is December!  Last year, I wrote down a list of everything holiday themed we did, and the things we didn't get to, so I could remember for this year. 


I am big on traditions and consistency.  I think kids thrive best when they can depend on not only a daily rhythm but a yearly one (a little flexibility is good of course). 


I want to give her memories and traditions that I never got, or didn't get consistently.


I want to try and do a Christmas themed thing every day, even if it is something super simple.


I am so excited that she is 2 now and can really start to participate and experience the joy of Christmas and that my husband and I will get to relive that magic through her.


Ok, so here is my list.  Please let me know if I am forgetting anything, like I said a lot of these traditions are new to me!

• Open some new christmas jammies on Christmas eve.
• Make and advent calendar (did this already, I will show you soon!)
• Put up lights outside this year.  Papa, this is all you.   And you better do it soon.
• Put up a second Christmas tree in the kitchen for our salt dough ornaments.
• Make salt dough ornaments 
• I would love to take Penelope to disney to see all the decorations and lights.
• Some sort of volunteering that is age appropriate.  I need some ideas! Maybe go to an assisted living home?  Shop for toys for underprivileged kids?
• Go see the Christmas lights in our neighborhood.
• Go see the Christmas lights at Dorothy B. Oven park
• Go to Thomasville's Victorian Christmas (Dec 8 & 9).  We went to Tallahassee's last year and it was meh.
• Get our Christmas tree at Tallahassee Nurseries.  We have gotten our tree there since 2005.  Peter likes the stands they sell because they are really sturdy and that they put the tree on the stand for you.
• Bake Cookies!  I am going to try and make ginger cookies this year, from a recipe from Peter's great-grandmother, wish me luck!
• Go get our turkey from the farm for Christmas Eve dinner
• Christmas Eve Mass
• Take Penelope to see Santa.  Last year the restaurant in our neighborhood golf course did a Santa brunch.  It was a really relaxing way to see Santa, so I hope they do it again.
• Watch holiday movies, last year Polar Express was her favorite.
• Get a special ornament for Penelope (this is done too, I will show you on Monday!)
• Get a wood or plastic nativity scene so Penelope can play with them.  Teach her the story. 
• Make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning.  Usually I buy store bought, but I would love to figure out an easy recipe to make them from scratch.  Anyone have any easy ones?
• Eat pan dulce on Christmas day.  This is an Italian tradition from Peter's family in Argentina.  His family is of German and Lativan descent, even though they are Argentian.  There are so many Italian-Argentians, that the tradition has stuck.
• Handprints on the tree skirt.  The year Penelope was born I bought a tree skirt from Red Envelope and you make hand prints each year and then in twenty years its full.
• Crafts!  I have several all ready planned out, but still looking for a few more ideas
• Make a gingerbread house.  We did this last year, well Papa took it over and we watched, it was really fun.
• Make Penelope a Christmas outfit.
• Make one of her gifts.
• Put cookies and milk out for Santa on a special plate, I bought one last year, so cute!
• Sing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas day.

So there you have it!  What am I missing?  What is your favorite Christmas tradition?



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Team Mama and Baby Love for Heifer.org

The last two years I have not done any volunteering or donating (except for church).  Before Penelope arrived I worked at the United Way of the Big Bend and was active in the Junior League of Tallahassee.  


Volunteering was a big part of my life.  But you know how it goes, have a baby and everything gets turned upside down.  


I am finally in place where I can be giving of resources again.  I love both the UWBB and JLT, but I feel called to be giving in a food related way.  


I am so, so grateful to have access to real, traditional and organic foods and have the financial means to afford them.   I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am and I want to do what I can to give back.  


Heifer.org is an organization that caught my eye.  I think the concept is just brilliant.  The idea behind Heifer, is similar to the notion that it's better to teach a man to fish, so he can feed himself, than to give a him a fish that will feed him only once. 


So please, join me in donating money to Heifer.org via the Mama and Baby Love team.  I would love to be able to pool our resources together as an online community and donate at least a thousand dollars.  


There is over 1,700 Facebook likers on the Mama and Baby Love page, so that is less than a dollar from each of you to reach that goal. 

Think of all the chickens we could donate, so a child can get the same benefits Penelope gets by eating eggs from a pastured chicken.  With the amount of protein packed in one egg, a donation of one single chicken can make a life saving difference.

Think of how cool it would be to donate a whole cow, or several, so a family could have the healing power raw milk.  A good diary cow can produce four gallons of milk a day-enough for a family to drink and share with a neighbors.  


Milk protein transforms sick, malnourished children into healthy boys and girls.  The sale of surplus milk earns money for school fees, medicine, clothing, and home improvements. 


So won't you join me?  Thank you so much for your support!  



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Apple Party, Hooray!

Finally, the apple party pictures!  I know some of you have been chomping at the bit for these, so I apologize.  It has taken some time to get back into a routine and groove after her party and traveling for Thanksgiving.


I had so much fun planning this party.  The apple theme was a good pick (pun intended!), the inspiration was endless.  I could have done 50 million more apple recipes and decorations.  I edited my picks down based on ease of creation and cost, but you could really go wild with this theme.


Ok, so here we go!  I hope you enjoy!  Planning and creating Penelope's parties gives me such joy and I very excited to share it with you.  


Just fyi, including food (almost all organic) and all decorations, I spent about $250 for this party. I planned this theme almost a full year in advance and slowly bought supplies, so not to overwhelm our budget.

This picture sums up her mood for the day, she was super excited, but then she would have cranky moments because her molars were hurting.  She has had her fingers in her mouth, for what seems like months now, I wish they would just break through.  I am SO over teething.


Her outfit was made by my friend Bethany (the one who made the cute appliqué onesie for her and the skirt for me).  I was so relieved to not have to make her a birthday outfit.  I had already bought this apple fabric, but I can save it for next year and make her a fall dress with it.


The welcome sign and apples were bought at Michael's for less than a $1.  I bought them at the end of August, when all the teacher/back-to-school decorations were on sale.  Major score. 

The apple cupcakes.  I did not plan on doing sprinkles, but the all natural food dye I used turned my icing into a horrible mauve color and something needed to be done.  


The sprinkles do have regular red food dye in them, it was my one unhealthy thing at the party.  A yoga teacher once told me as long as you are eating good 80% of the time, you are doing just fine. So whatev.

I used this tutorial to get the cupcake into a apple shape.  My husband had the genius idea to use a mint leaf instead of candy.

I can't even tell you how happy it made me to see these cupcakes all lined up in a row.  I am a dork like that.


Oh and the stand is an empty gift box that I wrapped in gift wrap.  I still do not have any cake stands or cupcake stands in my kitchen.  Santa, are you listening?

The food table.

Apple-Peanut Butter sandwiches.  This was the very last thing I made for the party.  I did them the morning of, and put lemon juice on them so they didn't brown too bad.

Grilled Cheese with Apple slices.  These were a hit.  My friend Julie gave me the idea to grill them in bacon grease instead of butter, and man, it really makes a difference!  I did these one day before.

Apple chips.  I had all these over the top dreams of making the apple chips myself, since I have a dehydrator, but in the end, I just bought a bag or organic ones from the store.  They went quick and were a hit with the kiddos.

I got the apple bushels from Hobby Lobby for a few bucks each.

Marshmallow pops.  So easy to make, unlike cake pops, but they came out just as cute.  These were more of a hit than the cupcakes. 

I painted the apple tree and number 2.  I used an old canvas and painted over what I had on it.  It required more layers of paint, but those canvases are expensive, so it was worth the extra time.  I really enjoyed painting it too.  I haven't painted anything in a long time and it was really calming.

I bought these tissue paper garlands from Party City.  Last year, I made them, but it was time consuming and bitch to store before the party.  I added the stem and leaf to make them look like apples.  So easy.

I have an amazing juicer that my MIL bought for me last Christmas and I used it to make fresh apple juice.

I got scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby and cut strips and taped them to water bottles.  It is not the most environmentally friendly thing to do, but I did recycle all of them.  I had been wanting to do this for awhile, and again, just like the cupcakes, seeing them all lined up in a perfect row made me giddy.


Just to the right, of the above picture, you can see the apple fabric I used in each table scape.  They are $2.99 dish towels from Target. Much cheaper than buying designer fabric like last year, and I can reuse them for something else later.  Maybe make some towel aprons.

I also made Hot Apple Cider.  I used pasteurized, store bought, apple juice for this and a package of cider spices and heated it up on the stove.  It was super tasty.

Ugh.  I can't even really look at these.  What a disaster.  I did the best I could to pretty them up with wrapping, but they did not come out good. The caramel was not the right consistency and did not cover the apples in a smooth manner.  People said they tasted good, but I don't believe it.  


If I ever get the guts to attempt these again, I will make syrup from scratch.

The party favors.  I painted apples and each kid's name on the cup.  I wanted them to have something to drink the apple juice at the party. 


I made the yarn apples from this tute. Crazy easy.  

I would have preferred for the cups to be all green, but I couldn't find any packages of all green, they were all mixes.  But I figured the reds and yellows were apple colors too and it did work.

I bought 6 lanterns from Party City and added the same leaf and steam to make them look like apples.  Got the idea here.

I had four on my back porch and two on my front porch.

The backyard.  The table had a white tablecloth, then a burlap-type material runner, then the Target dishtowel and a bushel of apples.  

I printed out some apple shapes from Google images and had them out at her art table in her playroom.

Her first guest.  She was pretty stoked to answer the door for her party to begin!

I was really fortunate to win a face painting party package BJ's Party House on TallyConnection.com.  Everyone seemed to get a kick out of it. 

We kept the party activities pretty simple, the kids played on the swing set and in the sand box, but I didn't have a jump house or anything else like that going on.

These twins, Emma and Lily, crack me up.

Grandpa and Nana chillin in on the porch.  Peter's mother, Omi, came the week before and was with us for Penelope's actual birthday.  It was nice to space out the visits so Penelope could spend quality time with everyone.

My Goddaughter Ella.  So pretty.

Ava the tiger.

Even my friend's belly got painted!

The birthday girl got flowers and a butterfly.  She sat still for most of it. 


I let her have one marshmallow pop.

The boys doing some coloring.  I wish I had a better photo of their outfits.  These two make me excited about the possibility of dressing a boy.

I think she was a bit overwhelmed at times and needed to cuddle and nurse for a bit.  Love this picture.  Mad thank you to my friend Lauren, who took pictures for me that day.

Happy Birthday time!  She had been to so many birthday parties in the last month that she new all about the Happy Birthday song.

Happy girl.  Scary Mama.  

Family portrait attempt number 1.

Family portrait attempt number 2.

The matching hair bow that Bethany also made.  I wanted to wear it in my hair so I had something apple themed on, and Penelope was going to wear a regular red bow,  but when she saw it in my hair, she was having none of it.

Her amazing birthday invitations that The Polka Dot Press did for us.  LOVE them.  I also got address labels, and it was still very affordable.

I made the thank you cards myself.  I bought plain white cards and then I cut an apple in half and dipped in in red paint and stamped it on the paper.  Then added the leaf and steam.




There you have it!  Penelope's Apple themed birthday party.  I am sure this is the last year I will be able to get away with picking out the theme, I wonder what she will want next year?  


I am already thinking about it!  Maybe I will be able to combine a theme, for example if she wants a Dora party, maybe I can do a Rainbow-Dora party, so I can still get to be artsy with it.


What do you think?





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