Giveaway Time!!!

Welcome to the "RECARO Performance Ride Giveaway Event" sponsored by Mommy's Favorite Things. This event is from 6/9-6/23. 

RECARO has a wonderful convertible seat, the Performance Ride. Rear facing from 5-40 pounds and forward facing from 20-65 pounds means this seat will last for most of your child's car seat needs. 

RECARO has over 100 years of history designing seats for the world's most prestigious automobiles, airlines, and race cars. RECARO is German engineered, and an international leader in seating safety, design, comfort and style. RECARO is the pioneer of child seat side impact technology, going beyond any side impact requirements as tested with the ADAC European standard. For your peace of mind - every seat is built with RECARO's superior side impact protection technology.

You can check out the review of the Performance Ride on Mommy's Favorite Things here. 

One winner will get the chance to win a Performance Ride in the Marine color shown above!!

You can also connect with RECARO on Facebook and Twitter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mommy's Favorite Things and the participating bloggers are not responsible for a sponsor who does not fulfill a prize. 

Children's Book-Themed Baby Shower

Hey there! I am sooo excited to share with all of you the pictures from a children's book-themed baby shower my sister-in-law Julie amazingly put together for a friend of ours! I mean, this girl went ALL OUT for our friend, Melissa, who just so happens to be a librarian (Seriously...is there really ANY other theme that could have been chosen?). Each table boasted a letter to represent the theme of the table itself (ie-"G" for games). Did I mention that Julie decoupaged each of the letters herself with children's book pages and letters she cut out using her Cricut? Yeah...she's amazing! Please check out the pics below showing off all of the amazing-ocity that was this shower! You won't regret it!

 

"D" is for "Decorating"

Julie purchased a number of bibs, onesies in a variety of sizes, and iron-on transfers that guests could use to decorate items the baby could wear. Each guest put her name on the tag, so that Melissa could know exactly who created each item when she puts them on her precious daughter!

"P" is for "Prizes"

As if this shower wasn't cool enough, the hostess with the mostest had fantastic prizes (Ummm... Lenox plate anyone??? Hellooo!). Not only is this girl an incredible shower planner, she is also a phenomenal bargain shopper!

"A" is for "Advice"

To go along with the children's book-theme, Julie made an advice book for the soon-to-be-parents to look like a Golden Book (you know the ones I'm talking about) for guests to fill out.

Without a doubt, my favorite element of this shower was how incredible these cookie favors looked. Julie found an amazing company online that willingly created these delicious masterpieces based on the book covers of some of Melissa's all-time, favorite books. Best favor I think I've ever received!!!

"M" is for "Monster"

I totally heart this amazing idea for the centerpieces! Each table was themed according to a popular, children's book using the book itself, stuffed animals, and toys to compliment it. I know, right?!?! How cute is this There's A Monster at the End of This Book table?

 

"G" is for "George"

Here is the guest of honor's table, themed around the book Curious George Goes to the Zoo. The frames on each table showcased a quote from each book (as if the decorations weren't amazing enough already...)

 

"V" is for "Velveteen Rabbit"

How sweet are these decorations in honor of everyone's favorite, classic The Velveteen Rabbit? Place cards were also made for each guest indicating their table letter and corresponding book. This girl thought of everything!!!

 

 

 

"C" is for "Cat in the Hat"

How cute is the bath toy fish in the fish bowl? Love!!!

 

 

 

"F" is for "Fancy Nancy"

This table was PERFECT for the little girls sitting at it!

 

"B" is for "Berenstain Bears"

Love the jewelry boxes used for boxes of toys!

 

 

"L" is for "Llama Llama"

How cute is this set up? I couldn't even tell you where she found all the props for her centerpieces, but the lucky mama now has them to keep when her little sweetheart is old enough to put them to great use!

 

If you've ever been to Oakmont Bakery in Pittsburgh, you know that they make incredible cakes, but this one literally takes the cake (see what I did there?)! They decorated four different flavors of sheet cakes to look like a stack of Melissa's favorite children's books. I am particularly fond of the fondant, Very Hungry Caterpillar!

 

 

"P" is for "Photo Booth"

Melissa is a huge fan of cut outs and somehow manages to find them everywhere she goes, so when Julie asked me to make a few based on popular children's book characters, I happily complied! Using foam core board and acrylic paint, guests could transform themselves into Corduroy, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Winnie the Pooh, and Curious George...at least for a few, great pictures. Check out more pics of guests enjoying the photo booth fun HERE!

Infant Owl Costume

 

As cute as Halloween costumes for babies are, I have a hard time being willing to spend exorbitant amounts of money on them, when they only fit for 1-2 wears and runs the risk of being spit, peed, and pooped upon at any given time. I love owls (much like everyone else) and wanted to turn my little munchkin into one for Halloween last year, but wanted to keep my budget to a minimum. Using a white hat, onesie, tights, felt, my handy dandy glue gun, and a small, fleece blanket purchased at my local dollar store, I was able to do exactly that (in fact, since I had the tights, hat, shoes and some of the felt on hand, the whole sha-bang cost me about $5!)

Here's how...

 

 

Materials:

 

-white, long-sleeved onesie

-white baby tights

-white baby hat

-RIT dye in brown

-felt sheets (2 of each of the following colors-orange, bright blue, bright green, bright pink, orange, brown)

-small, fleece blanket

-glue gun and glue sticks

 

Instructions:

 

1. Dye hat, onesie and tights according to RIT package directions (be SURE to follow the directions to a tee, or I assure you it will not dye evenly!). Wash and dry according to package directions.

 

2. Cut out leaf shapes in all colors of felt (enough to cover the front of the onesie)

 

 

3. Beginning with the bottom of the onesie (near the fasteners), alternate leaf shapes (aka-"feathers," according to color, creating three across (refer to picture above as a reference).

 

4. Hot glue the tops of the feathers to the bottom of the onesie

 

5. Glue a row of four feathers above the original row, overlapping them slightly. Continue to glue rows of feathers on top of each other, adding feathers across as needed, until reaching the neckline of the onesie.

 

6. Cut the fleece blanket in half diagonally (making 2 triangles) and glue the long side of the triangle across the arms of the onesie

 

7. Cut out six circles-2 pink (large), 2 green (medium) and 2 brown (small with triangle cut out for the pupil) for the eyes and glue to the hat

 

8. Using leftover pieces of the blanket, make two bows and adhere to the hat.

 

9. Cut a triangular piece of orange felt and glue to the hat for the owl's beak

 

 



Kennywood!!!

The hubby and I decided at the last minute this weekend to break out our Kennywood season passes and spend a few hours taking Claire on some of the rides. Last summer, she was teeny tiny and barely stayed awake on the two rides we could hold her on (the carousel and the train). Needless to say, this summer will be FAR more exciting, and I can't wait! Claire was an absolute ANGEL and enjoyed herself thoroughly. Looks like I have another amusement park-obsessed member in my family! My nerd bomber husband is a card-carrying member of American Coaster Enthusiasts...wonder if they make ACE cards to fit tiny hands...

Enjoying the sights and sounds of Kennywood

Enjoying the turtles with daddy

Enjoying the performers

Silly daddy didn't know how the game was played...so Claire showed him how it was done!

Holding onto the handrail like a big girl!

Building Fine Motor Skills

As a special education teacher and a mommy, I feel as though sometimes my life revolves around developing and strengthening fine motor skills. Fortunately for me, I have had the immense priveledge of working with a huge variety of teachers and occupational therapists who have helped equip me with some quick and inexpensive activities to enable little ones to build essential, fine motor skills and have a little fun along the way!

 You know the paint samples strips you can take from Home Depot, Lowe's, and even Wal-Mart??? Yeah, you're going to need to stock up on those bad boys for some of these activities. Children can strengthen skills by clipping clothespins (above) and paper clips (below) to them. In addition, children beginning to cut benefit from the thickness of the paint sample's cardstock and clearly defined lines.

And speaking of cutting, I found these adorable little frog favors for $1at my local dollar store, which would be awesome for kids just learning to hold and use scissors. The little froggy moves up and down with each "Snip!"

 

It would also be beneficial to buy pipe cleaners in bulk, as they also lend themselves to some great fine motor activities! Pipe cleaners can be twisted, shaped, made into sculptures, and a plethora of other things, all the while helping children develop a pincer grasp for future writing activities. In addition, for those kiddos who have not yet mastered the ability to string beads onto string, a pipe cleaner serves as an excellent "starter string" like the one featured below.

When the ability to string large beads onto a pipe cleaner is mastered, move on to smaller beads, followed by larger beads on a string and finally, small beads on the string. I often play activities like this as "making mommy a necklace" or "let's put on this new bracelet you made" to keep the kiddos motivated    

For the child who has difficulty "closing" a circle or tends to go around and around and around without stopping, placing a sticker to indicate a visual start and stop point can be a huge help! I personally prefer animal stickers, so they can be encouraged to "Start at the head and stop at the tail." On a side note, if worksheets are laminated or placed inside plastic sheets, dry erase markers can be used and the sheets can be reused over and over again!

Never underestimate the power of stickers...not only as a reward but as a valuable opportunity to practice fine motor skills. Children can peel off and place stickers onto the dashes of typical tracing worsheets. Since these particular tracing strips are laminated, the stickers can be removed and the activity can be practiced repeatedly.



Mini-golf, anyone??? Make sure that the next time you go, you snag a few extra tiny pencils. The beauty of these tiny little guys is that children are less likely to grab the pencil in a fisted grasp and are sort of forced to use a more appropriate three-finger (aka "tripod") grasp when writing. Holding a bead or small item in the ring and pinky fingers will also help in encouraging the use of the tripod grasp.

Ice cube trays are another item to add to your list of supplies to purchase, although chances are really good you have spare ones lying around your house. Either way, ice cube trays are PERFECT for little ones to practice picking up small items and sorting them. In the pictures below, an ice cube tray was used to sort these small items by color. As an added level of difficulty, children could use tweezers to pick up small items like the ones below and place them into the tray.

Tongs and tweezer in all shapes and sizes are also excellent fine motor-strengthening tools to use to pick up items. I have often found success having children use them to pick up soft items, such as craft pom poms or cotton balls and gradually fading to smaller, firmer items for a greater challenge.

Everyone has plastic containers they can transform into quick and simple, piggy-bank types of fine motor activities. The idea is to cut a slit in the container lid just large enough for the items to fit through. Buttons are just one example of objects that can be used and are easily accessible.

Additional Fine Motor activities:

-Use thicker paper or cardstock to practice beginning cutting activities

-Highlight cutting and tracing lines to visually support little learners

-Make pasta necklaces

-Purchase, print, or make your own lacing cards using string, a hole punch and a favorite picture or character

-Hide beads inside of Play Doh or putty and encourage children to remove the beads

-Put money into a piggy bank or help mommy and daddy sort coins

-Use a hole punch to practice "making confetti" in a variety of types of paper and cardstock

-Practice writing and tracing with a variety of mediums (pencil, marker, pen, chalk, crayon, dry erase marker, you name it)

-Paint using watercolors

Interchangeable Accessories for Baby



My sweet little accessories model


While I don't claim to be a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, with the birth of my little sweetheart, Claire, I am now starting to live vicariously through her wardrobe! The options for baby girl clothing are truly limitless...Unfortunately, the money in my wallet is not! This project allows me to fashionably and affordably dress my little sweet pea to my heart's content!



Dollar Store Items purchased





Flowers created using ribbon



Rolled flowers created using the ribbon lining of the tutu



Bows created courtesy of green and white scarf and ribbon



Organza flowers made using tutu fabric



Fabric flowers made using scarf material

 
Materials:

-baby onesie
-green and white, striped scarf
-purple ribbon
-baby tutu
-headbands (sold in set of four)
(items above were all purchased at my local Dollar Tree)
-scissors
-glue gun
-Velcro (iron-on or sewable)
-needle and thread

Instructions:

1. Wash and iron onesie

2. Adhere a small piece of soft Velcro to the area on the onesie you wish to be embellished. Do the same to the corresponding headbands.

3. Adhere a small piece of rough Velcro to the back of each bow and flower embellishment. Note: The embellishments I created came from a variety of online tutorials, projects I have created before, and simply playing around with the materials I purchased. The sky is the limit, as far as the type of embellishments you choose to make!

4. Here comes the fun part...Mix and match embellishments to create multiple, adorable outfits and accessories! Add a cute tutu or skirt to complete the look (check out the "tututorial" for a simple baby tutu like Claire's in a former blog post)!




One of many possible onesie/headband combinations





Claire modeling outfit number 2! She was waaaay too wiggly for a really good shot of the accessories, but you get the idea!






Another shot of my wiggly wonder!