Mama's Beautiful Life

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Butterfly Baby Footprints!

One of the sweetest things about a little baby are those sweet little feet!

~*~*~*~*~*~

From the first time you feel a kick

to first time

you see them in an ultrasound.

~*~*~*~*~*~

They make a print on your life

that makes your heart melt.

~*~*~*~*~*~

When they're born,

they love to kick

and twirl those

sweet little feet!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sweet Little Baby Feet - They are my new obsession! Everyday they grow bigger and I cannot get enough prints and impressions!
The best gifts can be made from those sweet little baby feet too!
For Mother's Day, I made butterfly prints on canvas with my nearly 2 year old and 5 month old.

It was very easy & with the help of my husband it did not take long at all!
This one was made for my Mama on Mother's day but my kids know her has Nannie!

Here's how to do it.

You will need

A Canvas-Hobby Lobby has great prices on theirs
Paints-I chose washable finger paint
Paper Plate
Sponge or Paintbrush or spaghetti
Scrap paper
Paper Towels/baby wipes
Modge Podge or desired sealant(optional)

How to

Pour about a quarter size or so of paint in a paper plate. Repeat with each color pouring it under the previous color.(like stacking a snowman but with dobs of paint) I chose more pinks for a girl and more blues for a boy.
Take a paint brush(or spaghetti)and swirl the colors just a bit.
Before you dip your child's foot in the paint, practice placing their foot on the canvas to see how they will do..exp. some may squeeze their toes in or kick! If you they will not cooperate get your spouse or someone to help you.
If you need help, one of you sit Indian style and hold the kid in your lap while the other one guides the foot.
Lightly dip their foot in the swirled paint & test/blot on scrap paper. You don't want to press too hard but just firm enough. I lightly placed my kid's foot and lightly tapped the top of the foot..but this has to be done quickly if they are wiggly!
The right foot goes to the left side and the left foot should slightly overlap by the heels, on the right as pictured above.
Use the baby wipes to wipe the paint from the baby feet so it doesn't get eaten & when they're all cleaned up, go back and paint the butterfly body. I didn't put the ages on here, but it would have been nice to add.
Optional-To seal, apply modge podge over the dried painting.

Have fun with your butterfly feet creations!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Birthday America!

~*~Happy 4th of July~*~

Monday, July 2, 2012

An Omelet Muffin or a Breakfast Cupcake

Breakfast time at our house is such a big deal and it's not always an easy one. Everyone is tired of the same old thing..eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, pancakes, cereal....
I've been attempting to try new things & different ways of cooking to get everyone interested in a more healthy meal.

This morning was such a success!

I was able to cook an omelet style breakfast muffin that even included broccoli in the mix! My two year old thought he was a big boy eating what we ate and he thought he was getting a treat by the fact that it looked like a muffin or a cupcake! The cheese on top made it even more appealing!

Today these were served alone. Between my husband, my 2 yr old and my self, only one was left! However, if you serve these with pancakes or other items they will probably go around more.

If a bigger portion were more your style, you could try different shaped muffin pans or perhaps a ramekin type dish. You could even cook this in a casserole dish though you would need to alter the cooking times as I'm sure that size would be closer to the 20 mark.

The recipe found at the end makes about 12 muffins. In my oven these cooked about 17 minutes. Here is what I did:

I added the broccoli to a microwavable bowl; added a few tablespoons of water and microwaved it for 7 minutes. I have a small microwave so you should start with 5 minutes for a regular or larger size. When the broccoli is tender, drain and mash with a fork & set aside. If your kids are picky, you can chop the broccoli in a food processor or baby bullet if you have one.
(Sorry no picture of the broccoli.)

Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat. I used a mild sausage that comes in the tube that you can find near the bacon at the store.
It should be cooked until it's not longer pink but you don't want to overcook as it will be rubbery & will loose flavor. I didn't time it exactly but I guess it took about 8 minutes or so. You will know when it is done.
When done, drain and rinse the grease. Mix in the broccoli with the meat.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, melted butter and baking power. Add salt & pepper and/or add any other spices that you'd like.

Spray or grease a muffin pan with butter. Spoon the meat/broccoli mixture into the muffin slots.

Sprinkle some grated cheese on top if you are a cheese lover! I used mild cheddar and mozzarella. I always grate my cheese on the spot as it is much better! Prepackaged grated cheese will also work but I promise it will not taste as good as freshly grated cheese.

Next, pour the egg mixure on top. My mixing bowl had a pouring spout, but you could also use a ladle, spoon or any other neat kitchen gadget that you may have.

After all the egg mixture has been added, top with cheese!

Now they are ready to bake at 375!

I started with 15 minutes as I didn't want to over cook them. When they start too look slighlty brown on top and on the sides, they are ready!

These cooked for about 18 minutes.

See how they pulled apart from the sides slightly?

I can honestly say, these turned out just right!

l slid a nife around the edges and used a silicone spatula to get the muffins out of the pan and wala!

Enjoy and let me know what you think when you try them! I would love to hear any variations you make.
I think I may try to add spinach next time as well.

Ingredients

1 lb or so of Sausage - (any flavor that you like, though if you're serving kids you may want to stay away from the hot blends.)
1 cup broccoli
9 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp butter, melted
Salt & pepper to taste
1 block or pkg of cheese, I used Mild Cheddar & Mozzarella - Give or take; depending how much you like cheese.

Directions

Preheat over to 375 F & grease a muffin/cupcake pan
Steam broccoli-in a steamer, a microwavable dish with a few tablespoons of water for about 5-7 in the microwave, or boil in water on stove until tender. When tender, mash with fork & set aside.
Cook sausage in skillet over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain meat of fat/grease.
Whisk together eggs, milk, butter, oil and baking powder. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon out the sausage and broccoli mixture evenly into each muffin slot
Sprinkle some cheese on top
Poor the egg mixture over the sausage and broccoli mix.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top - as little or as much as you like.
Bake 15-20 minutes.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Blueberry Milk Mask

This summer heat can really take a toll on your skin causing a crave for moisture. Stress and a lack of sleep can also drain the rosiness from your cheeks. As for myself, I've had a week of sleepless nights and tearful days in the midst of this summer heat in the south.
I have never been the one to cry my eyes out, however when a real tragedy strikes, it effects you in ways you never would imagine.

After a week, I looked in the mirror and my face looked old & I am only 28! What it needed was a a little pick me up, so I did a little alteration of my #1 Milk Cleanser.

I used the recipe below and I took out enough for one application and stored the rest in fridge for later. For today's application I added about a teaspoon of honey, a little vitamin e and about a handful of squashed blueberries.

I smoothed it over my entire face and laid back on the couch for about 10 minutes then washed it off with slightly warm water. My skin was immediately refreshed and my color returned. This also helped with those awful dark circles under my eyes.

This is such a quick and easy way to cleanse, detoxify and soften your delicate skin as well as bring back your rosiness again. It's nothing fancy, very cheap and really is a spa treatment in the comfort of your home!

Beautiful Smooth Milk Cleanser (My #1)

Dry skin will radiate with the use of this instant beautifying cleanser. The oil and yogurt moisturize will the lemon juice restores your skin's natural acid level.

1 Cup Plain Yogurt

2 Tablespoons Light Oil (almond oil, hazel seed oil, canola oil, sunflower oil)

2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice

Sanitized Jar with Tight Lid for Storing

Simply mix all ingredients and spoon into in a sanitized jar with a tight lid. For use, gently massage a small amount to your skin and cover the entire face. Let sit for about 10 - 20 minutes then rinse.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

What Turns Your Hair Gray?

What Turns Your Hair Gray in Your Twenties?

-Little Two Year Old Boys that is!!

Some days tend to be more challenging than others but for some odd reason, the hard days grace their presence when Mama feels bad! The tale you hear of children feeling your emotions must be so true because my 'babies' were very unhappy Monday as well.
I recently had gallbladder surgery and my tummy had just started to get better. In other words, if you've every had gallbladder surgery or you know someone who has, you know that once you have it, it takes a while for you to be able to eat certain foods without having an immediate upset tummy.
I was finally able to down Mexican food and Italian, so I totally forgot about the whole deal when my son's birthday party came up.
The party was a lot of work & ended up taking over the entire Saturday so Sunday was my time to breath and do...well, nothing!
Doing nothing brought on the doing nothing snack urge. There was a bag of chips and ranch dip left over and boy did I dig in! I must have lost my mind because I haven't had chips in maybe a year and it's just something we never have in the house. Anyhow, I woke up Monday morning feeling every shad of bad.
What I thought was just a bad reaction to bad snack choice in turn kept me running every 2 minutes to the library if you know what I mean. Just try to breast feed your baby when you really cannot sit down for 5 whole minutes to do so.
My babies are 6m and 2 yrs old. When one would stop crying, on came the button for the other to cry..um I meant scream. It was a day of nonstop ciaos. Before noon, my body was so exhausted from being sick, I felt as if I would pass out any minute. However, Mama's do not get sick days! Mama's still have to take care of the kiddies, the house, the meals..etc....we're Super Woman, don't you know.
The 'ugh' highlight of the day happened when I thought my 2yr old had actually fell asleep for his nap. I should have known better when as soon as he laid down there was complete silence. At this age, silence means the kiddo is up to something no good!! Right when this clicked in my head, he started screaming and couldn't get his door open. (His new habit-doors have to stay closed or it wrecks his nerves!)
Well, he couldn't open the door because his hand were GREASY as were his hands, arms, legs, the back of his head at the neck and this greasy goo was ALL in the floor, side of his bed and all over every stitch of covers that poor baby had on the bed.
Bless his heart! Since my surgery, I started changing him on his bed as I was not able to pick him up for a while and I carry the diaper caddy with me. That morning I felt so bad that I dropped it and apparently I didn't pick up everything. The curious little guy had found a tiny tub of cortisone cream! Luckily, he thought he was putting lotion on himself like we normally do after his bath and his mouth and teeth were not greasy so he didn't eat it; thank goodness!
At the time, my 6M old was in her jumperoo and since she was ok, I took my toddler to have a bath but of course, as soon as the tub fills, the baby starts crying...no, screaming!
After several wash downs to be sure all the greasy mess was all off, I wrapped a towel around him and ran to the baby because it didn't seem like a normal cry. I took her out of the jumperoo and she was fine other than being hungry so off to the crib for a minute she went.
I grabbed the clean cloths and a diaper for the 2 year old and ran into the living room to get him dressed right quick before he....peed. Too late. There he stood so proudly with a little smirk on his face, standing so tall, peeing on his new little green chair he had gotten for his birthday. Luckily it was a perfect little puddle & I had wonderful Lysol wipes to work it's magic...many many Lysol wipes!
Needless to say, back to the bath he went while my 6M old was still crying of hunger.
My husband was having a really busy day at work so I was trying so hard not to call him to come home, so I went with my newly constructed plan. I would do nothing but survive the day and just worry about feeding the kids! I shut my 2yr old's door b/c Daddy could get that up when he got home if I didn't feel any better and I sent him to our room in an attempt for a nap. He love to sit on our bed and watch cartoons and he doesn't get to do that much. He was so tired that he did quiet down and tucker out. A good thing about baths, they make little ones feel sleepy. :)
Finally, I fed the baby and was able to keep down a turkey sandwich and a V8 Smoothie myself.
Before I knew it, my husband was home and I had not been able to cook supper! UGH!
After resting a few minutes, he headed out to get something. Not long after he left, our neighbor called. She had cooked too much supper and thought we may want it as she didn't want it to go to waste! What a blessing in disguise! It's funny how things turn out.
Not many days are like this. Better yet, I haven't even HAD a day like this any other time but when those rough days come I always remind myself that women do this all the time by just themselves and many have it much worse than I. Those tough times build good days and all through the day, my kids love me and wish for nothing but to be around me, even when I feel bad. They don't care how pooey I look; they just want to see me smiling back at them.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Sweet Little Feet

What is sweeter than those ten little toes on precious tiny baby feet?!

This is one pose that you will always cherish of your sweet little newborn. If you're not having professional pictures taken or you didn't get think of this pose at the time, don't worry because this is one you can take with the help of a friend or spouse and any simple camera.

1. Sit down in a chair, holding your baby on your lap.
2.Cup those little feet in your hands making a heart shape.
3.Have your spouse or friend put a blanket behind your hands and the baby's feet & adjust it accordingly.
4.Take several shots trying with and w/o flash.
5.Now you are ready to edit your pictures.
If you don't have any editing programs, you can always try paintbrush.
Be sure to save a copy of the original and change the name each time so you can come out with different styles.

It becomes

addicting but

that's ok..

..no one is

the same

and if
all else fails...

Make sure
to get a
close up
of those..

*Sweet*

*Little*

*Feet*

..if your little one will be still!

Homemade from the Easter Bunny

Hip!
Hop!

HIPPITY HOP!!

Easter is around the corner and what is the Easter Bunny bringing to your little one's baskets?

For weeks, the stores have been filled with stuffed bunnies, some with cheap filling & materials that wear very fast, some that are nice but over priced and many that look just like any other.

Well, there are other unique routes you can go. There are lots of online boutiques filled with adorable & one of kind handmade gifts made by hardworking Mommies!

Let your hard earned money go to the family of a hardworking, well deserving, crafty Mom in exchange for wonderful handmade and even custom items! Your options are endless but keep in mind that some items may take a little time to customize, so be sure to ask about ship times. Below are examples of some really neat items I have come across:

Peep Family Set from Sassy Little Princess! I have a set like this on order and I can't wait to get them! The set starts at $15 & you can customize the colors and even have baby rattles added. Also, how about a chick, an owl or an elephant?