Monchichi costume

Originally I picked up a Cow's costume for Lovie to wear today but after I got it home, ripped off the tags, and tried it on her, I discovered it barely fit. And that was two months ago. Considering the fact that her size 2T jeans are almost too short, I knew the Cow costume, size 24 months, was a bust.

I wasn't happy about this revelation as I'm as cheap as they come and I was not wanting to spend another $15-30 on another costume for her to wear one, maybe two days.

 

And that's when it hit me: I was gonna turn my baby doll into a baby doll herself. A Monchichi doll!

It was perfect- she has the hair, I could easily dress her in brown and get a bib... just gotta figure out the tail... Did some online searches and it was a deal:

Lovie would be a Monchichi

The day finally arrived to try it all out... it was gloomy out, the temps were OK, we hadn't visited the in-laws in a bit. Why not dress our monkey up (is that what a Monchichi is?!?) and take a test run?

SUCCESS!!

* hand write Monchhichi (the way it's spelled on the doll's bib) on a Dollar Tree bib- $1

* brown shirt- $3 from Once Upon a Child and will be worn again so I don't even count this in the total of the costume cost.

* brown sweatshirt- $10 from Old Navy but has been worn often and don't count it since will be worn again.

* brown leggings- part of a $13 outfit from Marshall's and don't count it since they've been worn and will be worn again.

* tail- a women's knee high sock from the Dollar Tree ($1) stuffed with paper towel and safety pinned (free from my mom) to her leggings

* brown boots- $20 from Meijer store but don't count as they have been worn and will be worn again

* face paint - $1 - from Dollar Tree (love you Dollar Tree) but she's going w/out the makeup today as she just rubs it off (wuzdat on my nose?!)

Spooktacular-icle Listicle

H a l l o w e e n  is...

       1.       Candy

2.       Scary movies like the original Halloween

3.       Kit Kat bars

4.       Creepy music like from the likes of The Shining, etc.

5.       Bubblegum

6.       Orange and black and purple and green

7.       Snickers bars

8.       Witches, ghosts, pumpkins

9.       Full size candy bars!!

10.  My little Monchichi

School Pictures

I shared this the other day on my Facebook page, but I think I'll share here, too, because I'm not feeling very wordy today.

Can you believe these were taken only one year apart?

I mean it's like she went from baby to this little kid! It's really crazy, to me, to see this side by side. It really makes it all sink in, you know? Wow. And boy was I so happy when I saw this year's pictures. I was sure I was gonna get a repeat from last year- my kid is not a fan of "cheese" smiles, especially when she doesn't know the person. But I guess one of her teachers worked really hard to get this face. I owe her big, that reminds me.

Tomorrow my munchkin will be 22 months old- 2 months from turning 2. WOW!

WOW!!!

Happy Friday, Happy Weekend!

22 things

1.) …this week write a list of  22 things you HAVE done.

1.       Become a mom.

2.       Get married.

3.       Become an aunt 6 times.

4.       Become a great aunt.

5.       Met Bryan Adams in person.

6.       Get a bachelor’s degree.

7.       Gone to four different high schools.

from google images

8.       Owned and driven a 1969 VW Bug.

9.       Smoked lots of pot.

10.   Had surgery.

11.   Gone to Austria.

from google images

12.   Spent a week in Maine.

13.   Driven to Canada.

14.   Got stopped from border patrol in Tijuana, Mexico trying to come back into the States with drug paraphernalia purchased in Mexico.

15.   Get a tattoo.

16.   Gone to Las Vegas.

17.   Gone to New York City.

18.   Gone to a Broadway show.

19.   Had writing published.

20.   Met someone off the internet.

21.   Moved more than 15 times.

from google images

22.   Won $100 for best Halloween costume- Garcia, the Beanie Baby.

WW: Coloring views

from the top...

from the bottom...

Linking up with Dear Crissy, The Paper Mama, and Kiddothings

totally random, totally stolen, totally funny

my cousin posted this on Facebook with the caption: Apparently my barista believes that no caf / no fat / no whip = no fun - lol

Now while I'm not a fan of "lol", this picture warrants it.

New Mom Tips-icle Listicle

Ten Tips for New Moms

The beginning is hard. Don't try fooling yourself. It doesn't matter how many books you've read or babies you've held, the early days (weeks, maybe even months) of being a brand new mom is hard. And it's OK if you, too, cry because it will get easier. Promise!

The pacifier is not the devil. You may read that it's best not to confuse baby if you're breastfeeding or that it's best not to start a bad habit by giving the pacifier, but babies are used to sucking. That's what they know. That's how the live in the beginning. So give them a pacifier if they seem to want one, if they've been fed, changed, burped and are still unhappy.

Breast isn't always best if they don't work or if you just don't want to breastfeed. There are tricks to get your milk flowing, but sometimes no matter how hard you try, milk doesn't always produce to the liking of feeding your baby. And feeding your baby is what is important- not that it's done by breast or bottle. Also, bottle feeding a baby CAN be just as beautiful and bonding as breastfeeding. You can still hold your baby the same way you would when breastfeeding and looking into her eyes the same way. Trust me.

Zippered one piece sleep n plays are da bomb. Newborn babies don't need fancy clothes, just something to keep them warm. Sleep n plays are awesome but generally come with snaps which are better than buttons but when you're dealing with a squirmy little guy, a zipper is quick and easy.

Hold baby as much as you want- and then some. Don't be fooled by some folk who may say you're spoiling your baby by holding them. No you're not. You're nurturing your baby. You can't spoil a newborn. And so what if the baby stops crying when you hold him? That's a good thing! That means you're comforting him. If baby is unhappy and he's fed, changed, burped... why not hold him a little longer? It may seem like you've been holding him all day, but there will come a time when he wants little to do with you. Enjoy holding him now!

Swaddling is awesome. Your baby is used to being in tight, warm quarters. Why not try recreating that when he's on the outside? Learn to swaddle. It can really help baby sleep. And the Miracle Blanket is worth every penny!

White noise is life changing.  Baby is also used to lots of noise- non stop noise, really. Get a machine that plays white noise or run a fan when baby sleeps. It will help her sleep and keep out other distracting noises.

Accept help. This is normally the first piece of advice I give when asked. Don't be too proud to accept help if it's offered. And if it's not offered, don't be afraid to ask for help. Even if it's that someone come over to hold baby while you shower and rest for 1/2 an hour. Ask for and/or accept help.

Hold baby some more. She'll be 16 before you know it, I promise. Take advantage of her itty bittyness NOW.

Nap when you can. This is one that everyone says, but it's the flippin truth.

(all images are from google images)

face

Thinking ahead

For Lovie's first birthday, we kinda went big- spending more than we wanted and having everyone (family only- like 50 people) out for pizza in a private room of a pizza joint. I have no regrets because it was the first time several family members were meeting Lovie and it was important to me that we give them that opportunity.

But it wasn't cheap.

I mean, despite only getting a couple packages of balloons we blew up ourselves and some other random, cheap decorations as well as an inexpensive sheet cake, every penny went to the pizza joint for pizza and pop.

We spent what we spent agreeing that from that point forward, her birthday parties would be much smaller. Fine.

But the closer we get to her birthday, the more I'm hoping to do something more than just us and maybe her grandparents.

Enter one of those kid gym places.

A friend of mine, a SAHM, has been taking her kid there for well over a year and kept telling me to take Lovie. Hello! We spend a LOT of money sending her to daycare during the week - where she gets plenty of play time! But now that she's older and even more active, I decided to look into it for when the weather gets to be too cold or wet for us to get out to the park. They had a two week free trial so went for the first time last weekend.

It's AWESOME.

We spent an hour on the floor with Lovie, playing with her, encouraging her, spotting her. She did well with the teachers and the other kids, all older (she's the youngest in the class going up to 3.5 yo). We ended up signing her up after the class for another 8 weeks of classes starting in November so that the membership fee was waived.

I then "liked" them on Facebook and noticed they were having a contest for a FREE birthday party. So I slapped Lovie's pic on their wall and asked people to like. The contest ends in two weeks. So far (KNOCK ON EVERY PIECE OF WOOD), things look promising.

If we could win this party, it would really be ideal.

Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, I need to figure out what she's gonna wear for her birthday (and any time next year) so I found some images from google images and farted around on paint and came up with two designs:

She LOVES Team Umizoomi. Like, LOVES them. And I think I'm certain she would be beyond ecstatic to wear a shirt with the characters from the show... but I'm not sure I can find a place to make the design for me because of licensing issues. That's my guess anyway. Whereas the shirt with her name (her real name would appear, of course) can easily be made.

Keeping in mind I used Paint to create these so colors and style won't be the same, of course, what do you think??

Tick tock!

It’s 43 degrees right now; it’s cold, it’s gray and rainy, it’s autumn. And it’s a fantastic reminder that the holiday season is fast approaching. What better time to start thinking about what holiday cards to send?

 

Last Christmas, we sent out photo cards from Shutterfly and I’m sure we’ll be doing the same again this year- especially after the excellent experiences I’ve had with Shutterfly since first ordering (Lovie’s birth announcments) through them.  

 

They have such a vast variety of holiday cards to choose from and offer up a lot of customizing, too. Here’s a few of my favorites this year:

(I tend to like the more simple and flat cards because I think they’re easier to spot Lovie’s cute face on amidst an array of other cards, and they’re easy to pop onto the wall or fridge.)

In addition to holiday cards, Shutterfly also has some pretty neat calendars and other gifts that family is sure to treasure.

Tick tock, people. Halloween is in 11 days, Thanksgiving is in a little more than a month, and Christmas… will be here before you know it!!

Are you a blogger interested in getting 25 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly? Then click here.