Pinterest Projects

I’m a little obsessed with Pinterest. I love finding new projects to do and not spending much, if any, money.  I’ve also found ways to save money. Inspired by the many recipes on Pinterest, I started making our own laundry detergent and dish detergent and sometimes baby wipes. These all save a lot of money.  Pinterest also has hundreds of ideas to entertain your toddler. Here are two easy things we did that I stole off Pinterest:

Ashlyn coloring with a marker on foil. I also gave her a wipe so she could erase and color some more. She was busy with this for about 45 minutes. 

Ashlyn taking colored (with food coloring) vinegar and dropping it into a Tupperware container with baking soda to watch it fizz. This also left her busy for at least 45 minutes. 

Other things that were inspired by Pinterest were to change an old nightstand into storage for the coloring books and diapers in our den.  Using old paint we had in the garage, I just spray painted it black and stamped the top.  We also had an old coffee table that had stains on it and was very out of style now. I turned that into a toddler craft table for Ashlyn and spattered paint on top. The containers on top of the table were old Lysol containers that I wrapped in scrapbook paper and they are being held by an old CD rack that was in our garage. Lastly, Ashlyn’s seating was a cushion off of an old couch that I wrapped with a table cloth that I no longer used.  Ashlyn absolutely loves this space. She has spend countless hours there since she’s had it.

Bye Bye Diapers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that is correct...the diapers are GONE!!!!!!!  Ashlyn is officially out of diapers and on the potty! I can't even believe I'm typing this. We started potty training last Friday (8/3). Friday she had about 50% success and 50% accidents, Saturday she had 66% success, Sunday she had 77% success, Monday she had 80% success and today she had 100% success with no accidents.  It has been a LOOOOOOONNNGGGG  five days but it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it.  She has spent hours (seriously) on the potty the last 5 days and she has done really well. She will even go to the potty when she needs to to poop. I know that we probably won't be accident free everyday but I'm confident that she gets it.

Ashlyn turns 21 months old in two days. She's is such a character. She has a very bright personality and is very smart. She's very loving and caring towards others and can also be a bit challenging. She loves Sesame Street, singing, learning, coloring, role playing (like playing a mommy with her baby or grocery shopping), and dancing. Here are some recent pictures:

Bye Bye Bumbo!

Our little Sariah Summer is now 7 months old and sits up great. She's starting to crawl but hasn't quite mastered it yet. She can get accross the room but it's more like scooting rather than crawling. She has, however, already figured out how to pull up on furniture. She's pulled herself to standing several times now. We're thinking she will probably walk early like Ashlyn did. She still adores Ashlyn. Sariah has also started to become more and more vocal over the last few weeks. She is such a sweetheart and is always wanting to cuddle.

At her 6 month visit she was 17 pounds and very healthy. She hasn't ever been sick (knock on wood). Lately I've been making baby food instead of buying it to save money and to make it a little healthier (the greens are greener with homemade baby food with fresh green veggies, plus no type of preservative). She eats once in the morning and once in the evening. Here are some pictures of our sweet girl:

 Discovering her hand just like Ashlyn did. See Ashlyn doing that here.

My GiGi

I don't know if I like these bananas, mom.

Chillin' in my sister's crib with my fly open.

Starting to pull up.