Princess Crown Cake using Cricut Cake

Last year I offered to make a princess themed cake for my niece's 5th birthday.  I was hoping to make a castle cake, but since we were going to deliver it to the party location about an hour a way, I could not risk a cake disaster.  I opted for a simple cake in shape, but enhanced the decoration with fondant.

Freezer Paper Stencil Super Hero Shirt

Some people have asked me about the Super Hero shirts I made for the boys for my daughter's Princess Party.  Since my daughter picked out the design for the girl's shirts at her party, my son chose the design for the boy's shirts.  I used the Batman: Brave and the Bold Cricut cartridge. This is one of the cartridges I used for the Super Hero Party.  

Special Weekday Breakfast- 2 Ingredient Chocolate Croissants

 Today my kids deemed me the "coolest mom in the world!"  I am happy to accept this title especially because it was so easy to earn .  I made an extra special breakfast before school which consisted of "freshly baked" chocolate croissants, hard boiled eggs, and strawberries.  The latter 2 items are breakfast staples in our house, but the warm chocolate croissants are what won them over.

Freezer Paper Stencil Princess Shirts using the Cricut

When my daughter requested another princess themed party, I, of course, agreed.  But since her birthday was days away from my due date of my third child, we decided on a day at Fairytale Town which included some party time in the castle. For the favors and to help keep track of the little ones at the park, I made custom bright pink princess party tee shirts.

Green Smoothie 1

I am trying to incorporate more vegetables into my diet. My goal is leafy greens with every meal. Breakfast can be a bit tricky but there is always the smoothie.

The Joy of Keeping Chickens

Some people might think I am crazy, but I think this picture is amazingly beautiful.  Yes, I know it is eggs!  There is something inherently beautiful about a full basket of freshly collected eggs.  Just look at all those colors and sizes!  It makes me so happy every time I open the refrigerator and see the bowl of these gems.

Collecting eggs has been especially fun for my kids.  We try to figure out and match the egg to the hen.  Having a variety of eggs has solved one of our meal time dilemmas.  My daughter sometimes refuses protein in the morning.  Now she happily picks out a small egg and is excited to eat it.

2013 Chicks with Mama Hen

"The Girls"

Both kids now freely eat eggs anytime. I think it is partly the joy of raising the hens from chicks and the task of gathering the eggs everyday.  Raising your own food brings a thankfulness and appreciation that cannot be found with going to the Megamart.  I take comfort in knowing because we pasture raise our chickens, I am not only feeding my family a superior quality protein, but they also taste better.

Ingredients to a Luscious Coconut Custard- Courtesy of Coconut Love 

Also, in the summer when the eggs are plentiful, we eat them a couple times a week for dinner.  Eggs pair well with the fresh garden bounty.  More egg recipes to come.

Snuggling with "Rainbow Dash"

Some people say that chickens are the "gateway animal" and that getting more livestock is inevitable.  I would agree.  Keeping chickens overall has been easy (despite the predator attacks) and rewarding with fresh eggs daily.  We will see.  Have you thought about keeping chickens? If you have a flock, what other kind of livestock do you keep?

Girl's Romper and Leggings Up-cycled from a Woman's Sweater

Since I have been experiencing the nesting phenomenon that happens to so many women while pregnant, I decided to clean out my closet.  Maybe not the best idea when you are far along in your pregnancy, because nothing is going to fit.   After cleaning out my closet, I took a good look everything and kept a few things I could turn into something else.  This sweater transformation for my daughter was one of those thing.  The best thing about it was that it was super easy!!!  

 

All you need to do is find a knit sweater.  I liked how this sweater had a design on the torso and the arms.   Then, cut the arms off the sweater.

 Next, taper in the sides. On a side note,  I would have hemmed the romper shorter but my girl loves long dresses.  Lastly,  hem around the arm holes and VOILA! New Romper.  The leggings were made from the sleeves and part of another recycled sweater to create the waistband and the crotch part of the leggings.  

Overall, this was a super easy outfit that I made out of something I was just going to donate.  The best thing is that my little girl loves how comfy it is and is able to run and play- a must for my active girl.

What is your favorite up-cycled project?