Mummy on the Move Halloween Tradition

Happy Fall! How was your first day of fall? I kicked it off by making some soup, yum! I can’t wait to make even more! 

Well I’m back today with this cute craft. My sweet neighbor told me about this a few years ago and ever since I’ve been wanting to do it. So you’ve heard of or seen those mischievous elves at Christmas time. Well this is the Halloween equivalent. My husband and I are really trying to keep the focus of Christmas on Christ because that is what the holiday is about to us. So we didn’t fell like Santa and elves fit into the picture very well and haven’t really had them apart of our kid’s Christmas. 

So this guy’s name is ‘Mummy on the Move’ and he will be playing trick or leaving treats for the kids leading up to Halloween. I haven’t ironed out all the details about the back story or anything like that, but I feel really comfortable with this new tradition because it’s fun, memorable, and since Halloween isn’t a big holiday in our house, it fits.

Here is how I made the little guy. All you’ll need is wire and muslin ripped into 1” strips

Start by shaping his legs

Make the torso by wrapping wire around some fabric that is bundled into the torso shape. Then attach the legs and wrap them in the muslin. Tie knots as the bottom layer to give it some shape, then just simply wrap over top. 

For the arms, wrap around the torso and extend out, overlapping the wire.

Wrap the arms

Then create a head by making a sphere.

Attach the head and wrap with muslin.

You can then draw a face or not, that’s up to you.

I hope to be back with some fun ideas and crazy thing this little guy does. 

What kind of Halloween traditions do you have?

    

The Blogland Tour

Hey, I’m back! We’ve had a big learning curve with this whole, wake-up-at-a-certain-time-get-ready-and-out-the-door preschool thing. haha. I mean, come on, I never had to be anywhere at a specific time so we just woke up when we woke up. That has come to an end!
Anyway, I’m excited that my friend Natalie from Pistashio Road asked me to do the Blogland Tour with her. Natalie and I met in college and have since reconnected through blogging, which is awesome. Natalie is super talented, check out this adorable and stylish DIY Kimono she made. It has me going through my fabric stash to make one for me!

The Blogland Tour 2014

1. What am I working on?
Now that’s the million dollar question. I have a Lowe’s gift card burning a hole in my pocket, but some of my projects have been cancelled or altered due to some recent life changes. I have been building some table legs for our dining room table. They need to be stained and attached, I’ve just been waiting for cooler weather before working in the garage. I have some ideas just forming for some fall decorations. It’s hard to think about fall though when it’s still 100 degrees. I would like to plant a fall garden, but we shall see about that.
I'm working on a post about cloth diapers, breastfeeding, sugar addiction, and nighttime routines. I just have to find some time to work on them. 
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Well, I really like to be frugal about my projects. I try to work with what I have already to accomplish something unique. I also really enjoy working with power tools and building things. I think my favorite project recently was my DIY Baby Gate. I loved using what I had on hand – a crib rail- and figuring out how to use it effectively as a baby gate.
3. Why do I write/create what I do?
I really enjoy creating things, but sometimes I need a motivation. I love when I can inspire someone to reuse, create, or build something that they didn’t know they could. So I guess I’m motivated by the possibility of inspiring others to be creative, live healthier, be happier, all that. I also figure, I’m going to be doing these projects anyway, why not share them? It’s fun and I’ve met a bunch of fun people through blogging.
4. How does your writing/ creating process work?
I basically just go through my to do list. Sometimes I’ll skip around or have an idea that I just want to do right away. I also try to think of projects that will save other moms money, time, or their sanity. You know tips and trick to make each day a little smoother. So if I have one of those ‘Ah Ha’ moments, I’ll write it down and use that as a topic to write about. I want my blog to be uplifting and inspirational.
Alex
The Blogland Tour continues:
I’m really excited to introduce two friends who I adore. I actually met them both within the last year and we’ve just had a blast getting to know each other, hanging out, having play dates, and just being goofy!
Christy from Fresh Mix Momma

Hi!  My name is Christy. I am a military wife and a work-at-home mom of a beautiful little girl.
I love all things coffee, travel, music and outdoors.  I strive to live a healthy and try to help others live healthier.  Although I try to be healthy, I also indulge in yummy treats … I find that to have balance, you have to have a good mix of give & take.
My hope in creating “Fresh Mix Momma” is to give moms a chance to sit, relax and escape everyday stresses.  Giving others tips/tricks, travel advice, DIY, recipes and more.
So if you need a break, this is it.  Let this be a breath of fresh air!
Rachael from Fick Family Fun

Hi! My name is Racheal. I am wife and mother to three
terrible, crazy, wonderful kids!
I have Multiple Sclerosis, and my youngest has Cystic Fibrosis.
Everyday I am learning to survive and thrive through motherhood. I try to not take days for granted. Each one is something to cherish! Whether or not that happens is a different story, let’s be real. I always love my kids, I don’t always like them.
I love to read, go out with my mom friends, cuddle with my kids under the covers, and I am pretty sure I have an addiction to…. CHOCOLATE!!!
If you are a mom, or maybe not,  but you want to laugh your tail off, you have come to the right place. The stuff I write about I wish I could make up…
Thanks for stopping by!

Rainbow Tulle Tutu

Is she not the cutest thing EVER?! ok I might be a little biased, but seriously, my little girl is growing up. She’s going to be 1 year in just 9 days! ahhh! I doubt we’ll do much more than a family dinner, maybe a homemade cake…we’ll see.

But even if we don’t do a party, I wanted to make her something cute to wear. I had this tulle leftover from the Easy No Sew Tutu Crib Skirt so it didn’t cost me a penny, my favorite kind of craft!

So here’s what I did. I cut the tulle in 10” strips. It’s doubled over here

so then you cut it down the crease to make two pieces.

For the waistband I used 1” elastic and all you do with that is cut it to size plus 1”. Then sew the tow ends together with a straight stitch.

Loop the tulle around the elastic and pull the end through the loop.

Continue that all the way around varying the colors and you’ll end up with a super cute tutu.

Here are some of the ‘outtakes’ from trying to photograph Cadence in her tutu…

You can tell she has older brothers. She loves planes and she ‘flies’ them over her head and even makes the flying noises.

Or there’s this…lol more she’s learned from her brothers.

No words, just smiles! :)

 

What did you do for your child's 1st birthday? A big party or just a family gathering?

    

Crockpot Chocolate Rice Pudding with TruMoo!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TruMoo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was in college, I found this really amazing shop. I don’t remember who told me about it or who I first went there with, but it was a rice pudding shop. It was amazing! There were different flavors and different toppings. Unfortunately the shop went out of business or moved, but I couldn’t find another place like it. I was so sad!

Fast forward several years and I really haven’t had rice pudding since. I was given the challenge by TruMoo to make something yummy with their milk. Did you know TruMoo doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup to sweeten their milk? Yup, and no artificial growth hormones are used on the cows they get the milk from! TruMoo comes in chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and coffee!

Go learn more about TruMoo on Facebook or visit TruMoo for more information!

I thought and thought about what I could make and suddenly rice pudding popped into my head. So I’ve come up with a yummy recipe to fill this void in my life, it’s very yummy and not overly sweet.  Jump to the bottom of the page for a giveaway for you!

Crockpot Chocolate Rice Pudding
4 1/2 cups chocolate milk, such as TruMoo Chocolate Milk
1/2 cup cream (optional, I used it because my local store only had 1% chocolate TruMoo, if you find the whole milk you will not need this)
1 Cup Arborio Rice
1/2 sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
Stir all ingredients together in the crockpot and put on low for 4 hours.

Transfer to bowls and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
There you go, I hope you enjoy. You could even use some chocolate chips to top it or fruit as a mix in. I drizzled a tiny bit of chocolate syrup on top. Yum!

What TruMoo flavor are you most excited to try?

Enter to win a $0.75 off coupon to try it for yourself! 5 winners will be chosen, enter now!

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See more great ways to enjoy TruMoo

2014 Shaklee Global Conference

Hey everyone! How was your weekend? Do you have a fun week coming up?

It has been a crazy couple weeks. We attended a wedding out of state and few days later I left for Long Beach, and right after getting back I had many things to do for my calling in church. Not to mention coming back to the day to day of the home and the kids readjusting to me being home. It was rough. 

So with school starting up, I’m looking forward to being much more regular and catching you up on some new projects I’ve got. Today I wanted to give you a quick run down of the conference I went to. 

One of the biggest things that stuck out to me and has always impressed me about Shaklee is the history and the legacy. Dr.Shaklee helped to develop the first multivitamin almost 100 years ago. Shaklee, the company, has been around for almost 60! There aren’t many companies with that kind of longevity!

Four new and very exciting products were launched at conference and I can’t wait to share  more about them. Here is a small teaser of two of them!

Roger, our CEO, talked a bit about life span versus health span. Our life span is how long we live, pretty simple. But our health span is what our quality of life is like, what our health is like during the time we’re living. Even though we’re living longer lives, most people are not healthy at the end and are often bed ridden or reliant on many medications. How we treat our bodies now, matters and will either positively or negatively affect our health span.

Maria Shriver was our keynote speaker and it was fantastic listening to her. Honestly, I didn’t know a whole lot about her prior to hearing that she would be speaking. I learned she is a reporter, an author, and an architect of change. This was one of Maria’s key points, that we can all be ‘architects of change’
by working to change our circumstances, inspire others with our story, and just by being kind.

She also said we are not ‘just’ a mom or ‘just’ a dad. She said those are huge and important roles so give yourself credit! That really hit me because I say that, ‘I’m just a mom.’

Maria was wonderful and totally inspiring!

 The last thing that I wanted to share about the conference, and I already knew this, but it was confirmed to me again. The people I’ve met on our team, Project Dream, and in Shaklee are just amazing, kind, and happy people. Project Dream is so special, we all respect, care for each other, and share ideas.

I can’t imagine not knowing these wonderful women…

 I was even adopted as a second mom by Lacie

All the ladies…

It was a wonderful weekend with my Project Dream ladies and can’t wait to see what our group looks like next year and what awesome people will join our team.

If you’re looking for a group of women who value health, friendship, and helping each other or if you’re looking for a way to make a little or a lot of money from home during naptime, Project Dream may be a good fit. Shoot me an email and I’d be glad to answer any questions for you. 

I’m excited about getting back to blogging and working on some great projects coming up!

Have an awesome week!