Monday 17 December 2012

Christmas Gift's for the Kelly Boys

Well after finally rounding up all the presents that I had bought for the boys over the past couple months I came to the realization that they are going to be a little bit spoiled this year. Oops! Well this is the first year Kyler is really going to understand what is going on and Deagan is getting mostly diapers but so I wanted to make it fun and I really hadn't realized how much I had gotten for the boys until I pulled it all out of all my hiding little spots. That being said a lot of it I still bought second hand or on sale as neither one of them are going to know. Most toys we take out of their packaging before Christmas and put it in a plain box so that they can play with the toys right away anyways so who's to know if it was a second hand toy or new. :D So I thought I would put together a list of all the gifts we got for the boys so that maybe other parents could get some ideas as to what to get their kids or just to take a boo at what we got Kyler (2.5 years) and Deagan (7.5 months).


Okay, so firstly we wanted to start a tradition with the boys that they will get to open one gift on Christmas Eve and that it would be pj's. I also for as long as I can want to get them matching pj's as I think it's really cute when they are young. I picked these pj's as it was something that they could still wear after Christmas but they are made of a micro fleece so they are super cozy. The next tradition we have is that on Christmas Eve the each get an ornament to put on the tree Kyler has a little Nutcracker and Deagan is getting a Baby's First Christmas ornament.
For Deagan he is getting a lot of cloth diapers for Christmas. I had two custom made diapers from Luv Earth Cloth Diapers, one Tweedle Bugs Diaper, and then I got a Grovia Shell in Cloud with some extra inserts and Boosters. 
These are the Luv Earth Diapers. One is a pirate themed diaper and the other is Rudolf diaper. The Rudolf diaper I am going to have it prepped already so that he will get to wear this Diaper on Christmas. I'm sooo excited for these ones to arrive and to see how they work for us :)
The blue one is the Tweedle Bugs diaper we are getting and the Grey one is the Snap Closure Grovia Shell that we picked. We then got 2 packs of the stay dry inserts and a couple of boosters. The Luv Earth Diapers and Tweedle Bugs are diapers we have never tried before the Grovia is just adding to our Grovia stash.
Deagan then also got socks, an Infantino activity ball, a Leap Frog Learn & Groove Musical Table (the activity ball and table I got second had for $5), a large Giraffe stuffy for in his room, a laugh and learn alphabet express train, a wooden block puzzle, and some onesies.

Both boys also are getting a Scentsy Buddy. Deagan is getting Ollie the elephant (as he has the jungle/safari theme room) and Kyler is getting Ribbert the frog (as he already has a favorite stuffy who is also a frog) and both are getting the Christmas cottage scent to go in them. These I got on sale for their buy one get one free deal (which is why both boys are getting one).
For Kyler our major gift we are giving him the Leap Frog Leappad 2. He loves playing games on our computer, taking pictures with our camera, and playing videos and games on our phone so we thought it was time for his own piece of technology. We then got him a soccer ball, a soft hockey stick and ball set, a remote control car, and a Jake and the Neverland Pirates sword. I then picked up second hand a fire fighter outfit, a new never opened giant sticker book and puzzle (both were FREE), a bead and wire toy, and then a fleece blanket for his bed. 
So yes the boys are getting spoiled but I honestly didn't realize that I had collected so much over the last couple months. Hopefully the boys will enjoy everything they get as I was really excited about getting the items.

Thanks for Reading and Merry Christmas :)

Thursday 13 December 2012

Easy Christmas Crafts

After being a Girl Guide for 15+ years I tend to have a crafty side but I also like to get my eldest involved even though he's only two and half. I did 2 crafts with him that he had fun making and we could also make extras and give them as gifts. The first one was....

Homemade Gel Air Fresheners
For this craft you will need the following:
a jar or container
gelatine (I used Knox brand)
water
salt
essential oil/ diffuser oil
food coloring (optional)
Tissue paper (optional)
white glue (optional)
paint brush (optional)

For these we decided to use jar as we thought they looked nicer for giving away as gift. We made some in baby food jars and we made a couple larger air fresheners in mason jars.



As these ones were going to be gift this is where we added an extra step. We then took pieces of tissue paper and glued them on the jar. You want to glue them one with watered down white glue (you can use full strength glue but it tends to rip the tissue paper). Once you have covered you jar in tissue paper you want to go over the entire jar white glue just to protect the tissue. You can do one color or get creative with multiple colors. (Kyler my 2 year old glued most of the colors on the jar i had to paint the glue on and then he would stick on the tissue)

Once your jar are dried or you decided to omit that step next thing is to add 1tsp of salt to your jar (this is to prevent mold in your gelatine) 10-30 drops of your essential oil (depending on how strong you would like your scent) and 5-10 drops of your choice of food coloring to your jars. Once you have all of this in your container or jar give it a little stir just to help the salt dissolve better.

Next you have to make you gelatine. I used the Know brand gelatine but any gelatine you find I'm sure will work. For this gelatine one package of Gelatine will turn up to 2 cups of liquid into gel (a standard size mason jar hols 2 cups perfectly). Once you have determined how much liquid you will need you need to dissolve the package(s) of gelatine into half of your water and then add the rest of the water as boiling water. Example, one standard mason jar holds 2 cups of water in it. Combine 1 cup warm water and your gelatine together and mix thoroughly once gelatine starts to dissolve add 1 boiling water and mix altogether.



Once it is all mixed you can put you gelatine mix into your jar and let cool. Gelatine will set at room temperature however for a quicker set time place in the fridge for a couple hours to help set.
There you have it!!! Once set add a lid and done :D. If you want the scent to last longer leave the lid on until you want to use the air freshener. Once open air freshener will last for about a month. If you created the air freshener in a jar when the scent wears off you can scoop out the gelatine and use them as a tealight holder :D (2 crafts in one!!!)



Now the second craft we did was.....
Snowglobes
for this craft you will need the following....
An ornament that can get wet and fits in a mason jar
A wide mouth mason jar with lid and ring
glitter (any color)
water
hot glue or crazy glue (crazy glue does work better but both work)




First step is to glue your ornament to the bottom side of the lid
While your ornament is drying to your lid add glitter and water to your jar. Less than a half of one of the small tubes of glitter is perfect (too much glitter and it will just chunk up).

Then add the lid screw on the ring and your done. Give it a shake and instant snow globe :)

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions about these crafts please feel free to ask :)

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Autumn Bucket List- Part 2

I said I would do the autumn bucket list however I realized that I hadn't completed much of it yet. I did do a blog entry on my favorite decor, and I had posted a blog on some of my fall style baking. However, when it came to the other 5 items on Marie's Autumn Bucket List I had been procrastinating. The ones that I really procrastinated on was the favorite outfit and makeup. The reason is that I'm not much into fashion or makeup. For those who know me know that if they see me on a day without makeup it's not a bad day...it's a normal day. Many times when I put on makeup Brendan will ask where I am going because usually when I put on makeup it means there an occasion of some sort. It always concerns Brendan when I put on makeup because he thinks he's forgotten some major important event. As for clothes I find something that works and I stick to it. Whether it is +40c or -20C I always wear the same basics and just slightly change up the top. Nine times out of ten you will see me in jeans and a tank top. The only thing that changes is as the weather gets cooler the covers over the tank top change. Early fall when the weather first starts to change it's usually empire waist t-shirts, then it turns into cardigans, and then to hoodies, and then the process reverses as the weather gets warmer. I went to university to become a high school shop teacher and I feel way more comfortable with my hair pulled back in a ponytail, no make up on, and wearing grease covered overalls than I do wearing a dress/skirt, hair done up nice, and makeup on. The girly side of me very rarely makes an appearance but for you guys I thought I would show you a typical outfit and makeup picture (when I wear makeup). I also thought since I'm fairly boring in the clothing department I would show you my favorite clothes for the boys.


The top row is Deagan's Outfits
Bottom row is my typical outfit and my favorite shirts for Kyler

For Deagan I am loving sweaters or sweater vest and a pair of black or tan pants. Kyler I am madly in love with him in plaid shirts and jeans. I think he just looks soooo adorable in them and it's a little more dressy than his usual long sleeve shirt and pants combo. As for my typical outfit the bottom left picture is it. I was wearing my usual tank top and jeans and then I had an empire waist t-shirt over top (great for nursing) and since Deagan is teething like crazy right now the only accessory I wear is my Chewbeads necklace (which he loves). So that pretty much sums up fall outfits, I have pulled out all the our warm clothing and these are definitely my favorites. 

Now as far as makeup goes I never wear eye shadow, blush, or bronzer so I can't say I have a favorite pallet for fall but I did recently buy a couple of basic products  in the last little while and I LOVE them. On is a lip products and the other is just a concealer, but all us mommas with babies or young ones know that concealer is your best friend!

Top one the lip stain bottom is the concealer
Lip stain is in the color Precious and the concealer is in Buff.

For the days I wear makeup this is what you get :D

Well folks I think that completes part 2 of my Autumn Bucket List but I will have my favorite drink, meal and activity posted soon. Thanks everyone for reading see you back here real soon :)

Saturday 3 November 2012

Momma I'm a Lion...RAWR!!!

I decided this year that we would do a theme costume as it would probably be the only year that I could choose something for Kyler without him putting up much of a fuss. So I started thinking about what kind of costume theme I could do with 1 girl and 3 boys and Wizard of Oz came to mind. I convinced Brendan that he was going to dress up (which was the hardest part) and started creating costumes. I started off by finding a Lion costume for Kyler at a garage sale. Next I found a plaid shirt and jean overalls that would fit Deagan. Which I then stitched on different length yarn around the wrists and ankles and put patches on the overalls. We then found a hat and stitched yarn around the edge of that as well. My costume was created using a checkered twin sheet, blouse and my old wedding shoes (which I hated wearing because they didn't fit right). I spray painted my shoes red and while they were still tacky I added red glitter to them. Lastly there was Brendan costume which consisted of a funnel, ducting, a box, aluminum foil, and a whole bunch of duct tape. I didn't use a pattern for any of them I just started creating and I think they turned out pretty good. We had lots of people stop and compliment us on our costumes while we were trick-or-treating at the mall and our local cable station stopped us and took pictures of the boys. Hope everyone else had a Happy Halloween and thanks for reading :D

Monday 29 October 2012

Halloween Traditions

For the last couple of years I have taken Kyler to the pumpkin patch and took pictures with him amongst the pumpkins.
Kyler at 5 months old



Kyler at 1.5 years old

Well this year we were able to go to the pumpkin patch with all the daycare kids in tow but weren't able to take pictures of just Deagan and Kyler in the patch. So this year we got a little creative and took picture with the pumpkins we had picked out at the patch. I think Kyler's was the best choice.






A word of caution though, sometimes when  carving pumpkins you may find more in the pumpkin than just guts :D




Once done carving you will also find that Jack-O-Lanterns come in all different shapes and sizes.



So even though we didn't get to take pictures of the boys at the pumpkin patch I think we did a good job of bringing the patch to us. Hope all of you have a happy and safe Halloween.

Thanks for reading, 

Sunday 28 October 2012

Pumpkin Carving





Cross another item off the Autumn Bucket List....We were able to get our pumpkins carved. Brendan carved a character from one of his computer games and Kyler decided he wanted Mickey Mouse so I carved a Mickey for Kyler. We were also able to get our costumes done too but you will have to sit and wait on the edge of your seats for those.
Thanks for reading :D

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Cinnamon Buns Anyone?

Part of the fall baking I wanted to complete was cinnamon buns from scratch. They turned out fabulous and I'm not going to lie I ate two at my first sitting :S. If you are a Cinnamon bun lover these are definitely worth giving a try.

Ingredients:
Dough
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 5 cups flour
  • 1 package instant yeast
  • 4 eggs

Filling

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon
Directions:
Filling
  1. Mix all ingredients together.
Assembly
  1. In a small pot gently warm the milk along with 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, the vanilla and the salt. Don’t bring to a simmer, warm just enough to melt the butter. Meanwhile measure half the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer along with the yeast. Add the warm melted milk butter mixture to the flour, beat with a paddle attachment until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth before proceeding. Switch to a dough hook and add the remaining flour. Knead until a soft dough forms that is no longer sticky to the touch, about five minutes. Rest the dough in a warm place, covered in a lightly oiled bowl until it doubles in size, about one to two hours.
  2. Knock the dough down and let rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile thoroughly mix together the room temperature butter with 1 cup of brown sugar and the cinnamon. Flour your work surface, the dough, your hands and a rolling pin. Roll out the dough into a long rectangle shape, about 18x12-inches. Evenly spread the cinnamon butter over the top of the dough leaving an inch or two uncovered along one long edge. This will help a seal form. Roll tightly into a long cigar shape from the covered long edge to the uncovered long edge. Brush the outside of the log with oil or melted butter.
  3. Slice the dough log into 12 or 16 sections. Turn each on its side and position evenly in an appropriately sized lightly oiled baking pan. Rest, uncovered, until the dough doubles in size again and the rolls swell into each other.
  4. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350 F. When the dough is ready, bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
Icing:
  • 1 8oz. package of plain cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup butter (softened)
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  1. Cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth, add vanilla and then slowly mix in icing sugar 
  2. If you are making the icing while the cinnamon buns are cooking, when finished place icing in the fridge until cinnamon buns are ready to be frosted
  3. When cinnamon buns are finished baking let the cool for about 5-10min so that they are still warm and spread cream cheese icing over the top.
Thanks for Viewing :D

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Autumn Bucket List


I have decided to do the Autumn Bucket List created by Marie and her blog. Even though life is really hectic right now with a move coming up, at the end of the month, there are a few things I wanted to do and I figured this would be easy enough to do amidst all the packing and boxes.  I am a huge fan of Halloween and usually decorate the house completely for fall/Halloween including painting some kind of mural on our window (I do this for Christmas too and it will be done then :D). I just recently posted one of my favorite decor items, the holiday fabric wreath. I love more crafty style decor items and so I thought is was great for this list. While I am going to do this list I wanted to add my own bucket list items to it.

This fall we would like to....
~ Go to the pumpkin patch/corn maze
~ Go on a Hay ride
~ Pull out all our warm clothing
~ Get some family photos done
~ Complete our costumes for Halloween (a secret till Halloween gets closer)
~ Carve pumpkins
~ Do some fall baking
~ Make some stew (enough to freeze some as well)
~ Make some fall crafts with the boys

 These are photos we took while visiting the pumpkin patch with the daycare kids..we still want to go as just a family. Three two year olds' in a maze was quite the crazy adventure.
Thanks For Reading :D

Monday 15 October 2012

Fabric Holiday Wreath

With becoming a mom, I have rediscovered my crafty side, and after remembering doing this craft when I 10 years old I thought I would give it another shot. Initially when I learned how to make these it was as a Christmas craft but I figured it could be done for any season or occasion. This craft is super easy and costs very little to make.
All you'll need is......
1- Wire clothes hanger
1 meter of assorted cotton fabric (specific to your occasion, I picked oranges)
A pair of pinking sheers or regular scissors (pinking sheers make the fabric look nicer)
OPTIONAL
Hot glue gun
Seasonal decorations

1.) First thing you want to do bend the triangular part of the coat hanger into a circle as this will create the ridged part of your wreath.

2.) Cut all your fabric into strips approximately 6" long and 1" wide (these do not have to be exact)
this is where having the pinking sheers is nice as they will look a little nicer and keep the edges from fraying too much

3.) Next your going to tie the fabric onto the coat hanger following whatever pattern you have decided on for your fabric (I went from yellow to dark orange repeating)
             Just a simple not in the center of the fabric will hold just fine
       Continue this step until you have filled in the entire hanger  (for a fuller wreath push the fabric knots towards the first piece that was tied on in order to bunch the fabric up more)

4.) Once you have tied enough fabric on (approx. 200 strips) your going to fluff up the wreath by pulling on the knot ends so that they are not all laying in one direction.

5.)  At this point your wreath is finished and you can leave it like this or you can add seasonal decoration to it. I have added wooden letters painted in a dark brown to mine which spell out fall, however you can add what ever you would like (the one I made in fourth grade was for Christmas and has a Santa and some Christmas bobbles on it).



6.) your final step if to figure out how to hang it. I like to bend the hanger part so that you can hook it over a door you may also want to cut the top hanger part off and just hang it from the indent at the top of the Hanger

So there you have it a fabric holiday wreath that you can make for any occasion. Hope you enjoy

I also wanted to say that this is my favorite way to decorate my house. I love the hand made crafty projects around the house. My other favorite thing is to do murals on our Livingroom window (however we are moving and I couldn't do it this year for Halloween)
Thanks For Reading :D

Sunday 7 October 2012

MAMA FIRETRUCK!!!!

So Kyler is crazy about Firetrucks he has firetruck pj's, firetruck pillow, fireman's hat, firetruck shaped ball pit, firetruck books, and about 20 different firetrucks toys. Any time he hears a siren he shouts at us exclaiming, "FIRETRUCK" and when he is starting to get tired or upset he sits with Dada on the computer and watches 30min Firetruck Parades. Well after coming to the realization that my cousin is a firefighter with one of our local volunteer departments we asked if we could arrange for Kyler to go see the firetrucks. Last weekend we took a trip to the fire hall and you would have thought it was Christmas. He ran from one firetruck to another asking to be put in the drivers seat so he could drive. Then my cousin brought our his fire gear and let Kyler try it on, now Kyler is running around saying he's going to be a firefighter. This trip totally made his day, week, month, and probably year :D

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Reese Squares

I made more of these squares  the other night, as for some reason they don't last very long ;).....OH how I wish I had brought out the video camera as Kyler had decided to help himself to the pre-cut bars in the fridge. It was later in the evening and Kyler had just finished having his bath. He had gone to the fridge to grab his milk as he usually does after his bath when all got extremely quiet. I decided to investigate and as I came around the corner I find my son shoving the bars in his mouth like a chipmunk storing nuts for the winter. There is now peanut butter and chocolate from one ear to the other, up his nose, all over his hand, and up his arms. He quickly looks up and me gapes his mouth open and say "Momma, I'm sowrry" I stood there trying not to laugh as I had to let Kyler know that he was in some sort of trouble. Well suffice it to say Kyler had two baths that night and we were down another 4 bars :)

Friday 14 September 2012

The conversations I wish I could record!!!

Kyler woke up after a 3 hour nap calling for Brendan but Brendan had gone to work so this is how our conversation went
K- "DADA!!"
M- "Dada is at work right now what do you need lovey"
K- "I need bars"
M- "Like granola bars?"
K-"Uuumm ya, Have a good sleep momma"
M-" You did have a good sleep, you slept for 3 whole hours"
K- bolts upright in bed, "NO 2 HOURS MOMMA!!!!"
M- "Ky you slept for 3 hours hun"
K-"Momma??? 5 more hours?"
I some how think Kyler doesn't quiet understand bargaining yet lol

Thursday 13 September 2012

We're Moving!!!

After issues with our landlord for the last little while, the weight has been lifted and we have found a new place to live. We are sooo excited to move into this place as it will give the boys room to grow and play. It is a place where we can live until we can afford to buy a place of our own and that was soooo important to Brendan and I that we be able to provide that for our boys. The place needs a little bit of paint as there is some AWESOME 80's wallpaper in most of the bedrooms but both boys will have their own bedroom and there is an extra room that will be there playroom. It is exactly what Brendan and I were hoping to find. When we get to do our walk through closer to the move in date I will add some pictures of it  but for now you will just have to wait. :)

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Home Sick

How do you entertain a two year old who is sick and miserable and doesn't want to play? Well we have found the coloring, playing with play-doh, and curling up on the couch watching movies takes up most of our day. The whole family is sick right now and other than the runny noses, whiny fits, and midnight wakings I actually enjoy it. Everyone wants cuddles and I have been able to get in some good quality time with all my boys, which is really nice. Deagan is already a mama's boy so being sick makes him even more so and Kyler is so go, go, go all the time that I rarely get a descent cuddle from him. So it has been really nice to just curl up on the couch and watch a movie together. Plus Brendan turns into the biggest baby too he reminds me of the the guy on the Dayquil commercial who is laying in bed whining to his wife to call his mom, not the wanting his mom but the whining about being sick part sums up Brendan. Thankfully I'm on the mend a bit so I can look after all my boys and make them all better so we can get back to our regular adventures :D

Sunday 9 September 2012

Lifes Little Moments

Last night after a "terrible" day, laying in bed, I realized that what seemed so terrible really wasn't that bad and that I should take the time to enjoy the moments better. Kyler has recently regressed with his potty training and was peeing in his pants all day yesterday, which caused me to get soo frustrated. Yes, this is still frustrating but he will get the hang of it again and until bedtime his cute little, "Momma, I'm sorry" had gone by unnoticed. I have decided that those are the moments I want to remember not the moments that make me frustrated, or angry. Today I woke up early so I could get some laundry done (this way it doesn't become a game that takes 2 hours to do as every time you fold something your toddler is unfolding it) and decided that it would be a good park day. Brendan and I finished our chores for the morning, packed a lunch, and headed for the park. While we were there the kids ran around on the playground, sliding down slides and running around kicking a ball. There was of course a couple of meltdowns but I found after my "AH-HA" moment the night before they didn't seem to bother me as much. Instead I enjoyed all the other thing like the cute little voices asking for help, or the excitement they had for the city bus driving past, or them kicking the ball "so far" and then laughing hysterically......Yes those are the moment I love.

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Hello and Welcome

I have recently decided that sooo many of life's little moments go by unnoticed. Those moments that make you giggle but a week from now you can't remember what they were. I want to be able to remember those little moments, as they are what make everyday special. So, I am hoping I can keep this up I want to post in here at least every other day to keep a record of our lives. Everything from hanging out as a family watching a movie, to potty training, to funny things the boys do and everything between. I should also introduce ourselves as so that if anyone does read this they will know a little bit about us. My name is Breanna and I have been married to my wonderful husband, Brendan, for just over a year now. We have two beautiful boys; Kyler who is 2 and Deagan 4 months. Having two boys keeps us busy, so come along and join us on this crazy adventure we call life.