And I'm hoping I can squeeze in some time this afternoon to work on a little something inspired by this sWeeT liTTle aPrON the 3 Wise Men left Grace yesterday ;) 
I may just have to declare this a PJ Day!
It rivals my beloved MAC lipglass in Viva Glam V, at a fraction of the cost ($5 vs. $15), and since I'm a lipgloss kind of girl it just makes sense to keep these little tubes of loveliness stashed everywhere.
Mossimo Supply Co. long sleeve crewneck white tees from Target 
These are perhaps THE best layering tees I've ever owned. With just a dash of Lycra built in they hold their shape all day long - even with all that bending to pick up the baby a gazillion times a day - AND they layer perfectly without being bulky. In fact, the spandex helps to slenderize less than perfect mommy-parts :) And they even have those great long cuff seams (like in sweaters) to keep my bad habit of pinching the sleeves and pulling down with my fingers going strong!
And a little fuNNy...
Me: Grace, we need to find a tiara to go with your new princess dress.
Grace: Let's go get one at the beautiful store!
Guess she's been on one too many grocery store/hardware store errands with me lately :)
And now two household ones:
It's ammonia free and it puts Windex to shame. I love it on my picture frames and until I go all green with a good homemade cleaner, I'll keep spraying with Sprayway! Find it for about $3.25/19 oz. can at Target or you can get a 4 pack of the 9oz. cans for about $8 at Sam's Club. Click HERE for a $1.00 off coupon too!
It's a water-based, non-toxic cleaner that comes with a mop with reusable (washable) pad and leaves no residue behind making our hardwood floors extra shiny! Locally I've only been able to find it at Bed, Bath & Beyond, but I bet you can find it at other local retailers or you can order online. I think the starter kit was around $30 (mop, pads, spray cleaner, refill) and I just bought a huge container of the cleaner refill for $19.99.
On the eve (January 5) of the day the Wise Men reached Baby Jesus in the manger (January 6 - Epiphany), little children cut grass 
stuff it in shoe boxes 
and place it under their beds.
The grass is a snack for the camels of the Wise Men who "stop by" the homes of sweet little children in their slumber as they make their way to meet and bring gifts for the Christ child.
The camels are a bit messy and often leave footprints and a bit of grass scattered every which way. 
Sometimes they even leave a letter reminding good boys and girls of important things...like why it's important to not scream and be good at the dentist...or why using the potty ALL the time is THE cool thing for big kids to do :) 
In many Spanish speaking countries, the 3 Wise Men are a much bigger deal than Santa. Many have real-life manger scenes complete with not only your traditional Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, but live camels, donkeys, and sheep. When I was little I remember going to El Morro every year 
a historical landmark in Old San Juan 
to see the manger scene. I was always amazed by the enormity of the camels next to the tiny baby Jesus. Such sweet memories!
And to think she sat there in my garage lonely and yucky for six years, yes 6 whole years. How do I know? She had a twin I refinished as a present for my goddaughter when she was born in 2003!
This is my own little corner of craft heaven. I'd love to have a whole room, but for now this little cabinet brings me joy every time I walk by it. My favorite combination of red & aqua mixed in with some pinks and fun vintage finds. Ahh...doesn't take much to make this girl happy! 
I've had that antique baby scale FOREVER. I won it for dirt cheap on an ebay auction, but never could make it work in Grace's room. It's now the perfect spot for displaying some of my favorite fabrics. 
I love that little cUpCAke and the sweet colors on all that embroidery floss is like eye candy for me! As much as I love hand embroidered items, I really need to learn how to embroider. Hmmm...I think I'll add it to this year's TO DO list.
Isn't it sweet? (and yes I know it needs to be pressed :) I had plans to make it into a little apron for Grace, but couldn't bear to cut it and mess it up. So glad I waited! For now, it has the perfect little spot peeking out from that top drawer. Speaking of drawers...the first two have dividers built right in! I was able to organize some of my fabrics. 
Fabrics are to me what crayons are to kids :) Can't have enough of them.
Home of Lulu & Co. ~ the name of the little side business I once had refinishing children's furniture, selling handmade baby hats, and vintage pillowcase dresses. Miss it. A LOT. Life dealt me a pretty bad hand back in 2002 at age 24. Some REALLY trying times and even a lumpectomy (turned out benign thank goodness!) and it was just too much to handle at the time and so my little business fell by the wayside :(
It's a raspberry pink shade right now (I used the spray paint I had on hand), but I'm thinking a nice coat of cherry red is in order. I even bought a can today at Walmart. We'll see. But for now, here's a little sentiment I tucked in to a corner. I love vintage valentines, even repro ones like this one :) 
So there you have it. All in a day's work. Whew, I'm tired...and giddy :)
Then, the inspiration. 
We couldn't let the New Year start without a little project to set the tone for the rest of the year! Except it was spur of the moment so the craft fairy didn't have a chance to have everything ready. Uh-oh, we'll see how this goes.
We now need not one but TWO glue sticks for projects :) 
And sometimes it's just more fun if you growl like a lion. 
Glitter is the new glue. Need to buy a present for a 2 y/o little girl? Glitter. Glitter is a 2 year old's best friend! 
Do you like our "snowballs"? 
Guess it works better if you mash them in. 
Silliness abounds when you're waiting for mama to cut out the next pieces. 
This little guy is such a good sport. He just likes playing with his toys in new surroundings.
But sometimes he needs a little diaper change, which means mama has to leave the room to tend to business. Uh-oh. Two year old + craft supplies + unsupervised time can sometimes lead to trouble. Thankfully this time it fell under the "cute mischief" category.
She was busy stuffing pom poms into the little gingerbread house. One fluffy pom pom after another. 
Then she saw me :) Caught in the act! 
Guess that little house was too lonely and needed some tenants. When I asked her what she was doing she told me the house needed a family to live there :) 
And so I left the little house just like that. Packed up all the ornaments and the tree with our Christmas decorations, gingerbread house stuffed with tenants and all. Can't wait to pull out the decorations next year and reminisce over her 2 y/o creativity! 
May your year be full of wonder!
What's "this", you ask? Sitting unsuported, of course!!!
Yup, skipped right over the green variety and headed straight for the yummy sweet potatoes (although we did sneak a taste or two of homemade mashed potatoes...and ice cream the other day...bad, I know) 
THE BEFORE - all nice and clean. 
{I love those little piggies all curled up!!}
Whatcha got there, Daddy? 
You're going too slow. Here, let ME do it. 
Mmmm...that's GOOD! 
If I knew how to give you a thumbs up, I would! 
Um, Daddy? I'm the one eating, why are you opening your mouth? 
This really is a lot of fun...even if I'm playing with the spoon more than I'm eating! 
Ok...Um...no more jokes. Did you hear that sound? MAMA!!!! You better come get me...I think it's time for a diaper change. 
Hope you all had a wonderful New Year's!!!
