I have seen various sensory activities out there that involve pasta, rice, beans and such. Some of them include dying the items to make them more interesting. I have been wanting to do the dried rice but I feel like it would be SUPER messy inside with a toddler, so I went with dying pasta. I have seen a few different methods out there on how to do it using different things such as vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water. The rubbing alcohol sounded best because you don’t have to worry about it making the pasta soggy like you do with the other two.

So I took 2 cups of pasta and put it in a zip lock bag (gallon sized, and make sure they are the really good ones because mine were from the dollar store and got holes in them). Once the pasta is in the zip lock bag add in about 1/4 of a cup of rubbing alcohol. Put in a TON of food coloring, seal the bag and shake it around. Drain the liquid and place on top of paper towel on a cookie sheet and let dry. 

At first my colors didn’t look very good, but as they dried they got better looking. I put them in a tin from the dollar store and we practiced scooping them up and putting them into another bowl (a record bowl I made). We stirred them and scooped them, and emptied them all over the floor (much easier to pick up than rice). It was a lot of fun and when she gets a bit older we can practice stringing them.

- Take 1 cup baby wash (clear-ish in color – mine was yellow) and

- mix in 4Tbsp corn starch

- split that into 4 bottles (I used baby food jars)

- put in 2-3 drops of food coloring in each jar

- put on lid and SHAKE (it will separate between uses so just shake or mix before bath)

- PAINT

I started by priming the chairs and table with white acrylic craft paint. I had to do a few coats because the chairs were so dark to begin with and the table had a strange laminate finish that needed a few coats. It took me WAY longer than it should have to paint everything because I would have to wait for it to dry and I would not get back to it for a few days to do the next coat.

I have been wanting to use this fabric FOREVER. It was a curtain that I picked up at a thrift store a few years ago and have been waiting for the perfect project for it. I bought Mod Podge and applied 8,000 coats because the fabric kept sucking it up so I had to do a lot of coats before it would become hard. I trimmed the fabric and tucked it under the rim of the table and Mod Podged it in place.

I took painters tape and tapped off what I didn’t want painted and started painting each section. Again this took a long time because I could only paint one section a night and I would take a few days off in between. But I finally finished it. I need to spray them with some clear varnish so the paint doesn’t chip since some if it already has with toddler play. So when it becomes warm outside I will touch up the scratches and spray varnish it. Again I just used acrylic craft paint.

The following pictures are the final project (minus the varnishing)

I love the idea of framed fabrics to add an awesome touch to your plain boring walls. I was going to check out the thrift store today to see if they had any good frames to use but they were closed when we got there. So I remembered that I had a giant black frame in our back room, it just didn’t have the glass or a backing on it, which meant I had to figure out the best way to get the fabric in the frame.

I bought this frame back in the Spring at a yard sale for $5 and we used it for our family photos.

If you have a frame that has a picture in it already or a cardboard backing you can just glue the fabric to that with a spray adhesive and put it all back together with the glass. I could have used a nail gun to put my fabric in but I don’t own one so I used hot glue.

A couple years ago I bought a king size duvet cover from the thrift store (yes I know you are wondering why I didn’t use it so I could have a king sized bed covered in citrus fruit). There is so much fabric because it had a front and a back (being a duvet and all) and being a king size so I have used this on multiple projects and still have a LARGE amount left.

So I laid my frame on the fabric after I had ironed it and cut out the fabric with a very large “seam” allowance. I flipped it over and started hot gluing all the way around and making sure the fabric was pulled as tight as I could get it (again this would be better with a staple gun or with a cardboard back to glue it too). I used some clamps every once and a while to help hold one of the other sides tight while I worked on an opposite side.

This is the final result (though Stefan needs to add a hook so we can hang it up, but you can use a pop tab to make a hook). Don’t mind my messy hair, how I can’t hold the picture straight or my 22 week pregnant belly.

Some of these things I have not actually tried to be truthful, I just think they would be great to have (you can take that as a hint if you would like).

The first is actually an entire company which is Earth Mama Angel Baby. Everything they sell is non-toxic. I won their mom wash and baby wash and I LOVE them. They sell lotions for your feet, your baby and your nipples, and more. They sell different kinds of tea that can help with morning sickness, heartburn and preparing for labour (I just ordered a sample pack). They have bath stuff and spray stuff for your lady bits after you give birth (which sounds really nice).

You can buy things individually or you can buy them in bundles (like this awesome mom/baby bundle).

The second is Hot Mama Gowns. They are hospital gowns that are pretty, breastfeeding friendly (because hospital gowns are not you have to haul the whole thing up to nurse) and they button in the back so you don’t show everyone your bum when you are walking off those contractions or trying to go pee after you are done giving birth. You can use these gowns during labour, during your stay in the hospital or while you are recouping at home. And just think, you are the only one who has ever worn that gown. Her gowns are so pretty and I love that you can nurse and keep the bottom half of you covered. I think if I had one I would wear it after I have Payson while we are in the hospital and when I got home.

The third is Bamboobies. I have been breastfeeding for 18 months so far and I don’t see it stopping for another 2 years at least. I was a fire hose of leakage when I first started nursing and I leaked for a long time. I still wear them even though I don’t leak because it helps hide the fact that I look like I am cold all the time (if you get my drift). But I HATE that you can see my current breast pads through my shirt (really who wants a giant circle on each boob??). So there are Bamboobies, which are heart shaped and form to your breast to make them invisible under your shirt. They have round overnight ones as well that would be good for me in the beginning since I leak so much. The heart shaped ones are supposedly really good if you are not a huge leaker or once you regulate. So I am want to get both the overnight and the heart shaped ones to get my through my breastfeeding life.

The fourth product is an excellent baby carrier. I LOVE my Boba carrier and wrap. I love wraps for newborns to snuggle in nice and close and be hands free (which will be great with a toddler to chase after). But I love my carrier so much because I can take Capri everywhere and not have to figure out how to throw a huge stroller down our stairs.

When you have a fussy baby or one that just likes to be held it is great to have something that is comfy for both mom and baby. And the Boba is that.

The fifth and final thing on my list (I know not a long list), is a comfy chair to nurse in. I just got a glider for our nursery (last month) from a very dear friend of mine and I love it. I love having a comfy chair I can sit in during night time feedings (because yes my 18 month old still sometimes is up to nurse). It doesn’t have to be a glider you have but having a place that is comfortable for you and baby to nurse in really does help make for a more successful breastfeeding time.

So this is my list. What are some things you think moms could use to make their lives a little nicer or more comfortable?

Disclosure: I’m a Boba Ambassador. I participate in Boba events and online conversations, and receive thank you gifts for my participation, but all opinions and experiences expressed are my own.

I decided to shop the sale racks so I could get the most for my money. I have to say I am cheap and do not like how expensive maternity clothes are (I don’t want to spend $70 on jeans at any time in my life). So I was able to grab my jeans for $30 and they are really comfy and actually keep their shape for longer than one wear. So I highly suggest them since my last pair of maternity pants were half way down my legs by lunch time. They also have different lengths (petite, regular and long) which is great because I needed the petite.

I was also able to get four shirts, I got three of them off the sale rack and since I had some money left over I bought the red long sleeve shirt full price. The sale shirts were all under $15 which is not bad at all. I like my shirts, they are all comfy and cute and they are long enough for my long torso plus bump (which even in maternity clothes I have issues with).

Since I was trying to shop sales I didn’t get any sweaters but they had some really nice looking ones there. You can even shop online for Thyme stuff over at Babies R Us. So here are my finds (along with the red shirt above). Also don’t mind my lazy look I had to take my house coat off for these photos. 

That is our baby. And that baby is…a GIRL (who is nameless as of right now). She is laying on her back there and you can see the side of her face (even though cameras are not allowed the ultrasound tech was REALLY nice and let us take that photo).

It took awhile to get everything because she kept flipping around and moving. I made sure the U/S tech looked in between her legs from as many angles as possible and we saw the 3 white lines of girly parts.

I am kind of upset though because I have placenta praevia as of right now (the placenta is blocking my cervix and if it does not move I have to have a C-section which I am not happy about). We go back in 7 weeks (the end of January) for another ultrasound to see if it has moved up at all. I had some Braxton hicks near it which would not stop so that is another reason I have to go back. So I am praying when we go back that the placenta has moved and that no boy parts show up.

But everything else looked good. Her heart beat was 149 and she is a little over 9 ounces. We are working on her name. And I am 19 weeks along. Our due date is May 9/10th ish. Whatever I am due sometime in May.

Capri LOVES to wrap anything around her like a necklace or scarf and she loves blankets. I found the idea of play silks or play scarves online and thought it was a great idea. You can buy pre-dyed ones but they run rather steep in price. I found a few different blogs however that talked about dying your own with kool-aid. You can buy plan white ones in various sizes from Dharma Trading Company and they are a great price. I picked up 3 different sizes from them (8×54, 14×72 and a 44×44), and the 8×54 was actually free because it was my first order so that was great.

I finally got my kitchen nice and clean and went to work on the play scarves. There are a couple of different methods you can do to make these (microwave or stovetop). I chose stovetop because it seemed like less work. I picked up three different colors of kool-aid (cherry –red, strawberry-kiwi – pink, lemon-lime – green) and after reading a few different blogs decided to go with using more than one package per silk (some suggest just using 1 package I think this would just result in a lighter silk).

While your pot of water is boiling you put one of your silks in a bowl of hot water and some vinegar (it helps set the color), when the water is just about boiled (like little bubbles) add your koo-aid to the pot (I used a large pot with a few cups of water). For the two smaller silks I used 3 packages of kool-aid each. Once your kool-aid is dissolved you can ring out the silk that is in the water/vinegar bowl and put it into the kool-aid water (turn your heat down to medium). Mix it with a wooden spoon to make sure the silk gets as much color as possible (the smaller silk will be the most dyed and evenly because it has more room in the pot). My two bigger silks have more of a tie-dye look to them which is fine.

After they have been in for a few minutes your water will be almost clear when this happens take the pot over to the sink and pour through a strainer (that is what I found easiest). You are going to run cold water over the silk and keep squeezing water out of it until it runs clear (this was really hard with the green and red).

My hands were FREEZING by the end of this so you might want to wear rubber gloves. This is a great part for kids to do since it is cold water and not boiling water. Once they are rinsed you can hang them to dry (my green and red dripped kool-aid water so I put paper towel on the floor to catch it).

I can’t wait for Capri to open these on Christmas. She will love them I am sure and will use them for many things. I plan on getting many more sizes (and hopefully the really big one to use as a fort) to add to our collection. I also found that I could not get a lot of colors of kool-aid this time of year which was sad since I really wanted a blue one (which you have to get blue raspberry, not fruit punch).

So here are the silks after they had dried. You can check out Part 1 in the Homemade Christmas Presents here and hopefully I will get to Part 3 in the next few days.

I found a great blog where the mom made a chalk board for her daughter with a cookie sheet. So I borrowed her idea. She used spray chalk board paint but since I live in an apartment it is hard to use spray paint and since it is really cold out I can’t use friends yards. So I was so happy when I found chalk board paint in a bottle at the dollar store and I also bought my cookie sheet there as well.

When you apply it with the sponge brush it says on the bottle to use a generous amount and they mean it. When I first started putting it on it was all streaky so I started adding more and it went on really nice. After letting it dry for the full 24 hours like the bottle says I did a second coat to make sure it was nice and thick. I didn’t sand it during coats like it suggests and I found that I didn’t need to.

Capri has never played with chalk before and we are still working on learning to color so it could be interesting. I bought the thick sidewalk chalk so it doesn’t break like the skinny pieces do.

Merry Christmas. Keep an eye out for Part 2 in my homemade gifts where I show you the play silks I made for Capri.

This picture totally represents how a lot of pregnant women feel. When I was pregnant with Capri and was only about 12 weeks along I had a guy at the College I went to walk over and try and touch my stomach. It was crazy, I was just standing with my friends talking about the pregnancy and he just reached out and tried to touch me, I didn’t even look pregnant yet.

From the time I started tweeting/facebooking about my pregnancy I got opinions upon opinions on how I would feel, what symptoms I would get (because they had them so I of course would get them too), and why I should cherish my time with the baby still inside of me.

First let me say, I hated being pregnant and I much preferred sleepless nights with my newborn than sleepless nights with restless leg syndrome. I get that people want to be helpful but I found there were way more negative comments directed towards me than positive ones. I didn’t want to be told about how big I looked or how I must be due any day now (when I had 2 months left), I didn’t want to know your horror stories about giving birth and I most definitely didn’t want you telling me how I would regret using cloth diapers, regret feeding my daughter on demand or co-sleeping. My parenting choices are just that, my choices. If someone comments on how big I look this time around they better watch out because I most likely will comment on how big they look in general.

So remember just because YOU have been pregnant and are a parent it does not mean you can say negative things to a new mom or dad. No matter how big a pregnant lady may look it does not mean you need to tell her that. Be nice and don’t touch.

Just a side note, it is one thing when you and your close friends sit around and discuss the various birth stories because they are being asked for, or when someone asks you for their opinion. I have a lot of friends who are pregnant right now or have been recently and we all feel this way.

Next time you see a pregnant lady tell her how beautiful she looks and how lucky that child is to have such a wonderful and loving mom.