Boys, Barbies, and Bo-Bo's

As we all know, Jack is a bit accident prone.
He'd been doing really well, not needing a band aid in weeks.
Then...
He played outside.
In flip flops.
On a downhill driveway.
With lots of fun outdoor riding toys.

And

All

Hell

Broke

Loose

He scrapped both knees and one elbow (twice) and required bandaids, which his doting "ambulance crew" (A&S) applied.
He even fell once, scratched his arm again, and needed a bandaid ON TOP OF the bandaid he'd already gotten there (it tore in the fall)
Well, 4 of Sarah's 5 kids, who I am babysitting this week are girls. So, lots of pink, girliness abounds. Including...BARBIE BANDAIDS.
Jackson did not put up a fight when they placed the bandaids on freshly received wounds, but later on, once he'd had time to think about it, he says, "Mommy, can you give me a bath tonight?"
Me: Sure, Jack, you are dirty. Daddy might do it though.
J: NO! Daddy CANNOT do it.
Me: Why not? (very puzzled indeed)
J: Because, MOM, he CAN'T see my Barbie bandaids!


Needless to say, today I brought some plain ole "beige" bandaids, just in case...and good thing, because he fell (only once so far) and reopened an old wound.



***Disclaimer: I have NEVER told my children that Barbies are only for girls and trucks (or whatever) are only for boys. Brennan never cared what he played with or what color he wore, ate food off of, etc. Jackson does. He does not like to eat off of the pink IKEA plates, though his favorite drink is "pink milk" (aka strawberry milk) He is often telling me MY favorite colors are pink and purple because they are GIRL colors. I just respond, "Everybody likes different colors, Jack. I like black and I like green." I just wonder where he got these ideas from???

Adventures in Cloth Diapering...#12, Be Prepared

When bringing a child who is naked except for a poo diaper (right after lunch) upstairs to change his Rumparooz diaper and put him down for nap...a word of advice: HAVE THE WIPES READY.

You never know when your child will decide his bum itches and he MUST scratch it, thus causing you to want to vomit because of the effects of said scratch. Not being prepared causes this action to have an even worse reaction because you cannot just grab a wipe and swipe the mess away quickly.

No, not having your wipes ready (and by ready I mean out of the jumbo 800 pack box you just bought at the store the day before), can cause the spread of grossness and requires a bath...for both child and mother. Because honestly, who feels clean after dealing with all that yuckiness?

So, take my advice. When leading a toddler to a diaper change, make sure ALL supplies are ready and waiting for you!

The "Dating Game" can turn into "Family Feud" :)

I made this cake for a church activity last week. It's a Cricut decorated cake. I used the Storybook Cartridge. The colors were inspired by a wedding my friend coordinated. (go to May 20)
It was an Elder's Quorum dinner and wives were invited. I mulled over the fact that when we women in Relief Society have dinners, we make our husband's stay home with the kids. The men know that the only way they will get more then those planning the event to attend is to invite the wives.
It was a nice event, with my only complaint being that I *really* hate when things start late. I know there are lots of jokes about "Mormon Standard Time" but I just personally don't feel it is acceptable. That, unfortunately, happened, though it did give my friends, David and Rebecca, time to get to church without missing anything. :)
There was a "Dating Game" type game to play after dinner. It was fun to see if our answers matched. Bart and I were eliminated in the first round. Why? Because he said I'd go on vacation to Tampa, FL to visit Jamie (good answer, but since I could not think of where I'd want to go, not what I wrote.). He said, "Tampa, FL" for me and "Pensacola, FL" for him. I said, "NOT the beach" for me and "The beach" for him. When he gave his answers (the guys had to go outside while the girls gave theirs...it was a face off of two couples at a time) I got all uppity and said "TAMPA?" He said, "Well, I was going to say NOT THE BEACH..." and everyone laughed because that is exactly what I'd said minutes before. :)
We left right after we cut the cake while couples were still playing, so we don't know who won or what they won. Today I found out the Elder's Quorum President/Bishop (He just got called to Bishop but he'd planned the event and was not missing out on the fun) didn't even get one bite of cake. Not even a cupcake! I'd made cake for about 40, plus about 20 cupcakes...and it was ALL GONE before the game was over! I asked if the kids (babysitting was provided) had gotten what I'd left cut in the end. Nope. The adults gobbled it up.
Guess Mom's secret recipe is a success.

Designs By Yours Truly

No, not me, silly. (I talk about myself enough on here!)
Designs by Melissa, and her etsy shop.
She has custom, personalized invitations and thank you cards.



I scoured Etsy for adorable Lego invites and I felt hers were some of the cutest out there!
Don't you agree?
I am really starting to like the pdf downloadable files...it is so easy to send them to your local photo print shop (Target, Rockbrook, Snapfish, wherever) and pick them up. Cheap, too.
I mean, last year I created from scratch Wii invites, making Wiimotes. Talk about time consuming. Sure, they were cute, but what happened to those invites? I bet every single one of them is now sitting in a landfill.

So, next time you need a shower invite, birthday announcement, or whatever, contact Melissa and see what she can do for you. I think having matching thank yous to coordinate with the invite would be so darn cute...but that would mean I'd have to remember to write thank yous and then ACTUALLY SEND THEM OUT!



If you want to check out her scrapbooking blog, click here. She has an awesome black and white layout up right now.




I was not paid for this review...but I did get a cute invite to download and print (or just email!) that I used with some of Brennan's school friends! The opinions are my own...I am not one to sugar coat ugly, so I can bet you will like Designs By Yours Truly.

Creative Designs Method using the Cricut for cake decorating

I am back from an intensive 2 day class by Linda McClure. We used the Cricut to learn more about cake decorating, using the Creative Designs method.
It was a lot of fun and a great group of women. There were 10 states represented among the 18 of us.
If you want to know more about the Cricut cake decorating class using the Creative Designs methods, click here. Especially if you want to take the two day class, like me, AND...meet me in person! Then sign up for the Omaha class. There are also some fabulous 4 hour classes as well.

What I wanted to blog about was the "weather" that kept me stranded in Memphis for more hours then it would have taken to drive from Memphis to Jackson, MS....but just thinking about that frustrating night nearly brought me to tears so I decided instead to leave you with this quote that was said over and over and over again at the class:
"Work smarter, not harder." Now, I bet Linda might not have thought that up (but maybe she did) but is is just such a good quote to live...whether it be cake decorating, parenting, cleaning, your job, etc. Just because you are working hard does not mean you are doing a great job!

It was fun to get to see my parents, brother and sister, plus 2 nieces. Jeni wrote about the class, too, so go read her version if you want. Oh, and one funny thing. A friend from Baton Rouge blogged on Monday about how much she loved visiting Natchez, MS that weekend...the same time I was visiting! If only we'd known each others plans, we could have met up and had some Fat Mama Tamales or something :)

Itty Bitty Titty Committee

I belong to the Itty Bitty Titty Committee.....meaning I am a less then excited to go bra shopping because a B minus doesn't really exist.
The bras I get just aren't my favorite. The straps slip down, the cups are too full, or the wire digs into my guts.
I've had enough.
So....I want to win a makeover. A bra makeover. Yep. Go to www.PlaytexBraMakeover.com for more information.


By posting this information, I am entered into a contest to win a free bra from Playtex. I did not receive any compensation for this post. These are my own thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Puzzle for you, brought to you by Youtube

HOW DO:
BJP (and I am 99% sure this is a "clean" song of theirs)



(Click here to hear a more exact clue, though it is not my favorite song of theirs.)
AND
MB



AND
C



TELL A STORY?

Using my Cricut to do it all

I used my Cricut this past week. A lot.
See, I don't hate my Cricut, I just don't love Provo Crafts and their craptastic practices.
From what I hear, though, a lot of people are hating their Cricut Cake machines...weird.

Anyway, here is a picture of all the stuff I made (remember the sneak peek last week?)
I think it all turned out okay and I hope Jodi did, too.I made the cupcake toppers (but not the cupcakes), the cake, and the banner. I tried to match all colors as closely as possible, but I was using an image from the internet, not an actual sample. I think it turned out cute...wonder if one of my boys wants an Ooga Booga party??? :)

Oh, and don't forget...Linda McClure is offering cake decorating classes! Cricut cake decorating classes to be exact! Check out her site today. She's got everything you need to learn, whether you are a beginner or advanced, this is a class for you!

Who Makes Me *MOM*

My little krewe of dirty fingernails. Gotta love 'em.



Happy Mother's Day Grandma Cupcake/Linda McClure. We love you and are so glad you are such an amazing mom/grandma.

Bear River Photo Greetings ...GIVEAWAY, ends May 18

So, you've seen my party favors, decorations, cake, and more...all robot related. I bet you want to scream if you see/hear/read one more robot thing...but hold on.

Last robot thing, I promise...and...this one doesn't really have to be a robot thing...it can be anything Bear River Photo Greetings has to offer!


This is what Jackson's looked like...I loosely based the robot on his tee shirt on this guy! I think everybody loved his invites...one of his friends even recycled it and cut the shapes out to use on a birthday card. It was so cute.

There are birthday invitations...
I am in L.O.V.E. with this invite. So stinkin' adorable.

Moving cards...and much more! Check out the fabulous photo cards.
So, what does Bear River Photo Greetings have to offer you?

1. You can print them wherever you like! Wait for a great online sale, order them from a nice local photo lab, print them at home...it's up to you. For Jackson's party, I just did one hour at Target and they looked great.

2. You don't have to print the invites at all...you can email them or post to facebook or twitter! Create a facebook event and add this to that information! Sometimes I've wanted to send an evite, but have not found the perfect look. You can find that here. Bear River Photo Greetings has over 250 choices.

3. % of all sales will go to "Hands at Work in Africa", an organization that helps Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in Africa. How great is that? You get something you want AND help out someone in need.

So...you've seen some samples. Now go check out Bear River Photo Greetings and see which premade announcement or invite design YOU want to win!
Leave a comment here by May 18 stating your favorite design to be entered to win!

Bonus Entries (for you contest junkies...you know the drill, separate comment for each)

• "Like" BRPG Facebook page
• Follow BRPG's Blog
  
• Visit Hands at Work in Africa and leave a comment telling me one thing you learned on this site.
  
• Follow me (separate comment for each: GFC {left sidebar}, twitter {@jessremington}, and FB {top left sidebar})
• tweet or leave a FB comment about this giveaway (make sure to include @jessremington for twitter and to do @Finding Joy In The Journey for FB) Up to four times daily, at least TWO hours between each comment posted...leave a comment for each.
• Tell me what you would do if you were to win this contest...why do YOU want a fabulous design???

I was not paid for this review, though I did get an awesome pdf file to print for Jack's birthday. Thanks Bear River Photo Greetings!

Contest ends on May 18.

A Sneak Peek

What I've been working on this week...Cupcake toppers...Do you think it at least sort of resembles this print?


Next up, a birthday banner and chocolate cake w/ chocolate buttercream frosting in the same theme.

Cruisin'

Damn that muffin top. Ruins a perfectly good picture of a grown woman playing on a kids toy as she hangs out in her backyard with four of the coolest women she knows.
Thanks for a great weekend ladies!