spaghetti squash

yum. 

we don't even eat spaghetti with noodles anymore. baby loves this too!

i wash a spaghetti squash, slice it in half and scoop out the seeds, put it in a baking dish  (sliced side down) with a half-inch or so of water and bake at 350 F for 45 - 60 minutes. when i can easily poke a fork into it, i take it out and let it cool for a bit before i use a spoon to scoop the "spaghetti noodles" out.

my recipe for sauce varies every time. i use some combination of a large can of plain tomato sauce, ground beef, onion, garlic, carrots, peppers, or other veggies i have on hand, oregano, basil, parsley, paprika. 

yum.

p.s. the blueberry coffee cake for sunday morning was oh-so-delicious!

diy: busy wallet

this way-to-keep-a-little-one-occupied-during-travel will be tested on saturday when we fly across the country. we will be spending a little over five hours up in the air. since even waiting in our doctor's office waiting room with our daughter is quite an undertaking, i am a bit anxious about all those hours in an airplane with our very active toddler. 

i have been trying to come up with a variety of ways to entertain her during our trip. there will be snacks of course, some little toys and books, a little photo album (which i still need to put together) and some junk mail to open (i've been saving it for a few weeks). now i will be adding what i will call a "busy wallet" to the list of things to do.

this busy wallet is a budget-friendly and easy thing to prepare before traveling. it could also be used for a road trip, or kept in the diaper bag for those times of unexpected waiting with an antsy little one. 

to make your own busy wallet you need...a wallet, some paper or other material, and anything else you want to add (a pen, stickers, paper, maybe some coins for an older child). 

i didn't have an unused wallet laying around, so i purchased a wallet at a local thrift store for $1.99 (i thought this was a little pricey). i made sure to choose one that had a lot of pockets, pouches, and a zipper and snap.

i used one of the cards from my wallet to cut thick scrapbook papers to the size of cards. some of the papers have designs on them and some are solid colors with sparkles. i had a few sheets of shiny paper that is sticky on one side, so i stuck that on the back of the scrapbook papers to make it more interesting and fun. you could also include those fake credit cards that come in the mail, photos cut to size, or anything else that fits in the little pockets.

i added a pen to the wallet (our girl loves holding onto pens). and in the pocket for dollar bills, i put some larger pieces of paper.

this wallet has a zippered back pocket, so i filled it with stickers. our child is a bit too young to know how to put stickers onto paper, but she is fascinated by how they stick to her fingers. for an older child, i think it would be a fun idea to include letter or number stickers that can be stuck to the "cards" or papers in the wallet and can also be used as a learning tool.

let's hope this wallet keeps our girl busy for a good chunk of flying time! i will definitely report on how this worked for us after we test it out on our travels. i would love to know if you put one of these together and how it works for your child.

saturday

i made blueberry coffee cake for sunday morning breakfast. it is sweetened with honey and made with coconut and almond flour (i used oat instead).

chicken curry is for dinner and is currently simmering on the stove while my love is putting our little love to bed.

she was extra cute today (and so was he).

i've been crafting, but i cannot reveal what i have been working on because it is a gift. 

it was windy and cold (30 degrees!) today. we went for a very cold walk and wondered where spring is. all the more reason to be excited that in a week, we will be in southern CA wearing shorts and soaking up the heat.

ahh...heat, sunshine, and palm trees. one week.

pinwheel birthday party!

we recovered from our busy weekend and i'm excited to share the details of our little one's birthday party! the weather is still cold and unpredictable in our part of the world, so we had to limit the number of guests due to the size of our house and the fact that we couldn't spill out onto the porch or the front yard. i started thinking of ideas for this party for a couple of months now (i think it is how i got through the winter!). our daughter loves pinwheels, so i decided i wanted to incorporate those in her special day. it turned out to be a lot of fun!

i made the invitations and think they turned out really cute! i just bought a sheet of candle stickers and used scrapbook paper to make pinwheels.

i got a pinwheel lawn decoration this past winter (in hopes that spring would come someday!), so we put that out on the day of the party to continue the pinwheel theme. it's great because we can leave it out for the springtime. 

the birthday girl wore a mama made pinwheel barrette and a corduroy party dress.

for decorations, i made pom poms out of tissue paper and a pendant garland out of scrapbook paper and ribbon. i found some pinwheels in the dollar bin at target, so i put those in a vase as a decoration on the table.

i had plenty of help getting ready for the party, as my family was here from out of town for the weekend. we served water, iced tea, fruit kabobs, veggies and hummus, chips and salsa, and homemade pigs in a blanket.

 

i made honey-sweetened cupcakes, and a smash cake from the same recipe. the pinwheel cupcake toppers that i made were the perfect addition to the celebration.

our girl thoroughly enjoyed her smash cake and her party! i think the day was a success!

one.

one. it's a great age.

partying

we've been partying over here! i can't wait to tell you all about it, but it's late and i am tired after a weekend of houseguests and fun. full post to come soon!

still here.

i'm still here. just taking some quieter days.

we have a big birthday coming up at our house. our little love is turning one this week! i have put my handmade touch on her party and will definitely be posting about it sometime soon. until then...i will be smooching her little cheeks and celebrating all the beautiful joy she brings to our life (and trying to talk around the lump in my throat that forms whenever i realize how quickly she is growing up).

take care, friends.