Happy Halloween!
Tuesday
Looking For The No-Sew DIY Tooth Fairy Costume From Pinterest?
I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. It's been moved. Please Click here to find it. Have a great day!
Monday
Top 5 Halloween Posts: DIY Costumes, Classroom Goodie Bags, Crafts And Treats
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| DIY Mama! No-Sew, Homemade Halloween Costumes Featuring: The Tooth Fairy! |
Relive your childhood with this very cute and extremely simple DIY Rainbow Brite costume. Click here to see the easy step-by-step instructions to put this costume together. Don't forget to Pin it!
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| DIY Mama! No-Sew, Homemade Halloween Costumes Featuring: Rainbow Brite! |
Cute & Easy Mummy Wrapped Hot Dogs. Don't forget to Pin into your Halloween folder! Click here to see step-by-step instructions. Don't forget to Pin it!
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| Halloween Party Treats & Tips: Mummy Dogs On The Go! |
Need a cute and unique idea for goodie bags? Does your preschooler like to help in the craft making department? Click here for step-by-step instructions. Don't forget to Pin it!
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| DIY Mama! Preschool Halloween Goodie Bags & Teachable Moments: Name Tags |
Need some ideas for a fun & simple preschool craft? This is a great "following directions" craft for your preschooler, TK/PreK'er, or Kindergartener. Click here to see more. Don't forget to Pin it!
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| Preschool Craft: Halloween Kitty Cat |
Have a fun, safe & Happy Halloween!
*heart*
Coco Cana
Friday
5 Friday Funnies! Fall Edition: SNL Kate McKinnon & Alec Baldwin, Halloween Top Ten, Funny Mom Blogs
VP Debate Cold Open - SNL
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| Sibling Irony #3: Presents: Funny Kid Arguments. Toddler vs. Preschooler |
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| Top Ten Fights Parents Have With Kids Over Halloween Costumes |
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| Holiday Hilarity: Funny Holiday Cards |
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| Death By Chevron Print Overkill |
For more click here
Tuesday
Halloween Party Treats & Tips: Mummy Dogs On The Go!
My kids had their homeschool co-op Halloween party yesterday and there were some super cute treats!
I made Baby Mummy hot dogs.
I decided to cut the hot dogs in half and make "Baby Mummies" since it was part of a lunch pot luck for kids grades TK to 4th and not the main course. However, we're making them again for our Halloween night dinner and we're leaving them whole and we're adding a slice of Colby Jack cheese before we wrap our mummies.
These are the ones my husband and kids made with the cheese. He even added bacon to a few of them, and they were great right out of the oven. He cut the dough a bit thicker than I made them. I was really short on time and was making them incredibly fast. I was also dealing with a fussy baby who was eating in his high chair and throwing food on the floor. And I had a huge time crunch to get back before the kids started eating.
Tips: I used a pizza cutter to slice the dough and I sprayed the cutter with cooking spray so the dough didn't stick. This worked out well.
I sprayed the baking sheet with cooking spray and I sprayed the tops of the baby mummies too to give it a crispy top. You could also brush the dough with egg whites.
I made some plain dogs too for the kids with gluten intolerance and I called them "naked mummies" and was met with many giggles. I realize it's hard for a kid to have food allergies, especially during holiday time at school and by calling them "Baby Mummies" and "Naked Mummies" the kids felt like they were included with the festivities and not just getting an after thought.
I was short on time so I didn't add eyes. But no one seemed to notice.
Transportation Tips: I realized that I was making a hot dish for a school pot luck and there wasn't a set time for the party, I wanted to keep them warm AND we live 25 minutes away from where the party was being held!!! So this was going to get tricky.
I lined some glass containers with aluminum foil and placed a layer of mummies, placed another piece of foil and another layer of mummies, then topped it with foil and the seal tight lid. I then placed my containers into an insulated grocery store bag that is lined with a beach towel.
After I added my containers in the bag I wrapped them with the rest of the towel and zipped it up. I was in the car in less than 10 minutes.
The food was delivered hot and the kids loved them!
Sunday
My Favorite Things To Do On #SundayFunday!
In a perfect world, Sunday would truly be a day of rest and not the rushing around at the grocery store, doing laundry, getting ready for the week day that it has become in our house. I am realizing that I need to do more prep during the week so we can turn it back into Sunday Funday!If we could just set all chores and household duties aside, this would be a great way to spend a Sunday
- Champagne Brunch (Not during pregnancy or while breastfeeding though. Boo.)
- Beach Day
- Mamas Only Spa Day (This only happens about once a year or once every few years though.)
- Spend the day swiming at the water park
- Riding bikes through the park
- Hiking the nature trails at our favorite nature preserve, The El Dorado Nature Center
- Spend the day writing (Mama only of course!)
- Family day at Disneyland
- Gardening in our little farm or flower garden
- Picnic at the park followed by ice cream or frozen yogurt
- Date with my husband (preferably a long lunch or dinner, a movie and coffee after with possibly a bit of (fun) shopping after.
- Fun household chores like baking, organizing a room because you bought something new, painting, gardening, etc.
- Wandering around Target or Costco (yes, that's fun in our family, lol!)
- Watching the sunrise
- Watching the sunset
- Family crafts like water color painting, playdough, building things, etc.
- Family game day
- Family movie night with a living room picnic
- Campouts
- Bonfires and roasting marshmallows
- Spending hours and hours outdoors with nothing to do but exploring!
What are your fun ways to spend the weekend and Sunday Funday? Comment below!
Monday
The Season Of No
I just started reading the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and it has inspired me to get back to my writing and carve out more time for myself and look at my life in a very different way. Now that I'm 40 and terribly wise and terribly adult (cough), I can look back on my life through the decades (Dear God! Am I really that old?), and I can reflect on the themes of each decade.
My 20's was the decade of "Sure! Why Not!"
Sometimes even, "Sure! Why The Hell Not?!" There was a lot that happened during my 20's that was a result of me thinking or saying, "Sure, why not?!" A lot of it provided the backdrop to many great memories. Looking back on it now, some of it fills me with incredible panic and fear and I thank God it all turned out OK in the end and some of it makes me long for those days again. Mostly because I didn't have kids back then so I was able to take a nap whenever I wanted. I long for the days of extra sleep, getting a good night's sleep, sleeping in, napping whenever I needed it, not getting woken up in the middle of the night by a baby who needed to nurse and just sleep, sleep, sleep in general. Sleep, glorious sleep. However, I don't think I actually slept that much in my 20's. I am now regretting that I burned the candle at both ends so many days and nights. What was I thinking?!
I'm still figuring out how to do that. I need to find the balance of taking care of myself and taking care of the kids and getting everything done. As a stay-at-home-mom I really feel the need to carve out my own time or else it just doesn't happen. I will post about it as soon as I start doing it. I also look forward to reading more of Big Magic and putting her thoughts and ideas into action. I love Elizabeth Gilbert (author of many books, Eat, Pray, Love, The Signature Of All Things, etc.) Please let me know how you do it for yourself. What does taking care of yourself look like to you? Comment below!
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My 20's was the decade of "Sure! Why Not!"
Sometimes even, "Sure! Why The Hell Not?!" There was a lot that happened during my 20's that was a result of me thinking or saying, "Sure, why not?!" A lot of it provided the backdrop to many great memories. Looking back on it now, some of it fills me with incredible panic and fear and I thank God it all turned out OK in the end and some of it makes me long for those days again. Mostly because I didn't have kids back then so I was able to take a nap whenever I wanted. I long for the days of extra sleep, getting a good night's sleep, sleeping in, napping whenever I needed it, not getting woken up in the middle of the night by a baby who needed to nurse and just sleep, sleep, sleep in general. Sleep, glorious sleep. However, I don't think I actually slept that much in my 20's. I am now regretting that I burned the candle at both ends so many days and nights. What was I thinking?!
My 30's kind of fell into the theme of, "I probably should..."
Or "I guess I should," or "I really should because they did that nice thing for me once and don't I have to repay them even though I have to make great compromises in what I need or my family needs to help them?" Or "I feel like I have to even though I don't want to." You get the idea. Martyrdom at it's finest. There were many things I felt very obligated to do in my 30's, and I did them most of the time. Things for other people, things because of other people, things I didn't really want to do but felt like I had to. Mom's Club things are coming to mind as well as lots and lots of volunteer work at school. Even when I was sick as a dog and incredibly run-down from being pregnant in my first trimester.
Or "I guess I should," or "I really should because they did that nice thing for me once and don't I have to repay them even though I have to make great compromises in what I need or my family needs to help them?" Or "I feel like I have to even though I don't want to." You get the idea. Martyrdom at it's finest. There were many things I felt very obligated to do in my 30's, and I did them most of the time. Things for other people, things because of other people, things I didn't really want to do but felt like I had to. Mom's Club things are coming to mind as well as lots and lots of volunteer work at school. Even when I was sick as a dog and incredibly run-down from being pregnant in my first trimester.
Now that I'm 40, I'm starting a new chapter. This is the decade of, "No."
A polite no, but no nonetheless. Polite yet emphatic. How that will actually end up looking I'm not sure, but I'm no longer going to put myself into the position of feeling obligated or put out because I don't want someone to think bad of me. Even if doing the thing makes me feel bad about myself. I'm not going to risk letting my children down or my husband down or myself down because I don't want to let a stranger down. How ridiculous is that? Yet it happens. I'm no longer going to feel like I need to please other people just for that person's sake, even if I care deeply about them. Whether that person is a stranger, an acquaintance, a parent on the PTA, a friend, a family member, a fellow mom in a mom's group, a therapist whom I'm paying to help me vent and work things out, even someone who has done something nice for me in the past and wants a favor from me, whoever. I am no longer going to feel obligated to do something for someone regardless if it works for me, fits in with what my family is doing or going through at that time. And that needs to be ok.
Actually, I'm giving myself permission that it is OK, and it doesn't need to be OK with anyone, because it's already OK with me.
Sorry for the overuse of italics during my ah-ha moment of clarity there. But if you've ever been a people pleaser, like I was raised to be, then you are totally nodding your head in agreement with me right now. You might have even blurted out a, "hell yea! Me too!" If you did, please let me know in the comments that I'm not on this journey alone. And neither are you.
I'm giving myself the permission to be more selfish with my own time and desires because I know deep down that it will make me a better mother and a better person in the long run. I'm not doing anyone any favors by getting run down and depleting everything I have inside of me just to do someone a favor or even return a favor, or to protect someone's feelings or to make sure someone still likes me and doesn't think bad of me. A therapist told me once when she knew I was doing too much for too many people (including my own family) and not taking any time for myself to recharge, "Put your oxygen mask on first, Mama. That's the only way you can help your children and be a better mother and wife is if you put your mask on first."
A polite no, but no nonetheless. Polite yet emphatic. How that will actually end up looking I'm not sure, but I'm no longer going to put myself into the position of feeling obligated or put out because I don't want someone to think bad of me. Even if doing the thing makes me feel bad about myself. I'm not going to risk letting my children down or my husband down or myself down because I don't want to let a stranger down. How ridiculous is that? Yet it happens. I'm no longer going to feel like I need to please other people just for that person's sake, even if I care deeply about them. Whether that person is a stranger, an acquaintance, a parent on the PTA, a friend, a family member, a fellow mom in a mom's group, a therapist whom I'm paying to help me vent and work things out, even someone who has done something nice for me in the past and wants a favor from me, whoever. I am no longer going to feel obligated to do something for someone regardless if it works for me, fits in with what my family is doing or going through at that time. And that needs to be ok.
Actually, I'm giving myself permission that it is OK, and it doesn't need to be OK with anyone, because it's already OK with me.
Sorry for the overuse of italics during my ah-ha moment of clarity there. But if you've ever been a people pleaser, like I was raised to be, then you are totally nodding your head in agreement with me right now. You might have even blurted out a, "hell yea! Me too!" If you did, please let me know in the comments that I'm not on this journey alone. And neither are you.
I'm giving myself the permission to be more selfish with my own time and desires because I know deep down that it will make me a better mother and a better person in the long run. I'm not doing anyone any favors by getting run down and depleting everything I have inside of me just to do someone a favor or even return a favor, or to protect someone's feelings or to make sure someone still likes me and doesn't think bad of me. A therapist told me once when she knew I was doing too much for too many people (including my own family) and not taking any time for myself to recharge, "Put your oxygen mask on first, Mama. That's the only way you can help your children and be a better mother and wife is if you put your mask on first."
I'm still figuring out how to do that. I need to find the balance of taking care of myself and taking care of the kids and getting everything done. As a stay-at-home-mom I really feel the need to carve out my own time or else it just doesn't happen. I will post about it as soon as I start doing it. I also look forward to reading more of Big Magic and putting her thoughts and ideas into action. I love Elizabeth Gilbert (author of many books, Eat, Pray, Love, The Signature Of All Things, etc.) Please let me know how you do it for yourself. What does taking care of yourself look like to you? Comment below!
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2016 A Year Of Gratitude: Appreciating The Quiet Moments
Today I'm grateful for:
1. This sleeping baby who's nursing on my lap so I can have a few minutes to drink my decaf latte and think about what I'm grateful for and actually write a blog post!
2. I'm very grateful that my husband has a job to go to everyday. He has a career that started as a passion (he's in the motorcycle business), he's worked hard for it and has done well for himself and moved up enough to the point where all of his good ideas and suggestions are getting heard and implemented and his opinion is being asked and put into action. And that is a fulfilling place to be in your career.
3. I'm grateful that I am able to be a stay-at-home-mom who can homeschool my children. It's not something I ever pictured, but it's what works for our family and it's what my family needs and we are doing well because of it. It was a good change for us and my kids are happier and our days are calmer and more peaceful. I'd say we are thriving because of it. It's not always wonderful and peaceful and fun and I do have my doubts when times get tough and it's not for everybody, that's for sure! But it works for us and the rewards far outweigh the troubles. So, I'm grateful for being able to homeschool my children.
4. I'm grateful my husband's co-worker no longer wanted his espresso machine so that I could make lattes at home! There is nothing like a hot latte on a chilly morning! I've never been a big caffeine drinker because I feel too jittery til the late afternoon and have to pee a million times, so I drink decaf because I like the taste.
5. I'm so very grateful for this quiet moment of peace, serenity, reflection and gratitude right smack in the middle of a crazy Monday morning. Who would've thunk it? Thank you for this day and for these little moments and for this life that we have carved out for ourselves. I'm so incredibly grateful.
Namaste
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| My Peaceful Little Breastfeeder |
Friday
2016 New Year's Resolution Challenge: Set Small, Successful Goals By Making Weekly Changes
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| Sound familiar? |
However, I do want to make some changes to my life and I think I'll be more successful taking these new changes in weekly doses rather than feeling like I have to start all of these multiple things on day 1 and if I don't I have failed the whole year. GASP!
I can do anything for a week. Seven days is nothin'! I'm also not going to star each weekly goal on Monday mornings because Monday's are hard enough as it is without having to start a new weekly goal. I'm going to start on Saturdays. My goal is to get used to doing the new habit or seeing the benefits of the new habit so that I'll want to naturally roll it over to the next week rather seamlessly. A few days before the new week starts I'll pick a new goal from my list to start and I'll try my best to continue my goal from the previous week too. If I can't seem to accomplish the previous weeks goal I will at least focus on completing the goal I choose for that week, and will do my best to continue it all seven days. I plan to make a hard copy of my weekly goal sheet too with check off boxes so I can see what I'm supposed to be doing as well as see all of my progress.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION 2016
WEEKLY GOAL CHALLENGE
The first week is making my bed daily. I'm really bad at doing this. I have a hard time with mornings. I'm always very tired and my back is always very stiff. Especially when I'm breastfeeding a baby like I am now with my 12 month old. (Hard to believe he's already a year old!!!) But the position I'm in to nurse him all night long wreaks havoc on my back. I've been in a lot of car accidents over the years and this has exacerbated my back pain. So I wake up in pain pretty much every single morning. The last thing I want to do is bend over and try to pull heavy blankets up to make the bed, so it's become a habit not to make it. However, I like having a nice, neat bed to climb into at night and so does my husband. Plus, as my husband said today, "it makes it easier to dump a load of clothes to fold when it's made too" and I agree. We not only made the bed this morning, we also folded a bunch of clothes too and even put most of them away while the kids were busy playing Legos and the baby was happy in his jumper! Bonus! Not too shabby of a way to start the new year off! We even slept in!
So week 1 is making the bed daily and folding my PJ's and putting them away in the morning. Those kind of go hand in hand. I'm REALLY bad at taking clothes off and leaving them on the floor. So I'm trying to change this really bad habit.
I have some other ideas of things I want to add to my weekly list of New Year's Resolutions and I'm determined to make them last past the second week of January. Isn't that usually the time when everyone stops doing their resolutions?
I'm going to start making an ongoing list of things I want to accomplish in 2016 and I'm going to update each new post with my running list. I'm hoping to create some better habits this year.
Would you like to join me? What would you put on your list?
Would you like to join me? What would you put on your list?
In no particular order:
1. Make the bed every morning
2. Fold PJ's in the morning and put them away.
3. Fold/hang up clothes at night.
4. Brush teeth before bed. (Doesn't always happen if I'm too tired, even though I make the kids do it.)
5. Wash face before bed. (Doesn't always happen if I'm too tired.)
6. Spend 5-10 minutes cleaning, organizing, straightening our room or bathroom each night.
7. Spend 5-10 minutes cleaning, organizing, straightening our room or bathroom each morning.
8. Meditating each morning or evening.
9. Start the day off with yoga.
10. Eliminate sugar.
11. Eliminate wheat.
12. Eliminate dairy.
13. Daily gratitude (3 things).
14. Eliminate yelling.
15. Get out in nature every day and take a daily nature picture.
16. Clean out 1 box, 1 bag, 1 cupboard or 1 drawer a day.
17. Straighten up/clean up, organize bathrooms each day.
18. Juice Daily
19. Load and run the dishwasher each night.
20. Wash, dry, fold and put away ONE load of laundry a day.
to be continued...
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17. Straighten up/clean up, organize bathrooms each day.
18. Juice Daily
19. Load and run the dishwasher each night.
20. Wash, dry, fold and put away ONE load of laundry a day.
to be continued...
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Tuesday
Operation Christmas Child: Donating Gifts To Children In Need.
*This goes on every year. Just google the exact dates for that year.*
There is still time to donate for the Christmas 2015 season but it's best to put this on the top of your To Do List since there is a small window of time to donate in order for the kids to receive the gifts by Christmas.
November 18-25 is National Collection Week at Samaritan's Purse. Chick-Fil-A has partnered with Operation Christmas Child and some of the locations (like Any Orange County locations in Southern California) have extended it and you can drop off shoeboxes filled with gifts until November 30, 2013.
Setting aside religious and/or political beliefs if they conflict with either of the companies involved, we need to think of the children who will ultimately be getting these gifts. When you give the gift of a Christmas present, 100% of what you give goes to a child. So when you send school books, a child in need will read them. When you send a soft, huggable stuffed lovie a child will feel safe and warm snuggling their gift at night. They don't care what you believe, they don't care if you don't even celebrate Christmas - they will just appreciate the love and the hope is that some of these children will be inspired to complete the circle of giving and in their own way pay it forward to give to others someday.
This is the reason to give right here. Give for the chance to fill these kids with pure joy and love.
Here is the link from Samaritan's Purse about volunteering with them and/or making a donation of a Christmas box. They are asking to please send $7.00 to cover shipping costs for each box and if you donate that online you can follow where your box goes. You can also follow them on twitter.
Chick-Fil-A has teamed up with them and some of the locations are an official drop off location. They are even giving a coupon for a free sandwich for each filled box you bring in. If you don't eat there for whatever reason you can give your coupon away to someone who would love a free sandwich. Unfortunately, there are many homeless people in our world right now and if you drive a few blocks around your own house you will find someone to give your free sandwich coupon to.
The point is to give back, pay it forward and share the love.
Please join our family today in going to pick out gifts for children in need who, most likely, will not be receiving a ton of presents under a beautiful Christmas tree this year. We have a 5 year old and a 3 year old and we are letting them pick out their own box for a child who is their age and my husband and I will make gift boxes for the 10-14 age category. In the past when I have donated items to shelters and even when our family hosted a Pajama Drive a few years ago for the Pajama Program (a company who is near and dear to my heart) we learned in talking to the people working at the shelters, that many older kids get neglected during gift giving time because so many people want to help the babies and the small kids, which is wonderful don't get me wrong. However, we need to remember that older children and teenagers are in homeless shelters too, or in foster care and they need love too. Sometimes they need it more because they see more and know more.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Please check back to my blog as I will be posting about our family donation to Operation Christmas Child this year.
Peace, Love & Light
Coco Cana
There is still time to donate for the Christmas 2015 season but it's best to put this on the top of your To Do List since there is a small window of time to donate in order for the kids to receive the gifts by Christmas.
November 18-25 is National Collection Week at Samaritan's Purse. Chick-Fil-A has partnered with Operation Christmas Child and some of the locations (like Any Orange County locations in Southern California) have extended it and you can drop off shoeboxes filled with gifts until November 30, 2013.
Setting aside religious and/or political beliefs if they conflict with either of the companies involved, we need to think of the children who will ultimately be getting these gifts. When you give the gift of a Christmas present, 100% of what you give goes to a child. So when you send school books, a child in need will read them. When you send a soft, huggable stuffed lovie a child will feel safe and warm snuggling their gift at night. They don't care what you believe, they don't care if you don't even celebrate Christmas - they will just appreciate the love and the hope is that some of these children will be inspired to complete the circle of giving and in their own way pay it forward to give to others someday.
This is the reason to give right here. Give for the chance to fill these kids with pure joy and love.
Age category for shoeboxes: Boy or Girl: 2-4, 5-9, 10-14.
What to give: Start with a larger toy, such as a stuffed animal, car, or doll. Add toys, school supplies, and hygiene items. Do not include used items, war-related toys, chocolate or perishable foods, liquids, medicines, or breakable items.
Here is the link from Samaritan's Purse about volunteering with them and/or making a donation of a Christmas box. They are asking to please send $7.00 to cover shipping costs for each box and if you donate that online you can follow where your box goes. You can also follow them on twitter.
Chick-Fil-A has teamed up with them and some of the locations are an official drop off location. They are even giving a coupon for a free sandwich for each filled box you bring in. If you don't eat there for whatever reason you can give your coupon away to someone who would love a free sandwich. Unfortunately, there are many homeless people in our world right now and if you drive a few blocks around your own house you will find someone to give your free sandwich coupon to.
The point is to give back, pay it forward and share the love.
Please join our family today in going to pick out gifts for children in need who, most likely, will not be receiving a ton of presents under a beautiful Christmas tree this year. We have a 5 year old and a 3 year old and we are letting them pick out their own box for a child who is their age and my husband and I will make gift boxes for the 10-14 age category. In the past when I have donated items to shelters and even when our family hosted a Pajama Drive a few years ago for the Pajama Program (a company who is near and dear to my heart) we learned in talking to the people working at the shelters, that many older kids get neglected during gift giving time because so many people want to help the babies and the small kids, which is wonderful don't get me wrong. However, we need to remember that older children and teenagers are in homeless shelters too, or in foster care and they need love too. Sometimes they need it more because they see more and know more.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Please check back to my blog as I will be posting about our family donation to Operation Christmas Child this year.
Peace, Love & Light
Coco Cana
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