Floppy Head

 Don't you just HATE it when you are driving in the car and you look back to find your child's head flopping all over the place as they are fast asleep?!?  We've tried several different travel pillows from various stores and websites, and non of them seem to really work at keeping our 2 year old daughter's head up.  Then, the other day I saw a child with the most brilliant pillow, and I immediately had to make one for my daughter:

 

I think we finally have a solution for our floppy-head problem!

I made it from a scrap piece of fabric that I cut to 55 inches by 11 inches.  I hemmed the two 11 inch ends, then folded it right sides together hot-dog style and sewed the two 55 inch sides together.  I turned it right side out, then measured 15 inches in from one end, and sewed a straight line through all the layers (this is to hold my batting in place as I fill up the pillow).  I then stuffed the pillow with batting until it was filled up to 15 inches from the opposite end of my sewn line.  I again sewed a straight line here through all of the layers to keep my batting in place.  At each end, I simply tied a ring to the pillow, which I will use to attach to the stroller, carseat, etc. to keep the pillow in place when my daughter might be falling asleep.  However, not all strollers and carseats have something that you can attach a ring to, which is why I left 15 inches of fabric at each end.  If needed, I can just tie the fabric around something that the ring wouldn't fit around.  and the best part of all...this only took me about 15 minutes from design to finish!

*FLOPPY HEAD UPDATE*
Over the memorial day weekend, we traveled from Houston to Oklahoma, and really got to try out this new pillow.  It worked wonderfully!  My daughter loved her cool new pillow, and slept much better without her head flopping around!  We just kept it attached to her carseat like pictured above, and she could push it up and behind her seat whenever she didn't want it, but then when she started to get tired, she could just reach back and pull it back down in front of her to rest her head on.  It was perfect!

Empty Wall Filler

So, I had one big section of a wall in our entryway hallway that was empty, and it really bothered me.  On the other side of the doorway right next to this big space, I had 3 tall and skinny wall hangings, so whatever I chose to put in this empty space had to appropriately match these existing decorations.  Not wanting to go out and spend a bunch of money on some expensive wall hanging that could most likely easily be made yourself, I decided to just cut right to the chase and create something on my own.  So this is what I came up with...
With some 1 1/2 inch thick scrap lumber we had in our garage, I cut 8 squares to a size of 11 inches x 11 inches.  Then, with some 1/4 inch thick scrap pieces of wood we had, I cut 20 different sized pieces.  I stained the large squares with dark stain, and the small pieces with a lighter stain.  Then, I attached the small pieces of wood randomly to the larger pieces using hot glue.  Finally, I attached some wall hanging brackets to the back and hung them up in two columns of 4 so that they too would create a tall and skinny structure to match the other pieces.  The possible patterns and combinations with this project are endless!

       

  

  

Meatloaf for Dinner

A neighbor of mine just had a new baby boy (her second) a few weeks ago, and now that all of her out-of-town family has come and gone, it is just the 4 of them again.  While that can be quite relieving in some respects, it can also be quite stressful in others.  We, too, don't live near any family, so when my mother came to visit after the birth of our second child, she cooked up about 15 different meals and put them in my freezer.  It was SO nice to be able to pull out a home-cooked meal from the freezer and throw it in the oven on those days when things just weren't going as June Cleaverish as I would have liked them to.  I felt so accomplished, as if I had really made a nice home-cooked meal...like I totally had it ALL together when my husband got home!  Yeah right!  So anyway, I have come to realize that a home-cooked meal, one which will freeze well and still taste great later, is the best gift you could ever give a new mother.  Here's what I made for my neighbor:

Meatloaf.  This is a recipe that I concocted a year or so ago.  I took some things that I liked from different meatloaf recipes I've had before, and put them together into what my husband says is the best meatloaf he has ever had.  These are the measurements that I use, but play around with everything and see what you like best!  This will make 2 loafs, so you can give your friend one, and still have one for you and yours ;)
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground sausage
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
Onion, diced
1 slice bread, torn into pieces
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup shredded cheese (I typically just use cheddar)
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup smashed saltine crackers
1/3 cup grated carrot
2 t. parsley
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup ketchup
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 t. mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
Directions:
1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2.) Stir together the eggs, milk, bread, bread crumbs, crackers, carrots, onion, cheese, parsley, salt & pepper
3.) Mix in beef and sausage with hands, but don't overmix, just evenly distribute ingredients throughout meat
4.) Bake for 30 minutes
5.) Mix together ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and maple syrup
6.) Top meatloaf with ketchup mixture
7.) Bake an addition 30 minutes

Some recipes are good to cook before you freeze them, however the meatloaf works very well to prepare it, and then freeze it while the meat is still raw.  So in this case, don't forget to include directions with the meal so that mom knows how to bake it when she is ready!

And because I couldn't forget about dessert...
Ice cream Cake.  This is a dessert that my Aunt Tami used to always make when I was growing up, and it is still my favorite dessert today.  The version that I like best layers crushed Oreo cookies, mint chocolate chip icecream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream.  Freeze until ready to devour!

***And don't forget to put all of your prepared food into disposable containers (that are also oven-safe if need be) so that your new mom doesn't have to worry about clean-up or returning your dishes to you!***

Hopefully I'll get a chance to post a craft project or two a little later on!  Talk to you soon!
Jen

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my brand new blog!  I am really looking forward to sharing many of my project ideas and recipes with you all!  I am a very busy stay-at-home mom, but I will do my best to post as often as I can.  Feel free to contact me with any questions and/or comments, I'm really looking forward to hearing from you!  I will also be starting up an etsy shop, so be on the watch for that!  Stay tuned for good things!  Thanks so much for visiting, and have a blessed day!

Jen