Milkies Milk-Saver

WARNING: THIS POST IS BEST TO AVOID UNLESS YOU ARE OR WILL BE A BREASTFEEDING MAMA! SERIOUSLY, YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO TMI IF YOU PROCEED!!!

Ok, now that that's out of the way...I saw a pin on Pinterest before I was pregnant with my daughter for Milkies Milk-Saver. I pinned it and hoped that I would remember it later when I had my little one. Thankfully, I did! 

This is a semi-Pinterest test, and a bit of a product review. Because I was interested in it after seeing it on Pinterest, it makes this a Pinterest test. And, because I didn't understand it much, I thought I'd tell you a little about it just in case you might be interested in knowing as well...

Based on this picture, I imagined this would be something that was kind of like taped on to your breast and a bit of a challenge to get off - but it really wasn't too bad at all. Here is what it looks like off of a person.

So, it's a hard piece of plastic that you stick in your bra while you are nursing on the other side and when your milk lets down, this will catch what is coming out on the non-nursing side. It comes with that little egg-shaped carrying case, though I'm not sure the point of it (past using it to hold the milk-saver upright), since you will want to store the milk right away. 

Anyway, it's easy to put on and take off (especially if you have an underwire-free bra on), totally pain free and really does catch the liquid gold. 

To give you an idea of how much milk that actually is, that filled up to 1.5 ounces in a bag. It's not a lot, but it's kinda nice to know that I didn't have to do anything but put it on.

If you have a nice amount of letdown, this is good thing to use. If you don't, it's not worth the price.  I, thankfully, was able to get it for a very cheap price thanks to a website called www.steals.com. Steals.com has deals twice a day (8am and 8pm), things for babies, mamas, crafting and kids. It's definitely worth checking out. In all honestly, I've only used the Milk-Saver once. It was really cool, but for me, it's easier to not use it, because I rarely nurse in the same spot, and I don't wanna go looking for it every time. However, if you have a designated nursing spot - this could be a really neat way to save some of your milk.

So, there you have it. My review of the Milkies Milk-Saver. Linked above, is the product on Amazon. It's cheaper to buy through Amazon then through the website directly. And, for a little bit of added humor, here you go. You know what I'm talkin' about, mamas. :)

Another Way To Tie A Scarf

I love scarves. I love accessorizing, either with a hat or with a scarf. However, for a long time, I wasn't quite sure how to wear a scarf. Sounds kinda ridiculous, right? Well, it is true, none the less. I did the normal wrap-around-your-neck twice wearing, but that quickly failed me as I choked myself or it would eventually wriggle out of my not-so-fancy wearing and be on the ground. Then, I learned the loop-n-through - where you just make a loop, slip it through the hole and call it good. That's still definitely an old stand-by and favorite. But, I'm making my way into fancier scarf-tying. Seriously, it shouldn't be as tough as it is for me, but that's the way it is. 

Anyway, recently I got a great deal on a bunch of scarves and found myself in the predicament of trying to figure out how to wear them differently. Not that I necessarily had to - but I wanted to. Here is one of the new ones I tried today.

Photo from Pinterest

There are 6 different ways to tie scarves on this one image, but I couldn't get them all in the screen to take a screen shot of it, so to see the rest of them, check out this image. But be warned, most of the images use less-then-current looks, so it's not the prettiest of examples. But that's ok. :)

Anyway, this is the way I wanted to tie my scarf this time. I've always been so envious of people who can put scarves together and make them look fashionable and fluffy and mine just kinda...hang. Once I tried this, I was pumped!! I went to my mom's work and showed off my new tying abilities and said "Doesn't it look great?! Now I can be cool like everyone else!" Just kidding. But seriously, I really liked the way it looked. 

Tie little tiny knots in both ends of your scarf so that they are connected and make an infinity scarf kind of look. So, it'll look like this.

Then proceed with the other steps listed above. I tried to take a picture of each step, but doing it on my own was just too hard. Maybe this could be a vlog that I do eventually so it can hopefully make more sense visually.

Either way, the end result was pretty cute, in my opinion.

However, I discovered when I tried to re-create this (so I could photo-document each step), it was a whole lot harder. Maybe it was just beginners luck... Oh well, I will try again sometime. It's too cute of a look not to! 

There you have it, a new way to wear a scarf that is simple and cute and fun and hip and cool. 

Snow Play!

Christmas is over, but winter has kicked into high gear. All over the country, there is a cold front that has hit. Well, at least it has in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in I can't recall how long, we have over a foot of snow at my house. I realize that about 20 miles south of us, they were hit hard with snow just a month ago, but we had just a dusting at that time. This time, we have actual, genuine snow accumulation at our house! 12 inches and counting! One of the amazing things about snow: it wears kids out! I mean, it's like the best outside activity ever! I decided, after the coldness started to kick in, but my desire to bring my kids back inside hadn't kicked in yet, that I should come up with some fun outdoor snow activities. In steps Pinterest to save the day, yet again. I found a blog that talked about warm ways to play with the snow. Well, I adjusted the idea a bit and kept the kids outdoors. To check out the blog, go here. 

Photo from Pinterest

I did three different activities with my nephew and my son. First, we did some painting in the snow. The blog recommended just some paintbrushes and some colored water - so I gave it a try. I filled up two ice cube trays with water and food coloring and brought it outside for the boys. They were ecstatic to give it a try. Unfortunately, we quickly discovered that the snow we had was too powdery, not icy enough and too deep, so we scraped off some of the snow and the boys painted on the patio.

The boys had fun with this, but it wasn't all that successful. I think it'd work better with snow that is a little more packed. Gabe found a fun way to play with it though: sprinkling it on a rock.

Cade had fun too, although he didn't actually make anything - for his little 2.5 year old self, he had a blast.

Next, I made up two spray bottles filled with water and food coloring for the boys to spray.

I think if I used more food coloring, the color may have been a bit more vibrant - but it still was fun for them.

The boys got more enjoyment out of this than they did with the paint, but they still had fun. Lastly, we made a target out of a garbage bag and tried throwing snowballs at it. 

The snow, again, was far too powdery - so making snowballs for it was nearly impossible, so this little game didn't work so well, but it was fun to try just the same. 

So, there you have it. Some fun ideas to try out for your winter wonderland. Nothing super awesome, but good enough and entertaining enough for the littles. And just for kicks, here are some pictures of me and my babies. Enjoy the snowfall!

AAA Batteries and Tinfoil

And now for another edition of the Pinterest Test, fail series! Recently, I found a post on Pinterest that if you put tinfoil and AAA batteries where AA batteries go, it'll work. Naturally, I had to give this method a try.

Photo from Pinterest

So, I took the well-working AA batteries out of my computer mouse and tried it. This is what the back of the mouse looks like when the batteries are working - see the little tiny green light above the green "on" switch? If the batteries are dead that won't light up. My mouse was obviously a good device to try this on since there's a tell-tale sign as to whether or not it will work.

I got a bit of tin foil, wrapped the AAA batteries up and stuffed them as best I could into the mouse; being sure that the batteries, the foil and the connector thingamajig were all touching. No success.

Next, I tried using one AA battery and one AAA battery with foil - just for kicks. Again, to no avail.

No tiny, happy green light here...

So, I went back to my good ol' standby, ever faithful (until they die) AA batteries. And my mouse purred back to life. That's kinda of an odd sentence...a mouse purring...anyway...

As far as I can tell, for this average gal, this is a fail. Maybe if I invested a ridiculous amount of time I may have gotten it to work, but I am not lacking that much in AA batteries and I'm fairly certain they aren't that much cheaper when you consider the amount of time you have to put in to making the batteries work - that is, if it could actually work. So...there's my two cents. Stick with the AA batteries - less hassle and works like a charm.

As an added treat, because I didn't give you any cool new trick to try - check out the post that this idea came from - there are other ideas on there that I know work wonders, so you could have some fun looking at that, if nothing else. Check it out here.

UPDATE: A friend of mine, posted this comment, so I thought I'd share: As an expert on the subject of using the wrong size batteries in things (my D cell mag-lite is currently powered by AAAs and duct tape) I can say that your failure is likely a result of a short circuit in your tin-foiling. The batteries are most likely wired in series on the mouse interior, which means the foil on the + side should not be touching one another in your solution. Your second attempt (with one AA and one AAA) was more likely to work in this case, but since it did not, I can only speculate that the foil was touching the metal at the top the slot of the opposite battery, creating the same short circuit. Get some tape into the mix, to isolate the connections, and you'll probably have more success.

So, I stand corrected. I may have to try this method - but in the meantime, I will be content to just use my good ol' AA batteries.

Christmas Cards: The clean up

It's time to undeck the halls and clean up the holly. It's time to throw away the 5 pound fruitcake and take down the Christmas lights. It's time to get rid of the Christmas cards everyone sent you...or is it?? I love Christmas cards. I especially love the ones with pictures. I love the others too, but the picture Christmas cards make me so happy. I just was never sure what to do with them after the holidays other than put them in a box to look at every once in a while. There's no way I'd be able to frame each and every one of them. But, thanks to my friend Haley, I now have a new solution. She told me this little trick last year, but doesn't remember it at all. I'm glad she remembered it long enough to tell me though, because it's brilliant! Want to hold on to your Christmas cards, birth announcements, or any other cards you may be interested in and make it fun for your kids to look at too? Create a book with them! All you need is a hole punch and some rings like you would find in a binder (you can get them from office supply stores or even Walmart or Fred Meyer for super cheap).

I like to write the year on the back of each of the cards for my reference. After it's dated, I hole punch the picture and then put it in the binder rings.

Put it on the rings with the rest of your Christmas cards, make a cover if you wanna (I have yet to do that) and you have a make-shift photo album that you and your loved ones can enjoy!

Thanks to my sister for the Christmas card, hers gets to be the example. :) 

You can do this with normal cards too. That's how I've been storing all of the cards that I've gotten from showers and such since my daughter has been born, but because it's not pictures, I'm just using one ring in the corner. Those cards will be put in her memory box and this way they will all stay together. I love finding new solutions for storing my pictures and other stuff that I am too clingy to get rid of. :)

So, if you are clingy like me, I hope this gives you a helpful solution. May you all be blessed in 2014!

Maternity Necklace

I don't normally blog advertisements, per se, but I am just too excited about this and I did find out about it on Pinterest. So, I'm counting it as a Pinterest test.

Since being pregnant, I've gone through the normal happenings of a pregnant lady: swollen hands, swollen belly, swollen feet. Most of the time, these things don't phase me all that much. But, my hands have become so swollen that Im not able to wear my wedding ring and I don't like that. Thankfully, I discovered something I had never seen before. A Maternity Necklace! You can wear your ring around your neck. It's not really that novel of an idea, I mean, really, put a chain around your neck and slip your ring on it, but I didn't have a chain and I just didn't want to do it that way. Until I saw this terrific idea on Pinterest.

Necklace can be purchased by going here

I fell in love with this idea! It just looks classy and pretty and yeah...I just really liked it. Unfortunately, I found this at the end of my pregnancy and it seemed silly to buy it at this point. Especially because it was over $100!! Yeah...too much for me. Although, I can think of other rings I would use for it after my wedding ring would fit back on my pudgy fingers. Like, putting one of my dad's rings on there. Since he passed away, I've had a few things of his and would love to wear them from time to time, but mostly can't find a way to do that. This would make that possible. Oh well...$100 plus was just not what I was willing to pay right now.

However, I did some more searching on Etsy and I found another necklace, one I liked even better that was less than half the cost of the necklace above (including shipping!!). So, I got it!

To check out this necklace, go here. 

Because I am so very near my due date, I asked for the necklace to be shipped with expedited shipping. The merchant was so gracious! She didn't even charge me extra for it. Awesome!! It came in the mail a few days later. The width of my wedding band was just a little wide, so it was a bit difficult to get the clasps fastened, but I did it, and I love it.

I've gotten lots of compliments on it and it is very lightweight. I won't be able to put my dad's ring on it, but I am certain I can find another use for it. Maybe even just clasping the hearts together. I would recommend, if this is the one you are going to get, measure your ring and be sure it will fit in the clasps. That would be my one warning. Otherwise, yes. This. This is terrific.

Pretty-fying your iPhone

This is a silly little blog today and will only apply to those who have an iPhone...and maybe a Droid...I'm not sure if they make this app for the droid or not. I found a pin on Pinterest entitled "Make your iPhone pretty!" So, being the frilly, prissy, sparkle and pink-loving girl that I am, I was drawn to this pin. But, for months have been far too lazy then to do anything with it. Until today.

Here is what your iPhone can look like, according to the Pinterest blogger. I don't see any reason to attach the blog that goes with this pin, as the directions are no longer on there.

Photo from Pinterest

Because I did not find any directions easily accessible, I did what I could to make my iPhone prettified; I changed a few apps.

To make your iPhone all pretty like this, you need to download the CocoPPa. It's a foreign app, but it still works well and has simple directions in English. I didn't end up making new icons for my mail, phone and messaging because that was far more confusing than just doing it for the apps. So, my best recommendation - have fun with this, but don't get too carried away unless you don't mind putting in more effort than I apparently wanted to. Ha!

Here are some of the apps that I changed the icons for:

See the beautiful Rapunzel background I have on my phone? That was from a picture I took of a painting my husband bought me. I love it.

I am pretty excited about how pretty cute the new app icons look on my phone. Adorbs! Craftgawker is the only one not looking uber cute here as I couldn't find a new icon for it, but I like the other ones a lot!

You do have to save your original icons so you don't lose your info as these are kinda just the facades that connect to the actual apps. I put all of the original icons in a folder on the last window of my iPhone.

I had a lot of fun with this; being able to customize my icons is right up my ally! If only I could figure out how to do the whole phone!! Either way, I enjoyed the cuteness that is on parts of my phone now.

So, this is a pretty cool little app if you are interested in (and have time for) stuff like this - just make sure you read the short tutorial - it'll be very helpful. I may do some more customizing later, but I'm satisfied with the few changes I've made. I'm liking it!

DIY Orange Tealight Candle

I saw this idea on Pinterest a while ago and had a hard time believing that you could actually make a candle out of just an orange peel and some oil, so I had to give it a try. I can't imagine a time when I'd actually need to try this, so this was just for fun. The blog: http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/diy-orange-candles/ posted about how such a novelty could be completed. 

I made it a little more difficult on myself the first go around and cut the orange totally in half and gutted it out like you would a grapefruit. That did not go as smoothly as I would've liked, but I got it done! 

I then filled the orange peel with oil and made sure the wick was saturated with the oil as well. 

And...drum roll please.... ... ... ...

It eventually lit... barely. 

The candle blazed with a flame for a grand 15 seconds...or less...but, it did light...after many, many, many tries.

But, being the tenacious girl that I am, I did not give up so easily. I decided to try peeling the orange with the method intimatewedding's blog called for, which was far easier to peel, actually. Then, I tried it again.

And, TA-DA! It lit! I had a candle!

The website boasted that you could have a candle that would burn for a few hours. I timed mine. It stayed lit for 30 minutes. Would it have stayed lit for longer if I had added more oil? Quite possibly, but I wouldn't put in the effort to add more oil every 30 minutes - that would get expensive, using olive oil!

Intimatewedding's blog suggested using these as center pieces at weddings or garden parties and the like. I can't imagine doing this as it still took multiple tries to get my orange candle lit and it only stayed lit for a half hour. This would be far too much work for a wedding, in my opinion.

I also expected that this would give off a nice citrusy aroma in my home, but it actually had no smell - which some people may like better. I think I'd pass on doing this again, other than for experimental purposes.

However, maybe you'd have better luck! If you try it and it works for you, I'd love to hear how you made it work.

Stovetop Christmas Scent

I tried and did my first test post on November 29, 2012. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

This was pinned from http://www.make-it-do.com/make-it/the-smells-of-the-season/ blog. It looked so beautiful and obviously wouldn't put any harmful chemicals in the air at my home, I just had to give it a try. Basically, it's a lovely smelling (and looking) potpourri. To see how it's made, go to the link above (and I highly recommend that you do!) When I made this, I expected it to look pretty, but not quite as beautiful as it turned out. Here is the picture from right after it was made

Beautiful, no? It smelled divine also! In Make-It-Do's blog, she says to put the lovely potpourri on the smallest burner and on the lowest heat. Seriously...do this! I turned mine up just slightly above "low" and it was boiling in a matter of minutes. It did make my home smell wonderful, but it's not necessary. It will end up smelling heavenly anyway. As the water from the pot dissolves from the heat, be sure to add more. AND remember to turn off your burner when going to bed or leaving home. After 6 days, the potpourri wasn't looking so pretty, as you can see below.

But, it still smelled really nice and I used it for a few more days before I finally tossed it and made it up again. I would HIGHLY recommend making this. It certainly does give your home a wonderful Christmastime smell and is so very easy to make. Enjoy!