A Prayer for Dad

It's sad to say, but my Father-in-Law is back in the hospital. His Leukemia has been back for a while now, but things seem to have taken a turn for the worse.

I would prefer not to offer any more details, but I ask you to please send your thoughts and prayers our way. We would really appreciate the support.

- Lisa

Love the feeling

Being a mom has been such an experience for me and I love everything about it. My son is 17 months old right now and he really is a good kid. I think we are a little spoiled with him though; he sleeps through the night, he had no teething issues, he eats everything we put in front of him (except broccoli) and he barely cries. Awesome, right?

He is my little man and I couldn't imagine my life without him. When I dropped him off at daycare this morning (which is usually Daddy's job), he hugged me so tight and didn't want to let me go.

He's definitely my favourite little man and I just love that feeling.

My little Superman on Halloween.

For the love of Etsy

Have any of you heard of Etsy? If not, you're missing out!

Etsy is an online e-commerce site where you can purchase handmade items. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys.

Head on over to http://www.etsy.com/ and have a look for yourself.

I have purchased many items from Etsy, including ID badge reels, a birthday present for my nephew and art decor for my sons soon-to-be big boy room. However, my favourite Etsy purchase is my Errand Runner Cellphone Wallet, sold by Kerri Ann Handmade. Click here to find her on Etsy.

The cellphone wallet is absolutely fantastic and really minimizes the need to carry around a huge wallet and/or a purse (which is very helpful when you have a baby in your arms!). There is a pouch that securely holds your cell phone and when you flip it around, the attached wallet holds credit cards, cash, and coins. It even has a cute little wristlet for when you're on-the-go.

Here is mine:

Front View                                                                        

Back View

Inside View

Cellphone Pocket

When you check out the shop, you'll notice that she has a lot of fabric patterns to chose from. You are bound to find one to suit your personality!

Be sure to check it out and let me know how you like Etsy.

You've been warned though - it's very addicting!

Lisa

The elephant in the room...

...Or at least on the wall.

My little guy is 17 months old, but when I was pregnant and finished his nursery, I was so proud! The room was already painted a light green, so we kept the colour and added some brown and elephant accents. We kept things VERY simple.

However, since I am an avid crafter and DIY-er, I painted an elephant picture that is now hanging by his crib. I painted the picture myself to match the bedding.

Here's how it turned out.

Hanging on the wall.

(There are more things hanging on his wall by his crib now, this picture is from before that so it looks really plain!).

If you're looking to do a similar activity, the supplies I used are just from the dollar store (including the canvas), so it only cost me about $6 to do this picture. I found it really easy to just draw directly on the canvas with pencil (since you can erase very easily). I then painted the elephants and then background last.

I even enjoyed doing this picture so much that I also painted a picture for my friend's nursery for her little guy that was born about 5 months after my son was born. She had an owl themed room for her son, so here is how that painting turned out.

I'm just starting to plan for his 'big boy' bedroom, which will be much more spectacular than this. He's a bit older now so it needs to be a little more than 'simple'. Once that is completed, I will be sure to post about it.

Lisa

Chocolate is my Friend!

One thing I absolutely love, like most women, is chocolate. I especially like chocolate cupcakes, and during a cupcake exchange with a couple of girlfriends, I stumbled upon an amazing chocolate cupcake recipe from the Food Network Canada website. I just added more cocoa to make it a bit more chocolate-y. These are amazing! I topped them with homemade chocolate ganache. The ganache recipe is below and it's so yummy!

Chocolate Ganache Recipe:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and place a glass bowl on top of the pot.
2. Put two cups of chocolate chips in the bowl and add one cup of whipping cream.
3. Continue to stir constantly until all the chips have melted and the chocolate looks glossy.
4. Dip the tops of the cupcake in the ganache and twist to remove the excess.

It's that easy and the ganache literally only takes a few minutes!

Here is how my cupcakes turned out. I added pink fondant flowers for decoration. Cute and delicious!