Baby Clover Art

 I've been doing hand print clover art for the last 10 years with my students and this was the first year for me to do a clover art project with my baby girl!!  She was pretty excited about it and we had a lot of fun doing this project together.

 You'll need: a well rested, happy baby in her diaper

sponge brush

canvas

small paint brush

green paint

gold glitter

paper towels

 It was a whole family affair :)

 I started with Olive's feet because I figured they'd be the easiest to work with.  I gave her a paintbrush of her own to munch on and put her in the bumbo seat.  Paint her foot and then stamp.  It will need a fresh coat of paint for each of the four footprints.

Warning: Move your canvas away from baby ASAP after you've finished stamping her foot because her little green foot is liable to start stamping on its own.  We ended up with an extra foot stamp by Olive on the left side :)  Guess that means she was getting into the project...

 Ready for you to stamp my hand Mom!

I did a four leaf clover hand and foot print and then painted a stem.

Let it dry completely for a couple of hours.

Use a circle stamp in the green paint to do polka-dots all over the background.  

I used a marker cap for my circle stamp.  

Sprinkle glitter on top of wet paint and let dry for at least 30 minutes.

 Tap off glitter into the trash can.

 Turn the marker cap over and stamp a hollow circle of green paint around the canvas.

Sprinkle with glitter, let dry and tap off glitter again.

The baby won't need to help with this process so I put Olive in her high chair for a little snack.  She was full of silliness and was happy to watch me work as long as I talked to her.

Up close look:

 The finished product is pretty dang cute :)

I wrote the year and Olive's 1st St. Patrick's Day on the back in gold Sharpie.

We put it on display for this month 

and I'm sure it'll be a favorite decoration to pull out for many years to come.

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Shamrock Stamped Shirt

Isn't this the cutest St. Patrick's Day shirt??

It would be the perfect DIY for kids or adults!!

Looks like you'd just need a shirt, a stencil, paint and a pencil.

via cutesycrafts

WIWW

As St. Patrick's Day is approaching, I'm pulling out as much green as possible!!  I have an abundance of green, gold and clover attire so it really isn't that hard.  It pays off being an Irish fan this time of year! 

Here's my favorite looks of the week:

1. Running Errands in a Graphic T and Blazer

t-shirt - ND bookstore

skinnies - Target

blazer - TJ Maxx

statement necklace - Groop Dealz

earrings - Francesca's

loafers - Target

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The Feeding Game

We are slowly introducing more and more solids to Olive now that she's 9 months old.

 I'll be honest... it's kind of like a game where I cut things up or peel or cook things, she plays with it and covers herself in the food and then I hose her off.  She loves it and has fun so that's the important part, but I have no clue how much of it she's actually eating.  Some days she flings it all off her tray onto the floor, some days she shovels in the food and other days are so-so.  The messiness isn't my favorite.  I kind of can't wait until she can eat with utensils and does not require a bath after each "meal" - haha.  Good thing she's still eating her bottles so I know she's getting what she needs.

Enjoy the funny faces of Olive...

LOVES:

bananas

slices of apples

licking fruits

noodles

HATES/Needs more time to come around to:

carrots

peas

corn

shredded cheese

I wasn't sure what to feed her and felt like I was running out of options.  So I found some great graphics to help give me some ideas for planning her mini meals.  Her doctor wants her eating some solid foods three times a day so we are working that into our schedule.

 via baby-things

St. Patrick's Day Food

Have you started making your plans for St. Patrick's Day??

I'm hoping to make the jello, some sugar cookies 

and maybe try a new recipe for Irish Soda Bread.

I have some suggestions for you...

straight from my list of personal favorites.

Rainbow Jello

It's a delicious, fun addition to any meal!!

go here for the complete how to

Edible Rainbow Cupcakes

so simple and festive

go here for my instructions

Mint Chip Cookies

can't go wrong with these minty treats

go here for the recipe

Rainbow Buffet

a fun assortment of rainbow treats

go here for all of the items

Brownie Cookies
with mini green m&ms
go here for my recipe

Kids Clothes Can Break the Bank!

Baby clothes are pricey and can easily add up to a large sum of money.  Since I'm new to this whole shopping for kid clothes role, I need your help!! 

I was lucky to have such generous family and friends gift me lots of baby clothes at my baby showers.  I strategically organized and exchanged outfits so that Olive would have clothes for her entire first year of life.  We ended up with lots of 0-6 month clothes and I knew she wouldn't need that many.  I'm SO HAPPY that I exchanged things as soon as I got them so that I could stretch out her wardrobe for the whole year.  I'd HIGHLY recommend this strategy for other new moms-to-be!!

Fast forward to Olive outgrowing clothes right and left and we are quickly approaching the end of our clothing stash.  She's got lots of summery outfits but I'm starting to think ahead for late summer and fall.

I have gotten clothes for Olive as hand me downs from cousins, by using gift cards, shopping on-line sales and shopping off season clearance at Target.  My latest big find was hoodies at Target for $3.60!!!  They were really cute and I ended up buying Olive the next three sizes to grow into!!  I'd been shopping for springy jackets and most that I found were around $20-$30 so I was thrilled to find these.

  I'd LOVE to know where you buy clothes for your own kids, nieces/nephews, grandkids and where you find your great deals!!  I also would like any tips on finding great deals on pajamas because they can be expensive!!  Olive thanks you in advance for your advice :)

Best Parts of My Week

Another great week at our house and

here were the best parts:

1. Olive helped us announce Kevin's new job at Ole Miss starting this summer!  We are excited to make the move to Mississippi and continue to raise our little Southern belle.

2. My LUCKY Cinnamon Rolls turned out SO yummy!!

Go here to see how to make your own.

 3.I'm currently reading 

Homer's Odyssey:

A Fearless Feline Tale or How I Learned about Love & Life from a Blind Wonder Cat

and loving it.  

The boys enjoys some late night snuggles while I read :)

4. I got a SURPRISE green package of LOVE in the mail this week!!  St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays and this sweet friend made sure I was stocked for the season - chocolates, polka-dots, children's book and mini spatula's for my baby baker in training.

5. I can finally share my friend's darling baby announcement!!

It's SO FUN when your friends are at the same stage of life as you.

Can't wait for our babies to be friends.

My Finish This Statements for the week...
My favorite comfort food is...
macaroni and cheese.

My most memorable birthday was...
my 30th because my husband and I both turned 30 and we celebrated by going on a cruise to Key West and Cozumel.  One of my all time favorite trips.

The best karaoke song is...
classic boy band songs

Boots make me feel...
anxious because I have yet to find the perfect pair of cowboy boots.

I am grateful for...
 having a healthy baby this winter.

Hope you have a great weekend!!!

Thanks for stopping by.

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Guest Blogging

Head over to these two blogs to see my guest posts for the week

I'm blogging about my favorite dessert recipes @

From L & P to English Tea 

Whitney from Polka-Dotty Place

and

Talking about Travel @ Arkansas Women Bloggers

Making Memories Together {Have Suitcase, Will Travel}

LUCKY Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are the #1 treat at our house so I'm always trying to get creative and festive with our favorite food.  I decided to try to make some lucky clovers for my family.  It was easier than I expected so I thought I'd pass the recipe along to YOU!!  We also LOVE St. Patrick's Day, probably due to our love for Notre Dame, so we go a little crazy for green things this time of year!!

I used my stand by cinnamon roll recipe
and here are the steps to creating your own LUCKY Cinnamon Rolls.

Roll cinnamon roll dough into a log and cut into one inch sections.

 Cut those sections into half and place them side by side.

 Repeat this step until you have 4 "leaves"

Use the end pieces of the cinnamon roll log to make your stems.

 Repeat until you run out of dough.

 Bake with your baby :)
and be sure to bring a lot of toys to entertain her!!

 My recipe makes 8 four leaf clovers.
Let them rise for 10-15 minutes.

Tell your baby she can have a bite since she's been such a good helper.
She'll likely smile ear to ear at the news.

 Bake for 14-16 minutes or until browned.
Let cool.

 Ice your shamrocks with white icing and then drizzle green icing on some.

I'RISH you a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
Clovers for everyone :)

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