DIY Superhero Masks

A few weeks ago, I had a great thought! Since Little Ox #1 is loving EVERYTHING superheroes - instead of going out and buying a bunch of things, I decided we could make some things together!

And although, we couldn't really make these masks together, it was something that was fun for mom to make and he thinks they are so cool. So, a few weeks ago, I noticed that he started using anything and everything he could put on him head as an Ironman mask. It didn't really matter what it was. A box, a hat, a blanket, a helmet - as long as it went over his eyes in some way, he loved pretending he was Ironman. I thought to myself - I need to MAKE him some actual masks, so maybe my husband could wear his own hat for once instead of Little Ox #1 running around with it on backwards, pretending he was Ironman. The ones that he always sees at Target anyway were made out of cheap plastic and would get broken sooner or later.

Not to my surprise, Pinterest had so many DIY superhero masks, but most were made out of paper and I knew those would get ripped and then meltdowns would ensue.

However, I found a wonderful site that not only briefly told you how to make them, but she provided these awesome pattern printouts too! PLUS, they were made out of felt instead of paper. Here is her post on Cutesy Crafts!

I sewed mine together but you could easily use glue with the felt sheets or use paper if you don't mind that either. However, I would say that they were a beginners sewing project if you own a machine.

Another amazing thing about these is how much it costs to make them! I could have either bought the $20 cheapy Ironman mask from the store or spend less than $5 TOTAL on making 5 Marvel Superhero Masks!! Obviously, I chose the latter. Who wouldn't?!

What you need:
This will make 1 mask each of Ironman, Wolverine, Spiderman, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America.

• 8 Felt Sheets
• Red, Yellow, Blue, White, Green, Black, Cream, & Gray
• Feel Free to get another black one if you want batman, we chose not to make him. 
• 3/4 Inch Elastic
• One package should work for this. We had extra in our home, un-packaged, so I am not positive on how many you would need.

That's it! And it should cost you less than $5 for all the supplies!

What to do:

• Buy Supplies listed above
• Go to Cutesy Crafts and print her amazing pattern templates!
• Cut 2 of each pattern in the right color
• Cut 1 of all accessories (hulk's hair, thor's helmet...)
• Cut eye holes
• Sew together the doubles of the same mask (This is so they aren't flimsy)
• Sew accessories on top
• Measure elastic to child's head and sew elastic on back

Pretty basic! If you have any questions, post in the comments below and I will respond!

Enjoy! I know my superhero boy did!

P.S. If you want to see my finished Hulk mask - Check out this post from last week!

*(I will add an updated picture to this post as soon as my toddler tells me where he's hidden it) ;)

The Wonders of Kindness

This week, I read something amazing that made me decide to change the way that I was parenting my children. Specifically, my 2 year old.

The way I was doing it before wasn't the way I chose to do it, nor was it the way I had always pictured. I got caught up in noticing how often my child was misbehaving and not enough on how he wasn't. I caught myself being a mom that I didn't want to be.

Two-year-olds can be so difficult at times. I'm sure that every age is difficult (and perhaps even more difficult than twos) but I was struggling with how I responded to him when he was misbehaving. I noticed myself getting angry with him when he would get angry, frustrated when he was frustrated, and loud when he was loud. I would tell myself, "how is he supposed to know that I am upset with his behavior if I don't show him that I am mad"?

Then God showed me something I needed to hear. Something that I have been wanting to hear, to remind me of who I wanted to be as his mom and a child of God.

If you haven't heard of the blog called "Mundane Faithfulness" I suggest you visit it and check it out.

I happened upon a post by Blythe Hunt called "Kindness Matters" on their website and something stuck out to me in a beautiful "God-planned" way.

"Anger does not beget heart change; it begets shame. Yelling does not beget understanding; it begets hurt. Harsh words do not beget love; they beget humiliation. Intimidation does not beget kindness; it begets fear. Only kindness begets kindness; kindness begets love."

WOW. That insert changed me and I felt God speaking to me and telling me that this is why the last 2 weeks with my 2 year old have been so hard. I am so thankful that I stumbled upon this post and took the time to read it because it spoke to my heart in ways that I can't put into words.

The thing that is even more amazing is what happened the next day (and every day since I read this). I woke up the next morning committed to this statement. I would not get angry with Josiah. I will not yell at him and I will not use harsh words. No matter what.

When Josiah got up and started misbehaving: yelling, throwing things, hitting things... I was not going to use anything other than kindness. I could not believe the day that we had. It was AMAZING the effect that kindness had on him that day. After struggling with him every day for a week, all I needed to do was show him more kindness and love.

Isn't it amazing how Jesus love us so unconditionally. How we disobey Him and His Word, yet he loves us and shows us kindness continually, no matter what?! Every day, I pray with Josiah that we will remember to love one another like Jesus does to act more like Jesus every day.

How did I ever think anger was going to work anyway? Young children are such imitators, that when I treated him with kindness, love, and patience, he showed me the same in return.

“The Book of Romans tells us that it’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. I want to love with a kindness that nurtures a hard heart to desire to be soft. God is the only one able to transform someone else’s heart, but if I live a life submitted to Him, then His love will be reflected through me.

 — Kara Tippetts, Big Love

@ http://www.mundanefaithfulness.com/home/2015/3/11/kindness-matters

Breakfast "Muffins" : [Cooking with Toddlers #1]

I am excited to be sharing with you my first post in the new "Cooking With Toddlers" mini-series that I will be doing for the next couple weeks. Be sure to check back next Monday for the second post in this series.

This weeks post and recipe is for Breakfast "Muffins"! Some things I love about this recipe are: 

1. It was very toddler friendly - in terms of cooking AND eating
2. It was easy to sneak in healthy options without changing the taste much
3. Hand held for on the go - which can be very useful when you are running two kids around to appointments and play dates!
4. They are freezable and can be refrigerated for multiple meals!

If the recipe doesn't seem specific enough it is only because this can be manipulated in MANY ways to make it your own way that will fit the lifestyle and needs of your family. Toddler help will be in BOLD.

BREAKFAST "MUFFINS"

2 potatoes shredded fine (I used 1 and by the time I crisped them up and then cooked the eggs they pretty much disintegrated)

6 eggs (scrambled, seasoned with a pinch of seasoning salt and garlic salt, pepper, and 1/2 tbs of paprika)

1 cup spinach

1/2 cup halved grap tomatoes

Cooked breakfast meat

1/4 of milk (we used almond milk, feel free to use any kind - it was just for thinning)

*Cheese would also be a good addition, but I am not having dairy at the moment so we omitted those

Coconut Oil for greasing

First, I peeled and shredded the potatoes myself and then I let my toddler season the shredded potatoes with salt and pepper. I chose do shred them very fine because I felt like they would hold together better.

Grease up the muffin tins with coconut oil and place shredded potatoes throughout muffin tins evenly.

 Crack all eggs in bowl. I let my 2 year old do all the cracking and surprisingly I only had to pull out two shell pieces after he cracked all eggs in the bowl. This is very fun for them and it helps boost their confidence when they are able to help with more than stirring.

Mix all eggs together with a fork. Encourage them along the way and be specific with your encouragements. They process compliments better when you are specific. For instance, instead saying "good stirring!", try saying "I like the way you are stirring the eggs in a circle".

Measure out milk and pour in with the eggs and stir.

 Add seasonings and mix well

Add veggies to a hot skillet to cook down. This is a good area to have your toddler choose what they want inside of their muffins. If you want to choose the veggies, then pick 4 of your favorite choices and let your toddler choose 2 out of the 4 to put in. This gives them a say in what they are eating (even though you provided the choices). 

Add cooked breakfast meat to heat. While the veggies are cooking down, put the potatoes in the oven until tips are crispy and take out to add the egg mixture over.

Pour veggie/meat mixture to the bowl with the eggs.

Pour the egg mixture over the half cooked potatoes. Who cares if they spill some? Have them help wipe up the mess afterwards!

Cook in the oven at 375 until eggs are cooked through

Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite things to cook with your toddler? 

Little Ox #2 - Week 8

A little behind on my week 8 post. (I will actually be 9 weeks on Thursday).

Only 2 more days until we can see our little one's heartbeat and get our first picture of him/her!

Here is what I hate right now:

• nausea!!!!
• fatigue

Yeah, that's about it. But don't think it is all "easy-peasy" since I only hate those two things right now. If you have ever been pregnant you know how much these TWO simple things can debilitate you. 

It's also interesting how different these two things are compared to my last pregnancy. 

With Josiah, nausea KILLED me. I could hardly eat. In fact, I believe I lost 10-15 pounds the first trimester because of how little I could actually eat. And it wasn't cute little morning sickness that went away after noon hit. It was ALL DAY LONG - literally from the second I woke up until the moment I fell asleep. 

With this baby, I knew how miserable I was last time, so I have to force myself to eat, nausea and all. Same with fatigue. Last time, it was easy to take a long nap in the middle of the day, then get up and get things done. But things change when you have a toddler.

I now do not have the luxury of laying down for a mid day nap and moseying through chores when I wake up. I don't have the ability to lay in bed all day complaining about being hungry but not being able to eat.

Welcome to motherhood. Suck it up, Kimberly. I do not have time to let myself feel sick or tired because I have another human life (besides the one growing inside of me) that needs love and constant attention. Luckily, this has actually benefitted me! Forcing myself to eat - even though nothing sounds good - makes the nausea go away! And not doing chores because I am too exhausted means more play time and attention to my little one year old who needs me. :)

Week 8 Stats:

• Symptoms:
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Movements:
• None yet!
• Cravings:
• Mexican Food
• Fruit Popsicles

A Late Christmas Present is to be Expected.

I am not sure if you have ever experienced this, but the joy, excitement, and rush of love you get when you see the "Second Line" - is so amazing!

The Oxford Fam is expecting another little one coming early January!!

Our little family is beyond excited for this new adventure in our life. It still seems so unreal, but we are praying that this little miracle of life will continue to grow and bless us with its presence at the beginning of next year.

I will officially be 6 weeks along this week and I am excited to share with you my journey through my second pregnancy. I will be committing to one post a week that is focused on my pregnancy, our excitement, and how we are preparing for this new life to join our family.

Although Josiah is still young and doesn't really understand what having a sibling means - we know he is excited too ;-) 

I love seeing him and hearing him point to my belly and say "baby". It is one of the sweetest things ever.

See, doesn't he look like a proud big brother?!

Ergobaby Babyyyy!!

We are LOVING the Ergobaby carrier today! When J was younger we loved our Moby Wrap and used it to death! And we still love our Moby. But it doesn't seem to work as well now that he is a lot bigger and heavier - so he usually prefers to walk himself. 

BUT...

since we haven't been using the Moby Wrap and since we are going on vacation soon (doing LOTS of walking) we decided to finally get one after seeing and hearing SO many good things about them! (Plus Target was having an amazing sale at the time.)

Also, Josiah loved #babywearing as much as I did - and I think we were both missing it. The only thing I worried about was that he would not want to be carried anymore. (you know, since once a toddler gets the taste of freedom and independence - there is no turning back.)

However - HE LOVES IT. 

YAY!

1 point for mom 

1 point for baby

10 points for Ergobaby!

Everyone wins.

I was testing the three carrier ways out and every time I took him out - he would cry and want back up! 

I think we will use it a few times a day until our trip so we can wear it in and get him used to it.

Pros:

• love the comfort
• for mama and baby
• light feeling
• not too hot
• puts pressure lower in hips rather than back
• front, back, and side carrying
• safe for baby's hips
• sleeping/weather "hood"
• cute colors
• easy to put on/off by self

Cons:

• Not outward facing (although I didn't care for that much anyway)
• although they now have Ergobaby 360 for that.

Any other baby wearing mamas love their Ergo?

In the Blink of an eye

My baby boy is 15 months and 3 days old today. It is hard to believe sometimes that I have a TODDLER. I remember when he could hardly hold his head up, the first time he said da-da, and the rush of joy and love I felt when HE wanted to kiss ME for the first time.

I found this old picture that was taken a year ago. J was barely 3 months old.

and here he is yesterday at 15 months old:

That same amazing smile that lights up his (and everyone else's) face. That same soft face and beautiful brown hair.

The same blue-gray eyes, just like his mommies. The same silly attitude and olive skin like his daddies. 

I love seeing the little boy that he is growing up to be (even if it is a little naughty every now and then!) ;) I wouldn't trade him for the world and I am SO blessed to be able to stay home with him and enjoy every second taking in his AWESOME-ness.

Just needed to get that out. I am a little emotional right now. Why do they have to grow up so quickly?! 

Barnyard-Themed First Birthday!

Josiah's birthday was in January but since it happened before the website launch, I thought I would make a post about the party! It was very much "Pinterest inspired" and it turned out exactly how I pictured it. He enjoyed himself and LOVED all of the decorations!

I will start with the food since I LOVED the clever names for all of the food.
It was an afternoon party, so we mostly had appetizers and cake.
Here is some of the food:

Included is:

"Farm Fresh Eggs"

Deviled Eggs

"Barnyard Chicken Sandwiches"

"Chicken Feed"

Chex Mix

"Pigs in a Blanket"

"Hay Stacks"

Rice Crispy Treats

"Garden Veggies"

Along with that. Here are a few more shots of the table, as well as the decorations. We even had a friend of our bring in hay bales for the gift table (which also allowed Josiah to feel like a "big boy" sitting on them while opening his gifts.

And more decorations...

Last but not least, THE CAKE.

We bought a small and large cake for the guest but I also made J his own "healthy cake" - and he didn't even know the difference ;)

Found it here: 

http://whisperedinspirations.com/2011/05/30/babys-first-organic-birthday-cake-recipe/

Pure joy.

For party favors, we wanted to keep it simple. We stuck with the rustic/farm theme and tied up brown paper sacks with burlap ribbon and gave everyone homemade caramel corn and chocolate chip cookies.

What were your little one's first birthday themes?

Most Important

Even though your mind can get caught up in eating healthy, choosing the right portions, and finding time to work out - remember to take time each day to reset and remember what is important, what your priorities are, and how you can change your focus back to where it needs to be.

I love that my "job" allows me to take that refocus any time I choose. Because of my husbands job at a private Christian University, he has Good Friday off and that means we have a TRHEE DAY WEEKEND as a family. So we decided to take today to be in the moment and share our time together as a family.

Amidst our busy culture that is always go-go-go, we need to remember that the current moment we are in will NEVER come again - so take the time to slow down and remember this moment. So many people told me when J was first born that "he will grow up fast"and it will go by in an instant. While that is SO true - I don't HAVE to let it go by in an instant. I can milk the moments, the days, the cuddles, as MUCH as I possibly can. It can be hard sometimes, but I do believe that it is NECESSARY.

So in this moment I want to simply stop and love.

What will you stop to do today?

First Year Pictures

I just wanted to take a little time to give a shout out to our Photographer for J's first year pictures!

We did this the day of his birthday and birthday party and it was quite hectic but they turned out amazing. 

It was so much fun being able to celebrate his first year of life in so many ways that day.

Plus if you ever need a photographer in Portland - I suggest visiting Climbing Vine Photography page to check her out.

Here are some of our favorites: