Reba Norris Maciula from Chris Peters on Vimeo.

In memory of Granny Maciula.

Born April 24th, 1916 – Died July 11th, 2010

Music performed by Carol Maciula and Andrea Maciula Peters

Produced by Chris Peters

You can download and listen to Carol and Andrea sing the songs in the video above with the links below.

Amazing Grace | I’ll Fly Away | Just as I am | How Great Thou Art

I am all about making sure the parties I throw follow the basic Andrea party rules, this first birthday would be no exception:1. Party should have a theme 2. Invitees must have a great time (have activities) 3. Must serve great food. 4. Make sure party stays on schedule so people can leave if needed! Overall, I think I acheived my own expectations and surpassed many peoples expectations of a baby’s first birthday!

The theme came to me when I saw a friend’s little girl was having an Alice in Wonderland tea party. I thought that is brilliant but I have to make it my own, thus Ainsley in ONE-derland was born! I knew exactly what the picture should be, the classic Alice at the tea party. And the parTEA had to be ONEderful! I figured since Chris and I didn’t have a large wedding, why not have a GINORMOUS birthday celebration for Ainsley Jane!

We used Stillwater’s own Peacock Productions for the amazing invitations, and they were fabulous to work with. They had the white rabbit on the return envelope and a watercolor pic on a gorgeous light blue card that opened like a flower.

The CAKE: I made the cake from scratch and used the Wilton boxed icing sets for the icing & fondant. The chocolate cake was fabulous but the vanilla was too dense. The cakes were to be two mushrooms and a grassy area. I ran out of time but overall they were cute and creative! I used frosted rice krispy treats to cover the columns that the mushrooms rested on.

The FOOD: Part of the menu was with the help of Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine, the rest was my own & friend’s recipes. The open face toasts were: Ricotta with grated lemon peel, basil, & local honey on french baguette, Pesto, Buffalo Mozzerella, & basil on sourdough, Capers, Roasted Peppers, Kalamata Olives in a red wine vinegrette on french baguette, Roasted Garlic & Goat Cheese with an olive tapinade and red onion on french baguette. All the toasts were labeled with Alice in Wonderland characters announcing the ingredients for the inquisitive! The table was stuffed with other goodies like; Shortbread cookies that read “Eat Me”, a veggie tray with ranch(from Mazzio’s of course), peanut butter cookies, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, playing card covered chocolates, ginger peach cold tea, pomegranate & earl grey hot tea, coffee, & sherbet punch.

The DECOR: Themed decorations included: An Alice in Wonderland tablecloth, tea pots and tea sets of all shapes all around the house and main table, heart shaped fans, plastic flamingoes, a croquet set, large mushrooms, giant flowers, fun kiddy toys to play on, and a Cheshire Cat on our playroom chalkboard welcoming everyone in! Other decorations were the actual invitations, a ONEderful wall of pictures of Ainsley’s first year, and many brightly colored balloons!

The FAVORS: Favors were by age group: adults received hand stamped Alice tea cups or bowls with tea and cookies, big kids got a Mad Hatter TOP HAT filled with coloring books, candy, stickers, and a fan, little ones got felted wool balls, board books & a sun protection hat for summer time.

The BABY: Ainsley was dressed in her custom “Alice” dress and looked adorable. She smiled and was so excited while the whole room sang to her for her birthday! She LOVED the cake, well really loved the fondant and wanted to eat all of it. I had to keep peeling it off and throwing it out for fear she would have a complete sugar overload! She received amazing presents and had awesome party guests! Her grandma & Aunt Mandy drove from Indianapolis with cousins Elijah & Katie. Great Great Aunt Helen drove from Bartlesville & many other friends and family members spent their Mother’s Day helping us celebrate!

I was so blessed to get to throw a party of this magnitude and I thank everyone (especially my husband & his mom & sister & my friends Tori & Heather) that helped me clean up afterwards and set up before! It was a ONEderful Party and Ainsley will love these pictures when she is older!

-Freckles (aka: Andrea)

Sarah and I contacted each other via email and decided we would like some Valentines Day House decoration. Since the gift had to be handmade or homemade I decided to try to make something myself. I read Sarah’s blog and her love for etsy so I knew she could appreciate homemade items!

I decided to use the bird on her blog banner as inspiration. I got a pre-made grapevine wreath that I wrapped in red paper, I painted three birds to symbolize her family and actually sent her an extra bird in case of more children! I added some green spanish moss and two hearts one with the letter g for her last name.

I also sent some extra hearts glued to clothespins for hanging Valentines Notes around the house, and four chocolate covered cookies.

I received a beautiful Papyrus card and then an awesome “Be Mine” Valentines Day Banner! It is so cute, with wonderful details and it fits lovely on my mantle! It came wrapped in cute hearty paper too!

It will be treasured for years to come, especially since Valentines Day is like second Christmas at my house!

I can’t wait for the next exchange and I loved being paired with Sarah! Maybe someday we can have a playdate she only lives an hour away! And her little girl is a few months older then Ainsley!

I spoke to Erin and asked her what type of products would be good for a super sensitive, new mommy, redhead with freckles, 31 year old yet still gets zits, kind of skin. She said “Oh you need to try Miessence Soothing Skin Care”. I said well I will give it a shot! Anything is better then having dry yet greasy skin.

I ordered the travel size Soothing kit, the intensive body cream, the Jaffa lip balm, and the mint toothpaste. I went over my $50 gift card but that was okay for the sake of getting to try so many different products! I spent an extra $11 or so.

My order was processed and sent to me two days later, it was very fast! I loved how it also had biodegradable packing peanuts instead of styrofoam ones!

The Soothing kit was awesome. I actually love to wash my face night and day now. I used to never want to do it twice a day, but now I really do! I even crawl out of bed once I put my baby girl to sleep and go “refresh” my face!

First you wash with the cleanser, which sometimes if I have on makeup I do this step twice. The cleanser feels so great, it’s like soft silky gel. It actually smells like orange, witch hazel, and chamomile which needless to say are all ingredients found in it!

Then while your face is still damp after you have rinsed or wiped off the cleanser you put on the soothing skin conditioner. This is a little wetter in consistency and almost feels like it’s helping your skin to tighten. It smells more floral and a little bitter, but feels great!

Then after that step you put on the soothing skin moisturizer. I love this step because it makes me feel like I just had a facial everytime! It has a strong scent that fades quickly, you can smell the jojoba and flowers that are listed in the ingredients.

I have been using this system for over two weeks and I must say my skin feels healthier, looks brighter, and I haven’t broken out. I do have one zit but I think I might get the Miessence  Purifying Blemish Gel for this problem. I also want to try the Soothing Couperose Gel or redness helper,  it says that it helps with broken capillaries and redness.

The Jaffa lip balm is great too. It has a lovely orange-lemon scent/flavor with a “smooth like butter” feel on your lips. One morning after I had just put some on my husband commented on how soft my lips were! It was great to hear that someone else noticed!

The intensive body cream was definitely intense. It felt great on my skin but it was very strongly scented. The listing states that it has a lovely amber scent, well I thought it smelled more like Patchouli. If you love patchouli then this is the lotion for you. I however, do not and was glad I only bought the small travel packet. It was even a little tough to get off in the shower so this tells you how intense it is!

Last, was the travel size mint toothpaste. I wanted to try this out because soon we will be brushing our daughter’s teeth and will need a good fluoride free toothpaste. This one is also glycerin free, which I didn’t even know they were loading our toothpaste with this filler.  This one cleans great and freshens my breath enough to please my mother so that is a good thing! The taste is minty, sweet, salty, and then sweet again. I definitely will keep this in our cabinet!

Overall, these certified organic products are wonderful. They do cost more then most products my family normally uses, but they are food safe, free of genetically modified organisms, good for the soil and good for people. They recycle all their products and packaging, and more can be found here.

My favorite thing about these products is that they are not damaging. I am finding so many baby products and adult products out there have toxins and carcinogens in them and the companies aren’t regulated to tell us. Toxins and carcinogens definitely affect our bodies later on in life, so I want the best for myself and my family. These products are also certified through the USDA.

I highly recommend working with Erin Ely on finding which organic products will work for you or your family, tell her I sent ya!

-Andrea Peters

Follow me on Twitter!

twitter.com/littlesquiggler

twitter.com/heyfreckles

*This review was written on my own accord with Erin’s permission I posted links to her site and pics of the products! I paid for shipping and for the amount over my $50 gift certificate. I wasn’t paid to do this review. It’s all me!

Chris and I usually get each other chocolate, because we both love it, and then gifts we want. This year he wanted a helicopter from the mall. So he got it and it’s already on the roof!

I got chocolates, dinner, and spoiling all day. By spoiling I mean he helped me with Ainsley all day, did dishes, bought me presents and let me nap!

I love my true love and my daughter so much!

Here is a little smilebox I made for Chris below! Enjoy your lovey this Valentines Day and even if you can’t buy anything make them something!

Make a Smilebox greeting

I became a mother this year and that make this the best year of my entire life.

No matter the pain, weight, stress and other factors this year had I will always remember when I became a mother!

Thank you Lord, thank you hubby Chris, and thank you Ainsley Jane you’ve made my dreams come true! I look forward to all the years to come and hopefully all the brothers and sisters for Miss Ainsley Jane!

My Challenges: The biggest change is that I need to become healthier! And as mentioned above I would like to be blessed with another baby after Ainsley turns one!

My husband Chris is always up for supporting me through whatever I want to do, and when it involves more fun outdoor activities he loves it!

My Accountability: I of course have my husband Chris, daughter Ainsley, my mom and dad, and I have enlisted a new Canadian Twitter friend Julie to be my comrade. She is a new mom as well and we will be guest blogging on each other’s sites! She runs a great cloth diaper store out of her home in British Columbia (Little Monkey Store)! She has a son that is two weeks older then Ainsley and we definitely rely on each other for mommy tips and trends.

So that is that! Challenge and Accountablity.

Next step the plan. It’s real now!

The quickest to make was Walnut Fudge. The total time you spend working on this is around 20 minutes. It also needs to cool in the fridge for at least an hour.

FAST WALNUT FUDGE

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

¾ cup evaporated milk

1 ¾ cups sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups marshmallows (mini melts fastest)

1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup walnuts or pecans (chopped)

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Directions:

First, lightly butter a 9in square pan. Then in a medium saucepan combine evaporated milk, sugar, and salt over medium-high heat, stir constantly. Bring this mixture to a boil and let it boil for five minutes, stirring steadily the whole time. Remove from the heat, add marshmallows and chocolate chips, and stir rapidly until all marshmallows are incorporated (melted). Quickly add walnuts and vanilla. Continue stirring. Pour mixture into the 9inch square pan. Let cool in fridge for around an hour then cut into squares. This will make around 2 pounds of delicious rich & silky fudge.

Another great gift or side dish is Spiced Nuts. The total time you can set aside for this recipe is around 30 minutes. It’s a good idea to use a candy thermometer on this recipe. I found one at Hobby Lobby for around $5.00.

SPICED NUTS

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb. Walnut or pecan halves (I used both)

1 cup sugar

½ cup water

¼ cup butter

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon real vanilla extract

Directions:

Toast your walnuts/pecans for 8-10 minutes at 350*f and set aside. In a medium saucepan mix sugar, water, butter, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and salt. Over medium-high heat continue to cook and stir these ingredients until they reach soft ball stage(when dropped into cool water forms a soft ball) or around 240*f. Once the mixture reaches soft ball stage remove it from the heat, add vanilla and add the nuts into the syrup. Stir until all the nuts are covered with the syrup then pour onto waxed paper and let cool. Once they are cooled you can break them apart and package to give as gifts!

Toffee is a great treat especially when it’s homemade and fresh. My husband likes this one because it doesn’t stick in his teeth!

CAST IRON SKILLET TOFFEE

Total Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 cup chopped roasted pecans

½ cup chocolate chips or 5 milk choc. Candy bars

Directions:

Spread your roasted chopped pecans into a 9” cookie sheet or cake pan and set aside. Cook sugar and butter in a cast iron skillet to hard boil stage (thick ropy threads form when dropped in cool water) stirring constantly (250-265*f). The key to toffee is too cook it to the nice amber color. The cast iron skillet helps to keep a nice consistent heat while your rapidly stirring. Once it’s a dark amber color pour over pecans. Then sprinkle or lay candy bars over the hot toffee mixture and using the back of a spoon spread the chocolate so that it’s even. Let cool, remove from pan, and break into pieces.

*The key is to make sure this gets to that dark amber color, I had many error runs because I didn’t let this cook enough and my toffee came out white and greasy.

The last candy I attempted was caramel. I thought it would be easy and it’s not! It takes a lot of time, but it is delicious and makes quite a lot of bite size treasures. Total time for caramel is around 1-2 hours.

CARAMELS

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar

2 cups white corn syrup

1 cup butter

1 (12oz) can evaporated milk

Directions:

Butter a large cookie sheet that has sides and cut around 50 wax paper 3×3 squares, set aside. In large pot over medium heat melt butter. Stir in sugar and corn syrup. Slowly incorporate the evaporated milk into your mixture. Add around 1/5 of the can each time. Make sure to keep stirring your mixture especially the bottom of the pan. Cook your caramel until it reaches 230-240*f and like the other candies keep stirring the whole time, mine cooked around 25 minutes so wait until it’s a nice amber color. Pour onto greased cookie sheet with sides. Let it cool completely. Once fully cooled cut with clean scissors and wrap with wax paper squares.

So remember, your holiday gift giving can be homemade and delicious with any one of these recipes. I am sure your family, friends, and co-workers would be thrilled to try your creations.

*If you want more holiday candy recipes like these check out: www.recipezaar.com, www.cooks.com, www.bettycrocker.com, www.foodnetwork.com

Andrea Peters is a local Stillwater resident, wife, mother, and OSU Alumni. She currently is a SAHM (stay at home mom) working to become a WAHM(work at home mom)! All these recipes can be found online or if you have any questions contact: andrea@littlesquigglers.com

Reason I call this Freckles Fixin’s is because my twitter name is heyfreckles and my hubby calls me Freckles, and I have lots of freckles!

Remember the song that was so very winey yet stuck in your head for days, it makes me laugh and drives me nuts at the same time? So there are only 13 days left until Christmas and I have not finished my holiday shopping. I have been doing research and here are some items I think are on a family’s must have Santa List! They are definitely on my list!

First off all babies love cloth diapers, who wouldn’t they are soft and squishy! They make your little squiggler look adorable and they are easy to find. Why would I buy cloth diapers? Well they are great for baby and good for the earth! There are so many cute ones but I especially love the red and green ones for the holiday season! There are many retailers out there! I am hoping to someday soon be set up to take orders but for now check out these shops!

Sugar Dipes
Little Monkey Store (based in Canada, but has unique products to USA stores)
Cotton Babies
FuzziBunz

*Accessories that are good to have for cloth diapers are detergent, dryer balls, diaper sprayer, reusable wipes, wipes solution, and pail liners.

Other ideas for a newborn is easy; soft swaddling blankets, durable burp rags, and support supplies for the mommy! (frozen dinners, gift cards, help with laundry/cleaning, massages, & money)

More baby ideas; Some wonderful music for baby to listen to and some black and white patterned toys to work on tracking with their eyes! Talking and Singing with baby are important by now and reading is a great gift. Our daughter loved looking at the bright pictures in Eric Carle’s “Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see?” book, And she liked the rhymes of Dr. Seuss books like “There’s A Wocket in my Pocket” and “The Foot Book”.

Older children love to use their imagination! Find some great homemade dolls/action figures/monsters/puppets on Etsy or Artfire websites. You could also get them superhero capes, tutus, or soft blankets to cuddle up with. You can also have a personalized bookmade for them, this has been done for years! I got one when I was little and it was so special! (We ordered an X-Men version for our nephew! I will update on how he likes it after Christmas!)

For the rest of your family there are countless ideas on etsy and artfire. I tried to buy or make all our gifts online this year so that I could support “local” crafters/artisans! For our family we made calendars via iPhoto, ordered scarves and monsters from etsy, ordered diapers from various places, and we got some geeky stuff like iPhone, iPod accessories and apparel! (geek must haves: GriffinTechnology, Radtech, Think Geek)

I hope this might help you in finding some “new” ideas for gifts!
Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas is a Christmas novelty song written by John Coctoasten and performed by Gayla Peevey in 1953. It is a Dr. Demento Christmas staple, and is currently available on Dr. Demento’s The Greatest Novelty Records of All Time Vol. 6: Christmas.

Here’s an interesting fact about the popular Christmas hippopotamus song – in 1953 a ten-year-old girl from Oklahoma, Gayla Peevey sang the song as a way to raise money for the Oklahoma City Zoo’s first hippopotamus. It became a nationwide hit after that, although John Rox wrote the song “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” in 1950! The song was not written specifically for the Oklahoma zoo, its just that when they needed the hippo the song came out so the Christmas hippopotamus song just fitted in.” * This info foundhere

My husband and I recently went on an eight day excursion to Indianapolis to visit his family for Thanksgiving. Being new to cloth diapering I wanted to try and use our cloth diapers as much as possible so that I could encourage others to do the same.We used our Flip diaper with disposable inserts for our plane rides and first day! They did a great job and they were easy to change and dispose of in each airport’s bathroom.

During our visit we used our complete stash; FuzziBunz Perfect size Mediums (2), FuzziBunz OneSize (1), BumGenius AIO (1), a Bummi’s WhisperWrap (1), the Flip (1), 16 disposable Flip inserts, and one Prefold. I did laundry every other day to keep our cloth trials going. In between the cloth we did use disposables and I did only bring disposable wipes. I brought a small bag of Rockin Green Soap to launder the diapers in and my Mother-In-Law’s washer/dryer did great! I used a ziplock bag for a wetbag and a trashbag for our pail liner in an old trash can.

Moral of the story, it can be done! If you have access to laundry services or a large cloth diaper selection you can travel and fully cloth diaper your child. I would say that we had Ainsley in cloth at least 50% of the time, which saved the Indianapolis land fill from getting about 40 disposable non-green diapers! My husband, Ainsley and myself feel pretty good about that!

*We bought these diapers and none of the companies paid us or asked us to write this. None of the websites above asked us to list them, it’s purely from my own experiences.