Chloe is 10 months! (Moms, I need some advice!)

Chloe is now an independent little one crawling around everyone. Never sitting still. She "cruises" around all the furniture and has stood on her own a couple times. I know her first steps are near. She still only has her two bottom teeth in, but I see 3 top teeth that are coming in fast and should be here anyday. Her blonde hair is coming in thicker and I can finally put barrettes in her hair! yay!

I cant believe how big she is! She laughs and smiles all the time. She loves her little "lovey" (a small square blanket about a square foot that has a little rattle giraffe attached) and carries that around all the time. She loves to blow raspberries and show "how big" she is. She claps and dances and gives me "kisses" (which are really just an open mouth kiss). I love it so much!

Here is where I need the advice. Lately, about the past 3 days, she has not been wanting to eat while at home. She will eat fine at the sitters everyday, but has refused food every time I try to feed her.  I don't know if it is directly related to her teething or not, but it is so hard to see her not eat! She does want to feed her self little snacks like her yogurt chips or little oat puffs, but she won't eat an actual meal!

To make matters worse, she has been throwing tantrums. If we take a toy away, she falls to the floor and starts screaming and crying. It is hard to deal with and I really just don't know what to do. I feel bad that she cries and I have been trying to just let her throw her fit then she will be over it, but it is so hard when you are in the midst of it. I thought this wasn't supposed to happen until she is a toddler! I just bought the Happiest Toddler on the block VHS and will be watching it tonight (yes I still own a VHS player, it comes in handy when the price difference is $20 from dvd to vhs.) I will have to let you know what I have learned from the program and how it works....

I don't know what to do! Anyone else have any suggestions or have they gone through this phase?

My Memories Digital Scrapbook WINNER

The winner of the My Memories Digital Scrapbook 

Breanne from resting on your love

(Breanne, make sure you email me at shesaidblog@ymail.com)

Breanne wins one My Memories Suite Version 2.0 digital scrapbooking software (a $39.97 value) for free.

For those of you who didn't win:
My Memories is offering a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value FREE! Just go to My Memories and copy and paste this code in the promotions code area at checkout : STMMMS48680

Halloween Preview

So James and I decided to be something really fun and different this year. We are making our costumes with whatever we have in the closet and only a $15 limit from the thrift store. This should be interesting.I actually didn't buy anything from the thrift store, my costume is made with my clothes I already owned and a hat I made with some craft supplies already on hand! Here is what I came up with so far... It's creepy enough for Halloween with the adults at work, then I can take the makeup off and be a non scary clown for Halloween with Chloe. We are making chloe's clown costume too!(does anyone know where I can buy a black and white striped long sleeve onesie/bodysuit for Chloe?)

Anyway, hope this inspires some of you to come up with something fun and original this Halloween!

New Items added to shop!

I have now included some of my handmade mini top hats and feathered hair pieces into my shop. Click She Said Shop on the right then go to the "handmade" to take a look! I have also included them on my Etsy Shop, Ruby Darling, that is finally being re-opened!

If you go to my blog shop, I have offered these at a discount cost, just for my readers!!!!

Chloe learned something new!

So I haven't update you in a while on Chloe's stats. She is now almost 10 months. She weighs 21.5 lbs and is 28 inches tall. She eats all sorts of food, but loves to play with it even more. She still drinks formula, but she likes to drink water from her sippy cup too. We have started making 1/2 of her food at home and I hope to make 100% of all her food by the middle of October.

Her favorite thing to do is take a bath, she LOVES the water!!! She loves to GROWL, seriously, so cute! She claps when you say "yay" and knows how big she is (hint: watch the video below). Her blonde hair is coming in thicker and longer now, but she hates to wear headbands and pulls them down around her neck when we put them on. She crawls pretty fast and wants to stand up and climb on everything. She loves to cruise around and I am sure she will take her first real steps before she turns 1.

Here she is as of this morning. You might have to turn the audio up really loud, I guess I was too quiet for it to capture what I was saying. 

Mine for Nine

I was reading a parenting magazine and there was this little section about this amazing site called Mine for Nine. It is a website where you can rent maternity clothes for the period of your pregnancy. Then you can return them when you are finished. You rent by the month because they understand that your body changes just as much as your mood does when pregnant.  The cost is pretty great too. I browsed on the site and picked some clothes I would rent if I were pregnant now.... Seriously, I will NOT be buying clothes for my next pregnancy, I will be RENTING them!

Top $ 27 to borrow
Pants $21 to borrow

$20 to borrow

$22 to borrow

$45 to borrow - This would be my pregnancy little black dress.

$20 to borrow

I seriously can't wait to be pregnant again and actually be fashionable this time! (okay, I CAN wait to be pregnancy, but at least I have something other than a baby to look forward to the next go around).
If any of you are pregnant now or are planning to be pregnant in the future, you should definitely look into this site!

Spooky Smencils Twitter Contest!

Smencils now has awesome SPOOKY SMENCILS! (My faveorite scent is Trick or Treat, in case you were wondering). They have now created a contest where you can win a 50 count bucket of the new Spooky Smencils. Contest ends October 15th. Check the video out below for more details!

(James may or may not be Scooter the pumpkin head {wink wink})

mini top hats

If you haven't been able to tell already, I LOVE mini top hats! I even wore one in our family photo shoot (see pics above)
I have been holding on to these cute little top hats for over a year, trying to find the time to actually decorate them. Well, the other night James took over Chloe duty so that I can have an hour of crafting. He is so kind! I didn't have time to go to the store to get some supplies of what I was thinking of, so I had to create them with what I had on hand. I must say, I am pretty proud of myself.

I am going to wear the one with the yellow butterflies and red feathers for part of my Halloween costume. (preview to come soon!) I think I might even make some more to start my Etsy shop back up again. and I might even put them in my She Said Shop. Oh... and if enough people like them, then I MIGHT end up doing a giveaway with one of them...

Well, what do you think?

My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbook (& GIVEAWAY!)

I have heard of digital scrap booking before, but have never experienced it until late. 

There is this company called My Memories that offer easy to use digital scrapbooks. If you are a scrapbooker like me, you understand that scrap booking takes time and attention to detail, something I have not been able to put toward my scrapbooks ever since I have had my little one. I downloaded the My Memories Suite software to my computer and was able to create a scrapbook within minutes! This is definitely going to help me with my goal to finish Chloe's first year scrapbook before the end of 2011.

This  digital scrapbooking software was extremely easy and simple to use. It came with step by step instructions on how to create a scrapbook. You can create your own from scratch, or you can use one of their already made templates. the My Memories website also has tons of FREE digital downloads for you to choose from. Or you can purchase downloadable scrabooking kits and pre-made templates for as little as a dollar (and sometimes less if they are on sale). The cool thing is that the software is directly linked to the internet so I could see what free templates were offered while working on the pages in my software program. Another reason this is so neat is it allows for video and music as well. You can even get your book printed or print it at home.

For those of you who are not as crafty or lack the creativity to create a scrapbook, I would suggest purchasing some pre-made pages (or get some free ones) and put them together OR you can visit My Memories YouTube page for ideas and inspiration (You know I LOVE YouTube how tos).

Here is a pre made template called "Exhale Quickpage 4" that I purchase for 99 cents.

 THE BEST PART:

My Memories will be giving away one My Memories Suite Version 2.0 digital scrapbooking software

(a $39.97 value) to one of my readers for free. 

How to enter: 

Mandatory entry:

go to the My Memories site and choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout, then comment below  which ones you chose.

 

Extra entries: (please put a separate comment for each entry)

1. Follow the My Memories Blog
2. Like My Memories on Facebook
3. Follow My Memories on Twitter

4. Facebook or Tweet about this contest and comment below with a direct link

So there you have it, 5 ways you can enter and 5 chances to win!!! 

Contest will end on Friday (9/23/11) and winner will be picked at random.

I was not compensated for this review other than the free software and a $10 credit to the My Memories website store to do my review on. Thanks to My Memories for giving me the chance to try these out. The opinions are mine and mine alone and was not influenced by My Memories company.

my first run at cake pops

I finally had some time to try out my new cake pops maker. I decided to make a cake pop "bouquet" for my sisters birthday on Saturday (realizing how old my youngest sister is getting makes me feel REALLY old. haha).  The process was actually really fast and pretty easy.

I started with a box of Funfetti cake mix, since that is my sisters favorite. I used "creamy supreme" Pillsbury vanilla flavored frosting and I used wooden flat popsicle sticks instead of the traditional white lollipop ones. 

 The cake pops maker by BABYCAKES was SUPER EASY to use. It heated up within a matter of minutes! It was compact enough that I still had plenty of workspace in my kitchen. The instructions were simple, just plug it in and wait for the green ready light to come on.

 The cake pops maker has room to make 12 pops at a time.

 You just fill each compartment, close the lid and wait 6 minutes.I put the cake batter into a plastic bag and cut the tip for more precise pouring.

Then at 6 minutes, open up the lid and voila. they are done. The cake mix made about 6 dozen cake pops. (we didn't even frosting them all and are now snacking on mini bald cupcakes)

Then pop them out with the pronged fork that comes with the maker and sit them on the cooling tray that is also provided. 

Once cooled, put the sticks in and stick them in the freezer for 15 minutes. 

 Instead of candy melts (usually used for these) I went with the vanilla frosting we already had in our cupboard.   We microwaved the frosting about 15 seconds to make it easier for dipping.

 Then just shake on some sprinkles and your good to go.

 

   Since this was my first time there are definitely some things I would improve on for the next time. I think candy melts would help since the frosting didn't "dry" that fast and the frosting would still drip off after a while. I also would make sure to get a foam block to put the pops in while the frosting dries. I ended up using the foam pieces that came in the shipping box of the cake pops maker. I also would try using the cute little white lollipop sticks since it makes for better presentation.