Monday, November 29, 2010

Super Mommy Tip #5

Freeze it! Many times when I make dinner, I make double the amount and freeze the extra. Then when I don't feel like going to the store or just don't feel like making dinner period, all I have to do it take out ready made food from the freezer and toss it in the oven, throw it on the stove or heat it in the microwave. You can pretty much freeze any type of food. Some of my favorites are lasagna, chicken casserole or any casserole type of dish. I bake it first, then take the portion I am going to freeze, let it cool, then I wrap it in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, then a Ziploc bag. I do all those steps to avoid any kind of freezer burn. I also freeze lots of soups and chili. For those I just cool first and put it in a Tupperware to freeze. I like enchiladas too, for those I just cook the chicken or meat, wrap up the tortillas with cheese or your favorite inside goodness and then wrap with plastic, aluminum foil and a Ziploc. When you take them out just put them in your dish and cover it with enchilada sauce and bake. Yum!

So next time, make a little extra and toss in the freezer, you will be glad you did!

-When you exert positive energy you will receive positive.

Remember 20% off all Bebe Dulce orders plus FREE shipping.
Shop for your favorite sweet baby at Bebe D!  www.bebedulceaspen.com

*I will refund the 20% after the order is complete via your payment method.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Week 6 Challenge

Okay, sorry I am late posting...I am not sure what I have been doing the past couple of days...So for Week 6 Challenge I decided to make use of some old t-shirts that are no longer flattering on my lovely Mommy figure, we will just say that the tummy isn't quite as flat as it used to be. I had a whole bag of t-shirts I assume I was keeping just waiting for my stomach to be like it was 4 years ago.  Since the shirts were pretty tight, I decided to make 1 shirt out of 2. The shirts were both where brown, one was long sleeve and one was short sleeve. I took the short sleeve shirt and cut a panel out from the center front of the shirt, it was about 8 inches wide. I then sewed clear elastic to the neckline of that piece. I cut straight down the middle of the long sleeve shirt and sewed my panel into the cut area of the long sleeve. I then cut strips out of the short sleeve shirt about 1 1/2" wide and sewed clear elastic down the center of the strips. Then I pinned and sewed the ruffled strips down my 2 seam lines on the front of my shirt and around the neck. Now it is comfy and doesn't hug my belly!
Not too shabby, huh?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Remember the more love you put out in the world the more you get back! Happy Sunday!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

And the winner is.....

Straight from the bunny rabbit....WWillows6/Lisa G!

She won our Super Fabulous Dress Giveaway!!!!  Please contact me to claim and personalize your prize!!! I was so excited to see who won, yes I drew at 8:30 am on a Saturday morning. I can't wait to see how Lisa wants to design the dress! Congratulations Lisa and a huge thank you to all that entered. More giveaways coming soon!

In the meantime take advantage of our 20% off sale on all orders plus FREE shipping!!! http://www.bebedulceaspen.com/

Monday, November 22, 2010

Super Mommy Tip #4

Only do what you can handle, Part 2.  Getting your baby to sleep can be a daunting and dreadful task. Some babies drift off into dreamland with no problems. Other babies it takes a prayer and a miracle to get them to finally let go and relax. So many people say, "Let them cry it out, you have to do it!" Well I can tell you that when Alea, my first daughter was born there was no way on earth I was going to let my precious new baby cry. Absolutely no way. I rocked that kid to sleep until my arms fell off or she fell off my arms, since she was 2, I was pregnant and she no longer fit :) I will say that when she was about a year and a half I did try it a couple of times but I thought that I had to let her cry for an hour or something to make the whole CIO work and I just couldn't last an hour listening to my baby scream. When baby #2 came along, I was determined to get her to fall asleep on her own when she was too small to realize what was going on. I will have to say that I got a blue ribbon for that accomplishment. They only thing that I didn't realize is that she would not drift off into dream world every time I decided to lay her down without a fuss. Yes, some days I can lay her down and she is fast asleep before I leave the room but other days well, it takes a lot more. So here I am letting my precious baby #2 CIO...sort of. What I discovered with baby #2 and the whole CIO stuff is that I don't have to let my baby cry for an hour before it works. Several books that I have read say, let them cry for an hour, even our pediatrician, who I love dearly says to let them cry for an hour before comforting them. That doesn't work for me. Why? Because I can't handle it. Yea, it might be great sometime, somewhere but hearing or even knowing that my baby was crying for an hour sends my anxiety to a whole new level. What I did decide was that I can handle 15 minutes. No more. Some days I can't even handle the 15 minutes, sometimes it is 10 minutes and guess what? That's okay because I can only do what I can handle. So set a time that you can handle and work from there. Just because Dr whoever tells you in his book or your beloved pediatrician tells you you have to wait x number of minutes, guess what? You don't. What worked for them doesn't always work for you. Just because you can handle something one day doesn't mean you can handle it the next. Baby #2 goes to sleep just fine the majority of the time but sometimes I can't handle it and I don't let her cry at all. So set your time limit at what you can handle, on that day and at that time. Don't force yourself, I promise everyone will be happier in the long run.

Another thing I taught myself with baby #2 is that if she is having a tough time falling asleep go do something where you can not hear her. My favorite thing to do is take a shower right after I put her down. I relax and take as long as I want and need in the shower and 99% of the time she is asleep when I get out. And the best thing about it is that I have no idea if she even cried at all. I also vacuum or find something to do outside for 15 minutes. It helps a lot because I know if I am just sitting on the computer or doing something quiet, I definitely can't last the 15 minutes because I end up just staring at the clock.

So just figure out what you can handle and do just that! Good Luck!


And don't forget to enter our Thankful Giveaway! How cute will that sweet little girl in your life look in this adorable dress?

Sunday, November 21, 2010

More Great Recipes

Yesterday was Alea's birthday party, I got many compliments on the menu, so I thought I would share.  I have been baking bread quite a lot lately so I decided to make sub sandwiches, pico de gallo & of course cupcakes. I also bought a few more things, veggies with dip and more chips.

I had been wanting to make bread for a really long time but for some reason I thought I either needed a bread machine or some special something and I didn't have either. I got a new cook book a couple of weeks ago and it had several bread recipes and once I read through them I realized that I didn't need anything special and it was super easy. The only thing I needed that I didn't always keep on hand was yeast.

White Bread

1/2 cup warm water (105- 115 degrees) + 1 teaspoon + 1/4 cup warm water for high altitude, I used 1% milk
1/2 cup warm milk (105- 115 degrees)

4 teaspoons sugar
1 envelope dry yeast (I found that rapid rise works best for high altitude)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

Combine the yeast, 1/2 cup milk,water and sugar. Let sit until foamy. This takes about 10 minutes.

FYI, I did all mine by hand.  I just put a Kitchen Aid mixer on my Christmas list, even though this is easy I can't imagine how much easier it would be with a nice mixer! Add the flour and salt and stir until doughy. I added the additional 1/4 cup of warm water here for high altitude. Sprinkle flour on your work surface and cover your hands in flour. Lay out your dough and knead for 5-10 minutes until well mixed, smooth and no longer sticky.
Spray a bowl with cooking spray and put your ball of dough in your bowl. Spray the top of your dough with cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
 Let sit for about an hour or until it doubles in size.
Sprinkle work surface with flour and punch down the dough (yep I literally punch!). Now decide what you want your bread to look like. For the sub sandwiches, I just used a cookie sheet but use a bread pan or whatever you want. If you want small individual sandwich bread cut your dough accordingly. I left mine and just made it into a long rectangle for the subs. This pic was taken a different day when I made a bakery loaf and sandwich bread. Spray your pan with cooking spray as well as spray the top of the dough. Loosely cover with plastic wrap.
Let sit about an hour or until or doubles in size. Remove plastic wrap and brush with the teaspoon of milk. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. This is high altitude baking time. Just watch it and once it browns, remove and tap, if it sounds hollow, it is probably done. The outside will be hard but will soften once it is removed.
Eat Up, so yummy!

I sliced my bread length wise. I made with turkey and swiss and ham and american subs with tomato and lettuce. They must have been good since we didn't bring any home!

I also did a Honey Wheat Bread.

1 cup warm water + 1/4 cup warm water
4 teaspoons honey
1 envelope yeast
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt

Combine the yeast, water and honey. Let sit until foamy about 10 minutes. See pics above.
-Add both flours, salt and additional 1/4 cup water if at high altitude. Stir until doughy.
-Sprinkle flour on your work surface and cover your hands in flour. Lay out your dough and knead for 5-10 minutes until well mixed, smooth and no longer sticky.
-Spray a bowl with cooking spray and put your ball of dough in your bowl. Spray the top of your dough with cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
-Let sit for about an hour or until it doubles in size.

-Sprinkle work surface with flour and punch down the dough.  Decide what you want your bread to look like. For the sub sandwiches, I just used a cookie sheet and made a rectangle but you can use a bread pan or whatever you want.
-Spray your pan with cooking spray as well as spray the top of the dough. Loosely cover with plastic wrap.
-Let sit about an hour or until or doubles in size. Remove plastic wrap and brush with the teaspoon of milk. --Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. This is high altitude baking time. Just watch it and once it browns, remove and tap, if it counds hollow, it is probably done. The outside will be hard but will soften once it is removed.
-Enjoy!

Pico-de-Gallo

Diced onions, I used about half of a white or yellow onion but you can use more or less depending on how much you like
Diced tomatoes, I use approximately 3 medium size any kind is good
Chopped Cilantro, again use as much as you like
Lime, I squeeze about half of a super juicy one or all if it is not so juicy

Salt, pepper, coriander, garlic salt or powder
2 teaspoons Canola oil

Stir everything until combined. This only is good for about 24 hours. Perfect with chips. It is great on any type of tacos, I especially love it on fish or shrimp tacos. Enjoy! So incredibly delicious and healthy too!

Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 cup softened butter
8 oz package of cream cheese
3 cups powdered sugar (use can use the whole bag if you like, I prefer almost the whole bag.
food coloring in your kids favorite color

Mix it all up and adjust the color as the birthday girl sees fit. I also have a icing bag to apply the icing. It makes it look soooo much nicer than just using a knife.
I didn't take any pics of the whole spread, actually I didn't take many pics at all but here are a couple.

Hope you like these easy recipes. I am all about easy! Happy Sunday!

And don't forget to enter our giveaway!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Thankful Giveaway & Week 5 Challenge

This week I made my girl's dresses for up coming holiday parties.
Of course they had to be just alike! Alea now loves to dress like her baby sister :)


I promise that even though these dresses are o'so cute in the pics, they are 100% times better in person.  Bet you want one of these for the sweet little girl in your life too, huh? And guess what? I am going to give you a dress just like these. Yep! I have enough fabric for just one more! I am thankful that you are reading this and that you support Bebe Dulce. I can make any size from 3 months to a 4T and I will even let you customize the embellishments satin ribbon bow, rosette flower, cinched sleeves, long sleeves, 3/4 sleeves).
  ANYONE can enter, this is what you gotta do to get your name in the pot for this fabulous dress.

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment here and tell me who would wear this dress if you won.
5 Extra Entries: Purchase something from our website http://www.bebedulceaspen.com/ (remember we are offering 20% off all orders too plus FREE shipping. Once your order is complete, I will refund you the 20%)
Extra entry: Suggest 20 people to "like" Bebe Dulce on Facebook. Leave a comment here that you did.
Extra Entry: Tweet @bebedulceaspen that we have an incredible giveaway happening NOW and
everyone should enter!
Extra Entry: Post a photo of your sweet baby in their Bebe Dulce on our Facebook page.
Extra Entry: Go to our website, on our contact page tell us your absolutely favorite Bebe Dulce item.

Giveaway ends next Friday, November 26.

Thank you for reading our blog, shopping our website and liking us on facebook!
We are here because of you!

And don't forget, get the sweet babies in your life Bebe Dulce for the holidays!
20% off all orders plus FREE shipping.
(Once your order is complete, I will refund you the 20% via the way you paid)





Thursday, November 18, 2010

Give Your Sweet Babies Extra Hugs & Kisses

I had something completely different I was going to post about today but since I can't stop thinking about something else, I think I will share it.
Emme and I went to the grocery this morning to get the food for Alea's birthday party on Saturday, TIgey met us there to play with Emme. There is this girl that works there, I think we are about the same age and she had a baby the same time I had Emme. This girl and I have known each other for years (being such a small town), we call each other by name and when we were pregnant at the same time and had our babies within weeks of each other, we had even more to chat about in the checkout line. The grocery store has been closed for 3 weeks for remodeling and today was the first day I had been back in there. When I was checking out, the girl came up and started bagging my groceries and we were chatting as usual. Tigey was holding Emme and we were talking about Emme not feeling well and I think she is coming down with a cold. I asked the girl how her baby is doing (she had a boy) and she says "Didn't you hear? He passed away."  My heart instantly broke, what? She said he died 3 weeks ago from SIDS. Of course I hugged her several times and told her how sorry I am. She has photos of him in her pocket and Tigey and I are both in tears. I am in shock. I can't believe it. Once we get outside and are loading the car, the girl comes outside and says that she has a bunch of formula coupons and she is working Sunday and she will bring them in for me. Really? What a kind soul.

I absolutely can not imagine what she is going through. I am devastated for her. Please say a prayer for her, her name is Marlene.  If you live in Aspen and know who she is, give her an extra smile and maybe a hug.... she needs it.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Bet I can Make You Laugh

Since my husband's job isn't very stable, yes he did get a new one but it isn't great money, so we are still looking for jobs for him or myself, which ever comes first. So last week I received a phone call from one of the owners of a company I am hoping to get a job from, luckily both girls has just gone down for a nap...or so I thought. Just a few short minutes into the conversation I hear Alea yelling from downstairs "Moooooommmmmm, I pooooooooped!" Oh my goodness, what do I do, I am on a very important phone call and can't possibly let this man hear my daughter yelling for me to wipe her butt. Seriously. "Mooooommmm, I pooooooped." Oh good God is right. What am I going to do? "Excuse me sir, Can you please hold for a moment while I wipe my kids butt?" or "Can I call you right back I have some poop to clean up?" I could not get off the phone and the man was basically interviewing me over the phone. How is this happening? I could barely focus, all I could hear was POOOOOOPPPPP. Poor little missy had to wait nearly 15 minutes on the pot before I could get to her. Once it was all over, I think I laughed for pretty much the rest of the day and now the mere thought of the situation sends me into laughter.

Smile.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Happy Birthday Alea

Today is Alea's birthday! I can't believe she is the big 3! I remember when she was just a few weeks old I told my Mom and husband that we all should write down what we think she will be like when as she gets older. Unfortunately we didn't, but I can tell you that I would have never imagined that she would be who she is. Her personality is so endearing as well as dominating, she lights up the room the moment she walks in. She can convince you to give her whatever she wants in seconds. She is so happy and so loving. She is extremely friendly and likes to chat with anyone and everyone she passes on the street. If she has been bad and I try to give her a treat of some sort she tells me that she can't have it because she was bad. She potty trained herself 6 weeks after she turned 2 (I seriously didn't do anything except buy the little potty) Seriously she is one of a kind and I can't imagine what my life would be like without her or what my life was like before she came along. Here are a few pics of my princess #1.

Here she is moments after she was born.
Here she is at 1.
And at 2.
Of course here is the first time she laid eyes on her baby sister.
 And one of my all time favorites. For some reason she calls Emme, Bella, no earthly idea why. We don't even know anyone named Bella. And by the way she is the BEST big sister I could have ever ask for.
And yesterday (she is a fairy princess in case you are wondering).
She can definitely make me loose my mind but she can also be the sweetest most kind little person. Yesterday she was being particularly not so great and I didn't feel good, so it was a rough day to say the least. After the husband came home I went into my office to finish up a couple of orders. A few minutes later she came in and looked at me and said Mommy, I am sorry I didn't listen and didn't take a nap today, I promise I will be a good girl tomorrow. Awe... and then proceeded to give me a huge hug and kiss (she gives the best hugs EVER).
And this morning it was 7:30 and I had not heard a peep out of either one of the girls which NEVER happens, so I decided to go check on them (and make sure they were still alive) Alea was in Emme's crib and they were both awake, just playing, I have no idea how long they were awake because nether one of them had made a sound. I love that she loves her baby sister so much!

Happy Birthday Alea.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Super Mommy Tip #3

Only do what you can handle, Part 1.  For our Super Mommy Tip this week, I am starting another small series within the Super Mommy Tips titled, "Only do what you can handle".  As "Super Moms" we try to do too much most of the time. The thing is we don't even think twice about going above and beyond. Unfortunately, constantly going above and beyond makes us stressed, overwhelmed and frustrated and we don't accomplish what we set out to accomplish.  Ultimately things go array in one way or another.

Over the summer after having baby #2, I was determined to loose the baby weight ASAP. I forced myself to workout atleast an hour a day. Once August came I lost my momentum and couldn't get it back. I just couldn't find an hour each day to go to the gym and I was becoming more and more frustrated.  About 2 weeks ago, I read an article in a magazine and it was a small workout plan that you can do in your house that is spilt into a 10 minute, 20 minute and 30 minute programs. For some reason after reading this it dawned on me that I didn't have to work out an hour each day because I didn't have an entire hour but I could find 10 minutes, 20 minutes or even 30 minutes to exercise. So I started this small interval training program and also decided that I would take the kids on a walk for cardio as often as I could (even if it was only a day or two a week) it was better than nothing. Each day I would only do what I could handle for that day if it meant only the 10 minute program or a 30 minute walk or any variety of my plan, as long as I did one thing each day. I have lost just a couple more lbs but I can feel the difference in my body, my stomach is slowly shrinking (very slowly but you have to start somewhere, right?) Most of all I am not frustrated about not doing anything anymore. Before I thought just because I couldn't commit an hour, then I just wouldn't do anything when all I had to do is what I could handle. I didn't have to wait for my husband to get home to watch the kids, finish dinner, clean the house and the huge list of things that needed to get done.

So decide what you can handle, start slow at whatever you are trying to accomplish and you will see better results!  Good Luck and smile because you are Super Mom!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Tamale Casserole

Are you ready for this delicious recipe? And guess what.. It is healthy too! Seriously. Don't let the ingredients fool you. Try it I promise it does not disappoint! I am all about eating as healthy as possible but I do not sacrifice taste. I would rather eat a little of something good than a lot of something not so good. You must make this ASAP.

Tamale Casserole

Canola Oil
1/2 to a whole green bell pepper (depending on how much you like)
1 red onion (again use as mush as you like)
1 jalapeno pepper (as much as you like but you are sauteing it so it will loose a little of it's bite)
1 clove garlic
1 lb ground turkey breast (just pretend like it is beef, you will forget it is turkey the moment you take the first bite)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can corn
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt (to taste)
4 cups water
1 1/2 cup of corn meal
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese (I used pepper jack 2%)

Preheat oven to 350. Heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the bell pepper, jalapeno, onions, garlic until soft. Add the turkey, salt and chili powder, cook until brown. Stir in the tomato sauce, corn and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered, stirring a couple of times until the sauce starts to thicken about 15 minutes. Transfer to 13x9" dish. Bring 2 cups of water to boil in separate pan. Meanwhile pour other 2 cups of water into a bowl and add the cornmeal and whisk until dissolved. Reduce heat of boiling water and slowly stir in the cornmeal mix stirring constantly until thick and forming large bubbles. Spread on top of turkey mix in dish. Bake 25 minutes, remove and cover with cheese. Bake additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving meanwhile forgetting this is remotely healthy. Dig in and enjoy.
My husband does not like when I fool him with turkey. Many times he asks if it is turkey, not this time! It ate 2 helping for dinner and then a huge helping for lunch the next day before I let him in on the secret. He almost didn't believe me!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Week 4 Challenge Part 2

Okay, I was feeling a bit lame about this weeks challenge (since it took less than 5 minutes!) so I decided to add a second lame part. Lame meaning it took me way less than 5 minutes for this part. Definitely not lame in what I did because it was exactly what I needed/wanted.

So I took the same sweater that I made the neck warmer for Alea and sewed above the neck seam all the way around the turtle neck. Cut off the turtle neck. Folded the end to hem to the width I wanted and made myself a ear/head warmer. Those of you who know me at all know that I wear my hair up pretty much everyday. The only problem with that in the winter is that putting a hat on means taking my hair down and then immediately putting it back up once I secretly take the hat off. I needed something to cover my ear and head and be able to leave my hair up. Note this is for me I'm just quite as good of a model....
Pretty cute, huh? Please ignore the sour face, the shadows and the food/dirt or whatever is on the wall. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Week 4 Challenge

Well, before I get to the Challenge project. What do you think about the new look? When I logged on this morning to write my post, I guess I was feeling a little frisky and decided to update the look. I like change. Something fresh and new since the only thing new around here is more snow. We haven't gotten much but the last 3 or 4 nights we have gotten a few inches each night. Anyway, I hope you like the new look!

This weeks project came to mind when we are getting all bundled to go outside. I like scarves and where them pretty much all year except for the few super warm months (which is mainly June, July and August here) even those months, if I get out at night I wrap a scarf on. Well, since my precious daughter wants anything and everything that I have, she MUST wear a scarf as well. After a couple of times of playing outside and her playing with her scarf and it falling into the nasty mud, where the snow has melted, I decided it was time she have her own scarf. I almost just made her a scarf with a button or something but then it dawned on me the new trend of the neck warmer scarf. Of course I headed straight to the thrift store and bought this fabulous sweater.
I made sure to get acrylic so that it would be soft not itchy and since I am slightly anal about things matching or at least going together. I got one that will go with pretty much everything. So all I did was sew a zig-zag seam straight across under the armpits all the way around. Then cut the top part off .  There you have it, a cute little neck warmer that will not drop in the mud!
Does it count if as my project if it took less than 5 minutes?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

My God Box

Last week I was reading the lastest edition of Real Simple Magazine (love it!) and read this article about a woman whose mother kept a "God Box".  Basically every time that someone she knew needed a little (or big) prayer she would write it on a scrap of paper and put it in her God Box. The woman states that when she was having a hard time and her mother told her that she would put it in the God Box it made her feel relieved that she no longer had to worry. She knew that God had her prayer in His hands and that He would do whatever she truly needed.  When her mother died and the woman had to go through her mother's things she was surprised my ALL the "God Boxes" her mother had, each one filled to the rim with prayers. I loved this story. You can read it here.

Since having kids my weekly church attendance has disintegrated unfortunately. Getting 2 kids under the age of 3 dress, fed and to church by 9 well is an act of God in itself to say the least. I know that many of you do it and I am not trying to make an excuse and many of you have more than 2 little ones but I have fallen in this category. Of course I still pray everyday and read excerpts of the Bible (thanks to my phone that sends me verses daily ;).  I love the God Box and have just started my own. Other than just praying and talking to God I think it is good for the soul to write things down. I believe that writing things down many times allows the body and mind to release their worries.

I hope this helps makes you smile, maybe you will start your own God Box and release your worries and give them to God.  If you need me to add anything to my box let me know.....

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Super Mommy Tip #2

Okay, so after the last Super Mommy Tip, I actually had a couple of people tell me that their husband gives their children a bath and quite frankly there was no way their husband was going to jump on cleaning the bathroom at the same time. Totally understandable.
So if your house is run anything like mine, I pretty much do all the cleaning. #1 because I work from home and therefore I have to look at the mess constantly. #2 because my husband doesn't clean very often. I mean he is happy to if I kindly ask him but that usually entails vacuuming or doing the dishes. So the way I get him to do things a little more often and EVEN sometimes without me having to ask (gasp, yes sometimes I don't even have to ask!) Is that I Praise the hell out of him when he does something. Yes I know, why should they be praised for something that we have to do daily (and get 0 praise), or that it is their house too, yea, yea, yea. A couple of years ago we went to see a marriage counselor and one of my issues was that I did everything around the house and he didn't help out (this was when I worked full time as well). She told me, you have to praise him. At the time my hard-headed-ness said their was no way no how I would "praise" him and tell him thank you for doing something I was expected to do. As time went on, I get it. I want the help, he doesn't see "clean" the same way I do. He doesn't see the dirt like I do and quite frankly if I don't want to do it all by myself, suck it up and say, "Oh my goodness, the rug looks so great, thank you so much for vacuuming!"

So my Super Mommy Tip #3 is to Praise your husband for helping clean around the house!  This tip might be hard to swallow in the beginning but trust me it will help you in the end! Try it a couple of times and I can almost guarantee results.

There are also a couple of products that are tried and true in my house. I tried countless different products until I found these gems, so I thought I would share them.

If your daughters hair looks like this in the morning and you have to spend a half an hour combing it while she screams her head off you need this product!
So believe me when I say I have tried countless products for this child's hair. My answer is Biolage. I use the shampoo, conditioner, and most importantly the detangler. The detangler is a rinse out after you condition but I promise no matter how matted your kids hair is you can comb right though those tangles! Biolage is more expensive than your regular drug store shampoo but you can get it at Target. I promise you will save many tears. In addition to that on the days I don't wash her hair, I use Biosilk Kids Tangle Buster spray. You will not need the spray if you have just washed her hair. The Biolage also makes her tangles much more manageable, meaning a lot less screaming and crying and holding her down :0 And that right there makes the day better for everyone.

And your babies hair will look like this no no time!


My other can't live without product is Aquaphor. You must get it if you don't already know it's magic. I have never used a diaper rash cream on either one of my kids. At the first sign of a red little bootie, slap a layer of this magic and viola! Happy butts everywhere. I also have a tube in my bag for lips since it will cure dry, chapped lips in no time. A rash of any kind, anywhere and it is clear in a day! Yep, I get the biggest tub they make and it lasts forever!

Unfortunately, I was not paid or given any free goodies for this post :) Just wanted to share and make your day a little brighter.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Week 3 Challenge

So for a while now I have been designing new things for Bebe Dulce. I am going to start adding more boutique style clothes to Bebe D in the Spring. So currently I am making samples and choosing fabric. I also wanted to make dresses for the girls for the holidays. I made the first round with extra fabric I had, as not to mess up the "real" fabric since I was tweaking a pattern. Here they are! I am really happy with the way they came out. I can't wait to make them in the "real" fabric. My only issue is that it is nearly impossible to take pics of your own children. My kids just don't seem to want to cooperate, Alea especially. Emme just can't sit still long enough. I promise I am a better photographer than this :)


What do you think? Both girls wore their dress yesterday and got tons of compliments as we shopped and strolled through town! They were perfect with leggings underneath!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Super Mommy Tip #1

I have decided to do a series of tips for Moms. I think it is a fun way to share what I have learned from being a Mom and things that people have told or taught me to be a better, more efficient Mom and the secrets to being or appearing to be a Super Mom.

Super Mommy Tip #1: Clean the bathroom while your kids are playing in the bath. Once I started doing this my bathroom suddenly became a much cleaner less dreaded place. The last thing I want to do in my free time is to clean the bathroom. Plus Alea is always up for spending as long as possible in the tub. I can clean everything except the inside of the tub while she is in it, then when she gets out all I have to do is wipe out the inside! I do recommend using non-toxic green cleaning solutions or if you spray the sponge outside of the bathroom and then use it to clean, so your not fuming up the bathroom while your little one is in there :)

Feel free to comment or contact me with your fabulous Mommy tips, then I can share them with everyone. If I use them there just might be a fabulous prize in store for you from Bebe Dulce!