What to Expect When You’re Expecting

This spring has certainly been a busy party season for me! Several of my nieces are expecting a baby and I have had a ton of baby showers to go to.  It’s always a fun time to catch up with everyone. My sister-in-laws, friends and I all had baby bumps at the same time ages ago, so of course, all our babies popped out at about the same year. It doesn’t seem like that long ago I was preparing for my own daughter’s  baby shower, who was expecting my granddaughter, ‘Lil Moomette.  It was so much fun coordinating the baby shower party theme, luncheon menu, crafting baby shower centerpieces and putting together baby shower party favors for the guests to take home. And to think that now I have two grandchildren! Where did the time go?

Mom Advice

Most all moms-to be compare notes about what to expect when you’re pregnant, but when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter in the 1980′s, we did so the old-fashioned way, by telephone.  We talked to our own moms, sisters, friends, neighbors and co-workers, comparing mom tips and looking for maternity advice on everything from prenatal vitamins to exercising, birthing classes, breastfeeding and whether to use cloth diapers or disposable diapers.

To celebrate the launch of the movie, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Carter’s is hosting “A Closet Full of Carter’s Sweepstakes” on Facebook and giving away over $12,000 in prizes.

Increase your chances to win the $5,000 Carter’s gift card grand prize or one of the many other giveaways by entering every day on Facebook at http://www.carters.com/fbsweeps or on your smartphone or mobile device at http://www.carters.com/mfbsweeps from  between April 16 until May 18.

No Purchase Necessary to Enter or Win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Void where prohibited by law. Participants must be 18 years of age or older as of the date of entry. Promotion begins April 16, 2012 at 12:00:01 a.m. ET and ends May 18, 2012 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET. Limit one (1) entry per person, per day. Complete Official Rules available at www.facebook.com/carters. Sponsor: The William Carter Company (the “Sponsor”), 1170 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 900, Atlanta, GA 30309. Facebook is not a Sponsor of this Sweepstakes.

Carter’s partnered with bloggers such as me to promote their upcoming feature in the movie “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.”  As part of the program, I received product or gift cards. Carter’s believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words, and therefore did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products I used.  Carter’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

© 2012 Moomettes Magnificents

Painted Rocks | Sparky Montville | Connecticut Roadside Curiosities is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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Local Connecticut Plant Sales

I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Easter from my family to yours, and hope the Easter Bunny will be good to all!

While out and about Dysfunction Junction Saturday doing our errands and grocery shopping, I was planning on buying  a tulip plant at the grocery store as a house gift for a pre-Easter event.

At Easter, I enjoy giving and receiving flowering plants.  Not only do they make the house smell good, they can be replanted in the garden to enjoy in the future.  I have quite a collection in my garden of tulips, lily and hyacinth from previous years gone by.

However, my husband remembered that the local Naubuc Firehouse in Glastonbury, Connecticut was holding a Spring Plant Sale fundraiser to restore an antique fire truck.  Now what a great idea I thought!

Any time we go to local New England fairs in the fall, we always try to support civic organizations by eating dinner at their buildings or stands.

I was able to get a beautiful double Lily from the Naubuc Fire Station (Glastonbury, CT).

The funds raised are going to help restore their very first fire truck, a 1930 American LaFrance.  The truck was their very first fire engine and was in use for 30 years.  It is now 75% complete.

It feels so good to “shop local” and support the community!

Let me know whether you support plant sales for your Easter Plants if they’re around, or do you go to the big box plant centers!

Have a Blessed Easter!

© 2012 Moomettes Magnificents

Painted Rocks | Sparky Montville | Connecticut Roadside Curiosities is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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Have you noticed all the “For Sale” signs on houses sprouting up as you drive along? Spring is traditionally the time of year when most houses are placed on the market. Real Estate agents and home staging experts will tell you that young families like to move during the summer so that the kids will be all set when it’s time to go back to school at the end of summer or after Labor Day.

We’ve been in our house for over 25 years, so I don’t plan on moving anytime soon. I take this opportunity to do small DIYprojects around the home to make room for new things.  You can find some great DIY craft projects and tutorials on Pinterest for inspiration!

Storage Projects

I like baskets as they’re pleasing to look at and in New England, we have a variety known as Nantucket Baskets, which are one of my favorite styles. Baskets are multi-functional. Try storing knitting, crafting and sewing projects in them. I also turned an old picnic basket into a storage container for all the leftover yarn from knitting and crochet projects. You can also use a basket to collect favorite magazines, or set one beside your favorite easy chair, or place on the stairs to hold items that need to be brought upstairs.

Source: Pinterest

Baskets work well for a powder room. Use them to collect toiletries as well as clean cloths or guest towels. Now that I babysit the grandkiddos daily, I use baskets to store diapers, cleansing wipes and the Butt Paste I now have to keep on hand.

You can also spruce up a Guest bedroom and add sample-size toiletries in the event your house guests leave something at home. Take a cue from the quaint New England Bed and Breakfast Inns – keep one on a night table and fill it with sample size toothpaste, floss, travel size deodorant, bandages or Q-Tips!

Sewing and Craft Projects

Another favorite idea of mine is recycling old towels. Rather than throwing them out, try sewing one up and adding elastic to the ends. Hang one in the kitchen to store plastic shopping bags. Here’s a great tutorial how to sew a plastic bag dispenser:

Source:  Pinterest

Up-cycle and turn terrycloth towels into baby bibs! I used to do this all the time for my own girls when they were babies.  I’d cut a circle into the towel, sew a stretch jersey fabric material collar and then be able to slip over their little heads for no-mess feedings!  No tying, and the bibs didn’t come untied!

Maybe you’re like me and always have one type of craft project going on ~ some have been left unfinished over the years and there’s always scraps of fabric lying around. New England has always been known for their colonial quilters. Many quilting groups meet at local community centers, Granges and in church halls. Join a group and try piecing together the scraps to make a memory quilt. I’ve seen some beautiful ones with family photos pieced in.

My grandfather was “from the old country” and used to hand-loom rag rugs out of strips of old clothes.

Source: Pinterest

Larger pieces of fabric can easily be used as decorative tabs for the tops of curtains. What a fantastic way to be frugal, save some money and create holiday curtains!

Back in the 1970s, door drafters were the rage. Try using blankets sewn into patterns and stuffed with fluff to make decorative throw pillows for a couch or sofa. You can coordinate with solid colors to match your favorite furniture. Depression era grandmoms used to cut buttons off of old clothing.

Accent your newly designed throw pillows with lampshades made from antique buttons if you have any!

Source:  Pinterest

Clear out the clutter and see what you can do it yourself around your home. Your name is probably written all over several little projects!

Follow my Pinterest Boards  for more craft and organizing ideas!

© 2012 Moomettes Magnificents

Painted Rocks | Sparky Montville | Connecticut Roadside Curiosities is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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Camping parties are ordinarily multi-day events. Coordinating a reunion away in a camp environment presents its challenges. A reunion camping party can be likened to a combination of a destination event and a beach party! It requires a good deal of preparation and homework!

Campfire cooking can really be a lot of fun. Preparing foods should be easy and require little clean up while using few pots and pans.

While our family enjoyed grilling seafood for dinner when up in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, at the end of the night, though, no camping trip would be complete without toasting S’Mores or Banana Boats using Hershey’s Syrup and Hershey’s Chocolate Bars!

My favorite camping out meals are created using pudgy pie makers (additionally referred to as pie irons). The ones we use are made of cast iron, but they can also be made from aluminum. Most have long handles. Our family uses pudgy (or pudgie) pie makers to make delicious treats for lunch and dinner. Bread is the staple ingredient in making a pudgy pie.

Pie Iron

In preparation for our camping trip family reunion, we bought a pie iron. To make a pudgy pie, you will first need a pie iron, commonly referred to as “the pudgy pie maker.” Think of the pie iron as a sandwich maker on a stick. It is basically two cast iron or aluminum pieces that fit together with a hinge. Each piece has a handle, and the handles can be latched together. Pie irons can be purchased where outdoor camping gear is sold.  I got our set at Cabela’s.

1.  Build a campfire. Pudgy pies do best over a hot bed of coals. Try to start your campfire an hour early to let it burn down.

2.  Build your pie. Butter a piece of bread and lay it on the iron, butter side down. Cover your bread with any filling you choose. Butter the second piece of bread and lay it on the filling, butter side up. Bring the top of the iron over the bread and filling until it meets with the bottom iron. If your pudgy pie maker has a latching device, latch it now, if you choose.

3.  Cook your pie. You can cook your pudgy pie much like a marshmallow; just hold the pie maker over the campfire. Or, if you have a grate over a fire pit, lay the iron over the grate. Cooking time varies depending on the temperature of the fire. Cook your pie for one minute, flip it over and cook another 30 seconds. Open the iron and take a peek. If your bread is toasty brown, it’s ready. Remove it from the iron, let cool, and enjoy!

Use some creativity. Add whatever ingredients you want to your pudgy pie. Add pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni and make a pizza pie. Toss together some eggs, ham, and cheese and you’ll have an omelette pie. Add some apple pie filling and make an apple pie…pie. If you’re on the last day of a camping trip, add leftovers and make a surprise pie. The sky’s the limit.

I’ll be sharing our favorite family camping trip dessert recipes that we used at our camping trip at Cape Cod that can be easily be cooked over an open campfire.

I hope that some of these recipes will become your family favorites and traditions too!

© 2012 Moomettes Magnificents

Painted Rocks | Sparky Montville | Connecticut Roadside Curiosities is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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I took these photos for Wordless Wednesday while strolling around Bushnell Park downtown during lunch on a work day.  There’s signs of Spring in the air everywhere – the lunchtime joggers, runners, soccer and frisbee players, dog walkers, and photography fanatics are out and about.

It’s nice to be able to sit on a park bench to enjoy a picnic lunch and people watch.

Here’s a few scenes of daffodils and spring flowers signalling rebirth and a renewal of spirit in the Nutmeg State:

Bushnell Park Pumphouse Gallery

1

Originally built in 1947 by the Army Corps of Engineers using stones from the bridges that were removed when the Park River was buried, it incorporates a Tudor design. This quaint-looking building, reminiscent of an English cottage, is actually a functioning pump house–part of the Connecticut River Flood Control Project–and an art gallery, featuring exhibits by area artists. It is the only public gallery in a municipal park in Connecticut.
 

Bushnell Park

2

 … an opening in the heart of the city itself, to which citizens will naturally flow in their walks. A place where children will play and the invalid go to breathe the freshness of nature. A place for holiday scenes and celebrations; a green carpet of ground, where high and low, rich and poor will exchange looks; an outdoor parlor opened for the cultivation of good manners and a right social feeling. A place of life and motion that will make us more conscious of being one people.

Ancient Burying Ground

3

The Ancient Burying Ground is the oldest historic site in Hartford, and the only one surviving from the 1600s. From 1640, four years after the arrival of the first English settlers, down until the early 1800s, it was Hartford’s first and foremost graveyard. During that period anyone who died in town, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnic background, economic status, or religious faith, was interred here. The oldest gravestone is believed to be that for Timothy Stanley, who died in 1648.

© 2012 Moomettes Magnificents

Source:  Images 1 & 2

Source:  Image 3

Painted Rocks | Sparky Montville | Connecticut Roadside Curiosities is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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