Lately I've been wondering about pregnancy support belts. I've looked for sewing patterns online and I can't find any...so I think I should make a pregnancy support belt pattern!
As my comfort in this pregnancy decreases, I am finding that I would LOVE to have an 'extra set of hands' holding my belly up. I think a pregnancy support belt is my ticket to comfort. Maybe.
I've looked at some versions online that are for sale and they look like more of a CONTRAPTION then a support....not to mention they are EXPENSIVE! Holy moly!
I think that a pregnancy support belt might be the only way I could stay on my feet for longer periods of time, and I also think it would be a great way to help hold up the maternity pants (I can't keep them up no matter what I do!).
Any thoughts on this?
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
It's SNOWING sale
I realize that my Michigan snow is coming from hurricane Sandy....however it still gets me all excited!
I wanted to share my excitement with my readers -
From October 31-November 4th, Use coupon code ITSSNOWING and get 35% off of your entire order at www.mammacandoit.com
woot!
I wanted to share my excitement with my readers -
From October 31-November 4th, Use coupon code ITSSNOWING and get 35% off of your entire order at www.mammacandoit.com
woot!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
How to make a Pregnancy Pillow
Making a pregnancy pillow is easy when you have a pregnancy pillow pattern!
Get comfortable regardless of how far along in the pregnancy you are. Support your head, neck, upper back, lower back, hips, chest and growing tummy with ONE pillow instead of 5.
When I was designing this pregnancy pillow pattern, I researched the most popular pregnancy pillows on the market. I saw what was great about the best pregnancy pillows and I also read about what the 'best' ones were lacking.
What I came up with: the "Snoogle" was the top pregnancy pillow. There were down sides to the snoogle pillow though. Here's the downsides of the snoogle and similar shapes:
1. Even from the pictures of the snoogle and comparative pregnancy pillows, I could see that there wasn't enough tummy support.
2. I love knowing my that my Superman is sleeping next to me...but I could see from the width of some of the most popular pillows on the market that he would be banished to the couch. Not okay with me. I needed something that was supportive but compact enough to stay on my half of my queen size bed.
3. An end to snuggling? I wanted to come up with a design that would allow hubs and I the ability to snuggle even WHILE I was wrapped up in comfort.
4. Head support. This was the biggest issue that I saw with the snoogle reviews: mama's were mentioning how uncomfortable the 'headrest' of the pregnancy pillow was. My design isn't too wide or high. I stuffed it to my liking and recommend that my customers stuff it to their comfort as well!
Here is the finished product.......(drum roll)......
This pregnancy pillow does EVERYTHING that I want!
It is supportive on the head, neck, upper back, lower back, hips, CHEST and tummy. The pillow isn't too wide so it allows a partner to still cuddle next to you without feeling a huge barrier. The width of the finished pillow is slimmer and less space taking then the snoogle and similar pregnancy pillows.
The BEST part of this pillow though is the tummy support. Adjust the "leg loop" on your body to fit your comfort level perfectly and support that growing tummy like nothing else you could imagine.
Cost wise, you can't go wrong using this pregnancy pillow pattern. Costing under $20 to make, this pregnancy pillow will not only be worth it to make so that you can have everything you could ever want in a pregnancy pillow, but it will save you a ton of $ then if you bought one premade.
All in all, this is one happy mamma and I can't wait to share this pregnancy pillow pattern with you!
There is a new, updated version of this pregnancy pillow.
See the pregnancy pillow pattern
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Best and easiest hummus receipe ever
With cold and flu season ready to take over my household, I try to add garlic to everything I cook...but the best cold fighter is RAW garlic. I don't know about you, but raw garlic tastes TERRIBLE to me...that is unless it is in hummus! Hummus is a wonderful snack. Packed with protein and germ killing garlic, it is the perfect fall snack.
Until the past few months however, I have had a hard time getting my hummus consistency right. Here is how I make my hummus now - perfect, easy, great consistency and delish!
The first step is to put one garlic clove in the blender. I chop it into a few pieces. I like my hummus to be very garlicy so I use a gigantic clove if I have one. If you prefer less garlic, use a small clove.
Add 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Blend thoroughly until all of the garlic chunks are gone.
Add one can of rinsed garbanzo beans (chick peas). Also add about 1/4 of the can full of water. I add the water slowly while blending to be sure it's a smooth and creamy, but thick consistency.
Once beans are blended, I like to add a bit of parsley and salt. This step you can add whatever you like...even jalapenos are excellent in hummus for a spicy batch!
Next step is to add 3 Tablespoons of tahini. I have read that you can and have tried using peanut butter in it's place....it's just not the same. Tahini is ground sesame seeds that have the consistency of peanut butter, but TOTALLY different taste.
The tahini will thicken the hummus slightly. yummy!
Once mixed, grab a handful of homemade crackers and eat! mmmm!
I'll post the homemade cracker recipe sometime. :)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
How to add length to jeans
Today I spent some time mending in my sewing room. One of the things I had to do was add length to a pair of my daughters jeans. I had previously hemmed them, but when her legs finally grew into them she had ruined the chance of removing the hem by wearing down the back of the jeans. You can see that the bottoms are very worn and I couldn't save the hemmed edge.
I wanted something fun and different for her wardrobe, so here is a quick tutorial on how I did it!
Lucky for me, anytime someone blows a hole in their jeans or if they become too big or too small I ALWAYS save them. This lighter pair of jeans is an adult pair next to my daughters (the dark ones). You can see that the bottom hem of the lighter pair is quite a bit wider then my daughters. I am going to use that for a bit of a flair at the bottom of her pants.
The first step is to remove the hem on the jeans you want to add length to.
Then cut then cut the hem off of the recycled jeans that will become the hem.
I wanted to add an extra 2 inches to my daughters jeans, so I cut 1" off of her current pair to remove the nasty hem, and cut 3 1/2" from the pair that I am recycling into her new hem.
The extra 1/2" is for the seam allowance.
Because the new hem is wider then her current leg width I turned both pieces inside out. I lined up the raw edges of the pieces and drew a line from the edge of the current leg width to the new hem.
I wanted to keep the new hem in tact. Had I not cared about this, I could have drawn a line straight down or at a slight angle to match the current pair of pants.
Sew on the line using a straight stitch. Cut off the excess.
Turn the leg of jean right side out. Keep the new hem inside out.
Line up the seams on the 'outside' of the leg.
Pin and sew together leaving 1/2" seam allowance.
I chose to keep the flair on the outside of the leg.
Here is a close up of the jeans being sewn together.
Turn entire leg of jeans inside out. Sew the seam allowance down to keep it in place and to make it lay flat.
Turn right side out.
Voila, a new and improved pair of jeans with a bit of flair. Adding length can be lots of fun - you can add length above the knee for a fantastic pair of bell bottoms or just a unique touch.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Uses for vinegar
A couple nights ago my daughter woke up in a pile of puke. Yuck. For many moms this would be the start of an incredibly YUCKY experience that will stain sheets or carpeting (smell and visual stain). After I quickly cleaned it up and put her back to bed, I laid in my own bed thinking about how I should share my cleaning experience as well as a few other great tips.
VINEGAR - God's gift to Mommy
Below you will find a few uses of vinegar. I'd love to hear more...these are just the ways that I use it myself.
Unless otherwise specified, all of these uses are white vinegar. I keep a spray bottle of straight vinegar in my bathroom. I use it everywhere, but mostly in the bathroom, so it makes sense to keep it there.
1. Add vinegar to carpet cleaner to remove pet stains and smell, vomit stains and smell, Pee or Poop stains and smell.
2. Use vinegar as a fabric softener.
3. Add vinegar to laundry water - helps to remove soap/fabric softener build up on clothes, towels and cloth diapers. This is especially useful if you use a 'soap based' instead of 'detergent based' laundry soap.
4. Use straight vinegar to wash windows and mirrors
5. Use straight vinegar to wash the tub and shower. Removes soap scum in a snap.
6. Use vinegar to clean water stains from sinks/tub/faucets
7. Soak shower heads in vinegar to restore the life in them from water stain build up.
8. Disinfect counter tops/chairs, door handles with vinegar
9. Clean power equipment with wash cloth that has vinegar on it. It will remove dust, stains, splatter etc.
10. use vinegar how you would goo gone with sticky stuff like stickers, gum, etc
11. remove candle wax residue.
12. Clean leather furniture.
13. Clean bathroom counter-tops toilet, floor, walls by toilet, shower/tub and cabinets with a spray bottle filled with vinegar. Kids can help do this too without you worrying about bleach stained clothes, chemicals or fumes.
14. I have read that you can use vinegar on windsheilds and car windows to keep frost from forming. Can't wait to try this one. Apparently one spray dose will last up to a few weeks?!
15. Scrub the fridge with vinegar
16. Scrub the microwave with vinegar
17. Put a few tablespoons of vinegar in a tea pot and boil for a few minutes to completely remove water stains and build up.
18. Pour 2 cups of vinegar in the water compartment of a coffee maker. Run. I like to run the vinegar through it 2 or 3 times, then I run water through it another 2 times to completly restore my coffee maker.
19. Add a few drops of vinegar to dishes rinse water to keep glasses spot free. also can be used in a dishwasher.
20. Add a few tablespoons of vinegar to dishsoap to make the grease cutting ability amazing!
21. Add a couple tablespoons of vinegar to soup bones or a poultry carcass next time you are making broth. It will help the calcium to liquify and will make your broth even more packed with goodness.
22. Heartburn - try taking 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I know it sounds crazy - but it works!
23. remove ink stains by soaking the ink stained clothing in straight vinegar until it dries. Wash as normal.
24. remove blood stains from clothing the same way (although, the best way to remove blood stains is peroxide)
25. Keeping dogs off of carpet, spray vinegar on it. Even the dried smell should keep them off - just recently tried this...not sure if it's working yet. However, my carpet smells fresh!
26. use vinegar instead of pledge while dusting. Works great!
There are so many more uses for vinegar - but these ones give you a great idea on how to use it around the home. It really is my go-to cleaner and I keep many bottles available. Pick them up when they're on sale and you have a good thing.
VINEGAR - God's gift to Mommy
Below you will find a few uses of vinegar. I'd love to hear more...these are just the ways that I use it myself.
Unless otherwise specified, all of these uses are white vinegar. I keep a spray bottle of straight vinegar in my bathroom. I use it everywhere, but mostly in the bathroom, so it makes sense to keep it there.
1. Add vinegar to carpet cleaner to remove pet stains and smell, vomit stains and smell, Pee or Poop stains and smell.
2. Use vinegar as a fabric softener.
3. Add vinegar to laundry water - helps to remove soap/fabric softener build up on clothes, towels and cloth diapers. This is especially useful if you use a 'soap based' instead of 'detergent based' laundry soap.
4. Use straight vinegar to wash windows and mirrors
5. Use straight vinegar to wash the tub and shower. Removes soap scum in a snap.
6. Use vinegar to clean water stains from sinks/tub/faucets
7. Soak shower heads in vinegar to restore the life in them from water stain build up.
8. Disinfect counter tops/chairs, door handles with vinegar
9. Clean power equipment with wash cloth that has vinegar on it. It will remove dust, stains, splatter etc.
10. use vinegar how you would goo gone with sticky stuff like stickers, gum, etc
11. remove candle wax residue.
12. Clean leather furniture.
13. Clean bathroom counter-tops toilet, floor, walls by toilet, shower/tub and cabinets with a spray bottle filled with vinegar. Kids can help do this too without you worrying about bleach stained clothes, chemicals or fumes.
14. I have read that you can use vinegar on windsheilds and car windows to keep frost from forming. Can't wait to try this one. Apparently one spray dose will last up to a few weeks?!
15. Scrub the fridge with vinegar
16. Scrub the microwave with vinegar
17. Put a few tablespoons of vinegar in a tea pot and boil for a few minutes to completely remove water stains and build up.
18. Pour 2 cups of vinegar in the water compartment of a coffee maker. Run. I like to run the vinegar through it 2 or 3 times, then I run water through it another 2 times to completly restore my coffee maker.
19. Add a few drops of vinegar to dishes rinse water to keep glasses spot free. also can be used in a dishwasher.
20. Add a few tablespoons of vinegar to dishsoap to make the grease cutting ability amazing!
21. Add a couple tablespoons of vinegar to soup bones or a poultry carcass next time you are making broth. It will help the calcium to liquify and will make your broth even more packed with goodness.
22. Heartburn - try taking 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I know it sounds crazy - but it works!
23. remove ink stains by soaking the ink stained clothing in straight vinegar until it dries. Wash as normal.
24. remove blood stains from clothing the same way (although, the best way to remove blood stains is peroxide)
25. Keeping dogs off of carpet, spray vinegar on it. Even the dried smell should keep them off - just recently tried this...not sure if it's working yet. However, my carpet smells fresh!
26. use vinegar instead of pledge while dusting. Works great!
There are so many more uses for vinegar - but these ones give you a great idea on how to use it around the home. It really is my go-to cleaner and I keep many bottles available. Pick them up when they're on sale and you have a good thing.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - Stash away recipe
Yesterday I wanted some cookies. I kept putting it off because it's a pain to make them...I only have two cookie sheets and my favorite recipe uses 4. Then I started to think...what if I could only make one cookie sheet full of cookies at a time - like the Pillsbury cookie logs? That would be convenient. I wouldn't ever dream of using Pillsbury cookie logs for cookies - have you looked at the ingredients? Not only are there probably 50 ingredients on the label, but most of them I cannot pronounce. If I don't know what it is, it doesn't belong in my family's tummies.
What I did was make a whole batch of cookies with my favorite recipe, then I portioned off the dough into 4 equal parts. One of the parts I made into cookies. Then I made the other 3/4 of the recipe into 3 logs and stuck them in the freezer! I realize that many people probably do this already, but I was so excited that I had thought about it! I think it will save me time and money when the 'urge' to have some cookies. I can simply pull out a log and make just ONE sheet full. One cookie sheet of this recipe makes about 12 cookies - this is perfect for my family of 6 for a one meal batch.
The below cookie recipe is my family's favorite (it's only THIS or No Bakes). I always use butter -never shortening. It's better for your body to digest and frankly...it tastes amazing!
Before you make them all into cookies, be sure to eat a few chunks of dough. OMGosh the dough is amazing. They won't flatten much because of the whole oats. I'm not sure if the quick oats would flatten more. I only use whole oats because that's what we eat for breakfast at least once a week.
The original recipe comes from my mom, who got it from an old cookbook from a local church. She adapted it to suit her and I have adapted it for my family and now for you!
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe.
1 1/2 C Butter
2 1/2 C Sugar
1 T. Molasses
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 eggs (my homegrown eggs are between medium-large, but any size will do I think)
3 C White flour (unbleached is best)
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 C uncooked old fashioned whole oats (original recipe is 4 rounded cups quick oats)
12 oz chocolate chips
Optional nuts or dried fruit - mmm
Beat butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla until creamy. Beat in eggs. Mix flour, soda and salt in a bowl and add to creamed mixture (I don't do this...I just throw it all in after I have creamed the sugar and butter). Mix well. Stir in oats and and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls (I use a small ice cream scoop that holds about 2 T at a time - works perfect) onto a cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes or just until set.
This recipe makes a very large batch. My Kitchenaid is completely full when I am mixing it up.
Makes 48-50 cookies or 4 cookie logs. I put 12 cookies on each cookie sheet and that is approximately what is in each log.
To make a cookie log, simply shape the dough into about an 8" long log shape. Wrap a piece of plastic wrap around the log. Place the wrapped log into a gallon size freezer bag. You could fit 4-6 logs in a freezer bag. Remove air from bag and label. Put in the freezer. Voila! You have healthy, delish & homemade cookie logs.
What I did was make a whole batch of cookies with my favorite recipe, then I portioned off the dough into 4 equal parts. One of the parts I made into cookies. Then I made the other 3/4 of the recipe into 3 logs and stuck them in the freezer! I realize that many people probably do this already, but I was so excited that I had thought about it! I think it will save me time and money when the 'urge' to have some cookies. I can simply pull out a log and make just ONE sheet full. One cookie sheet of this recipe makes about 12 cookies - this is perfect for my family of 6 for a one meal batch.
Before you make them all into cookies, be sure to eat a few chunks of dough. OMGosh the dough is amazing. They won't flatten much because of the whole oats. I'm not sure if the quick oats would flatten more. I only use whole oats because that's what we eat for breakfast at least once a week.
The original recipe comes from my mom, who got it from an old cookbook from a local church. She adapted it to suit her and I have adapted it for my family and now for you!
1 1/2 C Butter
2 1/2 C Sugar
1 T. Molasses
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 eggs (my homegrown eggs are between medium-large, but any size will do I think)
3 C White flour (unbleached is best)
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 C uncooked old fashioned whole oats (original recipe is 4 rounded cups quick oats)
12 oz chocolate chips
Optional nuts or dried fruit - mmm
Beat butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla until creamy. Beat in eggs. Mix flour, soda and salt in a bowl and add to creamed mixture (I don't do this...I just throw it all in after I have creamed the sugar and butter). Mix well. Stir in oats and and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls (I use a small ice cream scoop that holds about 2 T at a time - works perfect) onto a cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes or just until set.
This recipe makes a very large batch. My Kitchenaid is completely full when I am mixing it up.
Makes 48-50 cookies or 4 cookie logs. I put 12 cookies on each cookie sheet and that is approximately what is in each log.
To make a cookie log, simply shape the dough into about an 8" long log shape. Wrap a piece of plastic wrap around the log. Place the wrapped log into a gallon size freezer bag. You could fit 4-6 logs in a freezer bag. Remove air from bag and label. Put in the freezer. Voila! You have healthy, delish & homemade cookie logs.
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