Ideas for Cheap Halloween Costumes

September 18, 2013 by

Looking for inexpensive ideas for Halloween or playtime costumes?  Here’s a few ideas that you can start with:

  • Punk Rocker
  • Princess
  • Super Hero
  • Doctor
  • Ghost
  • Cowboy
  • Hippie
  • Farmer


Start with the children’s dress up clearance racks in your local stores or better yet head to the thrift store for items that you can convert or use as part of the costume.  If all else fails, head to yours or your kids closet and see what can be converted.   Buying Halloween costumes at the end of the season for next year’s use is a good idea too as well as from sales. 

You can put a pair of bib overalls and an old plaid shirt together for your son’s Farmer costume.  Can’t find a pair of bibs, what about a pair of jeans with a rope belt.  If you have a old handkerchief around, hang it from his back pocket or an old pair of work gloves from the Dollar Store.  Add a straw hat and a galvanized bucket to collect the treats and you’re good to go.

A Ghost is an easy one.  Buy an old sheet from the thrift store and get to work on the eyes, mouth and nose. 

Go for the mismatched, I don’t care what I’m wearing Punk Rocker look.  You can head to your child’s closet for this one.  Find a sweater, pair of leggings with a skirt, rip a few holes in an old pair of jeans, mix polka dots and stripes, whatever.  Spike her hair in some manner, add some funky earrings and bracelets from a discount store and add tons of make-up, which she will love.  Sneakers will work with this look or a pair of boots. 

Know a Nurse or Nursing assistant?  Seek out old scrubs or a lab coat.  You may be able to find them at your local thrift store.  If you can sew, cut down an old pair of scrubs to fit your child.  Buy a toy doctor’s kit with a stethoscope and use the medical bag to gather treats.  Print out a label to identify your little doctor.  If your child decides to be a surgeon, don’t forget the shower caps to cover their head and shoes.

A Hippie is an easy one.  Rip a pair of old jeans and insert fabric to create bell bottoms.  Tie dye a tee-shirt with your child.  Tie a bandana around his/her head.  If it’s your daughter, create an afro or curly hair effect.  Top off your costume with a poster protesting a cause or just make a colorful peace sign. 

Use your imagination and be creative.  The possibilities are endless.  If you have ideas, please leave us a comment so we can share with other readers.  We would love to hear from you. 

Filed Under: children's costumes, children's homemade costumes, costume ideas, Halloween, Halloween costumes, homemade costume ideas, Uncategorized Tagged With:

Little Mermaid BluRay & DVD Give Away

September 15, 2013 by

One of Disney’s most loved movies, The Little Mermaid, is coming to you on Blu-Ray and DVD October 1, 2013.  Mother 2 Mother is giving away copy just in time for you to use during family time this fall and winter. 

Ariel, the free spirit and courageous mermaid princess, will come to life in your living/family room.  Watch as Ariel, a free-spirited mermaid princess, longs to be
part of the human world. After bravely striking a bargain with Ursula, a sneaky
sea witch, Ariel embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. With Flounder and
Sebastian at her side, Ariel will need all of her courage and determination to
make things right in both her worlds.

You can own this DVD by entering our give away.  Here’s how:  Leave a comment with the name of another Disney Princess.   (Mandatory)

 Extra Entries:

  • Leave a comment on another post – 5 entries
  • Follow me on Twitter – 5 entries
  • Tweet this give away. Give away can be tweeted daily – 5 entries
  • Follow Mother 2 Mother Blog – 5 entries  (Left side of blog)
  • Follow my garden blog:  A Diva’s Garden


    • This give away will end October 3, 2013 at mid-night.  Entries are open to US and Canada residents 18 or older only.  The sponsor will provide the winner with the Blu-Ray/DVD combo directly.  Please ensure your email address is valid.  If your email is not valid, I will select another winner for the give away.   

    Disclosure:  I have been provided a copy of the Blu-Ray/DVD as compensation for this post.  I have not been compensated in any other manner.

    Filed Under: Ariel, Disney Movies, Disney Princesses, Uncategorized Tagged With:

    How Do You Eat An Oreo?

    July 20, 2013 by


    How do you eat an Oreo?  My granddaughter takes the cookie apart and eats every bite of the creme and than eats the cookie.  Be warned, this method can be messy, but look at that face.  She wouldn’t look up when I called her name for either of the pictures, but she did let me know that she wanted milk.  Moments like this are priceless!  What’s your child’s favorite cookie? 

    Filed Under: children's snacks, cookies, family fun, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

    Fireworks Over the Beach

    July 14, 2013 by

    Hope everyone had a Happy Fourth of July.  Little late getting pictures up, but wanted to share a few fireworks over the beach.  How did you spend the day?  

    Filed Under: beach fun, beaches, fireworks, fireworks over the beach, Fourth of July, holidays, Hunt Club in Virginia Beach, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

    New Winner – Oral B Electric Toothbrush

    April 8, 2013 by

    We have a new winner for the Oral B Professional electric toothbrush.  The new winner is entry 85.  You have 3 days to respond to the email from Mother 2 Mother requesting your mailing address.  If you don’t respond within 3 days, you will be disqualified. 

    Thanks for participating in our give aways and congratulations to our new winner. 

    Random Integer Generator

    Here are your random numbers:

    85

    Timestamp: 2013-04-08 11:37:35 UTC

    Filed Under: blog contests, Uncategorized

    We Have A Winner – Oral B Electric Toothbrush

    April 4, 2013 by

    We have a winner!  Entry 43 is the winner of our Oral B Toothbrush Give Away.  Please contact me within 3 days!  Congratulations! 

    True Random Number
    Generator

    Min:
    Max:158

    Result:43

    Powered by RANDOM.ORG

    Filed Under: blog giveway links, free blog give away listings, Uncategorized

    SnapBox Review and Give Away

    March 30, 2013 by



    I was asked to do a review for SnapBox.  I had never heard of the company, and decided to check them out before I committed.  Once I visited the site, I agreed to the review and so glad that I did.  If you’re looking for a unique gift, you should check them out too.  They specialize in canvass prints.  The process is simple, you email your photo to the email address provided.  You will receive a return email with instructions, choose the size of your print, provide a mailing address and they deliver your print within 5 days.  It’s as simple as that. 

    You can choose from 5×5, 5×7, 8×10, 9×9 and 10×13.  Prices range from $13.00 to 37.00, and worth it.  The finished product is on a canvass like material that comes ready to hang.  I decided to order a print of one of my favorite sunsets for my office.  I was thrilled with the end result.    It arrived as promised and packaged well.  You just need to find a spot to hang it!   

    SnapBox allows you to email photos from your smartphone, Instagram or your home computer.  How technically savvy is that?  When I emailed my photo, the return email was almost instant.  You’re not waiting around or checking your emails all day or night to complete your order.  They’ve taken into consideration that we have other things to do.  The craftsmanship is of quality.  As you can see, the frame is nice and thick and the print flawless.  

    I’ll be ordering from this site again.  I’ve decided to give each of my girlfriends a photo for their birthdays this year from SnapBox.  A photo of us at a birthday celebration, a baby shower or a trip that we’ve taken together.  Something that will bring back memories from years ago.  The possibilities are endless, and will make a great gift. 

    SnapBox wants you to experience the beauty of their products too.  They will allow one lucky reader to purchase up to $75.00 in free prints on their site.  Here’s how you can win:

    Visit SnapBox and than come back and leave a comment on what photo you would use and who you would give the print to.  If it’s for you, that’s okay too.  (Mandatory)

    Extra Entries:  

  • Leave a comment on another post – 5 entries
  • Follow me on Twitter – 5 entries
  • Tweet this give away. Give away can be tweeted daily – 5 entries
  • Follow/Followers Mother 2 Mother Blog – 5 entries  (Left side of blog)
  • Follow my garden blog:  A Diva’s Garden

    • This give away will end April 20 at mid-night.  Entries are open to US residents 18 or older only.  The sponsor will provide the winner directly with a code to access the site and order your prints.  Please ensure your email address is available and valid.  If your email is not valid, I select another winner for the give away.   

    Note:  This review is my opinion of the services and product provided by SnapBox for review.  I have not been compensated in any other manner. 

    Filed Under: birthday gift ideas, blog contests, canvas prints, Contest Give Aways, gift ideas, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

    No Dyed Eggs For Me!

    March 28, 2013 by



    This year I decided to
    not dye eggs.  As a matter of fact, I won’t be dying them ever again.  I will be
    exposing my grandchildren to a variety of naturally colored eggs.  I have been
    blessed with light brown, dark brown, white, green, pink and light blue eggs for
    my edification.  Who needs dye!  The photos don’t do the color of the
    eggs justice.  I’m able to purchase these eggs fresh, and the only date stamped
    on the egg carton is the date that I write on an Avery label.  I even provide
    the egg cartons. 


    I want my
    grandchildren to learn about nature and all its beauty.  I want them to be able
    to share unique experiences with classmates and have special memories when
    they’re visiting me.  I want them to remember grandma cracking colored eggs for
    their omelets and brownies.  I can’t wait to hear the giggles. 


                                                                      Jersey Chicken


                                                                    Black Cochin Chicken

    Speckled
    Sussex Chicken

               
                                                                        Easter Egg Chickens
                                                                         

    I’ve started purchasing fresh eggs a year ago.  Here are some of the chickens that work to produce my order.  I place my order and the next day the eggs are retrieved from the hen house and brought to me.  I’ve never been into chickens, but I think the black Cochin chicken is beautiful.  My grandparents had chickens on their farmette, but they where just your regular chickens that laid white eggs.

    If I could withstand the smell and cleanup, I might invest in a few of these beauties.  Okay, that thought didn’t last long.  I’ll just continue to purchase them when I need them. What do you think about my colorful eggs?  Do you have chickens?  If so, what kind.

    Happy Easter!
     

    Filed Under: Black Cochin chickens, breakfast foods, Easter egg, Easter Egg chickens, Food-Recipes, Foods, Jersey chickens, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

    Aimee’s Babies – First Year Milestone DVD Review

    March 26, 2013 by


    I was approached by Aimee’s Babies, a child development company, to review their First Year Milestones DVD.  I was excited and accepted their offer.   The first thing that I noticed when I opened the package was that the cover didn’t have any children of color on it.  My initial thought, this company has limited potential buyers.  There is absolutely nothing on this DVD cover that would make a women of color stop and take notice.  My next thought, would it have ethnic babies in the video.  People are drawn to products that they can relate to.     

    I decided to keep an open mind and see what the video was about.  The DVD is broken down by chapters.  It focuses on various stages of development from the ages of newborn, 3 months,  6 – 9 months, and 12 months.  Each stage focuses on the 5 senses, touch, smell, taste, sight and sound.  The various stages teach you to understand reflexes, color, stimulation, balance, and social development.  It was quite informative throughout all 4 stages. 

    Lets start with newborns – It teaches the importance of music.  It was nice to know that it could be any type of music and not necessarily Mozart.  It also stated that babies see things in black and white up to 3 months.  At that stage red becomes a great stimulus for baby.  It stressed the importance of touching and massaging your baby, swaddling him or her, and allowing them to become familiar with your scent.  The DVD encouraged mothers to alternate sides during feeding so the baby could be stimulated from different directions. 

    The DVD moved on to 3 months – The focus was the same, the senses, tummy time, stimulation, and balance.  At this stage the importance of talking to your baby, using wrist and ankle rattles, and implementing at least 20 minutes of tummy time per day was stressed.  Using mirrors was also emphasized.  The DVD demonstrated an exercise that I would never try.  It required the mom to place their sitting baby in a large blanket while she swings it from side to side.  The exercise was for helping the with baby’s balance.  I personally wouldn’t try it and neither would I suggest it.  I was quite surprised that someone would be encouraged to try it.   

    At 6 – 9 months, the baby’s weight should practically double.  They should be able to see more colors, notice themselves more, crawl or move around while holding on to things.  It still focused on the senses and stimulation.    

    The DVD moved on to the 12 month stage.  Here babies were pulling themselves up, crawling, climbing stairs, walking and in jump ups.  The DVD encouraged moms to allow their babies to walk bare foot, use soft sole shoes or grip socks.  It stated that babies could start walking between 12 and 18 months.     

    My opinion after reviewing the DVD, it contained detailed, educational material with everyday moms and their babies at various stages.  No Hollywood glamor or glitter.  It wasn’t overly long and it keep my attention.  I think it would be a great baby shower gift for a new mother.  Would I buy the DVD for $16.00 plus $4.00 shipping.  No, I think there are  better products on the market for $20.00.  Would I buy it for less, possibly, and I’m not talking about $19.99.  

    For ethnic mothers or mothers to be, there are no mothers or babies of color featured in the DVD.  There is an African American father at the newborn stage with his baby.  It seems than an entire segment of consumers were missed when this video was made and marketed.  If you have no issue with this fact, I recommend that you check it out.  If you don’t believe that you can relate to the DVD, I recommend that you check out Aimee’s Babies site.  They have other DVDs, an adorable onesie and other products that may be of interest.   

    Note:  This review is my opinion and my opinion only.  I received a copy of the DVD for review; however, no additional compensation was received.  

    Filed Under: Aimee's Babies DVD, blog product reviews, blog reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With:

    Reasons To Garden In Your Backyard

    March 11, 2013 by

    Today, I’m sharing gardening tips on reasons to garden in your backyard. I started gardening years ago, and it quickly became a passion.  Planting a vegetable garden was something that I always wanted to do, but never made the time.  I love fresh vegetables, especially tomatoes.  The taste and price of tomatoes in my local grocery store sent me into high gear.  They were expensive, hard, and tasted like cardboard.  

     

    reasons to garden

     

    My grandfather had a garden when I was growing up. Picking weeds out of his garden was an expectation when I was visiting.  I also remember all of his children being supplied with fresh vegetables during the summer, and the week-ends spent canning the harvest.  Fortunately, I decided to grow my own vegetables, and I’m so glad I did.  I look forward to each growing season now.  

     

    Reasons to Garden: 

     

    1. It’s so relaxing. And I’ve learned to appreciate the open country and the quiet that it brings. 
    2. My land wasn’t being using to its full potential.  
    3. Store brought fruits and vegetables are expensive.
    4. I love working with my hands, and making things grow. 
    5. Saving money on my grocery bill is a plus. 
    6. Provides an opportunity to connect with other gardeners.  Connecting with others who grow fresh vegetables and flowers provides an opportunity to learn different techniques and make new friendships.  
    7. My vegetables are better than the stores.  I love walking by the produce in the grocery store smiling because I know mine is better.   
    8. I’ve learned to grow my vegetables from seed.
    9. I love having fresh vegetables, homemade salsa and sauce during the winter.   
    10. I love sharing my harvest with family and friends and the local food banks.
    11. Great exercise without leaving home.  

     

     

     

    reasons to garden

     

     

    Yes, gardening is time consuming, but it’s so rewarding.  It’s a great way to get out of the house and get moving.  I sleep so much better after a day of working in my yard. Furthermore, involve your children.  They can get a sense of how food grows and will make better choices in food selection.  They will also learn how to sustain themselves, and save on the grocery bill.

    You don’t need acres of land to garden.  If you lack land, put a few planters on your deck or patio.  You can grow tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, radishes and the list goes on in containers.  Do you currently garden?  If so, do you use containers, raised beds or row garden?  Also, check out my other backyard vegetable gardening tips before you leave.

     

    Filed Under: Vegetable Garden Tagged With: , , ,