Hey everyone!  Sorry I missed the party last week!  We took a little long weekend trip down to Monterey, CA and I intended to get the party set up before I left… but it didn’t happen.  So, apologies, but I hope your weekend was as fun as ours!

We got to go with my parents and sisters and the boys loved it!  We took them to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which we’d been wanting to do since Mr Napping and I went while I was pregnant with Little J.  There was just the right mix of exhibit and hands-on that even though neither boy napped, they still had fun and a good day overall.  We went down to Fisherman’s Wharf and found a little restaurant to get dinner from.  We took it back to the hotel and gorged on some of the best clam chowder I have ever eaten.  Oh my goodness.  We were so sore, but it was totally worth it!  We spent Saturday morning at the Butterfly Sanctuary in Pacific Grove and at the beach.  We stopped at IKEA on our way back through Sacramento for dinner.  Unfortunately, I came home sick and Little J has shared with me.

Did you miss any of these super fun ideas?

Big J is at the point where he prefers a night light in his room.  We have one in the bathroom and one in the hallway on the way from his room to the bathroom.  Just in case there are any middle of the night trips.  When we have a nursing baby, we have a night light in our room.  Just enough light for momma to see, but not enough light to wake Daddy or baby.  Our babies have both weaned themselves of nursing before they give up all their night feedings, so we have a night light in the kitchen as well to prepare bottles.  Basically, you turn the lights off and our house lights up like a Christmas tree.  Night lights aren’t exactly pretty decorations, but who says they can’t be fun?!  With this DIY Halloween Night Light Baby Food Jar Upcycle you can make your night light whatever you want.  Change this up to fit any holiday or go with a simple monogram.  Etching the glass is another fun option I’m looking forward to experimenting with…

– Night light base – I bought a four pack (did you hear how many night lights we have?) at Wal-Mart.  It was just a cheap set of the lights that turn on when it’s dark.  I got the set of four lights for around $10-15.  I couldn’t find the exact set on Wal-Mart’s site, but here are some similar ones on Amazon.  You just need a light base with decent wall clearance (an inch or two).

– Baby food jar or other jar (use plastic if you’re worried about it breaking)
– Drill with spade bit
– Paint and/or vinyl

Directions:
– Wash and dry the jar.  Remove glue and labels.
– Take the shield off the night light so you just have the base.  This photo is of the actual night light I used.  That clear plastic just slides off the front.

– Measure the LED stand – mine was 3/4″.  Use the drill and spade bit to drill a hole in the lid of the jar to fit around the LED stand.  Or have your awesome husband do it, because you may or may not have totally created a mess when you tried it.

– Paint the jar or use your vinyl to decorate.  I painted the inside of the jar with watered down acrylic paint.  You’ll have to play with the water to paint ratio in order to get it thin enough to let enough light through.  Different colors needed different amounts of water.  Darker paint = more water.  Another idea would be mod podge colored with food coloring.  Google a tutorial for that, but be aware it creates a pretty opaque finish.  I painted the insides of the jar and vinyl-ed on the outside.  I also used Washi tape on one for a super quick and easy “fancy-it-up” job.

–  Screw the lid back on and place the LED stand in the hole in the lid.  Plug in your night light and wait for dark (or high-tail it to a dark room and try it out in broad daylight, you rebel!).

You can use the same lid (provided you use the same kind of jar) and make lots of different night light covers.  Just switch them out whenever the mood strikes.  It’s also nice because you can adjust how much light comes though with what you decorate your jar with.  Darker paint will give a more muted light, while light paint will still shine bright.

I want to introduce you to another Contributor today: Rebekah at Somewhere in the Middle.  I think she was a little worried when I asked for Halloween projects this month (to keep with October Spooktacular), but she totally knocked it out of the park!  I love these!  I am adding them to our Halloween Countdown Calendar so I can do them with my boys.  So, without further adieu…

Please tell me that I’m not the only one living in disbelief that we’re already halfway through October. I could have sworn that just last week was the start of summer break! Although I do have to say, Texans pretty much rejoice at the arrival of October every year, so I can’t complain too much. My girls and I whipped out these adorable mummy jars in record time; they only take about ten minutes to complete from start to finish.

SUPPLY LIST
Mason Jars
Athletic Tape
Googly Eyes

Start by sticking (or gluing) your eyes on the jar.

Then just randomly wrap the tape around the jar until it looks like a mummy (making sure not to cover the eyes up).

And that’s it! Make as many as you want. They’d make adorable treat jars at a party or luminaries lining your walkway or porch! Or, like my girls, you can carry them around in your arms and talk to them like they’re your baby and best friend all “wrapped up” in one. 😉

Today, I am going to share a super easy way to entertain your kids for a few minutes.  Mine spent about half an hour with this activity.  This slime is a little messy, it’s probably one of the easiest messy kid’s activities and clean up is a breeze!

Get all science-y and explain about Non-Newtonian fluids if you like or just let the kids go to town.  Even my child that can’t stand to have his hands messy was up to is elbows in this one.  Score!