15. Plan weekly craft projects with Avie for 6 months. Make it a habit to continue on after the 6 months by putting it on the calendar. (2/24)

Craft Project #2 - make a decorative door hanger.

This week's craft comes from "Toddler Toddler" which is a great website for, you guessed it, TODDLERS!

Avie made this for her bedroom door handle. She just loves stickers so when I found this, I knew this would be perfect for her.

Here is the link for craft instructions:
Toddler Toddler - For the Modern Toddler

15. Plan weekly craft projects with Avie for 6 months. Make it a habit to continue on after the 6 months by putting it on the calendar. (1/24)

I've done plenty of research and have surprisingly found plenty of craft projects for my 2 year old daughter. She LOVES doing hands on stuff and is constantly wanting to help mommy and daddy in almost everything we do. I have planned 24 craft projects over the next 6 months and am thoroughly excited for each one!

Craft Project #1 - make homemade caramel apples. I thought it would be fun to start this 101 with a food craft. ;)

Recipe taken fromBrach's homepage

Ingredients
• 1 (14 oz.) pkg. Brach’s® Milk Maid® Caramels
• Wooden Sticks (FREE inside 14 oz. Milk Maid® Caramel bags!)
• 5 – 6 Medium Apples
• 2 Tbsp. water

Directions
Microwave: Wash apples and dry thoroughly. Unwrap and place Brach’s® Milk Maid® Caramels and water in small, deep microwaveable glass bowl. Microwave at full power about 3 minutes*, stirring once or twice, until mixture is smooth. Place each apple into bowl, spooning mixture over apple until it is completely coated insert wooden stick into stem end and remove from bowl, scraping excess coating from bottom of apple. Place apples on greased waxed paper and chill until set.

Stove Top: Wash and dry apples. In a small, heavy saucepan over low heat, melt Brach’s® Milk Maid® Caramels with water, stirring frequently, until mixture is smooth. Continue as directed above.

*Recipe tested in a 500-watt microwave oven. Because oven vary, you may need to adjust heating time.

Helping daddy unwrap all the caramels.

Smashing peanuts for toppings.

The finished project. Aren't they beautiful?!

43. Host a chili party on Halloween.

I stole this idea from a good friend of mine. A chili feast on Halloween night is a family tradition that she has done since she was a little girl. Her mom would cook up a big pot of chili with all the side fixings and the kids in the neighborhood would fill up on a warm and hearty meal before going out in the cold for trick or treating. Living in Florida, it does not get that cold but I just loved the idea of all the kids and their families getting together before trick or treating.

I invited 8 families in our neighborhood for our 1st Halloween Chili and Cornbread Feast. The party was an hour before the kids went out trick or treating which was great because it made the party short and sweet and the menu was small and easy. I made a big pot of chili, a double batch of corn bread, brownie bites and hot apple cider. Everyone had a great time - especially the kids! After the kids were done trick or treating, some families came back to eat more chili. At the end of the night, there was only enough left for maybe two bowls of chili!

One of the beautiful parts of living in our subdivision is that there is a handful of kids the same age as Avie. They were all born within days of each other! It's great knowing that Avie has kids to play with on any given day and hopefully will grow up being great friends. Can't wait till next year's bash!!Above: Avie with Oriana (dressed as a witch & her mom had on a matching costume - they were too cute!) snatching a few of the party favors.

Below: Avie with Autumn (dressed as Cinderella) chowing down on chili and corn bread.

64. Participate in our annual subdivision yard sale.

FINALLY I have my garage completly cleared out and my car can fit!!! I had my yard sale on Friday, October 30, 2009 and Saturday, October 31, 2009 from 7 am to noon. I made 90% of my money on Friday. It was insane!! I had people showing up at 6:30 am and couldn't close down at noon because people kept coming and I ended up closing at 2:00 pm! On my second day, in order to get rid of the rest of my "junk" I told shoppers that everything was half off. The way everyone acted, one would think I was selling diamonds! LOL! In the end, I only had 2 very small boxes and 1 bag of shoes to take to The Waterfront Mission. My first yard sale was a huge success!

19. Read one parent/self-help book a month for a year. (7/12)

#7 - OCTOBER 2009 - Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler

After telling a friend at church that Matt and I wanted to start trying for baby #2, she recommended this book that she has been using for all 11 of her pregnancies - yes you read that correctly . . . 11 pregnancies! This book has been amazing and I have learned so much about my cycle. Hopefully I will be able to cross off #1 on my list soon!!! ;)