HaddyGraceDesigns

As if the Challenge of living on a budget isn't enough, us Moms we also have the Challenge of making healthy meal choices for our families. And Unless your grocery budget is 2-3 times the size of mine you are probably discovering how hard it is to buy healthy foods AND stay within budget. Cereal is expensive, but healthy cereal is even more expensive!! It's upsetting when I look at the ingredient list of something I have spend our hard earned money on and find ingredients of things that I don't recognize and can't pronounce. That's why Cereal is one of the items I have decided to eliminate from our grocery list.  However what to have on hand for a quick breakfast?? Granola to the rescue!!!! For my Birthday my sister gave me a small Jar of Chocolate Granola, It didn't look like much, but lets say I was pretty much HOOKED after the first bite! Here you go!! 3 cup rolled oats 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup rice crispies Mix together in a bowl. ...

The Monster Cookie,   The Favored of all cookies, and it's not just because of the miniature m&m's that these cookies are so loved by all. Their flavor is superior. End of story. Now these cookies aren't exactly fool proof. Maybe you have tried these cookies and they just haven't turned out right. The secret is in the Peanut butter.... Jiff Peanut butter, some other brands are too dry and your cookies will be dry lumps.       So here we go: 1.5 cups Jiff peanut butter 1/2 cup butter 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 3 eggs Whip until light and creamy, add: 1tsp. vanilla extract 2tsp.baking soda 3.5 cups quick cooking oats (not rolled oats) 1 cup chocolate chips (milk or semi sweet) 1 cup mini m&m's   Dip 2 cookies and bake them, if they are too flat add 1/2 cup more oats and try again. You can never take oats out of a recipe that's why I always error on the side of 'not enough oats' When...

  Our Valentines Day Preparations...   You know that feeling of groping around in the dark trying to find the stairway after you fell asleep on the couch and its 1 am.??   You're desperately trying to find your bed!!  That happened to me the other night except in the middle of all that stumbling around in the dark I found a glowing skeleton hanging on the door!!!! I gasped in shock sure that I was hallucinating a scene from some crime show my husband had been watching...   Turns out that the Skeleton shirt that I found at a consignment store was glow in the dark!!! (I bought the shirt and added the felt heart for my son's Valentines day party at school.)  My advice.. stay away from crime scenes, Skeleton shirts, and falling asleep on the couch.   You will need all the sleep you can get to try and figure out  your middle scholar. read on.....     I love pinterest for Valentine's Day card ideas!!! There'...

Since school started and Hadassah and I are by ourselves most days, Folks are getting used to seeing me with just one child in tow. The one question I get asked a lot is "Did you make that?" I immediately feel a sense of guilt.. I have an Etsy shop full of Children's clothes and my daughter doesn't even have even one HaddyGrace  piece in her closet.. Partly because I am so busy sewing to fill orders that I don't have time to sew for Hadassah and partly because By the time I sew all week I am so tired of seeing the patterns that I don't even care to see my daughter wearing them! However...         This is what happens when I go to Joanns Fabric with NO KIDS and have time to browse!! The beautiful rows and rows of fabric suddenly start becoming projects in my mind and suddenly I am excited to go home and create!!! I knew I had a jumper laying in my sewing room just waiting for the right time to be embellished... I could hardly wait ...

Fall is here, Well, here in Iowa anyway, Some of you I am sure are still enjoying warm,summer-like days!  But here in Iowa the leaves are orange, yellow, red and every shade in between! The air is crisp and clean and turns toddler cheeks rosy! And Mamas every where are digging through totes of clothing to find that extra layer of toddler clothes, those items help turn favorite summer outfits into the perfect Fall wardrobes! Cardigans, hats, AND my personal favorite................. Legwarmers!!!!  They are a perfect after thought to any outfit! Perfect for potty trainees, And so easy to take off later in the day when Mr.sun  finally gets the air warmed up! Not to mention that they make for great pictures!!     AND you can make your own legwarmers for your baby or toddler!!   To make toddler leg warmers, Start with women's knee socks. To make infant leg warmers, start with girls knee socks   I found these women's knee sock...

Valentines Day..  A day for Lovers, an excuse to get a babysitter and go to a fancy restaurant. But what is Valentines Day when you are in Elementary school?? Hmmm?  A Day of CANDY!!  Oh yes there are cards too, the ones with candy attached go onto the 'Priority' pile. the ones with no candy get, at the best a 2nd glance. And it really doesn't matter who sent you which card, or which card was from a boy or  girl. All that matters is how big is my pile of candy!  Here is a great Idea for making your own Valentines day cards.  Take a photo of your child with an outstretched fist. Upload it to your favorite photo editing site (I use my Creative Memories  software) to add words or anything you like to make the photo more festive. After you get your photo developed take a razor blade and cut to slits like this, and insert Lollipop!   VIOLA!!  Happy Valentines Day!! And here is what's new in my Etsy Shop ...