Last day of the year

Already? Really? The very last one...

Yup. The last one.

Simon and I ventured out early this morning to go get his brace. When I woke him up he groggily said, "It's not a school day."

"We have to go get your new brace, remember?"

"Oh, ya."

We squeaked this one right under the wire. Our last chance to get his brace fit and get it put on our current insurance out of pocket rate. The very last day.

Now we are holed up in the house with two extra kids while it snows pretty hard outside. I love snow. I know it sucks to drive in but I do love it so. A soft blanket of white. Perfect weather for quilting. Ok, in my book all weather except extreme heat is perfect for quilting.


I've worked on a few things since Christmas but not much. Once the pressure was off to finish all the projects I lined up for myself I haven't been in much of a hurry. It is winter break, right. I should relax while I can. I made two pillows to go with my moms quilt. I only had scraps so I did what I could.


I also began Seth's top.

Seth also asked me to take his picture yesterday after we finished putting together his Darth-tater guys.

I hope all of you have a safe and happy New Year!

Almost 3

Sometimes I think toddlers have a death wish...


Isn't the golden rule, "Don't touch the fabric!" It surely isn't, "Please smear black slime on the bins holding mommy's precious/expensive/coveted fabric!"


But then they do adorable things like play hide and seek in the stuffed animals...





and they live to see another day.

Merry Christmas!!!!

(Susan made me the advent mittens and stockings. Doesn't it look great above my quilt?)

I love Christmas!

We finished opening all our presents and trashing the house in the process. I made a special breakfast this morning and was the only one to enjoy it. The little heathens turned their noses up at french toast because it was made differently. You know, you cut up a loaf of french bread, add some fruit, pour the egg mixture over it, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake. Yummy. Oh well, more for me I guess.

Since I was a good girl this year I got some nice presents. Hannah and Simon both got me jewelery (from the school's Holiday Shop), I got a coffee press (wow, is that coffee gooooood!) and I got a massage. Oh ya, a massage....

The best gift I gave was quilt for Dan. I managed to keep it a secret from him. Tee, hee.


Everyone loved their pajamas. I still need to make the top for Seth but I ran out of time!





Well, I better go take a shower and get dressed. I have a beautiful sweater to wear today and I need to get the ham in the oven.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

PS- Keep your kids away from the oven so they don't turn it off while your ham or turkey is baking!

What do you want for Christmas?

Seth- "Me want choo-choo train."

Hannah- "Lots and lots of candy. Oh, and a cell phone!"

Simon- "Yeah, LOTS of candy!!"

I think Santa might come through with most of those requests...

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

...If you've finished going to the post office! Being the last minute person that I am I managed to get the 2 boxes I had to ship out and I got most of my cards out too! Ah. I was utterly impressed when I walked into our pathetic little post office and there wasn't a line. Yes! Too good to be true. I went all over today running errands. Seth tagged along because he doesn't have a choice. I went all the way down to a place called Stitch and Sew. Holy crap, they have EVERYTHING you'd need to sew. I don't know if I'll be going there for my quilting fabrics but they had elastic which I need to complete some pajama bottoms for my family. Yeah, I'm not done with those yet. I have six days left.

We've done oddles of Christmas related things as of late. We got our tree up last weekend. We listened to John Denver and the Muppets while we decorated.


Made some ginger bread cookies last night. We decorated them today.


I'll make some more this weekend as gifts for the teachers. I think an ornament and some cookies is a better gift than something that says "worlds best teacher" on it.

Tomorrow we are taking Simon and a few friends to see The Tale of Despereaux and then we'll have a low key party for him. I guess I should go make his cake.

We're also going to go see Santa this weekend. It should be fun for Seth this year. We saw Santa yesterday out driving around in his firetruck. Didn't you know Santa hangs with firemen in NJ? Seth was very excited to see his friend Santa.

I have been working on some projects but don't have photos to show you. I'll remedy that soon.

Last night I discovered I'd gotten another gift from my Secret Santa in the MOMS Club. It's been very sweet. We got a mini loaf of bread already. Yesterday I got a cute green cup with some cappuccino mix... it's like someone knows me. :)

The middle man

Today is all about my middle man. Simon. He is 8 years old today. It's crazy but true. 8 years ago we lived in West Seattle in cute little craftsman house two blocks from Alki beach. Boy was I huge while I was pregnant. Simon took his time coming out too. I woke up each morning and cried because I was still pregnant. I told my husband I'd be the first woman to be pregnant forever! I meant it too. He decided to make me wait almost 2 whole weeks before he came into this world. Since he took so long he got to get big in there. He was 10.4 when he was born!


Seeing how he was enormous we jokingly called him Enor the Moose. He latched on within minutes of birth and didn't stop. He grew like a weed. Since about 2 he's been Hannah's size. She had him beat by height for a while but now they are the same height but he out weighs her.

As you know he's gone through a lot in his life so far. He's had major surgery and has to live with the scoliosis caused by his condition for the rest of his life. He wears his brace everyday and he's such a trooper about it. That doesn't mean he doesn't want out of the brace but he excepts his fate and moves forward. We took him in yesterday to get a new brace. The kid's growing. We had to jump through some insurance hoops to save ourselves $750, which is how much more we'd have to pay come January, but that also means we are paying $500 out of pocket at Christmas time. It's always something, isn't it?

He is also a lot like me. Meaning he won't shut up. Talk, talk, talk, all he does is talk. Whatever he thinks, he verbalizes, at top vloume. Talk, talk, talk... unless he is playing on the X box. His favorite thing ever!

He rocks at Tae Kwon Do too. He's already a purple belt.

He's doing great at school. Of course.

He is great.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful son.

Happy Birthday, Simon.

Simply striking

Sometimes the most simple pattern can be the most striking.

This says, "If we love nature as we love ourselves, the earth will become beautiful and all good things in our human lives will come to be part of the earth."

Mess

This is what happens when you leave a toddler alone for a few minutes at bedtime...


He dumped every single bin out on the train table and floor. And yes, he's wearing a pull-up on the outside of his pj's. He's wearing two as a matter of fact.

Relaxin'

I've got a little bit of time while dinner finishes up so I thought I'd show you what I've gotten done as of today. I got Hannah's night gown made.


It wasn't all that hard. I do think putting sleeves on is obnoxious because of the curve but I didn't have a hard time with it.

I also have the ornaments almost done. They need string put on them so they can hang. That's the technical term, right, string-to-hang-them.

It was so awesome to have a quiet day. It all ramps back up again tomorrow but for today I got to get a few things done around here. I have Minestrone Soup simmering downstairs and the bread maker will have some yummy Italian Bread ready for us in about a half hour. Ah. If only everyday could be a quiet day.

Oh... quiet time is over. Seth is crying at the bottom of the stairs...

Panic

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed this week. There is so much going on and I have so much to do. AHH!

The kids have Theater Week so they are staying after school everyday until 5:30 but Hannah still is heading over to Future Problem Solvers on Tues and Thurs until 6. The school is also doing it's Holiday Shop this week. Of course they need volunteers (enter sucker Numero Uno!) and I offered to help. We have multiple MOMS Club things this week, Seth has to get a flu shot, I got my hair done, my quilt guild meeting was yesterday, ahhhhhhh... AND next week Simon has an appointment to get fit for a new braces and it's his birthday. AND, I still haven't done most of my Christmas stuff.... AHHH.

Too much!

I have a quite day tomorrow. Phew. Hopefully I can get some work done on my Christmas gifts. I am not sure when I'll learn to start on Christmas projects in like July!

Thanks for all the comments on Hannah's glasses. She liked that.

These eyes, they are a changin'

Since she is a product of Dan and I it was inevitable that she'd need glasses one day. That day has come. The doctor last month said she needed to get her eyes checked, the school nurse last week said she needed her eyes checked, and the reminder that it had been a year since her last eye exam came in too. Gee, do you think we should go to the ophthalmologist?

We all went in and got our eyes checked together yesterday. Simon is better than 20/20 and quite smug about it. Dan and I are both still the same, ya know, we still need glasses but things didn't get any worse. Hannah, she definitely needed to get glasses. Her eyes are worse then mine. Mine really aren't that bad. I think she picked out a really cute pair. She didn't want to get them or wear them. Poor kid, glasses and braces. I think she's beautiful. It adds to her smart look she's got goin' on.

After school today we went back to pick them up. I asked her to wear them home just to see if she thought things looked different. Pretty much every sentence she said started with, "The way I used to see..." She also told me just a little bit ago that she doesn't think she'll just wear them for school.

It's nice to be able to see clearly, isn't it?

This and that

It's finally happened. I have been sucked into the vortex of Facebook! I know so many people that use it and I have ignored it for a long time. It was becoming it's own monster, demanding that I finally give in. I did it... there's no turning back.

We're pretty crazy around here. Our friend Said is staying with us for a while and last night he cooked dinner for us. Real Enchiladas! I learned how to make enchilada sauce. It's not hard at all. If I'd have know how easy it was I'd have given up the canned crap years ago. I am very excited! It was soooo yummy! We also had Parent Teacher Conferences earlier this week. I like sitting down with the teachers and hearing, "Your kid is doing great." Sweet.

Said babysat for us while we went to the little meetings. See how this is working in my favor? He thinks he is a burden for sleeping on a blow up matress in my office... silly boy. I'll let you think that if you'll babysit and cook for me...

I've begun working on my ornaments. With Said in my office I don't want to take the whole room over with fabric right now. Besides, working on the ornaments allows me to sit on my big tush and watch TV shows. Ah, the rough life I lead. I think the ornaments are coming together quite nicely. Whatcha think?


Oh, I have to share a little funny ha ha that happened yesterday at the grocery store.

Hannah: "Mom we should get some apples."

Me: "Ok, what kind do you want?"

Hannah: "Fuji."

Me: "Ok, I like Fuji." The I saw the Pink Lady Apples. "Oh, yum. Pink Lady I like those."

Hannah: "They are pink but I don't want to eat a lady."

Me: Shocked, stunned, and trying desperately not to laugh because I couldn't explain it. "Hannah, please don't ever say that again."

It's pajama time

Look, flannel pajamas! I made something!

They are a little on the large side. (Extra Large) I swear I cut out the medium pattern and used the longer length. Yeah, Dan swims in them a bit. I had him try them on yesterday and they are humongous! Of course he loves them and thinks they are very comfy. To which I responded, "Good. Now, give them back. You can't have them until Christmas." Aren't I sweet? Hey, he asked for hockey fabric and he got that. Now he must wait...

Can I say, I am trying hard not to make comments about his pants saying "Goal!". Thankfully they don't say "Score!". I'd never stop snickering like Beavis if they did. Hu, hu, score. I am truly still 12.

Where was I? Flannel pajamas. I have more patterns and more pajamas to make! All 5 of us in our little family are getting a pair of pj's for Christmas. Of course I had to make some for me too.

I'll get started on the ornaments soon. So, what are you making/giving for Christmas this year?

BTW, if I ever turn into that crazy old lady who makes lacy doilies and ugly quilted vests for everyone for Christmas feel free to shot me... or at least give me a heads up that what I am making just isn't cutting it anymore. Thanks.

Cold turkey

Thanksgiving went off mostly without any problems. We ended up eating almost two hours after we'd planned because some sweet little boy (Simon!) accidentally turned off the oven when he tried to turn the oven light on. We think it was off for about at least an hour if not longer. Long enough to cool off. I am pretty sure he'll never live that one down though. "Hey, remember when you turned off the turkey?" Yeah, he's gonna hate it.

Other than that we're just chillin' this weekend. I had big plans of working on the last of the yard clean up, making flannel pajama bottoms, starting on my ornaments, and watching some more Lost Season 3. Then, then I started reading. Damn books. I didn't even get out of my pj's yesterday. It was awesome...

Today I'll try to get something done around here. I've already showered, aren't you proud?

I will get some pictures of my current projects up soon. No really, I will.

Adventures in potty training

And so begins the adventures in potty training. Why? Because I am tired of diapers. I am tired of paying for them and tired of changing them. Potty training isn't an over night fix but we'll get him in big boy pants soon. He is off to a fabulous start. I'd say he's going on the potty about half the time. Although when he goes on the potty all the pee tends to go on the floor. Darn those little male appendages. Can't they point down while sitting? I know I help him point down when he sits but then after he's done there's pee on the floor. Grr. I don't think teaching a 2 year old how to stand and aim would be any less messy. It probably would create more of a mess, like on the walls too. I guess I just don't remember cleaning up as much pee when Simon potty trained. Hannah, well, girls are easier. Anatomy folks.

Seeing as tomorrow in the big day, you know Thanksgiving, I have to bake a pie today. I am going to do it all from scratch. I'll use my pumpkin puree from last month and I'm even planning on making the crust. Wish me luck! Mom's bringing a pie too so if I muck it up we'll just be having apple.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We'll be enjoying a small quiet dinner with my just my mom and little brother. Who am I kidding, it's never quiet here. I have 3 loud kids! Ok, let's revise that to say we'll be having a smaller than usual amount of people attending our Thanksgiving feast.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

My girl

I got to spend the day with my girl today. We don't get to just do things alone together. Usually I have a little 2 year old tag along in tow. But not today. I had some errands to run and I was also going to meet my mom up in Princeton for a cup of coffee. So, I asked Hannah if she wanted to come along.

We ran by a local quilt store and dropped off a food donation so I could get a free yard of fabric. Yeah, free is one of my favorite words. I didn't find anything I wanted ( I have no idea what the deal is with that store but I just never like anything. Weird.) so I let Hannah pick out some fabric for a pillow case.

I had to stop and get gas in order to make it all the way to Princeton. May I complain about Jersey for a minute and then I'll get back to my lovely day. Thanks. You can't pump your own gas here. It's illegal. Retarded? Yeah. Welcome to Jersey. The gas station was super busy. I waited a few minutes and no gas station dude came over. So, I broke the law! I pumped my own gas. I know pumping gas is a challenge and only highly qualified people can do it but I thought I could manage. Freakin' New Jersey.

Then we headed off to Princeton with a full tank of illegally pumped gas. We meet my mom and Paul at Starbucks and after walking around a bit we grabbed a bite to eat at Panera. It's nice to be able to hang out with my mom whenever. And Princeton is such a perfect college town. Hannah says she's going to go there for college. She sure sets her goals high.

Dan texted me while we were with mom that he was taking the boys to a movie. They were going to take Seth to his first movie. I was a bit sad to miss out on that silly little milestone but I knew they'd have a great time together watching Bolt.

Hannah came with me for my last errand. I needed some things from Joann's to make Christmas ornaments. She also helped me pick out some fabric for flannel pajama bottoms. She even had to help me look up the patterns in the big pattern book and find them in the drawers. We girls will be matching since she like the fabric I picked out. I found a really cool one for Simon that had guitars on it but there wasn't enough fabric left on the bolt. Bummer. When we were standing in line I was talking to the lady behind me and mentioned that I wished I had a coupon with me. She offered my one of hers that she had in her purse if I'd let her go in front of me. Ah, done! She actually handed me two coupons and I go the use them both. That nice lady saved me $25! I like her.

We finished with just enough time to race to the movie theater to see Twilight. The teenagers in the theater were just as entertaining as the movie. When the main actor came out the girls actually cheered. Wow, he's adorable and all but seriously. Hannah liked the movie but just like me liked the book better. Once I get a few books I have qued up out of the way I'll read the rest of the Twilight books.

Well, I have no pictures to share. I just hung out with my girl. It was a good day.

Happenings

Things are pretty normal around these parts. Not much is happening. Things will get very busy through the month of December so I am trying to enjoy the lull. There are a ton of things going on at the school next month. Teacher conferences+ Bake Sale+ Holiday Shop+ Theater Week= Oh my god, could they pack more in before Christmas! Let's not talk about the fact that I don't even have my shopping for Thanksgiving done yet or any inkling of what I'm doing for everyone for Christmas!!! Ack!

Breath...

Well, I thought I'd share a few pictures. I tried to get all three kids together on Saturday when we cleaned up the yard but they were in too big of a hurry to get back in the house where it was warm. Hannah vanished before I got get a good picture of her. Sissies I tell ya, it wasn't even cold.

He loaded up his bucket with leaves and dumped it by the curb.

Simon gathered the sticks I cut.

Look he does manual labor! Tee, hee.

Seth was all worn out after the yard work. I like that the cat needed a nap too.

Seth had story time and craft at the library today. He made an Octopus puppet. Obviously, we weren't doing something Thanksgiving themed. Once I paid my overdue fees we were able to check out some new books and a movie.


Oh, I got the corner points in on my wall quilt! I know, no one cares but me. I think it'll look sweet when it's all quilted and bound. Of course, it's been so long since I stared it, it really doesn't go with anything in our house. Hmm.

Book monster

Have I told you about the voracious book monster in our house? She is quite adorable and quite hungry for books.

Hannah's teacher sent her home with the book Twilight, that I had to approve of course, and she read it in a day. Friday night she read about 200 pages and by noon the next day the entire novel was done. She begged us to go buy her the next book but we told her no. ( I know we are mean like that. Hey, it's expensive to feed her book habit.) I decided to read this book also because for some reason it is a huge deal amongst teenage girls. Gorgeous vampires was cool abilities, what's not to like. The book was entertaining and I can see the appeal. It's worth a read. Her teacher bought herself the second book and offered it to Hannah because she was so excited to read it. The teacher called me to tell me she hadn't read it yet but she assumed it was along the same lines. She suggested I could look it over first and decide if it was ok or not. She also told Hannah to take her time and read it over a few days.

Hannah came home grinning from ear to ear, plopped down on the couch and began to read. This monring when I woke up she had a few pages left. When I reminder her that she had been told to read it slow she said she had read it over two days.

She devours books. I think she reads faster than I do. Quite frightening and yet utterly fascinating.

They have made a movie out of the first book but from seeing the previews it's a bit different than the book. I am torn as to whether or not Hannah should be allowed to see the movie. It is PG-13. She's seen movies like X men and those are rated PG-13 and so are all the Spiderman movies. She hasn't asked to see the movie yet but I know she will. She's only 10. What do you think, if she can read the book, is the movie ok?

Rings

Wow, curves are a slow process. Taking two fabrics that curve opposite directions, pining them together, sewing a nice scant quarter inch with back stitches at each end... well, it's kinda hard. No wonder I left it alone for 5 years. No one I know will probably EVER get a double wedding ring quilt when they get married so don't even ask. Ok, you can ask but the answer will be something like, "Ha, ha, ha, ha... ah, no!"

I did make a big mistake when I first started. I looked at the first block I had make 20 million years ago, saw it had black to the inside and red on the outside. So that's how I put the next circle together. Then when I sewed the two top circles together I realized I had done something wrong.

It looked wrong. Well, duh. The circles over lap each other like rings! I should have sewn it with all the red curves in. The block belongs in a different spot. I wasn't happy about having to redo those curved seams.


Here it is last night before I sewed the two rows together.

Now, I just need to figure out how to get the corner points in. The book I have only says they can be added when the top is done. Any suggestions?

Comfort food and rain

What is it about rainy days that make you want to curl up with a hot cup of coffee and a good book. Maybe some warm soup for dinner. Or maybe just quilt the day away... ok, not happening with a toddler around. I don't understand why people grumble about the rain. Just like snow it allows you to stay inside and be mellow. You don't have to rush around. Relax, slow down.

Well, I always get my coffee in and I did read a bit this morning while Seth played with playdough and then watched a show. I am reading an interesting book right now. It's called The Girls Who Went Away and so far it's a very good read. It's hard not to cry when you read some of the stories.

As for dinner tonight I wanted to make Chili. It's a hit around here, except with Seth, so I knew it'd be worth the effort. I make chili kind of like my dad did. He made it bachelor style. You know everything from a can. Tomato sauce, chili beans, add some browned hamburger and a packet of chili seasoning. Done. Oh, don't forget the saltine crackers. I have embellished his recipe a tad and often wonder what my daddy would think of it. Would he like it? Let's see, what changes I've made.

I cooked up my own pinto beans and red beans today. Not hard, just takes longer. Of course I wasn't exactly sure how much to make so I over estimated. I had almost 8 cups of cooked beans when I was done. Oops. Guess, I'll use less beans next time. Then I sauteed onion with ground turkey. Obviously I needed tomato sauce and I added diced tomatoes and corn. I like the corn. Not everyone likes corn in their chili but since this is my chili I get to make it how I want to, don't I. I do still like to use chili mix powder because well, I like the flavor. I did throw some cumin in there since cumin is a fabulous flavor. Sometimes if I have green pepper I'll add that in too but I didn't have any today. I made way too much (because of all the beans) so I froze some for later. It was so yummy. Hannah even had seconds.

Do you think the additions make for a good sounding Chili? I think my dad would like it.

Project dog sitting, underway

My mom went out of town for a few days and we brought her lovely dog to our house. Maggie is a great little dog. If all dogs were this good I'd get one but they're not. She follows me everywhere though. I've had a song running through my head for a while now. You might remember those commercials for My Buddy? "Wherever I go (s)he goes, my buddy, my buddy, my buddy and me!" AHH! She also hasn't tried to eat any of the cats around. I think she'd lose to one of my cats. Malaya is my smallest cat but she has guts.

Other than having a dog under foot all day things are normal. The kids keep trying to get Maggie to come to them and well, she won't. She stays with me. Dan runs a close second if I'm not here. Right now she's laying right next to my chair and if I get up so does she. My cat is not amused that the dog is with me all the time. One more day, kitty, one more day. Then you can have your lap back.

I took Hannah to the Orthodontist today to get her spacer out. They think she'll be out of her braces in a few months. Woo hoo.

I wish I had some good stuff to show you about quilting but I've got nothing. I am actually hoping to get a few UFO's (Un-Finished Object) done. I have a double wedding ring wall hanging that has been sitting around waiting to be finished for, um, about 5 years. Sad but true. One ring down 3 to go. Can't be that hard! Curves, I can do that... I think... then bias binding... I guess I could do that.


I also owe a friend a crazy block pillow out of some cool silk fabric she gave me... a year or so ago.


I shamefully still haven't made a charity quilt but some of the guilt has been off set because I helped tie three charity quilts at our last guild meeting. See, I'm charitable!

Funny for you but not for me

I totally grabbed a lady's ass at the grocery store today. I accidentally knocked into her because the store was jam packed, it was a Sunday after all. Anyway, after I bumped her I automatically put my arm out to steady her (I guess I am used to knocking into little kids and they tend to fall over?) and when I put my arm down my hand landed right on her ass! Oh my god! I was totally embarrassed. I apologized profusely and then hustled out of that aisle.

Pumpkin Bread

Hey, remember all those pumpkins I had to do something with? Let's make pumpkin bread! First I cut, gutted, baked, scooped, strained, and pureed most of the pumpkins yesterday. I still have two more to deal with. Seth was my little helper as usual. If he turns out to be the best at cooking and sewing you'll know who to blame. :)

I ended up with 8 cups of pureed pumpkin so I froze the rest for later. Can you say, Happy Thanksgiving! We even toasted the seeds with cinnamon and a smidge of salt, sugar and nutmeg. Yum.

Pumpkin guts!

Gutted and ready to be baked.

The pureed pumpkin ready for some ingredients to make Pumpkin Bread!!!

Yummy bread.

Want the recipe?

Pumpkin Bread

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (or your own hard earned pureed pumpkin!)
4 eggs
1 cup veg oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 7 x 3 loaf pans. (I used to regualr sized loaf pans and cooked for a few extra minutes.)
2. In a large bowl mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg,cloves, and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. . Pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes. Loaves are done when toothpick comes out clean!

Where were you...

... when history was made?

We decided to wake up our older two so they could witness for themselves the acceptance speech of our first ever black president.

It's so profoundly awesome it is beyond words.