baby blanket

Here is the latest little quilting endeavor I took on. (Sorry the picture is kind of dark.)


These rag quilts are so easy. The cutting can be a PITA but so worth it in the end.

It looks like I have 3 wonderful participants in the "Pay it Forward" game. Scylla, Country Mouse, and Riality Freak. I will get to work on your little goodies soon... Yay!

In kid news-

Hannah is trying out for a higher level in gymnastics. Apparently she has the strength and talent.She just needs the experience. She'll have a recital in April. Also, she is doing a little play at school today in the class room. I'll have to head out in a few minutes to go see it.

Simon just tested for his green belt last night and got it. I know you are probably thinking, "Didn't he just get his orange belt?" Yes, he got it 2 months ago. I guess they like to keep them moving up quickly. I think they just want the extra cash! Sorry, no pictures. Dan took him while I stayed home with the other two and he forgot to take the camera.

Seth went to the Doctor yesterday for a check up. He is all fine and dandy. He is a small fry (23.9 lbs at 2! Oliver is like 30. Not fair.) but pretty darn cute if you ask me.

Neat idea

One of my dear friends is doing a little "Pay It Forward" thing and I think it is such a fun idea. I had to join in. Maybe you'd like to also. I'm going to borrow the text from her website just like she borrowed it.

"It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on.

So here’s how it works:
I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. Since this should be fun let's give a reasonable amount of time for the handmade item to be made and then sent to the recipients - how about 2 months? I will email each person for their mailing addresses and send a handmade gift and maybe some extra goodies.

What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog to 3 different people. Unfortunately this is only possible for those of who have a blog. So come on.....and see who wants to pay it forward. :)"

What do you think? Want to try it?

Birthday fun

We had a great party yesterday for Seth. I thought it'd be nice to have a little party for him and invite some of his friends over. Well, since I can't seem to add things together we had quite the gathering. When the kids are only 2 ish the moms have to stay! I think we had about 20 people but it went well. I am always amazed at how much work goes into a birhtday party and quickly they are over. That is my main reason for always trying for low key events. No need for a clown or a bouncy castle. Things are crazy enough with a house full of people!


Once the party wound down I had to bake some cookies for our schools basket raffle that evening. (No rest... ever!) I got to the school at 6 to be a volunteer. I was put at the door and man was it busy. After my 45 minute shift at the door I was able to walk around and see what baskets there were. I had a good time even though I didn't win a darn thing. Oh well, all the money raised last night goes to fund field trips for the school and this is our only big fund raising event we do.

After clean up was over I ended up getting home about 10. A long day but fun.

Snowy birthdays

Two.

Two years already.

I can't believe it's been two years since Seth was born.

He's two today.

Happy Birthday little man.


And let us not forget Dan. Instead of a nice hot Starbucks Mocha to wake up to this morning he got a snow day. No going into work. Just a day at home. Happy birthday to my dear sweet husband who will forever have to share his special day.

I had things I was going to do today but I think I'll be hunkering down and enjoying the only snow day we've had this year. I am sure the kids will want to go out and play before long. Hopefully they weather will clear up enough for the birthday party tomorrow. We'll see.

I have been working on a little baby blanket. I'll get some pictures up soon. Maybe I'll even get some good ones today.

Things that make you go, hmm

I was reading a few blogs that I like and I stumbled across some different perspectives. As most of you know I am a crunchy granola kind of gal. Not on all things but on many things. So I was reading a post on this blog and while going through some of the comments I read one from Dr. Amy. I've run across Dr. Amy's hatred before a while back on this blog. She absolutely despises home birthers, home birth advocates, and lay midwives. There is so much venom in her words it is shocking. All the way from how ignorant home birthers are to how uneducated midwives are. I am not sure why she is so angry but she has it out for all of us stupid, ignorant and uneducated people.

Normal low-risk births are safe to have at home with a midwife. There are studies that back it up. Midwives aren't untrained or uneducated. There are national requirements for midwives to become certified that requires schooling through an accredited school, apprenticeship, and a national exam. No they don't tend to have degrees from Yale or Princeton but that doesn't mean that they don't learn everything they can about all things surrounding birth including complications. Just because they don't learn how to do c-sections in a hospital doesn't mean that they aren't educated.

Please know that I think doctors are needed and are necessary for higher risk pregnancies.

Take a read through the links if you so desire.

Finally, snow!

It's finally snowing here. Now it's supposed to turn into rain later so lets not dwell on what that means. For now it's snow and the big kids are outside playing in it even though there isn't much on the ground yet. All our after school activities were canceled and I' not sure if we'll even venture out for Tae Kwon Do if it's gonna get yucky.

Here are some pictures taken from inside.


I wish I had a better camera so I could zoom in more. Sigh. Some day.

Well, the kids just came trampling inside. I am sure Seth's nap is about to end abruptly. Gotta go!

Me day

I had a "me day" today. I got to do things for me. I have to say I really like those kinds of days. Who wouldn't?

I got my nice walk in this morning. We only walked for an hour but it was chilly with the wind blowing and Christina had her kids with her. No sense making them freeze.

After lunch I got the cookies baked for the schools bake sale this week.

My mom and Paul got there right after I finished baking and we went to the quilt store. They were having a sale and a trunk show with Civil War stuff. (Most of you just probably lost interest didn't you?) I needed to take in my big quilt too. So as you all know I am weak around fabric and when it's buy one, get one for a penny.... I could hardly say no!


I happily left feeling like I got a deal. I mean really, I got $45 worth of fabric for 3 cents! So mom and I strolled over to the Antique store down the block for a little look. It was so very odd. It was more of a junk store. There was so much stuff it was hard to take it all in. When we were about to leave I peeked down one of the rows and saw a treadle sewing machine. Sweet, I totally love them. It had a price of $30 on it. Yeah, $30. I was marveling over how cool it was even though it was missing a drawer when a woman told me there was a better one on the next aisle over. Low and behold there was! Oddly enough the nice woman who pointed them out to me said she was going to get them both and had changed her mind.

I got them to take the machines down so I could get a better look at them. The ornate one has a bad top on it. It looks like water damage on one side. The other one was in good shape minus the drawer. What's a girl to do? Which one do you buy? Silly, both of them!

No, Hannah isn't always on the couch. I swear!

Love the decorative drawers.

Don't mind Simon back there. he was cleaning them up for me. Without being asked. I wonder what he wants? JK

Yeah, what am I going to do with two treadle sewing machines? Does anyone know someone who could fix 'em up for me?

Well, to add to my "me day" I went to dinner with the girls (again!) and had some yummy food and fabulous conversation. Followed up with going to see 27 Dresses. It was so cute! I love chic flicks though so I am easy to please.

I got home and helped tuck everyone in. Grabbed a warm cup of coffee and headed to my office. Now that I am done with the blog post should I read, play with fabric, or watch tv...

I like me days.

Just like big brother

I finally got Seth doing Tae Kwon Do on video. He is so stinkin' cute! Oh, you've gotta love Hannah in the back ground talking on the phone to her Aunt Susan.

Playdough

I feel like I've had a busy yet productive day. I started off with walking for an hour and a half! After lunch I got a new pair of walking shoes. I figured I should have something better for my feet for the half marathon coming up than the Payless shoes I have. I was proud that I managed to go to the mall and leave with just one pair of shoes. Shear will power, I tell ya!

I took Hannah around the block to see if she could sell some more girl scout cookies once Seth was done with his nap. We came home and took it easy for a bit. Meaning we snacked and watched the boob tube a bit. Ok, I read while Seth watched finding Nemo and snacked on my apple with yogurt to dip it in!

Well, seeing as Seth has recently discovered a love for playdough I pulled out ours and discovered that it was old and crumbly. What to do. Make a trip to the store? No way. How about make your own! I can do that. You can too. Here's the recipe that I got many years ago at Messy Play Day back in Seattle.

Playdough

You will need:
2 large bowls
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
1 cup of boiling water
1 tbs of Alum (found in the spice isle of your grocery store)
1 tbs of vegetable oil
food coloring

-In one bowl dissolve Alum in the boiling water and add the oil. Then add your choice of color.

-In the other bowl mix the flour and salt. Add this to the water mixture.

- Mix it with a wooden spoon until it's all together. It will be bumpy and gooey!

When it has cooled enough to handle take it out and kneed it for what seems like ages. It will smooth out and be a wonderful ball of Playdough.

Store in a plastic container with a lid. It will be good for several weeks.

Enjoy!

To finish our evening I had some yummy enchiladas for dinner followed up by coffee with friends.

The only down side to the day is my apparent guilt in not setting the clippers back at their usual setting. My beardless husband is not amused... oops.

DONE!

I finished it! The quilt is so big! It's 100.5 square. It was supposed to be 99.5 but with my fantastic sewing abilities it is larger. When I first started quilting they were always smaller. I blame my new sewing machine for having a more accurate 1/4 inch and I still do a scant 1/4 inch resulting in it being an smidge off. A smidge makes a huge difference over a large area. It sucks. Someday I'll be a perfect quilter... not! Considering I designed this myself I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I even gave myself a pat on the back.


I'll try and get a picture of the whole quilt but my husband can't hold it up for me and my design wall is too small to hold it either. What's a girl to do?

So far (knock on wood) no one else has started yacking. Simon felt all better yesterday after he took a three hour nap. He was back to normal after dinner.

Here is a picture of the kids enjoying their morning snack. I feel like I haven't talked about them to much lately. I'll give a big update soon.


Real quick I have to brag about Hannah. She got straight A's on her report card. Yeah for her! Principals Honor Roll no less and perfect attendance. Yes, I have a teachers pet for a kid.

Sick

We are house bound on a cool and rainy day with a sick kid. Poor Simon spent most of the night over the toilet. I always feel so bad for my kids when the get the stomach flu. I can't make it better and we all know how yucky it feels to be so sick that you don't know which end it's gonna come out of first. The virus has to run its course. I spend most of the time selfishly thinking, "Skip me this time around could ya!" I hate being sick. Barfing is so gross! I never did understand bulimia.

Well, my goal is to keep Seth away from his big brother so he can rest... and maybe he can keep those yucky germs to himself.

I guess I'll sew today. I have made a lot of progress on the borders. I'll show pictures later.