Accelerando

Sweetest Day cake & a sewing project

2011-10-15T21:19:00.000-04:00

Happy Sweetest's Day! Duane and I celebrated a day early with a yummy meal at Olive Garden. I had been longing for a good steak and ordered their 8 oz. sirloin. It was breaded with parmesan and herbs before cooking. It was incredible!!! I ate every last bite. lol Tonight we had a Taco Salad meal with the kiddos and shared a bottle of special Raspberry Sparkling juice. The kids were quite excited when the fancy goblets come out.

This afternoon, while Duane was working, I made this cake for him. It looked and smelled delicious. I didn't have a bite though.....gluten....and sugar.....sigh.....I have put myself on a 2 week sugar fast. This is day 5. My sugar-withdraw headache has finally ceased. This is good for my body....but oh so HARD!!!

I've been so incredibly busy with housework and teaching Callie each day that my sewing has been much neglected. Here is a project I sat down and did on Friday. A lady at our church asked me to make a walker bag for a neighbor that had liked the bag that she had(that I had made). I had fun going through fabrics and coming up with something bright and cheerful. This picture keeps rotating....sigh....Anyways, the one side with 2 small pockets and 2 medium pockets. The have a bit of elastic at the top in a casing to keep them from flopping when things are inside.

The other side with one large pocket with elastic at the top. I didn't have any bias tape to match, so I made my own up. That was fun!! Now I think I'd like to get one of those bias tape binders to make the process go a bit faster. Maybe for Christmas.....:)

Thanks for looking! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!!

October birthdays, Columbus Day & International Day at School

2011-10-14T08:09:00.001-04:00

It's International Day at our school this morning. Samuel is representing the Philippines. He is wearing the colors of the flag and has a wooden bowl that my brother-in-law brought me back from the Philippines along with some rice--safely sealed INSIDE a plastic bag in hopes that it won't spill all over today--and some coins from the country. I also printed off and colored a flag and glued it to a chopstick.

Simon chose Australia and is back from a hunt in the great Outback!!!! lol

Seth is Canada......red shirt and a flag. 7th. graders don't get into all the props I guess.:)

Callie wanted me to take this picture and show it to her aunt Sarah in the Philippines. She made a play-doh cinn. roll and an Easter basket with eggs during one of her art projects.

For Columbus Day this year, Callie made a fun after-school treat for the kiddos.

Putting the sails on....

Adding the 'fish' to the coconut 'water'.

All completed and ready to eat after school is out!!!

A donut-shaped cake. He just requested that it have sprinkles and M&M's. I baked it in a bundt pan and it turned out looking like a 'donut'. Or at least that's what Callie told me.

Simon, our 11 year old. Very excited with a toy gun from his older brother. We purchased a used student trombone for him for our gift. We found it on Craig's List and the guy met us at a restaurant half-way between our homes. Simon didn't have a clue what we were doing and was VERY excited when he found out!!! He just started trombone in band this week.

Seth wanted a cake with candy on it. That was simple enough---thank goodness!! His birthday fell on a Sunday this year.

Officially the parents of a teenager!!!!

The expression on this picture was too good not to post....

A creative gift from Simon. He put some fun snacks for Seth in a plastic tote and decorated the lid with.

For Seth's 13th. birthday gift we purchased a trumpet for him. It is a Bach Stradivari and we found a great deal for it off of Craig's List. We drove to Michigan and back to look at it. Seth was very excited to finally have his own instrument. Thankfully, a relative had loaned us their trumpet for the past 2+ years for him to use.

I made a choice.

2011-09-21T09:38:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: This post shares things that was so difficult for me to admit to myself for so long. It is from my heart. I am VERY passionate about the decision I made and wanted to share with you.....

This past winter.....around the end of February I made a choice. I began a life-long journey to become healthier! A friend agreed to go walking with me every week day morning. We would meet up at 6:30AM. It was cold. It was dark! It was EARLY!!! WAY. TOO. EARLY!!! She was so bright and chipper every morning. I was a train wreck. A grouch. Period. I persisted. She encouraged me. I got used to the dark. The cold. The early morning cell phone alarm. I suggested we start even earlier. We moved it to 6:15. Then it was 6:00. And now...5:45AM!!! You know. I started being the chipper, happy chattering magpie every morning!!! Me....the girl that was a perpetual night owl, started becoming a morning songbird!!!

~waiting for the race to start with my brother~

I was able to make all of my race clothes, running skirt, shirt & compression capris!!!

You see....this was a miracle for me. I had finally recognized and admited to myself that I had been going through some very dark times in my life. All was not well. I had been depressed for years. This resulted in gradual weight-gain and of course that goes hand in hand with feeling even worse and grouchy and lashing out at others around me. I had no patience. I wasn't a very happy person to be around. I'm being very honest here.....I'm not going to sugar-coat it. I knew I needed to do SOMETHING!! I didn't have money for therapy. And, frankly.....the thoughts of sharing everything that goes on in my head and in my life to a total STRANGER, scared the stuffing out of me!!!!! I have a thing about taking no medication. I'm all about trying to fix things naturally. The first few months were tough. It was hard. The first time I barely walked 2 miles, huffing, puffing, out of breath and I was sore! Yep...I was out of shape..big time. But, you know...it made be feel better. Just that little walk. The fresh air. The peaceful, cold, dark early morning air. The sights and sounds of the beautiful world God created. It helped me. I walked more and more.

~ipod in....ready to run....waiting for the sound of the gun~

One month....I logged over 100 miles just walking!!! Every time I would feel stressed, or I was having a rotten attitude about something that wasn't going right....I would walk, and walk, and WALK!! It was amazing how insignificant I would realized that 'thing' was that was bothering me by the time I got down the road a bit. Eventually, I decided to try running. The first time I ran....only about 1/4 of a mile....I thought I was going to die!!! I was gasping and wheezing. I kept checking my heart.....I thought for sure it was going to leap right out of my chest!!! My lungs were on fire!!! Looking back, I simply think I tried to run far to fast that first time. But,I wouldn't give up. I read loads of articles online about running form, stretching, etc....I tried to run a little more each time. My goal was just to be able to run one mile without stopping. I finally achieved that goal. That was all I wanted to do. But, then, I started to run a little more and a little more. My brother, who has ran a full marathon before, told me we should sign up for a race. That scared me....you see.....I'm the type of person that never tries to do something that I think I can't do! I have to think through EVERYTHING about a particular hobby, etc....before I try it out. I am scared of failing. There, now you know another one of my deep, dark secrets. :) Well, finally...I agreed to sign up for the 5k event at the U.S. Air Force Marathon.

~2000 runners waiting to cross the starting line~

I plugged away at training. I ran in 100 degree weather. I ran in freezing cold weather. I ran in the dark. I ran in the daylight. I ran in light rain. It was NOT easy. I made myself keep at it. It took a LOT of self-discipline. It was hard. VERY hard.

~fighter jets circled the course as we ran our 3.1 miles~

I've lost 18 pounds of fat and gained muscle I didn't even know I could have!! But, most importantly, I've become a happier, healthier person. My family is happier 'cause this mommy is happier!!! I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep at it. This past Friday evening, I ran in my first 5k official race ever!!! I'm now training for my next race on Thanksgiving Day.

~my Dad waits at the Finish Line for us~

I can't even describe the feeling that came over me as I saw the Finish line. I got tears in my eyes and tingles all over. I was a finisher!!!

~My brother and I in our first 5k together~

U.S. Air Force Marathon 2011

I'm all choked up even typing this up. This has been a journey for me. A discovery. A new direction. I never want to go back to the dark times I experienced. Running has given me the stress-relief I so desparately needed. I'm sharing this....not as a 'look at what I achieved post'....but hopefully as an inspiration/encouragement to someone else. I don't know everyone that reads my blog. I don't know what you are going through or even how you're feeling right now. I just wanted to share a bit about the journey I'm on right now and encourage you. You CAN do it!!!! Fresh air and a little bit of exercise will do wonders for anyone's outlook. I'm still daily taking my own medicine. This is a life-style change for me. A choice God is helping me make. Every. Single. Day.

I can't stop......

2011-09-06T19:54:00.000-04:00

sewing!!!!

Maybe it's the crisp, cold weather that's keeping me inside. Or it might even be all the new fall clothing ideas that keep popping into my inbox. ~~Please, oh PLEASE. DO. NOT. SEND. ME. ANYMORE. CUTE. GIRL. CLOTHING. IDEAS!!!!~~ But, whatever, the reason.....I can't stop!!!

I stated very emphatically last night that I was NOT going to sew a single thing today. Well, as I was cleaning out my sewing cabinet....straightening up the explosion that has rocked the shelves over the past several days.....I came upon a darling t-shirt I had purchased for pennies a couple years ago. There it sat, patiently waiting for me to upcycle it into...SOMETHING!!!

Then, I spied a scrap of lavender/white stripes that would be perfect for double layer sleeves. It was a done deal....I simply HAD to cut out and sew the shirt that was in my head RIGHT THEN!!! I made the mistake of showing the shirt to my daughter. She insisted on staying in her nightgown until it was finished sewing it up!

Around noon today, the house fairly clean, supper in the crockpot, homeschooling completed, fabric explosion organized (temporarily), I parked myself at my machines and an hour later a new shirt was birthed from the land of garage sale bargains and leftover scraps of fabric. (whew...what a run-on) Callie was enthralled!!! We, of course, had to go outside to get some pictures to share.

I really do have 3 other children, but it's just not as fun sewing boys' clothing. And, seriously.....I don't think they'd appreciate photo shoots in the pj's I sew for them!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

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How can a mom resist sewing for such an enthusiastic little girl? She pushes me to try new things....dream up faster ways to sew....and has opened my world up to the color PINK!!!!

Some afternoons, she will sit beside me and my machines....talking....talking....and TALKING!!!!! She never stops. At times....I'll admit....I get weary of the constant flow of words that seamlessly spill from her mouth.

But then, just as quickly, I pause, and look into her eyes, sparkling with happiness. I am gently reminded to be ever so grateful for those moments we spend together.

~Just the two of us....designing and creating and bonding....

...Making memories that will last a lifetime!~

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaack...............

2011-09-04T20:12:00.001-04:00

SEWING!!!!!!!!!!! Yipee!!! Doing a little happy dance around my machines! :) September 1st, was a HAPPY day....it was the start of an online stash sewing game that I have participated in for the last 2 years. I worked and cleaned the house like a crazy woman the first part of the week so I could 'take off' for the weekend. It was WORTH it!!! The first project was a shoulder rest for Callie's violin.

Used fabric, etc...that I already had so this was basically a free princessy shoulder rest for her. She loves it!

This was what I sewed on Friday/Saturday. 4 tank tops, 3 long-sleeved fall/winter shirts for Callie, 4 pajama bottoms and 2 pajama tops for Samuel for fall/winter.

Some close-ups of the shirts. I used a basic shirt pattern and re-designed each one just a bit differently and was pleased with the results.

I love how this one has a layered-look to it.

I used my coverstitch machine to put binding on the necklines and sleeves. I also used it for ALL 4 of the tank tops I made for her to wear under shirts/dresses. Talk about a BUNCH of coverstitching!!!!

This was another project of mine this week. Matchy outfits for Callie, Kanani & Jenny. Here they are all ready for church.

I wanted to find a daisy to embellish the lacy part of the dress, but we just couldn't find what I was looking for. The yellow ribbon bow will have to work until I find the right looking flower.:)

I drafted the cross-front doll shirts from a plain t-shirt pattern. The skirts are just circle skirts trimmed with lace. These were so fun to make. I managed to eek out a dress AND these outfits for the dolls with JUST ONE YARD of fabric!!! WOW!!! It was really pushing it!! lol

This was my Sunday afternoon project. The cascading ruffle skirt. I used a large piece of project leftover from a shirt I made for myself awhile back. These are NOT colors she particularly cares for, but I wanted to 'test' the pattern/tutorial FIRST before using up some fabric that she would like. I was VERY pleased with the results of this skirt and am planning on cutting out 2 more tonight. She JUST woke up from her nap and was not to happy to have to try on a new outfit!!!lol

She's outgrown her cute yellow sweater already. I'll have to come up with something different for her to wear this with.

She was giving me her 'sleepy' twirl shot!!!:)

Thanks for looking!! I have sooooo much fun sewing new things for my family! Be prepared for tons more sewing this month. I have a looooooooooong list of 'to-do's'!!!

~Peach Pickin'~

2011-08-27T17:35:00.000-04:00

On Monday, Callie's second day of homeschool, we drove over an hour to pick peaches. We jokingly called it a 'field trip'. She completed all her classwork before we left and I took a nap while Grandpa drove. (Getting up at 5:45A.M. for a 2 mile walk followed by a 2 mile run, cooking breakfast, hanging out 2 loads of laundry, teaching a little girl, putting supper in the crockpot, and some housecleaning made for a very tired mommy!!) This was her very first time being in a peach orchard. The trees were loaded with ripe, juicy, beautiful peaches!!

I 'borrowed' Duane's camera to take some pictures of our trip. My camera has been out of batteries since our Chicago trip. Purchasing new batteries hasn't been high on the shopping list of things that we really need as of yet.lol:)

The peaches were so plentiful, that a basket was filled in no time!

Beautiful, blue skies and puffy, white clouds, mixed with the scent of fresh peaches made for an absolutely beautiful day!!!

"We can fit just one more peach in that basket, Grandpa!"

She was very proud of the basket of peaches she picked!

Not quite ripe yet.

There's nothing quite like eating a fresh-picked peach outside in the orchard!!

2 1/2 bushels of peaches picked.

Mommy & daughter.....

It's time for school!!!

2011-08-19T22:52:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of school for the kids. I can hardly believe our children are in 7th., 5th., 1st. Kindergarten this year!!!

Samuel, our 1st. grader, was especially happy with his mommy made 'first day of school' shirt. He told me over and over how 'comfy' it was!! He had a wonderful day at school. Hope it stays that way....

Simon, our 5th. grader, informed me that 5th. grade was going to be 'tough'. Apparently, they were given a test in History on the first day!! Yikes!!!!

Seth, our firstborn, is a 7th. grader this year! Wow, where has the time gone? Both before and after VBS this evening he was working on homework. I'm thinking it's going to be a busy year for him.

Callie, our baby girl, is in Kindergarten this year. Once again, mommy is homeschooling her. I'm excited about this year. Last year, it was a bit rough starting out teaching her at home. I'm hoping all goes well this year and we have a smooth/easy start.

Daddy takes the 3 boys to HCS for their first day of school.

Another picture of Callie in her mommy-made 1st. day of school dress.

She moved her hair out of the way so I could take a picture of the back. This is a very bright, colorful dress that received many compliments from total strangers while we were out today.

We did lessons while she sat on the couch today. There has been absolutely no time to search for a new desk for her as of yet. Today, she wanted to use the couch. :)

After completing her lessons for the day, we took a trip to the library where she did reading. Her K-5 program doesn't start reading until lesson 68. I don't want to wait that long for reading to be incorporated in her lessons, so today's reading lesson was at the library. She loves how she will get to go different places for her classes. As a surprise, I let her pick out a donut from a local bakery.

I decided cooking classes would be added to her curriculum this year. She learned how to make Cream Cheese frosting today. She measured, mixed, tasted and frosted all on her own. She was telling people at church that she learned how to make frosting today. Too funny!!

I'm thinking I need to sew her a cute little apron & chef's hat for her cooking lessons.

I showed her how to make fancy swirls in the icing. She wanted it smooth and flat with no swirls! She spent quite some time trying to get the icing perfectly flat. lol

Her music lesson....we just did some bow exercises today. She is just starting to learn how to hold the bow. Sailor 4(pinky) needs to be a bit more curved and poor captain thumb kept falling out of his chair, but she had fun sailing through the air with her sailors & captain on the bow.

Needless to say, she was quite worn out after the day's activities, and took a nap on the couch.

After school was out for the boys, we went to Burger King with our free cheesebuger coupons the kids had received from VBS. Then we came home, spring cleaned the living room/dining room and raced around to get ready to leave again for VBS. This has been a crazy, busy, fun-filled week for sure!!

A girl's(& her mommy's) dream trip to American Girl Place!

2011-08-16T22:43:00.000-04:00

Callie & I have been dreaming about stepping foot in the American Girl Place for an entire year!!! We saved our pennies, nickels & dimes and finally Saturday was the day!!! It literally took my breath away when I stepped in the store. The amount of dolls & accessories, not to mention shoppers was a tad overwhelming. We just didn't know WHERE to look first!!! The guys in the family didn't last but a few minutes before they made a hasty exit! Too much pink I suppose....lol

Here is the doll Callie chose to buy with her 'dollars' she had saved. She had saved all her money for quite some time and had around half the purchase price. Mommy chipped in and paid for the rest. You see, I have dreamed for YEARS of owning one of these dolls so I was glad to help my daughter out. One day, I will go back and buy myself my very own. :) For now, I will be happy 'playing' with Callie's new doll.

Callie really wanted the accessories that went along with her doll, Kanani. I told her that she would have to save up for those and get them later.

In the background is a striped dress/leggings set that Callie wants me to make her. I'd much rather sew it myself than pay the sticker price on the matchy doll/girl outfits.

In line to buy her very first American Girl doll.

Making a sun visor.

After she got her visor all decorated, she was too embarrassed to put it on. Later that day, she wore it on our walk downtown.

She liked going up and down the escalator. I ran down the escalator so I could snap this picture and if Callie hadn't warned me, I'd have fallen off the end!!! I was so intent on getting a picture I wasn't paying attention about what was behind me. Dear me....that would have been quite the sight!!

More vacation pictures coming.....

Sewing Costumes, gifts, baking and puppy-sitting....

2011-08-11T13:15:00.000-04:00

Samuel wanted a cape to play outside in with some other kids. He picked out the fabric and design, length, etc..... I hurried as fast as I could to get it finished, but 15 minutes later it was raining. So he wore it around the house that night. The next day, it was barely light out and he was outside running around in the dew-covered grass with his cape on.

Love what his shirt says....

Seth and Simon got to puppy-sit Jack over the weekend. It was a learning/teaching experience for all of us.

Simon loves to bake. He made me some yummy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies!!

Full of chocolate chips!!!

Callie's 1st. Day of School dress.

The back....

A quick model shot. She'll wear it with a different shirt of course. This is what she already had on for the day.

Modeling one of the costume hats I made for my mother's newest Children's Worship Themes she is writing. This will be Blueberry Muffin's hat in her Captain Munch theme.

Raspberry Rafael's funny hat.......

Captain Munch's vest, along with Blueberry Muffin & Raspberry Rafael's vests and hats. So glad I was able to finish these over the weekend and send back with my brother so she get get them right away.

Matching dresses for 2 of my nieces. These are birthday gifts for them.

The front.....

Love the bow that ties in the back!

Not my favorite place, but the kids LOVE....

2011-08-05T18:02:00.000-04:00

......CHUCK E. CHEESE!!!!!!!!

On Monday, we packed up and drove 45 minutes to a place we go once a year or less. :) This was a treat for the kids. I printed out a coupon for 160 tokens. It didn't take them long to find 40 different games/rides to do. They had fun and then I got to go to THEIR least favorite place....a FABRIC store! lol

Samuel shows off all the tickets he won. Don't know how he did it....I couldn't win that many tickets if I tried!!!:)

Callie wanted to ride this ride sooooo bad but she was scared it would go too high for her. As soon as she saw another little boy on it smaller than her, she HAD to try it!!

Simon & Seth waiting for their sister to finish using all her tokens.

The tickets Callie won. One of the machines spit out a ridiculous amount of tickets for no reason. That's why she had so many.

All the kids chose a bag of cotton candy for their prize. It was gone by the time we arrived back home.

Oh, these were the donuts I bought FRESH-BAKED first thing that morning. I discovered that I had not one, but TWENTY-FIVE items OVERDUE at the library. I rushed to take them back before the library opened, but they were still THREE DAYS LATE!!!! Yep, that fine is gonna be a killer!!! Sigh......

One man's trash is a little girl's treasure!!!

2011-07-29T23:30:00.001-04:00

My daugther has asked many times for a dollhouse. Well, they're a little pricey, not to mention BIG!!! Sooooo, I've kinda filed that request in the back of my mind for another day. Well, Wednesday morning, I woke up as usual for my early morning exercise. My friend and I walked be something set out by the curb. It was too dark at the time to really see what it was, but she thought it was a dollhouse. The entire time, I was walking I had that at the back of my mind. A dollhouse!!! Really!!! Would it still be there? Was it in good shape? The questions just rolled around until we got back to the same spot on our way home. It was light out and I casually mentioned that I should check it out. All the pieces looked intact. I wondered aloud if I should pick it up and take it home. My friend said she wouldn't fool with it, it was dirty. That, my dears, can EASILY be fixed!!! I picked it up and marched it home. Took it inside and began to clean it up. It was in PERFECT shape under the layer of dust. A short time later I had it sitting on the table for her to 'discover' when she woke up. I couldn't wait!!!!

Here she is....half asleep but checking it out!!

It has a slide out pool cover she discovered. She and her brother played with the dollhouse and her strawberry shortcake dolls in the house for a loooong time Wednesday, and Thursday AND today!! It's been a hit!!! I just love the treasures that God provides for us unexpectedly! :)

A little girl VERY HAPPY that her school books have arrived. Once again, I will be homeschooling her for another year! Last year was a success and I'm hoping this year will be even better!!! She couldn't wait to tear into the boxes and see all her books.

Here she is all of her K-5 Abeka books!!! She opened up one of her reading books and read a page to me. She wanted to start right away!! Yay for an eager student!:)

Callie just lost her 1st. tooth!!!

2011-07-29T22:30:00.000-04:00

Callie let me pull her first tooth out tonight. It's been VERY loose for quite some time. With just a little tug...out it came!!!

Looking at these pictures made me sad...she looks even more grown up with a missing tooth now! :(

Very happy that the tooth fairy(aka mommy) will come tonight!!!

Loads of Doll Clothes!!!

2011-07-29T16:57:00.000-04:00

I am participating in a doll clothing swap and so this week I started sewing doll outfits for 18" dolls. This fleece sweatshirt is for Callie to keep for her doll, Jenny. It was made out of scraps from a bathrobe I made her last winter.

Everything pictured below will be shipped out to exchange with other mama made doll clothing. Callie is excited that some new outfits will be coming her way soon. She did want to keep a bunch of this, but I kept telling her we were going to ship it away. :)

I braided strips of knit fabric to make some stretchy headbands to go with these outfits. I love how they turned out.

Pink is not my favorite color, but I love how it looks with chocolate brown.

These hooded sweatshirts are fun to make. Callie wants an outfit like this, so I may make another one later....much later. I'm doll clothing sewed out right now. :)

Another stretchy braided headband.

All four outfits together.

I love the way these plaid outfits turned out. The skirt has pleats in the front/back. There was a tiny turquoise stripe through the plaid so I chose that for shirt color. Trimmed the shirt with black ribbon, buttons and a small ruffle. I made a cute hat also to go along with it.

Another plaid outfit. This one has a different ruffle on the shirt and the hat was designed just a bit differently.

Both outfits together.

Hooded sweatshirt dress with a funky belt.

the dress from the back...

A stretchy braided headband with some embellishments.

Had fun with this one...it's definitely 'different'. lol

Dress, belt and headband

Now to clean up the sewing mess and cook supper.....It was fun sewing doll clothes this week, but I'm ready to tackle something else right now. :)

Is it REALLY the end of July ALREADY!!!!!????

2011-07-25T08:45:00.000-04:00

I simply canNOT believe this is the last week of July already!! Summer has went by in a blur.....Here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks.....

Some might call me crazy, but last Sunday afternoon, in between packing for youth camp and church services and lunch preparations, I sewed Callie a new dress that she wore to church that evening!! You see, I had requested to be a tester for a new pattern that was coming out. Well, the pattern designer was all filled up for that particular size. I forgot all about it, until receiving an e-mail Sunday right before lunch. She asked if I was still interested. Someone wasn't able to make the size I had signed up for. The only problem was....she needed it sewn in the next 2-3 days!!!! Well....I was leaving for camp THAT NIGHT!!!! I REALLY wanted to test the pattern out.....so I told her if I got the pattern e-mailed to me that afternoon I could do it. I got it after lunch and while my dear father-in-law and sons were washing dishes I was printing and cutting out a new pattern to sew up in a flash. Less than 2.5 hours later here was the end result.

I just love this pattern and so does Callie. We have fabric for a couple more waiting to be sewn up now.

It's plenty long enough that it should last for an entire year...hopefully!! :)

Every year one of the local schools has an enormous garage sale. The kids and I eagerly look forward to going. On the last day of the sale, you can fill a bag for just $1!!!! I stuffed 3 bags full of clothes. Most of these clothes will be used to up-cycle into other clothes for Callie to wear this fall. This will make her wardrobe very cheap to sew and I'll have a blast doing it! :) I was happy to find some XL men's tech shirts that will be turned into shirts for me. Also found 5 pairs of brand-new condition men's dress/casual pants for Duane! Another find, not pictured, was a bean bag chair. I needed some bean pellets for some sewing projects. They are very expensive to buy. Now I have more than enough!!!! The kids found some toys and the total amount spent.....$3!!!!!

All washed and drying on the clothesline. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE hanging clothes out to dry!!???;)

Callie found a purse to add to her collection. I don't think she quite knew what it said on the front, but it made me smile.

This is what Seth looked like last weekend before we left for camp. This was after 2 doses of steroids. When he woke up on Saturday morning, one eye was completely swollen shut and the other was almost. By Sunday night, on the medication, he looked almost normal again. He must have got into some sort of poison ivy plant weeding the flower bed for me.

Found some leopard print knit in the weight I use for my running skirts. I couldn't resist buying some and making this up. Now to make a co-ordinating shirt. lol

Callie and I went shopping at JA's on Friday. She had fun picking out another doll clothes pattern. They were just .99 cents last week. She is planning on 'helping' mommy make the denim dress in the lower right-hand corner for her doll, Jenny. She also picked out the pink heart-shaped buttons for the dress. The crayon fabric will be for her first day of Kindergarten dress. She wanted me to take this picture so her Aunt Sarah (in the Philippines) could see what she bought. :)

On Friday, Samuel was invited to a b-day party the following day. Of course, I just had to sew up something for the birthday boy. :) I was shopping at Wal-Mart and found this fun activity pads for Hangman and Tic-Tac-Toe. What kid doesn't love playing those games. I bought them Saturday morning, came home, found some fabric and make this little art case to hold them in. Also sewed up a gift bag to put it all in. I NEVER have wrapping paper or tape in my house, but ALWAYS having plenty of fabric to wrap a gift it.....lol.

I would have loved to have an applique on the front of the case, but time was clicking by FAST!!! The part was at noon....sooooo, I had to make do with just a plain outside. ;(

Samuel, with his gift, all excited to go to the party!!

A close-up of the card Samuel made for Caleb. I thought it made a cute gift tag for the bag. :)

My sister-in-law Teresa also celebrated her birthday on Saturday. We had a fun cook-out with the family and of course, I had to see what kind of fun gift I could give this year. I love giving gifts, this year it was a Hawaiian-themed outfit. I found an orange grass skirt with accessories.

Doesn't Jerry look cute with the grass skirt!! :)

The yummy-looking-3-different-kinds-of-candy-bar-birthday cake!! Can you guess which 3 I used?

We also had tons of fun shopping later that evening trying on all sorts of silly stuff. We ended the evening with a yummy meal at Chipotle.

Happy Birthday, Teresa!!!

Picture overload.....July events so far!

2011-07-13T22:23:00.000-04:00

My June Challenge made on the very LAST day of June. This is a business card holder that will be a stocking stuffer for someone.

The inside...hope she likes it. :) I want to make myself one now.

July 4th. This was a fun day. It started out with a 10 mile bike ride with my brother at 6:30AM. My SIL was so kind to lend me her bike that is MUCH better than mine. I damaged my tailbone on mine and I had problems sitting for weeks. I need to invest in a better bike before I start my professional bike riding career!!!! lol After we biked the trails, we met Duane and my sil for breakfast at Bob Evans. I was STARVED after the early morning exercise!!

Here is Samuel chillin' on the chair....

Somebody's tired......:)

Doing what she does best.....computer work!!!:)

Nathan and I loved this fort when we were growing up. It's still standing in my parents backyard. The grandkids are enjoying it now.

Doesn't Samuel look thrilled to be with a bunch of girls!!!

Playstation 3----no other explanation needed.

A pair of gray culottes for Callie out of some scraps of fabric. I made 3 pairs of gray ones on Wednesday. 1 for her and 2 for friends. This was in between 9 music lessons and studying for kid's club.

The darker pairs of culottes were made on Thursday.

I've been frantically sewing myself more running outfits. My goal is to have 5 different complete sets. So, I don't have to keep washing and wearing the same old thing over and over and over again. :) Here's my second set in grays and red. Please excuse the red face and sweat dripping!! My kids took the picture after I had ran over 2 miles in 90 degree weather on Saturday. Don't think I'll try running in the heat like that again!!! It was brutal!!

I'm really loving how these running skirts are working for me. I no longer have skirt flapping around my legs while running down the road and I feel stylish and comfy. I really wanted to wear this all day long!!!!

I love, love, LOVE the color lime green!!!! I secretly wish for a pair of running shoes in that color, but havn't found any that are right for my feet as of yet. I couldn't wait to get up on Monday and wear this set. I was a tad more motivated to get up at 5:30AM to run when I knew this was waiting for me to put on!! I love this shirt fabric. It is super-thin and was so cool and comfy. I have plenty more, so I might have to sew me another one. I also bought lime green serger thread to match. You might think I'm a bit crazy, but it made me sooooo happy to have lime green thread in my serger!!!
Yep, the hallway is under renovation....excuse the half-finished closet.

This picture doesn't seem to capture the true lime-green of this stripe. Oh well.....

Since my quest in getting up early in the morning and exercising I've been cooking breakfast nearly every day. I am pleased to announce that I have become very good friends with my iron skillet. I have discovered that this thing makes an AWESOME omelet!!!!! Here's one of my creations this week.....egg, spinach, onions, peppers, tomatoes, cheese.....ahhhhhhhhhh.....yummy!!!!

These are 3 egg omelets and I split one with Duane. This skillet/omelet pictures is for the benefit of my brother-in-law!!! Check out how seasoned these things are!!!!! They are loving the daily use!!!! :)

My breakfast plate....half an omelet, 2 slices of turkey bacon, plain yogurt with fresh raspberries and flax seed. Yes, I eat this much each morning and I'm still managing to lose weight!!! I've found that eating a good breakfast helps me not want to snack on things all day.

Simon designed a Lego top that works while I was sewing on Monday.

A short video clip of the top in action.....

More culottes for the teens at youth camp. I managed to sew 11 pairs in 6 days!!!!

My 'knock-off' under armour compression capris. I have one pair of the UA brand that I love. They are sooooo expensive!!! I was delighted when I found fabric at Jo-Ann's just like what UA used. I bought 3 different colors. I managed to make 3 pairs out of the yard and a half cut of navy blue. I still have charcoal and black to sew up. The fabric cost me $4 per yard. I thought that was an AWESOME deal!!! I just used my capris and made a pattern off of them. Now I have 4 pairs to use when I run. No more having to wash over and over each day!!!!

Seth make a base out of Legos today. I just love the kids creating things and using their imaginations

The story of my running shoes.....

My husband bought me a beautiful pair of very nice running shoes for my birthday in April. They were gray and aqua. They were Saucony Grid Flex and sooooo comfy. I LOVED them!!!! I wore them out in just over 2 months!!! On July 1, I was stretching and noticed a hole in the bottom of one!!! I was just sick!! Running shoes are not cheap and the thoughts of having to replace them so soon was not making me very happy. Well, on July 4, after our 10 mile bike ride and meal at Bob Evans, we went in to the Finish Line at the mall in the Dayton area. I showed the guy there what had happened to my shoes. He asked if I still had my receipt. Well, I did, but at home hours away!!! He told me to take it into the store and they should be able to do something about it. I could hardly believe that. Well, I proceeded to try on several different kinds of shoes. He brought me a pair that he that would work. I liked them and gave them a test run around the store. lol He asked if I was ready to buy them. Well, I told him I wished I would have brought the receipt in, but never realized that they would do something like that for me. I never asked for any kind of compensation. He ended up giving me the full price of my old shoes to put toward my new shoes!!!!!!!! I only had to pay $30 for my new running shoes!!!!! I was happy beyond words!!! So far they have been working great for me. Here is a picture of the new shoes. These are Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11th. edition.

Yep, they've been used....see all the dirt!! lol I forgot to take a picture the day I got them.

I played the flute tonight in the Findlay Community Band. There are 80 members. We played selections from Gershwin. It was fun!!

I love this picture. Seth caught the girl next to me mid-breath!!

I love this picture of the band director getting into it!;)

Glad it was over....by the end of the concert I was nearly blind from the setting sun shining right in my face!! Now why didn't I think to wear my sunglasses like that lady? lol

If you made it this far....WOW!!!!! Thanks for reading!!!

Random Happenings from June

2011-07-08T07:04:00.000-04:00

Some men's shorts-turned-skirts for some ladies at church.

My new running skirt that I LOVE!!!! I've had this idea in my head for awhile. I finally sat down own day last month and made it. I was so happy that my first try turned out

Father's Day---Taco Salad

Sunday afternoon on Father's Day I baked 2 pecan pies and with the leftover pie crust made these mini Dutch Apple pies.

Can't believe he can still stand on his head!! This was on Father's Day also. Callie and Simon tried and tried to stand on their heads. If they keep working at it, I'm sure they'll get it down.

Some summer raglan shirts for Duane. I'm loving the bright colors on these shirts!

I just love how they look all finished and folded. I can cross one more thing off of my never-ending sewing list!:)

A mug rug .for my SIL

This was made for a lady at our church. It ties on to her walker.

Made these all in one day. 5 pairs of culottes for Callie that she wore at church camp. They were wonderful for keeping her modest while playing on the playground!! I'll have to say, the light pink ones are forever stained after sliding through the mud!lol

A yummy homemade pizza one night.

My entire running skirt/shirt combo that I sewed. (Skirt shown above a few pictures...don't know HOW my pictures got out of order, but I don't feel like fixing it!! lol) It was funny. I got the skirt made and realized I had no top to really match. I grabbed this striped fabric from my stash and had one made in 30 minutes!! I was so happy running the next morning in my new duds.

Some Astilbe(I think) blooming.

Super-comfy every day knit a-line skirts. These are so fast and easy to whip up.

Samuel showing off his new moma-made pajamas and his new hairtcut. He got a number ONE!!! It was SHORT!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's all for now......loads more to get caught up on, but am running short on time these days!!! More later.....:)

~Callie's 'Tangled inspired' 5th. Birthday~

2011-06-30T13:00:00.002-04:00

Callie's 5th. Birthday fell on a Wednesday. Sooooo.....after a full day of music teaching and Kid's Club, her party started around 9:00PM after church.

Blue jello 'water' with orange slice boats.

Food served up in frying pans!

Cheese and pepperoni boats

Frying Pan Flynn Game

Seth drew the poster for me.

All the cousins

Pascal party blowers for each party guest.

Callie with her gifts.

A tiny Rapuzel doll with accessories.

A beautiful dress from Grandpa and Grandma.

Princess game from Seth.

A pretty card and money for her doll fund. She's saving for an American Girl doll.:)

Pastor Mark trying to give Callie her gift. She hid under the table 'cause she didn't want anyone to see her get the gift. lol It was some more money for her doll fund.

She was pretty happy to see her cake!! The entire family had kept the entire theme/cake a secret.

Can't believe our baby girl is 5!!!

Callie wanted ice cream in her purple-white chocolate covered sugar cone that was on the top of the cake.

This was taken just seconds after I caught her wiping her ice cream covered face on the tablecloth!! Grandpa was howling!!!:)

We had the Tangled movie playing for the kids/grown-ups.:) I do not get into animated movies, but this was one I really liked. I just love a good fairytale.

I sewed this Rapunzel dress for Callie on Tuesday. It was a BIG hit!!! The Rapunzel hair was made out of an entire skein of fluffy, thick yellow yarn.

She flitted around the living room after the party guests had left, singing the song from the movie.

throwing the hair up in the air....

And of course, her doll, Jenny, had to have a matching dress. This, I made up Wednesday afternoon after my music teaching and party preparation was finished.

Jenny's Rapuzel dress.....

A close-up of the bodice. Simon helped cut out the front piece for the dress. It was his idea to sew her doll a new outfit. I didn't think we would have time, but I made it work. :)

Duane and I caught the boys playing with Callie's new Rapunzel toys. :) Just had to get a picture.....lol

This was a super-fun party to put together!!

Ants on a Lily Pad

2011-06-27T11:18:00.000-04:00

In my quest for eating healthier and teaching my children to make wise food/snack choices, Simon came up with this tasty treat. He calls it....

Ants on a Lily Pad!

Very simple to make and oh so yummy! One plain rice cake, a bit of peanut butter spread on top and then raisins(ants) sprinkled over. This has become a requested favorite of the kids.

It's that time again.....Strawberry pickin' time!!!!!

2011-06-18T08:22:00.000-04:00

Friday morning, the kids got up at 6:30AM to go strawberry pickin' with grandpa and mommy. Amazingly enough, they bounced out of bed with smiles on their faces! They were excited!!! On the loooong drive(only 30 minutes), Callie kept asking, "are we almost there?" over and over. Upon our arrival, we were VERY enthusiastically greeting by a young woman frantically waving both arms holding orange flags. It was very obvious where we were to park for there were very few cars there. I'm guessing they'd not had much business yet that morning and were excited to see customers. :) We were told that it was open picking day. We were not assigned a row. We could pick for a little bit here and hop over and pick a little bit it another row if it struck our fancy. Well, you know how the grass always looks greener on the other side. My kids row hopped and row hopped. They were ALWAYS thinking the strawberry looked better in the other row!!!

Samuel checks out all the rows of strawberries as we first walk up to the field.

Discovering strawberries under those leaves.

Starting to get those buckets filled up.

Callie is eyeing the strawberries in the other row. You see, they've always been told to stay in ONE row and pick. Being told, by the people in charge of the patch, that they could pick anywhere was almost too much for them.

Yep, she hopped over to the other side.

Grandpa getting a kick out of Callie all hunkered down trying to find some big, red strawberries.

Look at Callie's head....She's looking at the NEXT row now!!!

Samuel finding some big strawerries.

Now THIS was most interesting. I'm picking away...trying to fill my bucket quickly. I kept hearing a strange noise. I glance over at an elderly woman. It is coming from her direction. I didn't know if maybe her hearing-aid was malfunctioning or if it was something else. You see, she was bent over and let's just say her backside was way up in the air, pointing in our direction. Just face it, when one is seriously picking strawberries.....it's just not a very attractive position. I'm sure I've looked quite interesting myself....Glad I'm the one wielding the camera!!! :) Anyways, my father-in-law told me a boy was blowing on a blade of grass(it was actually a blade of wheat...it was growing amongst the strawberries). He decided to give it a whirl himself. He had learned as a small child and hadn't tried it in years. I was AMAZED at the sound one can get out of a blade of wheat between ones' thumbs!!! I tried it, didn't work for me...:( I had him do it again to get a little video clip to share.

We saw this unusual site on the way to pick strawberries. I asked to stop on the way back home to take pictures. Here is piles upon piles of ground up blacktop!!!

These mountains looked dark and dangerous!

At home, at last, with our 8 buckets of strawberries.

Pink & Purple Overload!!!

2011-06-15T21:19:00.001-04:00

When we moved here YEARS ago.....this was planned to be a guest room with a lighthouse theme. After a year it became a boy nursery with a lighthouse theme. The following year it became a girl nursery still with the lighthouses. Well, we've added pink/purple decorations over the years, but that good ole lighthouse border stayed. Sunday night, I decided it was time to tackle the project I've been putting off. Tearing down that border. You see, we had promised one little 4 year old that for her birthday we'd paint her room in the colors of her choice. Early Monday morning, we piled in the car to buy paint and wallpaper remover. After looking at many shades it was decided (by Callie) that the walls would be Tickled Pink & Windsor Purple. Can I just say that I nearly died when I brushed on the first stroke of that pink paint. I ran for the paint chip card thinking surely the store made a mistake. Nope, it was EXACTLY the shade of the card. Now that is finished it has grown on me. I think I'm beginning to like this pink and purple madness!!! Callie for sure LOVES her new room.....SOoooooooo, without further ado....I give you BEFORE and AFTER pictures of Callie's room transformation.

Her dresser piled sky-high with things. And just take a look at that PILE of stuffed animals.

The AFTER pictures

The dresser is just a little less filled up now.:)

I love her pink/purple robe. I cut this out of a ladies size and made it kid's sized for her.

Laundry basket, hairbows, and check out the greatly decreased pile of stuffed animals/dolls now.

I just LOVE this picture. Seth painstakingly drew and colored this picture as a gift to Callie. He did a fantastic job!!

She's starting her purse collection young!!

Very happy in her new room.

A few more pictures she wanted me to take!!

Thanks for looking! :)

Saturday Sewing & more....

2011-06-04T17:30:00.000-04:00

I dearly love suprises!!!! This was an unexpected gift from a piano student on Thursday. A cute reusable tote bag, sweet note and a gift card to one of my favorite stores in town.....Jo-Ann Fabrics!!!! Of course, I just had to go on Friday and buy some fabric for me. I bought some dressy knit fabric that was 50% off and 5 yards of interfacing to use for loads of other crafty things. I still have a little left of my gift card for another day!!

Here are the 2 skirts I made today for church. I fell in love with the pink, black & white fabric when it first came in stock. But at 12.99 a yard, I wasn't going to buy it. The 50% off sale made it $6.49. Not a bad price for a new skirt!!! The colors are kinda washed out, but both of these skirts are nice and bright for summer. I love the lime green and black print. It practically glows!! lol

Samuel models some summer pj's I made for him on Tuesday.

Samuel spends hours creating things out of legos. Here's something he came up with...

The ship coming in for a landing on his own docking station.

The ship has landed....

Callie's K-4 Graduation

2011-06-02T22:01:00.001-04:00

Callie finished her very last day of K-4 today. YAY!!!!! I wasn't planning on having a graduation for her, but she kept asking me if she was going to get to 'graduate' like her brothers did. We did the Abeka K-4 homeschool program with her this past school year and had to come up with our own graduation ceremony.

She wanted to wear her pink princess dress that I made last year. This worked out perfect!!

I made the graduation hat and tassel up today. It was made out of pink fleece and cotton crochet thread. VERY fast and easy!!!!

Watching for grandpa to come so she can 'graduate'.

And here he is.....

I found Pomp and Circumstance on YouTube and played that while she walked down our hallway into the living room area. Please excuse the 'hallway under renovation project' that's going on right now. We are putting in a new hall closet and new trim/etc.....One of these days, it will be completed!! Oh, and please ignore the very naughty 6 year old that cannot leave his sister alone while she tries to walk down the hallway.....

Simon asked if he could give her her diploma.

With her requested cake. Thank goodness it was an easy decorating job that the kids could do. Earlier she had requested a doll cake. She saw this and wanted it instead.....shooey....got off easy this time. ;)

A gift from her brothers.....a wooden box with an old game boy game that they have outgrown and a sucker.

A beautiful card and money from Miss Angie.

A box of legos from Daddy and Mommy.

Pizza for dinner.

Special blueberry ice cream from Grandpa that was absolutely YUMMY!!! Can you see how big her eyes were? She LOVED this gift!!!!

Finger-lickin' good!!

Daddy helping her build her lego set.

Toads & more......

2011-05-23T23:09:00.000-04:00

One of MANY toads the kids have been 'catching' and playing with in the backyard.

Samuel proudly shows me one of 2 toads he caught today.

One of the rooms in the 'toad house'. Can you see the toads inside?

Samuel and Callie had fun playing outside and finding toads. Here is the entire 'toad house' the kids have built.

Here's what I worked on this evening. Callie was in need of summer nightgowns. I rummaged through my fabric, pulled out the thinnest cotton knits I had and made her three new sets of jammies. These are just super-fast-very-basic jammies. Took me just over an hour to make all these!!!:) I love the orange polka-dots on the purple fabric on the Ooga Booga nightgowns. I just barely eeked out the Care Bears t-shirt out of the last of this fabric.

She was sooooo excited to wear her new lightweight summer jammies tonight!

And just one more silly pose!

Another sewing project I worked on this morning. This was a snowsuit, hat & scarf set for a piano student. This was a motivation/reward for memorizing her recital piece. The snowsuit is black with purple ribbon accents on the sides of the pants and on the jacket. You can't see them in this picture though.:( It was fun to make and she was very happy when I gave it to her at her lesson today.

~Samuel's K-5 Graduation~

2011-05-20T13:08:00.000-04:00

Samuel's K-5 graduation program was on Thursday. Their class did a little skit entitled 'Good News'. All the kids did fantastic. They had a wonderful teacher this year!!!

Samuel and his classmates.

Singing a song together.

I get all choked up every. single. time. I hear the graduation processional. My baby boy graduated from kindergarten already!!!!

Samuel tied with a classmate for the Highest Academic Average Award.

His teacher refered to Samuel as 'her little mathmetician'. He received the award for the Highest grade in Math.

He also received an award for Most Improved Student.

He also received an award for Exemplary Student.

Walking back with all his awards.

My happy K-5 graduate.

Samuel did this little dance when they announced the class of 2011. Way funny!!!!! And he denies doing it!!!!! I even showed him the pictures and he was like, "No way, I didn't do THAT!!!:)

Samuel and his teacher.

The graduate and his family.

We had cake, ice cream and a little gift for Samuel at home after his graduation. He helped bake his cake. It was chocolate cake with reese cups INSIDE the cake and on the top for decoration. It was Samuel's idea to put the reese cups inside the cake!! Turned out yummy!!!

A new Lego set. He couldn't wait to put it together!!

The younger 3 all helping Samuel.

Callie spending time with Grandpa. She was just a bit miffed that the ENTIRE night was all about Samuel. :)

Here's all the cute little video clips from his Graduation.

Mother's Day - Part 2 The Best Meal Ever!!!!

2011-05-10T09:56:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of my Mother's Day meal. On Saturday, I was hit with a brilliant burst of inspiration. Why not go to a favorite Chinese restaurant and buy several sweet-n-sour chicken dinners along with some egg rolls and re-heat after church on Sunday. My dear husband, (who for the record does NOT care for Chinese food) agreed. As soon as church was out on Saturday(we were in revival last weekend), I headed out to the restaurant and bought 4 dinners(they are big enough to split) and 6 egg rolls. It re-heated wonderfully and I even had enough leftovers for my lunch on Monday. Yay!!!!

Now for a FIRST in our household. My sister-in-law had given me a bag full of chopsticks to use for fun with the kids. I decided to break them out on Sunday. Here's Samuel giving it a go....

Callie did quite well right off the bat, but quickly caved in and begged for a fork to finish!!

Duane had 2 servings of sweet-n-sour chicken and ate every. last. bite. with chopsticks!!! I was super-impressed!!!!! :)

This was my father-in-law's first time using chopsticks. he too used ONLY chopsticks for his entire meal!!

Seth tried them out, but caved and got a fork as well!! Oh had for the record.....if there's any chopstick holding/using pros out there....I did not research the proper way to use these. We just dove in and figured it out by trial and error. lol

Simon gives it a go...while Samuel (in the background) uses BOTH hands to make it work!!! This was the best Sunday dinner ever!!! I was happy that everyone was willing to give something new and different a try.

Sorry folks, no picture of me using chopsticks. I will say I did eat my entire meal with chopsticks and was quite good at it by the end of the meal. I also used them to eat my lunch leftovers on Monday. I'm finding is it VERY relaxing to eat with chopsticks. It also makes one greatly appreciate each and every bite that makes its' way into your mouth. :)

Mother's Day - Part 1

2011-05-08T15:03:00.000-04:00

We left before our Sunday morning worship service to pay our respects to a wonderful mother and grandma who is up in Heaven. Callie chose some purple daisies to put on her grandma's grave. This year, the 2 youngest were asking all sorts of questions about burying people. Callie later asked her grandpa how grandma was going to get the flowers we bought for her. I'm sad that Callie never had the privilege of meeting such a wonderful lady who was a blessing to so many. For offeratory this morning, I played one of her favorites, "Make Me a Blessing". As of late, this as become my heart's cry that I be a blessing to those around me. I long for my life to be a reflection of good things. Of peaceful things. Of God's love and mercy and compassion for others around me. My mother-in-law's life was this and more.

It was impossible to get a decent picture outside....:) The combination of the early morning sun and 5 people trying so hard NOT to squint.....well this is the best it got.

We stopped at the bald eagle's nest on the way back.

Aww....no sun in here....No squinting! lol

I had a little girl snap this people of me with the kids inside. Once again....one of the kids was being silly!!! :)

Back at home after service. Callie picked out the pink carnation for me from the Mother's Day gift table.

Upcycling.........

2011-05-08T14:31:00.000-04:00

a white boys turtleneck and 3 ladies t-shirts into......

this dress!!!!

Here's the skirt I used for 'inspiration'. :) I cut out and made Callie's dress on Saturday morning/early afternoon. It's for our special outfits for Mother's Day. I've had my skirt for years, but I'm FINALLY getting around to wearing it!!

Some last minute gifts for Mother's Day at church.

Wheat Therapy Hot/Cold packs. These are peppermint scented.

The table all set up with Mother's Day gifts I made for the ladies at church. It was fun to make all these things. Note...I didn't make the flowers!! :)

Callie modeling her dress on Sunday.

from the side...

and the back......She did have her hair up in a cute bun, but mid-way through the service it came sliding right down.

The dress' lower ruffle being nearly 8 feet in diameter makes for great twirl power!!

around....

and around again!!!!

Making Sugar Scrubs

2011-05-03T18:11:00.000-04:00

This was a first for us. We made several different kinds of sugar scrubs yesterday for Teacher's Appreciation Day and Mother's Day gifts. Simon wanted to help. Here we all with all our ingredients and containers.

Mixing it up and being silly. I told Simon, he could make this up for his girlfriend one day!! :) He looked at me as if I was a crazy woman! lol

A few short minutes later, we had our first batch completed!!

The dark scrub is Brown Sugar-n-Spice Scrub. The white one is Peppermint Glimmer Sugar Scrub. The light brown is Coconut Sugar Scrub. They were fast an easy to make.

Here they are all packaged, labeled and ready to gift.

For those interested in trying this at home...

~PEPPERMINT GLIMMER SUGAR SCRUB~

1 cup oil (I was out of olive oil and used canola)

several drops of peppermint oil (you can find this in the candle/soap making supplies at a craft store)

2 cups white sugar

Mix up and put into an air tight container. To use, simply scoop a teaspoon or so in your hands, scrub in a circular motion on your skin. Let in sit for a few minutes and rinse well. Pat or air dry. Makes your skin feel wonderful!!

~COCONUT SUGAR SCRUB~

1 cup olive oil

2-3 cups of organic cane sugar (if you want a drier sugar scrub use closer to 3 cups. Using 2 cups will produce a more moist scrub)

several drops of coconut oil

Follow the same directions as above. :)

~BROWN SUGAR-n-SPICE SCRUB~

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup organic cane sugar

2 tsp. cinn.

2 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. ginger

1 cup olive oil

Mix and package the same as above.

I also made some using almond oil along with the coconut oil scents. The variations on making these scrubs are endless!!! It also is an easy project for kids to help with. Just remind them NOT TO EAT the scrub!!! :)

Learning the Hard Way....

2011-05-01T23:40:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time there lived a family of 6 in a modest white ~~house~~ castle with two white pillars, a green roof and door. Each and every Sunday, the queen of the castle would prepare a tasty meal for her royal family. The youngest members of the family would eat loudly, forgetting all manners with burping and giggling, and other things.

This distressed the queen so much that one day she made a decree.

"If you don't stop being so silly at the table and forgetting your manners, we shall have a formal dinner and you will have to dress up in your fanciest clothes!!!"

The smallest prince, with a giggle and gleam in his eye kept on doing what he was doing. The eldest boy was laughing so hard that his face turned red as a beet. The King and the Queen and their royal guest sat in silence and gazed in wonder at how silly the princes and princess were acting.

"All right." the queen stated in her firmest, royal voice. "Tomorrow, you shall dress in your finest clothes. The table will be set with the finest china and I shall teach you how to behave at a formal meal."

The two eldest princes, along with the royal guest washed the dishes after dinner. They consulted amongst themselves. They didn't think their queen mother would actually go through with her decree. Much to their suprise and dismay, the next day she set the table with her finest china. Prepared a 4 course meal. She instructed her royal children to dress in their finest. They balked. They whined. They said, "Do we HAVE to!!!" Without further ado, they were all seated at the table. They even had to wait until the princess and the queen was seated before they could sit.

The first course was a simple bowl of Chicken/Potato Soup. The Queen instructed each of her children the proper way to eat a bowl of soup. They were quite distressed to hear that they had to wipe their mouths BEFORE. THEY. TOOK. A. DRINK!!!

Course #2 was a simple salad. They learned which fork was the salad fork.

The main course consisted of mashed potatoes, roast-n-gravy and green beans.

The last course, dessert, was just 2 cookies---snickerdoodle and white chocolate chunk. The queen was quite tired at this point. She had a ton of fine china to wash, dry and put away. But, the 3 princes and 1 princess had learned a lot from this one meal. Behavior around the castle dinner table has much improved since that night.

Sometimes lessons have to be taught the hard way for all involved. This was definitely a 'hands-on' learning experience. :)

Some April Sewing....

2011-05-01T23:05:00.000-04:00

I made this purse set for Samuel's teacher one afternoon. He gave it to her as an Easter gift. She was thrilled to receive an unexpected suprise!! It was fun to make.

The purse had 2 small divided pockets....

.....and a zippered pocket inside.

Samuel made this sweet card for his teacher. This is the inside view.

The front/back cover....

Jenny needed a Sunday dress, so I spent a Saturday afternoon making this for her. Doll clothes are fun make, but take almost as long as big people clothes!! :)

We spent a day in Columbus with the kids during their Spring Break. I have pictures on my cell phone that I need to upload. Anyways, I saw this adorable white shirt in one of the store windows. They had sold out of all the shirts except for the one on display. I came back and found an old t-shirt and some scraps of lace trims and made one for Callie. Here she is modeling it, late at night, chocolate face and all!!! :)

A box of chocolates.....

2011-05-01T21:08:00.000-04:00

....from Dietsch!!!

These are my favorite chocolates here in Findlay. I was treated to a box of hard & chewy pieces(I'm a NO creme girl) a couple of weeks ago.

I let each one of the kids pick their very own special piece of candy from the display. This was a first for all of them!!!

Did I make this box last? Nope!!! I probably ate 1/3 of the box that day!!! Boy, was it yummy!!!!

Samuel picked out a choc. covered pretzel.

Simon picked out a turtle!

Callie picked out a white choc. covered pretzel. Seth also picked out a choc. covered pretzel, but for some reason I didn't get a picture of him.

Thanks a bunch to my brother/sister-in-law for this special treat!!! It was worth EVERY. SINGLE. CALORIE!!!!:)

Silly poses, crazy hair and more!!!

2011-05-01T16:14:00.001-04:00

Just some crazy scenes from April....

I looked up from cutting out something and saw this sight perched behind me and ran for the camera!!!

My daughter was in the hugging mood!!

Don't ya love the wild hair do!!!

I didn't realize just how much lighter Callie's hair was compared to mine, until I saw this picture!! I do think her hair will be longer than mine. She is praying for Jesus to make her hair grow like Rapunzel's!!! I told her she better pray and ask Jesus to help her take care of hair that long. She just looks at me with a smile and says, "Mommy, I'll ask Jesus to help YOU be able to fix my hair!!" *sigh*

Seth tried to get some pictures of a bird's nest in our prize-winning pine tree. :)

11 of the 50 gifts I am making for our church to give to the mothers on Sunday for Mother's Day. I made these on Saturday.

Another bird picture....yep these are out of order....

Simon and Callie wanted Lego shirts. We bought shirts for .49 cents a piece at the Salvation Army. Washed them up and then they got to paint the logo on. Super-cheap Lego shirts!!!

They were very happy to wear their new shirts the next day!!

A kitchen-aid stand mixer cover I was asked to make for someone. I made this reversible and was very
happy with the way it turned out. Now I want to make a reversible one for ME!!! :)

I like to add 'pockets' to the sides for wooden spoons, etc....

The reverse side....

That's all for now!! :)

Signs of Spring!!!

2011-04-27T23:20:00.000-04:00

A bunny spotted in the backyard.....

photos taken by Seth through the living room window.....

The kids have been exciting to see the bunnies hopping in our backyard this past week.

After 3 years these daffodills FINALLY bloomed!! The bulbs were given to me by my dear sister-in-law, Sarah. I was VERY excited to see them bloom last week!!!

My bleeding heart bush. Callie is loving the fact that this bush as hearts for flowers!! She has already been picking them. :)

I tried to take pictures of the different types of tulips that are blooming. It was VERY windy out yesterday and the pictures are blurry, but you get the idea. :)

These purple ones will be blooming soon.

The entire tulip bed......

Easter Sunday!!!

2011-04-27T23:01:00.000-04:00

Easter Sunday, dawned bright and early for us all/ We were all bone-tired, after an event-filled Saturday Easter Truth hunt at the church and a 10 mile walk at the track, but it was worth it to get up extra early on Sunday to attend the sunrise service. That was followed by a breakfast that had us all stuffed to the gills!! Then it was back home to get on our Sunday clothes and arrive back at church for the 10:30AM morning worship service. Here are all the boys in their black suits and Callie in her very first 'momma-made' pink Sunday suit!!! :)

Seth

Simon

Poor Samuel....he still looks half asleep. We were getting tickled for during the service his head kept bobbing back and forth. He was fighting sleep so bad!!!

Yep, Callie is wide awake!!!

After church, we headed to my parents home for Easter dinner. The kids received baskets full of candy from Grandpa and Grandma.

Yes, I'm one of those adults that LOVE getting an Easter basket filled to the brim with candy!!!!

My momma being silly posing with the basket she gave Duane and I.

Went in to get a picture of Duane with the Easter basket of goodies for us and he was asleep. :)

Callie's basket is almost out of candy already!!!

After dinner, I talked my brother into taking a walk with me. Was a fun and FAST 3.5 mile walk around the neighborhood. He's trying to talk me into training for some races now!!! We'll see about that!!!

I'm 33 today!!!!

2011-04-11T23:59:00.000-04:00

Well folks, today I added yet another number to my every-increasing age!! lol I just LOVE birthdays. One never knows what suprises the day may hold!!! Today was made special by a bunch of different people. I thought I'd take a moment to share before bedtime......

First, let's talk about a sweet little night owl in our house. This little STINKER kept me up until 12:30AM!!! So I guess you could say, technically, I started celebrating by staying up very, VERY, VERY late!!!! Well, despite the fact that I went to bed LATE....my alarm still went off at 6:00AM. I forced myself up and out of bed and into my workout clothes. It was off across the street to put in 3 miles of walking with a friend, Angie. She gave me a b-day after we exercised! My first for the day!!!! Then, it was back home to pack Duane's lunch and make sure all the boys remembered everything they were supposed to take to school. Callie was supposed to wake up to start her school work. Duane tried several times. She went back to bed and went to sleep. He put her on the couch. Bang....out like a light AGAIN!!! I tried several times...finally gave up....she was NOT going to wake up!! Man, wish I could sleep like this 'angel' below.....She finally did wake up around 9:30AM and acted as chipper as an early morning bird tweeting merrily in the treetops.

I started doing some cleaning up around the house and received several birthday phone calls. My e-mail inbox was also flooded with FB birthday messages and even a birthday wish on my blog. Amidst all that, I received a birthday wish clear from the Philippines!!!! My dear sister-in-law and brother-in-law(who are missionaries there) called to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me in Ilocano. That was a special treat that brought tears to my eyes. Callie immediately had to sing happy birthday to me....She sang it probably a dozen or more times over the course of the day. Finally I had to record it to share with you.....

There was JUST enough time for a quick shower before heading out to my birthday lunch. My sister-in-law, Tina, had called and wanted to treat me to lunch. I chose a new-to-me restaurant, Chipotle. It was FANTASTIC!!! Super YUMMY!!!! It was a special treat to be able to eat out for lunch and I enjoyed it so much!! My nephews wanted us to ride in their car with them, so we left my van in the parking lot and off we went shopping. A trip to Hobby Lobby yielded no purchases but a deep desire to re-decorate our bedroom in black and white. It's amazing what kind of ideas one gets from seeing a piece of fabric!!! I'm thinking we should probably finish the enormouse hallway/entry project before jumping into the bedroom re-do!! lol I was super-excited with my find at the Goodwill!!! Some dri-fit exercise tops for $3 a piece!!!! YAY!!!!! I would have never thought to look there, but someone had mentioned that idea to me this very morning. Glad I checked! Did a few more errands and it was off to pick the boys up from school and teach 5 lessons. One of my students, my nephew, wrote a sweet birthday message in his staff book for me to see!!! That was extra-special to me. After finishing teaching, I took off on a 2 mile walk. This made 6 total miles for the day. I had a goal of completing 33 miles in the week before my birthday and finished walking that last 6 on my birthday. Gotta walk off some of that birthday food. :)
---------------------------------------------------------------
We enjoyed a spinach/chicken salad for my birthday meal and the kids baked and decorated a cake for me. I posed with the cake...here's what I looked like at the end of the day.....frizzy,wind-blown hair, tired-looking, but happy!!!

I blew out the candles, but didn't eat a crumb. I try to avoid gluten when at all possible. I had to eat some gluten-laden foods over the weekend and have really been feeling icky....so I got away with not having to taste it. :) I did enjoy a big bowl of my favorite ice cream from Deitch's.....Buckeye ice cream is the BEST!!!

A special card from Simon. Can't wait to cash in on this one!!

After dinner, Duane took me out to the mall to buy me a birthday gift. I wanted something exercise related-- shoes, a running jacket or a Garmin(apparantly he looked for one of these for me, but they were not to be found here in our town.) I picked out these new shoes at the Finish Line. I also got some cushy gel inserts.....ahhhhh......they feel dreamy compared to the clearance running shoes I purchased 6 weeks ago. I can't wait to try these out tomorrow morning.

So there you have it, my birthday.....it's off to bed for me!!!

Just Jam......

2011-03-31T21:53:00.001-04:00

My kids LOVE jam!!! We've been out of strawberry jam for quite some time. I decided TODAY was the day to whip up a new batch. Samuel was my helper in the kitchen. He did so good helping me stir the pot WITHOUT STOPPING!!!! It made it so much easier for me to get everything ready. He had fun and loved counting up to 60 when the jam started boiling for the second time.

He wanted me to take a close-up picture of the pot that he was stirring. :)

The finished product, still warm, on a slice of homemade bread....yummy!!

~Easy Strawberry Jam~

*for Carrie*

This is how we made the jam today....

Put 5 cups of thawed strawberries along with the juice in the blender. Turn blender on for just a few seconds to get the lumps out. Put the blended berries in a LARGE stockpot. Add to the berries one box of Sure-Jel and 1/2 tsp. of butter. In a SEPARATE bowl measure 7 cups of sugar and set aside. Over high heat, heat the berries to a rolling boil while stirring CONSTANTLY!!! (A rolling boil is where the berries keep boiling while you are still stirring.) Quickly pour in ALL the sugar while you still stir. Keep stirring until the mixture comes to a rolling boil again. Remove from the heat and pour into prepared jars(see below). Be VERY careful.....the jam is VERY hot!! I have a funnel that I put in the jars that makes it easier to ladle the jam into the jars without burning myself. ;) Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean wet cloth, add seals and rings. Turn jar upside-down for an hour or so. Turn right side up and allow to completely cool. This makes 2 quart-sized jars. You may also use pint-sized or jelly-sized jars but we go through those far too fast!!! :)

HOW TO PREPARE JARS/LIDS/RINGS

Wash jars in hot, soapy water. After you rinse them, pour hot water inside and allow them to sit inside a pan of clean, hot water. Place the lids/rings in hot water as well.

*we also make this same recipe with fresh strawberries when they are in season* If you buy fresh berries from the store or pick your own, just mash up enough berries until you have 5 cups of berries/juice and then follow the rest of the recipe. These berries were fresh-picked berries that we had in the freezer leftover from the last time we picked them. Tip....pick lots of berries and freeze them....they make just as good jam months later as making it up the day you pick them. :) Also, if you can find a local strawberry farm that allows you to pick your own, it's a whole lot cheaper than buying them already picked.

Spring School Picture Day!!!!!

2011-03-23T22:04:00.000-04:00

Once again it was time for Spring School Pictures. I decided to be smart and snap pictures of the kids BEFORE they went to school. So without further ado.....our four kids from youngest to oldest....

This was a requested hair-do AND dress. She specifically asked for an orange dress. She helped paint the flower on it today.

She's being homeschooled this year through Abeka. She is in their K-4 program.

My baby boy is in K-5 at Heritage and loves school! He wanted to wear the shirt I made for him yesterday to school today. He loves me making him clothes to wear.

Simon, my 4th. grader learned a fantastic lesson this past weekend about what is studying for a test and what is NOT studying for a test! Let's just say he worked VERY hard making an A+ on a History test on Tuesday!!

He loves to bake desserts and help cook things!! That's a big help to me!!! He also LOVES to make me breakfast every now and then.

Seth, my firstborn is in 6th. grade. He is a wonderful help to me. Always quick to help out at any job that needs to be done around the house. He has also lost more teeth than the tooth fairy can keep track of in the last month!!!!

There you have it.....the kid's Spring pictures. I'll attempt to try to post more later about what I've been up to lately! :) Thanks for reading and any comments.

Turning your peasant/top pattern into a square-necked nightgown

2011-02-28T13:54:00.001-05:00

Last year I started making these square-necked nightgowns for my daughter. I simply took a Simplicity peasant top pattern and lengthened it to below her knees. Added a ruffle on the bottom and put a square knit neckline in place of the elastic casing the pattern has you do. I was making another one for her today and decided to take some pictures and share the process of making this.

Start out with your favorite peasant dress or top pattern. Sew the sleeves to the front and back. Now you have an ENORMOUS neckline that you need to finish. Ordinarily you would sew a casing at this point and run 1/4 inch elastic through. Not for this cute nightie.....

First measure the front, back and tops of the sleeves. Write these measurements down. My measurements were as follows:

Front---9 inches

Back---10.5 inches

Sleeve tops---8 inches

I added the front measurement to the back 9 + 10.5=19.5

19.5 divided by 2 (you will need a front and back piece) is 9.75

Now take 9.75 x 70%. You want your neck piece small than the actual opening. That number is 6.825. I round this up to 7.5 inches for seam allowance.

Now for the sleeve measure......Take 8 x 70% to come up with 5.60 inches. I rounded that up to 6 inches for the side neck piece.

So after all that measuring and math you now have the dimensions needed for the neckline.

I cut 2 pieces 7.5x3.5 inches for the neck front and back. I also cut 2 pieces 6x3.5 inches for the neck side pieces. You will need to use a stretch knit fabric for the neck band pieces. I used a cotton/lycra rib knit for mine.

Take the neck pieces fold them in half, wrong sides together and iron.

Go back to the cutting board and take a ruler and draw and diagonal line forming a triangle on each end of all the side pieces. The FOLD of the neckpiece is at the TOP of my angled line.

All the pieces cut and ready to sew....

What the neck pieces look like unfolded.

Lay one side neck piece on top of the front/back piece. Pin into place.

Stitch 1/4 inch....pivoting at the crease....

and sewing down the other end....

Sew the other sides together the same way. Remember that the short neck pieces attach to the long neck pieces. :)

Here's the end result.....take it over to your ironing board and flatten out the seams from the wrong side.

One side all ironed....now flip over and do the other side.

Fold the wrong sides together and press. Doesn't that look nice!!!

Now comes the fun part....attaching the neckband to your nightgown. Align the seams of the front neck band to the front seams of the nightgown and pin into place. There will be a lot of extra fabric....don't worry.......

Take it over to your sewing machine or serger...slowly sew/serge the first few stitches....while the needle is DOWN in the fabric....stretch the neckband to fit the fabric and finish sewing/serging in place.

When ending the first side....make sure to move the side fabric out of the way.

The first seam all finished!! Now turn the nightgown around and sew the back neckband on the same way.

Here is the front and back all finished.

Now stretch the neckline to fit the tops of the sleeves. Move the FRONT/BACK fabric OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE you start to sew/serge!!!

Here is the neckband all finished. Now tuck your serger tails in.....

Turn right side out, iron neckline and take a minute to admire your hard work!!!

Finish the rest of the nightgown and try it on a willing model!!

Being silly...

Jumping for joy....

again...

and again....

Where did THAT pose come from???!!!

Finally one a little calmer!! :)

I just love these nightgowns on her!!

~Tutorial for making ruffly pintucks~

2011-02-24T11:42:00.001-05:00

For a long time I've wanted to try this technique on a knit dress for my daughter. I wasn't exactly sure the 'correct' way of doing this or even what it should be called. After seeing a dress like this on Sewing Mamas, I just had to figure out how to do these cool ruffles!!! I dived in and here is the end result. I call these 'ruffly pintucks'. (yes....I know 'ruffly' doesn't exist as a word....but I LOVE the way it sounds....lol) I thought I'd take some pictures and put together a tutorial for how I did this. Hope this helps someone.

1. Set your serger up for a rolled hem. I removed my stitch finger and the left needle. Turned the lower looper to 7, the upper looper to 4, and my right needle to 5. I also turned my stitch length and width to R.

If you don't have a serger, never fear......use a short, narrow zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine. It will work!!! That's what I did before buying a serger.

2. Grab the pattern piece you want to ruffle. I cut mine out about an inch longer than the pattern piece to allow for the tucks. Decide where you want your tucks. Fold up and iron creases.

Here is the ironed sleeve ready to ruffle. I am going to do 2 ruffly pintucks and then lettuce edge the bottom edge.

3. Fold the fabric wrong sides together and start serging along the folded creases that you ironed in your fabric......

....stretch the fabric on both ends as you stretch....see how the edge starts to curl up!!!

YAY!!!! First pintuck all finished!!! Look at all those ruffles!!!

4. Fold the wrong sides together and serge the next pintuck, remembering to stretch from the front and the back as you serge.

Row number 2 all finished!! Isn't that pretty?

5. Now just run the sleeve through one more time.....stretch that fabric!!!

All finished!!! Now here's where I would change it next time.....I'd leave more room on the bottom edge so that the ruffles were spaced more evenly. The bottom hem turned out better as you can see from the top picture.

Here is the dress all completed!! Ruffly sleeves and ruffly hem!!!

It's her 100 day party dress!!! She's happy!!

This will make a super-comfy play dress this summer.

And yes, mom, the dress is too long....but good thing....she's growing taller every day!!! :)

Strawberries, Stripes, Snow, & Scrambled Eggs!!

2011-02-22T16:43:00.000-05:00

Are you tired of pictures of sewing yet!!?? :) Just getting a head start on sewing Callie's Spring/Summer clothes this month. It'll be here before you know it and I want to be out ENJOYING the weather instead of cooped up in front of the sewing machine! All this snow/ice keeping me home is a great motivation for me to stay INSIDE and sew.

Here is the latest addition to her spring/summer clothes. This pattern was originally a shirt. I lengthened it into a dress and added lacing on the sides.

We were looking for a pair of shoes to put on with this dress and she mentioned the ones I had stored up in her closet. I couldn't believe they fit her already!!! She's wearing size 11 now!!! Where did my baby girl go???

She loves it and I love the fit and the way it moves.

Boys inside playing Webkinz on their snow day.

Callie takes a turn playing a preschool computer game and YES she insisted on wearing her new dress today.

UGH...the backyard is FULL of snow AGAIN!!!

I ventured outside to take some snow pictures for a friend that doesn't get to see the snow.

There wasn't a drop of snow yesterday morning...now there's a bunch......*sigh*

Simon made scrambled eggs for me today. He brought it to me on this tray for my breakfast/lunch!! Super yummy AND super-sweet of him!! :)

Flowers, Kitty Cats, & Burgers!!!

2011-02-21T17:49:00.000-05:00

Callie picked out some new patterns for mommy to make....

She LOVES pockets on her clothes!!

This one I did NOT want to sew!!! I nearly died when she specifically wanted the kitty cat pockets!! Oh my stars....did they take FOREVER to make today!! Well worth the look of joy on her face when she put her new jumper on though!!

Can you tell she LOVES the camera!!!

Is this REALLY my daughter!!! lol

AND.......Duane cooked hamburgers in our fireplace last night!!! They were super-YUMMY!!!! They cooked super-FAST too!!! We will definitely do this again!!! That iron skillet is really getting a workout cooking all sorts of things!

441 Men's Quartet

2011-02-20T20:20:00.001-05:00

Some video clips of the 441 Men's Quartet on February 19.

Vintage Girl.....

2011-02-20T14:28:00.001-05:00

I've always loved how all the vintage patterns look, but have never used one to make anything. This week I took the plunge. I started out with a 1972 girls' jacket/coat pattern. Raided my fabric stash and found some lightweight corduroy and moleskin fabric and started cutting.

Three yards of fabric later........

I finally took some time on Saturday and sewed this up!! Here she is on Sunday afternoon wearing it for the first time. :)

The inside is completely lined in a super-soft moleskin fabric.

This coat looks as pretty on the inside as it does on the outside.

pockets...

love these buttons I found...

Aargh!!!!!!!! It's Pirate Spirt Day!

2011-02-15T17:35:00.000-05:00

The kids had a Pirate Themed Spirit Day. I sewed up these 'pirate' shirts for them after dinner last night. Here they are this morning...ready to go! :)

Aargh!!!!

This skit was hilarious.....video clips are below...

The 4th. grade class.

The 6th. grade class.

The following are some clips from a skit that some of the kids did at the Pep Rally today. They were hilarious!!! So glad I recorded it to watch again and again!!
Getting ready to go...shavin'..

Exercisin'...

the banana...

The pudding....and the camera goes wild and turns off....(callie slipped off her seat)
The longest clip..but oh so worth watching!!

The end....

The 'Un-spectacular' Snow Pictures of 2011

2011-02-06T13:34:00.000-05:00

These pictures aren't spectacular....I'm no budding photographer, nor do I have any desire to be....:) Just thought I'd better cease my sewing projects for a short time to record a few photos of our snow. So without further ado...........this is what the area right around our home looks like.....I'll have you know I nearly slid on my fanny out in the road trying to get pictures of the house and plummeted through layers of ice walking around the backyard!!!! It was treacherous!!! lol

Our house.....

Duane having fun plowing the road...

Helping out the neighbors....

hmmmm....wonder who forgot to put on the grill cover!!!!!

View from the back door....

uh....yeah...I fell through the layer of snow/ice/snow!!!

Our Christmas Tree(that was a prize many years ago) gets bigger each year!!!

I love its snow-covered branches.

A short clip of Duane plowing our road....

How we survived our snow/ice week.....

2011-02-05T12:03:00.002-05:00

I LOVED getting snowed/iced in. I don't particularly care for having to go somewhere every. single. day. This was a treat having all the kids home. They got to play their games. Read books. Bake yummy food. The two older boys learned how to make waffles. Seth made them for all the kids for two mornings and Simon brought me breakfast in bed....scrambled eggs, with salami chunks and melted cheese.....YUMMY!!! Then, after hanging up the days load of laundry(I've boycotted using a dryer), it was on to sewing!!!

First up, the robe was upcycled from a larger robe that was given to me. She loves it!! The fleece blanket was made out of fabric she picked out.

Desert camo pj's for Seth....Can ya tell he loves them!! :)

A desert camo shirt was sewed for Samuel, but no picture yet. Still need to paint the applique on it. But, here, at his request is a pair of army undies!! I've made lots of girlie undies, but this was my first pair of boys briefs. I had so much fun making these. Now I just wish I had an adult pattern. :)

Here's what my sewing set-up looked like on Wednesday morning. I'm working on the green camo stuff today and I just HAD to wear my favorite 'army' sweatshirt for my sewing day!!!

Samuel loves to play with my serger spools of thread. He built a base for his lego guys.

Just turn your head sideways for 2 more pairs of army undies for Samuel. He loves these!!

Here I am around lunchtime....almost finished with the days' projects. I'm coverstitching the last hem on Seth's shirt.

The second set of pj's finished!!!

Raglan t-shirts for Duane....

shh.....don't tell him.....he's getting these for valentine's day!! :) Along with some of his favorite peanut m&m's. Now I need to make a gift for each of the kiddos.

Both shirts, neatly folded and ready for gift-wrapping.

A new tunic pattern I tried out last night for Callie. I love how comfy this top is. This will be great for summer. Please excuse the Dora pj bottoms. We will wear a flowing white skirt with this top....

She doesn't even need to be asked to posed....she just does it!!!

a view of the back.....

This might make you hungry!!

2011-01-31T10:46:00.000-05:00

I enjoy cooking, but sometimes I get in the rut of fixing the same old things over and over again. This week, I was in the mood to try many different meals. Here are just some of the new things made last week.....

A deep-dish pizza. This was the first time using the big cast iron skillet Duane gave me for Christmas for making a pizza. It was yummy!! The best thing....it was gluten-free!!! I could eat it with no guilt or ill effects. :)

I LOVE pineapples and was absolutely thrilled to pieces when Kroger had them on sale for just $1 each! I snagged 3 and we made.....

smoothies with pineapple chunks. Samuel helped me out....

You NEVER want the lid to fly off an 'in-motion' blender!!!

Drinking the leftovers straight from the pitcher!! :)

Samuel made up some s'mores on his day off from school. His grandparents came him a s'more making gift bag as one of his b-day gifts.

Parmesan-Herb Twists

These are all in the freezer awaiting meals to go with them.

Cinnamon-Sugar Twists

These were a BIG hit with the kids.

Callie showing them off.

Donut making on Sunday afternoon.

The boys helping decorate the chocolate-glazed ones.

All the donuts ready to go to church for after service fellowship.

These were so much fun to make and oh so easy.

Powdered-sugar donuts are always so pretty!!

My children have informed me that we are NEVER buying store-bought donuts again!!! My son, Simon, wants me to teach him how to make them so he can make them for his wife one day if she doesn't know how to!! I thought that was funny but sweet. :) Simon does love to help out in the kitchen.

A little girl, just up from her afternoon nap, enjoys a still-warm fresh donut.

A dress fit for a Princess!!!

2011-01-19T22:26:00.000-05:00

I was fortunate enough to be a tester for a new pattern coming out from Katydid Creations LLC. Yesterday, we rummaged through the clearance fabric at Jo-Ann's and found this beautiful princess fabric at 50% off the 50% off sale price!! Can't beat a bargain like that. So, $10 and a few hours later, this dress came off the sewing table. Callie was dancing with glee when she FINALLY got to put it on!!

I don't even want to go into how many yards the bottom ruffle of this dress is!!!!

Can you tell she LOVES it?

A view from the back.

....from the side....

A silly pose.

And the twirling begins.....

This was a super-fun and rewarding dress to sew for Callie today.

A Party, 4 Pastors and some Pizza!

2011-01-18T10:21:00.002-05:00

A cake was baked and decorated....

balloons and streamers were hung in anticipation....

of a special 6 year olds birthday party!!!!

Gifts were unwrapped.....

The long-awaited gift from his BIG brothers, Seth and Simon.....a Ben 10 ship.....was an ENORMOUS hit!!!

Opening up a gift from one of the four 'pastors' Samuel invited.

~Hot Wheel car and candy~

Opening up cards from relatives and friends.

Card and money from another pastor.

Awwww....he got a $1!!!!! That made his day!!!!

The birthday boy with his siblings....

the honored guests....

more guests....Daddy, Youth Pastor, Music Pastor, Children's Pastor & Music Pastor's wife.

I guess this is a good time to explain why all the pastor's were at a 6 year old's b-day party. Why because he invited them!!! All by himself. I was told after church last Sunday, that Samuel was going around inviting people to his party. He had counted up all the chairs we had and had figured out exactly how many were left for guests. It was too cute. I watched from a distance as he went around to all the Pastor's and invited them to share in his special day!!! They all came and enjoyed pizza, cake & ice cream with Samuel. He answered the door when each guest arrived and enthusiastically welcomed them to his party. (Oh, and I should mention that I found out he told everyone they could bring a card with either a $1 or $10 bill inside!!! I died laughing when I heard that. Only a cute little 6 year old could get away with that!)

The birthday boy with his cake and candle.

Blowin' out that candle!!!

Everyone singing "Happy Birthday". Watch for the eye-roll!!!!

Samuel's cool Ben 10 ship.

The party guests get attacked!!!

Boys will be boys....

We worked hard today!!!

The birthday boy with his gifts from Daddy and Mommy. A turtle to sleep with(that's exactly what he wanted) and a Bible Storybook. And, I LOVE this book and the cd's. We listened to 2 stories last night and they were absolutely captivating!!! The kid's were begging for another!

He's a bit tired now....

One last smile before bedtime...

Remembering....a year ago

2011-01-12T23:26:00.000-05:00

Today was a remembering of what happened a year ago. Here are a few disjointed thoughts/feelings from that time.

One year ago tonight, I was in a helicopter with my eldest son being life-flighted to another hospital. I was scared. Numb. Praying. Full of questions. You see, just a few hours before, I was mixing up cookies and cooking candy. Life was good. The boys were out sledding with daddy. Callie and I were enjoying the quietness of a girls-only night!! 30 minutes later, a phone changed all that. Coats and shoes were thrown on. I ran out into the dark and snowy night waiting for a ride to the hospital. I knew nothing other than my oldest son was hurt. At the hospital, sights and sounds awaited me like I've never experienced before. I barely recognized the boy laying on the table in the emergency room. It was evident that they were lifeflighting him immediately. I insisted on going with him. Miraculously, I was allowed. (I was told later that is a rarity.) The 15 minute flight seemed like it took hours. I still didn't know what was wrong with our son. They had him paralyzed and intubated. I counted and prayed in between breaths. At times it seemed as if they had stopped breathing for him and I wondered if he was gone. I was scared!! I thought of all the times I'd been short or inpatient with him. I wondered if I would ever get a chance to be his mommy again. I prayed some more. Others were praying. We arrived. A blanket was wrapped around me and a life flight bear was thrust into my hands. I'll not forget that long walk from the helicopter pad into the brightly lit hallways of the hospital. There were lines of people just standing. Watching. Waiting. What were they thinking? Did they know about our son arriving? These were just some of the thoughts that flashed through my brain. In the emergency room, Seth was immediately surrounded by teams of doctors, nurses, technicians. At one point I counted over a dozen people surrounding him. A white board was placed close to where I was standing. It had 12 year old boy written on it. My first thought was, his name is Seth and he's only 11! A man slipped in the room and handed me glass of water. He was the chaplain. I'd never really thought about what a chaplain's role in a hospital was until then. You see, my mom is a chaplain one day a week in a hospital. Was this what she does. Sees. How does one go to work day in and day out and be around things like this? I was grateful, that he had came to work that night. That he was there. I did not know him or even remember his name now, but I thank God for sending him my way. I was all alone at that time. I was shown to a waiting room. I made a few phone calls. More prayers went up from others as they found out. I'm so grateful for God's people that pray. Anytime. All the time. For people they don't even know. It makes a difference.

A long night was ahead. Our pastor drove up with my husband. I was glad he came. He prayed with us. Listened to us. We found out that Seth had fractured his cheekbone, broken his lower jawbone and had some slight bleeding on the brain. They couldn't evaluate other injuries until they brought him out of the medically induced coma. They couldn't tell us if he would be the same Seth when he woke up. But then again, are any of us the same after a crisis like this? Not much sleep was to be had on the hard, cold hospital chairs in Seth's room. We lay there listening to the machine breathing for Seth. Listening to the monitors beep. Holding him down when he fought to get up. At one point it took 5 of us to get him back down. That was heart-breaking. Hours and hours later.....they FINALLY took out his breathing tube. He was still very out of it. Once a doctor okayed his neck, the neck brace came off. He seemed much happier then. Then it was down to surgery. They were able to pop the jawbone very easily into place. Then his mouth had to be wired shut. Finally 2 days after he arrived in the hospital we were heading home. It was wonderful to be back home!!! But that brought along a whole new set of challenges. For instance, Seth had to learn how to eat with a syringe. Someone had brought us a wonderful Sunday meal of lasagna and all the side dishes. We decided to puree lasagna. So, NOT a good idea!!! The syringe exploded and I ended up wearing more lasagna then Seth had in his mouth!!! Then, Seth had to learn how to communicate with his mouth wired shut. That was frustrating for all around at first. We gradually got used to it and before he got his wires off, he was quit fluent at the 'wired shut' language!!! I could write for hours more of the many experiences we had, but need to get on with our happy celebration evening part of the blog post. :) I do want to say I'm so VERY grateful to all those that brought in food for us, gifts for Seth, cards and the many, MANY prayers that went up for our family. It meant so much to us then and still does now.

~A Celebration of being Alive and the Power of Prayer~

God works in mysterious ways.....He sent a big snow storm into town yesterday and church was cancelled tonight. We were able to enjoy a relaxing evening together as a family. It started with a giant cookie pie. Baked in my Christmas present. An ENORMOUS cast iron skillet. This thing has been well-used already in the very short time I've had it!!!

Fresh from the oven......can you smell it?

~Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie A la mode~

Followed by a rousing game of Lego World Explorer. This was a fun and LOUD game. You should've saw/heard us all cheering our little Lego cars on!!! This was a Christmas gift to the kids from us and the first time playing it.

Samuel wanted his picture taken with the game.

Guess who the winner was? Callie!!!!! Can you tell she's just a little excited!!!

He didn't look this good a year ago! We thank God for sparing his life. I'm excited to see what God has planned for him in the future.

Not to be outdone by his brother getting a picture taken with his life flight bear....Simon insisted on a picture with his stuffed turtle, Pookie.

After the game, the kids snuggled in blankets on the couch and we watched a Christmas movie together. They got to bed much later than usual (in fact, one little boy fell asleep on the couch), but we all enjoyed our family night together. Evenings where we all can truly relax, have been few and far between lately.