Random Happenings from June

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.....:)

Ants on a Lily Pad

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. 

Learning the Hard Way....

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. :)



Flowers, Kitty Cats, & Burgers!!!

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!

This might make you hungry!!

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.

Pass the PURPLE potatoes.please!!

Yes, you're reading and SEEING right!  We had purple potatoes at our supper table.  Actually they're called 'blue' potatoes, but they look purple to me!!!  My father-in-law bought some at the farm where he gets potatoes for us and passed some on for me to fix.  They tasted just like regular white/yellow potatoes except for the vibrant color!!!  Callie LOVED them and requested seconds and THIRDS.  Can you tell her favorite color is purple?  Simon did NOT want to eat them but did.  The other kids ate them without fuss.  It was kinda neat having such a pretty color on our plates at supper!! 

Sensational Sunday Shots!!

Sunday meals are big, full of noise & usually involve kids doing silly things.  Today was no exception!!!  After a delicious roast, mashed potatoes & gravy, carrots & corn on the cob, we enjoyed some banana splits for dessert.  Grandpa even made a special trip last night to the grocery store to buy some bananas for our dessert!! :)  We all had our plates piled sky high and we enjoyed every last bite of our tasty treat!

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Just had to take this picture of my FIL with his plate piled with goodies!  I was teasing him about the fact that he had more dessert on his plate than the food he ate earlier! :)  Actually, ALL of our plates were filled to the brim with ice cream, fruit, whipped cream, nuts & choc. sauce!!!

Samuel show off just how big his mouth is!!

Callie shows off for ANYONE!!!

Check out my gorgeous sewing machine in the background along with the PILES of fabric that are waiting to be sewn up!!

Did I mention that she JUST had a shower right before dinner!!!

Her brothers get to laughing at her antics, which just makes her sillier!!! :)

Now....off to take an afternoon nap....

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

~Eating by Candlelight~

I've given up (put aside for now) a great deal of things but, my one luxury for dinner is to light candles.  I have 2 brass candlesticks(a wedding gift from Duane) that have candles lit every meal.  Callie & Samuel each get to blow one out when dinner is over.  Seth or Simon usually light them for me.  For some reason, just that simple thing, lighting of the candles, makes me relax and enjoy the meal more. Even if it's only hot dogs and mac-n-cheese!! :) Silly, I know.....

Callie decided she wanted her own candle lit for lunch.  I pulled out a class votive holder and gave Callie her candle.  Here she is enjoying her Taco Salad lunch on Tuesday. 

Samuel, after seeing his sisters' candle, insisted that he have his OWN candle lit.  Back again to the china cabinet I went.  Rummage around and found another brass holder(another wedding gift from Duane).  Put a candle in it and he was happy!  Yes, I realize he's wearing a Christams shirt, but I let him.  He'll outgrow long before next Christmas, and he might as well get some more use out of that Ooga Booga shirt I made him!:)

Here they both are, enjoying their taco salads and their lit candles!  They've insisted on candles everyday this week for lunch, don't know what I'm going to do when I take them out for lunch at Wendy's today!!!