Ho Ho Ho!

Whew!  I can check this off "Mommy's List."   I completed the "going to see Santa" outfits just in time for our vistit to see Santa on Saturday.  That's two things accomplished...  I ordered our Christmas cards (using this picture), so there is another check for Mommy!  I have to remind myself of what I have accomplished so I don't get too overwhelmed over the things that still need to be done...  soooooo much to do......  I just wish my "to do" list was shorter than my "completed" list!

"Big Kid"

My baby boy will be 2 years old on Sunday!!! It is so hard to believe...

I decided I would make a backpack for him...although, technically, it will serve as a diaper bag until we can ditch the diapers. Unfortunately, I don't think Jack is going to be potty trained in the very near future. His favorite answer when I ask him if he would like to use the potty is, "Ummmmm, Nope!" Oh well, for now, he can carry his diapers, wipes, etc. in "Big Boy" style. Jack will be a big brother in February, so if he can help Mommy out by carrying his backpack, that would be great!

Doesn't he look like a "big" kid with that little backpack?

Bible Character Dress Up Day

I am very much behind in my blogging! I have lots of things to post, but it's been a little crazy around here. Aidan had a confirmed case of the H1N1 flu, and Hannah had a suspected case, although they told us not to even bring her in. Jack has been sick too, but I think he has something totally different. Anyway, I need to make t-shirts for the kids that say, "I Survived the Swine Flu!" They recovered quickly, and I am thankful for that. Seth and I did not catch it...thankful for that too!

In October, Aidan's preschool class had "Bible Character Dress Up Day." The children had to choose their favorite Bible character. Aidan loves the story of David and Goliath, so he was David. I actually made his costume last year when the church did the same them one night. I am eternally grateful that the coustume still fit this year, because I really have had no time to make a new one! If you look closely, you will see the authentic looking sling that my talented husband, Seth made! He's quite crafty too!

When I took Aidan to preschool, Jack was very excited to be with Aidan in his classroom. It's very hard to take pictures of your preschooler and make sure your toddler doesn't run off down the hall! Once Jack saw the camera, he popped right up next to Aidan and said, "CHEESE!" So, that is why he is standing next to "David." I couldn't resist this cute pair of brothers!

Oh, Happy Day!

My daughter, Hannah, was baptized this past Sunday! My camera card was full, and I did not realize it. So, I quickly deleted what I could and managed to catch a quick picture of her after she came up out of the water. Thankfully, the picture turned out very well!



For her special day, I decided to make her a tote bag to carry her Bible. I found this very cute embroidery pattern on http://www.swakembroidery.com/. The only applique is the skirt, and the rest is left blank. I really wanted the ruby to be red, so I used fabric markers and colored it in. After that, I decided to color the girl's hair and shirt too. I really like how it turned out, and most importantly, Hannah loved it!

Here is a close-up of the embroidery...

It was a very special day for our family!

My Grandmother's Bag

August 31st was my grandmother's birthday, and I wanted to make her something special. I may call her "Granny," but she sure doesn't fit the stereotype! I won't tell you her age, but I'll tell you mine...I'm 36, and my "Granny" has often been mistaken to be my mother. She looks very young for her age and can still wear me out on a shopping trip any day! So, I thought my "cutesie" Granny needed something cute for one of her shopping trips, and this is what I came up with....



I monogrammed it for her...

and gave her pockets (including one for her cell phone) and plenty of room on the inside...

I loved how this turned out. It's a sunglasses/ eyeglasses holder. The pattern for this can be found on http://www.swakembroidery.com/.

All finished! I am very happy that she loved it!

SOLD!!!

I have made plenty of gifts, but I've never had an actual paying customer...(Although, I did have a lady at Dollywood offer to buy the diaper bag I made for Jack...right off Seth's shoulder! We were out of town, though, and I didn't know how I was going to tote diapers and stuff around for the remainder of our trip.) The diaper bag below was for a new baby granddaughter named, "Mallory." It is a messenger style bag, just like the style I made for my son. It's nice because no matter how full it gets, the flap keeps everything covered up. I was nervous making something for a person that would actually be paying me for it, but I think it turned out rather nice...




a close-up of the embroidery...

Now, I'm off to make my grandmother's birthday gift...

Who Knew?!

Who knew you could make bread without kneading it?! Now, that I know it is possible to make bread without having to do much more than mix the ingredients, I will be making it more often!

I found this cookbook on Amazon.com, and I thought I would give it a try. The "No Kneading" method of making bread actually works! The name of the book is Kneadlessly Simple by Nancy Baggett, and it is full of a huge variety of bread recipes...all of which do not require kneading. I started with the most basic...white bread. Here is a picture of the dough after its "first rise." I then plopped it into two bread pans and let it rise a second time.




Here they are after baking, and I did it without a bread machine. :)

I believe that there is a sample recipe on Nancy Baggett's website. She also has a blog called Nancy Bagget's Kitchenlane, and I have it listed on my blogroll. Go bake some bread! You will love the way your house smells while it is baking!

Recipe Swap Thursday

I tried these cookies at a friends house, and it was all I could do to not eat every single cookie on the plate!!! She gave me this wonderful cookie recipe...

Butter Brickle Cookies

Butter Pecan cake mix

3/4 stick of butter, melted

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

3/4 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup vanilla/white morsels

3/4 cup Heath "bits of brickle" (toffee bits)

Mix all well. Drop on cookie sheet with a melon ball or large tablespoon. Bake for 9-13 minutes on 350*. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet. YUM!!!

Yipppeeee!!! I Won!!!!

Last night before going to bed, I checked my email....and guess what?! My little strawberry outfit that I shared a few days ago was featured in the http://www.swakembroidery.com/ newsletter! It was chosen to be featured in the "I Made This" spotlight of the week, so I get a free design and a spot in the newsletter! Yippppeee!!!!

If you have an embroidery machine, you need to sign up for this newletter because they will give you a bunch of free designs. You will also get tons of ideas and free projects in each newsletter!

Why Do I Procrastinate?

I have no idea why I wait until the last minute to complete a project... Maybe I work better under pressure.



Teacher Appreciation Day is tomorrow, and this bag is for Hannah's 1st grade teacher. I have known what I was going to make for her for about a week now, but this was a new pattern ("The Reversible Tote Bag" from YCMT.com), and I had not tried it before. I guess that would have been all the more reason to start this project sooner! Oh well, I got it done! ...but it is now 12:38 a.m., and I better go to sleep while I still have the option!

Little Boy Blue

I love this romper pattern!!! I have made so many already, and when it was cold, I made the long pant version. They are so cute for church. I made this for Jack to wear in his pictures, but I can't ever get him to stop bruising his head so that I can take him to have them done!!! He fell off the couch the other night and hit the coffee table. OUCH! Thankfully, we are still using an old table (donated from my parents when Seth and I first got married), and it does not have sharp corners. It is made from bamboo, so it is not as hard on the head as it could be. I think that is why we are still using it. Every child I have seems to want to test it out on their head! Anyway, since I am still waiting on Jack's head to be "bruise-free," I thought he might as well go ahead and wear his new outfit to church.

It is almost impossible to take a good picture of a toddler! I was singing at this point, so Jack started dancing! At least he is happy... You will notice Aidan in the background wanting to be in the picure! I was trying to get Jack to look out the window (at nothing), so Aidan was saying, "I want to see!"

At this point, my sweet little boy was feeling left out. He started saying, "Hey, Mama...I'm four years old!" I couldn't resist a picture of that...Scooby Doo tattoo and all!

Then my oldest was even willing to show a little love toward her brother for a picture! Sibling Rivalry!!! Aidan looks a little unsure about the whole thing. They are all three soooooo different, but they each add something special and unique to our family.

A Girl Has to Have Something Special to Wear...

Last Sunday, Hannah informed me that she had nothing special to wear that would match her red "Sparks" vest for the Awana awards at our church. Hannah has a closet full of clothes, so I decided to take a look. Well, she was right! Everything was either mostly pink, or another soft pastel (her favorite colors). So, what is a mommy to do??? Make a new outfit of course! However, I only had a couple of hours, so it had to be pretty easy and quick. I decided to use a new tutorial pattern that I downloaded from "Oliver + S" called "The Lazy Day Skirt." It uses a ribbon trim for the hem and is simple but cute! It can be made in any length.

I wanted to dress it up a little, so I added the strawberry vine embroidery that I got from my favorite embroidery website, http://www.swakembroidery.com/. This added some more of the red that we needed, and "cutesied" it up for Hannah.

....a couple of berries appliqued to a t-shirt, and Voila! Hannah has something new, cute, and red to wear with her vest! Notice that I had to add just a touch of pink! She was very happy, and she looked very cute when she walked across the stage to receive her medal! ...a proud mama moment!