More Sewing

Over the weekend I finished the curtains for Brooke's room. I'm so happy with how they turned out. I love the bows at the top. I just have a few more things to finish up in her room and it will be done. Then I'll need to move on to Nate's room.

Today I made a skirt/skort for Brookie. She looks adorable in it!! If I can ever get out to a store, I'm going to get a white shirt and put an applique on it. The last time I was out, I couldn't find one that I liked in her size. This skirt was made out of an old t-shirt of mine that was still in good shape. I wasn't able to get a good close up picture of it.


I do realize that her shirt does not match. :-)

The patterns for the curtains and skirt came from Ashley at Lil Blue Boo. Her tutorials and ideas are amazing.

I'm having so much fun with all my projects!

Snow!!

We love it! Unfortunately for the first big snow we got this winter, Brooke and Nathan both had high fevers for at least 7 days. I also had a cold. So Lenny and Dominic were the only one's able to get out and enjoy it. It was right before Christmas and we got 20 inches. Yes! I loved it but was sad that we all couldn't enjoy it.

So when we got this last snow storm, I was making sure that we all could get out and play. We did! I took the kids out Saturday after lunch and they had a blast. Then when Dominic got home from work, he took them out again for some sled and inner tube riding. They loved it and it was fun watching them. I think Dominic was a little tired after walking the sleds back up our hill.

Then on Sunday, Dominic took them back out again for a few hours. I didn't think they were ever coming back in. They were having loads of fun.

Here are a few pictures from their time outside with me.

I wasn't even off the deck yet and the kids were at the other side of the house making snow angels. It was cute!


Throwing snow at mommy.
Here is Lenny making some yummy no bake cookies.



And, we are supposed to get more snow tonight and another big storm this weekend. You know where we'll be.

What I've Been Up To

For the past few months, I have been getting back in to things I really enjoy--sewing and crafting. I've had a little more time now with Brooke and Nathan in preschool for three days a week. The only problem is that my project list keeps growing bigger by the day and at this rate I don't think I'll ever get to the end of it. I've found so many neat things that I want to do and make.

For Christmas, I decided to make some gifts. One gift that I was most excited about completing was a quilt that I started for my mom 13 years ago. Yes, you did read that right. I cut the pieces for it and then put it away for about five years. At that time, I finally sewed it together and then put it away for another five years. When I was pregnant with Brooke and Nathan, I picked it up again and started doing the hand quilting on it. About a month before they were born, I gave up again. So when I knew that Brooke and Nathan would be going to preschool, I was determined to finally finish that quilt. I had told mom about it years ago and shown her a few glimpses of it. She's been asking me for it for years. I don't think she was expecting to get it for Christmas this year.

I'm not exactly sure about the size but I think it is queen sized. All of the quilting on it is hand sewn. I told mom that she better keep it because if I become famous some day it might be worth something. There will never be another quilt made by me. It's definitely a one and only.


When I was finished with it, I didn't know what to do. It had consumed a few hours a day of my life for over a month. At that point, I decided to take on some other fun projects.

I had been planning to make a chair tent for the kids for a while. I had an old white sheet set that I planned on using to make it. I finally got around to tie dying it and then making the tent. It's huge inside. Brooke and Nathan can stand straight up in it. Notice the heart shape tie dye. :-)


I made these pillows for my nieces and nephew.


I made this word cloud for my sister. I typed up a bunch of words that remind me of my sis and then put them into the word cloud.


I was having a difficult time deciding what to give Lenny's teacher this year. I wanted to find something different and personalized. After making my sister's word cloud, I came up with the idea of making one for Lenny's teacher with sight words in it. I was very proud of this one too.


Some things I made but forgot to take a picture. I made some handkerchief purses for Brooke and all three of my nieces. I also made some fleece scarves for all of them. I made candy cane flavored marshmallows from scratch and included hot chocolate for some gifts. That was really neat and fun. I could have kept going but I ran out of time before Christmas. I was having a blast.

The kids made some salt dough ornaments this year to give to both of their Grandma's and to Aunt Kristi. They even cut out the shapes and painted them. We all had a good time with it. I loved watching them.



They also made some applesauce ornaments that smell like cinnamon. Lenny gave those to his teachers and bus driver along with some other goodies.

Just the other day I finished the crayon keepers for the kids that I've been wanting to make for a while. I was especially excited because Kristi gave them all scented crayons for Christmas that they've been wanting to use. I wouldn't let them use them until I finished these.

I used the tutorial at Skip to my Lou. I did not use the cord stop or ribbon that she used. I decided to use a button so that it would hopefully be easier for the kids. I was able to find cute little crayon buttons.


Lenny loves frogs and loves to read. Mom and I were so excited to find this fabric that has frogs all over it and says "Reading is 'toad' ally cool" and "Leap into Learning". Okay, maybe it's a toad and not a frog. Oh well.

Nathan was so excited about his Cars themed crayon keeper.


They all three love them and think it is cool to roll it and unroll it. It's been much easier keeping all the crayons on the table and not the floor now too.

Needless to say, we've been pretty busy being crafty around our house lately. I'm anxious to see how long this lasts. I was very excited to get two gift cards for Joann Fabric for my birthday.

From the Mouth of Three Year Olds

It's funny to hear things come out of your kid's mouths and then realize that they are definitely little sponges. Brooke and Nathan each have new phrases that they use and I know who they got them from. If something doesn't work for Nathan or I tell him no. He will say, "Oh, gosh darn it". Brooke's favorite thing to say these days is "Oh my goodness". I don't realize how much I say these things until I hear them repeated a lot.

Christmas 2009

At last, pictures from Christmas.

Picking out the perfect tree. It used to take us about an hour to pick that perfect tree. We've gotten so good at it anymore that it only takes a few minutes to find "the one". We've also realized that the tree always looks the same no matter what shape or size it is. I guess it all depends on how you decorate it.

Here are the kids peeking around the trees.



Our 8 foot tree. I think it is the biggest one that we have ever gotten. That's another thing too. Not only does it take us a shorter amount of time to choose the tree but somehow the tree seems to get bigger each year.


The only pictures we got of Lenny putting the star on the tree are on Dominic's video camera and I have no idea how to download those or where to find them if Dominic already did it. Oh well.

On Christmas eve, we went to church. After getting home, the kids put the reindeer food outside to make sure that they didn't miss our house. They got the food at the Christmas party with Santa. Thanks Bridgette!

Dominic made dinner that night and it was a favorite of everyone's--shrimp. After dinner the kids were able to open one present--and surprise--it was a pair of pajamas. After changing into their pajamas, I read The Night Before Christmas to them.

Ready for bed.


But wait! Everyone is asleep and we forgot to put out milk and cookies for Santa. Oh no. No need to fear, mommy took care of it and got them out just in time. I even put a little sugar on the plate for the reindeer.


Lenny woke up at 6 Christmas morning. We talked him in to staying in bed at least until about 6:30. Then we let him wake up Brooke and Nathan. Once he told them it was Christmas morning, it didn't take them long to get out of bed.

Santa left them an easel.

This year, they barely looked at their stockings and went straight to the presents. Eventually the stockings were opened and enjoyed.



It didn't take long for Nathan to start eating his Christmas tree lollipop from his stocking.


Lenny taking a look at his ant farm.


Brooke LOVES her vanity that Santa brought for her. She constantly sits in it to look at her hair. She also got lots of princess clothes and jewelery that she puts on and then looks at in her vanity. Such a girly girl. Until she turns around and smacks her brothers for bothering her.


I don't know what Lenny is showing us in this picture. Check out that huge mess in the background. Geesh!


Brooke all dressed up for the day.


The kids still talk about Christmas and want to know when it will be here again. They really enjoyed it.

From the Mouth of a Three Year Old

When Nathan is talking about something that happened in the past he always says "last year". It doesn't matter if it just happened yesterday. He will say, "I played with that last year." Dominic noted that when the New Year came along, Nathan would finally be right.

Is Christmas Really Over?

First, I would like to say: Yes, you are reading a new post from me. Hard to believe I know. One of my goals this year is to stop neglecting my blog. Aunt Peggy, your note on the Christmas card helped push this goal to the top. Sorry that I have gotten so far behind.

It's hard to believe that Christmas has been here and gone. It always seems to go so fast and I wonder if I took the time to enjoy every minute of it. Looking back, I think that I did. The kids had a lot of fun helping to decorate the house this year. Lenny has become such a big help. Brooke and Nathan still need a lot of supervising otherwise I'm not sure what would happen to my nice decorations.

We also added an artificial tree for the kids to decorate in their playroom this year. They really enjoyed it and made some cute ornaments for it. This is one tree that I allowed them to redecorate a few times. It helped keep them away from the big tree. Not completely, but some.


Party With Santa Claus

Two of my friends, Tracy and Bridgette, and I planned a fun party with Santa Claus this year. We each invited two families so we ended up with a total of 9 families at the party. There were crafts, activities, food, and a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. The kids were so excited to get a special invitation in the mail from Santa. He even knew a lot about each of them and what they wanted for Christmas. At the party, Santa had a gift for each of them as well--a book. They were so excited.

Here are a few pictures from the party.

I made reindeer sandwiches and was very happy that a few people enjoyed them enough to ask what was in them. Thank goodness they started by saying that they were good. Just turkey and vegetable cream cheese.



Making a gingerbread man game. All three of them liked this craft.


Brooke and Nathan playing the bean bag toss game.


Making reindeer cookies. This is one craft that I brought for the party. When we got home, they all had fun making the left over cookies and eating them just as fast.


Nathan and Daddy.

Me with Brooke and Nathan making the coolest Cookie plate for Santa. (Took this picture from Tracy's blog. Thanks!)


Lenny's friend Elizabeth. So cute.
Brooke and Daddy.

Lenny and his best buddy, David.
Santa and Mrs. Claus





After we left, I realized that we didn't get a picture of me and Dominic together or a family picture with Santa. I was so bummed about that. Didn't even think about it at the time. Lenny then took this picture of me and Dominic.
The party was so much fun and I'm sure we will plan it again next year.

My friend Tracy also has a wonderful post and pictures from the party on her blog.


We had a wonderful Christmas as well. This year though I didn't take near as many pictures. I decided to just sit back and enjoy it instead of worrying about the camera. Tomorrow I'll post the ones that I did take.