Love You Mucho

Sunday School Teachers

2011-05-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

We are appreciating our Sunday School
teachers and helpers tomorrow.

Have you heard of Wordle?

The kids have been working
the entire year
on learning a song
with all the books of the Bible.

Let me tell you,
they rock it!

So I put all the books into Wordle,
played around a bit,
and came up with a few choices.

Books of the Bible I:

Books of the Bible II:

Books of the Bible III:

I think it's gorgeous as art,
but it's practically a puzzle
because I can't help
but start to look
for the books in order!

My biggest tip would be to put a ~ where you want the words to link together.
For example, I put "1st~2nd~Chronicles"
and it came out "1st 2nd Chronicles"

Have fun!
Feel free to copy these if you're interested.

Teacher Appreciation

2011-05-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

I agreed to head up
Teacher Appreciation Week
again this year.
I love doing it.
I love our teachers.
Our school is the perfect school for us.

Have you discovered picnik yet?
LOVE it.
Like really love it.

I used it to make this subway art for the teachers.

It could not have been easier!

I googled "gray background image"
and uploaded that to picnik.

Then I edited the image to a perfect 4x6 size.

Next I added all the words
and played with their fonts and colors.

I used some obvious words for appreciation
but I also included words unique to our school
to make it really special and personalized.
Our school has dual-immersion, so I included "thank you" and "gracias."
I included our school motto "safe, responsible, respectful"
We have an incentive program where the kids collect "gotcha's"
I even thought about doing individual prints
for each of the teachers
that had their own name on it.

Then I remembered I have four kids.

:o)

This was easy and fun.
I will definitely do it again!
Go try it!

Somewhat of a Catch-up & The Post about Dr Pepper

2011-03-10T14:01:00.000-08:00

How can I talk about Christmas and Easter in the same post?
Because I'm BEHIND.

Christmas was great.
Made lots of gifts,
didn't take pictures of most of them.
WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Oh well.

We did our annual
cram-everyone-into-the-photobooth
picture.

Love it!

Don't know how much longer we'll all fit!

In other news....

Lent started yesterday.
I gave up pop.
Actually, I'm trying to decide if I gave up pop
or just Dr Pepper.
But all pop is the greater sacrifice
so that's probably what it should be
and OH MY, I'm having a hard time!
I'm shocked. Is it possible to go through pop withdrawal?
This is crazy.

But then I found this post
that talks about going without a different luxury
for one month at a time and instead giving the money for water.

This month's challenge is coffee. I like coffee but it's no big deal for me to give it up. Dr Pepper..... there you go! I bet I spend close to $20/month on Dr Pepper! That same $20 could buy water for 20 people for 20 years. Um, yes, SIGN ME UP FOR THAT!

I can choose to sacrifice for one month so that others can have water for 20 years.

And then can we pause for a moment
to consider the privilege of my life
that giving up Dr Pepper
is my "sacrifice"?

If you are interested,
here is the post that got me thinking.
They are building wells in Liberia, West Africa
through charity:water.

Handwarmer Tutorial

2010-11-17T22:27:00.000-08:00

This Mom-Of-Four thing is killin' me.
And I mean that figuratively,
of course.

My craft time is close to extinct these days
but my mamatime is through the roof.
Through. The. Roof. I tell ya.

So hang tight.
I'm planning on a homemade Christmas.
I've got the materials
now I need the time.

Here are some handwarmers
that I whipped up
out of necessity
during One's soccer season.

Cut four pieces of fabric (mine are 4x5)
I did two cotton and two something-fuzzy

Put front and back pieces right sides together
and stitch around all four sides
leaving a hole for turning

Turn inside out and stitch around outside again
still leaving the hole open (this time for filling)

Fill (I filled mine with rice) and sew opening shut.

(I will probably fill with something bigger than rice next time.
Maybe lentils? I'm hoping they might hold the heat longer.)

That's it!
I used scrap fabric.
It took about 10 minutes.
Super easy and would make a great gift
for teachers or any number of other people.

Just microwave and enjoy!

Sunday Drive

2010-10-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday

2010-09-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

After One's first soccer game
where they "didn't keep score":

but we won, 5-1.
:o)

Two's Crafty Gift

2010-08-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

A crafty girl needs a crafty gift!
And at 5yrs old, it needed to be "big girl".
I picked out an embroidery hoop
and loosely woven embroidery fabric
needles, needle threader, and needle holder,
embroidery thread in her favorite colors,
and her own pair of craft scissors

and packaged it in a cute carrying case.

It was a total hit!!!

She loved it and very much appreciated
what a big deal it was to get real crafting materials.
She's already asking for a sewing machine!

Two's Birthday Party

2010-08-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

Two had a ballet party this year.
Her friends wore dance clothes to the party
and I hired a teen from our church
to come as "a real ballerina"
and teach them all a dance.

They had so much fun!

They even put on a performance at the end.

For party favors, I made each girl
a monogrammed bag.
The bags were $1 each from Joann's
and a quick test told me I could not applique
directly to the bag, (the bag totally melted!)
so instead I ironed on the letter to some coordinating fabric
and then hand-stitched that fabric to the bag.

Although in all honestly, they weren't all done
when guests started arriving,
so several of the moms helped me
tack the fabric onto the bags!
ha! What're friends for?!?
I think they turned out really cute!

Wordless Wednesday: Fun Times in MuchoLand

2010-08-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Not Quite One Million Pillowcases

2010-08-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

These are my pillowcases
for CraftHope's Project 9.

Not even close to one million,
but if everyone pitches in...
Three pillowcases is
three more than zero!

There was a special request
to remember boys and teens.
These flew together,
took me 30 minutes tops for all three.

Sew a few yourself, would you?

For more info on CraftHope Project 9, click here.
Find where to send pillowcases
to your local ConKerr Cancer chapter, here.

Air Show Sunday

2010-08-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

DaddyMan took the big kids to the airshow.
He managed to get one (yes, only one)
picture of them.

One *loved* it.
Two thought it was boring.
When Three got home,
he would point to the jet pictures
and then point to ears and say "loud"
and then look for ear plugs in my ears.
(Don't worry, they all wore ear plugs.
I definitely want to make sure they can hear me
when they are teenagers. :o) )

I stayed home with this cutie.

Master Muffin Mix

2010-08-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I found this site

that looked like Muffin Heaven!

A Master Muffin Mix
with just about every option possible
for add-ins to make different muffins.

Lemon poppy seed muffins? You betcha!
Cranberry orange muffins? Yes!
(Those will run you a few bucks each at Dutch Bros!)

But wait! There's more!

Peanut butter banana muffins?
Kisses and Hugs muffins?
Seriously???

Here are the ingredients:
(oops, plus sugar - I used splenda...)

Warning: If you are going to make these,
you will need a BIG bowl!

(Two, with my biggest Tupperware, a 32 Cup bowl!)

We made the lemon muffins this first time around.

Pretty sure something with chocolate will be next!

I don't want to step on any toes,
so head on over here for the recipe
and let me know which one you try first!

Helping Hands

2010-08-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

I thought this was so cute,
Three "helping" One tie his shoes

What's for lunch?

2010-08-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

Whatever you're taking for lunch,
why not take it in a cute
reusable snack/lunch bag?

You'll need:
fabric
clear vinyl
sew-on velcro

To make this sandwich bag
I cut my fabric approx 7 inches x 14 inches
and also some clear vinyl the same size.

1 - Sew fabric and vinyl together
right sides together
leaving a hole for turning

2 - Turn inside out

3 - Sew on velcro -
fuzzy velcro on vinyl side of one end
scratchy velcro on fabric side of the other end

I opted for the fuzzy side to be on top
and the scratchy side to be on the lower outside piece
(look at the picture above)
so it wouldn't scratch any hands
reaching into the bag.
That's also why I chose to do
a fold-over type bag
as opposed to a ziploc style.

So now that I've completely confused you...

4 - Sew up the sides of the bag

5 - Pack your lunch and enjoy
all the nice comments you'll receive!

To make a snack size bag,
cut your fabric approx 7 inches x 10 inches

Sunday

2010-08-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

It happened slowly.

Four sleeps with us.

Then the other morning,
Three crawled in.
Then One.
Then Two....

Then Mama got the camera:

Anyone else feel like singing
"There were four in the bed
and the little one said,
roll over, roll over!
So they all roll over
(what? without any fighting or whining?)
and one fell out...

We're getting back in the swing of things.

Little belly's are healing:

Little girls are growing up
and having birthdays:

We're having fun in the sun:

And crafty things are in the works!

Check out CraftHope's latest project here,
pillowcases for your local little ones with cancer.
I committed to make at least two,
maybe you could too?

Catch Up

2010-07-19T00:17:00.000-07:00

Just checking in from a blogging break.

We've been doing lots of hanging out.

Playing in the sprinklers:

Getting our entire floors replaced:

Turning 3 mos old:

Taking youth groups to the Lion King:

Notice the smile on my face?
This is me before they told me
I had to have a ticket for Four as well.

Seriously.

(Don't worry, they comped it.)

Then this one gave us quite the health scare:

(He has taken to drawing on his face....markers, lipstick, sunscreen....you name it.)

He's now scheduled for kidney surgery this week.
Ironically, so is our neighbor.
Same day, same hospital.

So the blogging break is going to continue
because my babies come first!

Happy Summer!

Sunday

2010-07-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

I'm loving this Sunday Picture:

The lighting is not the best
but I'm thinking Four must have received
the memo on the whole
One-Kid-Must-Be-Crying/Not Looking/Etc.
She is crying her lungs off
and the other three are tuning it out
and smiling their best smiles!

Cracks me up!

Happy 4th!

2010-07-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

My favorite kids (at our local parade):

My favorite 4th of July parade float:

Gotta love it.

Room to Sew

2010-06-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what's in here?

Surprise!

(The fishbowl behind my machine is where I put my scraps.)

I love it!

There's no craft room for me.
And that's okay.
But I did need some designated space
because fabric was ending up everywhere!
In the hall closet,
in a box in my bedroom,
on the bookshelf next to my sewing machine....

I saw this tv hutch at goodwill
and knew it would be perfect
for a "sewing room".

And once I organized everything,
it looked so clean
I wanted to sit right down
and sew something!

Of course I didn't,
because at that point
it was 1am
and I have a baby
that tends to get up at 4am to eat
so that would have been crazy
but still...

In the bottom left cabinet
there are clear boxes for storage
designated for:
1) notions,
2 ) fabric already designated for projects,
3 ) huge batting scraps,
a basket of fat quarters,
and a basket of patterns:

The bottom right cabinet has the foot pedal
and a trash bag for scraps.

There's even a shelf where I can store
stacks of fabric for easy viewing:

(It kinda looks like there's room for more fabric!)
(ps, I should do a post on how I fold my fabric. Is that nerdy?)

And when I'm done,
I can close the doors up,
and there you go!

Hurray!

Not your mama's salad dressing!

2010-06-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

I am doing what I can to raise
independent children.
I don't want my sons' wives
to complain that they didn't learn
to cook or clean up or do laundry...
(like I do....ahem....moving on)

Have I even mentioned that One
is an early bird?
Like 6am and he's ready to go?
Even on the weekends?

Well, I try to tell all my children
that they are my favorite,
but at 6am?
If you wake me up at 6am on a Saturday,
you are definitely not my favorite.

So we've gotten into the habit
of turning to PBS before we go to bed
so that One can turn on the TV in the morning
to something I don't have to worry about.
And now that he can -and loves- to read,
the early mornings can be filled
without any help from mama.

Until he gets this crazy notion
that he's hungry.

What's up with that?

Enter this little miracle:

It's not salad dressing gone bad...
it's an empty salad dressing bottle
filled with milk!!!

So now we store the cereal
down below the cabinets,
and even a few bowls too,
so that One can make
his own cereal in the morning.

Two has started doing it too.
She feels so grown up
getting to pour her own milk!

It's been such a great thing!
I can sleep past 6am,
One can be my favorite again,
Two feels independent...

Everybody wins!

Sunday & Four's Baptism

2010-06-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

Our church does the baptism
as part of the children's sermon:

All of my kids have worn my grandad's,
their great-grandad's, baptismal gown.

It's at least 100 years old
and made from the thinnest muslim
with lace and hand-embroidered daisies.
It's actually a dress and a lining
and has the eensiest little shell buttons in the back.

Love sentimental stuff like that.
None of my cousins wanted it
for their children.
I think they might be a bit crazy
but I really can't complain because
I am so happy to have it for my own babies.

Four did so good during the baptism,
she didn't cry and she even had
her very own hallelujah moment:

Love it!

It's a cinch!

2010-06-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

I needed a gift for a little superhero
who is turning 5 this weekend.
I decided to make a cinch bag
mostly using this tutorial from Martha
and some spiderman fabric from my stash.

First, I cut a 14-1/2" x 32" piece of fabric
and folded in the short ends 1/4 inch
and then another inch to make the tubes
for the drawstring:

Sew up your sides, but
stop before you get to the tubes!
You can also sew in short loops of ribbon
at the bottom for later.
(See Martha's tutorial or my picture at the bottom)

Then I cut letters of the superhero's name
out of interfacing
b a c k w a r d s
(remember that part)
(I do it wrong first everytime)
and ironed them onto some
coordinating fabric:

Cut out the letters and
sew them onto some black fabric:

I had red thread in my machine
and white thread in my bobbin...
something was definitely wrong with my tension
but in this instance,
I actually really like the outcome.

Cut two lengths of nylon cord - 50 inches
(heat seal the edges so they don't fray)
and slid them through the tubes at the top:

And knot them through the loops you sewed
into the bottom of the side seams
because you were too cheap
to fork out $22 for a grommet punch!

And there you have it!
A super-fun, personalized gift
for a superhero!

Father's Day Sunday

2010-06-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Going crazy

2010-06-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

I love crazy quilts.
They seem so scrappy
and fancy
at the same time.

Since Four is such an urpy baby
-something I've never had-
I ended up making some
crazy quilt burp cloths.

Even better, I only used fabric
from my scrap stash!

I love it!

I also made another one
with scraps of my crazy quilt scraps:

What do you think?

Summertime....

2010-06-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

Today was One's last day of school!
It's incredible to me that he'll
be a 2nd grader!
Part of me is sad,
part of my is so excited!
He's my handful
and I keep thinking it'll get easier
when he figures out this whole
growing up thing.

Like, mom's in charge,
I don't always get my way....
that kind of thing.

So I was all fine with picking him up
on the last day of school.
Wasn't really planning on getting emotional.

Until I saw this:

All of the teachers and staff lining up to wave
good-bye to the students.

The kids were hanging out of buses
yelling good-bye to their favorite teachers,
the buses were going super slow
to give the kids time for that one last goodbye,
beeping their horns in celebration.
It was so moving.

One's teacher even came back from maternity leave
with her 2 week old baby so she could be there:

That got me bawling.
I love my kids' school!

Then here comes my boy:

(With the crossing guard/recess duty/who-knows-what-else guy, Jesse, whom he adores.)

Waving to his mama.

And oh my, it hit me...

My boy is growing up!

Because I might need it one day

2010-06-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

I love my kids!

Sunday

2010-06-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

DaddyMan ran a Half-Marathon this weekend:

21 mos

2010-06-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

Look at my cute boy:

He just happens to be 21 mos old today!

Money Math

2010-06-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

We made money jars back at this post.
The only problem was
none of us ever knew how much money they had
and let's face it,
Mom's not the best at remembering
to give them their allowance.

So we counted up the money,
-it made a great math lesson-

and created a ledger for them to keep track
of the balance:

(Yes, I paid One to wash our windows. 25 cents a window...what a bargain!)

I love that it was:
1) fun
2) math
3) life skills
all in one!

Two Months

2010-06-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

Look who's two month's old!

Time must be flying!

At two months, Four:
*smiles occasionally
*wears size 1-2 diapers
*is not really loving the binkie
*looks like she might be a thumb sucker
*generally wakes up only once at night
*still has brown hair (hurray!)

Flower Girl

2010-06-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

I made this cute little outfit
for a little girl who was turning 4.

Two picked out the shirt
and the fabric was a find from the remnant bin
of Joann's Tutti Fruitie line!

Hurray!

I cut out one of the larger flowers
from the skirt fabric
and appliqued it onto the t-shirt
with some green fabric from my stash
to create a coordinating outfit.

I also used my hem foot to make the skirt hem!

It turned out nice but let me tell you,
I felt like I was doing it wrong
the entire time!

I found several tutorials that showed you
how to sew with the hem foot,
but none showed you how to start
sewing with a hem foot!
So that part was a disaster
and when I sewed the sides together
I just left that part out!

Dandelions

2010-06-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

...in their fluffy white puffball stage
are not lollipops.

Having older sibs
(and plenty of dandelions in the backyard)
I just figured Three knew that.
But I handed him one
and he just popped that sucker
right in his mouth!

Apparently, they don't taste good.
Poor guy.

Life happens!

Wolf Sunday

2010-06-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

One became a Wolf
in Cub Scouts this weekend.

He's having a great time
and we're so proud!

Beaded Serving Spoons

2010-06-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

Have you seen these at the craft fairs?

I think they are gorgeous
and I knew I could make them for cheaper
than I could buy them.

I used:
20 gauge wire ($2)
thrifted spoons (50 cents each)
bead collections from Joann's ($2-4 each)

I used the tutorial found here.
They came together so easily!
Two picked out which bead we used
and also strung them on the wire.

(Not only are the beautiful serving pieces,
apparently they are also great
to accessorize that perfect outfit!)

These would make excellent gifts!
If I can bear to part with them,
they might be headed to One's teacher
for Teacher Appreciation!

Memorial Weekend Friends & Crafts

2010-06-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

We had wonderful friends come visit
over Memorial Day Weekend.
Our children's god-parents.
Their children are the closest thing
our children will ever get to cousins.
We loved having them here.
But six kids, three days....
We needed some plans!

So we roasted marshmallows:

Had a huge sleepover:

(Yes, that's 5 out of 6 kids down there on the floor!)

Played outside:

Went to the park:

Ate outside:

(Our dog thought it was her lucky day! All those food-dropping-kids at one table!)

And of course, crafted!
I went for double duty.
One day we painted small flower pots,
the next day we planted flowers in them!

So now, even though we live far apart,
we can grow our flowers "together".

Here is Three's traced hand and Two's princess
(how happy was I about that request?!?):

ps. I'm going to spray them with some
clear coat spray paint
so they can endure a life outside.

By the way, these little pots
would make great gifts for the grandparents!

Sunday & Two's Graduation

2010-06-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

So here's my pic for Sunday
and yes, I know it's Tuesday.
Oh well!

But Two had her preschool graduation!

I could hardly get a picture of her
before we left because she
was so excited to get to school!

There was a little program:

(Thank goodness for my short little kids,
they always get to be in front!)

She said good-bye to friends:

And we even got a great family picture!
Gran should be a photograher,
this was her one and only picture!

Picking Two up from preschool for the last time
was a little bittersweet.
She's one of the youngest in her grade
and the opportunity is there
to hold her back one year.
But I would be holding her back for me;
she is ready and so excited
for kindergarten.

Little Two,
my preschool grad.

The One Hour (ie-Three Day) Tote

2010-05-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

I've had this bag, a basic tote,

on my to-do list for awhile:

(pic from sewmamasew)

The tutorial looked easy,
you can find it here.

Well, come to find out,
the tutorial is from the sister
of a girl I know!
As soon as I found that out,
I had to make it right away.

Okay, confession time:
What should take about an hour
took me three days.
Want to know why it took "only" three days?
Because Four took an insanely
long nap today! Hurray!

I made mine with home dec fabric
I had on hand from
the remnant bin at Joann's:

and decided to line it as well:

Then I decided the floral
looked a little granny
so I turned it inside out
and like it so much better:

There you have it!
If you're looking to make a bag,
it's a great pattern.

You could also
fill it with some fun things
and make it a gift!

Morning News

2010-05-26T14:26:00.001-07:00

So on the morning news today
I heard that today is the
100 yr birthday of the modern bra.

Random.

But speaking of bras,
I did take my favorite one
and turn it into a nursing bra.

It's been the best thing!
Here's the tutorial I used.

You just might want to try it!

Sunday

2010-05-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

What?!?
It's not Sunday?
Well, life is a little slower these days
and I was super late getting a Sunday pic
and then no one could agree on
who got to hold Four sooooo.......

Why not a little Musical Four? :o)

One's turn:

Three's turn:

Two's turn:

And of course:

Check back soon!
I actually have a craft in the works!
*gasp*

Four: One Month Old

2010-05-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been
one month already!

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

If your kid doesn't want to be in the picture,
just gather everyone together behind them
and take the picture anyway...

Hey, at least they're all in the picture!

Happy Mother's Day!

Testing, Testing

2010-05-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

We spent the day with Gran today.
It was her 18th birthday, according to Two.
Her 102nd, according to One.

We picked up $1 sundaes at Sonic
and headed to a park for some memories.

When we got there,
they were testing a new
water feature!

Gotta love it.
No one at the park was dressed for it.
It was barely 70 degrees outside.
But who was going to say no?

A sister encouraged.

A big brother taught.

And all were soaked by the end.

Good times!

Ruffle Baby Hat

2010-05-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

I made this little ruffle hat
using GraceViolet's tutorial:

Super cute but needed something more:

How cute it this?!?

It's got that cute boutique look but...
it's bigger than her head!

Bummer, I don't know why I'm so surprised.

I think I'll take the flower off
and put a cute little bow on it instead.

Recital Costume

2010-05-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Two got to try on her recital costume.
It was adorable!!!

(It's actually sleeveless
she was just wearing a long-sleeved
leotard that day.)

100% adorable!

Bath Time

2010-04-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

Four did not love her first bath.

But the big kids were thrilled to be there!
They pulled up chairs to watch
and made sure all body parts got washed.

3 out of 4 were happy.....not bad!

Big SEVEN

2010-04-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

One turned seven!

He had a great group of friends over
for a let's-play-sports party.

Mom made jerseys and we started the party
with a "draft". Here's the official team photo:

They huddled....
and then spoke super loud:

One picked where we went for dinner,
Chang's Mongolian Grill:

Even Great-Grandpa came!

Happy Birthday One!

Four on a Sunday...

2010-04-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

Before & After

2010-04-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Before:

After:

#4 has arrived!
8lbs - 19 3/4"

Crochet Beanies

2010-04-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

The crocheting has continued!
Of course, it continued with me thinking
I didn't need a pattern
which is why this youtube tutorial
turned my next hat not into a baby hat
but this:

Which you know is a real hit
when even your baby brother
wants to wear it:

On my next attempt,
I actually stuck to a real pattern,
a free pdf download from YouCanMakeThis
and shockingly enough
I actually ended up with a baby-size hat!

Who knew?

ps. Tomorrow,
this hat will be on Four!!!

Pipe Cleaner Rings

2010-04-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

I saw these cute pipe cleaner flower rings
over on Martha Stewart.

They were so cute
and came together in a flash.
The tutorial is here.

Kids loved them!
They'd be great party favors!

#4 Quilt

2010-04-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

#4 actually has her very own quilt!

Completed and waiting for her arrival!

I cut 4" squares from all the leftover fabric
from the paintbox quilt-along quilt
and put them in rainbow order.
Initially I mixed them all up
but the whole thing looked a mess.
I love love love the rainbow order!!!

The back is just some fun
multi-colored fabric.

I had my quilter use a sweet butterfly pattern:

And the quilt already has kid approval!

I actually have so many scraps left over
that I'm tempted to make
a much larger version of this quilt.
Have I mentioned how much I love color?
Or how much I can't wait to meet Four?!?

Big Sisters

2010-04-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

Warning!
If your baby has a big sister
then when you get out of the shower
you might find this:

Love it!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

Super early Easter morning:(One was up and dressed by 6:20am....ugh.)

Ready for church:

Trying to get our annual Easter picture
in front this pretty bush at Gran's house:
(Love the look on One's face! This would be the winner
if it weren't for DaddyMan on the move....)

It gets better though,
DaddyMan gave me permission to share this one:
(DaddyMan's look just cracks me up! What was he doing?!?)

Call me crazy but I actually really love this one:

Keeping it real people!
It's just plain hard
to get a good picture of all of us
together!

But check out these cuties:

Happy Easter!

Gratuitous Egg Dying Post

2010-04-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

Watching the colors fizz:

Photo Opp for Mom (they really dressed for the occasion!):

Waiting:

Ready to decorate:

Finished Scary Monster Easter Eggs:

Egg Salad Sandwiches for dinner tomorrow!

A girl blanket

2010-04-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

I made a blanket for baby #4
using this self-binding blanket tutorial.

It was easy
but I wasn't perfectly successful.
Possibly because I never
got up from my sewing machine
to actually smooth out all the angles
and, instead, just sort of winged it.

But still, I'm happy with how it turned out.
I love the color combo and the minky,
(although the minky was horrible to sew with).

It's the first thing I ended up sewing
for my own baby girl
and it has got me so excited!

Red Roses

2010-03-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

I made this rose barrette
-in red of course-
using this tutorial and free pattern

from purl bee.

As Two would say,
it was "easy peasy".
And definitely a success
considering she wanted to wear it
the rest of the day.

Quilt for Three

2010-03-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

I had a quilt started for Three
before he was ever born.
Considering he's 18 mos old,
I figured it was a good time to finish it.

I ended up adding borders of brown fabric
to make it what I think it a good size
(approx 40"x60")
and there you have it:

I even cheated on the binding
and went with rag quilt edges:

Hide and Seek

2010-03-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before how Three likes to put things in odd places.

Here's a bouncy ball in our pasta drainer:

Can you find Thomas?

I looked all over for Three's milk cup one day,
only for it to be discovered the next day
....in the toy box.

Yes, well, seeing as how he has a tendency to put things in odd places, it's probably not a good idea to give him anything of importance. Yet DaddyMan willingly handed over his glasses.

And then didn't watch him.

And then couldn't see when it came time
to find the glasses that Three, of course,
took off with.

Any guesses on how long it took
to find them here?

Yeah, I'm guessing DaddyMan won't be
handing over his glasses
anytime soon.

Life Happens!

Sunday

2010-03-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Red Baby Gift

2010-03-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

Two's best preschool bud's mama
just had baby girl #3.
She already has all things pink,
tons of clothes, etc but I happen to know
that mama's favorite color is RED
and I have really never seen her
with any red baby gear
so rather than buy her something
sensible, like diapers,
I'm sticking with the homemade route
and went for some RED!

Here's a red burp cloth:

Some red and pink baby legs
using this tutorial:
(Target has a ton of cute knee high socks for $2 each that are just perfect for these!)

Some red fabric sewed onto a 3x5 card
made for a super-fast, super-cute card:

Wrapped it all up cute with a red ribbon:

And had a seriously cute RED baby gift
that cost me under $5
but made up for it in personalized
homemade goodness!

Mama was so excited about it.
She goes, "Did you know red's my favorite color?!?"
Uh, yeah, I had an idea.

I love giving homemade!

Laundry

2010-03-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

Actual conversation:

Me: Didn't you wear that shirt yesterday?

One: Yeah.

Me: Don't you have clean clothes in your drawer?

One: Yeah.

Me: Well why did you wear this shirt again?

One: Cuz I like it.

Sunday

2010-03-21T22:36:00.001-07:00

Burp Cloth & Onesie

2010-03-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

I bought a package of cloth diapers
awhile back at the resale store.
They were brand new and quite a steal.
I'm not getting into cloth diapering
but I'd seen them turned into some super cute
burp cloths in blog land.

Here's my version:

I used some leftover fabric from this pillowcase
and the letter and yellow circle fabric are leftover
from this cute birthday shirt.
It's the ultimate "green" gift!

Here's a close-up of the letter:

I cut slits in the edge of the yellow fabric
so that it will fray with washing.

I also embellished a onesie
with ribbon and some fabric circles
from my scrap pile:

I love it!
Considering I have yet
to actually make anything
for my own baby girl coming soon,
I'm tempted to keep it,
but this is my friends'
first baby girl
and it's so fun to help load her up
with such girly cuteness!

Three's Stocking in Black & White

2010-03-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

More prepping for Three's Stocking:

Green and more Green

2010-03-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

No pinching occurred in our family today!
Although Two told me that she pinched
DaddyMan this morning....
even though he was wearing green....

Here's the green crew
plus One's best bud:

Yesterday's skirt turned out pretty cute!
Two's teachers said they were waiting
to see what she would wear today.
Not sure if that's a comment on the fact
that I often let her dress herself
or the fact that we go a little crazy
with theme-dress days. Hmmm.

So another craft that was
St Patty's appropriate totally on accident
(thanks to some scrap yarn)....

I learned to crochet!
From somebody's Aunt Esther.
Doesn't that name make her
sound immediately competent?
Anyway, youtube had many how-to videos
but if you're wanting to learn how to crochet,
you have to check out Aunt Esther!
It was a breeze and by the end of her videos
you can chain stitch, double stitch, half double stitch
and basically go crazy!

After a few attempts at each style,
I'm going for it with this beanie hat pattern.
It's gauged for a teen/young adult
but I used a smaller crochet hook
hoping for a smaller size
and let's face it,
also because that's the size crochet hook I had.

Anyway, it's looking too big for an infant
so at this point this hat belongs to
Whoever It Fits When I'm Done With It.
But it does actually look like a hat
so for my first attempt
(at least so far)
I'm calling it a success!

St Patrick's Day

2010-03-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

Two came home from school
worried about having to wear green
or you'll get punched!

You better watch out for those Baptists!
(She goes to a Baptist preschool.)
I've always heard it as "pinched"
so I don't know if she heard it wrong
or if they really said punched
but either way,
I can't pass up a chance
to give my Baptist friends
a hard time.

Moving on...

I hate to admit it
but I used to own
a pair of green lounge pants.

So when wearing something green
suddenly became super important to Two
I gladly pulled my green pants
out of the goodwill bag
and chopped them up
to make this cute skirt:

And ruffled the edges using this tutorial:

The whole thing took about 5 min
and Two should escape any
pinches or punches that come her way.
Safety first!

Poor Dolly

2010-03-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Two: Hey Mom, look what I found!!!

Me: What?!

Two: My dolly's head!

Yup! Just a normal conversation
in the Mucho household!

Sunday

2010-03-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

I love this scrunched up look
of Three's on-purpose smile!

And One wanted me to take a picture
of him holding the basketball just like this:

It's a magical Sunday!
It's the first time Three willingly
got into a sibling shot!

He might not be looking
but they are all smiling!
That makes it a winner!

Easter Prep

2010-03-12T13:11:00.000-08:00

I made this felt flower to go in
Two's hair for Easter:

It was super easy!
The directions and template are here.

It's going on a headband
but I couldn't wait to show it off.
Here it is with her Easter dress:

Super cute!

18 mos

2010-03-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

Three is officially 1 - 1/2 today!

At 18 mos, you:
*weigh 21 lbs
*can run
*saying new words like bottom and bonk
*especially like to bonk your head and then say "bonk"
*play peekaboo with everyone now, even strangers
*love calling for your sister by name
*are awesome at walking around public places holding my hand and not needing to be carried
*point to your diaper when you go potty
*love your big sibs like crazy

Happy Birthday Three!

Paintbox Squares: Orange & Yellow

2010-03-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

I guess I can no longer deny
that I need to iron my blocks.
Not that I will anytime soon
but I desperately need to.
These squares wouldn't even lay flat.

But I love seeing fabric
that I've used before.
That yellow block on the far right,
doesn't seem like enough contrast,
but I used that very same print
to make a dress for Two!
I love that this quilt comes with
pre-made memories!

Christmas in Spring: Three's Stocking

2010-03-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

With Baby Four coming
one month from today (wow!),
I am feeling the crunch
to get a few things finished.

Ohhhh, like Three's Stocking.

Totally random I know
but it feels urgent
so I'm going with it.

I learned my lesson from this
and am now focusing on
getting all of the pieces prepped
before putting the thing together.

It's not following the directions,
just a little trick I learned
to save my sanity.

So it's not going to look like much
until it all magically comes together
at the end (here's hoping!),
but here's the prepped yellow felt:

Ho Ho Ho!
Christmas is coming!

Sunday

2010-03-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

What?
A Sunday picture
not in front of our door?
That's because yesterday
was a fabulous spring day
and we spent the morning
at our favorite park:
Remember? At least one kid
has to be upset
or making a face
in all pictures!

Check out these rad hats
the kiddos get to wear now
thanks to DaddyMan's
brush with skin cancer:

Jealous?
Actually, most of our friends
all have their kids wear hats too
so it's really not a big deal.
Maybe it's a northwest thing.
We just made a point this year
to get hats with UV protection.
We got ours at a local store,
you can find some here.

Paintbox Squares: Red

2010-03-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Here are my first paintbox squares
for the paintbox quilt along:

I haven't ironed them
or squared them up yet
(and in all honesty I probably won't)
but I like how they turned out!

Although I do have a big beef
with the amount of fabric
we were supposed to order.

Elizabeth at Oh Fransson
said one roll-up and a coordinating
10" square for each fabric.

So I bought 10" of each
coordinating fabric
so I could cut it down to
a 10" square.

Well, in what is probably a big
"duh" moment,
of course all I really needed was
a 2 1/2" strip.
Just like the jelly roll.

So really I bought 3x the amount of fabric
that I actually needed....

But that's okay.
I'm trying to build up
my scrap stash to either make
a ticker tape quilt

(picture taken from sew mama sew)

or even a scrappy square quilt
of just rainbow colored squares
for Baby Four
because I do love color
and especially rainbows....

So it's actually a positive thing.
Now I just to decide what to do!
Although I should probably
finish all of the paintbox squares first....

:o)

Kidney Beans

2010-03-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

We did something new today.

We went in for a routine kidney ultrasound,
and for the first time they looked at
Three's kidneys through his back:

It worked okay at first.
Much better actually.
He was cozy.
They had him covered
with warm towels.
He had a cracker.
But he was tired.
And when he sleeps on his tummy,
he always pulls his knees up
so his bum is in the air.

That doesn't work so well
when they want you to lay flat.
The lady kept pulling his legs
back down like they might actually
stay there.

Yeah right.

So there was a lot of crying.
And eventually they turned him
back over onto his back.
On his back, where he can actually
reach the little wand thing
and try to push it away.

They don't like that either.

But the news was fine.
His bad kidney is still bad.
It still has a huge sack of pee around it.
But it's slightly smaller.
And his good kidney is still good.
It's not having to do anything
to compensate for the bad kidney
which means the bad kidney
is still functioning fine.

I would love a really fabulous improvement
but I am so glad that this was enough
to, yet again, avoid surgery.

So.... we just sit and wait for
another six months!

Long-arm Quilting

2010-02-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

I found that it would be cheaper
to start quilting my quilts myself.
Of course it makes them more special
but let's be real,
the motivating factor is mostly financial.

My local quilt shop has a long-arm
machine that you can rent for $15/hr.
You are required to take their class
-their 5 hour class-
to learn how to use it
and off you go!

So here's the Welcome Home quilt
loaded onto their machine:

It's a Gammill longarm machine
(quite a steal at $16,000!!!)
and it only took me
two hours
to get it set up!

See that space to the left of the machine?
Between the machine and
the quilt hanging on the wall?

Yeah, that space was not really
big enough for me and my
7 mos pregnant condition.

I'm sure they loved me.
I broke just about every rule.
I used a sheet as backing material.
I didn't pre-wash anything.
I didn't iron anything.
I didn't use quilt-store fabric.
I didn't practice my quilting pattern
before going for it on the actual quilt.
And it wasn't because I didn't have
my practice quilt-sandwich.
Yes, I'm sure they were thrilled
but I think it all turned out fantastic!

Finished quilt:

With the instructor Steve:

He was such a dry guy!
He was so helpful the day of
and talked through things with me
but he would not crack a smile!
Every now and then he'd walk
into the quilting room and question
where I was in the process
and what I would do next.
At one point he walked in,
sort of picked a fleck of fuzz
off the quilt and muttered,
"good, good"
and left!
My jaw just about dropped,
I think that's about the highest
praise I could get coming from him!

Not sure when I'll go back.
My next quilt is the
Paintbox Quilt-Along Quilt
and I am not even attempting
to get it done before Baby Four arrives.
But it was fun!

So if you're interested,
look for a class at a local quilt shop
in your area!

Welcome Home!!!

2010-02-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

Guess what's in this bag?

It's the Welcome Home Quilt!!!

I love it so much!
Those borders added
so much to the quilt.
I'm really glad
I added them.
They really made it pop
and turned it into something
I was proud to give.

The back is a light green
and I quilted it with a
meandering pattern.

I used a green thread
that was a few shades darker
than the backing material
so it would actually show
on the brown borders.

I did the binding all by hand
using Old Red Barn Co's tutorial.

Then I threw the finished quilt
in the washer and just look
at all the puckery goodness!

Welcome Home my friend!
Congrats on your first house!

Kid Achievements

2010-02-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

One sewed on a button!

He visited a history museum
with the scouts.
DaddyMan was shocked
when they handed out
regular, sharp pointy needles
to a group of 5 & 6 yr old boys.
Seemed dangerous.

Don't know why.
They had them shooting guns
last summer.

I guess it's a matter of opinion
as to which one is more dangerous.

:o)

Excuses, Excuses

2010-02-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been absent.

This one has had pneumonia:

This one is getting in three of his molars:

Fun times at our house!

I've been finishing up
the Welcome Home quilt
and trying to keep it top-secret
from here on out to resist
tempting my friend to look
now that it actually looks
like something!

I'll be back soon!

Sunday

2010-02-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

An action shot this Sunday:

I especially love it because this
is what happened next:

(totally worth it to click on the picture to enlarge!)

One took off with the ball.
Check out that look on Three's face
and the attitude on Miss Two!
Oh my! I love it!

17 mos & a haircut

2010-02-16T15:16:00.001-08:00

Three turned 17 mos last week!

At 17 months, he's:
*started walking backwards (for fun, not for getting around!)
*able to drink small amounts out of a real cup
*might actually weigh 21 lbs, or is very close (still under chart)
*has switched to drinking half & half rather than soy cream,
with only slight worsening of his excema
*is so close to running
*taking 1-2 naps a day

And he also got his first haircut!

Here's the before:

Not the best picture but you can see
how long and thin it was,
resulting in scraggly, fly-aways.

He got to pick this cute chair:

Ready to go!

Ta da!

He would not look at me afterwards!
But I thought they did pretty good,
much better than I could have ever done
with a squirmy 17 mos old!

Valentine's Sunday

2010-02-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

It's so hard to get all three kids
in the same picture!
(Mostly b/c Three is a runner.)
And that's not even considering
that I would also prefer to have
them looking, if not, dare-I-say-it,
smiling.
Wonder what these pictures
will look like when there are
four to contend with!

Of course, these two are always
game for pictures, especially
if funny faces are allowed!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Week, Day 5: Scratch -n- Sniff Paint

2010-02-13T14:00:00.000-08:00

Did you know that painting with kool-aid
gives you scratch -n- sniff paint?

I picked out what I hoped
would be pink and red:

Added a little bit of water
to about half of each package,
and used water-color brushes:

Two wanted me to draw shapes for her.

And that's it!
When the paint dries,
it's scratch -n- sniff!

Valentine Week, Day 4: Valentine Ballet

2010-02-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

Two was supposed to wear
red, pink, or white
to ballet this week.

An excuse to craft?
Okay!

So first I started with this:
This was my first time using
that E-6000 glue.
It was amazing!
But be warned, if you live in CA,
(which I don't)
it might cause cancer
so make sure you use it outside.
Even if it's freezing cold
and you were too lazy
to put some shoes back on.
Just sayin'.

Anyway, I used glue to wrap ribbon
around a plastic headband
(I get them here)
and a leftover felt heart
that never made it onto
last year's garland.

Here's the best pic I got
of the final product:

Throw in a tutu
that Santa made
(mostly using this tutorial):

And Two was only
slightly overdressed
for ballet:

PS. Here's how Three
spends time at ballet. :o)

I just realized that
he wore red too.
:o)

Valentine Week: Day 3, Kid Made Valentines

2010-02-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

I wanted the kids to make
their own valentines this year.
They should get to join
in on the fun too, right?
I found inspiration
in the dollar bin
at Joann's.

3 stamps for $1!!!
Can you believe it?!?

Gran cut up some card stock,
we had a merlot ink pad,
had the kids stamp
the design they wanted,
and hot glued at hershey's kiss
in the center.

Those clear block stamps
are awesome for kids!
Although I must say,
my 4 yr old did much better
than my 6 yr old.
(Probably because my 6 yr old
did not want to listen to directions
because of course he's smarter
than mom... :o) )

The kids wrote their names
on the front too.

$1 stamp set
$2.50 pkg of hershey kisses
=$3.50 for 50 valentines
and some leftover chocolate for mom.
:o)

Valentine Week: Day 2, Green Hearts

2010-02-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

What do you do the night before
your daughter's field trip
when you have a ton of felt hearts
left over?

You make a matching hair clip,
of course!

This is just two extra felt hearts
that I embroidered free-hand
and sewed together
with a snap clip inside.

It perfectly matched the school's
field trip shirt:

And what's hanging out
with your best friend
without a few goofy pictures?

(I'm pretty sure I told them to be sad in this one.)

Make some Valentine
Hair Clips this year
for a little girl
....or yourself!

Valentine Week: Day 1, Garland

2010-02-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

When I saw this Valentine's Garland
I knew I wanted to make one.
I took five different sheets of felt
(lime green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, turquoise-
okay, that was six)
and cut out hearts.
Different sizes of hearts.
I used the entire sheet
of each color.

Make sense?
This is what I ended up with:

Then I sewed them together
(and realized I could have done
with about half as many...)

And hung them on the mantel!

Love it!

Scout Sunday

2010-02-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

A family pic this week
on Scout Sunday:

Somehow all the scouts ended up
in our pew, it was adorable:

(This picture breaks so many rules!
No hats in church,
no taking pictures in church,
no talking in church....
my grandmother would be mortified!)

Scout Recognition:

Stayed tuned for an entire week
of Valentine's related crafts!

Personalized Shirt

2010-02-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

Personalized shirts are so easy!
You'll need:
Prewashed shirt
Iron-on letters

Super duper easy!
The possibilities are endless!

Make them as party favors,
Make them as presents,
Make them for your team,
Make big brother/big sister shirts
for your kids.

This is not the one you want to make:

But that's the one I made.

In a kids size.

If you're reading this,
say a little prayer
for kids with cancer,
okay?

Welcome Home Quilt

2010-02-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

***Spoiler Alert*** You know who you are!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Here's a cutie pic of Three
while she looks away:

Okay.

The Welcome Home Quilt
might be done!

It's not as big as I was envisioning
so I'm considering a border.

Not sure yet.
See, I have some time
because... (warning! side story....)
I just took a long-arm quilting class
at the local quilt store.
This was going to be my first quilt
but when I tried to schedule
some time with the machine
the first opening wasn't for 2 weeks!
So, anyway,
I have some time to decide.

Right now it's about the size
of One's quilt
which just doesn't seem right
for an adult.....

I did find the backing though:

And anything that gets laid
on the floor,
immediately gets a body:

(yes, he's wearing One's socks)

I do have some extra fabric
so right now I'm leaning towards
taking the time to make it bigger.

Stay tuned!

Coffee

2010-02-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

I tried a new coffee place.

It came highly recommended
from several people I know.
Different groups of people,
and they all liked the same place.
My hopes were high,
and can I just say.....

YUM!

But something was funky.

See how my snazzy lid
didn't open all the way?

Hmmm.
Upon closer inspection,
I wondered if it was because of this:

Are the coffee people snobs?
Hating on my pregnant self
with their judgement on my
decaf snowy mocha?

Nope!
Turns out you can get a new lid
plus an extra chocolate covered
espresso bean...

which just might ruin the effects
of my decaf order.

Paintbox Quilt-Along: Fabric Fun, part 1

2010-02-02T09:02:00.000-08:00

Look what came in the mail!

It's my Kona Classics Roll-up

for the paintbox quilt-along!

I stopped at Joann's on my way to bunco
(and of course ended up being late)
and picked out 25 of the fabrics!

Here's what I have so far:

I felt like I bought every fabric
that even remoltely matched!
I don't know how I'll pick
15 more!!!

Stay tuned....

Red Pillowcase Skirt

2010-01-28T14:40:00.000-08:00

Now that Two has switched
her favorite color
from yellow to RED,
(did you see Sunday's picture?)
some new clothes were in order.

After the success of the yellow
pillowcase skirt from last year,
I found a pair of red pillowcases
at my favorite store for $2.

Cut them the length I wanted
(including waist seam allowance):

(I did 16" total for a calf length skirt.)

I wanted it to twirl
so I cut in the ends at an angle:

(I did 2" in on both sides.)

Sewed everything together,
slid some elastic in the waist
and......

$2 worth of fun!

PS. You know it's a hit when she wore it
for 4 days in a row!
And yes, I let her do it.
It's the simple things in life, you know?

PPS. When measuring your child's belly,
make sure she's not puffing her stomach out!
It might make your skirt
a bit too big!
But if it's in her favorite color,
I promise she won't care! :o)

Paintbox Quilt-Along

2010-01-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

Someone is doing a Quilt-Along
to a quilt that has been on my to-do list!

And not just anyone,
but the actual person
who made the quilt
I fell in love with!

Oh happy day!

She announced the quilt-along two weeks ago
and I have to special order some of the fabric
(my choice, not required)
which will put me even further behind.

So, in other words,
I'll be doing the slacker version
of the quilt along. :o)

And I'm not trying to keep you in suspense
but Elizabeth at Oh Fransson has asked
that we not copy her pictures.
Fair enough.

So go here to check out the quilt.
Or here for the link to the quilt-along.

Curly Hair Secret

2010-01-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

Buy socks!

Or use your son's socks
that you bought a size too big
because you were in a hurry
and not paying enough attention...

I saw the idea here.
She has four daughters.
You know it's going to work.

Look at Two's hair the next morning!

(I used 5 socks.)

She loved it!
Said it was so bouncy!
And the curls stayed all day....
so much better than curling-iron curls!
And so much easier too!

Not Me Monday: The one with the bathroom obsessed child

2010-01-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

My sixteen month old's new favorite place is not the bathroom.

He does not like to climb on the step stool and look at the baby in the mirror.

He certainly wouldn't brush his very own teeth while in there!

Nor would he ever make a mess by emptying out the bathroom drawers...
especially all of his sisters' hair accessories!

(Or be unhappy about being caught!)

Nope! Certainly not my child!

For more Not Me! posts, click on the top button.
And while you're at it,
why don't you read her post here
about staying calm and sane
while raising 4 (soon to be 5) children.
Brought me to tears.

Sunday

2010-01-24T20:18:00.001-08:00

Felt Hair Clips

2010-01-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

I recently made
Felt Covered Snap Clips
using Angry Chicken's tutorial.

They were super easy
and you really could go crazy
embellishing them.

I tried two versions.

(I found my snap clips at Joann's in the beading accessory/hardware aisle.)

The top one is with my sewing machine
the bottom is just needle and embroidery thread.
I like the top one the best
but to each his own!

Dress 'em up a little bit and
they would make a great birthday gift!
Or I've actually thought about making
one for all the girls in Two's class
for Valentine's Day....
They're that easy.

Welcome Home Quilt: Part 2

2010-01-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

I have not abandoned the blog!
I have a sick computer.
And yes, I fully blame DaddyMan.
Because although he is a major computer nerd
our computer is broken more than
anybody else's I know!
Because he likes to do "stuff".
I don't even know.
Games.
Programs.
Stuff.
Stuff that makes my stuff run slow.
Ugh.
So now we have a substitute computer
while our computer is at the doctor.
For a month.
Ugh.

Silver Lining: It's still under warranty!
Okay, smile.
Whew.

Moving on!

****Spoiler Alert!!!*****
****Look away NOW if you just bought your first house!****

******
Okay,
I must be bad at math or something.
And not like math math,
but simple math.
Like counting.

Yeah.

Because I set out to make 20 blocks
and ended up with 22.
I cut up 10 FQ's,
they each had enough pieces
to make 2 complete blocks.
10 FQ x 2 blocks = 20 complete blocks
Right?

Now, the completed blocks are fabulous!
I figured out the dimentions
without a pattern.
Doing all sorts of math
and adding 1/4 inches and 1/2" where appropriate....
Hard stuff.

But counting out 10 FQ?
Ummm, apparently over my head
because all I can figure out
is that I counted out
eleven FQ.

Not 10.

Maybe I skipped a number???
It's easy to see how one could get confused.
I mean 1-10, it's kind of tricky!

But I laid out all the completed squares
and I am seriously loving this quilt.

And I actually like the extra length
another row added so
I'm going to add solid blocks
in two diagonal corners
to make it all work.

Here's hoping I can at least count to 2!

Easy Guacamole

2010-01-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

I have had such a craving for guacamole lately!

I made one batch using a store mix
and it was so good!
But I wanted to be able to actually make my own
with ingredients I generally have on hand
and ended up discovering a really great recipe.
So easy, so fabulously delicious!

Here are the ingredients:

(Salsa, salt, garlic powder, lemon juice, avocado)

The directions are per avocado:
(who's awesome idea was that?!?)

1/4 tsp salt
2 T salsa (I did 1T+)
3/4 tsp garlic powder (I did 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp lemon or lime juice

Smash up,
refrigerate,
serve.

YUM!!!

We actually served ours right away
and it was so good!
But I must say that it was noticeably better
the next day.
That "refridgerate"-ing part did something.

And everyone knows how to remove
the avocado pit, right?
Whack it with your knife and twist?

Well, apparently I did my very best
and whacked it too hard:

And since those pits are slippery
right out of the avocado,
not to mention my recent experience
with fingers and sharp objects,
I left them on there!
Thank goodness for a long knife!