some Christmas cheer! In Pictures

Candy Bar Snowmen

 

Christmas Card

Santa Hat Pretzels

Cookie Time

 

Yes, that is an Oreo decorating the cookie

 

The Tree

I’m Still Here

I realize I haven't posted for a long time….but I am back! I really don’t want to give up on this blog stuff even though my life gets crazy and I don’t feel like I have time for it. I need to make time…..after all if you love it, you can always make time for it. Or something like that

 

So I have been working on a really big time consuming project and I am finally done with it.

Time to reveal my first quilted wall hanging!

Some Applique detail

 

each day has a little pocket for treats

 

and the beautiful binding, finishing job my Mom did. I am so thankful for her! This project would have never been completed without her. She is a really great quilter. I was inspired by her work to take my own try at it and I am very proud of the results.

Halloween Preparation

 

Today the kiddos and I carved our Pumpkins. Didn’t do anything special……just your basic Jack of Lanterns.

 

 

 

By the way the second one is supposed to be a ballerina

 

And here’s a tip for keeping those pumpkins lit at night. Place your candle in a Mason Jar. It keeps the breezes away and keeps it from falling over. Gotta Love those Jars

 

Finished up my son’s costume. After much deliberation he finally made up his mind to be a spider.  Spider?? Hmmmm had to use a little creativity to whip this costume up.  I used a black turtleneck and cut the side seams. For the legs I used black tube socks stuffed with plastic bags and I found some cool metallic spider web fabric for the web. The hat is just a dollar beanie with googly eyes hot glued to it. He loves it and yes that is him crawling on the floor

 

linking up at

This blog has been interrupted….

By Sports, Life and Sick Kiddos.

In case you didn’t know the Brewers are in the NLCS along with the Tigers in the ALCS

Go Brew Crew….really hoping for a Tigers/Brewers world series in our house!

Pictures of the beautiful October Weather we have been having…..a record 10 days in a row over 70 degress! We went to a local pumpkin patch and had fun picking out our pumpkins.

My kiddos have came down with a viral illness….been running fevers with a horrible cough. So I am home today from work and have been working on a big for me sewing project. My first quilted wall hanging. It’s a really neat advent calendar with little pockets to keep our Christmas surprises. Here's a preview from sew Mama Sew

It’s been a challenge but I can't wait to get it done….my Mom is going to help me with the binding. I finished all the pockets today just have to do the sashing.

On that note gotta get the school for pickup time

Chalkboard Sign for my Princess

The one who wears the tiara in our family turned 3 last week. To celebrate we had a little party complete with a pink princess cake with pink and purple frosting handmade by her grandma.

To construct the sign I used a silver tray that picked up at an estate sale for less than a dollar

First I sanded it down a little

Then I used some painters tape to tape off the edges

Last easy step grab some Rust-Oleum Chalkboard Spray paint and spray it down. I had some trouble finding this product.....but the good news is you can order it from amazon. Have I ever mentioned I love amazon. Cheap prices delivered right to my door....plus the hard to find stuff.


I can't wait to use this sign as a prop for future pictures and holidays. It would also make a great easy to make gift.

Just thought I would share a few more cuteness pictures......love the fluffy butt dress her grandma got her :)


Sharing at :
Metamorphosis Monday

MMMMmmmm…..homemade Salsa and Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Used up some yummy tomatoes from my grandpa's garden and some peppers from my Mom to make some Fresh Salsa. I love me some chips n salsa. It was much easier than I thought it was going to be. I just used a Mrs Wages Mix I picked up at the grocery store and followed the directions. You scald the tomatoes in boiling water for 3 mins then put them in a bowl of cold water. It makes the skin come right off easy as pie. Then I chopped everything up mixed the dry Mrs Wages Mix in and put it in a few containers for the freezer and one for fresh salsa now. You can keep the salsa in the freezer for up to a year. Much easier then trying to can it in my opinion.

 

 

I also baked up a big batch of muffins using a zucchini I picked up at a produce stand. They are super good

 

 

I included the recipe if you wanna try them too.

 

 

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

1-1/2 cups flour

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

½ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup milk

1 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup shredded Zucchini

¼ cup semi sweet miniature chocolate chips

¼ cup chopped walnuts

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Combine egg, oil, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins test done. Makes 1 dozen.

 

    

 

In other news….Owen is still holding on that tooth and he has another one that is loose. I just can't get him to wiggle it out. The dentist thought it would be better just to let it fall out on it's own.

Sharing aT



and

Tooth Fairy is Coming Soon

Owen has a permanent tooth that has decided not to wait for the baby tooth to come out on the bottom. We tried to wiggle it out but it just wouldn't budge. So, we made a dentist appointment. Huge storm knocked out the electricity so no tooth fairy on Friday. We have another appointment this afternoon so maybe he will get to use his new pillow.

I used some old receiving blankets that where made out of flannel
Felt
Tee Shirt Marker
Sewing Machine
Stuffing

I tried using some fabric paint....big craft fail

couldn't leave little sis out

sharing at

Problem Solved

Owen started school this week...yay! He currently is passed out hopefully for the night at 7:00. Gotta love school for wearing the kiddos out :)


I work a pretty weird schedule so sometimes I can pick him up after school and sometimes he needs to ride the bus to the sitter's place. So, to help the little guy and his teacher know where he needs to after school I came up with a little tag system for his backpack.

I used my Cricut Expression
Scrap Book Paper
Laminator
Some Random String
Clips or a Ring (I used the one from my daughter's recent happy meal toy)

I made one with a Car to let him know to ride home with me

one with a Bus

Now all I have to do is remember to make sure he has right one clipped to his backpack :)

What a week!

Owen's First Day of Kindergarten

Ran a Half Marathon with my husband.....so proud of him. Our offical time was 2 hours 28 mins!

Watched my "little" Brother score a touchdown....first one of the year!

Did a little celebrating :)

Up North

I got a week off work and since it's the last week of summer before my oldest starts school ( yeah, I am going to the Mom of a kindergartner!) the kids and I went camping with the in laws in the UP (otherwise known as the upper peninsula of Michigan). Lucky for us we didn't have to rough it too much because they have a trailer. The lake was perfect. It's really shallow like less the 3 feet for probably 200 ft out, so the kiddos just play and play and I get to lay out and a read a book :)

Here is a picture of the most beautiful sunset over the lake.

I had the day off today and the sewing machine was calling my name. I got a bunch of fabric from a garage sale to add to my stash and I was super excited to try a little quilting. I saw a really cute bag on the internet here that I used for inspiration
http://www.onestopbabygifts.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-red-dazzle-rag-bag-being-sold-on.html
I don't have one of the cool machines for cutting fabric like she has....kinda jealous. Well here is my creation. I reused an old robe I found at goodwill for the handle. So it's my own little upcycle creation. I learned quite a bit putting it together and can't wait to start up some more quilting projects :)

Fabulously Frugal.....quilting fabric 3 for a 1, handle...free, liner cloth from stash, the only thing I bought was the bating.

Linking up at

Thankful Thursday.....Estate Sale

So this morning as a reward for finally being potty trained we took Audrey to the dance studio to get registered for "tiny toes" dance lessons.

On the way there we saw a sign for a garage sale and since I was actually kinda early to get the dance studio we decided to stop. They had a big display of Halloween costumes and stuff which totally got Owen's attention. So, while I picked up a few dance outfits for Audrey and some pants for Owen he decided to hunt for his treasure.

He came up with a little devil costume that he had to have....complete with horns, a tail and a fork thing. Well being the little devil that he is he would not take the costume off to go into the dance studio and Audrey had to bring in her bag with her little leotard in it. So, I am standing there talking with the director trying to get Audrey registered and payed for while Owen is running around the studio in a devil costume and Audrey decides she needs to take off her dress to put on her new leotard in the middle of the room. Needless to say we probably didn't make the best first impression. Yes I am that Mom.

Oh, Well. Things got better after that cause I found an estate sale....yay! I got some really great treasures and the kiddos didn't break anything while I was shopping around.

Tupperware and a jar full of zippers

More Tupperware and a cheese grater which I desperately needed cause I am from Wisconsin and I love me some fresh grated cheese :)
I plan on getting some chalkboard paint to paint the instead of the tray to make it into a mini chalkboard message center for my kitchen.

A really cool vintage West Coast book....yes that is the beach boys. I was going to use it for a scrapbook album but the pictures are pretty cool so I might just keep it

Owen won't pose for a devil picture otherwise I would share...I am thinking he will be a devil for Halloween and Audrey could be an angel. It would be so cute and very fitting :)

Oh yeah I forgot to mention I got all my treasures for 10 bucks!


And I almost forgot to include the picture of the pyrex bowls I got

Three Things

1. Audrey is potty Trained!!!! Nuff said

2. I love summer and the water. However, this slightly cooler weather at night has reminded me that this blissful summer will eventually come to an end. So, until then we will have......

Yummy Kabobs on the grill with corn on the cob!!!!

I did see some leaves that changed color already. Just another reminder to get out and enjoy summer while you can!


3. I have the best family and I feel so lucky to be part of it. I am working on becoming a better person so I can be there to support all them. I love you guys!

Upcycle Bag

Another Purse/Bag made from garage sale shirt.It had really cool pockets so I decided to incorporate them into a little bag. I had a goodwill vintage sheet lying around that I used for the lining

I gave it a kinda shabby look by using pinked seams on the "handles"

reversible

Have a great week, gonna be a buzy one here. Trying to get as much running in as I can and working extra hours. Car is being worked on and kiddos are starting to drive each other and me a little nuts....school starts soon!