Becky's Bits and Piecing

Selling Train Stuff

2012-01-15T09:39:00.004-07:00

Alex has decided that he no longer wants his train table or trains. If you are interested let me know.

Train table

Trains and Tracks

Another Good Quote

2011-11-16T09:34:00.001-07:00

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be” -George Sheehan

Selling More Stuff

2011-08-15T11:49:00.004-07:00

The kids don't play with this stuff anymore so it's time for it to go! Let me know if you are interested in buying any of these items.

Little Tikes Play House - sold!

Little Tikes Jungle Climber

Cozy Coupes - sold!

Radio Flyer Wagon - sold!

First Day of School

2011-08-08T09:54:00.003-07:00

I am not quite sure how it has happened but summer is now over and today was the first day of school for Alex and Abbie. Abbie is starting kindergarten this year and Alex is a big first grader. Both kids were supper excited to start school today, and Alex was being such a great big brother telling Abbie all about kindergarten and what to expect as we walked to school this morning.

Alex Finally Lost a Tooth!

2011-07-17T22:00:00.001-07:00

At Alex's last dentist appointment the dentist pointed out that he had a loose tooth on the bottom. After months of wiggling Alex finally let me pull the tooth. This has really brought to my attention that Alex is no longer a little boy but a big soon to be First Grader!

Give your wallet a boost

2011-06-25T10:12:00.001-07:00

Vocalpoint members like me have exclusive access to big savings all the time. Become a member to get in on a FREE sample of a new laundry scent booster in a couple months!

Selling some things

2011-05-21T08:15:00.005-07:00

As many of you may know I am in grad school to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, but one thing that you may not know is that I have decided to go to grad school debt free. So far I have been doing great with this goal, but with two semesters left my savings account is getting a bit lower than I am comfortable with. Therefore I have decided to take the advice of my favorite financial guru Dave Ramsey and "sell so much stuff the kids think they are next". I have started by listing some items on ebay which you can check out here.

I have also posted some items on Craig's List you can find them here:

Radio Flyer Wagon

Little Tikes Bike Trailer - gone

Superyard - gone! that was fast

Toddler Bike - gone

Summer Reading Programs

2011-05-17T22:52:00.004-07:00

There are so many great summer reading programs out there for kids that I want to be able to take advantage of this summer. Unfortunately they are all starting to run together in my brain so I decided to compile a list here so other people can take advantage of it too.

Half Price Books

Age: Under 14
Requirements: At least 600 minutes of reading during the months of June and July
Reward: $5 gift certificate to Half Price Books

Borders

Age: 12 and under
Requirements: Read 10 books between 6/1/2011 and 9/15/2011
Reward: Free book from a selected list

Barnes and Noble

Age: Not listed but looks like 1st through 6th grade
Requirements: read 8 books and list who you would recommend them to
Reward: One free book from a selected list

Maricopa County Library

Age: 0-18
Requirements: ? can't find it, says it starts May 26th
Reward: usually several small prizes plus a free book

A Girl Day

2011-05-06T16:25:00.003-07:00

I finished up this semester last night and decided to take advantage of the day off to spend some one on one time with Abbie. We started off the day at the Desert Botanical Garden visiting the butterflies. Abbie and I had a great time identifying all of the butterflies flying about and a few even landed on us! After the garden we decided to drop in on Nana Jan to say hi and were lucky enough to be able to have lunch with Nana Jan and Papa Ron. Abbie and I had a great time together on our Girls Day!

Alex's First Report

2011-04-20T19:19:00.004-07:00

Alex has his first report due tomorrow so tonight we put it together and practiced giving a report to the class. He has learned so much since the beginning of the year and is starting to read so much better!

Why I love whole chickens (and why you should too)

2011-03-20T20:50:00.004-07:00

I know that a lot of people out there don't like to mess with whole chickens and I have to agree that there is a yuck factor involved, but for a frugal gall like me the savings are too good to pass up. To start I buy whole chickens when they are about 60 cents a pound. This is my rock bottom stock up price and I'll usually buy 3 or 4 when they are this cheap and put them in my freezer for later. I will usually get a 4 or 5 pound chicken, which means that a whole chicken costs around $3.
My favorite way to use these whole chickens is to cook them in the crockpot. To do this I thaw a chicken, remove the giblets (save these for later) and put it in my crockpot. I then cover the chicken in water and cook it on low until the chicken is cooked through, usually about 4 or 5 hours. When the chicken is fully cooked take it out of the crockpot and let it sit until it is cool enough to handle, leave the liquid in the crockpot on low, you will get back to it later. After the chicken is cool enough to handle take all of the meat off the bones (put the meat in the fridge for later use) and throw the bones and such back into the crock pot along with the giblets you saved from earlier and turn it on high. Cook this on high for a few hours then take out all the bones and strain the broth into a large bowl (I usually use a tea towel over a strainer to get the clearest broth possible). Put the broth into the fridge to cool. Now you have lots of cooked chicken and chicken broth waiting to be made into yummy meals. The last time I did this I managed to get 3 meals out of the meat with broth left in the freezer for future meals. The meals I got were:

Curried Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken and Broccoli Braid (I made a half batch for the kids and I)

You could also use the cooked chicken to make my cheesy chicken and rice casserole or in place of the turkey in many of my turkey day take two recipes.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

2011-02-27T19:36:00.002-07:00

I made this for my Dad this weekend and thought I would share the recipe here. I originally got this out of a Betty Crocker Slow Cooker cookbook many years ago.

Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs beef stew meat
1 large onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
8 oz fresh sliced mushrooms, sauteed
1/4 tsp pepper
1 8 oz package cream cheese, cubed
1 8 oz container sour cream
6 cups hot cooked egg noodles

Mix beef, onions, soups and pepper in a crock pot
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until beef is very tender
Stir in cream cheese, sour cream and mushrooms. Serve over noodles.

Becky's notes: I used a roast that I had gotten cheap and cut into small cubes, I didn't have cream of mushroom or cream of celery so I just used 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and it tasted just fine. I did not add the pepper since I don't like pepper. Before adding the sour cream and cream cheese turn the crock pot up to high so that the cream cheese will melt better. Rather than cubing the cream cheese I just left it out all day so it was at room temperature before I added it to the crock pot this made it so that the cream cheese melted nicely rather than leaving chunks behind which has happened before. I used a 4 quart crock pot which was a good size for this.

Putting up the Tree

2010-11-28T17:55:00.003-07:00

I decided to make my life easier this year and bought a 4" tree to put up rather than trying to move things around to accomodate the big tree. The kids had fun helping me to put ornaments on, although they still want to put all the ornaments on in the same spot. The tree is now on the shelf between the TV room and the kids play area.

Alex and Abbie loved setting up the little people nativity just to their liking. Some day I will be able to setup my Willow Tree nativity again, but for now this one works.

Turkey Day Take Two, 2010 version

2010-11-27T10:56:00.004-07:00

Since the kids were at their dad's for Thanksgiving this year I took advantage of the hospitality of my friends an relatives rather than cooking. I did make cranberry sauce though and like every other year I was the only one eating it. No worries I had plans for the leftovers. This morning I made up a batch of cranberry bread. I changed the recipe slightly by mixing the cranberry sauce in with the batter rather than layering it like the recipe instructs. It did not work out too well, the bread looks terrible and didn't rise like it should, fortunately it still tastes good. For the rest of the cranberry sauce I plan on making up a batch of slow cooker meatballs. To save time (and so I could have meatballs in the freezer) I just made up a big batch of meatballs and set aside enough mixture for tomorrow's dinner. Here is the meatball recipe I used:

Basic Meatballs:

1lb ground beef
2 TBSP milk
1 egg
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup onion finely minced
1/3 C dry bread crumbs
1/3 C Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic finely minced
1/2 tbsp parsley
3/4 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together, shape into balls (I find the medium pampered chef scoop works great for this) Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

I also have another recipe that would be perfect for leftover turkey, but that I am making with chicken I cooked the other day. This is one my friend Suzy gave me a while back. I will give you the basic chicken recipe, but you could modify it by using leftover turkey and adding some of the spices to that when you mix it with the cheese and enchilada sauce.

Chicken Enchiladas ala Jessica

Ingredients:
1 – fryer chicken
2 – 15 oz can STOKE’s Green Chili w/ Pork Enchilada Sauce*
salt
pepper
cumin powder
garlic powder
onion powder
12 oz (3 cups) mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz (2 cups) Colby-jack cheese, shredded
12 flour tortillas (8”)
Directions:
1. Place whole fryer in crock pot. Cover with water. Add A LOT of all dry spices**.
Cover and cook chicken in crock pot at low heat for 6-10 hours.
2. Remove chicken and cool so it is finger-touchable. Shred all the meat.
3. In a bowl, place the shredded meat. Add about 1 ½ cups broth from the crock pot.
Mix more of all dry spices into chicken until it suits your tastes. Add one can of
enchilada sauce, plus all mozzarella cheese. Mix well. Taste again. Add more
spices if necessary.
4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
5. If your pans need it, butter them (seasoned stoneware won’t need to be greased).
Pour a little enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan(s)***.
6. Roll chicken mixture in tortillas. Place, seam side down in pan.
7. Once all enchiladas are rolled, cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle Colby-jack
cheese on top.
8. Cover with foil.
9. Bake 23 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking 8 minutes more.
10. Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes before serving.
6-9 Servings

Suzy’s Notes:
** You may use fresh garlic cloves (2-3) and onion (½ – whole) in the crock pot in the
place of dried powders of the same.
*** I put a dozen enchiladas in two pans (9x9 or 9x13).

Variations:
1. Add green chili peppers.
2. Add scallions.
3. Add black olives.
4. Add sour cream (in mix or on top).
5. Substitute leftover turkey for the chicken, add a little more seasoning if desired.
6. Cut tortillas into strips then layer like a lasagna casserole instead of rolling.

The Birthday Dress

2010-09-19T20:07:00.004-07:00

When I was in Albuquerque visiting Suzy I picked up some darling strawberry fabric and a coordinating green fabric to make Abbie a dress. Well by the time we got home Abbie decided that she no longer wanted to wear dresses so I put the fabric aside with the intent that I would use it for Abbie's annual birthday dress. A week or two ago I let Abbie look through my patterns and decide which dress she wanted for her birthday dress. Nothing much happened with the dress between then and today because I was just too busy to work on it. Today I decided that the tradition of making Abbie a birthday dress was just to important to miss and I got to work after church this morning. Luckily Abbie picked a really easy pattern and I was able to get the dress done in less that 2 hours. The dress doesn't look that great in the picture but I hope that it will look cute on her. This was my first time using the jumbo rickrack and I am not sure I like how it looks. Abbie seemed to like it when I showed to to her and that's all that matters. This is another of the Oliver +S Popover sundresses that I have made before (here). I love this pattern it is so quick and easy, can be worn year round and can be embellished in many different ways.

My Abbie turned 4!!!!

2010-09-19T19:42:00.004-07:00

It's hard to believe but today Abbie turned 4! It seems like just yesterday that I was anxiously awaiting her arrival (ok, maybe crankily was more like it). Like Alex she decided to take her sweet time and was a week late. No matter the late arrival she is dearly loved and I enjoyed being able to bake her a cake and wrap a couple of presents for her to have when she got home this evening. I will have a larger friends and family party for her and Alex next weekend but this one tonight was just for the three of us.

Yummy dinner salad

2010-08-26T20:02:00.002-07:00

I recently bought a new cutting board from Pampered Chef and this salad recipe came with it. All three of us really enjoyed it, plus it used up a bunch of the Bountiful Baskets produce that I had in the fridge.

Southwestern Salad

Dressing

¾ cup ranch dressing

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 tsp taco seasoning

1 Tbsp lime juice

Salad

½ cup pitted ripe olives, sliced

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1 pkg torn romaine lettuce

1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup whole kernel corn

2 cups diced cooked chicken

1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and diced (optional)

For dressing combine first 4 ingredients, stir until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For salad combine remaining ingredients. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine.

Of course being me I had to change things a bit. I didn't use olives since I don't like them, but did add chopped tomatoes and shredded cheese. Rather than combining everything I put everything in separate bowls and let everyone choose what the wanted. Lastly Alex had regular ranch on his salad, Abbie had no dressing at all and I really enjoyed the dressing from the recipe. One note on the dressing is that I feel it really needs to sit for several hours before using so that the flavors can combine.

Absolutly Insane

2010-08-20T18:03:00.004-07:00

Suzy and I have started a little block exchange of 3" finished blocks made with crumbs. I decided to make something a little different and made this little 3" finished log cabin block. The block has 21 pieces. I love it! I will have to make more of these.

An idea I had

2010-08-20T14:45:00.002-07:00

Do you have pad locks hanging around the house that you don't use often? Do you have trouble remembering the combo from one use to the next? If so then you are like me. I have two padlocks that I have had for a very long time. I rarely use them and often have trouble remembering the code from one use to the next. I came up with the idea of writing the code on key label tags and putting them on the lock. Now I don't have to worry about remembering the code and when I am using it I can put the key tag on my key chain to help me remember the code.

Help me choose please....

2010-08-15T18:00:00.002-07:00

I have made some more pineapple blocks to use as a sample for the class I am teaching on October 30th. Suzy has helped me with some different layouts. I can't decide which one I like the most, please give me my opinion. From top to bottom vote for A, B, C, or D

Public Exposure

2010-08-09T21:42:00.003-07:00

Look what's hanging behind the register at Cutting Edge Quiltworks in Chandler, AZ!

First Day of School

2010-08-09T21:24:00.002-07:00

Alex had his first day of kindergarten today. I can hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday I was registering him for school and now his first day of kindergarten has come and gone. Last night Alex was excited to go and even picked out his clothes for the day and what he wanted for lunch. This morning was not so great. Alex woke up and refused to wear his new clothes and insisted on wearing something else. This was followed by a tantrum and hiding under the train table. After trying to calm him down I ended up carrying him out to the car. Fortunately by the time I dropped Abbie off and got to his school he had calmed down. At first he was refusing to let me take his picture or even to hold his backpack, but after a few minutes on the playground and meeting a boy in his class I was able to leave him happily sitting at his table in class. When I picked him up from his dad's house this afternoon he was full of smiles and told me he had a fun day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better now that he knows what to expect.

A Finish

2010-08-05T13:33:00.002-07:00

I finished a quilt! I made this Pineapple Blossom quilt for Abbie since she did not have a big quilt yet. The quilt went together pretty quickly since I used precut 2 1/2" strips from my scrap bin. I am very pleased with how this turned out and hope Abbie will love it for years to come. If you are in the Phoenix area and would like to make one of these for yourself, Iwill be teaching how to make these blocks at Cutting Edge on October 30th.

Mud

2010-07-31T09:41:00.002-07:00

In the middle of the night last night we had our first really good monsoon of the season. I was loud enough to wake me from a sound sleep. This morning the kids decided to go play in the backyard and found the mud puddle and decided to play in it. I know they were doing it and let them, but I wish I had made them take off their clothes first. The kids got hosed down before I would let them in the house and the clothes are soaking in the tub in hopes that the mud wont stain them.

I Won

2010-03-19T14:06:00.002-07:00

I entered a drawing on Making Ends Meet and to my surprise I won! Yahoo! The drawing was a pattern for a very cool Quiet Book. Thanks Making Ends Meet, I'll have to make this one day.

Hiking at Lost Dutchman State Park

2010-01-17T20:56:00.004-07:00

I decided a couple weeks ago that it was time to get out side and do more while the weather was nice. Today we went out hiking in Lost Dutchman State Park. The hike took about 2 hours and both kids did great. My dad and I both had to carry Abbie for a bit but she did surprisingly well and Alex was practically running at points. Kathy and her husband Chris also joined us for the hike although I am not sure how much fun they had since Alex talked their ears off the whole time.

After hiking we stopped at the Goldfield ghost town for ice cream and then my parents came back to my house to hang out for a bit and have dinner with us. We all had a great time and I hope we can do it again a few more times before the weather gets bad.

A trip to the Zoo

2010-01-16T14:13:00.003-07:00

The kids and I went to the zoo today and had a great time. We wondered around for quite a while and then stopped to play at the new play area. On the way out Shamrock Farms was there giving out gallons of milk and coupons for gallons of milk. I picked up a gallon and 2 coupons. I probably won't have to pay for milk for 3 months now! Both kids passed out on the way home so I consider it a huge success.

More Pictures

2009-12-31T21:25:00.002-07:00

New Year's Eve Fun

2009-12-31T21:09:00.002-07:00

The kids and I had a blast today! This morning we went with friends to the Phoenix Zoo'a Noon years eve party. The kids especially liked playing in the snow and throwing snowballs at each other. After nap time we went over to Heather's house for dinner. The kids enjoyed throwing confetti at "midnight" (8pm).

Crafting Day

2009-12-26T19:21:00.003-07:00

I had some friends over today for a crafting day. I started out the day quilting on a (late) Christmas present for a friend. When I got the quilting done I decided to try out one of my Christmas presents. I got the Day and Night Elanor Burns quilt book from my parents this year. I have to say that this was a very easy pattern and the tablerunner went together really quickly. The only complaint that I have about this pattern is that it wastes ALOT of fabric. There are patterns for projects to be made out of the leftover bits, but even with those extra projects there is still quite a bit of waste.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T10:07:00.001-07:00

I am sure that all of your houses probably look a bit like mine right now. Merry Christmas and have fun cleaning up after the wrapping paper tornado!

Too Sweet

2009-12-17T18:20:00.002-07:00

The other night the kids asked if they could go to sleep together in Alex's bed. I was skeptical that they would actually sleep, but after a couple reminders to lay down and be quiet this is what I found. Too sweet!

Playdough

2009-12-17T18:10:00.003-07:00

After dinner tonight the kids were asking for something to do so I suggested that they play with play dough. They are playing with homemade play dough that I made using this recipe. I made this months ago and in between uses it lives in old cool whip containers in the fridge. This was a quick, easy and cheap recipe to make and has stayed fresh way longer than I thought it would.

American Girl has nothing on me

2009-11-30T21:24:00.002-07:00

Remember this year's Birthday Dress? Well I found a great Red, White and Black plaid fabric when I was at quilt camp and decided to make her a Christmas dress in the same pattern. The dress is almost done I just have to go out and get some black piping for the front. Today I decided that Abbie needed a matching dress for one of her dolls. I drafted a pattern based on the one for Abbie and here is what I came up with. I am so happy with the way it came out. I am sure that more of these dresses will be made for both Abbie and her doll.

Abbie

2009-11-29T22:31:00.001-07:00

I just found Abbie like this, completely asleep. Silly girl!

Turkey Day Take 2, Part 3

2009-11-28T23:10:00.004-07:00

Today I had several friends over for a sewing and craft day. It was great fun and I hope that we can do it again soon. This morning before everyone got here I put on a pot of White Chili and let it simmer all day. When it came time for dinner all I had to do was put out bowls and some cheese for everyone to grate on top of their soup. No pictures today since I was having too much fun sewing and hanging out with friends.

I think I am about ready to freeze what is left of the turkey so there might not be any more Turkey Day Take 2 posts. I've done pretty good at using up the leftovers though. All the mashed potatoes are gone, the broth is gone, the pumpkin cake is gone, and there is only a little cranberry sauce left and some stuffing.

White Chili

3 cans Great Northern Beans
4 cups cooked chicken or turkey, chopped
1 T olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 (4oz) cans chopped mild green chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 (46oz) can chicken broth
12 oz shredded Montery Jack Cheese

Saute onions about 10 min, add garlic, chilies and spices, cook 2 more minutes, add undrained beans and broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and add chicken. Top individual servings with cheese.

Notes: I have used a 1# bag of dried beans instead of the canned. I soak them over night and then cook the chili all day on low in the crock pot. Today I used the last of the turkey broth instead of canned broth. If you want more heat you can add a finely minced jalapeno pepper.

Turkey Day Take 2, Part 2

2009-11-27T17:50:00.003-07:00

I have heard of potato pancakes for years, but have never made them or even tried them. Since I had leftover mashed potatoes I decided to try to make them. I searched the internet for recipes and found this one which I modified (don't I always?).

Loaded Mashed Potato Pancakes

approx 2 C mashed potatoes (I use cream cheese in my mashed potatoes)
1 egg
1/4 C flour
1/2 C shredded cheese (I used marble cheddar)
2 T chopped onions
5 slices bacon

Fry bacon in skillet, drain bacon on paper towels then chop or crumble into small pieces.
In bacon drippings saute onions until translucent.
Combine mashed potatoes, egg, flour, cheese, cooked onions and bacon and mix until combined.
Using large scoop scoop out potato mix and flatten with wet hands (about 1/4" or so thick).
Fry in bacon drippings until brown and crispy on both sides, drain on paper towels.
Serve with sour cream.

They might not look great but I assure you they were! They tasted like potato skins that you get in restaurants. The kids liked them too. Best of all the leftover mashed potatoes are now gone.

Turkey Day Take 2, Part 1

2009-11-27T09:51:00.006-07:00

Yesterday I made sure to clean up as I went and that I had an empty dishwasher before dinner began. Even so I was left with a big mess this morning.

I know that the big dilemma from Turkey day is what to do with the leftovers. So to give you ideas (and to remind myself next year) I am going to post some recipes of what I am doing with the leftovers. First of all, last night I took all the turkey off the bird and threw the bones, skin, and the giblets that I had saved into my crock pot. I covered it all with water and let it cook all night. This morning I used tongs to pull out the bones and big pieces and then strained the broth into a large container that I put in the fridge.

This morning I made cranberry bread using leftover cranberry sauce. I modified the recipe from this one.

Cranberry Bread

1/2 C butter
1 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 orange finely minced
2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 C plain yogurt
1 C Cranberry sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Grease and flour bread pan

2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla and orange zest. Combine four, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir into creamed mixture alternately with the yogurt.

3. Pour 1/3 of batter into pan swirl 1/2 of the cranberry sauce into the batter. Repeat ending with the batter on top.

4. Bake 55 minutes, until golden brown.

After I finished making the bread I put a pot of turkey noodle soup on the stove to simmer. I used the broth I made this morning, I chopped up the leftover carrot and celery sticks and extra chopped onions that I cut when making the stuffing. I'll let the soup simmer all morning and I'll put the noodles in right before we are ready to eat.

Thomas Sholar's Chicken and Rice Soup (or chicken noodle or turkey noodle)

1 1/2 C chopped cooked chicken
1 C chopped carrots
1 C chopped celery
1/2 C chopped onion
2 T dried parsley
2 tsp chicken flavor base
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
10 C vegetable broth (I used the turkey broth I made this morning, I also don't add all 10 cups, I like mine with less liquid)
Salt to taste
3/4 C rice or 1 cup orecchiette pasta

Combine all ingredients, bring to boil, cover and simmer at least 45 minutes, add noodles or rice shortly before serving (go by package cooking times).

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T13:17:00.002-07:00

The kids and I are having dinner at my house with H and her family this year. The turkey is in the oven and the kitchen is clean. Just waiting 'til dinner time.

Here is a cranberry sauce recipe that I made this year:

Cranberry Sauce

1lb fresh cranberries
2 C sugar
1/2 C fresh OJ
1/2 C cranberry juice
Zest of 1 orange
1C dried cherries

Rinse, pick over cranberries and drain
Put all ingredients except cherries in a sauce pan on medium heat, boil until cranberries pop
Skim off any foam
Stir in cherries
Refigerate covered when cool

Make ahead, can freeze.

Enjoy!

Why I never get enough sleep

2009-10-20T06:51:00.003-07:00

Because Queen size beds are not designed to sleep 3 across!

For Suzy

2009-10-14T16:46:00.002-07:00

My friend Suzy was asking me for this recipe so I decided to post it here for all to enjoy. The ironic thing is that I have been thinking about this recipe a lot lately myself and just bought a jar of chili sauce at the store in anticipation of making this up soon.

Slow Cooker Meatballs (originally from Cooking Light)

1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup fresh parsley
2 T minced fresh onion
1/3 cup ketchup
2 T brown sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 16 oz can jellied cranberry sauce
1 12 ounce bottle chili sauce (it near the ketchup at the store)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; shape mixture into 30 meatballs.

Combine ketchup through chili sauce in an electric slow cooker; gently stir in meatballs. Cover with lid, cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours.

Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Free Burts Bees Sample

2009-10-11T08:35:00.001-07:00

Go here for free samples of Burt's Bees Natural Acne Solutions. Just thought I'd share.

Disney Fun

2009-10-10T07:41:00.003-07:00

Last year I got the crazy idea to go to Disneyland for my birthday this year. Monday that crazy idea came to be. We had a blast! We never waited more than 15 minutes for a ride and there were tons of characters out. Thanks Heather and Pam for going along with me!

Wordless Wednesday - Sick

2009-09-23T09:40:00.003-07:00

Birthday Dress in Action

2009-09-19T19:50:00.002-07:00

Abbie loved her dress as much as I do. I am so glad that I took the time to make it for her.

Happy 3rd Birthday Abbie Cadabby!

2009-09-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed to be your mom.

Mission Impossible

2009-09-18T21:46:00.003-07:00

For the last two years I have made a dress for Abbie to wear on her birthday (click here for the 2008 dress, and the 2007 dress). This year I have been very busy with school and have not been sewing much. I really wanted to make her a dress though so tonight I took on the mission of making a dress in one night. The fabric was from a lady at Nimble Thimbles that was clearing out her stash. When I saw it I knew it would make a darling dress, but I also knew that it needed to be rather simple so that I would actually be able to finish it before her birthday. The pattern is a free one from Oliver +S that I found on the internet, the ruffle hem was my idea. The dress took me under two hours to complete and I think that it looks great! I can't wait to see Abbie in it tomorrow.

Two Little Monkeys

2009-09-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

Last Monday the kids and I had dinner at Heather's house. The kids had been playing noisily in the next room and all of the sudden it was quiet. Of course we went to investigate and found that both Paul and Abbie had climbed into his crib and were happily stickering themselves.

Some new pictures

2009-09-02T17:28:00.004-07:00

The watermelon is the only thing that is still alive in my garden. I recently planted some new seeds so hopefully they will not get killed off by the heat.

Just a cute picture of the kids cuddling on the couch.

Growing up

2009-08-17T22:01:00.005-07:00

In my house legos have slowly been replacing trains. This has been such a big transition for me because in my mind Legos are such a big kids toy. A couple weekends ago, at Alex's request, I pulled the trains out of his room and switched the train table top to the plain side. At school Alex recently moved into the pre-k classroom too. I can't beleive that in a little over a month I will have a 5 year old! Here is a shot right after I finished (it's not nearly as clean now).

A Cute idea

2009-08-05T22:15:00.002-07:00

I just found this through another blog and I think it is a cute idea. It is a booklet and each day you write down five good things that happened that day. I often find myself focusing on the negative more than the positive and I think this could be a good reminder to focus more on the good things. Go check it out and print one out for yourself.

I sewed

2009-07-31T21:47:00.004-07:00

I have a baby shower to go to tomorrow and it was requested that I make a sling. This evening I used some fabric from my stash and whipped one up. The pattern is here. I am a huge fan of slings and carried both of my kids everywhere in them.

I'm a bad blogger

2009-07-26T22:01:00.002-07:00

Between school, work and kids I have been a very bad blogger. I'll try to be better. If you really want to know what I am up to leave me a comment and I'll tell you how to find me on facebook.

Another Contest I'd like to win

2009-06-27T09:19:00.002-07:00

I read Moda's blog which has a ton of cute projects. I particularly like today's post since I want to decorate my house in a country patriotic theme. The nicest thing about this patriotic pillow is that I have a chance to win it! I don't have much sewing time lately so it would be great to win. Here is a link to the contest. This pillow uses a new product from surperior threads called texture magic that I think would be fun to play with.

Insomnia

2009-06-25T02:21:00.003-07:00

What do you do when it's 2 am and you can't sleep? I am guessing it's not this!

Yes that is what you think it is. I couldn't sleep tonight and was thinking about work. I decided that I needed a cloth breast model for teaching but was not willing to spend $50+ of my own money for one. So I decided to make my own. This is a very rough first draft but I think I should be able to make a nice teaching model for work.

Cool Bike

2009-06-20T07:38:00.003-07:00

Every once in a while I think about all the exercise I would get if I just rode my bike to the grocery store and stuff. Then I step outside and remember that it is 100+ degrees here and I forget that idea. I think that if I won this contest though I would have to rethink my decision. So go check out their cool bikes.

2009-06-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Arizona Science Center is having a Lego exhibit and since I have a lego obsessed boy I decided we needed to go. Alex loved building Lego castles and launching the catapult while Abbie just wanted to play on the slide. The kids even got to dress up in Dragon costumes which they loved.

National Doughnut Day

2009-06-06T20:04:00.004-07:00

Friday was national Doughnut day and ever since I read this post last year I have wanted to do something fun with the kids. After picking up the kids I took them to Krispy Kreme for free doughnuts. The we ran by the craft store and picked up supplies to make felt doughnuts. The kids seemed to have a good time and it kept them entertained.

Dad's baptism

2009-06-04T07:00:00.003-07:00

My dad got baptised a few weeks ago and I was lucky enough to be able to go with the kids. I love this shot of Alex. He is watching the older boys play in the pool after the baptism. You can just see the longing to be in there with the boys.

Abbie's 1st haircut

2009-06-03T07:00:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago Alex was on a boys only trip with his dad so I felt it was the perfect time for mom/daughter haircuts. Abbie just got a little trim and then Laurie was nice enough to style her hair too. I on the other hand got my hair chopped off and left a big pile on the floor.

I've been knitting

2009-06-02T22:07:00.003-07:00

I have recently been knitting dishcloths as an easy take along handwork project. Most of them are pretty simple but I decided to make a transformers washcloth for Alex. While this washcloth was not technically difficult to make it was hard to keep track of the stitch count and I don't know if I will be willing to make another one of these.

Pattern here

Line 25 is incorrect in the original pattern. Here is the correction.

I was on tv!

2009-05-30T12:49:00.003-07:00

A local news station came to the hospital where I work to do a story on our teen mom program. I happened to be doing my new mom group at the same time so they came and videotaped that. I am the one in the blue scrubs.

Aunt Martha's Banana bread

2009-05-22T21:07:00.002-07:00

Here is my favorite Banana Bread recipe:

2 1/2 C flour
1 2/3 C sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 C soft shortening (I use butter or margarine)
2/3 C buttermilk (or just add 1 tsp vinegar to the milk)
1 1/4 C mashed bananas (approx 3)
3 eggs
2/3 C nuts (optional)

Grease and flour the pan. Mix together 1st 5 ingredients add shortening buttermilk and mashed bananas beat 2 min. Add eggs then fold in nuts Bake 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

*My notes: I always have lots of overripe bananas for making bread because when a banana goes bad before it gets eaten I just throw the whole thing in the freezer for when I want to make bread. This bread always takes more than 35 minutes in my pans, up to an hour sometimes, just keep checking it. I like to sprinkle the top with a little sugar before baking to give it a nice crust when baked.*

Connected

2009-05-21T21:11:00.002-07:00

Since I moved into this house last January I have been getting by without an internet connection. The only problem with this is that it makes it difficult to make posts to my blog. Last Tuesday I started graduate school which is a hybrid online/in class program. This means that I need reliable internet at home. Today the internet man came and set up my internet and this evening I got my wireless router working. I am now happily sitting on my couch connected to the internet getting my new office software setup. I hope to be able to post more reliably in the future.

What I've been up to

2009-05-03T21:25:00.004-07:00

I've been building Lego Storm Trooper transport ships for Alex who is currently obsessed with Legos and Star Wars

I've been knitting dishcloths. They are a great quick project to have on hand when you are watching TV or stuck sitting in a waiting room.

I've been making lots and lots of double pinwheel 1/4 blocks. I have had the Eleanor Burns Double Pinwheel Quilt book for quite a while and have never made one. Since getting back from Quilt Camp I have been quilting a lot more and after I finished Abbie's quilt I decided to finally make a double pinwheel quilt. I raided my bin of scraps and my precut 2 1/2" strips and 2 1/2'x4 1/2" bricks and my stash for all red, blue and tan fabrics. I am going to make 1/4 blocks until I either run out of fabric or get sick of making them and that is how big the quilt is going to be.

Quilt done

2009-04-25T15:58:00.004-07:00

I got Abbie's quilt done this afternoon despite Abbie's "help" and telling me that it was done because she wanted to play with the quilt. As soon as I actually got it done and was taking a picture Abbie had to bring her pillow out and do a test drive.

I just stuck the quilt into the wash while Abbie was not looking hope she doesn't notice :)

Of the original pile of fabrics I have just a small amount left. I really had to get creative in order to make this quilt completely from stash. When I ran out of the solid cream background fabric I switched to the second choice fabric. When I didn't have enough of the multi colored polka dot fabric to make another row I made the piano key border with the leftovers. When I realized that I had cut a zillion 4" squares and had no yardage of background fabric left I pieced the inner borders. Lastly when I used the red fabric for the binding rather than the blue I would have preferred. I am very pleased with how this quilt turned out and hope that it gets much use over the next several years.

We love spinach

2009-04-20T17:00:00.004-07:00

The kids love spinach fresh from the garden.

More picture from camp

2009-04-20T17:00:00.003-07:00

Here are some more pictures from camp.

Quilt Camp

2009-04-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

I went to quilt camp this weekend and had a blast! The weather in Prescott was great and the company was even better. I got to meet a bloggy friend Angela of The Modern Diary. I broght up several quilts in progress and was happy at the progress I made. I finished the black white and red top from a block of the month that I did when I was pregnant with Abbie. The pink and brown top is Bonnie Huner's Carolina Crossroads that I started when it was a mystery on her site. The last top is for Abbie out of 30's repros from my stash.

I'm off to camp

2009-04-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

My car is packed, I am ready to go. As soon as my ex picks up the kids in the morning I am off to quilt camp in beautiful Prescott. I will do my best to make sure I post pictures in a timely manner. I am so excited I haven't been to quilt camp in over a year!

Some recent kid pictures

2009-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures I haven't shared yet. Most are from a recent trip to the zoo and the other one is from a trip to get frozen yogurt. The kids liked the yogurt so much that they kept on eating it despite the fact that they were shivering from the cold.

My time is just too valuable for that

2009-03-25T19:45:00.005-07:00

This is the response that I get from many people when I tell them about the bargains that I get from using coupons and shopping the sales. My thought is that by spending a little time shopping sales and using coupons I am able to spend less money and therefore have to spend less time earning money. The way I look at it the time that I spend working on this is very well spent. Take today's shopping trip for example. I stopped at Walgreen's and bought 13 cans of tomato sauce, it cost me $5.07 but I will submit for a $5 rebate and since I will take the rebate as a gift card that I can turn around and use on other good deals like this I will actually get $5.50 back. So in essence I have a net PROFIT of 43 cents. My next stop was Fry's and I did two transactions there. First transaction 2 4 packs of TP, 3 boxes of Oatmeal Squares, 1 box of granola bars, 4 cadbury cream eggs, 4 pb eggs, and 1 Vitamin water (not pictured). The balance actually came up negative 29 cents so they PAID me (they will usually not let this happen). Next transaction 4 boxes of granola bars 12 cents. So again I had a net PROFIT of 17 cents. I have more coupons and will stop by tomorrow and pick up more granolla bars. Total time at the store was under an hour (I left work at 3:30 and was at the daycare to pick up the kids by 4:45). I do spend time online looking at the sale blogs and such, but I have also gotten pretty efficient at skimming and just reading what is relevant to me.

If you added up the dollar amount of what I bought it would easily equal my hourly wage. So there you have it, my time is worth too much to not save money where I can.

I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-08T15:21:00.002-07:00

Just thought you might like to know.

Busy Busy

2009-03-07T08:59:00.004-07:00

I have been so busy lately. My friend Suzy is in town from Wyoming for a visit and to try to sell her new pattern. My cousin from New Hampshire is in town for a visit, and today I have another cousin's wedding to go to where I will see a couple more cousins that I haven't seen in quite a while. It is nice to see everyone, but it does make for a busy couple of weeks.

This morning I am finally going to take the final machine mastery class for my Bernina Aurora 440 machine. I've only had it for about 2 years now! Then after class I have to change clothes and drive to Scottsdale for a wedding.

Btw I picked the more primary color scheme for Abbie's quilt. I just didn't have enough fabrics to use the other one. Here are some blocks that I picked out.

Chinese Fried Rice

2009-02-25T21:19:00.004-07:00

I have tried several fried rice recipes over the years and was never greatly impressed. I tried a new one tonight and it was great. This makes a filling, cheap main dish meal. I used leftover white rice that I had cooked in chicken stock (homemade), some cubed cooked chicken I had in the freezer from some really cheap chicken I got a while back and veggies. Here is the recipe. I changed it a little (because I always do). I omitted the green onions (don't like them) and bean sprouts (didn't have any) but added about a tsp of chopped fresh garlic and about a quarter cup of finely diced yellow bell pepper. I also didn't do the egg in step 4 like it said, but I moved the chicken/veggie mixture to the sides of the pan after step 5 then poured the eggs in the center and stirred them until they were mostly cooked and then stirred them into the chicken/veggie mixture.

Alex asked to see what I was making for dinner tonight and when I showed him his face lit up and he said yumm! The best part is that there was enough left over to put some in the freezer for another meal.

God will provide

2009-02-23T21:27:00.002-07:00

As Dave Ramsey says; I am sacrificing now to win later. What this means is that I am on a pretty tight budget right now in order to build my emergency fund. This sacrifice now will give me so much peace of mind to know that in this economic climate if something happens to me I will have money to support myself. Lately though I have been feeling the pinch. Just tonight as I was driving home from getting the kids I really wanted to just go out to eat. Unfortunately, there is only $5 left in the food budget until I get paid on Thursday. So I drove home and made inside out pizza (calzones) for the kids and I. God is a great provider though and in the last 2 days I have gotten 3 things for free food from fast food restaurants (that I like). Sunday in the paper was a coupon for a free burrito at Chipotle. Today I found a sign up for a free small sub at Quiznos, and just now I got an email from Arby's for a free sandwich with a drink purchase. This will take care of my Tuesday night fast food run for the next couple of weeks. I am blessed.

Presidents Day fun

2009-02-21T09:00:00.002-07:00

On Presidents day the kids and I joined my sister, her kids, my mom, my sister's friend and her two kids for a trip to the Arizona Science Center. Everyone had a good time and it was a nice way to spend a day off. Unfortunately Abbie was not feeling well after lunch and we had to leave early, but we still got to see alot.

Rub a dub dub

2009-02-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

Two crazy kids pretending they are in the tub...

Killing two birds with one stone

2009-02-19T21:08:00.006-07:00

Abbie needs a new quilt to celebrate her big girl bed. Fortunately for me her big girl bed is toddler sized so that shouldn't be too huge of an undertaking. I have decided to kill two birds with one stone with this project since I have wanted to make a quilt out of my huge 30's repro stash for quite a while. I want to make this completely out of stash since I am trying to build up my emergency fund and buying anything that is not a need has pretty much been put on hold. Here are two groups of coordinates that I have pulled. I am partial to the second grouping, since I like purple and yellow together. I think that that group needs one more color to be a really nice quilt. I like the first group too, and I like that this group has a larger color palate. What do you think? I still haven't decided what pattern I am going to use.

Vallentines Day Fun

2009-02-17T08:00:00.001-07:00

The kids and I had a great Valentines Day this last weekend. Since several on my friend's husbands were not available on Saturday and since I am newly single we decided to have a kids party instead. We went over to H's house around 10:30 where we were joined by L and B. The kids had a great time helping to cut out and decorate sugar cookies. The mommies had a great time eating sugar cookie dough! After lunch Alex, Abbie and I left for nap time and then we met H and P at church. After church we went back to H's house for dinner and cookie eating. The kids had a great time and got to use their new aprons that I made as a Valentines day gift for them.

Call me Tom Sawyer

2009-02-16T08:00:00.001-07:00

Every time I vacuum the house the kids fight over who gets to help vacuum. So when I saw a small lightweight vacuum on sale the day after Thanksgiving for $10 I knew that I had to get one as a Christmas present. Now the kids vacuum the floors for me and they think that they are playing with a really cool toy!

Sleeping Kids

2009-02-15T19:38:00.003-07:00

Why is it I always want to take pictures of my sleeping kids? Last week Abbie got a new (to us, Thanks L!) toddler bed. She was so happy to get her new bed, and now she doesn't have to climb out of her crib anymore when she wants to sleep in my bed in the middle of the night. Recently I put the Mickey Mouse play tent up for the kids. Alex decided that he wanted to camp out in the tent so he has been sleeping in there.

Need a Crib?

2009-02-08T16:01:00.003-07:00

Note: Thanks to my mom this crib sold the very next day.

If you live in the Phoenix area and need a crib I have one for sale. My daughter has graduated to a toddler bed! See the add here.

I made Homemade Yogurt...

2009-02-01T20:47:00.003-07:00

And it tasted pretty darn good. I have been seeing a lot of stuff lately about making your own yogurt at home for much cheaper than what you could buy it for at the store. So since I had a ton of milk from a recent deal at Albertsons I decided to give it a try. I used this recipe and this method to incubate it. It took about 5 hours to incubate it but I set it up before we went to church this morning and let it do it's thing while we were gone. I really expected the finished product to be bitter like store bought plain yogurt but it wasn't bitter at all and actually tasted pretty good just plain. Abbie wanted a bedtime snack tonight so I put a squirt of reduced sugar strawberry jelly in a cup and then put some yogurt on top of it and stirred it up. The end result was very tasty and much cheaper than buying from the store.

A day at the Zoo

2009-01-20T17:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was MLK day here and since I had the kids H, my mom and I took the kids to the zoo. We even had an extra kid tag along. L's daughter B didn't have school but L had to work so we dragged her along too. The weather was great and the zoo was crowded but it wasn't too bad. H got a couple of great pictures of the kids. I was so grateful to my mom for coming with use since with an extra kid and the crowds it was nice to have another pair of adult eyes. Check out those too cool for school shades on Alex. He is beginning to look like such a big boy now!

I must have this fabric

2009-01-07T13:00:00.001-07:00

I have not been buying much fabric for over a year now. I mean it I have bought almost none. But I just saw this and have to say that when it comes out I will be buying some to make stuff for my son.

Another Fan of Craigslist is made

2009-01-06T22:09:00.002-07:00

I haven't done much with Craigslist in the past because it seemed a bit low tech and confusing but I am a total convert now. I moved into my new place on Saturday and Sunday I needed to be away from the house most of the day. I put the dogs in the backyard and went on my merry way not thinking too much about it. Well the dogs were not too happy to be left outside all day in a strange place in the rain. Sugar was waiting on the front porch for me when I got home and I had notes from three neighbors telling me that the dogs had been barking all day long. So I went out that night to buy a dog door but Home Depot and Petsmart were both closed. The next day I decided to look on craigslist to see what was available and I got in contact with a couple of sellers about buying a door. I went out Monday night to see one door but it was too small. Today after work I met with another seller at Target and she had the perfect dog door. It was in great shape and half of what I would pay for a new one! All I had to so was buy some weatherstripping and a couple patio door locks and I had a great bargain!

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

2009 is going to be the year of change for me! Monday I signed my divorce papers and Tuesday I signed the lease on my new house. Last night my friend H came over and helped me move some boxes. I am off tomorrow and the kids are with their dad so I will spend the day packing and moving boxes. Saturday the movers and my paretns are coming over to move the furniture and such.

I am looking forward to moving on from the upheval of the last year. I have some short and long term goals in mind for the next year and beyond. I'm not going to make resolutions this year, just set some goals for myself and then strive to meet those targets.

My #1 goal for this year is to have a fully funded emergency fund. Now that I am a single parent this is something that I feel is of utmost importance for me and my kids. My other goal for this year is to go back to school, but since I have already submitted my application there is not much else I can do to work towards that goal.

I'll post pictures of the new house soon.

Christmas

2008-12-27T17:00:00.001-07:00

I hope that everyone had a nice Christmas. Things were nice around here. The kids were with their Father on Christmas Eve so my parents came to my neck of the woods to have dinner with me and go to church. Then on Christmas morning the kids and I went to my sister's house for lunch. The kids had a fun and busy day. Alex's favorite toy was a small electric train and Abbie's is a baby stroller.

Doria needs a quilt

2008-12-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

Abbie got a Doria (Dora the explorer) doll for Christmas. Yesterday morning she was playing with it and another doll and I went to leave the house to run some errands. Apparently the dolls needed a blanket to go to bed and Abbie had appropriated my fleece jacket as a blanket. So, while the kids were out yesterday afternoon I quickly put together a quilt for Abbie's dolls.

The pannels are 4 1/2" x 10 1/2" string pieced units that I have been using as leader/enders, the borders are 2 1/2" black strips from my precut strips drawer and the binding and backing are a cute jungle fabric of H's that I had.

This weekend

2008-12-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

The 18th was my mother's birthday so on Saturday the kids and I went up to my parents house for her birthday dinner. On the way home we stopped at Bass Pro Shops so that the kids could visit Santa. Last year it was Alex crying but this year Alex happily saw Santa but Abbie was unhappy. My pictures aren't great but hopefully the one that Bass Pro took will be better. Check out this picture of Alex, he has been having a feeding frenzy (means a growth spurt is comming) lately and now I am really noticing some chages to his face. He looks like such a boy now.

Sunday H, L and I had our annual gift exchange. Fun was had by all and some great gifts were exchanged.

The real story

2008-12-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

As many of you might have noticed my posts over the last 6 months have been very sparse. The reason for this is that I have been going thorugh a divorce and other things have been taking priority over posting on my blog. Now the divorce is nearly final and I hope to be able to get back to posting on this blog.

Here are some of the things that have been going on in my life lately:

I started a new full time job in June. This has been an adjustment for the kids and I but I am enjoying the job and my coworkers.

I started going back to church in May and have found this to be a great source of peace and encouragement.

I put my application in for grad school this week and if all goes well I should start next fall.

I will soon be moving into a place of my own. This has been a challenge but I have been lucky to have a very patient real estate agent to help me.

I am sure there are other things that I am leaving out, but these are the things I coud think of right now. I hope you all are having a very happy and safe holidays.

Totally Cute Bow Holder

2008-11-28T08:08:00.002-07:00

How's that for a title.

I promise to get back to blogging soon, but in the meantime go check out this giveaway for a totally cute bow holder. Now if I could just get my daughter to leave the bows in her hair!

Haloween

2008-11-01T11:57:00.005-07:00

The kids had a great time trick or treating last night. We were able to go over to H's house and hang out and trick or treat with H's family. Alex was Optimus Prime from transformers and Abbie was a yellow duck. Now I am overrun with candy and will probably bring some to work or church to get rid of it. (Sorry for the blurry picture, hopefully H got a better one she can send to me.)

Wow I haven't posted in a while...

2008-10-31T13:38:00.005-07:00

Life has gotten in the way. I am working full time and taking care of the kids and the house in the evening and it just doesn't leave much time for anything else.

Last month for Abbie and P's 2nd birthdays (they are 26 hours apart) my friend H and I took the kids to get pictures done. The pictures turned out totally cute and the portrait place even had us sign releases so that they could put the picture up on the wall. (Click here to see how much they've changed)

Abbie is growing up so fast and has turned out to be quite the talker. My favortie Abbieism right now is "Bye Bye shut the door, OK". Abbie it turns out likes a bit of privacy in the bathroom and will not go until you shut and latch the door :)

I got pictures taken for Alex's 4th birthday last weekend and will post them here as soon as they email them to me.

Busy Busy

2008-09-22T17:00:00.007-07:00

Last Friday was Abbie's 2nd birthday and last Thursday was her friend P's birthday. Needless to say we had a busy busy weekend. Friday morning I didn't have to be at work until 9:30 so I took both kids to Chick-fil-A for breakfast and H and P were able to join us. The people at Chick-fil-A were nice enough to give both Abbie and P ballons and a small stuffed cow.

Saturday the kids and I went to P and A's birthday party and then the kids spent the afternoon with their father. Sunday the kids spent the morning with their father and then I had a birthday party for Abbie at the house. It was nice with family, close friends and even two kids from Abbie's gym class.

Needless to say by bedtime on Sunday the kids were exhausted. Abbie was so tired I had her in bed by 7 (an hour early).

Pictures (top to bottom): Becky and Abbie at Abbie's Party, Abbie enjoying birthday cake, Abbie and Alex in the bounce house I bought as a present for them both, Abbie at Chick-fil-A on Friday in her birthday dress (I feel a tradition in the making)

Need Opinion

2008-09-15T10:55:00.005-07:00

I have started making Abbie's birthday dress but I need your opinion. Most of the dress will be the yellow carebears fabric but I think that I want a different color for the crisscross straps in the back and some sort of ruffle at the bottom. I am making view C of the dress. My question is: Does the pink look OK or should I use a different accent color? Let me know ASAP since I have to have this done by Sunday.

Update: I decided to go with teal accents instead and it turned out great!

Update

2008-09-15T10:43:00.002-07:00

This was a busy busy weekend, and next weekend is not going to be any better. Saturday I worked from 7am to 3:30pm then I went home got the kids and went to church. After church the kids and I ran a few errands and got home in time to have a little snack and then into bed. Sunday Alex's friend B (and my friend L) came over for a playdate. In the afternoon the kids and I went to a birthday party for one of her friends from her gym class. The party was great fun and there was even a pony that Abbie got to ride twice and Alex got to brush. Unfortunatly I don't have pictures of the pony ride because I forgot my camera. By the time we got home both kids were exhausted and went to bed without a fuss. I even got some sewing time in after the kids went to bed. Here are a couple more cute pictures of the kids. The first one is from Church on August 31st, the other two are from the Riparian Preserve on September 11th.

The Dogma acording to Alex

2008-09-11T16:48:00.002-07:00

The kids and I have been attending Sun Valley Community church for the last several months. The other day while the kids and I were at the park Alex sat down with me and told me that he wanted to tell me a story. His story: Jesus died and was eaten by a dragon. I could only giggle and say ok Alex.

A Quote

2008-08-29T10:09:00.001-07:00

I saw this quote today and it made me giggle so I had to share:

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers.— Edgar W. Howe