just a happy day...

Well, Hello There

2012-02-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

I have been doing a lot of thinking about just a happy day. There have been many happy days and many sad days not captured and not blogged but, in truth, I was not sure what or how to share.

So here is a little blurb to say I am still here in my heart and I will again be here for real sometime very soon. I need a new look a focused focus for you and for me.

I realize that I am really the only one reading this little post....but soon there will be content, and fun, and crafts, and whatnot....but with a focus. Believe it!!!

Until then....Love, Jenny

Twisted, Sister!

2011-02-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

Fridays I never have kids and have planning time to write notes, work on lesson plans, prepare portfolios, and so forth. I am able to have a more flexible work schedule. So many Fridays Glen and I make plans to go to lunch together.

This past Friday was one of those days. I picked him up and we happened to be listening to Science Friday on NPR (National Public Radio.) Science Friday is usually fun to listen to because the topics vary so much and are pretty interesting and the host is upbeat and jovial. This week the topic was (well I can't tell you the whole thing because my mind wandered after the introductory part--you'll see why.) The guy said that skin cells are able to turn themselves into beating heart cells when a huge recipe of scientific soup is added. But first the skin cells have to be turned into stem cells and then they can be made into heart cells. I am sure that all of this has profound scientific ramifications and will be really amazing for our coronary health in the future. But the guy said, " If there was a way for the skin cells to skip the stem cell step then..." After that I began concocting skin cells tongue twisters. Glen joined in and silliness ensued. Here is the best one: "She seriously sears her skin cells by the shiny sea shore." Please try to say this 5 times fast. Impossible!!! I laugh!!! I tickle myself!!!

This also reminds me of a story a friend told about being roped in, at the last minute, to play and sing for/with a group of 4th-6th grade boys at RA Camp (Royal Ambassadors--pre AWANA missions group for boys in Southern Baptist Churches.) My friend thought it would be so fun to sing a tongue twister song with the boys, so she did. They were laughing and singing a long at the top of their voices. When she finished the song they yelled to do it again. My friend, thinking she was a big hit with this group she was not so sure about, enthusiastically went in for the second round. When she finished they yelled for a third go round. She began to start again and then saw the flailing arms of her husband. He was jumping up and down in the back of the auditorium and trying to sign for her to stop. She did and excused herself from the stage. The song she had played for the boys was "Peter Piper Picked a peck of pickled peppers." The boys had apparently been singing "PICKLED (something an 11 year old boy would think of that rhymes with peppers)" while laughing wildly and pointing to the front of their pants. She was mortified but it sure was a funny story.

I leave you with a parting twist: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? "dang woodchucks!!"

PS Oh my!! I went and saw The King's Speech---must say it is solidly in my top 5 EVER! In the movie they said a tongue twister that I now love "I have a sieve of sifted thistles because I am a thistle sifter."

That made me think of the one Glen is always trying to get me to say and I really CANNOT: "A skunk sat on a stump. The skunk thunk the stump stunk. The stump thunk the skunk stunk. Which one stunk, the stump or the skunk?" Boy I even had a hard time spelling (much less saying) that one. Want more? Who knew there were so many?

$2 Clock Made Vintage and New

2011-02-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the newest installment of craftiness for the bedroom. I had a $2 clock that I intended to do something fabulous with for Lylah's baby nursery. I had seen a very cute clock by Land of Nod and wanted to try something like it, but then it flopped and I tried something else and I hated that too. And so it sat in a wasteland of unfinished projects and scrawled on a "to do" list. Skip ahead nearly 4 years and I have revamped it and LOVE it.

You may or may not recall that I have been asked by several older ladies if I wanted to go through their crafts stash/sewing stuff and take what I wanted because they were cleaning house and choosing not to craft anymore. I, of course, jumped on the idea and MY craft stash is now crazy awesome with vintage trims, buttons, and general crafty goodness. My total favorites are the tiny plastic deer from Glen's grandma.

Anywho, from one of my treasure hunts I recovered about 6 or 8 pieced and never finished quilt blocks. I top stitched one of them and embroidered numbers around the edges. I then affixed it to the clock face and glued the tips to the outside rim of the clock face. I put the hands back on, made sure it worked, and popped the cover back on the top (with no small effort-these things are not really made to come apart.) I love the look. Sweet and vintage and Grandmother's Kitchen looking. Perfect!!!

Here are a few shots of the clock. They are as good as I could get. I think I REALLY need to fix up a light box to get better shots---or read my camera manual. The first is the recipient peering at her clock (she had to be in one.)

Oh the fun!!! I will have more tomorrow or maybe Monday depending on how it all goes. I am elbows deep in a floor mat play area for the doll house. Listening to audio books while I work now. LOVE it!!

Oh Mommy, There's a Graden On My Mirror

2011-02-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

I have finished another element of Lylah's room. I have had a brass mirror in her room, hung at her level, since she was about 12 months old. I have always wanted to do something else with the frame and had something completely different in mind for the finished product. But last week I changed my mind and was able to whip out the mirror in a few hours.

Before: A nice Beveled Mirror ( uh...quite dirty too) with a dated brass frame. From Grammy Jones' de-stashing efforts a few years back.

Lylah peeking at herself in the Garden Mirror. To the mirror I added a topper made of left over mat board and covered the brass frame and the topper with a velveteen-ish material. I then made two different sized mushrooms out of felt and attached them with a few blades of felt grass. I then made flowers out of a million buttons in varied sizes and colors backing them with felt (or not) and topping them with sequins (or not). I attached everything (including many felt leaves) with hot glue. And Ta Da!

She wanted to make sure I got her new-from-Grammy-Blazer- Strawberry- Shortcake- Purse in the shot. You can also see the little felt mushrooms at the bottom.

I thought I better add this picture although it does not show much new of the mirror. It is a typical and silly face I see all the time from Lylah. Her fake smile. See our wedding photos for the originator (Daddy) of the fake smile.


Here is a close up of the button flowers. It was very fun to make and I only burnt myself 300 times. I listened to Peter Pan on CD read by Jim Dale. He is outstanding and he does great voices. I recommend Peter Pan to any reader. Oh the whimsy and fun and a rollicking good tale to boot!

Well there you have it. One forest themed/ garden themed mirror redo. I have more to show tomorrow too. I'm on a roll!

Snow Rangers and a Polar Bear Bath

2011-02-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

So today was the 4th snow day in a row. I technically could have gone to work today, but classes were canceled and I chose to stay home with Crazy Cakes instead. We wasted no time getting started with our day. Bright and early we were up AND DRESSED in real clothes. I was working on the attic craft space and Lylah was writing a story. I wrote down her dictation and apparently the world is full f carnage today. One piece of a story was quite tragic yet told in a very mater of fact way as follows: "Well the baby kitten was yelling and she said, 'help! help! I am stuck inside a Loin's mouth!' Then her Grandma came and helped her out of the lion. Then they cooked her up in a soup. Why? Well, because had been inside the lion's mouth and she had already been chewed...." There several stories involving coyotes on top of "pyramints" and how jump on you when you look up just like the Woozles in Winnie the Pooh. And they went on and on. She has been very interested in stories and learning to read and writing her own books and drawing the pictures. It was so cute and a fun look into her thought processes and development.
After out writing and un-cleaning we got bundled up, gathered snow man supplies and trekked out into the 14 inches of snow to make a snow Lylah. But it has been very windy and the snow was no good for snow building. So she made a quick SNOW RANGER and then we changed the plans.

What a cute snow ranger!

I gathered up three giant tubs of snow to turn our bathtub into a sensory table. I had intended to bring in tubs of snow and let her play with it in the dining room, but Aunt Lori told me that a friend had brought it in and put it in the tub. I find that idea brilliant! It just melts away and the mess is gone. Genius!
So she squirted blue water into the snow and learned how to such water into a medicine dropper and built snow castles. She even got in in her snow bibs that Grandma Jones gave her. She had lots of fun, but decided that she better stop and help me make snow Ice Cream. So we did.


This is the crazy face I get most every time I pull out the camera.

One last look at our snow castle. Lylah says it looks like the one at Disney world and oh how she would love to see it for real.

Snow ice Cream:
Pile of snow in a bowl
dollop of Sweetened Condensed Milk
Stir and enjoy---I think it tastes a lot like home made ice cream. Icy and rich.

These pictures are in order of how they happened. The last one of her with a cold face was not posed (although it looks like I told her to do it). She had just eaten too much too fast and frozen her little teeth or mouth. She also told me how I was the best mommy in the world and I got several kisses. Maybe this is like me needing to hug people when I find a splendid antique or button.

Well that's our snow day!

He Loves Me Hoop

2011-02-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

I have been loving the embroidery hoop designs I have been making lately. I have seen some on the blogs, but not just like mine. I would link you to some that are awesome...but I tend to look a lot and not remember where they came from unless they are from a fave spot. I should get better about that and the post would be reeally cool. But you only get my stuff today.

I found this cast off bolt of fabric at "WalMark's" a few months ago for cheap and loved the look of it. It has a wood grain look and is so very fun. You know I love all things woodsy and forest-ish and this fabric fit right in (except for the fact that it is obviously not a natural fiber and is quite slick and synthetic.) So the feel and type of the fabric is "meeeh, not so much.." But the look is right, so I overlooked the feel.

I intended to make the hoop as a gift for Glen for Christmas and make it look like our initials were carved in a tree. I am sure I still will at some point. But this one turned into a hoop to celebrate how much we are loved by our God. It has come to my heart like a ton of bricks how much I am loved by Jesus- maybe as a direct result of deep sadness and human tragedy and the loss of our third baby girl. It is amazing how God is so good and comforts us so much when we are so broken. I have learned that I am in God's care and how all things are filtered through his grace and mercy for our good and his glory. I paraphrased that last from our Sunday School teacher (and small group leader) who put the thoughts better than I could and spoke the thoughts of my heart. So the love note for Glen turned into a love note from Jesus instead and I really love the way it turned out.

I am not so sure the picture does the hoop justice. I used a branch and acorns from one of our favorite trees around the corner and traced the leaf to make felt leaves. The verses are from

Romans 8:37-39
we are more than victorious     through Him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,
    nor angels nor rulers,
    nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing
    will have the power to separate us
    from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Nothing can separate us from God's love. There are so many other verses I could have selected for the same "He Loves Me" theme, but I liked this one at the time. I am sure I will add more to the collection. I love the idea of the wood carved sentiment. I feel like I could get started on another one tonight. But I have a Lylah's Room project to finish. So I will get that done so I can show you her room completed.

Maybe one more sneak peek.

This is her little table and chairs with Lylah and Friend place mats and a real vase with fake flowers. I debated doing some sort of mod podge on the table top but I think I am going to go with a "less is more" approach. Curiosity peeked? Maybe not, but this was such a big deal for me I feel like I cannot show it until it is all the way done. And it's not done yet. So hang tight.

The Bunny Hoop

2011-02-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a while again and I have a very good reason. I have been as busy as a bee or a beaver (whichever you prefer). We have completed a MAJOR renovation in Lylah's room and I have also done several crafty projects related to that. Oh, yeah, and we have all been sick with colds followed by the flu followed by another cold (followed by an ear infection for Lylah). So,needless to say, we have been a little out of commission.

But enough of the sob story....I am currently off work for the 3rd day in a row for snow and ice. A 3 day paid vacation on the heels of a big room redo makes me happy. We never lost power and we had plenty of groceries and time for art and decorating. Lylah has been quite the artist. She has been painting and drawing all day. Her pictures are getting recognizable and pretty well done (if I do say so myself). I think she got the artist gene YIPPEE!

I thought I would show you a sneak peek of the bedroom but mostly a little bunny hoop.

Here is the bunny hoop. The bunny cross stitch has been in the family since the 80's. I have always Loved it and my mom lovingly gave it to me several months ago. I intended it to be in Mae's room along with a couple of other things, but I revamped it and made it over for Lylah's room instead. I adore it even more now. For me it has so much history. I bought the buttons I used for the flowers after Anna passed away and have been intending to use them for a remembrance for her. The bunnies I intended for Mae's room. So the two of them together seems appropriate. The cross stitch was in a lovely 80's DUSTY ROSE frame and mat. So I took it out and put it into the trendy hoop. I then added the button flowers and I completely adore the whole thing. I mean I ADORE it. it might be my favorite thing I have ever revamped/made. Family history, personal history and a lovely addition to Lylah's new big girl room...love it !!

OK now for the sneak peek...

Lylah in her big girl bed.

Lylah standing by her book rails. More to come soon.

For my 2 readers...

2011-01-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

Here are the answers to my movie quotes:
1.We're not going anywhere...Hey! Where're you going? WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE
2.It's precisely the point of a loooong dining table. JFK
3.Oh, isn't butter divinity! LITTLE WOMEN ( Winona Rider version)
4.Be gone J.Evans Pritchard PhD! DEAD POETS SOCIETY
5.Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower? YOU'VE GOT MAIL
6.Sorry I lost your set of steak knives. A FEW GOOD MEN
7.I do not think you would accept my help since I am only waiting around to kill you. THE PRINCESS BRIDE
8.Would you like to partake of the pecan pie? WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
9.I'm exhaustified of being the boy. LITTLE WOMEN...again
10.I fear I am ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers . PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
11. Allow myself to Introduce...myself... AUSTIN POWERS
12.They should be playing "furry furry rabbit" or tea party or something/ What's "furry furry rabbit?"/ It's a game isn't it? SIGNS
13.It's all those lobsters Isn't it? scads of lobsters in a tank. WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE...again
14.Nothin' important...That is to say I heard a good deal about a ring, a dark lord, and somethin' about the end of the world, but... LORD OF THE RINGS THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
15.She hadda go baffroom ANNIE
16.I service society by rockin'...Rockin' ain't no walk in the park, lady. SCHOOL OF ROCK
17.I'm in the only room in the house where a boy of 9 can sit in privacy and decode. A CHRISTMAS STORY
18.That's what I said "booty traps" GOONIES
19.You look good wearing my future. SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL
20.Don't move until you see it./I can't see it./ Don't move until you see it. SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER
21.There's a monster outside my window. Can I have a glass of water? SIGNS...again
22.You know, I don't think that teaching is a "fall-back" position, and I grow nervous around those who do. MR HOLLAND'S OPUS
23.We are M-F-E-O... Made For Each Other. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE
24.Taste that Milkshake. There's real milk in there. GILBERT...again
25.There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't. WHAT ABOUT BOB
26."My lips hurt real bad!" and "Nobody wants a round-house kick to the face when I'm wearing these bad boys." NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
27.What would you give me for a basket of hugs? THE BAD SEED
28.Out of the way! We are in the throws of an exceptional emergency!/Is someone in need of medical attention?/ This is no time for sport! There is lace at stake!! CRANFORD
29.Practically perfect in every way. MARY POPPINS
30.Does little Snookums Wookums want a bony wony?..../ Little pinky pooter. THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN
31. I am never in the depths of despair. To despair is turn your back on God. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

There. That does it. I have revealed my titles. I am brimming with so many other goodies. I have been watching Cranford nonstop for a week...every night...while I craft. I have been very very crafty. My craft space in in major disarray right now and as soon as I get it "policed up," as my dad would say, I will take pictures of all the goodies and let you see them all. I have made no less than 6 projects in the past week. That is a lot for me. I have changed my mindset and am determined not to be without energy in the evening. As a matter of fact, I find that since I am crafting, I have energy all the time. I have mounds of motivation to get me trough work and into the evening with lots of energy to spare. Workin' it!!! More to come soon.

oh! My current favorite Cranford quote: "What good is a husband for the constitution? I have spinster carved on my bones and the doctor is a stranger to me."

My life "in quotes"

2010-12-29T22:38:00.000-08:00

I read somewhere that my generation is a group of people who speak in movie quotes. I cannot speak for everyone here,but I think I might be the epitome of this thought. Pretty much anything someone says to me will be filtered by move lines and then (whether I say it or not) a movie line comes to my mind. Case in point: My sweet Lylah loves to rhyme now. She really has the concept down pat and she can rhyme anything. Sad though, that at school the other day our Librarian was reading a book called Rhyming Dust Bunnies and asked, "What rhymes with dog?" My kid said blog!! Oh my!!

Anyway, back to my point. She begins to rhyme and I immediately jump to The Princess Bride. Anyone with me? I know you are!

I thought it might be fun to list some of my favorite quotes and see how many of the movies you can guess. some will definitely be easy and others maybe not so much. No Googleing or whatnot. Ah, the Game is afoot!

In no particular order:

1.We're not going anywhere...Hey! Where're you going?
2.It's precisely the point of a loooong dining table.
3.Oh, isn't butter divinity!
4.Be gone J.Evans Pritchard PhD!
5.Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?
6.Sorry I lost your set of steak knives.
7.I do not think you would accept my help since I am only waiting around to kill you.
8.Would you like to partake of the pecan pie?
9.I'm exhaustified of being the boy.
10.I fear I am ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers .
11. Allow myself to Introduce...myself...
12.They should be playing "furry furry rabbit" or tea party or something/ What's "furry furry rabbit?"/ It's a game isn't it?
13.It's all those lobsters Isn't it? scads of lobsters in a tank.
14.Nothin' important...That is to say I heard a good deal about a ring, a dark lord, and somethin' about the end of the world, but...
15.She hadda go baffroom
16.I service society by rockin'...Rockin' ain't no walk in the park, lady.
17.I'm in the only room in the house where a boy of 9 can sit in privacy and decode.
18.That's what I said "booty traps"
19.You look good wearing my future.
20.Don't move until you see it./I can't see it./ Don't move until you see it.
21.There's a monster outside my window. Can I have a glass of water?
22.You know, I don't think that teaching is a "fall-back" position, and I grow nervous around those who do.
23.We are M-F-E-O... Made For Each Other.
24.Taste that Milkshake. There's real milk in there.
25.There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't.
26."My lips hurt real bad!" and "Nobody wants a round-house kick to the face when I'm wearing these bad boys."
27.What would you give me for a basket of hugs?
28.Out of the way! We are in the throws of an exceptional emergency!/Is someone in need of medical attention?/ This is no time for sport! There is lace at stake!!
29.Practically perfect in every way.
30.Does little Snookums Wookums want a bony wony?..../ Little pinky pooter.
31. I am never in the depths of despair. To despair is turn your back on God.

There are 3 movies represented more than once. I could not help it. Oh I could go on and on and on with the quotes. It's quite addictive once you get started. Leave me a comment and your guesses. You can even leave me a quote and see if you can stump the chump. Fun times.

Gingerbread Hair Clip

2010-12-19T13:29:00.000-08:00

Grammy is a shopper and blesses us with all manner of cuteness from her clearance finds at Gymboree and various other places. This year Lylah has gotten about a hundred "wearings" out of a sweet Gingerbread jumper and sweater and tights from last years line of cuteness at Gymboree. She loves to wear the tights and the sweater. In fact, they have been on her more than not in the past few weeks. They are her official holiday attire this year.

Since gingerbread stuff is so cute and we make such a big deal of gingerbread stuff at our house at Christmas time, I thought I would make a little gingerbread clip that she could wear with her favorite sweater and jumper. It's felt with sequins and stitching. (Pictured here on top of a ribbon bow because she had too much hair for a single clip this day. It's really a clip with pink around the clip part.)

It was so fun to make! I wish I had started my Christmas crafts earlier in the season. I might have linked them to a linky party or tried to put them in my (non-existent) shop--or sent a couple to cousins. But as it is, we have one, and only one.

I promise to post about paper gingerbread Lylah and our gingerbread houses making. Here and here are last years'. This years are sweet and fun too. I am finding myself too busy to post as often as I want. I am so blessed to be doing things I love and spending time with my precious family. Christmas has been a blast this year. Simple and unadorned. I am loving the season. More on that later....

p.s. Happy 100th Post to me!!

"Come On Annie, Let's Go to the Movies!"

2010-12-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

"Let's go to the Moooo-oovies....Let's go see the Star-are-are-s!" Oh how I love when a post comes with a song. I could do it every time, but that would get tedious, no?

Lylah and I went to see Tangled over the weekend. She loved to go to the movies and eat the popcorn and M&Ms. I brought a couch pillow for her to sit on so she would not fold up in the chair and she fit perfectly. The movie was so fun and funny and so very cute. There were some confusing conflicts for a 3 year old...like why is the Mother the bad guy and kidnapping and so forth, but really it was a great movie and we both enjoyed it.

My favorite part was seeing the floating lanterns. It was quite a beautiful and sweet scene in the movie. But right next to me was an even sweeter sight. Little Lylah, completely enthralled in the movie, had slid down off her seat and was reaching out with wide open arms to catch a 3D floating lantern. I loved that part the best.

And now...Enjoy a piece of my movie history. Please know that I am dancing in my slip and swinging my hair...right now. I believe that I "performed" Annie every afternoon for quite a while in the neighborhood growing up. I, of course, was Annie and I believe my little sister was required to be Sandy (the dog) pretty much every time. Sorry, Sarah. Drama queen. Can't be helped!

Coming soon: Christmas decor, finished Christmas gifts, a sweet gingerbread hair clip, Lylah's Christmas singing at school, and more movies!!

Halloween 2010..a little on the too late side

2010-12-05T23:43:00.000-08:00

Lylah was a storybook princess for Halloween. I wanted her to be Olivia. She said she wanted to be Billy The Exterminator (which would have been to hilarious.) But then she changed her mind. She was convinced that she had to be a princess. So I used a very sweet dress my mom bought Lylah on clearance at Target for the base of the costume. I had saved the dress for her to wear in a professionally taken picture, but I never got them taken. So the dress had never been worn and it would soon be too cold.

I made a little cape/wrap and added the jeweled clasp. I also MADE her gloves. It took a lot of work, but I learned how to do new stuff on the machine and I could make gloves much easier next time. I found some gloves for sale for $8 (too cheap to buy those) and I made mine for about a dollar and it only took about 6 hours--(cough, cough) But like I said, I learned something. And they were cute.

My favorite part of the costume was the scepter. It is made from an over-sized Christmas pencil, a mirrored Christmas ornament, sparkle ribbon, hot glue, pearls, and white duct tape. It only took about 5 minutes and I love its awesome authenticity.

Add a little drama with a major make up job and face jewels. Add a feathery and sparkle covered tiera and a large purple "diamond" ring, and you have one storybook princess.

She was so excited and so proud of her look that she could hardly stand it. She was embarrassed and excited to see how amazing she looked. She glided everywhere and loved the costume!!!

The bottom two Pictures are of her at American Family Insurance where the preschool Trick-or-Treats every year. They are so sweet to us and the children are always VERY loaded when they leave. Lylah is tired after carrying her heavy bag "by my own". Maybe I should have called her a Drama Queen rather than a Princess.

Happy Halloween, Princess of Drama. I have no idea where she gets it.....he he he

Blueberry Mufffins with Almond Crumble or My Bakery Best

2010-11-30T18:44:00.001-08:00

Never have I made a muffin that was pretty enough to look at AND yummy enough to eat until now. I was on a quest for an easy and mostly good for you breakfast that Lylah can take in the car on our way to school. Because, lets face it, I cannot manage to keep myself in order for more than 2 days in a row. So as great as waking up early and getting dressed and making breakfast for my child (and self) sounds, it's just not gonna happen. But I can sometimes muster the energy to cook in the evenings. Such was the case on Tuesday. I made amazing blueberry muffins with almond crumble on top. Even though I am breaking my own "fruit rules," I ate one, and really enjoyed it.

Here's the recipe. BLUEBERRY MUFFINS WITH ALMOND CRUMBLE
Ingredients

1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
1/4 veg oil
1 large egg
1/2 C milk
1 1/2 C frozen Blueberries

Crumble;
1/2 C sugar
1/3 flour
1/4 C melted butter
1 t Almond Extract (or a little more)

Preheat to 400 degrees F. Line muffin cups. Combine sugar and dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients and mix until combined. Pour the wet into the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the thawed, rinsed, and drained blueberries. Scoop into muffin cups and fill until almost to the top. Batter will be very thick. Top the muffins with the crumble mixture. To make the crumble: Mix all ingredients with a fork and sprinkle on top of the muffins. Bake for about 21 min. (but my oven runs hot)
See! Yummy enough to eat.

Here is my sweet Lylah singing one of our favorite preschool songs. The words are: There were 3 little muffins in the bakery shop. (You know the kind with the honey and the nuts on the top) Along came a child with a penny to pay and eh bought a muffin and he ran away.....then there were no little muffins in the bakery shop....and he said What no muffins today!!!

Silly good times. P.S. She loves them so it was a success!!!

Pig Pen's Chair gets a makeover

2010-11-25T19:22:00.000-08:00

Well, one could assume that after 7 solid months, I was never going to post here again...but one would be wrong.

I have a simple Before and After to share.

Please know that I love my blog and I love to share here, but life has been a little hairy in the past few months. A lot of good and sad things have happened in the life of our family. Maybe I will post about some of those things in the near future, but for today, I will post a Before and After to wet my crafty blog feet and then see how far I get this week.

Oh, the ideas and the fun I have in my churning little mind! Oh, the bloggy plans I have concocted and the posts I have worked up in my brain! You might be surprised that only a couple have to do with anything remotely related to Chick-fil-A.

I digress....

Now the Before and After:

The before is Lylah's chair at the breakfast table. It is a very old chair I was given when Glen an I got married. It's from my mom's old stash. I have covered it about 4 times since owning it. It now is Lylah's seat and, as you can see, she has wiped paint fingers (and countless food particles) all over the seat. GROSS right?! This is all despite wearing a paint smock and being a lover of the use of napkins. Anyway, the chair has seen better days so I knew we needed a more durable cover that would be very washable. And fun couldn't hurt either.

The after is the same chair covered in a fun pink polka dot oilcloth material. The top of the seat is a few different pieces of scrapbook paper and a magazine add for a fun fabric line all cut up and pieced into the look I wanted. I then ModPodged over the paper pieces to make sure it was all secure. No more messy fingers residue! I love the look because it is so fun. Of course Lylah likes it because it has enough pink for her princess heart.You may not be able to see the detail here because my picture quality is so poor, but the little birds are holding a little cherry between their beaks and sitting on top of cute cupcakes. The little birdies are from one of the papers I used to recover Lylah's name letters for her new big girl room redo. I can't wait to show you the fun things we are cooking up for the space.

Hope you liked the Before and After. Feels good to be back in the game!!

p.s. Do you like my sweet squirrels on the kitchen table? Glen picked them out and surprised me with them. I LOVE squirrels... and acorns... and fall-ish stuff...and....

An excuse for an obsession

2010-06-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

OK. I have said it before. I am obsessive. I obsess over movies, people, SMELLS (good or bad),food, crafts, babies, music, and the list goes on. You name the topic and I can tell you what I am currently fanatical about related to said topic.

Wanna play? Oh goodie!

Music: Right Now...Natalie Merchant Leave Your Sleep (I'll have to do a whole post on it soon. it would be a shame to talk about it now when I am SO OBSESSED I could talk a lot more)

Movies: Well Pride and Prejudice silly that you did not get that one before me. I have also added Cranford to the list. Maybe it's own post too. LOVE it!! And many many more of all kinds. My conversations are all made up of one movie quote after another...I have no original thoughts.

Smells: Love the smell of clean laundry and soap and freshness. Love the smell of 'right before the rain' dirt. Crazy for it really. Hate (and smell often because of all of our rain lately) the smell of worms. Maybe specifically worms cooking on concrete. Hate to smell most perfumes and air fresheners. Oh and many more. This may be my biggest obsession. Just ask my poor husband who gets to hear about each one...in detail...goes beyond "pregnant nose". I have the condition for life.

Food: I could go on and on. But, currently it's spaghetti. Had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday and only lunch, dinner, and a nibble of a snack on Sunday. Having it for lunch tomorrow too! Can't wait! Oh, and then there's Chick-fil-A...

Sweat: Why is sweat an obsession, you may ask? It's because I hate it so bad. Because it was 105 with the heat index today. Because it was 105 and the air in our car is broken AGAIN!!!!! ( to be fixed this week hopefully for the 10th and final time--by a new shop) Because it makes me feel gross, duh. And because I seem to do a lot more of it as a pregnant person. Oh how I hate to sweat. Maybe that's why I am a bit on the heavy side. I can't bear to sweat. No jungle environments for me please. I would be pleased to live at the North Pole. ( Come to think of it, the whole Christmas year round thing is absolutely perfect for me. Great idea!)

Sonic Ice: I try to enjoy a Sonic Iced Tea or Diet Coke(sometimes with lime) everyday. Now, I realize that this is not thrifty. I do try to go during Happy Hour when I can get the beverage 1/2 price, but if I don't make it, well....I might still get a drink anyway. It's the ICE!! I am obsessed with the ice. I am a serious ice snob. And for me, Sonic is about as awesome as it gets (except the ice machine at my church growing up--I could have sustained myself on ice alone my whole childhood).
The other day I got a big bag of ice from Sonic. Glen feels that this is an utter waste of money because he is not obsessed with ice. I, however, know that this $2 bag of ice, while more expensive than some crappy ice you can get elsewhere, will be the agent of giant amounts of savings. Just think...I spend $2 a day on an awesome beverage. That is about $700 dollars a year. I predict that my one bag of ice can last me 3 to 4 weeks. That is $24 dollars a year for ice. I can drink my own awesome tea at home. It is currently brewed with mint leaves and Lipton Decaf and a little Splenda. Awesome and nearly free. I say Glen should chill out about the ice and realize what kind of savings I am adding to the budget. With that kind of savings I should probably hit the fabric store and the craft store. I could use a few spools of ribbon.....
Look at that inviting glass of tea and yummy bag of 100 calorie popcorn. Tea that good deserves Sonic Ice. I will now enjoy a nice drink and a favorite snack and an Episode of Iron Chef America. Oh the OBSESSION with Iron Chef....but I will spare you the details ( because that would waste my time and my ice might melt)

EDIT: When presented with the evidence and the numbers, my dear husband agreed that Sonic ice is a good thing and "far be it from him to deny (me) such a small thing that brings (me) so much joy." Yippee!! No more hard sell for the ice of my dreams....literally. Pregnancy dreams are a hoot. I should write these puppies down.

Where HAVE you been?

2010-06-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well I cannot say I have been any place exotic or spectacular. But there have been a lot of happenings since I blogged last. Let's scroll through a few in a nice easy list.

1. Parent/ Teacher Conferences at school= stress

2. End of school stuff like a Bar B Que and play night and getting my loose ends tied up for the end of the school year.

3. My Mom came to visit! We had tons of fun, but the week before she arrived Glen and I were very busy trying to get the house ready for a visitor. Above is one of my favorite pictures from the visit.

4. We refinished our dining table and 6 chairs. I slapped some fabric on them for chair covers that still need to be replaced with my beautiful fabric I bought 3 years ago for this project.

5. Major MAJOR progress on the craft room. Even set up a little place for Lylah to craft along side of me. She loves it! A little paint and a lot more tweaking still left to do, but I'm getting closer.

6. Lylah's 3 year old birthday!! Can't believe she is three. She seems to have grown up all of a sudden. she's pretty good at doing things, "By My Own"

7. Found out I am pregnant again!!! So excited and pretty much have had a distracted mind since that point. I am getting better. I am not COMPLETELY freaked out all the time as I was in the beginning. I have some pretty bad history with missed miscarriages ( meaning the baby dies and your body pretends to still be pregnant giving you no sign that the sad thing has happened until you go in for a Dr. appointment and try to hear a heartbeat and there is none).

8. Started our summer school session. My summer kids are so fun! I am really glad to have a fun summer. I don't think I could have handled a rough one. My mind is not capable of too much more than making it through to the 12 week doctor visit on July 2nd.

9. Refinishing Lylah's big girl bed. She wants it pink. I am not sure if that means I will paint it pink after Glen finishes stripping all the gooey drippy varnish someone before us poorly applied, or if it will just be pink bedding. It IS pink bedding already (Thank you Grammy for the delicious bedding). Maybe a pink bed on top of pink bedding is too much. Probably not for Lylah, though. she is all about pink with no encouragement from me. I love it too, but I am more partial to blues and greens. Here is Henry sitting like a person on some of the bedding . Lylah thought this was very funny.

10. Trying to cook at home in ways that are healthy, yummy, 3 year old friendly, and not spaghetti every night--although right now I could bathe in it and be a happy person. I guess you could call that a "craving', right?

11. Currently in the throws of a MAJOR sinus infection/summer cold that I can only take wussy Tylenol for. I am not complaining that I am pregnant and therefore cannot take meds, I just wish the 'OK for growing babies' meds were better at making me not feel like "Moaning Mertal"

So there it is. The things that have kept me away. Since the beginning of May I will say it has mostly been tiredness (from growing a baby) and anxiety (from not knowing what is going on in there) and doing a lot of projects for home and school. But I am going to blog more often...WAY more often.

If anyone is still here to read the end of this long and boring post, here's the deal:
I almost chose to not blog again. Not because I hated it or did not have the 'readership' I needed, but because I began to look at my blog as a tool for MY PRODUCTS rather than what it is. What is it? A way to connect with my family long distance, a memory keeper and a chronicle of our life now, maybe a tool for marketing (if I ever get that ETSY shop going), and mostly a fun way to share stuff and be connected with my people. I got a little worried that I should have my blog be a 'ministry' or that I should have some product line or brand to promote and I should be ultra crafty and witty and wise and sage. But, truly, I just gotta do what I love and the blog will be what it will be. Is that a song?

So... here's to beginning the blog again.

A Little bit Funny

2010-04-19T21:39:00.001-07:00

I went in to kiss Lylah goodnight and found this sight. Poor Strawberry Shortcake! She's been eaten by a flashlight lion!

I giggled and then went for the camera.

Today I was asking Lylah about opposites. She is a little young to understand the concept still, but a friend was talking about it so I thought I would quiz her and see if she had the idea yet. It went like this:

Me: Lylah, what's the opposite of stop?
Lylah: Hmmm?
Me: What's the opposite of stop?
Lylah: Hmmm? ( this happens ALL THE TIME. She answers most everything with "Hmmm?")
Me: You can stop or.... ( with a leading tone of voice)
Lylah: Hmmm?
Me: If you don't stop you... (again with a leading tone)
Lylah: If you don't stop, you go to time out!!
Me: Big laugh!!!

I have bee informed that the baby in Lylah's tummy is not Orange Blossom any longer... It's Baby Jesus.

She helped me with making dinner tonight and said, " I love to help you, my Sweetheart Mommy." And, "oh, yum, yum. I love this dinner. It smells so tasty and lovely."

Lylah gave Henry a pet the other day. "Here's a puppy for you to love and sit with you in the window, Henry. You're welcome."
My silly girl.

Could You Add Some More PINK?

2010-04-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

I am finally posting the pictures of the little dress I made out of a favorite pin-tucked ruffled shirt. I asked Lylah if she would like mommy to make her a dress and she said yes and she wanted it pink. I had my eye on the cutest fabric at Joann's and used a coupon to get it 1/2 price. So excited about that!

So I got the fabric and sewed all night...literally. I went to bed at 4 am!! I sewed a skirt onto the top to make the dress. I put in tiny box pleats and made a little belt finished off with vintage yellow buttons. When I got Lylah up the next morning she was tired and less than impressed. I showed her the dress and she said, "hmmm. Could you add some more pink?"

Unfortunately it was too baggy and needed to be taken in a smidge. So I had to take off the whole skirt and belt, take in the top, add darts on the back, and sew the skirt and belt back on.

I also made knee high socks from a too small pair of tights. I used this tutorial from Ruffles And Stuff.

Here's the reveal.

The favorite shirt that was too short to wear anymore.
Added the box pleats and skirt. Added hot pink buttons and a ribbon belt but thought it looked too country.

Took off the country parts and added a belt and vintage yellow buttons. oh how I love vintage buttons!! Perfect!

Lylah wearing the dress and socks after the re-re-do. The shirt was taken in and darts were put in the back.

Lori's Birthday and a "Cake Wreck"

2010-04-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

It was Auntie Lori's birthday several days ago.

For her birthday I made my own cake wreck complete with carrot jockeys, misspelled words, and poor punctuation. It was my Great Grandma Blazer's carrot cake recipe underneath all the wreckieness and it was so yummy, as always.I can brag on the cake because it was not MY cake but G.Grandmother Blazer's. It's so simple and yet so unbelievably tasty! Do you want the recipe? Leave a comment and I will post it.

Here is Lylah saying how happy she is that Aunt Lori will have a birthday and a cake and could she please have a bitty, tiny, little lick of icing right now, please.

Here is the whole cake. It reads: "Happy" ANglE and Lory!! Lori's long time friend Angel had birthday a day or so before Lori and was in town on a visit. So we celebrated for both of them.

A little close up of the cake jockeys. They sure were fun to make.

I realize now that I have no pictures of the birthday girls with the cake...oops. It was fun to enjoy the joke with them. We all read the Cake Wrecks blog and were familiar with the original carrot jockey post. Now you can enjoy it too. Good times.

After the lunch and cake part of the party, we went outside to fly kites. It was a warm and windy day and we had a blast. Here are several pictures of all the kite flying and sweet memories of the day.

We had a wonderful time in the sun and wind. The kites flew pretty well. Aunt Carol got the big kite up pretty high and Lylah "helped" her fly it. Pretty soon the birds of prey were circling around because they saw the kite. Llyah ran around with "the cousins" and followed the youngest up and down a sand hill. We all took off our shoes and enjoyed the cool grass, but Lylah's feet were the cutest. She wore her make up purse on the crook of her arm the whole day. When we packed up to go home, she was so tired. She usually never falls asleep in the car, but she could not help herself.

It was a very happy day. It was perfectly, perfect. Happy family. Lovely weather. Celebrating people we love. Can't ask for more.

Fail

2010-04-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

I was going to call this little post a craft fail...but as I looked at the pictures I chose to take of my kid wearing the craft fail, I see that there is more than just a "miss-craft" going on here.

There are fails on many levels.

1. Child standing on the dining room table (with shoes on, too)

2. She looks like she may either jump or fall off the table...and yet, I just keep taking the picture.

3. Child playing with keys and wearing a rather devious grin...

4. Child's lunch getting cold on the table because Mommy needs another picture.

5. She was allowed to write with a dry erase marker and no art smock. She got a permanent mark on her lower left side. WILL NEVER COME OUT!!

6. Good thing it was a fail in the craft department and I will have to scrap it and try again.

On to the craft fail portion...

I have seen tutorials on making your kid's too small t-shirts into a dress by adding a skirt. Looked easy. Looked fun. Seemed like a money saver. I thought I would give it a try.

But here's the catch, I just can't seem to do anything quick or easy. Why is this? I try to hard to make stuff look awesome and am never satisfied? Maybe. I cannot grasp the concept of "less is more?" Maybe. I am not really a sew-ist? Sometimes true.

Whatever the case, I made this wreck in about 5 hours. Yes 5!!!

WHAT?!! You may ask if I merely sewed a skirt onto a tee. Yes. I also made long sleeves into short elastic sleeves. And it was a bubble skirt. And I gathered a whole yard of fabric onto the skirt. A whole yard gathered up!! For a little one with a 20 inch waist!! I mean, over kill, right?!

I over gathered and the skirt looked silly, and too much, and dread!! HOMEMADE. (in a bad way)

But since she ruined the shirt, I am not going to attempt to fix this dress. I am going to un-gather the skirt and use the yard of cute fabric for a little sundress or shirt and shorts or something.

When it is done I will show you a non-fail. I might even photograph it in an more appropriate location, like the front yard. Smile.

Hoppy Easter

2010-04-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

I love a good pun. But I think I may be "over" Hoppy Easter. But if the mask fits....

Here is the only picture I was able to drag out of Lylah for Easter. She broke down into sobs after this one and had a generally grumpy day. It may have all stemmed from having to be in worship service instead of her Sunday School Class. She was not so much sad about not seeing her teacher or friends or being in her class but that she would not be getting her usual snack. She said, "oh Mommy, but Ms Carol gives me cookies for a snack. How will I get my cookies at church? She gives me peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, black cookies, etc." She proceeded to go on, in Bubba Gump style, about the cookies she would not get and threw herself into a funk. I meant to bring her a little something myself, but I forgot. Downhill after that. One cannot mess with Lylah and her food consumption. It's not pretty!!!

She did look cute. Grammy sent her a box with this pretty dress inside (and the little makeup purse in her hand--it has been a permanent attachment since she received it.)

And the Dafffodils Look Lovely Today...

2010-04-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

Every year we have a bunch of daffodils grow up in front of our house. They are lovely for a week-ish and then they die and leave a pile of stringy foliage behind. This year I decided to cut the daffodils as soon as they were in bloom, take them inside and enjoy them to the full. So one day last week, that is just what we did.

Lylah loved to put all the flowers in the vase.

We put a few flowers in a vase for her room too. She carried them around and was so proud of them.

In this video she and Henry enjoy the blooms and Lylah hatches a plan to have a few flowers for Daddy's work.

Sorry, I can't not put a song with this post. I did not feel any "gut wrench" when Lylah and I were cutting flowers, but I could not stop thinking of this song from "back in the day." The song references the daffodils at 3:11 in the video, skip ahead if you must.

My sister and I listened to the Cranberries A LOT (to the torment of our parents!!)

I can only say that "the daffodils look lovely today...la, la, la, la,la, la, la."

Bunch of Chickies. Hop, Hop, Hop

2010-04-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of videos of Lylah with the chickies. If I could figure out how to edit them...I would pull out the unflattering parts with me in them. But, alas, you will see me too. Focus your attention on on the cute one.

This little clip has Lylah dancing and laughing about how cute the chicks are. She was doing a lot of pointing from above her head. I love how excited she was.

Here is one of our favorite songs EVER. We have been singing it in school as well as at home. I will have to say that Elizabeth Mitchell's You Are My Little Bird CD is my favorite children's CD. It's so wonderful. I highly recommend it. We have also been singing "Springtime outing" form the same CD. I hoped to get a video of Lylah singing it (melt me heart) but she clams up when the camera comes out. I will keep trying.

Enjoy a taste of spring and be inspired by the whimsy of this sweet song.

She asks for bird recommendations for verses. I have been doing this in class too. Today the request was for a Robin to fly though the window. No problem! The next request was for a "bald-headed eagle". We sang it and I giggled inwardly at the thought of an eagle flying through the window. Eeeeikes!!

Chick-fil-A and Chickies

2010-03-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

What is this random construction picture?

Oh, friends!!! Let me tell you! It's a Chick-fil-A! They are building one in my town. All the silly Mid-Westerners that live here think it's just a fast food chicken place. Chick-fil-A has never been in this part of the country and is only trickling in. They don't know the magnitude. They have never experienced the pickle-topped, buttered-bunned, special-seasoned, fried in peanut oil, delight that is a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. They don't know about the waffle fries from Heaven or the perfect Iced Tea that I, a good Southern Girl, grew fat (I mean grew up) on. I, however, am in excited anticipation for my all-time-fave-fast- food-joint-ever-in-the-world to open.

They say it will be May. I say come on May!! I have heard that the first 100 people will get free Chick-fil-A for a year. I am having an internal discussion over whether I want to camp out in a tent, or sleep in a lawn chair in front of the building before the grand opening. I mean, should I take a vacation day? How many days in advance should I be on the curb outside the building? Is now too early? Seriously, I want me some me Chicken Sandwich...but I can't be on the news. I mean...the general public (acquaintances in town and parents of my preschoolers and such) they think I'm sane. I can't blow my cover by camping at my Mecca for a sandwich...can I?

We'll revisit the fil-A later. Maybe I will document it's progress...or would that, again, be too obsessed?!

The rest of my very long post is about more chicken related activities. It being spring and all, our local Tractor Supply Company has received their shipment of chicks and ducks. We went to pay them a visit.

Cuteness ensued.
The ducks were all gone. But the chicks were so cute.

There was a low tub Lylah sat beside and watched them all hop around. At one point she was
telling them she loved them and calling them sweethearts and talking to them sweetly. She was pretty concerned we had not brought bread for them like we do for the ducks at the park. She kept saying, "I'm sorry, little sweeties, I don't have anything for you." I showed her the feeders and she felt better for them. She got up the courage to put her hand in and they came running up. She said they nibbled her finger and was so tickled by it. I didn't even realize that I had gotten a picture of it happening. I just love her little hands in this picture.

There were some really tiny ones, too. She never got the courage to hold one. But she kissed a couple and was happy to see them up close. It was pretty fun.

Here is one from last year. She held a little chick reeeealy tight and gave it a smooch.

I love this tradition. I love springtime. I have some fun posts for this week related to Easter and spring. Can't wait to be back in the game.

Wit and Wisdom from a 2 year old

2010-03-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

Here is a bit of wisdom from the wilderness explorer to you. She is pictured here with a large icicle before they all melted away. It was a sword and a unicorn horn. Oh the imagination!

Lylah: Mommy, I don't like rats.
Me: You don't? Why not?
Lylah: Because they have stinky, smelly bottoms.

Lylah: Did you know there's a baby in my tummy?
Me: Really?
Lylah: oh, yes! It is growing and growing and I can't wait to show it to you. And I am so excited for you to love it too. I will change the poopy diapers and feed her bottles, too.
Me: Oh, well I can't wait to see it. Does your baby have a name?
Lylah: Oh yes! It is Orange Blossom. She is pink and tiny. Daddy has a baby in his tummy too. His baby is black. Watch how I drink my chocolate mink and my baby drank it too.

We ate at Arby's for supper the other night. After dinner she said...
Lylah: Did we eat roast beef?
Glen: Yes we did. Wasn't it yummy?
Lylah: Oh yes! And Daddy, do the piggies eat roast beef?
Glen: Yes. And then they cry "weee, wee, weee" all the way home.
Lylah: Oh. Daddy, you're a pig.
(then we all laughed--Lylah because she made a funny joke and us because it really was pretty funny)

Lylah: Mommy, do you know how babies come out of their mommy's tummy?
Me: (yes I do but what is she going to say) How?
Lylah: They climb out with a ladder and jump onto a pillow and then jump to their mommies. Just like that!
Babies are her favorite topic right now. She does some fancy mothering around here. Sweet. She read her baby all of the Mother Goose rhymes from a book at the top of her voice today. Babies love that, I understand.

Good times at our house. There are so many other funnies...but you really have to see them happen to appreciate them. And then there's the the 'bore them to tears' factor that will keep me from telling too many more. Sometimes "enough is as good as a feast," as Mary Poppins would say.

I posted today after saying I was taking a break. But, really I will be taking a small break. See you soon.

My Little Cuppy-Cakes

2010-03-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

I bought my own thing at UCP's silent auction. Some thought I just could not let my little cakes go, but that was not wholly the case.

It was for a good cause. And I thought I might try to see if I could sell them on ETSY.

I was not about to let my little cupcakes, that I never got a picture of, go for only $17 dollars.

So I am now the proud owner of the cupcakes... again. I figured they could could be my first items for sale.

Wanna see them?!!

I want to show them to you.

Hear they are as a set in the box.

And there you have it. I made 4 cupcakes with 4 mix-and-match icing tops.

But I don't know what to do. I need some advice. Should I sell them as a set? Set of 2? Set of 4? Or should I try to sell them individually? They are all able to stand alone and are stuffed very firmly with reinforced sides. So they are structurally sound.

What about the pictures? Are they OK looking to you? Help me folks! I am too close to see it.

I got a business card (idea)together too. I will show you when I perfect it for the shop banner and product tags. I am on the verge of really getting this thing going! Yippee!

Please give me advice on what to do. I promise I will make my own choices in the future rather than bug you with details...I am tentative because I am a "newbie." Help the newbie.

Workin'

2010-03-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

I have been working like a dog the past week getting ready for my work's #1 fund raiser of the year. We have a chili cook-off and silent auction. I chose to donate handmade, felt cup cakes. I worked and worked on them, going through several icing styles and perfecting the cupcake shape. I even made a box to store them in. I used Mod Podge for the first time. (Where has it been all my life?!!) It all turned out well and I was pleased with the final product.

Wanna see it?

Too bad.

I was in such a rush to get them completed and wrapped up for the silent auction that I forgot to take even one picture. I seriously can't believe it did that.

Oh well. I will have to make more, I guess. I will be putting them in my ETSY shop...coming within the next month. I have some things to put in it now and a gigantic backlog of ideas that I have been holding on to.

I can't seem to be able to fit in all that I want to do crafty-wise and blog-wise and just living day to day and make it all work.

It has been a tough week too. Doing a lot of thinking. Making some hard choices. Changing my plans and trying to follow the words I read in Phillipians this week. I am trying to pray rather than be anxious. I think things and then I have to make the effort to pray them out rather than worry. I think that is what the verse is trying to tell me to do.

I thought I would check in. But I am not sure how often I will post in the next week or two. I really do have a lot to work through and several projects that need attention around the house. So, if you made it to the end of this boring post, thanks, and I will be back in a few weeks. Toot-a-loo!

Intentional Tuesday

2010-02-23T21:41:00.000-08:00

I am going to make a regular post for Intentional Tuesday. Maybe I will get crafty and create a button for the blog...but for now, I just intent to be intentional.

I have recently gotten back from the big party. I've been there before. Maybe you have too. Which one, you ask? Were you invited, you say? It was the big pity party, and yes, if you were around me, you were invited to join. Sorry to those who have been a part of the festivities. Really.

But I am no longer there. I am here. Here where I have been many, many times before. Here where I say that I am making some changes in my life. But today there is a huge difference. Huge.

You see, in the past, when I say I am going to make changes I may say one or two out loud to people and I may write down a few, but that is not what I really mean. What I really mean is that I am not changing one, or even a few, things. I mean that I must change everything about who I am...right now, today. From this day forth I will be completely different in all the ways that matter. I will pray more, read my Bible more, eat less, eat better, be better to my husband, be a better mom, be a better friend, be a better teacher, exercise, get up early, clean the house daily, like a champ, journal, craft, blog.... You get the picture.

Not this time. Nope. This time I am going to be intentional about one thing. I am going to read my Bible and I am going to pray...every day.

I spoke to a friend tonight that I have not spoken to in a few years. She is one of the most wonderful people I know, and a true friend. You know, the kind that can tell you like it is with great love and you can hear it. She encouraged me to just do the one thing. Read and Pray daily. There was a whole lot more to the conversation, but the point is that I don't have to change everything all at once. I don't have to change any of it at all.    In fact, I can't.   I can't.   The only one who can is Jesus. He will do the changing little by little. From glory to glory for his sake. I am only making a choice to be willing to do the one thing and to be honest.

How is this for honesty? Truth is...I lost my Bible...a long time ago. Well I was not the one who lost it, but it got lost. (He will say otherwise-but he is telling fibs if he does.) And so I do not have one. There is one (or maybe two) around here somewhere, though. I will find one and use it.      One more thing...I really have no hunger for the word. But I have a desire for a hunger, and I will be praying that it will be answered. And I know it will.

I have been a believer for most of my life. I know the things that I have written are not new ideas nor are they new to me or even, in part, to this blog. I have been told these things by people who love me and whom I love. I have chosen not to live intentionally up until now. But tonight it is real and it is alive in me. I cannot do it in my own strength. I need to pray and believe that God can do all things. I know God is real and I know he loves me. I also know that I cannot stay, I cannot live, where I have been living.

Intentional Tuesday #1: Read my (or any) Bible and Pray.     No more tomorrows. Only one thing. Just the one thing. Join me?

Wish Granted!

2010-02-21T21:59:00.000-08:00

I am doing the no school dance (since they called it off tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow morning) and getting ready to watch Emma since I have no NEED to go to bed. We have no school and we HAVE power in spite of snow and a little ice. I love snow days! Yippee!!

Our little snowman got a bit more snow. If you look back at the post where he was pictured for the first time you can see that he has about a foot of drifted snow all around his bottom half.

It looks like something is looking at me from the porch with glowing eyes...do you see it. I was almost wigged out, but then I remembered that Glen's tennis shoes are on the porch and my flash was hitting the reflectors. Whew!!

On to Emma...Don't you just love Masterpiece Theater!? Thanks PBS on line and my dear friend Amy for telling me I could see it that way. I am happy not to have cable, but some things I really don't want to miss. Glad to have friends in the know. Emma, here I come.

Coming Soon

2010-02-20T22:45:00.000-08:00

I have a list of project to accomplish. I will give you a few sneak peeks of some befores. I am even thinking of possibly showing you my pit of a craft room. Don't hold your breath on that one though. I am too ashamed of the mess right now. I know everyone's craft room is a mess at times...but you have NO IDEA. Maybe if I play it so much as a horror, then you will say it's not so bad IF you see it. But then again you may say, "Whew! She wasn't joking about the pit." I'm stil thinking. But the craft room is a biggie I am working on.

I will show you one project I am pretty excited about.

Here is Lylah's big girl bed.

Here is a close up of the headboard.

I saw it at an antique mall in town and mentioned to Glen's parents that I thought this might just be the bed I was looking for. They said they would help us out with it, but then Grandpa changed his mind and bought it for us. You will have to see the previous post about Lylah and the grandparents. She would have the world if our parents could somehow get it for her. We are very thankful. It will be so pretty.

I could not get a really good picture because it's very late and we have only "mood lighting" around here (and my flash is crazy). But if I had a better picture to show you, you would see that the finish is not so stellar and is a little streaked and glopy. But the bed is VERY solid and very sturdy with wooden side rails, high headboard, and low footboard. I love the carving and I think it will be darling in white..or maybe pink or yellow. I will say white will win, but you never can tell.

So there you have the before pictures. The after pictures will include fun sheets, mommy-made bed spread and pillows, and a grown up preschool bedroom with a retro feel. My goal is to have it done by her birthday. She is fine in the crib, but by three she should be in a big bed, I guess.

It will be fun and I am dreaming of her new space every waking moment. I am obsessed. Can't help it.

Now I feel like I better make a list and sketch some stuff. If the mood strikes, I gotta go with it.

Light Dusting of Snow...

2010-02-20T22:07:00.000-08:00

Friday's forecast said a light dusting of snow was expected. After about an hour of sleet and big snow flakes and then almost white-out conditions and a lot of snow accumulation, the forecast was changed...Winter Weather Advisory. School was called off early for the day and the roads were slick. I drove a lot in them. Skidded right past the entrance to work in slow motion. But the snow was BEAUTIFUL. It was fluffy and covered everything like a cotton batting. By the time I got home, the temp was rising and the 5 to 6 inches of snow on the ground was perfect for snowman building.

We live on a very busy street and they plow it well, eventually, but they always plow our driveway closed. Since we drive a car with no ground clearance and cannot power over the mountain of snow, there is no way to get in unless I shovel the snow wall away. (Lylah helped do the top of the drive with a spoon. Very excited to be so grown up.)

After I shoveled the drive so I could pull the car in, we made a snowman.

He had shrub clippings for hair, Lylah's broken sunglasses for eyes, a carrot nose(of course), and a stylish scarf ( tied on the way Oprah told us all to do)

I stuck the nose in and she got a nibble (2 really) stinker!

She shook its hand

She kissed it.

She stood by it for 1/4 second

She finally chose to allow the frozen strawberries we brought outside for the mouth to be placed on the snowman.

Then she thought she better eat the berries instead.

This is how the snowman looked on Saturday. A little bit tired.

I wish I had pictures of all the snowmen around town. There seemed to be one in every other yard.

We are now getting ready for a snow and ice storm to begin late tonight and get worse as the day goes on tomorrow. I am hoping for it to be bad enough to call off school on Monday but not bad enough to loose power.

Fingers crossed!!

Beautiful Fairy Princess

2010-02-20T21:22:00.000-08:00

We now live with a beautiful fairy princess. Lylah has been obsessed with my make up and always wants to try a little. She has also been delighted in nail polish. We knew she would love a little make up kit of her own. The other night I found one. A Barbie make up kit with a huge amount of little girl beautification enhancers. She was so thrilled to get it. The lady at the check out said, "Have a good night," and Lylah said, "oh, I will. Thank you." She thanked me about 100 times on the drive home too. She tried it out as soon as we walked in the door.

There were hair pieces with beads, 4 little bottles of glitter glue posing as nail polish, tiny purple and orange lipsticks, glittery fragrances, eye shadows, lip glosses, stick on ear rings, stick on nails, 2 hair clips, 2 bracelets, a pink star ring, and the best thing ever, a pink necklace with a heart locket. All of it smelled like an old lady and she was IN LOVE with it all. She wore it all at once that first night and has played with it carefully and faithfully every waking moment since.

She said she would be married now because she had a ring.

She said she was a beautiful princess.

She has demonstrated how she can put the nail polish on all by herself and then blows on her hands and feet. She has applied it about 400 times.

She can put the lovelies on Daddy and he is beautiful too. She even offered to let daddy wear the hair pieces and purple sparkle body glitter for work. He told her that he was not allowed to look so beautiful at work. She was happy enough for Daddy to be beautiful at home. Good Daddy.

Her lipstick application is a sight. Her top lip only gets the color. It is applied from the lip all the way up to the nose and then across the face to about mid-cheek.

It's "real nice".

Here is a picture of my Pretty Princess in her fist moments of glory.

better shot of her purple glitter cheek and sitting with Daddy

Her make up is waiting for her even now. She has placed it in a very special and safe spot on the door knob of her closet door. I am sure she will go for it first thing tomorrow morning. "Don't you just love to be beautiful in glitter, Mommy?"

Notice the hint of eye shadow on her forehead and the shimmer around her cheeks? You can't miss the joy on her face. Love it.

Crazy Baker

2010-02-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

Today Lylah got to go over to Grammy and Papa Jones' house for the night while Glen and I went out on a real date. She was so excited over the prospect of going to their house that she was a silly thing all morning. All of Glen's family (pretty much) have birthdays clustered in the Winter months, so we have been having a Birthday celebration pretty much every time we go for a visit lately. When Lylah heard she would be going to Grammy and Papa's house with Aunt Lori, she thought party. Party means cake! So this morning she chose clothes to wear around the house and got dressed. Then she ran to her kitchen and got all the things she needed to make a cake for the party. She was having a fun time baking and singing "Pat-A-Cake". Glen and I laughed and laughed at her get up.

front view: Too small sweater, winter hat, painted nails,

red apron, and cake supplies ( juice, a pot, and a spoon)

Back view: Too small sweater, winter hat, apron,

princess undies, and knee high socks

Crazy, No!?

PS When Grandpa Jones was out getting the shopping done, he came across a tiny two layered cake with pink icing and roses. He bought it. So Lylah got cake. Her wish is their command. It all comes from being too cute. Grandma and Grandpa stand no chance.

Mommy's Party Animal

2010-02-12T22:59:00.000-08:00

We had all of our Valentine's Day party hoopla this past week for school. The parties (all four) went well and the friends all had fun. My morning class was only a little disappointed to decorate cookies for our party instead of having cake. I heard more than one of the 2 year olds telling their friends that we were having a Valentine's Birthday Party. To all two year olds a party means...cake! But they ate the cookies like champs. After the cookies, they were quite happy to keep pretty close to our normal daily routine, so we went to the music area to dance. All the mommies loved seeing the class dance to our favorite songs. They get to hear their child say they danced and even hear the title of the songs, but they don't get the full effect unless they see the cuteness for themselves. I was happy they did. Cameras were snapping pictures nonstop, like good first time preschool kids' moms should. It was a blast.

One of the moms said to me that she remembered how Lylah stole about 3 or 5 cookies when the class was supposed to be singing during the Christmas party. We giggled about it (I was mortified at Christmas--but I realize the humor of the situation now). You'll never guess who the only child to lick all the icing spoons after the cookies were finished could be!? Oh, you guessed Lylah? Ding, Ding, ding!! She came away from the serving table with pink icing ALL over her face. She said, "Oh, mmmm, yumm, yumm, Mommy, I sure love that icing. Isn't it so very good and pink!?" and smacked her lips. What a nut! At least she likes all food and not ONLY "sweeties".

2 second fake smile for me after the party

she was way more interested in her goodie bag

a picture in her Valentine's Day shirt I stitched

while watching Northanger Abbey

my first attempt at hand-sewing on a tee-shirt.

Next time I will use a hoop. I thought it turned out OK. I made a fun covered

button hair clip to go with it too. I liked the clip better than the shirt...but no good picture

Cookies were yummy. Games were fun. Candy bag was full enough. Happy party girl.

So, I can Sew? Preschool sewing project

2010-02-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks we have been doing a sewing unit with my 4 and 5 year olds. They were so excited about the unit. There was quite a bit of talk about what they could make and for whom. There was a lot of talk about who can sew and how it is done. When we first started, they were all pretty sure that it was too hard for them or that they could just make anything right away.

We started slow with practice cards and shoe laces. Then we progressed to making our own sewing cards, punching holes, making needles out of pipe cleaners, and sewing the card they made them selves.

you can see one home-made needle (orange) hanging down from the multiple-legged dog sewing card. We made them by twisting a pipe cleaner into a needle shape, being careful to leave a hole for an eye to thread the yarn. This project was a huge success boosting the children's confidence in their own abilities to do something they thought was too hard at first.

Our next project was a sewing bag or project bag. I brought in a ton of fabric a lady had given me when she chose not to sew any longer. Much of the fabric was pretty groovy! The kids chose the fabric they wanted, cut it to size using a pattern, and helped me sew it with the machine.

cutting the pattern

Sewing the bag

"Hey! I made this my own self!" with a giant smile.

These were a few of the finished projects. The child got to push the petal as I directed the fabric and told the child when to stop. I only almost had my fingers sewn through 3 times. One friend said, " Let's try this baby out!" They were so excited about this project too. My goal was to have them work on some hand sewing projects, but I needed somewhere for them to keep works in progress. So I came up with the project bag. They are all the size of a piece of construction paper (our pattern), and have a pocket on the front for needles and thread. They open and close with a draw string ribbon.

Our next project was only attempted by a few brave kiddos. Although many were interested in the tools, not as many were interested in committing the time on the project. I brought in broadcloth and sewing hoops for some more hand work. I told the friends they could draw a picture and then use yarn to sew the picture by following the lines. For this project I brought out real needles (crewel work needles with blunt tips and big eyes) in addition to the plastic needles we had been using. They were quite impressed to be "REAAAALLY SEWING NOW MISS JENNY" I write in all caps here because the volume went up with the level of satisfaction in the needles and the project.

There were several aliens and robots in the mix as well as a few hearts. Lots of good work here.

Our biggest project (and my favorite) was a group project. We made a tapestry from a piece of burlap fabric stapled to a wooden frame. The whole class really got into this project by learning to thread their own needle, selecting a color of yarn, and making all kinds of stitches. We had to try hard to remember to put the knot in the back and come up through the back and down through the front instead of looping around the sides. As the days of working on the tapestry progressed, they began to make stitches that crossed over previous stitches and tied them down. They began to think of stitch placement and were going for a look with the color and size of yarn. I introduced buttons and beads to the tapestry on the last days. It is a true work of art and I love it. They worked really hard on it and really made a lot of comments telling me how proud they were of the work they accomplished.

hard at work

We will be keeping our sewing stuff out as a center for the rest of the year and I know there are a few friends in class who will visit the sewing station time after time. I am so happy we got to do this project. I loved it and the whole class really showed high levels of interest for our whole 2 weeks. Much of the amazing imspiration for my unit came from the Sewing School blog. She has wonderful tips and lots of fun pictures of real kids doing real projects. I think she even has a book coming out soon. I am so grateful for all the wonderful blogs out there made by such creative people. I am inspired daily.

Wishful Thinkin'

2010-02-12T21:05:00.000-08:00

Lylah keeps telling us about all the wonderful things that will happen in the spring. We are hearing about butterflies, playing in the park again. trees looking pretty, flowers growing, gardens growing, and her birthday. Glen had a wondeful plan for the family tonight that had us all wishing for the spring and summer.

Tonight we had an indoor camp out. We said we were pretending it was Summer. We grilled hot dogs, made s'mores and Lylah got to "sleep" in her tent in the livingroom while watching "Chucky Cheese Mouse", aka Micky Mouse. She had her fingernails and her "toe fingers" painted, and had a wonderful time. We all had a lot of fun. When it came time for bed, I moved the tent into Lylah;s room and we let her sleep in there. She was so excited! She came out once...so cute...went potty...got a drink...and went back to bed. She woke up again and wanted to sleep in her own bed. There she is still. She is still in the crib and really enjoys it there. I am on a serious hunt for the perfect twin bed for her "big girl" space, but no need to rush it.

This was a happy day. I will keep it in my memory forever. My sweet husband and my sweet Lylah. I
love this little family.

s'mores under the broiler for about two minutes. Yummy!

s'mores face and hands. she loves her "sweeties"

Tent resting and Chucky Cheese Mouse

Not a real Post

2010-02-07T21:23:00.000-08:00

What's up? You say....   I don't mean to not post. I am trying to be intentional around here, and I have been feeling a little flu-ish or run down or something.   But I have been doing something creative every day for the past two weeks. Wow! It has been YEARS since that has been the case. I feel more like myself. I promise to take pictures of the stuff I have been doing. Lylah and I have been doing projects. Really she has been watching the Wonder Pets and "making pies" with all my craft supplies, but she feels productive and we are enjoying time together. Oh, I could let you in on the stuff I am making. I am working on some felt cup cakes for a fund raiser, more hair clips, some valentines, sewing a few skirts and jumpers for Lylah, and the blessed craft room organizing. I think the last one will always be on the list.

I also checked out Peter Pan from the library. I have never read it and I have been told that I must. I cannot believe that I missed out on some of the major classics. I may move on to the C. S. Lewis stuff next. Nope. Never read any of Narnia as a kid (only one as an adult). Sad but true.   I would like to fancy myself as well-read, but I really am not. I have read some great books...but then I just re-read them. Ask me how many times I have read The Scarlet Letter or Jane Austin's books, or Anne Of Green Gables....it is more than once.

     Well that's it. I thought I would check in and say that I will really post something to see in the next few days. Hang in there ( all one of you ). Back to work. Or reading. Or making lists. Not bed.

Mommy had a Money

2010-02-01T22:49:00.000-08:00

About a week and a half ago Lylah and I got in the car to go to school and a CD was playing. We have had the CD for some time and usually do not have it on when Lylah is in the car. It's not offencive or anything. It's just not her style of music. It's a bit moody and more us than fun and kiddish. Anyway, the CD was in the player and started on track one, "Rich Woman", by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. Lylah fell in love with the sound of the song and the beat. She picked up on a few of the lyrics and is convinced that the song is about a Mommy, a Daddy, and a Baby, making it a family song. She adores it. She calls it "Mommy had a Money" and likes to point out that he talks to "the baby" and the baby says "Daddy". Sweet and innocent. Every time we get in the car she says, "put in mommy had a money, mommy....play it again...again?"

I found the best recording Youtube could offer for your listening enjoyment. It's obviously not the best sound quality, but someone subtitled it. It's a cool sounding song, although I like it better on the CD The rest of the CD I really dig too. You should check it out. It's no Dan Zanes, but Lylah loves it as though it were. Enjoy.

"There's a Monkey in my bed"

2010-01-31T12:38:00.000-08:00

For Baby Coo Coo and Baby Uncle Chris. I could have edited this a bit...but alas...I don't know how. I am doing well to get a video on the blog at all. Lylah loves her Goodnight Gorilla book so much and it is showing its age. We may have to break down and buy another one. I know it is one of Cleie's favorites too. Lylah wanted to read for her cousin. So she did, kind of. She really read it well before the camera was turned on. I am afraid she got silly and shy when the camera went on. Still fun I hope.

Classroom Soloist

2010-01-31T12:21:00.000-08:00

I happened to have my camera in the classroom the other day when I caught the video above. I have no idea what she is singing but I love that she is really belting it out. They were all doing some dress up and some dancing in our dance/ book area during center time. We always dance together after snack to all kinds of fun songs. But today they had no music at the time, so I guess Lylah was making up for the lack there of. She is wearing her favorite thing, the boa, and ends the clip doing her favorite thing, the jump dance. Hope you liked it.

~~PS She is wearing a heart and cherries clip I made last week If you can see it.~~

Happy Birthday To You ---woo woo

2010-01-31T12:14:00.000-08:00

I took this little video in time to post it for my Mom's birthday...but then I took the camera to school for sewing week pictures and did not ever get it put on the blog. But it was cute and I thought Grammy might like it. So here it is.

Happy Birthday to you---woo--woo!

I chopped the Goldie Locks

2010-01-23T21:56:00.000-08:00

I did not tell the grandmas until after the deed was done...but I cut Lylah's hair. It is ever so cute. It is all one length and stacked in the back. It curls so sweetly and is much less of a battle to fix in the morning. I do miss the pig tails, but I love the look her hair has now. It suits her very well. Short and sassy.

We started with a tuft on top at 10 months and progressed....

15 months. Enough for a side clip and just before I cut off her "rat tail"

23 months. She had enough for little bitty piggy tails.

26 months. Looking fuller.

2 1/2 . Longer piggy tails.

2 yrs 8 mo. Long enough for french braids.

Last week. Long and lovely, just after her bath.

A few days ago. Cute as two buttons.

There you have it. An evolution of hair. She looks big now. I guess that fits because she can "do it by herself" whatever it is. She is still little and cute. She just looks too big now. I love the do. Daddy is getting used to it still.

Instead fo Organizing the Craft Room...

2010-01-23T21:20:00.000-08:00

I made some stuff.
I made a bigger mess in the craft room.
I was a busy little bee, though.

I made a fun card for Grammy's 60th Birthday. We ran our of colored ink in the printer and have not replaced it yet. So I printed the picture in black and white and colored it with colored pencils. I hand-stitched the accent papers and machine sewed the background paper. My favorite part is the party hat and pom pom. The hat has a little star shaped sequin and bead on a flower punch.

There is a glare on the picture here because of where I took the shot. But you can still see what it is. I was trying to take just one good shot of Lylah. She would not hold still or cooperate so I got a series of out takes instead. When taken together, the group of bad shots are pretty fun. I sandwiched them between pieces of glass in a floating frame and used pieces of a vintage game and measuring tape to add interest and a title. The last picture is what she calls her "monster face."

I also made 6 hair clips for Lylah. I got really bad pictures of them so I will have to try again and post those on another day.

Lylah was a little busy too. She made her first sef portrait.

It has eyes, nose, forehead, mouth, ears, and legs. I was impressed. She wrote it on my babtsitter memo pad--in case you are wondering what the writing in the back ground is.

Not bad for the week. I did SOMETHING every day of the week this week. Yeah! That feels good. Feels like what I should be doing. Ahhhhhh

I don't care what you say...I love this song

2010-01-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

Laugh if you will, but I cannot get enough of this song. I think I even like it more in ASL. It puts me to mind of a talent show my college friend, Beth, told me about. Her friend did " Baby Got Back" in ASL. Now that would have been one to have on video!!

The best I can do is almost get all the signs down for "Leah's Farm" from Signing Time.

Here is a video of Lylah doing some of her signs the day after her 2 year old birthday. It also has a some silly singing, bed jumping, and a fake pass out after smelling her toes. Enjoy.

She still likes to do signing drills. I don't want her to loose her signs, but she is the one who usually remembers to throw in the sign for whatever we are talking about. Her favorites are, "more", "peach", "apple", "baby", "brush teeth", and "frog", and, her most favorite, "SWING". She knows more than I realize. I stopped trying to count the signs she can use after 200. She is just WAY into communicating! That's a nice way to say 'chatter box'. I imagine she will be the one getting notes home for talking too much in class. Not like me. Except if you count that time in 5th grade when I was supposed to go to the office for talking in class. Instead I went to the library and hid ( ok, and maybe cried just a very little) until I thought it was safe to go back to class. And then there was college...that was a different story indeed.

I remember a certain Christian Comic Book personality, Tom Skinner--Up form Harlem! of whom I did a fantastic impression that garnered a call from our Dorm Mother, Miss Bess. "Girl-sh!! Can we laugh into our pillow-sh ?!" Maybe I am a bit of a chatter box too...given the right audience. I gotta give the people what they want.

Snow Cute

2010-01-22T21:53:00.000-08:00

The snow is finally melting around here. I was looking outside today and I had forgotten how wide our sidewalks really are. Since Christmas we have had a snow shovel sized walkway only. But now we can walk on the muddy sidewalks again. A few days ago Lylah and our babysitter built a snowman and decorated him with all of the goodies Lylah picked up on their walk. He has "pokey balls" for hair, which I think are from the sweetgum tree. I love the way it looked! Lylah was very proud of it. She showed me as soon as I came home from work. We had done a project at school spraying the snow with colored water and it was a big hit. I brought the bottles home for Lylah to give it another go.
Here is a little video of Lylah spraying her snowman.

You may not be able to hear her say it, but when she sprays the snowman blue she says, "Now Blue, Mama, Now Blue Mouth...perfect." Everything is perfect. It's so funny. I hear myself saying things are perfect all the time. Hmm doesn't Martha say "perfect" an awful lot too? Maybe we are becoming one. *snapping my fingers and coming back to reality* Where was I? Oh yes...Lylah has also started to say "of course" instead of yes. Do you want to get up? "oh, of course." How about carrot sticks and peanut butter? "oh, of course" Do you need to go potty? " of course" She also has been saying she wants to " have a go," which in The Queen's English, means "have a turn". I think she is secretly British. Or maybe it's too much Kipper the Dog. I also find myself speaking a little British after a crafting session and another viewing of P&P. "Shelves in the closet. Happy thought, indeed!" I just can't craft without Mr Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet and, my favorite, Mr Collins. I can work under other conditions, mind you, I just don't want to.

Oh No!!!! I was going to post a clip of Kipper here. I tried to get one off YouTube where she has seen all the videos. All the videos are GONE because of copyright laws. I am afraid the smiling face you see here will be a bit upset when she finds out. Me too! You should see her little smile as she enjoys the dogs and their fun. I love Kipper! Oh, the sadness! ( I am over-using exclamation marks here to display my deep sadness over the loss of my dear friend, Kipper. I am usually opposed to the over-use, feeling that a period often conveys the proper feeling and emotion. But sometimes the frenzy of the moment calls for exclamation.) Oh my, I should stop now. I seem to be getting a little silly. Who needs to hear my rambelings about punctuation or Mr Darcy or Martha Stewart. I am simply too sleepy. This is the post you get when I need to rest. If you were here with me I would be a laughing mess. Slap-Happy, if you will. I'll try again tomorrow when I might be more sane!!! ( notice my use of the exclamation mark---laughing hard to myself)
Click here to see the only Kipper I could find. It has all the favorites: Kipper, Tiger, Pig, and Arnold. Not Lylah's favorite episode, but still a good one.

I'm Baaaack....kind of

2010-01-20T23:52:00.000-08:00

"Oh," you think, "Jenny got her craft room organized and in tip top shape. Because she surely would not be blogging if she didn't." Seriously, it's me we are talking about here. Did I get the craft room done? NO. Did I not blog-surf? NO--not as much though. Did I do some crafting? YES!!!! I did make a few snow globes, a birthday card, 3 hair clips, and a bunch of stuff for school.

I also (think I may be 'manic' here) Took down the live tree, cleaned about 200 zillion needles from the floor, put away all the Christmas decor, swept, mopped, seriously cleaned the kitchen, seriously cleaned the bathroom, big time straightened the craft room, cooked ahead several meals and froze them, and managed to spend some good time with my family too. Oh, and dusted. Lylah saw me dusting and said, " Now Mommy, what ARE you doing?" I guess I do not dust as often as I should or the kid would know how to do it herself by now.... Just like I did when I was a kid. My sister and I were totally convinced that we were only born for the purpose of house work. Oh the cleaning!

if I was cleaning she was helping.

So, although I did not get everything done I wanted to get done, I was still pretty productive. Yippee! I am just sure that the craft room will be done in the near future. So I now lift the "blog ban" and I will post a bit. Not much tonight, though, It's really late...or early.

I will share a quick video. It is very short. It was taken last week when we went to PetCo. She was really excited about the baby she found. (The one she had to use the "clips" on in the previous video) So she was all bundled up and looking so darn cute when we went to the store. I happened to have my camera so I took a little video of her.

oh how she loves the little cart. she turns the corners like a race car driver.

Nice to be back. Lots to post in the very near future.

A Video and a Vow

2010-01-10T12:25:00.000-08:00

I was finally able towork out how to get a video on the blog. My sis tried to help me and I was still a dunce. Crazy that it took this long. I think I had a mental block. So now I will post all the fun videos that I took in months past. It may take a little time, however, because of my vow. More on that later... First the video. It is Lylah making her first snow angel. She flailes her legs and arms. It was really cute. I took it at the same time I took the one of her singing "Ring Around the Rosies". It is really short but cute.

Now the vow. You may not know it, but I have been spending WAY too much time on the internet. I am sure I have an addictive personality. Eating too much, would be my biggie I guess. But now I will have to add to the list: too much blog surfing. I am gathering all kinds of great ideas for my "craft blog" and doing NO crafting. I put craft blog in quotes because there are no crafts to see on here, just a million- point list of things to do someday in my mind. I had a pretty substantial list before all the surfing and now it is bigger. So the vow: I am vowing not to look around on the net this week AT ALL....starting now! (well after this post.) I will post again when I have my attic craft room cleaned and organized. I would take a before picture but it is too shameful. I will post an "after" shot. I must get it done this week.
I guess I was a bit lax with myself about being intentional in a couple of areas. Back to being intentional right now. Sign Off. See you in a few days. Wish me well.

2 Little Videos

2010-01-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

She found a dolly that she thought was a replica of herself as a baby. She has been a pretty good mommy for her ever since. ( the doll you can see is my old doll--a boy actually--and the doll she likes is under it. I don't think you ever see it. ) She has also discovered that if she stands on a stool she can reach her light. So this video is of her reading Olivia's Lost Toy to her baby, putting the baby to bed, and turning out the light. At the end she says that she will come back in to check on the baby if she needs to. (And she will, of course, have to turn on that light again.)

This video starts with her saying, "Is there something wrong with that little baby? I'll go and look." Low and behold there is something in the baby's nose that requires tweezers to extract! I wonder if she has been through that one one (or 20) times before?! Our latest was last Sunday. I had to go to work for a bit and Lylah was taking a nap and looking at a book. Glen ran to her room as she was frantic and crying. She had chewed 2 paged of book and stuffed them up her nose AGAIN. He had to get the tweezers and get the pages out. Later on at bath time she blew her nose and another giant paper wad came out. She is no longer allowed to look at books in bed. She loves books and she does well turning pages and taking care of them...that is until she has the compulsion to eat them and put them up her nose. You can see her try to fight it sometimes and then she must eat the paper or stick it up her nose anyway. A daily battle. Oh my!

She ends saying she needs to go and do some projects. I love that. Poor thing is wearing jeans over too small tights. They kept making her bottom sag. She is also wearing her favorite pink pom-pom boots from Grammy. I just saw agreat tutorial about what to do with those too small tights. I will link it and show you my results soon.

Stealing Licks...Caught On Video

2010-01-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

I love this video. She gingerly licks the house and then says, "Thank you, Mama." Her little voice can melt a person.

As of late, she has been saying, "Thank you, My Mommy." I hope she says that for a while. I love it.

I take it back

2010-01-08T21:51:00.000-08:00

This is the view from the back yard...HELLO!

I seriously take back what I said in the last post. Winter officially sucks! I have been trapped inside my house for days (If you don't count the times I have ventured out to shovel snow for the poor postman's safety). It was -22 today with the wind chill. I mean...come on.

I did get a paid snow day yesterday! Yippee! It was wonderful to be home with Lylah all day. She has been really into playing with her pretend food and kitchen gadgets. We have been having picnics in the newly-cleaned closet. There is plenty of open space now that I have taken some of her toys to the basement play area. She loves to play in the closet. When we are at Glen's parent's house she gets t sleep in a pack-n-play in a big closet too. She is always saying how tired she is and how she really needs to take her nap there. And she does. Just good times being in a closet I guess. Last night she got the whole family in the closet with her, even Henry,for a pretend picnic that included "hot cocky milk", and candy, and peanut butter "can-vich-is". She got everything ready and then took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly and said a prayer for our picnic. It was so cute.

"oh the weather outside is frightful..."

2010-01-04T11:29:00.000-08:00

OK, here is a bit more snow. Look at the precious star-like snow flakes! I was awe of them for quite a while getting out of the car after church yesterday. The whole yard sparkled like diamonds. The snow is very wind-blown, dry and crunchy. It is pretty even though it is no good for a snowman. Our weather forecast says snow and bitter cold again for this week too. It's not fun to walk on or drive on and the wind is horrid...but it's pretty. Remember a few months ago when I loved the fall so much? Well I have to admit that I love the winter too. And, you guessed it, when spring comes around I will love that too. I am alright with summer, but I seriously HATE to sweat. I love gardens and produce and sitting on the porch, but geesh, the heat has got to tone down a bit. I guess that's why I am not in Florida...can't stand the sweat.

Any who, I am cozied up (because for all my talk of a pretty winter...it's seriously, seriously cold) and I am planning some big time crafting for tonight. I will post it tomorrow. Getting excited to get to work!

And a Haaa-Peeee New Yeeeaaar!

2010-01-03T00:05:00.000-08:00

I could be really reflective and tell you all my resolutions. But I won't. I will only say this: I am going to make this year count on many, many levels. I am totally one to make resolution. I am, unfortunately, one to break resolutions almost as quickly. Why? Because, as we discussed before, I am a ~~quitter~~. former quitter. I do have a serious list of resolutions in my head. Many are spiritual and many are related to being a better wife and mother and teacher. Many are practical, having to do with organization and time management. But all of them will fall under the umbrella of LIVING INTENTIONALLY. I am making a choice to be governed by the idea of making my days matter for Jesus and others and me. I am choosing to love. It sounds trite to say I am going to love for 2010. But it is not. It's big. It's really big. And it's got a lot to do with putting my selfish nature to rest. (Hard for me because I am SO selfish) It is the #1 commandment. Jesus thought it was big too.

I am grateful for 2009. I have experinced joys and sorrows but always have been held in Jesus' loving hands. I am happy to embrace a new year and its possibilities. It is always exciting to think of all the amazing things a new year can bring. We are jazzed up in my house tonight. There is a feeling of expectancy in the air as if something wonderful is just around the bend. Come on new year! I am excited to see what you have to show me.

Did someone say snow?

2010-01-02T23:25:00.000-08:00

Since my little family has been getting quite a bit of snow as of late, I thought it might be fun to share my new knowledge on the topic.
Grandma and Grandpa Jones have TV, so when Lylah goes to visit she usually gets so see a show or two on Nick Jr. One of the ones she has seen lately is Ni Hao Kai-Lan. The best way for me to describe her is, "The Chinese Dora the Explorer." But I find her more tolerable because she does not scream at you the whole time. She does have freakishly gigantic eyes where her cheeks should be, but some how she is less offensive to me. That was until she began teaching kids to use bad language.

Observe:
See what I mean!!?
I laughed and laughed. This is how you say snow in Chinese. I love how she waits for you to repeat her. Yeah!! We covered the hill with sh%@. Good thing it wasn't Dora asking the kids to scream it. I saw this clip on a blog recently (I would give credit if could remember where it was due).

I thought maybe I might be in a silly mood and maybe it would not be funny again...but it was!!!
We are up to our eyes in Sh#@ here in the Midwest. There was Sh#@ all over the car when we left our movie tonight. It was fun for a while, but now I am ready to be able to walk to my car without fear of slipping on the permafrost. Oh, Ha, Ha... I thought of another one. Tired of shoveling the Sh%@ too. Oh, I could go on, but you get the point. Good times!

Christmas Wrap Up

2010-01-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share a few of my favorites from Christmas. These are in no special order, just as they come to me.
#1 I heard Lylah in the dining room by the tree. She was ringing a bell that was on an ornament and screaming, "Put money in it! Put money in it!" She has seen the bell ringers and this was her ode to their work. I have never heard them screaming or saying to put money in it. But she got the point. It was pretty cute.

#2 Last year Lylah got a nativity set that she could play with from my brother's family. She loved to play with it. She really loved carrying around the Baby Jesus. She would tell him," Wait right here Baby Jesus. I gotta go potty." She also slept with both of the angels form the set. One in each hand. I looked at the way she had the nativity scene set up once and there were all the usual players and a fairey princess. Who knew there was one there?

#3 We consiously chose not to make Santa a big deal or promote Santa in any way. We looked at him in Christams decor and in some books at school. He even made an appearance at our school's Christmas party. But we said Santa was fun to pretend at Christmas time. She was happy to think of him as a story and could tell you all about him, complete with a round of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and a cute finger-play called santa Pop . We just could not see the logic behind us trying to get her to believe that Santa was real (when we know he's not) and trying to tell her Jesus IS real (because we know he is). Neither can she see or truly grasp yet. So the only way we could get her to begin to understand the real meaning of Christmas was to tell her it was Jesus' birthday. I realize that Jesus was not turning another year older this year, but Lylah was so excited to hear that it was Jesus' birthday that she had to have a cake for him. I was almost all she could think of. Her idea was to include hats, and balloons too. I convinced her that all of the Christmas decoratoins were for the big Celebration. That seemed to satisfy her. On Christmas Eve Lylah and I made a cake for Jesus. It was not pretty. It was, in fact, ugly. But I don't think Jesus minded. I knew Lylah did not. She ate with gusto. Happy birthday Jesus.

I am sure there are more favorites...this being my favorite Christmas ever ,ever ever, EVER, ever. But I don't want to bore anyone with anymore tidbits.
Happy Christmas everyone.

Our "Little House" Christmas

2009-12-31T12:52:00.000-08:00

Here is our home on Christmas morning. The snow is about 18 inches deep! We had to tie a rope to Glen and send him out to the barn for the presents so he could hold on to it and find his way back to the house. Meanwhile, Hester Sue and I sang "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" and relived our Christmases of the past. Do you know this episode of Little House on the Prarie? I love it and watch it every year. And this year we lived it a bit. Well not really, but the snow was pretty bad (and I may have pretended to be Blind Mary a time or two on the way to the potty at 2 am in the dark....you never know when you might need to navigate blindly. Luckily I have practiced for about 25 years now). We were home bound but we were cozy and happy to be together. Lylah loved all her gifts and was so excited to open them and play with them.

Here she is opening a stocking gift. We got her her own gum. She is obsessed with gum. She was so thrilled and said, " I can't believe it! My own, own pink gum!"

Aunt Lori and Lylah giving her new doll house a try.

Her favorite gift of the day was several gifts in one. Glen worked really hard on turning the basement into a play space for her and Lori helped him get it painted. (I was on a creative rampage most of this time). In the basement we put her tent from Grammy and Papa Blazer, her train from Aunt Lori, her Dora the Explorer doll house from Grammy and Papa Jones, and her blocks. But the biggest hit was the leaf shaped swing I found at the teacher store in town. She LOVES the swing. Instant hit!

Here is a video of the Game she made up for her swing and tent together. She told Glen that she could never believe it to have a tent and a swing in her house. She is so animated.

It was about the best day ever. We enjoyed family traditions and we saw the tremendous excitement in Lylah's eyes over all things Christmas, and we were together. Lylah looked out at the snow later in the day...it was still snowing...and said, "Isn't this a beautiful Christmas day?!" My sentiments exactly. I believe it was the most beautiful Christmas day.

Christmas Eve again

2009-12-30T20:37:00.000-08:00

My previous post told about how we had an early Christmas and Christmas Eve with Glen's family...

Our second Christmas Eve happened on December 24th with just me, Lori, Glen and Lylah. There was talk on the news of really bad weather including ice, sleet, and blizzard -like conditions. You never know if it will come or how bad it will really be. But it all came true this time. It started up around 4:30 in the afternoon and kept on going all the way through December 26th. But we had a wonderful Christmas Eve despite the weather. Our church canceled services, but there was another church in town that was brave enough to keep the doors open and we bundled up and went there. It was a lovely service that included 3 baptisms,the Lord's Supper, and the singing of "Silent Night" by candle light. When we left the service we had to pry our car doors open and drive through slippery, icy sludge all the way home.

Here is Lylah enjoying her candy cane--notice the red lips--
before our super- awesome frozen pizza dinner.

Lylah opened her Christmas Eve gift. It would normally be PJ's but Grammy sent them alittle earlier in the week and I had to see her in them before Christmas Eve too. She opened hermicrophone because she thought the wrapping was funny and looked like a carrot.She practiced saying, " Hello down there" as if she were speaking down a tunnel.
Here she is in her Christmas cat pj's from Grammy. It's a bad picture.
But it's the only one I could get. It's either no smile or jumping these days with her.
All my pictures seem to be a blur as of late.

In the evening we ( Glen, Lori, Lylah, and I) made gingerbread houses together. Glen made his completely snow covered and minimalist. We all agreed it was nice but it needed a door. He showed it to Lylah who said, " Oh, Dada, it's so nice and beautiful. But it has no door, does it?" He said the door got snowed under. Lylah covered her house with as much candy as possible because she was pretty sure she would get a taste of each thing before she allowed it to be attached to the house. (Again with the chipmunk cheeks) Lori and I both were trying for beauty and style. If we had had better icing we might have had better luck. Our stuff kept slipping off. But they were quite festive all sitting together in a row on the dining table.

from left: Mine, Lori's, Lylah's, Glen's

We will have to do our houses earlier next year so we can enjoy them more. I fully intended to have the houses on display with on of my favorite Christmas decorations, Santa and his Roadrunners, but I never ended up decorating much this year. I ran out of time. [ A side note for those who don't know: I was born in New Mexico and my Dad's family is from there. My grandpa used to make Santa and Roadrunners to sell at craft fairs. The roadrunner is the NM state bird. When my grandparents passed away I got this bit of Christmas nostalgia and I love it so much.]

Lylah reading the Christmas story with her Daddy ( or dada as she likes to
all him right now--I'm mama. Sounds so sweet)

After our houses were made Glen read Lylah the story of Christmas from her Jesus Storybook Bible. I love this Bible. I have cried more than once over the beauty of the storytelling and the way the author makes simple truths come to life. The subtitle says: every story whispers His name. It tells all the Old and New Testament stories from the perspective of looking to Jesus as the rescuer and redeemer of all of us. It speaks so plainly of how God loves us and wants us to know him and follow him. Lylah loves this Bible and will look at it for quite a while and tell us about the stories.
Glen read one part of the story that said that God was like a proud Daddy telling everyone about the birth of his son. She was so excited that God is a daddy too. She said," like I have a daddy...like you daddy". It brought tears to our eyes. What a responsibility we have to show her her Heavenly Father and help her to try to understand that love!

I looked and looked for a children's bible that was simple but did not speak to
children as if they were stupid, had nice illustrations,and did not leave out the Crucifixion. I found so much more in this bible than I expected.I have read it devotionally for myself several times too. It's so good.

Our tree decorated with our special ornaments and favorite lights.
All of Lylah's gifts under the branches--guarded closely by the elf in cat's pajamas.
He hardly ever left his post throughout the season.

We tucked Lylah in bed with the anticipation of getting to open presents and eat Jesus' birthday cake the next day. She was out like a light. And then Lori and Glen and I finished up her Christmas surprises, took pictures of the snow, and went to bed too. We were all pretty excited to share Christmas morning and found it hard to sleep. I think I was up at 6 waiting for Lylah to stir so I could go in and get her.

Our white Christmas. This was only the beginning...

First Christmas of 2009

2009-12-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve last Saturday night at Lori's house. Glen's sister lives just a couple of blocks over from us and she hosted the festivities for all of us for the first time. It was an easy-going and cozy night. We milled around and at yummy treats and snacks, including Lori's Oreo Balls!!, and had plenty of time to chat and watch the cousins play together. Lylah loves her Aunt Lori for many reasons and she really loves how silly Lori is for her. She put on quite a show for her Uncle Scott too. He chased her with the video camera and she thought that was lots of fun. Lori's house has a floor plan that will make a complete circle if you go through all the rooms, so Lylah was able to use it as a racetrack. She chased and was chased in return by her cousins and Uncle Scott. No better game than that for her!

We had Christmas at Glen's parents' house on Sunday. I had the camera out a lot but no real pictures to speak of. We ate yummy food and talked and opened presents and chatted more. The kids seemed to get their wishes granted and everyone played with contentment for the rest of the afternoon. Good times!!

I wanted Lylah to have a special dress for Christmas but I also did not want to go out an buy a dress for a one time use. I have a real problem with the thought process behind the need to have tons of expense tied up in a toddler's wardrobe. But I wanted a sweet dress for her and I loved her dress from last year. So I refashioned it and added a 3 inch green velvet band around the bottom to give it more length. It fit like a dream and looked so Christmas-y and sweet. My first refashion! I really loved the way it turned out. I tried to get a few shots of it from different views.

A moving target as always...

Opening a present. She got really good at opening gifts. She helped me open mine too. She became an expert quick ripper.
She loved all her goodies. We will have to do major toy shuffle to fit in all the new stuff from all her family here and from my side too. Everyone was so generous to her. She has lots of fuel for her budding imagination.

Playing with her train track with her cousins.

Lylah got to watch The Heffalump Movie with Grandma in the afternoon. Poor Grandma had to work all night and was needing a rest. So she got a few winks in during a Winnie the Pooh viewing with Lylah. Lylah made sure Gramma got the full thrill out of all of her favorite parts.

I am so excited for our family Christmas too. I am needing to get a few things done for Glen and Lylah too. My art space looks like a tornado hit a Michael's Craft Store. I just can't seem to reorganize as I go. Better get back to it though. More later...

X-rated Gingerbread Boy

2009-12-20T20:43:00.000-08:00

As I said in a previous post, the kids made paper gingerbread likenesses. I have a few specimens to share that I thought you might enjoy. The first was created in pure innocence. My class friend wanted to make a candy cane on his boy for decoration but he had already started putting paper buttons down the front of the gingerbread boy. Rather than have to start over, he just added the hook and made is cane upside down. He then added the Puff paint to accent the shape. He stepped back proudly admiring his work. "So now you can really tell, right?" I said, "Oh, Yeah! Mom and Dad are gonna love it!" I gave him the freedom to create his artwork. I will let his 9 year old brother enlighten him about his creation. I am sure it will take big brother about 2 seconds to see what the 4 year old in his creative frenzy did not. Good times in preschool!!!

(Insert off-color Joke here)

They were creating all kinds of fashion. The one above on the left made his have bones. Good thinking, I told him. He said bones were so he would not fall down. The one on the right got a belt and below it a belly button (added with a snicker). I love to hear all the reasoning.

My job is good. I am so blessed to be working in a place where I have can work every day, be totally worn out at the end, and still want to go again the next day because it feel like I am doing what I am called to do right now. I am grateful for the friendship I have in co-workers, for freedom and encouragement to be creative, and for wonderful kids whose early learning I am privileged to influence. How wonderful to think that children come to my class excited to learn and thinking that school is fun! I hope they keep the joy of learning and discovering always. Maybe they will not remember me specifically, but hopefully they will leave my class with a desire to learn and a desire to be a friend to others. That's my goal.

Wow! I was not intending to be philosophical, but I am grateful. God had given me a wonderful opportunity to touch the lives of children and families. I have a ministry here. I was feeling a bit jolly and joyful because of Christmas and my heart is thankful for the gift of a job that pays my bills and gives me a ministry too. Am I anxious to get out of school for a break? YES!!! But I also want to keep on teaching while it is my time to do so. Only 2 days this week!! Come on Christmas...

If Gretal had a day job...

2009-12-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

Gretal's escaped the wicked witch and got a job teaching preschool. I made 30 cracker houses for our gingerbread week at school. I told myself I would not do it anymore. Too much work. But the rewards came the next day when I helped the kids make their houses. OK, I'm in for next year. I will just have to get more done in advance so I am not crunched for time. What a jolly project it was!

This is a picture of Lylah and some of her classmates with their houses. See the joy? I love these cuties!

This past week at school we made gingerbread houses. I made them f graham crackers. Super easy! ( took a chunk of time for the mass quantity, though). Each house takes about 5 crackers. I used royal icing to "glue" the houses together and then I mixed a little cream of tartar into canned icing to allow the kids to glue the candies on their houses. I read somewhere that the cream of tartar helps the icing to harden and, therefore, hold the candies on the houses. The project was a hit and all the kids really enjoyed decorating their houses.

It was funny to see the difference between the age groups and their thought processes. My morning group had several shades of decorating philosophies. They are 2. My younger ones mostly just saw piles of candy as the most awesome buffet ever and later caught onto the concept of putting the candies on the houses. The older 2's wanted to make houses pretty "for Mommy". I love this sweet stage where everything they do is for Mommy or Daddy to enjoy (I , being Mommy appreciate her creations and enthusiasm.) My 4 and 5 year olds had a few different philosophies too. There were some who wanted to make houses that looked great and so they added chimneys, and widows, and door knobs, and Christmas lights. These houses would go home and be proudly displayed. Then there were others who wanted to pile as much candy on their houses as possible so that they could take them home and eat them. Their houses were about 10 lbs and not a speck of the crackers underneath were visible. But they were all proud of the houses and super excited to show parents at pick up time.

Lylah had a mixture of philosophies going on too. Being 2, she was way into eating the candy rather than decorating the house at first. I took several pictures of her and her cheeks look as though she has either had her wisdom teeth extracted or has turned into a chipmunk. But really, she was a candy glutton...I guess I should let her have a piece now and then and maybe she would not feel the need to stuff her face because she will never see the stuff again. Anywho, after filling her mouth full of candy, she began to be willing to put a few pieces on the house and ended with a cute finished product. She really loved holding it on the way to the car and into the house so she could steal little licks from the peppermints that adorn the roof. It now sits safely on a shelf beyond her reach. She proudly showed Daddy her house first thing when he got home (and took a little sneak-lick).

Cheeks packed to the hilt. One for the house and sneak 3 for me...

Proud of her work! "Can I have just one more lick, Mommy, and then that's it? No more after that. OK? " Seems like she might have heard those words before. My negotiator.

"Gingerman Lylah"

2009-12-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a fun project that we did on Friday. I have said before that one of my favorite things to do with kids is let them paint with Puff paint made from shaving cream and glue. You use equal parts of both ( pretty much--I use more shaving cream most of the time). It is an amazing puff paint because it is fluffy and soft and feels so neat when it dries. Every time I do an art experience with my class I have parents and passers by in the hallway asking what the art is made of. All that to say, you should try it out. You will love it too. It is messy because the kids really get into it ( and it's 1/2 glue), but it washes out of clothes well if you just use glue and shaving cream. If you want color you will have to use food coloring. If you try to use paint you will end up with a form of a not useful, almost silly putty. Here goes... The Gingerbread Kid project. Lylah calls hers Gingerman Lylah. She always leaves out the "bread" part in the middle.

Supplies:
Bowl to mix puff paint and spoon to stir
Shaving Cream
School Glue
Roll of Brown craft paper big enough to trace your child and make clothes if you wish
Scissors
Paint and paint brush
Plastic Pastry bag or a sturdy Zip Top bag to use for piping "icing"

Finished Product!! By the real Gingerman Lylah in her favorite unicorn jammies.
First step: Trace around your willing assistant. I used brown craft paper so that I would have a ready made gingerbread color to start with. I Then used the cut out body to make a pattern for a dress and boots and mittens and hat just like a paper doll.

Step Two: Enlist the help of the willing assistant. Paint the clothing pieces. She wanted to use pink. I love the look it made. It ended up looking like the frosting on those yummy iced animal cookies. I think you could get the same look with any paint as long as you added white to it to make it more icing-ish. Let it dry.

Step four, five, and six: I guess are the most important and I did not take pictures of them. Oops!! Sorry. I am not used to taking the pictures all along the way. I will explain them instead.
4. Glue the pieces of clothing to the body for a permanent paper doll effect.
5. Mix equal parts of shaving cream and glue in a bowl until completely incorporated and then transfer the mixture into a plastic pastry bag without a decorative tip. Snip a tiny snip of the tip of the bag so that you have a small opening that the paint will be piped from.
6. Pipe the paint mixture onto the paper gingerbread kid in a decorative gingerbread fashion. I outlined the whole body and made details for the face and clothing. Let this all dry for several hours and then display! Ta da!! A paper gingerbread kid.
p.s. You can make this project in a variety of ways. I did them with both of my preschool classes this week too. Theirs look a lot more 'kid made' because they are. For the class I made the paint mixture and put it in the piping bags and put a twist tie on the end so the paint wouldn't ooze out. I did NOT trace extra clothes out of paper and have them paint the clothes. All of their decorations were made with glue and construction paper, raisins, and puff paint. You could also use candy (real or stickers) for clothing decoration. Here is a link to the classroom designs. This is a project my two year old class loved as well as my five year old class. My 5's had some pretty fun and funky designs and were really into it. I hope you will try it. Let me know if you do. I would love to see some more ideas for the gingerbread kids and pictures of the fun. Happy Crafting!

Snow Day!!

2009-12-09T16:55:00.000-08:00

Here is my little snow bunny. We had our first snow day. She did not know why Aunt Lori and I were doing a snow dance and were giddy the night before. Oh, she will learn the joy of a snow day!!! We were out in the snow for about 30 minutes. She came inside and was ready to go right back out. But she was red under her clothes and I am so not sure I was not giving her frost bite. I think she did fine. Nothing fell off or turned grey. She was back to normal pretty soon. Someone will have to give this Florida girl a few pointers on how long little kids can tolerate winter conditions. But, so far so good. The middle picture is her doing her version of a snow angel. I showed her mine and she then did her own. It involved a lot of flailing. The bottom one is the first picture I took upon getting outside. You can see she was REALLLLY excited.

Snow and Song, a Video

2009-12-09T16:38:00.000-08:00

Here is my snow video of Lylah in the big snow.

2009-12-08T14:15:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2009-12-08T09:43:00.001-08:00

I tried a bit of silly and more techie than I am used to. Lylah wanted a dance for our family after seeing Baby Celie dance so well. She loves Henry's moves.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Finnished!!

2009-12-06T12:36:00.000-08:00

It only took 3 years and 4 Pride and Prejudice viewings to get Lylah's Christmas stocking done. Poor baby has been promised ( in my mind ) a Christmas stocking since before she was born. This will be her third Christmas and she, at last, has a stocking! I got my niece's stocking done a week or two ago and then started work on Lylah's. I totally intended to have stockings on my ETSY shop this Christmas, but it did not happen. I will get myself together to get them done for next year. I was in a funk all of last year. I had a stressful new job ( in good and bad ways) and I was dealing with the loss of our precious baby, Anna. I was just barely hanging in there. But right now, praise Jesus, I am feeling pretty good. I am feeling well, I one year of job under my belt and a fantastic assistant to help me this year. I have been given hope even through the loss of our long anticipated third baby. I have been given peace, and faith, and been loved by my sweet husband and friends. All of this, plus the inspiration given to me by my bundle of crazy two-year-old bliss and a plethora of bloggy goodness, has given me the push I needed to get my chapped hands in motion.

So, without further adieu.... Lylah's long awaited "boot"
The stocking base is my favorite old kakki pants. I have made all my stockings this way. Who knew it was "upcycling". It just looks more cozy. I used a lot of my favorite ribbons and tried out the stripes pattern with varied widths of wool felt and ric rac and ribbon. I embroidered the snowflakes on top after I machine sewed all the stripes down. I hand sewed the pocket design and toe and heel patches. I used all my favorite designs from other family stockings and made Lylah's into my favorite yet. Glen's was the first I made in remotely this style ( made a whole set for my fam when I was in high school not in the same way as these). I made mine second and next a set for Chris and Susan and their kids my mom and dad, and Matthew and Sarah and Lilly ( and now Celie too). They have gotten progressively better. Now mine and Glen's will look very shabby next to Lylah's. Maybe I will do new ones for us next. Glen does not want a new one for sentimental reasons...so maybe I can chop his up and up-cycle it. We will see I guess.

Used Grammy Logan's sequins and beads, my favorite ribbons and felt, and Grandmother Blazer's seed beads for Mouse eyes and fun ric rac for embellishments. I am so thankful to have so many people give me their crafting things. It adds history and family to my projects. Makes me love the finished product more and more.
I made a little plush mouse to go inside the pocket of the stocking. i was inspired to do this by the overalls my mom sent her from Gymboree. They had a little Panda that was attached to the pocket and she loved it. Took care of it and kissed it a lot. I made up the pattern myself and even made him have movable and bendable legs and arms. I will have to make more mini plushies. It was quite fun and I loved the result.
Here she is trying on her "Boot". She knows she will find a present inside it on Christmas morning, but she has not quite got the idea that it is not really a boot. She said she now needs "anovee one for the other foot, please" Love the tongue out. She is both working hard and being silly.

Here is a link to the stockings I made for my sister and her family. I love to see them all together. Makes me need to get new ones done for me and Glen!!

Oh Christmas Tree!

2009-12-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

We went on Thanksgiving morning to get our tree. Lylah was so excited about the idea. She ran around the tree place and told us how beautiful and lovely all the trees were. We got it home and put it up---and there it has been until today. Today, December 6th, we decorate the blessed tree. We decorated her little one, but the rest of the house is due for a decorating extravaganza!! I will post the after shot later on when the tree is in full Christmas mode. For now I thought it might be fun to see a few shots of Lylah at the tree place and a shot of the Thanksgiving table later on that day.

She smiles so sweetly here not because I asked her to ( that now produces a frown or closed eyes ). She smiles because of the candy cane in her hand. Can't wait to lick it!! She pretended to lick it several times before it was opened.
We had a really fun and yummy Thanksgiving meal at Glen's parents' house on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. So on Thanksgiving day I made chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes. I got to use the beautiful soup terrine that my mom just passed down to me in the spring. On out table is fun vintage paper turkey decoration and also a new and cherished Lylah-made paper turkey. I don't keep all the things she makes. But I love the turkey. It's too cute!! I am a thankful girl indeed. I cannot begin to count the ways my life has been blessed. A Happy Thanksgiving to be sure!!!

Acorn Tops and Felt Glittered Ornaments

2009-11-28T19:53:00.000-08:00

Lylah and I have been taking walks and collecting all kinds of fall goodies. My favorites are the acorns and acorn tops. Hers are crab apples, but they don't last very long after they are picked. On our last visit to the park we gathered about 25 acorn tops. She was overjoyed to find them. So was I. We stuffed our pockets full and I made up my mind to make something from them.
Lylah is doing every tradition for the first time this year ( as she does not remember doing it in years past because she was too young to know). So all things Christmas are VERY exciting. I bought her a little tensile tree and we needed decorations that would not break or be dangerous in her room. Enter the acorn tops. I made felt bottoms for the acorn tops and she shook them in clear plastic and silver glitter. Here is my attempt at a tutorial for making the sweet acorns.

1. Gather the acorn tops ( and pine cones too).

2. Have someone who knows how to use power tools drill a small hole in the top of the cap. Yeah, that's my 2 year old pushing the trigger. It's safe...Dad is there. He worked on following directions and red light green light. She was a pro. See the look of determination on her face?!

3. Thread a length of string through the hole and tie a knot. I used some cording because it was sturdy and white and would go with the silver tree.

4. Trace a circle in the circumference you think works best onto the felt pieces.

5. Sew a running stitch around the edge of the felt circle.
6. Stuff the circle and draw up the thread tightly to make a small closed pouch.
7. Hot glue the acorn cap and string to the felt pouch.

8. It should look like this.

9. Use school glue and brush to apply glue to all the surface of the acorn.

10. Drop the acorn into a zip top bag with glitter in it and SHAKE like the dickens. I used clear plastic glitter and silver glitter mixed.

11. When you are done it should look like this.

My willing assistant looked like this.

The tree looked like this. Lylah drew in a breath and exclaimed, " Beautiful and Lovely. Oh Merry Christmas, right?! It's my best ever, EVER, ever, ever, ever!"

Um, No thank you , Mommy...

2009-11-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

I figured it out! I wrote last about the doll I am making for Christmas and how Lylah saw the head and was not impressed. She asked if it was an octopus. I thought when she said it that "octopus" was a strange thing to say since there were no legs ( the really octopus-ish thing about octopuses ). But then it hit me. She has recently seen Toy Story for the first 50 times. She loves it. But there is the part where Buzz and Woody are trapped in Sid's room, the bad kid next door. His room is full of toys that he has put together in a Frankenstein's Monster kind of way. One of the toys is a doll's head with spider-like erector set legs. She calls it an Octopus.

Here is my doll head...

Here is the "Octopus"...

I guess you can see why she is not too exited about the doll yet. Poor thing. When she saw it I even had a needle sticking out of the top of the head. CREEPY!! No wonder she told me not to ever leave it out ever, ever, ever.

Just Hear those Sleigh Bells Jingling...

2009-11-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

I have no pictures to post because my camera is MIA again. I know where it is, but it is not accessible today. Oh well.
I am in full craft mode. I am working on Lylah's stocking and her various Christas gifts. I am currently making her a Waldorf inspired doll. I love it. Right now it i just a head without a body. Lalah saw it to day and said "uh, no thank you Mommy...." and "is that and Octopus" and later when she saw the disembodied head sitting on the coffee table, " Here yo go Mommy. don't EVER ever , ever leave this out again. Not ever." I admit the "doll" is a smidgen on the creepy side now, but I believe it will be so sweet when it is done. I am planning on giving it hair in Lylah's color. There are lots of pretty yarns to choose from now a days. So I am excited about completion. If I like this doll, then I will make more and use more to shelf materials like the REAL Waldorf dolls are made with. For this one I am using knit fabric and polyfill to stuff it rather than the all wool and no synthetic materials that the philosophy would suggest. You will have to look them up to see what I am talking about with the dolls. I love them and think they are cute. ( Depends on the doll-maker though . ) They are deliberately made without a whole lot of expression in the face so hat the child can pretend more completely. I cannot wait to finish the doll and make her a few clothes. When I get the camera back I will take a picture of the work in progress for you to see.

I never knew...

2009-11-15T16:16:00.000-08:00

I never knew pumpkin pie had a bone until I made one and gave it to my two year old. The other day Lylah asked me to make pie. She has been listening to me sing "three little kittens" who get to have pie. She has recently seen a new Beatrix Potter movie of animated books where a dog and cat eat pie together. And it is Thanksgiving time. Pie talk is in the air. So anywho... She helped me make a pie on Friday and surprised Daddy with it. Glen never eats the crust and the crust he got had a little dark spot where the pumpkin sloshed a bit going in the oven. So he set his plate down on the table in front of Lylah who looked at it an said, " Daddy, is that the bone?" we laughed and laughed. The things she comes up with!

Scout's Honor?!!!!!

2009-11-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

Well... I have been duped I tell you! Several weeks back I was caught off guard by a very savvy salesman named Kyle. He, this curly, fire engine red-haired boy with a slight weight problem and freckles, came to me and used a genius sales pitch. He said to me, " aren't you the lady who wanted to buy some popcorn from me?" I said "No, but I might just take a look." Of course I did not want to buy popcorn. I mean, i know it's for a good cause, but I am into being thrifty. I am not above a straight donation to a worthy cause, but when I make a PURCHASE I like to get a value for the product. I knew that I would over pay...but I ordered from the kid. He got me with his freckles and curles and his big puppy dog eyes. I looked through the order form and chose the cheapest thing I could. It was a $10 tub of carmel corn.

I envisioned a giant tub of popcorn that a person could munch on for quite while, perhaps with several movies or chapters of a good book.

What I got was this:

a "Country Crock" sized TUB of of popcorn. It is shown here with Lylah's sippy to put things in perspective. I seriously had to laugh at the amazing job that was done on the brochure that enticed me and fooled me into believing that I was going to receive a normal sized container of popcorn. But I opened it and ate it. It was OK and Lylah liked it a lot. She has no frame of reference to base her judgement upon---toddler!!

Dear Boy Scouts of America,
You got me. Kudos on your keen advertising and well placed "all American" sales force! I will eat my popcorn, enjoying all 50 kernels in my itty bitty "tub." You won't fool ME again. No red-haired agent of pop corn robbery will pull one over on me again. I will have my turn down speech ready. I will be strong. Your trick was not honorable, Boy Scouts. You now join the rank of the "charge more for a smaller box of cookies", Girl Scouts. I don't care f the Thin Mints are awesome right out of the freezer or if the toasted coconut and caramel and chocolate cookies (whose name I never remember) are the best cookies ever in the world. I will not partake in the scam any longer.
Sincerely,
Mrs Jones ( fooled for the last time)
PS I am going to stand up to the 3rd grade candle pusher too. I'm not as sweet as I look, boys!

Sharing the favorite chair

2009-11-12T20:47:00.000-08:00

Lylah and Henry are here sharing the favored chair in the house. She was a little put out the he was in her chair to start, but she quickly changed her mind. She said, "oh well...I will sit with you, Henry? OK?" When he said nothing, she sat down. When she got a little too loving he had to vacate. She said to me today that Henry was "Just so cute." She tries to give him things all the time and help him to be "cozily" with the addition of blankets and pillows. Poor Lylah...he just gets up slowly and walks away while she follows after him saying,"But it's 'por' you, Henry, to be cozy."
Tonight I made the mistake of giving Lylah a couple of marshmallows before bedtime. Crazy!!! Who gives their kid sugar and then says it's time to sleep. She has been really excited about camping and having flashlights, tents, and marshmallows. She has read a few camping books from the library and has seen a camping episode of Kipper the Dog. So she was really into having a marshmallow. I gave her the bedtime sugar and you should have seen her. She was dancing and singing and imitating a buffalo ( have to see it to really do it justice---It involves finger horns and ramming into things.) She sang all the songs she knows and was so silly. We were in stitches and trying to get her to calm down too. do you remember the SNL skit with Mike Myers and Nicole Kidman where MM was the "Hyper-Hypo" Kid ? Hyper-active and hypo-glycmic. He totally spazzed out and uprooted a whole thing of playground equipment. Lylah was the hyper-hypo tonight. we laughed and laughed. She was quite the performer for us in her sugar-induced frenzy. I have learned my lesson. She did crash pretty hard pretty quickly after hitting the bed. Last I looked she was totally nude as were all the previously dressed dolls or stuffed animals in her bed. I suppose she was having a hot flash again.
No pictures of the event, but we took Lylah on a carousel for the first time. She smiled the whole ride. It was so sweet. She woke up from a nap the next day and said she was riding a fast horse and Mommy was holding on to the horse and it went really fast, fast, fast. Although she has been telling us she has good dreams when she wakes up, this it the first real dream she has been able to retell upon wake up. Obviously a fun time she needed to relive. I wish you could have seen her shining face going around the ride. It was so sweet. I will hold the memory of giving her the experience forever. She called to Daddy every time we passed him and said, "oh Daddy, Daddy, Look at this" "I'm riding!!!!" She told me this was her "best ever EVER ever ever ever eeever" Precious.

So quit acting like a two year old already...

2009-11-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

I have reflected on how much I am like my two year old in my spiritual life over the past few days. Here are a few examples. The other day Lylah was sitting in her car seat all strapped in and wearing a snowman purse that my mom gave her for Christmas last year. She loves to have a purse to fill with rocks, acorns, and other valuables. In this case, she was wearing the purse and decided to try to get it off as I was driving. She was tugging with all she strength to get the thing off, turning red in the face, and getting so frustrated. I saw what she was doing and told her that we would be at our destination when we turned the next corner and that I could easily get it off for her. I knew that it was a really simple solution and that she was trying to get the thing off in such a way that the only way she would have success would be if her head could detach first. She, however, in her "Do it Myself" stage, was determined and never stopped trying until I helped her, quickly and easily, when we turned the corner. I thought then that I am so much that way. I want what I want in exactly the way I want it and in exactly the time frame I want. And God is right there saying to me, in the same words I was using to my little girl, " I can fix this in just a minute, sweetie. Just let me get to the place we need to stop and I will fix it for you. You can't do it that way. You will just hurt yourself and still not get it. I promise I can fix it. Just wait just a minute." And I, like my own girl, continue to struggle and pull and turn red in the face so I can do it in my own strength, even though I don't know how to fix it. I hope, however, that I will always respond as she did by saying, "oh 'tank' you, Mommy," as soon as she was out of the bind.
The other example happened today in preschool. Poor Lylah had to be woken up to go to school today so she was not in the best of moods in the morning for class. She had been sitting in a chair and had gotten up to do something else. When she got up, another child took her chair. She came back and wanted it again but was denied. She tossed herself on the ground, fully extended and face in the ground, and cried bitterly. It was very, very dramatic and pathetic. A therapist had come in the room to work with a child and tried to speak to Lylah. She responded by saying, "Please don't talk to me right now because I am trying to cry about it." Again, so me and Jesus. I can't seem to get over myself long enough to move on or allow Jesus to console me or give me exactly what I want but in a little different form. Oh, the things our little ones show us about lives and ourselves!
I did have a good laugh about the "fit" and her heartfelt expressions, though. How could I not!? It reminded me of what she said a couple of weeks ago. I was trying to give her cream of wheat for breakfast and she said, " I'm sorry, Mommy, but my mouth is closed." I am sure I could draw some symbolic or metaphoric analogy to this saying too. I mean, I didn't start college as and English major for nothing (or end it as a psyc major, for that matter.) But I won't make any more analogies tonight. I will only say this: I am glad God has patience, and goodness, and mercy, and kindness, and so forth. He needs it for the likes of me and my stubborn ways. I am so blessed daily that he has not brushed me off or tossed me aside as a hopeless cause. Oh,"Tank" You, Jesus!

Baby likes Butter

2009-11-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

The other night I gave Lylah a bath right after dinner. She was squeaky clean and lotioned and ready for PJs. I thought I had left them in the living room so I carried her into the room (wrapped like a baby in her towel-just the way she loves it). But I forgot that I had left the PJs in her room so I went to get them. I returned about 30 seconds later to this:

She saw me coming and tried to shove as much butter in her mouth as she could. See the cramming look on her face?! We had eaten dinner and I left the butter dish on the dining table where she found it and (literally) dug right in. Look how the 1/2 stick is practically demolished! I always have to keep the dish high up and away because she will drag a chair to the counter top for a butter snack if she sees the opportunity. It is not uncommon for me to open the dish, turn around, and turn back to find a finger scoop missing. Often when I am cooking she will ask for, "Just ONE bite of butter please Mommy." I will agree that butter makes it better but I don't go this far.

Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'

2009-11-04T23:13:00.000-08:00

The leaves were trickling down onto a carpet of gold and rubies. The sun was sparkling perfectly through the leaves. And my sweet girlie was a picture of cuteness all ready for school in her new fleece jacket, sweater, jeans and pig tails. Her hair looks just like mine did when I was little. She is in constant motion now a days. All my pictures are of her moving one way or another. I love her running through the leaves on the sidewalk in front of our house here. She loves the Fall too. She squeals with delight to find acorns or a pretty leaf or a crab apple. I love that! Fall, leaves, and a precious girl...How could I ask for more?!

Big Girl at the Table

2009-11-04T22:52:00.000-08:00

We got Lylah a booster seat. She still fits in her high chair seat very well. It is meant to be a booster after it is done being a high chair. But the silly thing has high arms that will not come off so it will not fit under the table as a booster. So the whole concept that we bought into when we got the high chair that would "grow" with her has become unhelpful. So now she is big and she sits at the mostly-stripped table (remember the post where it was getting done as an un-pregnant project) eating dinner like a big kid. Where did my 7 lb 4 oz baby go? She turned into a 29 lb preschooler who comes up with the most hilarious ideas and plans all on her own. She has turned into a song writer and a game maker. She has turned into a running, jumping, squealing, and giggling silly girl who loves going to school with her friends and to the library and the park. She has turned into a helper in the kitchen and a "mother hen" who rubs the backs of her friends at school when they are sad. She has turned into a strong-willed child who tests her limits by the minute, seems oblivious to punishment a lot of the time, and then can be so helpful and obedient the next moment. She has turned into a loving and polite and gentile sweetheart who asks Mommy every day to hold her like a baby and Daddy to snuggle up with her. She has turned into our sweet Lylah Grace whom we have loved from the moment we knew she was coming and cannot imagine a second without.

Sweet Cause and Effect

2009-11-04T22:31:00.000-08:00

Cold nose and itchy eyes. I imagine we will always have Halloween pictures of Lylah with"Seasonal Allergy" face. Pretty cute pumpkin teeth smile, though.

Sitting with someone's Fall display and perhapse touching a light.
She had the whole concept of the "ask and you shall receive' down pat by the second house. Her first house she was not so sure. The idea of cause and effect sunk in quickly, though, because by the second house forward, she was in it to win it. She was running up the walkway and saying trick-or-treat and thank you and then saying to me, "I go to the next one , Mommy? Go to 'anovey' one?" When she came back to the sidewalk where Glen was waiting she said, "Look, Daddy! I got some candy! I got some 5 candy!" 5 is a lot in her book. If she wants more of something then she wants 5 of it. So she was pretty happy to get some 5 candy! Success! She wants to trick-or-treat every day now. This morning she said she would like some candy about 2 seconds after she woke up. We give her one, maybe 2, pieces a day. But apparently candy is all the rage if you ask her. She told me today at lunch that she would have "No broccoli and No meatloaf and No Fruit...Just Candy and then No nap" Keep dreamin' kid!

Happy, Happy! Joy, Joy!

2009-11-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

She was not a fan of waking up from a nap to go and HAVE FUN. Complete with drool and snot, she was a sight to behold. Her face was red for a solid 45 minutes after this happy little outburst. We tried to take her to a Halloween carnival at a down town church after this sad display. It was crowded and she was not into it at all. We snicker at these photos and our carnival shot. We were not worked up over her not having fun, we kind of laughed it off and had fun despite her sadness. Sadistic parents I guess.See how much fun she's having at the photo booth. We left after about 15 minutes of sadness. But she got a balloon and she was happy for that. We left to do some door to door trick-or-treating and she liked that MUCH better.

First Trick-or-Treating Ever

2009-11-04T21:40:00.001-08:00

We had to use the "Kitty Um-boo-ruvva" to get to school this day because the day of our field trip it rained all day. Sadly, the rain made many of my precious fall leaves fall prematurely. But it was wonderful and chilly and a perfect day for a book reading or a nap or a FIRST EVER TRICK-OR-TREATING AND FIELD TRIP!!

Some of our friends waiting at the gate to our room before the trip. I absolutely loved the costumes all the kids had on. The little guy in the red hat is a country rock star complete with cut off sleeves and tattoos and leather pants and wallet chain. Next to him is a sweet elephant with a very erect trunk. Next to him is a fairy waiting for grandpa to bring her wings. Here is Lylah waiting. She is the queen of melodrama. I have NO idea where she gets this dramatic behavior ( cough, cough).We wove our way among a maze of cubicles. There were about 60 children split into 4 groups. we were in a big pack, but we seem to have lost them here in these photos.

The loot! She was pretty proud of her gatherings and that she was holding them herself. I was also holding several bags that were hurting my hands. Let me tell you, these people are so generous to us. They invite us every year and give the kids all kinds of really nice treats including whole coloring books, crayons, juice boxes, Little Debbie treats, candy and toys. It's unbelievable. And after the trick-or-treating the children get to eat milk and sugar cookies in the cafeteria. She sweetly remembered her "tank you" most of the time without a reminder. Makes a Mommy proud! She even got a couple of Trick-or-Treats in too. She was so sweet. I have a hard time sometimes not scooping her up and snuggling her too much. I wish I could hold her all the time.
The aftermath. She was excited to see what all was in her bags. Her favorites were, of course, "Poop Treats" (aka M&Ms) and a plastic yo-yo. Since then she has also loved a cup and straw combo and the suckers.

Creating a Woodland Fairy from existing clothes

2009-11-04T21:19:00.000-08:00

I thought I might do this blog in a psudo-tutorial way. But I forgot to take pictures at several key points. Oh well, I got it done! I started with a dress my mom sent Lylah for last fall. It is a bit too short now. She grew so much over the year. To make the dress an acceptable length I made a tulle topped twirl skirt to go under it,like a petty coat. I made a brown skirt first and then added the tulle in layers on top.THUS ENDS THE PICTURE STEP BY STEP PART I then made wings by recovering some other wings I had with panty hose and glitter and such. I made a system to hook the wings on under her dress so that you could not see the attaching place. It hooked through the button hole area in the back. I then made a belt of ribbon and put felt flowers on it. Next came the felt flowered head piece. ( TOOK FOREVER!!!) Lastly, I made the toadstool wand-- Her favorite part by far.
Ta Da! An interpretation of a woodland fairy ( on a $5 budget). Oh how I love this picture. This was the Thursday before Halloween. we were getting ready to go to school for our field trip to Trick-or-Treat around American Family Insurance. I love the cheeks here. I want to kiss them and eat them up. She used her wand as more of a cane or walking stick most of the time she held it.

PENNIES ARE MONEY!!!

2009-11-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

Lylah and I have been going up to the attic craft room to "make projects". Lylah has been so excited about the random change she sometimes finds. She has been toting it in a little purse my mom gave her for her first Easter. she transfers it to various places and then back to the purse. The project we made together was a money bank for her pennies. We made it with a plastic Jiff jar because I love the RED. It goes well with her room and it's fun. I put paper around the jar and she colored it with markers. Then I had her help me find the letters I needed to spell her name and the other words. Then we cleaned up the beads about 5 times( because they were scattered about more than once.) Then I glued the beads and ribbon on the jar with Tacky glue. Then Lylah squeezed the glitter glue on the lid and placed the clear stones on top. She also placed the flower sequins on the sides. She was so proud of it!!! Wen Daddy got home she showed him her money bank and demonstrated how to put the money in over and over. She would sleep with it if I did not think that was a bigger hazard than letting a 2 year old have pennies in the first place.
She loves her mommy projects. I would not trade them for the world, even if I DID have to to help her not to destroy my entire work area more than once. It was a good lesson in responsibility and also sorting skills and following the rules. #1rule: When you make a mess, clean it up before you make a new mess. I think I need a little practice on that rule myself.

The finished product. Fun, fun times.
She was wearing a whole suit of soft knit leggings and a long sleeve tee. she had on the cutest pink jeans overalls dress over it and I thought I had a picture of it. Too cute. Her hair is getting long a so sweet too. I love it in the side bow with her "after-play" bangs falling down.

Jack-O-Lanterns

2009-11-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

Glen got the ball rolling on the pumpkins this year. He had the awesome idea of carving the little pumpkins. They were not the ity-bity kind but the small-ish kind that are good for pies, I think. Lylah was very into the scooping of seeds with her little spoon tool and getting the seeds into a brownie pan. She was thrilled that I said I would cook them in the oven and we would make a treat of them.

In the end they were very cute. Glen's is the one with the upside down question mark nose and mine ( Lylah's ) the circle nose. It's funny that his looks the way it does because it looks like every doodle I have ever seen of his. If you put his and a hundred others in a line up, I could find it for sure.
We had no candles in the house at all and Aunt Lori came to our rescue with some tea lights. When the pumpkins were done and sitting on the table Lylah said to me, "oh Mommy, look at it look at it" But when I lit them and turned off the light in the dining room to reveal the picture above, she was rendered speechless for about 3 seconds before she said the same words again but much quicker and louder. It takes a lot to render her speechless, but a tiny lit pumpkin will apparently d the trick. It has been so exciting for us this year to share all the fun family traditions because she finds such a thrill in them and actually remembers the event. This was a very happy day!

2009-11-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

I am sorry that I have not put any messages on for a while. I don't seem to be able to construct the time and energy at the same time in order to get postings done. Maybe tomorrow.

Halloween Rememberings

2009-10-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a little peek at Lylah's Halloween costumes from her first and second Halloween. The top one is a hat and bib my Mom sent for her. She was very cute as a little black cat. The second few are of the costume I had planned for her first Halloween before she was born. i made the whole thing and loved it. It had sweet tulle wings on the back to. I loved the hat the most because I was able to get the antenna to stand up and the little flowers were just right. She was about 5 months old in these.
The third group is from last year. She was almost a year and a half in these. I made her and owl costume by pinning the wings, front, back, and head piece on a brown sweater. She wore her brown shoes and brown leggings with it too. The real topper was the glasses which I thought made the "owl-ish"part. I colored the beak on her nose with a washable marker. (You should click on the one of her sitting on the steps to see it bigger and get the full cuteness of her expression.) It was fun to make and she loved wearing it, but maybe it did not look as much like an owl as I would have wanted. Several people saw her and not one said Owl. They said several other birds: turkey, rooster, chicken...no owl. But she was cute in the suit even if she was not totally recognizable as an owl.
This year I have grandiose Ideas of making her into a Woodland Fairy/Gnome with a mushroom hat. But then I second guess that and think she would be cute as many a different thing. Whatever the case, I have not started and time is a tickin' Help me!!! Any ideas? I am trying to keep clear of "princess anything" since I am sure we have a few years of self chosen princess costumes around the corner.