Our Family Project

My mom has been here since Tuesday and we've been working on the binding on Eliza's quilt. I finally sewed it on the quilt on Wednesday, then my mom was kind enough to slip-stitch the binding closed on the backside. She even was glad to do it. She and Eliza have had a special relationship from the very beginning, and it's neat that she has been able to do so many things like this with/for her. She does way more quilting than I have ever done and it was nice to have her expertise and talent. I'm sure she got the slip-stitching done a lot faster than it would have taken me to do it. This is the first twin-size quilt I've done. I finished the top and had it quilted last April. The idea was that Eliza would receive it for her baptism ... to represent the gift of the Holy Ghost. That he is a comforter, like this quilt. Anyway, the quilt was a kit that was part of a class. So, the summer after Eliza's 7th birthday I took the class to have time set aside just for m...

My mom came to visit a few days after her birthday, so we decided we had to have "birthday dinner" for her because that's what we do for birthdays. She quilted a birthday table runner for me about two years ago, so we put the table runner on the table, and the children decorated a sign to hang on the wall that said, "Happy Birthday Nana." However, Andrew's birthday is this Sunday and I didn't want to have a cake sitting around for me to eat all this week and all of next week too. So, I made what I remembered being a standard birthday dinner at my house when I was younger. I made my mom's lasagna, and we put candles in it. I, um, failed to think about the heat of the lasagna melting the wax on the lasagna. So, it was pretty funny to pull out the candles and have the wicks sticking out of the ends that were in the lasagna. It was a fun birthday dinner.

(I know it's not really Friday, but I just finished this today and couldn't wait to show ya'll .) I finished Maryanne's blessing dress early! Well, what you would call early for me. When I made Andrew's blessing romper I was pounding in the snaps around the legs and on the back around 9:00 the Saturday night before he was blessed. So, to have Maryanne's dress done a week before her blessing is really good for me. This pattern was a challenge for me because the directions weren't very explicit, but after I did what I was supposed to they totally made sense. And, I forgot how to make button holes, so that was an adventure. This was the first time I've ever used lace on a project, and I'm really pleased with the outcome. You can't see it, but the slip has lace along the bottom edge, and I was supposed to put lace on the collar but opted it out and like it much better that way. I also made a little jacket or " saque " for her out of fla...

The night before Kate's "Friends" Party at school last week Jon and I were helping her to get her valentine/friend cards ready to take to school. I was a little alarmed when I noticed a message written on the outside of one of the envelopes. So, I looked at it and it read, "To: Jane* From: Kate I don't noe [know] if I am going to be your feind [friend]." I asked Kate why she wrote that on the envelope and she didn't answer, just looked down at her feet. I explained that the cards are for positive things. When I opened the envelope and took out the card so she could put it in different envelope, I thought I better check the inside of the card. Inside Kate had written, "I wandr [wonder] if you like pepile [people] like you. Love Kate." I was absolutely floored! I couldn't believe that my sweet Kate could say such a mean thing. Jon and I were a little worried about how "honest" she had been in all of the cards, so we proceeded to ope...

This month is "I Love to Read" month. Each Wednesday the girls have been able to celebrate it at school by doing/wearing something different. Last week it was "read my shirt" day. Today is was "dress as your favorite book character" day. They even said there would be prizes for all the teachers and students who dressed up today. Next week it's "celebrate Dr. Seuss and wear your goofiest hat" day. Eliza chose to dress as Morgan Le Fay from The Magic Tree House books. To say she loves these books is an understatement. And, I love that she likes them so much. If you're unfamiliar with these books, get familiar! They are great because they are about a brother-sister team that goes back in time to solve a mystery. And, each time they go back they end up learning about historical figures and events. One of the books Eliza read to me recently was about four "magicians" who were actually famous inventors (I think one was Thomas Edison...

I know, I know, another picture of Maryanne sleeping. But, I just couldn't help myself! She likes to swing ... it helps her to fall asleep. This is how I found her one day, with her arms up in the air like she was a robot or something. It's so funny what she does sometimes in her sleep.

My friend, Rivka, posted this on her blog and I just thought it might be fun to participate! So, here's the fun part: The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations: 1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! 2- What I create will be just for you. 3- It will be done this year. 4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? 5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog. The first 5 people to do so, and leave a comment telling me they did, win a fabulous homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get i...

Andrew brought this home from preschool today in his Valentine's Day bag. I think it is such a creative idea! So, in case you don't already have your valentines done ... here's another idea. And, if you do, you can do what I'm going to do: catalog this idea for next year!

Maryanne had her two-month appointment this morning. The above picture depicts what her day has been like. She had three vaccine shots, and one that's new to me that is an oral vaccine. She did great with the oral vaccine and the first shot, but by the third I was able to really hear her "hurt" cry. Man, this girl has got a set of lungs! She didn't even cry like that when Andrew accidentally stepped on her face (another story, another day). On another note, I don't remember any of my babies ever bleeding as much as she did when she was given her shots. And, for those who care to know: she is growing just great, despite that she doesn't wake up at night to eat. She weighs 12 lbs already! Anyway, I snapped this photo of Maryanne on Sunday night because I wanted to show my family the way her little lip folds out right before she's about to let loose crying. I just think it's adorable, especially when her bottom lip vibrates. And, I got an email...

Eliza stayed home sick from school last Friday. Pizza is always served for lunch on Fridays, and since I like to make sure my children will eat the food they have for lunch, I like to try to "duplicate" what hot lunch is and add in some of the veggies and fruits that they like. She was a little disappointed that she wouldn't get to have my "pizza substitute" because she would be staying home. I couldn't dissapoint her ... and really whatever I send with Eliza and Kate for lunch is what we eat for lunch at home. So, she still got what we call "pizza roll-ups." And, Andrew loved these so much that he asked for it for lunch two or three days in a row! *On a side note: it was so nice to have Eliza home that day because I was able to put everyone down for a nap and then leave her here with them and go buy paint. What a blessing it is to have a child that is responsible!

Children always look angelic when they are sleeping. But, I think babies are the most adorable and angelic. Especially Maryanne. She was just chillin' with Jon while I made cream puffs on Sunday. Isn't she just beautiful??? (Even with the scratch on her nose.)

The other day Jon got home from work and was playing with Andrew, Eliza and Kate. Specifically he was throwing them up onto one of his shoulders, then they would lean down and he would catch them in the front. Well, I guess Adam thought Jon was doing something wrong, like, not playing with him; so Adam found his belt and started giving Jon a "whipping." He even said, "Daddy, I'm beating yours* bum!" Hmm, I wonder where he got that idea from ... certainly not from me. *That is not a typo, that's exactly how Adam says "your", he also says "ours" instead of "our."

I said something in my status on Facebook, but since some of you are not on Facebook I thought I'd post about it here too. Jon made it through the second round of layoffs. We are safe, although his counterpart in Oakdale is not. So, now Jon has been assigned to service the two investment branches in the Twin Cities. I feel so relieved and blessed that he still has his job, but I also feel awful for everyone who was let go today. From what I've heard a lot of people in the call centers have been let go. I just hope and pray that this is the last of the layoffs with Jon's company.

I got this recipe in the mail. Jon raved and raved about the chicken. I just thought, "Thanks, but it was so easy and I didn't do anything special to it at all." It really was better than I anticipated. CHICKEN ALFREDO What you need: 1/4 cup flour 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/2 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil, divided 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. onion, minced 1 1/2 cups whipping cream 1/3 cup grated Parmesan 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh parsley How to do it: Preheat oven to 375°. Place flour in a shallow dish or pie plate. Sprinkle chicken with salt and coat with flour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken; cook, turning once, until golden, 2-4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet; place in a 9x13 baking dish. Heat remaining oil (1 tsp) in same skillet over medium heat until hot. Add garlic and onion; cook until garlic is fragrant and onion is te...

Jon sent me this link to a website which has a pdf with all the products made with the salmonella affected peanut butter. Check it out: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/PeanutButterProducts2009.pdf

*In case you have a hard time reading it, the page says: "My favorite cookie is Choclite [chocolate] because if I don't eat Choclite [chocolate] I wude [would] diy[die]." Kate brought home from school her January Journal. I just had to share this page ... it really made me chuckle. She is SO my daughter!

We're painting our main floor again. Jon's decided we need a larger house, and we need to take everything back to a neutral color so we can try to sell this one. (Not that I really think we'll be moving anytime soon ... but, I am eager to get rid of the blue; it's never been my favorite.) So, I went to the local paint store and got some Benjamin Moore samples and put some patches on our walls. We picked one out, then I decided to have some fun and let the girls in on it. Yes, I did the tree and the little faces. Actually I did this to demonstrate to Jon what it would look like if I get the vinyl elements and wording I want from Stampin' Up. I think my girls love art as much as music ... they couldn't wait until I was finished using my sample so they could do some painting also. It was fun to let out some creative juices. And, now it's all covered in primer; so, I'm glad I documented our artwork.

Today as I was driving to church I washed off the windshield and Andrew kept pointing out the little streams of liquid trailing down the windshield from the top to the bottom. He was telling me to wipe them away. At least, he was telling me to do that while we were stopped at an intersection. Then as we started moving he exclaimed, "Whoa! Now they're all going away!" I asked him what was making the water go away and he said, "Because you're going speed!" So, I asked him what he said to make sure I heard him right. "Because you went speed." --Oh, I get it,-- I thought, --I accelerated; that's what he means by 'going speed.'-- So, I replied with "I think it's moving because of the air going by so quickly." He immediately said, "Oh, yeah, that too."