Building a Chimney for Santa

MK has been VERY worried about how Santa is going to get into our house as we do not have a fireplace/chimney for Santa to use. She has asked about a "ceiling" several times. It took me several days to realize she meant "chimney" and not "ceiling."

Today, the kids and I built a fireplace for Santa to use.

Now, Santa doesn't have to break any windows or doors. 

MK is getting married?

Friday night, R and I went to his work Christmas Party and left the kids with my parents for a sleepover. The kids have been asking for a while now when they are going to see Grandma and Boppi, so I called up my mom to let them know they have been missed and, wow, wouldn't you know it? The kids just happen to need a sitter for Friday night and can't they come over?  It worked. My mom mentioned that their ward Christmas party was that night and they'd take the kids with them.

MK had been wearing one of her princess dresses ALL DAY. I worked Friday and she went to daycare wearing her Cinderella dress-up dress, her crown, and one glove. (She could only find one.) She also brought her dress-up shoes to wear while there. She didn't change out of this on the car ride to the grandparents. And she didn't change when it was time to go to the Christmas party.

While R and I were at his party, I rec'd the following text accompanied with a Cinderella dressed MK sitting on Santa's lap.

Msg: MK asked Santa to marry her!

Yes--you read that right. MK wanted Santa to marry her. I got the full story the next morning when I picked up the kids. According to my mom, the conversation went something like this:

MK: Santa, will you marry me?
Santa: (completely stunned) I think I'm a little old for you.
MK: Oh
Santa: One day, you will meet your Prince Charming and marry him.
MK: Okay.

Christmas Music

While we put up the Christmas Tree we had to have some Christmas music.

I found this CD while out shopping.

Phineas and Ferb Christmas CD

We (as in the entire family) are big fans of this show.

Phineas and Ferb is a HILARIOUS cartoon on Disney Channel we all get into.  If you've never seen this, look it up. You'll love it. 

Oh Christmas Tree!

We finally got our Christmas tree up. So, it's really starting to feel like Christmas.

Once we put it up, S asked R if he could put up his train around the tree.

S has an extensive amount of GeoTrax, which he quickly assembled around the tree.

S building his train track around the Christmas tree

The train on its maiden voyage around the Christmas tree.

 

The three kiddos in front of the tree.

S, MK, and C

MK and the Stairs

MK fought the stairs...and the stairs won.

MK

I'm not sure what the problem is, but MK has fallen down the stairs twice in the last month.

The first time, she was trying to turn on the light switch right at the top of the stairs, lost her balance, and fell about 4-5 steps before stopping. It was horrifying for me because I was right behind her and could see it happening but helpless to stop her. You know when your brain is telling you it's gonna happen but your body can't seem to react in time to stop it. Yeah--I don't have Spidy senses. 

The second time was just a few days ago. I was sitting in R's study with R when I heard a rumbling sound of something tumbling down the stairs and I KNEW it was MK. I jumped out of the recliner and can hear S yelling for us that MK just fell down the stairs. By the time I got to the top of the stairs she is at the very bottom crying. She managed to hit her head on a toy at the bottom of the stairs. Other than that, she was okay. No broken bones. Phew! She had a nice bonk on her forehead and  the bridge of her nose, though.

Now, she tells me every time she walks down stairs "I won't fall."

Let's hope not.

Airport

The boys at the SLC Airport

The Boys

R's younger brother is doing an Ironman Race today, and R and the boys flew to AZ to watch.

This is the first time on an airplane for S, and the second airplane ride for C. 

While the boys are away, the girls will play. 

MK and I are having girl time.

Firehouse Field Trip

The Preschool we have sent the kids to has been amazing. We love them!

Not only do they spend time learning letters and school basics, the Preschool has a take-home library, fun activities, and bi-monthly field trips.

Last week, the kids got to tour the Firehouse, and I went along.

The Fireman giving the tour was great: his son is in the afternoon class and you could tell by the excellent way he interacted with the young kids. He took the time to show how he got into his uniform and not to be scared of the firemen. Two of the kids did NOT like this. MK was fascinated by it.

Here is MK's class with their Firemen friend. MK is in the middle back with pink sweater on.

MK and her preschool group

 Here is MK in front of one of the firetrucks. The sun was in her eyes.

MK at the Firestatioin

MK wore her fireman hat ALL day. Not kidding.

MK Ballerina

MK in her dance tu-tu and fairy wings.

MK

MK has been involved in dance classes for the past year. She LOVES to dance. She loves to watch shows about dance. She will dance anywhere anytime. Today, she wanted to wear all pink: her pink leotard, pink tu-tu, pink fairy wings, pink headband, pink flip-flops. (She did put on her black dance slippers on once she got to dance.)

She loves to watch Angelina Ballerina. A lot. Often. She has begun to change into this same outfit each time she turns on her Angelina Ballerina show. She then takes my sewing measuring tape and whips it around like it's her ribbon.

Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer

S and his Rudolf Cupcake

S

Our school has had a 4H After School Program we have taken advantage of. They have offered weekly classes on things like cooking, buggy crafts, pottery, science, soccer, Olympics, etc. This semester, S has been enrolled in a "Cupcake Creations" class. Each time I pick him up he has some crazy new cupcake to show us. Today, he showed off his Rudolf the Read Nosed Reindeer Cupcake.

The Dollar Store

I was originally planning on going to the store today to pick up a few things, but decided to wait until after payday when I realized we were getting low on funds.

MK: When are we going to the store?
Me: We are going to wait until tomorrow because we don't have much money right now.
MK: We should go to the Dollar Store and buy some dollars so we can go to the store.

Lots of Snow!

Fourteen inches of snow!

(Our neighbor measured the snow in his backyard.)

So, on Friday I had dreams of sitting inside cozy warm while I watched the snow from INSIDE my house.

Instead, I spent an hour or so shoveling the driveway. The snow was so wet and heavy, it was a lot of work.

Our poor tree was so weighed down with the snow! The branches were bent back so bad! Saturday, the kids played under the tree branches making it their fort because the branches were so bent the leaves were touching the ground. R and I went out there and tried to shake the snow out of the branches to lighten the load. We didn't want it to break all the branches off.

This picture was taken Friday night (11/9/12) during the storm.

Snow

After I finished shoveling, I came inside to find S and MK trying to find all their snow gear. Even though it was getting dark, they were going to go out and play in the snow.  

MK & S in the Snow

They spent about 1-1/2 to 2 hours outside playing around.  Do you like MK's sunglasses?

SNOW!

Backyard of snow

The kids and I are staying holed up in the house with hot chocolate.

Yesterday once MK saw the snow she told me
"Snow means it's Christmas. So, we need to put up the tree."

Where have I been?

Between being sick and then having to actually work, I haven't gotten much work done on my projects and very little done around the house. I could feel myself getting sick: I put up a valiant fight, but succumbed in the end. The worst part was I pretty much lost my voice...the week I had to work 4 days in a row. Did I mention that I talk on the phone for a living? Basically, I whispered as loud as I could and kept the mic RIGHT next to my mouth. 

For my FRACTURED FLOWER project, I have a pile waiting to be pressed. The seam needs to be pressed open, which tends to take a bit more time.

Fractured Flower Quilt

As for my SUPER SECRET HUSH-HUSH project, I am VERY excited. 

I just finished a significant milestone with the project and am now working on the final part of this project.

 

When talking to a friend who was helping me with a part of this project, she was amazed that I'm keeping this a secret. She said she would never be able to keep it a secret for as long as I'm planning.

I said I love this sort of thing. Then, I told her about when I got my Mission Call in 1997.

In Fall of 1997, I didn't go back to school. I was living with my sister in CA and working. I only told my two sisters and absolutely no one else I was planning on going on an LDS Mission. I wanted to make the decision myself without everybody weighing in with their opinion. So, I sent in my papers and received a nice BIG FAT envelope about 1/1-2 weeks before Christmas. I knew what it was. Instead of opening it, I put it in a big box, wrapped it up, and stuck it under the Christmas Tree. On Christmas morning, my entire family was gathered for the normal Christmas festivities. We opened tons of presents. Soon, my mom noticed a big box with my name on it from "Santa." She was a bit confused as this wasn't with all the Santa gifts. I opened it up to the surprise of all my family. I was going to Paris, France and I only ad 6 more weeks to get ready.

I can totally keep this SUPER SECRET HUSH-HUSH project under wraps until it's time to reveal.

I Voted

 

Movember

 

Every November, R takes part of Movember. Movember is a foundation raising awareness and funds for men's health issues. Men who participate shave all facial hair on November 1st for a clean shave and then get their 'stache on by growing all sorts of crazy moustaches.

On November 1, R shaved off his goatee in the evening. The next morning, the kids had such funny reactions to seeing their dad without facial hair. R was sleeping in since he was working from home last week. C snuck into our bedroom to grab something for school. He saw R sleeping and came out to tell his brother and sister that "dad doesn't have any hair." S and MK then took turns to sneaking into the room to look at him.

When R got up, the kids kept staring and touching his clean shaved face. It was very funny to watch. MK was the most vocal about it.

MK: You have no hair. *Repeat this several times.*
R: Do you think I look better with hair or no hair.
MK: *without hesitation* With hair.

Peanut Butter is made from Peanuts

At church last week, the primary kids earned cookies for bringing their scriptures to church. Each Sunday, a M&M was added to a jar for every person who brought their scriptures. Once the jar was full, the leaders brought M&M cookies. MK seeing that food is being offered to her asked loudly if it had peanuts in it. A leader heard MK asking about peanuts and came to ask if MK was allergic. I informed her that MK and S were both allergic to peanuts. She then asked me if they could have peanut butter. Um, no. Peanut butter is made from peanuts.

Getting Ready for School

I've told the boys that I'm done with the reminding, the yelling, the threatening, etc that happens every school morning. They know they have to get ready, but do they really do it? No. They spend time goofing off, playing around, and just driving me CRAZY. I finally told them I'm done. D-O-N-E. They were put on notice. We say Family Prayer together at 8:45 and leave at 8:50. (School starts at 9:00 am, and kids can't get inside the classroom until 8:55 so no point going earlier.)

These past 2 weeks, there may have been times they went to school without brushing their teeth, or S didn't have his contacts, or they had to have a "yucky" school lunch. All because they goofed around instead of getting ready.

Well, today was just classic. I woke the boys up and got them moving. They got their breakfast. I reminded them of the time at 8:30. They ran downstairs to get dressed. And I could hear them. It sounded like they were having a grand ol' time. At 8:45 I walked downstairs to their room and said, "It's time for Family Prayer." They both stop what they were doing (which wasn't getting dressed) and were shocked that I was REALLY going to do this to them. C had on a pair of jeans and no shirt. S still had on his PJ's, which were a small long sleeved shirt and VERY small short shorts. S cried during the prayer.  As soon as the prayer was done those boys were in action. Man! Can those boys move when properly motivated. S and C both RAN for their room and dressed in the amount of time it took me to get my shoes and jacket and head outside. They were extra lucky in that I had parked my car outside of the garage last night and had to take time to scrap the windows and defrost the windshield. They took that time to run back inside and brush their teeth.

I think they understand I am serious now. I've probably scared them for life. At least it's documented now so that their future therapist will be able to read about my side of the story.

Hopefully, I won't have a problem next week.

Cross that off my list

After completing my list of WIP, I realized just how close I was to finishing the quilt for S.

Barbed Stars Quilt

I am happy to say his quilt is completed. Yay! I finished up the binding, the label, and all.

Quilting Funny

Mrs. Bobbins

Found at My Heritage Fabrics website. 

Considering all I just posted about my WIPs, sewing spot, and stash I thought this comic was fitting.

Conversations with the kids

Yesterday, being Saturday, I slept in. I hadn't slept well the last couple nights...probably because R was away on a business trip. When I got up, I had the following conversation with C.

C: I know why they have Saturday Morning cartoons.
Me: Really? Why?
C: They have cartoons for the kids to watch while the parents sleep in.

At dinner, I was telling the boys they need to get haircuts SOON because we are having family pictures next Saturday AND because their hair is just crazy! The conversation that followed:

Me: We are taking family pictures next week. That means we need to dress up and smile and pretend like we like each other.
R: Worst day of the year.
MK: What are dressing up as? Princesses?
*We had to explain to MK that we aren't "dressing up" like as Halloween costumes. We are dressing up as in nice clothes pretending that we always look that nice.

Shopping Day

Next Saturday, we are going to have our family pictures taken. Normally, we try to do this in the Spring as a Mother's Day present, but the photographer we like to use had just had a baby.  So now that we have a photo appointment, it's time to find coordinating outfits.

MK and I went shopping on Friday. She is such a girl because she LOVES shopping. No matter how many stores we go to, she wants to keep going to "just one more." I pooped out WAY before she ever did. 

So far, I have planned the following for me, MK, S, and C:

Family Picture Outfits

Not sure what R wants to wear to match with us. 

No, he won't go naked. 

Several local quilt shops were participating in a Shop Hop with lots of specials. MK LOVES going to quilt stores with me. I only went to 2 quilt stores. The first store had very little in the way of specials, prizes, or discounts. It wasn't really worth going to. The second was having EVERYTHING discounted. I had to restrain myself. I did buy some fabric for one of my WIP--the Flowers. Pink flower petals and green grass.

MK still  asking to go to Walmart and more stores. 

The State of Things

Our house is rather small. I used to take over the dinning table to do my sewing. Back then I had 1 box with all my fabric and things. Oh, how I've grown! (Or should I say "exploded!")

Last Christmas, I used my savings and took advantage of specials at Joann's Fabric to buy a sewing table. Now I've commandeered a small space between the back of the couch and the dinning table for my sewing table. R even put casters on my table to make it portable.

 (Note: On the left is the couch.  On the right is the rug under the dining table.)

Sewing Area

As you can see, there are still containers underneath the table. I have to move those to sew. Can you see the 12 Days of Christmas from my WIP in the back of all that stuff? I still take over the table with my things while I work.

On the other side of the table is my ironing board.

Sewing Area

Is this all my stuff? Ha ha ha. Not even close.

Sewing Tower of Doom!

This tottering tower is shoved between the wall on the left, the entertainment center in the back, and another couch on the right. Each one of those bins is full. FULL. I'm contemplating purchasing another one. And there is stuff piled on top. I used to have them stacked in two piles, but then R came home with a subwoofer, and it claimed a spot next to the entertainment center. Now my bins are all stacked one on top of the other.

A Day Out with Grandma Great

Back in August, after the boys went back to school, MK and I spent the day out with R's grandmother whom we call "Grandma Great" as she's the kid's great grandma. We picked up Grandma Great and went to the Springville Museum of Art to see the Quilt Show for a Girls Day Out. Last year, I entered the quilt I made for C. It didn't win anything, but it was at least good enough to be accepted into the show.

Well, Grandma Great has a super cool walker: it's cherry red and has a seat. MK kept saying her legs were tired so she could sit in the walker and have Grandma Great push her around. The museum has old Spanish tile with deep grooves. With the added weight of MK, the walker kept getting stuck between the tiles. I was worried for Grandma Great, but Grandma Great just kept laughing and joking around with MK.

Springville Quilt Show

Can you see the plastic glove on MK's hand? At the door the volunteers were handing them out so if you wished to touch the quilt to see the back you could do so with a glove as to protect the quilt. MK took her job very seriously and had to inspect every back for the label and to show us what fabric choice was used for the back.

After the show, we went out for Mexican food. It was a very fun day.

List of WIPs

I've added a list of all my WIPs.

It was a lot of fun to go through them all...and there sure are a lot of them. But they are so fun to look at! Now I'm even more excited to work on them.

Work in Progress #1

I've got MANY works in progress right now. I have the bad habit of seeing a pattern or fabric I LOVE and buy it without regard to my ever growing pile of Work in Progress (WIP).

I signed up for a project class at this years Quilt Fest for a 2 fabric quilt. I needed 4-1/2 yards of one main fabric for this quilt. I found this beautiful grey fabric, but was so worried I wouldn't have enough as it looked very low on the bolt. I took it to the table to ask how much was on the bolt before I fell in love with it too much...but I already had my heart set on it. It measured 4-1/8 yards! I was just short! I screamed NO! (in my head.) She did suggest I see if they had any fat quarters, which they had 2, and that if I was very careful with cutting it might be enough. I did it. I bought it ALL.

Fractured Flower Fabric Choice

I was SO incredibly careful with cutting...and I had the 2 fat quarters left over and one 2-1/2 inch strip left over from the main cutting! Thankfully, most patterns tell you to purchase more fabric than actually needed. I was SO happy.

But look how cool this looks! I'm finally at a point where it's coming together and I had to take a picture.

Fractured Flower Quilt in Progress

The pattern is called "Fractured Flowers." Can you see the flower in it? Pretty cool, huh?

Animal Pillows

Elephant, Hippopotamus, Zebra

I found this cute pattern at a Quilt shop in Gardner Village called Pine Needles. The pattern included an elephant, a hippo, and a giraffe. I couldn't resist. The pattern had been sitting in my ever growing pile of projects until MK was invited to a birthday party this summer for her really good friend.

I decided to make MK and her friend the elephant.  It went over REALLY well. I found out that the birthday girls' older sister was turning 10 a few weeks later and asked her mom if she could invite ME to the birthday party so I would make her an elephant, too.

After I finished up MK's elephant, I let the boys pick out what they wanted. C wanted a zebra. I found minky in zebra print! Score! S wanted a purple hippo. My mom taught me how to put a zipper on it so we can unzip the pillow if we need to (and with stinky boys that is a necessity.)

I'm so pleased with how they turned out.

MK sleeps with hers. She flips up the elephant trunk to lay on it. The boys have been seen snuggling with theirs each night, too.

C's Renames Coffee Cake

While at Disneyland, we picked up Tiana's Cookbook.

Tiana's Cookbook

This book has 26 recipes (with pictures) from New Orleans. The kids have loved this book and have loved to help me cook. The best part is that, so far, everything we've made has tasted great.

So, one of the recipe we've made is called "Charotte's Coffee Cake." C was a bit concerned about the "coffee" part. I explained there is no coffee in the cake but is called coffee cake as it is eaten with coffee. Once I explained this, C looked at me with a smile and said "Well, since we don't drink coffee can we call it 'Hot Chocolate Cake?'"