Crafty-ness!

Well the crafty (and frugal giving) bug has hit this house in the last few months. Here are a few of our accomplishments! Here are some dish scrubies I crocheted with cotton yarn. These were birthday gifts for Mary last month. (See my pretty new ironing board cover underneath, I had had the last one for over 9 years!!)
This is a pot holder (also for Mary's birthday) that Riley made. He also made a few for Christmas gifts!
Here is Riley's birthday gift from Dan and I, I made the quiver and Dan made the "arrows" and fixed the bow. It helps alot during the Davey Crockett & Indian games! :)
Here is what the boys got for Valentines, I cut and sewed the fabric, Grandpa M. drew the maps and Dan "aged" them.
Here is what we made for Novella for Valentines, so she won't forget us!! This is the outside...
...and here is the inside, there is another couple pages of pictures. I used iron on computer paper to get the pictures on!
And here is a kitty I made for Novella for Christmas.
Look at the cute ribbon I used for the tail!

Also if you remember our crafty Christmas gifts for the kids! I have been making dish towel bibs again, and of course baby blankets. I have some wonderful fabric waiting on another project, but I need to find the "right" bias tape first. So I wait! :)
What have you been working on???

I SEE YOU!!

Three babes with such different eyes!

Race Day...again!

Well today was the big day, the district Pinewood Derby race! Riley's car was chosen to go because his was the fastest Tiger Cub car of his pack. So up to Waterbury we went and we did not emerge for THREE HOURS, yea it was a long event!Here's our racer!

They had done up the hall great! Lots of "sponsor" banners and other car type banners you would expect to see at a real race.
Here are the 68 cars racing! Riley's is the second row from the bottom, second one from the right (mostly red).
Here is Riley's first race, the red one with the "R"! He won this heat.

This unfortunately was Riley's last race, he came in 12th (raced in 4 heats), but was a good sport. He left with a great certificate, a race car sucker, and his car. All in all we had a good day, lots of refreshments and even a couple cookies! Riley is now planning next years car design! :)

Additions!

This is a wall in my kitchen, when mom was here to help me unpack we put up the clock, the Knotts Berry Farm pie tin, and the framed Mary Engelbreit picture. Then I found my chicken fly swatter and added that, and then most recently found my "Hotel Roanoke" fork and added that. It has kind of turned into an American themed collection, 4th of July, apples, pie, (apple pie with a fork to eat it with), and then the chicken, well she looks cute at least!

Then for Easter my Mom sent us a whole collection of hers & my Grandma J.'s cookie cutters. There are lots of real treasures! :) Thanks Mom! In among the usual array of cookie cutters were silhouettes of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and the United States. They were yelling to join the wall, so here they are! I almost added the Virginia one I have, but that could get out of control as I search for other states we have lived in! Maybe someday when I have a bigger kitchen! :)

So that is what we have been up to today!!

Happy Easter!

I know I am way disproportionate in pictures today, Fern was just so cute in her Easter frills, Oh well! :) We hope your day was full of rebirth and hope!All of us!

How sweet is that smile!!
And the whole ensemble!
Here is after church, her nursery teacher gave her a whole pack of bunny peeps. She was quite proud and did share a little with the boys (an ear each)! :) How cute is she!!
Peeps!
And then all three, are they not spiffy, the boys looked so nice in pale yellow! Hopefully they fit for a while! :)



AND...



HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY & NOVELLA!!!

We wish we were there with you... ALOT!!!!

One year ago!

Fashionable Fern & Stuff!

Here is our fashionable Fern, this is a hat that Grandma & Grandpa H. bought in Russia when Fern was still in my tummy. Obviously we had found out she was a girl and she was the first granddaughter after a few year granddaughter dry spell. Fern wore it a few times as a babe, but for the most part just pulled it off, but now she is totally into it and wears it around the house or when we are out and about, what ever the spirit moves. Today though, she was hiding from my camera, so this is not the best photo, her hair sticks down and makes her look flapper-ish!

In other news, I added a couple new side bars. One is a list of blogs I enjoy perusing, family, friends, and others I thought you might enjoy the peruse too! And the second is little wish list of mine so you can drool, or laugh over them too. Just silly little stuff I "dream" about! :)

I have my fingers crossed that maybe we will get a good picture of our new Easter duds tomorrow to share, and that it will not snow.

Until then... good bye!

:)

Why do we buy toys?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

These are the shirts I bought last year when we were in Calif. waiting for Novella to come (hence they are short sleeved!), it is a very nice thing that my kids grow not too quickly and that I tend to buy big clothing! Fern will still be able to wear it next year!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Pee in the Bed!

Yes I am talking about THAT kind of pee, Dan and I woke up to a soggy Fern in our bed this morning! Not the most pleasant wake up, but it lead to better things. Today is a heavy day for the washer already and I know Dan was worried he would not have dry bedding tonight, but have no fear Danna actually stayed on top of the wash today! (I am notorious for forgetting to change the laundry!)

I also got a little crafty today, it has been running through our house and today it produced two new pillow cases out of the remnants I got on clearance this last week!! We also woke up to a dusting of snow but it is now sunny and beautiful outside, so... I got hopeful and put the summer sheets on the bed (hey they matched the new cases better). But I know I may be putting the flannel ones back on when I freeze tonight! :) But at least for today it was sunny, the diaper covers are on the outside line and I yearned to rip off the plastic on the windows to get a little fresh air inside, but I withstood that yearning because I am not completely crazy...just slightly! :)

So enjoy my new cases in the yummy sunlight!

Our Saturday in a Nut Shell!

Well as all would dread, we got a letter from the IRS saying we had filed wrongly last year. And so since the afore named paper work was MIA we commenced a complete ravaging of our house on Saturday (it being the first weekend in about a month that Dan has been home, and the first time in that same period that he has been home longer than 2 consecutive days)! Thankfully after many prayers and a rather dusty house (with lots of sneezes) we found the paper work and will now be sending it to our WONDERFUL tax lady, Thanks Mom!!

During all that looking we found a box that we had not unpacked since we moved from Buena Vista (pronounced B-you-na), we left there in the summer of 1999! :) And although there were quite a few things in there that were junk, or that I did not even remember ever owning I did find quite a few of my most cherished belongings!!So here is my watermelon bowl set my mother-in-law bought me, my chicken pot holder from Guatemala, my King Corn creamer I am sure mom bought me, my "Hotel Roanoke" engraved silver fork, my pretty blue bucket (although I can not remember how I got this, mom?), my pretty hangy sunflower do-dad, and my Williamsburg pottery crock that my mom bought and Misty hid (not so well) for a couple months! :)

They are indeed ALL treasures, and they have (mostly) all found homes already!

Since Dan was actually home for longer than 24 hours he was able to make us some bread, but he had some helpers! Here is Jake and Fern under the "direction" of their father!! :)

**BONUS- Our Sunday!! :)

And then today we had a great treat! Instead of our regular church meetings we had stake conference, now this is the first time I have been to the stake center! Crazy hu!! The first stake conference after we moved here was a satellite broadcast so we watched that from our building, the second they told our ward we would have to park far away and then ride a shuttle bus in, Dan was out of town and I just was not up to that adventure by my self with three in tow!! And so today, thankfully Dan was here, and they had two sessions to alleviate the parking/seating issues! But I was going even if Dan was gone, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was presiding/speaking!! It was great, although the overflow area was loud with babes! We did not get to go shake his hands because the kids were way done and we were not pressing our luck! But it was a great Sabbath! Plus I got a nap! :)

Tschuse! (Bye!)

Ok! Ok!

Ok, Aunt Mary go see see some goofy boys doing some indoor P.E.. Now does that not sound completely dangerous!! :) Love ya!

Caution!! Cute Baby Sleeping!!

I don't resist sleeping babies very well, and well even though Fern had her photo shoot she never even batted an eye. She is out cold! So here is my sweet cherub for you to look at!

Old Pictures!

I know only my family may enjoy these, but I thought I'd share! I found these in some photos my mom had given me a couple years ago, they were mostly high school pictures but these were in there too!Here is my mom holding me, and my grandma holding my cousin Nancy. It is dated February 1, 1980, the day after Nancy was born.
I wish they had posed for one of the pictures, but they are fun to see the candidness of the meeting! :)

ME!

So if you have come here looking to read about your grandchildren/nieces/nephews/cute little friends then you will have to come back another day! This post is about ME and my day! :)

So this morning was one of two that Dan is home this week, so I got to sleep in a bit all the while snuggling with my baby.

Then I got up to a pancake breakfast and my daffodils blooming beautifully!! We then stayed in our pj's just goofing off and such. We gave Riley his finally finished birthday gift, but since this is my post I will post the pictures another day! :)
When I did get dressed I put on my new shirt, it is nice to have something new every once in a while! And I really love this shirt!!

After lunch my own personal pilot flew me to New Haven in my privet jet. :)

Here is Jake lounging!

Then Jake took a couple pictures of Fern and I, this one was good of me (except for the missing head part), and...

This one was best of Fern!
During the flight Fern decided to lounge with Riley, so I had a little break! :) We then landed and the FBO brought my chariot to the door so that I really did not even get wet! After we dropped off my other pilot at the hotel my chauffeur then took me to Claire's and bought me....
MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE!!!!!

We then drove back to Dan's airport to pick up our van, Dan and Riley hoped into our van and I drove the rental van home with two sleeping babes in the back! Driving the rental was a bit different than driving my jalopy! I got in and it did not act like it might stall, or that the axle might break in two! It was quiet, the drive was smooth and then my favorite Duran Duran song came on! I told Dan I am keeping it! :)

We had an easy/quick dinner, Native Nachos!! I bet you never planned on this pretty "turkey platter" to be our gigantic "nacho platter" did you mom! :)

All in all it was a good day, and I only wish we could enjoy it more often. :) Oops, Dan just broke the toilet tank he was working on...got to go run to Home Depot so Dan can get it fixed before he leaves!! Bye!

Sweet Snow Babies!!

At least with the snow we get cute snow baby pictures!! Fern was the first one out!

Fern is just too cute!!

And Jake being a good big brother!

How's that Mary, two post in one day!!!

Different Worlds!

I love my husband, really this is not a bashing post. But you have to wonder about the difference in our live styles even though we "live" together in Connecticut (most of the time)! :)

Here is what is happening at our house in Connecticut. I have shoveled the driveway once and it is already completely covered.

And here is where Dan is today.

When I talked to him earlier he was heading out to go snorkeling. Just so different!

So what are you doing today?

Jake and His Thumb!

As anyone who has been around Jake for longer than about 2 seconds can conferm, Jake is very happy with his thumb. But his poor calloused didget and purtuding teeth are not so happy! Jake being my first thumb sucker I had no clue how to go about helping him to give it up, you can't hide it like I did with Riley's pacifire!! :)

So I did some thinking and reading and had the thought that busy hands would make it harder for him to suck his thumb. So I bribed! :) We went to Target and I showed him the mega block's answer to duplo legos and told him I would buy it for him if he choose not to suck his thumb. He picked out this fun "Deigo" set and has been having a blast with it! We also found that having a bandaid on his thumb during the day was a great reminder too. And luckly he has these great bandaids Aunt Mary and Ryan gave him, pirate bandaids!! So here is my happy big boy!! The next big tackle will be night time, I'll wait a bit for that one!! :)

You know what one of the most UN-FUN things about being a mom is?? It is when you are putting your babes to bed and they burst into tears because they miss Grandpa, Aunt Mary, Ryan, Novella, and California in general; and then they ask you to take them back. Then they add in that they miss Daddy and I should make him come home, yea I have that kind of magical power! What is a mama to do??