My first dress

I found this bunny print a few months ago and have been hoping to use it for a fun project. I have been wanting to learn how to make a dress so I decided to give it a go. I got some inspiration from this dress at Shabby Apple and had some help from the tutorial here.

There are many problems with this dress, but I learned a lot and hope to make more. Even with all my huge mistakes, it only took about and hour and a half. (I worked on it while the kids were sleeping and Curtis was watching fight night with some of his friends) The next day was Sunday and I wanted Lucy to try it on to see if it would even fit over her head! It did and she stayed in it all day! I love sewing... it's therapy that gives back. :O

Time Out

Daniel on time out for mooning people on the trampoline...................... and he's back in the game!

Easter Week for kids- starting with Palm Sunday

My awesome friend, Sarah, gave me the best idea to make Easter special for the kids. We have done some or all of the following several times and the kids really enjoyed it. I just realized that Palm Sunday is this coming Sunday. So thought I would share:

Sunday - Palm Sunday
Song: Hosanna page 66
Show a picture of the Triumphal Entry and read Matthew 21:1-8

Spread out robes and fake palm fronds

Place palms on the mantle

Monday - Second Temple Cleansing
Song: I Love To See The Temple
Picture of Temple Cleansing and read Matthew 21: 12-15, discuss temples & explain selling of Animals on temple grounds
Hide peeps for dessert

Place doves on mantle

Tuesday - Parables
Read about the Widow’s Mite, Luke 21:1-4, and Mark 12:13-17 about rendering unto Ceasar what is Ceasar’s.
Hide chocolate coins for dessert

3 coins on the mantle

Wednesday - The scriptures actually don't give a record of what Christ did on Wednesday. Maybe he spent the day with family and loved ones. This is a good day to talk about a couple more of the many parables he gave on Tuesday.

Parable of the Fig Tree (Matt 24:32-42) and Ten Virgins (Matt 25:1-13)
Watch Living Scriptures version of the Ten Virgins
Show a picture of the Second Coming and talk about fig tree
Fig Bars for dessert

Oil lamp on the mantle

Thursday - Passover
Watch "Prince of Egypt"
Matzo soup and coucous
Piece of matzah on the mantle

Friday - Trial, Crucifixion
Read New Testament kids version & visit a cathedral if possible
Salt and Vinegar Chips, taste of vinegar from sake cups
Sake cup on the mantle

Saturday - Guards Placed, Mary brings spices
Show the boys some essential oils & watch “Testaments”
Spice box on the mantle

Sunday – Pics of Ressurection and Christ in America (Read John 20:11-20)

Lamb for dinner with lemon dessert

Folded linen cloth on the mantle

Enjoying the warmer weather

The kids are so happy the weather's finally warming up. I never bought winter coats for any of them (We seriously haven't used them the last two winters and every week I just kept thinking the cool weather would end. arghh!) and they are happy to be able to run around outside. Here are some hangin around pics:

Her real name is Gretal...

Yeah, this is what cool looks like


Let's see... rollerblades with no helmet, sucker in mouth and weapon (I mean hockey stick) in hand. Who's kid is this?
Wait, this is what cool looks like. Very cool

Spring is here!

So Knock Out Roses were designed for me. I don't think I could kill them if I wanted to. The sprinklers in our front yard don't really work- most plants would complain- not these babies. They get toasted by the setting sun every day but just keep on blooming, most of year. Yea- definitely my kind of plant. Anyway, I was so excited a few days ago when I noticed the first blooms of this year. I missed you spring.

The Cry-It-Out Quilt

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So a couple of months ago I knew I had to let Lucy CIO at night. Up until that point I was nursing her to sleep. She was really wakeful during naps and at night, making me crazy and I knew she needed more rest. So I pulled out my handy emergency video (bought it one night online in utter desperation). It's called "Your Baby Can Sleep." Not rocket science but it helped me a lot. I was seriously one of those people who thought that letting your baby cry was akin to child abuse. No offense to anyone who still feels that way- I really believe everyone just has to walk their path. That's deep. And now I will go do some yoga.

Anyhoo... making this quilt totally got me through those nights of listening to my sweet baby cry. It was the perfect distraction and now we have a snuggly quilt for the living room! Yeah! This quilt from quiltdad really inspired me. I also got the idea of an orange border from an awesome quilt made by someone named "Little Grey Dog" online. But I can't seem to find the link now. Film in the Fridge is due credit for the backing. I love her site- she is seriously responsible for getting me interested in quilting! :) And aren't my quilt holders awesome?

I know all the patterns are sort of random but I just had to have all of them in this quilt... together.

It's a mishmosh of Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, Michael Miller, Erin McMorris, etc. I'm such a nerd. I had never heard of these people a few months ago and now... I'm getting choked up. :O I tried hand binding another quilt recently and am WAY too impatient to ever do that again. So my binding doesn't look awesome but "it'll do."

I had it professionally top quilted because I was afraid I would ruin it in my machine. I like the pattern but wish I had just used white or clear thread. I think the orange is a bit distracting from all the great fabrics. But I'm still really happy with it and look forward to years of snuggling with it.

Curt's gone right to work on that.

THE best bread ever

I love Heather Cosby because she brought me some bread a few weeks ago and it was amazing. (wait, I love her for lots of reasons! :) But I was blown away when she said she made it using the recipe in "Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day."

We love yummy crusty bread with soups, pasta or just served with cheese and meat. My Better Homes and Gardens recipe is okaaay hot out of the oven but very so-so beyond that. Lately I've been buying ciabatta or specialty bread at $3-4/loaf.

Anyway, I finally got the book ("Artisan Bread...") and read the first 5 chapters. I learned a lot and finally tried making the bread yesterday. It turned out SO good and is honestly the easiest bread I've ever made! Easy and fabulous?!? How often does that happen?? I was sort of freaking out at dinner b/c it tasted just like yummy French bakery bread, so crusty and chewy! (In college we called this "Bobbing Out" - see "What About Bob" for more info.) The kids were a little bit afraid. And... I just had some for lunch and it's still fabulous. I highly recommend getting your hands on that book if you love good bread!

Check out that crust!