its all about the hair

I had several nieces on the gift giving list this year. I went with some cute little felt headbands. These are all around the crafting world and now I know why. They are fun to make and super cute! Not much to say about these photos except that Lucy was quite the willing little model.

I also made some ponytail holders to go in with the headbands. These are just coverable buttons with elastics attached through the loop on the back of the button. I have to admit that I was sad when I ran out of buttons to cover. Making these could prove to be quite the addiction and it helps to decrease the scrap fabric pile.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

jumping jacks

I do believe this has been the busiest Christmas season I have ever experienced. And the weird part is that I don't feel like we have done things much differently than last year. Maybe I am a poor planner this year. Who knows. What I do know is that we took our Christmas card picture in record time this year. And yes, I just took it yesterday and am just sending the cards out today. See? I am a poor planner! Maybe it was the freezing cold yesterday morning or the great coaching the kids got from me right before we went outside (I like to think it was that), but it only took four shots to get the one above. I was stunned. I was not about getting the perfect shot, I just wanted one that wasn't "all teeth and no eyes." And I think I have found the solution...have the kids do three jumping jacks and then immediately get together for the picture. It works! I have a few pics to post of Christmas gifts, but I am going to do that tomorrow. You know, make up for all the non-blogging. Again...poor planning. I hope I can overcome that in the new year.

out of hibernation

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since my last post. I guess my littlest one turning four really knocked me for a loop ;) I have been mulling over Christmas gifts and trying to get the motivation to start making them, since that is what I have done the past two years. I just haven't felt the inspiration that I normally do. But I think these cookies may have done the trick. I mean, they got me to come out of my blogging hibernation, right? I recently received the cookbook, Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey Treats for Kids, and I made my first treat from it, the Hunka Chunka Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were a hit (with adults, too). Michael even said they were the best cookies I had ever baked. And I must say that I love how they are crisp around the edges and soft and yummy in the middle. I look forward to making some more treats soon, like the Sun Butter Blossoms and the Chock-a-Block Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Muffins (they all have such great names!). The book itself is adorable as well, with beautiful colors and pages with scalloped edges. OK, I'm off to the kitchen to make crock-pot mac-n-cheese (and perhaps take a nibble of a cookie while I'm in there.)

the smallest of the smalls is four

Yesterday we celebrated our sweet baby's fourth birthday. My how time flies! I love this top photo of her. It was taken a couple of weeks ago and I think it captures her perfectly. I love that sweet little smile. And what birthday would be complete without a party dress? A few weeks ago I bought this adorable corduroy at the quilt shop to make a jumper out of it. I didn't have a pattern, so I just drew one up based on this one. I was just happy it turned out and Lucy loves it!

My parents and my grandpa came into town for the day and we visited the aquarium and went to lunch at Lucy's favorite spot. When we went out she wore her black mary jane's, but once we came home for cake and presents and she got these pink cowgirl boots from my parents, there was no going back. She didn't want to take them off!

Happy Birthday my Lucy!

a lot of pecans and a little bit of cotton

Lucy holding the outer husk of the pecan that she calls a flower

My grandpa pretty much lives in the middle of a pecan orchard, so this time of year always holds an abundance of pecans for the taking. And they are so much better than the store bought kind. Seriously, the ones at the grocery store are a joke.

If you have never shelled pecans, just know that it can be hard work (even if you take them to get them cracked first). The shells are hard and can leave your fingers numb if you shell a lot of them. I have such vivid memories of my grandma sitting and shelling pecans. She loved it. The phrase "a bag of grandma's pecans" carries a lot of weight in our family. She would shell the pecans and then put them in bags in the freezer for all of her children and grandchildren. Now that she is no longer with us, there aren't very many bags left in the freezer. And we all cherish what we have left. Like they are a little bit of her that we still have with us. I still have over half a gallon bag in my freezer, which can cause quite a problem. Why? Well, when I am going to be baking something to share, I want to use those pecans because they are so delicious. The problem? I don't want to share them! (I know, I know. I'm an awful person.)

I decided the best way to solve the problem was to go and pick some up at my grandpa's and shell them myself. So, my mom, the kids, grandpa and I ending up picking up about twelve pounds in just a short time. I then took them to get them cracked and then I commenced to shelling them (with the help of Michael's dad). My fingers were so sore that warm water hurt them! I got two gallon bags of them, which is the equivalent of about fifty dollars worth of shelled pecans. Whoa! And it only took a little over an hour total. And these I can actually share! Here is Lucy "wielding" the Nut Wizard ) or as we refer to it, "The Pecan Picker Upper."

There is also a cotton field next to my grandpa's house and the kids always love picking a boll of it to play with. I wonder why Larkin looked so concerned...
And what post would be complete without a photo of my grandpa, right?

cowboys and ballerinas

We just spent a fun-filled week visiting both my family and Michael's family. We were there for Halloween. This is the first year that I have not sewn their costumes. I felt a little bit sad about that, but we have been so busy lately that I just didn't have the time. I still didn't buy a costume, so I guess that made me feel a little less sad. The cowboy...

Notice his first two fingers on his right hand are bandaged. Yeah, not so good things happen when a six-year-old gets his hands on a rotary cutter. And the ballerina...

She was doing a little dance for me. And I have mentioned before how much I love my grandpa. Well, you know I must if I am willing to post this photo of me without even a smidgen of powder, much less the other bits of makeup that go into making me more presentable. But I had to because I love this photo of us!

More photos of our fun to come later this week, as well as a celebration of a little one turning four.

finger paint and pictograms

The kids came running to me last week with some finger paint from the classroom. Now, I am not one to initiate a finger painting session. I always think of how messy it is and how it is going to get all over their clothes, etc. (I know. I know. Get over it.) Well, after a moment or so of trying to find a reason for them not to use it, I realized that we were studying ancient Chinese pictograms in history that day. Perfect...except that the finger paint was also ancient (no surprise there since we never use it). The kids were quite disappointed so I had to quickly come up with an alternative. And I figured since we have made play-doh (I like this recipe substituting half a pack of jello for the kool-aid) that surely we could make finger paint. It was as easy as brushing your teeth. Here is the recipe:

1 cup flour

1 cup water

food coloring

Yep. That's it. And I didn't have to worry about it staining clothes or being toxic (Of course I am pretty sure the store bought kind wasn't toxic either, but you know...) As you can see above, Lucy wasn't all that concerned with the pictograms, but Larkin did manage to "write" house...