the third year begins :)

My baby girl turned 3 today!! Here is a picture of her in the princess dress I made for her. She opened it earlier Saturday morning so she could wear it to her dress-up party :) She really loves it and so does Natalie ;) The party was a success, I think. It seemed rather chaotic, though during present-opening time. How do you simplify parties for littler kids, when there are an equal amount of small children and adults??? Hmmmmm?? Tips are welcome, since Natalie turns 5 in just 2 months! EEK!

so much to blog, so little time...

SO, we had Layla's birthday party yesterday, but her actual birthday is tomorrow, so after the festivities are over, I'll share some pics of all that. First, though, I want to chat about resolutions! I know many people don't like to tie themselves down to New Years resolutions, but I have made a few for the past several years and have managed to keep them all. In 2009, I resolved to cook dinner more (and learn to like cooking more) and I definitely succeeded! I did not resolve to lose any weight last year, however, last March I had a bit of a wake-up call and thus, I lost 45 pounds between March and October and have held steady since.

SO....this year, I am going to become a runner! I have been very inspired by my friend Tara, )who ran a marathon last year!!) and I'm going to start the Couch to 5k running program this week. I do very well with strength training, but I really struggle with cardio. I asked Casey if he wanted to sign up for a 5k with me in the Fall and at first he said, "no way, I hate running" (although he's good at it, thanks to the army ;) but later that day, he siad he would love to! The only obstacle was that it's snowy here, but Casey reminded me that I can go to the base gym for free whenever I want (duh). So there ya go. I'll keep you posted on my progress. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your goals for 2010 in the comments!

crochet!

I already showed you the little octopus I made for Layla's stocking, but I also managed to finish Natalie's fish before Christmas too! She turned out really cute. Both of these are from this great book, if you missed that before :)

Since I like that little book so much, Casey got me this one for Christmas!! I was very excited and can't wait to make something from it. The birdie mobile, the hot air balloon and the tea set are really calling my name :)

But first, before our drive down to see Casey's family over Christmas, I was able to print off the instructions for this lovely heart garland. I wanted to get started so we can hang it up in February. The girls really like these little hearts because....well, because they're girls. I have two more to make and then I'll block them so they'll stay flat and then show you the finished product closer to Valentines day.

Also, I went to JoAnn today to hit their big yarn sale. I don't buy yarn very often because with the little things I've been making it tends to last awhile. But, I did recently go through the tubs of yarn I had downstairs and get rid of almost all of it because it was the yucky, cheap, scratchy stuff from about five years ago. Really that was all you could get cheap back then it seems, but yarn has really stepped up in recent years and given us great, inexpensive, SOFT yarn to choose from :) Anyway...I found this pattern on Ravelry last night (great site, it's free to become a member and worth the short wait) and really want to try it. So, instead of buying the recommended Rowan Big Wool, I went with this super soft and much less expensive Sensations bulky yarn. Hopefully it will go well and I'll be able to show you soon ;)

I hope this post may have inspired someone to learn to crochet!! It's much faster and less intimidating than knitting in my opinion, plus takes less yarn, plus is easier to fix your boo-boos :) It's easy to learn and easy to teach and once you know a few basic things, you will be off and running, I promise! Plus, it keeps you busy while your husband watches Dirty Jobs and the like ;) If you need some more inspiration, check out these links...

1. Ravelry--a knit and crochet community
2. Attic 24
3. Emma Lamb

There ya go, crochet away!

Whew!

Well, we certainly had a Merry Christmas here (I hope all of you did too!) but I must say, it's always a slight relief when it's over ;) The traffic and store crowds are back to normal and there is just generally less for me to think about when all the gifts and cards have been bought and mailed and given. We put our Christmas things away yesterday, since we are having a b-day party here for Layla on Saturday. And then, of course, there's New Year's Eve. One celebration at a time, please!

This is just a cool picture of the kids watching Casey shovel snow on Thursday. And below, all the grand kids on Casey's side on Christmas day.

And here's a silly shot of my three.

Now that Christmas is over, I can share some gifts I made that I wasn't able to show you before Christmas! Hopefully I can get on that tomorrow :)

a winner!

As you may know by now ;) I've been experimenting with sugarless recipes for the past several months and have found baking to be the hardest to conquer. BUT, today I tried this muffin recipe from one of my favorite books, Sweet and Sugarfree and they turned out really tasty. Actually, I don't think I would have known these didn't have sugar in them if I hadn't made them myself! The jelly in the middle really infuses throughout the muffin during baking, so if the dough tastes bland when you lick the spatula, don't worry :) The girls loved these, especially the "surprise" part and I had all the ingredients on hand! That's my kind of recipe. Without further ado....

Peanut Butter Surprise Muffins

Ingredients:
1 ripe mashed banana
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
1/3 cups vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 cup milk
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped peanuts (don't leave these out, they provide really yummy texture :)

Filling: Jam, Fruit Butter, or Spread (use store-bought or use a homemade fruit puree)

Instructions:
Beat together in a medium-sized bowl mashed banana, peanut butter, and eggs until well blended and creamy. Add oil and milk and beat. Measure in flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat. Stir in chopped peanuts. Oil and flour muffin tins. Fill each 1/3 full of batter. Spoon 1/2 tsp of jam or other filling into the center of each muffin and top with additional batter, filling wells 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until browned. Cool. Serves 12.

i'm on a roll

I went to Archiver's last night and got three more pages done! AND before that I got 200 pictures printed, because that's what I'm actually behind on. I was supposed to go with my friend Angela, but she got sick :( and since I really was ready for a night off, I decided to go anyway. I'm glad I did. The conversation was not as good, but I did seem to get more done. Hmmmm ;)



And, working backwards yesterday, Casey's mom is here with us for a few days and let the girls help her make cookies (if you can call what they do helping.) This was a special and rare treat for them because, as you know, we don't eat much refined sugar around here! And today I'm remembering why, since the girls are rather whiny and Natalie woke up twice last night with bad dreams. But it was fun for a treat.



Kelby soooo wanted in on the action. After some pretzel crumbs spilled on the counter, he started sucking on the countertop. Silly guy.

The only logical thing to do after that was to have a tea party! This is the tea set my parents bought for us in China. This last summer it got a lot of use, as my mom taught us how to have proper tea parties. Everyone must be wearing a hat and someone must be the "Tea Mother", which was me this time.


Grandma is wearing a special hat that belonged to her grandmother and that I won in a silent auction one family reunion. Natalie chose to wear her mermaid skirt as her hat. Always the creative one.


Random use for fabric scraps #2: Keep the baby entertained :)


I hope I'll be blogging again before Christmas, but you never know! so just in case, I wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas and may your week be filled to the brim with celebration, family, laughter and Christ's love!

for Layla

Remember the owl I made from Tiny Yarn Animals?? Well, the girls perused that book several times over and they each picked an animal that I could make for them. Layla wanted a purple octopus, so I got to work to put it in her stocking. Next up is a pink and yellow fish for Natalie, which I started over on because I found a mistake in the instructions--eek! It will be worth it, though, these things are so fun to work on, while watching TV...when there's no laundry to fold, that is :)

AND, Layla's birthday is January 4th, soon after Christmas. I learned that first year to get her gift made or picked out before Christmas, or else she may get shafted a little bit ;) This year she really wanted a princess dress, so I hit the JoAnn clearance table while it was all an extra 1/2 off this last weekend (that's the only way I can afford this formal fabric!) and I scored these great purples for super cheap. The sash fabric is actually silk!!!

I found a Simplicity pattern (also on sale!) that doesn't have a zipper or closure. It's just elastic, but the belt gives it shape. The belt actually called for grommets, but I'm a smart mommy and didn't enjoy the thought of threading that ribbon through six grommets several times a day and determined that tying a bow would be much less irritating :) I think it's cute and I think she'll love it. We are going to have a dress-up party for her birthday, so boys and girls alike can come in their favorite dress-up clothes. I need ideas for a cake, though! I'm thinking some kind of Polly Pocket cake to go with the dress-up theme. Any ideas??

catching up

WOW, I'm a little bit behind :) I have lots to show you today. Lots of unrelated things, really, but that's okay. We have had some c-o-l-d days here in Colorado! I'm talking well below zero. See the frost on the window? That's on the INSIDE!!!

I could not let the girls play outside because it was just too cold, but that didn't stop them from getting their snow gear out. I love this picture of the girls.


Next off, gift wrap...I told you these things were unrelated. I LOVE Hobby Lobby's wrapping paper. It's $4 a roll when they put it 1/2 off, which it is now, and it is sturdy and thick and it has a convenient grid on the back and it lasts forever. I try to pick ones that are not necessarily Christmasy, so I can use them for all occasions throughout the year.


This is the super-cute tea towel my sister embroidered for me for my birthday! I always keep a tea towel next to my sink for drying dishes and this one is my new favorite. Isn't she good at embroidery? I should have taken a picture of the back too, because it's perfect, and that's the mark of a good embroiderer, right??


Casey was busy last Friday night, so after the kids were in bed, I got my scrapbooking stuff out. I need to get crackin' on the books for my youngest two, so I made this page for Layla's book. She took "chubby baby" to a whole new level, as you can see by that middle pic. Don't worry, she's totally average now :)



Last but not least, just in case you need yet another use for all those fabric scraps, my girls always have some good ideas :) They were entertained for several hours yesterday by my scraps, a cardboard box, their wooden blocks and their princesses. Very resourceful girls, I know :)



Hope your week was wonderful and your weekend is even better!!!