Nice day for a picnic...


(Hit the play button to watch video)
:: Hope its sunny where you're at. We had great weather for a picnic today :0)

Mini Chefs Class

:: Anna started a new elective at school today....."Mini Chefs Class". This is exciting on two levels....1.) She will have the chance to learn recipes with other children her age and have some fun making these cute things, and 2.) I get another hour and a half each week of "me" time.....tee hee....its a win win :)
:: Is this just darn adorable or what?! It was fun to see the look of pride and excitement on her face as she was telling me how she made her egg nest.

Just Can't Get Enough!



:: If you read my blog last summer you probably couldn't help but notice that I posted A LOT of flower pictures....mostly of my dahlias that I was so proud of. I seem to have a flower addiction going on here....and now its with fabric! I've recently fallen back in love with my sewing machine (like 2 months ago) and can not quit thinking about which quilt I will sew next. Currently I have three quilt tops done that I need to quilt. (I swear I'm going to finish them before I start another quilt top....I swear!....probably...I mean, I think I'm pretty sure with my fingers crossed).
:: I'm making this bright little quilt for Anna's school auction.
:: Last summer I spent every non house cleaning-yard working moment stamping and making cards.....I'm thinking this spring/summer the hum of the sewing machine will be what you'll be hearing around my house.

:: I've always admired the pictures I find looking through magazines (like Country Living and Better Homes & Gardens) of quilts and how people use them to decorate with....for example one of my favorites is when people use antique hutches or cupboards and fill them with folded quilts.....like the picture below.

:: I figure if I just keep on a sewing (and bribing my mom-in-law who tackles quilts that I would never even try) someday I will have my cupboard full of quilts to show off. I've actually got a pretty good start....I'll have to show you in another post all of the quilts my mom-in-law has made us.

creamy lemon-blueberry dessert recipe at kraftfoods.com

I've been baking again.....Like the title says, its
Creamy Lemon-Blueberry Dessert
Its quite yummy, and super easy! To see the recipe click on the link below.


Happy St. Patrick's Day!

:: My big plan was to post pictures from the St. Patrick's Parade we went to this weekend....however, my camera (actually I was using Michael's camera, which isn't nearly as spectacular as mine....so I should have known better....tee hee) has locked up and foiled my plans. Instead I will share a funny little story with you.....

During most of my youth I was down right ticked off that I wasn't Irish! I remember one year getting in a little bit of an argument with my grandma (sorry grams!) over the fact that I insisted that yes indeed I was of Irish descent!... and she insisted that oh no I wasn't! I so badly wanted to be Irish that I even begged her to change my name. I remember specifically that I was quite partial to Briana (I almost picked that name for Anna), Colleen, and Deirdre....now I came close to part of my wish...I actually grew up knowing a Deirdre!

That same year I was quite indignant and wanted to prove grandma wrong, so I insisted that she dig out our family tree so I could prove just how Irish I really was. WELL, as it turns out, I am in fact not Irish (boo hoo), but instead very DANISH.

Ok so I'm not Irish...but I am still a big fan of the Irish! And, over the years I have since recovered from my disappointment:)
Hope everyone had a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Anna's baby quilt...

:: I finished putting Anna's baby blanket quilt top together. I had it laying on the dining room table when she woke up from her nap (which was minutes before this picture was taken...you can see she still looks sleepy). She walked out to the dining room and said "what's this I see?....did you FINALLY finish my quilt?" I said, "no not yet...I only have the top finished". She responds with, "well geesh mom, are you EVER going to finish this quilt?"
Yep, she's 4, and knows how to tell it to me straight!
:: Remember...this was made with her 8 receiving blankets that I saved from when she was a tiny girl. I think this quilt will mean more to me, because I remember wrapping her up in all those blankets. Babies sure don't stay small very long. boo hoo

The Daily Shower

:: So how was your shower today?...relaxing?....yeah, mine not so much...For those of you reading this with children in your house, you will totally get what I'm on about here...

This is a "family show"...tee hee, so I will keep it G-Rated.

Here is a typical shower experience for me: I announce to the family "I'm going to take a shower now". That is everyone's clue that if they need to use the bathroom, do the laundry, wash the dishes, wash the car, or give the cat a bath they have 5 minutes to complete the task before I step in the shower.

So here I go...stepping in to the shower now. Just as I get the shampoo all lathered up in my hair (and no sooner...it has to be exactly when my hair is full of shampoo) Anna will walk in the bathroom and need me for something. (Heaven forbid that there be a door closed between her and I at any moment of the day....even a glass see through shower door....ugh!) Its usually that she has gone to the bathroom and can't reach the toilet paper. Seriously?!....could she not have waited until I at least had the shampoo rinsed? I suppose this should make me mad, because it almost happens every day, but for some reason I laugh every time.

The other day I had a light bulb moment, and thought aha....how about I have her go to the bathroom before I get in the shower?!...duh!....well I did that, and nope!....that didn't help a thing....as soon as my hair was full of shampoo I hear, "mommy....I need your help", my response under my breath is, "of course you do....there is shampoo in my hair!"

So once I finally get back in the shower to rinse out my hair the shower door has to open and close about 4 more times....its Anna again of course. "mommy, can you get me a show to watch on tv?.....mommy, can I have something to drink?....here's one of my all-time favorites.....mommy, can you get this dress on my barbie?" (Even I have my limits, I don't actually get out for all of those things).
OMG!....by the time I have finally answered all of the questions and done all of the assisting, and actually rinsed the shampoo out of my hair something hits me like the scalding hot water which happens when someone in the house has flushed the toilet while I'm HELLO! IN THE SHOWER!......

Time flies by so fast...it seems like Anna was just born and now she is 4 years old already. In a few more years (hopefully much longer than a few years really) she will be off with her friends and won't need me like she needs me now. So, I will choose to laugh at all of the interrupted showers and know that someday I will look back and laugh and miss all of Anna's questions and requests that she just couldn't wait to ask me until after my shower. I like that she needs me NOW!

Sweet Treat...

:: These cookies are a meal....if you've never had a "ranger cookie" before you should probably try them. Yum! I will put a printable recipe link on the sidebar under "Ranger Cookies"....(just as soon as I figure out how to do that....argh!...thought I knew how already....hold please and hum the Jeopardy theme song while I figure it out...and you're welcome since I'm sure that will be stuck in your head now). :0)

Organizational Bliss!

:: I am giddy over the fact that my sewing machine (her name is "Lucille" btw...what!...guys name cars) has a spot on my craft desk finally! You see it was covered with stamp/card making supplies before. Its not that I won't be making cards anymore...I have been taken over with sewing again lately so I decided to shift some things around and make room for fabric and the likes.
:: I love it when everything has a place...to me that's half the fun of being crafty.... organizing my supplies! Here's a secret....sometimes its even hard for me to cut into a new piece of fabric, because then I won't have it on my shelf to look at anymore.....I know...there's probably professional help for people like me out there!
:: And, look....I even cleaned off Anna's little craft desk/table. Somehow though she is always trying to crowd herself on to mine. Silly me thinking that if I made her a desk of her own she would stay off of mine and out of my supplies....yea right!

A little bit of springtime...

:: I bought a new Nordic cake pan today and had to try it out....isn't this cake cute?!
This pic makes it look like chocolate cake, but actually its a yellow bundt cake recipe....
And, we just happen to have some strawberries
from my mom-in-law's garden (fresh from the freezer)
to go with some whipped cream....
yummy yum yum!

So many of you have asked...

Please excuse the glare in the pic... operator error ;-)

:: Where oh where did you get that little desk?

~ This little desk was an antique store find.

:: Where oh where is it in your house?

~ It is sitting in the dining room.

:: And, did you paint those words on the wall?

~ Nope...didn't paint the words....they are a vinyl decal. I purchased them from Wonderful Graffiti. (click to see their site)




Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!...and my mom-in-law too:)

:: Yep it would have been Theodore Geisel's 106th birthday today!...bet you didn't know his real name now did you? (1904-1991)

:: Anna's school is having Dr. Seuss day, as I'm sure many other schools are as well. She and her classmates wore their pjs to school, ate pancakes and read Dr. Seuss books. Cute!
Young cat, if you keep your eyes open enough, oh, the stuff you would learn!
The most wonderful stuff!
~Dr. Seuss