He doesn't like Sophie

We found out about two weeks ago that we are having a girl. Yeah! She is growing and everything is well. I am not sick any more-yes! I'm not too uncomfortable yet at nights-yes! And the back pain hasn't started yet-yes! I just have the hardest time convincing Jason that my want for Subway subs and take out pizza are indeed cravings. It doesn't work too often though.

I love to figure out baby names. Needless to say when I first went down some random list and came across the name Sophie, I remembered that I had thought of it before and considered that name searching was finished. He even told me it was OK. Well, that OK translated to "Yes we can name our baby that." When I started telling people that we liked Sophie he wasn't too thrilled. So Sophie is out. Bummer! I thought Miley would be cute because Jason's middle name is Miles and he always wanted to use it - I was the reluctant one. Only, everyone would think we named our kid for Miley Cyrus. No Way! We like Leah and Lanie, but we're still undecided.

Christmas excitement

We have been so excited for Christmas around here. Can you believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve already?

Jason has to work 7pm-3am both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So the window that we'll be able to spend with family during the day is quite short since he gets off work and then needs to sleep in - a little! :) He took three days off and added that to his normal two for five days off that end today. It was so nice. We went a couple of times to Tri-Cities to be with Jason's parents and stay the night. It was nice to lounge and visit. We also made a trip to Mattawa to see my family. So even though the actual holiDAYS will be a little rushed for us, we still got to spend some good time on these days off. We took the kids to see the Princess and the Frog and then to lunch at McDonald's. Fun, Fun!

Emma and I had a good discussion about the creation that led into why we need a Savior and that led to Christmas. It all began with one of her questions that let you know they really are thinking. It was so fun. She said, "I want to do this for Family Home Evening." Unfortunately, we don't have many of those discussions for FHE because we try to keep it short so that the kids that are already jumping off the couch and running around the kitchen can be released. It was fun just talking with her.

I'm off to make some sugar cookies to leave out for Santa.

Thanks TyLeen

My friend Tyleen Dixon just sent me the cutest nativity. I played the game on her blog where she said the first five people to comment would get something made by her and this is what she made. Isn't it just adorable?!

Don't worry those of you who played the game with me, I haven't forgotten. :)

Family Picture Time Again

Savvy Moms Save Blog

So my friend Crystal Porter has a blog where she reviews and gives away items. It has been really cool to follow. It's called Savvy Moms Save. Right now she's doing one for this really cool Tupperware decorating tool. It's called the Squeeze it decorator. It has different tips to change out and it comes with a lid so you can store the leftovers in the fridge. Very cool!

Letters to Santa

Last year I had this really cute idea for letters to Santa, only it was too late to use it that year. So along with my projects I got this out to finish it. I found the tube at Craft Warehouse. It's made out of wood. So I painted it and worked up some vinyl for it. Emma saw what I was doing and got so excited to write her list for Santa. I told her that I was just getting it ready for our Christmas countdown coming up in December. She couldn't wait that long. She wrote and re-wrote her list so many times to get it just right.

Here's the idea. They write the letter and we stick it in the tube. We leave it overnight and then check it in the morning. We then magically discover that the letters are no longer there. They have been delivered to Santa. Emma checked it this morning before I was out of bed and then came in, so excited, to tell me about it.

What I've been up to

I am past my big enrichment and vinyl prep weeks. So yesterday, I sat down and worked on some things that I wanted to get done just for me. It was so fun! I love doing vinyl, but when there's a lot to do and a very close deadline, it gets kind of crazy around here.

I think having wood (8 foot lengths and blocks and signs and stacks) around our house will always be characteristic of us. I keep telling myself, and everyone who visits, that it's simply because we don't have a garage. I thought once we moved out of our apartment into a house we'd have so much more room and it wouldn't be all over. Not the case. It's still everywhere.

by the back door

by the microwave, thanks to Paul

by the mirror
these are actually sanded and ready for me to complete

by the front door

we don't just have wood around, we have tools too. It's either the drill press (above), the sander (above), the router, or whatever else

And when it was clear that we wouldn't be using our dining table to dine for a few days, we set up dinner in the family room. It'll be nice to have a dining room table that is just for gathering the family and eating. Who knows when that will be.

I love the drill press by the way. It helped us at my craft night to make the FHE signs go smoothly. It also helped me to complete the following garlands that I've had on hand for a long time.

This one I've had since Ellensburg. I made one for my sister-in-law at the same time and then never got mine completed. Finally, yesterday I did. Hooray!

My mom gave me these little decorative things to go around mason jars. The idea was to fill the jars with cookies-in-a-jar or soup-in-a-jar or whatever and then slip these cute little seasonal wooden wreath things around the jar.

Well, I pulled them all apart and turned them into garlands. Thanks to my drill press I was able to drill through some walnuts and chestnuts to add some dimension. I had bought some wooden beads at Micheals to use as well. Then just used torn fabric pieces every so often.

Fun! Fun!

A few fun things with vinyl just because I wanted to.

I am so pleased with how this one turned out. It brings me joy just to look at it.

I'm 30!

Holy Cow! I know.

Welcoming one

We are not having twins again. We are just welcoming one. I had an ultrasound this week and there was only one little baby on the screen. Phew!

I am 10 weeks along and my due date is May 26th. Hooray! I am starting to feel a little better so that the couch is not my permanent spot and my bedtime is not 8:30. I usually feel better in the morning and then the gunks set in late afternoon to evening. I'm hoping that I continue to put this behind me like has been the case with other pregnancies.

Emma was cute after the ultrasound. She asked if I found out what the baby would be. I told her no, that the baby needed to get bigger for that. She said, "But how can they tell what the baby is if it doesn't have any hair?" :)

Updates

I posted some projects to my Creative Sayings blog. There are two new ones - Thanksgiving and Winter Stackers.

Announcing...

Can you guess?

Yes, we're expecting baby number 5 or babies number 5 and 6. (That's why I have been blogg-ily absent - not feeling so good)

Who thinks we're having twins- again?

Yes we CAN!

A little bit of this
And a little bit of this....ok, a lot of each

Makes this
A few of these
Oh, don't forget the fruit fresh!

makes thisAnd this

Craft The Night Away

So here are the projects that we're doing for our Craft night in October.

Magnetic Family Home Evening Sign

$23

The board we're actually doing will look more like the blue sign - five categories and no magnets included. I made the brown one for me and could customize it a little more to what I wanted. I loved the flower magnets, but with so many different interests and families, I am not including magnets that night. People will have to get or make their own.

Merry Christmas Tree Frame

$12

I posted this on my Creative Sayings site. Several people loved this and requested it for a Craft the Night Away project. I'm excited to use it this year.

Halloween Stackers

$6

Noel Plaque

$6.00

This one can either be hung on the wall or it has it's own built in nifty stand. I like this one.

Established Blocks

$8.00

Countdown Blocks
$10.00 each set

These are really fun to make. One is for Christmas and one is for just any occasion - birthdays maybe. Cute! Cute!

Home Blocks

$8.00

We're providing two examples of these, one with the black and red and then a brown set.

Temple Quiet Book

$7.50

CRAFT SWAP

We're also hosting a craft swap that night where the women can bring any crafts they don't want, need, or use for others to take if they want. Hopefully it goes well.

Our event is Friday October 30th from 6:30 -11:00pm. Anyone want to come?

All Laid Out

Emma's clothes are neatly folded on her night stand with her shoes set carefully to the side. Her backpack sits ready by the door and excitement sleeps with her deep inside.

She wasn't mad when we told her she'd have to retire early for bed and even opted out of a story so she could faster rest her little head.

My little girl's growing up! sniff! sniff! :)

Getting Ready

We have been so busy. My lazy days don't come quite as often as they used to. They usually happen Sunday after I give my YW lesson and Tuesdays after a school board night. That's when I let down and don't think about my deadlines looming over me. I will be giving up the Wahluke School Board meetings because of the start of school. I will miss it. I love to be in the know. On the other hand, it will be nice not to have to worry about it anymore.

We are getting ready for two very important things. Emma will be starting school on Friday and Craft the Night Away is coming up in our ward.

We went school shopping with Emma and we've talked about what it will be like a hundred times. We have a meeting with her teacher on Thursday morning and I hope her excitement will stay with her. I am excited to see her in this new stage of her life. (Plus it'll just be me and Mr. Paul and the twins at home now.)

Our ward does a Craft the Night Away for their Super Saturday. They start at about 6:30 pm and go to 11 or so. The woman that was the specialist before has served for probably 10 years and they just recently asked me if I would take over for her. I am so excited to come up with some new crafts and work with some other great crafters in my ward. The actual event isn't until October, but I've got to get my sign-ups out here pretty quick. I'll post some pictures of what we'll be doing.

Well, I just thought that since I was up, (School Board article due tonight) that I would type in a little update. I'm still alive!

Peanut Butter Energy

One day when Emma was playing over at the Smith's (Ellensburg neighbors). It happened that she stayed through lunch and they had peanut butter and jam sandwiches. The only hang up? They like crunchy and Emma was used to creamy. She ate it and told me all about it when I came back to get her. Rachel told her, and I confirmed it, that the crunchy peanut butter would give her energy and make her run really fast. She has not forgotten that. We've referenced that energy many times, and Emma is usually the one who brings it up. Rachel didn't know she had such powerful peanut butter.

Well, just recently Paul picked up on it too. The other day he said, "Mommy, me got peanut butter energy." At first I wasn't quite sure what he was trying to say. And then I just laughed when it dawned on me. Thanks Rachel for peanut butter energy.

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Filling:

1/2 cup chopped onion
6Tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen peas and carrots or
1 to 2 cans mixed vegetables
1 two crust pie (recipe below or use your own)

Saute onion in butter. Add broth and flour. Increase heat, stirring constantly until broth thickens. Reduce heat and add chicken and vegetables, heat through. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 for about 40 min or until golden.

Pie crust:

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup + 2 Tbsp Crisco
5 Tbsp water

Use a bowl that has a lid. Stir salt into flour, add Crisco. Use a fork to cut shortening into flour until Crisco is coated and in fine pieces. Sprinkle in water. Place lid on bowl and toss ingredients in a circular fashion. (It may sound funny, I know, but it works. Keep a firm hold on the bowl and you can use some force as you toss the ingredients.) When you're done, the ingredients should come together in a ball. Then divide the dough into two balls and roll them out to fit your pie dish.

My signature

I sat down on Monday and made up my menus again. It has been so nice having things planned out and I know just how much time in advance I need to start dinner for it to be ready at our 5:00 dinner time. We all get cranky if we don't eat close to 5:00.

Monday night we had chicken pot pie. I thought of my mom the whole time because she used to make it when I was growing up.

The exciting part was how I cut the top of the pie to allow it to vent while it cooked. I remember my mom telling me that when you bake a pie you cut it your own special way. She has a certain way that she always does it. Today I cut a heart into my pie. I loved it! That will be my special trademark, my signature. I may even right a column about it. That's one of the two jokes about me - my ideas either end up in vinyl or in writing in my column.

Doesn't this pie look great!