pillowcases done...

the pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer through Craft Hope are done! i ended up with 10...they were just so fun to cut out and sew up! i even got my little cub scouts in on it! they each made one for one of our meetings...so fun!



here they are in all their glory! it was really fun to make these and i like knowing that they will hopefully help some kids feel happier:)



on a different note: the kids like to pretend they are squirrels and store away food for winter...this is what they came up with today....





very organized, they were even taking an inventory on pieces of paper (they drew shapes of the food and stuff they got out:)) so cute...we left it that way for as long as i could stand it (a couple hours) and then around lunch time it was time to clean up! luckily the squirrels are good cleaners too!


and here's a question for the ages...which tootsie roll is actually a "midgee"? we are on a tootsie roll kick around here...we all really like them...i bought a bag of "midgees" the other day and they were large. then i bought a bag of "midgees" today and they were the small kind...interesting thought...

WIPs

(works in progress...or work in progress if you only had one but i never have just one...)

**sling for friend who just had a baby

**reusable snack bags for my sister

**pillowcases for Craft Hope: Project 9 ConKerr Cancer

**cover for pillows for the futon

**hem kendall's pants

**new halloween treat bags for the kids

hmmm...that's all for now...

First Day...

ethan had his first day of Apple Blossom Preschool on Tuesday. he goes tues, wed, thurs and it is from noon until 2:30...definitely an adjustment for all of us! we just have to work the naps a bit during those days. and get a carpool going so i don't have to wake up baby and avery to go pick him up! here he is at his table at preschool...


i just realized that i didn't have any pictures of blake in the bath! that's criminal! but i just don't bring my camera upstairs and usually he's sharing a bath with a sibling and sharing or not...obviously not a good idea to leave baby in the bathtub alone but this day i remembered! i got lots but this one was the cutest "modest" one, if you get my drift...


after baths ethan was playing this game with blake to try to get the socks to stay on blake's head...pretty funny and of course they both loved it! it's so cute to watch how much they like each other...really we have been so blessed that all of our kids like each other at this point...we'll wait and see how they feel about one another when they are all teens together...

on a different note...i have my 10 year high school reunion coming up next week. kendall is in charge of it (being the president of the class for all three years...such an overachiever!) and i am "on the committee" so i get to help:) i am excited i think...my parents are coming to stay with the kiddos minus baby--we'll take him with us, so i'm excited for my parents to come but i just hope people will come to the reunion...so if you are from Rogers Class of '00 you should come!!!!!! cause i have to! come party down...

Mockingjay

i just finished Mockingjay...the third book in the Hunger Games series. i liked it a lot. it has been a while since i read Catching Fire so i had to struggle to remember a few things but i thought this book was well done. i might have liked a little more on the "love story" especially at the end (that doesn't give anything away right? we all know there's a love story:)) but i did really like it. have you read it? did you like it?

it's a sickness...

seriously...i can't stay away from fabric..buying fabric i mean. here in mesa, the humanitarian center for our church (LDS) is moving so they are selling all their fabric...they told me about this at church and i just had to go and see! they have TONS of fabric...and quilt tops and backs but i wasn't going to venture there:)i got lots of gingham (lots of purple in this box...it was sold by the box and then i added some things in:) so if you like purple call me:)

the helicopters and the dotty one next to it are flannel...lots of flannel, like 2 yards each i think

so many checks so little time! and look at that bandanna print! so awesome!

and these...how could i leave them there? vintage snoopy and mickey? come on!

i am so happy...and how much did it all cost? $10. ten bucks!!!!!!! the flannel alone would have been $10 or more full price! yikes!

i did have a purpose in buying this though...some of this fabric is going to make pillowcases for craft hope.

for kids with cancer...join in if you want! they have to be done by sept. 15 so i need to get cracking!

Reusable snack bags...

i have been wanting to make some of these bags for a while...and last time i went to SAS (love that place!) they had ripstop nylon on sale for $1 a yard! gotta love it! so i fired up the sewing machine on saturday night and made some little beauties...

i first saw this tutorial on babycenter and then subsequently found this one, and went more of this direction because i liked that there were no exposed edges in with the food in that last tutorial. just a personal preference. and of course i used the ripstop nylon on the inside so it is wipeable and the entire thing is washable.

it's closed with velcro that is cut in half lengthwise so it is easier for small hands to open.

the kids loved them...they were new and distracting for church:) the only downside is that it isn't airtight, obviously, so food can't stay indefinitely in them or it will get stale. but i am hopeful that this will help cut down on our ziplock bag consumption which is getting a little silly!

around here...

this is what's going on...

(she's got good form, don't you think?)

(sitting in the shoe basket...she wears this dress at least once a day)

(he's asleep on the couch...experimenting with the flash on the new camera)

(still SO HOT! yikes...come on october!)

(little man is sick AGAIN! had an ear infection...then it turned into that nasty chest cough and congestion...so now he's on a steroid they give to people with asthma...awesome! he loves that tylenol bottle though:) and he's up to 17lbs. so great!)

avery's party...

avery had her friend birthday party this past weekend...it was a lot of fun. we did it at a pool by her grandma's house and we started at 9 am...because it was already 100 degrees at that time! yuck! any other people born to our family have to have a birthdate between february and april...i could maybe do may but that's it! no more summer birthdays in arizona ( mine is may, ethan's is in july, kendall and avery both in august and blake in october)! it's stinking hot.

i digress.

the party was lots of fun! kids swam and played. we had a pinata, muffins and fruit, fish cupcakes and cookies to take home! thank you to everyone that was able to come and help us celebrate our little girl! we love you for doing that for us on such a hot day and we love our girl!

i made the cookies as take home gifts and i used the CD envelope idea to package them and of course made some stickers for them because sticker paper is now my new favorite thing...ever! i used this recipe {it's betty crocker}

3/4 C. granulated sugar

3/4 C. packed brown sugar

1 C. margarine or butter (can decrease, and i did, to 3/4 C)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 lg. egg

2 1/4 C. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 bag (2 cups) chocolate chips

mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg, beat until creamy. this is an important step, the sugars need to be beat and mixed well, it really makes a difference! stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. stir in chocolate chips. drop about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, bake 8-10 minutes, centers will be soft, cool 1-2 minutes on cookie sheet then remove to wire rack.

i did three different kinds of cookies: chocolate chip (2 cups), white chocolate chip macadamia nut (1 bag white chocolate chips (2 cups), 1/2 c. bag of macadamia nuts, chopped up), and m & m's (2 cups).

i used my ice cream scoop to make these that has the little lever that pushes the ice cream (or dough in this case) out of the scoop. much easier and more uniform! the bigger cookies need to bake longer, 12-14 minutes, will vary by oven i am sure.