Sunday....

Kathy reminds us each Sunday to slow down, take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I really do need this reminder each and every week! My kids have 2 days of school left before they are off for 2 whole weeks for winter break. Yikes! Where did the year go?

I ran out to do some errands and last minute shopping.... I'll take the kids later this week to get Daddy done but others needed to get finished off today. =)

Sugar cookies got baked off for girl scouts tomorrow night. The girls liked decorating cookies last year and decided to do it again for this last meeting before Christmas. One of my co-leaders is making some too. Seems we have around 15 girls this year. It is hard to tell as people have been busy so we will see how many show up. They will be getting their cookie selling things tomorrow for cookie season pre sales starting on the 22nd!

I added borders to my log cabin quilt to make it a little bigger and made a backing for it. I just need to  pin it for some quick quilting. This will be a gift for my FIL so I have until the 25th to get it done! Anyone else seem to need a deadline to actually get things done? I find I do! That pinning and walking foot quilting is next up on my list.

The kids should be retuned from Grandma's soon - she is leery driving at night now so after their movie she will return them so she can get home before it gets too dark. We always offer to go pick up but she declines. That just means we have to feed them dinner.... think I can convince hubby it is his turn? We won't be hungry as we did Bob Evans for lunch today - he had his breakfast and I had the meatloaf.... and maybe a few of the sugar cookies that broke as I took them off the tray!

Off to the sewing room to unroll this and get it pinned.

With the borders it is now 58x70 - a good throw size I hope. I'm thinking I should be able to add the binding around 6PM and will be settling into my chair later tonight to hand stitch it down. Wish me luck.

Saturday.....

What a week! I am so happy this week is finally over! It has been a whirl wind and I don't think I have been home after school pick up since Tuesday... and yesterday I was logged into work for the afternoon so I am not counting that one!

Tuesday was the holiday concert at school - having kids one year apart we were lucky and got to see all the classes preform as they broke them up into 2 concerts (grade K,2,4 and 1,3,5). They kids all did a great job. Wednesday - was a doctor appt for Emily after school and I had them both get flu shots. What an ordeal with the shots! Emily had a crying fit because she didn't want it that day with gymnastics that night. Yup, 20 minutes of crying and she scared off one nurse. She tensed up so of course her arm hurt. Thursday.... We had to pop to the dollar tree and get little gifts for filling all the stockings in his classroom. I also got a few things for the troop party on Monday. A friend was there too - so she took Emily with her and Aidan and I hit walmart and got gift cards for his teachers gifts then went to his guitar lesson. We picked up Emily from her play date after and it took a bit to get my kids out of there - they were all playing in the back yard. We will have to do some play dates over break... and I offered to take her 2 if she needs quiet time to write. She is starting to write a book (something new!) and is working with a publisher. Fingers crossed it works out for her!

Friday... was a busy day and I had to make up some hours at work in the afternoon so the kids were on their own. It was the first day in 2 weeks I did not hit my 10K step goal. Might have to take the kids to the new paved trails in the forest to make up some steps today!

The only bit of sewing I got this week was to make a couple of very simple pot holders for Mom! The package in a Zappos box should arrive to you by Wednesday the 20th Mom! You can open it - the things I wanted for a surprise are wrapped to go under the tree. Dad can open the plain colored one for his late birthday present.

I got to pull up a video on how to finish them by Nancy Zimmerman. She will be missed in the sewing and quilting world. I am hoping her family is able to share lots of good memories of her on this first Christmas season without her.

After bowling and Papa A's visit this afternoon.... I am hoping to add a border to this little log cabin throw and hope to get it pinned and quilted tomorrow while the kids are at Grandma's. Linking up to the RSC Challenge. Better go start my day!

Oh - Mom - Emily made the thumbprint peanut butter and jelly cookies from the cookbook you got her last night! 

Tuesday... a busy day ahead.

As the wind is whipping outside I am sitting munching on an early lunch (I made more of the chicken napoleon filling and am eating it as a dip with some tortilla chips - the advantage of working from home you can clean out the fridge a bit when you need to for lunch!). The temps were to warm up to the low 70's today before plunging again into the high 50's tomorrow. I feel like I am back in Vermont with these changing temps. The kids decided to wear shorts to school - yup - it was 37 degrees when I dropped them off at 7:30 this morning but they figured by the time they went outside they would be fine for recess and PE.  Little Emily insisted she would wilt sitting outside in the car line in long pants with temps of 72! I don't know where I got her from but she is so not my kid with feelings like that! Yes Mom, they had coats on this morning.

Last night I tried a new recipe for us (I had it at one of my pampered chef parties) - Philly Cheesesteak sliders. I got to use my deep covered baker and it got a thumbs up from everyone.... and hubby said it reminded him of White Castle! He did grow up in Ohio after all! I used kings hawaiian rolls and they came out really good. Who knew you could cook hamburger in the microwave in just 7 minutes? And in that baker you can make a cake in 10 minutes in the microwave...and it comes out so yummy!

Then it was off to girl scouts where they went caroling at an assisted care facility near us. The girls (5 troops ranging from my daisy/brownies (k-3) up to senior ambassadors - high schoolers.) did a great job singing some Christmas carols, 3 of the older ones played their instruments - guitar, flute and sax and then the older ones read the night before Christmas. A great time was had by all. I am winding down the scouting this year - one last week before  I get a much needed 2 weeks off for the holidays! I will meet up with my 2 co-leaders and plan and update the schedule for the rest of the year through May over the break. There is always something going on! Watch out - cookie sales are starting! We get to start Dec 22 this year instead of January 6 where we are. Support a girl scout troop near you!

I did get a little quilting progress done and finished the hand quilting on the little doll quilt Sunday night and added a binding to it yesterday. I'll finish sewing it down in the car line today.

That will leave me with an issue - what to bring with me for the wait time tonight at the holiday concert at school? Hmmmm I guess you will have to wait and find out tomorrow!

A Frosty Monday morning!

We woke up to cold temps - 27 degrees and a hard frost in Ocala Florida this morning! The kids LOVE when they get to scrape the windshield. Aidan did it the last time this happened last month so Emily got to do the car today. Aidan helped Dad do the truck before he headed to work. Aidan was having fun walking on the frost tipped grass, hearing the crunch, crunch under his feet! It's the little things in life that make us happy!

Every year I make my kids a snake filled with little trinkets.  It is not really a snake - just a long tube of fabric that I fill with little things and tie a piece of yarn in between each one. They get to open one each day as they count down to Christmas. They picked out the fabric years ago - 

I started it this morning... cause I completely forgot to do it for Sunday the 10th! Oh well, they were surprised and happy this morning. They got a light up bouncy ball. This started years and years ago when my brother David got one for me when I was in high school I think. It was a white velvet 'snake' with chocolates in it for each day with red ribbons separating it. I believe he got it at a craft fair with his then girlfriend while he was in college. I carried on this tradition and made the snakes and filled them for a few years for each of my nieces and nephews. I had their parents take it over after that. I had so much fun collecting little  things for them in my travels through the year to fill up and distribute to them on Thanksgiving for their countdown to Christmas.  For my kids... not that much planning as they are always with me! I did get a few fun things and placed a few days of chocolates for them to count down the days until Christmas. I do wonder how many years I will need to continue this tradition on with them.......?

Sunday.....

It's a chilly morning here in Florida. As the sprinklers are going off it was leaving little bits of ice on the  ground before the sun came up. Not a usual sight in north central Florida! Extra quilts on the beds last night and it was a 2 kitty neck night..... she moved to the end of the bed when the boy came in this morning to let me know it was 7AM and time to get up!

We did a kid pancake breakfast again this morning (someone was acting up yesterday and didn't get to join us). There were cinnamon sugar, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, cherries and of course sprinkles and whipped cream! The kids and Daddy had tea with their breakfast. I stuck with my coffee. As much as I like the idea of tea... it just does not taste good to me. If I am drinking tea - you will know I have a sore throat and have lots of honey in it!

The kids will be heading off to Grandma's today. I need to pop over to Wildwood to the girl scout store and pick up some journey badges and fun patches for the girls. I need to hand them out next Monday at our Christmas party. This week we will be singing Christmas carols at a nursing home and handing out some little crafts to the residents. Shoot - I need to make sure the noses are still attached to the candy canes. We made reindeers out of candy canes with brown pipe cleaners, a pom pom nose and some googley eyes.

After I get back from the store - depending on how my foot feels (yes Mom, I overdid it with walking this week and felt something ping again on that same foot as earlier this year - I have stretched it out and it is feeling better but no walk today for me so I can rest that achilles.) I will be sitting and watching a movie with some hand quilting.

I have two options:

Finish up the little doll quilt- I have one more hoop move and that one will be done! Just will need a trim and binding to finish it off!

Or get back to the very neglected quilt frame and work on the trip quilt. I would love to actually get to the point of needing to roll this one sometime this week. This is my 90x90 trip around the world quilt with 9 30 inch blocks in different colors I made with the RSC Challenge a few years ago.

Linking up with Kathy and the other slow stitchers this morning.

Saturday....

 Where did the day go?

The kids opted not to do the Santa Breakfast this year and instead we did creative pancakes with chocolate sauce, sprinkles, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar and cherries on top! Served with hot cocoa of course. Then it was off to bowling for Emily - someone else was acting up this morning and stayed home. (Dec 9..... at least it held off a bit this year!) We hit the store after and I was smart and picked up a jalepeno and some cilantro...... which came in handy later today.
We had lunch and visited with Grandpa A. Then it was time to head outside..... Emily and I power washed some more of the driveway and put some of the outside lights up. Aidan and Em also decorated the swing set out back! I got  a little walk in as well and hit my 10,000 steps before 5PM today!
The kids had a bonfire out back tonight and had some hot dogs over the fire. I decided to use up some leftover roaster chicken and some of the things I purchased earlier to make Mexican Chicken Napoleans (or a version of it) with some fresh salsa. Yummy!

Unfortunately, I did need some patching up as I pulled  out my chopper and it was put away with water in the bottom.... so when I was trying to clean it I sliced my pointer finger on my left hand. Hubby was there so he got to patch me up with a band aid. I'll survive... but we will see if I can hand quilt with it later tonight. I might need to just press a backing and pin a quilt instead! I got the top to my spring blossoms done a few weeks ago and have the backing pieced. It just needs to be sandwiched and quilted.

Maybe that will wait for another day. Emily wants to make a craft... so I'll see how quickly we can do this before her bedtime... then I can collapse for the night!

Friday....

Busy day.... including starting work at 6:30 this morning! Good thing I work from home cause I was in my jammies! That allowed me to take off around 11 to go pick up Subway for my lunch date with Emily at school. I'll go in on Monday with Aidan. After picking up the kids from school we headed right to Sam's... to get a few things and some samples...and the kids got a snack ( churro and a chocolate frozen yogurt). The temp has gone up from the 63 degrees around lunchtime to 79 around 4! Very strange weather we are having - with snow in the south today. The front should go through in a couple of hours here with lots of rain and thunderstorms. Since it is just overcast and windy... I have the kids power washing the mold off the driveway. A necessary task down here in Florida. They will take turns and if they get 2 of the 12 cement squares done (1 each) I will be happy. The other is shooting hoops waiting for their turn.

Me... I got a little sewing time in and was able to finish the brown birds in the air blocks this week. Linking up to the RSC Challenge on Saturday. It is nice to know they are all done and just waiting for me to sew them into a top. Not sure that will happen this month but they are there when I am ready!

I think it will be family movie night since the weather will be yucky. Time to get the kids into John Candy and the movie 'The Great Outdoors'! I love this movie and hope the kids do too. Aidan was watching Canadian Bacon with Greg the other night - too funny watching them both giggle to that movie!