Things from one felted sweater

I absolutely love this sweater and it felted up nicely. I made a pair of mittens and a pair of woolie pants for the babe.

Chicken Pincushion

This fun chicken will be making it's way to Florida to live with a crafty lady down there. Check out SmallTownLiving for fun discussions and swaps.

We made rainbows

Now you are 7!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VINCENT!!!Vincent so loved our trip to McNabb that he wanted his cake fashioned after Uncle Brooks' corn fields,.

McNabb in October

We started out our October with a fabulous day trip to McNabb. We got to visit a lot of John's family. All the kids had a ball! They roasted marshmallows and made S'mores with John's uncles, shared Halloween treats with John's aunts, and celebrated Vincent's birthday a few days early. A great time was had by all.

Made a DQS7 angel

I made an angel quilt for DQS7, I think it was appreciated.

Fun with wood blocks

The girls and I had a blast with the wooden blocks today. It was fun to just see what everyone created.

So.................what did we do for John's Birthday?!!

Well, the kiddos and I scurried home after school, did a quick pick up of the house, tended to all the various animals, as swiftly as could be done, in the pouring rain, threw together and baked a cake, painted a piece of muslin for the center piece of their DADDY quilt, practiced spelling words, decorated the back door with drawings and letter magnets, and made some dinner. The best part is because of the pouring rain, we all got to be home instead of running 1, 000 places for soccer practices. What was on the menu... roasted pork tenderloin, extremely sweet corn, and garlic bread. The cake was lemon with lemon frosting. After dinner we all snuggled in on the couch and watched a movie, The Call of the Wild. The kids seem to enjoy the movie and the bonus was that they got to stay up until 10pm.



just so that everyone understands this drawing...the "F" word Carmen is referring to is the word FORTY...since next year he will be forty. Here is the center piece for their DADDY quilt, that the children will be working on for the next few weeks.

YUMMY PORK ROAST

Lemon Cake with Lemon Frosting!

Today is John's Birthday....

I have no idea what to do for him...I keep thinking and thinking and it is just not coming to me. I thought I knew what I was going to do, but never did it, so here I am at the 11th hour scratching my head. Soooooooooo........any suggestions, send em my way!

block #5 completed

I just finished another block for my quilt, some more fun bird embroidery!

Dog Bed for My Friend's Poodle

My dog trainer has become a good friend of mine. Her recent request was a dog bed for her new big poodle. Although Flirt is still a puppy, she will be big soon enough, so a 24"x36" doggy bed was in order, winter is coming. I really want to put bows on it, but since she is still very much a puppy, they would only get chewed off! Emilia found it very cozy to sleep on last night!

The Pups...Sally and Buttercup

Now that the pups are getting older and have successfully completed some obedience classes, we are trying to let them out to roam the house a bit more. Today The Golden Girls and I had a lot of fun just hanging out. Of course, I could not get a pic of Copper because she always sticks so close to my side. So here are today's pics of Sally and Buttercup. Sally is 16 months old and Buttercup is 10 months.

New Outfits for Picture Day

So...at about midnight the night before picture day I realized the twinnies needed something new to wear in their picture, so here is what I came up with...

10 1/2 months old!

She is so sweet!

Manicures and Pedicures

After 13 years together and 6 daughters, I saw my honey do something I had never seen him do before. John was busy all morning last weekend painting nails...30 fingers and 30 toes....the girls loved every minute of it. I think John had a great time as well.

Fun Bugs in Our Garden

As our harvest is coming to an end, I no longer worry so much about what is eating at the remains. We have found several very cool bugs lately in the garden. The kids are trying out different camera angles and setting to capture these critters in pictures. As the next few weeks pass we will be putting the veggie garden to bed for the winter, and we will be keeping our eyes open for more fun garden dwellers.

An apron

As it seems, many moons ago, I swapped aprons with a friend in California. She of course sent hers right away, it is amazing and gorgeous, all bedecked in chickens and rick rack, complete with pockets to die for. I made her one as well, to her specs, she likes blue floral prints and full aprons, and not bib style ones....so here is the one she received from me about a month ago...oh and it has a matching napkin in the pocket.

Thank yous

We made up several thank yous for poultry related things. Here are a few. We are still seriously behind on them for things that we are so grateful to have been gifted. Hopefully I can keep chipping away at my pile and get everything finished up, packaged up and mailed out.

A cloth bag for a birthday

The little girls have a new friend. His birthday party was last week. We made this fun sturdy cloth bag for him. It has fleece sandwiched in between the dinosaur and plaid, to give it extra strength.

Batik disappearing 9 patch and bird embroidery

I am spending a lot of time these days running kids from hither to yon, so I am trying to always keep one block with me that needs embroidered...since waiting is always on the menu. These bright batiks have just been calling to me lately. I originally thought this would be for someone else, but I have decided that I love it so much that I will just try to keep it for me. We will see if I can see this through to completion.

a few more blocks and a halloween top swap

I love Halloween. My favorite holiday. I am in a round robin swap. Here are my blocks, and the top I pieced together.

More wonky stars...6"-12" mini swap

I really love these batiks with black, so for my last mini quilt swap I made this modern amish rendition for my partner. It left a couple days ago as well, hope she likes it.

My Doll Quilt Swap 7 is complete

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My partner for this flickr swap said she likes red and aqua together, so I learned how to make wonky star blocks for this one and some prairie points. It was mailed off a few days ago. I hope my partner loves it when she gets it.

Fun in the mornings before school

The little girls and i have been enjoying our time with the older kids at school in the morning. We have been going for walks, bike rides, and walking the dogs. A few times we have even managed to convince John to eat lunch with us!

School is back in full swing

It seems the kids are back to school. All 7 who go for some portion of the day are all at the same school this year. We are pleased to have one location we feel confident in this year. The kids all seem to be doing well and adjusting to their school routine. The reading program Anthony did this summer seems to have paid off well. If we can get him on track, we will be all set. Vincent is loving first grade and is very much in charge of his domain. Gianina is so happy to finally be old enough to start preschool, so she has been thrilled that everyday she can be what she calls a "school bird." Lexi is very happy with her decisions this year regarding school, so we are at peace with this. Carmen is trying very hard to smoothly transition into the older classroom. She has several researches and creative writings in various stages of rough draft and final draft. The twins are happy as usual, going about their day in a very busy fashion. John and I moved the little girls out of the big girls room and started making their own spaces for them. So everyone has their desks empty and full of their work for the day. When everyone has their own space, the house is so much more peaceful. Although the move is not complete, the basic stuff is all in place...now only teh mess is left behind. Where is the time? I need time to clean this place up and the days keep marching right into the nights! Whew!

Carmen's new additions to our flock!

During fair week Carmen was gifted a young pair of Modern Game birds. She has been spending a lot of time with them lately. We will begin their cottage construction next week. They won't be outside in winter months, but during warmer seasons they enjoy the outdoors. The male will need his comb and other facial skin dubbed soon, so he can be shown. This is as big as these 2 get, so cute!

Bantam Chickens

So you have seen our bantam coop, it houses 7 little birds right now. A Black Silkie hen, a Mille Fleur Bearded Belgian D'Uccle hen, a Buff Brahma hen, a White Rock pullet, a Partridge Brahma pullet, a White Rock rooster, and a Partridge Brahma cockerel. Right now they are all getting along quite nicely, we hope this continues, and all the kids are in love big time.

The bantam coop...remodel in progress

Our bantam coop got a fresh coat of paint, I believe Sprinkles of Summer is the color. It now matches our big coop and our house. The inside has only been partially repainted, it is hard to get too much done when they still want in to lay eggs and such. I moved the roost higher, hung the feeder, cut a piece of vinyl flooring to fit the floor, put a hasp and lock on the back doors, put hook and eyes on both sides of the egg door, and changed the egg door handle. I put the old egg door knob on the chicken door, like a door knob. There are a few more things I would like to do. I need to add a little strip of trim to the inside left back door to keep out drafts in winter, finish painting inside, glue down the vinyl floor piece I put in, and caulk the seam where the floor meets the walls, and add some vinyl flooring to the floor of the nest boxes, and a strip of trim to the front edge of the nest boxes. So, next weekend I will do those things.

The boys built a fancy run for me out of 1"x1" opening welded wire that is 33" tall, they used 1"x2" welded wire for the roof of the run approx 9 feet long by 4 ft wide, and 2"x3" coated welded wire for the floor. We are hoping this should be fairly predator proof. They cut a door in the run the size of the chicken door of the little coop, screwed screw eyes into the front of the coop in 6 places and ran long I bolts through the screw eyes to hold the run securely to the coop. They used J clips and put a gate in to cover the hole they cut for the chicken door, should we ever want to use the enclosure free standing. They also cut a bigger opening in one of the 9ft sides with wire cutters, carefully bending down every sharp wire with pliers. Then they cut another piece of wire and made a gate out of it, so the kids can very comfortably get in and out of the run to visit with the little bantams. That reminds me, I do need to get a few clips to hold those 2 gates shut, right now they are just wired closed.

Anyhow, we are having a lot of fun with this tiny pint sized coop, so hope you like our progress. I should have taken a before and after pic..

Happy Birthday 85th Great Grandma

My grandmother turned 85 this summer. We happened to all have the Sunday before her birthday free, so I made a few phone calls and by the time Sunday rolled around, one of my aunt's organized a small get together to celebrate. My grandmother was totally mesmerized by the twinnies and Emilia. Francesca shares the same birthday as my grandmother and coincidentally was named after my grandmother's middle name. Although my grandmother has no memory of the day, I think she enjoyed the attention.

Sugar cookies made from our eggs

YUM! Lexi is coming home from a week at camp today, so we baked her a batch of sugar cookies as a welcome home! It was our intention that he whole family would go to pick her up and make it a weekend event, but Carmen was invited to a friend's birthday party, so the boys all went to pick up Lexi and the girls all stayed here.

Carmen went to a birthday party today

We made an outfit for Carmen's friend's birthday today. It was fun to make. Carmen was in a hurry to get out the door to the party, and we were in a hurry, but I made her model it before we gave it away, wet hair and all! So, Francesca modeled the matching hair band. Conveniently, we stole the basic outfit pattern from a pattern our friend Anne(Thanks Anne!) gave us last weekend when we were at her house for a butchering how-to party (don't worry I won't share pics.) Anyhow we added ruffles to the bottom of the shorts, cut the shorts a bit long ,and added a cuff to the shirt sleeves and ruffle to the shirt waist. Voila...a cute outfit. Bonne, do you recognize this fabric?

EGGCITING(sorry could not resist it) NEWS AT OUR HOUSE!

Our Barred Rocks have started laying! We got the first egg on July 25th as we gathered our birds for the fair. Hopefully soon we will be finding 15+eggs a day between the Barred rocks, Dark Brown Leghorn, the Black Australorps, and the bantam coop.

Here are pics of eggs from the first 2 weeks. It is hard to believe that these are all from the same breed and age of chicken. The really big one we cracked open today to make sugar cookies, it had 2 yolks! It must be hard to get the egg laying skill down to a daily habit. I am really hoping that the girls get all the kinks worked out and next month we are over flowing with fresh eggs!

Open Class Fair projects

The kids collectively had 22 Open Class projects. Carmen had 6, Lexi had 4, Anthony had 3, Vincent had 3, Isabella had 2, Francesca had 2, and Gianina had 2. This is one of my favorite parts of the fair, you don't have to be in 4H, you don't have to sign up months in advance-you just show up on a specified day with your items and make sure they make it to the right category.

Another new arrival

We bought this funny little red frizzle at the small animal auction after the fair. My hens all seem to not be amused by it, but I bought it because she reminds me so much of John's old receptionist. I just think this chicken is hilarious, might not last long here, but has cracked me up for a few days.

Poultry Olympics

I did not get too many pics of this series of events, but let me tell you they were a hoot and a half. Runner Duck races, candy corn gobbling, don't break the yolk, chickens walking the plank, gummy worm eating, and show cage set up relay. I wish I had more pics to share. Anthony won 3rd Place in Candy Corn gobbling!

Francesca loves Gunner

I cannot tell you how many times during fair week we had to go find Gunner. Gunner is a tiny little horse. He is owned by a 9 year old. He won Grand Champion under 50". Francesca could stand on the edge of this ring and watch Gunner work all day long if I let her.

More Chickeny Fun at the Fair

Fair week was a whole lot of fun for kids and parents alike. We spent a ton of time in the poultry barn, letting lots of people hold and pet our birds. Chickens are not mean, not scary, not evil, not filthy, not bad for kids, and do make excellent pets. So any myths any of you are out there thinking about, just chalk it up to urban legend. We tried to get a family pic, but Gianina escaped before the shutter could catch her.

Our New Bantam Coop

On the first day of the fair, Lexi found out a friend of one of our 4H leaders was giving away her small bantam coop, with 3 little bantam hens, a black silkie, a buff brahma, and a mille fleur bearded belgian d'uccle. So, Lexi and my good friend Maura who was in visiting from Connecticut got on the phone and arranged for us to pick this little coop and it's tiny occupants up the next morning. So we got to meet a sweet couple and help give their little hens a new place to rest their roost. We got them home and set up immediately. We pulled out the primer, primed it white, built a predator resistant run, installed locks on the doors, a new handle for the egg door, and painted it yellow to match our house and our large coop. I will have to get more photos, you must see it in yellow and with the run. I have to say that the boys are mostly to thank for the fabulous run. I started it, they did the rest. They are great with wire cutters, pliers, and J clips! At the end of the fair our 3 bantams returned home to this new coop to meet their 3 new flock mates. Pics of the painted coop and run, and the new bantams will be posted soon! Thanks to Kelly and family for a great little coop.

Anthony and his 4H poultry entry

We are very proud of Anthony for the work he did this year. He and his little bantam White Rock pullet, Rosie, won first place in caring for his chicken. Way to go big guy. Her cage decorations won Second Place, also.

Vincent and his 4H Poultry entry

Vincent has always been larger than life, proving to us that "Small But Mighty" will always be a slogan especially coined just for him. He showed a very small bantam Partridge Brahma pullet, Tigerwing, as a Mini 4Her, he got First Place for caring for his bird, First Place in Showmanship, for knowing lots about his little chicken, and First Place/Most Surprising for his cage decorations. Way to go Vincent!

Carmen and her 4H Poultry Fair Entries

Carmen entered 4 chickens in the fair and one poultry poster for 4H. Carmen's birds did very well also, her Dark Brown Leghorn pullet won First Place, Best of Variety, her Black Australorp pullet won Fourth Place, and her cage decorations won First Place/Most Interesting, and her pair of Plymouth Barred Rocks that were her broiler pen project alsoreceived an exhibitor ribbon. Her poster about the different types of combs on chickens won 3rd place.

Lexi and her 4H Poultry Fair Enties

Lexi entered 5 chickens in the fair and one poster for 4H. The birds she entered did very well. Our Black Sumatra cockerel won Grand Champion Large Fowl(which is a pretty special thing), our Golden Phoenix cock, Fawkes, won First Place, Reserve Best of Breed, his cage decorations won 2nd place, our bantam Partridge Brahma cockerel won Third Place, and a pair of our Plymouth Barred Rock pullets that were a part of the broiler pen project just got an exhibitor ribbon. Her poster did not do so well. Our name label in the corner is not quite in the most bottom right hand corner as it should be and is a few inches short of 3x5...so exhibitor ribbon once again, better luck on follow the rules next year I suppose.

A Day at the Spa!

I know everyone has a list. A list of things to do before you fall off the planet. Well, mark this one off my list. I learned how to bathe chickens and get them ready for show. Each bird we took to the fair(we took 11) got a full bath, rinse, towel dry, foot scrub, foot massage, pedicure, comb massage and moisturized, and beak trimmed and filed. The truth of the matter is, Chicken Spa is super relaxing for both chickens and their bathers. The kids loved doing this. Oh and by the way, chickens float.

Swimming Lessons

The oldest 6 kids took 2 weeks of swimming lessons at the local city pool, all kids learned a ton and enjoyed every minute in the water. They all passed their current class and get to move up to the next level. Whoooooo hooooooooooo!

How does our garden grow!

The big garden has been ravaged multiple times by various cute furry woodland creatures gone urban pests, but we still manage to get a lot of yummy produce.
Sunflowers, cherry tomatoes, beets, red peppers, turnips, brandywine tomatoes, big boy tomatoes, early girl tomatoes, and one other heirloom variety that slips my mind, giant sugar snap peas, pole beans and eggpplants. I will have to get pics of the cukes, asparagus, gourds, and fruits.

The twinnies turned 5!

The girls turned 5, so we had 2 days of celebration! Isabella wanted a pyramid of donuts as her cake, and Francesca wanted a purple diamond with a red 5, with triangle faces. So, that is what they got! Happy Birthday Twinnies!

6-12" mini quilt (JULY)

Here is another mini quilt from this summer, went to my friend in Florida. Only a few swaps left outstanding to catch up on, whew summer has flown right by me!

Chicken quilt blocks

Several months ago I joined a farm themed block swap, these are the blocks I sent. I recently received all the different blocks back and they are so cute, I will have to get pics of those as well to share. Thanks to my friend Carrie for organizing this swap.

john and kids and a few chickens

Francesca and Isabella both have a loose tooth, the same one, so here are some baby teeth pics. Gianina and John. Vincent and Emilia. Vincent and a Black Australorp. Francesca and a Black Australorp, and a sleepy Emilia and a smiley happy Emilia. And a Barred Rock pullet.

6-12" mini quilt for Nay (june)

For my June swap with Nay, our theme was houses. I sent her this, and the one she sent me was marvelous, gotta get pics soon!

Cinco de mayo 6-12" mini quilt

So for May our theme was Cinco de Mayo. So, I sent Nay a mini pinata quilt. She sent me the prettiest Senorita, I need to photo her to share with all of you.

Birthday 6-12" mini quilt for Nay (April)

My friend Naomi and I both have birthdays in April, so we gifted each other with 6"-12" mini quilts in a birthday theme. She sent me the cake and I sent her the mushroom.

Russian Doll Tea Cozy

I made a tea cozy for my friend, Sheryl-lyn. It turned out cute I think. All my swaps this summer have been late, such is life I suppose, the greatest of intentions I always have.

More flowers bloom and a Lincoln Log house

Well, lookey here, more flowers....I think Carmen took these pics. The boys have built several house out of Lincoln Logs, here is one, and a pic of the silly boys as well.

Veggies were planted and flowers bloomed

The veggies went in the ground at the beginning of summer, here we have a pic of where the peas, green peppers, and some sunflowers are now growing. A couple flowers we had bloom this summer, of course we have tons now, so just a couple pics for some color.

Sally is learning

This is not the best pic of Sally, but this is available. I have spent more time with this dog this summer than my husband. She is coming along nicely, of course with every new thing for her to learn, she and I have to have a meeting of the minds. She is stubborn as can be, has tons of endless energy and is smart as a whip, so workout for her means workout for me. We will see if little Vincent can ever call himself her pack leader. He desperately wants to show her next summer, we will see. A whole year is a long time to make progress. I am up for it, so I am crossing my fingers. Our trainer, Cari, that we have had this summer is so positive and has done wonders with us and our dogs, so I am so thrilled to get on the right track.

Buttercup has grown big and furry!

Our pup Buttercup has gotten as big as a steam engine this summer. She is slow and steady. She is a bit lazy and pretty laid back for a pup. Unfortunately, her laziness means that Sally gets her boot camp drill sergeant type trainings and often fluffy Buttercup misses out. So we are going to be working on that as the fall rolls in. We have been taking training lessons this summer and hopefully with what we have learned and with what the dogs have learned, we will be able to participate in the obedience show next summer at our county fair. Anthony has been working this dog and I am really hoping the 2 of them can show well together.

Emilia has gotten big

In this picture, she is 8 months old, although this was a month ago...yikes, but I love the pic, so wanted to share. She is such a hilarious little chubbins! One of her favorite things to do is watch the antics of our chickens.

Our chicken coop took shape

We have just about finished our coop for our egg layers, we have minor details left, but the birdies are all very happy with their home. For more info on our chickens and what not, remember to visit http://funsizefarm.blogspot.com I will be catching up over there this week also.

Yummy Breakfast Casserole

In preparation for our pullets to start laying, we have been experimenting with different types of breakfast casseroles, and various other egg based dishes. This one with ham, cheese, and red peppers was a hit among the children and their parents.

Backhoe driving

We have had some work done in our yard several times this summer. One time we all got to learn how to drive and operate a small backhoe. The kids all thought it was great fun. Who wouldn't!?!!

Carmen graduated 3rd grade

The summer began the last day of school as Carmen graduated from 3rd grade. Our school has 3 year classrooms, so after 3 years of learning in this room, she gets to move up to the upper elementary classroom. Congrats Carmen.

Vincent's Kindergarten Play

In March, Vincent was in a play at school. I don't think I ever shared this with any of you. He was the wise man in a play adapted from the children's book, Too Much Noise, by Ann McGovern. It was a cute play and the kids did a very good job.

Carmen's St. Patrick's Day swap

Carmen made these little pillows for a swap in the spring.

Hurryin' Hackers

7's on Fire!

In July the kid's participated in a 3v3 soccer tournament, Hurryin' Hackers. Carmen and Anthony were on a team together with a few othe their friends, and Lexi was on a team with her friends. I made the jerseys for Carmen and Anthony's team. They all wanted to be number 7! A great day was had by all.
For everyone who has been worrying about us, our summer has been super duper busy, with not a moment to rest, and my computer crashed earlier this summer. When John fixed everything, it would not let me upload pics. So I have been fiddling with all the settings today and somehow the genie in my computer has decided to now let me upload. hurray!

So, I will try to catch everyone up on our summer events in the next few days.

dog training session 1

Well, we finally found a dog trainer who seems to mesh well with our family and the infamous pooches, Sally and Buttercup. Last night we spent the better part of 2 hours learning and working with the pups and the kids. It was fabulous. Right here at home in an environment that was respectful of dogs, children, and adults. that was really key to finding someone to help us out. We have been successful at some small things, but none of us have had prior pup experience, so we all needed to be taught. The canine girls responded to our trainer, Cari, really well. It seemed that within moments of her arrival she had them nearly performing. She also brought along her son and his cutest tiniest little mop of a dog, Jemima. We were told by Gia several times last night that when she is 6 she needs a small dog like Jemima. So, we will see about that. As for right now, we learned several pretty straight forward commands and how to effectively teach them to our pups. We have put our new skills to the test both last night and this morning and everything seems to be working as it should. Hopefully everyone remains enthusiastic! Cheers, and pics for all to see later!

Completed Doll Quilt for DQS#6

I just realized I never shared the pics of completed DQS#6 with you. My partner received it about a month ago, so I can post the finished pics now and know that my partner enjoyed it. I need to share pics of the one I received also, it is a beauty! Well, as I downloaded teh pic I realized I may not actually have the completed pic, so here it is nearly complete.

There are Kids in the Garden

We have been working on our garden this week, trying to get caught up with the rest of the gardening world. Emilia has been really enjoying the fine taste of soil, and Vincent plays the role of urban farmer very well. pics of garden soon to come.

Chicken cake

We had a 4h poultry club potluck today. Well, our section of the alphabet was to bring dessert, so we made a cake. As you can guess...it was not just a plain cake. A hen cake to be exact, she is even sitting on an egg. Hope she makes you smile.

Happy Birthday, now you are 3!!!!

Sometimes the most mighty things in the world come in the smallest packages. Happy Birthday mighty Miss G!!!! Now my darling...you are 3!!!! And don't think for one second she was actually going to let Vincent blow out that candle!!!

Six months old and 2 teeth!

Half a year..are you kidding me??!!!! She is all smiles. Life is great!

Science Fair

Carmen and Anthony both made their own projects for the science fair. Carmen did some research on chickens and eggs, while Anthony learned a few things about XRays and XRay machines.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTHONY!

Anthony turned 8! We went to school for his birthday celebration in his classroom, joined the kids for the science fair, and went to see his soccer game! He requested a Cubs cake...so here is our attempt! Happy Birthday fun dude!

Top is nearly done

I embroidered the faces on....then embellished a bit with ribbon flowers...and put the borders on. I like the way it is working out. I hope my partner likes it.

Still needs to be squared up a bit.

more updates on dqs6

I appliqued the pieces together and started putting faces on the babes, Turning out cute so far.

Working on an idea for dqs6 on flickr

I have been tossing around an idea for my quilt for Doll Quilt Swap 6 on Flickr. Time to get it all together! Here are my materials and a rough sketch.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tea Cozy Arrival!!!

My friend Sheryl-lyn and I were in a tea cozy swap. She is such an amazing person. This is the tea cozy she sent me, and a cute outfit for the babe. There is a bib and another shirt that goes with the outfit. The cozy however is awesome. I just love it, kids, hubs, chickens and the dog! Thank you so much Sheryl!

More crocheted washcloths

Spring is here, so a bunch of new cloths are in order. i shared a few with John's sister and mother.

Happy Birthday PAPA!!!!

We visited Chicago today to visit John's family to celebrate his Dad's 80th birthday! The kids had a lot of fun! Happy 80th Papa!

1 year of blogging right along

To celebrate my blog anniversary and my 150th post, thought I would do a giveaway!
So, if you'd like to enter, just comment on which post on my blog is your favorite!
Giveaway open until the 10th of April.
One of the kids will draw names that day!
Oh yes, it will be a spring handmade surprise that the winner will receive!!!!

To see all the chicken and garden stuff....

check out my other blog...

http://funsizefarm.blogspot.com

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

Tabhair póg dom, táim Éireannach

Sláinte Mhaith!!!!!!!!!!

Éirinn go brách

Buttercup, the new pup

Unexpectedly got a new pup this weekend. She is really sweet, and seems to like it here. She is super fluffy as well. Her name is Buttercup.

Cock a doodle

I got my Golden Phoenix Rooster this weekend. he is a very gentle fellow, likes to be held. Makes quite the racket as he is in the dining room right now until the coop is done. He is gorgeous.

4months and counting......

Brass Rooster from my friend Ronna

A few months ago I was gifted with this pretty boy....thought you all might like to see how pretty he is!

a few little projects

A few of my friends had some things going on in their lives, so I made a couple little things to send out. Hope everyone gets a smile from them!

6 days old

Vincent and his chic..."Cheeper"

Playdoh

The kids have been having a ton of fun with Playdoh lately. Ronna sent them a fun set and we got a few more colors for them to enjoy, and they have been creating like crazy lately. Snakes and fish and cakes and more.

PeepPeepPeepPeepPeepPeepPeep

We got our chicks today, 12 of them. The kids were so amazed by their antics all evening. Everyone is excited to watch them grow!

Life raising a flock of kiddos can sometimes be tiring, stressful, happy, sad, fun, tearful, and full of laughter. I would be kidding you if I said it was easy. A friend of mine knows this routine only too well. I can always count on her guidance during moments in my life when I find myself wondering how on earth I am going to get it all together. I got mail from her today! I thought I would share a big smile with you all! Thanks Autumn!

Valentines

We love to make tons and tons of valentines for all our friends in town. Here are a few that we made. Anthony pressed red bud leaves in the fall and glued vintage valentine clip art(thank you cime) to them and laminated them. Vincent painted clothespins and wooden hearts. Lexi made tons of these cute little owls(thank you nay). I made these clothespin dolls for a few of my friends. Carmen made dozens of yarn dolls, and the twinnies made clay heart ornaments(thank you sharon, bonne and ronna). I need to find pics of those last 2.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!

Let Angels Fly Thee Home

Rest easy, Grandma!

Father Daughter Dance

Friday night was the night my girls look forward to ever year. The father Daughter Dance. It is put on by Girl Scouts. Lexi of course would not be caught dead in a dress, so this is the best we could do. And she was fun and comfy, all that matters. Poor John was sick on Friday so he is looking worse for wear. Carmen as usual is happy to be wearing a dress and flowers...Lexi requested no flowers this year. So here they are on their way out the door.

We made a Russian Doll

The twins and I went to a party for one of their friend's today. The girl was turning 4, so we thought she might love this little Babushka. The orange ribbon flower was made by Sunshine or one of her daughters. I just love those flowers. I have been unable to find one of those little flower making wheel thingers, but if I find one, I will certainly be busy making those ribbon flowers.

Owl Hats

My friend Ruth made these wonderful owl hats for all of us! They are so warm and I just love them. All my kiddos think they are swell! Pics of me in mine later..and of course we will try the group pic!

My friend sent me this hilarious graphic

My friend Elizabeth is hilarious, she sent me this. I have been laughing ever since. I just love Rosie the Riveter, now look at her. HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

presents we made for birthday girl

We made these to give at the party today. Some turned out cute. We also gave 15 decorated clothespins. The balloon on the apron is a pocket.

Anthony of the woodland elves

The last of the costumes for today's party! He needs a bow and arrow! I will have to figure that out.

Faery baby

What started out today as 2 felted wool sweaters...turned out to be a very cute baby faery outfit!

The Christmas Faery

I need to take a better pic of this one, but here she is...the Christmas Faery!

Winter has settled upon us

So much snow has fallen in thelast few days, 18 inches at my house. The icicles are wicked cool. The ground will be great for planting this spring! YAY!

They say love is a tangled web...giveaway

You should all go enter my friend Lisa's giveaway, you have until Feb 6th, she makes great stuff, so I am sure you will love it if u win!

http://tribalwitch.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-giveawy-now-thru-feb-6th.html

Introducing in his completed form...Vincent, leader of the forest elves!

Here he is, and boy is he proud, shoulda' been dressin' the lad in this get up his whole life!

For the love of elves

Is this not the ultimate in cuteness? Stay tuned as I will complete the hat and shoes today! This is one of the costumes for the faery/elf party we are attending this weekend.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssssss

is for snake and scarf...snake scarf, hand crocheted by me!
As most of you know, yarn is not one of my strengths, but I am learning, slowly but surely, and with the help of a few friends...Bonne who won't let anyone slack, not even for a moment, and Ruth who is a great cheerleader....I created this bit of wearable art this evening.

how did the bread turn out?

Yummy sourdough! Fresh baked, turned out fabulous!

Scrappy bags and bags from felted sweaters

I made this bag from a sweater for my mom for her birthday. I know Sue has a thing for boiled wool, so here was one of my many creations. This pic is for you Sue! The other has been deemed the diaper bag, sit at the scrap basket and keep on using it up was my theory. It hardly made a dint, I have too many scraps. I will not waste, I will not waste, I will not waste, my new mantra.

What to do when u want to destash scraps

More with scraps. A monster doll for a boy at school who's mother was so kind as to bring us a great meal after the baby was born. His sister was the recipient of the heart 1/2 apron. I am so loving these monster dolls. This square is all scrap, I made a pillow out of it for my dad for Christmas. It reminds me of a frank Asch story illustration, I never thought that until I finished it and it hit me.

Pond Hockey

They say we are having global warming, but after the temps we have been experiencing these last 3 weeks, I am going to need some convincing. John took the kids to Lake Griffy this past weekend, where the ice is 10 inches thick(this never happens here), and they met up with some of their hockey friends and had a pick up game. What a fun experience for all of them.

flower faery costume

Well, we are going to a faery themed birthday next weekend. All of our faery costumes are pretty much for summertime, so with a few pieces of fleece we had laying about we made a costume for Francesca, since we took the pic, she has opted for a white turtleneck and white tights with similarly colored flowers and butterflies on them.

Sourdough Bread

With the help of my dear friend Ronna, I am baking sourdough. Here are the loaves that I will put in the oven in about 45 minutes...yes that means I will start baking at midnight, what better time to start baking than midnight?!! I used to bake all the time and haven't for awhile. Hopefully, with the help of my starter, "Shirley" we will be back in the bread baking biz at my house. And baking at 5 instead of midnight!

Valentine's Heart Half Apron

Iam fairly behind on all my correspondence, my thank you's are behind, my emails are behind...., my sewing is behind....I have 507 unanswered emails in my inbox, 10 loads of dirty laundry, 10 loads of unfolded laundry, dirty floors, and another sink full of dishes...how did this happen?

So I thought I would just get on it...tonight I sewed this cute little apron up and the heart shaped monogrammed hanky. It is for a little girl at my kids' school. I do hope she likes it. It was fun to make, and maybe I can get back on my game and get it in gear.

2 down, 20 to go

I have 2 goals for this year....the biggest one is that I want to quilt all the tops I have made up...so here are the first 2 of my stash of 22. When those are all done, I want to sew all my blocks into tops and start over again. I just have this overwhelming urge to tie up loose ends this year.

one of those weeks

Have you ever had one of those weeks and you are just not sure how you ever made it through?

I feel like I have been hangin' on by a thread for a few months now...my projects are piling up, my emails are going unanswered, my friends have not been called back, my kids are not wearing anything that remotely goes together, my thank you s are all over the place, my christmas trees are still up, stockings are still hung by the staircase with care.

This week, ugh....it has been -16 to about 20 most of the week...really unfun. My pipes burst in my house...water everywhere, then no hot water because I had to turn off the hot water to prevent it from continuing to spew forth into my house. I fell down the basement steps and nearly killed myself, the sump pump was not working, the hose that goes into the basement wall to take the sump pump water out of the house flew outta the wall and hit me in the face,,loved that. So, I have been washing dishes by hand after boiling the water to get it hot. I guess I should just be happy I am not actually melting snow to get water. I really need a shower.

The house was not able to keep up with the frigid temps, so for a few days it was 51* in the house...ick and cold.

To top it all off, John has been in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico this week whilst I run the show.

Then today, I got a call and our condo is flooded, somewhere in the bldg is a broken pipe. The fun never ends. So the condo is flooded...you know put in brand new carpet and this begs to happen.

My favorite thing this week was taking silly Sally out...she for some reason will only poop on a tie out........so........when it is really cold the clippy deal freezes shut, so to remedy the situation.....get a really long extension cord and use the hairdryer, put the clippy in your pocket to keep it warm while someone else brings out the spastic pup, hook her up, give her 3 mins, bring the hairdryer back out and unleash the beast...so not really fun..and Sally is nutso ...ugh..not fun.

go see

giveaway @ http://www.notquitejunecleaver.com

Has it already been 2 months?

Miss Emilia is 2 months old now...can you even believe it? And she is standing up to her middle name quite well, sweet as can be! thank you little cutie!

Smilin faces on Christmas morn

I think the kids were all very pleased with their Christmas this year. We had a very relaxing morning and a low key day. I hope you all had a great holiday with your families.

Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Dad came for a visit

My Dad came to visit for the first time in a year, he is doing well. His eye is still sewn shut, so Lexi made him a funny eye patch. Carmen made him a wall hanging.

pics of the kids

Recent pics of all the kiddies...Emilia at 7 wks and at 7 1/2 wks!

CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Well, the first of many Christmas celebrations this week brought cookies...YUM!!!

a few more recently finished projects..........

Well, as Christmas grows near we all have projects to finish up, right....

here are 2 of mine from this week.....

A poncho for me and the babe, with matching hats of course...so we are cozy heading outside when she is in the maya wrap...where she pretty much is 24/7. And can I just say in the few days since I made it, I have found I love it and why o why did I wait to make it until now...baby #8!

Carmen has been beggin to learn to spin, first things first...drop spindle, roving, and a niddy noddy complete with cute bag type basket I sewed up for her to keep it tidy!

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE?

So, when it is cold outside......2 days ago our high was 13* and our low was 1*......we watch the ice thicken on our window panes, play with blocks, and snuggle on the couch! How about you?

christmas projects

We have all been busy. Christmas is nearly here. Carmen and I made an apron for our friend, MaryBeth. Lexi painted a pic for her teacher, Ms Coake...who we love! And Lexi sewed a bone ornament for Whitney's dog, OTIS. Vincent thought the felt bone ornament idea was grand and he made one for his teacher, Mrs. Mjolsnes...her golden's name is Finn! And the robe was the last holiday project I had to finish for a friend's daughter!

10 days to go

Well, Christmas is coming! 10 days, my shopping is nearly complete! My house...well...some rooms are clean...some I wonder if they will ever be. Oh well a clean house is a sign of someone with way too much time on their hands. I have better things to do. I will clean as usual, all night before my company comes.

We got our trees up this weekend...and our lights up last night.

I have 2 sewing projects to finish and a million presents to wrap. Washed 5 loads of laundry today, of course there it sits on the couch waiting for someone to fold it...bet that person is me! Only one more load of dishes today....yay!



Vincent lost his 3rd tooth yesterday! Lexi and Francesca had Ice Hockey practice tonight...fun fun! The baby is smiling constantly! YAY!!!! Gianina poured a 1/2 pound of Cocoa all over the house today, following her stunt of breaking my digital camera yesterday. Carmen has been in her room all afternoon making Christmas presents. Isabella has been practicing how to write our friend Bailey's name all afternoon. By the way thank you to Kim, Sam, Joel and of course, Bailey for dinner last night---yum, and the cute outfit and the bucket!!!!!! And Anthony has been able to take the puppy out without help...huge accomplishment! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!



Okay, so I hope you are all busy gettin ready for your celebrations..Cheers to all of you!



It is 17 degrees outside...brrrr....the dogs need to go out....yikes, glad I don't have to pee in the cold, aren't you? no thanks!

Santa Claus is coming to town

Tonight we had so much fun!!!! It was 20 degrees and we went to see Santa arrive by train! We waited in the cold for nearly 2 hours and then he came. All the kids got to see all his characters, sit on his lap, meet Mrs. Claus, and of course go home with a big candy cane, a coloring book, crayons, and a bracelet. A great time was had by all. Thank you to the Indiana Railroad for a fun night for everyone. I am so glad we wore our hats, coats, gloves, scarves, snow boots, and snow pants!

Gianina

Sweet Emilia

Sugar Plum Faeries!

Thought I would share some cute little felt dolls I finished this week...soon they will get their wings!

Sweet little things

I think sometimes life is too short and we lose sight of what is important and what is just clutter, so I thought I would leave you with a few images from this week...just cute stuff.

Smile!

5 weeks old and all smiles!