Halloween Card

We love Jib Jab, so I thought I'd share the Halloween Card that we made on their site.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Craftig-New Online Love

I haven't had much time for my personal crafting yet, but I love looking at other crafty people, and getting ideas. I adore this site (it's new to me at least.) It's like Digg for the crafting world. Craftig lets you post stories about the crafty world and share them, and bookmark and tag them for easier finding later on. If your favorites looks like mine does, this will be wonderful for you! Hopefully this will help some of you out there.

Piggy Pajama Pants- say that three times fast

Well, I am hoping that my little blogging hiatus is over for now, and I thought I should jump in on some of the craftiness that has been done here (albeit, not alot.)

A little bit ago, we had a family reunion. I was asked to make a pinata of my great uncle Bob. So here is what I came up with.

This week 2 of my nieces are staying with us. The oldest just turned 12, and part of her gift was to make pj pants with me. She loves pigs and blue, so I was delighted when I found blue flannel pig fabric. She did a great job!

That's about it right now, I hope to blog more often and do more crafty stuff worth blogging about more too.

Happy Spring!

I know I have been a little missing lately. Don't worry, don't panic! It happens every year about this time. I have crazy Destination Imagination prep to do. It takes up a crazy amount of my time, but it is worth it when the kids do their best and are so proud of all of their accomplishments. I'm a little nervous, I have one kid out with the contagious pneumonia, and 3 other kids in that same class also have it. Most of my team is from that class (including my son) I'm really hoping I don't have a team full of pneumonia (or a houseful to be honest,) during competition. Send healthy vibes our way please.
So I will be sporadic, but here I promise!

Hey, it's spring! Does it look like spring at your house? Mine doesn't really. The only thing I know is I have literally 32+ squirrels in my backyard picking up my walnuts that we didn't get picked up before winter. They are chasing each other and eating and having a great time. I tried to catch it on video, but it was so dark and dull outside you couldn't pick out much of the squirrels.

I thought since there hasn't been much content to this blog lately, I'd re mention a website I go to frequently to find out about the child appropriateness of different movies, games, books, TV, music, etc... Many of you probably know about it, but I have found it invaluable. I can't read every book my kids want to read to see if they are appropriate. I wish I could. Also, my oldest was reading at an 8th grade level in 2nd grade, so I needed to see which books would engage him, but weren't wrong for him. So anyway, I love Common Sense Media, you get kids ratings, adult ratings, and the actual web site's ratings. You can read comments on the language, sex, violence, product placement, drinking/drugs/smoking, and the moral/message. It's great. Check it out, bookmark it. I go back to it a lot. I even have convinced my kids they won't like certain movies/books by the ratings, so we didn't have to go see a stinker movie at movie theater prices.

**Not affiliated, just like it, and use it**

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Liam is 10!

On Sunday, it was Liam's 10th birthday. He's our middle child. I have definitely noticed that we have less pictures of him than anyone else (why is that?)

He's my sensitive child, with huge daredevil moments, but the rest of the time he's a bit timid to try new things.

He loves dragons, and crafting, and video games. He loves cooking, camping, soccer, and dyeing his hair.

Ginger Molasses Cookies

I found out today that I had to make 3 dozen cookies for 4H. I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't have much time. I picked the cookie that has never failed me and the kids and hubby love. I've been making these cookies for years and always get compliments and requests for the recipe. I give them the recipe, and people say they never taste as good as mine. Well, there is a secret, and I'm going to share it with all of you today.


Ginger Molasses Cookies
Ingredients

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling cookies
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup un-sulphured molasses

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.
Cream butter and sugars together until nice and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Add egg, vanilla, & molasses and beat.
In a separate bowl combine flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, black pepper and cloves.
Combine wet ingredient mix with dry ingredient mix until well combined.
Place remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in shallow bowl. Scoop dough with small cookie scoop. Form into balls and roll in sugar. Place them on an ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-13 minutes. You want to slightly under cook them, or they become quite hard. Let them cool on baking pan for about 3 minutes. Remove, from pan and let cook on a wire rack. These freeze well and pack well for shipping also the recipe is fine doubled.

Ok, so that's the recipe. It's good if you follow those directions, now here's the key to making them great.
You MUST use freshly ground cloves! I have a small mortar and pestle, but you could use a bowl and the back or a spoon or a spice grinder. It makes an enormous difference!

Yep, that's it, I know it sounds silly, and it really isn't a big deal, but it is a huge difference trust me. I hope you enjoy, if you make them let me know if you like them.

Buttons?

Where are all of the buttons? I remember when I was younger, every thrift store, garage sale, flea market, you name it, had jars, boxes, or bags of buttons. And they were dirt cheap. I can't seem to find any bulk buttons anywhere, and the few I do find are crazy expensive. I love buttons....

Does anyone have a great source for inexpensive buttons. Am I out of the loop at some obvious place to acquire buttons?

Row Robin Signups are CLOSED!

I am very excited to see so many participants. If you emailed me and I haven't gotten back to you please email me again. The list of participants are;
Tab (Me)
Bobbi
Sudi-Laura
Harley
Melissa
Tracey
Valerie
Darlene
Carrie
Natasha
Lori
Angela
Robin
Marty
Margaret
Jessica
Dianne
Susan

I am working on making groups now, so if I missed someone please let me know ASAP. I've been checking my spam folder and everything, so I'm quite sure I didn't, but if I did, please let me know.
I will hopefully get the groups out by tomorrow night.

One Day Left Of Row Robin Signups!

I know I've been a little away from the computer quite a bit. We've had a run of sick boys. High fevers, aches, and sleepiness mainly. A little tummy stuff thrown in too. Luckily everyone is feeling better now. Except me, my sleep schedule is all wonky, but that will come back

I just wanted to remind any possible straglers that there is only one day left to join the row robin swap. We have quite a few. I am very excited by the amount of people that have signed up, and the amazing variety of quilter/crafters! This is going to be so much fun! So if you are interested, please go to the signup post and be sure to read through the guidelines first. Then follow the directions about sending me an email with your info.

Row By Row Quilt Swap Update

Only a little over a week left for signups, and we have some wonderful participants already. I am so excited about this swap, I think it will be amazing! We have 12 signed up already and there is plenty of room, so don't worry about that. If you're not sure where to sign up visit http://enjoyinglifesjourney.blogspot.com/2009/02/row-robin-quilt-signups.html and it has all of the details there. I know a few people are unsure of what this would look like in the end, or what we are doing. I have a few emails out asking if people would allow me to post their pictures, so I am waiting for that. I have a few I found to give you an idea though

They do a great job of showing you vertical vs. horizontal placement as well.

If you are still having difficulties picturing what this would look like. Imagine some of the most beautiful row quilts. Here are a few I found online. Some were row robin swaps while others were done by a single person.
memaquilter's row robin quilt
Pat on the hill's row robin quilt
krommama's liberated row quilt
dianezirin's rowrowrow your quilt
cactuspatches christmas row quilt
stitchnagain's row quilt
And again if you have any questions, please ask!

Earth Hour 2009

earthhour.org

In case you haven't heard about this yet, I thought I would pass this on. We participated last year and our family plans to again this year. All you have to do is turn your lights out for one hour. On March 28th from 8:30-9:30pm you shut off your lights.

Valentines

I know this is probably way too late to really help anyone, but I'm actually trying to think a year ahead. There are some amazing Valentine ideas out there in blogland and I wanted to highlight a few of my favorites so next year I can find them easily. Also sometimes ideas like these can be used for party favors, end of school gifts, Halloween, Christmas, or who knows when you need little gift/card ideas.
Here are some of my favorites that I have found. If you have found some great ideas, please post them in the comments!

DIY Scratch off lottery Ticket Valentines by Skip To My Lou
Other Skip To My Lou Valentine Ideas
MadLib Valentines By Design Mom
Friendship Bracelet Valentines by Design Mom
Valentine Candy Maze by Zakka Life
Shrink Art KeyChains by Lost Button Studio (we've done these before, but worth mentioning)
Candy Coated Oreos by Her Cup Overfloweth (we love milk chocolate covered ones for Easter gifts)
Oreo Truffle Kisses by Bakerella
Heart Crayon Valentines by Chef Messy

I know there are tons of great ideas out there, if you know of more please leave them in the comments, I'd love to have a huge list by next January to arm all moms/dads for giveouts for school (or wherever)

I'm off to see Wicked tonight (my belated birthday gift from the hubs.) Have a great day everyone!

Mario Valentines

As we did last year with our Dr Who Valentines (page 1 & page 2). We made up some Mario Bros. Valentines. We usually cut these out and then put them on a bag of microwave popcorn. Easy, everyone can use it, and fairly cute. If you want to use them go for it, click on the image and it will take you to my flickr site. Then you click on the "All Sizes" tab, and go to original size. Save it and print it. It should be about the size of a piece of paper. I used free desktop wallpapers to make them. Some of the sayings are awful! A couple we certainly won't be using for school, but my husband thought it was funny. Anyway, enjoy!

Row Robin Quilt Signups!!--CLOSED

Sign-ups will be until Feb 28th 2009
Your first row with your Theme will be mailed out by April 1st 2009
We will be making a quilt row by row. You will have 6 weeks to finish each row. The first month you will make your own row. After that you will be adding a row to another member’s quilt each month. At the end you will have enough rows to put together a quilt. Each row will be made by a different member of the group (one by you.) The goal of this is to combine the skills of different quilters in different areas with different skill levels together to make one beautiful quilt for each of us. I want everyone in this swap to have fun and expand your creativity. The swap guidelines are specific to ensure that no one is disappointed in the end.

The Rules:
-Use only 100% quality cotton fabrics. Nothing with a loose weave and please pre-wash and press all fabrics.
-This is a commitment! This is a big swap, and no one wants to let anyone else down. Communication is key! If something happens let us know. We can always pass on the package to the next person, or come back to you. We understand, but don’t go missing, keep talking to us!
I would like every week to have some sort of communication. Either a picture on the flickr group, posting to the flickr group, or an email directly to me (faerydaydreams @ gmail.com). Something to let me know you are still with us.
-Each row should be unique. Try not to repeat what other rows have done. We want variety.
-Fabric & Rows must be placed in zip top bags. Please don’t use the slide zipper style bags as this adds quite a bit to shipping.
-Everyone must put a note/card in with their first row. On it should be the owner's name, email address, mail address, likes/dislikes. this will stay with the quilt rows the whole swap.
-Do not attach your row to the next row! This will be done by the quilt owner. They will be able to decide if they want sashing and what order they want the rows to be in
-Treat each quilt with respect, keeping it in a clean, dry and safe place.
-You will always pass the quilt to the next person on the list following your name. The last person always sends to the first person on the list.
-When you send you must email the organizer, owner, & person you’re sending it to.
When you receive you must email the organizer, owner, & person who sent it to you.
You must get delivery confirmation!
-Follow the Golden Rule of Quilting "work on another’s quilt like you would your own!"

Theme
We will be doing a mystery block row quilt. You will decide on a broad theme or colors for your quilt (ex: all purple, stars, Christmas, etc). The other swappers will decide on the blocks to use, thus the mystery!
Everyone must put a note/card in with their first row. On it should be the owner’s name, email address, mail address, likes/dislikes. Everyone will do their best to make a row they believe you will like. You should not try to dictate what is on your quilt. You can suggest or make requests, but they may not be followed exactly as you had hoped. Feel free to list colors/color schemes that you prefer. Feel free to give it a “theme,” but remember to keep it simple.
(Example 1: Colors- green, red, white, Dislike- orange, Theme- Christmas, Dislike- please no angels. [This is fairly detailed, but totally do-able by everyone]
Example 2: Colors- I only want red, teal, and yellow, Theme- I want only pinup girls in Cowgirl outfits. They all must have blond hair. [This would be really limiting, if you want a quilt like that, go for it, (I'd love to see it!) but this isn’t that type of swap])

Rows
You will make your own first row. That row will set the tone, colors, length, and orientation of the rows. We will make rows for a quilt that is either 48" to 60" long. You decide what the length of rows should be for your top. One swapper may want a top no larger than 48" and another swapper may need their top to be 60". (please note: these are 'finished' row lengths, a 60" top will actually measure 60.5" with the seam allowance etc)You may make your top Vertical or Horizontal. Do not attach your row to the previous row. Place your row in the bag with the other rows and pass it on to the next name on the list. The owner will decide what order they want the rows in and if they want to add any additional sashing, rows or borders.
You must make your rows to the length and orientation (vertical/horizontal) requested by the owner. All rows need to be between 5" & 16" wide (this is up to you.) Remember there will be a seam allowance, keep that in mind when you make your rows.
**Edited To Add- You will be supplying the fabric for each row that you make. You can use from stash and/or go buy, but please use fabric that the owner will like and use 100% cotton fabrics. If you have a fabric or two that you really would like the other rows to have you may include that when you mail your row. Put a note on your card that you would really like if they would be able to include that fabric in your row somehow.

Block Pattern & Size
You will decide each month which block pattern would be best for a quilt as it comes to you. All blocks in a row do not have to be the same pattern or even the same size. Blocks don’t have to be square. Please do not repeat blocks used in a previous row for that quilt. We want you to use your creativity and this is all part of the challenge. Be sure to use whole blocks … no half blocks, please. Keep with the theme of the quilt using your own fabric and any fabrics that may have been mailed. Traditional piecing, paper piecing, or finished applique, make the row special for the owner.

Mailing Information
The deadline to pass the quilt on will be either the 1st of the month or the 15th. The deadline to mail your first row and any theme / background fabrics is April 1st. If you finish a row early, then please send it on. When you mail out each package, please use a label and put the next person’s mailing address on the outside of the Ziploc bag that contains all the rows! If the package becomes damaged en route, then the postal people have a name and address to forward it to. *If you are mailing in the US please buy a tracking number. If you are mailing the rows to a different country than yours, please make sure the rows are sent airmail. Please be aware that there may be International swappers in your group. The earlier you can get the rows mailed if they are going out of the country the better. Do not mail your rows if you know the person you are mailing to has more than two sets of rows already, please contact your hostess for further information. Please post weekly, whenever you mail and receive a package of rows. Communication is vital to the success of this swap!

Mail dates for these rows will be;
April 1st (Your starter row)
May 15th
July 1st
August 15th
October 1st
November 15th

If you have any troubles, questions, or comments anytime during or before the swap, please ask, you probably aren't the only one. You can email me at faerydaydreams @ gmail (dot) com, or leave a comment here.

To Sign Up
Send me an email at faerydaydreams @ gmail.com (take the spaces away from around the @ symbol before sending.)In that email please include the following;
Real name
Mailing address (include zipcode & country)
email address
your flickr account (if you have one)
blog address (if you have one)
Do you mind sending outside of the USA ?
If you know already, what your color/theme preferences would be. (If you don't know yet that's ok)
Any questions or comments you may have, or anything else you want people to know

*There has been some interest from people outside the US, so I thought if enough people don't mind sending outside the States, we could include them. If not we'll do that on another round or maybe one group will have international senders and one won't.

PS. I am looking to have a button pic made up. If anyone is interested let me know!

Participants (so far)
Tab (Me)
Bobbi
Sudi-Laura
Harley
Melissa
Tracey
Valerie
Darlene
Carrie
Natasha
Lori
Angela
Robin
Marty
Margaret
Jessica
Dianne
Susan

Black Bean Soup 2 Ways

This is my world famous Black Bean Soup... ok, I don’t know how famous it is, but I have a friend from Australia who loves it, he requests it every time he’s around. And he’s on the other side of the world. I also have a friend who told me she didn’t want baby gifts from me, she just wanted Black Bean Soup. My hubby and my boys love it and request it. So to me that says it’s pretty darn good.
It can be vegetarian quite easily. I use homemade Chicken stock, that’s what I prefer and I always have some in my freezer. You could just as easily use vegetable stock.
I don’t measure at all, so these are guesstimates. Start less, you can always add to taste.
Oh, and this makes a ton of soup, because it freezes like a dream!

Quick Way
2-3 Large Cans of Black Beans Drained & rinsed a bit
1 can refried beans (Vegetarian if you’re going that route)
1-2 boxes of Stock (Chicken or Vegetable) This is a preference thing. I like mine thicker, my kids like it thinner.
¼ cup dried minced onion
2 Tbsp Diced jalapeno or more if you like (use fresh, jarred, canned, whatever)
¼ cup chopped up red pepper (you could use from frozen)
~2 cloves of garlic minced (you can use the jar stuff)
cumin (I start with a good palm full)
~ 1-2 Tsp cayenne powder (depending on how hot you like it, that would be medium)
½ tsp chili powder
salt ( not much, canned beans tend to be salty, you can always add more)
Fresh Cilantro (I’m sorry I think this is a must & I use a ton!)
1 Tbsp Lime juice (optional I like it)
¼ cup Prepared Salsa/Pico (fresher the better though)

Optional Toppings
Fresh Cilantro
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
More Salsa
Tortilla Strips/Chips

Dump all of the ingredients in a big pot and cook on medium heat until it starts to bubble a bit, stirring occasionally. It should take about 20-30 minutes. Put in bowl, top if desired. Eat. Makes a ton, freeze extras if you want.

Cheaper Way
1-2 bags of dried black beans
1 can refried beans
8 cups or so of homemade stock (more if you like it thinner, less if you like it thicker)
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced red pepper
2 jalapenos diced
2 cloves garlic minced
A palm full of dried cumin
1-2 Tsp Cayenne powder depending on how hot you like it
½ tsp chili powder
salt (Usually about 2-3 Tablespoons worth, but I don’t salt my stock or beans, so it needs it)
Fresh Cilantro (LOTS!)
Juice of 1 lime (optional, I like it, hubby not so much)
¼ cup salsa/pico (I use my recipe)

Optional Toppings
Fresh Cilantro
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
More Salsa
Tortilla Strips/Chips

In a huge slow cooker, soak beans night before according to package directions. In the morning drain and rinse (helps prevent a lot of excess gas.) Return beans to slow cooker. Saute onion and red pepper in a bit of butter/olive oil until tender. Add to slow cooker. Add everything except the cilantro and toppings. Cook all day on low (4 hours or so)
10 minutes before serving add cilantro. Cook for 10 min. Put in bowl, top as desired. Enjoy. Freeze leftovers if desired.

It’s a “wing it” recipe. Everyone has slightly different tastes, so some things are less appealing. Go with what your family likes.

Row Robin Quilt Swap Anyone?

I have been wanting to host a swap for awhile now, and I realize now is probably the best time.
First, I'm just going to throw out a line and see if anyone is interested. This isn't an official sign up! I simply want to know if there is enough interest out there to proceed.
I'm thinking of hosting a Row Robin Quilt Swap.
For those of you who don't know, (this was a new concept to me until recently,) You create a row up to 54" long (determined by the owner.) You would be allowed to use applique, piecing, etc... to create this row. Then you send what you made to the next person and they make a row for this quilt also. This continues through all of the participants. Then the quilt strips would be sent to the owner and she/he would piece them together and have a finished quilt top. I think there would be 5-6 people per quilt.
If you are having difficulties picturing what this would look like. Imagine some of the most beautiful row quilts. Here are a few I found online. Some were row robin swaps while others were done by a single person.
memaquilter's row robin quilt
Pat on the hill's row robin quilt
krommama's liberated row quilt
dianezirin's rowrowrow your quilt
cactuspatches christmas row quilt
stitchnagain's row quilt
These are just a few that I thought were quite lovely.
I know life happens, so I believe in generous craft times!
So, anyone interested?
If you are even a little interested please leave a comment on here. We only need 4-5 interested to do it!

***Edited to add, I think since this is my first non-affiliated swap to host (I've hosted tons on craftster,) and because of the style of swap this is, it will be a USA only swap. If I get a lot of interested from international parties, I may revisit this***

Bubby was on the RADIO!

I'm so excited, my middle son, Liam, was on the local radio this morning singing with a few other kids. They were on the radio to promote the upcoming concert. He was so excited, and it was really neat to hear him.

Skeletons in my closet

I've been working really hard on my spring cleaning. What's that you say? It's not spring? Well, spring is crazy busy around here, and honestly any time I actually get the urge to clean, I really have to go for it. Plus, I really wish it were spring! I would love for a whole week above 5F.

Anyway, back to my spring cleaning. My project of the week is our pantry closet. Our house really has no storage at all, including cupboards and closets. But we do have a pantry "room." Well, since we moved in while it was raining with no help from anyone (it was a busy weekend for everyone.) We ended up throwing a lot of miscellaneous stuff and boxes in that room, and never really got it cleaned out.

It has our extra freezer for all of my bulk cooking. It houses the less used/big cooking items (Nesco roaster, Griddle pan, Canning Jars, Baking Pans, etc..) and also our bulk buy items (toilet paper, Kleenex that we stock up on at before school sales, etc..) The shelving has much to be desired, but if it isn't cleaned out where will I add more shelves? So anyway, I have worked on that for the last 2 days. But I don't know where to put a few things.

Yep, you thought that title wasn't literal. Well it is. We have 2 adult (model) skeletons that we take out for Halloween and when people come over just to mess with them. Their names are Livy & Lars. They are about 5 1/2 feet tall. My husband set them in our pantry last year after Halloween. Which isn't working for me. But where do you put them? They can't take extreme heat or cold so it has to be somewhere inside. There is a hook on their heads, but that doesn't really help me. We don't have a heated/insulated garage so that's out. We don't have a basement really, so that's out. No attic. I'm afraid their ribs could break if I try shoving them under the bed. Not to mention what if God forbid something happens and people are cleaning out our house and stumble upon two skeletons. Boy, I'd love to see that. So if anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear them.

We made pizzas last night. Are my kids the only ones who have to make everything a face?

Alright. DI again after school. Busy busy!

Children's Safety and Happiness

**Quoted from the Etsy.com Blog-In Page**

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too. How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:
To the Parents of Young Students:Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.
To the Avid Reader:Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322
To the Lover of All Things Handmade:Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.
To the Environmentalist:Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.
To the Second-Hand Shopper:Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.
To the Entrepreneur:Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.
To the Antique Toy Collector:Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html
To the American Economy:Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.
To the Worldwide Economy:Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses. If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html
And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Lawhttp://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html
Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

Tostadas and Stuffed Jalapenos

Last night's supper was so delicious! You know it's good when you can't wait until everything is done to start munching. We made tostadas and stuffed jalapenos.
The stuffed jalapenos recipe (did I mention they are wrapped in bacon!!) came from The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog. They were quite delicious, but I still think they were missing something. So I may have to make up another batch and fool with it a bit.
The tostadas were leftover beef roast, sauteed onion & red pepper, portabello mushrooms, refried beans, black olives, Monterrey jack cheese, Colby cheese (for the boys,) greens, & my homemade salsa. Unfortunately it was canned tomatoes, as I couldn't get my hands on enough fresh ones, but it is quite delicious. I don't really use a recipe, I totally wing it, and it's always a touch different every time, but I'll leave a guideline style recipe in case you're interested.

Fresh & Yummy Salsa

• 1 28oz can petite diced tomatoes; drained (I save the drainings for chili)


• 1-2 diced up jalapenos (if you like spicy leave in some seeds and veins, otherwise get rid of the seeds and veins)


• 1 small-medium onion diced (I prefer red usually, but I had a sweet onion and a red last night that I used)


• Juice of one lime


• salt (I use sea salt) & fresh crushed black pepper to taste


• fresh cilantro (I use a good handful)


• Dried cumin (I use about a big palm full)


• Chili powder (not much, only about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon full)

Mix all together and let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Eat

This salsa is perfect for chips or with tacos and such, but it doesn't always work very well in the casseroles that call for adding salsa. It's maybe more of a tomato filled pico than a salsa that you'd buy in the grocery stores in USA.

I hope you enjoy! I know we did!

Happy National Pie Day!!!

Now I was going to go a little crazy, I know completely unlike me =)

I was going to make a quiche for breakfast, pot pies for lunch (the kids are home and we got Jo a day early!) and a Shepherd's Pie or Pizza Pies for Supper with pie for dessert.

First off, I think that is way too much crust for anyone in one day! So instead I think I will simply make one pie today. It's been so cold and it's supposed to get really cold again, I am wishing for spring. I have some leftover rhubarb in the freezer, so I think a delicious rhubarb pie sounds about right for today. The kids can help me bake it. And Tim hates rhubarb, so we may eat it after lunch! I'll probably make him an apple pie or something, he will be hard at work today, he should get some pie too!

How will you celebrate this joyous Pie Day?

Inauguration Celebration!

I didn't mean to not mention this before. We of course celebrated the Inauguration of the President yesterday! After all Lore has been sure of this for 4+ years now. He has been his biggest supporter.

Here he is standing like the Statue of Liberty

We all had special "Patriotic Punch."

The globs are soaked tapioca. I soaked the red ones in cherry syrup I made (with added food coloring,) and the blue ones are with blueberry syrup I made (again with food coloring.) Then we added some 7up.

The kids took turns "Cheersing" each other and making toasts.

Levi's toast to the new Prez was something to the effect of "Keep loving comic books and get our Troops home soon and safe!"

Liam's was something about "making school go later in the day (he likes to sleep in) get the homeless homes"

Lore's was pretty much "I knew it!!! He rocks! I rock! We all rock!!!"

It was tons of fun.

Thrift Store Find!

My mother-in-law loves to go thrift store shopping. I love going with her, but I really never find anything I like, to say anything about love. Yesterday was different! I adore milk glass with designs on it. I have a lovely Christmas punch set, that I have no idea who made. I should post it sometime maybe I'd get some information.... sorry, back to yesterday's find.
It's a Federal Glass Patio Snack Set. I have four cups and 4 plates. There is a lovely little groove for the cups to set in. The bottom is sort of "skid resistant". I love, love, LOVE it! I got it for $5 at Goodwill of all places. Now I want another set, so that I can have snack with my nieces. The boys adore it and wanted to use them right away. Unfortunately one of the plates has really old masking tape adhesive on it, and I had to soak it overnight with some oil. It came off no problem. So tonight I'll have to make a supper that will fit on these plates.

DI weekend

We had our first Saturday meeting/practice this past weekend for DI. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very good, so many members were unable to attend. We had 3 out of 7. It was sad that not too many could come, but there is always the ability to do many things that are difficult to do with 1 adult and 7 2nd-3rd graders. I gave them a quick lesson in sewing on a sewing machine. We really weren't out to make anything special, so they cut out quick and dirty rectangles. But then they ended up making pencil pouches out of them.

We also always try to do at least one Instant Challenge type item. This week we did one from Think! . I love Think!, if you haven't checked it out and you have kids who like to do creative little challenges, you really need to check it out! This week's challenge was to give them a deck of playing cards and tell them to build a village. I gave them 10 minutes, (Instant Challenges always have time limitations,) and off they went. This is what they built.

Fave Children's Book

I signed up for a mini quilt swap on flickr. The theme for this swap is favorite children's book. I'm supposed to create a little quilt based off of my favorite children's book. I love so many, I'm not sure which is my favorite. Usually I think, then I pick one, then I realize I should have picked a different one. I'm trying to think now, so when it comes time, I won't have to worry about picking one that is less than my fav.
Some that I remember growing up with;

• Harry the Dirty Dog
• Pokey Little Puppy
• Goodnight Moon
• On top of Spaghetti ( I cannot find the version I loved anywhere)
• The Velveteen Rabbit

Some of the books that my children have loved/I loved reading to them;

• Goodnight Moon
• I spy books (one of many)
• No David
• The Spider & The Fly this is my absolute favorite retelling!
• Where the Sidewalk Ends
• How I Became A Pirate

I know there are tons more, but I'm drawing a blank. There are so many great ones out there. What were/are your favorite children's books?

Cold outside but warm inside

We have a day off of school today. Not because of snow or slippery roads, but because it is crazy cold out there. About -40 with the windchill. Brrrrr! Luckily we knew last night that school was cancelled, so we were able to sleep in today. My eldest son decided to make us all omelets for breakfast

(What you don't see is the Mario Bros. fleece sleep pants he's wearing!)

Here is a picture of him with the omelet that he made for his youngest brother (the one who doesn't really want anything in his omelet, and he likes them slightly over cooked.) For the rest of us he makes them "garbage" style. Whatever is in the fridge. So this morning mine had polish sausage, red pepper, green onion, spinach & muenster cheese. Polish sausage in the morning was a bit of a surprise, but it was really quite good.

Right now he is upstairs practicing his French horn by playing the Mario Bros. theme song (which he is winging without sheet music.)

Some days having a preteen can be pretty darn awesome!

Yoyos!!

I've been admiring little yoyo quilts for some time now. I have really enjoyed working on them in my free time. So here's a few red ones I made while my youngest was reading me his homework, (he has told me he doesn't want me watching him read, so I have to do something while he reads to me.)

I'm thinking possibly an upcoming giveaway soon.

Deep Freeze

This is what it looks like outside my house. A lovely winter day right? The temperature is -8F and a windchill of -22F. This is supposed to be the beginning. The rest of the week is supposed to be much worse. I really dislike it when it's this cold. I don't like anyone driving for fear their cars will break down or they'll get into an accident and be stuck in this awful weather. I fear for the children walking to and from school and the children in buses.

I just want to hunker down with my family and ride out the rest of the week. Hot soup, hot chocolate, tea, a movie, some board games, and wait for this cold blast to pass us by. Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen. So I will worry.... I will try to make everything warm and cozy here at home so as soon as they come back they will be snuggled.

_______________________________________________

Someone I grew up with had a little baby girl Friday. She was a month premature, and had complications. She died in her parents' arms on Sunday afternoon. My thoughts and prayers are obviously with them, but it definitely made me pause, grab my babies, and let them know how much I love them.

(And then they wiped it off and gave me a look like I was crazy, but....)

Make sure you let the loved ones in your life know how much you love them.

Catch Up

Ok, I know I went MIA for quite awhile, so I may post a few things I did while I was gone. Here is my son's 8th Birthday Cake from November. Ignore the goofy expression, he had friends there and really didn't want to take this picture. I told him we were taking pictures until he "gave me happy" and I guess this is what I get for it.

It's a funfetti style cake with marshmallow fondant. It wasn't hard to make, just took a long time.

Most importantly, he loved it!

2008

A small peak into my crafty endeavors of 08.... let's see what 09 brings!

I thought I should go back a year and see what my goals were for the coming year.... now let's see how I did!?!

-Make all of my boys a mommy made quilt. well, I've started all of them
-Make a Christmas Tree Skirt and Stockings again, I've started all of them
-Make Tim things (especially a throw/quilt) I made him a checkbook cover does that count?
-Help Boys make a quilt for Grandma Wanda They kept changing their minds, so it didn't get done
-Make a window quilt (or more than one) Nope
-Help the boys make and publish a comic book We made them, we didn't get them published though
-Make dessert for the family at least 2 times a month I DID THIS ONE!!!
-Make our home more OURS (Paint Kitchen and Dinning Room, etc) Living room is painted, laundry room in process, and kitchen shelves are mine!
-Spend one WHOLE day with each of my kids individually, doing what THEY want. Stop and breathe more. YEP!
-Open an etsy shop I never seem to get enough "stock" to feel I am able to.
-Work cleaning and exercises into my daily routine. More of it yes, perfecting... not even close
-Embrace quiet Oh, I'm embracing and giving it a full on tongue kiss!
-Call my best friend at least once a month non-prompted! Every other month.... not quite up to what I had hoped, but closer.

So out of 13 goals I have 6 that I've done, 4 about half way, and the rest no. It could be worse.

2009 Goals

• Finish a quilt for each of my boys
• Form better cleaning habits
• Open an etsy shop
• Finish Stockings
• Make this home even more ours

Yep that's it. Not much. Keep it simple and hopefully do-able.

I wish you all the best in the coming New Year!

Delayed... Rant

First let me say, I really, really love my family! I know you can tell, there is a huge BUT coming, and you're right.
Our December is always crazy it's expected. We were really happy this year, because we were going to have the whole last week/first week of the year off, as a family, to do family fun stuff.
-Beginning of December I broke a tooth.... no dental insurance... expensive crown needed. Bummer.
-Right before Christmas break, my hubby's first 2 days off and we were hoping to get our stuff done while the kids still had school, the boys ended up having off because of the weather. No biggie, but unable to get stuff accomplished.
-Day before Christmas eve, plumber informs us we need a new toilet because my niece somehow managed to get a tweezers stuck in our toilet, and there was no way to get it out with out destroying the toilet. We tried. Expensive, and a pain.
-My brother and his family need help moving on the other side of the state. We help, but it cut deep into our family (immediate) time.
-We get back and our wall in our laundry room has decided to collapse....we had to fix it, and be without laundry for the rest of our vacation.
-The weather has been horrible both weeks. Too cold for the kids to go out and play. We've been getting on each others nerves instead of enjoying each other.
-Today I was hoping for a little peace and quiet, so I could come back to missing them..... well, they have a delay this morning because of weather.... THEY ARE STILL HERE!


Breathe

I know I love them, I know I will miss them when they do go off to school, but right now...... boy I hope the rest of this year is much smoother.

**Edit**
They have off all day!

New Doctor

News just recently broke that the new, 11th Doctor, would be Matt Smith. I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed. I was really hoping this doctor would go in a new direction. I figured we would get our first black doctor, or maybe our first woman doctor. Our "youngest" wasn't enough "shake up" as I would have hoped for.

I know relatively nothing about him, so I don't mean to dismiss him quickly. I hope well for him, and will wait to watch with bated breath, but I can't help be a smidge disappointed.

Good luck Matt Smith, you fill big shoes!