January Snow DAY(s)!

Since I am a teacher, we love a good snow day around here! There is nothing better:) Last Friday we were out for our third snow day. 

I love this picture! Nothing sweeter than my babies in p.j.s on a morning with nothing to do but snuggle!! This was on a Monday after Memaw's funeral. We all weren't feeling super great, so only Dad and Landon went outside to sled. Too bad because the snow was perfect to build a snowman.

Snow Day #2

On this snow day we got out of school early on a Thursday afternoon and were out of school on Friday. Everyone was feeling better so we got outside to play. The snow wasn't as good, but it was still fun:) We played around in the front yard a little.

This was one of Allie Ruth's first times to really play in the snow! She seemed to like it for the most part.

Poor thing, had to wear some of Landon's old boots that were a couple of sizes too big. They did the trick though!

We are lucky enough to live across the street from a park with great sledding hills. We all walked over and sled down the hills a few times. Allie Ruth sled with mom and liked it, but was more interested in going to play on the playground. We also had a bit of an accident. Landon and Allie Ruth went down the hill together and busted! Allie Ruth bit her lip and was covered in cold snow. Time to go in! 

I made some hot chocolate, per Landon's request:) 

Landon had been a little grouchy and wasn't wanting me to take his picture at all this day. 

What a big girl, Allie Ruth!

"Dad, its good!"

Awww, There's my smile from Landon!

(sort of)

Playing around the house...

RIDICULOUS!!

After all this fun, it was supposed to be nap time. Allie Ruth has not taken a nap in the past three days. Not sure what that is about, but sister needs to rethink that! Landon took his rest on the couch and later started complaining about his ear hurting really bad. This usually ends in an ear infection for Landon. Poor thing, has his Dad's ears.  So since it was 3:30 on Friday afternoon, we went to the little clinic at Kroger. One ear pink and one ear very red. 

No wonder you were a little grouchy:) 

Tutorial Thursday!

Homemade Salt Scrub

A good exfoliator is essential for my hands during the winter. You can buy salt scrubs for around $30 , or you can just make your own for a fraction of the cost! I made 10 jars for just under $10. Salt scrubs are the easiest home spa product to make. It also makes a great little gift for your friends. 

Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup oil. Use sweet almond, grapeseed, or another light- textured  massage oil. Don't use simple cooking oil from your pantry. You can find this oil at your local health food store, such as, Whole foods.

- 1 cup fine sea salt. Don't use simple table salt- its too harsh. If you have sensitive skin you can substitute sugar, which is gentler. 

- 5-15 drops essential scented oil. The oil you choose for your salt scrub depends on the result you want. Lavender is relaxing, lemon is refreshing and rosemary is stimulating. I got my oil from Hobby Lobby.

  (Don't forget your  printed 40% off coupon if its not on sale.)

Preparation:

Put the salt (or sugar) in a small bowl.

Add the oil, mixing well with a spoon or wooden stick. The texture should be moist enough to hold together, but not overly oily. You can adjust the amount of oil to achieve that texture. 

Gently tap in the drops of oil and combine well. If you are interested in aromatherapy you can customize your recipe using different oils. 

So now you are ready to use your home-made salt scrub! 

If you don't have access to the cute little jars like I did, you can use small canning jars. They can be purchased at the grocery store in the canning area. You can get really crafty and make the labels in apple works or google printable salt scrub labels. I got the ones above from Martha Stewart. Make some scrub for yourself and a friend. Everyone could use a little happy during these blah winter months!

AllieRuth turns TWO!

                                  Oh, AllieRuth, I can't believe you are two. How quickly the baby years have left! You are such a sweet little girl!  

You have the best big brother and love to do everything he is doing. You and Landon get along very well for the most part. No more highchair for you! Thankfully you still like the occasional bottle and the paci. Its hard to let go of my sweet baby doll. You are starting to talk more and putting words into sentences. Very small, but mighty!  You love to play with your dolls and your kitchen. You will eat pretty much all food that is given to you. Your favorites include anything sweet and pretty much any food! You are just such a blessing! 

Your birthday morning started with Dad going to Daylight Donuts and bringing breakfast home. We never do this and you loved it! We spent the day playing,  cleaning and decorating the house for You and Mimmie's birthday party. 

For your Birthday party we had family over for dinner. Meme, Gammie, Mimmie, Shelly, and Sydney helped us celebrate! We had Nachos and they were so good! 

Some of your gifts that you love are the Rody horse, play mixer, tea set, and bath toys! 

Happy 2nd Birthday sweet girl!

Tutorial Thursday!

                                                   No Sew Shawl Collar Wrap
What you will need:
-1 yard of fabric
  (any non-fraying fabric like fleece, felt or wool)
-1 large button or decorative pin
-scissors
-hand sewing needle
-thread


      Ok, if you know me, you know I love to sew. But this project has very little sewing. You only need to know how to sew a button on. And if you don't know how to do that, then thats where the decorative pin will work. For example, one of those really cute flower pins that are very popular right now. So since this project is little to no sewing, I thought it would be a good one to start out with. (Plus, its super cute!) This is basically just a large oval of fabric. You can use regular fleece (like the one above), felt, or felted wool. Any type of fabric that won't fray because we are leaving the edges raw and the arm holes raw.  Ok, lets get started. First, I used a large piece of paper to make a pattern. This is not needed if you are going to make just one, but I made several for Christmas gifts, so it was just easier. The width of my oval fabric was 42'' and the length was 35''. I wear a small/medium these days, so you may need to adjust accordingly. The directions are the same if you are starting with a pattern or just going straight to the fabric. Fold the yard of fabric in half length-wise, then width-wise. Cut a quarter circle. Divide your length measurement in half and your width measurement in half and connect the dots with your curve. This will give you an even oval. Unfold your piece of fabric. As you can see, its rather large.

Measure half your width and half your length to find your center point. Measure the widest part of your back (up by the shoulder blades). Cut your arm holes 9''-10'' long in the center of the oval-they should be cut your back measurement apart. My back was 17'', therefore each arm hole was cut 12.5'' in from the edge of the oval. After you have cut your arm holes, fold over the top of the oval 9"-10", because this is the largest part of the curve. Try on your shawl to decide where your button or pin should be placed. As you can see, I added three buttons to mine, but one is fine. The possibilities are endless. Stitch your button in place. Cut two small slits on the other side of your shawl to use as the button hole. You don't have to do a real button hole because the fabric will not fray. Now, try on your new sweater! This is very cozy and warm for the cold winter days! Check out this blog for another version of this tutorial http://thecottagehome.blogspot.com/2010/10/comfy-sews-shawl-collar-sweater.html.

On a lighter note...

  

                                       I inherited the mother-load of sewing stuff!!

My grandmother made quilts. Therefore, she had a ton of sewing supplies! Such as: any color thread you could ever want, thimbles, needles, rules, etc.!!! I am the proud owner of her sewing box! And since she made quilts, she had a ton of scrap fabric! 

I went through and picked out all of the fabric that was still big enough for me to make something for Allie Ruth. I gotta get busy! 

Another reminder of my Memaw that I really wanted was this basket: 

She kept it beside her recliner and would quilt while watching t.v. Memaw made a quilt for everyone. All the daughters have one and all of the grandkids have a quilt made by Memaw. I am sure there are more.  Inside the basket is thread, scissors, and quilt patterns that Memaw made. There are also pieces of quilt squares that have not been completed.  You can tell where she had to stop and just could not do it anymore. This makes me sad for her.  I am going to finish this quilt one day. 

Oh and come to find out, this basket was made by my Aunt Brenda! Its really well made! Who knew?

I predict the completion of the quilt will be a LOOOOONNNNNGGGG time to come. It looks like a major task. I can't believe someone made so many quilts! Should be interesting! And lastly, the buttons.

These are buttons. They are not THE buttons, but they are buttons. I am glad to have them and like my cousins' husband said (who we just met and LOVE) "its just stuff." and it is just stuff. And like my Mom says " I  have my memories in my heart and I can pull them out any time I want."

It's fun to have new/ old sewing stuff! 

                                                                                

We will miss you, Memaw!

This is a picture of my grandmother, Mary M. Enzor. She passed away this past week and we are really going to miss her. She was a big part of my life growing up. I was very lucky to have her as long as I did. She taught me how to sew by hand and would have taught me how to cook, had I been interested. As a child, we would go camping, on picnics and just play in her backyard. I always thought she fussed at us a lot, but since I have had children, I realized that she was really pretty patient with us. When I wasn't making a mud pie, I was getting into everything else. I would love to look through the drawers at her house and just basically snoop! She was a really good cook and I loved all her food. One of my fondest memories are when she would let me sit in her lap and she would scrape out the inside of an apple with a spoon and feed it to me! She has been ready to go home and be with my PawPaw for many years now. I know they are celebrating together again. They were married for 61 years so I can only imagine how much she missed him. We love you!

Happy 2011!

I have really enjoyed 2010 and I am excited about the upcoming year! I don't really have any resolutions, just things that I would like to improve. Such as:

1) Stop biting my nails! What a terrible habit!!
2) Stop drinking so many diet cokes! If I had all the money I have spent at Sonic, I'd be RICH!
and
3) Feed the kids better food! My inspiration is going to be this book:

I hope to make meals for the week on Sundays and have them ready for dinner during the week. I mean, it can't be that hard, right?!