The great quilt search....

I guess I shouldn't be so dramatic in my title, but I am looking for the perfect pattern to make a king size quilt for my bed. My husband has his own preferences and I have mine - and somehow we have to agree on colors and patterns, etc. Anyway, I've found a few things I like and thought I'd post a link to them here. Here is Loft Creations with a string quilt tutorial. And here is Brown Paper Packages with a scrappy quilt tutorial.

Irresponsible neighbors+dogs=puppies (again!)

Our neighbors are at it again. Or I guess I should rather say their dogs were at it. =) Yesterday, my husband noticed there was a new litter of puppies in the neighbors back yard. This is the third litter they have had in three years. They are simply irresponsible and we are not sure what, if anything, we can do about it. They started out with two dogs, a mutt (the one that had the first two litters) and a beagle. They got rid of the first litter of puppies, but after the second litter they got rid of the mom and kept two of the puppies. (So they now had three dogs.) Later they let their beagle loose to roam the neighborhood and we assume it got taken by the pound as we haven't seen it since. But they did manage to bring home another smaller beagle instead. Then one of their four or five cats (we're not sure exactly how many they have) had a litter of four kittens. These are already getting bigger and are staying around (as it doesn't look like they plan to get rid of them). They constantly come over to our house when we feed our cats and try to eat their food - they are obviously hungry and not getting fed enough if at all. And now on top of all that there is a new litter of puppies as well. There are far too many outside animals in our small cul-de-sac but what can we do about it? Nothing I guess....but oh well. Just a little ranting for today.

On another note, I was trying to think of how to cook our chicken leg quarters we were going to have for dinner last night. I normally cook them with rice and two cans of cream of chicken soup and some milk to have chicken and rice. But I didn't have any soup, so I just made something up and it turned out quite tasty! I just put the chicken in a 13x9 and dumped a can of diced tomatoes on top. Now these weren't just any diced tomatoes, and I think that's what made it so good. They were fire-roasted diced tomatoes with adobo seasoning (made my Muir Glen - and I'm not sure where to find them again). Then I sprinkled a Parmesan cheese mixture on top and baked it in the oven. It tasted really good! I'll have to try that one again if I can find those tomatoes....

Sewing Day

Yesterday was going to be my sewing day. If I didn't get another chance to sew this week, I planned to at least make another morsbag. So that's what I did! I also thought I'd find something else I wanted to make with some of the fabrics I've found, but between feeding the kids and nursing the baby - it took me all day to make the one bag. I still haven't found something else I wanted to make, but I'm searching blogs and etsy.com for ideas. Anyway, here is a picture of the bag I did manage to make.

A little giveaway!

I stumbled upon this giveaway and thought I'd share! (Besides - I get a couple extra entries for telling you all about it!) This lady is closing up her shop and doing a giveaway and a sale. Here's hoping I can win some fat quarters!

Craziness all around!

Well, it's been a crazy week or so. After the kid's bout with the stomach bug, I thought the rest of us had managed to scrape by without it. I took the kids out to playgroup Monday a week ago, then headed downhill myself. I actually got THE bug on Tuesday and still felt awful on Wednesday. I was better but still a little sluggish on Thursday. By Friday I was completely better, but then my big girl got sick. My husband was home on Friday and when we went to lay her down for a nap, I noticed that she was breathing extremely fast and heavy. I had already borrowed a pulse-ox from my sister earlier that day because I didn't think my big girl was doing great, but she got worse fast. I took her to the doctor and they did a couple breathing treatments there, but then sent us straight to Scottish Rite after she didn't improve enough. We ended up spending the night there at the hospital. My big girl was much improved in the morning and we were able to go home. She's done okay the last couple days, but she still gets winded running around. She had a check up appointment today and they want to put her on a daily preventative medicine because this is the second (and more severe) attack she's had in a month - and she's never really had any before. So they're a little concerned it might happen again. Anyway, that's what's been going on and we are all doing better - at least for now. Just hoping now that my baby girl isn't getting sick!

Goodwill find!

Check out what I found at Goodwill today. My husband called me a sucker, but how could I pass this up?!? My big boy was SO excited and it only cost $6....so I had to!



Here's my big boy actually sitting on it. As you can see, he's a little big for it, but that didn't stop him one bit!

My first sewing project: a morsbag!

Well today I sewed my first project on my new sewing machine. It's the first time I've sewn anything in a while (not that I ever really sewed much before). But anyway, I think I did a good job for my first project. It's obviously not a professional job - and I can see where I messed up, but still pretty good. It only took me a couple hours and numerous phone calls to my sister! =) I'm hoping to get better with time and more practice. Here's a couple pictures of my bag:





Oh, and if you'll notice the top right corner of the bag, you'll see my really BIG mistake I made today. I wasn't being careful when I was cutting the fabric and cut a big gash in one of my side pieces. I sewed it back together with a zigzag stitch. Then I also managed to put it at the top of the bag where it'd be most noticeable. Oops!

I-Spy Quilts and a Swap!

I am so excited to be participating in an I-Spy swap! I mentioned to my sister that I wanted to make an I-Spy quilt and she agreed that she did as well. So I sent her a couple links I had found as well as one for a swap. I didn't have enough fabric myself to be in one, but she had more than enough and was willing to share. So we can both be in it! And we will be getting back 200 squares to put toward a quilt! It'll be so neat! Check out this for a picture of one quilt. Or here is the link for the swap we are apart of.

Can we say craziness again?!?

Thankfully the craziness that happened this time happened while I was at my sister's house. (Although I'm not sure she was too thrilled with what happened...) But anyway, the two of us were downstairs looking at all her neat fabric scraps she bought from oh fransson. Our kids had been playing upstairs, but then they came down for a minute. My big girl had her back to me and I looked up and noticed a beige color gooey spot on the top of her pants (it literally looked like a glob of paint, but that was NOT that case). I'm sure you can guess what it actually was and boy was it the nastiest thing I think I've ever seen. It was EVERYWHERE! And when I took her shirt off, I realized it was all on her back too! So my sister helped me take her up to the bathroom and wash her down with the shower hose. Thankfully she cleaned up easily, but it was a crazy mess.

What a day!

Today I was going to start working with my big girl on potty training. We are almost out of diapers and I'm running out of excuses to put it off any longer. Well since we are going to have to stay home the rest of the week to work on that, I thought I'd let the kids play a little first and join our friends up at McDonald's for playgroup. They had a blast and for the first time (even though we've been there numerous times before) both my kids went down the big slide! They decided it wasn't so scary and enjoyed going down it again and again. After we left McDonald's, I decided to stop by Publix on my way home because I had a few coupons that were about to expire and I wanted to use them. I was almost done (meaning I had a good bit of stuff in my cart already), when I heard a big "SPLAT". I walked around the cart and asked "what was that?". My big girl said in a quiet little voice "it was me". She had thrown up all over herself and the floor. She proceeded to throw up two more times and I ran to the register to check out (because I couldn't just drop everything and walk away!). They took far too long to check me out and we left. (I saved $36 with coupons and only spent $13!!) My big girl is now in the bed sleeping (as are the other two) and I am just hoping we didn't manage to get the other kids she played with this morning sick.

An awesome game! (And a sweet deal to go with it!)

While browsing my favorite frugal blog, I came across this post. I downloaded the demo and have had fun playing it! My big girl has been sitting here with me watching me play and she was fascinated too. Now they are offering this game for whatever price you want to pay! So after playing the demo, I decided to go ahead and get it. Should I feel bad for being as cheap as I was? Or should they have put a limit on how low you could go? Either way - it's neat and it's cheap! Just thought I'd share!

Monkey Bread

I just finished making some Monkey Bread! It's for a baby shower tomorrow. This is some of the best stuff and we all love eating it! Too bad I can't have some as soon as it comes out of the oven!

Getting ready to start sewing...

As I've been waiting to get my sewing machine in the mail, I've been trying to build up a stash of things I might want or need to sew: thread, fabric, etc. Well one of the first things I got (and I actually got this before I knew I was getting a sewing machine) was a stack of fabric from this blog. She was part of Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day - AND I WON! Shocking, I know - as I don't normally win anything. But this is some beautiful fabric, and I can't wait to figure out what to do with it. I'm not quite sure yet, but I'm loving looking at tutorials online, so I'm sure I'll find something soon.

For my birthday, my wonderful sister (check out her blog here) gave me a little gift box with some more fabrics and things to use.

And today I went to Snellville Fabric Mart to check out what they have. Sadly it was only upholstery fabric, which isn't what I would normally want, but I did get a couple remnants to use to make some morsbags.

My crazy boy.....

My big boy has never been one to crash anywhere. When he was little he fell asleep in our laps, but as he got older he started just going to sleep in his bed. Well this is how I found him yesterday afternoon - crashed on the floor behind his door. (That was as far as I could open it!)

Deal of the Day

I just wanted to post a great deal I just got on some summer dresses for my big girl. I got them from LandsEnd.com for $5.99 with free shipping. Follow the link to The Thrifty Mama's blog where I found the deal!

An explanation...

Well, for those who might not be too familiar with my kids, I thought I should explain the title of my blog. I thought long and hard and had so much trouble thinking of something. Finally I decided to use the kids' favorite things in the title. The term "face-blankie" was coined when my big boy was still little and covered his face every time he slept with a small blanket I had gotten for him. (See the picture above.) At three, he is still very attached to it, and likes to take it with him where ever we go. One of my big girl's favorite things has been a small plastic screwdriver that came in a tool set I got over a year ago. She took right to it and has carried it around and slept with it ever since. An odd choice for a favorite toy, but for some reason she really likes it!

My Christmas/Birthday Present!

I got my Christmas present in the mail yesterday. It arrived on my birthday! Anyway, my husband decided to get me a sewing machine! Here it is. I'm so excited to learn how to use it and start making some things!

I've done it again!

I've gone and done it again! Created a blog that is. I've lost count of how many I've started and deleted because I either didn't ever add anything to them (after the first post) or I never even told anyone I had one. Anyway, I've been thinking about it for the last couple days, and I thought I'd finally go ahead and really start one. There are a few reasons I have for starting a blog and they mostly have to do with some goals I have for this year (not that I really made resolutions, just things I want to do and work on). So here goes:

First the more long term goals:
1) Sew - learn the basics, practice sewing, and post things I like or learn
2) Find healthy meals to cook so that my husband and I can *hopefully* be a little healthier
3) Save money - learn how to shop on a budget and try to use even more coupons

And some more short term goals:
1) Potty train my big girl
2) Teach my big boy and girl how to read

But even more important than any of these is that I want to live my life more fully and completely under the will of God. My goals are nothing and I can accomplish none of them without his help. I want to live for God and be an example to anyone I come into contact with - especially my children!