The West Family

December Slideshow

2011-08-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

December 2010 - how to make a free slideshow

OK, so If I am ever gonna catch up I've got to do something different or I'm going to be posting December photos for the next two months! So, I'm trying a slideshow! As you can see Wyatt played several imortant roles in December... Santa, a Star and even better, Baby Jesus at our churches Christmas program. We are not sure if Jesus had a passy, but it was either that or lots of baby Jesus squaking:)

More December fun...

2011-08-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

So, I guess I must have been crazy or something because I decided that it would be fun to have the girls make all of these neat jar mixes to give as gifts for Christmas. And Wyatt was only 6 weeks old. I keep saying that he took the last of all my brain cells, and it must be true. Their enthusiasm lasted about 15 minutes and then they were ready to move on to the next exciting thing and I was stuck with a lot of half done jars... Pouring barley is fun!
Cutting up sun dried tomatoes was not as much fun...
The finished products, a yummy soup mix, muffin mix and totally rad brownie mix!
Whoa baby, who is this cute Passey Posse who just showed up? Actually this hat is one of my big sisters hats for her doll that I borrowed to go with my super cute outfit from great grandma:)
OOPS, I got the order messed up, but this was a baby carrier that I got for Wyatt and have loved. Now that he is bigger, it's hard to carry him but this has been a very handy carrier since it folds up so small when not in use. And he felt totally secure and snuggly in there:)

Yeah, that's a wink, wink for you!

All right now, that's enough monkey business, put em' up folks!

December 2010

2011-07-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

Usually I try to get one quilt done for someone as a Christmas gift each year... this year buddy was the winner... he got a simple play quilt with lots of machines on the print squares. Girls can have fun at Cabella's too!
Never enough squeezing from a big sister!
Look Mom, baby Jesus... with fuschia pink swaddling cloth...
D is for Dinosaur.... Somehow we did get some learnin' done in between feeding and kissing on a baby...

OOOH, my super cute Christmas baby... I wish he was still this small. It was really fun to put hats on him, this one was made by a distant cousin of mine who makes them for a side business.

More sweet lovins'... Hannah actually wore the sleeper Wyatt has on when she was a baby and Emelia wore the nighty that Hannah has on... how sweet is that!

One Month Old!

2011-06-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

OK, so in real life he's 8 months old tomorrow... but I'm set on going in order, so here he is at one month! Alot of these shots are very similar, but his sweetness was so irresistible, I could not help posting so many. Our camera broke on Thanksgiving day, so these were taken on the point and shoot while the nice cam had to take a trip to Nikon headquarters...I love how sweet his hands were in these poses.

Precious little gift from Jesus!
Here is the little man at about 5 weeks, and the one below in the same outfit, taken at two days old. The joke in the family is that my milk is more like heavy whipping cream, and I guess it must be seeing how quickly he went from baggy outfit to busting out of it!
2 days old

Here's the bear that we are taking his pic with each month for the first year, from Grandma and Grandpa!

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-06-27T23:52:00.001-07:00

Look at this cute little turkey we got to spend the day nibbling on... Here's the girls in their cute turkey shirts!

We are so thankful for all of the many many blessings God has given to our family, including each other:)

More from November 2010

2011-06-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

I think this was our first family picture since Wyatt was born. Why didn't I get one at the hospital? I wish I knew the answer to that question, but I don't. Anyways, we are sure happy this little buddy is a part of the Westies now. We love having a little man in the house!Oh, yes, I made these super cute turkey tee-shirts for the girls. My sister found the idea and it was a fun little project that I thought turned out rather cute:)
A very important day for little man Wyatt... his very first trip to Cabella's! Ahh hugh, ohhh yeah!
Auntie Tina got me this cute tee-shirt and I really like it!
Emelia is forever creating something... and my house is forever filled with paper scraps wherever I look... Here is one of her projects, which I think was a native american family with all the accessories!
Hannah got to make a space shuttle, which (as you can see) she was quite proud of!

I love my sister...
My sister loves me...
I love my BIG sister, and my BIG sister loves me too!

First Bath in the Tub!

2011-06-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Aren't I cute after I get all cleaned up? I think this was after Wyatt's first full bath in the tub (after belly button fell off).OOPS, these are backwards, but as you can see, he was happy to be all wrapped up and out of the tub!
I don' t think boys like to be clean, do they? It seems that without fail, he earps up or blows out his diaper within just about an hour of any given bath time. I gave up trying to keep him clean!
Ooh, this might kinda be fun...
Snuggles with daddy are the best!

November 2010....

2011-06-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

OK, so I fell off of the blogosphere for awhile. Most of you have figured out that I finally joined facebook, but if not, look me up, I'd love to "be friends". It seems easier to do a quick update on facebook, but I am gonna try my hardest to catch up here on the blog. I'm gonna have to take it one month at a time... Once I finally get up to date you are not gonna believe how big our moose baby Wyatt has become. He's one porky Elmer Fudd, I tell ya!I think this PARTY was our celebration that Wyatt did not have to do light therapy any more once his jaundice levels got back down. We celebrated with crackers, sausage and cheese on the floor. You know, man foods!
Wyatt pretty much has three mommies, who all adore him and love him in many different ways. They fight over who gets to hold him more and entertain him all the time! What a nice feature of having kids who are alot older:)

Oh, and we cracked up when Hannah went running to get the ruler to see if Wyatt had grown since the girls were gone for the week while we dealt with his jaundice.

Family Funnies...

2011-01-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Last night I had just finished changing Wyatt and asked Ted to watch the buddy so I could work on the budget. Not two seconds after he said, "sure", the buddy proceeded to load up his "drawers..." (as daddy likes to say) I laughed and said, "He's all yours!" He looked at Wyatt and said with force, "Why can't you go on the toilet!!!?"

For some reason that tickled my funny bone quite a bit.

Maybe that one didn't make you "crack up", but here's one from Hannah 5 minutes ago that will...

I'm changing Wyatt's diaper (again - how amazing!) and I told the girls "It's a big dumper I think..." (Daddy likes us to use MANLY words like BIG DUMPER when we are talking in terms of the BOY!) So, I opened up his diaper carefully and Hannah in a horrified tone of voice says, "OH GROSS! YOU POOPED ON YOUR WEENIE!" I'm still laughing as I type. Sorry if I offended any of you... but this is my life these days and I wouldn't "change it" for the world!

He Came Home Early...

2011-01-12T19:54:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's right... usually my hubby is at the plant over night for a "shut-down", but he got off early this time and came home while I was still up feeding the buddy. When he opened the door, the first thing I heard was "Uh-Oh" (oops, I left my pile of tools outside the door, so he now has a clue that I've been up to something). Then I hear him say, "Naughty Girl. Naughty, NAUGHTY GIRL"! Yes, I was very naughty. But I really did save him some work, so I was really being a HELPER, right? Hannah was (for some reason) super duper excited when I told her we were going to cut down the "half-walls". She wanted to help, so I let her pose with the saw (with the cover on for safety).
The above mentioned "Naughty Girl" at work...
And I did give them each a try but of course they could not really even move the saw, but they continued on helping with their enthusiasm!
This one's for Oompa!
This one too...
Tearing down the walls... always a good thing to do in life, right?
One down and one more to go...
I was quite exhausted after the first wall and almost left the second wall, but took a break and found a "second wind" to "git' er' done". Teddy boy will have to help me with the floor repair that needs to happen now and fixing up the walls, but we will do that soon (together) when we are able to get new carpet, which is in the plan for late winter!

Emelia was a bit bummed that I was not going to use Daddy's power saw, but hey, folks, I'm not THAT CRAZY. I do know when I'm out of my league, so all with hand tools it was! And I can even tell you that I didn't even break a nail! Wow!

So, what kind of crazy things are you up to these days?

Hint number two...

2011-01-11T20:08:00.001-08:00

Here's a shot of the same location just after we moved into the house over 3 years ago... See anything that screams 1970's? I promise I will show you what I did tomorrow!

Hint, Hint...

2011-01-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

So, the hint is that my wily hair has something to do with what you can see in these pictures. See anything wrong that might drive you crazy enough to take serious action about? Yeah, the pictures might need some re-arranging, but I wouldn't get in trouble for that. I might just get in trouble for what I DID DO, though.

Oh, yes, and tell Dad that no children have been injured in the process, so not to worry!

Ted is gone and I've got a wily hair...

2011-01-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

Do you remember what kind of things I do when I get a wily hair? Like cutting down trees and stuff like that... Well, we're all snowed in, Ted has a shut down today, which means I won't see him until tomorrow morning. I did warn him that I've had the wily hair for about a week or so...

Don't worry, it's all inside Dad, so I won't get frostbite or anything... The girls may even help out. Stay tuned for pics.

Oh and here's a couple of a cute baby that I have been promising. I realize they are old (he's much chubbier now!) but they are too sweet not to share. And yes, it's not easy to keep his feet in the right place, if you know what I mean. One is kinda borderline, but I think I can fix it on Adobe:) The top two pics he is 17 days old and the bottom two pics he is 12 days old. (Belly button fell off in between as you can see!)

Now it's off to find my tools for the project...

What do you do?

2011-01-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

What do you do when your baby has a blow out just as you finish nursing? You see, if you sit him up you risk squishing all of that yuck all over the place and possible oozing out onto the outfit, so you're gonna have to change everything! But if you don't sit him up and burp him he's gonna puke all over the place for not being burped. These are the kinds of problems I have to deal with at this stage of my life... It's a double whammy, I tell ya. I bet you've got double whammy's in your life too... they are probably just not as GROSS! Hope I didn't wreck your mid-morning snack time! Back to school for me.

Yes, I know you didn't want to hear about my son's plumbing problems... you want to see pictures! Hopefully new ones coming soon!

Sweet Boy

2010-12-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a few more pics of our sweet boy... most taken when he was one week old! And as I type he's over 5 weeks old... I've got some catching up to do!

Mr. Handsome

2010-12-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I pretty much think the picture speaks for itself... This was taken when he was 7 days old. I didn't think I'd get any tiny newborn pics because of the extra time in the hospital and several days of being under the rule of the bili-blanket, but on day 7 we rebelled a bit to get some pics and take some time away from the blankets to just enjoy this sweet miracle. I got the fabric at my favorite online fabric store, the Fat Quarter Shop. They have a lot of fun and new fabrics by all of the coolest designers. You never knew fabric could be so much fun, did you? When I saw the whales I had to order a yard. And great grandma Ruth gave us the awesome hand-knit hat! Stay tuned for more of Mr. Handsome...

How to spell...

2010-12-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

Just a quick hello while I am between feeding and I know it's been awhile since the last post! Life is busy with 3 kids!

One day a few weeks back Hannah was quietly doing something on the floor, while I was probably feeding. All of a sudden she says, "Is this how you spell Wyatt?" I looked at her and then at the floor. She had spelled WIUIT on the floor with feathers how it sounded to her. Now, mind you she is a Kindergartner and we have barely begun talking about how letters make different sounds. At this point (when she made this) we had not learned to spell any words or read any blends. Yeah, I think she pretty much doesn't need me, she will be teaching herself school! She was so proud of her accomplishment (phonetically spelling his name) that we had to take a few pics and show them to you !

Bird Baths & Cradle Time

2010-11-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Here is the little buckaroo during his first bird bath...He was not impressed!
Happy now that it's over and he's now bundled up for a long winter's nap!
I'm tellin' ya, he's a happy little fella!
First night in the cradle, made lovingly by Oompa. All of our children have slept in the cradle. He seems to like to stare at the spindles a lot.

Blue Light Special...

2010-11-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

So, I am sure some of you are wondering why it has taken me so long to post more pics... except for the obvious excuse that I'm getting no sleep and all I do is feed baby right now. Well, we actually had quite a rough first week and ended up back in the hospital for two days with Wyatt due to very high billiruben (jaundice) levels. After two days in the hospital we were able to go home, but had billi-blankets (blankets with lights in them) on him for the rest of the week trying to get his numbers to go down. We learned a lot about Jaundice and that there are several types of Jaundice. The kind he has is called breast milk jaundice where something in my milk is hindering him from being able to process the billiruben in a timely manner. Yes, it was a stressful week, filled with lots of tears, prayers and asking God why this is happening, when he created mommy's to be able to feed their babies in the first place. To make the long story very short, God protected Wyatt, He is bringing the billiruben numbers down (slowly) and I am still able to nurse him, despite the hindrance I am causing for him. God is faithful and we praise Him for working in this situation as we have walked through it.
Here he is at the hospital laying on his "blue" bed. He was such a good boy and really put up with a lot in his first week of life. In case you didn't know, his name means "little warrior" and we know he is already living up to his name!
Eyes open, how sweet!
These were taken in the hospital when he was soaking up the rays from the sun and I think they are so precious. I love daddy's hands wrapped around his sweet body.
Some of you may not have heard the story of finding out we were expecting Wyatt. Ted got down on his knees in early February and asked the Lord to open my womb. Just a few weeks later we discovered we were expecting another baby! I can only think of the verse in 1 Samuel 1:28, "For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him." And we are learning as Hannah in the bible learned that we must give this child (and all of our children) back into the Lord's hands for his care every day of his life. Thank you Jesus for entrusting us with this incredible gift.
He's even got a little smirk... He knows he's a miracle!

Going Home Day

2010-11-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here is our little man a smilin' and dreamin' on Sunday morning, two days old. So young, yet we are so in love with him already!
This was the incredible view I woke up to on Sunday morning, the day we took our little buddy home with us. Steve Green has an old song that has a line in it which says, "Oh, His love is written all across the sky..." And oh BOY was it written all across the sky on this day!One thing I love about the hospital is there is always great light coming in the windows... and I had to take advantage of this sweet Daddy and Son moment.

And then made Ted capture on of Mommy and Son too!
When we got home there was no rest for the weary as the girls were looking forward to the Happy Harvest party at the local church (Halloween alternative) taking place that night! The girls were excited to wear their pioneer costumes!
And did you know that I was sewing Hannah's costume just before I went into labor? Nothing like waiting until the last minute to get it done! Uff Dah!
The girls thought it was super fun to put him in this basket...
Our super cute children!

He's Here!

2010-10-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well, after much waiting and anticipation, our new little buddy is finally here! You'll have to excuse the order of pics... we girls had our toes painted on Wednesday afternoon in preparation for buddy coming and were planning on showing you our cute toes before he came... And then he came before we could show you our toes...

Wyatt Daniel was born on Friday morning at 6:07am weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 19 1/2 inches!

Happy, proud and exhausted parents!

New big sisters come to admire the new little man on the block.

Can you tell they had a long night too? Our dear friends came to pick them up at 3am so we could get to the hospital!

We were all surprised that he does not have tons of dark hair like the girls both did...

But we love his squishy cheeks and think his hair may have some red in it!

Mother and Son!

Life is good after a bath and some time under the warmer!

Nice double chin... looks like he didn't get the proper nutrition in the womb or something!

Oh, we are so excited to finally be able to hold this little miracle in our arms and kiss him!

Sugar and Spice

2010-10-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

Emelia made this super cute turkey for me a few weeks ago when we thought the buddy was going to come too early and I was "sort of" on bed rest. She found the idea in a magazine and all of a sudden brings this to me while I'm laying on the couch. Super Sweet!Emelia has been taking a sewing class once a month and this is her latest project, making an apron - good job Millie! Now she keeps talking about how she needs her own machine (and that I won't share mine) as well as pointing out how our machine is so loud and the others are sooo quiet (and a lot more expensive too!) Well, in my defense I am willing to share, it's just that she decides she wants to sew just when I settle in to work on something important. (Like Hannah's Happy Harvest costume that has to get done by Sunday!) However, if my dearest hubby just wants to buy me one of those fancy quilting machines... I'd be happy to hand my machine down to Miss Mille and I'd even throw in a pair of ear muffs for her to drown out the noise...
Hmm... sweet or spicy? I think mostly spicy these days, but this was taken a few weeks ago when we managed to make a pan of Apple Crunch with apples from the orchard. We Westies have decided we don't like oatmeal in our "Crisps" and I found this recipe for an Apple Crisp type recipe that does not have oatmeal. Not that we are opposed to oatmeal, just not in our fruit cobbler type desserts. Anyways, this is just me taking advantage of my temporary table which is even larger now. Although my table is kind of feisty and he likes to kick at anything that presses in on his territory. I have no idea where the feisty comes from and I keep telling him that if he doesn't like it, well why doesn't he come out where there's a lot more room! Uff Dah!
And here's another sweetie... helping Mommy make homemade applesauce a few weeks ago. Don't worry, I gave her a pretty dull knife and she enjoyed cutting up the apples for the sauce. We used Haralson and thought it turned out awesome. Matter of fact, that sounds YUMMY... I think I'll have to thaw out a container for tomorrow! The apples cook down a lot and you don't get many containers, but it's fun to do it yourself and great to know it's all natural with no preservatives, etc.

Girls Day Out

2010-10-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Back in August we girls had a special day out before starting school. We went to the American Girl store, which has a restaurant where you can bring your dolls with for a special meal or party. Hannah was super excited as this was her first time. (Emelia got to go last summer with her friend from Iowa!) They saved their money up for the past year so that they could pick out something special and were excited to go shopping too! (What girl doesn't like shopping?)
They make your meal very memorable by providing special chairs for the dolls to sit in and even serve cups with pink lemonade and "Dessert" for your doll. Emelia loved pouring the lemonade and helping her doll drink it up. (As well as eating the whipped cream with sprinkles!)
And here's one of the happy shoppers after her purchase. She decided on a boy bitty baby since she's looking forward to her brother arriving. (I'M STARTING TO THINK THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN! - OOPS, EXCUSE THE RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A VERY LARGE MAMA!)
And here we are just a few nights ago squeezing in one last tea party before the boy arrives. Please excuse the pathetic looking woman on the left. We all really thought he was gonna make his appearance this weekend and had fun with a quick tea party on Friday night. He (as of this moment) still has no intentions of coming out, but the food was yummy and the girls helped out a lot to make our party fun. And in case you are thinking that I am super amazing to put on a tea party at such a late stage of pregnancy, HA! Those cute cookies - STORE BOUGHT cookie dough (Great Grandma would be horrified!) and the frosting was leftover and I found it in the freezer! But hey, the girls had no less fun so hip-hooray!

Cranky

2010-10-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

I went to the Doctor today and he said I am not dilating at all (or thinning out, etc.). With Hannah I had already been dilated to a 2 and 75% thinned out for a week. He then said, "Well, those third children, they always do everything differently." Thanks for the encouragement. As in, the third child will probably come two weeks late or something? Well, I left the office very cranky today. And I know those of you who have gone overdue don't feel a bit of sympathy for me, but in my defense I weigh more than I did for either of the girls, so I'm carrying around a lot of weight here... I told the girls that Mommy is cranky today, it's nothing to do with them, but that they better not push any buttons. So far they've done pretty well and the crabby "torpedo" has not launched off yet. I am looking for a substitute teacher though... please call if interested:)

So in celebration of not dilating, I've been making soup all day today (as well as yesterday). I figure I might as well get some food made and frozen so we have something to eat once this buddy does arrive. Except that I'm in such pain now that I can barely walk. No pain, no gain they say, I guess.

So, here's me and Mr. T this weekend when I was not crabby. We took Hannah to the apple orchard since Emelia was invited to go horse camping with friends and Oompa for 4 whole days. Hannah got this nice shot of us in the corn maze. I'll post some pics of the actual apple picking fun later. Gotta go nurse my crabbiness in a bowl or three of soup. Along with maybe several candy bars or something...

Torpedos and Submarines

2010-10-11T20:54:00.001-07:00

My dear hubby was in the Navy, you know. And they say that it never quite gets all out of their system... So, about a month ago I was showing him my belly and he said, "Wow, it looks like a torpedo!" And then just a few weeks ago he said, "That's no torpedo, that's the WHOLE SUBMARINE!!!" I tried not to take it personally, but honestly I feel like the WHOLE SUBMARINE these days. These pics were taken last week on my 36 week mark, and I don't find them especially attractive, but I think they provide some evidence that Mr. T is right in his assessments. Except that I can' t help thinking that my lady family and friends may have a more delicate way of stating it to a woman in such a fragile state of mind...

Cowgirl Princesses

2010-10-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

Emelia recently had her end of the year show at the place where she takes horse riding lessons in the summer. Hannah very occasionally takes a lesson, but prefers dancing over riding. However, she decided she wanted to join in the fun for the show. Emelia's horse teacher puts on a very fun show with the kids where they get to show off their skills and have fun doing games on the horses.

Here I go mom, aren't I super cute? (YES!)

In this game you ride down to a barrel, then hop off and run with your horse back to the starting line as fast as you can. It was a stitch to watch my little pip-squeak doing this event because she's so short, ran so fast and is normally terrified of the horses when she's looking up at them from the ground! (Hey, anything for a ribbon, right!?)

This one's kinda blurry, but the expression on her face was priceless as she got her ribbons and realized, Oh, I should show these off to my fan club (Daddy, Mommy, and Grandparents)

One proud little rider...

And now for our tried and true cowgirl... riding on Spirit!

Giddy-Up! No time for pictures Mom, this is serious business!

Emelia did not do any bareback riding for the show, but this girl has amazing balance on a horse. (She gets that from her mommy:)) The week that the students all had to ride bareback Emelia was the only student who did not fall off of her horse - Wow!

I don't think I ever get bored of seeing the delight in her when she rides... And so far, she doesn't ever seem to not be delighted to ride! I wonder if that's how God feels when we are doing the things he has gifted us to do...

Nice Riding pretty girl!

I think this one is my favorite picture of the day... Millie with her ribbons and one of her super happy smiles (with just a hint of her spunk mixed into that smile). Can you see it?

So proud of both of my girls! Can't wait to see if Buddy Boy likes to saddle up too!

My Super Cute Son!

2010-10-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, here he is... our super cute son! It's kind of hard to see, but this is a profile view taken of Buddy this morning. They got a new ultra sound machine and made me a cd of a few pics so I could share them with you. It's hard to see when he has gotten so big, but I can tell he's really cute. And I am not biased in any way, shape or form. Doctor says all looks good and now it's just wait and see when he feels like making his grand arrival! Considering how much weight I apparently gained in the past 7 days (I KNOW THE SCALE WAS WRONG) I think any time now would be a good time! Oh, I just can't wait to kiss that sweet face!

What is it?

2010-10-02T21:22:00.001-07:00

What is it with children and umbrella's? The love them and they are so good at destroying them so quickly when given to them to play with. So for the past year I only buy them at the dollar store since I get sick of spending money on them to have them broken the next week. And after the dollar store version ones got broken, I just told the girls, "Well a little rain never hurt anyone! You are not going to melt!"

Well, I finally decided I was being a bit crazy and we should probably have at least one umbrella in the house, so I decided to "splurge" on a Wal-Mart version. I gave them a long lecture about how this is not a toy, blah, blah, blah... I did let them walk to the mailbox with it while it was raining so they could test it out, and here's the smiles I got. They look like they are just ready to join Mary Poppins for a spin down the lane!

Sewing...

2010-10-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm still managing to get in a bit of sewing here and there, and I know my days are now few until I'll be taking a sewing break for awhile. I still have a list a mile long of what I wanted to have done before buddy arrives, but of course it never gets all done (or even close). These purses were suppose to be Christmas gifts for the girls, but Emelia got a new bible from church and really wanted a nice bible case for it. Well, I happened to know that the bible fits into the small version of the Amy Butler "Frenchy Bag" and it was going to save me about $40 to just finish these and give them to the girls now (cuz of course Hannah would have to have a new bible case too, you know...) Emelia's is the teal and browns and Hannah's the green floral.
And these two quilts were made for two little girls who have never slept on real beds in their whole life until just a week or two ago when they were given a new home and new beds to sleep on. I was asked to be a part of the project and it was truly a joy to sew these blankets for two special girls. The younger one loves purple, pink butterflies and ballerinas.
The older girl likes the brighter, funky colors as she is a pre-teen. I think I must have done ok, since Emelia was in love with the finished product and has been whining about wanting one just like it for herself for the past two weeks. Well, I'll have to find something to make to replace the purses I was going to give them, so we'll have to see...
I've also been making some burp rags but I'm waiting to try them out to see if they work well or not. I made them out of flannel and have a friend who says flannel is great for burp rags. I'll have to keep you posted on that one.

First Day of School!

2010-10-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been going for awhile now, but here's some pics from our first day of school! We've decided to start school in the basement this year since we have not been able to complete our window project in the 3 season porch (the original school room) and it starts getting a bit too chilly to do school in the porch around the time I am due to have baby boy! (IE - not a good time to be moving all the school stuff... I'll be busy just trying to keep everyone fed and sleeping!) Looks like some happy students ready to learn, hugh? Emelia is now in 3rd grade, starting her 2nd year homeschooling with Mommy!
And Hannah is super excited to be in Kindergarten this year!
My two sweet girls. Boy am I thankful for them and that I have this opportunity to be their Mommy and teacher.
Emelia loves to read (and is an excellent reader) and is doing a great job working hard in all subjects and being a helper to me when I need it. I think her favorite subject is snack and play/break time, but a close second is art and science! She might grumble about daily handwriting but she has beautiful penmanship already!
Hannah is just so happy to be a part of school, she is happy with most anything we are doing for school. She does seem to really enjoy math (and reminds me when we have not done a math lesson in a few days - WOW) and loves to do the daily calendar (which she reads to us with her long pointer).

12 Dollars!

2010-09-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

I've always loved these sweet white canopies that you can put up for your girls rooms... secretly if I ever get to be a little girl again, I want one for my bed for sure! There's something magical about them... it just awakens the princess inside of me... (I guess she's probably been awake for years already...) Anyways, whenever I find them they don't seem particularly inexpensive, and buying two obviously doubles the cost... Until about a year ago I found these sheer netting curtains at Ikea for I think about 5 dollars for a set of two. I bought two sets and planned to surprise the girls by making them into canopies at some time. Well, about a year later and I finally get them done (quick before they don't want a princess room anymore!)All I did was bunch up the top of the curtains in my hand and tied a piece of elastic around the bunch, which created the "poof". I screwed a hook into the ceiling and hooked the elastic onto the hook. I had also found these spools of pretty ribbon in the dollar section at Target and bought two sets. The ribbons were kind of short, but I strung them through the elastic and like the bit of color it adds to the top anyways.
Here are the princesses waiting for their surprise...
I'm thinking they like their new canopies!
The bedding was also a deal... found at TJ Maxx and I made the matching throw blankets by cutting a sheet in half. All is well in princess land, except that Emelia says now she wants a funky green and purple room! Uff Dah! She may have to wait a few years for that wish to come true! So, in all I think this was a 12 dollar project (woo-hoo!) and now I can try to focus on getting buddy's room ready... While laying on the couch, right?! I promise I did not crawl into the attic today, and even am enforcing slave labor, having my children sweep floors and empty garbage cans...

Today Is...

2010-09-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

Hannah started Kindergarten (Homeschool) this year and I wanted to make it fun by having a daily chart for her. I had seen one in a catalog that was much smaller than this one and planned to order it. However with shipping it was going to be almost 40 dollars... which is a lot these days, right?

Well, I happened to be perusing the dollar store in August when I came across these sets of cards that had the days of the week, months, etc. and then a sewing idea hit my mind... I wonder if I could make a chart myself for less? I went to JoAnn Fabrics and found red vinyl for the background and also bought clear vinyl to sew on pockets. The ladies there recommended using my widest stitch setting so as to not perforate the vinyl (great idea!) I used heavy upholstery thread and placed the pockets on with masking tape before sewing. I think my total cost was somewhere in the 13 to 15 dollar range and I'm super happy with how it turned out. Hannah loves her chart and is very proud to use change the cards daily and use the pointer to "read" it to me.I even had some vinyl left over for the monthly calendar and the 100's chart too!

Whoa Buddy!

2010-09-21T21:06:00.001-07:00

So, I went to the Doctor today (we're down to visits every two weeks) and he thinks baby may have dropped... which might explain why I've been feeling generally cruddier and tireder the last three days. Except that it's just a bit too early for buddy to come. My hospital won't even see me if I go into labor this week, and would have to go to another one about an hour away, which I'd rather not do. I'm not sure if our little man is excited about his sister's upcoming horse show this weekend and thinks he needs to be here to see it in person or what...

Doctor said I should take it easy, so I went right home and crawled up into the garage attic frantically searching for baby blankets and such... I have been planning on getting the room ready and slowly have been doing things here and there, but figure I have 6 weeks left! I know, I know I should not have crawled up there, but I was careful and Emelia did help me get the stuff down. Yes, I did get in trouble with my hubby when he got home too. I promise I won't go up there again until after little man arrives:) But I was happy to find some neutral blankets, the changing pads I thought I had thrown out (which you can't find in stores anymore!) and the sheets for the cradle. So at least I should be able to get the cradle ready in the next day or two in case our little cowboy does decide to arrive soon.

Starting tomorrow I have to take it easy... not sure if I'm so good at this, but will try. The girls say they will help out too... Now watch, I'll go two weeks overdue... Uff Dah!

We got a new car seat and stroller in August and the girls were super excited to try it out with the baby doll. Hannah's torn between excitement and not sure if she wants to give up her position as baby of the family. I guess we are all in for a bit of "rocking our world" coming up really soon since it's been awhile since there's been a real little baby in the house!
And yes, the stroller is definitely BOY... so I hope he still comes out with all his boyness, otherwise SHE will have to settle for a blue and brown stroller and seat! It seems that they do not make much for neutral strollers these days... its either definitely girl or boy.

The Mad Bomber

2010-09-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

If you live in Minnesota you should know what the Mad Bomber is... as in the hat you can't live without if you're gonna survive our cold winters... Actually I have never owned one, but about all the men I know do have one, including my hubby. About a week ago Ted took the girls somewhere and this is how Hannah arrived home... filthy dirty face and sound asleep in the Mad Bomber. I'm not sure how she got so dirty so quickly, or why the hat was in the car with this sweltering summer we've been having, but I guess I can say my hubby is one prepared man! And she slept quite a long time with all that sound being muffled out by layers of fur!Here's one of my recently completed projects for a friend who had a baby boy in May. I loved the fabrics and the pattern was very simple and easy to put together. The strips came cut out in the kit and I just arranged them, pieced them and did a bit of "stitch in the ditch" for the quilting part.
I just got our buddy's room painted a light blue and now I'm trying to figure out what to do with the guest bed to make it go with the crib bedding. The current spread is light pink, and I think that just won't do... (Even though I do LOVE light pink!) Stay tuned for first day of school pics coming up real soon:)

Boys Drool...

2010-08-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

At least my baby boy will be doing that very soon, I know! Anyways, since I am not technically inclined, I couldn't figure out how to put comments on the album I just posted, so the easiest thing to do it just make another post...

These pics were taken in July at JCP. Usually I take the girls pics and try to do something fun and creative for their yearly pics, but this year my body is doing all the "creating" it can handle, and the free sitting fee with my portrait card was just calling my name. I thought the lady did such a nice job we just bought the cd with all the pics on it. I decided to make an album of our last "Girls Hurrah" and thought you might like to see it, even if it is kinda small.

We just had our first day of school today and hopefully I can post some pics of that and recent sewing projects soon!

Girls Rule!

2010-08-31T20:44:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

The Jackpot!

2010-08-20T14:57:00.001-07:00

I hit the jackpot today and I just know my mom, my thrifty sister and my hubby will all be so proud of me!

I've been frustrated because I just need a few fall long sleeve tops to get me through until buddy decides to make his appearance... but there are none to be found. Most maternity places I have checked are just not getting things out yet... probably due to the wonderfully HOT weather we've been having and no one else cares about fall clothes yet. My request I feel has been simple... I just want a few long sleeve t-shirts with the ruching on the sides... they are comfy and flattering (two very important things when you are getting BIG FAST!)

So, I stopped by the local used store today (it's right next to our JoAnn Fabrics store - yay!) just to see if they had anything yet. Well, my jackpot was 5 new long sleeve tops for $22.00! Oh yeah, baby! Two of them were the kind with the ruching (just what I wanted) and all of them in colors I like to wear:) So, since one of those t-shirts at Motherhood is $25.oo and they almost never go on sale, I'm quite pumped about my jackpot:) And another added bonus is that one of them says it's a nursing top, so I'll have one shirt that will be handy now and later! Plus nursing tops are expensive and nobody buys them, right? I could just say it's my lucky day, but I know way better than that... God is in the details and I believe he cares about us so infinitely... I know he put those tops there just for me! Praise God for my jackpot!

Oh, and here's a few pics of some of my recent food cravings. I think I have been whining to Ted all summer long about just wanting a chicken sandwhich with mozzarella cheese, pineapple and ranch dressing on top... Of course there is never one of these on the menu. Well, when we had our getaway a few weeks ago, lo and behold, a chicken sandwhich with pineapple... YUMM DELISH! It was missing the ranch and cheese, but hey it was a great compromise:)
And with all of our children I have craved watermelon. If you put it in front of me I probably won't even share with you, or my kids! One night we didn't want to spend a million bucks to eat dinner out so we went to the grocery store and this is what looked good to me. Since we were in a hotel room I could not really cut it up, so a plastic spoon did the job just fine. And no, I did not share with Ted. (But I did share with my growing boy:)) Oh, looking at this pic just makes me want more... I think there's still some in the fridge!
Oh and here's a random pic of a purple cone flower we saw at a flower garden while on our getaway... I love cone flowers and they seem to be thriving despite the intolerable heat. Way to be persistent! A good reminder for all of us to hang in there...

My New Diaper Bag!

2010-08-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

OK, here it is... my new diaper bag that I sewed recently for our newest family member, who is set to arrive around the first part of November. Yep, that's right, it's a bouncing baby BOY!

I cannot tell you how shocked we were to find out this news. That might sound silly to some, but we really didn't think it possible to have a boy. You see, I am from a family of all girls and so far me and my sisters have all had GIRLS! I kept asking the doctor, are you SURE? He said that the picture of his boyness was the clearest he's ever seen... and he's been delivering babies for awhile!

So, after the initial shock I have slowly warmed up to the idea that my pink reign has to end. To start the celebration of more manliness in the West household, I made a cute (or should I say handsome?) bag of browns and blues to tote all of his stuff in. (Hey any excuse to make a new purse is a good excuse!)

I've also made him the most soft and snuggly blanket from a fabric called minky that I will try to post soon. It's so cuddly though that I think he will have to share it with mommy... (and I've found the girls already trying to steal it too!)

I just cracked out the blue paint today, as our guest room is currently the most lovely shade of pink... but that just won't work for our little buckaroo. That's right a cowboy for the Wests, how fun. We've been dreaming up cowboy names and you can feel free to submit your ideas just for fun! It's hard to decide on a good boy name! And mom, YES, I have your submission already (GEORGE STRAIT)! I did start this bag with a pattern, but altered it quite a bit to get the bag you see here. I added the blue strip on the top, quilted it to make it more durable and added pockets to the inside for diaper and wipe compartments. I kinda want to use it now but I better just be patient!

Well, it's time to get this mama off to bed because Mr. Cowboy seems to be a night owl and likes to groove as soon as I lay down! He's even woken me up at night with his line dancin' and foot stompin':)

Cowboys and Pirates

2010-08-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

And speaking of men who work hard, here's another man that is also one of the hardest working men I've ever known. Ted has had the privilege of riding in a couple of rodeo's this summer with one of our friends from church who has horses and invited Ted to join in the fun. And talk about stress relief for someone who works so hard... Can you tell he is totally in his glory here? Yes, if Ted and Emelia have it their way land and horses are not too far off in our future... He says its thrilling to be in the ring even though it is for only a few minutes at a time. I think its almost as much fun the see the joy on his face as it is when we see it on our children's faces.

Oh, and here were some of our on-lookers for the event. Cowgirls and pirates..

I think he's still looking for his ship or something...

Ted and the girls also got to take a quick spin on the horses in between events.

Its hard to see Hannah but she is on Ted's horse with him.

Daddy with his girls...

And Oompa even got to take a quick spin on Jett!

Daddy-O

2010-08-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

The girls and I stopped by my dad's job site last week to see what he's been up to. He has his own excavating business and the girls have always been impressed by Oompa's big machines and that he can run them all by himself. I've always been proud of that fact too. He is one of the most hard working men I know and I know that his hard work and dedication bring such honor and glory to the Lord. Here are the three thinkers all deep in thought about the work to be done...
Oompa let the girls crawl through the "tunnels" for a few minutes and they loved it!

Me and my Daddy-o!

Pioneer Girl

2010-08-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

In March Emelia was invited to join her cousins for a day at a pioneer school up in the cities. The girls were to dress in pioneer outfits and bring their lunches in a pie tin with a towel or basket. Since we did not have pioneer clothes Mommy stayed up into the wee hours sewing one night to "git' er' done". This was right in the middle of my pukey pregnancy stage and I still think its insane that I did it! But, what we won't do for our kids, right? Actually we had been planning to make pioneer outfits already, so it was a good excuse to put the pedal to the metal. Except that Hannah's outfit is still at the stage of "washed fabric". Meaning that is all the further I have gotten on hers. The fabric is washed and neatly folded...Anyways, Emelia wanted her outfit to look like the Kirsten American Girl, who came from Sweden to live in Minnesota.
I'm happy with how it turned out and even happier that she has put it on a few times since to play pioneer.
Here she is with her cousins all ready and waiting for the school "marm" to ring the bell for school to start.
She had a great time and got to see what it was like to go to school in the "olden days".

Locks of Love

2010-08-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

Back in February Miss Hannah decided to have her hair cut off for Locks of Love. She was born with a lot of hair and it has always grown very fast! Here is a before shot of all her long glorious hair...Are you sure you want to do this, little girl? Yep, she's sure. When she makes up her mind there's almost no changing it!
Here we go... First they put it into a braid.
Snip, Snip!
Now for some stylin' and dryin'...
Oh, my goodness, what a cutie! I can't tell if she looks more grown up or more like a "little girl". She was quite proud of her braided ponytail!
And sissy decided to join in the fun for a cut too!

Sunsets and Silhouettes

2010-08-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

Just last week my honey and I got away for a few days of R&R before baby #3 arrives. My awesome cousin and her hubby let us stay at their lovely lake home in northern Minnesota. I hardly think there is any other place in the world so wonderful as northern Minnesota. Yes, I am biased, but I love the smell of pine trees and a sunset on any one of our 10,000 lakes is almost always majestic! Thank you God for creating Minnesota!Mr. T got a few chances to throw out a line from the dock and I enjoyed capturing these peaceful moments he had. These will be good to look at in the middle of January when baby is screaming in the middle of the night and it's like 80 below zero outside! (OK, so you can't have it all in MN, but it still is mostly GREAT!)
And while I watched the sunset and Mr. Fisherman I got the great idea that he might like to take a picture of my silhouette too! (He loves being forced to be the photographer:)) I'd say he did a mighty fine job, hugh? The only YIKES part is that I still have 3 months to go. I'm pretty sure I will look like a beluga whale soon, and some of my summer clothes are getting TIGHT! Uff Dah as we say up nort' here!
Oh, and you still want to know what we are having? Well, I just finished my diaper bag and I will show it to you soon and let you take a WILD GUESS as to what kind of baby we are working hard on growing! I'll give you a hint... it is for sure a boy or a girl! Yes, I'm getting kind of sassy in my stage of largeness, I know. Until next time...

Drum Roll Please...

2010-07-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

OK, I think it' high time I let you know something we've been hiding for quite awhile... Actually, if you happen to live near me, it's not something that is really easy to hide! My real excuse for being such a horribly pathetic blogger this spring and summer is that we are expecting a baby this fall! We had started to fill out adoption paperwork this winter and then God put a hold on that plan when we found out about this surprise in late February!This is me at 20 weeks... Tomorrow I will be 26 weeks, wow! Time is really flying now, but it did not fly in March, April and May when I laid on the couch most of the time. Emelia was a great helper to me and she got lots of Mommy training for when she has a home of her own someday:) She is also the photographer of these pics... I wonder where she gets such talent?
So far the pregnancy has gone well with nothing major to complain about. I have noticed some differences, being just a FEW years older this time! Honestly I cannot complain because I feel just so honored that God would choose to allow me one more time to carry life inside of me. I know some of you know that ache of not being able to ever carry a child or know the pain of never carrying to full term. We ourselves have had a few babies that never made it full term and I think it just makes me more thankful for what we have and this blessing of another baby. It has been a little confusing at the same time, saying, God I thought you wanted us to adopt a child... But we know He is in control and He is the life giver. In any event I am trying to cherish each day with my girls, knowing that in a few short weeks life as we know it will change again. And feeling those sweet kicks is one of my greatest treasures that I will never tire of.

Oh, so you want to know what kind of baby? Yes, we did find out this time. But you'll have to stay tuned, otherwise how will I keep you coming back for more?

Sweet Peaches and Honey Buns

2010-07-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

Here's the sweet peaches and honey buns that I was talking about...Miss Celine...
And Miss Lola being held by Princess Hannah (who is always dressing up as fancy as she can...)

Did you know that this child asked for the book Pinkalicious for her birthday? Yep, begged for it!

A Few Stitches...

2010-07-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a bit of sewing... not as much as I'd like to, but I have managed to complete a few baby blankets for friends and family who have all been so blessed with new babies of late! This first one was for a friend from Iowa who had a baby boy at the end of January. She likes blues and browns. (So do I!)And this one was for my new niece Miss Lola! She was born at the beginning of March and is a sweet honey buns for sure! I'm actually super happy that I had lots of left over squares from this project and look forward to making something with them!
And if one sweet niece was not enough, Miss Celine joined the clan at the end of March! Miss Celine is a tiny itty bitty super yummy peach, especially next to her big brother Z! Ohh, so lucky to have all this sweetness in one family:) I also made a matching bumper pad and skirt to go with this quilt, but forgot to take a picture! The prints have kind-of a 70's feel to them. Very fun and I've got scraps left over from this project too.
Yeah, so the problem is that I have been accumulating some new fabrics... not exactly sticking to my new years goals... I guess it's no time like the present to remind myself of my goals. Next week Ted and I are getting away to northern MN and I plan to take my machine along. Maybe I can get back to some of those nice half done projects just waiting for me to finish them.

I did also make a really neat baby boy blanket for another friend, but you will have to wait a few weeks to see that one since she may just be reading this. I can say it was a really quick pattern and I LOVE how it turned out. Stay tuned for more sewing updates and riddle solutions...

Riddles...

2010-07-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

I wonder if I still have any followers? I won't blame you if you have given up all hope of me ever blogging again. I have a really good explanation. Really. GOOD! But first you have to play a game with me. Can you guess what the photo is of that I have just below? If you are in the "in crowd" you can't play this game... You know who you are...Ohh, Me, Me, I know, I know!
You will have to come back tomorrow and I will explain to you the artistic wonders of the image...

Long Time, No Speak...

2010-06-13T21:24:00.001-07:00

How! Long time no speak... Yeah, I kinda fell off the face of the earth for a little while. I think it's that homeschooling thing. Now that we are done for the summer (Praise the LORD!) I can finally do things like catching up on laundry, cleaning the toilets and tub (PLEASE!) and catching up with you! The girls made these costumes sometime in January and had fun putting the beads around the bottom. A little "Indian" dance just for you! And I think I am safe to say Indian and not Native American since I am (some part) probably from the Sioux tribe. Although I did not consult the Chief on that, so I may be wrong...
Haya, Haya.... Let's see, a Red Head and a Blondie, they don't look too tribal to me, but they sure can act it!
More pics and posts coming soon... I promise!

Not so funny...

2010-02-17T12:21:00.001-08:00

Preface: I have been given permission by said man mentioned below to share with you his recent humiliation and pictures were taken with express permission of said man.

Wanted: Red headed man who went in for a trim, but left the "beauty parlor" with a buzz job. A very bad buzz job. Have you seen this man anywhere?
He is quite harmless and a great daddy to two adorable girls. He works hard at the local ethanol plant and loves coffee and his wife. His only flaw is impatience when it comes to needing a hair cut. He simply could not wait until Monday when his regular lady was available... and this is what happened...
He came home begging me not to be mad about his haircut (while donning a cap to cover up the "new do"). He claims that he did not know what was happening until the very end... He did not have his glasses on and the lady had turned him around in the chair so he could not see what was happening.... (Never mind the feeling of having all of your hair shaved off the top of your head...) The most crazy part is that the lady told him towards the end that if the cut was not just what he wanted he could come back to his regular lady for a tune up the next week. (What is left to "tune up"?) When he finally took off his cap to show us, Emelia and I had such a hard laugh we were crying!
I think I am in big trouble... I am sorry honey... I promise to never to that again... At least until the next time my hair is too long and I can't wait until Monday...
So, then he says, well, maybe it will look better when I wash it... it always looks better when you style it yourself... Hmmm, I wonder? My best guess is that we will be singing Cock-A-Doodle-Doo about the time we leave for Jamaica in 3 weeks!
But, I promised to stay with my man, for better or worse... even bad haircuts:)

Funny!

2010-02-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

I was correcting some of Emelia's Language worksheets yesterday and came across a couple of answers that just made me crack up. I thought you might like something to make you smile on this Wednesday!

Name two reasons why the Liberty Bell is important to you.

A: "The Liberty Bell is important to me because I love the verse on it and because it is important to everone ells in the world."

Why do you think the eagle is our national bird?

A: "Because it looks big like our flag and because it looks serious."

Christmas Fun!

2010-02-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

OK, so I know Christmas was a long time ago, but Hey, better late than never... The girls had fun making Haystacks, something I made with my mom when I was a kid! As you can see, someone got to lick the spoon...
One really neat family tradition that my parents started when I was a kid was to buy us a new ornament each Christmas so that when we got married we had a set of ornaments to start out our new family tree with. Isn't that a great idea? My favorite ornament to this day is still my "Baby's First Christmas" ornament. Anyways, we have continued the tradition with the girls. This year Emelia got a horse... (I wonder why?)
And Hannah got a ballerina!
We all had a lot of sickness in December and the kids could not play outside much. (Hannah had H1N1 and pneumonia at the same time, uff dah! It was a stressful week!) So, one day Emelia was well and could play outside, but Hannah could not. So, I got her a bowlful of snow and let her make it different colors with food coloring. She thought that was very cool! (Literally!)

"They're driving me up a wall"...

2010-02-16T21:38:00.001-08:00

So, have your kids been driving you up a wall? Mine just climb up the wall themselves... This is Miss Emelia getting in her "gymnastics" in between the dining room and the kitchen. She came out a monkey and still is! We all can't wait until spring!

Sewing Report

2010-01-24T21:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, you have been wondering if I have been a good girl with my sewing, hugh? Well, yes, mostly I have been very good. We decided to move the home school room to the basement about two weeks ago since it was too much chaos in the dining room. I originally did not want to be in the basement and did not want to share my sewing room space. (Nice, she's 33 and has not learned to share!) But it has turned out to be a wonderful decision for many reasons. We do have two windows down there which lets in quite a bit of light during the day. We can turn the gas fireplace on which warms it up really quickly and makes for a very cozy school room. (Just like the olden days... one room school house with a fire!) It is much easier for certain students and teachers to concentrate down in the basement away from all of the other distractions (like sinks full of dirty dishes!). And the best reason for moving school to the basement... I am getting to sew! Wah-hoo!

What happens is when Emelia has a worksheet or something that requires her to work on her own, I leap over to my sewing desk and put the peddle to the metal! It may even be only a few seams I get done, but a stitch here and there and look at what I have completed: (okay, so some of this has been done in evenings when the chillins are in bed)

Finished two half done flannel bags

Finished an adorable mini diaper bag (girly colors)

Sewed 8 pouches for a certain birthday gift for a certain Father-in-law (hopefully he doesn't see this before his birthday!)

Sewed a mini quilt for Hannah's preschool play area (she has since retired from preschool, but that's another story and I have to keep my promise that I'd make the quilt!)

Sewed a mini pillow to match the quilt (just needs stuffing and its done!)

Almost finished with a tiered skirt I have had cut out for 2 years or so for myself

Started a baby boy quilt for a friends baby who will be born next week!

Finished sewing a small tablecloth for the play table in the girls room

Sewed a really fun flannel quilt for my biological father, who I just met last weekend for the first time in my life (another long story!)

So, are you proud? And the only fabric I have purchased is for the baby boy quilt for my friend, which I promise you was a need! How is it going with your new years goals?

In case you are curious about this quit I made for my bio father, you cut two 9 inch squares from flannel (cotton works too) and then a 7 inch square of batting. Place the batting in between the two pieces of flannel and sew an X across the four corners. Make a bunch of these and then sew them together in rows, making a 1 in seam with the raw edges facing up. Sew the rows together and then start clipping all the seams. (Don't forget to sew a one inch seam all the way around the outer edges too) Then wash the blanket (yes, wash it!) and be careful to make sure you watch when the water is draining (the pieces coming off the fabric from "fraying it" totally filled up my drain sock!). Then dry it on hot and check the lint trap often as well. It will turn into a chenille look on all the seams. Click on the pics to see better details of before and after.

The final product! Very fun, he loved it and now I want one for our three season porch or for a picnic blanket. But I'm out of flannel and better get some more projects on my list done first!

Redeemed... sort of...

2010-01-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

OK, so just a few mornings later I awoke and could hear the girls talking in their bedroom. Emelia was teaching Hannah to memorize the words of John 3:16. How sweet! For about 5-10 minutes I could hear Emelia saying, "Hannah, say, For God.... so loved... the world...." and Hannah would repeat, "For God... so loved... the world..." My firstborn was hiding the word of the Lord in my second born's heart... how precious! Just making sure her little sister knows the way to heaven... what a tender loving sister.

Oh, thank you Jesus. My sweet big girl has redeemed herself... Sort of!

A few days after hearing such sweet words to my ears we went to the local ice skating rink for some gym time. The girls had a blast and we had the rink all to ourselves. But then on the way out we were walking down a long hallway to the exit. All of a sudden a door opened up and all of these huge (stinky) hockey players started pouring out of the doors, one after another, after another. And what did my sweet daughter say? "Oh MOM, LOOK - HOCKEY PLAYERS!" That's it, she's gonna be locked up for the next 20 years minimum!

Lord, Help Me!

2010-01-14T22:56:00.001-08:00

Yeah, so we were driving home from dance lessons tonight and the girls were happily conversing (mostly) while I was tuning them out listening to music or just thinking....

And then all of a sudden what came out of my eldest daughter's mouth perked up my ears really fast. I heard her say, "...Look, it's teenage boys..." and she starts knocking on our windows!

Oh, mercy me, my heart almost stopped! I looked to my left and there beside me was a car with (sure enough) two teenage boys sitting in it! UFF DAH! UFF DAH MAYA! Ummm, is my daughter 8 1/2 or 16 1/2? I immediately said, EMELIA! STOP THAT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Hello, I thought I was homeschooling and that my children were going to be nice sheltered kids... And we go to a baptist church for heaven's sake! Somebody help me, please! Honestly, I am not ready for that phase of my life. And she is 8, as in EIGHT, as in sweet, innocent...

OK, yes, I am starting to hyperventilate and I can hear you all telling me to breathe. That's right, breathe in and out, slowly. And while I am breathing Ted, lock that girl in the closet. O.K. dad, now I know what you mean about "You can't date until you are married". I like the sounds of that. Or, "You can't date until you are 30!"

Oh, what is this world a comin' to? Come soon, sweet Jesus, come soon! And to my dear sweet hubby, maybe we should get that girl a horse as soon as possible! (Some lady told us in a tack store once that havin' a horse for a girl helps keep her mind off the boys...)

I have a disease...

2010-01-07T13:14:00.001-08:00

I am not really sure what it is called, but maybe Fabric-itis. Or maybe a more accurate (humbling) diagnosis would be to say I have an addiction... to fabric. Thankfully its a legal addiction as far as I am aware. (Emelia did inform me this morning that it is illegal in Kentucky to have an ice cream cone in your pocket...) I love to walk into a fabric store and dream up the possibilities of what a particular set of prints could become. My beloved husband was the one who helped me to see this love sometime last year when he pointed out that I "like" to take pictures (a lot), but that it does stress me out when I do it as a "business", but that I love to sew and it does not stress me out. Wow, what an observation! Yes, it does not stress me out, except when I want to buy more than I should...

So, as I was reflecting on last year and looking forward to this new year I had to come to a point of confession. I have a lot of fabric and I am really not getting much sewed these days with all the homeschooling and just life. So, I decided I should make a master list of all the projects that I have fabric for and maybe make some sort of rule like, I can't buy more fabric unless I get x number of items completed. Well, with the length of my list, I probably should not buy fabric for several years... but I tell you it's my disease...

Part of me does not want to tell you how many items are on my list, but the other part wants to just so I can have some accountability out there. Maybe a support group, you know, like AA? Fabrics Anonymous, here we come! Yep, I have 73 items on my list and a list of 15 more chunks of various fabrics that don't have a specific project assigned to them. And what makes it worse is that many of the "projects" are not single items... it's it like, "sew Felicity costumes for Emelia and Hannah or sew bed skirts for their beds... I could not separate them out, that was just too depressing.

On the positive side, you will be happy to know that the fabric is all organized and stacked neatly in a nice shelving unit with doors. And now I have a master list, which I will prioritize and post in a prominent place. And another lady and I have started a monthly craft night at church and you can guess what I will be bringing each month. It works out great that there is a fabric night this Friday... hallelujah!

Here's a couple of things I finished for Christmas gifts recently. This is a quilt for Emelia's BFF who lives in Iowa. She loved it and Emelia did help with cutting and sewing a few squares. I still need to make matching pillow cases to send her, but these could be next years gift or for her birthday!
And my "little buddy" nephew got this cowboy quilt for his cowboy room. It is hard to see the prints, but the cowboy print was sooo adorable and the red fabric had little horse shoes all over it. I tried to do the quilting in a lasso design, which I think turned out pretty well.
I can't tell you what the agenda is for Friday's sewing, because some of you will be the recipients of Christmas gifts next year. I will try to post some pics of items as I complete them. Well, now it's on to the next item, sorting through the paper stack that grew huge over the lat two weeks of celebrating Christmas. So, now its your turn - what is your disease?

My New Purse

2009-12-09T20:52:00.001-08:00

Mr. Ted went hunting for a week in the woods of Northern MN with the "Men" and left us girlies home on our own back in November. I usually go a bit crazy and do things like painting rooms, chopping down trees, etc when I am up late at night not able to sleep because he is gone.

But since we have school every day, I could not do anything too crazy. My whylie hair did get the best of me one day and I stopped at my favorite quilting store (with the girls, who ran around the store like wild Indians... I can say that because I am Indian, you know...). I picked out this awesome pattern by Amy Butler, called the Frenchy Bag and picked out these fun funky fabrics. I told myself that if I did not stay up and get it all done in one night, it would sit there for at least a year along with all of my other half done projects.

So, I sewed like a crazy lady until 2:30 in the morning and here is my result. I totally love my new purse and I just know you are going to try to steal it from me... Maybe if I can get another one done I will have a contest and you can win it... But don't hold your breath, we're still behind in Math, and there are presents to wrap, Christmas Cards to assemble, you know, you've got a list too!

The pattern has two sizes, this is the larger size. I like the smaller size too, it's just right for carrying a book or if you are a smaller purse lover. There are two large pockets inside, which I decided to sew down the middle of those and make into four pockets, which is perfect for cell phones, pens, etc! I may look like a grungy momma at the grocery store, but I have a totally hip Frenchy Bag now - watch out ladies!

Busy Beavers - Part 2

2009-12-09T20:37:00.001-08:00

More pioneer food sampling... (Oops, I put them in backwards again! I'm too tired to fix it though...) These are Johnny Cakes, kind of like Hasty Pudding, but slightly different ingredients and then you fry them like pancakes. We ate them with Apple Butter and Molasses (both traditional pioneer toppings). We all liked them alot!

We went to one of the apple orchards in Southern MN and picked a whole bunch of apples to make apple sauce. Here is Emelia slicing...

And Hannah doing the stirring...
Hannah decided to make Mickey Mouse ears one day, and as you can see, she is quite proud of her new "do".

Busy Beavers!

2009-12-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

I know it has been awhile... we've been very busy. The past two weeks we've been sick. Miss Hannah came down with H1N1, and then pneumonia on top of it! Thank you to those of you who have prayed for her. She has now had pneumonia 3 times in her life of 4 years, so we are learning now that we must be very careful with her when she comes down with anything. Thanks to Mr. Nebby (Nebulizer), things are looking up! And amazingly none of us got the H1N1, but I (Angela) have had a bad cold/sinus issues this week. It's really hard to get anything done when we are feeling so crummy... but here are some things we've been doing prior to being sick.The girls had a blast picking out things at the dollar store for the shoe boxes for kids less fortunate. Although there were a few moans about wanting to keep particular items for themselves :)
One day we made our own homemade ink with berries and wrote with feather pens, pretending we were pioneers.
Yummmy! Or is it Yucky? Remember Yankee Doodle? Well, the assignment on this day was to make "hasty pudding". And indeed, it was hasty, easy to make and according to Hannah delicious! (I have to say it was quite good with butter and maple syrup on it). Emelia was not such a fan of it, but was a good sport anyways. Another name for Hasty Pudding is mush, and the other day when I asked Hannah what she wanted for lunch, she said "MUSH!"
Oops, these pics got in the wrong order, but here is the final product - homemade bread!
Emelia and Hannah had a great time mashing and kneading it. We were suppose to share it with a neighbor, but I feared making someone sick, so we did the taste testing ourselves. It was great and we didn't get sick either (what a bonus!)
Making homemade play dough...
And in case you missed the great butter dance video, here's another shot of Millie doing the shaka-shaka-shaka!
Canoe's while studying the Native Americans. Did you all know that I am part Indian? I told the girls I am really Pocahontas. I think they believe me... Really, I am... but it is a really long story...
Science experiments, which Daddy loves to help out with. One bottle has yeast and sugar and one has yeast and salt. Guess which one releases the gas and blows up the balloon? You'll have to come to homeschool at our house to find out!
And now you are probably thinking what an amazing teacher I am. Not really, I'm just following directions in my lesson plans, and No, we do not have this much fun every day. This week I've been kind of a drill sargent since we didn't get much done last week. Hopefully we can dig out of all of this snow soon and get up to the cities for some fun with family and playtime with cousins!

Last Bike Ride of the Season

2009-11-14T18:50:00.000-08:00

After two months of rain, rain, rain, we had a sunny day last Saturday and took advantage of the warm Indian Summer Day by loading up our bikes and hitting the trails one last time! It felt sooo good to be out in nature peddling away. It was neat to see things that are usually hidden by all the trees now that the leaves are all off.
Hannah rides in the red "burly" type carrier with all sorts of drinks, snacks and buddies to keep her company. She wants to ride with us like a big girl, so next year we may have to come up with another alternative.
We rode 10 miles (20 total) from Welch Village to Cannon Falls. When you get into Cannon Falls there is an awesome old train station building that is a photographer's delight. I always drool over it when we pass by. I finally got the family to take a break there and smile a few times for me. Someday I'd love to do a full photo shoot there of the girls. I love the textures and colors of the old wood.
Isn't this view beautiful? It is in Welch, where we started our ride. In the summer you can also go tubing there and there is a great ice cream shop there as well:)
Now I guess it's time to put our bikes away and snuggle in for the winter. Hannah and I were working on a quilt for her today so maybe that will get me motivated to get some sewing done over the winter months. I used to hate January because it is so depressing and cold and it reminds me of the babies we have lost, but when I discovered how much sewing I can get done in January, I decided that maybe I could start to like January again.

Oh yeah, and you all would be happy to know that I managed to eat chili tonight, with my kids for dinner - what an accomplishment!

Mom's Dinner Menu - Hostess Cupcakes, Twinkies and Peanuts...

2009-11-14T01:17:00.000-08:00

Oh, what is a tired mother to do? Daddy has been gone hunting all week and us girls are going a bit crazy about now. I wanted to hang the children up by their toes this evening, but as we all know that is not acceptable, so I did what I had to do. I put them to bed and then started eating. First a chocolate hostess cupcake... you know the ones with the yummy white filling inside? Then next, a twinkie. Oh, I can feel the stress melting away now. The house is quiet and the chocolate is starting to calm me down...

So about an hour after the cupcake and twinkie, I started to wonder why I was feeling hungry. I went in search of another snack and landed upon some peanuts. Then my brain awoke and I realized that I never ate dinner. Well, I guess it turns out I ate a cupcake, a twinkie and peanuts for dinner. And then because I was such a good girl I gave myself a few candy marshmallow peanuts for dessert. (Don't tell my mom, please!)

Uff Dah. No, don't get all worked up, the kids ate a very nice well rounded meal of mixed veggies and spaghetti - ohs. But somewhere in that mix of dinner I missed the part where I am suppose to join them in the eating of the healthy food. Oops. Anyone out there, can I get an amen? Oh, Ted, please come home soon!

Now, really, we have had some fun, but 3 women in a house all week with no maleness to bring some balance? It's a setup, I tell ya!

On a happy note, us girlie's did make it to the rock climbing outing with our home school group this morning. The girls did an awesome job climbing, but guess who forgot her camera? Has that ever happened before? Not to my knowledge. Yikes! And, even mommy gave it a go at the climbing. I made it to the top two times... It made me feel like I was 15 again, climbing at Taylor's Falls with my youth group. Hopefully next time I can get a few pics of the climbers.

Sleep sweet everyone. It's time for mama bear to sign off. But maybe just one more cupcake before bed.... Just Kidding! (Okay, maybe just a bite of chocolate...)

The Butter Dance

2009-11-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

Last week we had some Pilgrim fun as we made our own homemade butter. It was so much fun... it brought back memories of when I made butter in Kindergarten! All you do is put some heavy whipping cream in a glass jar and shake, shake, shake. And just when you think it will never happen, it suddenly turns into a big glob of butter! I know that you are going to want to make your own after you watch this video:)

My Very Verbal Child

2009-11-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here correcting last weeks worksheets while Emelia is doing art. Here is a snippet from one of her worksheets that will make you smile.

"Write two sentences about what Don will do with his sled the first time it snows."

Here is her answer:

"Don got a new sled. When it snows I will go sledding. And when it snowed he got out his sled. He went down down down the big snowy hill. It was fun. His mother maid hot chocolate after. It was good. :)"

Yeah, that was 7 sentences...

This girl came out with something to say! I can't wait to see how God will use this gift as she grows!

PS - Did you catch that phonetic spelling, "maid". I think deep down she meant what she wrote, "mother maid". Aren't we all?

Fall Fun Fest!

2009-11-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

Since I am not much of a fan of Halloween, but the girls still like to dress up in costumes, we have found a great alternative at the local church called a Fall Fun Fest. They have games and candy for the kids, and it's in a safe, lighted, non-scary environment. So here they are doing the cake walk, which was Hannah's favorite game. The both were excited to win a cupcake:)You can probably tell that Hannah is a Ballerina Princess. Emelia is being the American Girl Molly. These days she loves American Girl anything. And since mom did not get the elaborate costumes sewn for them that she had hoped to (maybe next year!), Emelia the creative woman dug through the closet and came out saying, I've got a Molly costume! Yay for Emelia and Yay for Mom, who did not have to stay up until 3am the night before, sewing:)
And just who are these two adorable honey's you ask? My neice and nephew. It was Clara's first birthday last weekend and I happened to catch a shot of Clara and Zion together for their moment on the rocking chair together. And these two lucky babies are both getting a new sibling next spring. One of my sisters is due in March and one is due just a few weeks later in April. I only wish I could join the pregnancy bandwagon and say I am having one in May, but a friend of mine has taken that slot as well. I've missed the slots for June and July and probably August as well. I've always wanted a fall baby, so maybe God will open up my womb soon and bless it:) In any event, we are all enjoying these new little lives in our family and I love having new subjects to capture. Don't you just want to eat these two up? I know that their Nana does!
And here are all of the cousins together. "Z" is a giraffe, Emelia as Molly, Hannah as Ballerina and Clara as a Bumble Bee. Happy Harvest Ya'll.

You just need a laugh today...

2009-10-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

I have been sorting photos on my computer in anticipation of the yearly photo calendar for the grandparents and ran across these taken in June. I laughed pretty hard myself and could not resist sharing them with you in case you have had a rough week and just need to smile:) I could not quite decide what to call her, "Beach Cowgirl", "Summer Princess", or I guess "Diva" pretty much sums it all up, hugh?
And if she is not already mad at me for posting these (or will be someday), I don't even have to ask you what it looks like she is doing in this last pic. This one is especially to make her Oompa laugh... and we all know Oomps loves a good laugh!

And yes, those are Princess band-aids on both of her knees!

Life Lessons 101

2009-10-02T07:38:00.001-07:00

So, one day Mommy got frustrated because the lesson plan called for us to make a 6 foot tall triangle that contained 1000 tiny triangles all glued onto 100 medium triangles, glued onto 10 large triangles, glued into the 6 foot tall "magnificat". Usually I look at the lesson plans the night before so I am prepared, but on this particular day I had not. We were not about to spend our entire day cutting and gluing. So, in my inner frustration I looked outside at the car and went Ah-Ha! Change of plans... what is more important in life, that you can glue a whole bunch of triangles together, or that you know how to clean the grub off your car? (Plus it saved me 6 to 8 dollars at the car-wash!)The girls had a total blast getting dirty, soapy and wet. And it happened to start raining while they were scrubbing which led to incredible laughter and giggling. By the end of the project we were all soaked to the bone and made a few memories that I hope they won't ever forget:)

Wigwams and Tee-Pees

2009-10-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Here's one of our latest projects for school. We have been studying early American History and the Native Americans. First we tore up bits of paper to make wigwams...
Then the girls pained designs for their tee-pees. I'd say they did a great job. Teacher says A+!

Sorting and Sewing...

2009-09-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

Today we are doing home school inside the house since it is so cold and the three season porch (our school room) is very chilly! So, Emelia and I are in the dining room trying to get work done. Hannah found these magnets that have not been played with for awhile. The funniest thing is that all I suggested to her was to put them on the fridge. This is how she put them on. Can you tell who is my orderly child that used to line up her peas in a row on her high chair? When she said, Mommy, look at what I did, I looked at the fridge and had to laugh. Yep, sweet Hannah will do a great job of keeping Mommy and Emelia in line as we embark on this homeschooling journey!
And look at what my horse enthusiast made last week! We are going to go horse camping with friends this weekend and it can get very chilly in October in a small tent. Emelia picked out two fleece fabrics and Mommy helped her to learn how to sew them together to make a nice snuggly blanket:) She did a great job and I am so proud of her! Now the only thing left to do is figure out how Mommy can avoid being bucked off the horse... (A story for a later time!)

Two Sweeties...

2009-09-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the two sweeties that I mentioned in the post below. This is on the first day of Homeschool. Will post more soon (hopefully!)

Arboretum With My Best Buddy...

2009-09-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks ago I had the privilege of spending the day with my best buddy at the Arboretum, enjoying all the beauty of this outdoor garden. Here's a couple shots of a few of my favorite things... pine cones and roses!

I've Fallen Off The Truck...

2009-09-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Well, not really, but I sort of feel like I have. You see, just three weeks ago the Wests started a new journey in to the world of Homeschooling. Angela has now become a full time teacher as well as Mommy, Wife and various other titles. I should clarify the falling off the truck statement. In these short three weeks so many amazing things have begun to happen. Many things are falling by the wayside (the falling off the truck part) like blogging, laundry, dishes, shopping for groceries, making dinners... You get the picture. But the actual process of Homeschooling is going awesome. I was excited and nervous about this new adventure, but in just a few short weeks He has confirmed that this is the right choice for our family at this time. It has been wonderful for my relationship with Emelia. As many of you know we endured quite the moldy nightmare in Iowa with our house. One thing that has always saddened me is that Emelia had to put up with a lot while we dealt with many issues. It was hard to fully be all that I desired to be for her when we were trying to fix and replace walls, etc. Of course she is a trooper and did not complain, but I did not have the time to spend with her that I desired to.

So fast forward a couple of years and here we are in MN and Emelia is going to a wonderful Christian school not far from where we live. But then we discovered quickly that her bus rides were quite long and she was on the bus 2-3 hours a day. She was having to be woken up at 5:30 in the morning, didn't get home until sometimes close to 4pm and needed to be in bed by 7pm. Which still was not getting enough sleep and it made for an unhappy child in the evenings as she was sooo tired. So we started thinking and praying about the home school option and God just seemed to open wide the doors and usher us in to this new world.

In the past three weeks I have seen such a peaceful happy child. So much has improved just by us all being able to get a good nights sleep. I am discovering that there is much that I must lay aside to properly perform my new duties as teacher, but I am happy to do this. I only wish I would have stopped my life even sooner for these two precious gifts we have been given. I am seeing how short a time we have to teach our children and how quickly they are growing and will want to spread their wings to fly. Well, anyways I know I am rambling and I don't want any of you to feel that I am judging you for choosing another schooling option for your child, but I am just wanting to praise my Father for opening up my eyes to the needs of our two sweeties. (And by the way Hannah is having a blast doing preschool with Mommy too. If she wasn't so young I'd say she was ready for kindergarten this year!)

So, If I am not too great at calling you or emailing you back or doing something I promised to get done for you, please don't take it personally. I feel as though I am birthing something new in my life and am a bit forgetful of other things that may or may not need to get done. Hopefully I can figure out how to get groceries and do some cooking soon so my hubby doesn't starve:)

And if I happen to find another spare moment soon I will try to post some pics from the first day of our school! I've had to make a personal bedtime for my self of 12pm. Which is super late for some of you, but for me the night owl, this can be difficult! As you can see I am cutting it pretty close to my curfew! Sweet dreams all!

Drum Roll Please...

2009-08-26T19:36:00.001-07:00

Well, here we are, after about 18 months of being in process, the cabinets are done! Here is what they looked like when we purchased the home. And for those of you who know me well, you know I have this quirk about WHITE kitchen cabinets. I know that its just all stuff and doesn't matter much in the whole realm of eternity... but I do love white cabinets. They are so fresh and cheerful. And you spend much of your day in the kitchen... or at least I do. So while I'm there I'd like to foster that cheerfulness as much as possible:) The first stage was to say goodbye to the stars, stripes and flags and I painted the walls a beige just to calm things down a bit. Then I could not take any more "zebras" as I lovingly called my cabinets, so off came the doors. My mom had seen a HGTV episode where they took plain flat door cabinets and added trim to dress them up. We decided to try it and after some initial debates about how to go about the project (you've got an engineer and and artist trying to come up with a plan:)) we got the trim on, primed and painted them... you guessed it - a lovely shade of white. Actually they are really more creamy to coordinate with the almond colored oven and fridge.

We also got new door handles, pulls and hinges at Menards...
Sorry folks, you are gonna have to say goodbye to the stars and stripes forever....

The only thing left is a kitchen curtain I am working on, which hopefully will not take 18 more months to complete. The walls are a soft, but cheery green and I will accent with my current favorite colors of pink, green and blue. So, here's to show you can remake your kitchen on a dime. A couple of gallons of paint and some new hardware... cheerful, happy kitchen here we come!
PS - A special thanks to my hubby for taking a whole day off of work just to cut and nail on all the trim... what would I do without you?

Look at what I found in my sink!

2009-08-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

This is the cutest "dirty dish" I've ever washed in my sink... My niece Clara and my sister came for a visit a week ago. Since my baby tub was way up in the attic, the kitchen sink was the next best thing! Isn't she a honey?

I love to wash dishes!

2009-08-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

Yep, It's true. I'm not a fan of chores in general, but here is one that I truly can say that I love. This occurred to me as I was standing at the sink once again this evening. It really is some form of therapy or something for me. I like to wash when I am happy, sad or mad. I love that I can look out my kitchen window at three large and lovely pine trees while I wash. I love the pink hand soap that I keep right by the faucet. I love my pretty dishes, each with their own distinct personality:) I am a firm believer that you should have dishes that you love, because you look at them so often! My recent set that I have been enjoying is actually mismatched old plates with flowers on them (shabby chic). The great thing is that when you break one, just go to your local antique store and find a new one - yay! Ted thinks I break them sometimes on purpose just so I can go find a new one.... (No, I don't! But that may be a good idea if I get tired of any particular dish...)

Anyways, back to washing.... Now, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of times that every dish in the house is dirty and my family is looking at me wondering what to eat off of, but no matter the occasion, once I get started all is well with life. If you are mad it is a good way to work off the steam. It gives you time to think as you soak your hands in warm sudsy water. If you are sad you can stand there and cry and the tears fall nicely into the sink, not making any additional mess.

Now you must know, there are a few rules and regulations as goes with the washing. I love washing the plates first. Then bowls and cups. Cups must be turned over upside down for a few minutes, then turned right side up to dry fully. A few items that I don't particularly enjoy washing are the silverware and plastic containers from work lunches. I don't know why, but I always avoid these guys until the very end. Sometimes the silverware soaks for a day before I will submit and wash them.

And then once they are all done it's time to scrub out the sink. I love to use Soft Scrub with bleach in it to make it nice and white. And Barkeepers Friend to get out all the scratches from metal pans. Is there another lovelier sight than that sparkly white sink? Ok, my children are pretty darn cute, but the sink comes close. For a moment world peace has been achieved until someone walks by and puts their dirty coffee mug in my sink. Thank you Lord for another dish to wash!

Now, I have to give credit where credit is due. Thanks to my dear mom and dad for making me wash so many dishes for all of my growing up years. I am sure I complained plenty when the request was called out, but in the end I fell in love. Way to go on the training us up in the way we should go... it appears that in the end I did not depart from it:)

And on a last note, please, please, please do not ask me to dry the dishes. This, I cannot stand. Why? I don't know, maybe I didn't get to practice that one enough, or maybe it's that there is no window to look out when I dry. Drying is one of those miracles meant to be accomplished by the Lord himself. Thank you Lord for being such a great dryer!

And now that you are convinced of my complete insanity, I say adieu. Happy Washing!

Oh, I forgot one last thing. When you are done don't forget to squeeze out your awesome Norwex dish rag and hang it nicely over the middle of the sink. It hides the big gouge that was on it when we bought the house and if it's a pink dish cloth, it's more pretty to look at:)

Transformation!

2009-08-08T09:23:00.001-07:00

As most of you know, I love to paint. I love to see how I can transform a room with a new color... Here's a peek at what our dining room looked like when we purchased the home two years ago. Do you notice the lovely spider web design that the chandelier casted on the ceiling?Yep, that was the first thing to go. For awhile I had the walls beige, just to calm down the situation so I could think straight, but then I decided on a happy green to bring some cheerfulness to the room. Here's the final product. We found the new chandelier from Home Depot on line, (very reasonable price!). Since there is no office in the house, this room has to function as office/dining room. We found the storage cabinet on the left of the room at Home Decorators, which is an offshoot from Home Depot. It stores all of our computer stuff and office stuff. And when I'm not taking pictures of the room, I keep a bin on it for bills and other papers that need to be dealt with on a regular basis. OK, in actuality it is usually covered with papers, but that's life, right? One more small project I hope to get to some day is to make a fabric cover for the file cabinet so that you don't know it is a file cabinet.
What do you think about these interesting rectangles? We could not quite figure them out so we had to paint them away... Our dining room is off of the kitchen and also goes into the living room.

And if you are wondering what the white thing is that is hanging above the storage furniture, it is a piece of tin ceiling tile that used to be in old buildings. I found it at my favorite store, the Painted Porch and thought about it for about a month before I went back to get it. Ted thinks I am a bit crazy, but I love it and it was way cheaper than buying a new piece of framed artwork for the wall!

We put our kitchen table here for now, but I am dreaming of getting an antique white table that is expandable to seat up to 10 for holidays when family comes to visit. You all can drop Ted a hint when you see him and remind him my birthday is just around the corner. But for now I am very happy and content with my transformation!

How to ride Bareback...

2009-07-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

We had the great privilege of going horse camping with our friends this past weekend. Ted and Emelia got to do a little "horsin' around" and try their skill at bareback riding. Here's a couple video's just to make you laugh, cry and smile!

You know your hair is long when...

2009-07-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

My red-headed cowgirl...My long haired dancer...

When Mommy tucks it into your shirt so you can eat watermelon and Mommy notices that your hair is sticking out the bottom of your shirt! Yes, that's Hannah I am talking about. I have been thinking lately of possibly cutting it shorter because it is always full of food, but the again it seems to kind of be her "signature style"... so I just don't know. Any opinions?

On another note in case you didn't see it on the evening news, Ted and I got to go on a mini-date this evening. Yes, I now... it's a real news flash! But seriously, we had a great two hour bike ride to the state park and back. And I think I may even be skinnier now, except for that chocolate cake I had when we got home:) The plan was to go on a family bike ride, but when one of the girls became quite naughty and irritable (tired), I knew it would not be a pleasant ride. So, God worked it all out for us and boy what a nice evening for a ride. We should do this more often... we got to talk for two hours and not one single interruption except for the beauty of nature. Thanks Lord for a Friday night treat:)

Trip to the Farm

2009-07-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am way, way behind on my blogging. These photos were taken back in March when we went to visit our good friends up in Northern Minnesota. We must be true Minnesotans to travel North for Spring Break, hugh?The girls had a great time playing in the mud and puddles that were everywhere!
It was so muddy that we had to go and buy rain boots... doesn't every kid want their own "rain golashes"?

Hannah had to borrow "Grandma Carol's" silly hat to keep warm:)
Here they are playing in the hay bales... so much fun and adventure to be had!

And they got to go on a tractor ride with "Grandpa Lawrence"...

Emelia climbs the pile of fresh bedding for the cows...

This was some sort of mini-hut for baby cows... as you can see one of the girls thought it was great and one did not like it so much. And let's not forget all of the wonderful food that Grandma Carol made for us while we were there! Can't wait for the next visit!

Thanks Grandpa!

2009-06-02T21:15:00.001-07:00

Grandpa (Ted's Dad) recently finished this awesome bookshelf for the girls. It is soooo beautiful and we all love it! It was fashioned after a pottery barn kids bookshelf, but Gramps added a few of his own embellishments and made it a bit larger. Now all the books fit on the shelf and there are even some secret compartments for the girls treasures. Can you tell where they are? Thanks Grandpa! We love you! You are an awesome woodworker!

Clara-Clara-Bo-Beara!

2009-05-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

We went to my parents cabin in Wisconsin for Memorial Day Weekend. Of course I took a ton of pics, too many to post all of them, but these two favorites caught my eye and I had to share them with you. This is one of our adorable nieces with her new shades and summer hat! Isn't she just a cupcake? I especially love the drool hanging from her chin! Kisses to you from Auntie, sweet "Clairs-Clairs"!

Blue-Barry Paye & Help the Poor!

2009-05-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

I just love this whole process of Emelia learning to read... there is something magical about first grade and unlocking the world of reading. And I love phonics! Emelia is doing such a great job learning to read and spell. Here is a taste of some of the wonderful papers she has created and brought to me recently. The first one is a recipe for Blueberry Pie... mmm! good! My favorite part is "put it in the "uvin" (oven):)And this next one just touches a mother's heart. This is her call to all of you out there to help the poor. The magazine she is referring to is the World Vision magazine that is sent out a couple times a year with tons of choices of things you can do to help the needy, such as purchasing a goat for a family or paying for young girls who are victims of abuse to have counseling and help. My sweet girl, whose love language is part "Words of Affirmation" starts out with kindness for you... "I love everyone (including you!)" and then her plea.... I look forward to seeing what God has in store for her loving heart!
Great job reading and writing my cowgirl... keep it up!

Fittings...

2009-05-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

Hannah and I (Angela) were asked to be in a wedding of a friend from church in March. Hannah had the privilege of being the Flower Girl! Mommy sang two songs during the wedding. Here is Hannah at her "fitting" for the beautiful dress the bride chose for her to wear. She was so excited to have such a pretty dress to wear:) She did not want to take it off!

Pweee-skool!

2009-04-29T13:34:00.001-07:00

Well, it appears that I am very behind in blogging... two months to be exact! If you remember, Hannah could not go to preschool in the fall because she was refusing to potty train. Then about two weeks after I told the lady that Hannah would not be coming, she decided to potty train:) Well, I called the preschool at the beginning of March to see about signing her up for next years preschool, I found out they had an opening for her to start coming right away! Hannah was sooo excited to go. Look at Little Miss Confident on her way in to her first day of preschool...And here she is all excited about her new "cubby" for her papers. Of course she had to wear a dress for her first day.And here she is a week later once we got around to finding her a new backpack... Dora (of course). Although she just informed me today that she wants a princess backpack for next year. I think we are hitting a new phase for her... the last few weeks have been all about PRINCESS! When I went to pick her up after her first day the first thing out of her mouth was, "I'm so glad... you came back!" So much for little miss confident. I thought it was funny because I was expecting her to say something like, "I'm so glad you let me come to preschool!" But it is true, she is kind of a home-body and Mama's girl. She is usually so happy when I pick her up. Just a bit of freedom, but not too much:) It's almost fun to go away and come back just for the anticipation of her excitement to see me. Actually, my two hours of freedom twice a week have been very nice. Except I usually end up doing fun things like errands or other home-chores. The quiet is nice and I am grateful, as we will be starting home school next year and I may not have a free hour to myself for the next 20 years or more if we have more kids! Yikes! Yep, I did say we are going to be homeschooling... at least giving it a try. But that's a topic for another blog!

9 Days to Saddle Up Time!

2009-04-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right. Only 9 days until Emelia gets to saddle up and hit the dusty trail! Here's just a sampling from last year that ended up in Nana's yearly calendar of the girls. You can't tell that she enjoys being on a horse just a little bit... You know, just seeing her on the horse gives me a glimpse of what God must feel when we are actively doing whatever it is that He has gifted us to do. When we surrender to the gifts He has given us and do them to the fullest, I know He is glorified. I know to the depths of my being that God has something special planned for Emelia and horses. When I see the thrill and joy on her face, I just want to run to God and give Him a big squeeze and thank Him for having so many unique gifts for all of us humans down here. So, what is your gift? Are you using it for Him? For me, I think I am still discovering it. Or, maybe trying to embrace what it is. I love to create. Especially (lately) in sewing. I crave to do it, have little time to actually engage in it, and often feel guilty when I do get the chance to sew. Why is that? To feel guilty to do that which God has gifted me to do? How silly is that? I think it has something to do with the Enemy not wanting us to fulfill God's purposes for our lives. Well, I guess it's fine time I throw that silly lie out of my head and turn on the old hummer! So whether it be "riding like the wind" or sewing, let all that you do be done for the Glory of God!

Faithful Moses...

2009-04-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

Emelia was in a musical at her school a few weeks back called Faithful Moses. She was very excited to be chosen to be in the "choreography" part. She loves to be on stage and did a great job with her tambourine!

Is there anyone who is not encouraged by her beautiful smile? Michael Card sings a song that talks about how he would "wander weary miles... just to see the sunrise of your smile..." Mommy loves the sunrise of your smile, my Pretty Girl, and I hope and pray that you don't ever let the world take away the joy that God has put into your little being!

Still a Boy...

2009-03-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Ted and Emelia got to go to a friends Rodeo last weekend. Here is Ted's version of the fun they had. They got to ride on the horses in between the events. For those of you who think that Ted is getting old, here's proof that he will always have a little boy in his heart:)

Zero Novocaine, 1 Shot and 3 Staples

2009-03-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right. That's what I've been up to today. None of these things were on my list of things to do at all. I decided after Bible Study to stop by Hy-Vee and pick up a few things for lunch. While at the store Hannah said, let's go down the "seeuhl wrow" (Cereal Row). So, we did and as I reached down to pick up a box of cereal I heard and felt this sharp object attack my head. Apparently there was some metal bin attached to the aisle that I did not notice and I got a pretty good gash. So there I am with no Kleenex in my purse, Hannah jumping around, running to the deli section trying to get the meat guys attention for some paper towels.

The meat guy just sort of stared at me and said "What?" while a lady next to me demanded, "Bring some towels quick!" I tell ya, I felt soooo stupid. Then they sent me to the front of the store where there is an Express Clinic. How handy. I thought great, the nurse can clean me up quick and I'll be on my merry way. So she looks at me and says, "Why did you come here?" in a cranky tone. "Well, they told me to...." "Who told you to? I can't help you here, I don't do wounds." I tell ya, I was in a lot of pain at this point, and if I could have been thinking straighter, I might have done or said something not so nice... Then the manager came over and nurse lady calmed down a bit. He offered to bring me to the hospital, but in my immense embarrassment, I strongly refused. Somehow I managed to pay for my groceries and get to the car. Then I called Ted bawling. I kept saying, "Hannah can't miss preschool. Maybe I'll wait to get my head checked until after I bring her to preschool.'' I suppose I was a bit delirious:) Poor Ted. And to shorten this long story, a dear friend from church came to the rescue, dropping me off at the hospital and taking Hannah out for pancakes, then dropping her off to preschool.

So, then when it came time to finally see me the nurse suggested another tetanus shot since I could not remember when the last one was. I just love shots. Ask my mom. (Mom, I promise I acted like a big girl.) Then the Dr. said she would give me some Novocaine and then a few staples. I told her that Hannah had a cut last year and had nothing for the pain. I was merely making small talk, not hinting. But she took this as a hint and said, "Well you don't have to have Novocaine." Well, then I thought, how bad can it be? If Hannah can do it, well then I can too, right? I said, let's do one and if it's too bad, then we can do the Novocaine. Well, it really hurt, but I said, just "get er' done". By the third staple I pretty much could not breathe. So, you can be the judge, either I'm a tough cookie or stupid. I'm voting for the latter.

So, moral of the story is BE CAREFUL when you are looking for a good deal on cereal, grocery shopping can be dangerous! And now I'm going to sit and do nothing for awhile:)

Conversations...

2009-03-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

You know how it goes. They are playing like angels until the moment that the phone rings. And as soon as you say "Hello" it is a cue to them to start acting as naughty as they possibly can. I have worked with the girls to try to get them to not interrupt me until I am off, unless there is blood or something super serious... So, one day while I was on the phone, this is this sign that Emelia was waving frantically in front of my face. Needless to say I could not keep from laughing, while also trying to have sympathy. For those of you who have forgotten phonics, it says, "Hannah poked my eye-ball. Ouch!"

From This Moment...

2009-03-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

Mommy has been practicing a few songs she is singing for a wedding at the end of March. Since Hannah is always with Mommy, she has gotten in on the practicing and knows almost all the words to the song, From This Moment. Here she is singing a part of the song. I know that this will bring a smile to your face no matter how bad your day may be!

Tootsie Roll Love

2009-03-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

We also made these tootsie roll necklaces with pretty Valentine's ribbon from Grandma's Valentine's finds! They love wearing around a whole stash of candy! And I even got them to cooperate for a few sweet pics together, which is a rare occurrence!

Valentine's Fun

2009-03-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

What is Valentine's Day without making Valentine's boxes? Grandma found some fun decorations for the girls to add to their boxes. They had a lot of fun being creative and making a huge mess in the process. It seems to me that chaos and creativity go hand in hand. But out of the chaos, something beautiful always emerges. As you can see, Emelia's pretty excited about her masterpiece (and the thought of the fun Valentine's and candies that will be dropped into it!). Can you see who is hiding inside of Hannah's box? Yep, it's Bear!

Mommy found a fun Valentine project for Emelia to make for her classmates. An MP3 player, or it it an ipod? I am not up on these technological things. All I know is that she has been begging for one of these for months. We keep saying, no, not until you are much older! She was thrilled to be able to make a candy version, using a box of candy hearts and peanut butter cups covered in tin foil.

I found the project idea in a Family Fun magazine. You can check out their website for the directions.

Crazy Hat Day and Buddy Bear...

2009-03-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

Emelia had Crazy Hat Day at school and this is what she created for the special day...Hannah has a special buddy, named (very simply) Bear. People always ask her "What is your Bear's name?" and she says, "Just Bear." But although his name is simple, he is a very important member of the family! The other day I found Hannah at the table with bear tucked in her shirt so he could literally "hang out" with her. He pretty much goes everywhere with her. What a laugh! At least someone in this house is "expecting" something! She thought she was pretty funny... and so did we! Recently Bear went to the dentist and Hannah informed us that he had a problem with his tooth. "It is wiggly, rumbly, bleedey, and pokey." Wow, that's serious! Thankfully he's all better now! Stay tuned for more Bear adventures!

Nana's Girls... Oompa's Girls...

2009-02-03T16:00:00.001-08:00

Isn't this just sweet? I think Nana and Oompa will have to duke it out over whether or not they are Nana's Girls or Oompa's Girls. Emelia and Hannah absolutely adore their newest cousin, Clara and love to help in any way when we get to spend time with her. The last time we saw little Clara, she seemed to be quite enamored with Emelia's entertainment and she won the reward of several smiles. Such sweetness, you just have to eat it all up! But watch out for Oompa, girls, when he's gets ahold of you , you never come out without at least a touch of "rug burn"!

Pregnancy Test Recall...

2009-02-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, It's very serious... I think they should do a recall on all pregnancy tests. At least all of the ones that I purchase... I've taken FOUR this last week and they all don't seem to work... they all keep saying, NO, ANGELA, YOU ARE NOT PREGNANT! Or maybe, in truth, they need to do a recall on me, since I don't seem to function properly! Yes, this may be TMI for some of you, but you caught me at a moment of frustration. All of us here at the West household are ready for a new little bundle to love and kiss and hold. Our great Lord even says in His word, "Be fruitful and multiply..." It seems I have trouble with the "fruitful" part. Most of the time I do pretty well and I try to focus on the fact that there are others out there who never get the chance to carry a child once, and I have been blessed with two living miracles! And I tell myself that God must have a reason for not allowing it thus far. And I also don't want to beg and beg, like an ungrateful child. And yet, there are a few days here and there when I just get into a funk and have my little pity party for a day or two. (If you didn't notice, today is one of those days.) But, on the other hand, I do think that God puts this desire to create life and be a mother into all women. It may manifest itself differently for each of you, but I think it is there and put there for a purpose by our Creator. What is it that He wants to birth in your life this year that you can nurture (mother)? Maybe it is a long lost passion, or vision. I know that if these desires for another baby are not fulfilled on this earth, He will most certainly bring about "new life" in another way in my life. (Poor Ted will come home and find a wall missing between our kitchen and dining room one of these days...) But for today I'm hogging down on dry coco puffs and "pitchin' a fit" as they say down in Memphis. And as Anne's teacher says on Anne of Green Gables, "Tomorrow is a new day, fresh, with no mistakes in it." Another day for breathing in, looking up and asking Him what the day will birth. I will leave you with a song that has been on my mind the last few days. We sang it in the mornings at camp when I was little. "Oh, praise the Lord for another day of life. Oh, praise the Lord for His promises are bright. I will praise the Lord with heart and soul and might and give Him glory, glory, glory from morn' till' night."

I'm not a Stealer....

2009-01-08T10:46:00.001-08:00

While Hannah was playing in our bedroom this morning, (as I was trying to wake up) she suddenly told me, "Mommy I am not a stealer." I thought to myself, "Good! But why are you telling me this?" She went on, "I do not steal things...." I told her "That's a good girl." and then she continued on, "...Like my daddy!" While I resisted breaking out into laughter, I said, "Daddy is a stealer?" "Yes" she said. I said "What does he steal?" "OH, he steals lots of things.... like my worms!" (She is referring to the gummy worms given to her and big sister by Grandma Carol.) What a laugh I had then. So, here's a warning out to Daddy... you better stop stealing the worms or the Hannah police will be putting you in the slammer!

Tagged!

2009-01-04T17:06:00.001-08:00

My sister tagged me, which apparently means that I have to post the 6th picture in the 6th folder of all my photo files. It didn't exactly work that way for me... as many of you know I take a lot of pictures, so it was something like, 6th folder, 6th folder, then 6th photo. This is the tree that I drove by many times on the gravel road to our house in Iowa. I always loved this tree, it was so moving to me and like an old friend saying "Hello" each time I drove by. I miss the tree, and sometimes the amazing amount of space we had in that old Victorian, but not the mold and stress and constant projects. I have new tree friends here where we live now... I am greeted by three enormous pine trees out my kitchen window each morning. I am glad that God decided to create trees. There are so many kinds, and variety's all displaying His glory. I hope that you have a special tree near you to enjoy as well.

Oh yes, and I now tag Ria, Dana, Joanna and Amy - dear friends who I know take pictures too!

Bell Ringers

2009-01-04T16:50:00.001-08:00

For the past two years we have signed up the girls for Bell Ringing at the local grocery store to try to teach them about "working for the Lord". Mommy is excited about it, since I know how cute they look while ringing bells... who would not want to drop a few coins in the bucket with these sweet faces looking you in the eye as you leave the store? Although, they do not think it is as fun as Mommy does. It is a whole lot of fun for about the first five minutes and then the rest of the hour seems as an eternity for them. No matter how much I tell them "Jesus is so pleased with your service...", it does not seem to inspire them:) Hopefully someday they will look back and thank me...Here they are after the fun has worn off...And then they realized toward the end of the hour that they could sing and dance... so that brightened things up a bit!

Christmas Card Finalists...

2008-12-30T21:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a few of the finalists that didn't quite make the Christmas Card cut. I always just wish I could send out a mini-album instead to tell the whole story of our year... but alas, I cannot. This family shot was taken by Oomps the Great at Angela's Grandma's house last 4th of July.

Oh, to capture them both smiling sweetly at the same moment. It seems an easy task, but for those of you who have tried to accomplish this before, you know how hard it can be:)

And this last one was taken by Uncle Chris the Great! Thanks for getting such a great shot!

Hunting...

2008-12-30T19:20:00.001-08:00

I should have posted these about a month ago... but better late than never, right? Here is Ted all duded up and ready for hunting. I'm not sure if I will ever quite understand why men love to go sit out in the woods while it is freezing cold and eat dried out beef jerky, I guess it has something to do with that "Wild at Heart" stuff that God wired into them! Anyways, Ted had a great time out on his first hunt. I am guessing that my dad and the others "got him hooked" since he's already planning his next major purchase for Cabellas:) While we women folk were back at home, we were surprised with roses from Daddy/Ted! The girls were so excited that they got their own flower.Here's is Mommy's bouquet - my favorite roses are these with the yellow bodies and red on the tips. What a lucky woman I am!And here's a miscellaneous pic of Hannah dressing up in some cowboy boots. Me and my sisters used to do this with our Daddy's boots. Does this bring back memories, Nana and Oompa?

What we did on Christmas Day...

2008-12-29T20:33:00.001-08:00

Well, we usually have many family activities planned over the holidays, but this certainly was not on the agenda. Hannah came down with Pneumonia and Daddy, Mommy, and Hannah spent Christmas day and the next day at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. Hannah came down with Pneumonia also at the age of 6 months, exactly three Christmases ago. Her Mommy also had Pneumonia at 6 months of age. I guess she is trying to carry out the tradition, although I think we could come up with some more pleasurable family traditions to adopt:)

She was not very interested in her stocking, as you can see...

Hannah had been refusing to drink or eat, so needed fluids and a different medication (the first med did not work for her). Once they got some fluids in her and the meds, she was able to finally rest and get some good sleep. Mommy got the privilege of sleeping on a luxurious cot beside her bed.

The next morning we got her to eat about a half of a pancake, which was about the only food accomplishment for the day. She was offered every juice, pop and popsicle under the sun, but did not want a thing. Lunch was one bite of pizza, one bite of chocolate pudding, and that was it. Talk about stressing Daddy and Mommy out! What child won't eat a popsicle?

Big sister came for a visit and brought a sweet get well letter for little sis. (Side note - when we called Nana (Angela's mom) to give her an update on Christmas night, Nana informed us that Emelia was now coming down with a fever and coughing alot... uff dah! So, Emelia had to wear a mask when she came to visit. Daddy also came down with Hannah's cold... so nice of her to share:) And Mommy was being protected by the Lord, for she can't be sick right now! For those of you who know Emelia, even sickness does not put this girl down. She came into the hospital bouncing as usual... we could hear her before she arrived, bringing with her her always full bag of joy!

For the rest of Friday, we tried to get liquids down Hannah (and food). But, she is extremely, extremely stubborn and would not cooperate. The doctor had a really hard time deciding whether to let her go home or not, because she was doing well for everything else, but still refusal to drink the minimum for survival. Ted and I think that Dr. Dobson may have to write another revised version of the "Strong Willed Child" just for her:) As you can see above, Hannah was not happy with her nurse when she insisted that Hannah get out of her bed and go for a walk to see how she could function before deciding whether to release her or not. And she was doubly unhappy when nurse told her she had to wear a mask.

Miss Grumpy Pants in her cute hospital nightgown.

Mommy's favorite part was her back end showing out the back of the gown:) She was mildly happy when she discovered the fish tank at the end of the hallway.

Finally a smile. Hannah gets to go home. YAY! She is sooo happy! We all decided that we would hope for the best (that she would decide to drink and eat when at home) and the doctor released her. She was a bit stubborn at first, but every time we tell her now that she needs to either (a) take the medicine/drink the juice or (b) go back to the hospital, she is suddenly able to make the right choice:) Oh, one last hospital funny... when we were waiting in the emergency room the nurse came in to take Hannah's temperature, and she totally refused to cooperate. While Mommy tried to come up with some creative way to convince her, the nurse cut to the chase and said, "OK, we'll have to do it rectally." When Mommy explained to Hannah what this meant, she cried no and opened wide her mouth. Yep, given a choice, she will make the right one:) We are happy to report that she is home now, and much happier, healthier. We hope your Christmas was much more un-eventful and hopefully next year ours will be too:)