New Blog, Finally

So with the craziness of packing up and flying down to the lower 48 for a month, combined with Christmas Chaos, I have not had time to do any blogs. So here is one although it won't have much because I dumped all of my pictures onto my home computer before I left so I don't have access to those until I get back. Oops, at least you can see Christmas morning spent at my parents' house:This is the annual Stair Picture. We had to wake up our girls for Christmas morning due to the 2 hour time difference and the complete lack of sleep from our red eye the night before. We had planned on the late flight thinking the girls would sleep most of the time but they thought that a 45 minute nap on the planes would be a better idea. Thanks heavens for their portable DVD player from Grandma Brenda/ Santa!Kylie was a big fan of the poodle purse that she and Macy each got from Santa. The M&M's were a popular item as well.Macy loved her camera that she got from Grandma and Grandpa. My mom was wise to get one for Owen as well(but blue- not pink) so there wouldn't be fights and tears over the camera. She walked around all morning telling people to "Say Cheese!" and then clicking pictures of mostly arms and legs- she will hopefully get the aiming concept down soon.

I loved getting to spend Christmas with my entire family. It was the first time we had all been together since March for Ashley's wedding and I thought it was wonderful. I loved the chaos and wrapping paper mess and excitement of all of the presents and people. Thanks Mom and Dad for getting us there! I was most excited about the $50 bill in my stocking from Santa that allowed me to go and stock up on some great quilting fabrics on Friday. We found some great clearance sales so I got multiple designer fabrics for $4/ yard! I was thrilled to get to built up my stash and to have that money go so far. I even bought most of my fabric for next year's Christmas quilt because it was such a killer deal. Tonight I finished cutting my first real quilt and I can't wait to piece it together as soon as I get the chance. It is just a throw for Valentine's day but I think it will look great!

We drove down yesterday to see Justin's family for a few days and we had Christmas- The Sequal. We were completely spoiled all over again and we have been having a great time getting to see his family and Aunt and Uncle while they are visiting here too. We are off the Park City tomorrow and it should be another fun filled day!

Officially Hooked...

These were supposed to be gifts but I don't know if I can part with them...
I really want one for our couch like the orange one, only much bigger :) This is way too much fun.

And today, Macy kept calling me Princess Mommy and insisting I call her Princess Macy.

I asked her if she wanted pancakes for dinner and her response was "Wow, that sounds great!"

She has been trying to mother Kylie a lot lately. When I remind her that I am the mom and Kylie is my daughter and I ask her to leave Kylie alone, she very sincerely replies with "But she's my Kylie!"

I also wanted to mention that the post titled "Macy's Funny" was done by Justin. I was so thrilled he was finally willing to "blog."Good times...

My First Quilts...

Ok, well kind of anyway. They are baby doll sized for Macy and Kylie for Christmas but I figured it was better to learn how to cut, piece, baste, quilt and bind on mini versions that I won't stress about if they aren't perfect. And they aren't even close, but I am proud of my first two attempts at quilt making. I learned a lot and now I feel confident that I could attempt bigger things in the not to distant future. They are actually much straighter and neater than they appear in the pictures, I guess I just hadn't laid them down very neatly. And thanks to lacy for lending me her cutter and a board from her store! I will get them back to you soon, I promise!

I am pretty proud of myself and I am excited to try my next project. Justin will be flying out of Kenai for the next two days so I will be able to work on fun things all evening without feeling guilty because I am neglecting him.

Macy is funny

Dad: I want to buy you stuff.
Macy: You can't bite me....I be all gone!?

Macy: (walking out of the closet carrying a coloring book she had discovered that had been hidden for Christmas) This a great book!

The temperature has been in the single digits for the past couple days and the ice fog has turned everything into white crystal formations, making us feel like we live in an ice box.

I should be asleep...

But I am waiting for Justin to get home. So here I sit online, reading and researching. I just have to share how excited I am about some projects I am going to start when I return from my month long trip to Utah and Idaho. This is all thanks to me new favorite blog which is here. This lady is nuts but amazing. Anyway, here are the two big projects I want to get to: A Ragged Square Quilt and this Christmas Quilt. I have been reading and trying to learn how to do the big things I will need to figure out before I take these projects on. I have decided on starting with this Doll bedding so I can get some practice in before I do the big expensive quilts. The actual quilting part seems to be the scariest and everywhere I have read I am told that it is doable, but it just takes practice, hence the unneccesary but adorable doll quilts. Plus, I think the girls would love to have some doll blankets, even though they are usually satisfied with playing with my fabric scraps.

So I may have to admit that sewing might be my new addiction/ passion. Its pricier than baking but at least I won't gain quite as much weight. :) I was thinking about Justin and my upcoming vacation away from the kids and though that its a shame I won't be able to sew without child interruption during that time- then i remembered that this was supposed to be a fun vacation with my husband. Oops, maybe I have a problem. Justin- I promise I won't do any projects, I will just have fun with you! He has been so supportive and understanding with my new hobby. He even tolerates the mess I make of the kitchen and living room. He hates it- but he tolerates it so I can be happy. Thanks babe!

I am also listening to every version of "O Holy Night" that I can find on You Tube because I love this song more than anything. Ahhh, what a relaxing night. Thanks to my friend, Sherstine, I discovered my favorite so far is the one by David Phelps. If you appreciate the beauty of this song, his version will bring you to tears. Just search it on YouTube. The Celine Dion and Celtic Woman (I love them!) ones were also some of the best. However, I can never resist a little Josh Groban, who makes everything he sings incredible. I have to add that I love this song, not just because the music is beautiful but because the words are really a testimony of what Christmas is about. I love how full of praise and rejoicing this song is in anouncing Christ's birth to the world. If I could sing at all, I would sing this song everyday!
Merry Christmas!

What I did yesterday...

I regularly have people ask me what I do all day as a stay at home mom. These people usually don't have kids yet or they have children and work full time. Besides the mundane tasks of laundry, cleaning, feeding children, dishes, etc. I do lots of fun stuff.
This is what I did yesterday:
I made Sugar cookies, Snicker's Bars and Fudge. My friends Lacy and Shug came over and also made Ginger Snaps, Mexican Wedding cookies and Snickerdoodles. And, no, I did not eat half the pan of snicker's already (I know some people who know me well were thinking it)- we split up what we made so we could have a little bit of everything. We had so much fun! And what could be more fun to do with Justin out of town?

And here is Macy, kind of spelling her name. I couldn't get her on tape doing it correctly even though she had many times before I pulled out the camera. I will just call it stage fright.
She actually did pretty well, just added and extra "Y" this time.



And, yeah we didn't leave the house yesterday so forgive the "orphan child" look she has going for her.

Its getting to us...

Yes, and we still have over 2 weeks for it to get worse. I should mention that on days where it is overcast (most days lately) it is fairly dark all day. Typically we lose over 5 minutes of light a day so I don't know what was going on with today. You know it is bad when your 2 year old is convinced it is almost bedtime before 5:00 everyday and insists on putting her pajamas on.
At least they got cute new ones from Grandma Brenda!Yes, Kylie is kissing Macy.

Finally, The Big Unveil!

Yesterday morning I finally finished the girls' Christmas dresses. After Macy's I had taken a break because hers at had been so stressful. And then I took another break halfway through Kylie's to make some Christmas presents for people. So yesterday, I finished just in time for us to go get our Portraits done at Sears (NEVER GO THERE!!!). I think they turned out pretty nice, just don't look to closely!
I had them model this morning so I could get these quick pics. Yeah, now on to quicker projects!

Great injustices...

Kylie feels seriously left out whenever she notices her sister and mother brushing their teeth. She stares at us and cries, wondering why she can't have a tooth brush as well. I try to console her and let her know she can have one as soon as a single tooth breaks through, but she doesn't seem to get much comfort from this...

It was 1 degree today when I left the house. I repeat, 1! It was in the 60's in Colorado

And what has me most upset? My babysitter canceled on me two hours in advance, which means no date night with Justin, no Pub Quiz, no hopes of breaking 50 Points tonight, no evening away from kids spending time with fun adults, no visit to Humpy's and a total waste of 40 minutes that I had just spent making my hair look perfect. The saddest part? Justin doesn't even know it yet. He is flying and will discover the truth once he rushes home to go out. Pity me. Please...

Would I be a horrible mom if I fed the kids Ice cream for dinner? That's all I want right now.