Red Mommy Crafts

"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

2011-05-11T08:36:00.003-04:00

This is another favorite book of mine so far in 2011!! I have been seeing the movie trailers on TV, so I thought I'd give the book a try! It was so good, I started reading it yesterday afternoon and couldn't put it down until I finished it!

The book is about the main character, Jacob and his youth with the circus. In the beginning, we are introduced to 90, or 93, year old Jacob that is living in an "old age" home due to a broken hip. When going to lunch one day, he notices a circus has come to town and causing great excitement in the home. Jacob goes to his usual table for lunch and is greeted by a new patient that claims to have carried water for the elephants while working at a circus. Jacob is outraged by his out right lie and is immediately returned to his room. Jacob begins to flash back to when he was 23 years old.

It's during the Great Depression and Jacob is enrolled at Cornell University getting ready to take his final exam for a veterinary license when the dean pulls him out of class. The dean tells Jacob there has been a horrible accident and both of his parents are dead. Between his parents death and finding out they are broke because all of their money went to pay for his Ivy League education, Jacob takes off. He just starts running and doesn't stop until his feet cannot take it anymore. Jacob then realizes he is lost and happened to hear a train coming. He hops aboard the train to find out it is a circus train.

He makes friends with a guy on the train, Camel, and Camel is able to get him on working for the circus. The owner of the circus, Uncle Al, appoints Jacob as the official circus vet.

As soon as Jacob sees Marlena, the wife of the head animal trainer, August, he falls in love. August is a strange man and violent man. He is out right cruel to the animals and anyone that gets in his way, yet is he married to a beautiful and compassionate performer. Jacob is determined to have Marlena, but August stands in his way.

The book describes the horrid condition of the animals and their treatment while being apart of a circus. And, circus life in general for the workers and performers. It's just a really good book about how the circus was ran in the 1930's and the impact it had on peoples lives.

(photo from Amazon.com)

Baby Log Cabin Variation Quilt Top

2011-05-09T20:34:00.002-04:00

These are the 2 quilt tops I made for my new niece and nephew. Very simple to make, you just have to know how to sew a straight line. Yes, it's that easy! I didn't have to buy any fabric to make these, I had everything in my fabric stash! Approx size of finished quilt top is 45"x36".

I went with pinks and purples for Alexa and blues and greens for Braiden. You could make this with 2 different colors, or make each row something different. I am sure there are several different ways to pick a theme.

I am going to use the pink and purple color theme for the tutorial.

Material Needed:

Pinks
2- 4.5 x 4.5 squares
2- 12.5 x 4.5 strips
2- 20.5 x 4.5 strips
2- 28.5 x 4.5 strips
2- 36.5 x 4.5 strips

Purples
1- 4.5 x 4.5 square
2- 12.5 x 4.5 strips
2- 20.5 x 4.5 strips
2- 28.5 x 4.5 strips
2- 36.5 x 4.5 strips

1. Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew pink squares to purple to form the center of the quilt. Press seams to one side.

2.Sew 12.5 x 4.5 purple strips to center strip.

3. Sew 12.5 x 4.5 pink strips to bottom and top of block.

4. Continue sewing strips in size order, starting with purple until quilt top is finished.

With several distractions, it only took me about 3 hours to cut the pieces and sew them together to make 1 quilt top. They go together pretty fast! This would probably make a easy quilt to finish for the Linus Project!

This up coming week, I will be finishing the quilts and I will post another tutorial on how to finish them.

"The Pact: A Love Story" by Jodi Picoult

2011-05-01T09:43:00.005-04:00

It was a very nice day yesterday and the girls wanted to play outside, so I brought out a new book from the library. It is called "The Pact: A Love Story" by Jodi Picoult. Once I started reading, I just could not put it down! As of right now, it's the best book I've year this year! And, that is saying a lot because I read about a book a week, sometimes 2!

From the cover, "...comes a riveting, timely, heartbreaking, and terrifying novel of family in anguish and friendship ripped apart by inconceivable violence. Until the phone call came on a November morning, the Golds and their neighbors, the Hartes, had been inseparable. It was no surprise to anyone when their teenage children, Chris and Emily, began showing signs that their relationship was moving beyond lifelong friends. But now 17 year old Emily has been shot to death as part of an apparent suicide pact-leaving 2 devastated families stranded in the dark and dense predawn, desperate for answers about an unthinkable act and the children they really never knew."

The book starts in present day when the parents get the call to come down to the hospital. Emily is pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital, but Chis is alive. Chris tells the police it was a suicide pact and he wasn't able to go through with it on his end. The parents are shocked, they had no clue either of of their children was contemplating suicide.

After a short stay, Chis is released from the hospital and that's when the police start to disbelieve his story of the "pact". A case starts to mount up against him, accusing him of shooting Emily in cold blood.

Many times during the book, you are taken back in time to various points to show the strong relationships between Chris' family, the Hartes, and Emily's family, the Golds. Chris and Emily had known each other since birth and they even shared a crib together at one point.

After Chris is arrested on charges of murdering Emily, the Gold's and the Harte's relationship is dramatically changed. Mrs. Gold believes the reports that Chris actually killed Emily, that he was able to put aside the feelings he's always had for Emily and shoot her in the head in cold blood. Mrs. Harte, on the other hand, is defending Chris to the end. She believes her son is incapable of killing his one true love.

Will Chris be found guilty of murder, a crime that means life in prison, or will his story of a suicide pact be proven? What will happen to the 20 year relationship between the Harts and the Golds?

More Babies!!

2011-04-29T10:03:00.003-04:00

We had some excitement 2 weeks ago Wednesday!! My sister, who was pregnant with twins, delivered her babies!! She has had a very hard pregnancy, there were several foods she couldn't eat and was still getting sick after eating. Last Wednesday, she called me to tell me she was having severe cramps and didn't know what to do. (She had a scheduled doctor's appointment 30 minutes from then.) I told her the babies were probably laying on her wrong or tumbling around. She went to the doctor and he determined that she was in labor!! We were all in shock!! She was only 25 weeks pregnant (out of 40)!! The doctor told her to drive to the local hospital, about 10 minutes away, and a helicopter would be waiting to take her to the University of Cincinnati Hospital (about 35 minutes away by car). She arrived at the local hospital and the babies decided not to wait!! She was in full blown labor, right there in the emergency room entrance. The helicopter didn't even have time to arrive yet, nor the delivery doctor. The hospital staff had to do an emergency C-Section!

They took the little boy out first and he stopped breathing, we are not sure of how long. They were able to resuscitate him. My mom was in the hall and said it looked like a scene from a movie. They have the boy on the gurney, running down the hall while massaging his heart and pumping the bag ventilator on his face. He was rushed immediately to Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati. (Children's was full, so that's why he went to Good Sam)

The girl was a little better off, but not by much. My sister, Tara, was able too see her and touch her before she was rushed off to Good Sam also.

The babies weighed in a less than 2 pounds (900 grams) each!! Neither one of the babies were expected to make it through the night! Everything was such a flash, we couldn't believe it was happening!!

Tara stayed in the local hospital for 2 days while her babies were in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Good Sam (again about 35 minutes by car). Tara is doing well physically, but not coping well well emotionally. WE are in the process of trying to find a support group for her.

After the babies made it through the night, she gave them names! My nephew is Braiden Asher and my niece is Alexa Kristine. They are currently still struggling in the NICU, but no longer struggling to live! Alexa has fluid on her brain (used to be known as "water on the brain") and is recovering from a collapsed lung. Braiden has some breathing issues and has a turned in leg that will require therapy.

I was sick when the babies were born, so I didn't get to see them until they were a week old. I took lots of pictures of them!

Alexa

Braiden

I have already made them some outfits for micro preemies and their first quilt! I will post the quilts later in the week along with the tutorial. They are going to be the best dressed babies in the NICU as soon as she gets the green light to dress them!!

Hello Again

2011-04-26T11:07:00.004-04:00

Hello again to everyone! I been away for awhile keeping busy! We finally began remodeling our kitchen! I now how a sink, cabinets, and counter tops in my kitchen like normal houses do! We're doing all the work ourselves, so it is a little slow going. Here are a few of our "in progress" photos

We decided to go with purple, yes purple, for the walls! I love it! Our floor is called "lay down vinyl" and it's the best thing ever!! You just unroll the vinyl like a rug and cut off any excess! No glue or anything! I love it!

You can look at the "before" pics under the label "House Remodeling". We've come a long way!!

Turkey Guest Blogger

2010-11-18T09:44:00.003-05:00

Be sure to stop over at Sun Flowers at Home today! Ginny is running a series called 10 Days of Turkey and I am the guest blogger today! I posted the instructions over there to make this super cute turkey with your kids.
Thanks Ginny!!!

Bounce Dryer Bar & Scotch Brite Toilet Scrubber

2010-11-11T09:46:00.011-05:00

It's been a long time since I did a product review, so I thought it was time. Today I am reviewing 2 different items, Bounce Dryer Bar and Scotch Brite Toilet Scrubber.

First up is the Bounce Dryer Bar.

The Bounce Dryer bar is meant to add tons of convenience to your every day laundry. Instead of putting a new dryer sheet in your dryer each time you do laundry, you just stick this bar into the dryer and it last for 2 months or 4 months. Let me just say,this wonderful!! You get your choice of 2 or 4 month bar and your choice between 2 different scents. Since I didn't know if it would work, I bought the 2 month starter kit in outdoor fresh scent. The starter kits comes with 1 dryer bar and the holder. The holder simply sicks on the inside of your dryer and has little release tabs that allows you to insert a new bar when it's time. The nice thing about this bar is that you do not even have to keep track of when it's time to change the bar, the bar has a built in indicator that lets you know it's time. You simply remove the old bar and insert a new one.

I do a lot of laundry having 2 small kids, at least 2 loads a day, and my dryer bar is keeping up really well. I thought it would go a lot faster than 2 months, but I am 1 month in and it is not showing any signs of needing to be replaced.

My laundry comes out of the dryer smelling fresher than it ever has!! This is something that is definitely worth the money!!

5 out of 5 stars!!

Next up is the Scotch Brite Disaposible Toilet Scrubber

The Scotch Brite Toilet Scrubber allows you to clean your toilet and then throw away the gross scrubber head. The starter kit comes with 1 handle and 4 disaposible scrubber heads. The scrubber head is a stiff sponge like pumice stone the fits onto the tip of the handle. You simple slide the scrubber onto the handle and scrub your toilet as usual. When you are finished, you slide the button down on the handle and the scrubber pops off into the garbage. This elminates the need to store a gross toliet brush that is full of germs, hoping your kids are not playng with while they are using the bathroom.

I bought the starter kit and have bought several sets of refills of the scrubber, but I do have pros and cons with the product. I really do lke the fact of not having to store a toilet brush, just a handle. Another plus is that I have never had my toilet cleaner! This scrubber does a great job of really scrubbing the toilet and really gets under the rim.

On the negative side, you have to buy a refil for each time you clean your toilet, which adds up. You have to make sure you have a scrubber in the cabinet before you go to clean your toilet or you're out of luck. My only other con is that the handle is so short. I feel as though I am "elbow deep" evertime I clean. When you are scrubbing the bottom, you're almsot down to your shoulder in the toilet, putting your face a little too close fo comfort.

3.5 stars out of 5

(Photos from Amazon.com)

Meet the Flintstones

2010-11-08T14:56:00.003-05:00

As you guessed, we went as the Flintstones for Halloween this year! It was so much fun! We got our pictures taken by a lot of people and tons of wonderful comments on our outfits!!

All of our outfits were homemade by me, saving a ton of money. Wilma's and Fred's outfits are made out of sheets. I just traced tank one of Ryan's tank tops and one of mine to get the outline of the top of the toga and dress. At the bottom of both, I cut triangles out to give them a jagged look. My necklace is made out of small styrofoam balls and the blue tie is just fabric. I cut a stencil of a triangle out of cardboard and used black craft paint to make the triangles on Fred's toga.

Little Miss Pebbles, aka Arya, outfit was the easiest! I just bought a plain green over sized Tshirt and just triangles out of the bottom and arms. I used black paint and painted triangles on the shirt. She wore black pants and a ponytail on the top of her head.

Dino's, aka Jaiden, costume gave me the biggest challenge. I just made a jumpsuit out of purple fleece. I made a simple velcro closure in the back and used black paint for the spots. Her hood was a separate piece made out of fleece with black felt loops of the hair.

My sister, BIL, and nephew also got into the fun by dressing up as Betty, Barney, and Bam Bam!!

(You can click on the pics to make them larger)

Extra Crispy Fried Chicken

2010-08-24T19:51:00.004-04:00

I love chicken and I think fried chicken is one of my favorite foods!! This chicken is so easy to make and tastes so yummy!! I think fried chicken tastes better in a cast iron skillet, but any deep pan will work fine. It also tastes better fried in shortening rather than oil.

Extra Crispy Fried Chicken

Chicken breasts or strips
1-2 c. flour
1 c. buttermilk (reg milk okay)
1 egg
shortening
assorted seasonings: salt pepper, seasoning salt, garlic salt, thyme, sage, rosemary, poultry seasoning

1. Heat shortening in pan until hot. Make sure there is enough to cover the chicken.
2. In a bowl, mix egg and milk.
3. In another bowl, mix flour and seasonings.
4. Dip chicken in milk then flour, then milk, then flour, then milk, then flour. This builds the breading up to be extra crispy.
5. Place chicken in hot shortening and fry until done. This will depend on how thick your chicken is, You want your oil to be hot, but not too hot because it will burn the chicken quickly.

My favorite things to eat with fried chicken are: fresh green beans, cole slaw, and biscuits!

Kentucky Lemonade

2010-07-28T13:43:00.003-04:00

This is an awesome drink that I just discovered recently. It's perfect for your outdoor summer parties!! Be sure to serve in a Mason jar.

Kentucky Lemonade

1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
1 cup fresh lemon juice, about 5-6 lemons
3-4 cups cold water
ice
6 shots of Kentucky bourbon

1. Dissolve sugar in hot water.
2. Add lemon juice.
3. Fill pitcher with ice and add cold water.
4. Stir.
5. Pour a shot of bourbon in each glass.
6. Add ice and pour lemonade in glass.
7. Enjoy!!
Makes 6 servings

Balloon Fest 2010

2010-07-21T09:37:00.006-04:00

This past weekend, Ryan and I went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival here in Ohio. It was really neat, I have never been that close to a hot air balloon before. The balloons were not able to take off because the wind was blowing a little over 10 mph, but it was still neat to see them. This is the actual Remax balloon used in the commercials. Night Sky Diving!!! Way neat!!

Sky Diving w/ American Flag

I'm Alive!

2010-07-16T17:20:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I am alive and well! Our family has had a very busy last month. First my uncle Carl died, then my mom fell and sliced her wrist open on a screw, causing her to need 7 stitches, and this past week, my sister was involved in another car accident. She was stopped at a light and a truck pulled out of a parking lot and hit her from behind going over 35 mph. She was driving my mom's car at the time and it is totaled. The back seat of the car is now in the front and the guy's license plate number is imprinted on the back of the car. Luckily, she was not majorly hurt, just still very, very sore. I have also had farmer's market since the beginning of June. I am doing 3 markets this year unlike just the one from last year. I cannot keep up with business. I am at the point where I am getting too big to keep working out of my home, but not quite big enough to buy a building. It's a good problem to have!! So, my days have been spent making pickles and jelly and going to markets.

I am sorry that my blog has been neglected! I am just so focused on my business right now. I am hoping for some free time next week to be able to post a recipe or two. Until then, thanks for sticking with me! And, I'll be back to regular posting soon!!

Now on Facebook

2010-06-01T13:55:00.003-04:00

If you are a member of Facebook, be sure to become a member of Mama Hampton's Homemade Goods! Mama Hampton's is the name of my farmers market business. You can get to the page by clicking HERE.

Also, if you haven't already, be sure to check out the web page I created for Mama Hamptons!

Jaiden's Graduation

2010-05-28T09:20:00.004-04:00

Jaiden had her preschool graduation last Saturday. It was very nice, but is was so hot! Her school doesn't have air conditioning and when you pack 50 people in a small room, it gets hot! I have been trying to post the video of her graduation but, it is taking forever to upload. I tried putting it on you tube, but it exceeds the 10 minute time limit. I am still trying to figure something out.

I made Jaiden's dress and had to pat myself on the back. I am so happy about how well it turned out! I am working on creating a PDF to share the pattern I made.

Mama's Doughnuts

2010-05-24T11:37:00.003-04:00

This is a super simple recipe for doughnuts that my grandmother used to make. I remember as a little girl going over to her house and we always had to make doughnuts. An easy, cheater way to make these is to used refrigerated biscuits instead of making biscuit dough. There are several different possibilities to use as topping for the doughnuts. You can use powdered sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon/sugar mixture, icing, and/or sprinkles.

To make these doughnuts, heat oil in a deep fryer to 375*. Place 2 cups of desired sugar in a paper bag (ie. powdered sugar, granulated sugar, etc..). Separate biscuits and make a hole in center if desired. Drop 3 biscuits at a time into hot oil. Fry biscuits until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Place on paper towel to drain and immediately place in choice of sugar. Shake to coat.

In the picture, I used granulated sugar for the doughnuts on the left and a cinnamon sugar mixture for the ones on the right.

Fredia the Fundrasier

2010-05-19T10:14:00.006-04:00

I feel like "Fredia the Fundraiser" right now. I baked 36 Sesame Street cupcakes for a bake sale at Jaiden's church for a Haiti Fundraiser, I ("and Jaiden") raised $190 for a trike-a-thon for Jaiden's school that supported St. Jude, and I have baked 60 cinnamon rolls for a business expo Jaiden is participating in at my mother's school. I am just in fundraising mode right now!

My Cookie Monster cupcakes need a lot more practice, but I thought I'd share them any way. I cheated and used store bought icing and used coloring to tint the icing. For the fur, I used tip #233 and for the eyes, I used tips #12 and #18. Cookie Monster's mouth is an Oreo cookie cut in half. I also made Elmo, Oscar, and Big Bird cupcakes, but I didn't get a picture of them.

The kids had a lot of fun riding their bikes at school! The teachers had a drink and snack station set up for the kids and a toy gas pump. Here's a little video of the trike-a-thon. Jaiden is in the hot pink helmet.

FBCT - Frozen Buttercream Cake Transfer

2010-05-12T10:42:00.011-04:00

This is Arya's cake that I made for her birthday party! I was so happy with the results and got a lot of nice comments about it! The transfer for the cake is made using the frozen buttercream cake transfer method, FBCT.

It is really easy to make, I practiced twice before I made my official transfer for the cake. I had never used the piping bags to decorate anything other than cookies. I really needed to practice the technique of tracing. After I felt comfortable, the rest was a breeze! (Click on any pic to make it bigger)

Supplies:

Wilton Black Decorating Icing (comes in a tube)

Pipping bags and attachments- coupler, coupler ring, decorating tips. (I used small round, medium round and star tips.)

wax paper

coloring book page

masking tape

small icing spatula

icing/frosting (I cheated and used store bought in a can)

coloring/tint to color your icing

portable surface, IE. cutting board, cookie sheet, etc...

1. Clear out a space in the freezer to accommodate your portable surface.

2. Cut or print out the coloring book page (CBP) and tape it down to your surface.

3. Cover the CBP with wax paper and tape it down.

4. Using the Wilton Black and a round tip, trace your CBP. I used both small and medium. You'll want to think of this as in layers, if needed. For example Jerry's whiskers would be the first layer I traced and his face the second. This is so that when he is turned over and put on the cake, his whiskers will be on top of his face and not under it. Also, any thin lines that go off the image, as in his one set of whiskers, do not trace these, add them later. The didn't transfer very well. (The pic is of my first attempt)

5. Use your coloring to tint the icing to the desired color of each part. I used light pink of his ear and tongue, light brown for his body, and white for his eyes.

6. Fill your piping bags with the colored icing and attach tip. I used the small round for the smaller areas and the star tip for the large areas. When the image is fully covered, use the icing spatula to evenly spread the icing and to fill in any areas that might have been missed.
7. Put your image in the freezer to harden, I left mine in overnight.

8. Have your baked and iced cake ready to go. Take the transfer out of the freezer, carefully remove your transfer from the portable surface, and place it on the cake. (Icing side down, wax paper on top)

9. Rub lightly over the transfer to "set" it on the cake. Very carefully, take one corner of the wax paper and begin removing it from the transfer.

10. Go back with your Wilton Black and fix any necessary areas or to add thin lines like the whiskers (mentioned above in step 4)

Remember, your image is going to be backwards, so print any words in a mirror image so it will appear correctly on your cake.

Happy, Happy Birthday, to You!!

2010-05-07T09:41:00.004-04:00

Today is Arya's 3rd birthday! Time is just flying by! After 3 short hours of labor and a bunch of pain, Arya was born after 5 in the afternoon.

Ryan and I were having a hard time trying to find a name for her. We both wanted something unusual, but couldn't decide. I was in love with the name Araya (A-ray-ah)and was trying different ways of spelling it when I came up with Arya. It is a combination of both Ryan's and my name. I fought with Ryan to put a "H" on the end of her name, but he was really against it. I wish I would have listened to myself and put it there anyway, then maybe people wouldn't have such a hard time trying to pronounce her name. (Oh, well, I guess it goes with choosing an unusual name!) Arya's name is pronounced A-RYE-AH, not "area".

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little girl!!!

Dollar Store Homemade Deodorant

2010-05-05T09:49:00.004-04:00

I have been searching the internet for recipes to make deodorant and I have found there are just as many different recipes as there are brands of deodorant in a store. I took bits and pieces from the different recipes and made my own deodorant. Let me just say, it works! I have put in to the test for three days now. I put some on in the morning and that evening, I mowed grass, the deodorant held up! Ryan wore some to work yesterday to test it himself. It was a hot day and was out in the elements all day delivering several appliances. In other words, he had a hot and busy day. He even came home and worked in the yard without applying more deodorant, he really put the deodorant to the test. It's amazing how it kept odor away all day! This is a keeper! He usually has to reapply deodorant when he gets home from work, but didn't yesterday!

I bought all the ingredients at Dollar General to make this and spent $3.50 for supplies that will make a ton of deodorant. A big price break from store bought, plus this stuff isn't giving Ryan a rash like the store bought does. This deodorant will not keep you dry, but it defiantly keeps the smell away!

I just used a plastic spoon for measuring and stored it a mini Glad container.

Homemade Deodorant

3 tsp. Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Cream
1 tsp. Vitamin E skin oil
2 tsp. baking soda

Stir all together to make a cream deodorant. It may be necessary to add more coca butter for a smoother consistency.

Prepackaged Fabric Terms

2010-04-28T10:10:00.005-04:00

I knew there was a cut of fabric out there called a fat quarter, but I never knew there were other cuts of fabric being sold. These packaged cuts of fabric are made to aid in the quilt making process, they eliminate most of the time spent cutting out pieces. There are entire books dedicated to making quilts entirely out of these different prepackaged, cuts of fabric. One of these books is, Layer Cake, Jelly Roll & Charm Quilts by Pam Lintott. You can find it on Amazon for $16.50.

Here are the different terms:
Fat quarter: 18x22
Fat Eight: 11x18
Jelly Roll: 40- 2.5x42 strips
Charm Pack: 40- 5x5 squares
Dessert Roll: 40- 5x42 strips
Layer Cakes: 40- 10x10 squares
Honey Buns: 40- 1.5x42 strips
Turnovers: 80- triangles that when sewn together form 40-5x5 squares

(picture taken from Amazon.com)

AccuQuilt Go

2010-04-26T08:40:00.002-04:00

I found this machine last night while looking for something completely different. Just look at how neat it is:

For the "low" price of $350, this can be yours! I think it is so neat and probably worth the money. I can see myself saving up for something like this! Boy, we've come along way from grandma using scissors to cut out quilts! Click Here to go to the AccuQuilt site to learn more about the machine.

For the First Time

2010-04-17T09:14:00.007-04:00

For the first time in my life, I took a shower in my own home last night!! I think it was the best shower of my whole life!

There are still a few things we have to do to complete the bathroom but, we are moving on to start the old bathroom/new laundry room today. We need to get the old bathtub out and remove the old subfloor. My sister and BIL have a bet with Ryan and myself that we alone cannot remove the old bathtub ourselves. The bathtub is an old cast iron, clawfoot tub, weighing approx. 300 lbs (136 kg). If Ryan and I can move it out by ourselves, they buy us dinner, if we cannot not, we have to buy them dinner. Great motivation!

Here is the before with the kitchen sink

Here is the same view, now with a shower there!!

Here's our tile

Here's our faucet

Here's the shower in action!

Remodel 3

2010-04-12T10:02:00.003-04:00

We are moving along! I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! On Friday, we got the bathtub in place and finished the plumbing. Saturday, I finished the drywall and painted above where we decided the shower would end. All day Sunday, Ryan started installing tile around the bathtub and we hope to have it installed the rest of the way tonight. I have some more drywall finishing to do around the side of the tub and paint before the rest of the tile goes up. We hope to be grouting Wednesday and taking showers by Friday!!!

I am not allowing anyone to see the bathroom right now, I want it to be a big shock when everyone see the end results! I had to make my sister get back in the car so she couldn't sneak a peek.

We had to go buy a new pedestal top to the sink this week. We had it sitting in the corner, ready to install, and one of our kitties decided to jump up on it. The sink went crashing to the floor and of course, shattered into a hundred pieces.

Here's what left on our list for the bathroom:

1. Finish drywall on sides of tub and paint

2. Finish installing tile and grout

3. Install sink

4. Hang medicine cabinet, and light

5. Have my BIL finish the custom cabinet

6. Install new floor

Here's a sneak preview of our tile

This is the wall above the shower

This is the wall above the shower before paint

Remodel Part 2

2010-04-07T19:59:00.005-04:00

We are well under way in our remodeling adventure. As I type, Ryan is in the cellar running the plumbing for our new bathtub. We tore out all of the old dry wall in our soon to be bathroom, removed a build in cabinet my dad made that we used to store kitchen items in, and have run electric for the medicine cabinet lights. I have also painted half of the room and done any necessary drywall repairs. We are hoping to have the bathtub installed completely by this weekend. And, are hoping to begin tiling the shower no later than Saturday. It is a slow process! Everyday after Ryan gets home from work, we chisel away at the bathroom, keeping the end result in our minds. We did take last night off to pay some attention to the girls. It will be so nice once it's all completed!!

This is a sneak preview of the wall color in the bathroom and a custom towel cabinet my BIL Ryne made.

This is the hole in the floor for the bathtub drain
This is another look at where the kitchen sink was and where the new bathtub will be
This is what my kitchen currently looks like. You could play I spy with this picture... I spy a bathtub, a sink pedestal, a laundry hamper....
This is where the custom cabinet was. Now the cabinet my BIL made and the sink will be here.

Hopefully this weekend, I will have some more completed bathroom pics to share!

Remodel Time!! Part 1

2010-03-30T11:22:00.007-04:00

I am sure you noticed that I haven't been around here for a while. Well, we have started our house remodel. The wall we want to take down (to make the kitchen and the family room one big room)contains the old coal stove pipe chimney. The chimney runs from the cellar to the roof. A few weeks ago, Ryan began taking down the chimney in the attic, brick by brick. We then progressed into my bedroom, brick by brick. We then had to throw each brick out the window and then load them into our truck for removal. We now have a big, gaping hole in our bedroom wall for the time being. With Jaiden's room being on the other side of the wall, we are going to make that space a closet for her room (old house, no closets).

We got our income tax back and now have the money to move forward! This past weekend, we started on the kitchen/bathroom/laundry room remodel. As I have said before, our house was build without plumbing. When the owners decided to install plumbing in the house, they sure didn't use common sense in the placing of the items. Our bathroom sits under the stairs that lead to our bedrooms. As you can imagine, there is not a lot of room there. We have never had a shower because there is no room to stand up straight when you are in certain areas. So, in order to have a shower, the bathroom has to be moved.

Next order of business is the kitchen sink. It is in its own separate room that separates the kitchen from the bathroom. My dad build some custom cabinets and besides the sink, that is all that is in the room. In thinking outside the box, I wanted my kitchen sink in the kitchen. Maybe I'll be starting a new trend(note the sarcasm here)!! This weekend, Ryan ran all of the plumbing a moved the sink into the kitchen. I tore down the walls in the old sinkroom to make way for tile for our new shower.

Once we get the bathroom moved to its new location (the old sinkroom), the old bathroom will be a laundry room. This will enable us to get the washer and dryer out of my kitchen.

As for part 2, we are waiting for our bathtub to come in, it had to be special ordered due to the smaller size. After that comes, we can really start seeing some major progress. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

This is the chimney up in the attic

Chimney is attic gone!

Looking down into the old pipes inside the chimney

Our bedroom wall. The circle is where the old pipe came out of the wall to heat the room

Almost gone!

The huge mess we had in our bedroom

This is the sink before.

This is the kitchen before

My sink is now where the table was in the picture above. It won't look as odd once we get rid of the old counter top, fill the rest of the space with cabinets, and get a new counter top that runs the span of the cabinets.

These are all of the old sinkroom where I tore the walls out.

Too Many Irons in the Fire

2010-02-26T10:00:00.003-05:00

I have always been a person who cannot just do one things at a time. I read two books at once, work on two projects at the same time, and etc. I think this time though, I've got too many irons in the fire. I have got so much going on right now. For the last several days I have been developing a web site for the items I sell at the Farmer's Market. I this something I love and would like to expand it from a passion to an passion with an great income. I know this is something I can make happen, I've got got to put my full effort into it! I went online and downloaded the forms to become an LLC and go get a Federal ID number, I've just got to come up with the money for processing fees. I would love to expand this to be able to have a commercial kitchen with a store front. Right now, I operate under the Ohio Cottage Food Law which means, I cannot take orders over the internet, I cannot sell outside of Ohio, and I cannot sell food that need to be refrigerated. This does limit me as to what I can and cannot sell. I have some great recipes for pie, but cannot sell them do the the refrigeration part. Long story short, this is something my main focus is going to be on this year.

Also, as soon as we get our income tax money back, we are remodeling our house. In several ways I am looking forward to having a normal house, but then again, I am not looking forward to the huge mess this is going to create. Our plans are to knock out the wall the separates our kitchen and TV room. Not as easy as it sounds! The wall is a bloom wall, meaning it goes all the way up stairs. If we tear it out down here, our second floor would come crashing down, so we have to support the floor/ceiling to take out the wall. The second challenge is in the wall itself. The wall contains the old stove pipes that were once used in conjunction with the old coal stoves. The previous home owner did not take the pipes out when they converted to a "modern" heating system. Instead, they enclosed the pipes in concrete and walled it in. This shaft runs up all the way into the bloom wall. This means, we have to tear a hole in our bedroom wall and take out the concrete and carry it out. Now, why an I going through all of this trouble over wall, my kitchen will be expanded to the two rooms. I will be able to have my kitchen sink in the kitchen instead of it's own little room. I will also be able to have a shower!!! The room where my sink currently is will become my bathroom and my old bathroom a laundry room. This will get the washer and dryer out of my kitchen. This project will also allow me to have kitchen counters and cabinets (house built without them). I will take plenty of pictures so everyone can see what I'm talking about.

As of right now, I still don't have a desire to do anything crafty. I think I am just burnt out. My sister referred some people to me to hem pants and I turned them down. I just down want to go near my sewing machine right now. I know this will change, it better, I have too much fabric!

So, that is a brief summary of what's happening in my life right now. I will try to post on here as much as I can.

Tubby Little Snowman

2010-02-17T13:01:00.003-05:00

One day, Jaiden started singing this song to me and I thought it was so cute! I had never heard it before. Last night we were down at my grandmonther's house and I asked her to sing it for me.

Here's Jaiden's singing debut:

King Cake

2010-02-16T08:51:00.002-05:00

" The history of the King Cake has its roots in pre-Christian religions of Western Europe. Part of the Harvest celebrations that the pagans practiced was the sacrifice ritual. It was customary to choose a man to be the "sacred king" of the tribe for a year. That man would be treated like a king for the year, then he would be sacrificed, and his blood returned to the soil to ensure that the harvest would be successful. The method of choosing who would have the honor of being the sacred king was the purpose of the "King's Cake". Several men of the tribe, would eat of the cake A coin or bean would be placed in the cake before baking, and whoever got the slice that had the coin was the chosen one.

When Christianity extended its influence and began overshadowing the religions that came before it, many of the local customs were not outright abolished, but instead were incorporated into Christian tradition and given a new spin. Catholic priests were not predisposed to human sacrifice, so the King's Cake was converted into a celebration of the Magi, the three Kings who came to visit the Christ Child.
French settlers brought the custom to Louisiana in the 18th century where it remained associated with the Epiphany until the 19th century when it became a more elaborate Mardi Gras custom. In New Orleans, the first cake of the season is served on January 6. A small ceramic figurine of a baby is hidden inside the cake, by tradition. Whoever finds the baby is allowed to choose a mock court and host the next King Cake party the following week (weekly cake parties were held until Mardi Gras).

The classic king cake is oval-shaped, like the pattern of a racetrack. The dough is basic coffee-cake dough, sometimes laced with cinnamon, sometimes just plain. The dough is rolled out into a long tubular shape, then shaped into an oval. The ends are twisted together to complete the shape. The baby hidden in the cake speaks to the fact that the three Kings had a difficult time finding the Christ Child and of the fine gifts they brought.

The cake is then baked, and decorated when it comes out. The classic decoration is simple granulated sugar, colored purple, green, and gold (the colors of Carnival)."
The colored sugars on the cake also have meaning. The purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power.

The girls saw a picture of a king cake in a magazine and got excited and told me that we had to make one. Since we were snowed in again yesterday, the girls and I made our very first king cake. We all had a lot of fun making the cake, but it took us all day!

Since this was my very first king cake, it came with a learning experience. There are some things I will do differently next year. I think that the cake baked a little too long, the top was a little hard and we didn't care for the icing. I also changed the amount of cinnamon/sugar mixture that went into the filling and omitted the raisins.

The recipe listed is WITH my changes. **As a tip: Anytime the recipe says to "let rise in a warm place free from drafts", put the dough in the oven with just the oven light on. The oven keeps the dough free from drafts and the light adds the warmth the dough needs to rise. (thanks to my friend Tiffany for this tip!!)**

King Cake

Cake:
1 c. milk
1/2 stick margarine
2 (.25) pkgs. dry active yeast
2/3 c. warm water (110*F/45*C)
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
5 3/4 c. flour

Filling:
1 c. sugar
2 Tbl. cinnamon
1/2 stick margarine, melted

Icing:
1 stick plus 2 Tbl. margarine, melted
4 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4-8 Tbl. hot water

Colored Sugar
1 1/2 c. sugar, divided
red, green, blue and yellow liquid food coloring

1. In a medium sized bowl, dissolve yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar, and warm water. Let rest for 5 minutes.
2. After 5 minutes, whisk the yeast to mix it until it is completely dissolves. Let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes.
3. Scald milk. remove from heat and add butter. Allow to cool slightly.
4. Place dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add eggs. Using the dough hook, being mixing the dough. Very slowly, add the milk and the yeast mixture. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2hours.
6. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
7. Roll dough halves out into large rectangles, about 1/2". Brush with melted butter.
8. Mix cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle over each dough rectangle.
9. Roll up each dough, like a jelly roll. Place on a greased cookie sheet, using each roll to form a half circle. Pinch the ends of each roll together.
10. With sharp knife, make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals.
11. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
12. Bake at 350*F (175*C) for 20-25 minutes.
13. When cool, push the doll into the bottom of the cake and ice.
14. To make icing: In medium bowl, mix melted butter, powdered sugar and vanilla; add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until glaze reaches desired spreading consistency.
15. For colored sugar: In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of sugar with yellow food coloring. Whisk to incorporate the coloring. Repeat with the green, and the red and blue(purple). If you mix yellow first, then green, then purple, you can use the same bowl and whisk.
16. Sprinkle sugars over the icing.
17. Sit back, relax, and eat a piece of cake, you deserve it!!

History of the King Cake taken from Mardi Gras Digest

Name that Flag

2010-02-14T10:09:00.004-05:00

First, I want to apologize, I know this is "Red Mommy Crafts", but I just do not have any inspiration to create or the desire to make any crafty right now. I think I am a little burnt out. However, I do want to continue posting different items. I know the crafting bug with hit me again, it's just not right now!

On with the post! Tomorrow night, a bunch of the family are getting together at my grandmother's house for dinner and to watch some of the Olympics. We are having a "Name that Flag" contest. So, I thought I would test your knowledge on the world's flags also. See how many you can get right. Answers will be posted Tuesday, after our dinner.

1.
A: Lesotho
B: Luxembourg
C: Liechtenstein

2.
A: Austria
B: Denmark
C: Poland

3.
A: Estonia
B: Laos
C: Greece

4.
A: Ghana
B: Germany
C: Jamaica

5.
A: Ivory Coast
B: India
C: Ireland

6.
A: Austria
B: Denmark
C: Latvia

7.
A: Mexico
B: Senegal
C: Morocco

8.
A: South Korea
B: Japan
C: Vietnam

9.
A: Jamaica
B: Cayman Islands
C: Bahamas

10.
A: United States
B: USA
C: United States of America

GOOD LUCK!!

All flag pictures are from Flags.net

Boring Cupcakes, or are They??

2010-02-12T16:27:00.006-05:00

Want a way to "WOW" anyone that eats your cupcakes? If so, you have to make these cupcakes!!

I got the idea from Omnomicon, where she made a beautiful rainbow cake. (side note: there is some language on her site that some people might find offensive.) I thought this would be so neat to make for Jaiden's school for St. Patrick's Day, you know, the rainbow with the gold at the end. My thought was to get some chocolate gold coins to decorate the top of the cake. Then, I thought, cupcakes would be so much easier for the kids to eat. So, I experimented today to see if it would work. I am so very pleased with the results! I am going to try to find some of those coins or some sort of Paddy's Day pick to put into each one.

Rainbow Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix
(egg, water, oil, or whatever the box calls for)
1 box food color gels (not liquid food coloring)
homemade or store bought icing/frosting
24 paper cupcake cups

1. Make your batter according to the instructions on the box.
2. Divide your batter into 6 bowls by putting approx. 1/2 cup of batter into each bowl.
3. Squeeze the appropriate color into each bowl and stir well. (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) You will have to mix colors to get orange and purple.
4. Place the papers into the pan and lightly spray each paper with non-stick spray.
5. Decide what look you want for the cupcakes. I did one set starting with red, one set starting with purple, and one set in no particular order.
6. Place one teaspoon of 1st color in the bottom.
7. Place a teaspoon of 2nd color on top of 1st color in the middle. This will make the 1st color spread.
8. Continue placing the colors on top of each other.
9. Bake according to box directions.
10. Ice/frost you cupcakes.
11. Stand back and admire your results.

This is all the colors in the separate bowls

Before the cupcakes went into the oven

After the cupcakes came out of the oven

This cupcake is made with the purple on bottom and the red on top

This cupcake was made with the red on bottom and purple on top

This cupcake was made by just putting the colors in together

Here are the 3 different types all together

Enough is Enough!!

2010-02-10T09:44:00.004-05:00

It snowed, it's snowing, and it will snow! We got our first round of snow last Friday with another round yesterday and today, we are getting round three. The news is also predicting a round four to come through on Sunday with more "significant snow". We easily have over a foot (0.3m)of snow already on the ground. Ryan used the snow blower last night when we got a break in the snow, and an hour later, you really couldn't see when he worked. This really is an unusually high amount of snow for us.

I am staying inside cleaning and baking. The girls are getting cabin fever because it's just too cold to allow them to go out and play. My utility bill will be high again this month due to the very cold temps!

This is the amount of snow piled up on my outdoor table.

This is the side of the snow path where Ryan just plowed.

Can you find the girls' Barbie jeep?

This is what one of our cars looked like yesterday afternoon. It had been cleaned off from the last snow.

This is our grill.

Can you find the two lane road in front of my house?

This is the tree in my front yard.

This is a special treat for all of those who do not get snow.

Old Fashioned Caramels

2010-02-08T09:14:00.003-05:00

All I have to say is, once you try homemade caramels, you'll never eat store bought again!! I found this old, handwritten recipe in a bundle of old recipes that I bought at estate sale last summer. Ryan and I both love caramel, so I thought I would give this a try!

Next time, I am going to make a change to the original directions. The recipe says to butter a pan and turn out onto wax paper when cold. The next time I make this, I am going to have wax paper already in my pan. The recipe states to cook this over a slow fire, which means low heat, but I cooked it over medium low and it did just fine. It took a little over an hour to get the caramel to temperature. I will be making this again!!

Caramels

1 c. milk
1/2 c. cream
1 c. sweetened condensed milk
1 c. light corn syrup
2 c. sugar
1/4 butter or margarine
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all but vanilla over medium high heat until caramel reaches hard ball stage, about 248*. Be sure to stay close by and stir constantly the last 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into a well buttered 8x8 pan. When cold, turn into wax paper, cut and wrap.

Pickle Pops

2010-02-05T10:14:00.001-05:00

Just when I thought I'd seen it all:

Electronic Recipe Exchange

2010-02-04T10:01:00.007-05:00

I am so in need of some new, tried and true recipes! I have bought recipe book after recipe book, and have found nothing. I figure there is a lot of people like me out there than want "real" recipes. So, I thought, why not do a recipe exchange!! It's not going to cost anything and you'll get "real" recipes from "real" people, not just unrealistic recipes from some book. If I get 5 people to join, that will mean you will get 25 new recipes, for free!

Here's how I thought it would work:

Send me an email (redmommyblog[at]hotmail.com)by February 16th stating if you would like to participate. (no recipes in this email.)

If I can get at least 5 people, I will post another post stating that the exchange will happen. At that time,(I'll re-post this) send me another email with at least 5 of your favorite family recipes. Please do not send them as recipe cards, just plain old typed out recipes.

I will then copy them and paste them into one big document, cookbook style, and send you your new electronic recipe book via email.

By getting the recipes via email, it doesn't cost you anything and you to pick and choose what recipes you decide to print out and keep.

I'll post more specifics and due dates if I get enough people to participate. Please feel safe by emailing me! I will not send you cutesy pictures or annoying chain mail, I will only email you regarding the recipe exchange.

So remember, if this sounds like something you might be interested in, email me by February 16th stating you would like to participate.

It's My Birthday

2010-01-31T10:07:00.004-05:00

I am celebrating my birthday today! I plan on taking it easy and not cooking today! Last night, Ryan took me out for wings for my birthday dinner and we went to the antique mall. Tonight, my in-laws are taking me out for dinner. My mom and grandmother always pay to have my license tags renewed for my birthday.

The picture above is from when I got my birthday spanking in kindergarten. Gotta love the knee socks that match my dress! As I'm typing this, just thought how there would be no way schools could do this now! We've come a long way in some areas, but have boxed ourselves in, in a lot of areas!

Also, just wanted to thank everyone for the birthday cards!

Nobody's Happy

2010-01-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

That Explains It!

2010-01-29T10:02:00.003-05:00

My camera is still MIA, so I really can't post anything crafty, so I thought I would share some useless trivia with you. (Not sure how accurate they are)

1. Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?

Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called ' pygg. ' When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as ' pygg banks.' When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a bank that resembled a pig and it caught on.

2. Did you ever wonder why dimes, quarters and half dollars have notches, while pennies and nickels do not?

The U.S. Mint began putting notches on the edges of coins containing gold and silver to discourage holders from shaving off small quantities of the precious metals. Dimes, quarters and half dollars are notched because they used to contain silver. Pennies and nickels aren't notched because the metals they contain are not valuable enough to shave.

3. Why do men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's clothes have buttons on the left?

When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right! Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left and that's where women ' s buttons have remained since.

4. Why do X ' s at the end of a letter signify kisses?

In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.

5. Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called ' passing the buck ' ?

In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility, he would 'pass the buck' to the next player.

6. Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?

It used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would then just touch or clink the host's glass with his own.

7. Why are people in the public eye said to be 'in the limelight'?

Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and stage lighting by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, performers on stage' in the limelight' were seen by the audience to be the center of attention.

8. Why do ships and aircraft in trouble use ' mayday ' as their call for help?

This comes from the French word m ' aidez -meaning ' help me ' -- and is pronounced ' mayday ' .

9. Why is someone who is feeling great said to be 'on cloud nine'?
Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine
being the highest cloud. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well above worldly cares.

10. Why are zero scores in tennis called 'love'?

In France , where tennis first became popular, a big, round zero on scoreboard looked like an egg and was called ' lóeuf, ' which is French for ' egg. ' When tennis was introduced in the U.S., Americans pronounced it ' love. '

11. In golf, from where did the term ' Caddie ' come?

When Mary, later known as Queen of Scots, went to France as a young girl, Louis, King of France, learned that she loved the Scot game 'golf.' So he had the first golf course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and when she returned to Scotland, she took the practice with her.. In French, the word cadet is pronounced ca-day and the Scots changed it into caddie.

12. Why do I get more car sick in the backseat?

It’s probably because you don’t have such a good view of the horizon. Motion sickness occurs when the balance mechanism in your ear registers movement while your eyes are telling you that you are stationary.

13.Do hot drinks cool you down?

Yes. They make your body think you are hotter than you really are so you sweat more and that leads to heat loss.
-As a personal note, I would always see my grandpa drinking a hot cup of coffee on a 100* day while mowing the grass. I thought he was crazy, well, he still was, but not because of the coffee :)

Another Interesting Week!

2010-01-27T10:58:00.002-05:00

It has been another long and busy week! The whole family has been down with a violent stomach flu. It started last week with my sister and BIL and then filtered to my grandmother to us. My MIL even got it from the kids on Saturday. It is the worst stomach flu I've had in almost 5 years! I am going to weigh myself today to see how much I lost. It's a horrible way to lose weight, but I'll take it!

We are also in the planning stages of rearranging our house. Eight years is long enough to go without a shower! We have been planing on installing one, it's not just as easy as replacing the bath tub. If you've read any of my other posts about the house, you'll know that our current bathroom is built under the stairs that lead up to our bedrooms. It is impossible for Ryan to stand up straight in there, so putting a shower in the current bathroom is not an option. I think we have come up with a solution of knocking down walls and removing our front porch. I'll post full plans when we nail something down.

Over this past week, my camera has gone missing. Arya is known for taking things and hiding them. We thoroughly searched her room last night, and came up empty. She has hid it good!! my birthday is Sunday, so hint, hint, maybe I'll get a new one.

On the subject of missing, Nutmeg went missing again. Last Wednesday, she left the house at 8 A.M. to go on her morning roaming adventure. She never returned. By Friday, I was getting worried. We put up posters and checked the local animal shelter. It was like she disappeared in thin air. The beauty salon across the street, told me Saturday, they saw some man pick Nutmeg up on Wednesday and carry her off. Nutmeg is just too friendly and will let anyone pick her up. She was wearing tags and is micro chipped, my only hope was he was an honest person. Nutmeg is allowed to roam because she comes back and comes in at night. A ton of people walking by thinks she is lost and want to take her. Anyway, we did end up fining her up at the shelter Saturday afternoon and it cost $30 to "bail" her out. I was okay with the cost because of all the animal shelter does, but upset because someone even picked her up in the first place. I know "he" thought he was trying to do the right thing by taking a "lost" cat to the shelter, but cats do roam and she was wearing tags!

Now to end the week, my dad called me Monday to tell me that my stepmom's daughter was found dead on Saturday. She was my stepmom's only child and my stepmom is, of course, fairly upset. I have only met the daughter twice, but I am hurting for my stepmom. My dad and stepmom have been together over 13 years, so my dad is hurting also because he has been in her life since the daughter was 13. So, a funeral will wrap up my week on Friday.

I am so hoping for a much better week next week!!

Cute Story

2010-01-20T09:06:00.004-05:00

Ryan is fast becoming a huge fan of country music, so when he drives, we listen to country. There is this song called "Chicken Fried" by The Zac Brown Band. If you listen to country, I'm sure you know it because they play it on the channel Ryan listens to about 5 times a day. Anyway, it goes, "I like chicken fried. Cold beer on a Friday night. A pair of pants that fit just right. And, the radio up."

Jaiden has taken a big liking to this song and goes around singing it, but we changed the "beer" lyric to juice. Yesterday, she asked me to play the song for her on my computer. I went to you tube and started the video. She goes, "Why is Uncle Ryne singing on the computer?" She thought for sure the lead singer, Zac Brown, was her Uncle Ryne, my BIL! I of course called my sister and she told me that they have heard this from other people before. I told Jaiden to make sure she has Uncle Ryne sing the song for her next time she see him! It's just so cute what kids think and see!!

Here's the video:

Here's Uncle Ryne:

Valentine Kids Crafts

2010-01-19T09:11:00.001-05:00

Lollipop Rose

Hershey Kiss Mouse

Ohhh, Fleece Sheets

2010-01-18T16:23:00.005-05:00

I have found my favorite set of sheets to use in the winter!! They are fleece sheets. Flannel sheets don't even begin to hold a candle to these sheets! I first got a set at Kohl's department store after Thanksgiving on sale for $20.00 We loved them so much, we wanted a second set. I went back to the store and found out they are regular priced at $90!! I waited and waited and found them on sale again for $25. I highly recommend these sheets! If you can find them on sale, be sure to get a set!!

Also, just wanted to say that I will be back to posting regular craft ideas soon. I usually take time off from doing any crafts since I work all year getting ready for craft shows.

What I've Been Up To

2010-01-17T13:50:00.003-05:00

Now that I've had more time, I have reopened my etsy shop. I have been working on several different items to try to get some more money coming into this house to pay bills.

Ryan has even gotten on board and has found beading bookmarks to be very addictive! Just don't tell the "man club" on him for making beaded bookmarks!

Here's the link to my shop if anyone would like to check it. I am very open to comments, opinions, and suggestions about the store items!!
Etsy Shop Link

Easy Valentine's Dessert

2010-01-15T10:47:00.001-05:00

How to Sew a Zipper

2010-01-14T15:50:00.003-05:00

Young at Heart Chorus

2010-01-13T08:47:00.003-05:00

These were not able to be embedded. They are great, so be sure to check them out.
Staying Alive

Road to Nowhere

I'll Fix You

The Outlander Series

2010-01-10T22:39:00.005-05:00

I know it has been forever since I have posted a "Book of the Week", but I think it's time! I just haven't read anything good on awhile! During the time I was sick last month, I started reading a series of books called "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. I instantly fell in love! I just finished reading book #3 and am getting ready to start on book #4. I believe there are 7 books so far in the series.

The first book, "Outlander" is about a English WWII nurse, Claire. Claire and her husband, Frank, are taking a holiday in Scotland, after being separated from the war. While there, Claire hears of the mysteries of the standing stones on the hill of Craigh na Dun and the power they hold. Claire's curiosity gets the better of her and she decides to go to the stones. She makes a leap into the crack of one of the stones and is instantly transported back in time to 1743 Scotland. Being from the 20th century and English, she runs into some trouble at the start of her journey.

Read to find out how Claire adjusts to her new life and the new time period she is living in. Will she return to the 20th century, to a life she knows and a loving husband? Or will she be held captive by a bunch a rouge Scottish Highlanders?

You should be able to find the book from your local library, or on Amazon.

#1 Outlander
#2 Dragon Fly in Amber
#3 Voyager
#4 Drums of Autumn
#5 Fiery Cross
#6 Breath of Snow and Ashes
#7 An Echo in the Bone
(picture taken from Amazon.com)

Beauty Shop, to the Next Level

2010-01-06T09:22:00.004-05:00

Last night, while Ryan and I are watching some TV, the girls decided to take their beauty shop role playing to a whole new level! Arya came downstairs to show me her new hair style, then we called Jaiden down. I could not believe my eyes! My girls took their long pretty hair and chopped it to look like little boys!

Arya apparently stole my scissors from my sewing desk and then handed them over to Jaiden. So, Jaiden is responsible for the majority of the cutting. I was so mad!I know all little kids go through this, but I'm still upset! I think they got off fairly easy on punishment and should be thankful considering how mad I was! Neither one of them is allowed TV during bed time for a week, they will, without question or argument, allow me to put ribbons and barrettes in their hair (they hate them), and no family movie night this week.

Here is Arya just one week ago on New Year's Eve.

This is Arya now:

This was Jaiden New Years:

This is Jaiden now!

2009: In Review

2009-12-31T10:28:00.011-05:00

I told Jaiden that I wanted to get a video if her saying "Happy New Year" to everyone and of course she agreed. It was her idea to introduce herself and decide to say her ABCs. I think they are all too cute not to post!

Well, when I think back over the past year, a lot has happened here!

In February, Nutmeg adopted us.

In March, I became an aunt!

In April, Nutmeg surprised us with 4 kittens.

In May, we began siding our house.

In June, I started successfully selling my products at a farmer's market, our dog attacked Stormy, and my grandmother fell, breaking her clavicle.

In July, Ebie and Dargo came into our lives.

In August, we took in a pregnant stray, Peaches, so we give her kittens a home after they were born.

In September, we finally got to take a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, Peaches had the kittens, and we put Daisy down due to arthritis, old age, and behavior.

Luckily, the rest of the year had been pretty quiet for us!

Both Jaiden and Arya have grown so much over the last year! Just look at the pictures for last Christmas and this Christmas:

From the Red Mommy Family to yours, HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR!!!

I'm in Love!!!

2009-12-27T19:25:00.004-05:00

Simplicity Bias Tape Maker ($79-$99)

Simplicity Rotary Cutter ($55-$70)

Track Santa

2009-12-24T08:30:00.002-05:00

Don't forget to track Santa to see where he has been and where he will be! As of 8:30 this morning, he has already delivered gifts in Russia and is now currently in Australia. You can track him HERE.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T09:29:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a

Merry Christmas!!

I hope everyone gets to have a wonderful time with family and friends while trying not to eat too much!

Doll Snuggie

2009-12-22T09:11:00.004-05:00

There's nothing like waiting until the last minute to finish Christmas gifts, is there? Hot off the sewing machine is this snuggie I made for Jaiden's doll. I have one more to make for Arya's pig. I think the girls will get a kick out of their dolls having snuggies to match theirs.

If you count the 2 doll snuggies, I have made a total of 13! I think the Snuggie company is going to call me and tell me that I need to cut down production because they are losing sales. I never thought I would end up making so many! I had originally thought of making 2, one for Jaiden and one for Arya. Then word got out and several people requested that I make snuggies for their Christmas gifts.

Striped Pillows

2009-12-21T13:07:00.003-05:00

This is one of the gifts that I made for my dad for Christmas. Now, if you are wondering why pillows, I will explain. He has what I refer to as a "man cave" My dad build himself a little, white house to retreat to about a hundred yards away from his back door. And, it even has an upstairs to it! He has it all decorated in black, red, and grey, traditional manly colors. He has a plain grey couch out there and my step mom told me he has no pillows on it. You just can't get very comfy laying on a couch watching movies with a pillow, hence the idea for pillows! I think he will really like them! We are going out there tonight to exchange gifts and I cannot wait to see them on the couch!

The pillows were fairly simple to make. I cut 4 strips per each color 2" wide by 18 long. I then sewed all of the strips together, ironing the seams as I went. I cut a piece of black material for the back and sewed it on. I bought two 16" pillow forms and sewed the case shut on the bottom.

Photo Coasters

2009-12-19T09:25:00.003-05:00

This is what I made Ryan's grandmother for Christmas. I love how they turned out! I think she will love them!

They are so easy to make and make such a nice gift! Here's the original post from March where I listed the instructions.

Fashion Designer, Jaiden

2009-12-16T13:56:00.003-05:00

Last week when Jaiden was sick, I took the opportunity to sneak and make some jammies for a Christmas present. She saw the scraps of material and asked if she could have them to make an outfit. For almost 2 hours, she sat quietly in the other room working on an outfit for Arya's doll. She was so proud of the outfit that she wanted me to take a picture of the doll and her, runny nose and all.

Jaiden just loves fabric scraps! She can play with them forever! She likes to pretend all kinds of things with the pieces. Last year for Christmas, I bought Jaiden her very own sewing machine that actually sews. She wants to be just like me! I am so proud!

Homemade Holidays #6

2009-12-15T10:35:00.004-05:00

Here's post #6 in the Homemade Series.

1. M&M Christmas Recipes

2. Hershey's Christmas Recipes

3. Pillsbury Christmas Recipes

4. Duncan Hines Christmas Recipes

5. Toll House Christmas Recipes

6. Melting Snowman Cookie Pt 1
Pt 2
Pt 3
Pt 4

7. Red Mommy Snickerdoodles

8. Red Mommy Chocolate Chip Cookies

9. Red Mommy Chocolate Chip Brownies

10. Red Mommy Buckeyes

11. Red Mommy Base Fudge

12. Red mommy Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

The Toilet Bandit has Struck Again!

2009-12-13T14:45:00.003-05:00

The Toilet Bandit has struck again! If you do not know what I am referring to, read
this first before this post.

Our toilet has not been wanting to flush all the water since yesterday. Well, I guess last night it had enough and decided to overflow. Since the girls weren't home, Ryan just decided to tackle the problem this morning. We had to go through all of the steps we did last time, of course. Ryan takes the toilet outside to see what was clogging it this time. He found 3 car wash tokens, probably left over from last time, and a bottle of cold medicine. Little Miss Arya thought the cold medicine was nasty and I guess this was her way of disposing of it.

After the last incident, I put a lock on the outside of the door. The problem is that Jaiden cannot reach the lock. She waits until the last minute to go to the bathroom and by the time she tells me and I get up to unlatch the door, she has had an accident. We're going to have to find another solution. The main problem is that Arya is so sneaky. She sneaks downstairs from playing and slinks into the bathroom to play. I'm going to have to put bells on her!

Matching Jammies

2009-12-10T11:30:00.003-05:00

This is another Christmas present I have made for the girls. I made them each a matching pair of jammies and I even made a set for their dolls! I used fleece for the shirt and flannel for the pants.
I used McCalls Stitch & Save #5735 for the girls and made my own pattern for the doll sizes. I made a few changes on the McCalls pattern. First I cut off about 3-4" off the top of the pants so they wouldn't sit under the girls' arms and a few inches off the length. I also had to make several changes to the shirt. I used the small pattern (size 4) and it was huge! Jaiden just swam in the shirt. I made the neck more narrow and shorter. I also made the shirt body more narrow so it didn't look like she had one of my shirts on. Other than the changes, it was a really easy pattern to follow and I am happy with the end results.

Flannel Sheets for Toddler Beds

2009-12-09T08:59:00.000-05:00

We live in an older house, and even with new windows and new siding, our bedrooms are still drafty. I just recently got myself a set of flannel sheets and tried to find the girls a set too.

I just hate that you cannot find "big girl" sheets for toddler beds. All the stores carry baby looking sheets, why even have toddler beds then? And, the stores certainly do not carry flannel sheets for toddler beds, so I am making the girls a set with matching pillow cases for Christmas. The sheet in the pictures is for Ayra, she loves pigs, and I am going to make a penguin sheet for Jaiden.

Supplies:
2 yards cotton or cotton flannel material
2 - 26" pieces of 3/8" elastic
Extras:
8x8" cardboard template

1. Make sure to prewash and dry material (it's very important). Iron if needed.

2. Cut 3" off the length of the material to give you a piece that measures 45"x69".

3. Fold the material into 4ths and lay the template on the bottom corner. Make sure you will not be cutting into any folds.

4. Cut out template to make the corners of your sheet.
It should look like this when it is unfolded:

5. Serge the top and bottom of the sheet, the smaller sides. This will keep it from fraying in the wash. If you do not have a serger, fold under 1/4" and then 1/4" again and sew.

6. To sew the corners: With WRONG sides together, fold the corner onto itself by matching point A to point A. Sew with a 1/8" seam allowance. Do this with all 4 corners.

7. Turn wrong side out and press seams flat. Now, with RIGHT sides together, sew corner seams again using 1/4" seam allowance. This method with keep the seams from fraying when washing. This is what each corner should look like when completed:

8. You need to make some reference points on the corners for the elastic. Using a cutting mat or a ruler, place the corner seam on the 12" point and make a mark. Now on the left, make a mark at the zero. Then to the right, make a mark at the 24" point. Do this to all four corners.

9. On both pieces of elastic make the following reference marks: 6", 12", 14", and 20".

10. Align one piece of elastic with the first mark to the left of the corner at the top of the sheet. Using a long stitch, start sewing in place. Stretch the elastic as much as you can to match the reference marks on the elastic to the ones on the sheet. Do this with the other piece of elastic to the bottom of the sheet.

That's it! It took me less than a hour to make this sheet. They fit pretty well on both girls' mattresses. I cannot wait for them to use them!

My sheet was based upon the instructions I found here.

Homemade Holidays #5

2009-12-08T09:33:00.002-05:00

This is post #5 for the Homemade Holiday Series

1. Toddler Belt

2. Clay Pot Bird Bath

3. Wind Chimes

4. Rose Ear Rings

5. Neck Tie Onesies

6. Colored Pencil Roll

7. Beach Glass Necklace

8. Covered Headbands

9. Grill Buddy

10. Princess Pavilion

11. Women's Underwear

12. 6 Pocket Bag

13. Toddler Girl Underwear

14. Bath Toiletry Recipes

15. Christmas Tree Hair Bow

16. Sayings to go with Gifts

17. Quick & Cheap Gifts

18. Stethoscope Cover

Updates

2009-12-07T10:03:00.002-05:00

Well, we are still sick! Jaiden has joined us now on the sick train. My throat has been so sore that I thought it was going to close from being swelled. Arya's nose is running and she has a nasty cough still. Jaiden has been showing sings of being sick since Friday, so I started giving her some cold medicine as a preventive measure. It didn't work. She looks so pitiful this morning with a red nose and deep cough.

I called the doctor and they both go in today at 1:00, hopefully to get some different medication. I've ran out of my OTC medicine and have to get some more. Our days have been spent on the couch watching cartoons and reading books. I was able to do some cleaning and laundry this weekend, so the house isn't a total wreck.

As for my uncle, he had his surgery on Wednesday. Everything went really well. The tumors did turn out to be cancerous. The doctors were able to remove both tumors (the third was calcified). The good news in that the tumors didn't metastasize when they were removed. The evening after his surgery, he was up talking and eating. The doctors were surprised at his fast recovery. On Friday, he was moved closer to us to a care facility where he'll remain until Wednesday. After that, he will be staying with my mother and grandmother until he is able to be on his own. The doctors did run some more tests and he'll get the results next week to find out what course of action he should take; should they find more cancerous cells.

With all this sickness, I feel as though I will never get my Christmas projects finished! I haven't even started Ryan's gifts and I have several more to go for the girls. I have a few things left to make for our families, Ryan's work, and Jaiden's teachers. I'll be a very busy little elf next week!

Yuck, Ick, We're Sick!

2009-12-01T18:25:00.005-05:00

Arya started with a runny nose on Friday and it has progressed into a bronchial infection. I took her to the doctor today because she had such a deep cough. She has been very weak and clingy. The doctor gave her steroids and some other antibiotic and said she should be better in 2 days.

I woke up with it this morning. My eye was matted shut and my throat is killing me. I am burning up then I freeze. I hoping that I feel better tomorrow so I can get some housework done. I have been taking Alka Seltzer cold, and that usually does the trick.

On another note, my uncle came up from Florida to spend Thanksgiving. Since he had gotten here, he experienced dizziness and headaches. He went to the emergency room on Friday and they found 3 tumors on his brain, and one of them was bleeding. They transported him down to University Hospital in Cincinnati to find out what exactly what was going on. He is having surgery tomorrow to see if they can remove the tumors. Thank god, none of them are cancerous.

I will keep everyone updated, but if I'm not around for a while, you know why. Please keep my family in your thoughts!

Homemade Holidays #4

2009-12-01T08:47:00.002-05:00

Here's installment #4 in the Homemade Holiday Series.

1. Snack Bag

2. Shirt Stencils

3. Edible Crayons

4. Fabric Covered Night Lights

5. Red Cordial

6. 2 Hour Tote

7. Tepee

8. Cupcake Bath Bomb

9. Memory Game

10. Headache Band

11. Momma Doll

12. Superhero Cape

13. Mermaid Tail

14. Cloak

15. No Sew Cloak

16. Fabric Doll

17.Bath Mat

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T09:53:00.004-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!! I thought I'd share some facts and some jokes with you. Some of these jokes are really bad, but they will bring a smile to your face!

1. A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and says,"I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this,"

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."

2. What did the mama turkey say to her naughty son?
If your papa could see you now, he'd turn over in his gravy!

3. The pro football team had just finished their daily practice session when a large turkey came strutting onto the field. While the players gazed in amazement, the turkey walked up to the head coach and demanded a tryout. Everyone stared in silence as the turkey caught pass after pass and ran right through the defensive line. When the turkey returned to the sidelines, the coach shouted, "You're terrific!!! Sign up for the season, and I'll see to it that you get a huge bonus." "Forget the bonus," the turkey said, "All I want to know is, does the season go past Thanksgiving Day?"

4. What key has legs and can't open doors?
A TurKEY.

5.If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
Pilgrims!

6. Why did the turkey cross the road?
It was the chicken's day off.

7. Why can't you take a turkey to church?
Because they use such FOWL language

8. What kind of music did the Pilgrims like?
Plymouth Rock

9. Which side of the turkey has the most feathers?
The outside

10. Why did the police arrest the turkey?
They suspected it of fowl play

11. What did the turkey say before it was roasted?
Boy! I'm stuffed!

12. Where did the first corn come from?
The stalk brought it

13. How did the Mayflower show that it liked America?
It hugged the shore

Fun Facts:

1. Turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining.

2. The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days.

3. Abraham Lincoln issued a 'Thanksgiving Proclamation' on third October 1863 and officially set aside the last Thursday of November as the national day for Thanksgiving. Whereas earlier the presidents used to make an annual proclamation to specify the day when Thanksgiving was to be held.

4. President Franklin D. Roosevelt restored Thursday before last of November as Thanksgiving Day in the year 1939. He did so to make the Christmas shopping season longer and thus stimulate the economy of the state.

5. Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the United States. But it was Thomas Jefferson who opposed him. It is believed that Franklin then named the male turkey as 'tom' to spite Jefferson.

6. Three towns in the U.S. take their name from the traditional Thanksgiving bird, including Turkey, Texas (pop. 465); Turkey Creek, Louisiana (pop. 363); and Turkey, North Carolina (pop. 270).

7. Americans eat 535 million pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving.

8. Only male (tom) turkeys gobble. Females make a clicking noise. The famous gobble is actually a seasonal mating call.

9. The heaviest turkey ever raised weighed in at 86 pounds.

10. The average age of the Mayflower passenger was 32. The oldest Mayflower passenger was 64.

11. The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day.

12. Each year, Butterball L.L.C. puts on Butterball University -- this year, five days of training for newcomers to the hot line that answers 12,000 calls on Thanksgiving Day alone.

Dozens of 3-inch-thick blue binders await trainees, all of whom are armed with degrees in nutrition, food science, or home economics. The binders are so stuffed with turkey information they weighed nearly as much as the bird itself.

Through the nearly three decades the Turkey-Talk Line has been around, thousands of people have called in frantic moments to ask its experts everything. These binders anticipate it all: cooking temperatures, thawing techniques, cooking times, meat thermometers, carving knives, turkey sizes, presentation tips, food safety concerns and the eternal question of how much stuffing is too much. Fifty-five operators are on hand as the hot line receives 100,000 calls.

Have a great one!! And, try not to eat too much!!

Handmade Holidays #3

2009-11-24T08:24:00.002-05:00

Here is installment #3 in the Handmade Holidays Series.

1. 52 Apron Patterns

2. Seat belt Sleeves

3. Ribbon Jeans

4. Herringbone Bracelet

5. Basic Baby Bib

6. Trendy Diaper Bag

7. Handmade Napkins

8. Casserole Tote

9. Cat & Dog Toy

10.Grocery Bag Lunch Sack

Handmade Holidays #2

2009-11-19T08:51:00.001-05:00

This is the second installment of Handmade Holidays, helping those of you that aren't able to make gifts from Christmas but still want handmade items.

This week's focus is on the hard to buy for male.

No more boring, plain tasting steaks with this Ultimate Steak Blend created by Kitchen Stories. This blend even comes with a recipe for the perfect steak! Yum!

Looking for a special, one-of-a-kind gift? Check out this custom made Necktie Wallet by Prix Prix. Send her your special, sentimental, or just plain awesome necktie and she will make a custom wallet for you! Makes an unique gift.

What male doesn't love chicken wings? No more "store bought" flavored sauce when you get this Wing Sauce by Game Day Eats. This is a sauce perfected over a 9 year period, finally achieving Wing Sauce Greatness!

No more boring ties if you get this Tie Tack created by Cuff Links. These make a great gift for any Star Wars fanatic! And, don't forget to get the matching cuff links!

Can you get more manly than this commando soap made by Swan Mountain Soaps? Perfect for the tough guy (with the soft heart) on your list ... this soap will battle dirt and dry skin while assaulting your senses with the awesomely superior Commando fragrance oil.

If you're looking for a super and practical gift, try a shaving gift set made by Shop Red Leaf.The Coconut oil formulation in the soap gives a clean shave and leaves even the most sensitive skin soft and smooth!

Got a grandpa wanting to show the world he's a grandpa? What a better way to let everyone know than this grandpa shirt from Branded. Don't worry mom and dad, they also have shirts for you too!

A BIG THANKS to the following ETSY shops for allowing me to post their items:-
Kitchen Stories
Prix Prix
Game Day Eats
Cuff Links
Swan Mountain Soaps
Shop Red Leaf
Branded

(I have no affiliations with these sellers)

Homemade Holidays #2

2009-11-17T08:30:00.000-05:00

This is installment #2 to help you make your holiday a homemade one!

1. Lip Balm

2. Draft Stopper

3. Marble Magnets

4. Dish Soap Apron

5. Oven Door Dress

6. Miracle Hand Lotion

7. Dog Visors & Bandannas

8. Kitchen Towel Purse

9. Doll Wardrobe Closet

10. T-Shirt Dresses

Fabric Letters

2009-11-16T13:15:00.004-05:00

I made these so cute letters for Jaiden for Christmas. I got the idea from
Oh So Happy Together. I did a few things differently, I used the same fabric on the front and back and I also used DLTK Crafts for my letter templates. Another thing I did different, I didn't make all of the letters of the alphabet because Jaiden already knows her ABC's. I am in the process of teaching her to read using word groups (cat, hat, mat, etc..), so I left out letters like Z and Q and I doubled letters like E, O, and L. I thought these letters would be more fun learning how to read instead of using flash cards.

Gift Embellishments

2009-11-13T13:56:00.003-05:00

I'm really not sure what I am going to do with these yet! I got the Santa and polar bears off of a 12 pack of Coke. I thought they were too cute and something could be made from them. I thought maybe I could punch a hole in the top and hang them off of gift bags or use as a name tag on a gift.

On the Santa, I used Mod Podge on the beard and hat then I sprinkled it with white glitter. (Click on picture to make it larger)

For the bears, I did the same thing, only I glittered the small bear.

Anyone have any ideas??

Handmade Holidays #1

2009-11-12T08:28:00.001-05:00

I thought in addition to doing Homemade Holidays, I would also do a series of posts called Handmade Holidays. I thought this would be nice for all of you that are not able to make gifts for the holidays but still want the gifts to be handmade. So, every Thursday, I will be featuring at least 5 different handmade items that you can purchase for gifts.

This week's theme is handmade gifts for baby and the new mom.

First is this adorable personalized baby set by Sweet Stitches Shop This set comes with a Lovie Blanket, Bib and Burp Cloth; all color coordinated to match!

Next is this very handy diaper and wipe case to carry instead of a big diaper bag by Boogaboo Babies. In addition to their handmade items, they also sell their own original sewing patterns on Etsy and on their website www.boogaboobabies.com. Boogaboo Babies also has a blog: http://blog.boogaboobabies.com.

Be sure to check out these festive diaper covers by Rethink Crafts. These covers have a waterproof layer of PUL (polyurethane laminate) to minimize leaking with extra strong Velcro to keep the diaper secure.

Next up is a soft and cuddly baby blankie by Nibord. The blankie is 36"x36" and is made with 100% cotton flannel and 100% cotton batting.

Check out these super soft washcloths from The Posh Tots. These washcloths are backed with luxuriously soft french terry cloth and are perfect for cleaning baby's sensitive skin.

I think this is so neat! It is a wet bag that allows you to put wet clothes or diapers in made by Monkey Foot Designs. The bag features include a strap with a snap at the end that is perfect for hanging on your stroller or attaching to another bag and it is machine washable. Right now, Monkey Foot Designs is offering FREE shipping until November 15th!

These nursing pads from Sandistitches are a must have for any breastfeeding mother. They are made from a soft flannel and are machine washable.

And finally, be sure to take a peek at these super handy Belly Bassinets by Generations In Style. These slings have gotten so popular to carry your baby around hands free. They are machine washable and also reversible. Generations in Style also does custom crib and toddler bedding.

A BIG THANKS to the following ESTY shop owners for allowing me to post their items:

Sweet Stitches Shop

Rethink Crafts

Boogaboo Babies

Nibord

The Posh Tots

Monkey Foot Designs

Sandistitches

Generations In Style

(I have no affiliation with these sellers)

Homemade Holidays #1

2009-11-10T08:10:00.004-05:00

If a lot of you are like me and trying do homemade gifts for the holidays this year, here are several links to give you some gift ideas:

1. Fish in a Bag Soap

2. Cookie Tin Purses

3. Crib Sheet Pattern

4. Lip Balm Cozy

5. Fabric Headband

6. Toddler Art Smock

7. Felt Doughnuts

8. Link to Felt Food Tutorials

9. Jewelry Mirror

10. Custom Calendar Using Your Photos

11. More Felt Foods

This is a new series of posts I plan on posting every week until December 21st. So, check back every Tuesday for new links so you can have a Homemade Holiday. Also be sure check out Thursdays for "Handmade Holidays".

Store Bought or Homemade?

2009-11-09T11:06:00.003-05:00

Jaiden needed cookies to take in to school and I didn't have the time to make them from scratch, so I took store bought ones and gave them a homemade touch. I think these look and taste so much better than the store bought ones that come already iced!

All I did was to buy plain sugar cookies from the bakery at my grocery store. I got a canister of white icing and assorted sprinkles. I put the icing in the microwave for 30 seconds , added a few drops of red food coloring, stirred it well, and put it back in the microwave for 30 more seconds. I placed the cookies on a cooking rack with a pan lined with wax paper underneath. I took a spoon and put some icing in the middle of the cookie and spread it out to the sides. I then immediately put the sprinkles on the cookie. It took about 10 minutes for the icing to set back up so that the cookies were not sticky anymore.

They were very good! No one will know you didn't bake the cookies and make icing unless you tell them!

Pot Holder Extravaganza

2009-11-07T19:46:00.003-05:00

I am making pot holders for some of the women in my family for Christmas and I thought I would share them with you.

Some tips:

1. Always be sure to use 2 layers (or more) of Insul-Bright no matter what the pattern calls for.

2. Always use a 100% cotton batting like Warm and Natural.

3. Always use 100% cotton fabric.

My grandmother bought some "puffy" pot holders at a craft show because she thought they were "nice and thick". When she tried to use them, they were worthless! The lady used a high loft poly blend batting with no Insul-Bright. The might have looked thick, but they did not protect her hands against the hot pan at all! "Puffy" and "thick" doesn't mean they'll hold up to the heat.

Here are some different links for making/using pot holders:

To make the finger oven mitt:The Idea Room

Pot Holder Purse: Sewabration

Vintage Pot Holders: Tip Nut

Pot Holder Pouch: All Free Crafts

Kitten Pot Holder: Craft Town

Crochet Christmas Tree: Craft Bits

Make Up Bag: Craft Blips

Quiet Book: Obsessively Stitching

Denim Pot Holder: My Recycled Bags

Christmas pot Holder: Crafts and Fabrics

Pot Holder w/ Binding: Imagine Fabric

Oven Mitts: Savvy Seams

Another Oven Mitt: Design Sponge Shop

Pot Handle Cover: Blair Peter

Hanging Pot Holder: Fire Flies & Jelly Beans

Crochet Pot Handle Cover: Dish Cloth Diaries

Birthday & Halloween

2009-11-05T09:06:00.005-05:00

Here are some pictures from Jaiden's birthday party. She had a princess party and had the kids dress up. All of the girls dressed as princesses and the boys as pirates. She had a lot of fun and got a lot of nice gifts! Jaiden asked Ryan to dress up as a knight to walk the girls to the door. I didn't want to pay $60 for an outfit, so I just made it.

Here's our Halloween pictures. We dressed up as a family of zombies, at Jaiden's request. It was so cold that I had to layer the girls to keep them warm.

This is my nephew, Kaiden sporting his Superhero jammies.

Tara (sister), Ryne (BIL), and Kaiden

And the favorite of the evening, my BIL Ryne dressed up as a hillbilly ballerina.

But Mommy, It's a Blanket with Sleeves!!!

2009-11-03T09:07:00.003-05:00

Shh, don't tell, Jaiden is getting a snuggie for Christmas this year! (Click Here to discover what a snuggie is...) Jaiden is a fiend for infomercials! She wants everything! Just yesterday, we "had" to watch one for the new and improved snack master. Of course, she wanted it!

Jaiden has been wanting a snuggie since they first came out. Now since Christmas is getting closer, the commercials are on every 15 minutes. She really, really wants one. She told me that you can even read and watch TV with a snuggie!

Oh, it gets better! I was telling my cousin, Lindsay, what Jaiden had said about the snuggie. Lindsay told me that if I find a pattern to let her know because her daughter, Olivia (7) wants one really, really bad. Olivia told Lindsay, "But Mommy, it's a blanket with sleeves!!" Well, I was telling mt friend this whole story and it turns out her son also is in desperate "need" of a snuggie. In total, I am making about 5 child size snuggies and 2 or more adult sized ones for Christmas.

I recently did a search for a child size snuggie and found a really good site with detailed instructions on how to make a child snuggie. I thought it would be too big for the kids, so I used the same directions, but I changed the measurements to fit the kids I am making for.

Here is the original site with the instructions: Child's Snuggie

These are the following measurements I made:
For the 2 younger ones (2&3 year olds) You'll need 1 1/8 yd of of 60" wide fleece
Cut 15" of the 60" width to now make the fleece piece 45"Wx40.5"L The cut the strip into 2- 15"x20" pieces. Fold in half vertically and sew to make a sleeve that is 15"x10". The arm holes are 8" from the top of the body of the blanket and 8" away from the fold (instead of the suggested 10"x12" measurement in figure 3) The size of the oval hole is 7"x4" (instead of the 8"x5" as suggested).

For the 3 older ones (5,6,&7 year olds) You'll need 2 yards of 60" wide fleece. Cut the fleece to make a 50"x50" square. Cut the leftover fleece into 2- 18"x20" pieces for the sleeves. The arm holes are 9" from the top of the body of the blanket and 9" away from the fold (instead of the suggested 10"x12" measurement in figure 3) The size of the oval hole is 7"x4" (instead of the 8"x5" as suggested).

The snuggies are really easy to make, they take less than an hour to complete one! I got my fleece at Walmart and paid $4.44 yard. These make an inexpensive. but very nice gift!

California Medley Soup

2009-11-02T09:07:00.003-05:00

I am a big soup person and I think this is one of my favorite soups! One of my former bosses used to make this for me all the time and I forgot all about it until the other day. The veggies I used were leftovers from a relish tray I had from a football party! This soup is fairly easy to make and tastes great! And, it's great on a chilly day!

California Medley Soup

small head Broccoli, chopped
small head Cauliflower, chopped
10 baby Carrots, chopped
4 cups water
2 chicken bullion cubes
1 lb. velveeta cheese
1 can cream chicken soup

In a large soup pan, boil veggies with water and bullion, covered for 15 minutes or until tender on high. Drain most of the water and add chicken soup. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Slowly and while stirring, add velveeta. Continue to cook and stir until cheese is melted. Goes great with a baguette roll.

Halloween Fun

2009-10-30T09:42:00.006-04:00

I was thinking back on past Halloweens for me and the family this morning. Jaiden has dressed up as a University of Cincinnati cheerleader, witch, and a pirate. Arya has gone as a chicken and a pirate. As for myself, I can remember dressing up as a scarecrow, green M&M, snowman, punk rocker (hey, it was the 80's!), dog, a prisoner, a 1920's flapper, and a pirate last year. It's fun to think back!

I was trying to think back as a child, what movies scared me the most. I thought of the Tom & Jerry cartoon. I know you're thinking, "Tom & Jerry?" Yes, it the one where Jerry goes in a bus up to heaven and the dog is dressed up like the devil and takes Tom down the escalator to Hell. It is called "Heavenly Puss."
!

The movie that scared me the most was Disney's 1980 "Watcher in the Woods." I was like 5 the first time I saw this movie and can remember how much it scared me! I would love to be able to find the movie and watch it as an adult!

The book that scared me was Christina's Ghost by Betty Ren Wright. I don't remember what is is about, I just remember leaving the lights on in my room after I read the book.

As an adult, I don't care for scary movies. I have never been a horror movie fan. The only horror movie I watch is Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp. Ryan and I watch that movie every Halloween.

Now, I do like the horror books. I have read lots of Stephen King and enjoyed them very much. I think the scariest book I ever read wasn't King, it was instead The Enity by Frank De Felitta. It is a true story about a woman tormented by demons in her own home. They physically attack her and everyone thinks she is crazy. It was a very good book.

And last but not least, we do watch Charlie Brown "The Great Pumpkin".

I hope you enjoyed reading about a small portion of our Halloween past! I will now leave you with a very addicting game:Trick or Treat. Your goal is to find the fastest way back home after trick or treating at the houses. I haven't made it past level 18. Good Luck!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Which Witch is Which?

2009-10-16T09:56:00.004-04:00

I think these witches are just so cute! They do take a little time to make them, but the result is just adorable!

I will have the full instructions on Monday to make them. I have two shows this weekend and just do not have the time to write the instructions right now. I will however, list the supplies in case anyone wants to gather them over the weekend.

Supplies:
2 ft 4x4
6x6 square 1/4" plywood
2-2" wood screws
green paint (Walmart Colorsmart Rhubarb 94304)
black/navy paint (Walmart Colorsmart India Ink 96404)
purple paint (Walmart Colorsmart Fortune Teller 94503)
green spray paint
raffia
12" dowel rod
1/2 yd. black felt
1/2 yd. Halloween fabric (for dress & arms)
3/8" acorn dowel cap

Extras:
glue gun
masking tape
3 small paint rollers & trays
pinking shears

Skills:
basic wood working
sewing

Happy 5th Birthday, Jaiden!!

2009-10-14T09:41:00.003-04:00

My big girl is 5 today!! How the time files!!

Jaiden was born on a cold, wet, rainy day, very much like today. I had a very easy labor with her and she was born about 9 A.M.

She is growing up into such a big girl. I have really noticed a change in her over this past year. Is is starting to lose the little girl look and look more like a young lady. Pretty soon, mommy will not be the focus in her life! In a few more years, she be walking ten feet ahead of me so people won't know she is with her mom!

I am very proud of Jaiden, she is a very smart and pretty girl!

Happy Birthday Jaiden!!!

Horseshoe; Red Mommy Style

2009-10-11T17:20:00.006-04:00

I have a confession: Ryan and I are addicted to the show Man Versus Food on the Travel Channel. If you have never seen the show, this is how the Travel Channel describes the show, "In the new series, Travel Channel's Man v. Food, host Adam Richman sets out to travel the country in search of the best places to do some serious indulging. Adam begins his quest to find the best traditional food the nation can serve up." The host, Adam, participates in local food challenges like eating 5 bowls of habanero chili, eating a 15 pound burger, or even eating 13" pancakes. It is just a neat show because of the food challenges and showing the smaller, local restaurants a particular area is famous for.

Well last night, we were watching the show up in bed, slightly hungry, and they featured Springfield, Illinois. One the the local foods caught Ryan's total attention. It was an open faced sandwich called the Horseshoe made by restaurant called D’Arcy’s Pint
This sandwich had Ryan drooling before it was even described. It starts with a piece of Texas toast, then a hamburger patty, fries scattered on top, all topped off with their famous cheese sauce. Our stomachs immediately started growling. It looked so good!

We talked after the show, and even though we have never been there, I thought I could come up with something similar from the description. I did, and it tastes wonderful!!! We are adding it to our "possibles menu" for lunch.

Red Mommy Version of the D’Arcy’s Pint Horseshoe
Texas Toast Garlic Bread
hamburger patties (I fried ours)
crispy french fries
Velveeta cheese (melted)

Toast garlic bread in the oven. Place hamburger patty on top. Scatter fries over the sandwich. Pour melted cheese over entire sandwich.

I put some chopped green onion on mine, while Ryan left his plain. The possibilities are really endless!

Vacation Photos

2009-10-10T10:28:00.005-04:00

Here are a few of the over 200 pictures I took on vacation. We had so much fun!!
You can click on any picture to make it bigger.

Halloween & Fall Ideas

2009-10-05T08:46:00.003-04:00

Be sure to check out my Halloween and Fall ideas from last year. You'll find yummy recipes like my fudge, pumpkin roll, and pumpkin spread! And, fun crafts like treat bags, specimen jars, and spooky candy dishes!

Halloween '08
Fall '08

Ballerina Tutu

2009-10-02T09:43:00.006-04:00

This is an easy, no sew, and inexpensive gift to give to any little girl. Jaiden and Arya just love to
put on the tutus and spin around. Jaiden says the tutus makes them feel like princess ballerinas, and we all know that there is nothing better than a princess ballerina!!

Supplies:
47" - 2" wide white satin ribbon
3 yards tulle for main color
1 yard tulle for accent color

1. Cut the tulle into 2"x 22" strips. I found it much easier to use scissors than to use my strip cutter. Put strips in groups of 6. You need 5 groups of accent and 18 groups of main color.

2. Find center of ribbon and knot one group (6 strips) of accent color on the ribbon. I do not know my knot names, but it is the kind where you find the center of the tulle and pull the ends through.

3. Put 3 groups (3 groups of 6) of main color on each side of accent color. Repeat until finished. You should end on each side with the main color.

It's Been Forever!

2009-09-17T08:51:00.002-04:00

It's been forever since I last posted and I've had a lot going on!

Last Wednesday, we put Daisy the dog down. Ryan took it especially hard, but I have been okay.

2 weeks ago, we captured a pregnant, stray cat to take to the humane society. We took her and the society told me that they were going to have to put the cat down since she was pregnant. I couldn't knowingly let them put her down, so I brought her back. We are now "foster owners" until I can find her a good home.

Our cat, Nutmeg, went missing for several days. Our neighbor came knocking on our door with Nutmeg under his arm. She had fallen asleep on one of his flatbed trailers and he unknowingly took her for a ride. She spent several days over at his old house. He went over there to check on things and saw Nutmeg coming in and out through his old dryer vent. We were so happy to have her back.

Then, we finally took our Myrtle Beach vacation. It was wonderful! We spent 13 1/2 hours in the car each way. The girls were very good in the car considering the long drive! We got there Saturday evening and left Tuesday morning. It was so much fun! The girls had a great time seeing the beach and the ocean for the first time. I took tons of pictures and I will post them when I have more time.

While we were on vacation, our foster cat, Peaches, had 5 kittens. They are all now living in our bathroom until we can find a good home for them. They are just the cutest things. I have some pictures of them also.

The farmer's market is still doing extremely well. I have started selling my pickles and relishes by the case. We just spent the entire weekend canning over 200 different items.

As far as crafts go, I hope to have a new project up by next week. I have an idea for a cute pet bed. I also have a few other things in mind to start sharing again.

Fire House Field Trip

2009-08-31T23:10:00.008-04:00

First a little background: One day last week we were at Walmart and the local firemen had the boots out collecting money for charity. I gave both the girls a dollar to give. Jaiden wanted to see the fire truck and we took her over to see it. The fireman let her climb in and showed her all around. She was so excited! Ryan then told Jaiden that his appliance company services all the appliances for the local fire departments in our city and could arrange a trip to one of them. This is all I have heard from Jaiden for the last week. Ryan managed to get us a tour of one of the houses. Jaiden got up two hours earlier than usual this morning wanting to know if she missed the trip. All day long she was asking me if it was time to go yet.

So finally, the time came and we went on our very own personal tour of a fire house. It was so neat! We got to see the truck, the rec area, and the place Jaiden wanted to see the most, the dorm rooms. She has been trying all week to wrap her brain around the idea that the firemen slept at the fire house and then go home to their families. Ryan and I also learned a lot of interesting information. I didn't know the fire trucks could be any color the city wanted them to be. I always assumed the was a "rule" that fire trucks had to be red. "Our fireman" told us he has seen black, green, and even white. I learned something new!

It was a neat trip and I am so very thankful for the firemen allowing us to have a tour and taking time out to show us around!

Yard Sale Time

2009-08-30T09:55:00.007-04:00

Well, I finally had my big yard sale that I have been writing about for a year now! I had it yesterday and am having it again today. I was really happy with the money I made considering I didn't sell anything big. All I really sold was junk and baby clothes 50 cents and a $1 at a time! I think we might move the items down to my grandmother's house and hold it there next weekend to try to get a little more money before vacation.

I had a friend helping me, thank goodness! I could have never done it without her and help from Ryan carrying tables and other heavy good, after all, that's what husbands are for!

Here are some pictures of the huge sale, it took up my entire front yard and side yard!

And of course, my super big helper of the day, Nutmeg. I just couldn't have sold those camping chairs without her assistance!

United Breaks Guitars

2009-08-27T10:54:00.003-04:00

This is great! A band was traveling on United Airlines, the baggage handlers broke a guitar and the airline refused to pay. So, Dave Carrol decided to write a song about it. Since the song's posting on You Tube, United Airlines reimbursed him the money and he gave the money to charity.

United Airlines Song Background (short version)

"In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didn’t deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say “no” to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of those songs. United: Song 2 has been written and video production is underway. United: Song 3 is coming. I promise." Taken from
Dave Carrol Music

Here's song 2

A Fun Game

2009-08-24T12:47:00.002-04:00

If you're like me, and have nothing else to do with your day (note the heavy use of sarcasm here), then check out this game: Sandy's Shrubbery Shakedown. It is a frustrating and aggravating game, but we cannot stop playing! I have got to level 14 and Ryan has gotten to level 15. Surprisingly, Jaiden has made it to level 9!!

Market and Other Things

2009-08-19T08:53:00.008-04:00

Last weekend, we went up to my dad's and came home with 720 ears of corn! That's a lot of corn! We make the trip up there, and the family takes what they want. This year we only had 6 dozen left over after everyone took what they wanted. I had Ryan donate it to a local halfway house.

This is the best corn I have ever had! I love Silver Queen corn! It is so sweet and good!

After I put up the corn, I saved the cobs and made Appalachian Jelly this past weekend. If you've never had the jelly, put it on your list of things to try!

In the past few weeks, I had pickled over 300 lbs. of cucumbers! I am hoping that will last me until the Farmer's Market is over in October, but I really don't think it will. I make bread & butter, dill, jalapeno, habanero, horseradish, hot & sweet, and dill chip pickles. The habanero ones are my biggest seller.

WE took the kids to the fair 2 weeks ago to let them see all of the animals. Jaiden finally warmed up this year and wasn't afraid to pet anything. Arya on the other hand, just wasn't quite sure of those huge cows!

I hate to say this but, the fair is the biggest waste of money! We spent over $50 just to get in, eat and get something to drink! It's just so expensive! I am glad I had extra money from doing the market!

I have also been spending some time picking green beans from our garden. This was the first year we planted beans and I don't think I will plant them again. There is just too much bending to get all beans picked. We also got a ton of tomatoes that have just now started to be picked. We have had some mild weather and the tomatoes were not turning.

This is my stand at the Farmer's Market. I took this picture the first week. I have now expanded onto another table to hold everything I make. I was afraid to make too much stuff the first week in case it didn't sell. Now, I could almost use a third table! It's amazing how much we can grow learning from experience!

This was just a small taste of what I have been up to. I have also started trying to get ready for our vacation in 3 weeks. I hope to have some craft projects up pretty soon! I have to get my craft show inventory up for the shows that start in October.

Still Here

2009-08-10T13:31:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am still here and haven't forgotten about my blog! Just another very busy week past and another one on the way! Today I decided to undertake the cleaning of the fridge! How does a fridge get so yucky? Aliens spilled soda in the bottom and it gelled. Now, I say aliens because no one in the house seems to know how it happened. That was a mess! I have the door completely cleaned out and the three drawers. I just have 2 shelves left and I am finished!! YEA!!! Next, I have to give my bathroom a good cleaning.

Over the weekend, I brought home 60 dozen or 720 ears of corn from my dad's. I had that to take care of and 150 lbs of cucumbers to pickle for the Farmer's Market. I have some pics I will post when I get a chance.

On a side note: Aunt Cindy, if you are reading this, please email me so I can have your email address. Just click the contact me on the left side of my blog. I got your nice card in the mail last week. We are going to be gone on vacation some of the days you are over here. And, I found Kevin's graduation card under my dryer. I guess it fell out of my purse and I assumed I mailed it. I will get it in the mail tomorrow.

Real - Verses - Fake

2009-08-04T09:42:00.014-04:00

I went digging in my grandmother's pictures last night. Here's proof how scary it is that the fake pictures of me and her real pictures match!

Real ones are in color and the fake ones are in black and white. All of the black and whites have my real face, but they have been transposed onto fake pictures.

Not much different between the real and fake one, is there?

Yearbook Yourself

2009-08-03T12:44:00.008-04:00

1950Have you all seen this yet??? My cousin sent me this site, Yearbook Yourself. You download a picture of yourself and it pastes your picture to different hairstyles that were popular starting in the 1950's thru 2002. This is supposed to show you what your senior picture would have looked like if you graduated in any of those years. It works for both men and women. You need a good and close picture of yourself for the best results.

The scary thing is, I look just like my grandmother in the first picture, my mother in the 1970's picture and I even had the same hairstyle in the 1992 picture! Sometime this week I'll have to find the picture and do a side by side!

1952

1960

1966

1978

1992

The Adventures of Miss Arya

2009-07-31T14:29:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I was getting some labels printed out for the Farmer's Market when my house went silent. You know that if you have young kids and silence surrounds you, they are into something. Little Miss Arya went into the bathroom, climbed into the tub, and stole my shaving cream. She then proceeded to spray it all over the floor and herself. That morning, she had her second bath within 2 hours and outfit #3 for the day!
I must say, the floor where I cleaned up the shaving cream has never been shinier!

Now I ask you, what do you get when you combine a box, a colonial hat, and a piece of PVC pipe? Well, George Washington sailing the Delaware, of course!

During our pretend play last night, Ayra went into the other room and came back with a box and said it was her boat. She then went and got the "George Washington hat" and the PVC. I asked her what she was and Arya told me "boat". Jaiden then spoke up and told me Arya was "George Washington sailing down the Delaware"!

Jaiden and I have been working on learning the first six presidents. I have her tell me the names and a little about each one. For some reason, Washington sailing on the Delaware is her favorite fact about him!

Hi, Jaiden!

2009-07-29T20:49:00.003-04:00

Jaiden informed me today that it has been a little while since I have posted a picture of her on my "web". So, this one is for Jaiden.

Jaiden has on one of her favorite t-shirts, she calls it her "baseball shirt". Ryan's aunt Cindy from Missouri got it for Jaiden for Christmas. I told Jaiden to pick out something to wear for her "big photo" and this is what she picked out.

I have to get a better picture of her later in the week to show off her new hair cut. I was trimming up the back when she jerked her head. I ended up having to cut off about 7" to get it even. Her hair now rests on her shoulders. She loves it! I think it is a little too short.

Blackberries, Blackberries, Blackberries

2009-07-28T14:08:00.007-04:00

This is a 3-in-1 blog post today! I am going to tell you how to freeze blackberries, make blackberry cobbler, and freeze blackberry cobbler. Last week, it was a peach kick, this week, I am up to my elbows in blackberries!

For those of you that like blackberry cobbler and think it is too hot to use the oven right now, you can freeze your blackberries to use later. All you have to do is rinse your berries and allow to drain. Place in a freezer bag and freeze overnight. The next day, use a food sealer to seal the bags. It's that easy! When you are ready to use the berries, pour into a colander and allow to thaw, then rinse.

Now the best part, cobbler!! I usually make this cobbler 6 at a time. I have halved the recipe to make 3 (you could do the math to only do one). As good as this cobbler is, you'll probably want to make 3, one to take, one to keep, and one to freeze. As you can tell, I was in the picture taking mood! Oh, I cook these in the disposable 8x8 aluminum pans.

Blackberry Cobbler (3)

Crust
2 c. all purpose flour
2 c. sugar
2 c. milk
6 tsp. baking powder
4 tbl. margarine, approx.

Filling
1 qt. fresh blackberries
2 c. sugar

In a large saucepan, mix blackberries with sugar on high. Stir to incorporate the sugar. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes.

Melt butter in microwave. Pour enough butter to completely cover the bottom of the pan. Mix all the dry ingredients for the crust. It is important to mix the dry ingredients together before the milk to avoid a lumpy batter. Slowly add milk. Your batter will be very runny. Pour the batter into the pan with the melted butter. You want the butter/batter mixture to be just under the halfway point in the pan.

Ladle 1/3 of the blackberry mixture to pan. Make sure to get some of the juice! Do not stir this at any time!! You want your cobbler to fill the pan about 3/4 (give or take)full.

Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.
(no idea why the camera decided to make my cobbler look red. I assure you, it's a deep purple color)

To freeze the cobbler, cover pan with foil. Freeze overnight. Remove foil, place in a food saver bag, and seal. When ready to eat, allow to thaw and warm in the oven at 350* for about 5 minutes.

Gas Calculator

2009-07-27T11:57:00.003-04:00

I am wanting to go down to Chesnee, SC to get some more peaches and blackberries, but didn't know how much the trip would cost me. I found this really neat site that lets you figure out how much money you'll spend going from point A to point B. MPG Buddy allows you to select your car and does all of the hard stuff for you! Just enter in the year, make and model of your car from the drop down box. It will take you to another page where there is another box near the bottom. There, just enter in the price of gas and how many miles your trip will be and hit "Estimate". A number in blue will tell you how much you need to figure in gas. So neat!!

It will cost me $103 in gas to get to Chesnee, Sc and back. Now I just to figure out the price of the fruit and see if it's worth my time. Be sure to check out the site if you have a driving trip planned!

Pickle Making: 101

2009-07-23T10:36:00.001-04:00

There is nothing like making pickles yourself! They are so much better than store bought ones. And, cheaper too! With a few basic supplies, you can turn your home grown cucumbers (or store bought) into delicious pickles!

Before you start, you need a few basic canning supplies:
1. Hot water canner - They are about $18.00 from Walmart. You do not need a pressure canner to do basic canning.
2. Canning tongs - Ball Canning makes tongs that are specifically for lifting hot jars in and out of the hot boiling water. The pack also contains a magnetic lid lifter and a thingy for popping air bubbles in jelly. ("thingy" is my technical term)

Make sure to get pickling cucumbers. They are smaller than the other cucumbers and are grown especially for pickling. There are such things as "salad cucumbers", these are not the same, the pickles made out of salad cucumbers just do not taste as good.

Pickles

10 lbs pickling cucumbers
1 package Mrs. Wages Dill Pickle Mix
White vinegar
12 pint sized canning jars with lids
Kosher salt

1. Cut your cucumbers. Cut in 4ths for spears or thin slices for chips. Place in a large bowl of ice water with some kosher salt. Let sit for a hour.

2. Filler your canner half way with water and place on burner set to high. Be sure to cover with lid.

3. Prepare pickling mix according to package directions.

4. Pack cucumbers into jars, tightly.

5. Pour pickling liquid into jars, leaving and 1/2" space from the top of the jar.

6. Place lid and ring on jar. Do not over tighten.

7. Using tongs, place jars into boiling water.

8. Allow to sit in water for 10 minutes.

9. Remove jars and allow to sit until cool. Make sure that all of the lids have popped down. Some will pop after they have set for few minutes after being taken out of the water.

10. Store pickles in a cool, dark place until ready to use. Pickles will be ready to eat after 24 hours. Be sure to refrigerate any jars after opening.

What I've Been Up To

2009-07-20T08:23:00.006-04:00

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be doing so well at the Farmer's Market!!! I just cannot keep up with orders! My first week, I sold 30 jars of jellies and pickles. Last week, I sold over 60 jars of jellies and pickles! On top of all this, I am selling assorted baked goods.

This weekend, my grandmother's brother came up from Georgia and brought me a bushel and half of peaches (75 lbs.) Saturday afternoon, I peeled, sliced, and froze peaches until I was so sticky that I needed a bath! I have never seen peaches so big in all of my life!
With the peaches, I plan on making peach jelly, peach topping, peach muffins, peach cobbler, and peach fried pies. Peaches, peaches, peaches!
Also on Saturday, I got 2 bushels (80 lbs.) of cucumbers to pickle. I got through about 60 lbs. of them. I already have 144 jars of pickles!! My white shirt that I had on yesterday has been yellowed and my old tablecloth is now a pretty yellow!

I am so tried after this weekend! I got a charlie horse last night and my leg is killing me. I still have lots of work to do!! I need to make up some more jelly, baked goods, and cobblers. No matter how busy I have have been, I am making sure to spend ample time with the girls! We have a movie to finish this evening!

The Winner Is....

2009-07-17T23:56:00.004-04:00

From a random generator, Patty!!! Congratulations!!! I will have your winning package out before next Friday!

Thanks to all that played! And, thanks to all for the kind well wishes!! I hope to have another year!

Sorry it took me so long to post this! I have been gone all day and playing outside with the girls.

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

2009-07-16T08:37:00.004-04:00

If you like blueberries, I have a treat for you! This is one of my coffee cakes I am selling at the Farmer's market. Very easy to make!

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

2 c. All Purpose flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 stick margarine, softened
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pint fresh blueberries

Streusel:
1/2 c. b. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 stick margarine

Mix all cake ingredients in a bowl except blueberries. In a separate bowl, mix streusel ingredients. Oil and flour a 10" tube pan. Pour half of cake batter in pan. Add blueberries. Pour remaining batter on top. Sprinkle streusel topping on top of cake. Bake at 350* for 45-50 minutes. When cool, turn onto cooling rack, then onto serving plate.