Just call us Strippers!

have you seen this quilt pattern by farmhouse threads?

oh my gosh, it was love at first site. sheryl at temecula quilt co. had the original displayed over the holidays.
the entire quilt (except the border) is made up of nine patches, so when you look at the quilt it looks like you've pieced it with thousands and thousands of {one} inch squares.

truly something!

i thought it would be fun to do as a group, so 22 of us got together, cut up a gazillion 1 1/2" strips and exchanged them in a 'strip swap'.

the pattern is called 'oh christmas tree' so of course i had to break out the, recently put away, christmas goods and gather some goodies to decorate the table accordingly...

i got into trouble with mom when she realized and ratted me out to the rest of my friday night class that the only reason i put together such a display was because the 'bunny hill group' was coming and i {always} make their class into a party.

i will admit, although unintentional, i do make the once a month class festive and i fail to celebrate with my friday night class.
sorry ladies!

so i will do my best to do something special once a month in our friday night class so that the {12} of you know that you are equally special to me!

i also want to say, publicly, that i LOVE teaching quilting to ALL of you (that are in my class) and i will do my best to make quilt class a place you want to be.

love you all,

Don't Smile!!!

happy {belated} birthday tyler

and congratulations on your coming baptism!
what a handsome guy you are and how lucky i was to take your picture!

Berry Cobbler

for those of you who know me, you know that i don't like cooked fruit.

in fact, i haven't ever met a cobbler that i would eat.

but {as usual} there is an exception to just about everything

and this is it!

a delicious berry cobbler that is as easy to make as it is good!

a friend shared the recipe with me and i must share it with you.

so...if your looking for a fabulous dessert for a cold evening, go here and print the recipe.

you won't be sorry!

What the Heck!

yes, this is my belly!

why would i post this picture? because it's the only picture i have of my belly at this moment and i have something to say, so bear with me...

i'm {eight} months pregnant (only 4 weeks to go) and cranky...

in the last week i have been called a mean mom, the {best} mom, a monster and a boring mom. i'm really not any of these.

i'm just tired, swollen, sore and, did i say, cranky!

So...

to my family {puter, your excused...}

i'm sorry you feel ignored, i'm sorry dinners are not what they should be and the cupboards seem bare, i'm sorry that i'd rather take a nap than play whatever it is that you think i should be playing, i'm sorry that monster is a word you feel describes me and i'm sorry that i don't have the patience to put up with the yelling and screaming and constant bickering that takes place daily.

if you would all like to pick up after yourselves, help with dinners, get along, and be respectful i'm sure we could make this next month much easier on all of us.

Oh...and P.S. calling me names is not funny, it's hurtful and RUDE!

LOVE MOM!

(and because many of you don't know me or can't {hear} my words, this is all said in a somewhat serious, mostly joking, but still serious and sincere heart)

Quilted Baby Shoes

how stinkin' cute are these!!!

my friend patti told me about curby's closet and i'm so glad she did.
aren't these the cutest shoes! you can even buy the pattern if you know how to sew.
me, i just spent the {$10} and got the shoes.

"It's Raining!!!"

we've had 4 days of terenchal rain...

tonight bob took the kids outside to see the hail and lightening and my little guy went CRAZY!

oh my gosh, i've never known anyone to be so excited over rain!

i think the whole neighborhood heard him screaming with joy!

he's so stinkin' cute!!!

Do you YUDU?

monday was a great {craft} day.
the rain and the cold was the perfect backdrop for sewing and experimenting with the yudu.
bob's job was cancelled due to the weather so he decided to break out his christmas present {thanks sissy}.

have you ever played with the yudu?
if not, let me just say that you too can yudu and it makes for a great family home evening activity.
he (with some help from the kids) made t-shirts.

i think he's obsessed...i better hide my t-shirts!

Hexagon LOVE

alex sent me this link and i thought you'd like to see it.

vanessa from v & co. {love her} made this...

how cute is this with the barnwood frame! the post is here and you can buy the frames here.

have a great day!!!

Dear Mom,

this is for you because i know the disaster was bothering you just as much as it bothered me...
(if we are honest...it was probably bothering you more than me :)

i wanted to settle your mind so that you could sleep better knowing that your grandchildren were not going to continue to live in the disaster that you and poppy witnessed earlier today...

the house is now clean...


the laundry is 2 loads from being completed...

the last of the christmas bins are packed and waiting to be returned to their off season home...

and your grandson, while his pj's didn't fair so well, he, too, is now clean and running naked through the house
terrorizing his sister, the cat and the dogs.

i said the disaster was handled...not the mayhem.

that will take {years!}

i love you!!! thanks for being a great mom!

The Bunny Hill Group

met yesterday...
it's almost the last class (boo hoo!)
we were working on the last block so i wanted a {snow} theme...

my sister had these cute hand sanitizer bottles left over from the craft show...(a little pink ribbon and call it good!)

brownies compliments of the perfect brownie pan,

and cute mugs filled with chocolate treats

now...if i could only get my stinkin' blocks done!

The {Perfect} brownie

have you seen it???
have you thought about getting one???
you should!

my sister bought me the "perfect brownie" pan at christmas and i LOVE it!!!

it makes perfect little squares of wonderfulness!
(not just brownies)

and if you take just a couple extra seconds to sprinkle powered sugar on them...

look how cute they turn out!
so good you can't have just one!

{Happy} Tears

giving makes me happy...
i often wish i had a ton of money so that i could give to people freely and frequently.
we don't have a ton of money, but we do have talents that we are able to share.
bob mostly, he's the one with a ton of talent that is actually practical.
me, i can quilt and bake you cookies but he's the one that can make life easier for you.

he's also the one that finds the great deals, but not this time!
this time i found the great deal and i'm happy to say that i did good!

i happened to be on facebook and saw that a friend was trying to sell her husbands dirt bike. without boring you with the details, bub's current dirt bike needs about $500 in parts and he has been driving us crazy trying to figure out a way to come up with the money to fix his bike. we help, but we do expect the kids to do most of the work and come up with most of the money. they know that we don't have money trees in our back yard...

anyway, back to my part in this...

jodi was selling it for a great deal and i decided that i would offer to make payments and quilt her quilts for her. i didn't get my hopes up, she had several other offers, all cash up front. i was shocked when i got an email from her that said one of the offers fell through and the others were from a couple of guys that were going to clean it up and sell it for profit so she'd rather sell it to me and make bub happy. she accepted my offer!!!

i was so excited i almost cried!

today, bob and i took him to pick up the bike. he had no idea what was going on. when he saw the bike and i told him that it was his and explained to him that i bought it for him and told him how much i appreciated all the help he gives me when his dads away he started to tear up. he said, "i couldn't walk, breathe, or talk. i thought i was dreaming." he was truly the happiest i've ever seen him. it was awesome and he was so grateful.

i never thought that quilting would give me such an opportunity and i am so happy that it has! so is bub!!!

Quilting Makes Me HAPPY!!!

yep...sure does!
never mind that the christmas decorations are still up, the trailer hasn't been cleaned from the new years trip, there is a TON of laundry to do, i still have a ton of projects to complete before baby comes next month...

never mind any of that...

sometimes we just need to do something that makes us happy!
quilting makes me happy, even if i did only get one block done!

Progress... {edited}

remember this photo from this post way back in June...

if not, let me quickly explain...

{three} years ago (yes THREE) bob's parents asked if we would like to buy their, way too big for them, house as they had decided to build a smaller home for themselves next door...

we said "of course".

well...{2} babies (almost) later and a ton of city complications, their home is under way.

it looks like we might be living in a new home come this summer.


well progress has been made...
for months and months all you could see were mounds and mounds of dirt...

then along came rob and cole and before you knew it...

(october '09)
things started happening

(November '09)
and a foundation was layed.

(December '09)
and boy what a difference a day can make!!!

(January '10)

all in the name of progress!