Update on my creativity disaster

Okay, so I feel like I should give a quick update on my miserable creative day last week. I did make another batch of banana bread and it turned out. I might even say it was a SMIDGE over done, but I was so freaked out that it would be under done that I over compensated. It disappeared quickly, mostly because I added chocolate chips to this loaf, so it just proves that my family LOVES banana bread and I will have plenty of opportunities to perfect my bread making skills.

And Tess has come around to her new blanket. Today we went visiting teaching and her new blanket was in her toy bag, and she pulled it out on her own and snuggled with it. VICTORY!!! Now if she will take it to bed with her, then I know she has accepted it as a suitable replacement.

And since I finally got my machine working and it was already out, I pulled out my other sewing projects and finally got them done!! The most procrastinated project was the new hooded bath towels for the girls. I had made the boys their towels over a year ago, but I never finished making the girls. So I finished them and they look fantastic!! Tess' towel is so huge on her that it goes all the way to the floor, but boy does it keep her warm. I think they turned out beautifully. A huge shout out to Becky Campbell for giving me our first hooded bath towel. We could not live without them!

I love the cute coordinating striped ribbon that I found for both sets of towels.

Creativity, Schmeativity

Okay, today I was in a good mood ( I know you're all shocked :-) ). I got my hair done, and then I had a few minutes to kill before I picked up Tess from my friend Ann. So I decided to take advantage of the "no kid" time to run into JoAnn Fabrics and look around. I found some great paper and bought some new fabric to make Tess a new blanket to replace one we lost. So after I put Tess to bed for her nap, I started washing the fabric, and decided to make banana bread while I waited. Well, I swear that multiple toothpicks came out clean from both loaves of bread. However (do you know what's coming?) when I cut into them to have a nice warm piece of bread, the middle just gushed right out!!! I was so disapointed!! The whole house smelled of yummy bread, and now I didn't have any to eat. I seem to keep having bad luck with banana bread. Either it is under cooked, or over cooked, I can never get it just right :-(

Well then, (yes there is more) after the crazy after school mayhem of homework, snacks, and guitar lessons I decided to quickly sew the satin edging onto the blanket so Tess could have it for bedtime. No one told my machine that I only had a few minutes, and that it needed to cooperate. So what should have taken me a half hour, took me 2 1/2 hours!! Needless to say that I was so consumed with finishing this project that I completely forgot the time. Luckily I snapped out of my frustrated haze around 7, yelled at the kids to eat something healthy for dinner (usually cold cereal or hot dogs) and started getting everyone through the bath. The girls got to bed only 15 minutes late, but the boys are just getting to bed and its 9:30. Oh, and of course Ron wasn't home until 7:30, and Tess didn't like the blanket!!! So my high of creativity buzz was completely killed by deceptive banana bread, a malfunctioning sewing machine, and a picky 2 year old!!

Maybe creativity will be nicer to me tomorrow. Here's hopeing!

BB Gun Wars, Wii Mania, and some R & R

We had lots of fun with the cousins. The biggest hit was the air soft BB guns that Uncle Andy brought for the boys. Of course, he brought these without asking my permission ----- but I guess I'll always be the strict mom and he'll be the cool uncle. There were enough guns for the dads so they got in on the fun too. I don't want to think about how many THOUSANDS of BBs are currently in my lawn.



Don't these masks remind you of Darth Vadar? But at least their faces were protected.

The cousins also brought their Mario Kart Wii game. There were many competitions and lots of tears, but when all was said and done they all had a great time. And with a little ( I mean a lot) of persuasion (from none other than Uncle Andy), the moms got into the Mario Kart action, and it was a lot of fun. I think we'll be buying that game soon!

I had to throw in an adorable picture of Jenna with Elisabeth. Aren't they sooo cute!!

This is how Andy spent many hours of his visit - relaxing and "playing" on the computer. There was even a few hours when Ron was on the computer too and they were just chilling and playing with their gadgets. Thats when the moms disappeared and went to do some shopping!! Fun times for all!!

I caught the little girls snuggling up on my bed watching Mickey Mouse Playhouse. They were so cute, but they definately got tuckered out by the end of the visit!!

We miss you Vaughan Cousins - can't wait to see you again in June!!

Easter with Cousins

My brother Andy, his wife Jenna, and all their kids came up to visit us for Easter weekend and part of our Spring Break. They got delayed a day and didn't arrive until Sunday night, so some of our Easter fun got postponed until Monday.

Some friends from church had an Easter Egg Hunt for all the little guys like Tess at their house on Saturday. It was a nice day but the wind was freezing, so the egg hunting part was very fast. Tess had a fun time and just kept saying "eggs! eggs!"

I know the sun is really bright on her face, but this is a classic cute Tess face. She has a great smile!

A quick round up of all the kids after they found all their eggs. Can you guess how many we hid for 8 kids to find? 125!! And some (just Emma really) were still dissapointed that they couldn't find more - oh well!

I always forget that the big kids love it just as much as the little ones. Here is Tyson and Alec, gearing up for the search.

Nathan was one of the fastest searchers - good eyes Nate!

Little Elisabeth looked like a cute little pink egg with her warm jacket on. Its a little colder here than in Virginia.

Zach was a great sport and stopped hunting as soon as he reached his maximum number which was 15 eggs a piece.

The older kids all went and ate their loot on the swingset. Then the boys had a bombing war with their eggs. I still have plastic eggs scattered all around the back yard.

Easter Dresses

Its a tradition to buy the kids new Sunday clothes for Easter. For some reason the boys got overlooked this year, so they just wore the ties I bought them last year, and I didn't take their picture. But the girls got beautiful matching dresses and they both cooperated and let me curl their hair - a first for Tess. Its very difficult to find them matching dresses since Tess is a 2T and Emma is a size 6, but thankfully there are a few stores that have coordinating clothes for toddlers and big girls (if you want to know what they are, I'll gladly share - but be warned they aren't cheap!) So I found these dresses several months ago and snatched them up for Easter. They were perfect!

Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward...
Okay, I got sucked into this by my moms best friend. I have ignored all my other friends pay it forwards, but when she said her hand made gift would be one of her paintings, I caved. So now its my turn to Pay It Forward. So this is how it works - The first 3 people to leave a comment on this (my) post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift. Can't wait to see you responds!!!
now what should I make....

Mr. Frost Go Away!!

Its SNOWING!!
Now, I know I shouldn't be surprised, this is upstate New York. Every year we've been here it has snowed on or around Easter. But I was so hopeful this year that we were done with the white stuff. It has been so nice lately - in the 50s - and we haven't had snow for almost a month! So what is the deal Mr. Frost? Did you just have to give me one last blast for old times sake or what? I just hope that my beautiful tulips and daffodils that are starting to come up will withstand this last blast of winter. The weather people promise that the snow won't stick, but I'm not holding my breath :-(