Here Kitty, Kitty!!!

I didn't realize exactly what was happening when Kenzie locked herself in the bathroom with the cat. Then they came out. As you can see, Kohna is modeling almost every hair bow/flower that we own. As you can also see, it gives Kohna great pleasure to be done up so fancy. That's what you get for being a long-hair cat in a house full of girls. When Kohna chose us I bet she didn't see this one coming!

'Tis the Season!

When we were in the Bahamas last spring, we went into a boutique where they had a seashell Christmas tree. We LOVED it - we are all about the beach. So, we bought some shells and starfish so we could have a seashell tree of our own. Well all of my rusty bells and rag garlands weren't really in keeping with the beach motif so I jumped at the chance to buy all new ornaments - and since Rob was at work I was unsupervised which I took as my chance to buy things that were glittery and/or pink. I found these flamingo ornaments at Target and they were my pride and joy for the season.

Bear Lake

The weekend before Christmas we went to Bear Lake for a few days. Now, I realize that Bear Lake in December doesn't sound like much of a vacation hot spot - but it really was a lot of fun. We basically 'holed up like fugitives' for 3 days. Rob took the kids sledding one day and they loved it. I stayed at the condo with the baby and we loved that. The resort in Bear Lake has an indoor pool so we took the kids over every night - also fabulous. It really was just great to get away and relax.

Gingerbread Houses

This is the big Gingerbread House day at Grandma Waldron's house. As soon as it gets cold outside the girls start asking when they get to go to Grandma's and make Gingerbread houses. They had so much fun. Their cousins Tyler and Payton made a cute Gingerbread house also. This has become such a fun tradition!

Happy Birthday!

December 12, was Mackenzie's 9th birthday! The B-day festivities included dinner & presents at Kneaders followed by cake and ice cream at home. Kenzie got a Nintendo DS for her big present and she just loves it!! Kenzie is getting to be such a big help around the house. Jade and Bowen love it when she plays with them. She is doing great in school - we are so proud of her!

Thomas the Tank Engine aka "The Ambassador of Peace"

To say, "Bowen loves trains" is a complete understatement. What Bowen has is an all-consuming obsession. He loves the 'Thomas' trains best of all, with Thomas and Clarabelle being the current favorites. But Union Pacific, Frontrunner and Trax are just as exciting. Next to trains, Bowen's favorite thing is playing with "the girls". Unfortunately, "the girls" don't always want to play with Bowen. It's not uncommon to see Kenzie and Jade bolt from one region of the house to another with Bowen hot on their heels screaming "I want to play with the girls!" or "The girls won't play with me!" But behold, I have captured on film all three kids happily playing together. All of them like to build a fancy train track and drive the trains around on it. Sadly, this scene of childhood bliss and goodwill only lasted 20 minutes. Even if it is only a few minutes here and there, Thank you Thomas, you're a really useful engine!

The latest from "Project Central"

Here is proof that my craft room is not a black hole where projects enter, never to be seen or heard from again. I started this for my Aunt Tina 2-3 years ago. I never said I was fast. Actually, this particular project met with several pitfalls - including but not limited to: finishing the basement which rendered my sewing room inoperational for several months, the destruction of my ironing board by the local natives, planting season/harvest, and the birth of at least one child - possibly two. It isn't top stiched yet but I couldn't wait to get the pictures up!!

Here's a close up of the pieced block - It doesn't show the detail of the green fabric very well, but trust me, it's totally cute! The pattern is from an Amish quilt book. I wonder if the Amish girls are using a different system of measurement than we are. The book said these would be 10 1/2 in blocks - they are 11. Consequently, I have a few scraps left over & my corners aren't as nice as I'd like. Tina, if you want, I can cover the corners with buttons - Let me know. Perhaps I'll stick with Better Homes & Gardens from now on!

Recipes!!!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1 3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

Cooking instructions: Make like pancakes. We topped them with apple pie filling and they were so good! The kids loved them and that's saying something. They're pretty healthy, too. Before you comment, I consider pie filling a serving of fruit. And for those of you who know me... I grew the apples and bottled the pie filling myself, used one of my home grown pumpkins, and ground the whole wheat flour in my wheat grinder.

This is Kohna and the last of our pumpkins! Kohna is one of the resident fur-people living with us. Somehow she's managed to survive the pack of wild monkeys who also live here. Kohna loves: food, having her fur brushed, hiding in my box spring (I'm not kidding), and Kenzie. Kohna hates: visitors and baths.

This is Cairo. Cairo refused to sit by the pumpkin for a picture - what a brat. Cairo has patiently endured the ever-growing monkey pack for 9 years. Cairo loves: having his head scratched in the middle of the night at 2 hour intervals, sleeping on my bed, looking out over his kingdom from on top of the plant shelf, yogurt (any flavor). He thinks Amy is the supreme goddess of all things. Cairo hates: hugs and vacuums. Cairo is jealous of: Talia.

Trick or Treat!

We kicked off the Halloween festivities one week early with the carving of the pumpkins. The kids were so excited to carve pumpkins that we grew in our own yard. Now, when you're doing the pumpkin thing it's important to have - first and foremost - an elegant carving tool. Like Rob's hack saw.

This year I asked the kids to please, please, please pick costumes that we already own. I love to sew and can sew but I just didn't feel like sewing costumes. It would take time away from my other projects. They looked so cute!! We had the best trick or treat weather ever!! No coats needed - how fun is that? Lucky me, it was my year to take the kids around the neighborhood. Rob is back on next year when it will be snowing.

This is the result of my "set it and forget it" method of gardening. We grew 11 banana squash and 8 pumpkins! The biggest of the banana squash weighed in at 39 pounds. Wow. Just like our garden, the kids are growing like crazy. Kenzie is 8, Jade is 6, Bowen is 3, and Talia is a whole 4 months old.