Christmas 2009

We were blessed with another wonderful Christmas this year. Delaney LOVED opening her presents (and everyone else's for that matter) each year it is more fun to watch her get into the season. Our Christmas extravaganza began on the 20th when my parents and Andrew and Jessica (his girlfriend) came to our house for Christmas. It was my first year getting to host and I had a great time celebrating in our new house (not to worry people- we got a smoked turkey and my mom helped with the rest of the cooking- no one died from my cooking).

Like I said- Laney opened every present that night- just kept jumping from person to person saying "me, open- please?"

This is Andrew and Jessica (doesn't he look excited?) and the quilt I made for Jess.

Uncle "anew" got Laney this basketball hoop- she opened it and immediately demanded "Daddy- open!!"


Our whole family.... here's the story on this the matching jammers.... A few years ago I had the idea that each year we should all get matching pajamas, take a family picture and use it for our Christmas card. That way each year would be similar- cute idea right? Apparently not. My husband flat out refused to wear anything resembling matching pj's in a picture that someone might see- so that idea went down the drain. My mom remebered this and this year made us all matching pajamas! Ha ha, Ryan- atleast I'll have one picture!

A few days later on the 23rd Ryan, Laney and I opened our presents at home....

opening Elmo! She could barely contain herself..


Playing with the marble race game her Daddy found and put together for her- she took it apart within the hour!

You can see she really got the hang of opening presents!

Then on Christmas Eve we went out to Mike and Trina's to celebrate Christmas with them....

Laney hamming it up with her Dad- I love this picture!


Gracee, Delaney and Krae in front of Nina's pretty tree.

Christmas Day we went out to my parents house and celebrated with my mom's side of the family- the camera battery was low so this is my one picture of the day- isn't that tutu too much?

Conversations...

About a Juice Box....

Delaney; "Mommy, open!"

Mommy: "Delaney Renae, I said no more juice."

Delaney: (while giving me her most stern look) "Mommy, I SAID open!!"

It's all in my head...

Me: Wow, I don't remember feeling so big and miserable this early with Delaney...

Myself: Yeah, we've still got a long way to go... something like... hmm... 10-11 weeks.

Me: WHAT??? DID YOU JUST SAY 11 weeks.... 11 mondays? Assuming peanut doesn't come early..... we've done nothing... NOTHING to get ready, not a single blue onsie....

Myself: Is it time to Panic now?

Me: Yes... Panic... call others so they can panic with you.... pester husband in an effort to make him panic...

A Long Overdue Quilting Post

(WARNING: A lot of pictures that you might not care about!)

Remember this...

all my bindings rolled up and ready to go... (posted almost a year ago)

I thought a few of you might be interested to see how they turned out... (actually Jess was giving me a hard time about never posting my quilts... so this one's for you Jess)

I made this one for my Mom for mother's day this year... and had a terrible time getting all the corners to match, not making this pattern again!!

This is my most recent completed quilt... it's taken me over a year to finish it but I love how it turned out! The fabric is called Twiggy and I made it for our bed (originally) but since we've gotten a new bed since I started this quilt it is going on our guest bed.

Here's the back of Twiggy

I have to admit this one is my favorite... its made out of flannel and is so soft and cuddly that I snuggle under it almost everyday. Too bad flannel is such a pain to work with or I think I would use flannel for everything!

Here's the back... the pink flower on the back is my favorite fabric in the entire quilt!


This is a lap quilt that I made out of two charm packs to match our couch upstairs.


My mommy did the quilting... doesn't it look great?

... and the backing again

And another one I made just because I LOVE this fabric (wonderland by moda). This is a super simple pattern that just uses fat quarters and goes together quickly. It's a bright quilt but I still love it.

... and guess what... here's the back.

And finally... a table runner I just finished for Christmas. I used Figgy Pudding and a tutorial on Moda Bake Shop.... I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Whew! That's a lot I know... but it's taken me all year just to do these... and I still have a few more "on deck". Next up is a quilt for "peanut".

Christmas Photoshoot.

The roads were so bad today that we decided to stay home and I took the opportunity to dress Delaney up and try to get some pictures in front of the tree... we weren't very successful. She thought sitting there and looking pretty was boring so I spent most of the time bribing her with gum and candy. Oh well, at least I tried!

...What happened when the gum ran out...

Gingerbread House Party

Saturday night we had our annual Gingerbread house Party. Here are some pictures from the evening...

Wes and Bethany's house

*Voted 2009 Best House

Our House

*Voted- " I'd Rather be homeless"

Shaun and Natalie's house

Bobbie and Bo's house

Fran, Jake and Krae's house
* Voted "They Must be Jewish"

Todd's house... I don't think Jessica was allowed to touch it!

Derek and Jodi's house

*Voted "Most Inspirational"

Laney doing what she did all night... eat candy!

Ryan, wearing a wig (not sure why??) hold the broken remains of our double decker house

Someone put this necklace on Angus and he ended up wearing it all night

Natalie waxing Fran's legs.... not sure why...

Beth's new puppy

Emersyn checking out the buffet- and taking a bite out of each broccoli before carefully putting it back!! :)

Fran with baby Bode

Emersyn and Gracee playing downstairs- cute aren't they?

In The Last 24 Hours

* I've put my finger through my sewing machine- and in case you were wondering the needle will go through your fingernail, and yes- it did hurt as bad as you might think.

* Laney puked in the middle of Target. All over me, all over Target- humiliating- 'nuff said.

* I've eaten 6 pop tarts (brown sugar and cinnamon). And I'm not ruling out 2 more this evening. Also humiliating.... but tasty. Mom, don't cry- I also have eaten some blueberries- full of those antioxidant thingys.

A Recipe Idea

The other day I was talking with Fran about some recipes and I told her I'd send her this one. Since I'm always looking for new, easy ideas for dinner I thought that if I shared with all of you- you'd all share back... so here's my contribution.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

*1 Pillsbury pizza crust (from the refridg section)
*2 skinned, boned chicken breasts ( I use the pre cooked chicken strips in the blue bag from costco)
*1 tbsp vegetable oil
*2 tsp chili powder
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 small onion
* 1/2 tsp garlic powder
*2 bell peppers chopped
* 1 cup salsa
* 1 8oz package shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

*Preheat oven to 425
* Place crust on baking sheet
* saute chicken in hot oil over medium high heat for 5 min or until tender
* stir in chili powder, salt, garlic powder. Remove from skillet.
* add onion and pepper, saute for 5 min.
* spread salsa over crust then top with peppers, onion, chicken and finally cheese.

Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes or until crust is done.

Then we usually top it with sour cream or more salsa. Laney will eat it and it does make for decent left overs.


So... Your turn ladies... what do you have for me?

Discouraged....

Okay- I'm going to take a moment to vent a little- you can skip it if you want.

For the last 3 weeks Delaney has been having tummy problems. We've been to the doctor and they've run tests but so far everything has come back normal. The poor kid wakes up about every other night (in the middle of the night) throwing up and then has BAD diapers during the day. FOR 3 WEEKS!! We've tried everything, bland diet, no milk you name it. But so far no luck (though she is on a new medicine... fingers crossed)

Neither of us had gotten anything resembling a good nights sleep in a very, very long time. And lately it is starting to wear on us both. We're both tired, and cranky and spend more time drooling in front of cartoons than I want to admit (quite a pair). Top that off with the fact that I spent the entire weekend on the bathroom floor with the stomach flu and we're about to cash in our chips. I'm tired, and frusterated with my inability to make it better. She is tired and feels crummy.

It is so frusterating to not be able to kiss it better- and even worse to not knowing what the problem is... I think my body is on stress overload which is why I keep getting sick (poor peanut). ARRGGG !!!!

I know. Believe me. There are people who have it much worse- but this is my blog and so we're gonna talk about me here :). Here's hoping I'll wake up feeling ready to take it on all over again with a better attitude....

Thankful

Things get so busy this time of year that sometimes I find myself forgetting to slow down and enjoy the season. So, in honor of Thanksgiving I would like to take a moment to appreciate the many joys I have in my life.

I have a wonderful husband who is the best daddy Laney could ask for. He puts up with my "crazy" -most of the time, and when I told him I backed over my stroller all he said was "oh". I have the sweetest little girl, who makes me laugh everyday! And we've got a little 'peanut' coming in March who so far seems healthy (and if the size of my belly is any indication) growing. We have a house that we're making into a home and a business that supports us. I have wonderful, supportive friends and family close by.

It is almost unbelievable to wake up and realize that you have everything you've always wanted in your life- and I am grateful.

Now...Let the eating begin!

What a Difference 10 Years Makes...

10 years ago, I was 17 and running late for school. For reasons I can't fully remember now I was late, stressed, distracted and frustrated (sound like a teenager?). As I was running out the door my dad told me at least 3 times NOT to back into the garbage can because it had been moved. Rolling my eyes I got in my car, slammed it into reverse and, with my dad watching from the front door, SLAMMED RIGHT INTO THE DAMN GARBAGE CAN !!! I mean I bounced that thing off my bumper and sent it flying across the yard- then with my dad shaking his head the entire time I had to pick it up, put it back and drive to school. I felt like a complete idiot, and my family has never forgotten that day.

10 Years Later...

I'm 27 and have to get to the store and back in less than an hour. We have no food in the house, Laney has been sick with some unknown bug for over a week. I'm tired, stressed and distracted (sound like a pregnant mommy?). The night before I had unloaded the car and had left my stroller leaning up against the back window so I would be sure to remember to put it back in the morning. While listening to my kid cry in the house and mentally making a grocery list, I slam the car into reverse, and BACK OVER MY DAMN STROLLER!!!! I got out of the car, looked at the mangled stroller- threw it across the yard (Hope my neighbors weren't watching) and drove to Safeway. (where I called my mommy crying)

10 years later, it felt EXACTLY the same- I'm an IDIOT. It would seem that pregnant women and teenagers have a little bit in common...

P.S. and I FORGOT THE BANANNAS which was the main purpose for my trip to the store!

The 80's- Jessica's Birthday Party

Last Saturday Jessica hosted her own 30th birthday party... with and 80s theme. The outfits were outrageous, and we had a great time! Most of us girls even managed to dig up a hair crimper! The pictures really speak for themselves- so enjoy! Ryan and Todd a.k.a. Michael rocking the dance floor
Fran- I vote that she takes home the best dressed award- she looked so authentic!


Annette, Jessica and I with Rocky and MJ (nice of them to stop by wasn't it?)

The rocker and his pregnant groupie (someday my unborn child will love this picture I'm sure!)

More dancin