What WE Have Been Working On!!!

She is at it again...making my job easier! I had a ton of pre-cut vintage sheet squares that i had gotten in a swap last year and i was waiting to do something with them....so instead of working on the quilts i should be working on, i started this one. I think it will be a picnic blanket...it is big enough to sit on but small enough that it should not be too hard to carry around.

I did it brown bag style....just threw them all in a bag and pulled them out randomly, so that i was not paralyzed with indecision about how to arrange them...also the reason i got Avery involved. She can lay everything out in way less time than i can.

Hopefully i will have more pictures soon of it bordered and done!

Art Appreciation

Now, back to more spring break....we have done this before but i wanted to share Avery's masterpiece again. While we were at the National Gallery of Art in DC she found this painting. I was unprepared with a sketchbook this time but A. Colleen had a notebook so we went with it. I love how in her sketch she took something that was very classic and made it really modern(i think if you click on the picture you can see the details better). I don't know about anyone else but i am thoroughly impressed!

Mitchell was sketching the White Lady. He was very into it! How cute is he getting right down on the floor to draw and study the painting?

Speaking of studying paintings...modern art sometimes takes a little more thought and a little more time to absorb what the artist was trying to convey or time to figure out what you see in it. I love that they both took the same comfy pose to study the art. I think here they were studying a more detailed Pollack. If you ever have a chance to get to DC these art galleries are well worth the visit.

Spring Break catch up

A parade is almost more fun than one little boy can handle. We were in DC for a trip to the art museum...Aunt colleen wanted to get a little air so she took the kids outside and stumbled on the start of the St Patrick's Day Parade route. There were so many squeals of delight and shouts of "i love a parade!!". We had to stay and watch for a little while, despite the rain

The kids had so much fun scrambling for candy in the street and they received many many many strings of green beads to celebrate!!

I love bagpipes...since it was the start of the route they were not playing yet....in a moment of boldness i started calling to them to "play the pipes! please, please play the pipes!!! And sure enough he turned and played....thank you bagpipe man!! I was quickly transported back in time to a wonderful day in Edinburgh, Scotland where there were bagpipe buskers in the streets....so much fun.

See....they can hardly contain the excitement

A Mad Hatter Tea Party

Before we had even left for my sisters for Spring Break Avery had called her and asked if we could have a tea party. Aunt Colleen is super cool so of course she said yes. Sister and I headed to Trader Joe's (love that place) and picked up a assortment of tea party goodies. Avery insisted that our tea party would not be complete without caramel popcorn, so of course we obliged!!

Quickly it was decided that we would have way more fun if we all wore silly hats to the party. Julia and Avery raided the dress up box and came up with something for all of us.

Technically the boys were not invited but at the end they wanted to have some of the goodies that were left....so hats were provided for them too. No silly hat, no food!!

Aunt Colleen went all out and brought out the tea pots and china and found tiara's for the two of us to wear. Can't you see the sisterly resemblance?

Peaceful Afternoon's

Some days feel perfect...it is getting warmer, flowers and trees are blooming and budding, and my kids can play outside!!! There is something about being outside that makes them get along better, play better and everything is generally more peaceful. They make up games all afternoon, it is wonderful. Then when it is bedtime they are worn out and go right to sleep. I love it! Avery is becoming quite the reader....she just sits out there and whips through books. I think that afternoon she read two American Girl short story books. The whole things!! Mitchie just sat and played so sweetly with his firetrucks and bucket of toy firefighters. Spring, hooray!!

It's Been So Long

Oh how i have missed everyone...it was a unintentional break. We went to DC for Chris' Spring Break and had a wonderful time visiting and sight seeing. i knew i would not blog then, but when we got home last week i still just did not have it in me. SO much has happened to catch up on. I have finally downloaded my nearly 300 pictures from vacation...don't worry i will only bore you with the best ones!!! Since we came home we have been doing all the mundane home things...laundry, cleaning, getting back a routine. I have spent time sewing up new quilts...not the ones i had planned. Quilt ADD took over and this one just happened...pictures to come. I hope you are all still out there...i can not wait to catch up. Those are Mitchell's big tears that he made yesterday, in case you were wondering. He missed you too!

Rainbow Fun

I love it when school just happens instead of being initiated by me. This week the kids saw a episode of curious george all about rainbows. They came to me later in the day asking to re-create the experiment they did on the show. Then i remembered there was a Book of Days project about rainbows this month. I had a perfect opportunity to do something fun with them while they learned something. I love it when that happens!!!

We spent a little time thinking and talking about rainbows, and density while we experimented with colored sugar water. Mostly i think they had fun just making the rainbows on the walls with crystal prisms and stirring the sugar water for the project. Thank goodnes it was a sunny afternoon otherwise this would never have worked.

**so, to explain...because of the different amounts of sugar in each glass each layer has a different density. SO when you carefully pour them in the glass one after the other they layer instead of getting all mixed together.**

Recipe Box Swap

I know that i am a few days behind on Randi's Recipe Box Swap, but here goes anyway. One of my favorite treats is Oatmeal Scotchies. Growing up my close friend and i always made these. We did embellish them quite a bit, adding a few more things than the recipe called for. I can not eat these treats without thinking of her.

Oatmeal Scotchies

1 1/4 c Flour
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Cinnamon
1/2 t. Salt
1 c ( 2 sticks) Butter, softened
3/4 c. Sugar
3/4 c. Brown Sugar, packed
2 large Eggs
1 t. Vanilla Extract
3 c. quick or old fashioned Oats
2/3 bag Butterscotch Chips
2/3 bag Milk or Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 c. Coconut

preheat oven to 375
combine dry ingredients in small bowl. Beat butter and sugars, egg and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in oats and chips and coconut.

spread in greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. It might take a little longer because of all the extra chips and coconut, just keep checking it.

Another Fabriholic?

I have begun yet another project! I was trying to hold off on this one because there are so many others to finish, but i could not wait anymore. At thanksgiving my sister brought me a jelly roll of fabric. I think i squealed and bounced i was so excited to have it. It was a wonderful gift of very beautiful fabrics. Although, once i began making the blocks for the specific pattern i had in mind i was afraid this was going to be one of the hardest quilts i have ever made....not because it is complicated but because there are so many varied colors.

I would start a block and be sure i was going to hate it but once it all came together i started to love it...this went on block after block. I even called my sister and told her this one was going to be hard....it was going to stretch me as a "quilter" more than any other project ever had. Mostly because i really love the fabric to all match and go, and it did not seem to me that that was happening. As i was nearing the end of these blocks Avery came in and wanted to know what i was working on and what it was for. I showed her the finished stack of blocks....she flipped through them and then asked to take them down to sort through them. I did not see any harm in it. Both of the kids like to play with my fabric.

Before very long, the initial piles she had made of the ones she liked and the ones she still had to think about, began to be spread around. After a little she asked me if she could arrange them for me. I balked a little at first because i like the creative control over my quilts but then i caved and let her do what she wanted. I stood back and watched her ponder over it and move squares around just like i do. i could not get the smile off my face, it was wonderful to watch her so confidently go through the creative process. I find this part of the quilt difficult especially in this case because the colors were so varied, but she took it on like a pro and had finished it so fast! Way faster than i ever would have been able to.

In the end it turns out that i love it....i think she did a great job. i really could not have done it any better. Of course i could not change it now if i wanted, i think it should be just as she made it. The huge changes in color, i think, really grow on you and look good together. I am proud of her and more than that she was so proud of herself....several times she stood back, admiring her work and said to me, "i feel really proud of myself mom.". That wins me over more than any project ever could. Her confidence is boosted, I got help for a hard project, and she is excited and willing to help me finish it up. This might be a quilt and fabric monster in the making. :o)

Before and After

Oh the magic of fabric!! What a difference it makes. I have had this composition notebook for sometime and that time is starting to take its toll on the notebook. It is fraying and falling apart and generally a mess. I use it for everything and anything and take it everywhere.

I found a tutorial on making a notebook cover here at Joy's Hope blog. It was easy to follow and fast! And my notebook is pretty now. How fun is that?

Art Project Initials

Art is something that i strive to make part of homeschool but i confess that i am not always that great at making it happen. I also have a little man that usually is very uninterested in anything artsy.

But this week i found this project here and i knew it would be great. Avery especially loved it. She is always asking me to set her up with watercolors.

They did great. Even Mitchell loved it. He kept saying that he was a artist and look what he was doing. He was very proud.

I especially love that this art project had a reason and a purpose. Sometimes we color and make projects and then i never know what to do with it...i can not get rid of it either because i feel so guilty. This one is going to be framed and hung in their respective bedrooms like the tutorial showed it. Now i just have to find just the right frames.