Grandma Betty's Divinity

One of the most vivid memories I have as a child in the winter time close to the holidays was making divinity with my grandma Betty. She would chose a day where the weather was right, not to damp. It seemed like us kids were always there when she made it. I think she did that on purpose so we could taste it warm off the spoon. The mixture had to cook with the candy thermometer in it and we had to keep an eye on it for her to get it to the soft ball then hard ball stage. She would drip the hot syrup in a cold glass of water and it looked like an instant crystal would form. We would ohhhh and ahhhhh! Beating the egg white into that big fluff was something we were amazed at too.

This year I went to grandmas house and got her candy thermometer which has to be well over 30 years old. It's the same one she has always used. I also dug thru her recipes and found the one we looked at so long ago. It makes me sad, my grandma can no longer use a recipe, her memories are fading fast. I will keep this tradition alive with my kids, and hopefully my grand kids too.

I can't wait to take her a plate of the candy to see if she approves. She always LOVED her divinity and I was nervous trying it all by myself this time but I did it and it turned out great.

When I tasted it I closed my eyes and went back in time for a few minutes to my grandma's kitchen where we made divinity together.....

Gingerbread house

I've been busy... last week the girls and I bought a pre-made gingerbread house, I wish I could have made my own but the thought if it. ugggg! So I bought one. I mixed up the frosting and dumped out the candy and they went to work. The girls had a great time decorating the thing. They each got a side and front. I was trying to avoid all fighting over this thing as I only bought one. This worked well and made for an interesting project. Kylie was sneaking the candy in her mouth and Emily was licking the frosting.

Today is the last day of school for Christmas break. They will be home with me for 18 days I think. I'm looking forward to it as I sit here in the quiet house. I'm trying to think of some fun things to do while they are home to entertain them. Emily gets bored really quick and starts jumping off the back of the couch. Kylie will usually retreat to her room and teach the dolls and teddy bears all the math facts that are running thru her head. The chalk board gets a work out.

My grandparents called and wanted their hair cut so we will probably spend a day with them sometime this weekend and then on Sat. is my youngest brother Justin's birthday. Hopefully we can get together to celebrate with him and Laura and Barrett.

I have a few things to finish up for Christmas but really I'm almost there. It's always a good feeling to be getting close to just relaxing and enjoying the holidays.

Also Happy Birthday to my nephew Tanner, he is exactly 1 month younger than Kylie, it was so fun to be pregnant with my sister-in-law Tina. We had fun comparing and cheering each other on. It's hard to believe that's already been 10 years ago.

Sunday Evening

Sunday evening a little after 5 the girls went out the back door to play tether ball, they came right back in and said "mom come look at the sky!" I looked out and went right back in and grabbed my camera. Isn't it beautiful?

As I'm posting today I thought about that day and Dec. 7th was the day Todd's mom Betty passed away 4 years ago. She was a beautiful sweet woman. My girls loved her very much and remember some of the things they did together, although they were pretty young. We are sad that they didn't get to know her longer.

As I look at the pictures of that magnificent sky it reminds me of her today.

Advent Calendars

My calendar

Mom's calendar

Laura's

Well my home is decorated for Christmas and it's oh so cozy feeling, I love the glow of the lights on the tree when all the other lights are off it so warm.

I got a wild hair on the 2nd of December to make Advent calendars so around 9:30 p.m. I started the 1st one. I just used lots of things I had in my scrapbooking stash. I finished it up the next morning and promptly delivered it to Laura so she could begin using it. I was quick dropping off her surprise and got a big hug. I think she liked it.

My mom and I decided on Thursday to stay home and do crafts instead of getting out and shopping in the cold. I made her and I a calendar too. My girls love it. They can't wait each day to put up a new date. Laura tells me they take one off each day and I hadn't thought of that but I will let the girls decide if they want to have them all up to begin with or add a new one each day. How do most people do this?

Let the countdown begin....

Aprons

Remember those big skirts I bought awhile back at the goodwill store? Well while my mom and I were sewing I turned them into aprons.... Aren't they cute? They are not perfect but I will use them here at home and enjoy them.

Thankful

Well Thanksgiving came and went, we had a really nice meal and some good family time. I missed my brother Jeff but he will be here for Christmas. Laura had a birthday on Thanksgiving day which makes it sorta get swept under the rug. Sorry Laura, hope you know how much we love you and we didn't forget about you. The girls got to play with Barrett a ton over the weekend and we watched him walk all over the place.
Todd cooked the turkey breast on the rotisserie on his grill this year and it was really good and moist. He loves cooking anything on the grill, wish I would have gotten a picture.
The first day of Thanksgiving break from school we got the tether ball pole set up in the yard. The girls played with it alot over the weekend.
My mom and I did some more sewing on Saturday, I think next we are on to paper crafts which is more me. The sewing is fun but I surely do not have it perfected and it takes a lot of patience.
I have to get everything together and see what is still on my Christmas shopping list.
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. It's December 1st and Christmas will be upon us before we know it. Slow down and enjoy every moment because it passes by so quickly.
My friend Leslie put up this challenge and I hope everyone will at least consider doing it.

Loopy

Over the weekend while mom and I were sewing we got the girls busy making a project of their own. I'm sure alot of us did this when we were kids and it is pretty fun. Kylie and Emily both caught on pretty quickly. Laura helped them get going and pick out all the pretty colors.

Over the summer I bought a huge bag of these loops at a garage sale.
The plastic hook that you use to weave was missing. I found one but it broke right away so my dad made both of the girls a brand new one out of a wire hanger. It worked perfectly. They had a great time and so did Barrett he pulled every loop out of the bag and sat in the middle of them.

He was just trying to help.

Makin' Cupcakes

I know I'm a slow blogger, at first I was thinking I could at least do a post a day.... but as you can tell I'm not in that mode yet. I will try. As I had mentioned earlier I'm trying to do a semi-homemade Christmas and it's moving along alright. My mom and I have had our sewing machines humming right alongside each other for two Saturdays in a row. On Sunday we had to take a break and go shopping. We spent all day and we were tired. I think my shopping is almost done though. I always kinda hate to get done early cause them I ALWAYS find more fun stuff I want to get the girls and everyone else. When do ya quit? So far I have spent considerably less this year and I'm very happy about that.

SO getting to makin' cupcakes Kylie got this cupcake thing for her birthday..... which puts me in the mind of the easy bake oven. When she first saw it on TV she really wanted it. My mom got it for her for her birthday. A few days after we decided to give it a whirl. It was fun for her. Notice I said for her. I was constantly washing out the 1/2 cup size mixing bowl that you have to mix the cupcake and frosting in and then another kind of cupcake and another kind of frosting and so on. Because you see each package makes only 1 cupcake. What in the world???? Ok so anyway it was fun and I loved watching her really enjoy the whole process. If you have ever seen the commercial for this it looks like a gourmet cupcake when finished. The frosting does not end up like you might think it would but it is edible. The little thing really only frosts the cupcake you actually bake it in the microwave. Why do they make the commercials so fake??

In the end it was fun to spend the time with her and we will do it again soon I'm sure.

Wax Museum

Tuesday at school Kylie's 4th grade class turned into a wax museum. It was really neat, each child decided on a person they wanted to be. They researched and wrote a small piece about the person and then they had to get into character. Can you guess who Kylie is?

We have been fans for a long time of Little House on the Prairie and so Laura Ingalls Wilder was her choice. My mom's friend had this dress and bonnet her mother had made her to wear in a 1963 centennial day parade. It was old, but in such great condition. It was perfect for her to get into character. The kids lined up around the gym and pretended to be wax figures. Parents and other students would go around and press a button they had on their shirt to make them come to life. Laura Ingalls Wilder did a great job.

Happy 10th Birthday Kylie

Oh my goodness my daughter is "10" today, going on 25. Really she is..... Kylie is so smart and mature for her age. She is one of the most tenderhearted and caring people I know. She will do anything to make me smile. She so wants to be a teacher someday and practices every chance she gets. At school instead of going to recess she finds her SFA teacher and helps her grade papers. She is Student Council president and is working away on the school yearbook. I love her with all my heart..... I never knew 10 years ago today how my life would change. I just wish it would all slow down a bit. Happy Birthday miss Kylie. I love you girlfriend!!

Repurpose it...

Lately I have gotten into the habit of stopping by the goodwill store when I'm near it. I've had this habit now for a few months and can't imagine why I haven't done it sooner. I have always been one to hit the garage sales and such but had never been to the goodwill store. So I almost always find something I want. I love finding unique things that you don't see everyday.

I bought the girls tons of cute t-shirts there over the summer. Things I can alter or repurpose are one thing I have so much fun doing. So this frame here was ugly but I liked the color of the edges..... so I did this to it. Fun huh? I paid $1.49 for it. The funny thing is this is the 2nd one I bought at a different time they were just alike. I'll be fixing it up with a whole different look.

This brown glass jar, well I just liked it, haven't found the perfect thing to go inside yet but I will. The dishes and jar are perfect for my scrapbook table for buttons and what nots.

These skirts they are size 28. I'm so not going to try and wear them someday, but I do have something super fun planned with all the fabric. They were $2.99 each. This hand knitted scarf 0.99. This last trip I also found a blue Nike sweatshirt for Kylie $2.99.

Anyway it's always so fun to drop in, you just never know what you might find, there are always treasures. It's one way to reuse things that others have discarded that still have so much use left in them.

Rings and Things

I know it has been forever since I've posted.... man I've been super busy since Friday! Friday I went for a scrapbooking weekend with my good friend Jenny. We spent all weekend cutting, pasting, laughing, eating and enjoying some good girl time. I got home Sunday afternoon and my husband had cooked mexican food and invited my parents over.... by the time I went to bed I was soooooo tired.

Monday my mom and I went shopping. We had a great day even though it rained on us the whole time. I was back just in time to pick the girls up from school.

Today I spent the entire day organizing all of my crafting stuff and getting some things ready for Christmas. I'm sorta planning on a semi-homemade Christmas this year. I really need to get started. I want to make a ton of my gifts, which brings me to the photo. I've been playing around with some ring making, at first I wasn't to sure of the whole process I was not getting the hang of it very quickly. Then I kinda got going and it was pretty fun, so we'll see.

Also I hope everyone remembered to honor our Veterans today. My kids got to go to the Veterans Memorial Park for a celebration. They got flags and listened to some people talk about what today was all about. I have two Grandfathers that were in the Army. Today I honor them.

Halloween, Honoring Grandparents and a Special Birthday...

Halloween was fun, we went out trick-or-treating early. We just went to family and a few friends, but they got SOOO much candy. I hate having all this candy in the house they want to eat it ALL the time. I will be shipping some off to work with my husband so the guys out there can eat it.

Today my grandparents were being honored at their church for being members for over 50 years. That's right over 50! Wow! The Pastor sent all the family letters and let us know today was THEIR day. We all came and surprised them and they were moved to tears, as was I. I had no idea I was gonna need kleenex but I really should have brought some, Kylie and I cried the whole time. Justin, Laura and my brother Jeff were unable to attend but Laura had sent a beautiful letter that was read aloud and it was really touching. Barrett did come along with us though to represent their family. My grandparents have been married for 60 years and are just a beautiful couple, they love each other and their family so much and are just a great example of the way two people should be. I love them so much and am honored to be their granddaughter.

After the church service everyone came to my house for chili. It was time to PARTY!!

Today was Emily's 7th birthday..... my baby is "7" I really can't believe it and wonder where the years have gone. Emily is one of a kind, she is super funny and very much her own person. She knows what she likes and doesn't like and will let you know it. At the same time she is very loving and is caring. She is somewhat of a tomboy, most of her friends at school are boys. She is learning to read like a champ and seems to really like school.

She makes me laugh everyday and she will always be my baby. I love to snuggle her in my arms and hold her tight and she doesn't seem to mind much either. Happy Birthday Miss Em.....I love you so much!!

48-40 We won!

The two teams with the biggest rivarly was last night in our home town and it's a big deal. The weather was great and not the least bit cold. The girls and I went up early around 5:30 and ate hamburgers, baked beans and chips. They hold a tailgate party before hand to raise money for the booster clubs for both schools. The game started at 7. My friend Jenny and her two boys joined us and of course Justin, Laura and Barrett. They threw little footballs, t-shirts and the kids tried so hard to catch them. The game was so much fun. It was back and forth all night which made it so exciting, the crowd was loud and crazy! Some of you don't know that my husband coaches for the high school, he is the offensive coordinator. He really does enjoy this job, it is quite stressful and time consuming and I used to really get upset at him being gone so much with meetings on the weekends practice every night and watching film long after we have all gone to bed. Over the years I have come to accept it a little better and the girls and I are finding that we love to attend the home games. He used to coach baseball too so I can be thankful he cut back to just ONE sport. Although now he does help coach our girls softball teams but that is a wonderful way for all of us to spend time together.

The Box

The box was on my front porch yesterday when the girls and I arrived home from school.... We took it inside and Emily decided she should open it so away she went.... inside, the cutest hand stamped desk set. A pencil box that can hold all sorts of stuff on my scrapbooking table, complete with a wooden letter "K" on the front. This included a "bouquet" of pencils and a metal ruler. The tinest little clips with ribbons were attached to the sides.

Then a wonderful Red book with my name stamped on the front and tucked inside, a few fall recipes which I can't wait to try. The caramel corn sounds delish. I've always been afraid to make caramel corn because I would think the pan would be a nightmare to clean afterwards. Am I right about this??? I think I will try this though! The book also included a great ribbon bookmark that Kylie had her eye on.

Last but not least a mini clipboard with sticky notes and a beautiful glittery flower at the bottom.

Oh yeah her card was hand stamped too. Kira included that one of her favorite things about fall is buying school supplies.... ME too! I go down the supply isles every time I'm in a store, you never know what kind of treasure there will be there to alter or play with. When I was a child I always wanted new pens and notebooks.... Thanks so much Kira for the wonderful gift. Hope you enjoy yours too. Thanks Laura for the Fall Favorite things swap it was lots of fun.

a practice run....

Emily was so crazy once she put those teeth in I didn't even know who she was!!!

We went the spooks parade in our town last night... the kids had a great time getting dressed up and going downtown. My mom came over to go with us and we met up with Justin and Laura and biker baby Barrett. Emily was a vampire and Kylie was an E.R. Dr. How fun!

The weather was beautiful last night. They did the judging first and then we jumped into the parade and walked over to the bank where they were serving hot chocolate and goodie bags.

Kylie of course had to hold all the babies, it was so fun to see all the creative costumes that everyone comes up with. This was our first time to dress up this week, we still have to dress for school on Friday and then again for trick-or-treating on Friday night. We should be pretty good at it by then.

Initials

Sunday evening the girls were late getting ready for bed so they jumped in the shower together, they washed their hair and sang and played and then I went in to hurry them along and THIS is what I found! They have bath tub crayons and they wrote their initials on all one thousand nine hundred and ninety nine tiles.... well maybe not quit that many, BUT. When I got there they were boosting each other up so they could reach all the way up.... ugggg!

They were having a great time and it was all for daddy, when he pulled the shower curtain back to take a shower in the morning he would be soooooo surprised!

So it's Tuesday morning and I just saw it AGAIN, guess I'll go get out the scrubbin' bubbles and see what I can do. The shower tiles really needed a good cleaning anyway the girls just gave me a little more of a reason to get going..... I thought it was cute and wanted to share.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my little brother Justin and his beautiful wife, Laura. Today is their 6th anniversary. They are a great couple, they live in the cutest little house and they have the cutest little boy...... they have so much to celebrate. I know today they will remember how blessed they are. We all love them very much!

When Justin married Laura I gained the sister I never had and we have just gotten closer over the years. We have really enjoyed getting to know each other.

Happy Anniversary Justin and Laura.....

Muffins

Well the pumpkin streusel muffins are in the oven and they smell sooooo good! Tomorrow morning Laura and I are getting together for some blogging and girl time. So I'm bringing the muffins and she is making us Chai tea, which will be perfect for a cold morning. I hope they turn out as good as they smell, I'll let you all know and post the recipe here if we love them.

While I'm here I thought I'd show off a little altered altoids tin which is just one of the things that I made for my fall favorite things swap, It's headed your way Kira. I filled it with a little surprise. The other tin is also an altoids tin and in it I made a little album with the tiny pictures I get when I place my photo order with Shutterfly. I think these are so fun and it's a neat way to use the little pictures.