Anthony's Performance

Anthony's preschool did their Christmas performance, and he participated!

He didn't stay with the class like he was supposed to, but he knew the motions and the songs!

And, he claimed everyone's attention.  :)

Here's one of the songs they did.

More December 2013

More selfies on the web cam.

 To renew our foster care license, we had to get the dog and cat up to date on their vaccinations.

Anthony cried the whole time.

He sympathy-cries, which means when anyone else is sad or crying or he thinks they should be, he will cry just as much or more.

 We got to go help my Uncle Walt and Aunt Effie decorate their tree a couple weeks ago.

That was fun, especially since we hadn't gotten our tree yet.

It was a great way to get into the spirit of the season.

 Blurry, but I love this one.

 Giving me the camera face while having fun with Aunt Effie.

 What a cool tree!

 Andy helping Maggie string garland.

 Hanging with Uncle Walt.

 Anthony's therapy center has a yearly ice skating party.

This was our first year going.

I was too nervous about his poor circulation to let Anthony skate and get too near the ice, so he and I just watched the older kids skate.

When Anthony gets cold or just chilly, he gets a fever trying to regulate his temperature back to where it should be.

After we got home, I realized that I could've dressed him in a snowsuit.

 They all entertained Anthony through the glass each time they skated by.

He loved that.

And, some friends did the same.  :)

 Kelly saw a girl who could use some help, so she spent most of the time helping her skate.

 Maggie made some spritz cookies, and bathed them in chocolate sauce.  

We went to a Christmas dinner at church, and while I was explaining to the people at my table that Anthony is now potty trained (with the exception of when he's at school), he soaked his pants IN MY LAP.

Ironic.

Anthony and I went with my friend and two of her girls to Burger King.

They played for almost 3 hours!

At the end, they went into these high chairs because it was fun?

Maggie's last minute gift idea and tutorial

Maggie wanted to make an earring holder for her friend for Christmas.

She had already bought a set of earrings for her.

So, she went to the sewing room and found this flannel and just started making it!

You can use any type of fabric.

Maggie first cut a rectangle about 7 inches x 12 inches.

 Next, she folded it in half to make an almost-square.

 I used my rotary cutter and clear cutting ruler to make the edges straight and the corners right angles.

 Maggie cut a piece of ribbon about 8 inches long.

Unfold the fabric so it's a rectangle again.

Place the ribbon near the edge on one half of the rectangle.

Make sure you leave a little space between the ribbon and the side edge, so the ribbon doesn't get caught in the seam.

 Fold the fabric back into the square, with right sides facing each other and the ribbon on the inside.

Maggie held the ribbon in place with her fingers while I pinned them in place.

 Pin 2 edges together with just a couple of pins, as shown below.

Make sure you've pinned the ribbon in place!

 Stitch around those 2 edges, leaving the 3rd edge open (don't worry about the folded edge).

Maggie used a 1/2 inch seam. (distance between the stitch and the edge)

 Turn it inside out.

 Maggie ironed the earring holder , so it would look nicer being flat.

 Fold bottom open edge in about 1/4 inch.

 Pinch the folded edges together like lips.

 Iron those lips together.

You can either sew that edge with or without pinning first.

Maggie is pretty much a beginner, but was able to sew 1/4 inch seam just fine, and it looked great!

 Voila!  The finished product!

This whole project took Maggie about 20 minutes to make 2!

December 2013

Anthony's newest word is "pit TOURS!!"  

He means "pictures," and opens my computer, clicks to the desktop screen, then clicks on the webcam icon.

...then proceeds to take dozens of selfies.

It's actually really fun.  And cute.  :)

Our school board has some ideas that the public hasn't had much input on.

Our family went to the school board meeting, and Kelly spoke her opinion on the matter, and so did I!

I'm impressed with Kelly.

It takes guts to give your say, and in such an influential meeting, and without previous preparation. 

It was such a fun night!  

All the children enjoyed seeing how a board meeting goes, and we were all having fun in the car on the way to our refreshments (it was Family Home Evening).

Next meeting we need to go to is city council again.

Haven't been there in a while.

We went to Blue Spoon Yogurt to celebrate.

 Even Anthony got a cup of goodies!  

He chose gummy bears over m&ms.

 My friend had a baby recently, and her shower was last week.

I had some squares made already, but thought they'd be neater if I made them into the triangle squares again (like the blue one I made a bit ago).

So, about 3 hours before the shower, I had the blocks all lined up, and I was hoping I could finish the quilt within that time.

Almost!  The only thing I didn't get done was tying or quilting it.

So, I showed her the quilt at the shower, then took it back for a couple days until I had it finished.

 The same night as the shower, Maggie was at a birthday party, and Josh and Lilly went to a school dance with friends.

 Our church had a nativity display with hundreds of nativities from all over the world.

In the kids room, Anthony wouldn't let the baby Jesus down.

 Letting Kelly admire Jesus.

 ...annnnd snatching him back!

 My Baby Jesus!

 A few minutes as a shepherd

 I had some fun fabrics and decided to make a few aprons and see if they'd sell on etsy.

I've been working on selling things that we don't use, or making things and selling them, to save more money for a trip we're taking next summer.

So, Kelly got to model a couple aprons, and Anthony modeled a couple, too.

Yes, they're girlie aprons, but he's the child who could fit the children ones.

I decided that if I was going to sell stuff, it'd be good to donate 20% of each sale to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Check it out here!

*I still have a lot to learn with etsy*

 My friend's finished baby quilt!

Isn't it pretty?!

 My friend and her husband have a history with Hawaii, and so I was able to legitimately put in a real Hawaiian fabric that is actually straight from a Hawaiian fabric store!

I've been waiting a long time for a real project for this fabric.

 My friend nominated me for a contest Cafe Rio was having to recognize people who do good in their community.

They chose our story!

I had no idea she did this, and when she called to tell me I won, I was in shock.

We won 10 meals at Cafe Rio, and a bunch of bumper stickers.  :)

Cafe Rio is really good Mexican food that everyone seems to love.

Since Anthony's been going to preschool, he's been looking for letters at the different places we go.

So when we were reading one day, I helped him point to "I" and he read it!

By the end of the book, he'd had enough of that kind of work.