Getting there on my 101 things to do in 2009

Now up to 42...my mind is whirling, tomorrow i will go through the house and figure out all the must do's.
Going to the dr tomorrow morning, can't seem to get rid of this awful cold/virus.
Anyone else working on a list of "to do's"?

Love to all

a couple of NYE quilts...

Tree is down...countdown to NYE Mystery WOOHOO

A dear gal on one of the quilting lists I am on does an annual mystery quilt...the one day I look forward to every year..it starts at 5AM my time on New Years Eve, it is SOOOO much fun. Patrick knows how much I look forward to this and he occupies the kids (well Nick at least) and I come down about 4:30 am turn on the heat, make some hot cocoa or tea and click on the laptop and sewing machine, warm up the iron and I'm ready to go! I'll post a photo of my top next weekend..yes I finish the top that day.

Another note..my brother had Christmas with my parents today and opened his quilt that I made him, yaya....he loved it. It was so beautiful...here is a photo, this was before borders and quilting, but it's just beautiful, such a "man" quilt.

Blessings....

Merry Christmas from my kiddies :-)

Merry Christmas from (left to right):

Ashley, Sophie our furry kid, Morgan and Nicholas.

hugs and kisses to all, blessings for a properous and healthy, happy new year. Prayers for all that 2009 brings some relief to the economy.

Tracey

Merry Christmas! Here comes 2009

What a wonderful year this has been, filled with so many blessings.
Tomorrow morning the kids will wake to a tree full of gifts, I hope they enjoy it all. Tonight was a dinner of belgian waffles and sausage, made by Patrick..yah! it was yummy. We read the story of Jesus each year and then we all get to open a gift :-) Nicholas is asleep and time for Patrick to put his little scooter together.

Merry Christmas!
Lots of love....Tracey

Time to wrap gifts

UGH...I love shopping for them, choosing just the right item for the right person etc...but the wrapping is for the birds. Patrick has set me up a gift wrapping station in the garage HAHA..sorta like my sewing table with a little table off to the side (l shaped there ya go) all the paper, tape, boxes, ribbon all nicely sitting there for me..now to get my booty out there and take care of it all. No kidding I have at least 60 gifts to wrap...yes we went hog on the kids this year. They have been soooo good and were so supportive of Patrick during his short layoff and they seldom ask for anything so figured why not :-) They will all be very excited and have a great time.

Bye for now....

Another Monday...

Is it me or is time flying for all? Often wonder that.
Nicholas has a thing for candy canes right now, his motto "the more the better" haha...too much sugar and he's a different child. Tomorrow is his field trip to the tree farm with preschool but him and I are both sick so we're skipping out. I'm actually feeling better but his cough sounds worse. I hope he sleeps well tonight, I'm exhausted, been up since 5 this morning. Have a big cake order for tomorrow night and just spent 4 hours making 50 gumpaste roses..ugh. Very pretty but very time consuming. I'll post a photo tomorrow of the cake. Heading to bed now since I still have to bake the cake tomorrow morning.

Good night and blessings

Santa visit today for Nick

Nicholas and I are heading out to the mall to visit santa today. Funny thing though...my dad has a white beard and Nicholas swears that Santa is Grandpa. I asked him if he wanted to see santa today and he said "do we go on a airplane" too funny! He has insisted upon this all season. We were at macy's and they had these free little pins with santa on them..some Believe promotion they were having or something..anyhow, he says really loud..."hey that's my grandpa" too funny! He still has the pin :-)

17 days and counting

Hard to believe it's that special time of the year again. Have been making cookies like crazy..25 1/2 dozen yesterday, thankfully I had Ashley's help or I would have pooped out way earlier. Tomorrow Patrick will take a nice big platter of cookies to work. Brownies just came out of the oven and the house smells wonderful.
Hope you're all doing well and taking a time out to remember the real reason for this season!
Love to all....

Tea Party Blocks and thoughts on mother hood....

Here are 5 of the main blocks for my Tea Party quilt. Aren't they sweet? I 've had so much fun with this Block of the month. These will all have a double border and then there are 4 small teapot blocks that go with it, planning to work on those tonight. The older girls are going to Merriment on Main to see the tree lighting tonight so it's just Patrick, Nicholas and I.

I had a break through today....After an hour of running wild..literally!...I had just brought the muddy puppy in from outside, she was in a crazy mood!, then fanagling her into her crate..which she didn't want to go in...Nicholas was going potty and missed the potty, peed all over the floor, himself etc..I'm sure you all get the picture now...his socks were soaked and he's running around downstairs, I grabbed him first and removed the nasty socks, mopped the floor up where he and the muddy puppy had been, then into the bathroom...WOW...didn't know a little one had that much pee, it was everywhere! cleaned the bathroom up, floor and all, the entire time nicholas is screaming for underpants HAHA..the life of a mom..As I dropped the wet carpets, towels etc into the basket of laundry I smiled and thought...wow I am very thankful to be able to take care of my family like this :-) Took a brief moment and thanked God for my family, health and of course my muddy sweet little puppy.

Thanksgiving weekend

I hope all my friends and family had a wonderful weekend. We sure did. What a blessing to spend such quality time with my family. Patrick and I headed out at 445 on Friday morning, its a tradition for us and we both enjoy it, may not even buy a lot but it's fun and then we stop for breakfast and come home for a nap :-) No kids allowed haha.
Finished a couple of quilty christmas projects this weekend, yah! My hands are feeling it now, that hand sewing is tough on the arthritis. Today I'm working on the house, laundry and my TeaParty BOM's..they are so cute, gotta finish this quilt quickly as I have the perfect wall in my dining room, plus...my mom recently gave me a couple of my grandma's tea cups, I love them!! And plan to hang those up on a rack above the quilt. I will post photos when its done...haha..it may be a longgggg while but it will get there.
Patrick has one last day off for this long weekend and we plan to finish the kids' Christmas shopping today, only a couple of items left. Then just shopping for him and I'm finished and can sit back and enjoy the holiday.

Take care and have a blessed week!

Sophie and Nicholas playing

Nicholas just loves Sophie..and she can't get enough of him :-) I'm sure they'll grow up together best buds. It is so entertaining to watch them "play" together on the climbing structure, she tries her hardest to "climb" the slide..too funny!

Happy Thanksgiving

Prayers to all that you enjoy a happy Thanksgiving with friends and family. Remember those less fortunate with a special prayer as you count your blessings.

Hugs to all

Long day....

...and I'm exhausted. Been transitioning Nicholas into his own big boy bed, which he's doing really well..but....yesterday he had a 3 hour nap!! No not my doings, I left at 530 and Patrick let him sleep til 7 :-( So at 9 when I took him to bed he just wasn't tired. It was midnight before he was asleep and even then he wokeup shortly after that to use the potty. At 1:30 I gave up and took him to my bed, I had to have some sleep!
Our new furniture arrived yesterday..oohhh it's beautiful. All La-z-boy and I love it! Now to teach Nicholas the new "rules" for eating in there...hmmm, another challenging time ahead.
Morgan was kind enough to give Nicholas a bath tonight, of course he's not behaving so I gotta run.

Blessings....

Monday morning

WOOHOO...Nicholas slept in his bed til 5:00 this morning. We are thrilled at how simple this transition from our bed to his new bed has been. He is very proud of himself too :-) This morning he got a new hot wheel and a piece of gum, he was in 7th heaven.
The weekend went by too quickly, they always do. Did most of the downstairs housework last night so I can work on Christmas gifts today. Might take Nicholas to the park too, it's been beautiful out, low 70's during the day and cooler at night, this is when I enjoy living in California.
Chat more later......
Blessings to all.....

Sophie Update

Almost forgot....Sophie is doing really well, she's feeling 100% now. I was worried cuz she was so darn skinny for a puppy, vet said today that was due to the Giardia, she wasn't eating her full meals. Well my little princess piggy has gained 7 pounds in 2 short weeks!! She is such a doll, we love her so much. Patrick still misses Tucker I can tell, he does love Sophie though.

Saturday night

Wow...I guess at 40 something you just don't get into a saturday night anymore :-( It's only 8:50 and I'm in my pj's and ready for bed. I remember when I'd stay up all night or at least til 2 or 3, not anymore. I do love my bed :-)

Nicholas is now a certified big boy. He is sleeping in his new full size big boy bed all by himself with undies! no more pullups or diapers for this kid. He is very proud of himself as is mommy and daddy :-) Today we all went (even Ashley and Morgan, which they are hardly ever with us anymore, part of having teens is getting used to the fact that they have a life of their own, has been hard on this mom!) to the movies and saw "Madagascar 2", it was very cute. Nicholas did awesome, first time he's been in about 6 months and I must say he's ready for kid friendly movies once in a while now, yeah!

I am going Christmas shopping for the girls tomorrow...wow teens are hard to shop for :-( Nicholas is done, he was so simple...some cars, trucks, blocks etc, he'll be a happy camper..oh yeah I got him the cutest "car's" scooter, it's a 3 wheel instead of 2 wheel. Cute cute.

Bye for now....

Sophies 11 weeks today :-)

My cute little baby girl. See her little "milk moustache"..it's actually yogurt, she gets a tablespoon with each meal, she loves it. Her tummy is better now, she had giardia...a parasite that is passed from mama's milk to baby. She was on meds for 3 days and vaccinated against it. She's just so darn cute!!

Friday already

This was a quick week. Feeling in a blue mood lately :-( Usually it doesn't hit me til january/february, the past two years it's hit early. Yikes. Just need to remind myself all I have been blessed with and be thankful instead of the "feel sorry for myself" mood I've been in :-( Not a good feeling.
Nicholas has been such a handful lately and with the puppy added in the mix I have no "me" time anymore. The girls aren't fond of babysitting when he's in this kind of mood so it's me til Patrick gets home, then he's usually tired and so it's "me" some more... The kisses and "I love you mommy's" keep me going though.
I have been working on my list of 101 things to do beginning January 1st. Getting there, it's amazing how many little things ya just let go and if you don't stay on top of it it's overwhelming. So one thing at a time is my new motto.
Today I'm working on two rag quilts...woohoo...simple and fun, just what I need. I will post a photo of the tea towels soon too, they have turned out so cute! And they were so much fun.

Have a great weekend!

Christmas Countdown at FlashBannerNow.com

Christmas countdown at FlashBannerNow.com

Nick and the chick

While at the pumpkin patch on Tuesday all the kids were able to hold and pet the baby animals. Here is Nicholas with a baby chicken :-) At about this point his was squaking like crazy so I had to take it from him (ick!!) and hold it so the others could pet too. I was a little freaked out at first but it wasn't so bad. You see I have this "thing" with birds eyes, they just gross me out..why I don't know?? I had to be brave mama for nick though. We had a great time!!

101 things to do in 101 days.... my new idea!

I made the decision recently that 2009 will be my year of organization!! I have been so far behind on tasks the past couple years it's crazy. Over the next couple weeks I will be working on a list with 101 things to do in 101 days..just 1 simple task a day will hopefully make a huge difference at the end of 101 days. Things like organizing my closet, cleaning out the junk drawers..yes drawers..plural :-( Anyone care to join me? make your own list and we can tackle this together...let me know.

rain is coming

Each and every year (well that may be an exageration..slightly) we get our first rain of the year on Halloween :-( Supposed to start raining tomorrow night straight through the weekend...I sure hope it's light on halloween. Nicholas is at such a fun age for halloween this year, he is very excited to "trick n treat", as he calls it. We are going to a friends house for dinner and trick or treating, should be a fun night. Can you believe how expensive halloween candy is now adays?? geez...crazy prices.

Value of friends

Years ago when my husband was in the military I made a couple of precious friends, each time we'd move I'd cry...this last time which was 13 years ago I swore I'd never make another friend. That did last for quite sometime, I isolated myself and kept everything inside..what an awful mistake that was! If only I knew then what I know now...friends are a true blessing from God! I feel whole again knowing that I have so many wonderful friends, some I don't talk to regularly but know they are always there, some I talk to weekly, some daily...like my internet friends. Who would have thought that friends mean so much and make life so much better. I thank God for the many friends that I have...each and every day! God Bless each of you....

Thursday night again..they sure come up fast :-)

Things are good here. Nicholas has adjusted well to school now and learning to listen well...woohoo! didn't think that day would ever come.
Sophie is a bundle of energy, just soooo cute! and she's very cuddly for a puppy, I'll post some new photos this weekend.
Girls are doing well too...both have excellent grades this year, Patrick and I are very proud of them! Hard to believe Ashley graduates this next spring. Amazing how fast our babies grow up.
I've been sewing tons for Christmas gifts and having a great time at it too.
I should sign off as I'm soooo tired I feel like I'm babbling...Maybe tomorrow I'll have the energy to post a full message..

Good night

I wanna sew....

I wanna sew!!! no luck today though :-( maybe tonight. I started a mystery quilt friday night at the sewing event I attended and would love to finish it up, only 2 steps left. Mary Englebreit Christmas fabrics, it's so cute! I'll do my best to have a photo up asap.

Introducing Sophie Belle

She is just the sweetest little girl. She has a wonderful personality, very gentle and loving. She is content to play with her toys, yesterday she even napped on the family room floor :-) We definatley have a great breeder, she does all she can to socialize the pups and it shows! Nicholas is doing very well with Sophie, nothing like with Tucker....night and day difference with both Sophie and Nicholas. She is having a little tummy troubles this morning, I just called the vet and they informed me it was more than likely due to a change in diet...so I'm heading up to shower and run to the store to pick up what she had before..then slowly change her to this new brand. We'll see what happens....

Breast Cancer Awareness Month....

..and I have switched to a pink background just for the cause :-) Plus..pink is my favorite color! I love pink....

and our new puppy will be named.....Sophie Belle..isn't that cute?!!!

more tomorrow..good night

Thursday already...where has the week gone??

Had a lovely morning visiting with a friend and her children and her new little rottweiler puppy "nala". What a cutie!!

Tomorrow we bring our little one home, can't wait. I "think" we have a mutually agreed upon name...I will post it this afternoon after talking to one more daughter ....It is cute, sweet and seems like a good choice for a female golden.

Plan to make some cupcakes this afternoon, that's the plan anyhow. Tomorrow is the "tickled pink event" a breast cancer sewing marathon...well they aren't actually calling it a marathon but since it's 12 hours of sewing I think that's appropriate. I have my pink pj's, pink candy, pink fabrics and ready to go!! It takes place at the Hampton Inn here in town, catered dinner from Outback Steakhouse, prizes, bingo, raffles, lots of sewing and a "double" mystery...meaning I don't even know what fabric I"ll be using...it's a kit.

I'll post photos of puppy and the event saturday evening or sunday...

Time for Nicholas's nap and my lunch...

oops...meant to say the girls are "not" crazy about the name summer...

puppy update

Well not sure if her name will still be Summer, the girls are crazy about the name...but she will be coming home on Friday morning, yay, we are all very excited. I'm a bit nervous with what happened to Tucker still so fresh in my mind, but I know this puppy will bring us all together to heal from the loss. I will post photos on Friday afternoon.

Ashley trying to skate :-)

Ashley is on the left, yellow scarf. Arrianna is her best friend who is attempting to help Ashley stay up on the ice HAHA!!!

cake

heres the cake.....the last one was Morgan at the ice skating rink...

Another busy day

Patrick, Ashley and I spent a few hours birthday shopping for Morgan today. Her party was great last night! 8 girls came, they had fun ice skating and then home for pizza, cake and presents. Wow...she is now wealthy...I guess gift cards and cash are the new fad. So guess where I'll be this week????....the mall.

Cake turned out beautifully last night...take a peek and see what you think. The top layer was chocolate, bottom vanilla both with raspberry filling, was yummy. The little cinderella on the top actually lit up too.

My baby girl turns 14 on Sunday

where does the time go?? Isn't she a cutie?!! This was taken back a few months ago... She's having a big blast bday party tomorrow night with 9 friends, ice skating and a sleepover..am I nuts??

vinyl for tote bags...kim

Hey Kim...the vinyl was purchased at the LQS. I'd be happy to pick you up some, it's about 6.00 a yard, but it's not a true yard, it's like 17" wide. Otherwise I'm sure it can be purchased online..let me know.

the stash we all have...

WOW...I was just looking at the poll of "how much fabric do you own". Between 8 of us that voted there is 6 that have over 100 yards!! 1 that has over 20 yards and 1 that only buys when needed..well figuring out the $$ amount of fabric 8 people own at 620 yards x 9.00 a yard we're looking at $$5,580.00!!! amazing!! that's at only 100 yards per person...Maybe we should all take out fabric insurance haha...

wonderful trip to Seattle

It was an awesome time for Nicholas and I. My nieces and nephew are getting so big and so full of happiness. I don't think I've seen kids that happy and content in a long time :-) Kudos to Jeremy and Holly for a job well done.

It was so nice to get back to my sewing machine! I missed her HAHA.... Finished a Christmas gift for my sisters boyfriend Tuesday and then last night/this morning made another Deli Lunch Tote. It's sooo cute...I used the line of fabric from the uterine cancer line. All torquoise with flowers and dragonflies. Decided I wanted to make my two nieces purses for Christmas so chose some really cute fabric for those, will get started when Nicholas naps today.

All is well here....daily chores almost done. Nicholas is thrilled to be home, I think he missed his toys. I sure missed my girls and Patrick, was so nice to see them. I really believe time away from loved ones brings you back much more appreciative of them :-)

oh and did I mention in drizzled and was dreary the entire time we were in Seattle!! I think the sun may have peeked out once :-(

Halloween Sampler

Here is my Halloween Sampler...I fell in love with this quilt at the quilt shop and took the class. It was fun but I won't be making another one, very very time consuming. Don't you love the boot?? The broom is "paperless paper piecing" very fun! I'm sending it out to the quilter this afternoon.

Deli tote bag

One of my latest projects..and yes I'm addicted to this pattern. Have a couple more cut out already. The inside of this one has an iron on vinyl lining for easy cleanup. I'm taking this one to mom tomorrow...Nicholas and I are heading to Seattle for a visit. He is SOOOO excited about the airplane.

Summer baby....

This is a picture of our new baby Summer. She will come join the family the week of October 19th. We are all soooo excited!!

leaving for Seattle Wednesday!

Hurrah!! Can't wait to see Mom and Dad, my brother and his family!! Jeremy (my brother) and his wife Holly have 3 little ones...Ryan, Taylor and Tori. I have not seen them in a couple years so I'm very excited to see how they've grown, plus Nicholas will get to see them for the first time, he loves "big" kids :-) So in the meantime I will be rushing through the laundry and housework to make sure Patrick and the girls are okay while I'm away. What a blessing that both girls know how to cook and clean.

Thursday already....

Yesterday was a good day! Accomplished alot around the house, dr's appointment went very well, all is good. Today is a sew day, bought new fabric yesterday (like I really need to "buy" more fabric, really should be "shopping" in my garage LOL) for another deli lunch tote, they are so cute and so simple, sometimes I need something that sews up quickly, especially after all the time it has taken to finish the halloween sampler...YES..it is done! Will post a photo tonight so come back and check it out.
Nicholas is supposed to have preschool today but he's having a tough time listening to the teachers and had an episode of spitting on Tuesday...yikes what to do?? I'm going to take him but I might just stay today and observe. He is my busy boy, always into something, I think he looks for mischief :-)
Time to feed the kids. Speaking of food....here is a recipe for Pumpkin Bars that I received from a friend who is an excellent baker! ENJOY....thank you Gail and Margit!! Two of my "silly" friends.

Pumpkin Bars
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon -- ground
1 teaspoon Nutmeg -- ground1/2 teaspoon Cloves -- ground
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Vegetable Oil
16 ounces Pumpkin, canned
4 medium Eggs

***FROSTING* **
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1/3 cup Butter or Margarine -- softened
1 package Cream Cheese -- (3 oz.), softened
1 tablespoon Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan. In large bowl, Blend all bar ingredients at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at Medium speed. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 Minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.In small bowl, combine frosting ingredients; beat until smooth. Spread over Cooled bars.
(You can successfully freeze these bars by allowing them to completely cool, Then placing them inside zip baggies, then removing all of the air inside the Baggies, using a drinking straw to suck it out. They are great to freeze in Small baggies for individual servings, but can also be frozen in large baggies For larger groups.)

September 24, 2008

Wednesday already!
On the agenda today:
Dr this afternoon, clean the kitchen, mop, "try" to finish the laundy (it's a never ending ordeal in this house haha) Take Nicholas to the park for an hour this morning while it's still cool outside.
I am hoping to spend an hour or so and finish my Halloween Sampler quilt top, if so I'll post a photo this evening. It is so cute! It was a two part class but took about 30+ hours of piecing, tons of little pieces but all worth it in the long run, I will have a lovely heirloom to pass on down to my kids :-)

Better get on my morning chores...have a great day

simple apron I found online...

Take a look at this great simple apron pattern, I love it and plan to make a few for gifts. You can embelish the towels to match with a little simple applique too.

http://craftydaisies.com/2007/09/21/towel-turned-apron/

September 23, 2008

Hi,

Never thought I'd have a blog, yeah they're fun to read and very addictive so here I am....hoping to share some of my quilting, recipes, and just mom wisdom...hmm what is that???

I'm Tracey from the bay area of California. I have a wonderful, caring husband of 20 years, Patrick, he is not only a wonderful spouse but also my best friend. I'm a stay at home mom with 3 children, Ashley is 17, Morgan is almost 14 and Nicholas is 3. My passion is quilting, I love it...wish there were more hours in the day though as somedays I get very little sewing in. I also enjoy cake decorating, reading and a good movie from time to time.

Well this should be fun....I'll check back in tomorrow :-)