Whirlwind

Whirlwind pretty much describes this holiday season. Beginning with a wonderful visit from my parents at Thanksgiving. They brought beautiful Az weather with them and we were able to hike, shop, eat, decorate the tree, and spend a great time together. I have missed family and it was so fun for us and the kids to have them here.
When they left the holiday preparations started, Christmas shopping, school activities, church activities. I was working on new holiday decorations, homemade gifts and then we received the call that Greg's Aunt Patti passed away. She had been fighting cancer for a year and half. We had a shift in the whirlwind and began the prep to get ready for an unexpected trip home. We left Thursday night drove through the night to arrive in time for the funeral on Friday. Patti was only 50, the baby of the family. The trip was bittersweet. We were able to be there with family in the sadness of saying good bye to a loved one and in the same trip have the opportunity to have the joy of kissing these sweet cheeks for the first time. We have arrived home just in time for what looks like a white Christmas. I drove home myself with the kids,(first time!)a day early due to the storm coming in. The 12 hour trip wasn't bad, just have lot's of movies, snacks and a good audio book.

I WANT....

it all!
My sister sent me a check this out email and I am in love. I really want them all.Check it out. You will love it to.
Shabby Apple

What's new....

Not much.
We recieved eight inches of snow last night. They even canceled church so today is filled with reading, sewing and hot chocolate. Not a bad day. I finally uploaded some pictures so I thought I would share.

Sweet package came from Mom...buttons,thread, spice and these cute monkeys.

Project finally finished. It was my Moms birthday present. I sent it a few months late but hey better late than never. One project down, so many more to go. With the holidays approaching my list gets longer!

Being the great mom that I am I completely missed the school picture deadline. I have decided that I really don't like school photo's. For the same price I can get cuter ones taken somewhere else. So, that's what I did. I love the candid shots...here are a few.(raw photos)
Gavin sharing his cow joke..caught at the Moo part of the it.
She eventually gave in later gave them a smile.
.

Knock, Knock

The flu has arrived. I am sure it is planing on staying awhile. I am hoping it does not hit one kid at a time which means one week at a time. Yuck.

On a brighter note:
No need to panic! My boys were not lost walking to school by themselves for the first time today. I guess snowball fights are much more fun than getting to school on time. Thank goodness for good neighbors who picked them up on their way to school.Boys...

Happy Birthday..

to me....sort of. My birthday is actually next month but we needed to up our Amazon total to get the free shipping. So, I had this book on my wish list and I received it yesterday!

There are a few more purses then I would prefer but lots of really cute projects to try out most of which use scraps. A few more Pj's and then on to this book.

Am I the only one that really wants to see this movie?

Pop Up Pancakes

Quick. Easy and Good. If you like German pancakes....try these. We ate ours with powdered sugar and maple syrup. Here's the link to the recipe. Pop Up Pancakes ENJOY!

Fleece Weekend

We went from beautiful fall 70 degrees, the leaves changing on Weds. to this by Fri.


I didn't hear any other kids in the neighborhood having a snowball fight at 7:45 in the morning. Do you think it's obvious my kids are from AZ? As for me, this crazy weather means ice on the streets and cold nights. I had some fleece for pj's and I was planning on sewing them in the next few weeks. The 20 degree weather had me working on them this weekend. Three down...one more to go, scarf and hat out of the scraps.

The Mother Load

Saturday morning we drove up to a little town to eat breakfast with friends.

Isa ordered the Mini Mother Load Pancake. Not very mini..

Then we hiked around the park next door. Great way to start a weekend!The Gazebo was built in 1888 and was only accessible by boat until the bridge was built in the late '90's. I couldn't help but wonder how many proposal's and first kisses?

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

We had a craft gathering at my house recently...paper, modge podge, laughs and food. I served this coffee cake and promised to post the recipe. Enjoy!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake by Jean Pare

1/2 c. butter or margarine ,softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. sour cream

1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. finely chopped nuts (I use walnuts)
small handful of coconut (optional-did not put it in for the group, but usually do.)

Cream butter, sugar, and 1 egg together in a mixing bowl. Beat in second egg. Add soda and sour cream. Mix.

In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add to batter. Stir to mix. Put 1/2 batter in a greased 9x9 inch pan, (this recipe does double well if you want to make a 9x13 pan).

Stir brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts and coconut together. Sprinkle half over batter. Spoon second half of better here and there over the all.Sprinkle second half of cinnamon mixture over all. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.

Thrift And Snow

This was my back porch yesterday. It looked the same this morning. Isn't it just September? I thought fall brought colored leaves and cooler days. Hopefully it still will.

So, I have had some luck with thrift stores of late. So, I thought I would take a photo wearing what I actually found .....
Here's me in my vintage goodies (except shoes..though thrift )in front of my weeds and tree looking attempting to look sassy.
Here's me looking a little grumpy.
Here is my vintage wool coat that I love. I bought it for a dollar from an old folks home thrift store I volunteered at recently with my church. They were going to give it to Salvation Army but it came home with me instead.
Buttons...love them.
If you want to see a blog with a girl who takes adorable pictures in her vintage goodies peek in on this one. She's still young enough to wear cute knee socks with her dresses. *sigh*

If...

If I was one of those really great bloggers that actually blogged on a regular basis and didn't just think about it.....I would of blogged about:
* Surviving the first few weeks of homework with three second graders.....barely. The biggest transition yet from Montessori education.

* This book: I really like it and her blog is great to.

*My baby sister having her first baby and not being there for it. I didn't get to give beautiful Zane a kiss his first day in the world.

* The trampoline. In Az almost everyone had pools (except us) so we were not the hang out house in the summer and putting in a pool was not an option. Here everyone has a trampoline, we can handle that and afford it especially one from craigslist. So now everyone is a liability at my house instead of theirs. Hmmm....

* How beautiful it is here.
We recently hiked up to these falls. The kids had a great time, of course my camera battery died(hate that) so this is the one and only photo.

New and Used

Day two of the school year. Usually I am so ready to send the kids and they are ready to start. This year is a little different. Yesterday was a bit harder to let them go. New town, new school, transitioning to public. New is exciting and scary. I kept myself busy. I ran the errands you just avoid with kids. Fabric and thrift store. I went to the Salvation Army next to the fabric store(how dangerous is that?) and they were having a three for a dollar sale! Not everything of course, but since everything else seemed so expensive when there are racks of thirty cent items. I stuck with those. Brought home a big bag of '70's shirts etc. that I am not even sure I am going to wear but who cares....thirty cents!Favorite Shirts!
If anything I will cut the buttons off & add them to my collection. I did find a few items that were not dated. My jacket....thirty cents! I might even be able to justify my spending at the fabric store with all the unnecessary things I picked up at the thrift store for so cheap. Or maybe not.

Charade

I saw Charade for the first time this weekend. How have I not seen this film? Carey Grant, Audrey Hepburn, 1963. Great film...and the clothes are amazing. Here are a few of my favorites.

Breakfast Egg Muffins

OK first off...I borrowed the photo. We ate the muffins before a photo opportunity! These are basically what they look like. My sister came to visit and I made these and promised to send the recipe so I thought I would just post it instead. These are a great breakfast, ingredients can be swapped around to make it vegetarian etc. They freeze great so you can just reheat and run.

Breakfast Egg Muffins

3 cups frozen Hash Brown Potatoes
3/4 c. grated cheese (whatever you like)
1 cup diced Ham or Canadian Bacon ( I use just regular bacon when I don't' have ham)
1/4 cup sliced green onions (optional)
4 beaten eggs or 1 cup egg substitute
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Grease muffin tins. Distribute the shredded potatoes into each cup. Place ham and cheese over the potatoes. Combine eggs, milk and seasoning in blender. Pour over ham and cheese. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

AZ

I spent this last week in Arizona. Greg came home for the weekend and then drove us up. We spent his LAST week in Az with him and visiting family. The week went by fast! We spent time with family...
Blankets from Grandma

Dad and brothersLatest addition to the clan...Gracie. Another nephew arriving next month!

Abuelos and Uncle Luis.
Grandma and Grandpa Paz Soldan
the Science Center...So excited to have another photo taken.

Groovin' at Science Center
visiting, and lots of swimming. Basically anything to keep us busy and cool. It was hot!
My husband said farewell to friends...
and then we headed home. So nice to be together as a family but so sad to say good-bye again.

Vintage Finds

I was finally able to get to a thrift store. The kids were in tow so I wasn't able to look much. Overall I found it to be a little pricey. But I did find these....Early 50's to early 70's. Which do I make first?
I found these in my daughter's size. (I can't get the photo to flip for some reason). She has picked out the green plaid one and wants the socks and all. Is it possible she may love something I sew her? Found this amusing...would not be found on today's patterns.
Now it's the process of going through each pattern and making sure I have all the pieces, and then deciding which one I am going to attempt. Love it!