I am in desperate need of some felt crafting therapy!  As soon as I can enlarge the pattern found at Nuno Life, I will be making at least two of these cuties personalized for my twin daughters!  I have one heckuva week coming up with grad school, so I need some down time and felt fun to get me through!  My friend Meridith over at Smitty Baby made a couple of these dolls for her twin nieces.  They (the dolls) are too cute and were a great hit for the girls' birthday (the girls are too cute as well)!  Hope I've inspired some of my readers to give felt a try!

I found the cutest bedding for the girls' room at Walmart, of all places! It's by Green Gorilla, 100% Certified Organic Cotton, and CUTE, CUTE, CUTE! The design is Orchard: a retro throw-back of colorful birds and graphic designs. It came with a comforter, pillow sham, flat sheet, fitted sheet, and pillow case AND it was on sale for $31!!! For $62 the girls are now all set when we finally move them out of the cribs into their gorgeous four-poster antique beds that my mom and aunt (their grandma and great-aunt who just passed away last month) used to sleep in as little girls. I'm thrilled and delighted and anything else good you can think of! Can you tell I'm excited???

Now I just have to figure out how to make or buy these darling bird pillows that match (didn't have anymore at Walmart or online except on eBay).

I have added February's Food Calendar to my other blog.  Fayla is currently in University Hospital in Denver dealing with lots of medical issues.  In her absence this month, I attempted to put together a calendar of meals (hers are much better and have side dishes, etc.).  Check it out at Fayla's Fabulous Food Calendar! Enjoy and browse other months, too!

More Felt Food Fun!

I have added to the kids' felt food collection. They now have the sandwich, bag of potato chips, celery stalk, strawberries, hamburger patty and buns, fried eggs, and a half-done donut (100% calorie-free!). My next project is animal cookes with icing.

My friend Meridith over at Smitty Baby caught the Felt Food bug, and she's crafting away! Check out her book and gift items at her Smitty Baby store! Enjoy!

My aunt, Suzanne (Sue) Taylor Kennedy died January 15, 2010. She was a sweet and funny lady who was thankful and graceful until the end of her life. She could cook food for an army of family and friends, and she would at a moment's notice. She could sew and loved dolls and angels. I will miss her every day, and I will love her always. She was funny without even trying, and I will always remember her smiling.

Suzanne Taylor Kennedy (March 1, 1944-January 15, 2010)

I've been working on a Food Calendar Blog for a friend of mine. She writes up (just for herself) a food calendar each month and posts it on her fridge. It's usually chock-full of yummy dishes, and I've used it frequently (not necessarily on the same day as she did though). Here's the first attempt at making a blog for her to post each month's calendar and recipes. Browse for information or just for fun! It's searchable, too!
Click here:
Fayla's Fabulous Foods

Felt food is fun! It's fun to make and fun to play with, too! After seeing an article in the Amarillo Globe News, my mom called to tell me about a stay-at-home mom who makes felt food for her daughter to play with instead of plastic food. I had recently got a grocery sack full of felt in various colors free from my uncle. When he bought a house it came with a load of old crafty stuff. Most of it was donated to the local thrift store, but for some reason, I kept the felt.

So far I've made a sandwich with 2 cheeses, lettuce, a tomato slice, pickle chips, and 2 slices of bread. I also made a sack of potato chips to go with it. I am currently working on some vegetables (celery, carrots, tomato) and fruits (strawberries, apples, grapes). Who knows when the felt crafting stage will pass, but for now it's fun and the kids like the end results!

I stumbled on the sandwich/potato chips template from the blog Keeper of the Cheerios. The pattern can be found here at Snazzle Craft.

I have decided shopping for new jeans is the equivalent of my own personal hell! I need a personal seamstress to make them fit me correctly! Apparently I have long legs, a short torso, no butt, and some of my "baby belly" extra skin from my second pregnancy leftover just for fun. Jeans shopping = sucky!

p.s. I did find one pair I liked, but if I wear them every day they'll soon fall apart like my old favorites! ;o)

Christmas Letter 2009

Hadley Sue and Harper Kate are two rambunctious two-year-olds! They can walk, run, jump, climb, throw, sing, and dance, among other things. Their favorite songs are the Alphabet Song and Itsy Bitsy Spider. They find it necessary to clap at the end of every song, much to the amusement of everyone else! They are avid watchers of Blue’s Clues and Max & Ruby (don’t bother them when either is on)! The corral (aka “the cage”) is still in the living room. Cage fights are a daily occurrence, but we also get some cage kisses, cage hugs, and cage songs.
Hunter, our oldest, is now five and a half. He is in kindergarten at Straight. This summer he was in t-ball (the first place team!), and this fall he was in soccer. He still likes school, but likes recess best. He goes to AWANA at church (this year he’s in Sparks). He is learning Bible verses and earning points and jewels. He is beginning to read on his own and surprises us often by reading something we didn’t know he could decode! He grew two inches in the last six months—he’s going to be taller than Mom pretty soon! He recently learned to ride his bike without training wheels, and now Amy’s worried he’ll just ride away!
Phil is still teaching and coaching at Straight Grade School. He is looking forward to this year’s hunting season. His German Shorthaired Pointers are looking good this year—we now have four! He is still supporting his Kansas City Chiefs even through the rocky years. He had the kids this summer while Amy went to Ada for three weeks—he’s got a lot of patience! He keeps the yard looking wonderful (compliments abound)!
Amy is at home with Hadley and Harper each day. She has one more class, a certification test to pass, and a practicum to complete before getting her Masters of Education degree for School Library Media Specialist. She got 9 free hours of class this summer (and lived in the dorms in Ada for three weeks). She stays busy with homework, diaper duty (potty training coming soon!), laundry, and chasing little girls (with help from Grandpa Gene). Will she go back to work next fall? Only time will tell….
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The crafty urge hit, so I made these dolls from The Black Apple for the girls. The urge has finally left me, so I think this may be all there is for now.

I saw so many crafty items at the weekend arts and crafts show! It really made me want to make something myself again. I am thinking later in December (when classes are done for the semester) I will have to crank out something handmade just to ease the urge! Wonder what it's going to be?

Finally got the caterpillar costume done for Hunter (thank goodness, because he needs it Thursday!). He's going to be The Very Hungry Caterpillar for Storybook Character Day at school. He thought it was going to be a fun costume, but now he wishes I'd made a scarier, more macho character. Wish in one hand, spit in the other...

"What Can You Do @ Your Library" by Amy R. Harris

"What Can You Do @ Your Library" by Amy R. Harris, originally uploaded by AtYourLibrary.

This is my entry for a Tote Design Contest with @yourlibrary.org. If you belong to Flickr, please mark this as a "Favorite" to vote for me! Of course, I made it at www.wordle.net!

After an excrutiatingly long wait (almost three hours!) to get the kids and the adults flu shots, we were on our way to New Mexico! Hunter and I hadn't been to the mountains in four years, and the girls had never been at all.

The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm in the 70s. We enjoyed the scenic drive (Hadley didn't like the drop-outs on some of the roads). The trees were turning for fall, and the air was clean.

We tried to get a family picture for Christmas cards...not too sure if we succeeded, but we'll probably use one of them anyway. How can we get five people to all look the same way (and not have goofy looks) at the same time?

It was fun to get away, but much better to be back home in my own bed! Try Eagle Nest or Red River, NM if you ever want an inexpensive trip in the fall!

I hosted a Pampered Chef catalog party (OK, so there's no party, but who's getting picky!), and now I'm going to get myself a Cranberry Deep Covered Baker! I LOVE that thing (I saw it at my cousin M'Leah's house--she's the consultant)! I am so happy I could jump for joy! Phil thinks it's big and wonders where I'm going to put it. I'm pushing something out of the way, 'cause this thing is coming home to Mama! This thing rocks!

So, I'm telling ya, I'm totally addicted to Wordle.net! I can't stop making stuff with this program! Somebody stop me!

My new Wordle creations for a class! Fun! Help me! I'm addicted to Wordle!

It's soccer season. Hunter has three soccer games each week until the middle of October. He doesn't play much, and he doesn't really understand the game (neither do his non-soccer playing parents). We have resolved to just tell him to go out there and have fun. It's hard to not tell him to play better or work harder (we have to remind ourselves he's only 5).

My cousin has a baby girl who is four-months old. She's a doll with big brown eyes. My two blue-eyed girls are just fascinated by all babies, and she was at my mom's house for lunch on Sunday. Mom tried to get a picture of all three of them in the recliner, and this is the result. I don't think Maddy's as fascinated by the girls as they are by her! Doesn't it look like they're trying to avoid that screaming baby!!! It seems like they're saying, "We didn't do a thing to make her cry!"

I started back in my graduate classes August 17, and it's just been an uphill climb since then. We went from blended classes (half ITV and half online) to totally online classes. This is NOT good! I miss the interaction and voices of my classmates. This is not my ideal way to get an education. Not at all!