Happy Mother's Day!

2 posts from me in 2 days. Shocking I know! Since it's Mother's Day and everyone has been insisting I do whatever I want, so I've done just that. While I'm downstairs, I couldn't resist popping in. This is the only day of the year that I really do whatever I want and don't feel the least bit guilty about it. Everyone's been so nice and pleasant today! They gave me some new Paula Dean baking dishes that I just adore! I love the large cake dish. I was anxious to use it so I baked them a cake in it. I love the scalloped edges on these dishes. Very pretty. It was time for some new ones. I've been baking in the same dishes for 15.5 years. Alot of what I have were wedding gifts. I won't part with them for that reason.


Mike took the kids for a hiker earlier which was SOOOOO nice. I'm rarely ever home alone anymore. Ever. Mike works from home at least 3 days a week...sometimes 4. I took full advantage of the quiet time. I hauled my sewing machine & ironing board upstairs and got cracking on those curtains. It took a lot longer than it should have because I was watching movies on Lifetime while I was making them. I measured, got distracted, measured again, got distracted again....I used the same dark red fabric with the tiny white daisies on it that I used in the guest room. I LOVE the print. The flowers are so small you can't really see them in the pic. They turned out very well and I'm looking forward to not seeing the sun peeping in my window at 6 in the morning anymore. The sheers were pretty, but they just don't cut it in the spring & summer.

I'm off to stitch on my New World Sampler and watch another movie. I hope your day was as nice as mine was! :).

I'm big, yellow, and round. What am I?

The sun! It's only out for a bit, I'm sure but it's making an appearance, nonetheless! 11 days of rain and more to come later, but for now we have a little break! Joshua has a ball game this afternoon so hopefully it'll stay dry for that.His other ball events for the week were cancelled so the make up days are starting to stack up. I'm a wee bit sleepy today. Cassie had 2 friends stay the night last night. Her bedroom is directly above mine. I'm a very light sleeper, so I didn't sleep as much as I wanted too, nor did I sleep in. Tomorrow's Mother's Day so I know I'll be sleeping in then. Heck, I might just leave my jammies on all day and do some crafty things. We'll see. Since the sun shines in our bedroom window at like...I dunno...5:30 in the morning, I decided the sheers I have up, just aren't cutting it. I went to Joanne's yesterday and bought some fabric to make some curtains that will keep more of the light out so I might do that tomorrow. I've also started stitching on a new piece. It's The Prairie Schooler's New World Sampler. I've had this chart for the longest time and have been meaning to start it. It's been out of print for quite some time. I don't have much stitched yet, but at least it's started. I might do a little stitching on it tomorrow, too. I really love this piece. I try to avoid restaurants on Mother's Day because they're crazy insane, so we're going out to dinner tonight. I haven't decided where yet.

I've really been missing some people lately. That usually gets me wanting to bake things. There's something about baking that's always been comforting to me. I've been thinking about Mike's Grandma a lot. She used to make these little sugar pies for him that he loves. The last batch she made was shortly before we moved. When she died in February, they thought the sugar pie recipe went with her. I guess I forgot to mention to them that I acquired the recipe a few years back. The recipe was a wee bit vague, so I still have to do a bit of tweaking. It's nearly exact now, so long live Grandma's sugar pies!

I've also been missing my mom. She's coming for a visit next weekend! I'm so excited! The last time she came, we were snowed in the entire time she was here so didn't get to do anything. When I was growing up she used to make these no bake oatmeal cookies all the time. They're not very pretty, but they're VERY yummy. Mike and Cassie love them. I made a batch of them up too. They turned out really well, and they're nearly gone. I add peanut butter to mine, like this recipe here. She doesn't put peanut butter in hers. I like them either way. I have peanut butter monsters here so I go ahead and toss it in.

I do miss my parent's but am so glad they're only a 5 hour drive away instead of living in TX. I love my life so much up here :). I have a much larger circle of friends than I've ever had before and am really thankful for the friendships that I've made. I've been really grateful for that lately.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Everyone...Really?

I thought I'd take a little break from all of my on goings to write a bit. I've been busy getting ready for Joshua's birthday. I can't believe my baby will be 8 on Saturday! I just don't know where the time goes, I really don't. One minute you're at the hospital in labor, the next minute, they're playing baseball. We can't have his party on Saturday because he has a baseball game and ball pictures. I feel kind of bad that the whole baseball thing is going to suck up most of his birthday. He loves playing ball and never asks to skip practice or a game. He did ask this morning if he could skip the game on his birthday. Since he asked, we just might do that. He decided this year that he wants a dog party. We're having it at our house. It's only now that I think I've completely lost my mind. In our past experiences, I've found that when we send out invitations, typically about 1/2 of the kids come. I've also found in the past (in Texas) that if you have the party at your house rather than some other expensive place...ie: Funland, Chuck E Cheese, or a bowling alley that even less kids come. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered last night that every single mom of every kiddo that was invited has already called to RSVP. Most of them called Monday and Tuesday while I was out and about and Mike was at home teleworking. Every time I left the house and came back, there were notes left for me from people who called. Good thing they've all called because he told me when I got home last night that if anyone else called he was going to tell them he was sorry but we are at maximum capacity LOL!!! Too funny! I think it's hysterical myself, because I can handle all of these kids, but he already seems to be nervous. He should be. He has pinata and pin the nose on the doggie duty. Good luck! LOL!! I'm taking 2 other games. A dog and cat match game and a guess how many doggie bones are in the jar game. Joshua picked out his cake...it's actually 24 cupcakes arranged in the shape of a dog face. Super cute! For fun I bought everyone dog bowls to eat their ice cream out of. Too fun! I'm betting money some of them won't want to use a spoon. I'd bet a lot of money on that...lol. Today, I filled the pinata, made up all of the prize bags for the games, and counted out the dog bones and put them in the jar for the guess how many game. I'll work on some more birthday stuff on Friday. I've got some cleaning that I must get to here in a bit.

Tomorrow, the 5th grade is going on a field trip to Petersburg. I signed up to chaperone but so did everyone elses mom, so they had a drawing. Only two people were chosen per class, because there wasn't much room left on the bus. I didn't get picked, but I'm probably going anyway and taking my car. Sure, I have to pay for gas but honestly, I'd rather take my own car than ride in a bus filled with 5th graders....lol. I think Petersburg is about an hour and half south of here, past Richmond. I'm just waiting to hear from Mike if he can telework tomorrow. If he can, I'm going. If not, then I won't because I won't have anyone to take Joshua to school and pick him up. I hope I can though because Cassie starts middle school next year, and I have a feeling my days of going on field trips with her are numbered :(.

The flowers are blooming and they're so pretty! Here are some pictures of flowers that are in our yard. Not planted by me of course because if they were I can assure you that they wouldn't look like this LOL! I really am trying to turn my brown thumb in to a green one! I planted tons of petunias a few days ago. I planted a few last year and they did very very well. They were in bloom until late November.

Play Ball!

Joshua's first ball game of the season was yesterday morning. This year, he's an Oriole. They didn't win the game, but my little slugger scored the first point for his team!

Spring break was good, and I can't believe it flew by so quick. I'm kinda bummed they're going back to school tomorrow. I haven't been doing a lot of stitching but did finish up stitching on a friend's Quaker round robin. I stitched the bottom left section starting at the heart and going down. We were to add our initials along with the initials of someone who inspired us in our creative endeavors. I added mine along with my mom's. This is not the color of her fabric or her thread. My camera washed the colors out, big time! You can see what I stitched anyway. I'm all caught up on my stitching commitments...now I'm stitching for me!

The New Faces of Krispy Kreme

We started off our day at Krispy Kreme. Mike's dad hadn't been to a Krispy Kreme shop before, so off we went. Great photo opp. Should these faces be in a KK ad, or what?! I love this picture!

Afterwards, we split up and the kids and I went shopping for goodies for Mike's birthday. It's Thursday, but since his dad and his wife are going home on Thursday, we'll be celebrating for the next couple of days. Tomorrow night we're eating dinner at Joe's Crabshack. That's one of his favorite places, and on Tuesday nights, kids eat for $2.00 :). Cassie's not the least bit amused since she's an advocate for crabs.....she thinks they should be loved and not eaten. I was going to make a b-day cake for him on Wednesday, but instead he's requested another one of those scrumptious apple pies like I made the other day (see previous post for a link to the recipe). I'm off...I've not stitched in over a week and my needle's crying for me.

A Day There and a Day Here

Mike's dad and his wife flew in on Thursday for the week. We started the week off with a trip to D.C. yesterday morning. Our first stop was Arlington National Cemetery. My FIL wanted to see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That was more than fine with me because I've wanted to see it since the first time Mike & I went. We've been to the cemetery before but never to that tomb. It's a very long walk from the entrance and we could never find the time. We finally went, and I'm so glad we did. It's very moving. When the guard taps his shoes together, it seems very haunting to me.

After we left the cemetery we hopped on the train and headed in to the city. The flowers are in bloom and everything was so pretty!

We spent most of the day looking at the Memorials since he hadn't seen them before. He really wants to go to the Smithsonian Museums. we ran out of time yesterday so we're going back tomorrow. Many miles were walked yesterday...many, many, many miles.

They wanted to go to some antique shops so we headed to downtown Fredericksburg to do that today. I took them to my favorite shops that I frequent often. Mike bought this really pretty Martha Washington plate for me. It was made in the 1940's and is in perfect condition. With a price tag of $13, we couldn't pass it up. I think I've found another treasure :).

At another shop we went to, Mike's dad and Charlotte bought this wonderful little Annie doll for me. Isn't she precious?! I love that she has her own little dolly.

I found a recipe on allrecipes.com for an apple pie that got rave reviews so thought I'd give it a try. I've never made a homemade pie, by the way. I made it today and was worried about how it would turn out since I hadn't made one before. It could have looked a little prettier, but the pie was fantastic! It was SO good!! The recipe is here if you'd like to try it. If you like apple pie, then I'd highly recommend it. It's the best apple pie I've ever eaten, and Mike and his dad both loved it.

I must scamper off, the Easter Bunny should be here soon!

Random Things

So, it's been a bit since I've posted. I intended to before now, but that thing called time keeps slipping away from me. For a wee bit there I was bitten big time by the re-decorating bug. Except for the occasional small thing here and there, I think that phase is passing...a tad..for now...maybe. Mike's dad and his wife will be flying in on Thursday and will be staying for a week. I've been busy getting ready for their arrival. We're planning a lot of fun things while they're here. I'm really looking forward to spring break. I need to get you caught up on a few things first...

Right after my last post, Laura and I went to the needlework exhibition at Woodlawn. I finally remembered my camera so I could take a picture of the house for you. We had a really great time, and like last year loved looking at all of the wonderful samplers. We also got to see my Abigail piece on display. She didn't win a ribbon, and that was fine with me. I was honoured just to be a part of the exhibiton, and I'll be looking forward to participating many more times. I've already had ideas swimming around in my head for what I can stitch for next year's exhibit. I do think I want to enter 2 things next time. A sampler of some sorts, and an ornament for the Christmas room. Maybe even some sort of needlework accessory that would be displayed in the front room. That's my goal...to get a piece in the front room. This year, Abigail was in the master bedroom, which was really nice, too. Laura's planning on stitching something to enter too. Hopefully, it'll be a piece that she's working on right now. If so, it's gonna be wonderful :). I picked Abigail up from Woodlawn last weekend. I was surprised when I got there and they handed me some comment cards from people who visited the exhibit. Very nice indeed, when someone else appreciates what you've done. I know you've seen here a couple of times already but here she is again, finally hanging on the wall. I really do love this sampler!

I haven't done too much stitching since I've been busy doing things with the house. I have been working on a round robin, and I did manage to stitch up this little piece from The Sampler Girl. It's the Inauguration Day Sampler. The saying on the piece came from this:

“Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it.
May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof.”
John Adams wrote in a letter to his wife, Abigail, Nov. 1800

As you can see, I have a wee interest in John and Abigail Adams :). I made the piece in to this cute little pillow that sits on the guest bed. I love how it turned out!

For a good part of last year, we had these ducks that would come to the front door nearly every day. One day in the fall they just disappeared. I'm pretty sure it's my long lost feathered friends who have flown back. Last week the kids opened the door and there they were, sitting in front of the door as if they lived here. At least, I think it's them. If not, then there are some very friendly ducks around here. They ran out with some bread, and Cassie filled up a bowl of water for them. They've been back nearly every day since. Yesterday, I was out running errands and when I got home they were waiting in front of the door. They didn't even flinch when I walked by, and when I turned around, I noticed they had followed me clear up to the door as if they wanted to come in. Now this guy here is pretty funny... he looks like a turkey duck....lol.

I'm off to bed. I have lots to do in the next couple of days. I'll try to post while our visitors are here, but if so, the posts will most likely be mostly pictures from our outings. I'm so glad spring break is almost here :).