turning 4

our baby girl is 4!


one of lilly's favorite conversations with me...

me:where's my little girl?
lilly: she's growin up!

here are the highlights of the big day...

easter and 11 months

here are a few easter pics!

and the little man man at 11 months :)

now we move on to 3 bdays...

then life should settle down a bit.

right?

here is a sneak peak of the bday girl's special present.

shhhhhh.... it's a BIG surprise!

the birthday boy's quilt is in the works... cutting out 150+ squares is a good 'in front of the TV' activity :)

green and goodness

i'm stitching, which means i can type while i wait.
and watching big brother.
im running back and forth between the couch, the computer and the machine :)

my embroidery list keeps growing.
my 'everyday' list is growing as usual.
but that is good.
i like knowing that i have things to do.

last weekend was so fun.
i scrapped 17 pages!!
i'll share sooner or later :)

here are the little leprechauns.

and a yummy sandwich :)
a special treat that we don't make too very often.

reubens.

we got this recipe from a lady i used to teach with.
(teachers always have GREAT recipes!)
this one is a little different than your 'normal' reuben.

it uses coleslaw (yumm) instead of sauerkraut (yucky).

so the layers are like this.

-rye bread (buttered on one side)
-corned beef
-swiss cheese
-coleslaw
-thousand island dressing
-rye bread (buttered on one side)

grill on the stove just like grilled cheese :)
delicious...

enjoy the rest of your week!

things to do.

i have a bunch of things to do, as usual.

blogging is not one of them.

but, im too excited to share my newest crafting, so here i am typing away!!

This blanket.

I made it :)

i've been wanting to share it since the minute it was complete... but I had to wait till it was given to the birthday boy. it took a long time to make, but was very much worth it.

here is the start to another in progress... a surprise for a very special birthday girl who claims she wants "just one more blanket. but with girl patterens." (even though she already has a billion blankets.) The blanket is actually done, just needs to hit the washer and dryer! I'll share a finished picture after the bday girl receives her gift.

I never really thought I'd be a 'sewer'. But guess what. I think I am a sewer now. Just one more thing to do won't hurt, right?!?

Fabric is fun. Fabric is dangerous.

Just like scrapbook paper :)

Speaking of scrapping, I get to scrap this weekend, and I am so looking forward to it!!

Maybe I'll be posting some new layouts next time around :)

blizzard.

we got a bunch of snow.
at least 12 inches. maybe even more.

lilly and dave are loving it. so am i.
cohen's not too fond of the idea.

these pictures were taken in the morning.
before the rest of the snow and wind came.

10 things.

sometimes you just need a reminder of the things that make you smile.

to be perfectly honest, i know i will always be able to come up with 10 things that make me smile :) that in itself makes me smile.

here are a few... in the moment.

10 things that make me smile.

1. return address labels
2. fun checks (makes the bill paying fun!)
3. real mail in the mailbox (real, as in, not junkmail)
4. baby giggles
5. orders (from here and here)
6. coupons
7. phone calls from people who love you
8. Samoas
9. LOST
10. our Odyssey (and the fact that I'm no longer ashamed that I own a mini-van)
...and a picture, because I know that's what you really want to see :)

have a wonderful weekend! enjoy the snow :)

607

six hundred and seven.

that's how many pictures were on the new digi camera when it said "memory is full".

i am happy to report that pictures are saved up through FEB 08, and the FEB 08 pics are being downloaded for printing as i type this. yay!

enjoy some recent photos...

cohen @ 10 months.

cohen modeling mommy's new hobby :)

lilly coming home from 'crazy hair day' at school :)

climbing on the neighbor's man-made hill in the cal-de-sac.

and here is the 'recipe' for the layered red velvet cake that i posted here. a few of you asked for it... thanks for waiting patiently!

it's pretty much a made up recipe from a recipe that i used once, but even then didnt follow them as i should have. and i'm not so hot at writing out recipes that i make up, but i tried! hope it makes enough sense for you to try to recreate it :) Not sure that anyone would hire me to write recipes!

Jen's made-up Layered Red Velvet Cake :)

Bake a store bought mix of Red Velvet cake as directed on the box. This year I used a bundt cake pan, then sliced the cake in half. (I’ve done 2- 9” rounds cakes in the past as well.)

Cream cheese mixture… one block of cream cheese softened, about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of sugar, and a dash of vanilla. Mix together and spread over bottom half of split bundt cake.

On top of the cream cheese, spoon out cherries from a cherry filling can onto the cream cheese mixture. I usually use about ¾ of the can, and I try not to use all the extra ‘goop’.

Place the top half of the bundt cake on the cream cheese mix and cherries.

Cover the entire cake with heaps of whipped topping.

Top with something fun… this year I colored sugar and sprinkled it on top. I’ve also used the rest of the cherry filling, and chocolate shavings in the past.

Enjoy :)