my first real quilt

i'd been wanting to make a real quilt for a long time.

real as in... pieced, and batted, and quilted together.

(ive made rag quilts before, but they are a little less complex.)

my sister got married in march last year.

a quilt!  handmade with love.

i think that would make a perfect wedding gift.

we went out and got the fabric right away.

and finally put it together. in november.

while 8 months pregnant :)

a fun swirly stitch in red.

the top.

the back.

it's by all means imperfect.

the kids helped with pinning, and unpinning.

and pushing the sewing pedal, and laying out pieced strips on the floor.

dave helped stretch and tape down and pin the layers together.

all 4 (5) of us helped put it together with lots of love.

so i guess that does make it quite perfect.

packed tight in a box and mailed to brooklyn to its new home.

my favorite of the fabrics is the one i call peacock.

i reserved some to make a nursing cover :)

which has already been put to good use.

i'm itching to make another quilt.

someday :)

cream of broccoli soup

i'm pretty sure this is my most favorite soup. ever.
my dad's cream of broccoli soup.
i loved when dad would make it while i was growing up.
now i get to make it myself.
and i make it a lot now that soup season is here :)
i don't mind one bit!  (neither does dave, i think it's one of his favorites too.)

Cream of Broccoli Soup
http://itsmejen.blogspot.com/

12 oz. of frozen broccoli (or 2 or 3 heads of fresh chopped broccoli)
Cook broccoli in 3 to 4 cups of water, add 4 chicken bouillon cubes
Add 1 cup of chopped celery
Add 1 cup of chopped onions
Add 1 cup of diced ham.
Simmer for 30 minutes

In a separate pan Make Roux:
Melt ½ cup butter and ½ cup of margarine
Add 1 cup all-purpose flour
Mix until well blended
Add 6 cups milk to broccoli/veggie/broth mixture.
Add roux to soup mixture and stir until thick over medium heat.
Add 1 tsp pepper and salt to taste.

enjoy!! yum.

where has all the blogging gone?

the blogging has fallen by the wayside.
though i still think about it a lot.
i wish i posted as much as i used to.
recipes. and crafts. and vides. and conversations.

i said i wouldnt join facebook, in fear of not blogging anymore.
i was right.
the ease of facebook (and the less amount of time i have now) is keeping me from blogging.

and then i went and joined pinterest.
another (fun) waste of my time.
but, we need to have some fun, right?

here are a few pics to share for those of you who are blog only readers :)

 the little man is already a month old.

where can i find more time?

belly photo shoot

we are 99% sure that baby weston is our last baby.

to remember and cherish this time in our life, 

we had pictures taken by a friend of ours.

(thank you tracey!)

it was fun to get these back after weston was born.

a little bittersweet :)

these were taken 5 days before we met our new little man.

here are a few of my favorites :)

Merry Christmas 2011!

each year... i torture my children (and myself) and i take

our own Christmas card pictures.

(mostly because i am cheap. and why not do it on my own if i can?)

 usally, after about 100 pics... i can find one that i like well enough to use.

 this year, i waited extra long to take the pics.

(mostly because we wanted to include our new little family member in the pictures :)  (and also because i wanted to mail weston's birth announcements at the same time ;)

and i also wanted to be sure that the place i order our prints

was out of envelopes, so that i could wait even longer to mail them out.

 next year, the cards should go out sooner.

and im sure everyone will love my photo session, as always.

and by the final card, you'd never know the drama that comes along :)

Merry Christmas to all my blog readers!

welcome Weston :)

Weston Dean :)

December 7th, 2011

8:38am

9lbs, 20.5 inches

happy bday dave :)

I love that my dad is very nice.

He's very handsome.

He's very special to me.

I like that he can skate really really fast.

He's unique because he's bald.

xoxo, Lilly

I like that he plays hockey.

I like that he's a fan of hockey.

He kisses me.

He hugs me.

He fishes.

xoxo, Cohen

 I'll never forget seeing that 16 year old boy.

Sitting at a table at the ice rink.

Eating a personal pan pizza.

Wearing his letterman's jacket.

And a backwards black skull hat.

I knew I had to meet him :)

Not only is that boy now my husband 

and the father of my most precious gifts, 

but he is my best friend.

And for that, I am so very blessed.

 happy birthday to my best friend ever.

i love you sweetie boy.

growing old with you is going to be wonderful.

the baby's room :)

a gallon of paint.

3 white frames.

a dowel rod.

some things we had.

some things we made with what we had.

a very talented husband who loves me a lot.

the new baby's room :)

 love love love love love.

600 post answers part 4

the last of the 600 questions, answered :)

monica says... Congrats on 600!!
I'd love to hear more about your running:) Seeing as though i am going to start real soon...What motivated you to start running? When do you run? why do you run? and whats on your running music list?? Sorry!! That was more than one question;)

Oh running I have missed you. I started running about 2 ½ years ago after watching a biggest loser episode where they ran a 5K (I think it was a 5K, maybe just a mile?) It was one of those… ‘if they can do it, I can do it!’ moments. Now let’s pretend im not 9 ½ months pregnant… when do I run? Well, whenever I can… sometime right when dave gets home from work, sometime right before the kdis bedtime, sometimes in the mornings, on very rare occasions I ran while both kids were at school and I didn’t have any extra kids for the day. Why do I run… for health, energy, alone time, my sanity, for fun. Many reasons. My music list… well, if you’ve read any of my blogs about my extreme diversity of music tastes… my running music is about the same. Hip hop, Christian, musical, top 40… its an odd mix.


Amber said...
Since we're new friends, and I just started reading your blog... I'm curious about how you started your bakery business? Have you always loved baking? And what is your favorite thing to make?

Oh the bakery business :) the one I officially started the month we got pregnant ;) funny how things work like that. I baked orders for fun for about a year before I made SDB a real business… and soon realized that a growing belly and deadlines were not a good match for me. I have always loved baking, yes (and cooking. and eating ;) very much so. My favorite thing to make? At the moment… homemade cinnamon rolls. But I like cookies too. Though not sugar cookies… I haven’t eaten one since I’ve been pregnant ;)

Libby said...
Yay for 600! I'm super excited for you!
I'd love to get in on this drawing, as I know you are a super crafter, super baker and a super cook, so my question is... what is your all-time favorite crafting project (other than the embroidery, which you are so talented with)?
Oh my. My favorite crafting project? Im so bad at choosing just one of anything. And I go in spurts. I just recently made my first ever real quilt. That was pretty fun. A lot of love and time went into that… and dave and the kids helped with parts of it too, so that made it extra special. And of course im loving all things baby right now… burps, and a nursing cover. But… when I scrapbook I love scrapbooking, and when I bake and cook I love those. I think the feeling I get from making something out of nothing, or just seeing a finished product makes it special no matter what it is.


penuttpie said...
congratulations!! i'm coming up on my 500th! i was thinking of doing something special...but i'm not convinced that people even read! (other than you) ;)
this isn't so much a question as much as a request. how about a post about your favorite blogs? :)

oh. Favorite blogs. I do have a 'i {heart} this blog' label off to the right, were some blogs have been highlighted... so be sure to check those out. And I have weaned down my blog reading in the past number of months… I just followed too many and spent too much time on browsing when I should have been doing other things. Most of the blogs I read now are people who I know in real life… or people who ive followed and interacted with for so long that I feel like I do know them :) here are some of that mix off the top of my head…

arminda

katiej

sarah

karin

those are a few. i've left out tons. but i still love you whom i didnt name here.

Anonymous said...
600 posts..i just love reading them and seeing pictures of the kids. Thinking of a question.... so, do you have weird pregnancy cravings, or any pregnancy cravings at all? What's the strangest craving combo you have had?
Anonymous said...

by the way, the last anonymous comment was from me..Courtney B. i forgot to sign my name :)

Nothing too crazy this time around. I did want red meat and milk at the very start, which is very unlike me. and I’ve loved bagels with cream cheese the whole time. And if I eat something sweet I want something salty, and visa versa. And now that we are almost done… food doesn’t sound too good at all, but I can manage to eat chocolate very easily ;) I said to one of my friends the other day that I wasn’t really having any weird cravings… but rather the generalized excuse to be able to eat more than normal was nice.

denise said...
Are you still planning to continue running throughout your pregnancy? How long is it safe/possible to run?

Oh running. I miss you. I did run through 28 weeks (7 months!) which was a pretty huge feat for me, who was never and athlete or even excerciser for almost 30 years of life. Had I answered this question 6 months ago I would have proudly said that I was still doing a mile a day… I usally walked one day, then jogged the rest. As time went on and the belly grew (along with the sore hips and off balance body) my jogs got shorter and less frequent. But that is ok. when it became body over mind (which is opposite from my non-pregnant running) it was an issue of safety and running pregnant wasn’t worth it. When my uterus would cramp up after jogging past 2 houses, and getting a good deep breath was a challenge… I wasn’t going to risk anything. I’m sure it’s different for everyone as to what is safe. But I am no pregnant marathon runner ;)

here's me on one of my last jogs... in august.

 
and now, the questions are answered :)

600 post answers part 3

Again, we will not mention the amount of time that has gone past since the last time I blogged. 

Or even worse, how long it’s been since i originally asked readers to leave me questions to answer for my 600th post...

Ali asks…  With Father's Day coming up... (ooops! embarrassing...)

What quality about Dave as a dad do you most love/appreciate/admire? 
What is your favorite memory of your Dad when you were little?

There are lots of qualities that make me smile about dave as a dad.  First, that he wanted to be a dad, and that he wanted me to be the mother of his children.  That’s pretty awesome.  He loves me, and he loves his kids. A lot. Even when we are all a handful.  He teaches them about all sorts of things that he is great at. He plays games... inside and out, not just sports… but the care bear game and candyland.   He takes them fishing and skating and to neighborhood and school events.  He sometimes has more patience with them than I do, at just the right times.  He’s also 'the Dad' too.  He’s the head of the household, when he’s home ;) He works so hard for us… at work and at home, to give us all that we need.

I have lots of good memories of my Dad when I was little, not sure I can choose just one favorite… fishing, camping, bringing home a little gift when he’d be gone for business trips, football and hockey games, making soup, popcorn balls, picnics, cookouts, music… lots of music.  Lots of those fond memories have carried over into my life as an adult... hello food and music ;)

Kelli asks…  How are you going to decorate the nursery in your new house?

Well, we aren’t much for actual themes… but we are going for something cute, and cheap ;)  Besides buying a can of paint, 3 picture frames and a dowel rod… we are using what we have.  And luckily my husband loves me a whole lot to do some fancy painting patterns for me :)  i will try to post pictures once it's done, and before the baby is here ;)

vicki said...  I truly don't know how you do everything you do in a day! When are you going to answer all these questions!?

This is the best question yet!! Ha!!  Apparently, I will answer these questions over the course of 6 months :)

ok... i am vowing to finish up the last of these questions before the baby is here.

you heard it here first ;)

hair feather

i read somewhere once...

that it is good to let your kids participate in fads. and trends.

even if you think they are ridulous.

(as long as they are safe of course...)

the leather jacket. the silk shirt. pegging the jeans. an ID bracelet. permed hair.

i could go on. i got to do them.

(my parents probably thought those were ridiculous.)

lilly hasnt run into too many trends yet.

(that she's expressed interest in anyway.)

beyond the silly bands.  which is now over.

but then came...

 the feather in the hair.

(which i find a tad silly.)

(which proves just how uncool and unstylish i am.)

she really doesnt beg or whine to get anything.

she really is content with what she does have.

for that we are so grateful and proud.

im not about to spend $10 to have a feather put in her hair.

but lucky for lilly...

daddy is a fly fisherman.

and he ties his own flies.

and he just so happens to have a case full of feathery things.

so maybe the feather thing isnt so bad afterall...

especially when daddy is your beautician :)