Winter weather

So, here in the midwest, we're all gearing up for another huge winter storm. I heard on the radio we can expect up to 3 inches of sleet before 4-8 inches of snow. Nothing like a good sheet of ice under the snow to make holiday travel a real treat.

We were planning on heading up to Dubuque Christmas Eve for a party and spending the night with my parents. Now, I'm pretty sure we're just going to stay home. I was looking forward to seeing everyone, but now most of my relatives aren't making the trip home anyway. Hopefully we'll be able to get together with my mom and dad and sister's family by Saturday or Sunday.

I am just so looking forward to Christmas this year! I only have one sewing project left to finish. I have everything else wrapped and ready to go. And because of a series of fortunate (for us) events, John is coming home tonight. Originally he wasn't supposed to have tomorrow or Thursday off. And now, we're going to have a really great long weekend all together!!

Planning Christmas on a much tighter budget this year meant I spent a lot more time selecting things for the kids. I wanted to buy very specific items, instead of my typical "lots of stuff" approach. I'm really excited to see what they think on the big day.

Also, I sent out Christmas cards for the first time in three years. Which means that when I went to find my address list, I couldn't find it. Turns out, it's "not lost", it's still "on the old computer". Which is conveniently packed in a rubbermaid tub in the garage. Sigh. So, here's our family Christmas card this year. Sorry if I missed anyone!

Hello Again

Wow. I can't believe it's really been so long since I've posted anything. But after a few gentle reminders, I've decided to make a stab at keeping up with my blog again.

We're all snowed in today, which means the kids are bouncing off the walls. Quinn and Eva came outside with me to shovel, but after 5 minutes, Quinn said "Mom, I'm sick of the snow." Sigh. "Ok, buddy, let's go in and take off your gear." Ten minutes later, "Mom, can we go back outside to play?" Sigh.

Dex hasn't been outside today because it is VERY cold and windy here (we have a blizzard warning all day). But, he did get a taste of winter weather yesterday when we only had about 2 inches on the ground (we now have about 10). He mostly sat on the sled and let Eva pull him around the yard. Meanwhile I was able to get a jumpstart on the shoveling, so we were all happy :)

I've been doing lots of sewing to get ready for Christmas, and I think I'm almost ready. I only have 5 bathrobes and a doll quilt/bedding set left to go. It may sound like a lot, but I can't believe how much I've already finished! But, I have to say, I'm looking forward to January, so I can get back to my quilting.

How're Things? Fine.

That about sums up what's been going on around here lately. I get a little blah this time of year. Everything after Christmas is downhill until spring. I guess we all get a bit of cabin fever. It's really hard to entertain the kids all day long in the house. I just can't wait for spring and getting outside and doing fun stuff again.

I have been getting quite a bit of sewing done, though. I made a really cool baby quilt for friends Natalie and Larry who welcomed their first baby, Samuel, to the world on Feb 10. Congratulations! I've heard they're all doing well. I'm not going to post pictures today, because I'm not sure if they've received it in the mail yet.

I've also been mulling over dress patterns because I'm starting on 2 fancy dresses in the near future. I'm making a first communion dress for my niece, Kylie. I'm also making a flower girl dress for Eva. She is going to be in John's cousin's wedding this summer. I am really excited about both of these.

We do have huge baby news, though!!! Quinn is potty trained. Can I get a YAY?!?!?!? We've been 15 months with two in diapers and it's a really great feeling to be down to one. (I bet some of you thought I was going to say I was pregnant, huh? Nope :)

Also Dex is walking and getting into all sorts of mischief. He had a doctor's appointment this week and weighs 24 lbs 13 oz. and is 32 1/2 in. His height is still in the 95%, but he's dropped down to around 50% for his weight. Just a side effect of him being on the go all the time.

Also, Eva is getting pretty good with her "reading" and spelling. She can sound out and write most three and four letter words we throw at her. She is also adding in her head. What a smart little cookie!

So, let's everyone think spring thoughts and maybe we can hurry it up a little bit :)

Dear Santa...

This is the letter Eva wrote to Santa. Here is the translation, if you're not up the latest in preschool writing styles.

Dear Santa
I would like makeup and a new ballet dress and silver shoes I have been a good girl
Love
Eva


Usually she writes her name really clearly, so I wasn't sure what she wrote there at the bottom. She said, "Mom, I wanted to make my name all PRICKLY." Well done, prickly it is.

I hope you're all enjoying getting ready for Christmas. I'll have more holidays pics/items for you soon!

Tis the Season

We're sick. All of us. Ugh.

Last Saturday morning Eva came into our room and said she didn't feel well. Moms out there....what does that mean? Yep, she started throwing up about 2 seconds later, before I could even get out of bed. So, she and Quinn had the stomach flu. Then I got sick with a flu. Not the stomach flu, but the other can't move, fever, chills, aches kinda flu. Then John got it.

So, John and I were both sick and trying to spell each other. Then I had to take Dex to the doctor for pink eye and a double ear infection. Today, Eva and Quinn had to head in - pink eye and double ear infections all around.

John thinks he might have walking pneumonia becuase he just isn't getting better and he has a really wet, nasty sounding cough. He called the doctor this morning and they offered to make him an appointment on Wed afternoon. Umm, seriously? I think he needs to come in now. So, he's waiting at a clinic place right now, trying to figure out what is going on.

So, to recap. We're all sick. The good news is the antibiotics should work for the kids before Thanksgiving. We'll have to wait and see what John hears.

In the meantime, here's a cute story. This is as good as it gets when I feel crappy :)
Last weekend when I was sick I decided to take a bath. I added some bath salts to the water. Later, Eva and I were cuddling on the couch and she said "Mom, what's that smell?" It was me. Apparently she didn't like the smell of my bath powder. So, she said "Mom, you smell bad. But you're a good mom!" So, even when I'm sick, I'm a good mom :)

More Pictures

I'm finally updated with pictures on our website. To see more pics from October/Halloween, Dex's Birthday and our amazing quilt show, check it out.

Or just head to secularpickle.spoon.cx to browse to your heart's content :)

Pictures!

Well, I've been promising pictures for awhile now. Something is not working quite right with our website - it's not letting me upload pictures right now. As I have no idea how to fix something like that, it's out of my hands. Hopefully things will be ironed out soon. But, because John is sick this weekend, I'm just going to post some pictures here.

So, first off. Halloween. We had the best Halloween weather I can ever remember. Usually it is raining (or snowing), windy, and so cold the kids have to wear their winter coats under their costumes. This year it was 74 degrees on Halloween, and even though it cooled down as the sun went down, it was still wonderful.

Eva borrowed a princess costume from Kylie. John made Quinn a cowboy costume. And Dex wore Quinn's monkey costume from 2 years ago. So, all told we spend $3 on a cowboy hat!! I was really excited about this because Halloween costumes have gotten really expensive. I wanted to make really elaborate costumes for them (cuz that's what I like to do) but with the quilt show I just didn't have time. Bottom line: they looked really cute and got lots of candy.












Ok, second. Dex's Birthday. We had Dex's birthday party Saturday night after the quilt show. Mom and Amber came down to the show, then we all went back to our house for the party. I picked up pizza and we had chocolate birthday cake. I opted to make a cake instead of paying $20 for one at the grocery store. It wasn't anything too fancy, but it sure was tasty!








Dex got some really nice gifts, too. My mom bought him the cutest outfit from Baby Gap. He'll wear it in his one year pics and for Thanksgiving, and maybe for Christmas too. My sister bought a neat bath toy. It has a pump and a water slide. So, it sits on the side of the tub and constantly runs water down the slide. It's been a big hit with all three kids. Grammie sent really cool board books, they're really big and the colors are super bright. I think they're from Target....I'll have to check if they have anymore.









Lastly. Quilt Show. The quilt show was awesome. We had so much fun. I showed four quilts (I did get my mom's done!). We had 209 quilts total, plus 24 antique/special quilts for our bedturning. Considering our guild only has about 25 active members, I think that's quite a showing! There were so many interesting things to look at. I love to get ideas from other people's quilts, especially from those who've been quilting for 20+ years. I'm only showing pics of my quilts. I promise as soon as our secularpickle site is back up and running, I'll post pics of everything.



Quinn's Monkey Quilt




Eva's Garden Quilt - I finished this one in 2006. It has been on her bed for 2 years, and has faded quite a bit :(



Mom's quilt. I quilted this all sitting at my machine - that was really hard because it's a queen size!





Dex's Piggy Quilt. I have a picture of this somewhere else on my blog, but just for good measure...

Psst....It's snowing today :)