15/25 Post-Christmas Posts: Snow, Part 1

So we were supposed to have holiday parties on the last day before Christmas vacation, but a big snow was predicted, so they cancelled school. All my French Club cakes and goody bags.... well, at least we got a real snow!

Here's Charlie that day. Always willing to tear things apart, he discovered an open box of pasta, and proceeded to spread them around the room. Here's just the start.
We like to participate in our local Christmas Basket Program. Here's how much snow there was in the early afternoon, about 3 pm, on Friday. It was fast to stick. After the program, I thought it would be a good time to take a quick drive around town-- soooo wrong was I! Our little Jetta just does not do well in the snow, and neither did a lot of other cars on the steep hills around Rockbridge County.

Actually, you might have heard about the people on Interstate 81, stuck in the Lexington portion of the road, needing to be rescued because their cars had no where to go for nearly 2 days.
Here's what it looked like the next morning, when Jeremy went to take the dog for a walk.
She HATED it, having to tunnel thru the cold wet stuff! She was confused-- where should she go?

More snow pics...

We thought it would be a good time to sled.....

But it was a workout walking thru the deep, deep snow. Carrying a 20+lb. kid and a sled, ... this was more than a workout.
Here's the accumulation by the next morning, and it was still snowing, although its' hard to tell in these pictures. It didn't stop snowing until mid -afternoon Saturday.

We finally made it to the church across the street for some shelter, and I wasn't sure I wanted to continue. I put Charlie in the sling, thinking that would make life easier. Since he was all bundled in layers, I couldn't fold his legs under, so they stuck down. I could only lift the lower portion of my leg, and trying to walk in 1.5+ft. deep snow.... it was exhausting at that point.
Jeremy went on to try to sled, but it was too deep, even trying to make tracks to start.
Here's when Charlie said, "THAT's it! Time to go home, NOWWW!"
And we went. Happy to oblige. We'd sled some other day. This snow wasn't going anywhere!

14/25 Posts: A Wee Bunny

I have had a Wee Wonderfuls bunny pattern for ages, but hadn't ever finished one. My friend's daughter seemed like the perfect girl to make it for.

It was fun to make... but reminds me that I need to refine my sewing skills. Maybe that's why I always tell myself it's just better when it looks homemade!

I made a little doll quilt that matches, or she could use it with the dolls she got for Christmas this year. I have one last step on that quilt before it's done & I'll photograph it.

I'm sorry the photograph is sideways, I can't figure out why. But you get the general idea!

13/25 Posts: Papercutting

So Christmas was wonderful this year, and I need to finish up all my 25 posts. I hope to finish before '10!

Here's one gift I was so excited to give: a papercutting of my parents house. I really enjoyed doing this one, the largest one yet. I can't wait to do more.

The finished product:
The house on "The Land" (we always called it that because my parents owned the land years before they built on it):

12/25 Posts: Little Christmas Miracles

I avoid writing anything too personal on my blog, just because you never know who reads it, but this morning I am thinking about yesterday. It was a day of mixed feelings-- sadness and hopefulness, blessings:

Yesterday, I attended a "birthday party" for a co-worker's daughter who passed away last February. We released balloons-- one pink balloon for every day of life she lived (53). Watching those balloons fade into the sky was a difficult but beautiful moment. Little Maelyn Grace touched our lives in the short time she was with us, and her death helps me realize just how special every day is with my own little miracle:

I also want to say how happy I am for my friend who suffered a miscarriage, struggled with the effects of fertility drugs and the effects of PCOS-- only to have a little miracle occur one day when she discovered she was pregnant. This October she gave birth to a healthy little beautiful boy, and she's loving every moment.

Another friend just gave birth, and is now the proud mom to a pretty little girl. This holiday season will be so special for them, too.

But who I'm thinking about the most is one of my sister-in-laws. She also struggled for years with PCOS and infertility. They've wanted children for so long. She also suffered a miscarriage this year, but yesterday she learned she is pregnant... with twins!

I just feel a mix of emotions. I am hopeful for my friend and co-worker to have a child that she and her husband want so badly. And, for my sister-in-law, I am so happy! I can't think of more perfect parents-to-be! This year was one I doubt I'll ever forget, because of all these little children in my life who are little miracles.

I hope that no one struggling with infertility gives up hope; I have seen the power of faith and prayer. No matter what happens, though, with or without children, I hope we learn to value all the days we have together.

11/25 Posts: I Finally Understand Why Ellen Doesn't Like Glitter.

I might be OCD, or maybe just a perfectionist about some things, some times. I drive myself crazy. That's a whole other story.

I told myself that it would be soooo simple to just make homemade cards. That it's delightful to receive handmade cards, so maybe I should make some this year. That it would take a day or two. That I would write a nice little personal message in each one so that it doesn't seem all generic. That it would be much cheaper. I was soo wrong on all counts, but I am still happy with the way these turned out!

It all started with the discovery of this little paper punch. I could not leave Michaels without it, and knew I needed to use it to get my money's worth. Next, we needed a photo. Although I found the perfect photo of Charlie, Jeremy really wanted the photo to be of the 3 of us. The one I used was my favorite. I put the one of Charlie that I liked so much inside the card.

It seemed a little bare without the snowflakes, and I made them before I purchased the blank cards-- which of course were only sold as white. Jeremy said they needed a little something-- and that's when my mini-nightmare began. I glued and glittered 3 snowflakes on 80+ cards! Am I nuts? Maybe. But I could not send them out looking too bland-- again with the OCD/Perfectionism! They gradually became much simpler than the one above.

But, I finally understand why Ellen doesn't like glitter. I sent these cards out last week, but I can't escape glitter. We still see it, we wear it, we eat it!

******I'm halfway done with Christmas posts! I might just make it this year!

10/25 Posts: Terrariums from Baby Food Jars!

So when you think Christmas, you think terrariums, right? Ok, probably not. But here in our house we've got a big collection of baby food jars that are just screaming to be used for something. (I want to recycle them, but our local recycler does not recycle glass anymore- boo!).

Truth is, I have been wanting a little terrarium for a while. I remember when I was little someone whose home I visited had a beautiful terrarium, and there was something enchanting about it. Plus, I have this odd thing for gnomes and little red mushrooms with white dots-- who knows?

Another reason I wanted to do this project is that we wanted to create a unique gift that the kids could create during the holidays that would last all year. They've already made tons of snowmen-- out of glue, of paper, of old tiles--; they've made ornaments, gingerbread men, and little outfits for candy canes to wear. Nothing against these projects, but we wanted to make something a little more special. These are not outright Christmas gifts, either; they're festive enough being green and red!

*If you are interested in doing this project, read to the end, and I got the idea from this page.

We did this project in two days with the kids, but it took some preparation in advance. Prior to the first day, we collected moss from a trail. We brought a big Tupperware and a few moist rags. We laid layers of moss between the rags, and put the moss in the fridge until we needed it.

Classroom Day 1- we created the mushrooms out of Sculpey. I was surprised just how much one little row of the clay will go, and the kids seemed to enjoy it. They created the most adorable little mushrooms; some had stripes, dots, ... just sooo cute! I baked the mushrooms later that day at home. *
That evening at home, Jeremy and I painted the jar tops. The jars had been soaked in very hot water, scrubbed, washed and dried. Rubbing alcohol removed remaining glue. We also purchased little stones and charcoal (carbon). We took a big glop of potting soil from a pot in the back.
Classroom Day 2- Kids put together the terrariums. I returned their mushrooms, they created labels with directions on how to care for them. The terrariums consisted of:

2 Tablespoons of rocks

2 Teaspoons of charcoal

2+ Tablespoons of soil

1 round of moss

Next, the kid spritzed the moss until it was damp but not soaked. They placed any mushrooms they'd made inside, along with plastic animals or little things for their forrest floor.
This was one of my favorite projects I have done, although it was more expensive and time consuming than I initially thought. We have plenty of supplies left over, so maybe I'll do this again later in the year; for now, I don't care if I ever soak another baby food bottle in hot water!!!
If you are interested in doing this project, here are some honest thoughts:

-I am interested in doing this again, but I am not a big fan of Sculpey. I did not like baking the Sculpey. It might have been because there were so many different thicknesses of mushrooms, so I had to check them at intervals and remove them. It was difficult keeping up with whose mushroom was whose, even with a number system. Really, though, it was the fumes that bothered me. It just doesn't feel right burning fumes like that- sort of seemed like I was burning plastic. I mean, is that what Sculpey is? I almost don't want to know!

-It is a costly project for a large class. I try to keep a class project to a max of $10-15, but this was much more than that:

$25/ Sculpey (enough for each student to have 1 red row and 1 small portion white)

$7/Aquarium rocks

$6/Carbon

Baby food jars- free (from Charlie!)

Soil - free (from my back porch planter!)

Paint-free (craft paint already owned)

Gift tags-free (from Christmas stash of wrapping supplies)

I thought for sure I'd have a ton of Sculpey left, but nothing is left.

-Baby food jars are a pain to get clean! I soaked them in hot, hot water and still some of the glue would not come off. I scrubbed and scrubbed. I finally used a little rubbing alcohol to get them clean.
What is most important is that the kids loved making these! They were so disappointed not to take them home that day, but we made them wait until all the holiday stuff goes home. I hope they last until next year!

9/25 Posts: For Santa (UPDATED!)

What would Christmas Eve be without a little cookie plate for Santa? Charlie and I spent a day over at the Creative Kiln. I hadn't been there in so long, maybe since the summertime. I miss my old painting buddies Kim and Lyndsey, but both are busy with newborns Jonah and Holly!

Even still, I had a great time with Charlie making this plate and would love to make it tradition to make something using his handprints or footprints, as long as he'll let me. I doubt when he's 16 and too cool for me that he'll let me dip his hand in paint and me make some kind of cutesy thing, so I will take advantage of this while I can!
Update: My cousin sent me this link, and I just can't wait to do something like these next year!

8/25 Posts: Real Snow!

We took Charlie out to Raphine, Va-- it's about 15 minutes north of Lexington but still in Rockbridge County-- to Cyrus McCormick farm. Jeremy seemed a little skeptical to go (would it be worth it to drive that far when all the snow is gone in Lexington?), but it was totally worth it! The weather reports said that Raphine got 8 inches! We bundled up, grabbed the dog, and headed out!

I think it's been more than 10 years since we've had this much snow here, and we're supposed to get even more this afternoon (and this winter altogether!).

Having fun playing in the snow, but skeptical at first!
Absolutely beautiful!
The mill
The pond
Yet another shot of me, holding Charlie just like this... there are a lot! And he never looks! :)
A beautiful scene... a snowy path leading to a.. Coca Cola machine!
Jeremy and Lulu
She's not a fan of any sort of precipitation!
Parting shot-

7/25: No Christmas Parade?

We got our first snow last Saturday, and although we got very little snow in Lexington, other parts of the county got lots of snow (8 inches in Raphine-- we went there on Sunday!). They postponed the Christmas parade until Monday, which was, of course, my last night of class. Since I had hoped we could have someone snap pics of us in our winter gear watching the parade, and it was cancelled, Leslie met us in Hopkins Green and snapped some shots.

Here is Charlie and Leslie, he's telling her all about the big snowmen in the park!
Charlie and me
Under the huge Christmas tree

6/25 Posts: Santas 1 & 2

Charlie saw Santa for the first time at Horses Christmas. It didn't seem to phase him, and he wasn't too interested in meeting him.

Charlie saw Santa again at Walmart. This time, he did his If I Don't Look At You, Maybe You'll Go Away face. He did that when we had Halloween masks on, and I hear he even did it when his babysitter got her hair cut! He won't look at you if you're doing something that makes him nervous, which is too funny to me!

This Saturday, Charlie and I will go to Roanoke to see Santa AGAIN; this will be the official Santa trip I've been planning for a while. We're going with my friend Tracy and her daughter, Devin. Can't wait; will post pictures of that after the weekend!

5/5 Posts: Doll Quilts

Maybe it was 3 years ago that Wee Wonderfuls posted about her wall of doll quilts? Ever since, I've loved the idea. I don't have much wall space left, and maybe in our next house, I can have one. I've found a few on ebay, and my cousin made me 2 that are just beautiful! I can't wait to put them up. Until then, I'll just have to make some as gifts for little girls! This is a Christmas gift for little baby Haley (Jonathan and Lyndsey) due just days before Christmas.