cheater blankets

So sometimes I just don't have time to make a blanket for my kids. (Wonder why)

Wal-Mart has some great pre-quilted panels that you just have to sew binding to. Easy, quick, and they loved them.



I also got matching fabric for a pillow.




Hey - it works!


Until next time...

New link service and giveaway

There’s a great new “linky” service available and I wanted to let you know about it. It’s called “MckLinky” – http://www.mcklinky.com/. After realizing the need for a new, reliable link-list capability, Brent Riggs and MckMama got together to create a free, easy to use linky service for all their blog friends.

MckLinky is a free links list feature that allows you to do include lists of other blog links like MckMama does on Not Me Monday. Some people call them “carnivals” or “memes” but you can use MckLinky any time you want your blog readers to leave a list of links on your blog. It’s simple, reliable and free.

Check it out here: http://www.mcklinky.com/

To find out about the giveaway go to either Brent's or MckMama's blogs.

Until next time...

Yard Sale Saturday

Yard sales. Love those sales. Except for when they put the sign up 10 miles away. I never did get to that sale today. Forget it. I wasn't going to spend $20 in gas for maybe a good deal. But I did ok today. Some days are better than others. And while there were a lot of sales, I only bought at 2 of them.

First sale, my son netted an aquarium for only a buck. $1 for this 5 (?) gallon aquarium (I'm not sure of the actual capacity. I know it's smaller than my daughter's 2 10 gallon aquariums). The guy said it was new with no leaks. My oldest son wanted it and as soon as he got home he filled it up.

I had just been thinking about these sunsuits for the baby. Nice and cool for summer.
$1 each. Also a couple pair of jeans and a pair of shorts. And a polo shirt.

The rest of this is for a friend. She just had a baby boy. Her first baby. Brand new sling, never used, $12 and some sleepers and onesies, mostly for when he's older, $1 each. All the baby stuff was from the same yard sale.




Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot - some books for the girls, The Boxcar Children. One of the girls is reading them so I didn't get a picture. 6 at .25 each, $1.50.

Overall, some really good deals.

I'm linking up at Raising Olives. She netted some good deals today, too. Go check it out.


Until next time...

Pictures of the kids

Here's my crew.
Oldest: 11 year old Animal Lover
Likes horses and crocodiles and every animal in between. A bit shy with strangers.
Has a keep-to-it attitude.

2nd: 9 year old Bookworm
She'll read anything, anytime. Very intelligent, a grade ahead in school. Not at all shy.
Has great initiative to do things. Also good with the little ones.


3rd: 8 year old Young Man
Modest about reading skills (he picked it up really quickly). Likes to organize.
Likes to work with dad. A really hard worker. Dad brags that he can work as hard as a grown man.

4th: 6 year old Actor
This kid is the life of the party. Talkative, humorous, dramatic. He's very light-hearted and doesn't hold grudges. Love those dimples!

5th: 5 year old Mr. Serious
He likes to have things stay the same. Very helpful and giving. Always willing to give a hug. Perfectly content to sit with mom and be quiet.

6th: 4 year old Princess
Dolls, dress-up, pretty things - that's her world. Also a really hard worker. Can do things that probably most 4 year olds can't. Loves to play mama and princess. Very feminine. (this one looks just like her daddy)

7th: 3 year old Lovebug/Charmer
Those big blue-green eyes will steal your heart. He's helpful, willing to do as told, likes to come to mama and daddy's room early in the morning or even in the middle of the night. Total daddy's boy. Loves to spend time playing and hugging daddy.

8th: 1 (almost 2) year old Little Mama
This picture is kind of old, taken in the fall of last year. We affectionately call her "Blondie" for her blond curls. She favors her older sister (the second born) except she's a little more delicate looking. Loves to boss everyone around and play the Little Mama. She even bosses the dogs. Right now her favorite word is *wince* "Shut" - meaning "shut-up".

9th: 10 1/2 month old Baby
He's truly the baby of the family (so far), but tries to keep up with the others. Especially since he started crawling. He loves to still wake up mama in the middle of the night to nurse. He loves the water. One night daddy brought him in to take a shower with mama and he loved it. Kept slapping at the spray.




And there you have it. My crew. Hope you enjoyed it. :)



Until next time...

19 of 52 photos of me

Carin's challenge: get in the photos, Mom! If you're up to it, get a pic taken with one, any, or all of your kiddos (or hubby). Post about it and link up at Carin's. Get to it!

This one is the ham. He's very dramatic and quite the little actor.


Until next time...

Works-for-me Wednesday - Kool-Aid dyed scarves

Yeah, I know. I haven't posted for a few days.

So here's one. A Works-for-me Wednesday post. Kool-aid dyed silk scarves. I found this on another lady's blog a couple of weeks ago. For the life of me, I can not remember whose it was. So please forgive me if you read this and I didn't give you credit. Whoever it was: Thank you for the idea. Since I couldn't find the blog again I searched it out and found these instructions. I bought the scarves from Dharma Trading Co. I ordered 3 different silk scarves, but the larger ones were the favorites. I've ordered some more since the ones we did turned out so well. Next time, though we might add a little food coloring into the mix. The yellow didn't turn out very bright. It's pretty, but really light.












This is just a few pictures of the scarves we did. We did yellow, red, orange, pink, green, and purple.

Now for more Work-for-me Wednesday posts go over to We Are THAT Family. She's got a great one up about traveling with kids. Boy, do I ever need those tips.



Until next time...

Chocolate Friday - Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes

Chocolate dipped strawberries are really good. And here's another recipe that combines chocolate with strawberries. I found this recipe on the Taste of Home website.

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced, divided
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon miniature semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 3/4 cup half-and-half cream
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon coarse sugar
• 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, divided
• 10 fresh strawberries or grated chocolate, optional

Directions:

Combine strawberries and 1/3 cup sugar; refrigerate if desired. In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and remaining sugar. Cut in butter and 2/3 cup morsels until crumbly. Add half-and-half and stir until just moistened. Divide dough into 8 patties, about 3/4-in. thick. Place on waxed-paper-lined baking sheets. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with coarse sugar and remaining morsels. Bake at 450° for 13 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat whipping cream and confectioners' sugar until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate.
To serve, carefully split the shortcakes horizontally and place bottom halves, on individual dessert plates. Top with one-half of each of the strawberries, whipped cream and fudge sauce, sliced strawberries and whipped cream. Garnish with a whole strawberry if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

Until next time...

Friday Funnies - a couple of jokes

Ok, this is the first time I've linked up to Friday Funnies. 'Cause I actually have a couple this week. Here goes:

Three Hymns

One Sunday a pastor told his congregation that the church needed some extra money and asked the people to prayerfully consider giving a little extra in the offering plate. He said that whoever gave the most would be able to pick out three hymns. After the offering plates were passed, the pastor glanced down and noticed that someone had placed a $1,000 bill in offering. He was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation and said he'd like to personally thank the person who placed the money in the plate. And there sat our Rosie all the way in the back shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front. Slowly she made her way to the pastor. He told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much and in thanksgiving asked her to pick out three hymns. Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation, pointed to the three most handsome men in the building and said, "I'll take him and him and him!"

Head Hog of the Trough

red called a church and asked to speak to the Head Hog of the Trough.

Secretary: How rude! I'll have you know we would NEVER EVER refer to our pastor as a hog.

Fred: Okay, then just take a message. Tell him I've come into a bit of money so I was calling to give your church $10,000.

Secretary: Well hold the phone, dearie! I think I see that big fat pig coming down the hall right now.

For more Friday Funnies, head over to Kim's.

Until next time...

18 of 52 photos of me

52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family.

Now go link up your own picture at Carin's.

My contribution:





Until next time...

new puppies

First litter:


Second litter:


Third litter:


Fourth litter:

For the grand total of 12.


Until next time...

Odds and ends

So, Sunday we visited a church about 2 hours from our house. It was nice. The people were very friendly, hospitable. We took along some friends, 5 extra people total (well one was a baby so...). Anyway, a family of the church invited all of us over for lunch. Very brave of them. We had a great time of fellowship. Went back that night for the singing. Got home at about 1 a.m. Not so good.

Monday, I felt really blah. So I didn't do much of anything at all yesterday. The kids were also still tired from all the excitement of meeting new playmates. And playing. And exploring. So we all took a really long nap and just vegged out all day.

Today, I felt better. More refreshed.

Oh, did I tell ya'll that we have new puppies? Yes, 4 of our Chihuahuas decided to get pregnant at the same time. We have FOUR litters of puppies. 12 puppies total. Thankfully, the mothers do all the work. I'll try to remember to post a picture on here tomorrow of some of them. Our oldest is the animal person and she takes excellent care of them. It's one of her chores, but she likes it, so it's not much of a "chore" ya know? She also gets paid when we sell the puppies. But, honestly? I think she'd do it for free. She's just like that.

Anyway, if I want to stay refreshed I better get myself to bed. 'Night, ya'll. (Oh and the time that shows up on here is NOT right. It's way later than that. Just so ya'll don't think I go to bed at like 7 p.m.)

Until next time...