And the stockings were hung...

on a window with flair. This year I decided that we needed new stockings. I never was really happy with our old ones so it was about time I got on it. I had made an ornament out of felt years ago and I loved how it turned out. I thought I would try the same technique on a stocking. and I actually thought ahead and took pictures while I was doing it! Just in case you want to see close up pictures of my hands...maybe you're into that kind of thing. Whatever floats your boat.

I started by making a pattern and cutting out the basic stocking...

I then sewed together the stocking, a contrasting felt and the pattern...

after ripping off the pattern I cut away the excess...

more cutting....

Cassia's finished stocking (my favorite)

Red's

Ewan's (my least favorite. Maybe I'll have to redo this one next year)

Hunter's


Overall I love them. I even made black glitter chipboard letters to go on each one with their initials. I haven't decided it they made the cut... What do you think? Add the initial?

______Sucks!

Most of you know that I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer back in August but I haven't said much about it. Well, here comes the rant. I have just started down the road of treatment. The treatment is a lot better than a lot of other cancers but I think it still sucks. About a week and a half ago I stopped taking my synthroid (which will make me hypothyroid and cause side effects: possible weight gain, sensitivity to hot or cold weather, and feeling very tired) and started a low iodine diet. I never realized how many things have iodine in them!

I can't have:

iodized salt and sea salt

all dairy products

Margarine

Egg yolks

Seafood (I'm not too upset about that one!)

Foods that containcarrageen, agar-agar, algin or alginate (o...k...)

Cured and corned foods (ham, bacon, sausage, corned beef, tuna, etc)

Marinated chicken or turkey

dried fruit

canned vegetables

bread products that contain iodate dough conditioners (what is that?)

Chocolate (kill me now)

molasses

soy products (soy sauce, soy milk, tofu)

Foods that contain red dye #3

I can have:

egg whites

fresh chicken, turkey and beef

black pepper and herbs

homemade bread made without iodized salt and milk

most fresh fruits and veggies

frozen veggies

canned peaches, pears, and pineapple

unsalted nuts

unsalted matzo crackers and unsalted rice cakes (I know you're jealous)

clear sodas

coffee or tea

popcorn popped in an air popper

sorbet

Basically I can't have any processed food. That kinda sucks! I have to make everything from scratch. I'm not a make everything from scratch kinda person! I like my life easy and yummy. Not happening.

I have to be on this diet till my TSH levels get to 20-30. I just called and got the results of my latest blood work....drum roll please.....0.3....SUCK!!!!! I asked the nurse how long she thought it would be till my levels were right. She said some peoples changes rapidly others...well...you know...but she guessed about 2 1/2 weeks. THAT SUCKS! I am going out of my mind here. I want to be able to pick up pizza when it's been a crazy day! I want to start the day off with a donut and a diet coke! I want ice cream! I want a sandwich! *calming breath*

Once my TSH levels are right I will have a I-131 scan. I will ingest radioactive iodine and been isolated for about 3 days. We are shipping the kids off to the grandmas. I will go back in and hopefully the RAI has killed all the thyroid tissue.

I am just so ready for this whole SUCKY situation to be over. I don't want to have cancer anymore. I want to eat and drink what I like. I want to plan a week in advance and not need to wonder if I will be radioactive at the time. I want to plan the rest of my life without the fear of it coming back...but we don't always get what we want because, well you guessed it....sometimes life SUCKS.

Ewan's Quilt

I'm so excited to get Ewan's quilt! I had picked out the fabric and a pattern but was stressed about getting it done. So, my sister-in-law Amy did it for me. We had a whole trade/pay it forward thing going. As "payment" for catering and photographing her daughter's birthday party, she pieced it for me. As payment to her mother, Shari, for the quilting, she made her mom's ornaments. I love how it turned out! I am a little disappointed in one of my fabric choices but I still love it!

See his name? I love that!

Can you tell which fabric I don't like?

I've always machine quilted my quilts myself. Never again! Shari is amazing! I need to start thinking of a "payment" for the quilting on the next quilt!

Ornament Exchange

I am part of an ornament exchange. It's a group of 12 family and friends, and their family and friend, and their..well you get the point, that get together once a year, have dinner, talk for hours and exchange home made ornaments. I look forward to this every year! It's such a fun group of women. It is always fun to see the ideas people come up with!

Here is the bounty:

sorry some of them are hard to see

And here is the one I made:

I got the idea here

Aren't they all so cute? Which one is your favorite?

A Name and a Blessing

We blessed Ewan on November 1 (I'm a little behind). I was so great to see him blessed by his dad! Kirk did great job. We had a great time with family after. But too bad I didn't get many pictures!

Little Businessmen

One day Hunter decided it would be a great to make some money. I wasn't willing to give up the little kool-aid we have in the house so he came up with the idea to sell funny picture. Drexton and he brought out Cassia's table and started drawing. At first they had a sign that was hard to read but they could not figure out why no one was stopping. After we made a big sign that was easy for passing cars to read, they were raking in the cash! Soon Gavin was in on the action. Cassia was usually out holding the sign while the boys were the artists. But they did try to take turns holding the sign. They each made about $1.50. Not bad considering. I love that they come up with this idea, so original! They are excited to be able to do it again soon. So if you drive by our house and see a bunch of kids coloring, you know whats going on. You should stop and buy an original piece of work by our very own little businessmen.

Who does Ewan look like?

Ewan

Kirk

Joy

Hunter

Cassia

Redick

Who do you think Ewan looks like?

Baby Ewan

I'm a little late with this post, but I think I have a good reason.

Baby Ewan was born on Thursday Sept. 24th at 11:34 am.

He weighed in at 6 lbs 12 oz. 19 in long.
I had a scheduled induction just because I like to and my doctor said I could. I went in bright and early at 7:00 am and Kirk met me there shortly after. They started the pitocin at about 8:00 and we were off and running. Within the next 30 minutes the contractions were 3 minutes apart and gaining momentum. By about 10:00 I decided it was a good time to ask for the epidural since there were a few other women in labor and I knew I might have to wait for the Dr to see them first. At 10:30 I got my epidural. I waited not so patiently as the contractions were now very strong. Nothing. We finally got the Dr back to try again. I'm not sure he really believed me that it wasn't working. Dude, I think I would know if I was numb from the chest down!he tries it again. Still nothing, but this time what he's doing just sends shooting pain down my legs, At this point I am screaming in pain (I had just been talking to my mom, not an hour before, about how I didn't understand the women that screamed during labor, HAH!) The nurses so kindly ask him not to do a third epidural as the first two seemed to be so useful and they suggest a spinal. Sure, why not, I've already had 4 needles in my back. What's 2 more going to do? I would love to say that I had some relief, but....nope. I delivered him about 15 minutes later and I felt everything. The cord was wrapped around his neck really tightly so they cut it and passed him off to the RT. I got to hold him for about 30 seconds before he was taken to the nursery. They had to give him an IV to get some fluids in him. I'm told that he was a hard stick. He has little scabs and bruises all over his hands and wrists. His blood pressure was low and he had a heart mummer. I am getting all this by text from Kirk as I am restrained in my bed with now numb legs (that only lasted about 5-10 minutes). They finally brought him to the room almost 1 1/2 hour later. He was doing fine and he's the cutest thing ever (well, maybe one of the four cutest things ever) He's a great baby and everyone is so glad that he's finally here.

My super cute self portrait

I thought I was going to break the side off the bed!

Brand spankin' new

Everyone getting their turn poking the poor kid

Chilaxin

The proud Papa

It took a couple days for Red to warm up to him. Now he won't leave him alone.

Big sister Cassia

Hunter has been so excited. He can't hold him enough!

My Latest "Catering" Job

My sister-in-law Amy asked me if I would help with my niece's birthday party. I did some of the food and took pictures. What a cute party it was! It almost makes me want to go all out for my own kids parties! I'm sure I'll be past that feeling when the time rolls around. But for now, I hope I can live up to the standard that Amy has set. And now I'm thinking that I should hire someone to take pictures at my kids parties. I never have pictures of their parties!
It was a tea party theme and everything was so cute and all the girls just loved it. It was so funny to watch their reactions to everything. I had no idea that a 9 year old girl could get so excited about food!

Isn't that the cutest decor you have ever seen!


The birthday cake


Brownies. If I do this again, I need to find a better way to cut the circles!

 

 

 

 

A Week As Cassia

Anyone who knows Cassia already knows that she is a bit of a klutz. This week she has out done herself. The day before school started we went to the splash pad to have a little fun before summer was gone. We were only there about 1/2 an hour before she managed to fall and mangle to toe. We rushed to a pediatrician to get stitches. I felt so bad for her; her toe never numbed up very well so she could feel everything and the first stitch tore so they had to start over. Poor girl! She had to wear her "ugg" boots for a week till we could get a normal shoe on without her screaming in pain. All those cute back to school outfits just didn't seem as cute with those boots for some reason.


On the 6th day of school I get a call saying she had fallen at recess and scraped her elbow and wasn't feeling well. I go to the school and after talking to her for a little but I find out that she fell and hit her head and now has a headache and needs to throw up...not a good sign!we spend a few hours at home just watching to see how it's going to go. At about 4:00 we decide that she needs to go to the Dr. After seeing him, he sends us to the hospital for a CT scan.


We are happy to report that everything looked good and she's back to her self now. But I am not looking forward to another week and another set of injuries!

A little slice of heaven

Fall is my favorite time of year!I know I'm jumping the gun alittle here but you can just feel it coming. The kids are in school, gardens are being harvested, and the nights are cooling off (thank goodness!)One of the first things I do when I see the fresh local fruit showing up is make a peach pie. I am not a pie person usually, except for cream pies and this one. It is a recipe from a family cookbook my mom made for her side of the family years ago (1994).I use this cookbook OFTEN and you can tell by looking at it, it is well loved.
 


Peach Pie

2 peaches, mashed
4 T cornstarch
1/4 tsp almond flavoring
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
2 T butter
4 peaches, cut up

Heat mashed peaches, add sugar. When boiling, add cornstarch and water mixture. When it thickens, take it off the stove and add butter and almond flavoring. Mix with cut peaches, put in baked pie shell. Chill.


Pie Crust
1 c. shortening
2 c. flour
1 tsp salt

blend with mixer until about as fine as cornmeal. Stir in with fork:
1 T. vinegar
1/3 c. milk

Stir until blended. Chill. Roll out. Makes 3 single crusts.
Bake 450 for 10 min. fill.

I love this pie crust! I have tried alot of different recipes but I always come back to this one. To me, this is what pie should be!