Great Deal

I have already admitted my love of sewing, and even confessed to making my own aprons.  I also love making doll clothes.  I have made it a tradition each year at Christmas to make a new outfit for my girls’ first baby dolls.  I have really enjoyed picking out cute fabric and making dresses, PJ’s, and even coats for their special little friends.  This year, however, I have upped the ante.  Esther received a Madame Alexander 18” doll for her birthday(courtesy of Swagbucks earnings) this year.  Jealousy immediately made itself evident in her older sister. “I want one!” said Abigail.  I told her she might get one for her birthday next year (May).  She frowned, and thought for a moment.  “How about for Christmas?”  She’s no dummy! :)
After looking at prices on pre-made clothing for 18” dolls, I fainted.  After I picked myself up off the floor, I knew there had to be a better way to clothe the dolls.  Thus began the search for 18” doll clothing patterns.  I must say I balked at the price range of the patterns - $9-17, depending on the store.  I resigned myself to buying one at a time as finances permitted.  This meant that I would probably have the entire collection by the time my granddaughters arrived!  I was visiting with my mom, and she happened to mention that Hobby Lobby (I love that store) was having a sale on patterns.  All Simplicity patterns are $.99 this week!  I begged her to take me over, and  sure enough, they had the 18” doll patterns.  I bought every single one they had – 16 in all!  I purchased all sixteen patterns for $15.84 with a total savings (figured from the price printed on the envelope) of $210.25!  What a blessing!

Now I have a complete arsenal of fashion – even the Disney Princess dresses.  I cannot wait to start my Christmas projects.  Shhhh!  Don’t tell my girls what is in store for them this year!  I am so excited!  What is the best deal you have come across lately?  By the way, it’s not too late to go snag some $.99 patterns at Hobby Lobby!

Apron Strings

I love my apron!  I know that sounds like a really hokey thing to say, but I do!   It came to me several years ago that I could save a lot of my clothing from unnecessary spots, spatters, and stains by wearing an apron.  Of course, it had to have a bib front, since most of the stains are above waist level.  I found a really cute pattern for vintage aprons and picked out a cute paisley print in aqua and brown ( I figured it would hide a lot of stains). 
Alas, my apron is showing a lot of wear, and quite a few dingy-looking areas, from wiping my hands on it when I am busy cooking and baking.  Another problem is that since I have only one apron, I tend to wear it until it can walk to the laundry basket by itself.  Yuck!  Anyway, I decided the time has come to make another apron.  I was able to find several cute fabrics, and my intent is to make at least two more aprons – in my spare time, of course!  :)

I was able to cut out the first apron the other night.

My machine is waiting, but normal life has interfered with my plans for sewing.  In the meantime, the pattern pieces sit upon my ironing board, calling my name, urging me to attend to them.  I’m coming!

Apple Picking

For quite some time, I have wanted to go fruit-picking with my children.  We missed strawberry season, blueberry season, and peach season, so apple season was my last resort.  We located an orchard in Ohio, not far from my grandparents’ house, and decided to make a day of it, picking fruit and visiting grandparents.  It was really good to see my grandmother, who has not been in good health for some time.  I wish we could visit more often, but our schedule and the distance makes visits too few and far between.

We arrived at the orchard in the late morning.  It was overcast, and we were afraid that it might start raining at any time.  Time was of the essence!  They also had a small petting zoo along with tons of pumpkins, gourds, and beautiful fall flowers.

    Here is my little Pumpkin family!
   After posing with several pumpkins, we were ready to pick apples!

  
Each of the kids had their own little basket to fill with apples.  I told them they could eat whatever they picked, so not to pick up rotten ones off of the ground ! :)

The fruit of their labors is quite sweet!

Josiah with his partially filled basket.

Abigail holding a very nice Golden Delicious variety.

Esther with her pick of the crop.

Daniel, obviously pleased with the whole outing.
As we started heading out of the orchard, the rain began to fall.  We tried running, but the apples kept falling out of the too-high piled baskets, so we had to content ourselves with just walking as quickly as possible.  We also bought an already picked half-bushel of Jonagold apples, which I hope to turn into a pie later this week.  Yum!   

Just Puttering Around

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I have never been a great fan of golf, even putt-putt, but I have indulged my children on several occasions by playing a game or two.  A week or so ago, while we were parked at an RV campground during a meeting, the kids saw the mini golf course and were dying to play.  Paul and I gathered our courage and took the whole crew down to the park office where we collected an entire set of balls and clubs.  The day was fine and sunny, and everyone was excited – at least everyone under the age of 30!   We started at the first of 19 holes and it only took everyone an average of 10 strokes to make it into the cup.  Say cheese!  Only 18 more holes to go!  I decided almost immediately that this was going to be an all-day event, and I was thankful that there was no one else on the course.  Tempers might have flared at the excessive delays. 
I tried in vain to teach Esther how to hold her club, but every time I turned around, she was holding it like  a bat.  Daniel used his more like a pool cue stick, shoving the ball toward the cup.  Josiah did rather well, and so did Abigail, and they steamed ahead with Paul along the maze-like course.  I lagged behind with the younger two, eventually resorting to the “dragging” technique used by Esther  when hitting the ball became too taxing.  I don’t think it hurt my score much, considering I bounced the ball off of little feet and stray clubs left scattered on the greens.  I think my average par was about 7…  how embarrassing.  We did have such a good time, though, and I laughed at how silly we all looked, scooting the balls around and taking forever on each hole.  I want my kids to remember having fun with the family – not always worried about doing everything right all the time.  They will eventually learn how to putt-putt (I think), but in the meantime - “FORE!”

Pacific Time

We have spent so much time traveling this year.  One of the most difficult parts of travel is the constant change of time zones across the continent.  It seems odd to have more than 24 hours in a day sometimes, but there are days when we only have 22 or 23 hours as we travel back east.  In the summer, the days up north are so much longer (it was still light at 11:00PM on July 4th when we were in Minot, ND) and the mornings begin earlier.  It seems that your body never really knows what to do.  Going to bed when it is still light is against my convictions! :)  I am not a morning person, either, so getting up early also goes against my grain!  It is a grand life, though, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 
I love this picture of my guys from earlier this year.  We all went to the Pacific coast for a time of family fun.  Pacific means peaceful, and the day was one of rest and relaxation for all of us.  Some people enjoy going to the beach, and that is okay, I guess.  I personally prefer the rocky coastlines of California and Maine with the surf pounding against the rocks.  I must have a zillion pictures of the coasts of our country, and they are all beautiful to me!  There is something about the beauty and solitude that appeals to me.  I could sit and watch the water all day!   Take some pacific time…

Ahoy, Mates

This past week, we have been at Camp Joy in Whitewater, Wisconsin.  Paul was the speaker for a school camp, and the rest of us just had a good time.  The weather was cool, but nice and we were able to participate in a lot of outdoor activities.  The kids went fishing, played in the "time machine," played on the playground, rode horses, and even tried a little archery with Josiah's new bow (he won it at VBS this summer by saying verses).  It was a little scary to be within bow range of Josiah when he was trying to pull it back, but we all survived his attempts at being Robin Hood!  One of the main attractions for the children was a large ship built next to the playground.  They all took turns weighing anchor, hoisting and trimming the sails, and being the captain.  I love things that promote imagination.  Creative play is so good for the developing child.  I love to see the smiles on their faces when they play pretend.  How do you encourage creative play in your children?

Morning Tea

Last winter, I got into the habit of having hot tea on a cold morning.  I will say that I would prefer hot chocolate to tea, but as a concession to the condition of my post-children waistline, I have decided to take the high road in warm beverages.  Now that the days are getting cooler again, the tea is calling.  I haven't experimented with a whole lot of different blends and flavors, because I found that I really like Lipton green tea with a little bit of mint.  It is so refreshing!  I also use stevia to sweeten it just enough and it is perfectly guilt-free!  Now, don't get me wrong - I will have hot chocolate some mornings (you can't really see it, but the mug in the photo - my favorite - says Chocolate on it), but for now it's tea time. If I could only find a good recipe for crumpets!

Don't forget that today is Mega Swagbucks Day!  I haven't said a whole lot about Swagbucks recently, but I have been busy working and collecting Swagbucks in preparation for the upcoming holidays.  If you have not yet set up your account yet, do it today and start earning tons of great rewards!