Sunday, June 27, 2010

Blueberry Fancy

I forgot to take apicture...this is how everyone will know that I have been thinmking quilting for way to long and have not been taking pictures of my children and their actions...reactions.....and everything in between..I can't even see my scrapbooking table..but it has been calling to me lately....maybe soon.
Anyway, Clarissa is on a cooking streak right now....we have a few different kids' cookbooks and other "little" cookbooks..they have to be cute looking and little for her to go through them ( anything cute and little leaves my areas and end up in hers...ie: my embroidery scissors with a pink handle..yeah gone within hours of getting them?)
She has been trying a new recipe every couple of days...she wanted to try BLueberry Fancy from a slow cooker recipe box....it is listed under desserts ( i think it is really a breakfast recipe....but usually you don't slow cook breakfast) and so she made a list of all the ingrediants she needed at the store...we went shopping and then yesterday Rob and her started it while I was at work.

It was ready after dinner..we all were telling her what a great job she did ..it smelled really good and then we started eating it...it just tasted like french toast stuffed with blueberries and cream cheese...Rob decided he did not want to coninue eating it....he said he didn't really like it....I was so upset with him...he could have shoved it down as to not hurt Clarissa's feelings....so I gave him the look ( which by the way he didn't understand...that drives me even more crazy!)..then within two minutes Clarissa decides she doesn't like it either! Thank GOD! Then she wouldn't be crushed that her dad didn't like it. LOL. Thank God these things work themsleves out sometimes. The rest of us liked it...so I don't know?

She has also made a cake this week and also made "egg in a frame" for breakfast.

She is getting good at following directions and writing lists and remembering things...That warms my heart...

She was also at my work for several hours this week because the other kids are at OMNY....sewing and while she sews she humms...(which is adorable)...but she forgets she is with other people...so whiel she is talking to herself to work things out she sings everything..at one point she burped in between humming and singing..she sang excuse me to herself....So CUTE!

Jeri didn't make counselor this year at OMNY which was disapointing to her....it is a paid position but they coordinator thought she needed an extra year to mature and get more leadership skills. I agreed. Bryce was promoted to bike man ths year ( he fixes all the bikes) and Kathy (the coordinator) called and said she is very impressed with Both Jeri and Bryce this year...She thinks if there is an opening next year for counselors she will interview both of them...If Bryce will be going into his freshman year and that will be exciting because he will be pretty young...and Jeri will feel great that she stuck to it and made it through! Omny has been such a good experience for all of my kids. This last week Bryce played "the cat in the hood" a version of the Cat in the hat...improvised to teach the kids lessons..Bryce loves center stage and he does well with these sorts of things.

Coel and Preston are at landons this last week and next..Bryce is missing time with Landon for OMNY. Carl is a very caring older brother he comes in and picks up Clarissa everyday after OMNY to walk her home..She would rather have me drive them..Carl always wants to walk..so I try to break it up for them..so it seems fair...But I can't imagine him loving to listen to her complain the whole way home..but I think he is probably used to her whining. LOL

Well I should get something done....I hope you all have a great Sunday!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Quilt show









Well our local quilt shop ( also where I happen to work part-time) puts ona quilt show every year. I have never entered and I was not planning on entering this year for several reasons:
1. I didn't have any really good quilts ready for the show
2. My quilting ability isn't as good as my peicing ability (yet)
3. There is to much vulnerablility with "showing" your work.

I am to fragile to show my created quilts to a bunch of people who may reject them and I am not sure I could take the critisim well... so why show them until I get confident enough in my abilities?? I know we are all harder on ourselves.....but showing your quilts to a bunch of quilters? It is way better giving a quilt with many mistakes to some one who isn't a quilter because they think it is fabulos no matter what!

SO my boss was harassing me to enter.....I kept saying "no"...I think at one point I wanted to start crying because Rob was also bugging me. So The boys were helping set up for the show and I was at work.....not any where near the quilt show and Rob and the kids each entered a quilt into the show without my knowledge.

On Thursday night before the judges arrived I went to go look at the quilts since I knew I would not have time during show and I saw my display of quilts.....I didn't have nice things to say....first of all the quilts they chose are comfortable quilts that were never meant to be peices of art..We use these quilts..and Preston didn't even wash the one he entered...it was full of dog hair (embarassing?>...Preston has a habit of always embarassing me).....They each had a typed label explaining why they had chosen each quilt...Cole chose the one hanging in our entry way because he figured if I thought it was good enough to hang on the wall it was probably good enough to hang in a show?? Good logic..he is always my logical thinker ( However it hangs there because I love the colors and it is actually a very simple quilt..not worthy of a quilt show...I couldn't crush him though).....My boss typed up a message propped up by an easel stating that my family had chosen these quilts because I was to shy and modest to enter my own quilts and if I had cooperated I would have chosen differently.....(that is the short version) and that is absolutely correct.

Lessons learned:

1. Next year enter at least one quilt so boss and husband don't harass me...never know how they will get quilts

2. The only people I need to feel vunerable to already love me no matter what!

Although that was all my first reaction.....I have to say the kids were so excited not just for the prank but because they BELIEVE in me. They were so proud of themselves because they thought I was going to win every award in the place and they kept asking when the awards were going to be handed out.....When Rob was going through all of the quilts with me ...we would be looking at a stunning peice of ART that I am not sure I would even consider using and he would be talking trash about it ...and throw in slight comments about how my quilts were better..LOL. I know he is being nice and I know he loves me and has complete faith in me...But I would never want to discount the work in another's quilt because I am in awe of some of the things other people make and I have respect for the art.
SO I am unbeleivably proud of my kids...and I know they are just returning the feelings and beliefs that I give to them..I have never gone to a football game or choir recital and told them not to have high expectations of themselves or that they are failures..yet I do that to myself and I just need to retrain myself and have the faith that they have in me...It feels good to have them all on my side and I could not wish for a better family...and it feels nice to be a part of a family that loves!....and my boss issued an award for "Most loved qult" with a ribbon and gift certificate.....(that is a made up category...but I think she realized the kids would be crushed if they thought I didn't win)..to who's quilt? Preston's of course the one filled with dog hair....and in all actuality it is the most loved quilt in our house....it has a flannel top....dream puff wool batting and teddy bear minkee on the back ( it is like fur) and it is bright pink.....I made that quilt for myself and I don't know what I was thinking..it is way to HOT for me..I just loved the feeling of all of it....So my boss obviously has a hand in this whole transaction ....she loves to pull pranks as much as Rob does and I will need to keep my eye on her......

Monday, June 14, 2010

Clarissa's 7th birthday.

Clarissa had her 7th birthdya party on Friday. She kept telling me she wanted a water party just like last year) and the weather man kept saying rain on Friday..I kept asking her what plan "b" would be..she kept telling me not to worry it would be fine......she was right! Very hot day!
The party went well she had lots of friends from school and several of our friends.
The graduation ceremony for Big Bend was friday night as well..I opted out of graduation as I think that I will still be in school come fall anyway.....so it doesn't actually feel like a graduation.
Saturday was an interesting day...The Heim's called because their motor home broke down and they needed help finding a mechanic..so theypulled in for a couple of minutes for Rob to help them...it was nice to chat for a time.
Yesterday (Sunday)..we took the kids to rimrock again.....Beautiful hot day...I was in the sun for about 5 minutes and got burned...How is that possible? I just relaxed and read by the pool while the kids swam....Rob even went swimming for a time.
Last thursday was the last day of school and that is always a bittersweet time..the kids are happy to have the break but they miss their friends and of course our house gets switched around alot because of visitation which is always an adjustment.
Well I hope you all have a great week and that you may feel blessed in your everyday lives.