My Creative Space...

Three of the kids chose place mats they wanted to make from Sewing Fun for Kids - Patchwork, Gift so we went over to Mill End Textiles and dug out old remnants from our fabric stash.

Here's a pic of a very hardworking, little boy...

Here's a pic of his little creation...I helped him with the applique.  Isn't it cute?

See more creative spaces over at Kirsty's.

It's Happening....

and we're so happy about it!

10 Facts About My Better Half & Me

Joining Hallie over at her place, Betty Beguiles, here are 10 Facts About Daddy & Me.

1.

He interviewed me for a research job back in Texas. (It was hard to keep focused once I realized he wasn't wearing a wedding ring.)

2.

I truly fell in love with him after he did a brake job on my car.

3.

He proposed to me on the Feast of Pentecost.

4.

He bought me my first and only pair of boots in Muleshoe at Joe's Boot Shop.

5.

He LOVES when I make him a salad.

6.

He left me at the hospital with my doula when I was having our fifth baby to make it to Warner's Stellian to purchase our SS Refrigerator.  He didn't want to miss the sale, and he knew I wanted it delivered by the time I got home from the hospital.  He did make it back in time for the birth.:)

7.

We have an age difference of twelve years.

8.

I get the same sweet, little heart on all of the cards he gives me.:)

9.

I love to leave him random notes or a special treat in his lunch bag.

10.

He usually makes me a cup of tea in the evening.

BTW...this was so fun to go down Memory Lane and think of Daddy right in the middle of my day.  I'll have to post another time about the awesome trip he'll be taking next week.  Here's a little sneak peek...

Along the Alphabet Path: J Week

In spite of being on Spring Break and having most of the kids sick with the flu, we were still able to keep up with the Alphabet Path.:)  Update:  This week was actually "K" week, but I got a little behind with my Alpha-posts.:(  So here's "J" week with K's happenings soon to follow.:)

J is for Jasmine Fairy, Jewels, Jam and St. Joseph

Books We Read

The Giant Jam Sandwich

JamBerry

Bread and Jam for Francis

Author Study:  Susan Jeffers...the Nutcracker &  Cinderella

Fear Not, Joseph

Activities

Letter J Formation and Stamping

Pasting Jackrabbits

J J the Jet Plane Puzzle

Snacks

Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwiches

Celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph

Here's our craft 'till you drop Spring Break post!

Spring Break

After Monica came down with a case of the flu on the 11th and generously passed it on to each of her siblings one after the other, we decided to have a Spring Break.  It was wonderful!

There was a lot of snuggling and cuddling to help keep the fevers down and the bodies comfortable.:(

We also did a lot of crafting!

Project 1 - Cozy/Cover for my KitchenAid Mixer

I started with fabric scraps from a maternity dress I made 12 years ago, napkins I made 12 years ago, and the bag I made last Spring.  After cutting all of the fabric to the size needed to cut the side panels and body, I used quilt basting spray to secure the top, batting, and bottom for quilting.  Maria helped me quilt the fabric.  Thankfully, the maternity dress material had a diagonal pattern that was easy to follow with straight stitching!

We used Grandma's Singer because our other machine was being loaned out.
Maria quilted both of the side panels.  That was a big help!

I used Corinne's instructions and downloadable pattern for cutting out the side panels.  You can find her tutorial here.

Because I was working with fabric scraps, my green fabric wasn't long enough for the body.  I had to get creative with my double-fold bias tape to cover up the seam line where I tacked on the extra fabric.:)

I thought the brown would look pretty on the green.

I followed Corinne's instructions for assembly.  This is not sewing for the faint of heart.  She is not kidding that sewing skills are vital to this project.  Turning the fabric to make the top curve was a bit of a trick, but it was the bias tape on the edging that caused me a little grief.  I took her advice and sewed one side of the tape on...

and then hand stitched the other side.  It worked!

Here's the finished product.

And it's reversible...if I want it to be!

I really like the cover, and it looks cute on the counter.  Now the KitchenAid mixer will be dust-free!  Don't you just love all that Spring green?  I do!

Project 2 - Alphabet Quilt...or I Just Really Want to Get Rid of a Lot of Scrap Material!

Once you start asking questions, you can get yourself raveled up into a lot more than you bargained for.  One of the reasons I bought a Cricut cutter was to try to cut fabric with it.  I've always been intrigued by applique quilting.  The thought of tracing onto fabric and cutting all those pieces by hand is overwhelming to say the least!  After scanning all over the internet, I finally found a method I was willing to try to get the job done.  I ironed all of my scrap fabrics with heavy spray starch.  I then used Heat & Bond Lite to stiffen up the fabric and get it ready to iron onto the quilt block if I could actually cut the fabric.  After a bit of experimentation, it worked!

Next, I had to iron the fabric letters onto the coordinating fabric blocks.  These will all get embroidered before we start sewing the blocks together to make the quilt top.  Fun, fun, fun.:)

Among those projects, I finally finished a jumper for my god-daughter and we got further along with a baby quilt for Nicholas who is no longer a tiny baby.  Oh, well.  They are still fun projects to work on at any time.:)

Yarning and Crafting Along

We meant to make a little something to make it through the week,

Does pumpkin bread count as a "sweet?"  The kids were a little skeptical.

but we got a little distracted with other things.

One little boy wanted to learn how to sew,

and one little girl promised a good friend a doll outfit.

Well, quilting is good at anytime!

We also woke up to this which led to a lot of extra manual labor.

And there are still more projects...some completed

Quilt blocks waiting in the wings and finished
dishcloths made by the girls

and some not!

Reading for an upcoming play, finished violet dishcloth for my mother,
and a shawl I'll probably be working on the rest of the year

See more yarn creations over at Ginny's.

Judaica

...in which I get back to my, uh, roots!

Back in December we frantically headed over to the mall to pick up a snow-suit for Nicholas because he didn't have one.  How after having six older siblings could this kid enter winter without a snow-suit?  Beats me!  Anyway, we got in and were ready to get out of the mall when we were stopped by a kiosk merchant who was marveling at the number of children we had.  She sheepishly asked if we were Jewish.  Jewish?  Well, my husband said, "You could say that.  We are Catholic, but we consider ourselves Jews by adoption."  To which she replied, "Yes, Jesus was a Jew!"  It made me think about a few things...

I love to make Challah Bread for the kids and Daddy and usually make it on Saturdays to be eaten on Sunday, the Lord's Day.

We love to have a Seder Meal for Holy Thursday and not just because Daddy loves to sing, "Hinei Ma Tov!"

I'm also super excited to get this for the kiddies in anticipation for our Seder this Holy Week on Holy Thursday...

I decided to include the whole link to Amazon here because after searching all around the internet KidKraft has the best price for this Passover Set.  And, of course, Amazon has the best price for KidKraft products.

Our Christian faith is grafted to the roots of Judaism.  We have a rich heritage!  May we never forget.

Sunrise, Sunset from The Fiddler on the Roof

Interesting....so What's The Take Home Message?

Daddy sent me a great article from the Wall Street Journal that he found while reading on the plane to/from Vegas.  I watched the video and really enjoyed it.  But...there's always a BIG BUTT...what's the take-home message?

"'You can watch your junky TV show, but you know it's a fantasy.  Right?'" and "I'm not gonna let my daughter buy clothes that make her look like a hooker with my money, but I can't keep her form using her own babysitting money to buy it."


You wanna bet!  Parenting in this day and age takes some pretty big, uh....backbone.  Don't ya think? My mom may not have been aware of everything that was going on in my generation, but she taught me one thing that has always help me stick to my guns when I'm not that popular with my kids, "I'm not here to be your friend.  I'm here to be your mother!"  Just sayin'.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph

Pray for Us!

What a beautiful day to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph.  It was a balmy 46 degrees today and very sunny.  Our celebrating began with a quick trip to Marino's Deli in Northeast Minneapolis

where we picked up homemade, cheese-filled ravioli, Marino's sauce, cannoli, and pizzelles.  The kids loved their Italian feast!  We decorated our St. Joseph Altar later in the evening.

  

This morning at prayer time, we read Fear Not, Joseph

and talked about our paper St. Joseph Altar.  

Daddy was quick to give us a call this morning to remind us it was his feast day!  He's been in Las Vegas since Thursday for a chiropractic conference.:(  We'll celebrate again with him tomorrow after picking him up from the airport and whisking him off to Cafe Biaggio for Mama D's annual St. Joseph's Day Italian feast.  Her son, John, continues the tradition serving up free food starting at 1PM tomorrow.  Donations are welcome but will go to charity.  What a beautiful spirit of St. Joseph!

See more St. Joseph altars over at Evann's Virtual St. Joseph Altar.  

A Week in Food

 Daddy just sent me this e-mail from a colleague of his.  This is very interesting to say the least.  It definitely gives some perspective to all of our Lenten sacrifices where food is concerned.

Quite a powerful story in pictures.
What is eaten in one week around the world. Very interesting assortment! Note the large amount of drinks in some pictures.
 This is undoubtedly one of the most interesting e-mails I've ever received.
 Take a good look at the family size & diet of each country, and the availability & cost of what is eaten in one week .

  

---

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

---

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide  Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

---

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina (Sure hope most American
families eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less junk food than this family.) 
Food expenditure for one week $341.98

---

Mexico : The Casales family of Cuernavaca   Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

---

Poland : The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
 Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

---

Egypt : The Ahmed family of Cairo   Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

---

Ecuador : The Ayme family of Tingo Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

---

Bhutan : The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

---

Chad : The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp  Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23 

 

 Don't know about you, but right about now, I'm counting my blessings! The end

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"Building Chiropractic Community through enhanced communication."

Along the Alphabet Path: I Week

I is for Iris Fairy, St. Isidore, and Ice Cream!

Books we Read...or are still reading:)

I had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew

The Iliad

The Long Winter - Laura Ingalls Wilder

DK Bugs Book - Insects
DK Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

Critter Colors - Insects

I Spy Books

I Spy Board Book

Activities

Letter I Formation
Insect Stickers
I Spy Finds
Letter I Stamping
Insect Viewer

Snacks

We had Ice Cream on Fat Tuesday,

and we made Pretzels on Ash Wednesday!

And here's a little sneak peek of a little something I've been working on...more later!

Have a Blessed Week!