Throw Pillow

My niece Terina's birthday is coming up and they are re-doing her room in an owl theme using the bright colors. Dawn pinned a few different things they would like to do/use for decorations and after looking at those ideas I used one of the patterns and made her this throw pillow.
I haven't done applique in a long time so it was fun to make. I am happy with how cute it turned out.

World's worst blogger...

...is what I feel like I've become. That being said I am uncertain as to whether or not today's attempt to get back know track is actually going to change anything. It is worth a shot though so here we go. One of my big goals for 2012 is to get and feel more organized. I recently attended a craft night put on by a friend which has helped me immensely to get going in the right direction. We put together a family organization binder, which honestly includes pretty much everything you can think of to organize every aspect of my life. I have added and discarded a few different sheets to make it work for our family better and am now completely addicted to it. I get so much more accomplished everyday and feel way less overwhelmed and stressed out by the chaos in my life. So thank-you Kd for helping my get a great start to taking control of the chaos!

Lincoln's Baptism

It is great to be 8! Lincoln was baptized on November 29, 2011. We were blessed to have so many family members and friends be able to attend. Lincoln chose to have both myself and Hanna give talks at this special occasion. Lincoln is such a special spirit and I am eternally grateful to be his mother. I am proud of him for making the decision to be baptized and I know that he was prepared to make these covenants. Lincoln is a great example of someone who is Christlike and trys each day to choose the right. It was a beautiful day.

After the baptism we headed over to our house for dinner and the most awesome birthday cake ever. Although I say that every time. Thanks Dawn!

Lincoln's Birthday Party

This year Hanna volunteered to plan and do Lincoln's birthday party. Which is probably a good thing, otherwise he might not have gotten one. He invited 11 other boys bringing the party to a total of 12 boys between the ages of 7&9. Being a family of mostly girls, I found myself completely unprepared for the energy level of this many boys. He went with a Star Wars theme, so Hanna planned a few different games using their lightsabers (foam swords) Thankfully the weather was nice and a lot of the activities could take place outside. Hanna had a couple of her friends come and help her out and they did a great job. Lincoln had a great time and hopefully his friends did too.

Temple Trip

Yesterday was our wards first youth temple trip since Hanna turned 12. She was very excited to be able to attend the temple and participate in those sacred ordinances.
Michael was here for the weekend so he volunteered to be a driver and was hoping to be able to participate as well. He got his wish and was able to be the one who baptized Hanna, as well as some of the other girls. I'm glad they were able to be together for this "first" of Hanna's. It was a great experience for both of them.

My Goals

Tonight at our Weekly Relief Society meeting we had three mini classes. Meal Planning, Couponing, & Budgeting. I am not good at any of these, but I want to be! I just don't know where to start and feel a little overwhelmed at the daunting task before me. So I am going to set small goals that will help me get started in each area, and then add to them as I complete each goal.

My Goals

Menu Planning:
    Create list of meal ideas.

Couponing:
     Sign up for online coupons & look    through fliers.

Budgeting:
     Make a list of all our expenses & our income.

Clogging

To start off this year of clogging we are learning this dance.


 Let me start off by reminding you this is only my second year of clogging so OH MY HECK. But I am determined to master this. Therefore I am glad first of all that this dance is online and that he has broken it down so I can practice and practice and practice it over and over again at home. So far I can get the first part when it is in teach mode but not at full speed. So wish me luck, because I am going to need it.

New Phone

Just over a year ago we got Palm Pre phones. Unfortunately they aren't always the most reliable. Michael had a lot of problems with his not working right from the start, but I didn't have any problems with mine until a few days ago which happened to be 2 days after the warranty ran out. Of course. Since paying to get it fixed would only temporarily solve the problem we decided to just get me a new phone. I originally wanted the iphone4 but through talking to people who know more about phones than I do we decided to go with the Samsung Galaxy 3II instead.

 I love this phone! In fact I am probably spending way too much time playing with it. Maybe the novelty will wear off soon and I will get back to unpacking.

Picking Pumpkins

Yesterday for FHE we went out to a local pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins. The kids loved checking out all the different sizes and shapes and colors. They liked being able to "pick" their favorites.

Quick Update

It has been so long since I've posted and tons has happened but for now I'm not going to try to catch up I'm just going to start from here. We recently (this past week) moved into a new (to us) substantially larger house. It has 6 bedrooms ( giving the older kids their own rooms for the first time in their lives), 4 bathrooms (which will come in handy with all these girls) and everything we could possibly need or want. Since we still have not sold our house in Whitecourt we are doing a rent-to-own for this house. I'm just excited to have something that is ours again.
The kids are all back in school and happy to be back.
Hanna started Junior High and is absolutely loving Grade 7. She is taking band and has decided to play the clarinet. I've been impressed with how quickly she has been able to actually play music with it. She also turned 12 this summer and therefore is in Young Women's. With her birthday at the beginning of July she was able to attend camp this summer and had a fantastic time. She is participating in Clogging again this year and enjoys the challenge that a new year brings.
Olivia is in Grade 6 and happy to be at the top of the food chain in the Elementary school. She still lives for Ballet, and in fact had the opportunity to participate in a local competition this summer. Olivia and her good friend performed a ballet duet at "Raymond's Got Talent" She is back in classes now and has added a Lyrical class as well.
Emma is in Grade 4 and has a super fun teacher who has an elaborate game which his class plays all year and also does a lot of his teaching through music. Emma is still taking Jazz and has also decided to try Ballet this year. She also is thrilled with the fact that our new house has a second kitchen (without the appliances) where I have given her free reign to use her Easy-Bake Oven and other assorted baking toys. Her plan (right now) is to become a chef so she is happy to finally have somewhere to use her things.
Lincoln is in Grade 2. The Martial Arts program which he has participated in the last couple of years is no longer being offered here in town so he is now taking Judo instead. He is really enjoying it so far and is looking forward to learning and growing in this field. Lincoln turns 8 in a couple of weeks so we are preparing for his baptism later this month.
Lily is in Kindergarten!!!!!! Can you tell I'm happy about this. She is in school every afternoon and so far loves going to school, seeing her friends, and learning new things. She is taking Ballet again this year and looks very forward to her class each week.
Amelia & I attend a parent preschool class on afternoon a week and the rest of the time she is my shadow. She loves playing with her brother and sisters, and being outside. She likes to "help" with my chores and stays pretty close to me throughout the day. We are hoping to get her going to sleep in her own bed and potty trained in the next couple months. Eventually I need to break her thumb sucking habit as well, but that can wait.
Michael is still commuting back and forth between here and Whtiecourt. His job is going well and we have settled into a good routine. He serves in the Sunday School Presidency.
I am keeping busy with life. I am still trying to spend as much time as possible sewing (which hasn't been nearly enough lately) I am taking a clogging class I really enjoy both the exercise and the challenge. I serve in the Primary as a teacher to the 10/11 year olds. My class keeps me on my toes but I have really come to love being their teacher.
Life is Good.

Successful Sale

Last night and tonight was the early registration for the dance studio. I set up a display selling my reversible dance bags and was very pleased by the result. I sold 9 and had a few people who hoped I would be back with them in September. I have really enjoyed making the bags and knowing that people like them and are willing to buy them makes it that much better. I am excited to continue to make these and other projects in preparation for the fall. My girls and I are going to be participating in a sale in September so I need to get working!

Some of the ones that sold:

Scripture Totes

On Monday a friend asked if I would be interested in making a scripture tote for her daughter who's baptism is coming up. I was very excited to take on a new project and see what I could put together. So Tuesday I put together a bag to see if this was what she had in mind. Here is that bag:

I showed it to her yesterday and she was thrilled. So after discovering what fabric her daughter liked I put together her bag today.

They are the perfect sized to hold your scriptures. They also have external pockets on both sides. I will be making more to sell. Although if someone wants a specific color, I will definitely make them to order.

New Business

I have been making bags quite a bit this last year. Mostly for my kids to give as birthday presents, but recently was approached to make some to sell at our dance studio. So I have been working on sewing bags in preparation for the sale in June. Lately my girls have expressed a lot of interest in making things to sell as well. So I decided rather than have 2 separate businesses we would just combine everything under one business name. The name we came up with is "Embellish You." We spent quite a bit of time working on a variety of items this past weekend and will continue to do more, coming up with new ideas every time. I started another blog to showcase what we have available check it out embellishyou.blogspot.com . I'm enjoying both the fun of creating as well as the time doing this with my daughters.

Fancy Flip Flops

Hanna decided that her flip flops needed a face lift so she used ribbon, flowers & jewels to give them a fun updated new look. Not long after she had begun this project I came home with new flip flops ($1 at Old Navy) for all the girls, so they got started decorating those ones as well. Here are some of the finished products.

Olivia's

Emma's

Hanna's

She did some for Lily as well but we can't figure out where Lily put them.

Zumba

They have started a Zumba fitness class here in town every Tuesday and Thursday evening. I went originally just to get out of the house...but right away I became hooked. It is just such a fun way to get some great exercise. I am sweaty and tired by the end of the hour....and can't wait to come back the next time.
     

Lincoln's New Bike

Now that it has gotten nice I have started having the kids ride their bikes to school. Well the first day I went to the school to get Lily and Lincoln was waiting for a ride home. It turned out his bike was way too small and it took him forever....plus sore legs...riding to the school that morning. So that evening he and I headed in to Lethbridge to find him a new bike. I wanted something without gears so that it was simpler to take care of, and he wanted something with pedal brakes. I was surprised when we found something that fit both our wants and my budget. He is loving his new bike and is having a much easier and faster ride to and from school each day.

Now I just need to teach Lily to ride a bike so that next year she can ride with the kids.

Preschool Circus Day

Lily had a circus day at preschool a few weeks ago. It started off with a magic show (they had a magician come down from Calgary...he was excellent!) Then they split the kids into groups and we rotated around different centers which included face paint, an obstacle course, a bouncy house, balloon animals, a mini circus ring, and snack. She had a great time and I enjoyed seeing her interact with her teachers and friends.

Saturday Fun

This past weekend my parents were down, so we took the opportunity to get together and have our first wiener roast this year. Jason's family joined us as well and we headed to Indian Battle Park for the afternoon. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Enjoyed good food and fun. We had brought gloves, bats and balls and got our version of a game of softball going. The kids played at the park, and hiked up to the gazebo. All in all a great day. I LOVE SPRING!

Dance Recital

Every year when Dance Recital time arrives my life becomes even more chaotic and I wonder what I was thinking with all these girls and all these dance classes.This year was no exception. Including the dress rehearsal we had 4 straight days of recitals, Monday through Thursday. I actually didn't even have the opportunity to watch the recital this year because I too was dancing and while I was off stage I was helping with many costume and hair changes for the dancers who participated in more than one dance. It was fun and exhausting.

Olivia's Ballet Solo

Lily's Clogging

Emma's Jazz

Olivia's Ballet

My Clogging

Hanna & Olivia`s Clogging

Hanna`s Jazz

It was fantastic, fun, and exhausting. I`m looking forward to next year!