Girls and Boys

Raising girls is VERY different than raising boys. OY!! Boys, in my humble opinion are much easier. What you see is what you get. Not too many layers. They get over things easier and they roll with the punches. Not as emotional. I am very emotional. A typical girl. Charlotte is hitting that age where emotions are coming to a new level. Now, she is not the norm, considering the attachment stuff. That alone stifles normal emotions that children have...sad, mad, glad, scared...they all look the same in an unattached child, though I would no longer call Charlotte "unattached". Now throw in hormones! YIKES!!! No details, but we are dealing with some "girl stuff" here. I remember when my boys were pre-teen and the girls started to like them. It was no big deal. They were not interested. Now with a daughter, it is a whole different ball game. This boy crazy thing is just a stage, right??? PLEASE say, "Oh yes, this is will pass quickly!"

Also, raising Zach is different than raising my older boys. He is a poster child for what happens when babies are exposed to drugs. His frustration level is very low. Common thing in kids who suffered drug exposure in the womb. Yesterday was that kind of day. Finally he got his sense of humor back and gave me a "smile".Very funny Zach....see...he "got over it".

I spent the rest of the day deep cleaning my bedroom. I put flannel sheets on my bed and boy was it cozy warm!!!

Then the kids and I made peanut butter cookies. We doubled the recipe which was a great math lesson!
I spent some time working on the Pink and Brown.....It is back on the strict program after seeing this picture!!!!
Will these blocks never cease????Charlotte played out in the leaves with a friend and TJ, who stopped by for a quick visit, and Zach played like nice boys do.Hey!!! Where did that screwdriver come from??? Grandma took that back quickly!

Today is more homeschool, housework and later I will help Rachel as she finishes TJ's quilt she made. Speaking of quilts, I found a new pattern I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! It was in a post over at Em's Scrapbag. It is called "Harvest Sky" and I found out she designed it herself. She is testing the pattern and I will be first on the waiting list to buy it!!! I have the perfect fall colored fabrics to use in it. I am crossing my fingers that she has it ready to sell soon! I love it so much I want to marry it!!!!! OK, so I have been hanging out with Ruthann over at "Warm Pie, Happy Home" You should pop over there too and sign up for her great blogoversary giveaway. I always feel like I had a nice visit with a good friend after I leave there. I hope you feel that way here, too.

SNOW????

It snowed today....in October....in Illinois flat land!!!! I am NOT ready for snow. It did not "stick" but the air was full of it. The kids were thrilled. Me, not so much. I made myself feel better by lighting the first fire of the year.The day stayed bright, in spite of the snow, as I had a nice surprise. The grandkids came today because their Aunt (Rachel's sister) changed her visit from today to tomorrow. What does all that mean?? Emerson got her quilt today!She enjoyed sitting up for that pose so much that she stayed that way for a while. Though she was awake most of the day, she did take a snooze while wrapped in her new threads!
It is quite large in comparison to her size. I am glad she has plenty of room to grow into it. It is a little bigger than TJ's quilt. I showed TJ's quilt back when I first started blogging. I thought I would show it again, since there are so many new readers since then.

Not a great pic as it is on the stairs, but you get the idea. I had so much fun working on that quilt. The colors are not my norm, but how could you not have fun with that??? I did better and had it completed well before TJ was 6 weeks old, though he may be about that age in this picture. We really enjoyed the day regardless of the snow flurries and 24 degree temps we are facing tonight. TJ let me "catch" a couple of pics of him.He played with the kids and then "wrestled" with Paw Paw when he came home. Emerson also had some Paw Paw time.I need to scoot...my new favorite show is coming on. Have you seen "17 Kids and Counting" on TLC? I love the Duggar Family and really like their new series.

Emerson's Quilt

Emerson's quilt is complete and waiting to be wrapped around her! It will not be today though. We expected to have her for a few hours while her parents took her brother on a fall outing, but the wind here is really fierce. Not good to take little kids out into. I will give it to her on Tuesday or Wednesday, when I see her next. Like I said, I am very pleased with how it turned out. The hand quilting really stands out.Now in my humble opinion, a quilt is not finished until it has been washed and dried. This last step really makes a difference in the appearance of the quilt. I loved how Alesha said "When you start talking quilting, I hear Charlie Brown's teacher's voice." I know I have many readers who are not quilters, so bear with me here. Wah wah wah...wah wah...is that clear Alesha??!! I could not resist!!! Really here is an example of what I am talking about. This picture is BEFORE I washed it. The binding is not on yet, but the quilting is complete.....
Now, same quilt AFTER being washed...... The back of this quilt showed NO quilting, it was so busy. That is always disappointing to me, as I love the back of a finished quilt. After washing and drying, you can even see the texture through the busy-ness of the fabric.So what is next??? Well, I have my UFO list on my sidebar. I plan to finish this little baby quilt for a friend's first grandchild. I will do both hand and machine quilting (hidden completely in the ditch cause I am not great at machine quilting), as I have little time.And then there is the pink and brown quilt, which is in the hoop already. Did you notice the new header on my blog??? It is VERY plain, and not too exciting....unless you are a hand quilter. It is there for a reason. It is to keep me focused on my goal to finish the pink and brown....it is the back of that quilt, basting stitches and all! See the 4 solid pink squares??? That is where I am...everything from the center out to those 4 solid squares is finished...except 2 of the solid squares. Still a long way to go (alot of the quilt has been cropped just to keep you in suspense), but I have until New Years Eve, right!!??

I thought I would share a couple of pics of the little kids....

Charlotte is working hard on a poster for Awanas. She is done with it now and even had her brother help her...that is huge! She did a nice job. Other than helping Charlotte for a short time, Zachary has pretty much played outside in the wind. He said he had to wear his "wind-breaker" and he would be fine! The sun is shining, but the leaves are blowing....all over the place!!I spent most of the morning nursing a headache that finally went away after my second cup of coffee. I felt energized and washed the kitchen floor, dusted and vacuumed, and then watched Anne of Green Gables on PBS while working on the pink and brown. Kyle has a "horror" movie about a killer grizzly bear for us to watch with him tonight...no little kids are invited...and I will quilt through that movie for sure!!

I will be sure to get a pic of Emerson with her new quilt, but in the meantime, here is one from the other day...no cross eyes, or smile, but cute just the same!

Emerson Moments

It has been a busy week here. Lots of quality baby time too. TJ and Emerson came to visit a couple of times. Good for me that Emerson came along, because TJ has NO time for his old Grandma any more. He is too busy playing. Plus, he runs the other way when I get the camera out!! So Rachel, Emerson and I visited on Thursday. I love this picture of Rachel and her daughter.

I finished the quilting on Emerson's quilt on Thursday. It is always bitter sweet to finish a loved quilt. Sooooo many hours of stitching, but the end result is SOOOOOO worth it! On Friday morning I made the binding and sewed it on the front of the quilt before the grandkids got here at 10:00 am.Rachel had an appointment so I was babysitting. TJ joined in for some "pre-school" and then they were off to play! Emerson and I had a nice visit.....She ooooh'ed and ahhhh'ed while I worked the hand sewing on the binding of her quilt.
Still working on that focusing, but getting better at it......She heard a noise behind her and turned her head to look. I was surprised at that!!
It was not long before she was yawning and it was time for a snooze.She loves to be "papoosed" in her blankets. Tomorrow she is coming to receive her finished quilt. It has even been washed and dried and the quilting is wonderful. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I will show it to you then.

God's Blessings to you.

A Big Fat Commercial

I interrupt this unplanned blogging break to share a few "commercials". First, I wanted to thank Page for the wonderful CD/DVD she sent in my package from England. The kids love it and so do I! It is proven that drumming helps you both, concentrate and relax. It stimulates certain parts of the brain, which are important for learning and also stress relief. If you have never heard of Psalm Drummers, please click on the link to listen to them.

I also wanted to share our new, favorite author/illustrator. His name is Arnold Lobel. He has been around for quite a while. One of our favorite books is

"Grasshopper on the Road".My kids laugh through the entire read (every time we read it!). There are 6 short chapters and we split it into 2 days. The illustrations are wonderful.I won't ruin the story for you.....really, this author is a must if you have school age children or grandchildren. Many of his books are only $3.99, but I am certain your local library would carry this author!

Last commercial....I have found a WONDERFUL product for my dry skin! Tone Almond Milk body wash!I love the smell....remember I am all about the smell...and it makes your skin feel like silk. Not greasy, but very moisturized! The bottle is huge and the price is right! I am just tickled about this product.

So, after I share these "other" ads with you that I found in my free time (I am trying not to choke!) we will return to our regularly scheduled programming.....