Belle such a sweet sharing baby!

Belle, trying to share her apple. Wearing PJ's that Karen Holt had sent to Lela, before she died. They used to be Karen's daughter, Rebecca's.

My First Homemade Frosting. . .

Tonight I made my first home made frosting ever! I made a cream cheese frosting. It was pretty much made how I make cream cheese mints, but with butter as well, and less powdered sugar. I really really liked it! So much better then the canned stuff. Why would people eat canned stuff when home made taste so much better and really isn't hard at all to make!

Darla brought home some buckeyes last night from one of her nurses and they were soooooooo good. Now I have to be on the look out for a good buckeye recipe. But, in the meantime, I thought I would share one of my tried and true peanut butter cookie recipe.

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. They are a soft cookie and I have never been able to make the traditional peanut butter fork criss cross on them. But, they make a great thumb print cookie. Fill the thumb print with chocolate or peanut butter candies and they are even yummier! I've been making them for about 30 years like this, and yes it's true no flour at all!

Now I need to work on also making a home made strawberry cake. As I love strawberry cake, especially the Fish House in Queens NYC, made a awesome one, and their banana pudding was to die for. Mmm, I miss their free days! Their smothered chicken, and smothered pork chops were mmm mmm, as was their collard greens, and candied yams, I could go on and on! haha Hmmm, maybe smothered chicken should hurry and get on the menu for dinner! Yeah I think so. I'm out of collard greens so for sure need to add those to my shopping list this week as well. I tried to grow my own, but apparently the bugs really like them as well. Grrr....how do you keep the bugs from eating them all up? UHG!

We also made some pinecone crafts my sisters, and Lela, and Belle. Lela didn't want to stop. She loves arts and crafts. I have to do more with her. Maybe we will do some orange bird food next week. Will have to think about that.  We also have some more pinecones left, should make those in to bird feeders for the birds as well. We have plenty of lard and peanut butter.

Speaking of lard, the store in Yodar got our 50 lb bag of haul less popcorn in. It's soooooo good and we are popcorn lovers. So I can't wait to get over there and pick it up. How does this coincide with lard? Lard makes the best popcorn ever! That's how. Mmm a little lard in the bottom of the popcorn popper and hand crank till it's toasty and a few even burnt. And it's the best stuff ever.

It snowed today and Lela and Loudine had lots of fun playing out in the snow and then getting in the hot tub. Silly girls!

And more good news Anne said she got my Jalie pattern in. I can't wait to make it. On Freecycle I got a nursing sweatshirt made by motherhood, in the exact same style. And Jalie just came out with the pattern this October. I really would of never tried the style had I not got it free on freecycle but now it's my favorite casual shirt. So I know I will make a lot of them. I'm hoping to get over there and use my 50 percent off coupon on it too. hehe. And maybe buy myself some discount gift cards for Needle Nook too.

Floods and a coat. . .

I ended up with a chocolate brown zipper from Needle Nook it's really pretty with the print on my fleece for my jacket. It's a cool zipper too, I am love with it. I will never buy another one from Joann's! And my jacket is pretty much done. Except Needle Nook was out of a 24 inch zipper which I need for the baby panel. They are supposed to get some in on Thursday. I can't wait, then I can finish it completely. I wouldn't of been able to finish it with out Julie's help though. She did a lot of it for me. And really helped me while I had to nurse and care for RJ. However, I think it's came out about 2 sizes too large, even though I went down to a size large with it. And I'm supposed to be a XXL in it. So glad I didn't make a XXL! I think I just have to trust I am a size medium with ELD patterns and just go for it. Cause I keep starting with a XL or a L and then get a HUGE end product that is just OVERLY large. But, I get scared to start with a medium and waste fabric and it not even fit at all. I just don't know.

I also got my yearly coupons from them and can't wait for them to get in their Jalie patterns. I may go ahead and use my last years coupon though for another pattern as I didn't realize it was still good till the end of this month! I am going to buy gift certificates as well from them, I'm pretty sure. I'm hoping to be able to buy a few. hmmm. I think I am going to bring up to them this program where I got half price gc's for another local sewing shop a few years ago, the program gives the company their full price so they don't lose anything and they get more business. I will ask Anne if she signed up for them or not. Cause that really helped me a lot when they did that. Next on the list of things I want to sew is a Hot Patterns pattern I seen for free on Fabric.com I already printed it up and taped it together, now I need to trace it and cut it out.

The house flooded from the septic tank. The little girls stuffed too much rice and ramen noodles down the sink. And it was waaaaaay backed up. I didn't realize my closet was hit till the other day and every thing in there is now mildewed. I usually wear things from my dresser most. This is a huge hit to us as of course our dressier clothes are in the closet and they cost the most. Including my very expensive dansko shoes, UHG we can not get the mildew out. And it smells horrible. And so me and little buddy (RJ) are really sick from that. And to top it off, I now have a abscess on my ribcage. Just what I need. I'm on a antibiotic for it though and Darla is going to drain it tomorrow. It's huge, about the size of a golf ball.

I ended up going to the LLL meeting on this side of town last week as well. I'm so glad I went. I won a book for my SIL, I had been wanting to buy it for her but now I don't have to! The womanly art of breastfeeding. And I also got 20 dollars for Papa Murphy's. So that will help a lot. We also found a really good local pizza parlor by Dollar Tree the other night, and it's super cheap and really really good. We got the buffet as that was the cheapest way to go since the girls only cost 45 cents! And Vince and I were only like 4 dollars each. My favorite pizza they put out was a sauerkraut and ham one. I thought it was hawaiian was I in for a shock when I but into the sauerkraut but I really liked it. Who knew! haha

I found the Bragg's seasoning at Dillon's grocery store and we are loving it! I put it in the split pea soup tonight and loved it. Hmmm, you know I just sent Amber for lentils for it.....oops I was crazy apparently. I made split pea/lentil soup. lol Oh well. haha I wondered why they weren't very green. Apparently I was losing my mind when I sent her to the store. Oh well, it still tasted awesome. All the kids even liked it. I have found though we need a little broth in the water for the split pea soup or it just doesn't taste as good. So I am pretty sure I have now perfected my recipe of that. Even if I didn't use all split peas tonight. lol haha CRAZY ME! ha! Oh well even Belle and Lela had seconds later in the evening. It was so cute they shared a bowl.

Zip zip zip

Yesterday Julie came over and we worked on my coat to the point of needing zippers. I plan on going to buy zippers on Saturday. Then hopefully she can come over again sometime next week and help me a little bit further. What ever we don't get done then, I will take the rest over to Anne's Needle Nook Fabrics and finish as my "UFO". If I finish before that, I may take a new jacket or more nightgowns over to work on. Or a skirt. I want to make a flared skirt with some wool I bought. There's a independent pattern company that has the perfect pattern for it, but I don't really have the funds for new patterns right now, so I'm thinking on using a existing pattern I have and redrawing it the way I would like and see what happens. I'll use some of my 20 cents a yard fabric to test it out, so I may do that at the store. Will have to figure it out when it comes I guess. After Julie went home, I made another mock turtleneck. Man I love how fast the mothercovers whip up!

Belle is getting closer and closer to sleeping in the bunk beds with Lela. She's at least laying down with her and starting the night out with her, now if she will just stay there.

We went to Denny's tonight before La Leche League, and it was pretty good. Wish I had tried the red velvet cake puppies, but probably best I didn't! haha I'm thinking about visiting the other LLL meeting next week, since we won't have another meeting at the one I go to this month due to Christmas. Will have to see if Vince is up to it. Since I usually only go once every other week, and this time would be three weeks in a row because of the way the days have fallen this month.

Outside my window. . .freezing cold.

 I am hearing...my sweet babies sleeping.

I am thinking. . .all the sewing I'm doing.

I am thankful for. . .a toasty apartment.

I am remembering. . .how tiny my baby girls are and were.

I am hoping. . .that I get a lot done on the coat tomorrow!

I am creating. . .lots of turtle neck mother covers, and a coat.

On my mind. . .circuit assembly coming up.

Noticing that. . .I am really tired.

From the kitchen. . .roasted chicken, and mac and cheese.

One of my favorite things. . .hot soup.

A few plans for the rest of the week. . .getting a lot more sewing done, going to LLL meeting and going to the CA.

What I am reading. . .message boards.

Picture for thought I am sharing. . . 

Belle getting in cat bed

Sewing Storm. . .

Julie came over yesterday and we cut out the pattern and the fleece fabric to make a ELD Nursing Classic #206 jacket/coat. I am a little nervous about making a coat, but I'm hoping it will go well. If I like it enough I will buy some wool from Needle Nook and make a second one. Before she came over I finished up another flannel nightgown. It's a really pretty pink, I think it's the best version yet that I have made of that pattern. I need to take a picture of it for sure.

It was so cold this morning when I went out to the car to go to meeting the door handles were frozen shut! I had on a wool skirt, and wool sweater with a knit turtle neck underneath and was still freezing. I should of wore my boots. I am going to buy some leg warmers from Vermont country Store, and going to make myself a flannel slip tonight. No air went up my skirt, but some did get up my sweater/turtle neck, so if I had been wearing a full flannel slip I may of been warmer, and especially leg warmers and boots! I think I will buy some of their socks made for 30 below zero degree weather as well. Scouring JC Penny's site too and might get a tweed skirt. I need more winter wear. I did buy some pretty sweater knit from Needle Nook I'm going to make a suit with, and also going to make a suit with some mystery sweater like fabric that was only 20 cents a yard from Walmart. I will probably be working on all that this week. I want them done ASAP! lol haha I figured out the first knit jacket I made is really not that too big for me as much as the back of it is too big. So I visited Anne at Needle Nook and she measured and I'm going to try it again after pinching out 3 inches from the back piece.

The special day is coming up next week, so I think I want to get at least one of those suits made. I will for sure get the charcoal jacket remade by then, since the skirt and shirts are already made for that. Even though I also bought another knit for another mock turtle neck for it too. I can probably do that as well! lol

Any way still having fun sewing. Was thinking about it during the Watchtower study this morning, about recreation. At least it's a clean recreation. Just will have to be careful about time spent on it. But, I don't think I spend too much time on it. Can't between the chillin's! lol haha

A really sweet woman, named Bethany, at La Leche League made the most delicious butternut squash on Thursday, I have to get Bragg's seasoning, as she said that's what she put on it. It was so good, I didn't even need butter or salt! Chris, one of the LLL leaders, made a delicious stew, she said she used Watkin's meat magic. So I have to make a trip to the store for both of those, they were so delicious!