Happy Easter!!

Here's the kids after dying their eggs yesterday. They had fun and did a good job. Ezie had the idea to get a paint brush for Jace and he laid his egg down and then painted it with the dyes. It worked out really well and he didn't end up spilling a bowl of dye over.

I hope everyone has a fun day!

Ezie's Bird House and A Birdie Swap

Yesterday it was actually pretty decent so since Earl had the day off Ezie grabbed him first thing in the morning for some Dad time. Earl got this wooden crate from work so after Ezie tore it apart he had wood for a bird house.

Ezie drilling holes and Jace patiently waiting his turn to be a "helper"

Finally! Jace gets his turn to help!

Ezie with the finished product! Honestly I was expecting a 6-12 inch size birdhouse........not a mansion! Ezie still needs to paint it, but he is pretty darn proud of what he built and I am just as proud of him!

I was in Lori's Bird Swap and my partner Julie sent me this beautiful swap package. There is some pretty little birdies, a bird house, an embroidered towel and the cute little frame with a nest on it.

Here's what I sent to Julie. I hope she likes everything!

Thank you Lori for a fun swap and Thank You Julie for a wonderful swap package!

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

"Only the Good Fridays"

I have been terrible about posting on Fridays about the good I see in my world. Basically because as I've said before my world is in our home 24/7.

1. I do see the sweet bus driver, Carla, that takes Ezie and Mallory to and from school every day. She is always so sweet to them and waves to Jace every time she stops.
2. I see, Kathy, Jace's speech therapist who is so much more than a speech therapist to me. Kathy has become a much needed friend to me who always takes the time to do "girl talk" after Jace's sessions.
3. I see my wonderful kids who love each other even though they don't always like to admit to it and bring a smile to my face (most of the time!).
4. I see Earl who works so hard for us and always puts his family first.
5. I see my beautiful daughter, Alexis, who is so loving towards her siblings and who strives to keep all of her brothers and her sister together. Lexie always calls or visits the older kids and tries to spend time with the younger ones.
6. I have my blogger friends who leave me such sweet comments and a few that are wonderful confidents.
7. I have my sister, Cathy, who always keeps in touch with me and started a family blog for all of my siblings and parents to keep in touch with each other.

Even though I am not exposed to the outside world to much right now, I have a wonderful family and friends that I am extremely thank for.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

We have had so many rainy days lately and we're suppose to keep having them.....but at least it's still in the 40-50's and not freezing!!! Since we haven't lived here to long I don't know what kind of flowers for sure that I have coming up. I think I know, but it is like little surprises coming out of the ground! I'm so glad that there are some flowers already here and coming up so beautifully. I haven't raked yet because it still isn't that warm and I figure the plants could use a few more weeks of a little bit of coverage. I can't wait to get out there and rake and plant and have a beautiful flower garden again!!

After the Viv's Easter Egg Hunt yesterday Earl painted some branches for me so I could have a little Easter Tree. We have the old kind of radiators and I like to put something in front of these pipes to kind of pull the attention away from them.

Viv's Easter Egg Hunt

It's finally time for Viv's Easter Egg Hunt. A month or so ago all of the swap participants sent Viv two decorated eggs and then she mixed them up and we all got two eggs back. I didn't actually decorate my egg, but I made the chicken egg covers based off of the ones my Grandma made for us on Easter when I was younger. They hold a special place in my heart so I really hope whoever rec'd my little chickens likes them. Okay, I found out who rec'd my little chickens. One Viv kept and the other one went to Debb.

Today we are all suppose to blog hop and go on a hunt to find out who made the eggs we rec'd.

Here are the two beautiful eggs I rec'd and then the middle one with a few little goodies from Viv. I rec'd a beautiful glittery egg with a bunny inside and then a gorgeous egg made with felt, sequins and a pretty big bow on top. They are both so pretty and I can't wait to show them off when the kids all come over next week for Easter Dinner.

So, now off to hunt to find out who made my beautiful eggs. This was a fun swap Viv! Thank you so much! After a wonderful time blog hopping I finally found out who my eggs came from. The cute little Bunny Egg came from April at The Art Chick and the beautiful white egg came from Julie at ShabbyWears. Thanks to both of you for such beautiful eggs!!! Earl made me a little tree today to hand my eggs on. It looks so pretty in the living room!

Silly Kids

This is my 18 year old daughter, Alexis, with her 20 month old son, Anthony's, coat on. Lexie only weighs about 80-85 lbs. and Anthony is a little chunk.

Earl and I took Jace to the Dollar Tree last night and Jace saw this "cowboy" hat that he wanted and then I saw the horse so we had to get both. He was so cute in the parking lot galloping with his horse and yelling "Hee-Haw Partner". It was the cutest thing and all for only $2.00!

Jessica's A Charming Color Swap

I joined Jessica's from Kids Napping, I'm Scrapping's A Charming Color Swap and Deborah from Deb's Vintage Soul was my partner. Deborah sent me the most wonderful package!! I got a journal, yarn, a bag of vintage buttons, lace and the most unique set of patches. There are so many cool patches I can't wait to use them on stuff!! Deborah also made the cutest little jar with a bird and flowers on it. It is so pretty and I will definitely find a special place to put it. There is even more in my package as you can see.

I sent Deborah a crocheted hotpad, dishcloths, chicken, heart and flowers. I also made her some note cards and then sent some ribbon, beads, other flowers, and other little things.

It was a great swap! Thank you so much Deborah!! We're also partners for Priscila's Vintage Circus Swap. I'm getting busy on that one now.

Missy's Fairy Swaps for Me and the Kids

Missy had a grown up fairy swap that I joined and a kids one that Ezie and Mallory participated in. We all had so much fun giving and receiving. Here is the fairy, wand and little notebook that Missy sent to me.

The fairy doll that Missy made is a picture of one of her Grandmothers. I think that makes it so special!!! I love the wand and the color of it is so pretty! Missy did a tutorial on her blog about how to make the fairy doll if anyone is interested.

Here's what I sent to Missy. I crocheted a Garden Fairy outfit for a Barbie doll and the sent her a wand and a couple of my little fairy ornaments.

This is the package that Ezie received from Robin. I love the handmade wand and you can't really see the little items but there is a candle and a cup from a nut shell. There is a felted pouch and ball and I forgot to put the crystals in the picture. Ezie loved his swap package!!! Thanks Robin!

This is the package Mallory received from her partner Alyssa. She loves her wand and the bunny got so many hugs! Jace loves the body spray as much or more than Mallory does. This was a great swap package Alyssa!! Thanks so much!

This is the package Ezie and I put together for Robin. Ezie printed off some coloring sheets from the game Wizards.101 and then he designed the wand and we found some extra goodies to stick in.

Alyssa got some flowers, a tote bag and a Tinkerbell fairy bag along with her wand and some body tattoo's. Mallory had fun helping to design and pick everything out.

Thanks for a great swap Missy!! The kids and I had so much fun! Missy also has a flickr group page if you would love to see all the enchanting Fairy Swap stuff.

Oh Yeah, a Chance to Get a Piece of Melinda's Art Work!! Oh Yeah!!

I just read about this on Melinda's blog and since I am her biggest fan I have to participate.


It sounds like a great idea to me and the first five people to respond will get something handmade from me. You won't know what I'm making for you, but hopefully it will be something you like. (SSsshhhh.......I'll take suggestions)

The way to play is as follows:

1. I make no gaurantees you will like what I make, but I hope you do!
2. What you get will be created for you, so you wont get something I already made.
3. It will be done sometime this year
4. You will have no clue what it is until you get it!
5. The catch? Do all this on your blog too...Repost all this on your blog and then come back and post on mine and you are entered....Then when you get your gift, post a picture on your blog....Who will the first five be? mmmmmmmmm......If you play, you can put me at the top of your list too if you like!

I also need to do a Pass It Forward. Would anyone like me to make something for them and then they can make something for someone else and so on and so on.......... Please let me know.

New Fairy Ornaments and American Idol

I posted one of the little fairy ornaments that I made the other day and I've finished up a couple more that I wanted to show off. I'm having fun making them!

This is my favorite one.

I embroideried with gold metalic thread around her wings and necklace and then stitched shoelaces on to her boots. I also added french knots to the bottom trim on her dress.

I LOVED Adam again on American Idol last night!!! He seemed to have so much fun and I think he may be the winner in the end. Adam, Danny and Kris are my favorite guys and Megan is my favorite out of the girls. I love that twangy thing going on in her voice. I'm never good at Idol though in guessing who will get kicked off. Dancing with the Stars is a little easier to guess. I think Gilles will win with Shawn, Lil Kim and Ty coming in for the final 4.

What do you think after this week?

Who's Next to Leave??

I think that tonight on Dancing with the Stars Steve W. and Holly will leave. I admire Steve and think he has the biggest smile I've ever seen, but he just doesn't have the dance skills. He reminds me of me trying to dance.

Who do you think will be leaving?

New Things for My Etsy Shops

I haven't been blogging very well lately, but I have been swapping and finally putting some things in my much neglected Etsy Shops. Here is what I've made for my sewing shop

These carrots can either be basket fillers or used as treat bags.
This is a fairy ornament that I embroideryed and embellished
and then machine stitched a backing to it.

Then I made a some tags to put in my Paper Craft shop

Then I had a special order for some of my chicken egg covers.

It feels nice to get some things back in my shop!! I mailed out a couple of swap packages today so I can post those in a couple of days. I'm so excited to show off a couple of the things I made for those. I've still got a couple more swaps to finish up and then I've got to start working on baby shower stuff for my newest grandson. I've got invitations to make and then party favors and decorations. I'm excited though and can't wait to get started on those. I love the pattern we picked out and I think everything will turn out cute!

Have a great day everyone!!!

I have to go finish up a swap that I'm late on

and then CLEAN my much neglected house!!

A Scrapbook for Melinda

I've been working on a House Warming Scrapbook for my friend Melinda for the last couple of weeks and now that she has received it I can show everyone. Several of Melinda's blogger friends sent me cards, ATC's, notes, etc.... all wishing her the best in her move. I put them all in a into a scrapbook for her. Here is a picture of the cover and the pages.

Today I even got a phone call from Melinda and got to actually talk to her. She is such a nice person and I really enjoyed the phone call. Thank you to everyone who sent things to put in Melinda's book. Jean, Laurie, Tonya, Marva, Val, Michelle, Dagmar, Karen, Elizabeth and Jessica. I had fun making it and I hope everyone likes the way I did their page.

A Beautiful Day and a Carnival

Yesterday Earl and I took the kids to their school carnival. It was fun and so nice to get out of the house for a little bit!! I got to meet Mallory's teacher and the Principal. The school is smaller than the last one they went to. Everyone seemed really nice though and the kids already had friends calling out their names and wanting them to go hang out with them.

Jace enjoyed the cotton candy!

Ezie enjoyed the food and Mallory was so happy that Lexie came.

Earl is a big kid at heart and loves carnival type things!

He loves to buy hot dogs and popcorn and spoil the kids whenever they have an event like this. It was fun! Afterwards, Lexie and Jake took Mallory and Jace out for the day. Ezie had a friend over to spend the night and I worked on things for my Etsy shop and then crocheted.

All in all it was a wonderful day!

Ezie Starts School and My American Idol Thoughts

Ezie started back to regular school today. He is so different than Mallory. Mallory was super excited and a little scared while Ezie was super scared, but excited too. The kids only had a 1/2 day today and Ezie can't wait to go back tomorrow for a full day. He made new friends and loves his new teacher and the school. He is really happy that he decided to go back to public schools. Yay! I'm so proud of both of them and Jace survived a morning without his best buddy Ezie around.

I have thought since American Idol started this season that Adam Lambert probably has one of the best voices out of the contestants. I am really not into Adam's hair at all. I don't mind the fingernail polish, but some of his clothes and his hair style are just not my cup of tea....... but to each his own. Last week his version of Rings of Fire was......well.....different....to say the least. I kinda liked it though, but I was surprised that he made it through and Alexis didn't with the version he sang. Then last night's performance was entirely different!!!! Not only did all of the judges love Adam's performance (even Simon), but can you image having Smokey Robinson give you a standing ovation?!?!? Wow, Adam must have been in heaven with that one! What an honor!! Great job Adam and the hair brushed the opposite direction is kind of a nice look!

What's Up With the Dance Off??

I missed last weeks elimination round of Dancing with the Stars so when I watched the "Dance Off" last night I assumed that who ever the judges picked would be the winner. I guess I was wrong! I'm still confused about why there is even a "dance off" when it is only making a 2-3 point difference......the audience vote didn't change......did it???

Oh well, my favorite since the first night is Gille Marini. Call me a sucker for that foreign accent, but I do think Gille dances quite well too. I also like Shawn, Melissa and Lil Kim and Jewel's husband.


I usually fast forward through the guest performances, but last night I was actually watching the while it was on so and I really enjoyed Daryl Hall & John Oates and I'd never heard Adele before but I think I am a fan of hers now. I love her voice! Karina and Edyta's dancing was amazing too! The guys were great, but I was paying more attention to the girls. Man, I wish I could dance!!!

Now for American Idol tonight. I like all of the contestants on the show but I like the little twangy thing in Megan's voice and I like Danny a lot too. We'll see........my first favorite didn't go to far.

Here's What I've Been Working On Lately

I feel so boring lately. I haven't really had anything to blog about. I hated that Alexis Grace got kicked off of Idol last week. She was my favorite. I hope good things happen for her! My favorite shows are on all at the same time now, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, The Mentalist and thank goodness they are changing Samantha Who to a new night because I can only record 2 shows at a time.

So during all of this t.v. time I've been crocheting an afghan. I've got 75 out of 125 squares done. I think it is going to turn out nice! I love the colors and the classic granny squares are my favorite. I should be done in a few weeks, hopefully.


I've also been working on a scrapbook and this is just a generic page in it. I have been having fun though adding paper and stitching together. I make such a big mess with glue so I'm trying to limit the amount I use. I am like a little kid with it........all over my fingers and clothes and whatever else is within it's reach. I did glue on all the buttons though.

I've also been finishing up a couple of swaps that I'll show pictures of here in the next few days. Busy, but boring. That's how I feel lately.

It's cold here again. Like in the low teens at night and 30's during the day. I think the 40-50 degree weather was just a tease. Hopefully this cold blast doesn't last to long because spring is suppose to be here!!!!

Anthony did get over his croup last week. He was in ER all Monday night and then Wednesday when he went to the Dr.'s office they called the ambulance to have him taken 4 blocks to the ER because he needed oxygen right away. It was scary for my daughter, but the croup seemed to go away as fast as it came on. Hopefully he's done with that for a long time!! It's nice to have Anthony back over today to babysit. I missed the little guy!

Have a great day!!

Hiding Behind Your Little Sister

Mallory had a fantastic day at school yesterday and couldn't wait to go back today. She already made some new friends and talked all night long about how neat the teachers, kids and the school were. Ezie said maybe he would start back in September and the more Mallory talked the more you could see him getting excited. He wanted to know if people made fun of her or made her feel uncomfortable for being "the new kid". She said, "No, everyone was nice". So Ezie decided, now that Mallory has gone and survived, he wants to go back to school ASAP. He probably won't be able to start until Monday because the registrar is out today and Friday there is no school because of teachers meetings. He can't wait to meet some new kids. Jace will be lost with the kids gone all day and I will miss them a lot too, but I'm proud of their decision and the reasons they decided to go back.

On another note, my 19 month old grandson, Anthony got really sick the other night with croup. None of my kids every got croup and I can't believe how quick Anthony got sick and how sick he is. He has been running a 103 degree temp for the last 36 hours and he sounds terrible. They took him to the ER the first night and they rushed him back and gave him a shot of steroid's to help with his breathing. They ended up having to stay in the ER for 6 more hours to make sure he was breathing okay. He still doesn't feel good though. Poor baby!! Does anyone know anything about croup? How long does it last? Is it contagious? I can't believe none of my kids every had, but I'm glad they didn't!

Have a beautiful spring day!!
Sherry

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Mallory decided to go back to school and today is her first day. Her first day is on St. Patrick's Day and the name of the school is Green Meadow. It doesn't take much to humor me!! Anyway, she is so excited to go back to school and make some new friends. She likes homeschooling, but she missed being around other kids. Her new class is studying Egypt and I guess they are making the Nile River and other Egyptian landmarks. They are also going to make costumes and have the parents in for an Egyptian day with everything Egyptian; clothes, food, scenery, etc....... Mallory is really excited and couldn't wait to get started. So Good Luck to my Mallory and a Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone else!!

A quick note to Bonnie Hunt. I watched the show this morning and waited by the phone but you forgot to call me and tell me I won the trip to Ireland from your contest last week. Boo-hoo!! I told everyone you were going to call me too! Darn! So, PLEASE don't forget to call me to tell me I won the Mother's Day trip. I could really use the vacation! Thanks!

Spring Is On The Way.......Finally!

Yesterday was so nice here in New York. It actually got to 52 degree's. The kids played outside all day and Earl got to drive his tractor around the yard to pick up all of the branches from the ice storms that we had. I was in the house working on a couple of projects that I needed to finish and cleaning house (although it is trashed this morning........ everyone was outside all day, yet the house still got messy?????)

This is the view out of my window from where the computer sits. It was so nice to have the window opened for the day!
Earl took turns giving the kids rides on his tractor. He got it last year, but was never able to use it so this is like a new toy for him and the kids.

Happy Spring!!!!

"Only the Good Friday"

I thought that writing something every Friday about the goodness in my community would be an easy thing to do, but I have to admit I'm stumped. Last Friday I was embarrassed to say that I couldn't really think of anything and here I sit again not knowing what to write about.

It's not that there aren't good people in my community, but I am in my house with the kids 24/7 and don't see much of the outside world. I usually only leave the house twice a month for a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get craft supplies. I don't have a car and Earl works two jobs so he can't take me anywhere very often. Anyway, I am sheltered not only from the bad, but from the good in the outside world. So I decided to write about what good I see from the only people I am exposed to in my little world.

Earl would give anyone the shirt off his back. This week he was supportive to a co-worker who's spouse died. Earl shared his lunch with a guy at work that didn't have time to go out and get a lunch. Last night after working all day and having to walk to work, Earl went to the grocery store and then came home and made his famous chicken soup for my oldest daughter, Lexi, who wasn't feeling good. Earl makes all of my trips to the post office for me and is supportive of the time I spend on swaps and not housework. He spends quality time with me and the kids in the couple hours he's home every day.

Then there are Ezie, Mallory and Jace. Ezie is so helpful with Jace. He will take him outside to play, take him to the bathroom, gets drinks and snacks for Jace when he wants them, and constantly keeps Jace occupied.

Mallory has a heart of gold. She is always thinking of nice things we should do for other people. Mallory is very helpful in the kitchen and will jump right in to help me unload the dishwasher and cook.

Jace is a good little guy too. He makes us all laugh and very seldom gives me any problems. Jace plays with Anthony during the day and loves to be my helper.

I guess sometimes we don't have to go very far to see goodness. I am surrounded with goodness in my house and am so thankful for my wonderful family.

Nothing Has Been Going On Here

Not much has been going on here worth blogging about. I babysat my twin grandsons, T.J. & Jordan, last week for a few hours. They had fun being pulled around the house in the laundry basket. They are the quitest little boys and so tiny. They are 17 months old now.



The kids were so bored the other day. It was actually a nice day, in the 40's, so they went out and made a snowman out of the slushy leftover snow. I like the way he looks like one of those snowmen that are melting.



Saturday my son and his girlfriend brought Sabrina and Austin over and then T.J. spent the night with us. So here's a picture of Nana and 3 of the 8 grandkids.

Other than that I've become addicted to a couple of games on Facebook and I have been working on swaps. I finished Ezie and Mallory's Pixie Swap packages and I'm almost done with Missy's Fairy Swap Package. I've also been crocheting an afghan for a friend. I'll post a picture of the squares tomorrow. I think it's going to turn out really pretty.

Have a great day and PLEASE send spring wishes this direction!!! The weather man just keeps talking about another storm and quite frankly I'm SICK of winter!!!

Girl Scout Cookies......a Yummy Tradition

My grand daughter, Sabrina, has been our cookie seller for the last several years now. Lexie used to be a Girl Scout and there has never been a troop opened for Mallory to join. (We'll try again this year!) Sabrina and her mom, Nikki, delivered our cookies yesterday. Yum, Yum, Yum!

I can remember being a Brownie and pulling the wagon behind me full of cases of cookies and going door to door trying to sell them. Who else remembers when you had to order the cookies in advance and then sell them? I'm sure my mom does! How many boxes did our poor parents ending up buying? We had to work to sell those cookies back then. What great memories though!

I think everyone has one particular kind of Girl Scout cookies that is there favorite. Mints were always my favorite growing up, but now I've switched to. MMMMmmmm! They're like little candy bars with there coconut, carmel and cookie goodness. Mallory loves thin mints and most of the boys in our family like the Do-Si-Dos.

What is your favorite kind of Girl Scout cookie?

Swappy Goodness!

I was recently in Malissa's Bits and Baubles Swap and my swap partner was Michelle from Vintage Squirrel. Michelle sent me this wonderful bag filled with some pretty paper, a fat quarter of stripe fabric, some beads and buttons and some beautiful trims. There is lace, ric rac and sequins. Fun!! I can't wait to use some of them.

This is what I sent to Michelle. I crocheted her some flowers and sent some brads, buttons and trims. I hope Michelle enjoys her stuff as much as I do mine!!

Today I'm working on a couple of Christmas gifts that I haven't finished. Yes, I said Christmas. I have been putting them off and today is the day to finish them and get them to their recipients!! I'm also working on the Easter Egg Swap and mine and the kids Fairy Swaps. A busy day indeed!!