Snow, snow and more snow.......

These are the trees in my backyard.

They look so pretty!

We've been so lucky this winter and only had a couple of mild snowstorms, but our luck has run out. It started snowing yesterday and we have about 11 inches and it's suppose to snow until the weekend. Next Tuesday there is another snow storm that is due to hit us. The kids are loving it!! It isn't that cold outside and the snow is great packing snow. Earl on the other hand is working his butt off doing snow removal.

I guess there isn't much you can do about the snow when you live in Upstate NY though. I have to comend the cities around here though. The main roads are always plowed and salted right away and the side roads are done several times throughout any snow storm. They do a great job and try to keep our roads safe.

So today, I guess I'll keep drying the kids snow clothes, making hot chocolate and get started on a pot of soup so when Earl finally gets home he can try to unthaw.

Do you Need Something to Make You Smile Today??

Call the Nestle Hotline @ 1-800-295-0051. When asked if you want English or Spanish, wait quietly for about 10 secs & you will smile. Keep going & press 4, then press 7 or just try them all out.


My brother sent this to me. So cute!

Some of Last Weeks Projects

Here are a few of the things I made last week. I made these cute Valentines potholders for some special girls. I based them off of some that I had seen on Martha Stewarts Valentine ideas. She put binding around hers, but I have a fear of seam binding so I lined mine and machine quilted them. Each potholder has 4 pieces of flannel and 2 pieces of fabric for the main part and then for each little flap also. They turned out really cute!

Mallory had a birthday party to go to so I made her friend a reversible pink apron and a couple of potholders. mallory didn't get a good picture of the apron, but it was really pink and perfect for a little girl.

Then Mallory had another birthday party to go to and this is for a tomboy. I made her a messenger type bag out of a butterfly camoflauge fabric and lined it with a kakhi. It turned out so nice and I was pretty proud of myself for making up my own pattern and putting the bag together in about 4 hours. I have another one cut out ready to go.

I've been crocheting at night and then since the kids have been off of school this week for winter break we've been cleaning during the day. We have had an extra bedroom that was filled with junk and it's now a nice bedroom for Jace. He has had a blast playing in "his" room and having his own space. Maybe eventually he'll want to sleep in his new room, but until he's ready I'll keep him as my snuggle buddy!

I'm hoping if I keep up on the cleaning spurt that MAYBE Earl will finally hook that stereo system up that he brought home a few weeks ago and get the dryer out of my kitchen and the other one hooked up in my laundry room. Let's hope I can motivate him!!!! I've been trying to decide if I'm just a patient, push over type of person or an understanding, I know you work hard type of person????? I mean it's only been 2 months since the dryer has been sitting in my kitchen! What do you think???

Valentines Card Swap

I participated in Altered Art Junkies Valentines Swap again this year. We each had to make 19 cards and send them to our partners. Here are the cards I received this year. They are all so pretty and my scanner definitely doesn't do them justice!




First Row: Mine, Carrie F., Laci J., Ginny B.

Second Row: Olivia G, Rebecca J.S., Kristi W., Stephanie A.

Row Three: Erin H., Desi A., Pam O., Debbi L.

Row Four: Samantha L., Celia A., the next 2 are from Debbie M.

Row Five: Candice M., Kristin T., Ramona A., Kathryn

Thanks for a fun swap! I love all of the cards and it was so much fun to get "Fun" mail everyday last week!!

My OWOH Winners Are......

I has two winners of my OWOH giveaway. One for the first hundred people that left comments and then a second prize for the next group of a hundred. So by the use of the Random Generator my winners are..........my sweet blogger friend Angel from Kissed by an Angel who lives in the UK and my second winner is Sophie from The Art of [being] Miss KoolAid who lives in Canada. Congratulations to both of you and I hope you enjoy the hotpad and dishcloths!

Thanks Lisa for hosting such a wonderful event and Thank you for all of your time and energy to put all of the Magic Carpet Ride together for us! Your the best and I'm looking forward to next year!!

Vintage Love

Happy Valentines Day!

I thought I'd share a few of my vintage Valentines with you

and then my favorite "Vintage Love" picture

This is a picture of my Grandparents

they were together for approx. 70 years

Can you imagine that??

and then one of my all time favorites

and what did ever happen to Waldo?

He seemed to just disappear?

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

The Sweetheart Dance

Last night Earl took Mallory to a Sweetheart Dance

with one of Mallory's friends and her Aunt.

The girls all looked so pretty and Earl cleaned up pretty good too!

Here is a picture of me and Mallory with my Dad when we were in Kansas.

I remember how much I loved going to things with my dad when I was a little girl. It didn't happen very often, but having that special time with my daddy really meant a lot to me.

So to all those dad's out there,

even though you probably don't want to go to these dances

and stuff that the mom's out there planned for you to do......

you are making wonderful memories for your daughters!

Here is the Wonderful Woman I was Named After

When I was back home one of the people that I really wanted to see was my Auntie Sharon. Auntie is not only my very favorite Aunt, she's my ONLY Aunt and she's is the person who I am named after.

This is a picture of my brother Mike, me and my Auntie Sharon on her wedding day.

Check out the yellow car and we both have on yellow dresses.

I wonder if that's when yellow became my favorite color??

Also, Auntie's husbands name is Jerry

so

Sharon + Jerry

=

Sherry

(I don't know if that's where my mom and dad actually got Sherry from, but I do know I was named after Auntie Sharon)

Also, Mallory has only had 4 people sign up for her swap. She really needs a few more people, so if you have kids that would like to receive some Valentines in the mail please sign up by Friday night. The valentines don't have to be handmade they can be store bought. Thanks!!

Have a wonderful day!!!!

It's Show and Tell Time

Here is some of the things I made last week. I crocheted this little hat and shoes for Mallory's American Girl doll, Sonali. The hat is based on the same hat pattern that I've been using to crochet hats for the girls in my family and the shoes I found on Etsy. They turned out pretty cute and they were fairly easy once I got the gauge and altered the pattern a little.

Here is a picture of Mallory with Sonali. I love the hat on Sonali!

Then I made matching dresses for Addy and Sonali and then aprons out of different Valentines Day fabric. They turned out pretty cute (the picture really doesn't do them justice!) I also crocheted each of the "girls" a pair of shoes to go with their Valentines Day outfit.

. I'm enjoying making doll clothes for Mallory and saving a ton of money in the process!

Now I'll shamelessly do a plug for myself.

I'm going to be making some American Girl doll outfits to put in my shop and some of the crocheted shoes too. So if anyones interested let me know. Thanks!

Okay? What Was I Thinking??

Earl told me the other day that this guy at work had a stereo that him and his wife hadn't used in about 5 years and wanted to know if we wanted it so Jace could listen to music. Earl said the guy said it was a really nice stereo. So sure, why not.

A few days later Earl brings home the stereo. He starts bringing in all these pieces and the speakers look nice...there about 3 1/2 feet tall and solid. Then the kids start asking questions. Mom do you have any of those old things that go around and play music? My response with a chuckle was, "Uh, no!" I thought it was kinda cool that it had a turn table though. Then I hear Earl telling the kids, "Oh, that's an 8 track player." I'm like, "An 8 track player??? Who has 8 tracks anymore and how is this stereo going to be any good to us????" Earl's reply is, "Well, it has a cassette player too!"

Oh, silly me.......and who has cassettes sitting around still? Oh, that's right....we do.

I ask Earl this morning if he was going to set the stereo up? He was like, "You want me to hook the dryer up (it's been sitting on the back porch for over a month now) and the stereo both this weekend?"

What was I thinking????

We're GOING To Have Meatloaf For Dinner, Darn It!

Okay, I wanted meatloaf for dinner last night and Mallory was like, "Oh mom, I hate meatloaf, please don't make meatloaf." So I made hamburgers and french fries last night, but I was going to make meatloaf today....because, well, I really wanted meatloaf. So about an hour before Earl gets home from work I get ready to start making my meatloaf. That's when the headache began!

1. No spray Pam---Okay, easily solved, I used olive oil and lightly greased my pan.
2. No bread crumbs---Okay, again easily solved, I'll use crackers.
3. NO Crackers---Okay, what to do??? I know, I'll get the food processor out and crush up that bag of bread cubes in the cupboard that are for leftover from the stuffing at Christmas. No problem!
4. PROBLEM---The food processor HATES me!! It will never work for me, BUT this time at least I tried turning it on before I put anything into it and dirtied up. Smart thinking on my part if I do say so myself! Okay, I'll just use the rolling pin to mash the bread cubes.
5. WHERE IS THE ROLLING PIN?????---the rolling pin is missing. Damn it! I'm getting really frustrated by now. I AM GOING TO MAKE MEATLOAF FOR DINNER THOUGH! I'm more determined than ever now!
6. Solution---I put the bread cubes in a big baggie, sealed it up and then put it on the floor and used my heals to squish those stupid bread cubes.
7. Okay, now my meatloaf is all mixed up and ready to put in the pan. What???? No tomatoes at all in the cupboard. What the hell???? Thank goodness Earl calls before he leaves work to see if I need anything from the store so he picked up my tomatoes. Whew!

So yes, I won!! We did finally have meatloaf for dinner and it actually turned out pretty good. I really hope that tomorrow nights dinner is easier to make!

Oh, by the way, Earl gets home and plugs in the stupid food processor and it starts working right away for him and then he says, "Why didn't you use the bread crumbs in the big can sitting over there?" I'm like, "Where, I looked all over the shelf where we keep them." Earl says,"No, there on the floor over there in front of the other set of cabinets." Of course they were and why didn't I look on the floor for the bread crumbs???? Only in my house!

One World One Heart 2010

My OWOH Giveaway is now CLOSED!

Thanks to all that entered!!

Are you ready for an adventure into the world of blogging? The wonderful Lisa has organized One World One Heart again this year and is ready to start our journey. So, let me warn you as you grab your Magic Carpet that you will be discovering some wonderful new friends and possibly win some wonderful treasures along the way from all over the world. Be sure and tell your spouses, kids and bosses that for the next 3 weeks you are going to be busy on your Magic Carpet as you tour blogland. So grab some coffee and have fun!

My giveaway isn't the most exciting, but it is practical and useful (kind of like me!) so if you would like to win a potholder (there are 11 squares of fabric in each potholder so you don't burn your little fingers!) and 2 dishcloths to help make your adventures in the kitchen a little cheerier then just leave me a comment and I'll enter you to win a set. I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner on Feb. 16, 2010. Winners can be from any where in the world, because this is an international event.

I'll be giving away one set to every 100 people that leave me a comment on this post. If not that many people enter than I will add a couple of surprises to this package. I will also try to accommodate the winners color choices. So if you'd like a chance to win a set of my potholders and crocheted dishcloths please leave me a comment and have a great time on your Magic Carpet Ride!!

Oh, make sure you go to Lisa blog and look at her sidebar to see the list of hundreds of other bloggers who have tickets to your Magic Carpet Ride.

Crazy Pics of .....well, Me!

I thought I'd share a couple of the crazier pictures that were taken of me while I was in Kansas.

This is me, my crazy sister Robby and the always nutty Mallory on New Years Eve

Yes, this is me dancing.

I'm right in front of Mallory (in the pink).

I wish more people would have joined in...it was fun!!

This is a picture of 2 of my sisters,

Stacey and Cathy,

and I don't know what the heck happened to me in this picture?!?!?!?

I only had 1 drink???

Okay, I just thought I'd share a few of the funny pictures of me with you.

Have a wonderful day!

Check This Out!

My sweet friend Cathy that I met through an apron swap is having a 200th post giveaway. Make sure you stop by her blog and check it out.

She is giving away one of her aprons!

Cathy has pictures of some of the aprons that she has made on her blog.

So be sure and stop by and if you don't know Cathy

I'm sure you will enjoy meeting her!

Here is a picture of me in the apron that Cathy made for me.

I'm helping in the kitchen at my brother Mike's 50th Birthday Party.

and here is Mallory borrowing my apron.

I'm off to sew some hotpads and then do some housework :(

Oh well, it has to be done.

Have a great day!!

Things I've Been Making Lately

I can't really claim these two outfits, Santa brought them to Mallory for Christmas. Santa brought both of Mallory's American Girl Dolls, Sonali and Addy, a dress, a blouse, a hat, a pillow and a blanket. I wish I had the pattern for these because they turned out pretty cute! This is me and my Mom. I made myself a little scarf out of some of my leftover yarn.

I've made several of these hats lately

and here are a few pictures of some of my favorite people wearing them.

This is my grandaughter, Olivia wearing her blue hat

These are two of my beautiful sisters, Cathy and Stacey.

looks so cute in her hat!!

This is my niece, Jessica wearing a gray hat I made for her.

Isn't she beautiful?!?!?!!!!!

I love making the hats and I'm glad all the girls are enjoying them!

I have more things to show you, but I'll save them for another day.

Have a wonderful day!!

Help! My Kids are Growing Up to Fast!

My oldest daughter Lexie turned 19 on December 27. I didn't get to post about it before because her birthday was the same day we left for our trip. I can't believe Lexie is 19!!

I don't usually buy the older kids birthday gifts because between the kids and their spouses and the grandkids....I just can't keep up with all of them. I usually just cook the kids a special dinner if they request it. This year though I got Lexie a quilt from my dear friend, Val (who's birthday was yesterday!). Her Granny is 96 years old and makes these wonderful quilts. Lexie had been wanting one of Granny's quilts for a long time and I couldn't resist getting her one. The quilt is even in the color that Lexie is going to be doing her bedroom. Yay! Good choice Val!

and today is my Grandson #5,

Chad,Jr.'s, 1st Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday Chaddy!!

My Mallory is Hosting Her First Swap

My 9 year old daughter Mallory is hosting her first swap. Mallory is hosting a Valentines Swap and is also going to do a couple of tutorials also between now and Valentines Day.

Here are the rules for Mallory's swap:

1. Each person will need to send 1 Valentine card to their 5 partners by Tuesday, February 9, 2010 so they will receive them by Valentines Day. So you will make 5 cards and send 1 card to 5 different people.
2. Cards can be store bought, bought and altered, or homemade.
3. Extra goodies are optional.
4. HAVE FUN!

You can email me or Mallory at malloryrwp@hotmail.com or sherryreneew@hotmail.com to sign up before Feb 5, 2010. We just need your

1. Name:
2. Address:
3. Age:
4. If their is a certain treat you can't have.

So sign your kids up and spread the love and joy of Valentines Day!

A Month of Birthdays!

Today is not only one of my son's birthdays, but 2 of theirs. Chad is 30 today and Jace is 4. Ezie also had a birthday while we were in Kansas and turned 11. Happy Birthday to all 3 of my boys! They are all getting older and growing up way to fast!!!

Chad and his family

Ezie

Jace with his 2 best buddies

My nephews Leo and Levi

Home Again

This is a picture of my sisters Cathy, Robyn, Stacey, me and then my Momma.

Well, we're home safe and sound. The bus ride home, including layovers, turned out to be about 41 hours long. The kids were excellent which made the trip so much nicer!

It's nice to be home, but I wasnt' ready to leave my family.

It was so nice to see my family again!

During our bus travels we met a variety of "different" types of people, but all in all most people were pleasant. We did meet a very nice young man, named Cody, who helped us with our luggage from Kansas City, MO all the way to Buffalo, NY. He was so sweet! He'd watch our luggage while I took the kids to the bathroom and he would run ahead and get us a spot in line for our next bus and then rush back to help me with our luggage and gather up the kids. I wouldn't have made it without his help. I think God sent him to be my angel!! So anyway, we were suppose to get home at 1:00 yesterday afternoon and it ended up being 8:30 p.m.

This is Mallory, my Dad and me.

I'm in Kansas and Having a Blast!!!

I've been back home in Kansas since 12/29/09 after a 37 hour bus ride with Ezie, Mallory, Jace and my oldest grandaughter, Sabrina. The kids were so good on the bus! I was truely amazed with how good they were. We've been busy helping out my mom and visiting my wonderful siblings since we got here.

I LOVE being around my sisters again!!!! I will post some pictures when I get home on the 15th. As of last night I got to see all of my siblings, 4 sisters and 2 brothers. My little brother had a surprise announcement....they're having a baby!!! Yay for Danny and Deborah!


I also became Nana to 2 more grandbabies on 1/3/10. Leigha is 4lbs. 13ozs. and Liam is 5 lbs. 6oz.'s. This make 11 grandkids now.....8 of them being under 2 /12 years of age. Congratulations to Jeremy and Amanda!!!!!

I have to go help my mom now. I miss everyone so much......but I'm having the best time! I am so happy and so glad to be back home. It would be perfect if Earl was here...I do miss him terribly!

Have a wonderful weekend!!! We're celebrating my older brother, Mike's, 50th Birthday, a Christmas with my siblings and a baby shower for my niece. Busy, Busy, Busy and so glad to be a part of it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!