Recent Craftiness

I have been busily sewing, knitting, crafting and creating this month!  Here's a brief run-down of what I've done since Dec. 1st.

• 7 Christmas-themed hostess aprons (plus a pending request for 3 more!!!)
• 4 Hostess aprons, including a mother-daughter set that turned out adorable - that I forgot to photograph before shipping out!
• 1 Birthday party for my favorite 5-year-old, including a racecar-themed variation of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"
• 4 Gift cards purchased for our teachers (I'm the Teacher Appreciation Mom for both classes, so I spent a Wednesday driving all over town to pick up cards for their favorite restaurants)
• 4 Custom gift bags for those gift cards
• 2 Pillowcase dresses
• 1 Appliqued onesie
• 36 Reindeer candycanes for school friends
• 1 Cheeta-and-denim purse
• Plus cookies for our MOPS cookie exchange, treats for our family, countless meals and snacks for our family ...

I've also attended the MOPS Steering Christmas party, my MOPS small-group Cookie Exchange (hosted at my house), the Women's Group dinner at church, Mitchell's Christmas program at school, Paul's company holiday party and my mom's annual get-together (in Baytown!).  Tomorrow, Paul's parents and brother arrive for Christmas at our house.

'Tis the season!

A Few of My Favorite Things

It's been a while since I've added anything here to my blog.  I think the fact that Facebook is slowly taking over all online communications has lessened my need to post things here.  (Sorry to my readers who aren't on Facebook, MOTHER!)  And, I apologize for any misspellings.  Blogger changed their layout, and I can't find the spell-check tool.

Anyhoo, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things.  (That song, BTW, makes me cringe!)

Our Christmas Tree.  This year, I let the boys do most of the tree decorating - and I didn't go back and redo any of it!  I did snag a few ornaments to put closer to the top so it wasn't so bottom heavy.  And, I've never found a topper I love, so I tied some huge bows.

Big Bows.  The holidays are the chance for me to tie bows as big as Homecoming mums and hang them all over the house.  I scored this great wired sheer ribbon with gold glittery snowflakes for half-off!  The roll was huge, so these bows are all over the house.

My Nativity.  The church I attended as a child had a ceramics guild who made these beautiful Nativity pieces for the children who attended Sunday School each year.  I don't have the complete set - which includes things like camels and donkeys! - but I have the ones that matter most.

Our Stockings.  My mom handmade each of these stockings for us.  She applied all the tiny beads and sequins!  So special.

Holiday Baking.  Mitchell and I kicked off the holiday baking season with Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.  Mmm!  Here he is sneaking a taste of the brown sugar as he measures.  Tonight, I'm trying my hand at Snickerdoodles for a cookie exchange tomorrow morning.

 

Sentimental Ornaments.  I love hanging ornaments from our childhood.  The one on the right is a stocking ornament with a photo of Paul as a kid.  The one on the left is a Christmas kitty that my uncle Benjamin gave me.  The tag says 1978!

My Boys.  My favorite-ist things of all are my wonderful guys!  Mitchell, Noah and Paul are a blessing everyday!

SA Ink

Noah's 2nd Birthday Party

We celebrated Noah's second birthday yesterday with lots of family and friends! Here's just a few of the billions of photos!

The Barrel of Monkeys cake. The idea was that they were escaping from the barrel. You can't really see the ones hanging off the side that well. (And, a few kiddos had "played" with them!)

Paul carving up the brisket. He also smoked a pork shoulder for the party. MMMMmmmm!

Mommy and the birthday boy.

Happy Birthday bunting I made.

These were the pinata bags. Everyone also took home a barrel of monkeys.

Hot Day Fun

How do you entertain four kids ages 4 and under when the temperature is 100+?

Bathtub Swimming!!!

My friend Tenley came over with her two adorable kiddos and we suited them up and threw them in my tub. Giggles and splashes ensued!

Family Vacation 2009

We had a wonderful vacation with Paul's parents and brother at the Amelia Island Plantation. The week was spent in the sand, surf and sun. This was Noah's first trip to the beach, and he loved it as much as Mitchell.

Noah feeling the sand in his toes. The poor marshmallow had to be thrown away (you should have seen the sandy crust on it!).

Grandpa and Noah enjoying a walk on the beach our first night there.

As usual, Noah showed no fear of the waves.

Mitchell loves the ocean and asks daily when we'll go back!

Mitchell and Uncle Frank hanging out in the ocean. Those boys love their Uncle Frank!

Paul and Noah taking in some waves.


Mitchell trying not to smile at 29 South. Chef Scotty brought him some special ice cream.


Noah balancing a spoon on his nose at 29 South. Chef Scotty brought him the biggest spoon he could find. (I'll spare you the photo of him covered in the sorbet!)


Mitchell took this photo from our condo balcony.

One of the many turtles we saw snacking on grass outside our condo.

As always, we enjoyed some great food on our vacation. I'm not sure which was my favorite: 29 South, Joe's 2nd Street Bistro or PLAE.

At 29 South, we enjoyed the chef's table, just outside the kitchen. Chef Scotty Schwartz kept us entertained - and well fed! - throughout the entire meal. (And, the boys kept him entertained!)

Mitchell expanded his palette during this trip, enjoying almost half of Uncle Frank's Smokehouse Mussels at 29 South! He also devoured the calamari at PLAE. (Noah, too, enjoyed lots of new foods, including duck!)

Paul had the Shrimp and Grits, which was to die for. I had a fresh corn and shrimp bisque, followed by the Southern Barbeque Cobb Salad. Frank ordered the Sweet Tea Brined Pork Chop, which was genius. The macaroni gratin featured blackberry preserves, which sounds really bizarre but was delicious. (It wasn't mac-and-cheese with jelly!)

Be on the lookout for the recipe for the delicious "Coffee and Doughnuts" dessert. Chef Scotty says it will be published in Bon Appetit's RSVP column toward the end of the year! (And, if you are ever out that way, stop by 29 south and enjoy it yourself!)

Joe's 2nd Street Bistro was our favorite restaurant during our last visit to Amelia Island (in 2007, while I was pregnant with Noah!). Nothing has changed - it was as wonderful as we remembered.

Mitchell instantly made friends with the entire staff. He was on a first-name basis with our waiter within minutes! (He knows no strangers!)

I thoroughly enjoyed my Grouper wrapped in a Corn Husk. Mmm - I can taste the spices just thinking about it! Paul and his mom both enjoyed an elk special that was perfectly done.

We almost didn't eat at PLAE because the description made it sound like it was adults-only. And, when I made the reservation, they said they don't have high chairs. I'm so glad we decided to go!

The staff went above and beyond to make the boys feel special! And, we had a wonderful meal. Mom and I enjoyed the Duck Springrolls and the Open-Face Salmon Ravioli. Noah loved his Coconut Chicken, and Mitchell polished off his Calamari.

The always-good Verandah didn't disappoint on this trip either. They have a fantastic starter salad that includes crisped wontons and a yummy sesame dressing. The grouper with the blue crab crust was delicious too. (And, we ate way too much dessert there - it was too good to stop!)

And, we enjoyed some nice lunches too. Gourmet Gourmet, our favorite sandwich spot from the last trip, was still open. We even braved Marche Burette - which, I'm happy to report, now has changing stations in its restrooms.

Mom and I (and Noah) enjoyed a morning of shopping in historic Fernandina Beach. We stumbled into two great shops: Twisted Sisters and Twisted Kids. I came away with a gorgeous Viva Beads necklace (thanks Mom and Dad!) and tons of ideas for sewing.

Mitchell had an extra-special day of his own, attending the Kids Camp. It was Super Hero Training Camp, and he was the BMOC! He went fishing and caught a sun fish, went swimming and enjoyed a super drippy fudge pop.

There are lots of other great photos that Paul's parents took, but I can't seem to make the disk open on our computer. Boo! While Mom and I shopped, the big boys went fishing. Lots of time, too, was spent in the sand and the waves.

Sewing for a Super Hero

Mitchell asked me to sew him something. I thought long and hard about what I could make for a boy. So, I whipped up a special cape. He offered his creative input (switching the flames fabric to be the lightning bolt and the oval to the yellow lightning bolt fabric). It took no time at all, and he's hardly taken it off since I finished.

Morning Jam Session

Fantastic Day

Today, I took the boys out for the morning to get out of Paul's hair.

(In praise of Paul: Thursday, he took off of work so I could spend most of the day at church doing planning for the coming year. How great is my husband?! And, Wednesday was our ninth anniversary, and he surprised me with a stunning gold necklace with pearl drops. Is this man great, or what?! I credit his jewelry shopping ability to genetics: His dad is an expert jewelry shopper!!!)

Anyhoo, back to our day.

The boys and I headed out around 8:45 this morning so Daddy could sleep in. We headed over to Benny's Bagels for breakfast. Yum-O! Mitchell had a Danish, Noah had a Screamerdog (breakfast sausage and cheese wrapped in bagel and baked), and I had an Asiago cheese bagel with chive-and-onion cream cheese topped with spinach and tomato. OMG. I could eat that every day and be a very, very happy woman!

Then, we headed down to the Pearl Farmers Market for some shopping. We scored with beets (never tried 'em - branching out!), carrots, mini yellow squash, peaches, pecans, olive twists from Biga on the Banks plus some sunflower plants. And, the plant guy was so nice he gave me a daylily plant as an added bonus.

The Pearl - quickly growing into a cultural hot spot in San Antonio.

We hung out around the Pearl Brewery and listened to some brewery retirees talk about the old days. Pearl has a special place in my heart: My PawPaw drank Pearl. It was one of the last beers to go to the pop top. The boys were more interested in the water feature and the brewery train (which the guys called "The Trolley") than their stories of a time gone by.

Pearl retirees telling stories of working at the brewery.

I, for one, couldn't think of a better way to spend my Saturday morning than spooking around the brewery, with all its history and its present and future ... all rolled into one today. Next weekend, the grand opening of the River Walk expansion will be held. Guess where it takes you now? The Pearl.

Longhorn artwork at The Pearl.

After we left The Pearl, we headed over to Fiesta on Main, one of my favorite local shops. I picked up some great embroidered shirts plus a skirt. The boys each picked out a little bag.

Inspired by the fantastic flowers at Fiesta, I came home and began working on my own paper flowers.

What a wonderful day!

Future Gold Medalist

Mitchell goes to gymnastics every Tuesday morning and loves it!

Help with the Back Flip.

Perfecting his hand stand.

Forward roll.

Ta Da!

My Handsome Fellas

The other morning, Mitchell woke up before Paul left for work and realized he, too, had a blue shirt. And so did Noah. So he asked if they could all wear the same color shirts, which they've dubbed the Strong Brothers Uniform. Aren't they handsome?

Mitchell Likes to Move It Move It

Warning: The music might be really loud - I think our windows were rattling!

Sometimes, ya just gotta dance! (Best of all, I don't think he had any clue I was recording him!)

Ale Has Landed

Meet Ale, our new alien.

This afternoon, Mitchell asked me to make him an alien. I searched online for some alien graphics and then let Mitchell decide which he wanted. Then we hit my fabric stash, where I had this sort-of planet-y fabric. Mitchell picked out buttons for his eyes while I cut the fabric.



Mitchell hasn't put him down yet! Not bad for a few minutes and scraps of fabric! He's pretty wonky, but I couldn't imagine him crisp and perfect!!!

This was the alien clip art that was my inspiration for Ale.

BTW: Mitchell named him Ale. I think because it sounds like the first syllable of alien.

Eggstra Fun Easter

We enjoyed a fantastic Easter Brunch with Paul's parents and brother at the Northgate Country Club this morning. Of course the Easter Bunny was there, and there was also a petting zoo and egg hunt. The pouring rain moved everything indoors (and all the big animals went home but they kept the small, cuddly cute ones!), but no one seemed to mind!

This baby goat was so sweet. I held him forever and didn't want to give him back! (Mitchell liked him too. Noah only wanted a little fuzzy chick.)

I was amazed at how much Noah liked the Easter Bunny, especially since we were operating on no nap.

The Chef was nice enough to bring Mitchell out his own chef's hat.

Mitchell pet the Easter Bunny while at brunch. (Mitchell chowed down on shrimp cocktail, blue crab claws, lamb, tenderloin, green beans, roasted potatoes, two balls of butter, scrambled eggs, bacon and, of course, plenty of desserts!)