Rudolph

I spent way too long yesterday trying to make Martha Stewart pipe cleaner animals.  Most of them were a disaster (the elephants looked like they hadn't eatten in weeks and the pigs looked like very round pink mice), but the deer came out just fine.

I thought they'd make some great Christmas ornaments, but the kids won't hear of it.  They've been keeping "Rudolph" and "Clarice" safetly tucked away in their pockets, only letting them out for little evening strolls past the Christmas lights.
I guess I'll just have to make some more...

Who's responsible?

If you ask your littlest daughter if she is the one responsible for removing all of the ornaments on the bottom third of the tree...

And she gives you a look like this...

...should you believe her when she says no?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

(Almost) Two out of Three

After several afternoons spent in front of the sewing machine, I finally have the front of Pookie's doll quilt complete. I had no desire (and no time) to do a quilt quite as complicated as Fig's (those pieces were tiny and hard to sew together!), so I opted for a "scrappy" log cabin design.

So glad I did--the design is quick, fun and, best of all, uses up some a tiny bit of the fabric scraps I've been hanging on to. I'm thinking I might have to try making a full size one of these. Maybe during the February doldrums or something?

Now that I have Pookie and Fig's doll quilts almost finished, I need to start thinking about Little P.'s.  And quickly, I'm running out of time!

Slowly...

I'm making very little progress with the handmade Christmas presents. There really aren't quite enough hours in the day, it seems. So in an effort to squeeze a bit more free time into my evenings, I spent today making and freezing about a weeks worth of dinners. Not having to make dinner for several nights should mean enough free time to finish a few presents before Christmas...I hope.

Because really, this should be done by now, shouldn't it?

Recognize it? It's Fig's doll quilt that I first posted about back in April and jokingly said might be a Christmas present. Yes, I am that slow. But, at least it's getting finished, right? There's just a bit more hand quilting to do and then it's going to be a mad rush to get Pookie's and Little P's finished before Christmas.

Or at least before the 12 days of Christmas are up.

This Christmas.

Really.

I mean it.

Cupcake anyone?

I know, back to back posts featuring sugary goodness! However, these came in the mail today--or rather, the means of making these cupcakes came today. A little advent surprise package from my parents arrived full of all kinds of goodies including cupcake mix, icing, and sprinkles. Upon discovery of such goodies, a non-stop chorus of "Mommy can we!" and "Mommy puh-leeze!" immediately ensued.

After much discussion, I agreed that the cupcakes could be mixed, baked, iced, decorated, and consumed today if I had help cleaning the playroom up.

The playroom is now clean. The bathroom is also clean. Even the dining room floor is clean.

The cupcakes? They were delicious.

We just might have to make cupcakes more often!

Of Mice and Cookies

Oh my, where has the time gone! Since December first, we've been busy opening advent calendars (and gleefully gobbling up the chocolates found behind each doors), hanging up our outdoor lights, and decorating our Christmas tree. We've also spent a little while making sugar cookies.

Mostly Christmas themed cookies, but there were a few giraffes and zebras thrown in the mix.

These may just go down as the most memorable Christmas cookies ever. Not, mind you, because there is anything particularly memorable about the cookies themselves (they were tasty, but not that tasty), but because of the mouse.

Oh yes, a mouse. As I was removing a cookie tray from the stove drawer, a little mouse stuck it's head out and squeaked at me. Now, I'm not afraid of mice, but I really don't like being suprised by any of there kind.

And I certainly do not like finding a mouse where there shouldn't be a mouse.

So I suppose you can imagine how this went--three screaming little girls, one screaming me, and one mouse noisily running laps around the stove drawer.

I finally took the drawer outside and dumped it on the lawn...only to discover that the mouse was no longer inside. Oh no, that mouse was back in the house, waiting for me. There was one little triumphant "squeak!" and then the little fellow disappeared under the dishwasher.

Recent findings would suggest that he is not the only one of his kind present in the house.

Like I said, some very memorable Christmas cookies...