Win This Quilt!

Elizabeth Cranmer over at Pigtails and Snails is giving away this FANTASTIC quilt on her blog... but you have to enter by tonight to win! Please, please hurry scurry on over there and post because you wouldn't want to miss out on a chance to have this lovely quilt in your hot little hands. A lot of love went into this gem; it's a Lizzy Anne original--her own pattern and it could be yours!

I can't say it enough, YOU WANT THIS QUILT! Now go!!

Total TMI

I was talking to a Mommy Friend of mine the other day and I ended up taking the conversation to the "you don't want to know this, and I know that you don't want to know this, but I'm going to go there and nothing you can say or do will be able to stop me from going there" stage. You see, I have a tendency to voice some of the most inappropriate things known to the female kingdom. Becoming a mommy has made the color of poo a socially acceptable topic of conversation. Afterbirth, stitches down there, kids putting fingers in yucky places and then inhaling deeply just to check out the new aromas... yeah, I talk about it all. Yesterday I caught my 18 month old dropping ice cubes on the floor at a local diner and trying to lick them up, I'm sure that'll come up in conversation soon, along with all of the other weird and, sometimes gross, stuff she does.

Which brings me to one of my more recent things that I derive pleasure/amusement from. I initially tried saying that it's so funny to watch the kids when this particular thing happens, but I know it's more because I know that (TMI here, you'll understand later on) I have the very same experience! It's like, did you ever see your kid pick their nose and tell them that it's gross and then later on you're driving your car or sitting on the can picking away yourself? Exactly.

So without further ado: Little One is doing great with the idea of the potty and I think she's more ready to toilet train than either of us REALLY wants her to be. Lately she's telling me she's poopie right before, during and after the blessed happening actually takes place. Speaking of, she's doing it right now in the living room. Grunt, watery eyes, holding her breath while pushing, yeah. (Taught her to say "turd" last week, absolutely hysterical!) Problem is, she just doesn't want to go #2 on the toilet. I've heard the pediatrician say that children sometimes view their poo as a piece of them and they have a hard time disposing of it in the toilet, which kind of makes sense. I mean, if you've ever toilet trained your child and had to stay with them and watch them take care of their business, you'll know how much it takes out of a wee one, litterally, when they go. The focus, strained facial expressions, pursed lips, glassy eyes, furrowed brows... and then, just as the object of their labors passes, they get The Chill. Yes, that little, unexpected shiver as the load evacuates the hatch. I mean, 4-6 ounces of 98.6 degree matter just left their body. It's like pressing the reset button on the furnace--shutting everything down, cleaning the old coal embers and ashes out, sweeping things down and then starting all over on a new batch of fuel.

So now every time that I shiver, even when my downstairs neighbors have their heat cranked and my apartment is holding at an even 82 degrees (yes, for real), I can't help but think of my kids' watery eyes or their furrowed brows and smile. After all, they take after their mother.

Long weekends

In our home, long weekends give reckless abandon to the usual bedtimes slated for our children. They stay up late, we hope they sleep in but they never do, we count our blessings when they pass out for a nice long nap when we get in the car to go "out". It's a cycle that repeats and we have grown rather accustomed to it.

Thursday last week started a FOUR day weekend for us and we decided to treat the kids to a pizza and movie night to get the festivities off with a big bang! By the end of our movie the two little ones were ready for bed but our oldest was begging to stay up with us to watch a show... or two. She had her pillow and blanket out on the sofa and was ready to camp the night away in the living room and well, we let her! After watching The Office with us her mind wandered into the realm of peaceful oblivion and we went to bed ourselves. Upon waking the next morning she took advantage of the fact that her other sisters were still sleeping and sidled up to me... "Mom, it felt really good when you let me stay up late and watch a show with you..." wink, smile, batting of the eyes... "It kind of made me feel like a grownup!" At this point I was tickled and just kind of going along with her: "Oh yes, it was so fun! Wow--a grown up, huh? Pretty special...!"

Then she tells me, "You know, when I get older I'm going to have lots of kids too! And you know what else? If they don't have school the next day I'm going to MAKE them stay up and watch TV with me; then we'll ALLLLL feel like grownups!"

Hmmm...

Lots of flannel scraps laying around here and not much to do with them (1/2 yard to full yard sized cuts). Bought the flannel intending to make burpies and maybe a few rag quilts but now I'm wondering if anyone else has any suggestions for them? I know there are lots of talented women out there, anyone care to share your ideas?

Drumroll please...

Without further ado...
The winner of our grand prize is...
# 5--Ang said "OOOH OOOH OHHHH PICK ME PICK ME!!!!" She also happens to be a big advocate of the team cleaning approach, enlisting family members to clean is always a plus!

Special thanks to random.org for the random integer generator used to select our winner! And stay tuned for some exciting news in the next few days or so!

Love you all!!
Heather

I've never seen anything like this:

Drool-Worthy Burgers

I just snatched up some smoked paprika recently after reading a blog post from a random foodie online. She made it sound like this wonder ingredient and I just lapped it right up. And, by golly, she may be right--it's fantastic! I'm not really a major burger lover but I've made burgers TWICE in the last week and both times both DH and I couldn't stay away from seconds. And after the kiddos went to bed we made a kitchen run for thirds! In fact, I just ate some leftovers from last night and I'm trying hard to keep from going back for ANOTHER hamburger!
Anyhow, I adapted the recipe from a Gordon Ramsay hamburger recipe and I have to admit that I'm really happy with the results. I regret that I didn't take pictures of the process but I'll share with you how I achieved such yummy results without grilling although I'm sure that grilling these would just put them over the top!

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs lean ground beef (preferable 90% lean or better)
1 egg
1 Tbsp minced Garlic
A good hearty dose of fresh cracked black pepper
1-2 tsp. kosher salt
1.5 - 2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce (or "wooster sauce" as my Grammie would say)

I just mixed all the ingredients until it looked like the paprika and garlic were evenly incorporated (a wire potato masher works great--mental note to self: go buy a new one of those things!!) and then I made them into decent sized patties making sure to pat out the sides quite a bit so there were no cracks. The meat mixture was pretty wet at this point and initially I was worried that they'd fall apart once I started to cook them but it wasn't an issue. I put them on a plate and popped 'em in the fridge for at least half of an hour to help ensure the blending of the flavors and that they'd stay in one piece till they were cooked. I cooked these over medium heat in a large saute pan and they were ready after about 12 minutes and are some of the juiciest, most tender burgers I've ever had.

I know Gordon Ramsay might consider it a sacriledge, but if you get a chance, top these bad boys with some of Kraft's new Tangy Tomato Bacon dressing--very tasty. And if you've got some thick-cut peppered bacon, she's welcome to join the party in your mouth too. :)

Trying to solicit help!

Well, I am going to (rather ashamedly) admit that I am a Messie at heart. I was once reformed but I've had a major relapse and was well on my way to being admitted to a rehab program but I have *barely* escaped by the skin of my teeth and I am asking for your help.

Please post a comment suggesting one of your favorite cleaning and or organizing tips and you can win a prize! I'll be trying to put all of your suggestions into good use for the next month or so and will report back on my status then but for now you have a chance to win your choice of prizes:
1-For those of you who are avid crafters out there, a grab bag of some random goodness from my stash: maybe some fabrics, scrapbooking "schtuff", patterns, buttons, ribbons... who knows what I might find on my quest to conquer clutter!?!
2-A handcrafted item made by yours truly. This would be an absolute surprise to whomever receives it but I promise to take your personal likes and dislikes into consideration!
3-A $10 gift card to your choice: Starbucks, Walmart or Target!

As you can see, lots of choices for your prize--but I have LOTS of clutter to conquer! With 3 little girls, a craft-a-holic Mommy (who CANNOT resist a sale at A.C. Moore) and a Music Geek/Computer Guru Hubby in the house, you can imagine all of the stuff that we have accumulated! So send me some useful de-cluttering and house cleaning tips for a shot to win!

Just post your entry here and let me know which prize you'd like best... I'll be drawing a random winner on October 1st!

Wow!

Holy Moly! It's been so long... Sorry.

School has started and we're off on the quite the adventure with TWO in class now! #1 loves school and every day is exciting for her. #2... not so much. She's learning to enjoy class but she still comes home so tired every afternoon. Ahh, and Little One. She spends a portion of every afternoon looking at the girls' pictures and wandering around the apartment calling for them. She misses her older sisters but she's certainly enjoying some alone time with Mom.

And me. I've just been schlepping around. I tell myself that I'm using my computer and my sewing as incentive to get my stuff done around the house. You know, the cleaning, sorting through old kids clothes, filing, re-organizing the cupboards and the pantry, etc. I tell myself each day, "If you get X done, you can go blog" or "If you finish up with Y you can sew something". So of course you know what's getting done: No blogging, No sewing, and No housework. Actually, the stuff around the house is all started and several projects are in varying stages... I just haven't FINISHED anything. I actually started on my bathroom but still haven't completed it entirely; I've gone to the length of taking down my fabric shower curtain and getting rid of the towels that matched it and all, but we're not done in there--I still have to do the wall decor and get a new shower curtain. And a new liner. And a new rug or something.

Anyhow, I just wanted to post and let you all know that I'm still here, just not always blogging. I guess I'm off to go start a project that I won't get finished today. Maybe I'll tackle my closet. :)

Coming soon!

I know I've been absent for over two weeks now and not blogging is weighing heavily on my mind. Never fear though, I'll be back soon! Today I hustled two of my little ones off to school and after I get caught up on some housework and special projects this week I hope to be back and blogging before you know it!