Cupcakes & Canoes

Just some more pictures of our trip to see my parents. Every trip now includes a treat to the local cupcake shop. Sydney picked out strawberry for her dessert.

They were quite yummy! The choices were: carrot cake (me), strawberry (Syd), blueberry cake with lemon frosting (grandma), and chocolate cake with mint frosting (Syd picked it out for grandpa).

Can I just tell you that Sydney got spoiled with attention from my parents! She absolutely loved it. As soon as she would wake up she would ask for grandma. As soon as my dad got home she would follow him around like a puppy. And just like any good grandparent, they did whatever she wanted to do! As you can see here, Sydney wanted to go out on the canoe.

What's this? UPDATED.

This is growing on my back fence. It's a vine that my neighbors have planted so I have no idea what it is. It's actually about 2 feet long! Is it a cucumber? Can I eat it? I actually have been slightly peeved that I have to continually trim these vines that come over from my neighbors yard. I guess if I get a cucumber from it, it won't be so bad. I've done some research but nothing conclusive.

Update: Okay, I did some more research and it's appears to be a penguin gourd or at least a gourd of some sort. Did you know that there is a National Gourd Society?! You do now. : ) And actually, I trimmed the vines on my side of the fence but left the gourd and woke up this morning to find it missing and more vines trimmed. So I think my neighbors took the gourd. Which is okay by me. Other than drying it and painting it, what do you do with a gourd?

Mystery solved.

Big News!

Photo from Somethings Hiding In Here. Link to Photo Here.

Due Date: Christmas Day.

Yep, you read that right.

I'm already 5 months. And (get ready to hate me) it's been the easiest pregnancy ever. Syd was easy, this one has been even easier.

What Was I Thinking?

A red popsicle with a white shirt. Thankfully she just got one red drop on her shirt. It was a team effort though at the end to keep her clean. And many wet-wipes were used after we were done. It was all worth it though. She loved it.

Last Weekend's Pirate Festival

Arrrg! : )

North Carolina Beach

So we headed up to NC to spend some time with the family. We had a great time. Here's some pictures of our long weekend.

Jean, Sydney & Karen tubing.

Jean, Karalyn & Karen doing some more tubing.

Kevin & Andy doing some really fast tubing!

Grandpa had this whole hot dog roast, s'mores, and fishing evening planned (and some fireworks). Sydney & Karalyn love to go fishing. Syd caught 3 fish that evening. She even touched the fish too. That is not my daughter! haha.

Reeling one in.

What a whopper! : )

The girls are so silly together. They play so well - making up games, running around, sharing, and absolutely no fighting. Amazing! They are 2 peas in a pod.

Aren't they cute with their matching pigtails.

I'm sure once I go through some of the 500+ pictures we took, I'll have more to share. Yep, you read that right! Have a good week.

Random Post

Sydney was very excited to find this heart shaped blueberry in her snack bowl the other day. I just had to take a picture - I mean really, how many heart blueberries does one find in their life? And no, it's not from our tree. Our blueberries have come and gone.

In sewing news, I've been making felt food like crazy and working on new designs. You'll have to wait a little longer to see those though. So instead here is a requested tote for my sister-in-law.

Sprinkler Fun

Here's Syd in action of the sprinkler. It's been pretty rainy here so we get out while we can.

And for some reason, she likes black jelly beans. She must get it from my dad (who loves licorice). She definitely doesn't get it from me. Yuck! They turn her mouth all black too. Good thing we enjoy good dental hygiene in our house.

Syd's Haircut

So last week, I decided that Sydney needed a haircut. I took off more than I was planning to cut but it came out so cute. It's now shoulder level. Sydney of course doesn't really care except for the fact that she received a "new haircut."

Our Poor, Neglected Blog

I know it's been so long. I think about posting a lot but just don't get around to it. Ah well. Here is a new picture of Sydney letting you know that she is 3 years old now. She's very proud of her age.

And the blueberry trees have been doing there thing and producing many delicious blueberries. Here is just a very, very small portion of what we have collected and eaten. I didn't make any cobblers or pies with them. We basically eat them right off the tree everyday.

Happy Birthday Sydney

Yesterday was the big 3rd birthday for Syd. Here's just a couple pictures of the mandatory cake & presents. Notice Dixie just waiting in the wings for just a tasty morsel to fall.

It was very fun to watch her open presents yesterday. This was her expression after every present opened. Needless to say, she was very excited.

Thanks to everyone who sent presents. We played with all of them yesterday. Yeah, seriously ALL of them. : )

Super Exciting News!

My felt food and my photos are now published in a magazine! : ) I'm so excited. I squealed when I found it in the mailbox. My neighbors probably think I'm nuts. The magazine, DDN Cucine, is out of Italy and caters (no pun intended) to Italian chefs, architects, and students. Anyway, they contacted me awhile through my Etsy shop and here we are. It's a huge magazine with lots of really great pictures. Too bad I can't read any of it.

Look at that 2 page spread! I had a friend translate for me (because it's obviously in Italian). Thanks Sonia!

Who has not played "kitchen", copying mom while she is baking cakes and cooking delicious meals? The result was always the same a lot of fun...and a house invaded by flour, sauces, and preserves. BeckyM is proposing an alternative that is practical and as much fun: felt food, hand-embroidered cakes, fruits, noodles and pizzas. Felt toys, ideal to stimulate the fantasy (and the desire of food) of the youngest.

Here's the link to flip through the magazine (I'm on page 101 & 102, I believe):

http://www.designdiffusion.com/En/NewsStand/NewsStand_Detail.aspx?IssueIDMaster=312

or just their website: http://www.designdiffusion.com/

Memorial Day Part 2

Just a couple more pictures from Memorial Day weekend with my parents. Here is Sydney as a sand mermaid.

Here is Sydney and Jean trying to wear each other out. It's a toss up on who won that game. : )

Memorial Day Weekend

My parents came in for the long weekend. We had a great time. It was raining for one of the days so we decided to go bowling.

My worst bowling game EVER! haha. My own almost 3 year old beat me. So sad. She did have bumpers though - excuses I know. : ) Thankfully, I redeemed myself the second game. Obviously the Wii bowling isn't doing me any good.

Grandpa and Grandma Jean brought matching Tinkerbell outfits for Sydney and Penny the penguin - even down to the glittery shoes. They also bought her a Hannah Montana microphone (per Sydney's request at Target). She loves that thing. She's such a performer! She now knows the song too.

She likes to "fly" with her Tinkerbell wings on the swing.

And sing too...

"Nobody's Perfect" is the song. It's quite catchy.

Talking with Grandpa.

Sydney loved all the attention and extra adults to constantly play with her.

We also went to the beach and the zoo. The beach pictures our on my dad's camera. So I'll have to show those another time. There are some cute pics too. Anyway, thanks for coming out! We had a great time.

Happy Wednesday.

So much has been going on around here. I've been working hard to finish all the food for the Children's Museum. Thankfully, I shipped it out last week. We've also been hanging out with friends and enjoying the nice morning & evening weather. There has been too much to ramble on about so I'll share some pictures of my model and 2nd quilt (and last quilt for a long time). This one I did the binding by hand. It didn't take me as long as I thought it would - just one morning. I think I prefer the hand binding over the machine too.

A couple of weeks ago the blackberries (or something like blackberries) were in season. Matt and Sydney went out to the preserve behind our house and picked a big bucket full. As requested, I made a cobbler from them. Hopefully in a few weeks I will be making a blueberry cobbler from our backyard blueberry trees.

I also have some hydrangeas growing the backyard. I am super excited about these. I really get excited about any great flowers growing in the yard because I do not have a green thumb and usually kill plants. So any flowers that grow is a miracle! : )

Motorcycle Babe

I forgot to share these on the last post. I find them funny. She was so happy to "ride" that motorcycle.

Happy Monday - that just might be an oxymoron.

Picture of Sydney, as promised.

We just realized that we have 6 blueberry trees in the backyard! I am so excited. We also have some raspberry bushes too. They are super tart though. Hopefully the blueberries will ripen to perfection. The proof:

I have seen a lot of these "cake balls" around the internet. One of my favorite baking sites, Bakerella, makes these cupcake shaped cake balls that are just too cute. My sister-in-law, Karen, sent me this article from the Dallas Morning News too. So I was ready to make some of my own. They are pretty easy to make and are really tasty. I just made a cake, crumbled it up and mixed it with frosting. I made the balls and stuck them in the freezer for a little while. After they are cold, I dip them in melted chocolate and add the sprinkles. I place them back in the freezer for just a minute and then they all done.

I love the round sprinkles. They add the perfect crunch.

Here's the inside - so you get the idea. Yummy!