Show and Tell: Phoebe's Class Quilt

Other than THIS pumpkin, I've been working furiously on a Phoebe's class quilt for the Fall Festival that was Friday night. Every year, someone in the Pre-K and Kindergarten classes makes a quilt with all the students handprints on it. I made Eli's CLASS QUILT the year he was in kindergarten. It was the first quilt I'd really ever made start to finish. 

This year, I was ready to hit the ground running when school started. I told Phoebe's teacher I'd make the class quilt at Meet The Teacher so I'd have lots of time to get it done. And while I didn't have it finished super early, I didn't feel super rushed either. I got it totally finished a day or so before it was due. Go Me!

I didn't make their handprints into anything like an owl or a spaceship. I went with simplicity and chose the school colors instead. Since we're a small district (one elementary, one middle school, one high school), all the schools share school colors so it's a quilt that can really grow with them. I even put their graduation year at the bottom. Doesn't 2025 seem like such a long time from now?!

To make it extra special (and so mamas would shell out the big bucks for it at the live auction), I had each child write his or her name and I hand-embroidered it on the quilt just like they wrote it. It took a little time, but it was totally worth it.

Seventeen little name and handprints on a class quilt. All Phoebe's classmates were appropriately impressed. Well, as impressed as 5-year-olds can be anyway. And her teacher isn't this tall. She's tall, but she's standing on a chair in this photo so the quilt could reach the floor and we could still see her face. 

While my quilt didn't bring in the major big bucks (one mama paid $625 for her pre-kindergarteners quilt!), it didn't do half bad. (I don't remember how much exactly, because I was cleaning up the uber-successful bake sale I was helping with.) I was proud of my work and we made a little money for the school. All's well that ends well. :)

I'm linking this quilt up today at MOPPING IT UP MONDAYS. Be sure to check out all the other amazing projects bloggers have "mopped up" this week!

A Little Lost Tooth

My Tooth

My tooth fell out and left a space

So big my tongue can touch my face,

And every time I smile I show

The place where something used to grow.

I miss my tooth as you can guess

But now I have to brush one less!

-Anonymous

Phoebe finally lost her first tooth. The teeny-tiny one on the bottom. It wasn't quite the surprise Eli's FIRST TOOTH was because it's been loose for days, but still sooner than I wanted. 

My mom pulled it for her. We were visiting them this weekend for Lincoln's birthday. I think Phoebe was just ready for it to be out. We were spending the day at Carrie's house and I put the teeny-tiny tooth in a bag and then promptly lost it. Sheesh.

Phoebe was pretty worried the tooth fairy wouldn't visit so she had my mom write a note from her and then drew a picture. It's an illustration of Carrie's house and then Phoebe with her tooth. 

The Tooth Fairy was so impressed she left $3! I'm just glad the Tooth Fairy had some cash on her. ;)

Now we're just all sitting around waiting for the big, giant, awkward tooth that will grow in its place. That's mostly why I hate lost teeth. The ones that grow in their place are so straggly and crooked. 

Oh well. To quote Robert Frost, "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

**  Check out the new recipe at EATING AT THE TAJ MCCALL!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my parents' 37th wedding anniversary.

They're amazing, my parents. There isn't anything unique or extraordinary or exceptional about their marriage. They can't give you any marriage advice that you haven't already heard a thousand times. But they are still married. Happily. They've learned to laugh with each other and how to batten down the hatches when the storms rage in and around them and how to live a life loving and serving other people. That makes them amazing. 

When I spent some time with them this weekend, I didn't take too many photos...and especially not one of the two of them. (My mom doesn't really like having her photo taken.)

But I got one of all their grandkids. And it's a pretty good one, all things considered.

I'm pretty sure that these little tooters were worth every single day of one of the 13,515 days they were married. (That's not a random number. I did the math...and accounted for Leap Years, thankyouverymuch!)

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! 

I love you!

What's Cooking Wednesday: Peanut Butter Brownies

Is there any more iconic dessert pairing than peanut butter and chocolate? 

I think not. 

These peanut butter brownies were pretty good. I always seem to have a little trouble when I make brownies because the edge seems to cook faster and the middle is still gooey. I had the same problem here, but it was still yummy.  I found the recipe at BAKED PERFECTION, and doubled it to make a big pan.

Peanut Butter Brownie

1 box family size fudge brownie mix, plus ingredients to make brownies

1 stick butter, melted

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Make brownie mix according to package directions. Make brownies according to package directions. In a separate bowl, beat with an electric mixer butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Pour 1/3 of the brownie mix into the pan. Place dollops of filling (about a tablespoon each) about 1 inch apart on top of the brownie mix. Drizzle remaining brownie mix on top, and gently spread to fill pan. Place dollops of remaining peanut butter mixture on top. With a butter knife, gently swirl filling into batter, running a knife lengthwise and then crosswise through the layers. Bake about 40 minutes, or until the brownie mix is done. Test with a toothpick or cake tester. The peanut butter may still be a little runny. Cool completely. Or at least 15 minutes so you don't burn your mouth on the gooey peanut butter filling. 

Yummy.

**New recipes for CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE and QUICK HAMBURGER SOUP are up over at Eating With The Taj McCall! Yay! Soup weather is finally here. Sort of.

This Photo Makes Me Happy

I don't know why this photo makes me so happy. 

But it does. 

Maybe it's because the fire was on the first time this season (yay!) or maybe because my kids were actually getting along while doing their chores or maybe it's just because someone else was actually folding laundry.

Whatever the reason, I was inspired to capture this little moment after bathtime the other night. Sometimes I worry I'm not documenting enough of these. But this one I got.

And it just makes me happy. 

What I've Been Doing This Week

I spent the last week covered in glitter. 

Why?

Because I was in charge (again) of decorating the pumpkin for Eli's class for the annual pumpkin decorating fundraiser at the elementary school. Remember the PEACOCK? The theme of this school year is "Exploring Our Future" so I was trying to tie that into the pumpkin somehow.

This is what I came up.

It's a big, sparkly sun with "The Future" on the front and all the kids in Eli's class are the "flowers" wearing big sunglasses underneath. There's a sign (it's hiding) that reads: We're exploring our future, and it is bright!" I'm hoping that makes the whole thing make a little more sense. It's covered in glitter so it's got that going for it!

I took it up to school yesterday so the kids could enjoy it the rest of the day before it heads down to the cafeteria. They were impressed, I think. It's kind of hard to tell with 3rd graders who are beginning to be "too cool" to show much emotion. 

At this point, I don't even care. I'm just happy it's out of my house. :) 

I think that's the sign of a good project. You work and work and work on it until you are just plain sick of the whole thing! If it is, then this was an a-MAZ-ing project. 

My Funny Phoebe

Four-and-five-year-olds are really funny. And they're not even trying. Recently, Phoebe has been keeping the folks around the Taj McCall in stitches. I thought I'd share of few of these episodes to brighten your Thursday.

While wandering around Target the other day:

Phoebe: Mom, when will I be a mom?

Me: Not right now. You're not old enough.

Phoebe: I know... I'm not even 16!

Me: You had better be 30 when you're a mom.

While praying this morning before school, and it was raining:

Phoebe: Dear God, Please help us have a good day and ambush us with rain so we don't have to go to school.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that they don't cancel school for rain in West Texas, even if we were "ambushed" by rain.

Two things you need to know about this story. 1) Amarillo often smells like cows. And not in a good way. 2) Phoebe often flips out about five minutes from our house because she has to go to the bathroom. 

Me: It's smells really bad tonight.

Phoebe: I have to go to the bathroom bad! So bad I tooted!

Me: We're almost home. Maybe that's not the cows I smell...maybe that's you.

Phoebe: My toots don't smell like that.

Me: And what do your toots smell like?

Phoebe: My toots smell like rainbows.

She's a funny, funny girl. 

What's Cooking Wednesday: Lemon Zucchini Pound Cake

I do *love* a good pound cake. You'll probably see quite a few on What's Cooking Wednesday because they are so yummy and easy to make.

This recipe came from one of those check-out stand pamphlets. Betty Crocker, I think. I'm a sucker for those publications and end up buying way too many/ I do a purge every once in a while; ripping out the one or two recipes I want to keep and chunking the rest. This one made the cut six months or so ago when I did it last. I like to pretend it's healthy since it has zucchini in it.  

Lemon Zucchini Pound Cake

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened (And for the love of all that is good and holy, please use real butter!)

2 cups powdered sugar (Foodies call this confectioners sugar, but I'm old-fashioned so powdered sugar it is!)

4 eggs

2/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup grated zucchini, squeezed to drain

Lemon Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1 tablespoon half-and-half

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt cake pan. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a spoon. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter  with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in powdered sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Beat on low speed 1 minute. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and zucchini. Pour into bundt pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan. Remove to a serving platter. Cool completely (about 1 1/2 hours). For the glaze: In a saucepan, heat all glaze ingredients just to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Let stand 30 minutes until slightly thickened. Drizzle over cake. 

Despite some initial hesitation from some of our 16-year-old boys, the Huddle students thought this was pretty good. The last few pieces were great for breakfast the next morning! :)

And what about that way cool, vintage-y, red cake carrier seen in the above photo?

It was a birthday gift to myself last year from World Market. I saw it the week after my birthday and fell in love. There was a green one, too, but red speaks to my soul so I brought it home. 

Red is Best!

The Important Thing About Eli

While up at the kids' school last week, I found a project Eli had done on the hallway wall. 

So I whipped out my camera and took a photo. Isn't that what all the cool moms are doing?

It's a little blurry because I had my NIFTY FIFTY lens on my camera because I had been taking portraits of the kids for a class project and it takes nice indoor photos. I have no idea why, but it does. However, since it doesn't have any kind of zoom, I took this photo from across the hall by holding it up over my head. I can pretty much guarantee you there was nothing cool in that!

The assignment (apparently) was to write about the most important thing about them. I thought it was a rare glimpse into what these sweet kiddos think. And aren't you loving that Eli drew himself wearing a Phillies hat and Phillies shirt?!

This was Eli's:

"The important thing about Eli is he's athletic. I'm very speedy, able to climb fast, and jump high." 

I especially like the drawing of the sneakers at the bottom...and the fact that Eli didn't write any more than was absolutely necessary. Some children had filled the whole page with details, but not Eli. He's more a "just the facts, ma'am" kind of guy. 

While I am so thankful that he has something he thinks he's good at. (Sometimes he thinks he's a little "too good", but that's another post for another day.) But it makes me want to take his pointy, little chin in my hand, lean  in real close, and tell him that being good at something is not the most important thing about Eli.

I want to tell him that the most important thing about Eli is that he is a child of God. That he has a Father who loves him more than he can even begin to imagine. 

I want to tell him that the most important thing about Eli is that he belongs to our family.  He may drive us batty and push us to the very brink of sanity, but we love him fiercely, and in our family, he will always have a place.

I want to tell him that the most important thing about Eli is that he chooses to love. While I wouldn't say he goes out of his way to include people, but whatever he's doing is open to whomever wants to do it with him. And he's fine with doing it by himself, but if someone wants to do whatever he's doing, he's happy to include them.

But right now his focus is on "being athletic". To brag on him a bit, he did catch an amazing pop fly, and hit a home run and a triple in the same game on Saturday. Sunday's game wasn't so spectacular, but I guess we all have good days and bad days. 

Maybe the most important thing about Eli is that he's Eli. 

The Tri-State Fair

We surprised our kids the other night and took them to the TRI-STATE FAIR. (Every once in a while we're cool parents.) We even skipped baseball practice to take advantage of the $10 admission ticket that included a wristband (no need for tokens and unlimited rides!). 

They were totally surprised!

We even had plans to meet up with some friends.

I didn't want to lug around my big camera so I relied on my iPhone. It's not my go-to photo taking device, but I was willing to give it a try. I also used Instagram to edit them. Not sure how I really feel about the whole process, but I got some photos so I guess that's all that matters.

Phoebe is a ride-rider. She loves the big, twisty rides...even several she was too small to ride. :( That's how we ended up on the ferris wheel. My fear of heights was really wanting to grab her up and hold her tight in my lap, but I took a photo instead.

We split up at one point so Phoebe could ride even more rides. Brad took her over to the "little kid" area while Missy (the mom of those other kids) stayed with bigger kids. My phone was going dead so we're a little heavy on Phoebe Photos.

And, of course, when you go to the fair, you have to eat fair food! Here's Adley chowing down on a turkey leg. We actually ate dinner before we left the house and our family split a funnel cake. I wanted some of those big, curly tators, but there just wasn't room after our funnel cake.

There's always next year...