Boo and Rainy Day activities

Well Nov. has had many rainy days so far...so the DD's and made birdfeeders as seen in a MStewart Good THings for kids magazine.

2 Paper drinking cup

1 Mesh Bag - we got our filled with apples but an onion bag will work as well (recycle)

1/2 cup Veg Shortening - 1/2 cup Peanut Butter - 1 cup Quick Cooking Oats

1 cup Cornmeal - 1/2 cup flour

Mix Peanut butter and Veg Shortening, melt in the microwave - mix into the dry ingredients. Fill 2 paper cups with the mixture and let cool. Remove from molds and place 1 at a time in mesh bag clip side down and secure the open end with a twist tie and hang outside to feed your feathered friends in the winter when food is scarce.

Our little monsters had a great time treat - or - treating this year...somehow I wish they hadn't gotten so much candy.

THE PHILLIES WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!! OUR HOUSE IS CELEBRATING LIKE THERE"S NO TOMORROW...NO ONE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT POSSIBLE!!!

TICKER TAPE TRAIN CROWDS

FAN POWER! DH is overwhelmed with excitement - he's going to the Parade to show his appreciation and share in the cities excitement!

Falling for Fall

We're Falling in Love with Fall and enjoying time together as a family... the whole family enjoyed a trip to Great Adventure just a few weeks ago. DD#1 loves the spinny rides and DD#2 is the daredevil who goes on Coasters. DS#1 even got to go on the merri-go-round-and a few other kiddie rides. HINT HINT we got into the park for $42..HOW? Free Parking pass from a neighbor, a guy stopped us going into the gate and gave us 2 free adult passes. DD#1 was considered an adult ticket so we used one of our coupons for $10 off an adult ticket and a child (DD#2) was free and DS#1 is under 2 so he's also free. WOO HOO! TIP OF THE DAY: IF you are going with little ones and you don't want to wait in line twice to hit the monster rides. Visit Guest Services and get a parent pass. It allows one parent to wait in line while the other occupies the kids and then enter the FAST PASS LANE and go on the ride when your other party gets off...too cool. My hubby and I communicated via Cell phone to coordinate our riding times...worked great! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL - Look at these big girls where has the time gone? DD#1 turns 10 tomorrow and I can hardly believe it's been 10 years since I was graced to be a mom of such a lovely girl. She's involved with the schools Drama Production of 101 Dalmations this year. She's auditioned and won a cast part in the play. It's alot to keep up with normal homework, drama, dance and all the other family activities but it's great to be so well rounded. CREEPY BUT COOL NATURE - I snapped this Spiderweb photo the first day of school.

bob the builder(as we call big spiders in our house) built a beautiful web that was highlighted by the morning dew..an incredible feat of nature! A reminder to always stop and smell the roses and enjoy what nature shows us!

Enjoy all that Fall has to offer you this season - pumpkin and apple picking, hayrides, fall festivals, baking apples and crunching on fallen leaves.

A BUSY Bee in JULY

BUSY BEE IN JULY

Ok I've been busy as a Bee...the kitchen was painted over July 4th weekend, and shortly after it this curtain was finally sewn for the sliding doors to the backyard.

Here's the gang being patriotic at the fireworks in Medford - their cousins met us at the park and we all enjoyed the people watching, treats and the display. Luckily we saw the show on the 3rd because the 4th was a washout.

Celebrating the 4th with something fun to wear - made one for myself and one for DD#1.

It was terrific to see my friend and her daughter up from FLORIDA - we miss you guys already - can't wait to see the pics you sent!

Took a pattern modification class with one of my fav. sewing teachers Jenn at Just Make It Sew in Burlington and learned how to modify the lovely Amy Butler top to a square neck top that's a little more fitted to my size...yeah Jenn I've finished it and have been wearing my new top with pride. I can't wait until she offers to teach her pants pattern drafting class this Fall!

The end of the month was spent enjoying the Ocean City beach and introducing DS to the shore - it took him 3 days to realize that sand isn't a food, but he loved the seagulls and the advertising planes. He rode his first train ride and merry-go-round. DD#1 is still terrified of rides with drops but loves anything that spins, DD#2 is the opposite - she loves every rollercoaster but please dont mention the teacups of balloon ride to her her - she turns green.

A terrific surpise happened while on vaca - my SIL went into labor on the beach and delivered a healthy baby boy shortly after at a local hospital. A couple weeks early but everyone is home now and fine.

MMM Summer Recipes

Visit our favorite easy receipes at Kraft Family Food Magazine: http://www.kraftfoods.com/

WE LOVE THE FOLLOWING RECIPES:

LEMONADE PIE - Recently made by DD#2

Prep Time:15 min Total Time:4 hr 15 min Makes:8 servings 1/3 cup COUNTRY TIME Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix 1/2 cup cold water 2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened 1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed 1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

PLACE drink mix in large bowl. Add water; stir until mix is dissolved. Add ice cream. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Freeze, if necessary, until mixture is thick enough to mound. SPOON into crust. FREEZE at least 4 hours or overnight until firm. Remove from freezer 15 min. before serving. Let stand at room temperature until pie can easily be cut. Store leftover pie in freezer.

Classic Layered Salad - We served this for our Block Party and it was a hit

Prep Time:20 min Total Time:3 hr 20 min Makes:8 servings, 1 cup each 8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce 1 small red onion, sliced, separated into rings 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen peas, thawed 1 pkg. (6 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Smoked Ham, chopped 3/4 cup KRAFT Mayonnaise 1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese 1 Tbsp. sugar 1 cup KRAFT Three Cheese Crumbles 2 small tomatoes, chopped LAYER lettuce, onions, peas and ham in large straight-sided clear glass serving bowl. MIX mayo, Parmesan cheese and sugar. Spread over salad to seal; cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. TOP with cheese crumbles and tomatoes just before serving; toss gently

SUMMER TIME!

Summer Time Is Here! Schools out and so much has been happening! We had a heat wave earlier in the month with temps 101-99 for about 4 days but now we're experiencing mid 80's no humidity and enjoyable breezes. BIG NEWS! The first day DD#1 went to the pool she passed her swim test to go into the deep end...dad missed it but sis and I cheered her on through 2 laps of the pool and 2 mins treading water - NOW SHE HAS AN ANKLE BAND AND ENJOYS DIVING OFF THE BOARD IN THE DEEP END! Way to go! We've finally got our modem issues resolved with Comcast! It only took about a month to resolve and a new modem, new cableline underground and the final repair was to our security and coding out at the cable box. Finally no more blinking modem lights--full steam ahead with Blogging, ebaying, and updating www.plumcreekgifts@googlepages.com - I've moved servers from HOMESTEAD.com to googlepages to invest a little of the fees I was spending with HOMESTEAD to other services, signage, flyers, etc. Watch for handcrafted items for sale and updates on Embroidery service to be posted soon. Dance recitals were awesome this month - DD#1 was the star of her show doing her first hip-hop number and gained applause from the crowd doing her WORM! http://www.blogger.com/video-play.mp4?contentId=13213058c4ed71c0&type=video%2Fmp4 DD#2 danced to the King and I "Shall we dance " in the most adorable ballet costume. ANOTHER YEAR OF DANCE LESSONS FINISHED! Over the last couple of weeks I've gotten alot done in the WORKROOM aka the sewing room. DD#2 got some cool new summer items Set of bandana pants with an embroidered Sun T with Hot Crystals - A shirred top and shorts for the last day of school. I recycled an old tote and made it a flat bottom tote and ironed on an image - great to add to my greenbags for grocery shopping. Then busy getting orders filled - two pouch slings for carrying babies through 35lbs and a ring sling for the same size babies. Also shown my own pouch sling for saving my back carrying DS#1 around the house and for quick trips in and out of the car. Ahh it feels so good to get so much done lately. Up next a few items for myself - planning on sewing two tunic tops for the great AMY BUTLER patterns - Specifically this Anna Tunic. We'll see how it goes. I'm planning on one green tunic and one yellow since I have neither color in my summer wardrobe at the moment. Coming soon! Two summer receipes - a great layered salad and dessert and some great summertime photo's of the kids

May has Come and Gone

So May has come and is almost gone and so much has happened to update on the post...

The computer gremlins took down my computer for about a week - luckily it was only a fan that needed to be replaced at the cost of under $20 and luckily my hubby is handy enough to fix it himself. That coupled with the continued modem issues - lack of connectivity in late afternoons has halted my blogging for awhile.

In the meantime, I feel like history repeated itself...my DD#2 broke my favorite lamp playing ball in the house. History repeated itself because said lamp #1 was broken by DH after only a week having in the livingroom...now DD#2 broke the replacement lamp to the 1st broken lamp. Well so much for table lamps...my next project is to have recessed lighting installed in the room to avoid table lamps until the children have vacated. May was a month of trying to make sense of the housework, paperwork and my small business goals. I'm still pursuing online selling through Ebay, Craigslist and others and am getting motivated to post some more embroidery work. May welcomes the first of many babies to come...my friend had her 4th a girl, CONGRATULATIONS! But I've yet to finish the lovely blanket for the newbie...here's a sneak peak - It's a lovely knitting pattern from the Debbie Macomber series a SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET that has knitting patterns made by the women in her story. It's great to relate a pattern to such a beloved story.

Mid May was terrific! DH and I spent 4 days in Aruba - company sponsored trip due to his terrific sales #'s in 2007. WOO HOO. It was a juggle trying to get sitters for 3 kids for the days but everyone was great and helped out where they could thanks to in-laws, parents and a good friend we enjoyed a couple days carefree. Our first evening was poolside cocktails and then we grouped off with some employees to munch down some HIBACHI dinner and a few cocktails. Day 2 was filled with a morning boatride and snorkle trip to 3 different locations including a sunken German ship. We spotted a Spiny Lobster, A beautiful starfish, some cuttlefish and a variety of tropical fish swimming in groups. Dinner that evening was poolside at the hotel with a live band. Day 3 was quiet and enjoyable as DH went on a golf trip with some bosses and co-workers while I enjoyed a quiet breakfast, long walk on the beach and scheduled HOT STONE MASSAGE.. All I have to say it's a must try! We met up late in the afternoon and enjoyed cocktails at the bar and an evening off site at the Papiemento Restaurant the islands oldest mansion/restaurant. Very elegant and very enjoyable. Returning back to the hotel in the late evening for a few tosses at the hotels' CRAPS table and then BLACKJACK! Fun was had by all...Day 4 was a short one in Aruba..we had a quick breakfast followed by a little last minute shopping and early shuttle bus to the airport at 10am. ENJOY THE PHOTOS". Especially of the giant lizard..there were quite a variety of lizards at our resort and they hosted a lettuce feeding time daily to keep them around to amuse the guests.

We rounded off the month with a terrific Memorial Weekend - Hastings Blockparty was a blast as usual and this year we had terrific weather - sunny and breezy the party lasted well into the night.

A visit to the Popcorn Park Zoo in Forked River NJ - a humane society sponsored zoo. www.associatedhumanesocieties.org

Wrapped up with a Memorial Day picnic with family at our house to kick off the Summer of 2008.

I hope everyone enjoyed May, keep me posted on all your happenings and I'll share my favorite salad recipe from the Memorial Day picnic on the next posting!

The Workroom Skirt and Reconstructed Chaos T

Yes, it's been a few days without blog updates...would you believe our modem died and it took us over 2 days to get the cable company to come out and fix the problem.. ok maybe not exactly two days approximately 29hours. I realized that I can live without my cell phone but not my internet.

In the meantime, I finished an aqua stretch knit skirt and reconstructed Chaos T (something funky) and had great weather on Wednesday to wear the skirt with some new shoes that match perfectly from Payless. Want to learn more about creating Funky T'shirt designs. See your local bookseller for 99ways to...T'shirts / Scarves or Denim. 3 fun chicks originally from Italy that transplanted in NYC and revamp/revive clothing into fun new styles. Check them out at http://www.compai.com/. And why not repurpose some of those clothes in the back of your closet. FACT: An average person sends 68lbs of clothing a year to the dump!

I have two other t's that are being reconstructed in the Workroom but they'll have to wait until I finish my yellow jacket. Here's a shot of it partially completed. Luckily, I have already added the lining but those pictures will post at a later date.

Here's another example of something funky to do to the back of a T' maybe a little tye-dye number.

In the meantime, it's been great weather here in NJ in the 70's so I've had DS in shorts and looking oh so cute. He's really a trip...he went from crawling to pulling himself up and crusing around holding onto furniture. He's seen here playing at the Kitchen set that as DD#1 when she was 2 1/2. On the bad end of things his teething is horrible at night and we're back to being woken up at least twice a night. UGH!

FOR THE LOVE OF STAMPING...yup I love lots of crafts and one of them is Stamping...I'm part of a small Stampin Up club with some neighbors and it's great! This week my rep. came over to help me work on some cute ideas - Whatcha think? The funny thing is that without the internet this morning, I used the time very wisely while DS was taking a nap to organize all my stamping/card making supplies, label storage units and even take samples of my cards from previous classes and place them in a 3-ring binder for quick reference. I KNOW AMAZING! It feels great to have just one more little piece of my life organized and available at my fingertips when the urge strikes to be card crafty.

Well I'll leave you with one RECIPE that my Friend Susan sent to me as a part of the receipe exchange...DD#2 helped me make this one tonight and it is ever so YUMMY!

Here is an amazing sour cream coffee cake recipe. Sue passed the recipe on to a friend who bakes it every Christmas. You could use it for breakfast or a dessert.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup Crisco or similar vegetable oil

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding 3 1/2 oz.

topping:1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate bits1/2 cup nuts (I used almonds) 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon

Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, sour cream, and pudding in a bowl. Mix well and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients. Grease and flour a tube pan. Layer 1/3 of the batter and top it with 1/3 of the topping. Keep layering until the ingredients are gone. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or more.

** I used a bundt pan and layered a little on the top before adding the cake mix, then another layer of the topping mixture and finally the bottom cake layer - baked exactly for 1 hour and it turned out great!

Well ready to sign off for another day/night with hopes of accomplishing alot on Saturday. Alot of items are leaving my house via FREECYCLE this weekend - stacks of cooking magazines, misc craft items for a girl scout troop, a bike that I picked up curbside with intentions of fixing it up to ride and some kids clothing items. It does feel great to help people who are looking to fill a specific need.