My swap box is here!!!!!!

Iara was my swap partner and I'm just going to say, SHE IS FABULOUS!!!!!! Even the box itself was awesome! My daughter Laney especially loved the tomato pic. She was so excited I had to hold her back.

She even had her own mini package with "the coolest pencils ever", she kept hugging them.

This is most of my swap package, I got 2 pair of earrings and the best slippers EVER!!! Not to mention the fabric and other goodies, I have fabric dreams for the fabric already.

My absolute FAVORITE item in the package is the drool bib for Brutus. Yes, this is him in his "Drool tu Brutus?" bib, yes, with drool dripping from his jowels. He actually loves the bib.

Iara, a thousand thank yous! My husband was so impressed, he was almost as excited as Laney and I.

 

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Swap box sent on Saturday...just posting a little late!!

I LOVED this swap because I got to send some of my favorite things to someone else, here is a pic, but shhhhh, don't tell. This is my cell phone zombie!!!

This is the apron I sent...I hope she loves it!!!!!

I will post the entire box of stuff I sent when I know she gets it, hopefully today!!!

 

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Mardi Gras...Koeneman style

Ok, no matter where we are I always make a mardi gras dinner with a King's Cake. Over the years the menu varies, but it's always New Orleans inspired. My kids also love explaining to their friends what Mardi Gras is and also about the king's cake. This year I made jambalaya , Paula Dean style.

And my giant King's Cake!!

 

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My Baby is 5!!!!!

Ok, my daughter Laney had a birthday party on Saturday where I was supposed to serve this awesome cake...Our Mastiff, Brutus, had other plans. He stole three chocolate cakes of various sizes off of the cooling rack in the kitchen and devoured them. Let's just say he was in lockdown for the majority of the party. Thank goodness for Sam's because that's where we got a replacement for the day even if it killed me.

Sooo, here is the cake I was supposed to make for her party that I instead got to make for her real birthday, which was yesterday.

 

Here is my little cowgirl princess on her new unicorn which she named Strawberry. Who both later stole my bed to have a birthday sleepover with Daddy. It was pretty adorable, .even if we did have to beg to let Strawberry sleep in the bed.

She really couldn't help herself before cake time because "I'm just looking at it, I'm not going to eat it, mom!".

 

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Laney's Birthday Party

In the midst of swap box creating, my little lady needed to have a birthday party because she will be 5 this week. It freaks me out that my baby is going to be 5!!!!! I worked REALLY hard this past week to create her Frozen party and especially her dress, that I made.

I also had so much fun decorating...

She had to be in virtually every picture I took.

It is driving me absolutely crazy that these are sideways!?!?! In all the excitement I forgot to check.

 

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Fun When You're 4...

Ok, I think this is probably one of the cutest pics EVER! So sassy when she wears a tutu.

 

Ok, this one takes a little explaining. What's that on her head you ask, well it is the inside of a hoodie I dismantled. Laney is here at her "fabric store" which is where she takes various fabric items, including towels, and sells them to anyone who will buy them( her brothers and I). She sells these items only if you agree to "give her fabric back in a minute, ok". She does insist on ironing the fabric while she asks about your day though. I guess that's a fair trade. Here she has set up shop in the playroom...

 

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I Love Tiffany

Ok, I helped my friend Tiffany on Friday. She needed a ride to the doctor to get some steroid shots in her back. It was horribly painful, I had no idea. I gave her lots of hugs and then Laney and I went over to her house to "play with her cat". I was glad to help her because she, like us, has no family here and in hindsight that whole experience would have sucked alone. Well we both went to a Super Bowl party yesterday and she gave me a present!! Here are a few pics...Val I think you will appreciate this.

 

This is the book inside. One of my favorite things made into a book!!!!!! Even though the Broncos got slaughtered, Super Bowl Sunday was not a total loss, Thank You, Tiffany!!!!

 

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My List of Needful Things...in no particular order

1. I need to move near family because it is hard to raise 4 kids and 2 dogs when your husband works in Federal law enforcement and is sporadicly gone . Please keep us in your prayers.
2. I need aprons, well, because you can NEVER have too many aprons. My favorite find at the thrift store is a vintage apron!!!
3. I need anything with high heels on it. I wear heels almost everytime I leave the house, I LOVE SHOES!
4. I need an awesome recipe for biscuits. I mean I need a great grandma's favorite biscuit recipe that has been a favorite for generations. The internet has a ton of sources, the ones I've tried are good, just not THAT good. Help me, PLEASE.
5. I need cutie socks because they are always on my feet...unless I'm wearing heels, of course. I hate feet, don't want to look at other people's feet, they kind of creep me out. I wear socks to provide others the same courtesy. I will say that my feet are always groomed and polished.
6. My next need, is for slippers with rubber soles. I need rubber soles because I live in a house with 4 kids, a husband and 2 dogs. Something is always spilled, or there is some kind of dirt or sand or substance on the floor. One of my biggest freak-outs is wet sock feet...hence the need for the slippers. I need cutie, sassy slippers, not granny going to the store slippers, sometimes they are hard to find!!!!
7. I need to listen to my kindle read to me for hours a day or my house would never be clean and the laundry would never be done. I know this to be a completely factual statement because when a book I need to read is not text to speech enabled, my house suffers ; ).
8. I need more books from amazon, to keep my house clean, of course, and to feed my kindle addiction. I LOVE books. I love hearing that other people (even if they are fictional) have problems to rival my own. It's nice to hear how they work through their problems and make mine seem less traumatic...If I had my way I would be surrounded by my family, books and my next need-------
9. Fabric!!!!! I neeeeed fabric. My husband is of the belief that I don't need any more fabric until I use what I have, he is soooo hilarious and he doesn't even know it. I have so much fabric it borders on hoarding, so my mom says. I will just let you know that I do not have a "hoarder house" my fabric is very nicely folded in labeled rubbermaid containers, like 15-20 containers, but who's counting!?!?!
10. I need handmade things to love. Whenever I do a swap, my FAVORITE things are the ones that have been lovingly created. I know how much I love the things I make and send to other people and I just want to love someone else's stuff!!!!!
11. I need my family close to me. My oldest son is a 7th grader and I need to keep him and his siblings even closer now through some of the most difficult times in life. I need to keep them close so I don't lose our connection. Please keep us in your prayers.
12. Ok, this next one is kind of strange. We have a HUGE English/Neopolitan mastiff named Brutus. He is 200 pounds and has an issue with slobbering. Sooooo, I need a slobber catcher or solution to catching slobber. I don't know how this could be accomplished, just a dream I have.
13. I need tips for growing herbs in pots. I live in Yuma, AZ which is on the border of Cali and Mexico. Today it will be 80 and its Feb 1st. When we lived in Missouri, I had awesome outdoor plants and a kick butt garden. Pots indoors, are a whole different ball game. I need to cook with fresh herbs and need some seasoned advice on how to make that happen. I also have a 4 year old girl who's favorite food is tomatoes in any form. If I buy 20 roma tomatoes and don't hide them, they will be gone in about 2 days...I guess it's better than candy. So maybe a little indoor tomato help too.
14. I need more zombie dolls. I agree whole heartedly with val on this one. I love those little creepy dolls!!! Halloween is my favorite holiday and with a collection of zombie dolls on my book shelf its like EVERYDAY is Halloween!!!!
15. I need to move near doctors that can help my family. I have type 1 Diabetes and my son has a condition called Nephratic Syndrome. We have no doctors who can handle these conditions here and as a mom, if something happens to my son, I would love to have a doctor closer than 3 hours away. Please pray for our family.
16. I need to make delicious food for our family. I especially need to make my kids awesome, delicious, and homemade snacks for after school everyday. I love my babies and it just makes me happy!!!
17. I need anything with vampires on it, less so the sparkly kind, and more the J.R. Ward kind, but really, if it has fangs' I LOVE it.
18. I need a way to help my 4 year old daughter Laney care about writing her name. Here is a direct quote from the little lady "Mom, but you're not listening to me. Right now, I just NEED to write crazy!! OK?" Her 3 brothers were all over writing their names at this age but she is just not into it and she turns 5 in 26 days, help.
19. I need more delicious chicken recipes that are not casseroles or have cream of anything in it. I don't eat beef or pork so the majority of what I cook is chicken. We love pasta and just about anything else but I am always looking for more delicious chicken recipes.
20. My last, but certainly not least, is my need for dangly earing. I wear dangly earings EVERY day. They are a staple in my wardrobe and I feel naked without them. Please help me feel dressed everyday with your kind donation of awesome dangly earings, the longer the better!

 

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Some of my recent apron adventures

 

This was an apron for the beloved Miss Patsy at the Yuma main library. She hosts story time every Tuesday at 10:30 and we LOVE her.

 

This apron was for my friend Laura's b-day!!! I love making aprons for people but love them so much I want to keep them all!!! I love making aprons out of table runners, bed skirts, curtains, dresses, and anything else I can run through my sewing machine. I also got a ruffler foot!!! I am so excited because now I don't have to worry about the thread breaking when I gather the ruffles. Life is good.

 

THE NEEDFUL THINGS SWAP!!!!

 

I am so excited to participate in Val's latest swap from Yarnis Gras!!! If you haven't been to her blog you should definitely check it out!!!! She hosts my favorite swap in the world...the zombie doll swap. Love her!

Yarnisgras.blogspot.com

 

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Life has finally slowed down...I think

Well, life has been crazy with the holidays. I spent a lot of time sewing costumes for my crew of 4, and of course, my husband...

I have a Zombie, Bane from "The Dark Night Rises", Robin from "Arkham City", and Red Riding Hood.

This is my little Red Riding Hood scaring the Big Bad Wolf (her Daddy).

This is Little Red Riding Hood and me, her "witch mommy". Doesn't sound very good out of context does it?

 

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