So the biggest news of the weekend pretty much is definite STITCHING news…. after a little over 3 months I have COMPLETED the stocking! Blending filament, outlining, insane amounts of colours in specific areas… all done! Feast your eyes!!

LOOK LOOK LOOK! YAY

Ok for the savy and eagle eyed stitchers you WILL notice that there is one unfinished detail – the hanging red and white Christmas ball still faintly says “1991” which has been a thorn in my side the entire time since the recipient was most decidedly born in 2006!!! But I do have a plan to correct that – my very own mom is an AMAZING stitcher (if you look back a while there are pictures up here of examples of her finished and framed work on linen) both on her sewing machine and a cross stitch pattern and has agreed to help me stitch that out. She is also the individual who is going to help me do the final finished on the stocking and get a lovely quilted style material backing on it to finish it off! I cannot wait, but with our current financial situation may have to do so until Halloween (our plan is to spend AT LEAST Halloween at her house).

For all the frustrations with large amount of colours in a given area… the eyes on the cat turned out superb. There are 4 or 5 colours in the green areas on the eyes but the effect is terrific! Don’t get me wrong, I doubt I will be doing this pattern again, if ever, but I certainly am glad I did it once. The two stockings I have promised for 2010 will NOT be as complex hopefully and will also NOT be started until the new year.

So otherwise Saturday was rather tame. We spent our morning lazily heading out to get things done towards the end of it. Nathan and Ada dropped by on their way out to his birthday lunch so we were able to give him his birthday present – a couple dozen mint icing sugar cookies!

We did a little bit of shopping… H&W of course, Dollarama (I got pom poms and a bath toy to go in Trinity’s stocking) and then the grocery store. I am definitely planning on heading back to the Dollarama we stopped at to do some shopping this week… set limit plus 3.00 so the boys can each have a treat and then see if we can fill the kids’ stockings. I figure if I can spare 20.00 we can do the whole lot. There was baby toys and flash cards and socks and just about every little kid fun thing you could think of… granted they won’t last forever but do the kids really care about that??? Not so much! Budget Christmas for the win!!

Last night’s supper was our family favourite – homemade pita pizzas! This time with extra toppings! Black forest ham was on sale at Superstore and Ken splurged and got some cooked chicken. Talk about MMM.

We finally are getting back into the swing of our weekly game evening (this one I am actually involved in – not Ken’s guy’s night on Thursdays) so Chris and Chris came over game and slurpee cups in tow. We started a little late last night but we also managed to slow Talisman down to a crawl! Interesting game I STILL don’t have the hang of! I am hoping that once I can sell a couple more Kijiji items or receive a donation or a Tux request or two I can get a new card game I have been drooling over. Chris and Chris brought over Chez Geek last  time and when I looked it up online I found Chez GOTH… it looks like great fun! Just need to come up with the 20.00.  I think I will add it to my wishlist.

For a snack during our gaming I made an apple crumble. Since the recipe called for 2 1/2 lbs of apples I brought out the baby scale and used that. Trinity, for the first time in ages, actually WANTED to sit on the scale as long as she could push the buttons… I managed to keep her OFF the power button and finally got a current weight on her: 23.06lbs!!! Our little girl is doing quite nicely! She is still petite but not nearly as thin as she was.

We also measured her waist and waist to ankle for her Halloween tutu. Now I have the elastic stitched together and ready to go. Sadly I could not find more sparkly pom poms so I am going to have to make do with little black ones for the strawberry seeds. Either way it is going to be adorable! I have the yellow and green one I made for her 1yr photos that she didn’t really wear up on Kijiji for 15.00 that will probably cover my costs of material and a tiny bit more but tulle is expensive around here so unless I can find a cheap distributor I doubt I could make it a worthwhile venture to sell them! I checked and on Kijiji they were being sold for around 20.00 and up depending on size and so many colour combinations!

I do love making them though so I figure for the odd person or as gifts I will keep doing it. I do have a few colours I picked up in the states on the cheap. I have the right colours to make a witch’s tutu and the ability to get the pastels that Michaels carries so I think I can manage to keep a bit busy.

Anyway I am sure there is someone out there interested in that above mentioned crumble so I will include the recipe:

Apple Crumble

Preheat the oven  to 374 F have ready an unbuttered 2 inch deep 2 quart baking dish

Peel, core and cut in to 1 inch chunks (I made boat slices) 8 medium apples (about 2 1/2 lbs) or use the same amount of peaches, slightly sugared rhubarb or pitted cherries.

Spread evening in the baking dish

Combine in a bowl:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup white or packed brown sugar (I used brown)

1/2 tsp salt

1 – 11/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground or grated nutmeg

add: 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Using a pastry blender or 2 knives cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Scatter the topping evenly over the fruit. Bake until top is golden brown, the juices are bubbling and the apples are tender. About 50-55 min. Serve hot or cold with ice cream or whipped cream or as is.

Soooo Good!

Ken took the twins to Sunday School today so that the little ones could stay home out of the cold. Trinity went right to nap soon after they left and slept around 4 hours! After nap/quiet time Ken took the boys out and they had a treasure hunt with maps to go along with learning about the letter X! Each of them had their own map and at the end of the hunt – a new car! We have not bought them cars in months so it was a super treat for them! Rather proud of Ken to think of it actually. It is so nice to have a partner in homeschooling and not just someone you dictate a lesson plan to.

I tried out making puzzle pieces candycanes but was less  than impressed by the result, I have to admit my favourite is the wreaths, but the putting together of the wreath shape is a little beyond the boys since I do it without a template. I think tomorrow we will glitter some more pinecones (a favourite ornament craft of Gavin’s) and maybe try making something new with pipe-cleaners and beads – I found a cute craft online to make a tree that way.

So the weather is a little crummy, but we have an anniversary party for the meet up local homeschool group at an indoor playground tomorrow and on Friday another rather informal gathering at a local nature centre. A bit of a spend happy week with both events having a fee to get in but the Friday one will be 15.00 for a YEARLY pass so that is good. I don’t foresee us doing much more activities that call for fees for the rest of the month though. After all I want to have a pumpkin carving party and am debating inviting another homeschooling family to join in with our adult friends (the kids’ aunts and uncles).

I am also finally working on adding pictures to our family gallery. I am up to mid August and trying to add only the best of the best but the link is there on the right side of my blog so feel free to take a peek! We are going to make some minor alterations to the Tux pattern to make it easier to stitch. I am also hoping to have at least two more patterns posted on the site – one a Dr. Who piece I mentioned in a past entry. I think tomorrow I will start my first batch of baked beans – now that it has cooled down I can turn down the heat and run the oven that long and not overheat the place! So keep an eye out for that recipe as well!

Missing You Aunty Esther!!!