I started a new blog

As you may have read in my last post, this blog is full. SO, from this time further (until I fill the next blog up) please head on over to cheneychattervolume2.blogspot.com/. Your invite will be in the mail shortly, if you haven't received it already.

ttfn

It SHIPPED!!!

It will be here on March 3, 2011. I'm so excited!!!

Room Make Over (WITH PICTURES!)

Monday I went to JoAnn Fabric and bought...fabric!I bought what is pictured below plus a bolt of natural muslin, bringing the total purchase to 31 yards of fabric that beautiful morning. I decided to use the top and the bottom of this pile for the girls' room. 

 Anna's first block.

 All of Anna's blocks sans border

 Nicole's blanket top sans border

 Before pictures of the girls' room.

 no, I didn't clean before I took the pictures.

 Nicole moved into the front room.

  This is a picture with paint on one wall. It's the wall without the window. You can see a small difference. That's the trouble with using a cellphone to document things.

 Green wall.

 I couldn't finish the edging until the next morning because both colors had to dry.

 finished walls.

 building the bunk bed.

 tape for stripes

 A few stripes. (We are going to add some more. We ran out of frog tape.)

 Another trip to JoAnn for batting. It was on sale for president's day. Sale ends 2-21.

  I asked my friend, Kate, how much batting I should buy and she told me to get a buttload. 

 a proverbial buttload of batting. 8 packages.

 The back of Anna's quilt.

 The back of Nicole's quilt...already 'quilted.'

 I burned out the motor of my sewing machine. It's dead. I had to finish the project on Nicole's. I've ordered a new machine and all will be right in the world again sometime between 2-28 and 3-3.

 Anna with her blanket. (She also got a haircut this week.)

 The beds made. I'm making pillow cases tomorrow.

 A view of the girls' room after everything is put back together again.

 The girls love it and I'm really happy with out it all turned out!!

I'm not one to share how much I spend on things. I don't want to brag and most people don't care. BUT, with all the fabric I bought (Remember 30+ yards?), the new bunk bed, a new mattress and paint, this project was less than $450 dollars. I'm pretty happy with that.

*can I use this as a young women value experience or project? Any ideas?? Would it count even though I didn't think of it until after it was done?  good works maybe? I don't really know.

Christmas Pictures in their entirety...

I'm pretty sure Santa broke my camera. Why you ask? Because I took pictures of my kids last night opening their obligatory Christmas Eve photo receiving new pajamas. Santa took pictures of the kids' things all laid out nicely and of the tree with their presents from Ken and me. Then this morning when I turned on my camera to take pictures of them opening their gifts, there was a lens error. After spending time researching the error on the internet and trying all their 'fixes' we have come to the conclusion, that the camera is indeed dead.  It is a sad day.

This year we did Christmas morning a little differently and I really liked it so we will continue it next year...I think. After Santa filled their stockings and set out his gift to the kids, he ate his treat and took off. Normally he sorts all the gifts from under the tree so the kids wake up to a big pile of loot. This morning, the look was under the tree.

Their 'piles'  were smaller and I thought they looked very nice. Then the kids sat by their things, went through their stockings, then we handed them one gift at a time, which they opened one at a time. We continued this until all was opened. Maybe your family has always done it this way. If so, you're a genius!

Below are the photos we were able to take before Santa broke the camera. :)

note to self; don't make pajama shirts for Nicole and Matthew anymore. Just buy a three dollar t-shirt.

R.I.P beautiful canon PC1309.

Christmas Tree then and now

by then, I mean at 6pm.
by now, I mean now.

Watch this video. It's of an ugly tree and a cute girl. gracias.

So I'm not going to say I love it now. It is definitely better. I can't actually believe we have a colored lights in our house. We haven't had any in over 10 years. Ken and I went on another date to walmart tonight and bought all the junk you are looking at now. good times. Also, take special note of our dinky little Christmas tree. I bought this tree when I was 17 to put in my room. We are too lame and cheap to replace it. We may have to soon though, because the kids are tall enough to know it's not big anymore. haha

You get what you pay for.

A few weeks ago, I believe in the middle of September, Ken and I were on a date at Walmart (like you've never been on a date to Walmart!) and we ended up in the kitchen section. Ken swore up and down that we needed a new can opener. Ours doesn't work he said. I told him I thought it was fine but he persisted. Finally he found a can opener that he thought would be better and it was only ONE DOLLAR. I tried to talk him out of it, my argument being you get what you pay for and in the end I believed we would be out that dollar. Alas, we bought the can opener for $1.08.

Fast forward 5 weeks. I have probably opened 3 cans with the thing. It's garbage. But when my 'good' one was in the dishwasher, it would work fine...until last night. I started to open a can of green beans and it got stuck almost immediately. I had the thought I should video the awesomeness known as the 'crappy can opener' but much to my chagrin, I quickly dismissed that thought.  Instead I moved the opener over a little, pressed the handle together to open a new part and just as I started to turn the handle, this happened.

 Yep, it broke. (And I could have gotten it on camera! boo) We are out $1.08. Here is the top of the can, you can see how far it went before I had to try again.

 A little ad for Del Monte Beans. :) I can't really taste a difference in any kind of canned vegi. These were just on sale. I guess this should be an ad for Albertson's.

Our rusty old can opener that works when it wants to, if you speak kindly and apply the correct amount of pressure which is never the correct amount of pressure twice.  It likes to be mysterious. The poor thing is 13 years old. It's tired!

Any recommendations on a good can opener? We really do need one.