School Auction

I know that lots of schools are doing auctions as fundraisers. Our school is having theirs on Saturday. There are 3 phases to the evening. The theme is "This is My Father's World" so the night begins with food from various locations around the world. Italian, German, Mexican, and more. Then on to the silent auction. Each table is sponsored by a local business and has items up for bid. I am donating 2 bags filled with the essentials for Mom to relax. Last year my bags made about $100 each for the school. The final activity is the live auction. This is where things get interesting. This year we have lots of great items, but the highlights of the night are always the class projects.
Each class works on a project that all of the parents can bid on. PreK through 8th grade present their projects and the bidding begins. We will have several quilts, fruit bowls with the kids fingerprints on, recycled jean bags, a quilted table runner, and much more. Claire's class has made a wind chime. This is something that I have had floating around in my head for awhile and I finally found the perfect opportunity to make it.
The room moms purchased a nice wind chime with great sound. Then we had each of the kids write their name on copper sheeting (it is available in craft stores in small sheets and can be cut with a craft scissors). It is soft enough that if you have them use a pencil, it will show up great. We tied their name to some fishing line and had them string sparkly beads on the string. I then hung them on various locations on the chime.
This picture is from my phone and therefore not the best quality, but you can get the idea.
This would work with the names of your family, the fruits of the spirit, or any other words you can think of.

Another Great Recipe

I made this recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu on Monday. It was really easy and really good. The only 2 criteria I have for a recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Lower Sodium Stuffing Mix for Chicken

6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.)

6 slices OSCAR MAYER Thin Sliced Smoked Ham

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup

1 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard

6 KRAFT Deli Fresh Swiss Cheese Slices

Directions:
HEAT oven to 400ºF.

PREPARE stuffing as directed on package.

PLACE chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with ham. Mix soup and mustard; spoon over chicken. Top with stuffing.

BAKE 25 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Top with cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted.

I served it with broccoli, but asparagus or green beans would be good.

A Weekend in Chicago

It was finally time for the girls to meet Jack. They were so excited. It was a great weekend with great weather. The girls got to go to the park and play and we got to walk everywhere.

Jack's Quilt

I am finally finished with the quilt that I made for my sister's baby, Jack. I pieced together the quilt the end of January when I was at the financial aid conference in Detroit.
I assembled the quilt when I got home.
Then I sent it to Georgia to be quilted. I have not done that before and didn't want to learn on this one. When I got it back I put the binding on and today I added the giraffe.
I LOVE IT!!! I can't wait to give it to Jack this weekend.
I am taking all 3 girls on Friday and we will spend the weekend with Leah and Jack.
So, with no further ado...

Finally Done

We finished the girls' room this morning. The bedroom and reading room. Here are some pics of the final results.
The inspiration for the framed letters came from The Feathered Nest.

Lilly's room is now the reading/homework room. There are two chairs, each with a canopy that was above their beds before we stacked them. Claire will also be able to do homework at the desk in here.

I hope that things will stay this way for awhile. I am sick of moving furniture around.

Another Wonderfull Lilly Moment

Last weekend, when I was in Chicago visiting Leah, Jim took all of the girls to Panara for dinner.
Coco was talking to Claire about school and the conversation was going well.
One detail about Lilly that you need to know is that when she feels that she is not the center of attention, she feels the need to talk very loudly. On the edge of a yell. Sometimes she even does yell.
So anyway, Coco and Claire were talking and Claire said that at school she prayed that she was thankful that "Mom's butt got better." (She is actually talking about my lower back, but she says butt because she thinks it is funny.)
Well, Lilly pipes up (read that as yells loud enough that the man in the next booth drops his sandwich and laughs out loud), "CLAIRE, IT WASN'T HER BUT IT WAS HER VAGINA!"

Nice Lilly....really nice. I think it will be awhile before Jim takes his girls on a "date." He needs some time to recover from this one.

Updating an Old Comforter Set

Lilly has been wanting to sleep on Claire's floor of late. She keeps saying that she is "scary". So, instead of letting our 3 year old sleep on the floor for another week, we decided to stack the girls' beds into a bunk bed. Don't worry, they are designed for this.

Then, me being me, I needed the beds to match. Off came the fairy and mermaid bedspreads and on went the "old" red ones. Well, the girls didn't like them. They said they looked like "boy beds." So, I spent the majority of the day and night yesterday making ruffle pillowcases and book slings.

Here are some pictures of the new old beds.


So, I spent all of this time and effort to make the girls' beds look girly and guess where Lilly slept last night. That is right.....on the floor of her old room.