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Well we just got home from trick-or-treating with the monsters.  We had a blast!  Quinnie was the cutest bumblebee ever.  Lou was a ninja, go figure, and Buffalo was a hockey player.  They looked so cute.  C took pics so I'll get him to add some so you can see.  They got a TON of candy.  I told them there was a mommy tax, if they wanted to keep their candy they better share the love to which Buffalo stated, "I don't think I like this mommy tax to much".  Oh man you just can't fool a 2nd grader like you used too.

Buffalo and I made a Spiced Pumpkin and Banana Bread.  HOLY COW it was delicious.  You gotta check out this blog, http://www.kitchenbelleicious.com/.  I had some over ripe bananas and some pumpkin in the fridge and wouldn't you know this blog had a recipe that used both.  I wasn't to sure about the combo, however, I was pleasantly surprised.  You gotta try this one.  I think little one would love this too.

I'm missing you something terrible tonight.  Give my love to the gang.  Your little one is so stinking cute.  Tomorrow is November and the count down to a reunion will be in full swing!!!!  YIPPEE.  Turkey trot 2011 here we come.

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Oh my gosh Kiki you are hilarious! I have to admit I bought Halloween candy last week and I helped myself to a few pieces here and there too. You're not alone!
Okay so no need to be jealous of my night on the coast because get this, I got hives! Can you believe it! I noticed a few dots that morning but didn't think anything of it and itched through out the day but not horrible. Well, I go to change into my jammies and I am covered! No idea what I did. Mr.I thinks maybe something at the petting zoo I was allergic to but who knows. I am better today but still itchy! What an annoying feeling.
We went to and had a family get together over at Uncle Bs this afternoon which was fun. It is always so cute to see the 3 kiddos run around together. K, J, and I were talking about how crazy that they are 3 months apart, have the same color hair, close to the same eye color, and same height. If one of us took them all out I am sure we would get asked if they were triplets. Last week when I was helping with H I got asked by everyone if they were twins. I guess the B side of the family is strong in all of them. I still think Little One looks like Lou though ;)
My craft for today is Little Ones Halloween costume:

She loves Minnie Mouse but I just can't justify the amount it costs to buy the real outfit. So, I bought the onesie and then made a tutu for the skirt. All you need for the tutu is elastic that is 3/4" width and I buy the tulle in the wedding decoration area so it is already 6" wide and then cut the strips to be however long you want the skirt. I wanted a 10" skirt so I cut 21" (you fold it over) and I then went and bought white felt from Jo Ann's which was like 25 cents and cut out white circles. I sewed them on to the tutu to make Minnie's polka dots. Done and done! so simple and she loves dressing up with the tutu :)
I am excited to see your monsters all dressed in their gear! LOVE YOU

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So I am all by myself tonight.  The monsters are in bed watching a movie.  The in-laws are out on the town. C is working.   So I thought I would take advantage of the peace and quiet and sneak a little treat.  Oh Tia.  This is where the story goes downhill.  On Friday my office had a Halloween party.  One of the gals in my department brought a pinata to use for decoration and she didn't want to take it home so she gave it to me.  What a doll.  The monsters went nuts and have been waiting patiently for me to let them break into it.  Well it was just sitting there staring at me... Eat me, eat me.  I decide why not have a little taste.  There is a hole in the top where you can stuff in the candy. My hands are pretty little so I stuck my fingers in and grabbed a pack of skittles.  Skittles? Okay I was going for the chocolate.  I decided instead of sticking my fingers in I'd stick my hand in a little further. I felt around and I knew I had gotten something good.  As I was pulling my hand out I realized it was stuck.  I mean STUCK! The more I pulled the more the hole pulled. Oh great my little sneak is going to break open this whole stinkin' pinata.  Well since I am writing this you can figure out that I got my hand out but holy cow I kept thinking the whole 5 minutes that I was stuck with my hand in a pinata full of candy.  HOW AM I GOING TO EXPLAIN THIS ONE TO C.  I know I know... what can I say I was hungry.

I absolutely love the wreath.  I am totally going to have to make one.  You are so right instead of buying a new wreath each season just change a few little decorations and call it a day.  You're so smart.  I also love how you give me a knitting pattern knowing full well I have no clue what it means.  Oh well.  I guess I'll have to watch a YouTube video and figure out how to knit.

Well little Quinnie just got out of bed so I should probably go put her back in.  Enjoy your night on the coast.  I'm jealous.  Although I am sitting wrapped in a blanket with the fireplace going.  I love when it gets chilly at night like this.

Love you!

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Hi there sister,
It is 8:15 and I need to go to bed! This week has been crazy and of course on the days we need to be out of the house early to help the cousin I had to wake Little One so we could go! So annoying! Anyways, today was good. I took Little One and her cousin H to Zoomars which is a petting zoo by us. It was a lot of fun and they loved feeding the bunnies, BUT their absolute favorite part was the sandbox. Now this sandbox is not full of sand but instead corn kernels. Too funny! 
Tonight we went to a Trunk-or-Treat at a local church with Little One's best bud, they were both Minnie Mouse, it was adorable. Little One was running around like a wild child until she caught on that if she waited with her bag held out she would get candy, she did a great job after that :) 
Tomorrow we are headed down to Mr.I's alma mater and watching a football game, then spending the night on the coast. It should be a great time. Sunday we head back up and have another little Halloween get together with the cousins up here. As you can see it is a busy weekend as well :)

My craft for you: A Fall wreath I made :)  I bought the grape vine wreath a while ago and have just been changing out the decorations on it to match the season. It has been a money saver and I like being able to do different things. The spiral flowers were very simple to knit (the green and orange). I think they would be adorable on clips for hair ;) Here is the pattern for the spiral flower;
CO 100 stitches   size 9 needles
R1: purl
R2: purl
R3: Knit
R4: purl
R5: K2tog 
R6: purl
R7: K2tog
R8: purl
R9: K, (K2tog repeat to end of row)
R10: purl 
Bind Off 
Try it! Love you Kiki and miss you like crazy! Give your monsters lots of loving from Tia!

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I tell you what I can completely understand what an insane day looks like.  I feel like I have been going non-stop since I woke up.  I even didn't have time for dinner... I mean have you EVER heard me say I didn't eat dinner.  And you know what I don't even have the energy to get myself something so I guess I'll just go to bed.  Hopefully I won't wake up in the middle of the night starving.

So I thought about cobbler and then I emailed mom and said what is a great cobbler recipe and she said why don't you do a crisp.  YUMMO.  There is nothing better than apple crisp in the fall.  So here we go:

Grandma H's Apple Crisp
6-8 apples
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c soft butter
3/4 tsp cinnamon

Butter a 8x8 pan.  Peel and slice apples, place in pan.  Combine sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon.  Blend in soft butter until crumbly.  Crumble over apple slices.  Bake 30-35 min @ 375 degrees.

How quick and easy is that.  So good.

Well I have to go to bed my tummy is starting to growl.  I love you!

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Oh my goodness Kiki what a day! You would think I would learn to schedule things so that one week isn't insane while the next has absolutely nothing going on. Well I obviously didn't learn. This is an insane week! Little One and I went down to San Diego to visit Grandma and Grandad B which was so fun! We actually went to a farm with the cousins (I know farm in So Cal is really no farm compared to NE but it's the best we got) and Little One went on a pony ride! She absolutely loved it and was waving the whole time. It was so cute I wish you could have seen her! We got home around 7:30 and I have been going since then. I am helping Cousin J tomorrow and Friday with baby C and H so I have to be there at 7:30 and I have snack duty tomorrow for Bible study. WHAT WAS I THINKING?
So I got Little One in bed, ran to the store, baked some pumpkin apple muffins (from the website weelicious.com amazing), made lunches for us, packed everything in the car, did day 5 of the study (hadn't done it yet and was tempted not to), got ready for bed, laid in bed, then thought oh man I didn't write to Kiki. So here I am :)
Okay I am so excited to get the wagon from great grandad H! He is the sweetest man! Touches my heart that he would do that for his grand babies! He emailed and said it should be here by tomorrow! Also, I can't wait for the cobbler recipe. I am going to need it by the end of this week ;)

DIY paper pumpkins :)

 Here is my craft for the day: 

I found this craft on your pinterest board :)
Instead of using ribbon I used fabric to tie the paper together. These were ridiculously easy and so darn cute!

Okay way past my bedtime. Love you sister!

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Hey Sister,
I have had a busy night.  I finally put all the clothes that were in boxes in the closet, WOW I feel so much better about this space now that I have tackled that project (okay slight exaggeration, I mean you can't really feel great about living in your in-laws basement but at this point every little thing that makes me a little more organized puts a smile on my face).  Not only was I busy but so was C.  Quinnie got a BIG package in the mail today (I hear little one will be getting her's soon too).  She was so excited to open the box and see the surprise from Great Gpa H.  It warms my heart that he still has the energy to spend the time hand crafting such treasures.  So now Quinnie has a  wagon that can not be mistaken as her brothers because it is PINK.  Yeah.  I was laughing while we were putting  the wheels on because Lou was pretty into it.  I'm sure he was more excited about using power tools that playing with the dolls but I still thought it was sweet.

Here's the finished product.

I love how Lou was trying to
get in the picture

 Much to say I didn't cook anything so alas I don't have a recipe for you.  I have to make a cobbler to take to work on Thursday so I'll totally get you a good one here soon, so stick with me.  I am counting down the days until Thanksgiving when I can see you!  Oh by the way the crafts are awesome.  Love little one's new hat.  And I can't wait to find out what all you are making with your latest fabric store purchase... I think it might be for me :).  Love you little sister.

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Okay your caramel corn looks amazing! I am so making it this week. I have snack duty for Bible study. Thanks Kiki! I think you should give me a recipe every time you write :) Wouldn't that be great, I give you a craft you give me a recipe. DONE!
Today, little one and I went on a hunt for fabric. I have been so annoyed because I am looking for specific flannel patterns and I can't find it anywhere. Stinking California never being cold so they don't sell a bunch of flannel. I would give anything to be in Nebraska at a quilt store right now! So little one and I found cute enough stuff. During her rest time I cut and cut fabric. Hehe I am not telling you what it is for, you'll have to guess.
Since we missed story time at the Library, yes we go every Monday, I had a little "circle time" before lunch ;) We sang so many silly songs and she loved every second of it. So cute to see her doing all the motions to every single song! I should do that everyday huh? I'll work on that ;) I tell myself that when we get back from Thanksgiving we will have more of a schedule for circle time and learning and toilet training seriously begins. Then I think okay maybe after Christmas. I am such a procrastinator! But she is so ready for all that. What would I rather do you ask? CRAFT!
Speaking of crafting look at this adorable hat I made for yet another baby :wishologie is where I found it.

I know, if it fits my little one it is going to be way to big for a newborn, but that just gives them something to look forward to. Well, that's what I tell myself.

Oh my gosh best time of my day.... I received my gift from mom in the mail. Alright so I made her buy it for me and said it was for my birthday which is in March. HA I find it funny that my love for purses has moved on to a love for diaper bags. Which by the way I technically don't need to use anymore until I have little one number two running around. But alas I just LOVE petunia pickle bottom and all their adorable bags. So I wanted the Sashay Satchel and found it for a steal and talked mom into buying it :) I love mom! Here it is:
* Disregard the mess of my kitchen I was in total crafting mode.

Alright I think that is it for now. LOVE YOU LOTS. Give your monsters kisses from Tia

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Well it has been a busy weekend.  The family came into town and we had a house full (13 people in one little house, some slept in the camper, the basement, the family room, the living room, I mean everywhere).  They came to celebrate Gma & Gpa K's 67th wedding anniversary.. okay can I just take a moment to say WOW.  I just love the testimony that these two have.  Gma K started telling us about her honeymoon and her face just lit up.  You can see and feel the love that she has for Gpa K.  I just love them.  I personally can't quite imagine what C and I will be like after 67 yrs of marriage, not in the I don't want to be married to the same man for that long I am sure that I will still love C just as much if not more. It is the holy cow we will be OLD that is hard to imagine.  Well anyways.....  Nena assigned all of us girls a dish for the anniversary lunch and I was put in charge of dessert.  Really, out of all the girls I'm doing dessert, I hate dessert... I mean I LOVE to eat dessert but I am not the baking kinda person as we both know.  I guess I am a little ADD for baking, it is hard for me to be patient. When I cook I like to throw a little bit of this and a little bit of that and call it a day you know.  Well  anyway, I decided that I can do this.  So we picked out a recipe for individual S'more pies.  Who doesn't love S'mores..  Yeah apparently I didn't pay attention closely enough to the recipe because after a whole night of sitting in the fridge chilling they still looked "soupy" as Buffalo said.  As you can imagine the crowd became eager for dessert and I had to come up with something quick.
If there is one thing that I can count on, it is popcorn.  You can't really mess up popcorn and add caramel on top of that and you have a WINNER WINNER Chicken Dinner.

 this is how it
looked after 2 min.

Just out of the Oven

OH man was it a hit.  I made 4 batches of the stuff and still couldn't keep everyone fed.  (Aunt B's recipe would have saved me a whole lot of time but this is just so good after it is in the oven for so long.)  Before Shan and family left they requested another batch to take in the car, to which Nena said well I would like another batch to.  So day#2 I spent another hour in the kitchen making caramel corn.  I may not be a very good dessert maker but apparently I am really good at making caramel corn.  I think when ever we have to bring anything to a family get together this is what I'll bring.

The next time Mr.I invites friends over you should definitely put a bowl of this out on the table, they will go nuts over it.  I would suggest double or tripling the recipe, it seems to disappear just as quickly as it is made.

So that's what I spent my weekend doing.... I hear you had a pretty late night with your g-friends.  Can't wait to hear all about it.  Love ya.

Famous Caramel Popcorn
3 quarts popped corn
1/2 C butter
1 C brown sugar
1/4 C corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 250 degrees.  Put popped corn in a large buttered pan (I use a cookie sheet).  Melt butter in saucepan.  Add brown sugar, corn syrup, salt.  Stir constantly bring to a boil.  Boil 5 min. without stirring.  Quickly stir in baking soda and vanilla.  Pour over popped corn.  Bake 30 min. stirring every 10 min.
Serve ENJOY!

XOXO

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My Sister,
I am excited to hear about the craft show and see pictures with the couch! What a great idea! Too bad there are no "turkeys" that can be in your shots ;) No, I mean I totally believe you wink wink. I can so imagine Lou and Quinnie finding the turkeys and trying to ride them like they are mutton busting!  Back to pictures...I can't wait to have C take our Christmas shots at Thanksgiving. You'll have to brainstorm some cool locations for us. I am sure there won't be, but I am wishing for snow! I sure miss the Midwest this time of year!
Okay so last night should have been a night full of studying for this stinking test I have to take next month. But what do you know, I instead talked to you and finished another craft. Which was nice because I enjoyed a much better night than I thought I was going to have ;)

This is the bunny hat I made to match the tutu :) Isn't is so cute and seriously I made it last night while watching my shows. I found this pattern at the same blog as the cowl scarf: fiberflux.blogspot.com
This will be my new go to gift for baby showers! It is so easy, you could even make it!




Well I need to run, going out tonight to celebrate a friend. I am so excited for a night out with the girls! I promise no crazy late night calls ;)

LOVE YOU LOTS

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Hola Sista,
I am so glad it is Friday, can I hear an AMEN.  I am going to a craft fair tomorrow and can't wait!  Maybe I'll come up with some more crafts that you can make for me :).  I love having a crafty sista.  I certainly did not get that gene from the parents.  However, if you need me to format a spreadsheet, through in a pivot table, I'm your gal.  After the fair we have family pics with the in-laws, should be a fun time. C is going to set up a little "studio" in the meadow and I think we are going to bring down a vintage couch to get some cool props.. other than just kneeling in the grass you know.  I am so glad I married a photographer, now if only he would take family pics more often. I'll post a good one so you can preview the Christmas card.

Living in NE has definitely been something to get used to.  Each day I drive home (the whole 2 min) to have lunch with C and Quinnie and you will never guess what delays me every day (ok slight exaggeration but you get my gist) on the way to the house, a family of turkeys.  Yes you read that right TURKEYS.  I mean I have stopped before for a mother goose and her ducklings but never, never turkeys.  And while driving in the city (again slight exaggeration) no less.  Of course this happened for the better part of 2 months and do you think I captured this on camera once, no.  So this week I sent C out on a hunt to find said turkeys to document my lunch/rush hour traffic jam but do you think he saw 1. NO.  They have all vanished.  Maybe it has something to do with hunting season, I'm just saying.

Well the sister in-laws just arrived (from out of town) so I should probably go say hello.  I miss you. Give little one a kiss and hug from her Kiki.

LOVE much!!!

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Hello, Can I just tell you how much I love having you as a sister! I can't wait for my fun box to arrive! You are the best!
Guess what! I got 3 hours to myself this afternoon while the little one dreamed fun dreams :) That's right 3 whole hours to clean, organize, make a fabulous meal, and do laundry. Did I do any of the wonderful things I mentioned? NO. Okay I did do laundry, BUT instead of being a great stay at home wifey, I crafted.

That's right I fixed some clothes that had seams tearing, (I guess that is housework right?) AND made an adorable tutu for a baby gift! I know what you are thinking: 3 hours to make that! No joke it took like 25 minutes to thread my needle. How you ask: I have no idea what my issue was!
Do you like? I am also going to knit a baby hat to go with it, but that craft is for another day.




I am really getting into this craft a day, oh alright every two days. You have indeed brought out my creative side with your awesome lace collar :) You'll have to brainstorm with me some new and exciting things to make.

I forgot to tell you, we went to JoAnn today and I bought fabric for the skirt/ holiday dress I am making the little one. It is so cute I can't wait to show you how it turns out. I just need elastic and I am set to bust it out. I am also about to start your Christmas gift! Augh, I can't wait to see your face!

Alright as you can see nothing real exciting today. I mean no 30lb box of jewelry to tell you about that's for sure! What a life indeed Kiki! LOVE YOU

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What a day...what a day.  It is what 11 o'clock and I am just now sitting down to "relax".  Oh Tia you know me once I get something in my head I just have to do it.  So what did I get in my head..... I LOVE MY JOB I LOVE MY JOB.  Why do I say that, well you can put your name on this "list" to get a box.  Being the newbie I didn't quite know what to expect but I brought home a box full of treasures tonight. I kid you not the box was like 30 lbs of "broken" pieces of jewelry.  So I spent the ENTIRE night going through this box and finding some AMAZING treasures. Mr.I can thank me later for saving him a ton of money, your goodies bag is in the mail (you like feathers right). When I walked in the door with this huge box it didn't take C more than a second (literally) to say "oh geese how much is this costing me".  I was like "oh babe don't worry about it"... hee-hee.. little does he know it barely cost me anything, our secret okay.  I should have taken a picture of Lou half way through the unpacking process.  He was wearing every "boy" necklace and bracelet he could find.  What a goof.  Are kids allowed to wear jewelry to kindergarten?  Anyways, I think the kids had just as much fun sorting through things than I did.  I can't wait to wear everything.  I don't think I am a navajo inspired jewelry, feather kind of person but dude I'll rock it once.

Not the best picture but you get it, there is a gazillion pieces.

And the best part -- everything that was beyond repair I salvaged the beads for crafting.  I figure why through anything away.  You'll have to teach me how to be crafty so nothing goes to waste.  I don't know if that is something you can teach but we'll see.

I miss Peanut... and you.  Hugs and Kisses xoxo

Coming up --- I'm on the hunt for turkeys (fyi no turkeys will be hurt during this hunt),  I bet Peanut has never seen any up close.  Maybe I'll stumble upon them tomorrow.  OH and guess what I think tomorrow is the day I finally get a phone!  I can't remember what it is like to have a cell phone.  It will be AWESOME!!!!!!!  (oh the life I live)

Love you!

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Oh Kiki, it seems you have hit the jack pot with finding that book. I wish I had it here so that I too could be inspired. One craft a day could be fun. I mean you're right I just sit at home all day twiddling my thumbs thinking I should really be doing something. It's not like I am chasing down Little One trying to get her to clean up after herself, telling her only to draw on the paper NOT the couch, and please don't dump your food on the floor. No, none of that ever happens, my Little One sits quietly and reads and plays nicely all day long ;)

Seriously though,you know me and one minute all I am doing is quilting, next minute I am making flower hair clips, this minute is all about knitting. I made a super cute cowl scarf from a new blog I found: http://fiberflux.blogspot.com/2011/03/spicy-little-knit.html?spref=bl

Totally looks like you and I am sure C would love it way more than that lace collar, although with C you never known. I may just have to make that as a Christmas present for you. You would like that right, the lace collar?







Oh also new this week: I want to make peanut clothes! I found an adorable cardigan on pintrest and I may just have to try it. Wish me luck since all I have sewn are blankets and drapes. This might get interesting.  I'll keep you posted because if it turns out Quinnie's turn is next!

Little One and I are counting down the days for another skype party with your little monsters!
We miss you more.

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Hi sis,

I have got to tell you what I have been doing for the last 2+ hours tonight.  Usually after I put the monsters to bed (and I mean monsters, did you read Shan's blog about Quinnie) I spend a little time catching up on some of my favorite blogs.  But not tonight, as I was cleaning out a space for some storage I found Nena's old Better Homes and Gardens "How-To" books.  Talk about entertaining.  I don't think I would consider 1977 crafts to be "Pin it" worthy.   Really clay kitty buttons to enhance my wardrobe just doesn't have the same appeal to me as say .. make a sweatshirt into a cardigan, but the tutorial sure is precise.  I'm thinking I could make some pretty awesome gag gifts.  So what do you think?  We could do an ode to Julie&Julia.  Since you stay at home all day I'm thinking that you should be Julie, do 1 craft a day for a year... that would be great.  You'd have some winners.  So I know you're wondering what my personal favorite was.... I'm not telling just yet.  You're gonna have to guess.  Come on.  



Okay Okay you twisted my arm.  


The Victorian Lace Collar: add a touch of romance to your days and nights with this elegant crocheted collar. It fastens at the back with three buttons and drapes perfectly over a plain blouse to create a soft, sophisticated look.  


I know what your thinking C is going to LOVE it.  Hot right :).  


So now that you know what I have spent my precious alone time doing, what have you been up to?  Oh and by the way I miss you terribly!

  Write Soon!