Christmas Stockings from Sweater and Fleece Baby Blanket

I have been seeing such cute pillows all over the blogosphere.  You know, the ones made out of sweaters?

Well, I noticed the other day I had forgotten to put our Christmas stockings up.  I dug around and couldn't find our old ones, and I kinda remember, in the back of my head, thinking that I may have thrown them away last Christmas because they were pretty sad looking.

Money is tight, so I though I would make some.  Now back to the sweater pillows.  They were my inspiration.  I thought, "Now why can't I use a sweater to make stockings?"  Plus I have a red sweater that my mom gave me (that someone gave her) and it has these tassels hanging off the cuff that get in the way and are generally annoying. So, I started with this sweater:

I planned on using the sweater for the outer part of the stocking and was using an old fleece baby blanket for the lining.

I used Google and searched for stocking patterns.  You can find my search HERE.  I settled on THIS from Debbie Colgrove over at About.com (sewing).  (Once you get to that page, the pattern link is on the 5th line of the instructions.)

I didn't use the top part of the pattern and I shortened it a bit.  You don't even have to use a pattern, just draw it free hand.  (I use a pattern because I can not draw.  Not even a simple sock.)

So, I used my pattern and cut out 3 stockings from the sweater and sewed the first one up.  Oh. My. Goodness.  It was ugly!  I scrapped that and cut out 3 stockings from the fleece blanket (sorry, I didn't get a picture before I cut it).  It was just a generic baby blanket that I picked up at a re-sale shop when my son was a baby.  I have a ton of them and kept them all because I just knew I could use them for something.   ;)

I sticked them up and turned them inside out.

Then I cut the tassels from the sweater leaving enough material to hold them together.  I just hot glued them to the top edge of the stockings and voila:

So, even though the sweater material didn't work as planned, I still love how they turned out.  AND, they only took about 15 minutes to make!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend and thank you so much for stopping by,

Natosha

The Forbidden Text by Dawn Clark {A Book Review}

I recently read The Forbidden Text  by Dawn Clark.

Synopsis from the back of the book:

"Inspired by her own near-death experiences, her psychological investigations, and her father's counterintelligence experience, author Dawn Clark delivers a tale of pulse-pounding suspense, astonishing insights into the human psyche, and heartwrenching family strength.

When one of her patients, an ordinary housewife, conducts a high-tech terrorist attack in a crowded mall near Washington, D.C., psychologist Dr. Katrina Walker is involuntaryily thrown into the forefront of a top-secret government investigation to expose a global terrorist plot of catastrophic proportions.  Working alongside maverick innelligence officer Jim Clark, the grandson of a Native American shaman, Walker applies her skills in deciphering human energy fields to discover the ultimate threat to Western civilization.  Together, Clark and Walker, give birth to a new kind of strategic intelligence --- but are they already too late?

Explorations of the human subconscious quickly turn to adrenaline-charged action as Clark and Walker track down a twisted genius intent on deploying the deadliest weapon --- unwitting agents of destruction programmed so that they cannot be stopped by conventional means.  The ultimate secret and only hope of stopping Armageddon lies in the Forbidden Text."

I was intrigued.  I love a good thriller and if you throw in a good psychological and possibly paranormal angle, you've got me.

The book begins in Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe, 1988, with James Clark rescuing Eliza from a secret lab where she was being kept prisoner.  What he didn't expect, was that he would also be rescuing Eliza's infant, Alexia.  Eliza refuses to leave until she can go to the lab and retrieve the Forbidden Text.  As she returns to Alexia and Clark, without the Text, she is shot and killed.  The first chapter is only a few pages but you are instantly launched into action and are rooting for Clark and the baby to survive.

Chapters 2 and 3 open in present-day Boston with psychologist Dr. Katrina Walker heading home on the subway and experiencing a feeling of tension and unrest.  James Clark is in Washington D.C. entering a high-tech super-secret government installation in order to meet with the President of the United States (who just happens to be a woman).

Katrina's commute is interrupted by an explosion in Boston's Copley Square.  Soon, all over the United States, disasters are happening.  In New York, a priest blows up his own church.  At a major-league ballpark, a business man almost detonates a dirty bomb.  In a mall, a new mother, who happens to be a new patient of Katrina's, uses a high tech device to . . . .  Now you didn't expect me to tell you everything, did you?  Let's just say that Katrina gets way more involved in government espionage than she ever wanted to, but with her special talents, she is very successful.

Speaking of special talents, Katrina has the ability to read people auras or psychic fields.  At the beginning of the book, I was kinda confused because Katrina is using her extra-sensory capabilities to help a patient, but Ms. Clark doesn't really explain what it all is.  Don't worry, a little ways down the line you get a really good explanation of what Katrina can do and it blends in with the story nicely.

I found the book to be fast-paced and I loved the short chapters.  Ms. Clark makes you care about the characters and what they are going through.  She presents a unique and horrifying twist on "sleeper" terrorists.    I love that the ending is open-ended and I hope she has part 2 out soon.  I really have to know what happens.

I highly recommend The Forbidden Text by Dawn Clark and personally look forward to reading more of her books.

You can get the book from Amazon or order it from Ms. Clark's book website HERE.

*I was provided a copy of The Forbidden Text for review purposes.  All opinions are my own.

{Spinach Dip} - Snacks for Christmas Eve

Growing up, my family always went to my granny's house for Christmas Eve.  There was a gift exchange and a potluck and a lot of family.  My Granny had 13 surviving children who all had children of there own, who had children of their own.  To say it was crowded is an understatement.


As our extended family began to implement their own Christmas Eve traditions and with the passing of my Granny, we now do our own thing as well.  Instead of a big meal, we have snacks or appetizers.  It varies year-to-year what we eat, except there is always Knorr's Spinach Dip.  ALWAYS.  We have learned to buy our Knorr's seasoning packet way before Christmas because it is sometimes hard to find.  Here's the recipe, which is found on the back of the packet.

Knorr's Spinach Dip (taken from the Knorr website)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach , cooked, cooled and squeezed dry
• 1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
• 1 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
• 1 package Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix
• 1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts (optional)
• green onions

DIRECTIONS

• Combine all ingredients and chill about 2 hours. Serve with your favorite dippers to your favorite people.

We usually make a bread bowl and serve it with the bread pieces, carrots, cucumbers, celery and assorted crackers.

Credit

Low-Fat Version:
While I was on Knorr's website, I found a version of the dip using plain greek yogurt and light mayo.  You simply replace the 16 oz container of sour cream with the yogurt and the regular mayo with the light.  That brings the fat content WAY down.  The regular version has 8 grams of fat per 2-Tbs serving (YIKES) and the greek yogurt version only has 1.5 grams of fat per 2-Tbs serving.  You can find the lightend recipe HERE.

If I try the light version, I'll let you know how it turns out.  If you try it, please come back and let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by,
Natosha.

{Christmas Activities and Crafts for Children} A Round-Up

Today I'm providing links to over 300 Christmas crafts to do with you kiddos.  

Most of my "treats" in our Advent Calendar are activities.  Here are some of the ones I am doing, plus a list of a bunch more to keep your kiddos (and you) busy during the month of December.

Snow Globe via Martha Stewart



Go HERE for 30+ Christmas crafts for kids by Martha Stewart.


A Sock Snowman via About A Mom



Hand Print Santa via Crafty-Crafted





Pom-pom Christmas tree via Kaboose



Go HERE to see 80+ Christmas crafts for kids at Kaboose.


Candy cane heart via Activity Village.



Go HERE for 50+ Christmas crafts for kids at Activity Village.


Handprint Christmas tree via All Kids Network.



Go HERE for 20+ crafts at All Kids Network.


Angel ornament via Amazing Moms.



Amazing Mom has 20+ crafts HERE.


Light bulb Santa via Kinder Art.



Kinder Art has 60+ activities and crafts for kids HERE.


Stained glass jars via First Palette.



First Palette has 30+ craft ideas HERE.


Candy car via Busy Bee Kids Crafts.



Busy Bee Kids Crafts has 35+ more crafts HERE.

If those aren't enough to keep you busy, then check out these boards* on Pinterest:

Sassy Sites and Crafts

TanaRhea

MistyBlue

Living Montessori Now

Em

*If any of these boards are yours and you would like them removed, please let me know in the comments.

In the next couple of days I will show you some of the crafts I am doing with my 3 yr old.  We haven't gotten a lot done this week because we got a dog and she is getting all of Jax's attention.  He doesn't even want to do "crabs", AKA crafts.

Thanks for stopping by.  If you have a favorite list of Christmas crafts for kids, please leave the link in the comments.

Natosha

The Terrifying Threes

So if you have a 3 year old, you may have a clue as to what the title of this post is referring to.  My son turned 3 on November 24th.


He was such a good baby.  He slept through the night very early (although he was up most of the day and didn't go to sleep until 10 or 11p).

Then he hit the terrible twos at about 20 months.  We got through that.

But now he is three and can be quite a handful.

You can totally tell what words I use with him most frequently.  He tells me to "Hush"  all the time.  He says  screams "No" at me and generally ignores requests and rules.  (BTW, I never scream at him.  I think he believes if he screams it loud enough then he will convince me.)  Oh, and he has completely embraced the use of body function words.  If he says "poop"  once during the day, he says it one hundred.  Along with:  pee pee, fart, toot, and butt.  Boys, ya gotta love 'em.  I'm dreading the day he asks about his boy parts.

He drew this picture a couple of months ago and I feel it fits the way I have been feeling lately.

So, any advice?  Do you have a toddler who is going to assert his/her will no matter what?  Spill your secrets for handling them in the comments.  I would be ever so grateful.

Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha