The Girls

Happy New Year!

I'm not even going to look to see how long ago I posted pictures of the girls, but I'm guessing they have grown a bit since then.

An Interview on Sewing

Sara Hamilton's 4 girls were recently interviewed by Ivana Serger to show how their mother's sewing hobby has affected their lives.

IS: What do you like for your Mom to sew for you?

Hannah (age 5): Skirts!!! I like to twirl around. I wanted ruffles on my pink skirt 'cuz I love ruffles. I love my new skirt! I don't see Mom for a long time when she sews. I really miss her when she's making me things. She says ruffles are extra special and take an

extra long time.

IS: Tell me about what your Mom has sewn for you.

Rachel (age 7):

My Mom sews stringy shorts for me. All my pants from last year are turned into shorts, but they all have strings hanging down from them, so I call them stringy shorts. We just keep cutting the strings off when they get too long. Mom says there's a magical machine that will make them go away. I want her to get that magical machine...soon.

IS: Do you like to

sew with your Mom?

Emily (age 10):

I LOVE sewing with my Mom. This summer we were going to do a summer sewing camp with Mom as the "camp leader", but...(sniffles) her sewing machine died. We didn't get to make the skirts we had planned. And she was also turning some old dresses into tops for me for school. I'm pretty excited about them--I see them every day I walk by her sewing area and I think of how cute I'm going to look as soon as she can finish them. For now, I'm just wearing some old tops from last year.

IS: What does Mommy sew?

Lizzie (age 3):

Mommy made me a purse. Then Mommy's machine broke. She was really sad. I was really hungry when Mommy was sewing. She says ironing and sewing take a long time. Mommy says to stay away when she has to iron. She does lots of ironing to make her sewing look pretty.

In talking with these beautiful girls, the message is clear: Their mom loves them and is willing to spend long hours providing for them and teaching them the wonderful art of sewing. But this reporter has to wonder if there is a better way. Clearly, a Husqvarna Viking Serger is the answer to this mom's quest for making pretty things for her girls, while still being able to see them and spend time with them.

This is Ivana Serger reporting live from the Hamilton home.

Summer

I love summer! Each year, I love summer even more. I love the quietness of it, I love the funness (it's my blog, so I get to make up words), I love summertime food, I love the trips, and I love that it's what I make of it--not too many demands. So, here's a look at our summer:

~craft projects galore! (necklaces, skirts, art camp, playing in the preschool room for most of the day)

~trips to the beach, parks, the library

~bike riding (to the parks and the library, but not to the beach, which is 45 minutes by car)

~Lake Tahoe

~smoothies (we make 1 or 2 every day--our new fave is Watermelon smoothies)

~reading, reading, reading (In Defense of Food, Candy Shop Wars, Harry Potter (I'm on #3 and E & R are on #6), The Pit Dragon series) Any good suggestions to finish out my summer?

~playing (thankfully, the girls can play for hours with each other--it makes my heart happy) (Did you read this study?)

~trips to the doctor's office (a record 6 visits in 2 days!!!) (Have you ever tried to get a 2-year old to pee in a cup??? Pretty funny.) Good things we have learned from the doctors this summer: Liz does not have a UTI, Em does not have melanoma and Ray does not have a brain tumor. All very good things to hear.

Movie Moments

Reason for my absence from the blogging world? I've slowed down a bit and I'm not cramming so much into my days!! (In my own mind, I'm hearing your applause.) It feels very good and I'm liking the results I'm seeing. But, one thing that moved way down the list was blogging. So, periodically I keep up with your blogs, and even less periodically I post on mine.

Today's post:

What are some movie moments that you love for whatever reason (funny, romantic, suspenseful, thought provoking)? Recently Jon and I posed that question to some friends and the results were pretty varied and fun. (Return to Me, Nacho Libre, Good Will Hunting, Family Man, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Tomb Raider, When Harry Met Sally)

Here were mine: An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle and Jon's was a clip from Another Stakeout (random movie--only worth watching to see the clip about the ice cream sandwiches. It's such a random movie, though, that I can't find the clip online anywhere!)

So, what would your great movie moment be?

(BTW, none of the great, obvious Jane Austen movies made it because guys were there and well, it's just not the same is it.)

New Summer Hobby?

Check out this great idea!

Father's Day Ideas

Just saw this easy idea that would be fun for the kiddies. I think I might try it...

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

It's not even Christmas Day yet and I already feel like I got what I wanted for Christmas. This year I was seeking a simple Christmas packed with tons of memories (as opposed to things) and thanks to my SIL and my my wish is being fulfilled.

Favorite Gifts:
*From my SIL, Carrie, the 12 Days of Christmas ready to give to another family. How fun! Carrie did all the work (cute poems, pretty bows on each gift--it was seeping with creativity) and all I have to do each night is pass it off to Jon and the girls and off they go. LOVED IT!
*From my brother, Justin, a gift that has brought about great discussions and questions with our girls. In our name, honey bees, tree seedlings and training are being provided to families in another country through Heifer International. What a great gift! I loved it for its originality, thoughtfulness and practicality. We gave another family a source of income!!! That's cool.

Favorite Activities:
*ice skating...in the rain (Who would've guessed that 40% chance of rain meant a downpour?)
*finding any excuse for having hot chocolate, like skating in the rain (We discovered flavored coffee creamers that make hot chocolate even more fun!)
*seeing the Nutcracker with the girls--love this tradition
*watching Christmas movies
*making gingerbread houses (sorry, the houses were made with graham crackers, but I did make the royal icing that worked like magic keeping everything together) The girls invited friends over too, so in all about 12 houses were made. We will definitely make this a tradition. And I will definitely do this outside next year. :)
*looking at lights...on other people's houses (because as my girls have learned, we just don't do lights on the outside because that's the part that Jon's in charge of.)

What I'm Looking Forward to:
*making donuts (Yet another excuse for more hot chocolate--you gotta have something to dip the donuts in!)
*finding some snow somewhere (Emily wants to make a snowman and go sledding. So far, the closest snow we can find is 5 hours away, so maybe we'll do an overnighter and have some snow adventures.)
*game nights
*Christmas morning
*watching more Christmas movies (did you see this one?)