Baby Quilt for Farley Girl

Hello- I'M BACK...

It has been almost 2 years since my last post but I've decided to use my blog again but only for my crafts.  I like having a place to 'record' them in case I ever want to revisit them again.

I'm in the process of making all the bedding for little girl Farley due in April.  (Not ours... Matt's brother's)  Here's the quilt and all the dimensions in case you'd ever want to make one.  It's VERY easy.  I stole the pattern from an etsy quilt and figured out all the dimensions for it.

Get all your supplies and cut strips accordingly

Sew strips together with 5/8" seams and them place on top of batting and backing.  Cut the batting to fit the top layer in size but leave 1 1/2" of backing on each edge to use as bias tape (finishing the edges)

Pin all 3 layers together with LOTS of pins

Sew layers together. I sewed a 1/2 inch below each "Strip Seam".

Backing after layers are sewn together

Make sure you get some help from your nephew since you are making his sister's blanket.  

COMPLETED QUILT!
I folded over the backing and used that in stead of bias tape for the edges.

Time estimate: 6 hours

Birthday Post for Angela

This is all for my cousin Angela... enjoy.

BIRTHDAY POST #1 (more coming)

6:40- Matt wakes me up with birthday pancakes.  He had made a heart and a 22.  It was so cute.
7:05- Left for school
7:40- Got to school
7:50- Started teaching... a few little "Happy Birthdays" here and there.  In one class I was sang Happy Birthday in Egyptian and Italian (2 foreign exchange students).  And in another class the students YELLED the Happy Birthday song at the top of their lungs.  Quite funny.
12:30- Lunch...I had 8 texts and 7 missed calls...I felt so loved by everyone!
1:15- Left school early
1:30- Went to the doctors.  I've had a cough for 4 weeks (that's for another post...which probably won't happen knowing me) and so I decided it was time to take things seriously.
2:30- Got my hair cut.
3:30- Visited my mom at a career fair she was at in Cedar Rapids.  It was great to be able to see her and Cindy Shearer on my birthday.  They are blessings in my life.
4:30- Met with 2 lovely girls from UNI who came down just to have coffee with me.
5:45- Left and drove home
6:15- Got home and Nephew Ben had  a BEAUTIFUL hand and foot painting which said happy birthday waiting for me.  And Lianne had made a wonderful supper and fantastic cupcakes.  I love where we live.  :)
6:30- Care Group Begins at our house.
9:00- Care Group Ends and Matt gives me his present for me.  He got me this bowl which matches our dishes set.  I love it.  I got a lot of the 'extras' for our dishes set for this birthday...2 big serving bowls, salt and pepper shakers, and a gravy bowl.  The set is kinda expensive so it is nice to be getting them as presents.  :)  I am so excited to have the whole set. 
9:30- The nightly coughing began...sad face... meaning I slept on the couch.  I can't wait to get to sleep in our bed again.   Hopefully my new medicine will kill the cough. 

And that is what happened on my 22nd birthday.  We are going on a date this weekend so I'll let you know all about it after it happens.  And maybe I'll stick some pictures in as well.

to say...

No clever anything here. Basically I'm on here to say...

1. MY SISTER IS HAVING A BABY SOON!

This weekend we are celebrating her soon coming baby boy and (maybe) I'll get pictures up here after it happens. It has been so much fun planning for this little boy and his parents!

2. WE ARE MOVING IN WITH MY PARENTS (for 3 weeks)

Matt has a rotation in Ames starting May 14th so we are moving in with Mom, Dad, Nicole, Chris, and wee-one for 3 weeks. Crammed but so much fun!

3. I'M MAKING MY SISTER'S BABY BEDDING

...and it's stinking cute. She designed it all and I'm SOOO excited for it to be all put together. (Maybe) Pictures will be up about that soon as well.

4. I'M TEACHING HIGH SCHOOLERS

I am not student teaching at Jefferson High, love it, and have realized how much attitude those stinking 15-18 year old kids have. Why can't you just stand up when I ask you to and do so without fighting/complaining about it? :)

5. I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND EVER

Sometimes I am just amazed by him and all he does. He is going strong in his schooling and still makes time for the Lord, me and others. What an incredible guy!

6. I LOVE DOWNTON ABBEY

I know there's a lot of fuss about this show but ultimately it rocks.

7. WE SERVE AN INCREDIBLE GOD!

This one needs no explanation. He shows his power and might daily and that is more than my words could ever do.

-'til next time.

Quotes

So I am now officially an elementary school teacher (at least for the past 3 days and future week). I am in complete control of the whole day during student teaching. And I am really loving it. Here's a few quotes from the process

QUOTE 1:
M "Mrs. Farley, Mrs. Farley...." (continues excitingly screaming)
Me: "M... you need to sit down."
M: "No (in a very persistent tone) I need to introduce myself. (voice changes to a sweet caring sound) I'm M, and I'm very glad to meet you."

QUOTE 2:
T: (raising his hand and my cooperating teacher [CT] calls on him) "She's cute" (points to me)

QUOTE 3:
T: (he's a very naughty kid and after one class I got down to his level and gave him a little talk about how he needs to act in class) "Ok Mrs. Farley" (promptly turns to his friends) "She tried to kiss me."

QUOTE 4:
W: (Native American boy...comes up to me almost in tears) "TN called me an idiot." (I go over to TN)
Me: "TN did you call W an idiot?"
TN: "No I called him an Indian"
(Well good... because we shouldn't be calling people idiots but what were you doing calling him an Indian?)

QUOTE 5: (all in one recess time)
N: (runs up after recess) "C hit me in the face,"
Me: Ok...where is he?
N: I don't know
S: (girl who comes running up) "C is stuck in the snow"
Me: oh no... well let's go get him. (we go get him where his leg is stuck in a snow drift)
Me: (to C) "Did you hit N?"
C: Well yeah... but he hit me too! (OH BOY!!!)

MEANWHILE...
S: Mrs. Farley, H called me a stupid mean girl.
Me: Well let's go find her. (Not another one)
Me: (to H) "Did you call S a stupid mean girl?"
H: "She called me dumb."
(OH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FIGHTS!)

QUOTE 6: (this happens almost daily)
E: "Mrs. Farley...come watch what I can do with the jump rope."
Me: "Ok E."
E: (proceeds to simply jump rope, maybe throwing in a cross of the arms once in awhile...and jumps for about 3 minutes before she allows me to walk away.)

QUOTE 7:
Me: "Let's find the F word in the music room that coordinates with what we are talking about."
(maybe next time I should switch up the wording of that sentence)

QUOTE 8:
Me: (after talking about skips and steps and singing a song with the word skippity in it) "Ok here's the next example to figure out... this one's trickity."

QUOTE 9:
Me: (to a Kindergarten class) "What do your valentine's look like this year?"
K1: "My family went to a restaurant last night."
Me: "Oh that's very cool K1." (turning to K2) "What do yours look like?"
K2: "My dog and I like running in the park with my dad. Sometimes we walk down there and play."
Me: "How exciting." (turning to K3) "What do your valentines look like?"
K3: "I like to color pictures of horses and sometimes my brother colors with me."
(Good thing we are getting somewhere now.)

QUOTE 10:
Me: (singing a song about decorating a valentine...I asked them what they would use to decorate it. So far we have sung about paints, stickers, glitter, glue, paper...) "What else can we use?"
F: "PUPPIES!"


That should do for now... I'll try to be better at updating this as I go along with any other fun quotes. I have 3 weeks left here and then off to high school. I'm loving it here and my CT is AMAZING!!! So long for now!

Year Goals...

I finally did it. I made some 'goals' for this year. I am NOT a person who normally sets goals and although these may be more of guidelines for how I want to live, I am still calling them goals. So here they are!


So the first 2 categories are self explanatory and set for all year long. The last category is one that I will change as I progress. I am setting 3 projects as my short term goals which I am keeping my mind set around. Here's an explanation of my current 3...

1. Shutterfly- I am putting together our 2011 photo book and have it about 1/2 done. So 2 pages a day takes about 10-15 minutes... Doable... yes.

2. Prayer Cards- I heard about a prayer card system here awhile ago and have wanted to put one together. This will take some time but definitely worth it.

3. Baby Bedding- I am making a quilt, fitted sheet, bumpers, crib skirt, pillow, and perhaps a few other things for my sister's baby coming in May. This is my big sewing project right now. Updates will follow.

Shutterfly

Shutterfly has become one of my friends these last few weeks. I began our wedding album right when we got our pictures back in June but only finished it about a week ago due to not having all our honeymoon pictures ready to put in.


But now I am going crazy and trying to put together our 2011 book. I would like to make a book for every year from now on (but I can't figure out if this is a realistic goal.)

It is becoming easier and I'm excited for when I am caught up and can just whip up a page here and there as events happen. Hopefully I can get caught up soon.

Here's to the memories!

Emily!

Emily is a girl that I have been meeting with for the past 2 years. She has been such a wonderful blessing in my life and has helped me grow in so many ways. Many people say that when you disciple someone, you end up changing/learning more than you teach them. Well I think this is probably the case.


Today was our last official meeting and so I have been thinking back about the last few years this morning. Seeing where Emily has come from is amazing. She is no where close to where she was a few years ago. The Lord has used her in GREAT ways. She is now a member of a sorority and living every day to expand God's Kingdom. It is amazing. I am so proud of her!


I will definitely miss her but I know that she will continue to grow and impact others' lives. Can't wait to see where she goes!