Quote of the Week: Christmas Cheer

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." 

- from the movie Elf

Thankful Thursday #4

This is the last Thursday of the month and I almost forgot but it winds up the 30 days of Thankfulness for November! 

24. Amazing friends

25. The angel choir boy pose

26. Technology

27. Meaningful Christmas ornaments 

28. My support network

29. Photography

30. Noah's school (more importantly the awesome staff and teachers at Noah's school) 

Noah's PCA

One thing I am very grateful during this time of Thanksgiving is Noah's PCA (Personal Care Aide). If you follow me on Facebook, you may remember my frustrations with PCA's. We had aides who wouldn't show (and didn't call), aides that would come very late, aides that used offensive language  aides that were lazy and didn't do what they were supposed to, and much more! I was beyond frustrated and had almost gotten to the point where I was ready to just not have an aide anymore because it had just become more hassle than it was worth.

Ultimately, I decided to switch to a different provider. When I chose our first provider, I had no clue what I was doing. I looked online for advice but didn't find anything helpful. I blindly chose my top 5 choices as instructed by Noah's service coordinator from a list of about 100 providers. When I decided to change to a different provider, I knew I would go about it differently this time. I had learned a lot and made up a list of 10 questions. I narrowed down the list of 100 providers to only those in my city and then I called all of those providers and asked my questions. There was one provider that I really liked after my phone interview with them. They were top choice and I prayed they'd have an opening for Noah. And they did!

Working with this provider has been as different as night and day compared to the first provider. In June, they called and said they had an aide they thought would be perfect for Noah named A. They told me a little bit about A including her age, which was 18. I was hesitant at first because that age is so close to Noah's but a friend who used to work with special needs young adults encouraged me to give it a try and so I did.

I am SO glad I did! A is absolutely wonderful with Noah. She's kind, loving, and patient yet firm and stern when he needs that. She goes to school for nursing during the day so our evening hours are perfect for her. The best part? Noah ADORES her! He thinks she is his girlfriend!

One thing this provider does is they do not let their aides work every weekend. So we have a second aide (who's name also starts with an A) who comes every other Saturday and then is our "fill in" aide should should A need to miss a day for some reason.

It's so nice to finally have PCAs in our home who seem to love what they do.

Quote of the Week: Life

"Life is the art of drawing without an eraser."
- John Gardner

Weekend Wonders: Christmas Decor

It's hard to believe that Christmas is so close! Today I'll be sharing some of my favorite Christmas decorations. 

Snowman Wreath

Sew Many Ways shows us how to make this adorable and welcoming snowman wreath!

Santa Centerpiece

Thrifty Decor Chick shares how she made this beautiful and festive centerpiece.

Paper Trees

I just love these little paper trees from Elle's Studio.  You could do them in any color/pattern combination. I might have to give this one a try.

Embroidery Hoop Snowman

This snowman at Betz White's is made out of embroidery hoops and an old sweater. Adorable!

Frame "Wreath"

I love this unconventional wreath from The Crafter's File Box..

Stenciled Sign

Jen at Tater Tots and Jello shares how to make this cute Christmas sign.

Thankful Thursday # 3

I know, it's not Thursday, it's Saturday. I have been busy spending time with family and my boys so I am late getting my Thankful Thursday post up. But better late than never!

15. Chocolate chip pancakes

16. Family recipes

17. Crafting

18. Beautiful views

19. Music

20. Long hot baths

21. Spending time with my boys

22. Our sweet puppy

Simple Thanksgiving Place Setting

I have seen so many cute place cards and table settings for Thanksgiving all over the internet but they take up too much space for my table. Once I have food on the table and people at the table, it's pretty crowded so I wanted to come up with something that was still cute and decorative but didn't take up much room. 

So, I decided to make a little pocket to hold the utensils. I used fall themed scrapbook paper and used the utensils as my guide for how big to make it. Then I secured it in the back with sticky strip. 

I added a tag to each pocket with ribbon so the utensil holders would double as a place card. The tags are from the David Tutera Celebrate card line. I simply wrote "Thankful for" and each individual person's name on the tag. I added a little leaf to the bottom of each tag that I punched out using my leaf punch. 

I just used a piece of cardstock as a place mat and punched a leaf out of each corner. 

I like how it turned out. It's cute and doesn't take up any extra room! 

Quote of the Week: Grace

"Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. 

It's a way of life." 

- Jaqueline Winspear

Weekend Wonders: Thanksgiving Deserts

My menu is all planned but I have been looking for some new (to me/my family) Thanksgiving desert recipes. As always, there are lots of yummy looking deserts out there. Below are a few of my faves! 

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake 

from MyRecipes.com

Bananas Foster Trifle

from Serious Eats

Pecan Pie Cupcakes 
from Six in the Suburbs

Pumpkin Desert Bars

from Taste of Home

Turkey Cupcakes

from Betty Crocker

Thankful Thursdays (2012) # 2

I'm posting what I'm thankful for on Thursday's this month. 

8. Heartwarming news stories like this one 

9. Noah's PCAs

10. Wonderful friends

11. Very supportive parents

12. Happy mail

13. New clothes

14. My "little" brother

Linking to Daily Dwelling

Winter Hats

I love Noah in all his cute little winter hats. So many of his shirts came with little hats so he has LOTS. 

Linked to Special Exposure Wednesday at  5 Minutes for Special Needs

 and

 Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Moms

No Sew T-Shirt Apron

I made my first t-shirt apron for myself awhile back. It's the teal and red one (that matches my kitchen!) pictured to the right that Noah's (former) PCA is so beautifully modeling.


Recently a friend asked me to make her one so I thought I'd take step by step photos to share it with you all. It's really not a hard project and it's pretty inexpensive but turns out so cute. It would make a perfect gift and an inexpensive group project for craft groups. 


Ok, let's get started. You will need:

• A T-Shirt (You could recycle an old tee or watch for the craft stores to put them on half off and snatch up a few like I did.)
• Fabric Glue
• Ribbon (works best with wide ribbon at the top.)
• Embellishments (The sky is the limit here! Rosettes, appliques, flowers, rhinestones, paint stencils, etc.)

Step 1

Cut off the t-shirt just below the armpits. Discard the top portion. 

Step 2

Fold over the top and pin it. I pin it mainly because it helps me make sure it is straight. Once it is all pinned, slowly take off the pins and glue down using the fabric glue. Then, so there isn't a messy edge showing, I fold it down once more and glue it down again. 

Step 3

Now you'll need to determine how much ribbon you'll need. I just loosely wrap the ribbon around my waist as a guide and use that.  Once I cut the ribbon, I folded it in half to find the half way point and I also fold the apron in half to find the half way point in it. Then I start gluing the half way point of the ribbon down onto the halfway point of the apron. This way you'll have even pieces hanging from each end. Continue gluing it all across the apron.

Lastly, I heat seal the ends of the ribbon with a lighter to prevent fraying.

Now your done with apron part and you get to do the fun part; embellishing!

I chose to freezer paper stencil a cupcake on this apron.  I just cut the cupcake out of freezer paper using my Silhouette machine and ironed it on. Then I painted it using acrylic paint mixed with textile medium. I painted the frosting chocolate and the cupcake liner pink. When it dried, I went back and added some pink dots for sprinkles and glued on a red rhinestone for the cherry. (Check out this link for an in depth tutorial on freezer paper stenciling.)

Adorable!  

(Linking up to the crafty parties listed in my sidebar)