Weekend Recap

 I had a little bit of time on Saturday to whip up these blue string blocks.  Kurt was nice enough to take Ryan to FAMAT so that I could stay home. These are 4.5 inch blocks with a 1.25 inch black strip in the center.  I really like the contrast that the black adds.  It will look great with the pink scraps this month.  Best of all, it is now time to put away the blue and pull out the new color!  I made quite a large dent in the scraps, though there are still a few odds and ends to save for later.

 It was great to enjoy a little bit of down time on Saturday, because Sunday was all about the Regional Tournament for Legos.  We had one sick team member, and had to scramble things around a bit, but it was quite a fun day anyway.

And to top it all off, we earned a bid to the state tournament!  So now we get to keep going and going all the way to March!  We made it home in time to watch the half time show for the Superbowl and then everyone was asleep before the end of the third quarter.  It seemed like a really exciting game, but we were all just really tired out!  The next three weeks will be extra busy with science fair, but after that, maybe it will slow down again?  Maybe:)

School Sewing

I am officially in manic overdrive.  Overbooked is so far behind me that I can't even remember what it looked like.  Though we have only been back at school for two days since the break, it feels like a lot longer.  Everything that is going on is GOOD.  There is just so much of it that I can't get it all into a day!  So tonight was Lego practice, and it involved sewing :)  We have an egg theme going on this year, and so we made egg berets and egg shirts.  If there is time before the tournament, there will also be egg pennants for the cheering section.
We figured out a while ago that the Lego qualifying tournament and the Science Olympiad qualifying tournament were both on the same day.   No problem though, Kurt would do one and I would do the other.  We both coach the Lego team, he does the robot part and I do the problem and team building part.  Ryan is on that team.
I am the only coach of the Science Olympiad team, and Anna is on that one.  Divide and conquer and all will be well.  All was well until Kurt scheduled a business trip to India on the same day.  India!  So another mom from the team will fill in for him and I will still go to mine.  No problem right?  Last night we were talking at dinner when we realized that his trip to India also happens during my annual AP Biology field trip.  The overnight one to the University of Florida!  So I'm taking 18 students out of town for a day and half while Kurt is literally half way around the world.  YIKES!  A lovely coworker who is apparently also and angel has offered to come and stay with the kids overnight while I am gone.  Deep sigh of relief.
I think all the balls are in the air at the moment, just hoping none of them drop. 

Slow Stitching Sunday

 I've been slowly stitching the binding down on my Midget Block Quilt.  I'm taking the time as I go around to enjoy each block and to look for loose threads.  I'm about halfway around so far, I will get at least half of that done during Downton Abbey this evening.  No rush on this one, I'm not sure where I want it to live.  Certainly not on anyone's bed!

 Last night Suzy, from Suzy's Quilting, room came over to pick up the old platform from my Bernina.  She had mentioned that hers was broken and I got a new one when my machine was repaired.  We keep running in to each other at Eduquilters events, but we are always busy sewing and never really get to chat properly.  She had her grandson with her who hit it off with my son Ryan right away.  They wanted to play a bit so I tortured poor Suzy with a tour of my quilting room.  The boys didn't want to leave, so I started pulling out quilts.  She is working on Easy Street by Bonnie Hunter (almost the only mystery I didn't make!)  So I was showing her my Bonnie Hunter quilts, and well, one quilt lead to another...... It was so much fun to chat about quilting and discuss projects and stash.  They boys wanted to set up another time to play.  How much fun would it be to have Suzy come over and sew while the boys hang out?

Most of the day yesterday was taken up by another Lego Robotics tournament.  Since we had already gotten a bid for the regional competition next month, the pressure was off and we all had a good time.  

Messy Day

 After taking inventory this morning and catching up on ironing, I realized that all of the Broken Dishes units were done for Jamestown Landing.  That lead me to start in on the string blocks which had fallen a bit behind. I was working my way through the second season on Downton Abbey while sewing.  It wasn't on Netflix, so I signed up for a free trial of Hulu+.  I am much more appreciative of Netflix now after spending most of the afternoon buffering or restarting. 

 As I was making a mess in the sewing room, Anna was working on a mess in the kitchen.  She had decided to make a birthday cake for her friend Sierra and somehow managed to scatter cake, frosting and fondant all over the kitchen. 

 She was quite happy with the finished cake though, and cleaned up most of the mess. 

After lego practice Ryan had his first football game of the season.  He is in a different league this year so that he could be on a team with his friend Troy.   

President's Day

Today was a day off school for the kids but not for the teachers.  Kurt took the day off and went with the kids to Legoland.  It is new and we hadn't been yet.  It was a big hit.  So much so that they had record crowds and ended up staying open late to accommodate everyone.

That left with me with some quiet time at home after my training.  Allergies have gotten the best of me, and I didn't feel much like sewing.  I did spend some time ironing and folding though. Not all of this fabric is new, some just got pulled and auditioned or had some cut off to be used.  It does seem like a lot of fabric though, doesn't it?  I'd better get it put away before people start asking what it is all for. 

Chaos Theory

It is hard to remember the last time I saw the dining room table.  I know it is under there somewhere.  Buried under lego blocks and Girl Scout bags and craft supplies.  The regional tournament is this weekend, and with no hope of going on to state, that should free up some space.   All of the recycled gift bags are going to leader daughter along with the craft supplies.  I will cook a big fancy meal when it all goes away so that we can eat at the dining room table as a family.  Until then I have goody bags to stuff and crafts to organize and clothes to pack.  I am looking forward to a camping weekend. 
Sadly that means I won't be here to sew on scraphappy Saturday.  Has anyone noticed that the new color is green?  I'll leave a scheduled link up box and hope that it all works as it should.  I'll have my handy i-pad, but I don't think the wild outdoors has wi-fi.  Have fun thinking green thoughts and I'll check back in on Sunday. 

Nothing Quilty to Report

Sewing a bit on the binding for Cerulean Sky was as close as I came to something quilty today.  With Kurt gone again I'm on both Mommy and Daddy detail.  Science Fair projects are due this week so I spent some time after dinner helping Ryan finish off his board.  Anna's is due on Friday, so I'll help her tomorrow.  Everything is done for both, it just needs the final proof reading and printing so it can get glued down and turned in. 
Tuesday is always a meeting at work, so Sydney came with me to that while Anna did Art Club and Ryan did Lego Club.  I went to help out with that as soon as my meeting was done.  This weekend is the big competition so it is all about finishing up all the last minute details. 
I did have a little time for me amongst all the kids activities.  I went out to lunch with my good friend Meisje and we got to catch up a bit.  We used to run together every Saturday, but she had knee surgery and I got lazy busy, so now we have lunch instead.  That little bit of calm is all that is keeping me going right now.  The kids have just headed off to bed and I need to write a test and type up the Lego script before tomorrow.  I've said it before, but I salute all the single parents out there who manage to handle all of this alone on a regular basis.  It's been two days and I'm a bit batty already.

I'm a Chauffeur

More driving and juggling today.  I also got to do science with Anna's class.  That was fun.  We're doing Physics now, which isn't my thing, but it is good stuff.  After that it was Legos and lots of ice skating.  We're just now home and the kids were so tired they all walked straight up to bed without even asking for hugs and kisses. 

I found a few minutes though to finish off a scarf for Kurt to take on his trip.  He's supposed to go skiing and wanted something to keep his face warm.  This is something I started last winter when it was so cold and then shuffled around from place to place until I couldn't find it anymore.  It was hiding in the end table waiting for me to remember about it again.  I have more yarn to make a hat and mittens, but I don't know how to knit fancy things.

RRCB Step 1

It seems like ages since I've had any sewing to post.  I've just finished off step 1 of the Bonnie Hunter mystery though and am feeling the need to get some sewing done this afternoon.  I'm using blue and green and brown color scheme. 

The girls have been busy with ice skating lately.  They are both going to be in the Christmas show this year, so there have been lots of extra rehearsals for that.  I've been borrowing Kurt's i-pad and getting quite a lot of reading done.

Ryan has joined a Lego Robotics league and had his first tournament this morning.  I don't entirely understand exactly how it works, but he seems to enjoy it, so that is the most important thing I guess.  Kurt has been helping out with that and so has been pretty busy lately balancing football and OM and the Lego thing.