Lily's New Brother and Her Pizza

Hi!!

Lily Grace here :) I was able to sneak onto the blog today to talk about two new family members! 

We just welcomed my new baby brother a couple weeks ago! It took forever and seemed like he was in Jenn's tummy for a long, long, long time, but he finally decided to come out! Probably because I told him about all my toys I have and that I would share them with him. He got so excited to play with me I guess he decided to come on out! I thought, "It's about time!"

I had to stay in a big place with all my family and we had to wait all day and finally he was here! 

I was about to go into his room and get him out myself! 

When I saw him for the first time, he was all wrapped up in a baby blanket and all he was doing was sleeping, he wouldn't even look at me. How rude?! But my Daddy said it's because he's a baby and babies have to sleep a lot. I'm okay with it now because he doesn't cry when when he's sleeping and I don't have to share my toys right away :) I wanted to play with him as soon as he came home from the hospital, but he just lays there, sleeps, eats, or poops... 

I think he's really cute though. Don't you? Jenn and Daddy named him Caedmon :)

Daddy, Me, and Caedmon

As much as I love being a big sister, I also got a Pizza!! I can't eat this pizza though, because he's my new puppy dog!! 

Jenn found him outside and we got to keep him for a while until his owner came looking for him. I was so sad when they came :( But then they said we could keep "Pickles" if we wanted too! So now he's my new puppy!! But then I thought, "Pickles?! What kind of name is Pickles? I think he looks more like a Pizza to me! Yes, Pizza is a good name!"

Speaking of pizza, I think Im going to ask Daddy if we can have pizza for dinner tonight. I hope he doesn't think I want to eat my puppy though!! Boy, this might get confusing. 

Smiles and hugs,

Ms. Lily Grace 

Hailey's "These are actually really good!" Clean Wraps

Hi, Hailey here :)
  So, for the past week I have been trying to get my family to eat more "clean". When I say clean, I mean eating more of the healthier options in each food group. We have been embracing foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and ditching the processed, sugar filled, and refined foods that have had all the nutrients taken out. We have been very good this past week having a meal plan everyday that looks something like this, for example- 

Breakfast- scrambled eggs in whole grain wrap

Snack- trail mix and fruit

Lunch- whole grain spaghetti with light marinara sauce

Snack- homemade (or store bought hummus) with whole grain crackers

Dinner- turkey burger with sweet potato fries

Well, for tonights dinner, I forgot to thaw the frozen chicken breasts. :( 
So I had to improvise but still keep it clean and toddler friendly. No pressure, right?

As I was frantically searching Pinterest for clean and healthy ideas, I seemed to be missing at least one ingredient from each recipe I found. That is always the case! Although my sweet husband offered to run to the store for 1 simple ingredient, I was determined to not have to either-

1. Get the kids in the car and drive all the way to the store for one thing, argue about why we can't buy candy at the checkout line, and trying to convince our 3 year old that all the games and 50 cent horse rides in the store are all "sleeping." 

Or...

 2- Have my husband go to the store allowing me stay home alone with both boys leaving me extra "on my own" parenting time. I'm a stay at home mommy so you can see why once my husband gets home, he his home for good!

I went into the kitchen and started grabbing ingredients like I knew exactly what I was going to make and start cooking like I was on an episode of Top Chef, (even though I was in my pj's and a messy braid), and this is what I came up with!

If you tried my, "These are actually really good!" Clean Wraps, let me know! I'd love to hear your take on them :)

Ingredients- 

Whole grain tortillas

2-3 cups of shredded chicken 

1 cup of brown rice 

1/4 cup of cilantro

1/3 cup of white onion

1 can of black beans (drained)

1/3 cup of shredded cheese (not clean because its processed but hey, I was in a bind!)

1/3 cup diced Roma tomatos 

Shredded lettuce

Seasonings to taste-

Onion Powder

Chili Power

Cumin

Cayenne Pepper

Salt

Pepper

Instructions-

Cook your rice. I use the microwave kind that cooks it on 7 minutes. Put cooked rice in a deep skillet and turn on medium to low heat. Add cooked shredded chicken, onion, cilantro, black beans, tomatoes, and spices. Let that simmer together for about 5 minutes then turn off heat. Add the cheese and stir until it is all melted. 

Add a heaping spoon full to tortilla and top with shredded lettuce and extra diced tomatoes if desired.

Wrap your tortilla up and enjoy! My 3 year old even ate a whole wrap, definitely toddler approved :)

Fort Worth Quilt Guild Lecture

   Last week we were blessed to spend two days with the ladies of the Fort Worth Quilt Guild and I have to tell you, we had a blast! 

Gary is my constant traveling companion, but this time we had family along with us.

   Hailey, our granddaughter, is a professional photographer, so when she's able to come along, I end up with great photos for my Quilting Memories book.

   Just look at these faces, it would be impossible not to have fun with this group!

   Lucas is Hailey's high school sweetheart, husband and wonderful daddy to their three children. Lucas reminds me so much of Gary! Funny how quickly Lucas and Gary moved when the ladies invited them to the snack table!

Gary knows as much about my patterns as I do - I talk quilts, he talks details. 

I love spending time with quilters, just having fun, talking quilts and sharing my quilting journey. 

I'm always tickled to show my Turning Twenty quilts, and share the simplicity of construction and impressive results that can be achieved from my easy-to-sew patterns. 

 I especially enjoy showing my appliqué and embroidery quilts and sharing how they came about.
This is my Henfolks quilt. Fusible machine appliqué and basic hand embroidery. 
Henfolks is also available on cd for machine embroidery.

Love Covers is hand embroidery and I used heat set crayon to add color.

 Day in the Life of Mr. Bear is hand embroidery but also available on cd for machine embroidery.

In my wildest dreams I'd have never thought anyone would ask for my autograph!  I am so blessed. 

Thanks to the ladies of the Fort Worth Quilt Guild for having us!

Our first ever FREE Block of the Month - register NOW!!!

Hello from your Turning Twenty Girls!

We are excited to announce our first ever, FREE, online Block of the Month!

Our BOM begins on July 1 and goes through December 15.

This is a Mystery BOM, and if you love stars as much as we do, you will surely love this design!

To participate, you need to register before midnight on July 15. Registration closes at that time.

Here's the scoop:

On the 1st and on the 15th of each month, the free download will be available on our website.  if you are a registered participant, you will receive an email reminding you each time.  You have 24 hours to download that pattern, then it disappears. 

Each download provides the needed instructions to make one 12" and one 6" block. EASY!

Toward the end of December, you will receive a free download with instruction for setting the blocks together to finish your beautiful star quilt.

This BOM will be packaged as a single pattern and made available for purchase in January 2016. 

Act now if you want to participate because registration closes July 15, 2015.

After that date, you will not be able to participate in the Free BOM.

Credits:

Sue Carter has worked hard designing the pattern and writing the BOM instructions.

Julie Winkler and Tricia will be blogging their progress as they show their very different versions.  Julie will show us how she uses only her scrap stash to make her wonderful Patriotic star quilt, while Tricia will be sharing her bright and colorful stars made from assorted Kaffe Fasset fabrics. Be sure to subscribe to both blogs!

We will have all of the Kaffe fabrics in stock and offer a monthly fabric kit for those who are interested

Michelle will keep the ball rolling as she signs up participants and posts the downloads on time - every time!

Hailey will be sharing pictures on our Facebook page and blogging about our journey. You'll want to Like us on Facebook so you see what everyone is doing and share your own pictures as well!

More details will come to you if you register to participate.

Click here to Register

Click here to Like us on Facebook to see all the posts and pictures

Click here to follow Julie's blog as she shares her scrappy version

Share the news with all of your friends and register now!

Our family appreciates all you do and thanks you for supporting Turning Twenty®. Please let us know if we can ever be of any help to you!

Blessings,

The Turning Twenty Girls
Tricia, Michelle, Hailey, and Lily Grace

      

Rossie Peonies

   In the early 90's, Rossie Parker hired me to quilt the huge stack of quilt tops she had pieced over the years. What began as a business relationship soon became a precious friendship.
   Finishing one quilt each month kept me going back and forth to her lovely little house for years. Each spring, Rossie had the most beautiful peonies blooming right next to her front door. 

   One year as I was about to leave, she bent down with spade in hand and dug a hefty clump for me to take home. Wrapping the wet soil in newspaper, she said, "Now you plant these in your flowerbed and always remember me and all our quilting together." 
   Rossie is now gone, but each spring I'm blessed with blooms so big their stems can't support them! I think of my dear friend and recall our many visits. Today, I'm sharing a couple of photos of my Rossie Peonies! Enjoy :) 

Egg Banana Pancakes for Breakfast

Hailey here!

 I just wanted to stop by and share this amazing recipe with everyone. Now,  everyone loves those fluffy pancakes (that are actually pretty unhealthy for you) for breakfast! It's definitely a comfort food for many of us. Then the syrup, that warm sticky syrup you wind up drenching your pancakes in which makes your breakfast 10 times as sweet, tasty, and unhealthy :(

But I have found an amazing way to still get the comfort of pancakes, but without the guilt and calories later. Egg Banana pancakes!!

That's right, only TWO ingredients! 2 eggs and 1 banana. The outcome is to die for!

Here is how you make Egg Banana pancakes:

You'll need 1 ripe banana and 2 eggs (double if you are feeding more than 2 people)

1- Place 1 whole banana in a bowl and use a fork to squish it up. When the banana is all squashed, use your fork in a circular motion to kind of "froth" it up making sure you get most of the lumps out.

2- Crack 2 eggs in the same bowl with the banana and begin to mix it all together.

3- Once you have a nice smooth consistency, you can begin making your pancakes.

4- Pour some of the "batter" into a skillet over low/medium heat. When sides begin to bubble and kind of rise, it's time to flip. Flip and repeat for the rest of the mixture.

The best part about these pancakes is there is no need for syrup! The banana adds the perfect amount of natural sweetness. These are also great served cold! 

Happy eating!

  Hailey 

Lily Grace- My Hex Project!

Hi! my name is Lily Grace Barnett. Everyone says I'm the cutest Turning Twenty Girl. I'm 3 1/2 years old and I'm learning to make quilts. Tricia is my great grandmother, I call her Minnie. So, today my Minnie told me the first thing to do is clean up our mess from yesterday! I guess it's better to start with a clean room. But I just want to hurry up and get to sewing!! 

Minnie said I'm the best vacuum girl she's ever seen. I already knew that though.

I wanted to start my own hex project, so we found a big mat and put it on the floor. I got to pick out my own scrap to trace hexes into!

Did you know you can trace a design right on the template? If you use a sharpie marker it works great. Then you just remove the marks when your done with plain old alcohol and a paper towel. I think that's pretty cool. I'm using a hex template made by a smart lady named Carol. You can get your templates from her too! Minnie bought every size she makes. Her dotcom is ocaroldesigns.com

So, what you gotta do is put the template on your fabric and trace around it to make a perfect hexagon. It's easy to do and Minnie said I'm the best tracing girl she's ever seen. But, I already knew that. Then you use scissors and cut out on the lines but wait you can't use scissors unless a lady is sitting right beside you every minute. That's the scissor rule and if you are going to work in a studio you can't forget the rules!

I need to tell you too that sometimes your back hurts from quilting. Yep, Minnie said that's just part of the art and you have to take breaks and get a drink. 

That's all I know so far about hexes. I'll be back soon to teach you some more but right now I gotta take a bath and help Minnie cook supper. I hope we are making cookies!  Bye bye.

Getting To Know Me, Hailey Byrd

My Minnie (you know her as Tricia) said she'd like to introduce The Turning Twenty Girls and asked each of us to do our own introduction. Since I'm the youngest, I get to go first. :) My name is Hailey Byrd, I'm the only granddaughter of Tricia and Gary Cribbs. Let me tell you  a little about myself. I am 22 years old and I get a year older every October 20th!

I married my high school sweetheart, Lucas Byrd, on June 3, 2011. We actually got married a week after we graduated high school. We met in the 9th grade in English class, (which is also my favorite subject) and I thought he was uber cute! In fact, the first thing I ever said to him was, “…can I borrow your highlighter?” The way he flipped his long shaggy hair across his face to show off his little freckles, and the way he wore a different rock and roll t-shirt everyday, just made me swoon! I was smitten. He sounds like he would be the “bad boy” phase almost every girl goes through, but not Lucas. He was so sweet and had such a big heart, and it all became mine when he “asked me out” right after class by the lockers. We were 15 going on “till’ death do us part."

Wedding Day June 3, 2011

13 days after we got married, we found out we were expecting our first baby boy! We were over the moon!! After 9 long months, and a very short and easy breezy delivery, we were looking into the face of our first born. William Jude Byrd came into this world on March 16, 2012. 6 pounds 2 ounces, 21 1/2 inches long and absolutely perfect! 

Welcome baby Jude March 16, 2012

Our baby Jude isn’t such a baby anymore :( He is a firecracker that has an endless fuse!! He's so energetic, happy, loves Mickey Mouse and he's about to be 3. 

I now realize what moms mean when they say, “They grow up so fast.” As a child, I thought that was crazy, I thought I couldn’t wait to grow up! Now that I am and I have a car payment, rent due every month, a husband to take care of, buying groceries…. I now long for the days that I could just ride my bicycle around the neighborhood until the streetlights come on, then listen for my dad to do his ever so popular whistle (you know the kind where you pinch you bottom lip and pull it way out?) and head home for dinner. Back then I was able to go to bed worry free with a full tummy, wake up the next morning and do it all over. I often long for those more simple days, but I wouldn’t trade my new life as an adult/wife/mother for anything! Especially when we discovered 2 years later, that we were expecting our next blessing!

On October 27, 2013, we got that very sought after double pink line. We were again, over the moon. We kept this pregnancy a secret for a couple days because my mom, Minnie, and Poppa were gone to Quilt Market. Of course the second they got back, we told them the news and they were so happy for us!! Sadly, a short 10 days later, November 10th, 2013, we found out that we had lost our baby. We figured I was only about 5 weeks along but that didnt help with the overwhelming pain. We named our rainbow baby, Harper Layne. I still talk to him at night in my prayers and I know he loves me and listens to me. 

December 20th, 2013 we were very surprised to find out that God didn't wait to bless us with another baby! Our next baby boy was on his way! On August 13, 2014 (1 day after my dad’s birthday) we welcomed Ezra Sawyer Byrd into our little nest! 

Welcome baby Ezra August 13, 2014

He is now 5 months old and the happiest baby in the world! He never stops smiling and is very attached to his mommy :) I am on cloud 9 with my little family and I can’t wait to add a little girl (or 2) into this house of crazy boys!!

Being a mother is indeed the most challenging job I have ever been blessed with. It is challenging both mentally and physically, but it is, in fact, the most rewarding! I would do it over again any day!

Now that you know more about my little Byrd family, I can tell you more about myself personally. I am very much into health and fitness. I love to go to the gym to workout and build my body to become better and healthier version of myself. I want to live a long and happy life for my little ones and my husband! I want to be able to run outside and play football with my boys and not get tired! Which is one of the main reasons Lucas and I decided to have children so soon! I cook in my home 90% of the time and I try my hardest to remove all the bad things. I try to cook organic, not fried, non-fatty foods. I love to make Jude and I smoothies and shakes using things like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas, oranges, lettuce, kale, spinach, flaxseeds, coconut milk, and tons of other super healthy foods!! It’s a fantastic way to get all your fruits and veggies in at one setting, and I feel so good knowing that I know exactly what my kids and I are putting into our bodies! When I can’t make it to the gym, I do Pilates at home! I would love to be able to share some healthy recipes and shakes with you whenever I post blog entries! 

Making his smoothie

Jude trying to work out like Mommy... we probably make the same face lol! :P

I am also all about vintage, distressed furniture, 20’s-60’s era, crocheting, and shabby chic things! I love Audrey Hepburn, Oxford shoes, doilys under antiques in my home, shabby tufted couches, burlap bows, and lace anything!! One of my favorite pastimes is antique shopping! Seriously, I could break the bank!! 

My living room

If I were to describe my perfect day (when the kids are with my parents) would be- 

*Sleep in (of course, what mother doesnt dream about sleeping in!?)

*Having a brunch that includes a vintage tea set, coffee, fruits, and a croissant

*Getting dressed in my Fit and Flared 40’s dress, knee high stockings, and some Oxfords

*Getting on my vintage bicycle which also has a basket full of daisies on the front with my little Yorkie (Penny) 

*Then spending the whole day antique shopping

*Come home to a nice home cooked meal and watch absolutely ANY Audrey Hepburn movie! Preferably Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Funny Face, Roman Holiday, or My Fair Lady as I sit in my favorite comfy chair and crochet until the cows come home! Haha! If Audrey wasn't available, I would also love to watch any episode of "I Love Lucy" seeing how I have every episode on DVD :)

When I was younger, I used to love standing beside my Minnie and watch her quilt at her LongArm machine. I used to just watch the needle go in and out of the fabric making the most beautiful pattern of thread all throughout the quilt. For some reason, when I think back to those times, the needle going up and down is in slow motion, making the quilting look so intricate and beautiful. I loved when I would stay the night with Minnie and she would give me a hoop, needle, and thread and teach me to embroider. We would sit together and embroider all night! My absolute favorite art that my Minnie taught me, would be crocheting. If I had nothing else to do in my life, I would crochet, every day all day. Lucas says that I am keeping the yarn industry in business! I value handmade items so much, because it took a special someone their time and skill to make something truly beautiful! 

I think I have introduced myself to my fullest as of right now, at least you get the general idea of who I am! :) I am looking forward to sharing myself, my pastimes, ideas, and anything else that comes to mind in the future with every one of you!

Love, Hailey

P.S. Come back tomorrow to meet my mom, Michelle!