Midwest Family Life

love my girls

2012-02-10T19:02:00.000-06:00

Today I took the girls to Mayfair Mall to have their 3-year and 1-year photos taken. As always, it was an adventure. The ride started out with an annoying client calling and asking me to look up a number and fax something to a physician. I had to try and explain that I do not work on Fridays and I'm driving my kids to get photos taken and it's snowing. But, like a good girl, we compromised and I took care of it (for the 10th time for this guy). Charlotte was also in the back seat saying she wanted to go home because she was tired, yet, she just woke up....

We got to Mayfair early and I fancied up the girls. This time I didn't dress Gretchen until we GOT there. (Note, last year she puked all over the outfit in the car seat and I had to buy another one.) While waiting Charlotte grabbed her butt and yelled, "I have to go potty!" All three of us went into the bathroom and Charlotte didn't just pee, she pooped. A big one. Gee. There were like six squares of TP left. I opened the door and yelled, "Can somebody please get us more toilet paper?!" What a way to start photos.

We ended up getting some really cute photos, but it was just at torturous as last time at JCPenneys. Gretchen wanted to crawl everywhere and wanted to do the opposite of what Charlotte was doing. I really didn't think the lady knew how to work with little children, but, we got some photos.

After we left the mall I walked into a winter wonderland in the parking lot. I mustn't have gotten the memo about the snow. It was a sloppy, slow drive home, but, we're all safe.

Enjoy my beautiful girls!

(Coloring is off because I had to scan them in...)

rapunzle hair

2012-02-08T06:42:00.002-06:00

rapunzle hair, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

I'm addicted to Pinterest. Yes, you might be too. The ideas are endless!! While browsing one day, I ran across a post at the Weekend Homemaker where she made some Rapunzle (Tangled) hair for her daughter. I just knew Charlotte would love this one. I bought a pound of yarn for $6 at JoAnn's and had an old pair of nylons and purple ribbon on hand. Whole project probably took an hour. Cutting the strands sure took a long time. I think I used 3/4 of the yarn. This is nice and long too for effect.

WIP Wednesday: more stippling

2012-02-08T06:18:00.001-06:00

For the first time I'm finally linking up to Lee over at Freshly Pieced for her WIP Wednesday projects. I always have a WIP but never seem to take the time to link up and share what I'm doing.

curly q stippling

I had dinner with Lee last night and the Milwaukee Modern Quilt Guild ladies and we talked about projects and how many things we work on at the same time. It was then I realized I hardly have any WIP's at one time because I'm a finisher!! Yes, I usually have one quilt I'm working on at a time before I start another one. This quilt is a commissioned quilt! A co-worker will be giving it as a gift. It will be a generous lap sized quilt and uses Moda Origins by Basic Grey. I've made a similar Grasslands quilt here.

my quilting station

And....here's my set up! Not very glamarous but it sure gets the job done. We also talked about sewing machines. This is my old Janome that seems to still quilt just fine.

charlotte's in preschool

2012-02-06T07:25:00.001-06:00

Sorry I've been MIA...I have a good excuse, I swear!

Last Thursday I got to St. Francis Borgia 45 minutes early to sign Charlotte up for preschool. Low and behold, I was the 5th person there! The FIFTH! That means I have to totally step up my crazy. I was really expecting to be 1st or 2nd. My friend was already there and two spots ahead of me and luckily, Charlotte was able to snag the 18th spot for morning preschool. Yippie!! I then toured the school with another mom and 8th grade student. I'm so excited for her and wish she could have seen the place but there will be plenty of time for that.

That night Charlotte puked in bed. Poor kid. I know the bug has been going around. She was a champ and woke up the next morning pretty chipper. We laid low all weekend and Gretchen seemed to pull through with no problems other than some really messy diapers. Sunday, I woke up and felt like I was hit by a bus! I took two naps and stayed on the couch all day long. We had to cancel our Super Bowl Party too. Kevin was a champ taking care of me and watching the kids all day. Even the kids were pretty darn good.

Then last night Charlotte woke up again saying she had a tummy ache but nothing happened. I guess we'll be laying low today too.

Stomach bug...feel free to leave our house any minute now!

gretchen is ONE

2012-01-30T21:12:00.004-06:00

Gretchen's 1st Birthday, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

I can't believe my little baby is ONE already! These last 365+ days have flown by so fast I'm not sure what happened. Gretchen has always been a happy girl, very happy-go-lucky. I was please that I've never had to rock her to sleep, however, she has spent a great deal of time waking up at night.

She's had to deal with a lot considering her sister pushes her around, steals her toys, and doesn't share. Even the dog wacks her with his tail and eats her food. She's the bottom of the food-chain but has somehow managed to hold her own around here. Gretchen's bedroom started out in our room, then she slept in the bathroom at my mom's house, got her own bedroom (although horribly pained with no decorations), and finally has a cute little room she can grow up in.

Here's a rundown of our dear little Gretchen.

Eats everyting you put in front of her. Loves noodles, blueberries, strawberries, PBJ, cheese, etc.
Drank whole milk at 11 months and made no fuss switching from formula.
Walks with the walker toy.
Stood for a max of 1 minute but hasn't yet attemped to walk on her own.
Loves to crawl....fast.
Goes up any stairs when you are not looking.
Makes the sign for "milk" when she wants it
Says Dada and means it. We're still working on Mama.
We think she said doggie too.
Takes two short naps during the day and sleep around 11-12 hours at night but still wakes up plenty.
Wears size 5 wide shoes.
Is larger than her sister at the same age.
Grew 4 inches in the 6 months we've lived here.
Wants nothing to do with baby toys.
Chews on everything she can.
Crawls away when you catch her doing something naughty.
Loves her blankie, both full-size and travel size.
Still has a nookie.
Has rosy cheeks most of the time.
Gives mom and dad the best cuddly hugs and nuzzles.

We love you Gretchen!!

princess jasmine costume

2012-01-29T07:04:00.002-06:00

I took Charlotte to a Snow Princess party this weekend. It was an annual fundraiser put on by the Junior Womens' Guild of Cedarburg. Since she's also having her Aladdin birthday, I had to finish her Jasmine costume in time for the party.

Princess Jasmine

Charlotte was the only Princess Jasmine there and was her usual self, dancing in the middle of the room to her own tune. She wanted to be by the "real" Disney Princesses (high school kids) the entire morning. Sharing her thoughts and waving around her magic wand. Instead of buying a costume, I made one and wanted to share how I put it together. Really, give it a try! You can find a rough shoe tutorial here.

I made the pants with a pajama tutorial I found here and a harem pant tutorial here.

I wasn't sure how I was going to make the top but found a tank at Target in the exact turquoise that the pants were. So, I embellished the top a little with gold trim and some sparkly chiffon around her shoulders. After turning down the edges to prevent fraying, I pinned it on the shirt and stitched it down in four places, make sure she can lift her arms and move around. I think the bad was about 4 inches wide.

The crown is usually turquoise but I wanted to make it gold and in the shape of a crown. I interfaced some gold silk (same as the shoes) and drew out a crown shape. Stitch both sides, turn inside out and fold in the edges. Make sure you measure the head so you know how long to make the crown. Add velcro at the appropriate length. I found a plastic jewel at Michael's and hot glued it down. Also made a small stitch, just in case.

Voila, you're done! Charlotte loves her costume and I'm very pleased with it as well.

princess jasmine arabian shoe tutorial

2012-01-25T10:38:00.001-06:00

Shoes I'm making the covers for.

My daughter loves Aladdin and really wants to have an Aladdin birthday party next month. She'll be three and I can hardly believe it. How better to celebrate than with a Princess Jasmine costume. We are also going to a Princess Tea Party this Saturday and I wanted to have the costume finished for the party. Unfortunately, we don't have gold sparkle shoes for her. The ones she has are pink. With a little gold silk left over from the costume, I thought I'd take a shot at making Arabian shoe covers for her to match the costume. Well, it turned out fabulous!

It's a messy tutorial and I don't have a photo with the costume yet, but I assure you, Charlotte LOVED the shoes!!

First I took the gold silk and folded over the edges so the fabric doesn't fray. After sewing one side, I laid it over the shoe and measured how far over the fabric would lay and then stitched up the other edge.

add interfacing

Since I wanted the shoes to have a pointed toe and silk frays a lot, I added interfacing to both pieces (one for each shoe).

stich edge to create point

Next I stitched one end closed and used a pinking shears to trim the edge. Don't forget to snip the corners on a diagonal so you get a nice point!

Here's a (bad) picture of the form so far. It's laid over the shoe, so you can see the point. We are getting ready to add elastic on the bottom and cut out an opening for the foot.

I didn't do this next step scientifically. If you have a better way of getting the hole cut, then go for it! I marked with a pin where the elastic part of the pink shoe was. I want the gold fabric to cover most of the elastic. Then I drew a line with fabric marker where I am going to cut. I left a small margin, maybe 1/4" or less, so that I could fold down the edge and stitch. Here's one shoe finished and one shoe getting ready to be cut. Good luck!

Fold over the edge where you cut and pin down. This is where you're happy we have interfacing to keep down the frayed edges. Clip the corners and stitch down.
Flip the shoe over, add the gold fabric cover and measure to add elastic to the bottom. I've added elastic to the toe and the back of the shoe.

add elastic to hold down the gold cover

Creating the back of the shoe isn't hard. I vaguely measured how long the fabric needed to be when the form was on the shoe. Next I stitched the raw edges together just like when we made the point. However, we don't want a point on the back of the shoe. Turn the gold form inside out and place back on the shoe. Then I took the point and smushed it down and pinned it. We are going to make a straight stitch vertical on the seam to hold down the flap.

Here's a photo of the completed back of the shoe turned right side out.

add elastic to the back of the shoe as well

Finished shoes! I think I'm going to add some bling to the top toe part. Let your imagination fly!

princess jasmine costume

handy hand towels

2012-01-24T14:39:00.000-06:00

If you haven't discovered Pinterest, don't! It will suck you in. But, thanks to Pinterest, I found this amazing tutorial from The Creamer Chronicles. A cute hand towel that is attached to the stove handles. Perfect because Gretchen is always pulling them down. AND...now I have some red ones that match the new kitchen color.

In love!!

january bee block

2012-01-23T15:38:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I finally went to a Milwaukee Modern Quilt Guild monthly meeting. It was great to meet other women in the area that love quilting as much (or more) than I do. After the meeting I was asked to join their first Quilting Bee. How exciting. It's my first bee and something I've always wanted to do. The idea is that each month you make a quilt block for somebody else and then one month everybody makes a block of your choice for you. Thus, getting a quilt made much faster than you could do it yourself. Yes!! Sign me up!

A few days ago I got some fabric in the mail and even learned something new when piecing this Envy block together for Rebecca at Pieces and Cream.

It's great looking up ideas for my quilt block that everybody will make. I'm also looking forward to getting my hands on some Flea Market Fancy when it comes out in February!

first step preschool, next step Harvard

2012-01-20T16:11:00.000-06:00

I've done it. I've turned into one of those mothers. The kind that stresses about things that probably won't affect the future at all and one that will stand in line in the sleeting snow to sign their child up for preschool. Ok, so not the sleeting snow, but you get the point.

Next month I'll be signing Charlotte up for 3K and we'd decided to send her to one of the local Catholic schools. However, this school seems to be a little more competitive to get into because the parish is so large. There are already 12 kids signed up and only 18 can be in the class. That leaves me with six spots to try and fit my kid into. So yes, at 9:30 a.m. I'll be at the school with my paperwork already completed ready to push anybody over to get my kid enrolled. The way I'm handling it, you'd think she was trying to get into Harvard this Fall.

Since when have mothers started caring so much about preschool? I'm fairly new to mothering so it's always been this way to me, but was it always this way? I do promise my children I won't let them have filled calendars by the age of five. Sure we are always out-and-about, but having scheduled activities that you can't-miss-no-matter-what every day of the week? No thanks. Not when they still have the opportunity to just be kids.

I know it's ok if she isn't one of the six to get into the class. There is another great Catholic school in the other direction only two miles away. I'm sure she'll get a great preschool education there as well. Besides, PBS has already taught her everything she knows. I think PBS is like Harvard for toddlers.

circa 52 new wave quilt

2012-01-18T18:33:00.002-06:00

Here is the second quilt I've made that the Senior Planning Group (Mom's business) will donate to the Southeastern Wisconsin Alzheimer's Association's Mardi Gras (annual fundraiser gala). I really hunted for a little boy fabric line that would match the Kona Medium Gray I already had on hand. Finally, at Fabricworm.com I found the Circa 52 by Monaluna for Birch Fabrics. I absolutely love the retro feel to this organic cotton. There was even grey in the patterns. The owls in the tree, the rocket ships....just adorable! Finished size approximately 51" x 54"

new wave front

Like the other new wave quilts from Elizabeth Hartman that I've made, I parallel quilted it with straight lines. The back really shows off the quilting and it looks great. I sure hope this quilt reaches a hefty bid in the silent auction. It is sure to make some little boy happy.

back of quilt

new year, new kitchen

2012-01-14T06:56:00.001-06:00

I'm impulsive. Yes, I am. Last Sunday I looked at the kitchen and said to Kevin, "I want a red kitchen." He agreed. We both hated the strange periwinkle blue that made the kitchen feel cold and open. The rest of our house is very warm feeling (so I think) and with my love for red, and the desire for a red kitchen, I jumped on it. Monday I came home with paint samples and a gallon of ceiling paint.

original kitchen during walk-through

Enter Thursday, three coats of red Cherry Cobbler paint and lots of blue tape, I have a red kitchen. It turned out amazing! We picked the perfect color of red! It's warm, but not too bright, and just makes you feel all fuzzy inside. I think it's inviting! "Common in! Stay awhile and have a drink! Let me make you something tasty to eat!

To get a good paint line, let me share a tip I read and tried. This only works with painted woodwork. After putting down the blue tape, I painted the seam with the matching white color. That way, when I went over with the red, if anything bled through, the white did, not the red. It worked really well. I have a few errors, but this really helped keep them to a minimum.

Here's a not-so-great picture of the only full wall in the kitchen.

Behr Cherry Cobbler in Satin finish

baby girl wonky blocks quilt

2012-01-12T18:24:00.000-06:00

January. The month I've started making a baby girl and boy quilt that Senior Planning Group (Mom's business) will donate to the Southeastern Wisconsin Alzheimer's Association's Mardi Gras. Baby, or in this case, toddler sized quilts are fun to make because they are finished so fast. Nice, short projects. The fabric is Veranda by Amanda Murphy for Robert Kaufman. I fell in love with all the pinks, oranges, and bright greens. The tulips were a favorite too. I've made this pattern before, Elizabeth Hartman's wonky block 9-patch, but loved it enough to make it again.

I stippled it in an all-over curly cue and used a bright green thread to match the background. Turned out great once washed.

fancy underwear

2012-01-08T19:19:00.000-06:00

Standing this close to the finish line, I never thought I'd cross it! Charlotte turns 3 on March 1st and she was still pooping in her diaper and really not caring about it. Being the sassafras that she is, nothing seemed to work to get her to poop ON the potty. Quite frankly, I got sick of it.

Hearing a story from a family member, I started putting her in the bathtub to have her take her own dirty diaper off. This totally backfired. She liked doing that and wiping her own butt. Crap....so much for THAT plan of trying to gross her out.

Jokingly, I said I was going to giver her a cold shower to wash off the poop. Charlotte said "ok" and I said "no", but she insisted. So, I turned the shower head on. Yes, you can picture it. She cried and screamed. No, I'm not a bad parent. I'm a desperate parent.

Long story short, about a week later, my oldest daughter is wearing fancy underwear. Yes, she made a 3.5 hour car ride, twice, with undies on. She's made it 4 days in a row with undies on. Today she said, "No more cold showers and baths Moms." Finally!! I've made it out of unnecessary poopy diapers. She's even stopped playing and dancing to run to the potty.

Let me just say again how proud I am of Charlotte (and excited)! She loves wearing her fancy underwear and I love seeing her cute little butt instead of a bulky diaper. She's even been dry at night and naps a few times (which I know she can't control).

I suppose I also forgot to mention that the Angry Birds sure helped with this feat. She was desperate to have the giant, black angry bird that made bomb noises. Now we have an entire collection, but at least there's no more poop to clean up!!

P.S. I've invested money into flushable wipes.

nigella's chocolate-raspberry tarts

2012-01-01T16:06:00.000-06:00

Kevin's birthday is a few days after Christmas and New Year's. After chowing sugar for a few weeks straight, he opts for the less-sweet desserts at his birthday. This year's pick, Chocolate-Raspberry Tarts from my How to be a Domestic Goddess cookbook by Nigella Lawson. It was a new recipe for me too. I haven't really tried anything new lately so it was refreshing to have a new taste around here.

I've always loved mascarpone filling. This Italian cheese is so creamy but not really sweet. Paired with the white chocolate, I knew this would be a wonderful dessert. Fairly light too (not in calories, sorry folks).

The recipe talked about how difficult the dough was to work with but I found no difficulty, so don't let that deter you from trying this out. It was easy to get six tarts from the dough.

Ingredients for tarts:
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour (I even used regular flour)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoons salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon ice water

Ingredients for filling:
- 2 ounces white chocolate
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons mascarpone
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- approximately 2 pints raspberries

Instructions:
- Your best bet is to make the pastry in a food processor, so put the flour, cocoa, sugar and salt into the bowl and pulse to blend. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and pulse with the flour mixture until it looks crumbly. Beat the yolk and iced water together and add, down the funnel, to bind the pastry. When it starts to clump together, turn it out of the processor and work it together with your hands into two discs. Wrap them in plastic wrap and rest the pastry in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll out one of the dough discs; it will be quite a dry pastry because of the cocoa, so don't be too heavy-handed with the flour on your rolling surface. Then, using a tart pan as a guide, cut at least 3 rough squares or circles slightly bigger than the pan. Ease the pastry squares into the tins - don't worry if they break, just patch them as best you can - and cut off the excess pastry. Do this with all 6 pans, and then freeze them for about 30 minutes or until they feel frozen. While the pastry's in the freezer, turn on the oven to 350°F (180°C), and slip in a baking sheet to heat up at the same time.
- Put the tartlets straight into the oven on the baking sheet, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry feels cooked and dry. The freezing plus the fact that the individual area is small means that they shouldn't puff up, which in turn means we're doing without the beans and all that blind-baking palaver. While the pastry's cooking, you might melt the chocolate for the filling, either in the microwave or in a double boiler.

So, Happy 32nd Birthday to my Hubby. Maybe 2012 be a great year for you!

year in review

2012-01-01T06:53:00.000-06:00

I can't believe the year is already over! Where did 2011 go?? I knew the moment Gretchen was born the year was going to fly by. Little did I know it would fly by THIS quickly.

Here's our year-in-review.

In January, we added a bundle of joy to our lives. She was baptized in May.

Charlotte turned two in March.

In April, we celebrated our 4-year wedding anniversary but sadly, didn't go anywhere.

In May, we listed our house on a whim and sold it in 9 days.

So, we moved in with my parents for almost 8 weeks. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

In June we went to Door County to celebrate a friend's wedding and ended up driving back to Oshkosh to pick up Gretchen, my 5-month-old baby who wouldn't take a bottle. At least she was a good girl and didn't spoil the entire weekend.

In July we bought our first house together. It's been a wonderful fit for us. Kevin also went to Alaska without me and had a great time visiting one of his closest friends.

In August, Charlotte was finally not afraid of swimming and learned to swim with only water wings!

In Fall, the cabin was finished and we made many trips up there. The girls love it there! I can't wait for summers and winters to come.

Gretchen, of course, hit many milestones and continues to warm our hearts with her smile.

And, we got to really see the girls light up when Santa came this year.

That's our year-in-review. So much more has happened, good things and bad. Kevin lost his Grandpa, I lost a cousin, and really good friends of ours lost a baby. We hope that 2012 brings more joy and less heartache. Unless, of course, the world ends next December. As a resolution, we will be going to church more.

Our hopes for 2012:

One less child in a diaper
The start of 3K for Charlotte
Two family weddings....
Another baby (but not quite yet)
Gretchen walking and running around the house
A more frugal mind
More laughter
Lots of family visits and good food

May your new year hold hope. Make it a resolution to start out on a good foot-- call your family, call your friend, thank your spouse, thank your parents, mend that friendship, and be a nice person, all the time.

quilts of 2011

2011-12-30T18:13:00.002-06:00

quilts of 2011, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

I can't believe the year is over tomorrow. Where did the time go? My baby is almost ONE and my oldest is almost THREE. I am still amazed that I managed to make 17 quilts this year. Some turned out better than others, but I am very happy with all of them.

I've had my favorites #5, #11 and #12. But, honestly, I love them all. I was really obsessed with the string quilts/paper piecing method. I love the way the quilts turn out. Very symmetric. Five of these quilts were gifts, some are at the cabin, one on my bed, one is my lap quilt, three are for the girls, and there's a couple extra in there somewhere.

I do have a challenge for myself for 2012. I am going to work on making more challenging quilts. Gretchen will also be getting a twin sized quilt and I have the fabric picked out and cut. Now I'm working on piecing it together and it's rather difficult. It's going to be a diamond quilt set on point...stay tuned.

Hope you enjoy. I've had a lot of fun planning these out and already have some excellent ideas for 2012 quilts. Will you be lucky enough to get one?

Matthew's Photo Quilt & Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:34:00.000-06:00

I have a cousin that recently passed away. It's been really, really hard on my family. People have changed and relationships have changed. Those of you who have lost somebody close know the affects it has on an entire family. Please continue to pray for my Aunt.

With that being said, my mother, her sister, wanted to give her a very special gift for Christmas. Something that would be a reminder of her son and something that she can use and have every day....a quilt. More specifically, a quilt of Matthew and the happy times they had. It was a joy to put this quilt together for her. The colors are Dallas Cowboy colors because that was Matt's favorite team. I also had a woman do some embroidery for me. The embroidery along the outside really adds something wonderful to the quilt. The words are part of the song "I Can Only Imagine." It's a very special song to our family and has been play at multiple funerals.

I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side...
I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me!
I can only imagine. I can only imagine.

I can only imagine all our broken lives resurrected in the healing light.

Here are some photos of the front. The back is white minky fleece to keep my Aunt warm. If you are reading this post.....we all love you, especially Barbara Jean.

photo quilt

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

christmas eve

2011-12-24T07:45:00.001-06:00

Christmas Eve. A day and night I've been waiting for all year. Like birthdays, I absolutely love Christmas. I'm not a crazy Black Friday 3 a.m. shopper-- but I do pull out my Christmas decorations and lights before the month even hits the calender. To me, Christmas brings a deeper meaning of joy and happiness. Sure there are many grouchy people hitting the stores, but I find most are happy to spread cheer.

It's also a time I begin to reflect on my life and what I've done the last year. Perhaps it's also the end of the year that brings this about, but I can't help but think about what I have in my life and how truly lucky and fortunate I am.

Today we'll be taking the girls to church for a 3:30 p.m. service. With all the standard Christmas chaos, I know this service will be at least 2-hours...that's a long time to be in a church with two kids under three-years-old. We discussed not going, to make our life just a little easier. But then I was drinking some coffee (of course) and realized that I have too many good things in my life to not give Jesus a measly 2-hours. After all, if it wasn't for Him, I probably wouldn't be so fortunate. I also want to make sure the Girls know how important Jesus is to Christmas. We've always told Charlotte that Christmas is Jesus' birthday. She plays with the Nativity all the time.

Each year I always donate something to the Angel Tree at chruch or pick a family to help out. This year I didn't and it's really bugging me. How did I manage to forget those that need things the most. So, if you are reading this, take a moment to remember Jesus and all that he's given you. You may not understand everything that's happend this year, but somehow, he has a plan for us.

Those of you who have lost somebody, just remember,

"Have a Merry Christmas and wipe away the tears.

Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year."

Gretchen's 1st Christmas

family photo

2011-12-20T06:36:00.000-06:00

We decided to get a family photo taken. I was so excited about it!! I crave professional photos after walking into other people's homes and seeing the wonderful artistic creations hanging on their walls. I knew my mom would also love to have a family photo of all her children and grand-children.

Alright, what a good photo you are thinking, right? We'll here here comes my critique. I hate it. All of it. The color, the lighting, the burry, the staging and....the fact you can see the crappy seats we are sitting on. Needless to say, I'm so disappointed! Uber, uber disappointed. These wen't cheap, but apparently, I'll have to spend even more next time to hire a GREAT photographer. I've spoken to the guy and he's trying to work with me, but I think I just didn't do nearly enough research and waited too long to book an appointment.

Charlotte & Gretchen

Here are my beautiful girls. It's a better photo (lighting) but still not crisp and clean. Why, oh why, do I seem to have such bad luck at photography.

Update: Gretchen is starting to walk along the couch. Watch out!
Quilting update: I have a very special quilt I'm quilting this week to finish up. Photos to come right after Christmas.

oh what fun

2011-12-18T07:18:00.000-06:00

Did you know that Gretchen is crawling like a maniac all over the place? She can't hardly be stopped. On Thursday she moved from the ottoman to the couch (standing) and I know it's gonna be Christmas and she'll be surfing along all my furniture. Seriously, if she has free roam, I can turn around for a second and she's gone and into the next room. Crazy! If you tell her no she also has a fit. Not liking it when Mom and Dad limit her reach.

Charlotte is doing great and loving the Season. The poor kid keeps asking for snow and wants to go sledding. Personally, no snow has been rather nice for every day travels, but I know it just can't be Christmas without a blanket of beautiful snow outside.

Last week we played a little baseball with the kiddos for a MOM's event. I can't say she'll be a baseball player, but the way she was running around the cages, I do think she'll be a track & field star!

candy cane cookies

2011-12-16T12:24:00.000-06:00

I don't bake. I've never claimed to be able to bake. I can, however, bake Christmas cookies. They always turn out perfect and I never want to share. The recipes are probably perfect, leaving it hard to make an error. I pay this tribute to my Grandmother and her trying and testing of recipes. She had a tendency to modify things over time and was truly a baker. With this, I share another recipe this year.

The Candy Cane Cookie. Sure, there are many out there, but this is the one. The mix of vanilla and almond extract is delicious. It's heavy on the almond, a yummy flavor that few desserts have these days. Sure the candy cane cookie takes a bit of patience, but with a little TLC, they are well worth it. A very festive cookie too. My added tip: bake on parchment paper to make it extremely easy to lift of the cookie sheet. This minimizes the breakage.

Ingredients

1 C butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 C powder sugar
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 C crushed peppermint candy canes mixed with sugar

Directions

Cream sugar and butter, beat in egg and flavoring. Mix in flour and salt. Blend a few drops of red coloring into half of the dough.

Flour a pastry cloth. Roll the two separate colors until you get a skinny piece about 4" long. Place strips side-by-side, pressing lightly together, and twist like a rope. Cookies must be completed one at a time. Bend one end to form a candy cane.

Bake 5-7 minutes at 375. Remove from oven and while still hot, sprinkle with candy cane mixture. Carefully remove from cookie sheet to cool.

Merry Christmas!

santa baby

2011-12-03T18:58:00.000-06:00

Today we visited Santa at the Annual Santa Baby event at Columbia Center. Charlotte was very excited to see Santa! She knew right away to ask him for dinosaurs and had no problem sitting on his lap. Gretchen wasn't unhappy or happy. My smiley little girl was straight-faced the entire time. Maybe next year she'll be as anxious as her sister to sit on his lap and ask for gifts.

my baby bump for columbia center

2011-12-02T21:34:00.000-06:00

You may remember that I did a favor for the wonderful Columbia Center, the speciality birthing hospital that both girls were born at. After a small photo shoot, they used my photos for some online advertising and a few minor print things. No, there was never a billboard...

But today I saw this on Columbia's Facebook page! I forgot how much I loved my baby bump! Yes, I'm starting to itch...but not itching too bad yet.

image source

23 adult truths

2011-12-02T07:22:00.001-06:00

I can't take credit for this. I wish I was this clever. You may have ran across this on the Internet, if you haven't, enjoy. I love finding these little bits of sarcasm and wisdom. After all, everybody complains about getting older!

23 Adults Truths

1 Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How on earth are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind-of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay.

17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

22. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

23. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

Ladies.....Quit Laughing.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

2011-11-30T16:39:00.000-06:00

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Du kannst mir sehr gefallen! I love putting up our Christmas tree, thankfully so does the rest of the family. We've always been very quick Christmas tree pickers. Maybe it's that the perfect one just jumps out at us so quickly. At any rate, the kids don't end up freezing outside trying to pick one out.

We've started a great collection of ornaments and even have a few childhood ones on the tree in honor of our pasts. Yes, a few of them are made of paper and popsicle sticks. Charlotte had a really fun time hanging the ornaments. Unfortunately, Gretchen was sleeping. And, as we suspected, any time she's in the living room she beelines for the tree and pulls at whatever she can get her hands on.

On another note, as of today, Gretchen is crawling on all fours. She's done it a couple times and has crawled a good distance. Yikes! Happy decorating!

video from santa

2011-11-29T06:48:00.004-06:00

This morning there was a message from Santa to Charlotte in my inbox. I know she will love it! Stay tuned for the results.....

Video From Santa to Charlotte

Update: Charlotte was amazed by the video. She kept repeating, "Santa said my name!" My friend Lisa shared this with me and what a great deal of fun it was. Charlotte certainly understands the concept of Santa and wants to sit on his lap again too.

We also put up our tree tonight. Charlotte was a good helper with the ornaments. She even helped me string the lights. Tomorrow we will make garland and then I'll snap a photo of the tree. I've also taught her that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and she plays with the Nativity Scene on our piano. Just keeping Christ in Christmas.

overnight baked french toast

2011-11-28T09:08:00.000-06:00

A week of traveling, family and food. It was wonderful in every shape and the girls were troopers. Charlotte went without a nap for most of the week and took it like a champ. I'm so proud of my girls. They are also learning to be very polite and respectful. We had a few day stretch in there that Charlotte was dry as well. She even went potty in a few public restrooms!

Gretchen just turned 10 months old and so badly wants to be 2.5. She is trying to pull up to her feet (can get to her knees) and has made about "6" crawls on her hands and knees. Otherwise she still resorts to the army crawl. I can just tell she wants to run, play and talk like her older sister. Very soon, I know she will be.

I made my first turkey (and GRAVY!!) all myself this weekend. My mother-in-law helped prep the turkey. It turned out great and I'm very thankful. I know my mom and grandma are proud of me. After all, I have to perfect it!

I also made a few recipes that I hadn't before. I'm not great with making things that I can make ahead of time and then serve. However, thanks to Pinterest, the ideas are endless. Take this Baked French Toast. I've made it twice now and it is to die for! Very rich and yummy. This whole pan actually fed almost 6 people. You really can't have more than two slices.

Overnight Baked French Toast

Ingredients
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) butter, melted
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 loaf brioche or challah (French toast can also be sliced 1 1/2 inches thick)
8 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup whole milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup pecans, measured then chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
(optional) maple syrup and powdered sugar for topping

Directions
1In a small bowl combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
2Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping if necessary.
3Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices. My note: I recommend dunking each slice into the egg mixture and then layering them in the pan. Dump the rest of the egg mix over the slices. When pouring, I couldn't get the slices drenched in egg enough.
4Sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices.
5Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours.
6In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you are preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
7Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don't dry it out completely.
8Remove casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.

potty progress

2011-11-21T18:55:00.000-06:00

I spent the weekend at my mom's house. My nephew and niece were there too. My nephew is 5 and most certainly in underwear. I took advantage of this and put Charlotte in underwear on Friday and put the potty in the living room. She did really good except for the #2 part. We kept working on it on Saturday using pull-ups too. Charlotte started to actually say, "Mommy, have to go potty!"

I never thought I would jump up and down after hearing that phrase.

Charlotte has now been dry since going to bed last night. This includes peeing in the middle-of-the-night and going while we made a stop into the office. What a super job she is doing! Could it finally have clicked? Are we really on the potty track!? Good thing I have two types of travel potties, just in case!

Gretchen is all over the place. Crawling up a stair to get into the next room, eating like a maniac and just being a kid. Today she and Charlotte were rolling around on the floor laughing and playing together. That melts my heart and makes me so happy to see the love they have for each other. Gretchen will be 10 months next week.

Charlotte (2.5) & Gretchen (10 mo)

Note from Dad: Kevin got a 7-point buck on opening weekend. His biggest yet! Yea Dad!

king quilt completed

2011-11-14T19:53:00.000-06:00

I'm. In. Love. With my new quilt. I just love how it turned out! The colors are fresh and amazing. They look great in our room and will look even better when we get a bed frame (that Kevin will make) some day.

urban lattice pattern modified

Quilt measures approximately 96x108". Printed fabric is mostly from Amy Butler's lines but there is a little Michael Miller thrown in. The binding/sashing is Kona Aloe and the filler is Kona Medium Grey. This is a color pallet my husband and I could agree on, especially since we loved the color of the wall. I also made a throw pillow cover and two pillow shams. Mmm...

Since the quilt was so big I couldn't fit it under my machine and had to send it out to be quilted. Through the Milwaukee Quilt Guild I met a woman named Cindy Fenske and she was able to do a great squared stippling. You can email her at Lucifen [at] aol [dot] com if you are interested in her services.

close up of quilting

At first I thought this would take me forever to complete but it really didn't. Less than a month I think. So, if you are thinking about creating a king-sized quilt, go for it!!

crafts galore

2011-11-10T11:37:00.000-06:00

This last few weeks, I've been on a role! I've managed to complete some great projects that I really wanted to test out. Thanks to the new Pinterest, ideas are leaking out my brain!

Make It And Love It

No-slip hair bows for the girls at a fraction of the cost. And, I can make more and more and more. Tutorial from Ashley at Make It And Love It.

cloth napkins

Eight cloth napkins for those special dinner guests. They are approximately 17" square to start with (before the seams). I used some Kona Red on top of a cotton linen from Joann's. I love how they turned out. After a wash they are super soft and ready to get dirty from a messy face. Love them!

I also made eye makeup remover. I hate the one I use and can't afford the good stuff. You can get the tutorial from Adelyn Stone. I tested it out this morning and it worked great. In our house we had Burt's Bees shampoo and Apricot oil, so that's what I used.

I also finished up Charlotte's twin sized quilt. It's on her bed and looks great. It matches her toddler quilt and the colors in her room. If it stops snowing, I'll get a photo soon.

Lastly, I picked up my king quilt from Cindy Fenske. She long-arm quilted it for me and she did a fabulous job. Luckily it cost much less than taking it to a quilt shop. I'm almost done with the binding and after I wash it, I'll have photos up! This is going to look so sweet on our bed with the matching shams.

hug your children today

2011-11-08T13:13:00.000-06:00

Hug your children today. Hug your mother, your father and your dog. Never forget how delicate life is.

On Sunday, a very close friend of mine lost her baby. Yes, God decided that this little man was meant for Heaven far too soon. He was born 4-weeks early, but still full-term. He had been healthy up to this point. No problems, nothing to give his parents reason to doubt. Labor went well and he was born via C-section. After a short cry, little baby boy passed away. He was 6 lbs. 10 oz. Why? We don't know yet. Hopefully the hospital staff will have answer to that question soon. This my friends, makes my heart ache so bad I cry every time I think about it for longer than 30 seconds.

Charlotte keeps asking me, "Mommy, why are you crying?" And I've explained to her that Mommy's friend lost her baby. The baby died and is now in Heaven with Jesus and Helga (my first dog). She understands that Heaven is a place where you go and don't come back. (Seeing as she can't see Helga until she goes there.)

This was their first pregnancy. This is unfair. Why? Why? Why????

Please say a prayer for baby boy. I'm not going to say any names out of respect for the family. But believe me, they need every bit of support and prayers possible. This is going to be a very difficult journey for the entire family. I'll be going up for the funeral and hope to make a few trips after that for support. I miss my girls and it's really hard being so far, especially during this kind of sorrow.

Remember when I complained that the kids don't listen or that Gretchen wakes up far too many times during the night? I take it all back. Every single word. (Choking back tears...) I don't really care about no sleep, the bags under my eyes, the extra pounds I can't get rid of. I don't really have a single thing to complain about. I have no right when other people I deeply love are going through such painful times.

I hurt for my girlfriend and I wish there was something I could do.

Please, say a special prayer.

milestones

2011-11-04T18:16:00.001-06:00

Gretchen is growing! We went to the doctor this week for her 9-month visit. She is healthy and staying on the charts. 20 lbs. 6 oz. (75%) and 29.5 inches (97%). It was a no-shot visit and Charlotte got a sticker. Our restless nights have still been restless but the last two Gretchen finally did awesome again. Wednesday she woke up at 1 a.m. but didn't need to eat and Thursday she woke up at 3 a.m. for a quick bottle and went back to sleep. I tell ya....the last few weeks have been rough with her waking up multiple times. Perhaps the Tylenol that I gave her helped her sleep. I think we might stick to that routine for a little while. (Just pretend I didn't just say drug the baby.)

Today Gretchen also hit another milestone. She successfully (twice!) went from laying on her back to a sitting position. Wowzers!! What a big girl. She's eating a ton and really wants to feed herself. She's been eating things like noodles, PBJ, bread, banana, soup, peas, yogurt, fruit chunks, etc. Gretchen looks at us eating and I can just see her little mind thinking, "I want that too!" It's sad to think that in three short months we'll be celebrating her 1st birthday. How sad.

beginning a new decade

2011-10-29T13:35:00.000-06:00

Today is my birthday. I'm 30-years-old. Officially, a real adult. I feel good about it. I'm excited to begin a new decade in my life. I was thinking about everything I've done since I was 20-years-old. How many guys I dated (to find the right one), how many hours of classes I sat through, how many miles I've driven and ran, how many times I've laughed and cried, and how much I've had to sweat. And now to think I have another decade to live my current life as a mother and a wife. Watch my kids grow up and even have more kids. So far, 30 seems pretty darn exciting...

Friday night I went out with some friends and my sister to play BINGO downtown. It was a blast!! I didn't win but one of my girlfriends won $750....she was pretty happy and even shed some tears of joy.

This morning was the kiddie Halloween party at our house. We had 12 toddlers and their parents over. It was a full-house here but we all had a blast. The kids have been friends for 2 years now so they play well together. I really love this group of friends. We have so much fun with the kids.

toddler gang in halloween costumes

charlotte dressed as ariel (little mermaid)

On another note, Gretchen turned 9-months-old on Thursday. She is crawling all over the place and follows me when I move to the kitchen. She's quick and has multiple things in her mouth that she shouldn't. It's nearly impossible to keep this place clean. The leaves keep jumping off the dog. She's still not sleeping as well as I'd like. She eats 2x/night sometimes. I just remind myself that Charlotte did the same thing and now she sleeps like a dead person for almost 10 hours. Just breathe...

gretchen playing with charlotte's animals

the cabin is finished

2011-10-25T17:33:00.000-06:00

This weekend we all moved our stuff into the cabin. Grandma and Grandpa LaPean had been working so hard on things and it sure paid off. We went up with the kids and got our bedroom all set up, including the beds in the loft area. I thought for sure Charlotte would be afraid to sleep up there so she slep with me on Friday night. I should have known better, she was dying to sleep up there and stayed in the loft with her Dad on Saturday night. She had a blast and keeps asking, "Where's my bed?"

The weather was perfect and more family came to check out the place. We had dinner on Saturday with the family and enjoyed their company all day. The kids did super this weekend. Of course, it was easy to feel at home in the new cabin. I think I can spend lots of time up there.

Gretchen rocked on all-fours a few times this weekend. Sadly, that means she'll be crawling even faster, and very soon. I already have my work cut out for me! It's gonna be a long winter...

Charlotte is Mother Nature's child. She spent all weekend outside going for Ranger rides, looking at the huge wasp hive, looking for spiders, playing in the dirt and killing bugs. My Aunt Susie had a 9-week-old puppy over and it was a perfect toddler-size. Charlotte sure was loving that little thing. Next thing I know she'll be asking Santa for a puppy!

My quilts look fantastic in the cabin. It's a good place for them and I'm happy they have a good home.

felt advent calendar

2011-10-24T18:11:00.000-06:00

Another project complete and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. If I were to ever make a second one, I'd do a few things differently, but this will look great in the house. I made a felt advent calendar for the count down to Christmas. The girls are going to love it! I think I'm also going to read a story each day when they can remove the candy and move the day marker. I was trying to mimic this one from Land of Nod. They charge $70. So, mine cost a lot less. I guess I can't complain too much.

felt advent calendar

I had a woman do some embroidery for me and I'm pretty happy. The numbers were a little too close together so they are not all the same size felt square. I would have also like to cut them in circles, but that would have been much harder to sew one. Going at it again, I think I would have had her embroider the numbers onto each square and THEN decorate it. Also, when sewing the numbers to the background I hot glued them down first. I think this was causing my needle to act up-- a little too sticky. The other idea was to have her embroider the numbers directly to the background, but that would have been more costly and require a lot more planning.

The advent squares shifted when I stitched them down. You really need to pin well for it to not shift. I did not glue those down because I wanted them to be open pockets. There is a wood dowel in the back to hang it by.

Fun fall day at the zoo

2011-10-17T14:56:00.002-06:00

My Princess, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

Today might have been our last day at the zoo for the season. It was a bit windy but ended up being a wonderful morning to spend at the zoo. We bundled the kids up (babies included) and headed out with three other friends.

Charlotte has known these friends for 2.5 years and they all play so well together! Not many other people were there so the four toddlers had free reign to run all around the place. It's great seeing them burn energy. Ending the day with a nice carousel ride, I don't think we got home until 2pm!

Gretchen....what a trooper! She had fun too and even got to go on the carousel too.

video: army crawl action

2011-10-16T15:39:00.002-06:00

video: army crawl action a video by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

I know, I've been sincerely lagging in the blogging department. It just doesn't seem to be too exciting around here right now. Things are great and normal.

However, a little Miss Gretchen has learned how to army crawl-- all over my family room. She can even make it into the bathroom. Nothing is safe around here anymore. We have to be super aware of what's on the ground and Charlotte's small toys must remain in her bedroom. In addition, with a dog and a back door, I think I vacuum like 2x a day. Argh. Nothing seems to stay clean around here!

Charlotte is doing really good with the potty training. We are on our 3rd potty chart. She still can't tell me before she has to pee but if I put her on the toilet on a regular schedule I can usually get her to go. I find when I space out and forget she always pees in her diaper. Charlotte is turning into a big kid for sure. Even though sweet at times, she continues to press our buttons. Lately, her favorite saying is, "What happened?" She asks that about everything!!

Oddly enough, we were at the Harry Potter movie last night and there was a little kid (not old enough for the movie in my opinion) who kept asking, "What happened?" after every scene in the movie. I guess Charlotte isn't the only one...

a fish story

2011-10-07T16:52:00.000-06:00

I feel as though all my friends' toddlers are potty trained and want to wear fancy underwear. Mine, not so much. The potty chart worked for awhile and then lost it's appeal. I know Charlotte knows how to tinkle, but ~~will not~~ cannot tell me before she needs to go. For awhile now she's been one sticker shy of getting her fish and today I just knew how to make it happen.

We went to Pet Smart to look at the fish. Oh, the many fish! We even bought a fish bowl, rocks and a plant for the bowl. However, we did not buy a fish. I told Charlotte that if she tinkled when we got home and put a sticker on her chart, we would go get a fish.

Sure enough, we get home and she peed twice on the potty! (Note: I don't thinks she empties her bladder.) After that, she then filled three diapers all in a matter of like 40-minutes. But, after her nap, as I promised, the three of us (Gretchen) went to the store to buy a fish. Charlotte was SO excited!

Meet ~~Eric~~ Dorothy the fish

Here is Charlotte with her Beta Fish, Dorothy. At first she named him Eric (a.k.a. Prince Eric) and then changed it to Dorothy. Not sure she understands the concept of naming things. But, anyways, I then decided to put her on the potty every 30 minutes-ish. She's tinkled a total of 6 times this afternoon. I'm so excited. We have a new potty chart with new prizes to work towards. After all, I want my kid to wear fancy underwear too!

central park quilt finished

2011-10-05T16:48:00.000-06:00

First quilt I've actually finished for myself. I am loving it!! Fabric is Central Park by Kate Spain for Moda. It's so bright and friendly. Not sure on the measurements, but it's a great lap sized quilt, extra wide to snuggle with. It's all straight line quilted. In the middle I followed the lines of the half-square triangles and on the outside I quilted straight lines about 1/4" apart.

Here's my model, Gretchen, enjoying the sun on such a lovely October day.

gretchen is eight months

2011-09-27T15:54:00.002-06:00

Today is the 27th - that means my ~~little~~ rather large Gretchen is eight months old. I really can't believe we are closer to one year than we are to the beginning. She is getting so big and beefy; I just love it. She is well into the 9-month clothes. Even the 6-9 month jammies don't fit. I've started to bring out the 12 month stuff. I know she's just as tall as Charlotte was but she weighs a bit more.

Still a cheerful little girl, Gretchen wants to be in the middle of the action. Everything within a good two feet around her she grabs and puts in her mouth. She reaches and scoots. When on her belly she can move about 3-4 feet in any direction by spinning around. I know she's itching to crawl, it's only a matter of time. At that point, I'll really have my hands full.

Gretchen sleeps a good 12 hours at night. We put her down around 6-7pm and that's when she gets up. Usually eats once in the night, so she pulls about a 7-hour shift. During the day she takes about two naps. Usually close to Charlotte's schedule so I can have both girls down at the same time.

Gretchen sure is a hungry thing. She loves to eat and is so ready to start some solid foods. When you put the puffs on her tray, she grabs at them like she hasn't eaten in a week.

We sure love this little bundle.

shredded cheese, little bits of squash and puffs

Grandma and her four (Aiden, Ava, Gretchen & Charlotte

highchair recovered

2011-09-22T19:17:00.000-06:00

With the new cabin just around the corner, I know Kevin is going to want to spend a lot of time up there. This year and the years to come. Since we plan on having more kids, and I know his brother is going to have a bunch as well, I knew it would really help to have a highchair up there. There is plenty of storage in the basement so I opted for a full-sized chair.

Off went my emails to the MOMS Club. Had I known you could get a cheap chair at Target for $30, I probably would have gone that route. But, I bought a hand-me-down for $20. (What I thought was a deal at the time.) To my dismay, when I got home, it looked like somebody puked on the chair cover. I didn't even want to clean it. So, having seen a great tutorial on Make-It-And-Love-It, I decided to make my own cover.

Off to Joann's the kids and I went. I wasn't too impressed with the fabric choices, but I found something that works. Done while the kids were napping, I'm really happy with how it turned out. I also admit, I was rushing, but it worked!

highchair recovered

love me some amy butler

2011-09-20T19:59:00.000-06:00

I've made some major progress with my king-sized quilt this week. I have all 72 blocks sewn using the paper piecing method. I absolutely love these blocks and can't wait to start piecing them together. I've modified Cara's Urban Lattice Quit. The solids are Kona Aloe and Gray and most of the prints are from Amy Butler. I'm still working on finding somebody to quilt it for me because I know it won't fit under my machine. Stay tuned!

get your scream on

2011-09-18T06:28:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a perfect day. I went to Great America with three friends and the weather was absolutely amazing, there were no lines, and it was the last day of the season. Not too hot, not too cold. Just perfect. I spent about 10 hours at the park walking around and riding roller coasters. With a discounted ticket and the amount of rides we went on, we figured each ride to cost $2.10. Now that's a cheap thrill if you ask me!

Kristin, Superman, Me

Kristin and I love roller coasters but our husbands do not. Luckily two of our girlfriends also hate roller coasters but their husbands love them. We took Dave and Jeff to Great America with us. It was so much fun we might have to do it again next year providing I'm not pregnant or something. I hadn't been there in almost five years, Kristin around 10 and the boys around five years so there was plenty of new stuff for us to see as well.

Here's the breakdown of our rides:

Batman (4) - 2x in front

Raging Bull (3) - 1x in front

Superman (2) - too scared for the front

The Dark Knight (1) - don't waste your time

Vertical Velocity a.k.a. V2 (1)

Viper (2)

Whizzer (1) - 1976 classic, first coaster in the park

American Eagle (2) - forwards and backwards

The Little Dipper (1) - 1950s restored classic

Six Flags Train (1)

Carousel (1)

The lines were so short we managed to go on Batman in the FIRST row, get off and get back on in the SECOND row in a mere 17 minutes. We were so beat by the end of the day with no lines. I've never been on so many roller coasters in my life! Raging Bull was by far our favorite. Although it doesn't do upside down, the drop and steep turns are sure to give you a great thrill. Superman was the scariest for me. There's nothing like riding a coster while starring at the ground.

Superman roller coaster at Six Flags

Thank you, Kevin, for staying home with the girts. We walked around all day and saw kids in strollers who were most definitely miserable and were very thankful that ours were not there.

high school all over again

2011-09-14T17:51:00.002-06:00

Beware, this is a small vent. Thanks to a few events today, I'm fairly angry. Farmers Insurance and Wells Fargo's miscommunication didn't help much. I'm so frustrated with clique's and excluding individuals. I suffered through this in high school and really didn't want to go through it as an adult. There was a little of this in my last MOMS Club and I tried hard to stay away from it. Unfortunately, I'm seeing it again and it just makes me mad. Sure I like certain moms more than others, that's normal. My personality meshes better with others, but when it comes down to it, I try really hard not to exclude people. Especially since at one point or another, I know I'll find myself in the same position.

Gretchen, sweet Gretchen, isn't so sweet around 4 p.m. Come on over, you'll see.

With that said, I'm just upset. Thanks Wells Fargo.

On a positive note, we started a new playgroup this week with the Cedarburg MOMS and it went really well. Having moved I was forced to join the local chapter of the MOMS Club, I was previously part of the Mequon MOMS. I like our new group and the kids played super well together. I'm glad Charlotte has the opportunity to play with so many different kids in one week.

saving this one for gretchen's wedding

2011-09-11T19:18:00.001-06:00

video: gretchen likes her toes a video by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

Gretchen likes her toes. I caught it on camera. I'll have to save this video for her wedding day. It's sure to provide some laughs when she's 25.

rainbow of fabric flowers

2011-09-10T14:04:00.002-06:00

my girls, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

I've finally gotten around to making some adorable fabric flowers and attached them to hair clips. This means the girls will have one to coordinate with every outfit. Tutorial is from Make-It--And-Love-It and it's super easy -- you'll get addicted.

Wellspring Farm

2011-09-07T15:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was quite the adventure. I set out to attend my first activity as part of the Cedarburg MOMS Club. We were visiting a veggie farm with the kids and they had the opportunity to pet chickens too. I don't have a smart phone, so went I got lost in West Bend (the farm is in Newburg), I had no clue where I was and where I was supposed to go.

Panicking that I'm already 30 minutes late, I finally got a hold of Kevin and work and he guided me 20 minutes East to Wellspring Farm. There was a nice crowd and Charlotte seemed to enjoy herself. She loved petting the chickens and found a 6 inch worm she wanted to bring home. I can't believe she even tasted the tops of fennel and a ground cherry.

My adventure led me to the realization that if I don't have a GPS, I really need to take my mom's iPhone in December when she upgrades. I'm really living in the dark ages.

grilled pizza

2011-08-31T18:02:00.000-06:00

I love pizza, but I consider myself a pizza snob. I only like good pizza and get utterly disappointed when I run into a bad pizza dough. The last few years I've taken to making my own pizza dough and pizza at home, thin crust and deep dish. It's so much tastier, cheaper, and I always have the ingredients in the house.

my first grilled pizza

This turned out really good, especially if you like extra crispy crust. I did have a hard time getting the dough on the grill, but it worked out ok after breaking a sweat, multitasking a screaming Gretchen and trying not to start the grill on fire.

See, the trick is that you cook the plain dough first, on one side, on the grill. Then remove it, flip it, brush the grilled side with sauce and toppings, and return the pizza to the grill for final cooking. Getting it on the second time was much easier and getting it off was a breeze. I reserved a little extra sauce for dipping, that was definitely needed. The crust gets really, really crispy.

I put on what we had in the house: basil, zucchini, tomato, spinach, mushrooms and cheese. Enjoy!

Bay Beach

2011-08-28T18:29:00.000-06:00

What a fun weekend! Seriously, a really fun weekend! It all started on Friday night when my college buddy Randy Jansen got married to a wonderful woman in Appleton. It was so great to see my best college friends again. I really do miss them and wish we could see each other more often. We are the only ones with kids, Penny lives in (715) area code and Ralph and Becky just got married with Becky still in Michigan and Ralph in the Air Force. Maybe someday we'll do things more often, but that's doubtful. I'll just have to cherish the few times a year we see them all.

Ralph, Rebecca, Erika, Kevin, Penny & Josh

Then on Saturday (the kids were with Grandma LaPean) the five of us went to Bay Beach in Green Bay. It's a mini amusement park for families and the rides are $0.25 each! For around $5 you can have a whole day's worth of fun, however, the kids lasted about two hours. This was Charlotte's first time on any kind of fair ride and I wasn't sure how she'd do. A little hesitant at first, she was eager to give the tenant her ticket and jump into the car or ladybug or whatever she could. The giant slide was a little too scary for Charlotte so Kevin and I raced down. Then I also got Kevin to go on the Zippin' Pippin' with me. (I think he even put his arms up once despite the fact that he's not exactly a roller coaster guy.) I loved Elvis' favorite roller coaster and could have gone multiple times for only a buck per ride.

Here are some highlights and you can always find more here:

Lastly, Charlotte got to go fishing with Daddy and she absolutely loved it. She was ready to string the worm and throw a cast. When they got a small mouth bass Charlotte was insistent on holding the fish and putting him back in the water. Looks like Dad has new fishin' buddy...

AND she fed the giraffes at the NEW Zoo!

Gretchen turned 7 months old on Sunday. She has a tooth on the bottom with another bottom tooth well on the way. She's a beefcake and can't seem to each enough food. We just keep giving it to her and she keeps eating. What a good eater this one is.

adorable ava

2011-08-25T13:38:00.000-06:00

Bill and Nicole had a few photos done of Ava. Isn't she adorable? I just want to squeeze her!! 2 weeks old today

gretchen loves whipping cream

2011-08-22T19:09:00.002-06:00

video: gretchen loves whipping cream a video by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

My house would not be complete without whipping cream. I love whipping cream; the real stuff. Thankfully my mom and grandma taught me how to make really good cream and when I don't have time, Reddi Wip is usually good enough.

Saturday morning I made pancakes with strawberry sauce and fresh whipping cream. Kevin was in heaven, but we knew that. Charlotte didn't each much (big surprise) - she just wanted to eat the cream. Gretchen, well, she loved the whipping cream. Many of you probably remember this video of Charlotte sharing whipping cream with Griffin.

Here's Gretchen's video, eating the spatula...

my first quilt

2011-08-21T16:20:00.000-06:00

Let me tell you how much I love this quilt! It turned out so great and I am really happy that I rescued it and can use it on a regular basis. Finished size measures approximately 96x96. It's going on our queen bed in the new cabin that Kevin's parents are building. This had been sitting in the closet with no purpose since my college days. Since the cabin is full of six of my quilts, I figured my bedroom better have one too. This was already a pretty long quilt but needed some extra width.

queen size

After adding a rather large bit to the bottom, I put new batting and a sheet on the back (to save time and money). Then I straight line quilted it with my walking foot. The lines aren't super straight but that is what gives it some character. After being washed it is super worn in and cuddly. Charlotte wants it for her bed I think. Some of the seams have split over the years and I sealed them with fusible lining. It did the trick!

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do. This is my first quilt and I still get to enjoy it!

Brie Bear

2011-08-20T12:16:00.002-06:00

Brie Bear, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

Remember the two tickle bears I made for Gretchen that I patterned off her Rufus bunny? Well, they got a face lift! I decided that having the fuzzy fleece was messy and the silk binding that I made was just amateur. So, I updated the bears with regular fleece and store bought binding in a really cute turquoise. Even my stitching on this is 100 times better. The head and hands are the same. She also has a name now... Brie Bear.

curtains for thing two

2011-08-19T21:10:00.000-06:00

I finally finished some curtains for Gretchen's room. Well, I have one panel left to complete, but the other three are up! I've looked long and hard for curtains that match her walls. They are a very strange purple color, but I like it, but am having a hard time matching things. Of course Pottery Barn had some, but spending $200 on curtains was not on my list. Charlotte has 2 out of 4 needed panels from PB Kids in her room so I was trying to cut corners.

A few weeks ago I found this lavender fabric and knew that it was it. Lavender isn't such a hot color I guess, it's hard to find. However, there was only 4 yards of it and I would have needed eight to make panels in all print. So, I did this reverse with the Kona Natural and Kona Melon. I also ordered the 'cheap' blackout fabric and it's not exactly blackout, but does darken the room more than it was. Thanks to Fabric.com it all arrived at my doorstep.

gretchen's curtains

I lightly followed this curtain lining tutorial from Jerisew(s). The sewing worked out well, they look very well made.

I'm not in LOVE with the curtains but they are cute and will look nice in the room. My vision from paper to fabric wasn't exact. Once there is a bed in the room with a matching quilt, it will all fall into place. (Already bought that fabric too.) I think the more the curtains hang the more they will lay properly. Overall, it's a nice addition to her very bare room. Besides, anything is better than a receiving blanket hanging with blue tape...

building blocks baby quilt

2011-08-15T20:45:00.000-06:00

With all the new babies around I tried this Moda Bakeshop recipe - it turned out great. One layer cake made two quilts, but I wish the pattern would have used more of the layer cake. I used "Boy" Meadow Friends Layer Cake by Deb Strain for Moda. One baby is a boy and the other needed to be a neutral quilt. So, with a few added fabrics from It's A Hoot by MoMo for Moda, I had a second quilt.

neutral quilt front

boy quilt front

The best part about making the quilt is giving the quilt. Although a bit shy (the only time I ever am), I love seeing the face of the loved on who receives a quilt. It's as though they love it as much as I did making it. This has been such a fun hobby for me and I keep getting better. I'm thrilled that there are family and friends that I can share this with. I love the though of a little baby learning to sit on my quilt, drool all over it and suck on the corners. What joy!!

more ava and a wedding

2011-08-15T20:33:00.000-06:00

We had such a wonderful weekend visiting family in Merrill. Dan and Sarah Neumann renewed their vows so we were up there Friday and Saturday night. Given the fact we were away from home in a hotel for two nights the girls were fantastic. Charlotte was a party girl all weekend and would NOT leave the dance floor. Anytime Kevin or I tried to dance with her she pointed and said, "No Mom, you go sit at the table with Dad." She wanted to have her cousins all to herself. I've never seen a kid love their family that much. She is a blast to be around these days.

1st family photo in 6 months!

Today us girls went to visit my new niece and nephew. Charlotte loves playing with her cousin Aiden, they play so well together. And, of course, I got to hold Ava. What an adorable little girl. I can't wait to see her grow up. She's just a little peanut!!

Baby Ava and me (5 days old)

I'm an Aunt!!

2011-08-12T05:25:00.000-06:00

August 11, 2011 - My brother made me an Aunt!! He and Nicole welcomed baby Ava Mae into the world around 12:30 p.m. Mom and baby are going great. I got to hold Ava at the hospital when she was only a mere five hours old!! She weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz. and was 19 inches long. Just a little peanut with some dark hair on top. It was so amazing holding a little one again.

Me, Ava and Charlotte

Grandma and Grandchild #4

Before we visited Ava we went to State Fair to eat some grub. Charlotte had a good time and was happy to bring home a pink triceratops. I took her down the GIANT slide but she was not happy and did not like it. We'll try again next year. Charlotte got to eat her own ice cream cone covered in jimmies and also tried some cream puff... yumm! After a mere almost two hours, we were beat.

cream puff

hates the GIANT slide

multi-purpose sunroom

2011-08-10T16:02:00.000-06:00

Did you know I have a multi-purpose sunroom? Not only can you hang out in there three seasons out of the years, but it's large enough to lay and almost-king-sized quilt on the floor to baste.

I tried the kitchen, but it wan't wide enough. If this didn't work I was going to resort to the driveway, or my mom's house. But, it was easy to clean and there wasn't much furniture to move around. Love it!

Gretchen went to the doctor on Tuesday. She was scared of him...not like her to be scared of strangers, but she was. That only added to the tears because of course, she had to get three shots. (The nurse does those...) Gretchen is 28" (97%) and 17 lbs. 10 oz. (75%). She is the same height as Charlotte at 6 months but weighs TWO POUNDS more!! Can you say beefcake!?

My sweet Gretchen has been a grouch the last week or so. Must be growing pains. I see a little slit in her lower gum line so it's only a matter of days before we see a little tooth. I looked in the baby book and Charlotte was just over 7 months when she got a tooth and Miss Gretchen is hovering around 6.5 months.

photo shoot

2011-08-08T18:06:00.000-06:00

Today I took the girls to get their photos taken. Charlotte needed a good 2-year photo and Gretchen was due for her 6-month photo. Let's just say things could have gone better.

We went to JCP. Can't say that I'll be going there again. Gretchen's shirt was all wet and icky when we got there. The one in the photo is a $2.99 shirt I found at JCP before the shoot. Close call. Charlotte had a huge poop right before the photo shoot and they made me go to the other side of the store to use the restroom to change it. By now I'm sweating and have a headache.

She took photos of Gretchen first then a few of the girls. I thought things were going well until she said her flash wasn't working and the photos didn't turn out. By now Charlotte is jumping on the couch behind me and could hardly sit there. I was bribing her with the thought of McDonald's when we were finished. So we did the photos all over again starting with Gretchen who was now crying and could hardly sit up anymore. This is how well the double shoot was going. We barely got a photo of the two girls together, I was quite disappointed.

not the greatest photo shoot

This is the best she could get of the two girls. Not very cohesive, but it works. The photos of the girls individually turned out. They are so adorable! We all went home and slept. Well, I didn't but I stayed on the couch recovering. I tell ya. What a morning.

charlotte - 2

gretchen - 6 mo

add a little zen to your life

2011-08-04T19:57:00.000-06:00

A recent Parents Magazine article caught my eye. It was called “Lessons from a Zen Mommy,” by Bethany Saltman, a Zen Buddhist who has lived in a monastery and devoted one week of every month to silent meditation, but is now living in the noisy real world with her husband and 3-year-old daughter.

Those of you who know me know I do not lead a Zen life whatsoever, but after reading this, making a few changes might not be a bad idea. In the article Saltman gives readers four Zen ideas to think about and ultimately adopt into their lives.

Do what you're doing while you're doing it. Stop multitasking! We can't do everything at the same time even though society and our children practically demand it. How many times have I heard Charlotte say, "No phone Mommy!" If you're like me, stop multitasking and just pay attention to one thing, or person, at a time. Give those little people the attention they deserve! You'll feel better about yourself.
Leave no trace. Take responsibility for yourself and your mess. And teach your child to do the same. Kevin has taught many Leave No Trace programs for nature but I've never thought to apply that principle to the household. Is your home an extension of your thoughts, messy and unorganized? I'm not saying your home has to be spotless, mine sure isn't, but perhaps I need to pick up the mess I leave behind each and every day. I teach the girls to pick up toys and that's an important skill to learn.
Take just the right amount. Limit acquiring too much stuff. We all know our kids have too many toys, but how does it get like that? What example are we for our kids if we go shopping every weekend or let them bring a "toy" home every time we go out. (This can be applied to my eating habits as well. I'm sure many of you are in the same boat.) With the Internet lurking around the couch, it's hard to resist logging into Amazon.com one more time and clicking three times to order something you probably don't need. If this is a lesson you are teaching your children, practice it in your life first!
Practice patience. Don't beat yourself up over things. We all want to be perfect, but even after a lifetime that's not possible. Of course I'm getting better in the patience category, but the girls test me each day. I have to remember to breathe and remind myself that the girls are learning so much every day and I need to be a strong example for them. They are learning by watching me. Of course I loose it sometimes, but that's natural, so don't go beating yourself up about it. Just remind your kids how much you love them and how the problem can be solved without getting frustrated.

I sure hope you got something out of that. I thought Saltman wrote a very good article. I like to read articles that remind me what I need to do in order to continually examine myself and grow. Count your blessings and realize how fortunate you are. My new job has given me such insight into my own life. It's made me realize how extremely fortunate I am to have a loving, healthy family and most of all, a place to live and food to eat.

A mom friend of mine has five children and is adopting a 2-year-old girl from China. In the middle of this process, she was approached because a 14-year-old girl in China has 4 weeks to be adopted or she will be "unadoptable" and who knows what would happen to her. Yes, my friend is taking both girls into her family and making it a family of seven children. I think this is amazing and it makes me want to be a better person and lead a better life. How can you lead a better, healthier, fuller life??

my first quilt update

2011-08-03T07:47:00.000-06:00

I'm excited about this one!! This is my very first quilt I ever made, before I knew that modern quilting even existed. Before my Grandma Burton even bought me the sewing machine I have. I think this quilt is something like 11 years old and most of the fabric used to make it was even older (like 20-30 years) as it was from my Grandma's stash with some new fillers.

hand stitched quilt

I used this quilt through college on my bed, my extra long twin bed. A good third to half of this is hand stitched since I didn't have a machine. For that reason, a lot of the seams have split and I've had to repair them over the years. It was also basted with a polyester batting. I hate to see this creation in the closet as it holds a lot of memories. Luckily, Kevin agreed to have this as our cabin quilt for the bed at the new cabin!! The bed in the room will be queen size so I had to add on. You can tell where I added to one side as the squares are much larger than the original ones. I didn't have the patience to make small squares and the fabric is all scraps from my stash. Quilt now measures 96 x 96".

close up of hand stitching

It was originally tied together but after much thought, in order to preserve the hand stitches I really need to stipple the entire thing for fear of it falling apart. So, I took the whole thing apart, bought new batting and a sheet for the back (cheating, I know). It will be a lot to stipple but I've done a queen size before. I'll have to be gentle, but I think this will look great when finished.

Truly a labor of love!

one for the book

2011-08-02T19:55:00.002-06:00

Monday night we all went down to the Milwaukee Sailing Center to visit one of Kevin's good friends from College, Erin. She's currently at school in South Carolina for her PhD in biochemical engineering. For a summer trip, she and her parents sailed from Traverse City, Mich. to Milwaukee and this necessitated a visit downtown.

To our surprise, other friends from college also joined us all and they each had two boys. Charlotte had such a blast crawling in and out of the sailboat cabin then running along the lakefront docks. She was fascinated by the ducks swimming all over the place.

At one point, she was standing on the railings looking at the ducks and all of a sudden we hear crying. No, she didn't fall in. She got her head stuck in between the railings trying to look at them!! I just about panicked and had visions of calling the City of Milwaukee to come and cut her head out of the green steel bars that her head was wedged between. Thankfully, Kevin didn't panic quite as much and was able to move her ears and easily get her head back. I had to then explain that she may not stick her head in between the bars. OMG! I seriously had visions of the worst scenario...thanks to many episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos.

But, she's ok and not scarred by the situation. Ah...

gretchen is six months

2011-07-27T07:44:00.001-06:00

My little baby isn't such a baby anymore. Today Gretchen Elaina turned six months old. Yes, in that same amount of time we'll be celebrating a 1st birthday. Really, where has the time gone? I remember thinking how sleep-deprived I was just about six months ago and now I can hardly remember those nights. Gretchen doesn't sleep through every night, but enough of them that things are good around here.

My cheerful little girl is still as wonderful as she was the first day. Unless you take food away or catch her overtired, Gretchen smiles at everybody and can always warm your heart. It's easy to make her smile and her belly laughs can light up a room.

To date:

Rolls over to tummy all the time and sleeps on her tummy
Can roll from tummy-to-back but doesn't do it all the time
Can sit up assisted but not on her own yet
Plays with her toes all the time
Chews on everything, but no teeth yet
Started solid foods and by the way she eats, you'd think I don't feed her. Favorite: blueberries/peaches, peas, bananas and sweet potatoes
Takes a bottle from anybody at anytime
Makes lots of verbal noises and will mimic what you do
Watches and observes everybody and everything
Doesn't fall asleep in public as well as she used to, there are just too many things going on
Still very easy to cart around
Falls asleep on her own for naps and bedtime

When days are long I just tickle my little girl, grab that smile and store it in my heart. We love Gretchen, she's the perfect addition to our family.

summer swimming

2011-07-24T05:34:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was so much fun! We had a pool party at a friend's house in order to escape this heat. Pool party, toddler style. Yes, this was a party with all of Charlotte's friends and families. Six toddlers, an almost equal amount of babies, and there really weren't too many melt downs.

When we got there I put the lifejacket on Charlotte and she got right in the pool and sat on a floaty thing the whole time. She was a little timid of the water so we were careful not to scare her. I started to think that my swim lessons last summer scared her for life. Another little girl had water wings and was swimming and diving under water and just having a blast. Charlotte was just the opposite and it was driving me nuts. After dinner we all went swimming again and this time I put some Nemo water wings on Charlotte-- well, she was a totally different kid!! Can you believe she was swimming on her own! Jumping off the side of the pool and did I mention, swimming on her own! We'll be purchasing Nemo water wings ASAP.

Gretchen got to go in the water for a little bit too. She loved it! The water was warm and she hung on in the a floaty thing. Since we are around water all the time with both Grandparents, liking water is a real necessity in this house. I'm so happy it was a fun pool party for the girls.

video: gretchen

2011-07-22T16:19:00.001-06:00

video: my gretchen a video by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

Seriously, this hot weather and somebody still has something to always laugh and smile about. Gretchen sure is taking a liking to food, especially sweet potatoes. Charlotte is a great big sister and has been very helpful lately-- looking out for Gretchen when she cries.

I gave them a bath together too, it was fun!! Can't wait until Gretchen can sit up and they can really have a blast.

urban lattice quilt completed

2011-07-19T05:55:00.002-06:00

urban lattice quilt, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

My 6th quilt for the cabin completed. This is the last for the bunk room. This is Cara's Urban Lattice Quilt Along, manly size. However, unintentionally, I place a row of blocks on the long side so this is longer rather than the manly pattern is wider. It works good for me because it's for a twin bed. I love how it turned out! Kona Navy with Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow.

gretchen's first eats

2011-07-15T14:20:00.000-06:00

Update: Charlotte has not sat on the potty since Grandma came over. The cake has been staring at me. The potty chart isn't working. Neither are the stickers.

Update: I lost my phone. Don't call me.

Gretchen. She's hungry, I know it! She'll be 6 months in just a week or so and I decided it was time to start food. Last night at dinner I got the highchair out and some rice cereal made. I've also been hyping this up by telling Charlotte that she gets to teach Gretchen how to eat. The second kid around, I made the rice cereal much thicker than when Char had it for the first time.

Gretchen was all about the food! She was grabbing the spoon and trying to shove it in her mouth. The tongue was a little iffy about the new texture but soon enough it was going down the trap. I plan on trying sweet potatoes very soon as the rice cereal is so bland!

Here's the fun story...everything was ready and on the table. Kevin and I both turned around for something or another. We look back at Gretchen and she has rice cereal all over her mouth and face. Yep, Charlotte gave her her first bites!! Charlotte was being a big sister and feeding Gretchen. No worries, no children were injured during this trial. Gretchen seemed happy and so did Charlotte.

Update: We also found out how to get Charlotte to sleep at an early bedtime; let her chase Griffin after dinner in the backyard until she collapses!

she did it!

2011-07-12T19:59:00.001-06:00

She did it!! Yesterday, as I mentioned, Charlotte tinkled on the sidewalk for a popsicle. I didn't intend for her to do that, but bad habbits from the country came with us. Today the kids were with Grandma Horstmeyer all day becuase I had to work 11 hours!! But, they had an exciting day, especially Charlotte...

Charlotte tinkled on the sidewalk again so my mom decided to get out the frog potty.

Charlotte went tinkle on the fog potty...a first! This was after watching the Elmo Potty movie. I guess she was paying attention. She has been watching that a lot lately and maybe, it finally made sense. Then, my mom said if she went poop on the potty she would get a cake. Well...my child loves cake. Actually, the frosting. After sitting there for while, she made it happen! Now Grandma was in a bind. Charlotte wanted cake and a promise is a promise. So, she had to pack the kids up and take them to the store so Charlotte could pick out a cake. A little one with a HUGE buttercream flower on top. And to put a cherry on top, she told everybody at the store that she went poop on the potty and was getting cake.

potty cake

So, on my way home I picked up some stickers. Charlotte and I made a sticker chart and she will get a sticker for evey time she uses the potty and then a prize for every 5 times. She totally gets it. This will be fun....as fun as potty training gets...

settled in

2011-07-11T19:11:00.000-06:00

Ah..... We are getting settled in. Tonight will be our third night in the house and it already feels like home. I've been working at slowly unpacking boxes so that things are put away right the first time. Charlotte's room was first to be unpacked and she absolutely loves it. All the excitement has been a damper on our nap schedule, but I think we'll get back into the swing shortly.

The heat...I haven't been able to handle! It's just been too hot for all the work I've been doing. I can't seem to get the A/C cranked high enough to cool down. Dare I say I can't wait for fall??

Gretchen is doing good. She had a rough first night in the house. Sleeping in the pack 'n play didn't fare well with her. She was waking up all night long. On the other hand, napping in the pack 'n play in the warm, cozy sunroom in the afternoon is her favorite thing to do. Still rolling over all over the place. Grabbing for toys and putting the nookie in her mouth all by herself. I'm very happy to announce she is taking a bottle...so much that I think she is getting annoyed with nursing (it takes longer).

Charlotte is busy, busy, busy. It is nice being so much closer to our friends. The house is definitely home to my little girl. Today she went potty on the sidewalk for a popsicle. Now I just need to figure out how to make her pee on the potty. At least it's still a start...

Kevin is working hard on projects around the house; getting things into tip-top shape around here. He had a wonderful trip to Alaska, filled with rain and mosquitoes. It's always nice for him to see his buddy.

solo canoeist for the week

sunset

Charlotte's new room

2011-07-06T05:43:00.001-06:00

Charlotte in her NEW bedroom, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

Her room is finally finished! I am so happy with how it turned out. The curtains are green/white gingham and will look super cute hanging. Just wait until we get all her furniture and her new and improved big girl bed!

we're homeowners again

2011-06-30T17:53:00.000-06:00

I, yes, I, closed on the house today. Took 45 minutes, no hiccups. The seller wasn't there, I was a little bummed. I wanted to meet her. But, I have the keys, made extras and headed over to the house. I have a coat of paint on in Charlotte's room and my mom and sister came over to scrub the kitchen. I also cleaned two of the bathrooms. Tomorrow the carpets are getting cleaned. Saturday I'll be doing more painting and of course, more cleaning.

Charlotte got to ride her NEW bike around the kitchen. She can't quite get the concept of peddling yet, but like most things, she'll catch on quickly. The curtains I picked out look great in the living room and overall, I'm super excited. I can't wait to see what my new wicker furniture looks like in the beautiful sunroom. I'll try to get some photos up soon!

tinkle tinkle little star

2011-06-28T20:35:00.000-06:00

Wow, today was a good day. This afternoon we made MAJOR progress in the potty training department with Charlotte. Since it was so nice out, we let Charlotte run around naked while we were planting flowers and throwing the balls for the dogs. During normal conversation we talk about going potty with Charlotte. She also love popsicles; almost more than pickles. Since it was hot, we let her have a popsicle. Mmm....

Then I got a genius idea. Hold your hat folks, I do not practice normal parenting tactics. Please close your eyes if you do not handle out-of-the-box thinking. One of the hardest concepts for Charlotte to grasp is how to make the tinkle come. She doesn't seem to get how to let the pee out. So, I thought I would show her, outside, on the driveway (secluded area) so she could understand. See, in the bathroom, she can't actually see anything. Well, like TWO MINUTES LATER she squatted in the driveway and made a tinkle. We all cheered and clapped and she got another popsicle.

After that was gone she wanted a third one and we said she had to tinkle to get one. Well, she squatted again and peed!! So, she got a third popsicle. I thought yes, we are on to something!! She actually peed a third time too. I was so happy. I think Charlotte might actually understand how to make the tinkle come out.

Potty training...........here.......we.......come..............

happy 5 months gretchen!

2011-06-27T08:03:00.001-06:00

My little baby girl is five months old today! Gretchen brings a sense of lightheartedness to my life. Each day I look at her smiley face, no matter what, I can't help but smile back and shower her with kisses. Unless you take food away, she never cries, never. Gretchen is truly the perfect baby.

Here's an update:

She rolls over ALL the time to her belly. Last night, she even woke up on her belly, that was a first.
She saw her first theater movie and slept through the entire thing.
She plays with her toes all the time.
She drools much more than my first child.
She loves blowing raspberries and giggling at you.
She goes with the flow - no matter what the day brings.
She sleeps through the night and goes to sleep on her own.
She's not shy and will let anybody pick her up.
She's still working at taking a bottle - let's hope we can nail this within the next few weeks.
She absolutely loves her mommy.
She watches her big sister like a hawk; I just know she'll be running around before she's a year old.
Update: Gretchen took TWO bottles from mama today....all I can say is thank goodness! I have two seminars in the new few weeks and I was wondering how that would work if she was still attached to me...

poppy fields forever

2011-06-25T17:31:00.000-06:00

The poppy fields forever quilt is complete! Washed and dried today. Somehow I also managed to squeeze in a matching pillow sham. Haven't made one of those before, did it without a tutorial, and it turned out pretty good. I'm pleased at how great the quilt looks in the poppy bedroom with the matching duvet.

The bedroom was painted before my parents bought the house. The colors are amazing in the room; the flowers are my favorite part. Charlotte loves looking for birds, bees, fairies and scary gnome like goblins hiding in the trees. It truly is a magical forest. When I ran across the poppy print from Pottery Barn I knew it was perfect for the room. But, since Charlotte is now in a big bed, we needed a matching quilt for her bed, however, the poppy is out of print. Luckily somebody had a bed skirt on eBay which prompted me to turn it into a quilt.

poppy fields forever front

The quilt blocks are 12.5" and the other blocks are wonky blocks from Elizabeth Hartman in matching colors to the poppy colors. Twin sized. Sashing and binding are Kona Snow. The back is a red sheet from Ikea with some poppy squares filled in. I stippled this in a variegated red/pink thread. It's so bright and looks wonderful in the room.

life's moving a little fast right now

2011-06-24T14:51:00.000-06:00

Was it really only the first day of summer just the other day? To me, it seems like summer is already half over. Things are moving a little fast around here and I feel like I'm jogging next to the school bus with four fingers hanging on.

Today Kevin left for a 10 day vacation to interior Alaska to visit his best friend and go canoeing. Unfortunately, the part of the Yukon River they were canoeing in Alaska/Canada is greatly flooded and looks like the Grand Canyon right about now. Not good for canoeists. Wait....he's going on vacation and leaving me home with the kids for a week and a half?! Yep!

MUCH worse than this, and in a canoe

Wait, aren't we closing on the NEW house next week?! Yep! I'm doing it all alone. This boy owes me big time, BIG TIME! I'm not sure what would happen if I left the state for 10 days and was not available by phone for most of the trip. I'm already making a "honey do and make-up" list.

The girls are going great, growing big. Charlotte seems more grown up every morning. Talking up a storm and starting to understand concepts and ideas. She really amazes me. I also can't believe how much she remembers. Tip: Don't tell her anything you don't want repeated, like a secret. She might not give it up right away, but she'll spill the beans at an awkward moment. Gretchen is rolling over and wants to move around so badly. She's still a smiley girl and such a joy to have around.

Charlotte got a new bike helmet in preparation for our new move. No, she's not getting a bunk bed, she'll be getting her first bike! We promised her she could have one at the new house. I think she's really excited -- now we just need to find one that works for us and doesn't cost a small fortune.

new bike helmet

Gretchen, or "Scretch" as Charlotte would say, is definitely going to be a fast learner. She watches Charlotte all the time and is just sucking it all in!

poppy sneak peak

2011-06-15T15:15:00.001-06:00

poppy sneak peak, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

I couldn't resist. Here's a sneak peak at the quilt I'm making for one of the back bedrooms at my mother's house (a.k.a Charlotte's room). There is a duvet with the poppy print already on a queen bed and my mom wanted a matching quilt for the twin bed that's also in there.

One problem, the poppy print is from Pottery Barn a few years ago and they don't carry it anymore. Luckily, and eBay seller was selling this great king-sized bed skirt so I snatched it up and used it to create this quilt.

I have half of the quilting done, it's in a variegated red/pink thread, which is fairly bold of myself. I probably should have used an off-white, but the back is mostly red.

Stay tuned for the final product, should be finished next week if I can manage to find some binding I like.

Gretchen's rolling over!

2011-06-13T17:36:00.001-06:00

video: Gretchen rolling over a video by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

At 19 weeks, Gretchen is rolling over! She's gone from back to belly many times after weeks of rolling to one side. The other day she even rolled from belly to back! This little girls doesn't like to be in the bouncy chair (reclined one) anymore, she is always trying to wriggle herself out of it. The jumperoo is another story though. She loves the lights and can spin around in it. I can't remember when Charlotte first rolled over, but this it seems Gretchen is doing things right!

mama, can i have a pony?

2011-06-13T13:53:00.002-06:00

real horseback riding, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.
Charlotte loves ponies. The only chance she ever has to ride is at the zoo. Luckily, I found a stable, Erin Meadows Farm, right by my mom's house that has pony rides on Sunday afternoons. But, here, she gets to really RIDE the pony. No strap, no mama, no holding on. It was all Charlotte and her monkey legs. She got to ride the pony for like 5 laps and she loved every minute of it. I can see she's going to be asking me for a pony/horse as soon as she realizes that people can actually own them.

Walking down the hill by herself!

gretchen a.k.a. wedding crasher

2011-06-10T14:44:00.000-06:00

Since the move I know I haven't been keeping up with the blogging. Some of you are probably wondering what on Earth the kids have been up to. I did finish another quilt and plan to have it basted by next week and quilted shortly. It's bright and I can't wait to show it to you; a twin size for the poppy bedroom at my mom's house.

Gretchen has officially rolled over to her tummy. She doesn't do it all the time, her shoulder tends to get in the way. Pretty soon it will be a normal occurrence as she definitely moves around when on the ground. She's also been in the jumperoo and her legs are getting stronger!

This past weekend Kevin and I went up to Door County for my friend Ralph's wedding. Isn't his bride beautiful?

Ralph & Rebecca

They had an amazing wedding at The Chanticleer in Sturgeon Bay. The B&B was rented out for their few guests and we had a beautiful weekend filled with sun, friends and best of all, NO KIDS! Unfortunately, Gretchen wasn't going to let us get away that easy. I do admit that most of it is my own fault. Most of you know, I'm nursing and things are really easy for us. Saving and storing milk is such a hassle that I dread doing it and never want to waste it in a bottle. Well, I should have worked harder at introducing the bottle because Gretchen wouldn't take one on Friday. She went 8 hours without eating and after lots of tears (her) and phone calls (Grandma), Kevin and I met Grandma, Gretchen and Charlotte in Oshkosh to pick-up the little one and take her back to Door County with us.

If you look at the B&B website it politely says "NO KIDS." I begged the innkeepers....I swore she was a quiet, perfect baby....and since we had the whole B&B they said it was ok. YES! We didn't have to leave! Thankfully, Gretchen was a perfect little girl all weekend (as I had promised), even though she tried pretty hard to steal the spotlight from the bride. (Rebecca was too beautiful to let that happen!) So, I've definitely learned my lesson...

If you REALLY want to get away....make 110% sure your nursing baby will take a bottle!

Miss Heidi a Mister?

2011-06-09T16:15:00.000-06:00

Today I got an interesting phone call from my mother. Heidi, the new puppy, went into the vet to be spayed. However, the vet called and informed us that she's a true hermaphrodite with both male and female parts. Oh my goodness!! And this is a certified AKC German Sheperd from the Falcon Du Chien line in Big Bend/Eagle area of Wisconsin. They continued with the spay (neuter) but what a shock this was! It's quite rare and I'm not sure she can even be AKC certified after this.

It's kind of strange thinking that Heidi is really a "he" as she had more dominant male parts than female. Will this change the way she acts? We purposly picked a female dog for the dynamics of the household so I hope this doesn't change anything. Maybe this is why she has the largest feet on any female GSD that we've ever seen. Looking at our reactions to this, I can't imagine how parents feel when they get the news about one of their children. So, do we change her name? Or just have a male dog named Heidi.....

strings of love

2011-06-03T06:06:00.000-06:00

Gretchen's quilt is finished and I love it!! This was fun to make, I'll have to say I'm a big fan of the string quilts. This is made up of Patricia Bravo's Paradise collection from Art Gallery. Bound in Michael Miller Pin Dots in Orchid. The back is scraps I had left over from the Paradise collection. I'm really excited about this one. Now I have to save it until she's old enough to drag it around the ground with her.

quilt front

quilt back

growing off the charts

2011-06-01T18:36:00.000-06:00

Gretchen is growing off the charts!! She was a trooper at the doctor's appointment when she had to get three major shots. I was more concerned about Charlotte getting upset that Gretchen was crying, but a bucket of stickers was enough to distract her. Gretchen was so sad afterwards and quite grouchy the rest of the day and all day today. Some kids just don't do well with the shots, I think her chunky leg is sore.

The charts: 26.25" long (98th percentile) and 15 lbs. 14.2 oz. (95th percentile). Her head is a good shape, it's not flat at all for those of you who are fooled by her bald spot on the back of her head. She's strong and is right on track. With the exception of a little grouchiness the last two days.

I've said it before, these girls better start dribbling a basketball...

summer has finally arrived

2011-05-30T17:01:00.000-06:00

Today, summer finally arrived. With a beautiful 90 degree beach day, I'm sorry to hear it's going to be 50 and hail tomorrow. However, we made the most of today and had a wonderful time at Pike Lake! We went to the lake with Grandma Horstmeyer and Uncle Billy, Aunty Nicole and Aiden. Being there only a few hours we all managed to get lots of good sun (except the kiddos). Gretchen slept in a little beach pop-up tent with the cool lake breeze (thanks a million to my cousin Melinda). Char played with Aiden in the sand and practiced their skills at making sand castles with really long rivers. I know this is just a sneak peak at what summer will look like. With such a great beach only 5 miles from the house, we'll be there often.

Gretchen also got to test out the jumperoo today and I think she liked it! Time to work those muscles!

baptized in Christ

2011-05-29T16:21:00.002-06:00

Today was a special day. Gretchen was baptized into the Lord's family and we celebrated with two cakes and lots of family. It was a beautiful morning and a beautiful mass at Lumen Christi in Thiensville. After mass we joined two other families for the baptism of our daughters. Both Gretchen and Charlotte were so good during the mass. It was hot and they were being patient and fairly quiet; that's about as good as it gets with two kiddos in church!

Getting baptized.

Gretchen was so tired she fell asleep on me during the baptism. Uncle Billy and Grandma LaPean helped as her Godparents. Bill got to hold her over the fountain during the baptism-- it was very special. She's just a sweetheart and this was just another amazing step in our lives. By the way, Gretchen is 4 months already!! We have her 4-month check-up on Tuesday so I'll have some details then.

Deacon Joe, Me (Gretchen), Kevin, Uncle Bill & Grandma LaPean

Afterwards we all traveled back to the house for some good grillin'. Unfortunately it rained a little, but still a great day. Charlotte was a trooper! For a little girl that still needs an afternoon nap, she was a good kid! The life of the party, she was running around the house and sure gave everybody some belly laughs. When company was just about leaving I set her up in the man cave with a movie and she passed out before it even started. Now she's passed out again on her Dad's lap watching the Formula One Race in Monoco. She'll sleep good tonight! (Update: She did not go to bed until 10:45 pm and was naughty by not staying in bed.....)

Party 'till you drop!

My take from today is how thankful I am for a beautiful, healthy family. Extended too! We are blessed to have so many good people in our lives. This is what it's all about folks! Much love from us to you...

here comes the sun

2011-05-20T19:53:00.000-06:00

Today was an amazing day outside!! After grocery shopping with Great-Grandma Burton, we spent the morning with Uncle Billy, Aunt Nicole and cousin Aiden. The girls had a great time and everyone behaved. Charlotte got $20 from Grandpa before we left so she rode the pony, rode the merry-go-round and had an ice cream cone. Lucky duck. Gretchen even enjoyed a little sun. At almost 4 months old, she's really starting to sit up well yet still saves some awesome naps for mom.

Gretchen, Me & Charlotte

While the kids napped over lunch I was able to get some quilting done on Gretchen's string quilt. I apologize for not having a photo, but I did get the quilting finished. Now it just needs binding and it's finished. The quilt has turned out amazing and might just be my favorite yet. Just wait!!

Two weeks here at The Horstmeyer house and it's been a smooth ride. I also got an "ok" from the Richfield MOMS Club to join for the summer. I'm hoping to find some kids within a 10 miles radius that Charlotte can play with. She's having a great time with the dogs, but sure misses her friends.

My new job is going well too. I've seen two clients and will see two more next week. So far, so good!! I was a little apprehensive at first because it was a lot to remember, with regard to all new processes, but I have faith this is really going to work out.

Speaking of faith, I'm sure glad we have some of that around here! Gretchen's baptism isn't for another week, but if the world is really ending tomorrow, I have faith she'll be spared. Off to bed...say your bedtime prayers!

king quilt in the making

2011-05-14T19:00:00.000-06:00

This past Christmas Kevin and I bought a new bed, a king sized bed. The one we had was his and over 15 years old, it was also a queen. After searching, we settled on a Sealy and it's absolutely wonderful! But, this left us with a king bed and queen bed linens. It's been working so far, but a change will have to be made eventually. The covers just to stretch far enough.

Enter new house. I've been looking for a new quilt or duvet for a king bed. I can't find anything that I remotely like. And what's worse, everything I've seen has been super cheap feeling (scratchy). Not good to cuddle with. I have found a few that I like and that are good quality but the price is around $300: crazy!! I suppose good things cost more money. We can't do a duvet again because the weight is too hot for Kevin. So, a quilt it is.

Luckily, I quilt in my free time. A king quilt is quite a feat, but I'm going to do it. I might have the quilt quilted on a long-arm, but I will at least make the top and back. Here's what we are going to do; I'm excited!

Agreed upon color palette:

Inspiration quilt. Similar but the inside colored blocks will be larger. Another version of the string quilt. There are going to have to be 18" or 20" blocks I think as I'll have to make a lot of them to be king sized.

Cara from Me? A Mom?

another complaint

2011-05-14T18:58:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the double posts! Looks like my Wednesday post is back up, making my Friday post fairly redundant....what's up with that Blogger?!

take a breath

2011-05-13T14:10:00.000-06:00

Ok, that's discouraging. Yesterday I wrote two blog posts, saved one and posted the other. However, they are nowhere to be found. Talk about a waste of time! Time is a precious commodity right now. With two kids, 20 acres and 4 dogs, it's a little hectic around here.

We are all moved into my mom and dad's house, almost a week. Things are going really good and we all seem to have our own space worked out. (Three big screen TVs seem to help a little.) The girls are doing great; Gretchen is 15 weeks old and still a happy camper. She makes me want to have like 10 kids (ok, that's an exaggeration.) Charlotte has been a pain in my you-know-what. Terrible two's are among us. She's a know-it-all, persistent, whiny kid. Ah, patience. I just repeat my daily mantra, "I love my kids, I love my kids, I love my kids." To her defense, she has had a fever the last two days. I'm fairly certain it's due to her 2-year-molars coming in-- she's not sick. After trying to take a temp under a toddler's armpit, I bought an ear thermometer and wow, GET ONE! Totally worth the $30 from Target.

We closed on our Thiensville house this past Tuesday. The buyer was oh so very excited. It only took 25 minutes to sign everything; I'm thankful for short closings! She still promises to leave the wedding pine trees intact.

I've officially started my new part-time job. I saw my first participant last night and the meeting went really well. So much for my mentor following me out on the first few visits, they just kinda threw me out there. Whew! I managed just fine. As for now, it's just a daily "occupy the kids" and "stay alive." Can't wait to get into the new house!! Bring it on summer!

summer...is......so........close...

2011-05-11T14:29:00.000-06:00

I know, it's been a week since I've posted anything. That's because it's been a little crazy around here. Last weekend we moved our whole house into a PODS and a storage shed. Tuesday I handed over my garage door opener and house key to a very excited new homeowner. She still promises to leave my wedding white pine trees intact. We are all moved into my parent's home and things are going to work out just fine around here. We all have our own space (with the help of three giant TVs) and there is practically a dog for each person here.

The girls are doing awesome, Charlotte thinks it's fantastic to live here. I made it out to see my girlfriends today and 35 minutes is just too far to drive for a play date. Gretchen is almost 15 weeks old. She is getting so big and talks all the time. We love looking at her little smile and sweet personality. Really, she is making my job so easy, and good thing because Charlotte is still testing the waters about every 3 seconds around here.

July can't come soon enough! We close on the new house June 30th but because Kevin is in Alaska until July 5th, we'll be moving the next weekend. At least that will give me time to clean and paint the new place.

The weather sure has been teasing us around here. Summer can't come soon enough! It's been wonderful to get out and run around after dinner. Wearing out the kids (dogs too) is such a good thing. Everybody sleeps better.

I have no more fun news so I thought I'd share a video from SNL on Mother's Day that a friend shared with me. Tina Fey is always worth a good laugh.

it's official - we're becoming graftonites

2011-05-02T17:48:00.001-06:00

It's 6:08 p.m., I'm giving Charlotte a bath and my realtor Bruce Nemovitz called -- the call we've been waiting for all day long! He told us the seller countered our offer and I immediately thought the worst. For once, it was good news! She countered only $2,000 over our offer. YES!! And, the riding lawn mower is included...(Kevin). So, we close on June 30th (when Kevin is in Alaska) and will move in in July.

Look out Grafton, here we come!

we put in an offer

2011-05-01T16:46:00.000-06:00

Well folks, the LaPean family took a big step today. We put in an offer on the house below. It's in Grafton and in a great neighborhood; even close to the bike trail still. We both feel this is going to be a great home for us, maybe not forever, but for the now. We've looked at it twice and after a lot of talk and conversing with the neighbors, we sat down at McDonald's with our realtor and filled out the paperwork. We should know by Monday if there will be a counter offer or if she'll just accept. I'll be keeping the phone lines open!

front of house

3-season room

kitchen

family room

updates

2011-04-30T19:51:00.000-06:00

I really miss having my sewing machine set up. My blog-life looks rather empty with only family updates to blog about. Luckily my kids are so darn adorable that things can probably stay afloat without any new quilts for awhile.

A girlfriend asked me last week if Gretchen was getting any teeth. I said, "No...at least, I don't think so. Actually, I haven't put a finger in her mouth yet!" Just tonight I thought I'd stick a finger in to feel her gums and to my disbelief, it appears as though she is getting a wee tooth on the bottom! So, I put Gretchen under the light and peeked in past her tiny tongue and sure enough, a wee tooth is trying to poke through her gums. Now, it will be awhile yet before the tooth actually breaks through all the way, but it's a start. Holy cow!

Today we looked at two houses. The first had a really cool floor plan and HUGE bedrooms but it needed WAY TOO much TLC and extra cash. If we had gone with that house I probably would have found myself staring in a sequel to Tom Hank's all-too-familiar Money Pit. The second house, well, just might be the house. We really loved it and the more I think about somebody else looking at it and loving it the more I want to just put in an offer! We are sleeping on it and looking again tomorrow (Sunday). Here's this for fun...the basement is finished off and looks great. However, to make everybody happy, we would probably rip out the carpet and let Kevin have it as a work-space. (I would surely make sure I had room for some crafting then too.) With a living room, family room and beautiful 3-season room, I think we can do without a finished basement.

So, stay tuned!!

Lastly, my Grandma turns 85 this week and we are all going to brunch on Sunday. Hopefully I won't get in trouble for listing her real age (sorry G'ma!). We love you very much...

three months old

2011-04-27T16:20:00.000-06:00

Here's my Gretchen, just about 13 weeks; three months old on this rainy day. I know I say this over and over but she is really a joy in our lives. She fits right into our chaotic little family and has brought a calmness when needed. I love being a SAHM and she is making things easy for me. Never did I imagine that by this point I'd also be sleeping through the nights, at least, most of the time. She pulls 6-8 hours stretches at night, so depending on when she goes down, I don't have to get up at all at night.

When she's awake she loves attention from anybody and always has a smile for whoever is lending their attention her way. Sometimes I can get her to laugh at my silly faces too. She has also started blowing raspberries and continues to suck on her fingers all the time. We love imitating her noises and giving her Eskimo kisses. Charlotte even seems to love her and tries to play with her, however, she's still too little. Charlotte gives Gretchen a rattle (or a dinosaur) and lets me know when Gretchen is crying, smiling or getting her diaper changed.

Happy three-month birthday Baby "Scretchen"!

little girls, little girls

2011-04-26T08:26:00.000-06:00

26 months & 3 months

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:39:00.000-06:00

Easter has come and gone. Really, every Sunday I'm amazed by how fast the week has gone and how fast the months go by. Gretchen is just about three months old...

We had a wonderful weekend! The kids are just a blast to be around. Saturday we all went to a friend's house where Charlotte was able to go on her first Easter egg hunt. She loved it and knew what to do right away. It took awhile because she wanted to open each egg after she picked it up.

After coloring Easter eggs and hunting for them in the yard, Charlotte was totally into this holiday! She was super excited when we told her if she was good (going to bed, with no crying/screaming) the Easter Bunny would bring her a basket filled with candy. She took the bait and went to bed pretty good. Saturday night she colored eggs again and didn't want to stop after her dozen eggs were colored. We couldn't wait for her to wake up this morning either. I got to hide the eggs!! She loved looking for the eggs in the living room...it was so much fun to watch her. Of course this led to a jelly bean breakfast. "Mommy, I love candy! I love jelly beans." Charlotte tells me. "Yes, yes, I know you love candy Charlotte," says Mommy.

Gretchen. My sweet Gretchen. She's still the perfect baby. Had her belated 2 month appointment. She is 14 lbs. 3.8 ounces (95%) and 90% for height. She smiles all the time, falls asleep on her own, sleeps in chaos, eats well, had her first two bottles this week, and is starting to giggle. We love her to pieces...

decorating Easter eggs

2011-04-21T17:58:00.000-06:00

Tonight I decided to get out the Easter egg coloring kit. My mom senses quickly picked up on this as a bribing tool to get my toddler to eat ALL of her dinner. She wanted to have the eggs and chick on the front of the PAAS box so badly, she was willing to do anything to get it-- that meant eating all of her turkey hot dog, pineapple and swiss cheese. (That sounds like a bad pizza combo or something.)

I had less than a dozen eggs to color so I only took out two colors thinking we can color eggs again this weekend. We love hard boiled eggs so no problem eating them up. Most of you don't know this but two Easter's ago (before Charlotte), Kevin and I decorated eggs at the table. I didn't bother to purchase the PAAS coloring kit for $1.99 because I thought it was a waste of money. I set things up the old-fashioned way with vinegar and food coloring. Wow. BAD idea. Especially if you opt to not use a spoon and use your fingers instead. My fingers were stained bright blue for a week!! For sake of embarrassing myself again (on my kid's fingers) I picked up the friendly coloring kit for $1.99. Well worth it! Our fingers are squeaky clean.

Charlotte & Mommy

Charlotte enjoyed coloring the eggs. She did much better than I thought. (Mental picture: coloring dye all over the floor and walls...) But, that didn't happen!! We had to remind her to be gentle because she was dropping the egg with force from one color to another. Then they crack and I'm sure we'll be eating colored egg whites...

Friday we are seeing the Easter Bunny. I'll let you know how THAT turns out...

Ava's baby quilt

2011-04-20T10:16:00.000-06:00

It's done, I've met both deadlines. My brother is having a baby girl in August, her name will be Ava, and this is her quilt. it's backed in a patterned, soft pink cuddle fleece. Measures 50x60, a very good sized quilt for a baby. Will most likely be more of a toddler quilt.

Made up of half square triangles, finished square size is 5 inches. My first time at continuous bias binding and it worked out great! You must check out this tutorial, it also has fabric measurements. I quilted it in straight lines following the diamond shape. Hope she loves it...mommy too!

close up of quilting

Heres's a list of fabrics used:

Art Gallery by Patricia Bravo
Total Kaleidoscope by Michael Miller
Sunkissed by Sweetwater (binding too)
Pink Mirco Dot by Holly Holderman
Hollywood and California Dreaming by Jenean Morrison
Central Park by Kate Spain

modern meadow quilt

2011-04-18T13:09:00.002-06:00

With the wedding the first weekend in June, I had to scramble to finish this for my friends who are getting married. We have to be out of our house by May 12th. With packing, it was crunch time, but as you can see, done with plenty of time to spare. This is Amy Ellis' 1,2,3 quilt pattern from her book, Modern Basics. The fabric is Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow line with a few fillers thrown in, It's bound in Kona Navy. Finished size 60.5 x 72.5 and stippled in an all over meandering. I absolutely love this fresh fabric and hope the bride does too. Her favorite color is green.

modern meadow quilt front, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

we're getting closer!

2011-04-14T20:37:00.000-06:00

We're getting closer to finding the next house of our realistic dreams! On Tuesday we looked at two houses and they were both over-priced and (1) outdated and (1) cheap. I was very sad, especially since one had pool and I had been having dreams at night about the pool parties I would have with all my girlfriends and their kids. Ah, c'est la vie.

Tonight we toured two more homes and they were much better than the first two. We like the first one a lot but the basement was a little short, Kevin's head came within a few centimeters in the workspace and he had to duck in the finished portion. Not cool. The rest of the house was nice and we wouldn't need to do many updates. However, it's full blown suburban America and Griffin would not have very much space at all.

The second house we looked at is on the edge of town (a little far...) but just might be the winner! It's on one acre and the inside is mostly updated with new bathrooms and a nice kitchen. The basement needs a little work, but it's nothing new carpet and a little paint can't fix. Our realtor, Bruce Nemovitz, is going to see how low the lady is willing to go. It's a bit out of our price range so I hope it works out. I think we can envision ourselves living there for the rest of our lives. (Man, that's a scary thought!)

Tomorrow is the house inspection. We'll have more details after that as to whether or not there is something major we need to fix. I'll get to meet the buyer too. After that, everything will be fairly final for the sale of our house! Boxes are starting to fill my living room...