Marker Art

Gretchen got a fun new book for her birthday - it's one that she can use a dry erase marker to write on the pages. I thought she would have fun with it while I was making dinner, and it would keep her busy and away from the stove. I should have known trouble was brewing when she was way too quiet with it. Here is what she decided to do:


This has now become a supervised book - yikes! It was hard to get really mad at her when she gave me a face like this!

January 2010 Quilt - it's done!!

My first quilt of 2010 is all done. Just in time for Gretchen's birthday party! To see the phots bigger, just click onto them. Here is a look at it:
Hanging up on the wall next to Gretchen's bed, just so I can take a good photo of it! It measures about 43" square. I decided not to pre-wash the fabrics, and instead washed the whole quilt at once when it was all done. I wanted more of a puckered, well loved look to it. I like how it turned out, although I think I will use a heavier batting on my next quilt.

It was machine quilted by a friend of mine from church. She did a great job on it!

This is the backing fabric.

All ready for Gretchen to snuggle into bed!

And here she is, sleeping peacefully under her new quilt!

Starbucks Mug needed

Last year, after our trip to Portland, I bought the kids mugs from Starbucks with zoo animals on them to commemorate our first trip to the zoo. I packaged them away for Christmas presents, and even got them into each of their stockings without any problems. However, when I went to give them their first cup of hot chocolate, guess who broke the first cup? Yep, me! I'm so bummed! I got these mugs on clearance, so I can't re-order one to replace the broken one. So now, I'm just hoping and praying that I can find another one somewhere. If anyone sees one, please let me know, or buy it and I'll pay you back. I'm a little desperate!

**UPDATE 2-1-10** I found another mug! A friend of mine from MOMS Club received three in a raffle basket she won, and didn't need all three of them. So not only did I find one, she just gave it to me, so I didn't have to pay for it, either! What a blessing!

Moose Sightings

Grandpa made Moose for the boys' room, with little dowels that they can hang their jammies and stuff on. Grandpa actually has one of these in his bedroom, maybe a little larger, but the boys have always loved it. So for Christmas, this is what came out of Grandpa's woodshop! They are perfect, and the boys love them. Now, if I can just keep from hitting my head on them when I help pick up their toys - ouch!

I'm actually quilting!

On Friday night I got together with some girlfriends, and instead of the usual scrapbooking that we do, we all decided to start a quilt. We used the pattern "Yellow Brick Road" by Terry Atkinson. We all came with our fat quarter packs and started cutting, piecing and sewing. On saturday night after the kids went to bed I worked on mine some more, and got all the blocks pieced and sewn together. Last night during the season premiere of "24" I put the borders on. And today I went out and bought the backing and batting for it. And now it is ready to have quilted! I am so excited! I've done lots of quilting projects, but have never really managed to finish anything. And now, this looks like it will be done by my daughter's birthday party in two weeks! Yeah! Now my goal is to make one quilt a month, so we'll see how I do. I started cutting out pieces for Austin's quilt last night - his will be a Monkey quilt. This is fun!

What do you do when it's raining?

Inspired by a friend's blog post, I decided to take some photos of what we do at our house when the weather is not cooperative for outdoor play.
Click on the photo to see it bigger and to see my descriptions.

Pajama Program service project

The Pajama Program - read about them at this link

My MOMS Club took part in a service project recently to gather pajamas and books for the Pajama Program. We kicked it off with a pajama party, complete with moms & kids in their jammies, popcorn & juice to snack on, and stories to read with our blankies and stuffed lovies! It was lots of fun!

Happy Anniversary Honey!

Wow! 16 years ago James and I shared our I do's, and although the road has not been paved with gemstones, we have grown so much together. Here's to many, many more years together!