I Have...

in red if I have done it, and black if I have not...

1. started your own blog

2. slept under the stars

3. played in a band

4. visited hawaii

5. watched a meteor shower

6. given more than you can afford to charity

7. been to disneyland/world

8. climbed a mountain

9. held a praying mantis

10. sang a solo

11. bungee jumped

12. visited paris

13. watched a lightning storm at sea

14. taught yourself an art from scratch

15. adopted a child (no, but that was our plan. We got pregnant while waiting

to be chosen by a birthmother)

16. had food poisoning

17. walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. grown your own vegetables

19. seen the mona lisa in france

20. slept on an overnight train

21. had a pillow fight

22. hitch hiked

23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. built a snow fort

25. held a lamb

26. gone skinny dipping

27. run a marathon

28. ridden in a gondola in venice

29. seen a total eclipse

30. watched a sunrise or sunset

31. hit a home run

32. been on a cruise

33. seen niagara falls in person

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. seen an amish community

36. taught yourself a new language

37. had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person

39. gone rock climbing

40. seen michelangelo’s david

41. sung karaoke

42. seen old faithful geyser erupt

43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. visited africa

45. walked on a beach by moonlight

46. been transported in an ambulance (sort of...I was with my son when he was transported)

47. had your portrait painted

48. gone deep sea fishing

49. seen the sistine chapel in person

50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris

51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. kissed in the rain

53. played in the mud

54. gone to a drive-in theater

55. been in a movie

56. visited the great wall of china

57. started a business

58. taken a martial arts class

59. visited russia

60. served at a soup kitchen

61. sold girl scout cookies

62. gone whale watching

63. gotten flowers for no reason

64. donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. gone sky diving

66. visited a nazi concentration camp

67. bounced a check (not on purpose)

68. flown in a helicopter

69. saved a favorite childhood toy

70. visited the lincoln memorial

71. eaten caviar

72. pieced a quilt

73. stood in times square

74. toured the everglades

75. been fired from a job

76. seen the changing of the guards in london

77. broken a bone (no, but I shattered my nose when I was a toddler)

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. seen the grand canyon in person

80. published a book

81. visited the vatican

82. bought a brand new car

83. walked in jerusalem

84. had your picture in the newspaper

85. read the entire Bible

86. visited the white house

87. killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. had chickenpox

89. saved someone’s life

90. sat on a jury

91. met someone famous

92. joined a book club

93. lost a loved one

94. had a baby

95. seen the alamo in person

96. swam in the great salt lake

97. owned a cell phone

98. been stung by a bee

99. wrote a poem for someone else

100. given a toast at a wedding

In the Kitchen

This was my lunch today...pizza on a crust made from scratch with pesto, tomatoes, mozzarella pieces, zucchini, spinach, and olives. So yummy!!

Grandma

My mom loves being a grandma, and she is amazing at it! She has such a special relationship with each of her grandkids, and they love to be around her. Here she is with Collin, Eden, Brynn, and MaJesta.

Heard at our house this morning

--the older 2 kids singing a Justin Bieber song to Eden..."Baby, baby, baby..Ohhh..."
I thought my kids were young enough that we might miss "Bieber Fever" altogether. No such luck.

--Collin to Eden as he took back his toy that she was chewing on: "Eden, Eden, that is NOT a toy! (slight pause) OK. OK. You can have it." Aww.

--Brynn to me, regarding the hugest-zit-of-my-life that has taken up residence on my face: "Mom, it looks like you got shot in the face." Then, realizing that might not be a nice thing to say, she quickly added, "It's not so bad." Thanks.

--Brynn's comments on how quick she was to get her chores done and help me with some of mine: "Wow, I sure am helpless today!"

--Brynn regarding Eden (our teething, reflux-y baby): "Eden certainly is a spitty baby!"

Can't Help Myself

Here are some random pictures of Eden from this month, just because we think every little thing she does is adorable.

Summer with the Kids

This summer, we have been trying to think of fun things to do around the house that don't involve the TV being turned on all day. We have had fun trying some new projects. One day, we peeled a bunch of broken crayons that we had and put the broken pieces into mini muffin tins. We left them outside to melt in the sun and made "rainbow crayons" out of them.

We've also spent more time baking together. We've made bread, rolls, and cookies, among other things. The kids' favorite part is using the measuring cups and dumping the ingredients, especially brown sugar, in a bowl. I also found a recipe for homemade laundry detergent, and we made a couple batches of that. I've been trying to cut back on the amount of chemicals in our home, products, and foods, and the detergent has helped with that goal.

They also helped me make baby food for Eden. It was my 1st time making my own baby food, but it was super easy, much cheaper, and much more healthy. I will definitely be making most of her food myself.

I also bought Brynn a kid sewing machine for only $14, and we made some little "cozies" for their otter pops and frozen gogurts (did you know they make gogurts now without so much of the junk in them? They are called Simply Gogurt. Stonyfield also makes an organic version that my kids love.). Their little hands get so cold when they hold them, and we just used some felt pieces to sew little pockets for their frozen treats. Brynn was so proud that she made them with her own sewing machine.

I am not naturally gifted with domestic skills, but I have been making much more of an effort to learn. Its been fun to teach the kids along with me, and they have fun with it.

Quilting

Wow, I sure am creative with the post titles. Any way, a couple of years ago, I heard of someone making a quilt out of their child's baby clothes, and loved the idea. I decided I wanted to make one for each of my kids. The girls' quilts will have to wait until Eden outgrows her baby clothes, since she is wearing alot of clothes that were Brynn's. I don't have much experience with quilting, so I decided to make a smaller quilt with some of Collin's outgrown clothes as a practice run before I make his official bigger quilt. I made plenty of mistakes, but had fun making it. I finished it a couple months ago, and it has been fun to see Collin using it. He loves it. He has a special way of folding it and does it carefully and precisely. He loves to share it, and will cover me up with it or lay it out for Eden to play on. He can't pronounce "blanket", so he will ask where his "bankalette" is. The squares are all made from his baby/toddler t-shirts, baby sleepers and pjs, etc. The border is made from his crib sheet.

After I finished Collin's quilt, I didn't feel quite ready to tackle his "official" one, so I made another child-size quilt using purchased fabrics instead. Brynn helped me with this one by cutting the extra threads, holding the quilt while I sewed it, and helping with Eden while I worked on it. When she would ask who it was for, I would just tell her it was a surprise for someone special. When it was completed, I gave it to her and told her that she was that someone special. The smile I got in return made it worth all the work I put into it. She loves her quilt too. There are so many mistakes in both of the quilts, and they are far from perfect, but luckily they don't care. Now, I think I need to make one for Eden next (and yes, I am stalling big time on starting on the official baby clothes quilts, since it is an intimidating project).
The front:
The back has green fabric with tiny white polka dots on it and one row of the same prints: