Saturday Afternoon

After the shower I went and picked up my kids from Kayla's and then was off to Chi-Hi for my nephew's basketball tournament. The kids enjoyed watching him play.

Peggy's Baby Shower

On Saturday I brought my children to my sister Kayla's house so she could watch them while I went to my Best Friend Peggy's Baby Shower. She is due May 12. I forgot my camera in the diaper bag so I do not have any pictures of the party but I took a picture of my completed project I had been working on but kept secret because Peggy had no clue I was making it for her baby.


The quilt took quite a while to finish as each of the 12 hand quilted shooting stars took about 45 min to quilt. Then the binding took forever to stitch on too! I had to get up at 5:50am on Saturday morning to finish and I didn't finish until 7 am. At least it was complete for the shower. I would have hated to give her another unfinished blanket like I did at Christmas. As far as I could tell she loved it and was pretty surprised too. It was a fun day.

Friday in Wisconsin

Friday morning we were ready to go bright and early to get some last minute shopping done before the baby shower on Saturday. I only had Kehan and Ashlyn with me because Kjerstin had spent the night at her Auntie LeighAn's house.

Went to Target, saw Niki again for a short trip to a children's sale at the expo, stopped at Hancock Fabric store and bought a couple cool fabric pens to mark my lines for quilting, and then to LeighAn's where we had lunch and visited for awhile. Kjerstin and her buddy Wyatt learned how to play "super spy" or at least they taught themselves what they thought "super spy" should be. Should I be concerned with my little girl wanting to be a "super spy"??

Friday night my siblings and their children all came over to our mom's house where we were staying for pizza and the kids to play together. My sister Kayla brought out her boyfriend Matt and his little girl Payton.

Thursday in Wisconsin

Thursday my friend Niki and I got together with my three kids and her one little girl Lillia who is about 8 weeks younger than Ashlyn. We ate at the mall and then took to the play area and then to her house. Ashlyn really wasn't liking dogs yet and the picture shows it perfectly on how she really wasn't into the dog licking her or being too close! Ashlyn and Lillia had a great time. Lillia will be her best buddy in Wisconsin!

Tuesday and Wednesday in Wisconsin

So we left on a mini vacation just the three kids and myself. We took the 6.5 and hour our drive to Wisconsin to visit my family and attend my Best Friend Peggy's baby shower. On the way down it took longer than 6.5 hours just because we stopped for lunch and low and behold we stopped for an hour without me really noticing. We left around 9:15 am and made it there by 5:00 pm. We went to my sister Kayla's for supper and then back to my mom's again. Kehan even snuck in a trip to the store with my sister LeighAn who happens to live across the street from Kayla. He also made out with some toys from the store. Thanks LeighAn!

Wednesday we went to see my Grandparents in Bloomer and then out to my Aunt's house to finish the project I have been working on. My cousin Erin came out to her mom's house with her two children. The kids all had a great time playing and I learned a few more tricks in quilting. My Aunt Mary Jo makes beautiful quilts and has been doing it for a very long time.

New PJ's say it all!

I just had to take this picture with Ashlyn and her new pajamas. They say "cutie". How can you go wrong with that?!

Easter

Easter was a nice day here. We went to a member of Quinten's family, Vance and Lori's place, and there were a bunch of kids to play with and lots of family. It was a really nice day. The kids had a blast finding their baskets and eggs. Poor Ashlyn didn't get much but a least she wont remember it as she was sleeping the entire time. I did set up the camera and got a family picture taken again this year. Last year on Easter I was only 2 days post c-section. I will say I look much better this year and Ashlyn is SO much bigger! I hope everyone had a good Easter.

Ashlyn's new smile!

As you can see in the pictures above I had a hard time getting a picture of Ashlyn with her eyes open because everytime she sees the camera come out she does the smile squint and starts laughing! She knows "cheese" now so she smiles her best eyes and all. I was laughing so hard trying to take her picutre last night before church because she just wouldn't stop and the squints just kept coming!

Easter Eggs

 

 

 

Yesterday afternoon before Good Friday services at church we dyed Easter eggs. The kids had a lot of fun. Kjerstin was beyond excited well before the dying could start. As soon as I took out the eggs and dye kit she went nuts! She has been asking to do Easter eggs for months, actually probably since last year when she did them with Grandma Jack and Auntie Kayla.

The kids are really excited for the Easter bunny to come to night too. This year will be a lot of fun because both of them will know what they are supposed to do and we can just sit back and watch them look for those baskets. They both get so excited for this stuff that it makes it so much fun.

Disaster with Monkey Bread

Ok, so for breakfast this morning I was making Monkey Bread. My angel food pan is two pieces and for some reason it didn't seal right today and the butter and brown sugar dripped all of the oven and created LOTS of smoke! Needless to say I still tried to finish baking them only to have them come out tasting only of smoke!! Ah, I was looking forward to eating them but one bite and I was grossed out! In the garbage they go!

My beautiful butterfly

Here are a couple of pictures I took a few days ago of Kjerstin wearing her butterfly wings she got at Christmas. We have another set of wings and Kehan loves to join in the action.

Butterflies remind me of the project I will be starting after Easter! I am making Mya a new blanket and I just could not walk out of JoAnn's fabric without these butterfly prints! They just screamed Mya! It will be a fun one to make using the Whacky Nine pattern that I made a previous baby quilt from. I am going to use two sets of blocks though to make her a bigger blanket than the baby quilt because she is almost 2.5 and will like a bigger blanket.

So this is kind of a vent...I love to make blankets as I have said before and wish I could just spend at least one day a week at my sewing machine without interuption, that being said, I don't get to do this so I get an hour here and there to do projects. Quinten last night said again for what seemed like the 1000th time, "How many blankets are you going to make?". I said, "How many different animals are you going to hunt?". Hunting is his hobby why does my hobby have to be questioned? I don't ever say much about his hunting and he gets to go and do whatever he wants all the time! Ok so enough of that. I love him with all of his quirks but sometimes I just have to put it out there when I am frustrated!

Random tidbits from today...

Today I went to TRF to do some errands. I finally was able to go tanning for the first time in like 5 years. 3 kids in 4.5 years doesn't leave a lot of unpregnant time. I like to go a few times in the spring to have a little color otherwise I do not go tanning. Plus it makes me happy!

I am trying to wean Ashlyn from the bottle so I have been trying to put her formula in a cup. A few minutes ago I had the cup upstairs and offered it to Ashlyn. She took a couple drinks and was uninterested. Kehan came over all interested as he likes sippy cups but has not been allowed to use one on a regular basis since last summer after he turned two. He said he liked the baby's milk so I let him try it knowing he would not like formula. He didn't like it but it was fun to let him try. Then Kjerstin decided she wanted to try it, needless to say she didn't like it either! It was funny and kind of cute.

Earlier this afternoon I caught Kehan in the refridgerator pulling the green top off of a strawberry and eating the strawberry. This kid would eat all day long if I let him. He is a perfect example of a "grazer" when it comes to eating.

Kehan also loves to take his clothes off! He will run around the house in his undies all day long. He has no modesty and loves to change clothes. Tractors on his shirt in the morning and Lighting McQueen in the afternoon. He creates so much laundry because I have no idea what is clean or not on his bedroom floor. He also changes his underwear all the time too!

Enough for today as this is just a glimpse of what life is really like in our home!

Weaning from the bottle!

So today Ashlyn took the big first step to no more bottles! She is not thrilled with it though either. I gave her a bottle this morning but since then I have only offered her a cup. She was not happy right before nap time today! She maybe drank 3 of the 6 ounces I offered her. Hopefully she will catch on soon. Can you believe she will be one in just a matter of a couple weeks? It all went by so fast!

In the picture Ashlyn is trying to figure out how the baby got inside her toy...you have to love mirrors for simple entertainment!

Weekend of Cousins

This past weekend was wild! But that is what happens when you have 5 kids 4 and under in one house all weekend. There was 2-4 year olds, 2-2 year olds, and an 11 month old. It was certainly fun, but wild at times too.

My brother Scott and his wife Sacia came up for a visit from Elk Mound, WI. Scott went fishing with Quinten, Paul, his friend Greg, my Uncle Darrel and some of his buddies at Lake of the Woods this weekend, leaving Sacia and I all 5 children! Really it was ok we had a lot of fun and I hear the guys had fun fishing too. Although Quinten's brother Tyler went fishing up at Lake of the Woods too and he did A LOT better than Quinten's group of fishermen.

Friday night we had a Mary Kay party. It went well and I finally learned how to put on eye liner!! That is funny because I rarely wear make up and find that I might start wearing it a bit more, because I looked really good!

Saturday was ballet. I took Kjerstin, Dillon, and Kehan with me to Grand Forks. Sorry I didn't say hi to you Sunny and Kelly if you read this. I was trying to get the boys strapped in so they wouldn't run away from me! Saturday night we let the kids try out a bunch of discontinued Mary Kay samples and wow was that fun to watch. There are a few pictures posted of this fun time, we even allowed the boys to join in with the girls....will they appreciate these pictures when they are 16 though I am not so sure.

Sunday was Church and Sunday School. Sacia stayed home with the younger 3 and I took Kjerstin and Dillon with me. Then after lunch my brother's family took off for home. Thanks for coming up for a visit! It was a really good time!

First Major Life Crisis

Today was the first major life crisis for Kjerstin. Nothing bad happened to her, well, I guess that depends on who's perspective you are looking from to make that decision. She would say it was bad and I would say it was a good life lesson. Lately Kjerstin has been pretty apathetic when it comes to picking up her toys. There is always an excuse and she has to be asked a few times before she will actually do the job and then has quite the attitude while doing it.

It was the same today. I asked her the second time and she went into her room finally after the threaten of getting a garbage bag. When she got to her room she preceeded to lie down on her bed saying she was tired. I went and got the garbage bag. You should have heard the screams coming out of that girls mouth. She even ended up in the corner for saying, " I hate, I hate, I hate" She never did finish that sentence. While in the corner she started yelling, "I want Grandpa. I want Grandpa." When I asked later which Grandpa she had wanted she said Grandpa Jack. Some of you may not know, but Grandpa Jack is my step dad who passed away from cancer in Oct. 2006. Kjerstin was 3 years old. I asked why she wanted Grandpa Jack and she said because she didn't want to be in our house any more. In her child brain I don't know if she thought because he is in heaven with God and Jesus that he could come and get her I just don't know. But it melts and breaks my heart at the same time because the one person she wanted most when she was in the most need of comfort and compassion in her little world she wanted Grandpa Jack. I am so glad that she remembers him and remembers him in away that she knows she felt safe with him. I am sad that she cannot call him or have him to tell her problems too.

In the end the toys were put in a garbage bag and stored away until further notice. I told her when she can pick up her remaining toys without attitude and when I ask consitantly then she can get them back. Poor little thing!

Monkey Bread

Today's adventure was making Monkey Bread. Kjerstin and I did this together while Ashlyn was sleeping and Quinten had Kehan with him in Oklee. Basicly it is Pilsbury biscuts cut up rolled in sugar and cinnamon, placed in an angle food cake pan or bundt pan, a stick of melted butter and 3/4 C. of brown sugar mixed and poured over the top. Bake at 350 for 30 min. Quick and easy carmel rolls, well, in chunks. They are good.

Frog Quilt

I have been meaning to post this picture for a long time. This is a quilt that my Aunt Mary Jo made for Ashlyn. I had originally found the pattern, which I still have if anyone is interested in it, and asked her if she would be willing to make it for me if I payed for the supplies. Well, to my suprise when I came to visit Wisconsin in June, Ashlyn was about 2.5 months old, I found the blanket waiting for her in the playpen at my mom's house! I was so surprised because I had basically forgotten about that blanket. It was such a nice and unexpected gift. I love this blanket I think it is so cute. Also you can not see the detail in this picture but all around the outside edge in the yellow are hand quilted dragon flies. The rest is also hand quilted in a meandering manner. THANK YOU AGAIN MARY JO! Oh the other picture is of Ashlyn playing peekaboo with the blanket. You can see the top of her hair that sticks straight up all the time peeking over the top of the blanket.

A little slow last week...

Not a lot happened last week. Wednesday night Kjerstin sang with the Sunday School during Lenten Services at Oak Park Lutheran Church. She loves to sing. Now she is learning the new hymn for Palm Sunday. "Hosana, Loud Hosana" I think she likes this song because it has the word children in it a few times. We are diligantly working on the two verses she has to learn so she can sing it nice and loud on Palm Sunday.

Thursday Kjerstin went to Preschool. Quinten came home early from work so he stayed with the kids while I went into Thief River Falls to run some errands. I drop more blankets off at Sjorberg's Cable in TRF for Project Linus, went to the bank, Universal Screen print to pick up T-shirts we had made for Nelson and Nelson Construction, RV sports for a new battery for the kids' 4-wheeler, and Wal-Mart for some odds and ends. I ended up buying some flannel to make a couple more blankets but it has to wait until I finish the current project I have going. Plus Quinten said to me the other day, "How many blankets are you on a mission to make?". Well I think I would make blankets almost every day for most of the day if I had an option to do so. It is a hobby that I have really gotten into and would totally enjoy it if I found a job where I could do just that, but that is not really an option. Plus right now my kids need me at home. When I came home Ashlyn and Kjerstin were asleep and Kehan was going strong after a nap. I guess Kjerstin came home was up for awhile and then just went in her room and went to sleep. Sometimes dads do not know the little things there kids do that moms know. I knew imediately that Kjerstin had a fever after Quinten told me what she had done. Sure enough she was at 100.7. I gave her some Ibuprophen and she slept for a while longer and then got up. The kids had colds all weekend. They are on the tail end of them now.

Friday we took the kids out to eat at Cafe Rhombus in TRF. They had fun but they never eat much when we go out to eat unless it is McyD's. When we got home we put the kids in bed and then I went to the church to do the bulletin, I am the church secretary after all.

Saturday Kjerstin had ballet in Grand Forks. A neighbor picked her up along with her granddaughter Karlee and they went to GF. They had a great time as they got to go to McyD's and play and then to Cabela's after that. She returned home around 8:30pm. Uncle Chris was going to take her as he was already going to GF, but the neighbor called Friday night and offered to take her.

Sunday was church and grandma Lana's for lunch then home to do a whole lot of nothing. Which is a good thing. All though we do a lot of nothing at our house I guess.

Today is a slow day too. Just cleaning and playing with the kids. The endless piles of laundry continue to run through the washer and dryer. Man 5 people really make for a lot of laundry. I can't imagine how it goes at our Pastor's house when they have 9 children, 11 people in that household to do laundry for! I would be greatful that they have a well and do not have to pay city utilities for water!