update

Well, so far I have done the important things off of my list below. You know, like the quilting. Not only did I get the coin quilt top done........

but I also started and have almost completed the top of a play mat for Layton. I've had this lying around in my stash for almost a year now and I just finally decided that I need to do it. Kelly from the Quilt Stand takes her play mats seriously. She wants kids to actually be able to play on them. This thing is turning out more like the size of a big rug rather than the little "mat" that I would consider a play mat. But Layton will have fun with it. He's already asked me to "take the trucks off" of it. I guess a 2 year old just doesn't quite grasp the idea of the pictures on the fabric; they don't come off.

I did somehow also manage to get the trip to town done, lunch made, the taxes done, the wool dryer balls ordered, and the back garden watered but instead of napping right now, like I should be since both kids are asleep, I'm typing this. Hmmm, my priorities do seem a little out of wack.

One last thing. I just started getting this magazine and I am soooooooooooooooo in love.

It's already killing me waiting for the next issue to appear in my mail box. It even rivals my love for Mother Earth News. Actually, I think I love this one even more.

(**Gasp** did I just say that?)

friday's to-do list

1. Water the back garden
2. Laundry
3. Quilting! Get the coin quilt top done
4. Water the side garden
5. Go to the bank
6. Fill out and file the quarterly 941 tax forms for business
7. Figure something out for dinner and get meat out of freezer
8. Vacuum
9. Make sure kids are properly fed and napped (and played with, read to, etc.)
10. Go to Wal-Mart
11. Order wool dryer balls
12. More laundry
13. Put dishes away
14. Attempt to nap while babies are napping
15. Figure out Wyatt's summer reading program
16. Probably some more laundry

And in the words of Daryl Worley, "Sounds like life to me."

Oh, I also did get my Civil War Crossing Quilt done and listed in the shop! Woohoo!

curse "Back to Nature"

Ugh, that darn company (who I secretly love) has made a cookie that is so stinkin' good that I want to eat an entire box!

Our health food store here in Po-Dunk doesn't carry them but the huge health food store in Eureka does. And I travel through Eureka about once every 5 weeks to go see my midwife. Thank heavens the store is an hour and a half away because otherwise I'd seriously have a problem.
These cookies taste just like the Girl Scout Thin Mints except there is no hydrogenated oils and no HFCS!! Yep, just normal ingredients. So please, do not try them. Because then you'll blame me for the extra 5 lbs around your waist! :)

something new

Well, maybe not exactly new but new to the shop........since it has taken me months to get the bindings sewn on. Seriously, I've been out of my sewing slump and on a quilting roll lately. 2 table quilted thingys= done and listed on Etsy. 1 civil war crossing quilt (that's been quilted for 2 months now)= binding on front, need to fold over and sew on back. 2 baby quilts= tops completed. 1 picnic quilt= top completed. Fabric for a Fall quilt= out and partially sewn. Halloween table runner= just needs to be quilted and bound. Christmas fabric= here and ideas are moving in my brain. More fabric from Fabric.com's "take an extra 30% off" sale= ordered. Oops, I don't think I was supposed to publicly announce that last one! :)
Anyway, it's been good. And I even had time to shell peas today for dinner tonight. Woohoo!
Here are the two new listings:

Table Runner

Table Topper

how cute are these?

In case you don't read the Sew Mama Sew blog (and you live under a rock) then you may have missed the tutorial today that shows you how to make these fantastic quilted nesting boxes! The tutorial comes in PDF form and is available, for free, here. Enjoy!

retirement

The reason we went down to Oakland last Thursday was for my mom's retirement party. After 38 years of helping children, in a local school district, my mom has decided to retire. It is much deserved and her party was great.

Like usual, I have about 1 gazillion pictures to share, but I'll try an limit them to under 20, so get ready! :)

These first ones are actually from the night before we left. I decided that we should have a little summer fun at home and make some s'mores. Let me say that this was just the start of our "not eating so healthy 4 days."

We spent Saturday riding a steam train (hence Layton's new shirt) riding a merry go round and visiting a small farm. I'd have to say that the kids weren't so impressed by the farm. I think it was kind of like, "Mom, we see cows and chickens every day- what's so special about this?" Although Layton did want to hold all the chickens, as in the below shot, and I was surprised that the kids spent the most time by the chickens!

If Layton could completely verbalize what he's thinking I'm sure he'd be saying, "Mmmm, mom is letting me eat all this junk food and I'm gonna cram in whatever I can!!"

Timber and Grandma

Sibling love. I'll use this photo when the kids are older and at each others throats. See, you really do love your sister/brother.

Wyatt has an RC car and so does my brother. They took them out driving and my brother allowed Layton to drive his for a bit. Layton loved it!

we're back

We left last Thursday to head down to the bay area to visit my folks but we are back now. I have lots of fun pictures to share but I can't tonight because I am 1) tired 2)spending way too much time attempting to catch up with the blogs that I follow, which I have missed for the past 4 days and 3) drooling too much over my Moda Christmas fabric that arrived while I was gone. I can't wait to start those Christmas quilts! I'll see ya'll tomorrow!

the quick destash

All right, I was going though my stash this afternoon and found some fabric that I'm just not going to use. So, I've listed it in my Etsy fabric shop and it is at a seriously "needs to be gone" price. If you get a chance, please check it out. Then buy it, make something beautiful and tell all your friends, "Can you belive I got the fabric to make this for next to nothing??!" :)

isn't it?

This blog is supposed to be about quilts, isn't it? Lately I haven't been doing much posting about projects. Mostly, because I haven't been working on many. I'm getting the itch though to get a few new things into the shop. I'm part way there. Here's a few shots of what's been going on.

Layton's "big boy" quilt is now done. We're getting his toddler bed this weekend and I think he's going to love it. "No more cribs!" as he says.

I used one Snippets jelly roll to do both of these quilts. I'm thinking of listing the log cabiny one in my shop and keeping the strip one for our little picnics on the lawn this summer.

This one is for the new baby boy of my friend, Stephanie. I used Michael Miller's Dick and Jane fabric for it. I'm thinking of making another similar one for the shop.

And finally, more Snippets fabric. I'm using 2 turnovers to make a pinwheel quilt. I think it's going to turn out really well.

picture overlaod

See, I told you I'd go wild with the camera today! Here are a few shots of the kids, the progress of the garden, a couple flowers and our swarm of honey bees! :)
I so wish that we could keep the honey bees. A local bee farmer told me how I could get them into a box to keep but Gavin said, "Nope, not until we have more property." Bummer, I guess that will just have to wait.

Timber Ann. Yes, Gavin did put her shirt on backwards.

Layton

Peas

Our first tomato

Corn

Plums

Peaches

Blueberries

Raspberries

Delphiniums

Snapdragons

The little red house is inhabited by a sweet little bird family.

ultrasound photos

I got a new memory card for my camera yesterday (obviously!) so I took it with us when we went to the river last night and forgot to bring it down the rock wall we had to scale to get down to the water. So, there are no shots from last night, sorry.

But I did take a few of our ultrasound shots to share. You all are doing GREAT on helping us with names, please keep them coming. So far Gavin has approved (to consider) Garrison, Sawyer, Brock and Grady. He says that he loves Sawyer. Yay! I really tried to get him to also consider Clavey but he wouldn't. :(

Baby with mouth open

Yep, it's boy!

In the next few days I may overwhelm all of you with photos. I feel as though I need to make up for lost camera time! :)

baby boy name?

O.k. I promise this is the last post without pictures!!

Gavin and I need some help brainstorming names for our baby boy. Here's what we're looking for; a strong name that falls between the regular, "William" and the extreme, "Zakiriar" (I'm not actually sure if that's really a name.)

Here are some that we've (or should I say I) have come up with......

Branson, Clay, Easton, Ephraim, Finn, Morgan, Rhett, Amos, Ryland.

Gavin has said that the only ones he will even consider out of those are Easton, Finn, Rhett, and Morgan. Gavin's brother is having a baby girl in July and they are considering Morgan for her name so that would obviously be out if they decided on that. I'm pretty against any names from the "Top 100" list. So no Noah, or Jacob or Dustin. I'd also like it to kind of "go" with our other kids names, Wyatt, Layton, Timber and....... not Phil, that's for sure.

So please, use your creative minds and help us out! :)

2, oh so yummy recipes

O.k., I AM going to town today and I AM getting a new memory card. I am.
But until then how about 2 really great recipes?

The first is for Pumpkin Bread. I don't think I've shared this one before and it is worth sharing. It won 1st place at our county fair last summer in the quick bread division.
Here we go. You'll need;
2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 c sugar
1 c pumpkin
1/2 c milk
2 eggs
1/2 c butter, softened
Mix all dry ingredients first, in a bowl, then add pumpkin and milk. Add eggs one at a time, then add butter. Pour into 2 greased 9x5 pans and bake at 350 degrees for apx 45 minutes.
I usually use store bought pumpkin but I canned some this past fall and used it this morning in the bread that I made. My home canned pumpkin was more watery than the store bought stuff (that comes out of the can like a lump of cranberry) so I adjusted the milk a little.

This next recipe is for Lisa! :) It's my Ranch Chicken. I just kinda made this one up one evening when I really wanted some good chicken. Since it's really just thrown together there aren't exact measurements for anything. Sorry, if you're one of those people who needs exact on everything.
You'll need;
Some organic chicken, our family of 5 usually uses about 3 lbs for this recipe (but remember that we have 2 little ones included in that 5) I buy the chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) and then cut them up into breast tenders.

Sour cream, about 1 cup

A little milk

Simply Organic Ranch Dressing Mix (I get ours from the health food store on sale for about .95 cents) You're only going to use about half the packet so you'll have enough for 2 dinners with one pack. I wouldn't recommend using things like Hidden Valley Ranch Dip because of the MSG and preservatives used in it.

Butter, about 1/2 cup

Parmesan cheese, about 1/3 cup

And last but not least, here's where I give a little in our regular eating practices;

Ritz Crackers, about 3 packs (from the 4 pack box) You can buy the Late July Crackers that are like Ritz. They are healthier but they're also really expensive. You'd need about 2 boxes.

Mix the half of the ranch packet with the sour cream and let stand for about 15 minutes. Then add some milk. Just enough to thin out the thick dip. You're going to be dipping your chicken in this and it's easier if it's thinner. It also goes further.

Melt your butter in a saucepan over low heat.

In a medium sized bowl, crush your Ritz crackers to a nice consistency, leaving some "chunks" in. Dip your chicken into the ranch mix and then roll the chicken in your Ritz. Place coated chicken into a butter greased 13x9 dish. Sprinkle on your Parmesan cheese and then drizzle melted butter over everything.

Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until top of chicken is nicely browned.

i admit it

I am so lame. I flaked off this morning about going to town and sewed instead. So, I still have no memory card. :( But, on the bright side, I did get the quilt top done for a friend's new baby boy! I have to pick Wyatt up from his last day of school!! in about 30 minutes then the little ones are going down for naps. Maybe, just maybe I can get to town after they wake up and before I need to do dinner. Fingers crossed! Because really, these posts are quite boring without pictures.

"no, I'm naken"

That's been the comment coming out of Layton's mouth lately when I ask him if he'd like to (please) put some clothes on. "Naken" is what he calls "Naked." Good thing I still don't have a memory card for my camera or you may have been subject to shots of cute little buns running around the house.
I think I'm going to try and get a new card today. It depends on how the day goes. Yesterday it was kind of last on my priority list. I actually had a super productive day yesterday. 1 jelly roll, 2 quilt tops, done! One trip to the park for the kids to play somewhere other than our property, done. Dinner, made. Bible study, attended. Not too bad of a Wednesday if I do say so myself!

great news!

What a nice start to the day. I got a convo from Janyce at sojournquilts early this morning
letting me know that this quilt was on the Front Page of Etsy this morning! A big 'ol thanks to Etsy Admin for not forgetting about me! tee hee

And in other news, my camera's memory card is not only not working but is now lost. I'd better go get a new one soon because I already wanted to take some shots this morning and couldn't. (OT: Do you know that it's hard to type with a 15mo on your lap?) Ooooh and I just found out in the last week that 2 girlies I know that have been trying to conceive for a LONG time are both pregnant! How cool is that?

Wow, this is almost turning into a Monday randomness post. Sorry 'bout that. Moving on.

So the real reason I was staring this post today was to talk about a sweet little blessing. Our ultrasound went well last night. It was neat to see the baby but not really as fascinating as it was with my first. Gavin and I talked for a while beforehand about whether we should find out the sex or not. Gavin still really did not want to. I had to agree to move the jungle gym for the kids to a different location if we found out. I'm laughing as I type this because that is just so silly. I really don't want to move the gym but o.k., whatever Gavin wants. :) I guess my main reason for wanting to know was that I was really wanting another little boy. If this baby was a girl then I'd want to have another child after this one. If it was a boy then we could be "done." So now we know- it's a boy! Gavin can go get some surgery and we can officially be done repopulating the earth. We're good with 4. But I'm not making any guarantees until surgery is complete if ya know what I mean. A few of you have heard the "we're done" line before.

monday randomness #2

-I just saw that we only have a few bars of soap left and thought, I'd better make some more. Until I remembered that soap takes 6 weeks to cure. Ooops. Good thing Mandi is around.

-Thursday is Wyatt's last day of school- YAY!!!!!!!

-Tonight at 5pm is our ultrasound. I'll let you know who won out on the "should we find out the sex or not?"- Gavin or I.

-Our farmers market starts in 12 days.........yes, I am counting down.

-Today is sunny and I don't feel like sewing. The baby showers are done now so I'm thinking that the outside is calling my name. Much louder than my sewing machine at least.

-I'm making ranch chicken for dinner tonight and I can't wait- it is sooooooooooo yummy.

-Were you all aware that my husband is the greatest man in the whole wide world? Well, if you weren't, you are now! :)

-This post has no pictures because my camera card is acting up and erasing all the pictures that I take. Niiiiiiiiicccce. Good thing there are a few links.

-I found this neat little blurb about Crescent City today and loved how they said. "Life in the region is for a special breed..." hahahahahahaha

All right that's it. Sorry there was nothing interesting. I'll be back tomorrow hopefully with some baby news!

cowgirl quilt #2

Here's the second quilt I made for the baby shower on Sunday. For this one I cut 5" squares and then threw in a couple 4 patches too. Thanks for all the nice comments on my cowgirl quilt #1

Today Layton and I were looking out my bedroom window. We often play "I spy" looking out it and when I asked him what he saw today he replied, "I see purple corn!" No, we really aren't growing some kind of freak hybrid corn in our yard. He was commenting on the lupine that I have planted out there! Kids are too funny!

I also FINALLY got a new quilt up in the shop! It's been quilted and done for about 2 months now I just finally got around to putting the binding on it. You can see it here.