What I did today

Mychel and I got together and made these cute little blocks. They were pretty fun to make. I still have to sew them together. Any thoughts how? 2x3 or 3x3...???

I love Mychel-stay-at-home days!



Crash-this is what I was thinking. See how all the different materials go together? OR we could do this. Thougts, concerns, suggestions?

Book Club

Our book tonight was Marley and Me. It was a good book. It isn't really about a bad dog. It's more about a family. I would suggest you read it. It will make you laugh and cry.

Anyway we all were asked if we had childhood animals. Well this is about my Murphy. I hold him on a pedestal.

Warning: I cried my eyes out writing this, so you might tear up.


I remember running around the yard, hitting him with little sticks. He didn't do anything about it. Just ran around. Or when we would call him on the trampoline and then start jumping. Or spraying him with water. We were so mean.

But he stuck around. He loved us. And we loved him. I remember Murphy laying on the living floor and Kassy and I would scratch his back by kicking our feet up and down, along his back. He loved it. He would groan anytime someone rubbed his ears. He would sit down in the bath tub when he got a bath. He hated getting wet but knew there was nothing he could do about it! LOL

I remember anytime I was having boy problems, more like Kyle problems, I would go outside and throw rocks for SheRocks and sit with Murphy on the wall. I could cry or yell or just talk it out and he would just 'listen.' I'm positive he knew what I was saying! :)

The last memory I have of Murphy was Prom night, senior year. He had been gone for a few days but we all knew he kept lady friends over the hill so we weren't too worried. After three days of him not being home, we started looking. We found him stuck in the mud hole on the bottom of our property. His back legs were paralyzed from being so cold. My dad brought him up to the garage and then into the house. We tried to warm him up but it was too late. The rest of his body was starting to shut down.

So we all got to have our time with him before......., I was last. I went in the garage and pet him. He started to whine. And a thought came to me that he was hungry. I gave him dog food and he ate it like it was Hamburger Helper, his favorite. The poor puppy was starving. I glad that I was able to comfort him in his last few minutes.

I'm grateful that I was able to say goodbye. He was a great dog. People from school still remember him. I wish I had a picture of him to go with this post.

Anyway there's my pet story. I'm going to go wipe my tears! (I'm such a girl!)

Catching up with everything post

First, these are questions from Jill. She is great...you should follow her.

1. If money was no object, describe how you would make your life more perfect and why.

My life right now would be pretty much perfect if money was no object. Seriously, money is all I really worry about. All our bills would be paid, (on time!!) my hubby would have his car 69 something to work on to stay busy and I would have my sewing machine to quilt my quilts.
I would buy some property up here in Alaska for all the family to come up to in the summer to fish. I would pay off my Mom's house. I would pay off my Dad's property. I would pay my Grandma and Grandpa's utility bills forward for 20 years. I would pay for Kassy's car.

AND I would have AWESOME giveaways!!

2. Where do you see your self realistically in 10 years and what would you be willing to change to get to your "desired place in life"?

Realistically we will still be in the military. Chris will be an officer, working in a hospital on a base. I hope to have at least one more baby, if not four more. I will hopefully be going to school for my RN. And I hope to be debt free except utilities and cell phones.

3. If you could start all over from Junior High on what occupation would you have chosen and why?
I would have finished going to school to be an RN, or maybe a Dental Hygienist. Either one.
I really like working with people and helping them. People make me laugh. I would really enjoy the money right now, even working part time! And the security that we would have something to fall back on if something should happen with the military.

4. What one characteristic or quality would you want your kids to have that would make you feel like you had succeeded as a mom and why?

I think honesty would be the one thing that would make me proud. I think that is the best quality in someone. It's sometimes hard to be truthful and honest but it will get you so much farther in life. You will always know where you stand with people.

5. Tell us how you parent/parented your children that was similiar or totally different than how you were parented? In other words, what did you learn to do or not to do as a parent that your parents did?

I think one of the things I will take from my parents' parenting is how open they were. If we were tight on money that month, we knew that we didn't get candy at the store. I knew about the birds and bees way before most kids cuz we just talked about it. It wasn't uncomfortable. Nothing was too weird or taboo to talk about. If we were fighting with someone at school, we could just let it out. When I got older, I kept the boy stuff private but if I was asked, I talked about it to a point.


OKay so there are my questions! If you wanna be interviewed by me, just leave a comment. I'll email you questions to play!!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I got tagged to do seven things about myself by chellekay.

So here I go, :

1. I made that list over there to help me be a better person and more adventureous. <----- What do you think? I think my favorite is going on a cruise.

2. I really like Britney Spears' new CD. Britney's back BABY!!!

3. I don't mind changing dirty diapers. Even other people's kids. It just doesn't bother me.

4. I don't have toe nails. Something about chlorine and reactions...whatever. I still paint them like I do.

5. I brush my teeth when I drive. Not with toothpaste but just a clean toothbrush. It keeps me from talking on the phone. And makes my mouth feel nice.

6. I take my temperature every morning so we can try and have another baby.

7. I wonder if my Grandpa Slattery would be proud of me. He is the reason Connor's middle name is Anthony. I can't wait to get to Heaven and sit down with him and talk about EVERYTHING.

There. Those are pretty random. Now I'm suppose to tag you fine folks but I ain't gonna. If you wanna do it, more power to you. Let me know. I love learning about you.

Lastly, this chica is a sweet heart and you need to go support her. She is having a giveaway fro a great cause. You know how I love me a giveaway! Go, then come back and comment.


Does anyone want questions?

Day 27

Quilt Class-One Block Wonder

I got a gift card from my dad to my favorite quilt store. I decided that I would take a class. So I pick this one because I thought it looked awesome!

Little did I know I already made this quilt, minus the matching of the fabric. I am still really glad I took the class because finding the repeat and all that jazz is just something I couldn't learn from a book. The teacher was pretty much helping me the whole time!! :) (I'm a teacher hog, but now one else was asking questions and I'm going to get my $40 bucks out of it so...I'm a Teacher Hog!)

So this is the fabric I started out with. I would not normal, if ever, pick an Oriental fabric. They just aren't my flavor. It has gold in it and everything.
This is one of the blocks. Can you tell where it came from?
This is a few of the blocks. In the end, there is 90- 100 in 4 yards of material. I don't know how I'm going to group them. I'll ask for help later on!!

Anyway I thought you would enjoy some pictures.

Day 26

This is my baby grand. Isn't she pretty?! I've been using her a lot lately because of my new calling. She needs to be tuned BUT we'll wait until we move and then get her straightened out.

More pictures to come later today of my quilt. I'm so excited about it!

Day 25

This is our tree in the front yard. I thought it was gorgeous with the blue behind it. I snowed last night. So pretty.

Anchorage is definately prettier when there is snow on the ground.

Day 24

I'm part of a picture taking blog. It's mission is to help stretch our camera taking skills. I've already learned so much. This is the picture I put up for the theme COMFORT.

No matter what mood I'm in, I always find comfort in the scriptures. Chris bought me these for Christmas. They are the big ones, "So you can see," Chris says! (I punched him, don't worry.)

So with all your camera skills, and computer skills and ninja skills, what do you think?

Edward vs. Harry

Let's have a discussion in my comment box.

Edward Cullen vs Harry Potter



Get this and other HP countdowns at LeakyNews.com

Who would win in a battle??

I have my thoughts that I will being up in the discussion so keep coming back and checking!

Day 23

There is nothing sexier than a dad playing with his kids. NOTHING.

Bee is ticklish on his chest so every time we change his diaper, he gets tickled!

News at the W's

Yup you guessed it...we are getting satelite TV!!

No more excuses for not knowing what's going on with the Bachelorette (or Bachelor...see I don't even know which is on!), or The Biggest Loser or Real World or (in my hubby's case) the Super Bowl!!

Yes, the W's in Alaska will now be in the know!

The wonderful guy is coming January 31...day before the big game!

I think I'll make him cookies!!!

I'm that excited!!

Day 21

This is Bee and my dad, Karl. This was back in July when we went back to Seattle. These pictures remind me of how young he was. I love the jelly roll over the diaper! :)

Bee and Grandpa are finding Goldfish in a travel container. I just love these arms...so skinny...Bee's...not my dad's! LOL

Day 20

This is SheRocks. She is my Dad's dog now. She is the second greatest dog, in my book. We got her when she was a puppy. With a new puppy comes all the toys, balls and treats.

She wanted nothing to do with them.

She wanted rocks. We could throw them for hours, and did, and she would get the one you threw.

We even took her to a river a few times. We would throw a rock in and she would bring up the SAME rock. I don't know how she did that under water. She's crazy about rocks.

SheDaisy was popular when we got her, hence the name SheRocks. Cute huh? Forest came up with it.

Anyway she is now living happily at my Dad's house on acreage with a cat to chase. Life is good.

Day 18

The weather is Anchorage has been CRAZY this past week!

Remember how it was -22 a few days ago...well it's was 52 yesterday. I took this picture last night. All the snow is melting making HUGE puddles. (Chris' dream in his Jeep. He played all the way home today!)

Although the wind is really bad, I will take it and the rain over -30!!!

Hope you are staying warm!

Day 17

I'm bummed that this is the only picture at that I have of Chris and I's temple date night. My plan was to take a lot of them but I was having so much fun that I totally forgot!

We went to the Anchorage temple last night with Marianne and Gary C., Missy and Mike S. and Jeff and Candy J. We did sealings. (Ask and I'll totally tell you what they are.) It was soooo great because Chris and I hadn't gone back and done sealings since we were sealed. It was so great to hear all the words again. AND to actually hear the part where Bee was sealed to us. (Bee was crying during the whole thing when we were sealed in May so we didn't hear at all. I was so nervous to just hush him up!!)

Anyway afterward we went to Chili's for dinner/dessert! We ordered the Chocolate Molten cake first as an appetizer and shared with everyone.

Chris and I order it first because it comes with ice cream and they totally jip you if you have it to-go later. It's chocolate cake warmed up perfectly, with ice cream on top with chocolate over the top of that. SOOOOOOO GOOD!

Anyway we hope to do it again next month....anyone else wanna play?

Facial Expression

I need to vent a little about facial expressions!

I know, I didn't think I would have to talk about this but it must be said.

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS are IMPORTANT people!!!

Example one: I was assigned to take pictures of the Relief Society girls in the room, on Sunday. Everyone that walked through the door, got their picture taken...no if, ands, or buts. Yes there was some grumblings but my thoughts are "If you think you are pretty enough for the Lord, you are pretty enough to take a picture." Oh and I would throw in the occasional, Beryl said to and she's the RS Prez...AKA Boss lady! (Note to Primary workers, you are this week. I'm just saying.)

Anyway one lady walked in and said, "No pictures." with a smile on her face. Like everyone else, I said, "Come on, give us a smile." She turned and smiled...I clicked the camera and got the picture. She then turns and started yelling at me about her rights and how I just broke all personal rules and how I should delete the picture now and how much ruder could I get!!! Seriously what????????

I guess she was serious about the whole no picture thing but how the crap was I suppose to know. She turned and SMILED!! If someone who didn't want their picture taken, normally they would turn and frown, or stick out a tongue, or cried or ran but SMILED???!! I got nothing.

Example two: Old man walking down the street, in negative 20 degree weather. Bee and I walking the other way, passing him. Bee slips and I say excuse us, because the old man had to step out of the way. He SMILED and started saying bad words about being in the way and youth these days. I almost put earmuffs on Bee.

Did I miss the memo about the smile changing meaning??


Now I have been on the other side of this. As I have stated before, my eye sight stinks. (Tax refund!) I have to squint to see most things...signs, tree leaves, deer in the fields, people sitting in the chairs at church while I play the piano....do you see where I'm going with this?

I have been playing for two weeks now. Both weeks, I have had two people come up to me and ask if I'm okay.

"Yes, I'm great. Why do you ask?"

"Well it looked like you were glaring at someone from up there." (Our piano and speaker thing are on a stage, in our church.)

"Oh no, I just can't see, so I'm looking for where Chris is. Or Taron, or Missy....whoever I was looking for."



See what I mean, facial expressions are important....which is why I have an eye appointment soon for a new Rx and some extra money for contacts.

I've never had contacts before.....where do you order them? Any recommendations? Thoughts?

I'm now off my shoebox! Thanks for listening!

Day 15

Homemade Oreos....yummy! Sorry it's blurry...I'm sure I was chewing!

Day 14

Chris, Bee and Don, Chris' dad. Don came up in September to go on a moose hunt with Chris. They were gone for a week with no luck. But they had some good father/son bonding!

I was playing with my camera and thought it was cool that it focused on Bee. (I don't think I could do that again if I tried!)

Day 13

Bee in our Ranger. Yes he is belted into his carseat, which is belted into the Ranger. He had a blast. This was our first outing in this as a family! We went to Jim Creek, all the way to the glacier. We went with the Willen's.

Day 12

He is yawning but looks like he is laughing. This is Hooch, our Beagle.

Day 11

I almost missed today's picture.
Today I got set apart for my new calling, the Sacrament meeting piano/organ player. Well I was getting the blessing Bee sat perfectly still on my lap and watched the men. (I haven't said a prayer in church with my eyes closed the whole time since....yup June 07!

It's just amazing to me how this happens. Kids will be bouncing off the walls, screaming and running in Sacrament meeting but they ALWAYS calm down for a second while the prayers start. I don't know if it's just the kids in our ward, cuz that's all I have to go by but it's so true.

It's like they know who we are talking to. The little people of our ward are NOT quiet. It's just amazing to me.

My blessing was pretty long. Bee had been crying. That's why he was on my lap, to keep him quiet. He instantly went silent as the prayer started and stayed that way the whole time.

Bro Ellis, who sealed Chris and I, said something that I will never forget. He said, as Bee was crying his eyes out, that Heavenly Father hears babies cry. He knows why they are crying. This isn't the first time Heavenly Father has had two people, one big and one small, saying a prayer together. They just have different voices. What a great thought.

I just think of all the times I sit with Bee, rocking him to sleep, praying that he goes to sleep soon so I don't kill him (I totally wouldn't, you know that). That maybe he was saying prayers with me.

Well there's your thought for today...do babies talk with Heavenly Father? I'm interested to hear your comments.

Day 10

These are pictures of my new projects.

I bought these fabrics from Jane! Aren't they just wonderful?! I love all of them. I pulled them out of the package and pet them! :) I'm kidding, ....kinda.


This is the green I'm going to put with it, I like. I have to go buy more but I think I like the green. Thoughts?? This is for the Black and White Challenge.
This is fabric that I bought with my gift certificate to Quilt Tree from Shawn. They guy knows how to make brownie points. Anyway this is going to be a long cabin. I haven't decided if I'm going to give this one away or keep it. Oh the decisions!


Here is my Calendar Quilt Challenge quilt. One of the ladies had a GREAT idea about having putting fabrics together that her son likes. I thought that Bee can pull stripes of fabric out...he might not understand but he might later in the year. So I count about 370 strips and put them in a bucket and have Bee pull one out every day. Sew it on and this is what we have so far!

I bought this fabric on a sale at the Seams like Home Quilt store. It was $5 for a fat quarter. I paid $1. Be jealous, Nanette. (I don't know if the names mean anything to you but there's a picture for ya.) When I use it, I'll let you know!!

Day 9

He is sooooo stinking cute.

Note the no shoes or socks...he takes them off while he sits in his car seat. He seems to leave them on though when it's -30 out....I'm just saying...he's a smart cookie!

200th post and giveaway

So girls, it's my 200th post.

I know I'm playing with the big girls now!

So to thank you guys for listening to my ramblings...I'm having ANOTHER giveaway.
This one isn't quilts (do you see my list on the side?) but a box of candy....to two people.
I'm feeling guilty that it's not a huge thing but I'll go big for three hundred...just keep reading!!

K so you don't have to do anything...someone has already won!!!

I know I'm so sneaky!!!

So I took all the people who have commented in the past 20 posts and random'd them.

After writing down all 167 commenters,

the winners are:
Nikkicrumpet

and

Rachel Griffin

So keep commenting, and your lurkers...this will teach you...comment!! When in doubt, always comment!!

Thanks for playing! (You didn't even know you were, I'm very very sneaky! Can I assist you with your sock change?....name that movie???)

Day 8

I am 25 in real life but about 12 at heart cuz I giggle at this sign EVERY time. It's in my neighborhood, right before a speed bump to the rest of the world. BUT Anchorage is a little twisted and this is what they get!

Laughing mom's taking their kids to school! :)

Day 7

Here's a moose, up close and personal.

It's a young one. Probably born this past Spring. It was roaming our neighbor with it's mommy, munching on our frozen trees.

Once again this is a zoom lens. One does NOT get this close to a moose...especially baby moose with Mommy around. Seriously last year we had a little boy trampled by a mommy moose for being in between her and baby. No good.

Day 6

This is my sister, Kassy. I call her Forest.

Isn't she beautiful? I think she is.

I call her Forest because it is a great nickname for a little sister. We used to be on a swim team together for years, growing up. The movie Forest Gump came out around the beginning of our swimming careers. (We weren't old enough to watch it. But I knew that Forest was a little 'slow.') This is great ammo, knowing I couldn't call her stupid or dumb without Mom yelling at me. She knew what it meant and that's all that mattered. So to continue with the cover of just calling her Forest, without the hidden meaning, I would say, "Swim, Forest, Swim." (Run, Forest, Run..but Kritta-ified)
This went on for sometime before Kassy got upset about me calling her stupid. She finally told Mom...loser. I got in trouble when I called her Forest from then on.
Well I kept on calling her Forest, even though I'm sure my whole sixth grade year was spent in my room.
Now how could I let a great name like that get lost because of some room time. It's the price some have to pay!
Anyway after a long awhile my parents just gave up and stopping me. Even they started calling her Forest. How great is that?!
It's now turned into an endearment name but I'll never forget the original meaning! :)

Day 5

I was trying to find a picture of our friend Shawn. This is him and my sister in September. They started dating the day after this.
He is moving in with us for a few months while he finishes out his military career. He is Chris' best friend and a really great guy.

Another Challenge

So I need another sewing project like a hole in the head but I thought it was a really great idea.

I'm doing this calendar challenge. You add a strip of fabric everyday of the year. Rachel is in charge of this.

It makes you use your sewing machine everyday. It helps you take one day at a time. You can write big events on there to remember. And it counts down on your scrap pile.

Really a win-win situation. So to all your quilters, or non-quilters even, this is a project for you!

Count check us out!

I'll update pictures as soon as I take a picture of it!

Day 4

Kinda lame but this is a picture from our front porch. Normal day in Anchorage. It was negative 22 today. Yes -22!!

Day 3

Here is our Burrito Boy. He is 18 months old and still likes to be swaddled to go to bed. He usually wiggles out of it as soon as I lay him down but if he is exhausted...like this picture...he just fells asleep like that. Love it!!

Reflections

I know it's a day or two late but it's such a great idea to past up!

Taking the year in a glance, by month, to sum up 2008!

January-
*We started watching Ethan and Nova full time...staying at our house.
*Chris went back on normal schedule for work
*Connor was 7 months old

February-
*Chris went TDY to Tydnall AFB for '2 weeks' but got stuck in Florida, then North Carolina. Finally they flew him home commercially.
*I play with Mychel once week at her house, quilting or just chatting.

March-
*Had to deal with Nova lying...being thrown into mommyhood really quick!
*Connor was circumcised...we had to wait to make sure his blood was good to go! The nurses couldn't get him to stop crying once he woke up. They needed to take his oxygen level. They came and got me and Chris. I walked over, swaddled him in a blanket and he immediately went to sleep! The nurses were shocked.
*Chris and I took temple prep classes on Sundays at the Child's house.

April-
*Got Jack, an Alaskan Malamute
*It snowed at the end of April, making life crazy around here with digging out snow pants and jackets again
*Made plans to be sealed in the Anchorage temple in May

May-
*Got sealed together for all time and eternity! Chris' parents came up for the weekend. It was a good time. All the support we have up here with our friends just made the whole event that much more memorable!
*Got a Wii for Mother's Day!
*Connor is scooting around
*Chris went hunting/fishing every weekend except when we got sealed!

June-
*Connor's first birthday. My mom came up to celebrate.
*I got called as the Enrichment leader
*Chris got a Polaris Ranger

July-
*We flew down to Seattle for Chris' Grandparents wedding anniversary/ family reunion. It was great seeing everyone. We had all the little boy cousins (all born within 4 weeks of each other) playing around!
*We went camping with the boys for the Fourth of July..so fun!
*Made new friends with the Willen's
*Hooch and Jack found out how to escape the backyard.

August-
*I got hooked into blog giveaways
*Chris went fishing/hunting every week this month.
*Connor got all of his teeth in.
*I spilled my guts on here with a few embarrassing moments!

September-
*I went to Time Out for Women...AWESOME! Highly recommend to anyone!
*I started making a quilt for Nicci.
*My sister came up for her birthday...she met Shawn
*Got a new camera

October-
*Went to two ward parties for Halloween
*Connor started walking
*Connor was Edward Cullen for Halloween
*Chris started the 'weird' schedule at work

November-
*My sister, Dad and his girlfriend, Christine came up fro Thanksgiving...we drove down to the beginning of the Kenai to see the beautiful blue river...spun the truck and took lots of pictures
*Chris sold the boat and old truck because he thought we were leaving in February and didn't want to tow them.
*Put up the Christmas tree way early
*Went and saw the midnight showing of Twilight with 12 other girls/moms!

December-
*We all got the flu bug around the house
*We got snow but not the normal large amount
*Mom and Kassy came for Christmas...so fun to have family around
*Chris is bored at home with no boat or truck to fix
*I'm working on a few quilts


So there you are...our year in review! I love this blog idea. It's so great to be able to scroll through and see our life. I realized that I need to blog more about what Chris is doing. And my personal day-to-day things. The first reason for this blog is to update family and friends of our lives. Giveaways and other things are second.

Update on resolutions:

Instead of reading the Book of Mormon this year, Chris and I decided to read the D&C. I've never read it all the way through and Chris hasn't since seminary. I'm excited.

I'm going to do the picture a day challenge. I have a beautiful new camera and I need to use it so I'll blog about this later today!

I'm going to start using labels for these posts! (Organization...just a bit!)

Day 2

This is Bee and my sister Kassy. It's snowing and my kid is in a T-Shirt.

He was born in Alaska, People! He has special skin!! :)

Anyway this picture is from Thanksgiving time. Still trying to figure out Photoshop.

Day 1

I thought this picture would be a great start to a new goal and year. It is one of my favorite pictures I have taken.

We were at the boat launch at the very beginning of the Kenai river, on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Dad, Christine, Bee and I drove down there to see it. Christine was holding Bee. The snow just really made his blue eyes pop. It's not 'fixed' in anyway.