March 101 in 1001 update - Baby Pictures

So, I wanted to do another update post on my 101 list.  I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to finish this at all!  So many things I'd need to do this summer to get it done as I did practically nothing last summer.  Ah well.  

45. Join a church

We're just waiting to become members.  We've gone to the classes, sent in our paperwork and our testimonies, and my husband had a meeting with the pastor.

55. Get back to pre-pregnancy weight

I'm where I was before getting pregnant with my littlest one now!  10 more pounds to get back to where I was before I got married, but I feel that is likely unrealistic, and set my goal a few pounds above that.  I'm using the 'lose it' app to track my food again and started exercising with my oldest daughter for her Phys Ed.

58. Take a self defense class?  DONE (March 2025)

My oldest and I are doing a weekly Jiu Jitsu class in town!  It's interesting.  I'm not very good at it, but that's ok.  Honestly, I did not expect to actually do this one at all!  A friend of mine told me about it late February when we were chatting at the mall, and after mentioning it to my oldest, she was the one to push us to start going 2 weeks later as we were busy that following weekend.  If she wouldn't have pushed, I don't think I'd have gone, to be honest.  Sad, I know.  But now we've gone 3 weeks!  I think it is fantastic!

67. Make baby picture wood slices for each child for our ‘tree’, with a wedding photo of us  DONE (March 2025)

I decided against the wedding photo because I like the heart image of us.  I may print a wedding picture to fit into there eventually, but I'm just super happy to have each of my kids on this tree now!  I only had the 5 for a really long time because I only had five frames!  And to think, my brother made this for me when I was pregnant with my third!

I am super proud of this!  I really wanted to do the photo transfer on the wood, but after attempting it and having it turn out terrible, I looked up a bunch more websites and saw that it likely wasn't a good fit for what I was doing and printed out the photos on glossy photo paper instead, cutting them to the perfect size and gluing in place.  I put the child's name and year of birth on the backs of the slices.  I initially was going to put that info on the photo but I like the idea of making people guess who is who.  I guess having the images in chronological order would make that too easy, though, haha.

84. Learn how to fix/clean keyboards/electronics  (DONE - March 2025)

I've taken apart a couple of keyboards now to clean them.  One I couldn't actually take apart completely, but the other I did!  It had water damage, so I couldn't fix it because the water removed some of the chip.  It was interesting to see how it functioned, and I did attempt to use the 'button press' pad to fix a broken button on a game controller.  Unfortunately, because it was not the correct part, it didn't last, but I figure I did pretty good as the controller worked again for a while!  Fun fact, my son put together his own computer, so now I figure I can ask his help on some of these things, haha.

So 49 are done with 52 left to go.  Ugh.  Way over half done the time but not even half done the list!  Ah well.   

Anybody else doing a 101 in 1001 list?

101 Update - And Happy New Year!

 Happy New Year to you all!  It's 2024.  How did that happen so fast?  I am still in the Christmas mood and not quite willing to give up my decorations.  Do you take everything down the first week of the new year, or do you wait until after Three Kings day?  Or maybe even later?  One year I kept the tree until almost Valentine's day!  The decorations were down, but I liked the tree and lights.

I realize I haven't done an update on my 101 list in 3 months now.  I haven't really been keeping up with it too much as some new revelations have occurred during that time...

I'm pregnant!

Yup.  Our 8th baby is due in late May.  So I'm not even sure some of these list items will be possible, haha.  We'll see.  

Now, on with the list!

13. Create an Old Fashioned Christmas (more traditional, less ‘stuff’) (DONE December 2023)

Done that this Christmas!  Made the kids their gifts, only one per child.  They pulled tickets and gave gifts to each other as well, and we kept with the pj's and ornament tradition (used squishmallow ornaments and put them with their pjs on Christmas eve, which they thought was fantastic!).  I went back to the old Christmas Bowls this year instead of stockings as that was what my dad grew up with in his more Mennonite home.  We told the Christmas story before presents, which we do each year.  We went to the Christmas Eve service and sang carols before going to look at lights.  It was a wonderful Christmas.  I think simple is good.  I want to continue doing one gift like this.  We have so much stuff in our house already, and they were all so happy with their gifts!

16. Make something we want out of stuff laying around/trash rather than buying. (DONE 7/5)

Finished this one with the Christmas gifts!  We were renovating our office over Christmas as we had purchased a pallet of cabinets at a tent sale for $200, and they had more cabinets than we needed.  So, using that as well as a bunch of scrap wood, I made a play kitchen for the kids.  I also used fresh rags to make a plush Oatchie for my daughter, scrap wood to make shelves for my son, and fabric I had around to make a couple of other plushes for the kids.

25. Fix roof on barn (DONE October 2023)

Yes!  This finished in October!  The roof over the robot area was leaking terribly, and we had to hire someone to build a whole new roof over that 'new' area of the barn.  It is only 6 years old.  Disappointing, honestly.  But the new roof looks so nice!  I look forward to being able to decorate when the decking area and fence is finished on the front.

32. Create free to use items in Cricut design space (7/15)

I made 4 more projects that are free to use.  An advent calendar set of boxes to fill, a 'Nintendo Light-switch', a funny joke sign for the bathroom in the barn, and Mario block bins.

42. Read entire Bible in a year (66/66 books COMPLETE December 30 2023)

Finished December 30.  The whole Bible in a year!  I'm doing it again this year.

43. Make praying for our leaders a habit (do so each evening for a month at supper)

Started that January first.  Hoping I'll remember.  It isn't easy for some reason.

55. Get back to pre-pregnancy weight and 56. Bring down waist to under 30 inches

These two are going to be tricky to do right now.  Seeing as I'm gaining about a pound a week in pregnancy, and losing weight has been harder and harder after each baby.  I got within 5 lbs of my prepreg weight last time before getting pregnant again.   I'll also need to really work on my diastasis recti.  It is pretty bad right now.  Not sure if I can fix it.

61. Put up shelves for laundry room/table area

I started this!  I have shelves up for the laundry baskets and that has helped immensely.  I have so much more I want to do in there to make the space even nicer.  We'll see when I get to the rest.

62. Build a bunk bed in girls room (DONE December 2023)

We were gifted a free bunk bed!  My husband put it up a week before Christmas and the toddler was moved into the toddler bed.  The crib is disassembled in our bedroom right now.  The toddler will be able to move into the other girls room at any point now as we have mattresses for 4 in there as well!  Fantastic!  I still want to change up the ladder system with stairs between the two.  And eventually make the bunk a wooden one instead of the metal bar one we were gifted, but this is fantastic!

63. Rework office area with new desks and craft storage (Done December 2023)

Like I said earlier, we were working on the office last month.  I love how things are now, even though they are not completely finished.  We have a desktop spanning the entire wall with all 3 computers for school set up.  The open shelves are gone and we have shelves with doors.  I still need to rework a few things, but the main setup is done.  I mostly want to put storage that is open on the walls, like pegboards, or small shelves, things to have some of the supplies in easier reach but not on the countertop.

Moved furniture around

This cabinet was moved to the this side of the window (that took a while).

Took everything off the desks and shelves.

Putting up cabinets.  This is going to be so nice to get everything in hidden storage.

Things are still messy, but we corralled the cords and put in the 'desk' pieces we bought from Ikea to set things up for 3 computers instead of 2.

I created 2 more boxes on top of the craft cabinet which makes things look much nicer.  The one 'desk' table I built out of scraps years ago is in the center of the room for the kids to craft on.  The tool box will be removed from here yet.   I still want to clean up a few more things like the bookshelves and decluttering more of the shelves.  I put a tablecloth on this table and the pencil sharpener, and we've set up all the computers, but I haven't got those pictures on this computer yet.

68. Build a bench for the dining table (Done December 2023)

I didn't exactly build it, but repurposed one that we had in our basement.  I hope to properly recover it by sewing removeable 'sheets' for the top, but for now what I have done is working fabulously.  We finally were able to get the high chair into storage.  

Showing our Christmas bowl setup as well as the gingerbread house we made the 23rd.  No more high chair!

71. Build cute signs for the house/farmyard (2/5) (welcome planter)

I made a funny sign (see above) for the barn bathroom.  I have so many ideas for so many more signs!

So, 27 down, 74 to go.  260 days in... should be done 26!  Lovely!

The Kids Rooms - DIY Done!

Christmas day, and part of what we did was put up a bunch of the kids wall stuffs, since it had now been a month and the walls were ready!  Stickies, letters, and some of the items we bought and gave to them as parts of their Christmas gifts... all went up in the next few days.  Here are their rooms now (and yes, there will likely be more shelves and such that will go up.  I have some old shelves from when I was little that are perfect for a girls room that I think we'll be finding space for on M's walls)

 

 We found in among all our bedding supplies a few things that we forgot we had.  There was a twin Star Wars sheet set that my husband had as a kid that my son now has for his room.  Also, this huge double sized blanket that lends itself nicely to things.  We bought those hanging plush organizers from Ikea for $5 each and they are wonderful (especially since these rooms already had the hooks on the ceiling from the old 70s style lamps they used to use).

 Got these three shelves and their brackets from Ikea also for $15 total.  Nice.  And they look great!  I had my old lava lamp as a kid packed away, just waiting for the right time to give to one of my kids, and Bram got it for Christmas this year.  He's thrilled!  It is such a fun little thing!  We put up his old clock as well (and now M is asking for a princess/fairy clock).

 Got some wall stickers on a great deal at LW before it shut down, and they look fantastic on the walls.  Want to get some cars ones eventually... but those things are pricey!

 M's room got new sheer curtains that have such a pretty texture of flowers and vines on them... so girly and gorgeous!  She loves them.  They were on sale at Ikea for $16. 

 I made her some butterflies with my die cutter and old pop cans.  Yes... pop cans.  I love the iced tea ones with the flowers... green tea or something.  Cannot remember the name.  I kept the flowers on the outside for those, and the rest I showed the silver portion of the can.  They are lovely, and she is so happy to have them!

And here  is her teddy organizer... in pink.  I was disappointed they didn't have red ones for Bram's room, but the green looks nice, too!  The kids are so happy with their new things!  Who knew that doing bedrooms for them would be such a fun Christmas gift?

And no worries... A got her own little bedroom makeover.  I made her name in foam and put it on her door (because otherwise she'll pull it off the wall and eat it if it's at the right level for her) and I reorganized all the stuff that was already in there (especially since she has a whole lot of new toys from Christmas). 

I am wanting to go on another Ikea shopping trip for our own room now... shelves, maybe those picture frame shelves to go all around the top of our room for our collections, books, and photos... some hooks for baby clothes as they would get lost in our closet... perhaps take some art from the nursery and move it into our room for awhile, maybe add a 'canopy' to our bed to make it more 'private' (although I don't think the baby will care.  M would just love it, though!). 

I love Ikea!  At least, I love their organizing things.  ;)

A Day in the Life

So, I made a comic.  I wanted to post it here, but unfortunetly, blogger won't let me put it in for some reason.  So, I linked it to my Deviantart instead.  It is here.

(note: blogger is cooperating!  Yay!)

I haven't been on much to blog or anything as life has been super busy.

Yes... in this comic I am pregnant again.  We are expecting number 4 in January.  :)
Here is our 'facebook' announcement.

December Photo Overview

 I realized I posted practically nothing about what happened in December... well, that's about to change!  And I've got photos to boot!  Woo Hoo!  Lucky you!  :)  Aren't you glad you stopped by?

 As usual, I had to do something crafty for Christmas.  Besides baking, I did make some Hot Chocolate mix for family, and I repainted a table and chair set for my niece and nephew (love it... the black is actually chalkboard paint), made my yearly Star Wars ornament for my husband, and made hand and footprint ornaments with the kiddos.  Grandparents got a footprint each.  I kept M's hand print for myself... ;)

 We found out that our popcorn popper had finally burnt out on us... after 7 years.  And I wanted popcorn.  So, we got ourselves a new one... movie style!  I love it!  M asks for 'copcorn' regularly now... and if we didn't regulate, I'm sure she would eat more of the stuff than I do!  She loves watching it pop... who doesn't?

The first through fourth of the December we were at the Dairy conference in the city.  The kids enjoyed themselves... as you can see below! 

 Bram did pretty well at the hotel.  I think we did good bringing the mini humidifier along so we didn't have a repeat of last year (M woke every hour the first night due to dry air and it being so hot in there).  I managed to do some work on the laptop... made our Christmas cards.  And M... she loved the daycare.  First thing she said when we walked into the hotel was 'play... toys'.  And first thing she did when she got there was head for the dollhouse.

M got a couple of bells from the group that came and provided entertainment for the kiddos the night of the banquet.  She called them her 'tinkerbells'.  :)

 The daycare was great!  They remembered M from last year and were thrilled to see Bram as well, remembering that I had been expecting last year as well (and I can't even remember their names... how sad is that).  Bram had fun chewing on whatever he could, and he loved being held.  M tried sharing all the toys she could with him... except for the tiny teddy bear from the doll house.  She clung to that thing almost the entire first day.  She made lots of friends, too.  It was funny watching some of the older girls there helping her paint and work with the play dough.

 I did manage to take Bram's 7month photos... almost a week late, but I did get them.  And Christmassy ones, too!  He's sitting up so well already!  Where has the time gone?  Oh... and he's got four teeth, and is finally eating so many different foods! 

M got to do so many different things this month.  We played outside... briefly.  She didn't care for walking through the snow and was NOT happy with me for trying to get her to make a snow angel next to me.  She just wanted me to carry her everywhere.  Maybe later.  She washed dishes with her cousin and Grandma.  She played with her play dough at home with cookie cutters and her rolling pin, and she painted clay ornaments.

I had to take a pic of my tree this year.  I hope to have it somewhere else next year, but that depends on the renovations.  We got a few 'family pictures' taken at the church with my flash-less camera.  I am so upset that the thing had to die on me after such a short time.  Yes... just over 1 year after purchasing, the flash quit working.  It costs approximately $150 to fix.  Not worth it.  We figured we'd just buy a new one... more on that later.

And... the yearly tradition of making white cookies continues.  Now I have a helper!  She didn't ice any, but she stirred the dough for me, and enjoyed trying to put cookie cutters on it.  And eating them, of course!

Christmas was busy.  On Christmas Eve, we headed to my sister-in-law's house for some family festivities.  The kids enjoyed unwrapping gifts, and M kept telling everyone "happy dirtday" whenever she saw a present.  They got so many toys!  Christmas really centered on them this year... although I guess that will happen when there are kids around.  It was great!

Christmas morning was relaxing... as far as Christmas morning can be.  M walked to the top of the stairs and saw the tree... and a plush Yoshi was placed inside, as well as two teddy bears that I didn't wrap but just put just in front of the tree itself.  "Teddy Bear... Yoshi" was what I heard as I was scooping up Bram to bring downstairs.  Before Hubs came inside from the barn, I managed to assemble the bears (they were the kind you stuff yourself and add a heart to and stuff).  After breakfast we unloaded the stockings... M was trying to get to them long beforehand.  She had a Hello Kitty toothbrush inside, and she could see Kitty poking out and wanted her SO badly.  Out of all the toys she got, I think that toothbrush was her favorite, haha.  She wouldn't let it go.

I got a few things from the MCC for cheap... and the kids loved them.  The xylophone you see above was one of those items... $2.  And I got her a vanity set (you can see the chair) for $3 from a garage sale.  I think we only spent $40 total on the kids... and that includes two movies (new, $6 each) and a train set (new from Ikea... wood... $15).

Bram actually got in on the action and was playing with the toys as well.  He's quite musical, would you believe.  Loves the xylophone.  That was one great buy!

I was sick on Christmas day... had to take a nap when the kiddos did.  Managed to wake up in time to get them ready and head over to my parents.  We spent a fun evening there eating appetizers and watching the kids open their gifts from the aunts and uncles.  We gave our gifts to each other and to my parents, and then went to watch A Christmas Carol in my parents newly 'made' entertainment room.  Insane!  Of course, we put the kids to bed first.  Did I mention we all stayed the night there?  Yeah... it was crazy!

I was not feeling well, unfortunately.  Didn't stay up to watch all of Elf... had to head to bed around 12 (Hubs didn't stay, he had chores to do the next morning so he went home).  My kids were asleep thankfully, and so I joined them.  Bram woke sometime during the night to eat, and then again at 7:30... only then he was angry and woke M... and my parents.  Ah well.  At least it was after 7.  He wouldn't eat properly from me that weekend.  My guess is that it was too busy, too much happening.  It was rather frustrating.

Either way, boxing day morning had us making breakfast, then opening gifts from my parents.  We played some games (Mad Gab is hilarious), and the guys ended up downstairs playing their Call of Duty on the Projector... I don't think I was downstairs much that day.  It was fun, but tiring.  The kids were ready for bed early.

Monday I felt much better after a good night's sleep... and took down all the Christmas decorations.  We want to do renovations, so I figured the sooner that came down, the sooner I could completely empty the office, and the sooner we could rip down the ceiling.  The next day we wanted to go to the city to take care of a few things.  Bram woke up that day with a fever.  It was not looking good.  This was the only day that Hubs could take the evening off all week, and I didn't really like the idea of him going and leaving me behind... I hardly saw him as is.  As it was, Bram's fever went down, and he was sleepy, but ok, so we went.  I had him in the Sleepywrap the whole time we were in the mall, and he loved it.  We also managed to nab a deal on a new car seat (rear and front facing) for him.  He's grown out of the infant seat already...

A little Tims?  Ok ok... it's actually water.  She was asking for water.

Thankfully, Bram's fever didn't return.  The rest of the week saw me cleaning house and reorganizing all sorts of things from the office... moving everything into the dining room.  It's a little cramped.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!  And a Happy New Year, too.  Can you believe it's 2011 already?