The Lost Toys

I was losing my mind the other day looking for JW's besties, because we all know he can't go anywhere without them.  Just as I was about to declare lost toy status on Lightning McQueen and his pit crew, I opened the back of this truck.  Lo and behold...  

BFFs

Every morning JW gets up and wants to watch Disney's movie "Cars" while I get ready for work.  Nothing can separate JW from his little Cars friends he got from Auntie for Christmas. They all enjoy the movie together. 

 As if that isn't cute enough, his little friends enjoy story time before JW goes to bed.  Lately his cars get to sit in the rocking chair while I sit on the floor and read to them all.  It should come as no surprise then that these little friends also line up in JW's crib and they have a sleepover.  

Every night.

Snow Day

 After an exceptionally warm winter, Mother Nature finally decided to bring a little snow to the valley.  JW saw this as the perfect opportunity to test out the sled he got from Santa on the hill in our backyard.  The snow was particularly wet and slippery, making this chickadee hill especially fast.  

Olympic Torch Run 10 Year Anniversary

I was just reminded that today is the 10 year anniversary since Papa Bear ran the Olympic Torch and passed it to my step-sister, Nicole.    They ran the torch for a few blocks along 11th Avenue in Salt Lake City as part of the Winter Olympics in 2002.  It was an exhilarating moment for all of us and indeed a once in a lifetime experience for PB and Nicole.

 If I have my story straight, Nicole nominated PB for the courage and selfless act of donating one of his kidney's to his oldest son, Ben (in the red jacket).  A few years later, that kidney fell apart and Ben's brother Paul (in the blue jacket) donated one of his kidneys to Ben.  Now Paul lives on through Ben.  Pretty remarkable.

Ben, Nic, PB, Mumsie, Paul

JWasaurus

After taking over my sewing machine, JW, with his assistants by his side, won the 36th season of Project Runway.

Sparkle Punch Progress

There is no rhyme or reason to my Sparkle Punch quilt yet.  I'm just pulling out scraps as I go and sewing sparkles at random.  It's like a giant puzzle. It has come together rather quickly, that is, not until after I figured out that I don't actually sew each piece of the sparkle together until ALL the sparkles are made.  Duh.  I unpicked the first sparkle at least seven times before I figure this out.  Anyway, I've worked it out and I'll keep plugging along when JW is sleepy sleepy. 

"Tickens"

JW's favorite part of Gramma Nay's house is feeding her "tickens" (chickens).  Not only does she have chickens, but she has a beautiful Artisan well with enormous goldfish, surrounded by mountains of rocks.  Throwing sticks and pine cones into the pond and climbing the rocks is all part his outdoor adventure.  The other day he was so excited to get outside that bolted out of the house without his coat on (it was freezing!).  JW thought it would be funny to play Chase Me while Grandma tried to get his coat on, but he ran off right into the blackberry patch and was swallowed up by the prickly thorns.  It wasn't so funny after that.  He may have learned his lesson about running away from Grandma, but it didn't stop him from enjoying her great outdoors.

Cookie Cutters

JW does not enjoy getting his haircut, but it helps to have a grape lollipop, a balloon, and a playground inside the salon to make it tolerable.  These people know how to cater to a two year old.

Sleep Talking

I have noticed several of my Facebook "Friends" posting about their trouble with insomnia lately, one of which is my brother, Ben.  Part of his problem, in my expert opinion, is that he drinks three gallons of Coke a day and who knows how many Red Bulls?  He was born a little high strung, but dose him with caffeine and take away his sleep and the guy is crazy as a rat in a wood shithouse.  

I know how this craziness feels.  Any mother with a newborn has managed for weeks on end with only a few hours of sleep in a night.  It is not restful sleep either and you can never catch up.  Just when you start to dream, the baby cries.  When JW was a newborn, I really thought my head was going to explode.  Sleep deprivation made me a miserable, psychotic person x 100.

G made a New Year's Resolution to be to bed by 10:00 PM.  Not necessarily asleep, but in bed.  I can honestly say this is not a problem for me.  I turn into a pumpkin before 10:00 PM.  I rise early, exercise, and am mindful of what I eat.  My caffeine intake is minimal and sugar, well, I could work on that, but for the most part is not excessive.  I really believe these healthy habits help me sleep well.  G is a good sleeper and best of all, JW is a good sleeper. 

Do you have sweet dreams, or are you just dreaming of sleep?

Resolute to Resolve with Sparkle Punch

Picture from Oh, Fransson!'s blog.

OK, so I said I wasn't going to make any New Years Resolutions, but then I saw this quilt on a blog I follow and everything changed.  Elizabeth Hartman from Oh, Fransson! made this "Sparkle Punch" quilt and is going to host a quilt-along.  Just the picture makes me so happy that I think I'd like one of these for myself.  So my resolution this year is to be less about good intentions (because I always say, "Hey!  I'm going to do that!" and then I don't) and more about getting it done and having something to show for it.  Therefore, I am committing to one star a week and if I can find the motivation (this is the non-committal part of my resolution), I'll show you my progress.  Sparkle Punch for everyone!