46 - Make a Playlist

One of my list goals was to make a playlist for 2016.  I actually made this playlist from all the songs I downloaded in 2016.   I love that we have some oldies on here, some weird ones, worship music as well as some of my favorite bands I listened to this today while working I love it.  

• Waste a Moment - Kings of Leon
• Your Soul - Hippie Sabotage
• Just the Way You Are - Billy Joel
• My Life - Billy Joel
• Can't Think - Dawg Yawp
• Ophelia - The Lumineers
• Worry - Jack Garrett
• Adventure of a Lifetime - Coldplay
• Mess Around - Cage the Elephant 
• All I Want - Jared Craft
• Here Now - Hillsong United
• Come Back Home - Trampled by Turtles
• Love Me Now - John Legend
• Photograph - Ed Sheeran
• Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran
• Don't Let me Down - The Chainsmokers
• Way Down We Go - Kaleo 
• Can't Stop the Feelinlg - Justin Timberlake
• I Wanna Be a Dawg - Dawg Yawp
• The Hills - Weekend

2016 Recap

Here is my list and I'll be back in a day or so do share my 2016 recaps.

Finished - I finished 24 items, seems much higher than I thought it was so I'll take it.  

1. One Second Everyday - Finished

2. Add a baby girl to our family. -  Hello Thea

7. Make quilt for baby Thea. - Finished

8. Finish a quilt from the unfinished pile. - Finished

9. Quilt for guest bed. - Done.

10. Gift a quilt. - Done.

12. Buy Jones rain boots. - Done.

13. Traveled Map. - Done

18. Finish baby Thea's Room. - Done

23. Start a 529 account for Baby Thea. - Done

24. Robins wedding. - Done.

25. Sign Jones up for a class. - Soccer
28. Make cookies with Jones. - Done

33. Games with Jono and Lo.

34. Games with Schreve and Alicia. 
37. Family Vacation. - California
39. Build back up the savings. - Considering this done I did save some money.
42. Continue hosting small group. - We took a break but we are back to hosting.

43. Make Thea a stocking. - Done.

45. Make Thea a baby book. - Started

46. Make a 2016 playlist. - Need to share.

47. Visit a National Park. - Done.

48. Add photos to the photo wall. - Done

49. Get toys in living room organized. - Done

50. Pick "one little word" and/or year theme. - Here and Now

51. Paint the front door. - Finished

52. Make a new list. - Done.

Started (I started 7 of the other items, so like play date I probably finished I just didn't document).  

3. Monthly Family Photos Take 3.

16. 4 play dates - 1 Museum, 2 Museum Again, 

17. Make 6 pies. - 2 Finished

20. Take aunties and uncles to the children's museum with kids. - Took JJ & Lita

30. Make and Eat 10 unique salads. - 1 Spinach Twist, 2 Popcorn, 3 Avacodo Egg

31. Go on 12 dates with Dustin. -1 Fogo, We also went on others but I failed at documenting.

32. Visit 8 new to us playgrounds. Partially Finished

Not to bad all told although there were a few that I still want to finish so I put them on the 2017 list like Paint My Bedroom. 

1 - One Second Everyday 2016

Here's my One Second Everyday video, 1 from my list.  I LOVED this project and it's totally happening in 2017 as well.  I added the song Adventure of a Lifetime by Coldplay.  If the video doesn't load you can also find it here.

51 - Paint the Front Door

Painted both the front and back of the front door a bright red.  It matches the new frame color I added to the walls as well.  I wanted to take a new photo after I washed the siding but I couldn't get the spicket on the side of the house to turn on.  I also updated the house numbers and mailbox with a fresh coat of gold paint. And now we also have a new light too.  Oh well I will take another picture another time.

Big Finish - The Charming Plus Quilt Along

Finished this puppy and within the deadline too.  I am actually surprised myself.  My friend Erika is doing it too and she and I have been playfully throwing down to see who could finish .  Somehow I finalized it.  The quilt is probably composed of only 50% stash but I will take it considering I couldn't find my green fabrics.  Quilt is just diagonal straight line, I had a little back puckering but it adds a little character.

It's also worth mentioning this back makes me crazy!!!  I almost should have given it more design but I kept needing to make it a little bigger and still a little bigger.  And then finally I needed that little strip of bikes on the left and that's like the worse part to me.  Oh well it's finished.

Jones will be very excited he often walks by it on the machine and touches dinosaurs.  Anyhow this is also the quilt for our twin bed which will eventually relocate to his room.  I am giving it to him for Christmas because the boy needs more presents to open right? 

Technically this is 9 on my 2016 list as well so check.

Thanks Tisha for the challenge to do this project. And big thank you to Erika who gave me that last little nudge to finish it.

43 - Thea's Stocking

I feel uber behind on blogging and my list, but yesterday I had a free hour and I finished up Theas stocking.  

I tried to use scrap felt I had.  I just made up the pattern.   The penguin was super simple.  I wish however I had made it fatter for her.  Oh well it's done before Christmas. 

17 - Pie x 2

For thanksgiving I tested out my pie skills.  I even let jones help me.  His favorite part was pouring and eating streusel.  But he really got into it. 

We first make Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie (http://www.saveur.com/sugar-cream-pie-recipe).  This was super easy however one of my pie pans was missing so we improvised with a casserole pan and that seemed to work but we had more filling than pie shell.  

While we were letting the pie cook we made streusel for our other pie and tossed it in the freezer.  We just made it from brown sugar, butter, oatmeal and flour.  I don't have a recipe. I just use a stick of butter and about 1/2 cup brown sugar and maybe 1/4 of flour and oatmeal.  I used a pasty cutter or mashed potato masher to mix it. If needed I add more butter/sugar for right consistency.  We then sliced and peeked about 6 Granny Smith apples.  We loosely followed this apple pie recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/15683/dutch-apple-pie-with-oatmeal-streusel/ for the filling with no cinnamon add extra nutmeg   Jones loved the whole thing and keeps asking to make more pie.  

They turned out good although next time i will use smaller or less apples.  

48 - add Photos to photo wall

So I recently discovered the spray paint I have been using has a slightly different hue.  Ugh!  So I took this opportunity to pick out a new color.  I went with a bright red.  I love the new edition and I am still deciding which frames should be red versus which ones to leave the tan.

I also am taking this opportunity to update some of the photos and add more pictures of my babies!  We didn't even have Thea on the wall and the newest jones photo was from six months.  It's starting to come together when it's all updated I will share again.

13 - Traveled Map

We got a free map recently at Cracker Barrel.  Actually Jonesy brought it home. When we got it home I was like "Ahhh hah! We need this!"  Well I hung it in the hallway and used a highlighter to highlight places The kids have been I am not yet sure if I want to add mine and Dustin's states as well yet - I only have 4-5 left.  But jones is Blue and Thea is pink.  When I got Thea's written up I was a little  sad that she hasn't been many places yet but all the more reason for a map - a goal list! 

16 - Play date 2 - Ahhh Museum

We have probably had several other play dates I forgot about but let's consider this play date 2.  At the museum (getting as much use as possible from our passes).  The boys are getting bigger now and more adventuresome.  They were running around more and trying more things.  Buttons, ball machine and sand being hit items.  

Jones loved the climbing structure this time and climbed up to the very top on his own and then back down (Ewan was less of a climber).  They were so cute exploring things.

Like 18 months ago we took them to the museum for the first time and they rode the chilulily wheel and so we recreated this.

Thea even got to play a little. She sat up for like 15 seconds before diving for this ball.

And then we said goodbye in the parking lot. Jones waited until we walked away and said "thanks for museum Ewanie". And holly gave me a photo of the boys for the wall.  It's so fun to have a friend with a kid the exact same age as my kid.  

47 - National Park - Muir Woods

One of our day trips on vacation was to Muir Woods to see giant redwoods (we actually visited three other national parks too and got passport stamps at 2 of them but I am crossing this off as "the national park even though it's not a new to me park it was for the kids and kathleen).  

We made the decision to leave the stroller and as we hiked the maybe half mile from the car to the park and Jonesy probably spent all his energy.  Because once we got into the park he immediately was over it.  He demanded to be carried.  He only wanted to see the water not the big trees.  He threw his water cup down and spilled it on the trail - not my usual happy boy and he napped most of the way to the park. It was quite terrible but several other parents had sympathy for us.  

Anyhow we still did a baby hike with the babies in tow, and tried not to let Jones's attitude spoil the fun or beauty of the park.  And go figure as we approached the end of the hike he wanted to run around and enjoy himself.  He happily played next to giant redwoods while Kathleen got the car and I fed Thea. 

24 - Robins Wedding

Earlier this month we flew to California for  Vacation and Robins wedding.  Her wedding was in kirkwood near Lake Tahoe and it was a beautiful wedding, beautiful bride, beautiful location.  And Jonesy he loved the "party" he got to come for dinner and dancing and he thought it was awesome.  The next day he requested "party".

It was so good to see family as well. It was nice for jones to have cousins to play with and to hanging with his aunties and uncles.  He also dubbed my mom and her sisters "grandmas" and was calling them all grandma.

It was a good trip.  More about our trip soon.