Colorado Crockers

Nothing says "4 Year old Little Girl" like a princess cake. I am glad Grace decided she wanted "Ariel in the pink dress" instead of "Ariel as a mermaid". I am not sure how I would have done cake flippers!

I looked at the to-do list I made last week and am happy to say I can cross off almost everything on it. It only took me 2 weeks. I think I either need smaller lists or more time. Here is what I have been up to: -I have made 2 loaves of banana oat bread, 1 batch of blackberry strawberry freezer jam, 1 loaf of gluten free bread. -From 12 juiced grapefruit I made grapefruit curd and a pan of grapefruit bars. -My garden is almost completely done, including a upgrade in size. I am growing tomatoes, onions, peppers, potatoes , cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower , herbs, lettuce, spinach , green beans, snap peas, cucumbers, and kohlrabi. -I hung herbs to dry -I have folded massive amounts of laundry...with more yet to do. All washed with my homemade laundry soap. -I recovered the "green monster" which is another post entirely. -I added a sitting area in my bedroom, where I am currently sitting, so that my laptop has a home other than the kitchen table. - I got a new dining room table a...

Showers. I never really thought this made the list of "things that must be planned". That was before I had 3 children 4 and under and I husband who travels. Tonight I successfully (so I thought) had just put all the babes to bed. I left the door to the big girls room open and told them to come and get me if the baby woke up crying. Into the bathroom I went. I peeled of my clothes, dirty in a way they can only get from gardening with a 4 year old. I turned on the water, hot as I could stand, kicked a doll, rubber duck and shovel out of the way and let the steam relax my cares a way. I had just started the aroma therapy of shampooing my hair when I hear the bathroom door open. My stomach sinks in a way that can be rescued by the smell of expensive soap. "Mommy, Annabelle is crying". What to do? Do I quickly rinse out my hair and go to the baby or stay and finish my much needed shower? I consider the following: my hairy legs, fuzzy pits and left over gardening-with- ma...

Downtown Denver Arts Festival Date: Friday, May 28 - Monday, May 31, 2010 Location: Denver Pavilions, Downtown Denver Cost: Free admission. What: The Downtown Denver Arts Festival celebrates its 12th year of featuring Colorado artists over Memorial Day weekend. Capitol Hill People's Fair Date: Saturday, June 5 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 Location: Civic Center Park, Denver Cost: Free admission. What: The largest of all summer festivals in Denver, the People's Fair began in 1971, sponsored by the Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods. The festival features arts and crafts, live music, and food and drink vendors. Colorado Renaissance Festival Date: Weekends from June 11 - August 1, 2010 Location: Larkspur, CO (30 min. south of Denver) Cost: $17.95 for adults, $8 for children 5-12. What: Huzzah! Travel back in time to the Renaissance with medieval entertainment, crafts and food. Costumes are optional for children and adults. Denver Greek Festival Date: Friday, June 18 - Sunday, June 20, 20...

Laundry is the bane of my existence . Ok , that might be a little dramatic, but seriously, I spend more time on our wardrobes than I care to admit on a blog. With 5 people (one who is Addilyn who goes through at least 2 outfits a day) 2 kittens and 2 dogs (yes, I know they don't wear clothing, but they do get it dirty) laundry take a bit of my time. I try to be "green". This isn't a political statement, it is the same respect and care issue that every thing else is. God gave me a home and children which I do my best to care for, He has also in trusted us with the care of the earth He created as our home. I will teach my children to do there best to care for everything God has given them. This brings me to the actual act of doing laundry and being a good steward of the other thing God has put in my trust, money. I wash on cold, unless it is a load of whites and then I use warm. Much of the energy cost in doing laundry is heating the water and clothing will last longe...

Taken on Mothers Day in front of Matt's folks house in Pueblo. I doubt we will be able to get a picture of everyone looking in the same direction for a least a couple of years.

6 months, time to try eatting big people food! She has been grabbing things off my plate for a little while now None of the girls have been big fans of the baby food thing, we only use it to get them used to moving food around in their mouths. Soon it is on to table food! Addilyn thought it was a lot of fun to feed her sister!

The Before Picture I live in a house full of women (and Matt) and a certain amount of drama is expected. Some drama is unavoidable, more is to come I am sure. When possible, I try to limit it with good planing and general avoidance. This bring us to hair ( ok , not by a direct path, but stay with me here). Eliana's hair in particular. My eldest is most drama prone when it comes to any amount of discomfort. Minor colds are accompanied by massive amounts of whining, groaning and general drama. Getting her hair done each morning is ugly, on a good day, and I am not talking about my styling ability's , which are admittedly lacking. After being fed up for quite some time, I told Eliana she either take some responsibility for her own head by brushing her hair morning and evening, or I was going to cut it off. She agreed and never followed through, despite many reminders. Matt didn't want her hair cut either, so h...

If you are unfamiliar with American Girl, you must be old, out of touch or raising boys. When I was young there were only 3 different dolls, each from an era in American history, each with 3 books about there lives. Now I believe there are 8, and good ole' Samantha (the doll I had) from the 1920's isn't even around any more. I love the concept of teaching history from the perspective of little girls, it makes it relateable . Ok , so I totally got sucked in by the marketing. On Wednesday, Jen and I decided to live vicariously through our respective daughters and visit the American Girl store in Park Meadows . The girls were taken by the store and Jen and I were a little shell shocked by the prices. I still have my Samantha doll and maybe I will give it to Eliana in a few years. By the time Addilyn is 6 maybe we will have save enough money for Samantha to have a friend. Annabelle might just be out of luck, or one of the girls is going to have to pay for there own college...

I'm sure some of you have seen this before, but it is so cute I just had to post it for Mothers day. God bless all you mama's out there! WHY GOD MADE MOMS Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions: Why did God make mothers? 1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is. 2.. Mostly to clean the house. 3. To help us out of there when we were getting born. How did God make mothers? 1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us. 2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring. 3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts. What ingredients are mothers made of? 1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean. 2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think. Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom? 1. We're related. 2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me. What kin...

It has happened . I have done another thing I said I would never do. I just can't help myself, they just look so stinkin ' cute! I have started to dress my girls in matching outfits. Not EXACTLY the same outfit, just... coordinating . Here they are in overalls and pink shirts. Gosh, i have cute kids!

- Annabelle has slept in her own room for the last 2 nights. It's bitter sweet. I miss kissing her sweet little head in the wee hours of the night, I miss her smell and the way she snuggles. What I really miss is my sleep, which I have had very little of for the past 6 months. I figure she can't sleep worse in her crib than she does in our room and I am hoping to avoid the 5:30 a.m wake up due to the brightness of our room. Her room stays darker longer. She may end up back in our bed, but for now we are trying this. - Would it push me past " quirky " into "very odd" territory if I start making my own laundry detergent and yogurt? We do so much laundry and it is cheaper if I make my own soap, I also avoid all the perfumes and chemicals. Annabelle is going to be ready to eat big people food and I can't give her dairy but would love for her to eat yogurt. I am going to attempt to make coconut yogurt in the crock pot. I will let you know if I have any luck. ...

I like 2 year olds . When they turn 3 I consider selling them, but by age 4 I like them again. Addilyn is fun, she has a great sense of humor and often "gets" teasing before her big sis. She often looks like the above picture with her hair in her face. She is much to busy for me to pin it back and often too busy to even wear clothing. Fully potty trained for a couple of months now but still not that talker that Eliana was. You have to speak fluent 2 year old to catch most of what she says. Athletic, always in trouble for doing pull-ups on my kitchen drawers, and loves to climb. Strong willed, not sure where she gets THAT! Loves to be my helper, especially in the kitchen, and loves to care for her baby sister. Addilyn really is a joy...most of the time.

Meet the two newest TEMPORARY members of our family, Payton and Pixie. We are fostering these two adorable kittens until they are big enough to be adopted out. They are a HUGE hit around here.