spunky family journal

2011-12-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

whoo whoo

2011-11-27T09:06:00.004-07:00

One of my latest interests is Pinterest. My husband got me into it. I was very reluctant. Ugh, another website I have to learn, I thought. I still struggle with Facebook. But then, after an hour or so, I began to get the hang of it. And then... I was hooked. I've been finding all kinds of inspiration, mostly do-it-yourself type projects. One of the first do-it-yourself projects I saw was these owl ornaments. Then I googled it, and found that lots of people have been making them. I saw these owls made by children.

So we've been saving our TP rolls, and this weekend we made our own owls, which we plan to hang from our tree. They were really fun and easy to make. Next I think we might try this button bracelet that I also saw on Pinterest. I know I've seen a bag of buttons at the thrift store... :-)

♥, Kelly

Ginger Laughing

2011-11-14T14:31:00.001-07:00

Zoe practicing Jolly Old St Nicholas

2011-11-10T11:26:00.001-07:00

My Home Birth Story

2011-08-22T15:53:00.046-06:00

In the last four years since we moved to Colorado I've made some amazing friends. I've become really close to four women in particular. All four have had babies at home. One friend has had two babies at home, and the other three friends have each had three babies at home. Getting to know them and their children has enriched our lives in so many ways. Hearing their homebirth stories has been so inspiring.

That's why when I told Andy I was officially pregnant (nine months ago), one of the first things he said (with a smile as wide as his face) was, "I'm so glad we don't have to have this baby in the hospital." I realized in that moment that we were on the same page. We didn't even need to discuss it. We were in perfect agreement. No fear. No hesitation.

My first trimester was exactly as it had been with my first two babies. Nauseous. I sipped Izze and ate crystalized ginger to keep it at bay. Fortunately, as it was before, the nauseousness ended almost exactly at the beginning of the fourth month. Phew.

In the second trimester I went through cravings. One month I craved red meat. I was eating burgers every other day. Couldn't get enough of them. And that's really weird for me. In my non-preggers life I eat red meat maybe a few times a year. That's it. But after about a month, the craving disappeared. I was relieved. I would gain more weight that month than any other month during my pregnancy.

I walked about two miles almost every day. In the not-so-hot months Zoe and Ashley came with me, but as I entered my third trimester it became too hot. So in June and July I walked before anyone else was awake. I didn't have to set my alarm clock, because in my last few months I had leg cramps that woke me up. I tried everything you can think of to get rid of them. Fish oil, calcium, magnesium, potassium, chiropractic, yoga, exercise. Nothing worked. So when the cramps wouldn't quit around 6 AM, I got up and walked. It was great to walk in the early morning. Quiet, cool, peaceful.

I began having contractions on a Monday evening. It was ten days before my due date, which seemed about right since my first two babies were two and three weeks early, and I was measuring almost 40 centimeters. The contractions lasted all night, but were mild. In the morning they stopped completely.

Tuesday (the next evening) the contractions began again, and they were stronger. I took Zoe and Ashley for a walk around the neighborhood after dinner. We were all getting excited. Could this be the night? After the girls went to bed at 8:30 I realized it would be very hard for me to sleep, because the contractions were so strong. Andy didn't think it would be very long till the baby came anyway. He inflated the birthing tub in our living room, and was ready to fill it with a new hose and kitchen facet attachment. (I was thrilled that the inflatable tub matched the light green color I use in my living room. Haha!)

Andy and I spent the night in the open kitchen and living room. I had contractions every ten minutes. Andy rubbed my back for me during each contraction, which helped so much. The most comfortable position for me during contractions was kneeling on the floor with my head resting on the couch, sort of like being on all fours. Between contractions we talked and snacked on tea and ice cream (homemade dairy-free ice cream of course :-)

At 5 AM our midwife came and checked me. The contractions were strong and close together, but I was only 3 centimeters dilated. She suggested Andy and I try to sleep to save our energy. Sleep? What?! But we listened, and went upstairs to bed. I did sleep for about an hour, and Andy slept for a few hours. When my contractions got really intense at about 8 AM I came back downstairs.

At 8:30 Andy, Zoe and Ashley woke up and came down to the kitchen. My contractions were getting worse very quickly, and coming faster. We ate some food and called our midwife again. When she arrived I was pretty uncomfortable. She checked me and said I was nine centimeters. I bursted into tears of joy. It was time. I was so happy it was time.

Minutes later Amanda, one of my best friends, arrived. She is one of the women I told you about who has had babies at home. Amanda is a doula and in her second year of midwife school. She is going to be such an amazing midwife. I cried tears of joy again when I saw her pretty face.

"Do you want to try to fill the tub?" my midwife asked. Just like that we knew there might not be water in the tub in time for the baby to arrive. "I want to try to fill the tub please." I responded. So they attached the hose to the kitchen facet. Zoe and Ashley filled pots of warm water in the bathroom sink and poured them into the pool to help. In a word, Zoe and Ashley were excited. I've never seen them quite so lit up inside. Not like that.

Meanwhile, Amanda looked surprised that I was so close to giving birth, and yet I wasn't, as she put it, "hitting the ceiling." :-) Later she told me that I was "very zen." I think if I was very zen it was because I wasn't afraid. I wasn't afraid because of these women I know—the women who have each had two or three babies at home. I thought, if they can do it, then so can I. How bad can it be if they have one baby at home, and then they have another at home, and then another?

I was laying on the couch when I had a contraction that felt like the baby was about to come out. "The baby is ready to come out now!" I half shouted. "Okay." said my midwife, calmly. I took off my nightgown and got in the tub. Right away it felt good to be in the water. I was in the middle of my second contraction in the tub when my other midwife arrived. She got ready quickly, and was by my side with the others.

Zoe brought me drinking water in a glass with a straw. Andy rubbed my back. Amanda put a cool towel on my forehead. Everyone was helping. Giving. Loving.

During or just after my next contraction I asked, "Can I push now?" I knew the answer before one of my midwives could even answer. "Listen to your body. Do what it tells you to do." they said. Of course. How funny that I would think I needed to be told what to do. They weren't the ones in labor, I was.

They checked on the baby's heartbeat under the water, and then came another contraction. I closed my eyes and focused on what my body was doing. Like a wave that began near my chest, the contraction rolled down. I could feel the baby moving down with the wave, and I wanted to push, so I did. Although I don't remember it, Zoe said I screamed.

When I opened my eyes one of my midwives softly gave me advice. "I want you to relax." she said. "It's going to hurt either way, and if you relax (she gestured to my legs and pelvis as she said this) it will make it easier for the baby to come out." Relax and push? That was new for me. In the hospital where I had Zoe and Ashley everything was tense. I had been stiff as I pushed in the hospital, tightly clenching every muscle in my body, and pushing when I was told.

I trusted my midwife though, and I knew she was right. So during the next contraction I attempted to relax my body and push at the same time. It took all of my concentration—a challenge that I welcomed. Invited. Relished even.

"One more push and your baby's head will be out." said my other midwife. "Reach down and feel the baby's head." she told me. There it was. I could feel the top of baby's head, ready to emerge.

The next contraction came, but so did a leg cramp. "Ouch! My leg!" I screamed. One of them grabbed the leg and massaged the cramp. Again I focused on relaxing my body and pushing at the same time. I felt the wave moving the baby down. I felt the baby emerging from my body. "The baby's head is out." someone said. I pushed again. I felt the baby's body emerge completely. I shouted. I cried. I opened my eyes.

They lifted the baby onto my chest. I looked in amazement. "I did it!" I said, suddenly a little surprised at what I had done. I looked at my baby in awe. "Is it a boy or a girl?" I asked. But the baby was wrapped in a towel, half in the water with me, and the midwives were tending to his or her breathing. When they were happy with her breathing they looked and saw that it was a girl. "Another girl?!" I was amazed and immediately in love. Again. I looked at my family. They were all beaming, like they were full of light. I've never seen Zoe and Ashley look so happy. Ginger was here with us.

I pushed out the placenta. Then they wrapped Ginger and the placenta, and Andy held them as I got out of the tub. They gave me coconut water (which is full of electrolytes) right away and I laid down on some towels. I had a very minor tear, so they gave me a few stitches. Meanwhile, I began to have more leg cramps. The midwives rubbed my calves and dropped natural remedies under my tongue. Amanda sat by me and held my hand. I felt so taken care of and loved.

Soon the cramps stopped and my midwives helped me to bed, where I took Ginger and nursed for the first time. I was so happy to see her. When the umbilical cord stopped pulsing it was time to cut it. Zoe asked to cut the cord, and so she did. My midwives took the placenta so they could dehydrate it for me. Then they cleaned up downstairs and made us lunch.

After lunch they took Ginger's weight (almost 8 pounds), measurements, and more. They took their time and when they finally left the day was almost over. One of them returned the next morning to check on Ginger and I. She came again when Ginger was three days old, and again when she was seven days old. It was so nice not to leave the house.

During Ginger's second week however, she was crying a lot, and we suspected she was reacting to food in my diet (through my breast milk). So when Ginger was two weeks old, rather than have my midwife come to our house as planned, Ginger and I went to see her (only five minutes away). She muscle tested Ginger and found that she wasn't tolerating grains. Not just gluten, but gluten-free grains as well. She gave me probiotics and fennel drops for Ginger to take.

It's been almost a week now since I eliminated all grains from my diet, and Ginger is doing so much better. The past few days she's also been awake for longer periods and really looking around. Yesterday she was loving her bath. She was actually crying when I took her clothes off, and stopped crying when I held her in the water. Too cute. I can't wait to see if she loves the bath again next time, and how she continues to change.

I'm not going to kid you though—it's been a tough few weeks. Giving birth is easy, breastfeeding is hard. So much focus is put on labor, but if you ask me we should really be talking about breastfeeding instead. But did I read a book about breastfeeding when I was pregnant? No. I read a book about pregnancy and childbirth. I don't even know of a great breastfeeding book. Do you?

To get into a breastfeeding conversation would be a whole new post though. There is so much to say on the matter. But the good news is that with time breastfeeding becomes so easy. I remember how easy it became with Ashley.

Having Ginger at home was, as Zoe says, "awesome." —Ashley sitting down at the counter and snacking on her leftover breakfast while I was a few feet away, in the middle of a contraction—like it was no big deal. —Zoe calling my mom after Ginger was born and screaming, "The baby is out!" with such delight. —My midwives and friend taking care of me and supporting me. —Andy holding Ginger for the first time. —I already treasure these memories. I'm so grateful for the experience of having Ginger at home.

♥, Kelly

Ginger and Daddy, August 23, 2011

Happy Birthday Ashley!

2011-07-29T06:10:00.000-06:00

Age today: 7

Favorite color: blue

Favorite animal: horsy

Favorite food: hot dog! (sausage)

Favorite movie: high school musical

P.S. Ashley got into therapeutic horseback riding for the fall! Woohoo!

Happy Birthday Zoe!

2011-07-21T09:05:00.010-06:00

Age today: 9

Favorite thing to do: Have tea parties with Fancy Nancy, dress up and read.

Favorite books: Fancy Nancy, Baby Sitter's Club, Rainbow Magic Fairies, Lord of the Rings

Favorite food: spring rolls, tacos, salad

Favorite color: yellow

Favorite animal: cat, dog, hamster, horse

Favorite song or CD: High School Musical, Mama Mia, Enchanted soundtrack

Favorite time of year: summer

Why is it your favorite time of year? Because I get to go through the sprinkler, and my birthday is there.

Best memory so far: Our Florida vacation, Lake George vacation, going to conferences, doing crafts with Abi and Ashley.

What you're going to be when you grow up: Be a chef and work at Zoe B's Restaurant.

early morning walking

2011-07-09T11:19:00.006-06:00

The further we get into the summer the earlier I take my morning walk. The past few days (since I wake up with leg cramps anyway) I've been going at 6:30. Today there were hot air balloons.

I think the museum is so pretty.

From here you can see the flatirons . They look close, but they're actually thirty minutes away. Also, that's the back of our house on the right—the red one.

♥, Kelly

Zoe's Hip Hop Class Performance

2011-06-28T12:28:00.002-06:00

zoe's fancy nancy tea parties book review

2011-02-17T10:41:00.003-07:00

in this book fancy nancy shares all her tips on tea parties. first she talks about ensembles and etiquette like what to say to your hostess and where to put your napkin. nancy even tells you how to make things like food and place mats. for a doll tea party she uses a shoe box for the doll table, shells for bowls, toothpaste caps for cups, and a cookie for a cake. at the end of the book are invitations to tear out for your own tea party. this is the best fancy nancy book!

by zoe

Our homeschooling story, & some great books.

2011-02-09T14:10:00.016-07:00

When Zoe was four years old she went to preschool. I don't remember the exact hours, but I know it started early in the morning and got out at least a couple hours after lunch. After school and on weekends Zoe watched TV. Constantly. When I tried to get her to do other things, like you know, play, she would cry or get "bored" or simply not know what to do with herself. Zoe was overstimulated. Only I didn't know it yet. So I perpetuated it.

Being overstimulated also affected Zoe's attitude. When she wasn't being entertained (by school or TV) she was fussy, cranky, and full of sass. To be honest with you, we didn't really like each other. She was constantly flip with me, and I was more than happy to avoid her by using the TV, AKA, they babysitter.

Then we took a family vacation the summer before Zoe began kindergarten. For a week we played at the beach, went for walks, and ate together as a family. Something strange started to happen to Zoe as the week progressed. She became sweeter and less overstimulated. She was calm. We got along. We didn't fight. We didn't have things to do, places to be, TV to watch.

I had a revelation. What if school and TV were wrong for her? What if Zoe could be nice like this all the time? I so badly wanted to have a good relationship with her. I had always fantasized about homeschooling when she was just a tiny baby. Only when problems arose had I dropped the idea. Maybe it was time to go back to it. At least to try.

And that's how we began homeschooling.

Now, I'm not saying we never watch TV anymore. We watch a little. But cutting drastically back on the habit was crucial for us.

It took a full year without school and TV before Zoe learned how to play. We spent most of that year reading together and being outside (and we still spend most of our time that way). I read to her with my finger, and she naturally followed my finger with her eyes, thus learning to read by sight. Well, she didn't learn to read in one year, but after two years of reading together that way she was reading on her own. There's even a book about it that I read back then. It's called, Teach a Child to Read With Children's Books.

From the time I began homeschooling her, Zoe was also very interested in writing. She wanted to write years before she could read. The Charlotte Mason homeschooling philosophy calls this "copywork." And Zoe was really into it. She still is.

Simply by being around her older sister, Ashley has experienced our joys in homeschooling too. The low stress environment. The ability to learn about what interests you most. Field trips. Being outside. Both girls spend most of the day reading (Zoe actually reading, and Ashley looking at books). Ashley often wants to do whatever Zoe is doing. And they both use Time4Learning.com for educational games for an hour or so a day.

One of their favorite times of day is definitely Andy's bedtime reading. They have been obsessed with Burgess books (I think they've read three or four now). Also Andy has been reading them this book, Colonial Living.

This book isn't about war. It's all about daily living in the colonial time.

The illustrations are great.

Zoe was crazy for the hair designs :-)

Here's a list of some of some of the Burgess books too, in case you're wondering:

The Adventures of Sammy Jay

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver

Old Granny Fox

Old Man Coyote

The Burgess Bird Book for Children

♥, Kelly

Changing Education Paradigms, a great video

2011-01-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

Art show this January at Red Frog Coffee!

2011-01-01T10:09:00.019-07:00

My show is about to go up! Come on over to Red Frog and see it starting next weekend and all January long :-) The owner, my friend Emily, can make you an Americano (my favorite) and you can eat a gluten-free lemon poppy seed or pumpkin bread.

(click images to see larger version)

"Sanctuary," mixed media. Size: 2' x 2'

"Retro," mixed media. Size: 2' x 2'

Detail.

My mixed media collages are done on birch veneer and include watercolor, acrylic, graphite, paper, found objects, and Caran D'ache.

"Cherry," mixed media. Size: 2' x 2'

Detail.

"Little Bird," mixed media. Size: 2' x 2'

Detail.

"Blue Dress," mixed media. Size: 2' x 2'

Detail.

♥, Kelly

Dollhouse Before & After

2010-12-01T10:29:00.014-07:00

When Zoe was two years old my parents bought her a Pottery Barn dollhouse with furniture and dolls.

Recently she became interested in playing with it again, but it didn't last very long.

Then the other day I looked at it and thought, "We should really decorate this dollhouse."

But first I decided to seriously clean out the girls bedroom. It was in major need of organization.

Organizing their bedroom took half the day. I had to take everything out, rearrange some furniture, dust, dust, dust, then bring everything back in (well, almost all of it came back). Now their bedroom is beautiful and they love it.

But on to the dollhouse decorating. First Ashley asked me to take her picture (below).

They were so busy enjoying their newly designed bedroom that I left them home (with Andy) and went to Hobby Lobby for pretty papers. The papers were half off and I got them all, plus a couple other things for later dollhouse projects, for only $10.

The trim was pale yellow, and I painted it white. I painted the bottom of all the walls white as well, to create the look of baseboards.

I used tracing paper to make templates of each wall. I cut the tracing paper templates out, then laid them on the decorative paper like a pattern. Then I cut the patterns and used kids glue to glue them to the walls and floors.

The top right room with green wallpaper and gingham floors is the bedroom.

The top left is the bathroom. I love the faux bathroom floor tile :-)

The kitchen/living room floor paper has a wood design, but Zoe thought it was too dark so I gave it a whitewash. Then Zoe painted and glittered a pinecone for a Christmas tree, and I picked up some twigs outside to make a fire in the fireplace. I found a photo of a real fire in a catalog and cut it into pieces for the flames. I also added some gold foil from a Chocolove bar behind the flames.

We have so much more to do, like the front door, curtains (I already cut the fabric, and they're next), and about a million other personal touches :-) I'll keep you posted.

♥, Kelly

Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

2010-11-25T16:22:00.008-07:00

It's kind of ironic that my second cookbook just came out and we made all recipes from cookbook #1 for Thanksgiving today :-)

I'm thankful for all things, big and small. Like family and orange tulips.

And Ashley cooking with us! That's big! :-)

Zoe loves to mash potatoes almost as much as she loves to eat them.

Simple. Perfect. Grateful.

Yummy.

I forgot how sweet my pecan pie is since I only make it on holidays.

Tomorrow I'm going to make my vanilla ice cream and add some pecan pie at the end, Ben & Jerry's style. We'll call the ice cream flavor... pecan pie. ;-)

Wishing you love and blessings, Kelly

about the day-to-day

2010-11-20T20:32:00.012-07:00

I love that Zoe and Ashley are asleep (snuggled up together in one bed) by 9:00 and sleep in till 8:00. I know a lot of that has to do with their low-sugar diet. It's much easier to sleep with you don't eat loads of sugar. But it's also because they don't have to get up for school in the morning.

I love that when they wake up they often sing (usually Ashley actually), and then get a book to lay in bed reading. What a thrill it is to peak in and see them laying on their backs, knees bent, reading and looking at books.

I love that they play harder than they study. There's plenty of time to study, and their years of playing as children is short in the grand scheme of things. I love how they make up stories and act them out—like non-stop theater in the house. They work on craft projects, drawing, cutting, glueing. Zoe is constantly writing, making books, signs, and little notes. Ashley asks me almost daily to help her write her name.

They sing and dance around, often in dress-up costumes and jewelry. They go outside and play with rocks, sticks, and chalk. They find bugs, and collect leaves. We go to museums, and to the playground with friends, and take long walks in the open space. Some of our best talks are on long walks. We sit in the coffee shop or outside at the coffee shop and read. Right now we're reading Betsy Tacy and Tib (love it).

Lately Zoe has been learning about the human body on Time4Learning. She'll ask me great questions when she's discovering something new like that. The other day she said, "Are there any animals that don't have bones?" We looked at pictures of jellyfish and sea anemone, which don't have bones, and she was utterly fascinated. I get such a kick out of seeing her excited to learn something.

In the evening Andy reads to them. Usually books from the AmblesideOnline book list. Such great books. Andy has taken it upon himself to teach history (since he's a bit of a history buff). Hearing about what people ate and how they lived in ancient and Medieval Europe is really interesting to the girls. They recently finished The Luttrell Village, a well illustrated book about a Medieval English village. They also read Life in a Medieval Village. It's more of a scholarly text, but Zoe really enjoyed it. Ashley listens, but falls asleep after a few pages :-) (she loves to sleep—making up for lost time, I always say). Next, Andy is really excited to begin Growing Up in the Viking Age.

The other day my friend and I were talking about living simply, and she said I would like Living More With Less
. It came up when we were talking about Christmas presents. My friend and I both value having fewer (and less high-tech) things. We both made our children presents last Christmas, and the grandparents supported our less-is-more philosophy. My mom got on board with the hand-made love and got Zoe and Ashley hand-made play food from someone on Etsy. It's been nearly a year, and hardly a day goes by that they don't play with those felt cupcakes and cookies.

Zoe is just as into the giving aspect of Christmas, as she is into the receiving. She wants to know where we're going to donate money and why, and how we can help other people. She truly enjoys giving as much as getting, if not more. It makes my heart sing.

Just a little rant about how much I love my life. :-)

♥, Kelly

The first two for my show at Red Frog in January :-)

2010-11-04T11:59:00.010-06:00

My friend, Emily, came over a while back, and saw some of my artwork around the house. She said I should have a show at Red Frog, her gluten-free-offering, organic, fair trade, rockin' coffee shop. So we scheduled my show there for January. Come and see :-)

Little Bird, mixed media. Size: 2' x 2'

Detail:

Blue Dress, mixed media. Size: 2' x 2'

Detail:

♥, Kelly

Manitou Springs & Garden of the Gods

2010-10-25T14:54:00.006-06:00

picnic in the park & the rose garden

2010-10-14T18:51:00.004-06:00

I am so happy. That's all I have to say :D Enjoy.

Zoe dancing

2010-10-01T18:34:00.001-06:00

"delaying" math

2010-08-31T12:14:00.024-06:00

This past spring a fellow homeschool mama shared this article below. Sensing what it was about I didn't even bother to read it—it was preaching to the choir (me). Homeschooling has been as much of a learning process for me as it has been for my children. Some people refer to this as unschooling ourselves as parents. Meaning: As an adult who went to school (as opposed to homeschooling) I was naturally drawn to being "schooly" in teaching my kids.

Fortunately for all of us, this didn't last long. I quickly realized that my kids will learn when they're ready, and not before. I'm not going to fight with them and make them do school work when they're not ready. Learning academics isn't a race, and they shouldn't feel pressured or frustrated with themselves for not meeting an artificial deadline. Adults don't go around testing each others math or reading levels. As adults we hope to succeed in life doing what we love, utilizing the gifts we are born with. If I told you I was terrible at remembering history—no matter how many times my history buff husband tells me—would you think less of me? No, you would say that's okay, because I'm using the gifts I was given, and history isn't one of them ;-)

By being outside, playing, crafting, and reading books, Zoe and Ashley learn a lot with minimal effort on my part. I create an atmosphere for them to learn in, and give them the tools they need. Although we read books from the Ambleside Online book list, we don't follow the schedule. Zoe and Ashley only watch about 45 minutes of TV a day, and they enjoy playing educational games on Time4Learning for about the same amount of time per day—Not part of the Charlotte Mason protocol, but that's okay with me.

I've said this before, but there are other human qualities which I believe are perhaps even more important than GPA and SAT scores. People often compliment me on my children's manners, and say how polite they are. The reason for this is so simple that you may not even believe it, but it's true. My husband and I are our children's role models. They spend all of their time at home with us (we both work from home). Zoe and Ashley treat each other and everyone the way they see Andy and I treating each other and everyone. How easy is that? ;-) Andy and I say "please" and "thank you," so the girls say "please" and "thank you." We show love, kindness and gratitude, so they show love, kindness and gratitude.

But I may be digressing slightly here. Back to the article that I knew to be true. Just as I take a lot, but not everything from the Charlotte Mason philosophy, I take a lot from this article, though I may not follow everything it suggests. I don't think Zoe in particular will be in 6th or 8th grade before learning math, but I do agree that in most cases it is best to delay math to some extent. As you can tell by the photo above of Zoe reading, surrounded by library books, completely absorbed, she has a passion for reading and writing. Great. Love that. Math however... How can I explain? It's like not part of her mentality yet. She would rather be wrapped up in stories, playing or creating something.

I had theorized, even before reading this article, that if I would only wait until Zoe was ready to do math, that it would come as a snap to her. I decided to test my theory, and sure enough I was right. Like the math problems our neighbor who is two years older has done with Zoe, the math we did today was effortless. Zoe is beginning third grade this year, but she was technically "behind" in math. We sat down together in our favorite coffee shop this morning and breezed through a second grade math workbook. If every day we do the same amount as today, we could be done with second grade math in a week. How about that? She could be all "caught up" before we're even half way into September. Very interesting, isn't it? :-)

♥, Kelly

PS If you would like email notifications of new posts from me, you can now sign up to receive them. It's located on the top left side of my blog for now. I might move it a little further down in a week or two after everybody's seen it :-)

And if you would like to read the article I keep referring to, here it is:

When Less is More: The Case for Teaching Less Math in Schools

In an experiment, children who were taught less learned more. Published on March 18, 2010 by Peter Gray

In 1929, the superintendent of schools in Ithaca, New York, sent out a challenge to his colleagues in other cities. "What," he asked, "can we drop from the elementary school curriculum?" He complained that over the years new subjects were continuously being added and nothing was being subtracted, with the result that the school day was packed with too many subjects and there was little time to reflect seriously on anything. This was back in the days when people believed that children shouldn't have to spend all of their time at school work--that they needed some time to play, to do chores at home, and to be with their families--so there was reason back then to believe that whenever something new is added to the curriculum something else should be dropped.

One of the recipients of this challenge was L. P. Benezet, superintendent of schools in Manchester, New Hampshire, who responded with this outrageous proposal: We should drop arithmetic! Benezet went on to argue that the time spent on arithmetic in the early grades was wasted effort, or worse. In fact, he wrote: "For some years I had noted that the effect of the early introduction of arithmetic had been to dull and almost chloroform the child's reasoning facilities." All that drill, he claimed, had divorced the whole realm of numbers and arithmetic, in the children's minds, from common sense, with the result that they could do the calculations as taught to them, but didn't understand what they were doing and couldn't apply the calculations to real life problems. He believed that if arithmetic were not taught until later on--preferably not until seventh grade--the kids would learn it with far less effort and greater understanding.[1]

Think of it. Today whenever we hear that children aren't learning much of what is taught in school the hue and cry from the educational establishment is that we must therefore teach more of it! If two hundred hours of instruction on subject X does no good, well, let's try four hundred hours. If children aren't learning what is taught to them in first grade, then let's start teaching it in kindergarten. And if they aren't learning it in kindergarten, that could only mean that we need to start them in pre-kindergarten! But Benezet had the opposite opinion. If kids aren't learning much math in the early grades despite considerable time and effort devoted to it, then why waste time and effort on it?

Benezet followed his outrageous suggestion with an outrageous experiment. He asked the principals and teachers in some of the schools located in the poorest parts of Manchester to drop the third R from the early grades. They would not teach arithmetic--no adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing. He chose schools in the poorest neighborhoods because he knew that if he tried this in the wealthier neighborhoods, where parents were high school or college graduates, the parents would rebel. As a compromise, to appease the principals who were not willing to go as far as he wished, Benezet decided on a plan in which arithmetic would be introduced in sixth grade.

As part of the plan, he asked the teachers of the earlier grades to devote some of the time that they would normally spend on arithmetic to the new third R--recitation. By "recitation" he meant, "speaking the English language." He did "not mean giving back, verbatim, the words of the teacher or the textbook." The children would be asked to talk about topics that interested them--experiences they had had, movies they had seen, or anything that would lead to genuine, lively communication and discussion. This, he thought, would improve their abilities to reason and communicate logically. He also asked the teachers to give their pupils some practice in measuring and counting things, to assure that they would have some practical experience with numbers.

In order to evaluate the experiment, Benezet arranged for a graduate student from Boston University to come up and test the Manchester children at various times in the sixth grade. The results were remarkable. At the beginning of their sixth grade year, the children in the experimental classes, who had not been taught any arithmetic, performed much better than those in the traditional classes on story problems that could be solved by common sense and a general understanding of numbers and measurement. Of course, at the beginning of sixth grade, those in the experimental classes performed worse on the standard school arithmetic tests, where the problems were set up in the usual school manner and could be solved simply by applying the rote-learned algorithms. But by the end of sixth grade those in the experimental classes had completely caught up on this and were still way ahead of the others on story problems.

In sum, Benezet showed that kids who received just one year of arithmetic, in sixth grade, performed at least as well on standard calculations and much better on story problems than kids who had received several years of arithmetic training. This was all the more remarkable because of the fact that those who received just one year of training were from the poorest neighborhoods--the neighborhoods that had previously produced the poorest test results. Why have almost no educators heard of this experiment? Why isn't Benezet now considered to be one of the geniuses of public education? I wonder. [Note: Benezet's work was brought to my attention in a comment that Tammy added to my Feb. 24 post. Thanks, Tammy.]

For decades since Benezet's time, educators have debated about the best ways to teach mathematics in schools. There was the new math, the new new math, and so on. Nothing has worked. There are lots of reasons for this, one of which is that the people who teach in elementary schools are not mathematicians. Most of them are math phobic, just like most people in the larger culture. They, after all, are themselves products of the school system, and one thing the school system does well is to generate a lasting fear and loathing of mathematics in most people who pass through it. No matter what textbooks or worksheets or lesson plans the higher-ups devise for them, the teachers teach math by rote, in the only way they can, and they just pray that no smart-alec student asks them a question such as "Why do we do it that way?" or "What good is this?" The students, of course, pick up on their teachers' fear, and they learn not to ask or even to think about such questions. They learn to be dumb. They learn, as Benezet would have put it, that a math-schooled mind is a chloroformed mind.

In an article published in 2005, Patricia Clark Kenschaft, a professor of mathematics at Montclair State University, described her experiences of going into elementary schools and talking with teachers about math. In one visit to a K-6 elementary school in New Jersey she discovered that not a single teacher, out of the fifty that she met with, knew how to find the area of a rectangle.[2] They taught multiplication, but none of them knew that multiplication is used to find the area of a rectangle. Their most common guess was that you add the length and the width to get the area. Their excuse for not knowing was that they did not need to teach about areas of rectangles; that came later in the curriculum. But the fact that they couldn't figure out that multiplication is used to find the area was evidence to Kenschaft that they didn't really know what multiplication is or what it is for. She also found that although the teachers knew and taught the algorithm for multiplying one two-digit number by another, none of them could explain why that algorithm works.

The school that Kenschaft visited happened to be in a very poor district, with mostly African American kids, so at first she figured that the worst teachers must have been assigned to that school, and she theorized that this was why African Americans do even more poorly than white Americans on math tests. But then she went into some schools in wealthy districts, with mostly white kids, and found that the mathematics knowledge of teachers there was equally pathetic. She concluded that nobody could be learning much math in school and, "It appears that the higher scores of the affluent districts are not due to superior teaching but to the supplementary informal ‘home schooling' of children." [Note: A reference to Kenschaft's article was provided to me by Sue VanHattum, who writes a great blog called "Math Mamma Writes."]

At the present time it seems clear that we are doing more damage than good by teaching math in elementary schools. Therefore, I'm with Benezet. We should stop teaching it. In my next post--about two weeks from now--I'm going to talk about how kids who don't go to traditional schools learn math with no or very little formal instruction. If you have a story to tell me about such learning, which might contribute to that post, please tell it in the comments section below or email it to me atgrayp@bc.edu within the next week.[3] I've already collected quite a few such stories, but the more I receive the more I'll have to say.

click for the link to this article

late July

2010-08-02T21:26:00.006-06:00

July and August are so hot in Longmont, Colorado. I think the average has been around 90 degrees. The girls like to pour water on themselves and each other to stay cool.

My favorite thing to eat, as you may know if you follow The Spunky Coconut, has been yogurt. Oh my goodness... I've developed a recipe using cashew milk and I am obsessed with it.

Sometimes I pour the yogurt into the ice cream machine for frozen yogurt, like this.

The past couple weeks we've been getting late afternoon showers. The temperature drops, the wind kicks up, it's so very nice. Ashley and Zoe like to play in the rain. I think Ashley is naked under this rain coat above :-)

I didn't plant sunflower seeds, but there were some in the bird seed, hanging from our porch. The birds scattered the seeds in our yard. What a nice surprise this was :-)

I don't know what I love more: Growing food in the garden, eating the food we grow in the garden, or looking at the pretty food we grow in the garden...

Did you know the girls' birthdays are July 21 and July 29th? I don't know if it's wrong of me, but their birthdays make me sad. I wish they could stay children forever. They never know that I'm sad though—I don't let it show. This photo of them blowing out the candles is one of my favorite photos ever.

Zoe looked so beautiful in this dress that she picked out with her birthday money, and her hair up, brushing water on a rock. I had to take a picture. She's crazy about this rock. At night I put it back with the other rocks so I don't trip on it, and every day she takes it back out again. I love it.

Next time I post, we'll be in the mountains in upstate New York :-)

Great Salt Lake & Medicine Bow

2010-06-24T16:25:00.012-06:00

It's really difficult to find the Great Salt Lake. The only directions we could find were in a guide brochure at our hotel in Salt Lake City, and they were wrong. They said to get off at exit 335, when 332 is the correct exit. I just assumed that surely there would be signs telling us where to get off the highway—no directions needed. ...I thought.

Without signs, and carrying incorrect directions, we still managed to wind our way around neighborhoods till we came to the entrance. Phew. The park ranger who we paid to get in said it happens every day, and apologized. Strange.

Looking at these photos, would you say it was worth the effort though? Ohhh, yeaaa. Wow.

Fish can't live in the Great Salt Lake, but it's full of tiny brine shrimp that the birds love to eat. The girls spent half the day scooping brine shrimp up into their cupped hands, looking at them, and then scooping up more.

It was so shallow that we had to walk out very far to sit down in a foot of water. Perfect for little ones.

Since I already posted photos of our last day, at the awesome Salt Lake City Library, on The Spunky Coconut, I'll skip ahead now to day one of our drive home.

Shortly after passing Rawlins, Wyoming on I-80, we saw a sign for a scenic route and took it. Scenic route 130 took us to Saratoga, Wyoming—a really cute little place. Just past the town of Saratoga we saw these little cabins, and decided to spend the night there.

The cabins were on the edge of Medicine Bow National Forest. In the morning we had some Fiona's GF strawberry quinoa cereal and almond milk, then got back into the minivan.

Medicine Bow National Forest...

There was still lots of snow up there, even in the summer. It was beautiful. I've never seen light steel grey rock cliffs like that before. There were also several lakes and streams all along the road.

We drove through Medicine Bow on 130 E, which took us to Centennial and then Laramie, where we got onto 287 S.

287 S took us into Colorado to Fort Collins, where I took I-25 the rest of the way home to Longmont. From Fort Collins we were were home in no time, got the car unpacked, and had laundry in the washing machine before dinner. It was nice to be home in the afternoon rather than late in the evening.

Today was our first full day back, and although we love to travel, we are so happy to be home :-)

Love, Kelly

Gateway splash ground today

2010-06-18T17:37:00.002-06:00

I'm going to put a bunch of photos here and on The Spunky Coconut, but first I wanted to get this little video clip up to show you :-) Here is Zoe prancing around the Gateway splash ground, here in Salt Lake City.

Colorodo through Wyoming

2010-06-17T09:31:00.009-06:00

Yesterday we headed up 287 N. through Ft. Collins, CO and on into Wyoming. It was so green. Crazy blue skies, perfect clouds, bright sunshine.

I've never seen so many medical marijuana shops. We must have passed at least 4 before we reached Wyoming. And then there was nothing but wide open space when we got on to Route 80 in Wyoming.

American flags on hilltops, on billboards, at truck stops.

Tractors, 18 wheelers, not a lot of cars. The speed limit is 75 miles per hour.

Then we arrived at the park where we planned to camp... It was dangerously windy.

But incredibly beautiful.

We tried to decide if it was too risky to stay and camp. The wind was blowing so hard one of our tent poles snapped as we tried to put up the tent. Andy and I looked at the rain clouds and lightening in the distance... It was coming our way.

So we got in the van and drove back to the main road, Route 80. The rain was pouring down by then, and we had to drive below the speed limit because of the strong wind. We contemplated going straight to Salt Lake City, figuring it was only a few more hours, but were enticed by some Little America Hotel billboards.

The hotel was a great deal: 2 bedrooms, one king, one queen, fairly large, very clean, only $79 for the night. We did something we never do at home... watch TV. At home we don't even have TV. After a couple of Bobby Flay Throwdown's, it was time for us to throwdown and go to sleep.

This morning Ashley woke up early: 6:00 AM. We were on the road around 8:00. Wyoming is the perfect place for these wind turbines. They make my heart happy. We passed about a hundred of them on the way here, in Evanston, Wyoming, at Main Street Artisans Cafe and Gallery.

Time to publish this and get back on the road. Next stop, Salt Lake City. We've never been there and we're super excited. Woohoo!

The Little Rascals

2010-06-09T19:00:00.008-06:00

Click to see it larger.

All of these kids live on our street, and play nearly every night :-)

Left to right: Ashley, Fatima, Zoe, Abi, Tanya, Kelsey, Madeline, Blaire

Off-camera to the left is Rose, Madeline's sister.

Believe it or not we are missing three kids from our block in this photo: Zion, Sage and Jacobi

So when they are all present that's 12 kids under age 9, just on our street. They are going to have some great memories I think :-)

A close-up from last week. They are so beautiful =)

hiking Anne U White Trail today

2010-05-29T17:53:00.005-06:00

Best birthday ever!

2010-05-23T21:00:00.007-06:00

Today I am 32 years old—WOOHOO! I woke up to sunshine, Zoe and Ashley jumping in our bed and giving me kisses, singing happy birthday and showering me with homemade cards.

Here is the bracelet Zoe made me with beads our neighbor got her at a garage sale. I LOVE it!

We went out for coffee, walked around the park, played in the playground, splashed in the splash-ground, bought a new dress for me, lounged in comfy chairs at the bookstore, ate at P.F. Chang's, strolled around their sculpture garden by the stream...

...and just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, Zoe learned to ride a bike!

Best birthday ever!!!

Around the house.

2010-05-21T18:57:00.004-06:00

Last year our duplex-neighbor gave us a bunch of iris bulbs, and they didn't flower. Not knowing that they don't flower the first year in the ground, I tried my hardest to pull the darn things out last fall... and again this spring... but it was no use.

How glad am I now that I couldn't get them out?! They are amazing, and they smell heavenly. Here are some of the irises, enjoying the rain.

Today Zoe and Ashley got mail from Grama Patti. Very exciting. Inside the envelope was two homemade puzzles. So cool.

Then, late this afternoon the girls and I were playing around, making jewelry with beads that our neighbor picked up at a garage sale, and I made these earrings. What do you think? I think they're swell =)

this weekend around the neighborhood

2010-05-16T15:42:00.013-06:00

One of our absolute favorite things to do is go to the local plant center, The Flower Bin. I feel like I'm dreaming every time we walk into the greenhouse full of flowers as far as the eye can see, hanging from the ceiling all around, and covering table after table in glorious colorful rows.

We picked out a couple lovely tiny purple flowers, one cotton-like lavender flower, and some celery green Creeping Jenny to trail over the edges.

We planted the flowers yesterday, as soon as be got back from buying them. Zoe and Ashley were so excited.

I also got my wish for a double jogger last night. After a couple weeks of squeezing both girls into the single passenger jogger, I wanted to upgrade. The girls didn't mind cuddling up, Ashley in Zoe's lap, but it did limit what they could do while riding. Zoe can hardly go five minutes without writing something, and it wasn't exactly easy to do in there =)

So I went on Craigslist, and found this double jogger for a great price. I emailed the owner, she called me 15 minutes later, and within an hour we had gone to her house, 10 minutes away, and bought it from her. Awesome.

First thing this morning the girls and I couldn't wait to try out our new, used wheels =) Andy came with us, and we took the path behind our house, which leads to a cute little coffee shop.

Along the way we saw a mama duck and her 6 baby duckling in the creek.

Under the bridge were a ton of swallows.

Purple wild flowers

White wild flowers (they smell so good)

Light through the trees on the creek

We have a ton of prairie dogs in the open space, and they announce your presence to each other with lots of chirping. Zoe and Ashley like to say, "Hello prairie dogs!"

I look at these pictures and I have to pinch myself to make sure it's real—I can't believe I get to live here =)

This week around the house.

2010-05-13T13:22:00.007-06:00

Lately I have been addicted to walking. So much so that the girls and I went for an hour long walk in the rain the other day. It was one of my favorite walks of all time. The sound of the rain drops on my rain jacket, on the grass, on the leaves. The swoosh of water when a car passed by. Everything so pretty, all wet, shiny and reflective. And yes, I was pushing two kids in a jogger made for one =) They love it—all snuggly and cozy under the blanket.

We also went to the indoor water park. It must be a water themed week we're having. Click here for photos from last year of the same water park.

My other latest obsession is these salads with as many nuts, seeds and fruit as there is lettuce. Macadamia nuts, walnuts, hemp seeds, apples, strawberries, dried cherries, and raspberry vinaigrette. Homemade of course :-) This one, below, I also put some macadamia nuts in the blender with the other dressing ingredients for a creamy raspberry vinaigrette. Heaven.

And, don't laugh, but I still had a sort of fall/winter wreath up in our living room. It was vaguely seasonal though... kind of :-) So yesterday I got some pretty greenery and made a spring/summer one, which I love even more than the last. Light green makes my heart flutter, just looking at it.

The girls have taken out the "word wammer" or whatever it's called and put it back on the fridge. They sing the alphabet and Zoe spells words, much to Ashley's delight. Ashley also presses the letters to hear their name and repeat it—very cool. They are about to do some Time4Learning as we speak—Zoe operating the program, and Ashley watching over her shoulder like a hawk, the entire time. I have no doubt that Ashley gets so much from watching Zoe work.

We started reading Sugar Plum Ballerinas, Plum Fantastic, by Whoopi Goldberg again today, and as usual we couldn't put it down. The way she writes is the way she talks—hilarious. I don't know what other people have been saying about these books, but we love them.

As for me, I'm off to create flatbread for my next cookbook. Wish me luck! =)

XOXO, Kelly

"Tinkerbell's Spell"

2010-04-29T16:44:00.003-06:00

I had to take these photos of Zoe writing, "Tinkerbell's Spell" today. There was something beautiful about her mess of paper, crayons, markers, magazines and toy bears. There is also something beautiful about a child writing for fun, making up her own stories.

Yesterday Zoe explained to me how she made a beaded necklace: "I kept looking at the picture in my mind to see what to do next."

Meanwhile, Ashley is talking more and more. She likes to ask me how to spell words, because she hears Zoe asking me that all the time. We also write her name together, hand over hand. Then she gets all excited and asks me if she can, "Go show Daddy!"

I am Zoe and Ashley's biggest fan =)

my cooking & cleaning fairies, lol

2010-04-10T10:51:00.001-06:00

This was so funny I had to make a video this morning =) Off to Boulder to the farmers market. XOXO, Kelly

Easter weekend 2010

2010-04-03T18:29:00.002-06:00

Saturday, making the eggs:

Sunday, on the porch with Abi, our neighbor, eating the candies from the mold that I made with dairy-free peppermint chocolate.

dancing in their Easter dresses

2010-04-02T13:51:00.010-06:00

I took a short video of the girls dancing to their High School Musical Soundtrack. Check out Ashley talking and dancing with Zoe! I'm going to type all the talking during the video, in case it's hard to
understand them:

Ashley: This is fun! It is SO Fun!

Ashley: Look at I made this Mommy! Look, look!

Me: That's great!

Ashley: That's great?

Ashley: Mommy, (I'm) dancing!

Ashley: Look. Can I hold it? Can I hold it?

Me: Yea.

Ashley: Look, I made this. Mommy look. Please read it, Mommy. (read the card)

Ashley: It's for us. It's for us. (the cards and dresses are for Zoe and Ashley)

Zoe: Okay... (now she's borred of dancing... haha)

Have a Happy Easter! Love, Kelly

Zoe's first email

2010-04-01T22:46:00.004-06:00

Below is Zoe's first email to Andy and I. Is this hilarious or what?!

Princesses ! love to play in the park eating chocolate ! chip cookies and playing with each other and you know prinesses love nail polish pink! =) and princesses love kits so a dress-up kit =) !i love princesses!!=)!! That’s right =)! Go cinderella go sleeping beauty go arial go bell go snow white go!!=) and go princess ashley that’s my sister her name is ashley do you like princesses to dady ? you momy? You ashley ? =)!!!!! =) and dady I like sleeping beauty=)! Love zoe =)=)=)123=)abc =)=)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’fun’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;love;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

C'est Moi

2010-03-28T21:13:00.004-06:00

Last night I was talking on the phone to one of my best friends, Dr. Murphy. He is part father, part mentor and part friend to Andy and I. In college he taught us Intellectual Heritage, and we have been close ever since. He was there when Andy and I got married, and he was the first person I called when each of our girls were born. Through thick and thin, he has been there. I love him so much.

Andy and his sister got to see Dr. Murphy on their drive to Colorado two and a half years ago, but I haven't seen him in even longer. Last night he asked if I had any pictures of myself online, and I realized that I always post photos of the girls, not me. So today I asked Zoe to take a picture of me, and here it is :-)

In other news, I am busy working on my next cookbook, even on weekends. It seems when you love what you do, it's very hard to stop "working." ;-) This is a photo of a cake and glaze for the next Spunky cookbook. I took it to a baby blessing a week ago, and it got rave reviews, even from half of the crowd who are not on any type of restricted diet. Yay!

Now to have a glass of wine and watch some 30Rock with my love.

XOXO, Kelly

snacks on the porch & two new haircuts

2010-03-18T16:00:00.004-06:00

I don't know what the weather was like while we were sick all last week, but the past few days since we've been better have been phenomenal. We have been eating lunch and dinner out on the porch.

Also, I gave the girls new haircuts, that I think look pretty good considering I'm not a professional =)
I know this last one isn't a great picture, I just included it so I could show you how I stacked Ashley's hair in the back. It gets really knotted back there, so this is perfect for her.
Well, it may snow tomorrow—that's Colorado for you—short sleeves & flip-flops one day, snowing the next. I absolutely love it =)

40's records & 40's inspired dresses

2010-03-13T13:28:00.013-07:00

Andy and I love going to thrift stores and looking for records.

This is our record player (that I bought Andy when we were engaged 8 years ago) from Restoration Hardware. Andy likes to say that the great thing about it is, "It's so low-tech, when the girls break it, I can just open it up and fix it with a pair of pliers." haha

Our 10 year old neighbor came over one day, and when he saw the record player he exclaimed, "What is this thing? You can see it
moving?"

Check out the great box sets we got last weekend! Half off that day too!

The Swing Years, 1936 - 1946

and The Unforgettable Glenn Miller, 72 of his greatest
Original Recordings

Then I was fortunate enough to find these two 40's inspired dresses on Amazon, and use my Amazon credit to buy them for the girls.

How much do I wish they were my size?!

By the way, the pearls were all Zoe's doing. They look so cute with this dress too.

Here are a few close-ups because I am so crazy about them =)

Really, really wish they were my size... Kind of April Cornell,
but retro ;-)

sand and a mask

2010-03-04T15:43:00.003-07:00

It's been too cold yet for the water table, so...

I bought a bag of play sand (for less than $4!),
and tried on the mask my mom sent...

I love how wild and colorful it is =)

an unexpected discovery

2010-02-25T20:19:00.009-07:00

As I mentioned on our food blog, the girls and I took a nice walk this morning. We used to walk or bike this paved path across the street from us (that goes for miles in two directions) before it began snowing last fall. Then I just figured the trail was buried under snow and ice, and I would have to wait for spring. Come to find out—It's completely snow free and dry. I think the city plows it with a little tractor, like the ones they use on the sidewalk in our neighborhood.

I ran this by Andy (the city clearing the trail), and he thought, no way they plow it. But then I told him we got off the trail and onto a sidewalk for a while, and the sidewalk was covered in snow and ice! So, I think they do remove it. How cool is that? If only I had known... Oh, well.

On top of the excitement of the dry paved path, was the animal tracks everywhere in the snow on either side in the open space. So neat. Tiny tracks and big tracks—Mice, bird, prairie dog, rabbit, and coyote tracks. And, we saw this really interesting bird, which Zoe found in the bird book when we got home. It's called a belted kingfisher. Since I was completely unprepared, without binoculars or a camera, I found a photo of it online:

photo from firefly forest

This bird had a mohawk of feathers that it flaunted wildly when it sang it's monkey-like call. I've never seen such a cool bird, except maybe the heron—I love heron. But heron are very shy and quiet while this bird was loud and boisterous.

As if the mile we walked each way this morning wasn't enough, the girls and I were back outside hanging out just before dinner, when it was getting cold. That's when I took the top two photos. Believe it or not, Zoe wore nothing but jeans, a t-shirt and a short-sleeved princess dress over top on our walk this morning. Crazy how the temperature changes so quickly here.

Love, Kelly

Click and press the play button to hear this bird.

playing in the snow fort

2010-02-25T12:15:00.001-07:00

playing in the snow

2010-02-21T15:43:00.003-07:00

math and more on our homeschooling philosophy

2010-02-19T17:51:00.011-07:00

Doing math naturally, as it relates to real life (If you buy paper, will there be enough money left over to buy crayons?), and just for fun (like playing school) has really paid off.

When I first began homeschooling, I was kind of nervous about teaching math, since at that time I thought the only way people learned anything was if they were taught. It wasn't that I didn't think I could teach math, but more of a practical concern, like, how can I do this without fighting the children on it?

Until recently, math just didn't appeal to Zoe. In the beginning I tried to push it a few times, but it felt wrong so I stopped. Then I read, The Call to Brilliance. This book didn't convince me of anything I didn't agree with, it simply gave me the confidence to stop worrying. It reminded me that children want to learn, that they learn to talk, crawl, walk, and feed themselves without being "taught" how. Like the principle I admired in, A Charlotte Mason Education, says: Children learn by example.

Learning by example is a concept that set me free. Zoe has been homeschooled since kindergarden, and without much structure from me she has learned to read and write. She has learned about history, science, culture and yes, even math, through a lifestyle that appreciates a thirst for playing and learning.

We don't sit down at 8AM every day and open a textbook or follow a school (or homeschool) curriculum. One of my dear friends, Amanda, introduced me to the term, Delight-Driven, a long time ago. This is my favorite of all the homeschooling style labels, if it even is one (perhaps you can't find it written anywhere). Delight-Driven. I love it.

This is why it came to be that on Monday of this week Zoe was playing school with her friend who is two years older than her, and is now doing these big math problems. As you can see from Zoe's notebook above, Abi, who is also our neighbor, and whom we adore, showed Zoe some math. Apparently, at this time, Zoe was ready for it. Tuesday morning Zoe showed me her notebook, and (because I could hardly believe my eyes) we did some more problems together for fun. Wow.

I have no doubt that Zoe and Ashley will keep amazing me by the things they learn on their own—with my guidance—not imposition. We keep busy delighting in the joy of living and learning in a way that we believe in. And it seems to be working ;-)

Floortime with Ashley

2010-02-19T17:41:00.001-07:00

happy around the house & big developments with Ashley

2010-02-19T16:40:00.009-07:00

This is the first toy or lovey of any kind that Ashley has ever had, and it is her toy dog, Bernease. (the bond with this toy began several months ago and I couldn't be happier about it) She puts our real dog's old red coat on it, and her halter and leashes. She takes Bernease with her everywhere she goes :-)

click a photo to see it larger
Another first was last weekend, when Ashley saw something she wanted badly in a store. Just as she never had an attachment to a toy until recently, she also never asked for anything while we were out shopping either.

Then, last weekend in Target she did want something... These retro-inspired floral pants =] She made a sudden sharp turn away from us, directly to the spot where the pants hung at her level. She picked them up, held them against her legs, and looked down longingly. Sensing my response, she turned to me and said, "They're not too small, Mommy."

They were in fact too small though, so I (fortunately) found the right size, and woohoo, they were only $10 (phew). She couldn't wait to put them on when we got to the car. Andy says they look just like a tablecloth his grandmother had ;-)

a book and connect-the-dots

2010-02-12T13:16:00.007-07:00

Zoe, Ashley, and I are really enjoying a pack of Kumon workbooks that we got at Costco. The connect-the-dots are fun because the kids really can't tell what the picture will become until they've almost reached the number, 100.

Like featuring photos here on the family blog, the videos made by Zoe have proven to be a huge motivation. Everything we've been posting and sharing is extremely exciting for the girls. They are so proud of what they can do, and then they get to talk to family from out of town who have seen their "work." Speaking of which, Zoe is very anxious for me to stop writing and publish this so she can admire it. :-) Love, Kelly

Fancy Zoe and Ashley

2010-02-11T09:33:00.006-07:00

Zoe and Ashley are really into Fancy Nancy books right now. Andy's aunt gave one to Zoe last summer I think, and they've been hooked ever since :-) Both girls spend hours studying the pictures and reading the books. They also pretend to be Fancy Nancy:

And Zoe decided to do copywork of one Fancy Nancy book:

Yesterday Zoe got her costume on, made a kind of a nest with smocks on the floor in the pantry, turned on the pantry light, shut the door, and asked me to "Please set the timer for 20 minutes." She set to work copying her Fancy Nancy book, as seen above. When the timer went off she came out dramatically with a, "Phew! Now I can take a break! Mommy, can I please have mint tea with honey and almond milk?" Cracks me up.

copywork

2010-02-10T14:27:00.005-07:00

Zoe is doing copywork of Madeline. Sorry I pronounced Madeline wrong in the video. Also, I will zoom in closer next time so you can see more detail and read Zoe's writing. Love, Kelly

Zoe and Ashley playing school

2010-02-09T11:21:00.008-07:00

Zoe and Ashley are absolutely thrilled about this new concept of creating videos of Zoe playing school. Zoe sees herself as "the teacher" and the audience viewing the video are her students. In this video she is reading her class a story from Time4Learning. Then, through watching her own video she feels proud and it reinforces what she can do. Ashley sits beside her listening, watching and encouraging Zoe.

Retelling stories, Charlotte Mason narrations

2010-02-05T09:44:00.007-07:00

One of Zoe and Ashley's favorite ways to "play school" is using Time4Learning.com. There is a character called, Ed Mouse, who says, "It's time for learning *and* fun!" when you enter your account. Zoe prefers to think of Ed as, "Meg," and politely tells the mouse, "Good morning teacher Meg Mouse!" It's all part of playing school.

When I first began homeschooling, I read A Charlotte Mason Education, and I would ask Zoe to retell me the story we were reading. They call this narration. Then after a while it became less of a request and more natural, like telling Daddy about the books we were reading at dinner time. Lately, after Zoe does story reading and comprehension on Time4Learning, she likes to turn the computer off and retell the stories to me and Ashley or her dolls. She sometimes pretends she's teaching too.

Then we had this great idea to use Photo Booth on our Mac to record Zoe's narrations. Both Zoe and Ashley get such a kick out of making a video and watching themselves. I'm planning on posting more and more of these as they continue to make them, both from Time4Learning stories and books we're reading. Zoe is really into Fancy Nancy books right now for her own reading, and we're still reading great literature together.

Love, Kelly

closepin dolls & houses

2010-02-04T19:10:00.005-07:00

Zoe, goofing around on Photo Booth (How much do I love my Mac?)

2010-02-03T15:27:00.007-07:00

How to make a Clothespin Doll kit

2010-01-30T13:51:00.013-07:00

One of our dear friends gave Zoe and Ashley a homemade clothespin doll kit last year, and they have spent many happy hours making dolls with it. So, when Zoe and Ashley were invited to a birthday party this weekend, we knew right away what we wanted to give this creative 8 year old girl =)

The kit includes:

* Some fabric remnants (remember the doll clothes will only be a few inches by a few inches when cut to size, so a little fabric goes a long way)

* Fast Grab Tacky Glue

* An assortment of ribbons and accessories

* Yarn for hair

* Pipe Cleaners for arms

* Clothespins

To make the hair we like to wrap some yarn around our fingers and lay it on a ribbon or more yarn, like this:

(You can also make a thick braid to wrap over the head, which is
cute too.)

Then tie the ribbon in a bow for a ribbon in her hair, like this:

We also included a couple of dolls for examples, like the kit we received last year. Zoe picked out this inexpensive unfinished box with a handle like a purse. Her friend can paint and decorate the box herself. To "wrap" the present we tied a bow around the outside.

I had to show you the card Zoe made too—it's so cute. It's a picture of the tea party they are having for the birthday party:
XOXO, Kelly

airplane & a rope with knots

2010-01-24T16:02:00.004-07:00

Andy's mom had a great idea (she would have made a great OT!). She said we should get a dowel to hang like a handle bar. Love it. If we can't construct one ourselves I'm sure we can find one in some outdoor play equipment or Abilitations catalog.

Reused bakers rack becomes pot rack & wine rack. Simple homemade spice shelf.

2010-01-19T11:35:00.015-07:00

Lately I have been bitten by the design bug. I can usually look at gorgeous photos in decor magazines and blogs, and think, "that's nice," then go back to my day. However, as you know, I have been painting and re-doing and decorating like mad this past month. Here is my latest.

Before I put up a spice shelf:

After I painted the MDF & put up the spice shelf. Super cute I think. :-)

I didn't remove the labels or stickers on my spice jars, I just turned them sideways. Here is the cinnamon to show you:

Then I had the idea to put up a pot rack. My train of thought sounded kind of like this, "I want a pot rack, but I don't want to buy a pot rack. Hmm... We have an old bakers rack in the basement from our apartment... I could get some chain and hang one of the shelves... It even has a wine rack..."

Before the pot rack/wine rack:

Zoe took a photo of me drilling the holes with my safety glasses on. Very stylish, haha. I made a template of the rack with paper and used a stud finder to find the studs. I could tell if I was correct because most of our basement is unfinished, so I could look at the studs down there to see how far apart they are.

I asked for help at the local hardware store, Budget. The name, Budget, is so appropriate ;-) I got eye hooks, S hooks, and chain that each could support 225 pounds. I could have gone a little lower, but I figured it's better to be safe.

I took a photo of all the sawdust from drilling the holes in the studs.

The finished pot rack/wine rack (I also like to use it for fruit. So pretty.):

Also, I wanted to mention, that's not a mini Christmas tree on my kitchen island. It's a rosemary tree that our friends brought us on Thanksgiving. I replanted it in a slightly larger pot with holes in the bottom, and I water it every other day in the sink. We have been loving all the fresh rosemary for cooking. Cheers, Kelly

messy happy decor & playing hard

2010-01-13T12:33:00.009-07:00

They say in Boulder people work hard so they can play hard. I think in our house the work is play... But an awful lot of learning happens when we're playing... :-)

Once, when Andy was about Zoe's age, he was told that all he had done all day was play. He answered, "I'm a kid, that's my job."

Tired out from playing hard...

painting flowers on the wall

2010-01-10T17:33:00.008-07:00

Yesterday I went to paint a plate at a ceramics studio. (I am now expectantly waiting for it to be fired...) When I came home I sat down in a chair across from our couch, and starred at the blank wall. Since moving in, I have pondered what to do with this wall. I have put up dozens of paint chips, and considered shades of green, blue and orange.

As I stared yesterday, I suddenly knew what I wanted to do—Paint flowers from the area rug on the wall. I thought I would take a
before photo:

Below is the wall after the flowers were painted. I used bold loud colors taken from the rug with the plan to...

...do a white-wash over the flowers, when they were done, as seen below. They are even more subtle in person. I'm really happy with how they came out.

Click a photo to see it larger.

gluten-free salt dough afternoon

2009-12-31T16:17:00.007-07:00

Click for the gluten-free salt dough recipe.

The bedroom re-do is finished! And it's our new favorite spot in the house :-)

2009-12-30T14:58:00.013-07:00

To Do List: All checked off :-)

1) paint the walls

2) recover the headboard, and make pillows

3) replace the pictures over the bed side table

4) refinish the gold frame

5) find new candle holders (yay! one dollar on sale at Michael's!)

6) pour clean burning soy wax into the candle holders

7) find a new lamp shade

8) make a pattern to embellish the new lampshade

9) paint the pattern on the lampshade and add ribbon for trim

10) put up cork board (sticky stuff it came with didn't work,
staple gun did)

11) put images up on dream board

12) hang family photos from mini wooden clothes pins

13) write the word believe on the wall below the candles

14) bring in the succulent terrarium we made

Phew! And that doesn't include the desk, which we found on the curb and refinished this summer. I especially love the vintage-looking pulls we put on the desk.

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T20:38:00.002-07:00

We have our big dinner on Christmas Eve. That means Christmas day I don't have to cook anything. It's nice. We just have leftovers.

I made a spinach stuffing casserole, mashed potatoes, and ham with homemade cranberry sauce. It was really simple, and I made a ton so I wont be cooking again for days ;-)

Colored lights in a glass.

Zoe's empty dessert glass. We had traditional Scandinavian rice pudding for dessert. (the dish was traditional, not the recipe, haha!) Zoe found the almond. She was so excited.

An after dinner snack.

Making gluten-free cookies for Santa ;-)

bedroom re-do sneak peak ;-)

2009-12-24T10:01:00.009-07:00

click to see them larger
This is how our bedroom has looked since the day we moved in (well, almost). The walls are what Andy's dad calls, builder's white. The picture is the wrong scale to be over that nightstand. The headboard is beige microsuede, which doesn't go with the quilt or nightstand at all. The lampshade is leftover from when this lamp lived in the girls bedroom years ago... I could keep nitpicking, but I wont ;-)

And here is a sneak peak of the re-done bedroom. It isn't finished as you can see—we haven't finished painting the walls, and I want to paint this gold frame, etc. But I'm really happy with how the headboard came out. I found this Amy Butler fabric on eBay—three yards for 30 dollars. I think that's pretty good for Amy Butler fabric, but it's been so long since I purchased any, that I can't remember what it usually costs;-) I had just enough fabric left over to make two little pillows also. They are just the right size for behind your head, when you're laying in bed.

I found this king size white quilt at Marshall's for only 50 dollars, and with that the bed is done. ...I think ;-) We have a bunch of snow and it's like 20 degrees outside, so we aren't going to finish painting in the foreseeable future, but as soon as it's done I will put more photos up.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Designing the bedroom & Creating a Succulent Terrarium

2009-12-19T11:34:00.024-07:00

Click the photos to see them larger.

I decided to finally design my bedroom. We've been living here for a year and a half, and I haven't done a thing to it. There are some bamboo shades, but that's it. I realized that I never want to spend time in the bedroom, even since we found a cute desk on somebody's curb this summer, and I refinished it. At that time I had been fantasizing about having a craft desk in my room, and after imaging this for a few weeks, a desk just the right size appeared. I'm talking exactly the right size—like it fits the space I wanted to put it to the inch.

Still, the room is obviously unfinished, and so, not very welcoming. I went to a few fabric and craft stores, looking for some Amy Butler fabric to use in the room, but couldn't find any. So I went on Ebay, and there it was—on sale no less. I got a few yards to make a slipcover for my upholstered headboard, and another pattern to make some pillows.

After that, my design concept all fell into place... in my mind that is ;-) I know what color I want to paint the room (low VOC of course). I know what I want to hang on the walls. I already have images ready to pin on my dream board over my desk. And last night I took two of our wedding photos that were just sitting in a box, and put them in some frames I found in the basement. Free art. Love it.

There was also one other thing missing from my plan: Plants. I think every room needs two things: some black accents, and plants. However, I didn't want a traditional house plant. Ever since I can remember I have been in love with desert plants, like cactus and succulents. But it's been years since I tried to keep any, and I really wanted some.

First thing this morning I went to Marshall's and there it was: My huge glass terrarium—only 10 dollars! Shopping was never so easy. I just walked in, and like the desk that appeared when I imagined it, there was the terrarium.

Next, my Bubba (Ashley) and I headed to the local garden center, The Flower Bin. They have the most amazing selection of desert plants, and every other kind of plant you could imagine too. Going there is such a treat. We played around with different succulent arrangements, till we found a grouping that complimented each other.

Then a guy who works there gave us some serious knowledge on succulents. He told us that succulents need drainage, very little water, and that the roots grow outwards, not down. Therefore, he suggested a good amount of rocks, bigger rocks, because they're better for drainage. Also, since there wont be a real drain, he directed us to add a layer of charcoal next, to remove toxins from the system. He said to put a couple inches of cactus potting mix after the charcoal, and don't pack it down. Then you can arrange the succulents to your liking, and fill in with more cactus soil.

I thought it was very interesting that he suggested not watering the succulents for a week or two after planting them. Then he said you can check them individually to see if they need water by gently squeezing with your fingers. If there is some give, then they could use a little water. If they feel firm, then they're full. The ones that need water can be squirted with a spray bottle.

Lastly, I was surprised to learn that most of them can be pruned with scissors if you want to keep them short and bushy. Otherwise, some of them will grow quite tall, and may exceed the height of the terrarium, which is 9 inches wide by 10 inches tall.

decking the halls, part 2

2009-12-18T15:41:00.001-07:00

who's that doggy in the window...

2009-12-13T21:41:00.001-07:00

Cherry, laying in the sun =]

decking the halls =)

2009-12-10T20:44:00.004-07:00

piggy tails = major cuteness ;-)

2009-12-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Santa Lucia wreaths & a fort

2009-12-07T20:35:00.002-07:00

What a fun day! First we made saffron buns, to test our recipe for Santa Lucia Day. Then we made these Santa Lucia wreaths—aren't they cute? I am so happy with them! And apparently so is Zoe, because she didn't take hers off all day ;-)

Ashley put hers on for long enough to look at herself in the mirror ;-)

And this evening, we made a fort under the table, using a vintage sheet from a thrift store, and some Christmas lights. ...So much fun!

Zoe's Letter to Santa:

2009-12-04T10:35:00.003-07:00

To Santa Claus,

This is a Christmas List of things I want for my stuffed dog please

It's a girl dog

A colar and a leash

A dog bowl

Dog shoes

A dog sweater medium size

A small dog bed

A small dog house

that's it

Mommy would like a new spatula

Love, Zoe

gluten-free, sugar-free, salt dough gingerbread house, part 2

2009-12-03T20:34:00.013-07:00

Painting the "candy" decorations.

Beginning to put the decorations on the house.

Note: The glue wont hold long over painted surfaces—so don't paint where you plan to glue!

We are particularly fond of how the roof came out.

The finished gluten-free, sugar-free, salt dough gingerbread house.

The "frosting" or snow is a mixture of white craft paint and corn starch.

For Part 1 of the gluten-free, sugar-free, salt dough gingerbread house, click here.

For the link to the gluten-free salt dough recipe, click here.

Nisser & gluten-free salt dough Gingerbread House

2009-12-02T20:21:00.030-07:00

If you look at my posts/photos from this time last year, or if you have been following along since then, you know that I am half Danish, and we like to incorporate Scandinavian traditions. A big part of Scandinavian Christmas traditions are handmade/homemade decorations. So, when we started making gluten-free salt dough a while back, I thought it would be perfect for Christmas ornaments.

These first 2 pictures are of Nisser that we made. We used a template that Andy drew. I cut the dough around the template with a butter knife. After they were baked and cool, Andy and the girls painted them and I hung them with ribbon on our tree.

Then I thought, rather than make gluten-free gingerbread for a gingerbread house, why not use the salt dough? So, last week I made some dough and added a tablespoon of cinnamon to give it a gingerbread color. Using another template that I made, we cut the dough for the house and baked it. Today we hot glued the framework of the house together, on a scrap piece of board.

I didn't want to make the pediment with the dough, so I made a template by folding paper, until it fit. Then Zoe traced and cut the pieces out of cardboard, and we hot glued them in place.

After the structure was complete, we made more dough. We used the lid of a spice jar as a cookie cutter for circles, which we will paint to look like candy for decorating our gingerbread house. We also used a little bear shaped cookie cutter and a little heart cookie cutter. Tomorrow we're going to paint them and attach them to the house like candy.

"Why not use candy?" you may ask. Well, as you know, we don't tolerate refined sugar very well, and I'd rather not have it around anyway, so we are going unconventional here =] I'm also thinking of adding ribbon and fabric —so this is not a typical gingerbread house. But we are having tons of fun with it, and that's the whole point anyway, right? Also, I want to put a light inside and reuse it every year for Christmas.

Part two of our project —still to come =]

Click for the gluten-free salt dough recipe we use.

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, our last day here.

2009-11-15T19:54:00.008-07:00

This has been such an educational trip for us all. In Santa Fe we visited the Folk Art Museum. The 7 hour drive to Santa Fe was worth it, just for that museum. I was like a kid in a candy store in there. Of course, there was much more than just the Folk Art Museum to love about Santa Fe, but wow. I can't wait to go to that museum again.

In Tucson we went to the Botanical Gardens, and today, the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. Both were sensational. The Desert Museum (for short) was also home to all kinds of native animals: mountain lion, Mexican wolves, owls, gila monster, rattle snakes, humming birds and more. I can't wait to return to Tucson again as well.

Click to see a photo larger.

Hanging out, and taking it easy

2009-11-15T09:22:00.001-07:00

in Tucson

Visiting Tucson

2009-11-13T17:55:00.008-07:00

Click to see the photo larger.

The view from our hotel in Tucson.

At the University of Arizona, where I attended one semester in college.

University Blvd. It was crazy seeing it and the school again, 11 years later.

The rest are of the Botanical Gardens, where the girls and I spent most of the day, while Andy attended the PubWest conference.

Zoe's dance class performance =)

2009-11-09T19:17:00.007-07:00

Zoe is on the far left, grey hoodie, light pick cap.

Also, you may notice, she was the youngest in her class.

Proud mama =)

first snow of the season

2009-10-10T15:28:00.004-06:00

We had snow today, and it wasn't even coat weather a few days ago -that's the Front Range for you. Totally erratic, totally unpredictable. Our first winter here, it snowed every 4 days. Then last winter it snowed maybe 3 times total where we live, and it was really warm. We're hoping this winter will be like our first :-)

I'm so excited I found Ashley these matching snow pants (with bib) and coat on Ebay, used, for 25 dollars. They're in great shape, and might even fit again next year. Zoe is still wearing a hand-me-down snow pants, and not too happy about it, but she got to get new snow boots, because she outgrew her last pair. I found her coat on clearance years ago, and it was pretty big at first, but she's grown into it. If it still fits again next year, that will be 4 years she's used it!

They spent the day outside for the most part, with our neighbor, Abi, who is 9. Only when they got hungry did they come inside. Abi was a big fan of my chicken meatloaf, a real boost to my confidence, since neither of mine like meatloaf. We also had salad with GF toast, cut finely like croutons, salami, goat cheese, hemp seeds and I made some honey mustard vinaigrette. The salad was a hit all around. ...Why am I blogging about food here, and not on The Spunky Coconut? LOL

Amen, brother!

2009-09-28T21:32:00.002-06:00

Dancing Zoe

2009-09-16T19:04:00.006-06:00

to a Talking Heads record and...

to a Madonna record :-)

Breckenridge weekend trip

2009-08-30T21:10:00.012-06:00

Friday night we were eating dinner when I said to Andy, "Lets go away this weekend." Without missing a beat, Andy replied, "Alright. Where?" Twenty minutes later we had looked online, and decided to visit Breckenridge. I can't believe we've been here almost 2 years, and never been to Breckenridge, until now.

This may be my favorite picture of Zoe -ever! She's standing in front of some poppies at a park in downtown Breckenridge. We brought gluten-free bread, almond butter and jelly with us to Breckenridge, and had picnic sandwiches for lunch on both Saturday and Sunday. -A great way to save money.

This restaurant had the most petunias I have EVER seen in one place. We didn't eat there, we just admired the flowers :-)

Zoe took this one of Andy and I.

As much as I love camping, we decided to treat ourselves to a lodge Saturday night in Breckenridge. It recently changed ownership, and needs just a little TLC, so it was a great deal. Check out the view from our room!

I loved the shutters, wicker and wood beams in the ceiling.

Another view from our room.

On one of the decks.

Gluten-free dinner at Mi Casa. The girls and I shared salads and Andy got fajitas with corn tortillas. The complimentary salsas were some of the best I've ever tasted.

Outside on our patio this morning. It was so chilly! But awesome!

Cherry taking a short break from her busy day.

We played Monopoly in the lobby Saturday night, and this morning we read books there.

It was so beautiful, and so cozy, we never wanted to leave! I hope they keep the lobby exactly the way it is!

crafts for the airplane

2009-08-05T18:09:00.013-06:00

Zoe and I packed her backpack today for her trip to New York. We thought it would be fun to play checkers in the plane, but we didn't think our big wooden board with glass pieces was appropriate, so we decided to make a soft set ourselves.

We got stiff felt from the craft store and cut it into about 1 inch strips. We used 8 strips of each color, following the number of squares on our wooden set.

Once we had a tight weave, I hot glued the squares around the edge, and then trimmed the excess with scissors.

Next we used our glass pieces as templates to make felt versions.

Zoe cut the felt pieces with scissors.

We also cut extra pieces to make kings.

But we couldn't stop there. Following the instructions in Zoe's book, Dragonfly and the Web of Dreams, we began a bracelet for her to finish on the plane. We also packed her two books, lots of paper and crayons, and a cd player with headphones, to listen to her High School Musical soundtrack.

Off to finish packing! :-)

Day Trip to Denver & GF Tour :-)

2009-08-02T16:22:00.008-06:00

happy birthday Zoe & Ashley

2009-07-21T20:53:00.014-06:00

Today we had a small tea party with a few friends to celebrate Zoe's 7th and Ashley's 5th birthdays. It was a small tea party because (and I say this with nothing but love) my house is very tiny :-) If I could have figured out how to swing a tea party at a park, where we could invite all of our friends, I would have! Maybe next year Zoe will request a playground or pool party, so we aren't limited by space. Or maybe we'll just have to have another party in a week or two, outside somewhere :-)

Making a banner.

Tea party and cake time.

Duck Duck Goose, followed by Red Light Green Light and Simon Says.

Making jewelry.

Listening to Happy Birthday to You, by Dr. Seuss.

kitchen backsplash!

2009-07-12T17:57:00.009-06:00

I decided to put up a glass backsplash this weekend. Well, I decided a week ago, and I did it this weekend :-) It wasn't very difficult to do, but it was very hard work. My shoulders are super sore, and my arm muscles may have doubled in size ;-) Although the installing took many hours more than grouting, I think it was actually easier. Anyone else who's done a project like this -Which did you prefer?

Here is the kitchen before, only three sheets up on the wall.

After finishing the first row.

One and a half rows.

All the tile is up, next comes the grout...

Phew! Grouting done! I need a back massage!

After a good scrub, I put all my stuff back. Yeah!

A close up of the tile. I like it so much. It's a random pattern of clear and frosted glass.

We are so proud that we went around the angled window trim. Andy found this cool tool to cut the glass. It was really fun getting the perfect piece to fit.

And the other side of the window. Next project: the half bathroom...

Visit, Summer '09

2009-07-09T18:29:00.005-06:00

Thank you Marcie and Bob for coming to visit us! We love you!

Eating my Vanilla Bean Cake (see the spunky coconut for the recipe).

Happy Birthday Bob!

"I can't understand how this is beans..." LOL

Eldorado Springs

Boulder Farmers Market

camping in steamboat springs, colorado

2009-06-23T08:42:00.051-06:00

This past weekend we took a 4 day, 3 night camping trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. As our friend, Dwight said, we are tired today from playing so hard ;-) Not to mention all that driving! But it was so worth it, and if I knew then what I know now, I'd do it all the same.

See, if you look at a map, the route which appears the most efficient from Longmont to Steamboat Springs is directly through Rocky Mountain National Park. We are now on our second yearly pass to RMNP, and we go there often in the summer and fall, but we had never actually driven through the whole park like that. It took forever! All the creeping along at 25 to 35 miles per hour, against steep drop-offs, winding up up up to 12,000 feet, over the Continental Divide, and back down (somewhat) again.

What exactly is the Continental Divide? Here is a map that shows you. West of the Continental Divide water runs toward the Pacific, and east of The Divide water runs toward the Atlantic. If Longmont were on this map it would be somewhere near the "R" in Rocky Mountain National Park.

So now that you see where we went, here are the photographs. First is Rocky Mountain National Park...

Above is right near where we went camping last fall.

Up up up...

Words can not explain how impressive it is...

...or how close the edge of the road is to the drop-off.

So much snow up there still in late June.

Coming back down we saw elk and later pronghorn.

Then, for a while it looked a little like Lake George in upstate New York.

...but with snow on the mountains.

And then, all the sudden it looked like the desert for a while...

...before it became very green.

...more and more green.

And then we were in Steamboat Springs -so Greeeeeeeen!

And it reminded me of parts of California.

First things first we got set up at our campsite on the river, at the edge of town.

I had to take the classic Steamboat photograph on all the postcards (above).

Zoe, in awe, on our first night in Steamboat.

We went to the closest health food store first: Bamboo Market. It was adorable, and right on the Yampa River. We split our first pint of Coconut Bliss. About $6 dollars for four, ambiance included, -not bad;-) We also got fresh fruit for breakfast in the morning. (You can see more about eating gf/cf in Steamboat on The Spunky Coconut blog.)

First breakfast at the campsite on Saturday morning.

Am I crazy or does this (above) remind anyone else of California?

We took the gondola up to the top to go hiking and have a picnic lunch.

It was crazy gorgeous.

The pictures do no do it justice at all.

Happy Anniversary honey!

Coming back down.

Cherry in the gondola. Too cute.

Another health food store that was expensive but cuuuuute! All three health food stores were in walking distance from one another, and we felt very spoiled. (for more on that click over to the Spunky Coconut)

Eating more Coconut Bliss in the rain at the campsite.

Good morning.

On the way to Strawberry Hot Springs...

...and Strawberry Hot Springs. -Heavenly...

Chipmunk trying to get in my picnic bag. (and trying to eat the almond butter off my fingers when I shooed him away!)

Sooooo beautiful! I could totally live there! Hmmm... ;-)

video of dinner chat

2009-06-13T17:34:00.007-06:00

Now that we realized we can video using our camera, we are anxious for everyone to see how much Ashley has improved with her biomedical treatments. Of course, it's hard to get on video, but we're going to try! Here they are at dinner tonight: "mac-n-cheese" otherwise called, Tinkyada noodles with cashew cream sauce :-) As you will see, Ashley thinks that she is having her picture taken, since Andy is using the camera to video her. Although we didn't get much talking in this one, it's pretty impressive that she shows she now can ask questions and answer questions. She's totally present and interacting with us. Go Ashley!

"summer snow"

2009-06-10T14:47:00.009-06:00

The cottonwood trees.

Zoe's ball.

See the white flakes in the air behind Zoe? That's not snow :-)

We spent the afternoon at our favorite coffee shop, cottonwood blowing through the air like summer snow. It was really quite magical. So much so, that I called Andy, who rode over on his bike to see for himself, over a pot of tea. The girls ran back and forth in the downpour of cotton, just like they do in snow, even gathering it into balls. I also took some video on our camera, which by the way, I didn't even know took video until today. (see post below for video)