Mom's helper

I've been doing a lot of knitting with my looms lately.  It's something I can do while the hubs and I are watching TV at night, and usually the projects don't take too long.  That is a requirement for me.  I do not have the patience for the month-long, work 2 hours every day, kind of craft.


The girls all requested blankies, and picked out their own yarn for me to make them with.  I think someone is a bit jealous that he didn't get to pick a color, though.

A Mental Health Test

Welcome. 

Thanks so much for coming.

Please, have a seat at the table.

Now, tell me.

What do you see?

Hmm...very interesting.

And how about this one? 

What do you see here?

And one last time.

What do you see here?

Thank you very much for participating.

Oh, what were they?

Well, they are supposed to be butterflies.

Don't worry.  You're still normal.

The mother of the artists didn't get it right either.

Project 365: Week 7

Day 43/365: Creative Hands

Day 44/365: Beware the Attack of Mt Laundry!

Day 45/365: Catching Up On World Events ... Sort Of ...

Day 46/365: She LOVES Her Cottage Cheese!

Day 47/365: I love Colorado!

Day 49/365: A good idea that turned into a long idea

Day 49/365: Princess and the Prince

Sara says on her blog:



Gwaat Papa Bawoom!

And in case you don't speak fluent Violet, I will provide the translation:

Great Grandpa Blume!

Yes, that's right.  Jerome's 90-year-old grandpa drove with a friend all the way from Indiana to come see us.  He rocks like that.

We are, just now, starting to see him age.  His mind is still as sharp as ever, but his body moves just a bit slower.  Mind you, he still keeps up and runs circles around guys half his age, but he is slowing down a bit - for him.

We didn't tell the girls until Monday evening that he was coming.  That way, the nanny only had one day of insanity.  Oh, by the way, the nanny is starting her own blog!  She and her husband are beginning the process of adopting from Uganda.  You can read her blog here.  She also has an Etsy page here where she is raising money by selling her beautiful hand made children's hats and women's jewelry.  Yes, my children are her models.  I can speak from personal experience that the hats are wonderful for kids, and her jewelry is exquisite.  She doesn't have the jewelry up yet, but she will soon.  It is stunning, and so unique.  I have a few pieces...

Anywho, back to Grandpa.  Last night we went downtown for dinner with him.  The girls were so excited.  Violet kept hugging and snuggling him all night.  Katrina told him every last detail about school (even though he didn't hear much of it - darn hearing aids), and Madi just giggled.  Kat is the only one who really remembers Grandpa.  The last time we saw him was for this wedding in Indiana right before Violet's first birthday.  But, nonetheless, our girls were giddy to show Great Papa all their new tricks.

I just noticed we have one kid in long sleeves, one in short sleeves, and one in a tank.  Gotta love Colorado fall!

I love my granddaddy-in-love.  He is such a sweet man.  Ornery, for sure, like most of his generation.  But such a gentle sweetheart.  We talked about my parents' ranch (he used to be a vet), about our fruit trees (he has a massive orchard), and about the girls.  I think he reminds me of my granddaddy.  I am so grateful to have him.  And so is Violet.

We aren't sure how long Grandpa will be staying here.  It all depends on his friend's schedule.  But, while we have him, we are going to enjoy him. 

Dear and Deer

KMama is giving away a copy of Alternative ABCs on her blog today.  Go check it out and enter to win the "alternative ABC book for hipster, urban moms and their cool little youngsters". 




Katrina is getting old enough to really enjoy arts and crafts.  She loves making bead jewelry, drawing, and creating collages.  And since I am quickly running out of room in our home to store her artwork, I thought we would do a little feature of my budding artist.  Below is a letter she wrote me for Mother's Day:

It says:

"Love Katrina

Dear Mommy, I like you

very much.  I like your

earrings.  I like the way you

smile.  I love the way you

wear your necklaces.  I

love all your things.  I love

you so so so so so so so

so so so so so so so so

so so so so much.  I like

you both so much.

Happy Mother's Day.

I love you.

Personally, I love her backwards letter As.  She tried to convince me that she had to write her As like that, since she was a lefty.  Yeah, that excuse didn't fly.

And here is a picture of a deer in our backyard, with a red robin and a squirrel in a tree.

And a self-portrait, complete with heels.

This picture she actually did at school for Christmas.

And here is her collage self-portrait.

I enjoyed her tongue the best.  And that is either trees or broccoli in the background.  I'm not sure which.

I love my big kid.  Even when I have to buy more art supplies every week to keep her entertained.

Easter Eggs

I know, I know.  It is about 3 weeks past Easter.  With the way allergy season has hit our house, I am lucky to remember my name most days.  But, in the interest of all the aunts & uncles who read this blog, I know I will be in trouble if I dont post these.


We got complicated, girly eggs this year.  Three day eggs.  Day one involved hard-boiling the eggs, then cooling them. 


Day Two, we got to dye.  Here is my artsy attempt, complete with paper towels.  Classy, I know.

Katrina chose this moment to become traumitized because she had to share with her sisters.

Eventually, the sisters made amends and enjoyed each others company whilst creating their artwork.

And, here are the finished creations, complete with speckling of an unknown origin.

Day Three involved sponges and painting of the eggs.  But, by this time I was so over the egg dying that I did not get any photos of the complete eggs. 


On a side note, we discovered that our children REALLY love hard boiled eggs.  Needless to say, the art work did not survive for long.

The Playdough to end all Playdough

For Katrina's fifth birthday (a year and 4 months ago), we had a bunch of her little friends over to our house. We made playdough for each of the kids. We still have this Playdough. This is the best Playdough I have ever seen. The girls play with it on a weekly basis, and it has held its consistency the entire time. Wednesday night, the girls played at the counter while Daddy cooked dinner. I have an amazing hubby, I know.







The serious artist

who discovered using shishkabob skewers for drawing sticks.

Little Miss All My Playdough Must Be In Tiny Pieces All Over The Counter

And Violet, whose first real experience with Playdough was a success. She poked designs in her giant blog with a cookie cutter.

Want to know how to make this awesome playdough? Here is the recipe:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 cup water

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

food coloring

1. Combine flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a saucepan. In a bowl, put flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a saucepan. In a bowl, put water, oil, and food coloring. Gradually stir wet ingredients into the dry ones until the mixture is smooth.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms. Remove from stove and cool.

3. Have your child knead the playdough until smooth. Then, start playing! Store in an airtight container. I have found that old sandwich meat containers are just the right size. Repeat for other colors.

I found this recipe in the September 2007 issue of Parents magazine. I have tried to search for the recipe on their website, but have not had any luck yet.

Enjoy!