Water is a child's best friend

Afton and Abel love love love to play with water. Now that our temps seem to be screaming springtime, outdoor play time begins and ends with buckets, shovels and watering cans of water.

Some f***ing fantastic news

A few weeks ago a random thought wandered its way into my brain. It went like this:

It sure would be nice to make some me money.
Ya know...you make good cupcakes
And Patrick's workplace would be a very easy selling point.
Yeah. Let's do this.

Fast forward some asking and some sampling (my cupcakes have been nicknamed f***ing fantastic which I think would be a great name)

And today I got my first catering order!!!

Off to whip up 50 cupcakes...

NEW PICTURES!!

This is Afton thinking that 76 degrees is good sprinkler weather. She changed her mind 2 minutes into it.

I love our fenced in yard for Abel!

Afton and Abel are in a great sibling phase. The arguing has lessened and the silly games have begun.

All these two need for fun are pillows and a plastic bucket.

optimism gone bad

I generally think that optimism is the best way to go. I don't worry about things until there is something to worry about. So I really thought I had just pulled something in my knee. And even when my MRI results showed a torn ACL, I thought, "this will heal eventually." WRONG.

Not pulled. Not torn. Ripped in half. And tearing of other essential knee fabric. And surgery is the only option.

Well, crap.

birthday party over

I always enjoy planning and getting ready for a birthday party. And I really enjoy the party being over! This year Patrick was home for Afton's event and when friends would ask if they should stay and help I pointed out that most Afton's friends are mildly scared of Patrick so I wasn't worried that 12 kids would be a problem. And we did have crazy, busy fun making our own ice cream with mix-ins, making ice cream cone magnets and playing some games...and it was great when it ended.

House Tour: Living Room

After talking to my Mom last night about my paint colors, I realized I hadn't posted pics of my living/open space room. SO now you can visualize how cocoa brown, apple green and light aqua aren't weird together...

this is my entry wall (the door is to the right). i picked the mirror up back in my NY days at a tag sale for $10 and finally found a great use for it. the photo board is a Lizzy Original (foam covered in my lovely fabric with fave family photos) And you get a nice look at the tv stand and wall mounted tv (courtesy of geek squad...one of the many perks of the ad job)behind me

a better view of the entry (yes i know it's small but we dig small) and how the colors meet. and the pillow fabric that inspired the whole scheme. don't overlook my handy show bucket...it's really a log bucket!

we have a giant picture window (awaiting wood blinds but the hugeness is making that difficult) that i didn't want to cover with curtains. i framed 4 photos of places we have been.lived that i especially loved (the outer banks, view from the roof of the Met, lighthouse in NC, and a sunset in Kansas) I love having these photos up high where my eye catches them from the kitchen. I remember each of these moments perfectly and adore the reminder every day.

Okay Mom, this is the wall i was telling you about...my bookshelf/computer station. I finally found a functional and very inexpensive way to get my computer out of the bedroom and to house my books (at least the ones I don't mind having in public view). The dining room is the push back section to the right. You can see my awesome sparkly retro stripe in the photo.

I realize I don't have a photo of the living room space in general, just my decor...but as the camera is in San Antonio...I'll have to post that later.

10 reasons why a knee injury isn't so bad...

10. I can wear my sweats every day without feeling frumpy.
9. No money is spent, since I can't go anywhere without a fence for Abel.
8. The kids are really getting into their creative plays zones being at home so much.
7. No one expects me to make dinner so whatever I do put on the table is gold.
6. The freedom of no schedule. I know it will get old eventually but it's great for now.
5. A very good reason to hang out on the couch and read, read, read.
4. And check out the new cable we just got (since our basic channels will be going away soonish)
3. And let the kiddies check out oodles of new cartoons we haven't watched in 9 months guilt free
2. Getting those little porjects that require sitting and being still knocked out.
1. Waking up to a clean kitchen and folded laundry, courtesy of the awesome hubby.

Afton turns 5!!

Afton turned 5 on April 1!!! She had a GREAT day and is still on a birthday high 2 days later.

the setup

the big gift (thanks to Christy and her in-laws shipping it to me!!)

the birthday play date: McDonalds for lunch, playing with the new gifts for hours

the cake: Afton was creating these over the cake cake dreams (a rainbow cake with rainbow frosting and ice cream cones on top) so i asked if i could surprise her with a cake. she loved it but i twisted my knee chasing the kids in the yard before it was assembled so a bit of my vision turned mushy with the pain. i wanted to make her a pinkalicious/purplicious (we adore these books) cake. so a dozen eggs, 4 cups of cake flour and 3 hours later i realized a cake mix or simple cupcakes would have been just as great. it did taste good!

Abel Update

I have a HUGE announcement. Abel has finally found a couple toys he likes to play with in a seated position! I'd like to thank Legos and Puzzles for making this possible. I'll spend oodles of money buying more of you.

Recently all the places Abel went to willingly (nursery, gym play center) have become sad spots for him. I leave with him crying and kicking on the floor, then peek back in half a minute alter and he's happy playing! It's nice to know separation anxiety is possible with him!

Abe has learned about half of his letters, thanks to Super Why. He loves spotting super letters on signs when we're driving. And he's mastering his colors. Finally.

His newest saying: "Hey look what I got Christmas!" then pointing out any random thing.

Other things Abel loves: playing outside, going to the park, Backyardigans, chocolate, Toy Story, his truck shirt and red super letter hat (pictured above) and playing with Afton.

Afton Update

Afton is a wonderful mix of sweet, feisty and smart. It makes me happy knowing she can hold her own on play dates (it rarely comes to this though), that she can make a new friend in less than 60 seconds and that she is a professional reader these days!!!

We're counting down the days until her 5th birthday. A giant milestone and we'll be spoiling her silly for reaching it.

These days Afton loves: movies, play dates, spelling, riding her bike, going to preschool, and chewing gum.

Easter Videos

I had planned on doing the Easter Bunny on Monday, but Patrick informed me last night that if I wanted him home I had better just do it on Sunday (he had a 3 day weekend so it was a good compromise!) Luckily, I wasn't really giving the kiddies traditional Easter stuff, because Target was sold out of almost everything last night when I went to fetch a few things! Here are some great little videos of the kid's excitement and gorging:

Easter Weekend

I was so excited to get the kids dressed in their easter outfits today. Navy and white for the whole family.

Of course, getting a smiling shot of BOTH kiddies was impossible!

Oh wait! Here's one!

The eggs. Patrick' special egg was Jesus vs. The Easter Bunny. I'm pretty proud of the colors we had this year.

We had a feast, which was mostly a disaster. The look of the table after mirrored my feelings.

And lastly, Afton cleaning up deviled egg from the wall and carpet, which was flung there in a fit of defiant rage by her!

Happy St. Snow Day

Remember the rain we got yesterday? Well, when I was closing down the house last night, I peeked out the window to see if the rain was still dripping. And it was. Only the rain had turned to snow and was 2 inches thick. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that COLORADO gets snow in the spring. But I am. At least we finally got some wet snow so the kids can build a snowman this afternoon!

karate moves

A movie, super craft, picnic-eating, rainy weekend

The title says it all!. Afton and I saw Horton Hears a Who yesterday. Afton's end of the movie quote sums it up:" That was way better than getting donuts with Daddy!" We're HUGE Horton fans and the movie hit our soft spots.

We enjoyed lots of movie-watching-picnics over the weekend. Got around to making several craft projects (giant easter eggs, planting our wheat grass). And it rained (okay there was some snow too) which makes me happy since rain is a dream around these parts.

And I remembered to take some photos of my adorable kiddies...