taking time for slowing down

Today is an interesting day. There is nothing I HAVE to get done. Nowhere I have to be. After the last few weeks, which have been so very, very full, it is really nice. I am finding I have a lot more time to stop and think. To ponder, to notice and pay attention.

I have been going too fast. It is time to slow down. Which takes some intention. I am really good at running around doing a ton of stuff, checking off my mile long to do list. But, it isn't very good for me. When I go.go.go life goes too fast and I am so caught up in the doing that I am not noticing and celebrating the little things around me that make me happy.

Which makes me exhausted.

I think, as human beings, we really NEED to stop and take it all in. Appreciate and marvel at what is happening around us. I know I need to.


So, here I am today, trying to not do too much. To just enjoy and be glad for where I am right now.

time with my sis

Yes, I am still here. Just REALLY busy! I have a wedding I am coordinating next weekend, so blog posts will probably be a little sparse the next week or so. Whew! Experiencing crazy summer madness!!

My beautiful sister was here a few weeks ago...

We had an INSANE week, the busiest visit ever. We had 2 separate visits with cousins that we have not seen in 10+ years. That was nuts! Lots of memories and catching up. Then there were 2 parties, and lots of other running around seeing people. It was fun.

Look at these cousins!

And I think my nephew is pretty dang adorable, don't you agree?


We watched my nephew one night so my sis could go have some grown up fun. I felt like a rock star putting all 3 kids to bed at the same time!
So much fun hanging with my sister, who is my very best friend! Love you..

weekly art group :: paper mache part one

For our art group this week, we started making paper mache bowls.

I used this recipe for the glue:

5 parts water
1 part flour
Boil for 3 minutes, then cool.

Be sure to stir the concoction the whole time. I didn't. It burned. It was gross. I had to fish little black chunks out. I don't recommend it, but it still worked.

I asked everyone to bring a bowl to use, but gathered up some back ups just in case. We covered the outside of the bowl with saran wrap so they will come off the mold easily. I also tore up all the newspaper pieces into strips ahead of time.

I find that when doing a craft like this with a group, having everything done ahead of time helps the process flow smoothly. Plus, the kids have a short attention span and we want them to get to the paper mache part, not just be all mesmerized by tearing up newspaper, ya know?

I demonstrated how to do it first, then let the kids at it...
We used some plain paper for the first and the last layer, with newspaper in between. This will make it easier to paint and give a "nicer" look to the finished bowls. You totally don't have to do this, but I had the paper on hand, so that's what we did.
They had fun with the gooey mess for a bit then most of the kids gave up before all the layers were done. Not a problem for us moms, we wanted to get our hands dirty REALLY bad. So, we gladly took over.
I had not done paper mache since I was a kid and it was really fun! I loved it! I think the kids had fun with it, but not as much fun as us grown ups did! We kept saying how we needed to get the dad's to watch the kids so we could have our own paper mache play date.

These are sitting up on my mantel drying, waiting for us to paint next week. I can't wait to see how they turn out.

saying yes

I have been a grouch with my kids lately. They have been driving me crazy. Fighting. All.The.Time.

It's been making me nuts and my patience levels have been super duper low.

And I know that when they are all wacky like this what they need is me. 100%. Paying attention. Present.

But, it is a vicious cycle. They need more of me. I want to go do my own thing and not play with them. They get more wacko. They need me to pay attention. I just want to check out and avoid them. They get more insistent that I pay attention to them by acting up, and I get mad and angry with them. Around and around it goes.

Well, after our art group this week (paper mache), I had a big bag of torn up paper sitting on the floor waiting for me to do something with it.

Enrique discovered it. I was working on the computer (trying to escape my nutsy kids) when I looked up and saw that he had dumped the WHOLE BAG out onto the floor.

My first reaction was to yell. Scream. Get mad. Clean that up! Don't do that! NOOOOO!

Instead? Instead, I took a moment to breathe, to watch him and the pure delight all over his face. This was a MAJOR DISCOVERY!

And I let go of all my annoyance and frustration and said YES!

So all three of us - me, Anabel and Enrique had a confetti party. We tossed, we rolled, we laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

It is good to just let go sometimes. To be a yes. To let these goofy kids be kids. And in doing so, I fell in love with my little poops all over again.

family fun day

Last month we went to the Imagination Celebration's Free Family Festival. I forgot I had these pictures on my computer, but it was such a fun day that I wanted to make sure and share about it (even if it is a month old news!)

I heard about this and thought the Enrique would really enjoy it. The theme was metamorphosis....
They had a bunch of really great, kid friendly booths. All kinds of stuff to learn about, art to make, new things to discover...

Enrique was fascinated by the Dinosaur Museum's exhibit. We have not been up there yet, wasn't sure if it would freak him out or not. Now, I think we need to go on a rainy day...
They had sidewalk chalk for the kids to make their own art...

Nice butterfly, eh?

One booth let the kids make their own pasta. Enrique is no pasta making virgin, but the pasta machine was a hit..
And this is the real reason we went..
I am seriously in love with street art like this. We went to something like this up in Denver when Don and I were first married and I fell in love. So, when I heard they were going to have street artists I really, really wanted to go.
It was starting to rain, so many were covered up, but I was not disappointed! Look at how amazing these are!
The zoo had a booth with some cool animals to pet and love on...(if loving on snakes is your thing)...
This guy was pretty cool just chilling...
And then, a new experience for Enrique! His first ever performing arts concert! They had a great little sampling of some of our city's best dance/music/performing arts groups. Look how excited he was waiting for the show to start!

He said he loved the dancers the best.. they were AWESOME! Anabel was pretty captivated as well. I love getting to do stuff like this with my kids and how cool they think it all is.

art + bbq = arteque

We had our 2nd annual Arteque this past weekend and it was SO MUCH FUN! We had a ton of little people running around playing and making art. Excellent! (Though no big people art..we will have to remedy that next year!) I think this is a really wonderful way to celebrate summer, good friends and the creative spirit....

Some highlights from the day...

Sidewalk chalk...

We re-did our banging wall. It is a little smaller, but you can attack it from 3 sides now, WAY more fun!

Giant bubbles (using this idea for inspiration). They didn't work super great, and I missed getting pics of the actual bubbles, but I love this idea. We just need to fiddle with the formula a bit since they popped as soon as they were released.

We had lots of good friends who came over, including some long time favorite people that came down from Denver and Boulder. AMAZING food (missed getting a shot of that also.. I was so distracted by all that was happening). I love having a potluck with people who care about food.. seriously yummy stuff!

And, of course, we did lots of painting!

This picture is one of the things I love most about doing art with kids. They mix up the colors so pretty almost every time. I could frame this colorful wonderfulness!

It was a really great afternoon.. thanks to all of you who came out! We are looking forward to next year!

still making toys

Yes we are! We have been getting the chance to make some fun things lately, like this giant rainbow stacker a homeschooling mama custom ordered from Alaska!

And, we have started to get some inquiries about Christmas presents. So, we are offering up a little incentive to get your Christmas orders in early!

Receive 10% off all orders placed in August!

This includes layaway orders, toys you want made now or toys you want later. Pre-orders under $100 have to be paid in full, anything over $100 requires a 50% deposit or a layaway agreement.

Please visit our website to shop around, get some Christmas ideas, and place your order:

Chubbas 'n Boop

Remember that we are ALWAYS taking custom orders, so let us know if there is something specific you are looking for.

You can email us with questions or inquiries:
toymaker [at] chubbasnboop [dot] com

Ordering early will really help us get a jump on Christmas production. Don is working full time now, so at some point we will have to cut off order taking before Christmas. I don't want him working until 3am every night and neglecting to make MY Christmas orders for the kids. :) So, make sure to get your order in as early as possible!

Isn't this so pretty! I love how it turned out.

Thanks for supporting our business, we really appreciate it!