sowing seeds

We have officially begun planting in our garden! I know it is a silly thing, but this makes me SOOO dang happy! This is my first ever garden- EVER. We did one 2 summers ago, but I was really pregnant with Anabel, so the only thing I did was put a few seeds in the ground. Don did all the rest. It was his garden. So this is year my first "official" experience with growing my own food.



Food is a big thing for us. Especially where it comes from and how it is grown. Even though we live on a super tight budget, eating well is very important to me. Having our own garden is a way for us to be really connected to our food, to walk the talk. I am also loving the chance to teach our kids about how our food arrives on our dinner plate each night.

Enrique is super duper excited about all of this! Everyday he asks to go to the garden to check on his vegetables. He has a few rows that are HIS. He chose carrots and broccoli as his crops.

What else we have planned for this year:

-swiss chard
-brussel sprouts (yum!)
-kale
-cauliflower
-peas
-corn
-beans
-cucumbers
-beets
-a few different lettuces
-spinach
-melons
-tomatoes
-peppers
-zucchini
-squash
-pumpkins
-and lots of fresh herbs

Wow! Listing it out like that feels a bit ambitious, but it's all a big experiment anyway. We don't really know what we're doing.. Fake it till you make it, I say!

moments of motherhood

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mama's (and especially to mine)...



I love being a mom, even with our crazy days and nutty kid moments. I love watching my kids.. they are amazing. I love nuzzling them, cuddle time, laughing with them, their soft skin, their pure joy, their emerging independence, the way they love each other, the way they adore their papa, the way they need me in those desperate moments when only mama will do, the sound of their laughter, the noise their feet make when they are running around the house. I love them. So very much.

I found this poem the other day that made me smile.

Moments of Motherhood by Donner

Crash of glass and I about faced
mid-fold toward the unwelcomed
sound. Too many chores
and now this interruption.
Sarah stood shell-shocked,
toes recoiled from shards
and slivers; a puddle
swept around the footstool,
carrying the head of a daisy
in its wake.

Small hands pulled at the
pockets of dandelion-stained shorts,
never to come clean; cockleburrs
velcroed to once-white socks;
a decision made as quickly
as the jar was changed
into fragments.

Brown eyes never left my back
as I walked to the hutch and
took out a prized vase of cut crystal,
then stooped to collect
the weeds that had been plucked
with childish wonder.

And Sarah arranged her
priceless bouquet as I
mopped up the glass shards
and water.

I hope all the mama's out there are getting spoiled and loved on a little bit extra today!

mother's day crafts

We have been busy around here doing some crafty things. I wanted to make sure and do some fun mama day crafts, both for my own keepsakes and to give something sweet (and made by the kids) to my mom.

For Grandma cards, I had each of the kids make about 4-5 hand prints. I just used white paint on colored paper.



I then cut out their little hands and glued them together in the shape of a flower. For the cards, I used an oil based crayon to write and painted over that with watercolors. I love the effect of that, the oil crayons hold up to the water color, it is very cool looking.



Then we had a little crafty playdate earlier in the week. I thought it would be sweet for the mamas to get a nice little present "made" by their kiddo just for them (and for me too!).

So I bought a few flowerpots for the kids to paint for us..



They were so sweet painting them.



And then I planted a few flowers in each of the pots...



Having these on my table all week has been making me smile BIG TIME!



Such a simple and easy craft to do...

art group :: handmade playdough

I don't know why I have never done homemade playdough with Chubbas. Just one of those things I've never done.

My sister was telling me how easy it was to make, so I thought that this would be a fun thing to do for art group.

I found this recipe all over the internet and it worked really well:

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp oil
1/4 cup salt

Mix everything together in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until a ball forms. Then use your hands to mix in some food coloring when it has cooled enough to touch. Store in an airtight container or plastic baggie.

I actually ran out of the cream of tartar, so ended up using half of what the recipe calls for. It turned out just fine.



It was really fun to watch my kiddos "discover" playdough. Yeah, I know it only took 4 years for Chubbas, but hey, better late than never. Boop tried eating it, of course.



And the kids started playing make believe with their creations soon enough! I love that.



Playdough has been a favorite for Chubbas all week. One day, he made a TON of hearts!



A serious heart factory there..



But man, he was so quiet for a really long time.. I heart playdough!

let me introduce you to..

Our garden!!!



Since gardening up here at our house would be a big ol' pain in the you know what because of bears and deer, we decided to become apart of our local community garden.



We went down there yesterday to start getting it ready, because in case you didn't know, you can't really plant much here in Colorado before Mother's Day.




So here it is, a 20' by 40' plot that is all ours! So much we can grow in there and let me tell you, we are going for it!



I am really excited to grow our own food this year, to teach E (and myself) about where our food comes from. And I am already eager to EAT all the goods!

Yesterday was a bit of a rough day with Chubbas.. he was just in SUCH A MOOD! We had to cancel art day even because he was just no fun to be around. We then decided a good cure for grumpiness would be to go dig in the earth. Which, helped so much!



I am ever amazed by how connecting with nature and the earth is so grounding and calming. All night long our little dude kept talking about all the vegetables he is growing in the garden. The question remains if he will actually eat them!

graffiti or art? or both?

The other day, E came up to me and said, "Look at my shirt!" Well, it had marker ALL OVER IT! He was grinning ear to ear so proud of himself. It was a pretty junky shirt anyway, so I didn't worry too much about it.

But then, I noticed this on the door to the craft room..


Then, the next day I discovered all of this spanning from one end of the craft room to the other...




And on the desk:


And around the corner into the living room...


Wow! I was stunned! This is the most elaborate "wall art" that our little artist has ever attempted. I called him over "to have a talk" that went like this:

Mama: "Did you do this writing all over the wall?"
Chubbas: "Yes, I did!"
Mama: "Well, I don't think we are supposed to draw all over the wall are we?"
Chubbas: "No, we aren't."
Then a pause..
Chubbas: Very seriously - "But, mama, do you like it?"

That's my artist boy.. Can't stay mad too long when this clearly was not just some random scribbles, but a true work of art!

a new learning place

We visited the Pueblo Children's Museum this week for the first time. It is a really great place to take the kids! So much to do.. we could have stayed for hours more.



The coolest thing was the giant wall that somehow picks up on body heat so you can make a giant "painting" using your whole body. Very groovy! I think Don had the most fun with that one!




There are LOTS of art stations, puppets and little puppet stages, puzzles and blocks to build things with, large magnetic walls to make scenes with, little old fashioned movie makers, and so much more that we didn't even get a chance to explore.





The kids really loved the giant building blocks (that BTW are just made out of boxes that have been painted). But there are ALOT of them, enough to build a kid size house, tunnels, etc.




If you are in the Springs and haven't been down there, I highly recommend it! Worth the drive and super cheap to get in.

While we were there, a few school groups were visiting. I was blown away and saddened by how little time these kids had to explore the museum. While we were on the 2nd floor at least 3 different groups came in. Just as the kids were starting to get into stuff, the teachers announced it was time to go! Our kids were there sooo much longer and still didn't want to leave when it was time.

We were with another homeschool family and both of us mamas said how happy we are that we are homeschooling! Both Don and I really felt our commitment to homeschool strengthened by the experience. We want to be able to give our kids the time they need to fully immerse themselves in what interests them and give them the freedom and space to explore whatever it is they want to learn about. I feel so strongly about this and am glad that we get a chance to give our children an opportunity to learn this way.. Yay! Homeschooling rocks!