durango mom

Valley Camp is Back!!

2013-04-03T14:21:00.001-06:00

I promised a new web site for you by April 1st and I have one, but it's not what you were expecting! Valley Camp is up and running for Summer 2013 and I had to build a site for it. You are all welcome to check it out and if you're local, then you need to head on over and REGISTER YOUR CHILD TODAY! Summer promises to be a barrel of monkeys around here! More soon!

2013-03-11T08:58:00.006-06:00

the kitchen is now that top color Hello my Lovelies. I think that I pretty much have it all figured out. Thank you for your kind words, your emails, and your phone calls. I have been dissatisfied with my format for awhile and wanting something sleeker, bigger, better. I didn't see myself pulling it off and now I do. I have wanted to pull my children out of the focus, and zero in on the

last week

2013-02-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

The Georgia cousins came for a visit. We skied and soaked and hung out with the clan at Granne and Grandaddy's. Have I mentioned that there are LOTS of cousins? The grands are very kid friendly. Do you take Foosball with your tea? I'm certain that when they designed the closet, they had this, the ultimate fort, in mind. (there are 5 kids in there hiding) This photo is not

2013-02-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

I was surfing a new favorite blog and voila. There it was. Sometimes it takes a photo to jell the vision. Max was looking over my shoulder. "You should paint our kitchen that color." he said. "Yes, hell, I should. Because this life is not a dress rehearsal." I said. It's the real dang thing. Word. {My mom would probably call this 'a wild hair'. Do you have any of those? Wild hairs, I mean

facebook

2013-02-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Let's just revisit this little diddy that I wrote about Facebook a few years ago. It's even more relevant today. The darling picture of Matt and Della is just to remind you that he's really a very sweet guy. F book is just not his thing. Smile everyone. It's all OK.

dear landlord

2013-02-15T16:06:00.001-07:00

Dear Landlord, I am seriously considering painting the kitchen hot pink. Don't you think that would be awesome? It's a quick fix that packs a lot of punch. You'll be blown away, I'm pretty sure. Because you like the room that I did in rainbow, don't you? And the peacock blue really transformed the laundry closet. And I know you probably hated all that fake panelling that we totally

if you aren't offended it will be the biggest laugh of the week...fo sho

2013-02-12T20:58:00.004-07:00

I dare you to only watch this once. And not walk around ALL DAY LONG saying 'ain't nobody got time for that.' I hope this woman gets famous. She sure gets my vote. Pure awesome.

live from the snow globe

2013-02-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

and there was basketball, too. Della is the next Michael Jordan. Not. She keeps us laughing, though. constant back seat wrestling....we need to be sponsored by white strips...their teeth are gruesome...what's up? Oh the snow. We spent the weekend frolicking in the white stuff. Fat, fluffy flakes, flew all day Saturday and Sunday and they are still coming down. If you want to feel

guy thing

2013-02-09T08:08:00.003-07:00

Am I right? This is a man thing. Could you lie down on the couch in the middle of the family fray and be asleep within seconds? Passed out cold? I hope your weekend is relaxing....conducive to this sort of behavior. xoxo

tropical mountain get-away

2013-02-07T03:30:00.000-07:00

In the heart of winter I start feeling it. The ocean, from half a continent away, starts licking at my ankles. This week I have been indulging the call of the blue. In shared school, (that's where I teach home schoolers who come to public school two days a week) we are studying the ocean and in particular, whales. It's a lovely unit. A part of this unit is also service oriented, as we look at

geek girl

2013-02-06T03:30:00.000-07:00

This past week was Snowdown, Durango's very own holiday. There is always a theme and it is a CRAZY week. No small thing at all. Our version of Mardi Gras or Carnival or perhaps more like Halloween on crack. Everyone drinks their fair share in hopes of invoking the snow gods. There are fun and wonderful events all week long. The theme this year was 'Geek Out' and everyone dressed the

2013-02-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

Parenting philosophies vary greatly. I'm not sure where I fall in that vast spectrum, but it's probably somewhere out in East Jesus. My gut responses aren't usual. More often than not, I am intrigued rather than horrified by the shenanigans my spawn can perpetrate. Probably because they are MY spawn. And because I'm cozy with my own inner child. Should she be doing that? Hmmm? Will the top

nestle down

2013-01-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

If I were the type to name my house/property, I'd name it Nestle Down. It would be painted on a board and nailed to a fence by the mailbox. No fancy-ness, no pretension, just a guarantee that you are going to be cozy when you walk through the door. I don't own a house on which to bestow a moniker, but now that I think about it, what the hell does that matter? Every house we've ever lived

awol

2013-01-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

The weeks are flying by. We have hardly come up for air and we certainly haven't done any laundry, scrubbed any toilets, or washed any dishes. There is no end in sight, so I am popping in real quick like to say hello and let you know that all is well. 2013 has found it's groove and we are just riding the wave. Here is a quick look at our days. Skiing, skiing, skiing for work and for

3/52

2013-01-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

I will be joining the 52 weeks project at Che and Fidel to document weekly, in photographs, our ordinary life. The button is in the sidebar if you are interested in following along. At the end of this, I hope to have a fairly comprehensive look at the year 2013 in the lives of my sweet children. At age ten, Lewis still loves legos and I love his darling friend Foster. Della and I

she who works

2013-01-18T09:55:00.003-07:00

Scraping ice, schlepping big boxes of firewood up the stairs and into the wood bin, cooking, cleaning, letter writing, uber-crafter,.....all willingly with vigor and panache...she should just be in charge. I'm not sure that there is anything nicer than a seven year old girl. Have a lovely weekend, my friends.

dinner for grown-ups

2013-01-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

In Colorado, folks are all over a pot luck. We will have a potluck at the drop of a hat. Why not, you know? There's very little work involved. Clean the house a little and let your friends do the work. I can throw an awesome pot luck and basically that just means that my friends are great cooks! Honestly, this is the first REAL, sit down, dinner party I've been to (

resolutions

2013-01-15T03:30:00.000-07:00

It's a little late to be spouting resolutions, but I'm going to lay it on you anyway. I made two. They are big as hell, so sit down. Number one, I'm going to start dressing sexier. You weren't expecting that I bet. In Colorado, most women dress very poorly. Sorry girls. It's true. We are utilitarian. We are sporty. Collectively we need help. I vow to wear more high heels and skinny jeans.

green and a whole 30 update

2013-01-13T15:46:00.001-07:00

as you eat, the next meals are growing all around you. 1000 cranes. it's worth mentioning, all photos by della(7) and kalina (5) a sour pea...yummy. Raw, vegan, local, fresh. All in the dead of winter on a frigid snowy day. Walk through the doors at Turtle Lake Refuge's in town location and that's what you get... all tucked away in a back alley in a

defender of kittens

2013-01-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

When my babies were babies I imagined that surely the overwhelming love I felt for them would dissipate a wee bit as they aged, if only because they became a bit more independent and less demanding of my undivided attention. Now my attention is wildly divided and I even get to consider myself some these days, but the love is still overwhelming. They get to an age where you can no

wear 'em out

2013-01-06T20:56:00.003-07:00

Much of the holiday break was spent skiing. The boys ski with a posse. They meet their friends and run wild all day on the mountain. At the end of the day they are wide eyed with tales of extreme adventure and they're starving. I feed 'em, get 'em loaded up and.... ....a

I heart you

2012-12-21T10:56:00.002-07:00

I am signing off for the season. I feel oddly relaxed. Teacher's gifts (poinsettia and spruce soap) have been delivered. The post office has been conquered. I scored a true treasure for my parents with a late night phone call to a very sweet man in Madisonville, Tennessee. I was giddy to hear him answer the phone, after seeing him on TV and reading about him for years. We talked and talked

2012-12-17T09:33:00.001-07:00

Granne masterminded darling dolls and matching outfits for Della. Grandaddy helped execute. There are no words for the sadness of this weekend. I'm not even going to try. It's overwhelming to ask why or how or what if. Oh my heart is heavy for those parents and loved ones, the school that was going about the work of educating and nurturing, the first responders who will

friday flakes

2012-12-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Finally, it is snowing. Folks around here get antsy when the snow is late. The local economy depends on it. So whew. We woke up to the beautiful muffled silence of falling snow. With the littles, this meant hooky. Fresh sausage, french toast, hot cocoa and a cyclops snowman. Poor Della, has no snow suit or boots. She is a hodge podge of way too big hand me downs, which will work

tradition

2012-12-11T03:30:00.000-07:00

I am a big believer in tradition. In family traditions. They lend structure and beauty and give you a tangible little shelf on which to place the art of being a family. Kids love tradition. It doesn't need to be fancy or high fallutin'. It just needs to be the same every time. On Christmas Eve we go to church and then out for Chinese at a hinky little strip mall restaurant. Nothing elaborate,