The Crafts

The new March blog header is a wee bit early since it is still February. But after the past few days I've made a conscious decision to look ahead. A conscious decision to pray for this phase to pass. Our house is overflowing with drama. ...literally bubbling over the roof with it... Sassiness is multiplying in every corner. I just peeked over the back of the couch and found a touch of grumpiness, too.   So we'll take a deep breath and wait for bedtime.  It's around the corner...sooner than these rosy cheeked girls would like. And yet too far for these stressed parents to imagine.

...when I look at these photos. These are pictures from my Dad's side of the family. Seeing these photos makes me feel like I am peeking at a side of my family's life I never knew. My Grandma as a stay-at-home mom and farm wife. Raising three little kids. The blue skies and open fields. The groovy hair styles and young, happy faces. I've always known my dad as a plastics manufacturing rep. As a Hawkeyes, Packers, Dodgers fan. I didn't know he used to have bleach blond hair and a giant scrape across his face. (Which I first thought was a temporary tattoo. How silly.) While I know my Grandpa loves his family. I've always thought of him as a farmer who would occasionally chase you around the house with his pliers if he heard you had a loose tooth. No lie! He is funny! I also don't think I've seen my Grandpa in many modern day photos without a cowboy hat. Look at his great swirly hair in the below photo. Not to mention the super old television. And Gra...

I have two girls and they alone contain an indescribable amount of energy. Every Tuesday morning however, their energy levels shoot off the charts when we get together with friends. Yesterday morning was no exception as it was our turn to host. And to insure we had no shortage of hyper activity, I made brownie covered oreos to snack on. This photo is not nearly as appetizing as the one from the recipe. I am not a professional photographer. To view the recipe, click here... brownie covered oreos. And when the recipe directs you to grease the muffin tins really well, they mean it. Slather those tins in butter. Don't think you can get away with a heavy spray of butter flavored Pam. Nope. You need BUTTER! And lots of it. Don't be grossed out. You are making brownie covered oreos for goodness sakes. You will be taking in a lot of calories, adding the extra butter isn't going to do much more harm. :) Oh, and don't skimp on the brownie mix either. Really drown those oreos. ...

I am officially injured. I also feel officially old. I have injured my hip. Perhaps years of running have caught up with me? Several great races are on the horizon and I need to recover pretty quickly. So I'm taking a small break from running in hopes that whatever is the problem heals itself. In the meantime, I have to find some way to stay in shape. So I dug out my old Kathy Smith dvds. I don't have this exact one but the picture was too funny not to share. So for now, no running. Sigh. Maybe later in the week I'll have pictures of the girls and I 'Sweatin' to the Oldies.'

Hello there. It was a fun, sleep deprived weekend for the Craft Clan. A night in an Ames hotel with Grandma and Grandpa Craft. We swam, we ate, we swam, we had a drink, we ran the halls... and then we went to an ISU men's basketball game. It was a wild whirlwind of fun. Sunday the girls and I crashed my parents' house for the afternoon. Matt had to work. Poor guy! And I didn't want to be home alone with the girls like it was a weekday. I brought the camera and the Flip video everywhere we went. But do you know how many pictures and videos I took? That's right. None. So you are going to have to settle for randomly selected pics from my computer's archives. Like the one above from Kate's 2nd birthday party. And this random one taken during a visit from our friends Heather and Wendell. I don't know how old they were here but geesh they look SO YOUNG! You may think this is CJ but nope. It is Kate. She was probably just over a year since it was taken at ou...

Do you have garlic salt in your house? We do. We love it. On grilled, sliced potatoes and on top of spaghetti. Yum. So, if you have some in your house, do you know where it is? Yesterday morning I found mine here... ...hidden inside a big jar of flour. Why? Because my funny hubby and I are about as mature as a couple of middle school kids. We have been playing a long ongoing game of 'hide the garlic salt.' It started quite awhile ago. When Matt helps me clean up supper he often tosses the spices in whatever drawer is closest to his hand. I'm grateful that he helps clean up but it is awfully hard to find the spice you want when it could be in any drawer. Have you seen our kitchen drawers? We literally have 20 drawers. And that doesn't include cabinets. Anyway, one night when he was helping me pick up he decided to be funny and hid the garlic salt inside a box of granola cereal. I found it the next morning and then hid it somewhere he would eventually find it. And th...

M O M mom MOM M  -  O  -  M MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM mom MOM mom MOM mom MOM mom MOM mom MoM mOm mom mom mom mom mom mom MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM mom MoM mom mOm MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM   No, I'm not crazy. Just stressed.

It's no secret that Kate loves her stuffed horse, Clifford. He was a Christmas gift from her Uncle Mike. She sleeps with Clifford every night and every nap... well, when she takes a nap. But that is a story for another time. Anyway, the other day Kate decided to dress Clifford. She started with underwear because horses of course wear undies. She then added a cute yellow and white striped shirt. Finally, she completed the outfit with a ballerina tutu. She was so proud of herself. To be honest, I was too. I thought it was a creative idea. She made me pose with ballerina Clifford, too. So, what was CJ doing while Clifford was going through his makeover? CJ was trying on Kate's underwear.  

The Cocoa Go-Go was a success. It was the first time I've ever organized a 5k... something I've always wanted to do. The winner was Phil Hunt. Phil is my friend Heather's husband. It was a brisk morning but what do you expect, it is February! Thanks to all my friends and family that showed up! Matt, Kate, CJ, Mom, Dad, Lindsay, LeAnn, Megan, LeAnn Nolte, Jennie, Sara, Heather, Phil, Becky and all those other people who were new, but very welcomed, faces!! Photography credit goes to both Kate and my mom. :)

I finally got the program to work so now I can have two Valentine's Day blog posts. (If you don't understand what I'm talking about then please refer to the below post.) Anyway... The girls and I have been munching on heart shaped cookies. (They were a gift... I've never successfully made sugar cut out cookies.) We've been enjoying them on our new Valentine's Day placemats. Aren't they cute? Just looking at the Target store drains my wallet. Miss Claudia and I made a Valentine's Day banner out of felt. I did the tracing, cutting and sewing. She helped by being super cute. And finally we surprised the girls this morning with little bags of chocolate covered animal crackers wrapped in funny animal boxes. I let them eat the treats for breakfast! I know... what kind of mom am I? We also played outside after lunch. The girls splashed in puddles. CJ has never done this before and LOVED IT. You might think I'm exaggerating but I AM NOT! She seriousl...

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day. Remember to give your sweetie a hug! (Image credits: xurde) I actually have some pictures from around the house to share today but for some reason the program to upload from camera to computer is not working today. Boo! So you will have to settle for a picture of a heart on a barn door. :) Tomorrow I will have an update from the Cocoa Go-Go 5k this past weekend. Love to all my loved ones!

CJ looked like this. Can you believe it? This is a picture of CJ's first bite of real food. Well, if you can call rice cereal a food. She is now running, jumping, climbing and flopping all over the place. What a difference a year can make!!

I am so thankful my girls love books. We read a lot of books around here. And sometimes, they even 'read' to themselves... in costume! It's another frigid day here. Probably one of our last for this winter though. Positive thinking does the body good! Tonight we are heading to Waterloo to watch Matt play basketball. I may sneak a few pics and post them tomorrow. The girls LOVE watching their dad play. Should be a good time!

If you will recall, CJ took it upon herself to begin potty training. She was doing really well but has taken a mild break. I can't be upset over it... she IS only 17 months for goodness sakes. But just when you think the potty training door has closed, she surprises you. Like today. We were at our Tuesday morning playdate when she announced she had to use the bathroom. And boy she wasn't lying. But I'll just leave it at that. Miss Claudia also likes to put on her own pants. Sometimes she decides with these cold February days that one pair of pants is not enough... two is more appropriate. As you may have noticed in the above picture. We've also become very fond of Scooby Doo. And who can blame her?! I loved that show when I was little. And judging by the above picture she has also become a fan of chocolate... or whatever food is on her face. :) Have you noticed all the plastic on our beautiful windows? I really don't like it. Although it does keep us warm in ...

They grow up so fast, eh? Ha!! In the last few days CJ has started 'feeding' her baby. She also dragged out a changing pad, diapers and wipes in attempt to change my friend's 10 month old baby. It was really sweet and really funny! The first week of February was kinda rough on us. It had something to do with the weather and being cooped up and well, I guess that was it. BUT, today is the start to a new week and it's gonna be a good one. I can feel it!

Each Tuesday morning after Kate finishes preschool we get together with some friends in town. It is an all girl group. Not one little boy. Three moms, seven little girls (all 5 and under) and even the various pets are girls! Lisa LeAnn Sarah Dani Cali Marissa Sydney Emily Kate Claudia And the best part of all this? Everyone gets along brilliantly!

Kate and the 'good luck bear' are waiting patiently for the Superbowl this coming Sunday. And that is about all we have going on around here. No school. No playing outside in the freshly fallen snow. (Toooooooo cold!) Too many cartoons. At least the groundhog didn't see his shadow! Spring is around the corner!  Right? A groundhog wouldn't lie, would it? GO PACKERS! Get those stinky Steelers!

Today is February 1st and while my heart sings for spring the view outside my window says otherwise. Thanks for the tulips, Matt! They are my favorite. One day we will see tulips like these in our gardens. But for now... Let's go build a snowman in a blizzard.  :)