Happy Halloween!

This was the year that Halloween clicked for Corvin and Mazzie and they had a blast. They may look a little glum (particularly Corvin) in these pictures, but that was because they refused to nap at nap time, then promptly fell asleep on the car ride to Boulder.

We did the Munchkin Masquerade on Pearl Street in Boulder (Halloween for little kids trick or treating businesses), then we took a little break for dinner and pumpkin carving and headed out for a short second round of trick or treating in our neighborhood. Revved up on lollipops and chocolate, Corvin and Mazzie were racing from door to door trying to be the one to ring the bell. Pure magic.

Happy Halloween!

Today we are three

Happy birthday, Corvin and Mazzie!

 

Before and After

Our family's budget is the tightest it will be right now. I work part-time so that I can be home more with Corvin and Mazzie and we pay for daycare for two children. But this year seemed to be the right time for our family to buy a house. So we did.

To afford something here in Boulder County we needed a fixer upper that wasn't too expensive to fix up. All of the important stuff is new or newer (HVAC, roof, etc.) I love, love, LOVE beautiful colors, so I was on a mission to paint our home in bright colors, calming colors, rich colors. I did most of the painting during one intense, long week in the middle of September.

This is the first time that our friends and family have seen our house.What do you think? Before and after... (Before pictures were taken the day that we toured it with the realtor.)

Outside

Okay, no after picture - haven't changed anything - but thought you'd want to know what it looks like from the outside. We are eager to work on the outside, but inside came first.

Family Room

BEFORE (This "dusty rose" color was used throughout the first floor. Totally dreary.)

AFTER - We picked the family room color to be bright, but more importantly to compliment the Ween print over the  fire place.

Kitchen

BEFORE - As a renter, I've had to live with this type of old school wooden cabinet and was excited to finally have the opportunity to do something about it.

AFTER - Woohoo! The only difference is paint and we took the scalloping off over the sink.

Office

BEFORE - The colors weren't terrible, but I didn't really like them

AFTER - Soft blue to contrast with my bright orange bookshelf and lots of white so that when I work on art the colors are true.

 Corvin and Mazzie's Room

BEFORE - This was a very dark blue.

AFTER - Mazzie's pink wall and Corvin's blue wall - wanted the same level of shade for these as for the curtain that we have (green) that we will eventually hang.

 Dining Room

AFTER - Didn't take BEFORE picture. Walls had been the same dusty rose color as shown in the family room picture.

 Living Room

AFTER - Didn't take BEFORE picture. Walls had been the dusty rose color shown in the family room picture (above).

 

A Little Break from Change - Up in the Mountains

Hi All,

As many of you know by now, I have started a new blog/business, www.heartledwoman.com. This new blog draws together my desire to be creative, love of my children, and an exploration into the cultural side of addressing global climate change.

As a mama to two little people, global climate change is a serious concern for me. I want Corvin and Mazzie to have long joyous lives. If climate change is as evident as it is now (massive wild fires, heat waves, Hurricane Katrina, powerful tornadoes, crazy hail storms, droughts, freak storms) what will it be like five years from now? Ten years?

My question is, how can people become meaningfully engaged in doing their part to address global climate change? I think that a big part of the answer is to inspire people and make them feel good about it.

Through my new blog, I intend to remind women of their power. Today's Western woman is the most privileged woman in history, benefiting from more wealth and freedom than any woman before her. We enjoy an unprecedented ability to make a difference. Some of us need to be reminded of it and we all need to tap into it. I will also celebrate motherhood and children, and raise awareness of global climate change. This hodgepodge makes perfect sense in my mind; I think that we need to tap into our hearts (our children are a great avenue) to find the will to do what needs to be done to leave a remarkable, wonderful legacy.

I am selling The Heart-Led Woman's Intention Planner, and art and other goodies for women and children.

My final plug for Heart-Led Woman: I will be posting pictures of the kids there (not as many or often as the Daily Camel, but pics you may not otherwise see).

 Please come enjoy my new blog and website and if you want to hear The Heart-Led Woman's Story of How We Listened to Our Hearts and Made the World's Weather Better for Our Children, sign up for my e-newsletter (go to the www.heartledwoman.com to sign up). In all likelihood I will continue to post here, but you can see that it has become more challenging as my time is now split between being a mom, a part-time job, and starting my new business and blog. Oh yes, and we are in the process of purchasing a home! 

And now for the part that I know you are really interested in ; ) Pics from yesterday's trip to the mountains - a little respite from all of the busyness.