I’m so glad you’re here!
Hi! Welcome to Catching Crawfish! My name is Chelsi. My husband and I, along with our four boys, a dog, and a small flock of chickens live in rural Northern Colorado. Catching Crawfish began when my children were small and our days were spent…
Books
The Legend of Captain McGray coming soon! Click here to find out how to get your hands (or hooks!) on a copy.
Photography
Whether it’s just needing updated pictures for your walls or you have a special occasion coming up, I would love to capture it for you! Email me with any questions or to schedule a photo session.
That Awkward Stage of Motherhood
You know that stage of motherhood when your children are too old for mommy and me playdates, but you’re not quite ready to throw your lot in with the Empty Nesters Knitting Needles Group? When you catch yourself pointing out cows as you drive to an empty back seat, routinely pulling out grey hairs, and contemplating bangs to hide your wrinkles? That stage. The one when you send all your children off too school every morning and are so ready to spread your wings of independence, but are afraid to fly.
Ahh, the middle school years of motherhood. Minus the pimples… unless you eat an entire tray of brownies because you don’t have any children around to remind you that you’re supposed to be the adult. Please tell me this awkward stage passes quickly.
Stop the Hate
It breaks my heart that our most vulnerable, our most innocent are being drug into this ugly fight. That they are being used as pawns in a political game is so sad. We love to talk about the dangers of bullying, how it’s totally unacceptable. No one wants their kid to be the bully. But if we were to look at our own actions over the past weeks and months, are we not doing the very thing that we persistently preach to our children about?
Be kind. Please, just be kind.
Autograph
What if, as adults, we all saw these young, budding athletes, entrepreneurs, negotiators, builders, gardeners, jokesters, dancers, and dreamers as destined for greatness? What if all they needed was someone to believe in them, to encourage them, to smile at them, to give them a chance? The world has enough doubters, disagreers, haters, and just down-right grumps. Enough people find ways to tear kids down. I wonder what would happen if every child, just once in their life, could be asked for their autograph by an adoring fan. What kind of a difference could that simple thing make in their little world—and maybe even in ours?
Life Is A…Rerouting, Take a U-Turn Here
…Maybe life is less like a highway and more like a series of one-way streets, wrong turns, u-turns, side roads, traffic jams, pot holes, missed exits, and detours. Maybe life was never meant to follow a GPS. Maybe concrete plans were meant to be broken. Maybe we were meant to scream from time to time, “Crap! I didn’t want to exit here!” Because that’s when life, with all the good, the bad, and even the seriously ugly, really happens.
The Many Utilizations of “MOM”
My kids have been obsessed with palindromes lately. In case 7th grade English class is as far back in your memory as it is for me, a palindrome is a word that is spelled the same forward as it is backward, like race car,…
One-In-A-Million
Answers to prayers often come in unexpected ways, and often with timing different than what we had hoped. But it does come exactly how we need it. Sometimes it comes in the form of a stomach bug leaving you puking your guts out in the bathroom at 2 am. Sometimes it comes in the form of a life-changing diagnosis and a reminder that He’s in control. He answers our prayers, no matter how or when or where, because we are all one-in-a-million to Him.
Unsung Heroes
Happy Father’s Day to all of the amazing dads out there who do so much. We love and appreciate you!
Best of Times, Worst of Times
Quarentine Day 44: …And then caught grasshoppers and ate them.
A New Normal
It’s been a month since life, for most of us, was normal. That’s meant less trips to the grocery store, less birthday parties to run to, less playing with friends, no sitting in a pew for church. It’s meant no baseball, no after school sports…no actual school. It’s been a lot of less and even more or none.
But, for us, it’s also meant more time as a family, more connecting with others in deeper ways, more patience, more gratitude, more faith, more awareness. For us, it’s been an abundance of more.
When life is normal again, I hope we don’t loose all that we’ve gained. New Post!
I let my kids climb up the slide
In the last 11 years, I’ve spent endless hours playing with my kids at the playground. In every park we’ve explored, I’ve discovered that there are few crimes more hainous in parenting than that of allowing your children to go up the slide. Indeed,…
What I Learned from taking a Three+ Year Break from Facebook
I’ve had this post floating around in my head for quite a while now. I haven’t really been on Facebook in well over three years, and it has been life-changing. I see the benefits and all the good that comes from staying in touch, and I certainly don’t want to condemn or discourage anyone who loves Facebook. It has a lot to offer. But, if you find yourself unhealthily comparing your body or accomplishments to others, feeling like it’s taking over your time, giving you unrealistic expectations of your relationships and the world around you, or making you dislike people you otherwise love, then maybe a break would help. Here are a few things that I’ve learned.
What I’d Tell My Pre- 4 Kid Self
Long ago, while I was a mom to just one little boy, I had a friend. She had five kids, and had grown up with nine brothers and sisters. She made parenting seem like a cinch. One day while I was visiting with her,…
Legacy
So, I can juggle. And not to brag or anything, but I’m pretty darn good. I’m talking four balls in the air, pins, rings, with a partner, bouncing… Yep. I’ve got some mad skills. I helped start a juggling club in elementary school called…
Famous Last Words–things we say as (or about) parents that maybe we shouldn’t
A couple nights back I was talking to a mom at my son’s 4th grade basketball practice. In the course of our conversation she asked how old my other boys were. When I told her that I have a middle schooler, her response was,…
Bedtime Blues
Our boys moved bedrooms around a few weeks ago, and I’ve found that this change represented more to me than I realized. One of the hardest parts of being a mom is watching our kids grow and wishing we could keep them small. Change is never easy, but it always comes. And I’m starting to learn that what we gain is often far greater than what we leave behind!
Stop Shoulding on Yourself
I have a confession. I’m not on the PTA. I still have my Christmas decorations up, I ate a piece of chocolate at 7:05 this morning, and my biggest accomplishment this past year has been organizing my linen closet and reading bedtime stories. Some…
Let Him In
Merry Christmas and lots of love from our family to yours!
Love, Chelsi and boys
Our Top 10 Favorite Christmas Picture Books This Year
Our last Christmas box to drag out of the closet each year is ths one with all of the holiday picture books because it’s so heavy. We love to get out all the decorations and make all the goodies, but cuddling up to one (or ten) Winter books stacked by the tree is definitely one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Sharing some of our favorites today, and I’d love to hear some of yours!
The Science Fair
We are just about to embark on our 5th science fair this week, and I am questioning my sanity. Between the scraps of paper, empty glue sticks, glitter, and pieces of tape littering my house, I am wondering why anyone in their right mind would sign up for this. Then I remember I’ve done it before. 11 times before. And I will probably do it again. And it will probably all be worth it in the end. Here’s to all the parents behind those school projects that give us gray hair!
Silver Lining
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for those undesirable situations that make for great stories later on. I’m thankful that time can make bad situations seem better, if not occasionally humorous. And I’m thankful that when the clouds come, there’s silver lining to make it just a little easier.
Be You
I love personality tests. Not the “Which Downton Abbey Character Are You?” type. I’m talking the real deal. Myers Briggs, Winslow Personality Assessment, Keirsey Temperament Sorter… The ones that leave you feeling completely exposed, like someone just dug out your soul and splattered it…
8 things we learned taking four small(ish) children on a 30 mile backpacking trip
This past fall we took our four boys on a backpacking trip. Ten miles in, 10 miles out, and 10 miles exploring in between. We thought we’d share a few pictures, some of the details, and a few things we learned about taking kids backpacking, in case you ever find yourself at the bottom of a mountain with little ones in tow!
Happy hiking!
Chelsi
Hello Again!
Hello old friends! It’s been years since I’ve even been on Catching Crawfish. But I’m excited (and a bit terrified!) to be back, and I hope you’ll join me on this new adventure!
One-kin-stine
I have never met a one-year-old that I didn’t find completely and utterly adorable. Their pudgy sausage fingers, their squeals of delight, their hilarious interpretations of new words that will, for better or worse, follow them the remainder of their lives (raga-lo-li-lo-li will forever…
Catching Crawfish 