My domestic prowess has been put into question lately. Even though I will not go anywhere near a sewing machine or ironing board, I excel in the kitchen.

Usually.

Ask Amber How to Burn Noodles

I am glad you asked this question because it is very rare that one is able to accomplish such a feat using only spaghetti noodles and water.

The process: have a dinner party with only 15 minutes to cook four large packages of noodles. Grab a large sauce pan, fill with water, heat to boiling and then cram all the noodles inside the pan. Leave the noodles to hurriedly prepare your family for the party. Make sure not to stir them even once. Return 10 minutes later to find the noodles clumped together, stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Voila, burnt noodles!

Editor’s Note: Also make sure you leave the pan soaking in the sink for a minimum of two weeks, hoping the stubborn spots will mysteriously disappear. Or just secretly hope your husband will take care of it.

Editor’s Note No. 2: He won’t. Read on …

Carrying on a tradition from Bryan’s grandmother, Declan’s Grandma has been sending him cards with bits of cash in them for the past year or so. Lately, it’s been 5 dollars since Declan is, well, 5 years old. The only problem with this is now every time Declan gets anything in the mail - he holds it up in the air and shakes it, expecting money to whimsically float past his eyes like a capitalist’s dream.

At first, I will admit we approached the problem the wrong way. We asked Grandma to slow down the money train. Not only did that hurt her feelings, but hello. It stopped the money train.

A few weeks ago, I noticed an article about teaching your child to be money-savvy. And since Bryan and are the furthest thing in the world from money-savvy, I figured we could teach Declan, and in turn he could teach us. Read on …

Got cute kids? They could land you on the slopes! Summit Cove, a family-friendly condo rental company in Keystone, is offering two tickets to ski Keystone Resort. And all we need is a picture of your little cutie!

Cheri Reesburgh is an avid Mile High Mamas reader and manages Summit Cove with her hubby. They currently have more than 100 condos in their rental pool and they encourage all their owners to cater their units to families. Before deciding on a unit, guests can view all amenities for each condo including whether it has a high chair, pack and play, children’s toys and proximity to a playground. Talk about the ideal family-friendly accommodations!

Summit Cove will do a 15% off discount to anybody who books with them, using the code, “milehigh.”

To enter our giveaway for the Keystone ski tickets, simply download a picture of your cutie to our Cute Kid Pics. Then drop us an email at with the name of your photo in the subject line. The winner will be randomly selected on March 4th at 9 a.m.!

When Nini, my sister-in-law, and I stepped off the elevator and into the crowd at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, we didn’t know which way to go.

We had just left my car on the eighth floor roof of the parking garage. The fact I had to drive up the equivalent of the most extreme curly slide in the world should indicate how intensely busy the DCPA was this past Saturday night. I was feeling a bit turned around and food-intoxicated from the massive Prime Rib dinner I had just devoured over on 16th Street. For our Girl’s Night Out we chose a restaurant where the menus are not laminated and napkins don’t pop out of a magic silver box.

The crowd was diverse and happy to be out on such a beautifully mild February night. Neither of us had been to any performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, so we decided to pick people out of the crowd who looked like they were going to the ballet, as opposed to going to cage fighting. We’d follow them. A group of rouged ladies in long furry coats seemed promising, so we hooked on to the train of Chanel in the air and followed them to Read on …

After 3 years and 9 months, I can almost say that Hurricane Hadley is potty trained. If you are thinking, “Oh, great. Another potty training post. My kids have been trained for years and what does this have to do with me?”

It has everything to do with you…and the rest of mankind. Studies have shown the air pollutants exhumed from Hadley were high enough to break down the ozone layers. The kid was a serious environmental hazard.

Join me as I reflect upon my two-year journey into Potty Training Hell…and Beyond.

March 2006: We brought home our first potty amidst great fanfare. Hadley was enthusiastic about being a big girl and using the potty. It was a bald-faced lie. Read on …

Congratulations to Karen J., winner of our pendant and earrings giveaway!

I am always eager to support local entrepreneurs but Kerry MacLean took her ideas to a new level by writing award-winning children’s books about Colorado. Join us for a fun Q&A and enter to win two of her books, the perfect gift for any Colorado kid!

Q. Tell us about your books about Colorado. What was the inspiration?

A. It all started with Pigs Over Boulder. I went to the store to buy my children a fun book about living in Boulder and to my shock, there wasn’t one! I realized other parents would be wanting books to help their children familiarize themselves with their home town or state – I wanted to offer something that would help our children take pride in who they are and where they come from. Read on …

Each month, Mile High Mamas will feature a different mama blogger from our blogroll (our listing of Colorado’s hottest mom blogs). We have chosen Amy from Crunchy Domestic Goddess for our latest spotlight. Amy is a fascinating mama who is a firm believer in green living and natural birthing.

1) What is the history behind the name of your blog “Crunchy Domestic Goddess?”

I began my blog rather on a whim, excited after receiving a positive response to my first letter as an activist. I wanted a blog title that I felt defined me as a rather new stay-at-home-mom AKA “domestic goddess.” Since I was the most environmentally-conscious of my then-friends, I felt the moniker “crunchy” (AKA granola) was a good choice. My blog started out as “Musings of a crunchy domestic goddess,” but after a while I dropped the first part to make it a bit more compact. Read on …