Colleen, I just turned 55, and I still have the fondest memories of my favorite childhood book, "The Monster At The End Of This Book" which features Grover from Sesame Street. I'm tearing up thinking of my younger self asking my angel Mother to read that book with me every day. I miss her so much, lost her when I was 19, to cancer. Cherish every moment with your babies. The days are long, but the years are short. Much love. ❤️

Colleen! I think you should use a flat head screwdriver and hammer instead of a chisel to open the small geodes. I think that maybe they wouldn’t shatter then! Just a suggestion

Colleeeen! I’m a professional bread baker and here are some tips- don’t add salt immediately with the yeast, salt kills the yeast. Also kneading the bread would dramatically improve the texture! Just pop it into your kitchen aid for 8-10 mins and it’ll be great. Next, you could also rest the dough for 20 mins after shaping it into balls but the most important step- DO NOT CUT INTO YOUR BREAD WHILE ITS HOT. I know how tempting warm bread is, you can always re heat it but cutting into hot bread will completely dry it out and also the starches haven’t gelatinised fully which means you’re eating raw bread which means tummy aches! Hope this helps❤️

Amelia Bedlia books, I think the younger kids would find funny.

Interactive Book suggestion (because I loved this growing up, & so have my kids) is: The Monster at the end of this Book - starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover 😊

You should photograph your rock collection. Your spiral could be beautiful photography artwork, I would love to see it in my house!!!

The Stinky Cheese Man is a great book. My little guys LOVE it. They also LOVE the I Need A New Butt books. They are hysterical

3:44 I care very much about your rock content. I love watching it, and I wish I could afford the time, money, and space to have rock tumblers like you and tumbke rocks. However, because I still live amd always will live with my parents, I can never have the freedom to tumble rocks. So I’m glad I get to watch you do what you love like this.

I hope my child looks back on today And sees a mother who had time to play. There will be years for cleaning and cooking, But children grow up when you’re not looking. Tomorrow I’ll do all the chores you can mention But today, my baby needs time and attention. So settle down cobwebs; dust go to sleep, I’m cuddling my baby, and babies don’t keep. This was my favourite poem when my children were growing up. I had it framed on my wall to remind me. Thank you for jogging my memory as my children are now 25, 24, 22 and 20. I must pass it on to my 24 year old daughter who has a 3 and 2 year old. 🩷

This isn't a super "interactive" book, but 10 In The Bed is my 2 year old's favorite book right now. The ending line of each page is "Move over, move over!" and he loves to say that part with me. It's similar to that episode of Bluey where Bingo sings "roll over, roll over", and then someone falls out of the bed.

Funny enough, two weeks before you announced your pregnancy with the twins, even your pregnacy at all I had a dream where I watched a video of yours announcing a twin pregnancy! When you posted the first video I was shocked, but when you announced it was twins it was honestly surreal!!

Book suggestions... anything by Julia Donaldson...The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, A squash and a Squeeze, super worm, The whale and the snail, The smartest giant in town, The gruffalo's child, Stickman,, Tabby McTat, Tiddler, Charlie Cooks favourite book, Monkey Puzzle.. My kids are now 20 and 17 but both loved these books when they were small. Great illustrations too ! Love you Colleen, been following you for almost 10 years 💜

Harold & The Purple Crayon children's book for your kids! A little boy builds his own worlds with his crayon.

Dust if you must is such a good poem…. There is one like that about being a mom… been to many years for me to remember

The Rock Spiral! Wow! You should put that on a canvas , under glass & on the wall!beautiful🪨also, your voice x jewel…Incredible!! I cant wait for you & miranda to get back to shows & singing!

There was a ladybird book of poetry when was little called when daddy fell into the pond my sister bought the book a few years ago as it was the one we both remember from childhood Daddy Fell Into The Pond. Everyone grumbled. The sky was grey. We had nothing to do and nothing to say. We were nearing the end of a dismal day, And there seemed to be nothing beyond, THEN Daddy fell into the pond! And everyone's face grew merry and bright, And Timothy danced for sheer delight. 'Give me the camera, quick, oh quick! He's crawling out of the duckweed.' Click! Then the gardener suddenly slapped his knee, And doubled up, shaking silently, And the ducks all quacked as if they were daft And is sounded as if the old drake laughed. O, there wasn't a thing that didn't respond WHEN Daddy fell into the pond! Alfred Noyes

Your tree is a Redbud. Pinky purple flowers in spring, heart shaped red leaves, pretty Fall finished too

TTQ: Is it possible to tumble the smaller geodes? Like if u tumbled them long enough would it remove all the ugly dusty outside bits and just have a pretty sparkly rock? Also just read the smaller ones ur only supposed to tap gently and rotate so they don’t shatter.

Myfavorite children’s book is “The monster At The End Of the Book” with lovable furry old Grover

When I was a child my parents had two train accidents. Before each one I dreamed about them. Both my parents walked away from them. They were within 3 months of each other.

Can you place the geode on a towel or a silicone mat? Propped up on all sides so you get a consistent whack? I wonder if it's weakening in a bunch of spots so when it finally breaks, it shatters.

Book suggestion: GUESS AGAIN! By Mac Barnett It will have your kids rolling! The rhyme leads you to believe the next page is a picture of one thing, but it’s way different than that and SILLY. My 6 kids LOVE that book!

I read something somewhere as a reminder that 75% of the time you'll ever get to spend with your kids is over by the time they turn 12 And 90% of your time with them is gone by the time they're 18 So slow down, BE PRESENT + enjoy these short, sweet years - other things can wait

I had a crazy dream whilst I was pregnant with my son (now 4 months old) where one day I was pregnant and then out of nowhere he was here. Had no recollection of the birth in the dream. A week later I went into hospital to be induced to have my baby and ended up having to have an emergency c section where I was put to sleep. So I literally woke up and my baby was already born! I remembered the dream I had and was so creeped out as it was basically the same thing where i didn’t remember the birth because I wasn’t awake. I definitely believe some dreams prepare us for the future. Just thought was a crazy story I had to tell you! Love you so much xxx

A book that your kids might like that I loved when I was kid is the pokey little puppy. It was my favorite as a kid and still my favorite even though I am an adult now.

Book suggestion. This is a Swedish childrens book, that my daughter likes, its interractive in the sense the book doesnt want you to read it, but you do it anyways and it makes up a bunch of rules you as a parent has to do, or the way you read it changes. "The book that did not want to be read" by David Sundin

Yeeehaw! So glad your Vlog posted now… so I can watch while on my lunch break! ❤😊

Colleen! Book idea. My kids love this book!! The wonkey donkey!

maybe try using a smaller hammer with the tiny geodes so they don't shatter?

Colleen. You are hitting the rocks with too much force, look up how ppl do huge rock cute, tiny tiny taps and it will crack girl!

I had a dream of someone chasing me and I was running in slow motion and I tried so hard to run faster and never did.. it was terrifying for me as a kid😢 this dream hounted me through out my childhood .. don't know the meaning

Don't apologize for your hands, and be nice to yourself! My hands look just like yours and I know you wouldn't call me/mine disgusting like you called yours !

Book suggestion! Who Is Melvin Bubble by Nick Bruel. So silly lol it was my first born's fav ❤ I used different voices for each character, so many giggles and memories ❤

For an interactive book I would suggest The Jolly Postman. Some other books I would recommend are Interrupting Chicken, Silly Tilly, and Dragons Love Tacos. I loved those as a kid

I understand the dream thing! I had a dream once where I was driving, and I went to get on the interstate. On the on ramp, there was a cop and he said "You can't get on right now. The interstate is closed" and so I turned around and went in a different direction. The next morning, I was driving to work (on a highway) and I kept thinking about how weird that dream was, and I came up on a standstill. Traffic was STOPPED and the highway I was on was CLOSED because of a horrible crash involving a semi and a car.. they directed us off of the highway, through a small neighborhood, and then back onto the highway past the crash. That was the first one that I noticed. and they've continued since. It's scary!

I love you Colleen! Geodes I have seen were sawn with a diamond tipped blade. Perhaps Rachel with all her power tools could assist you with this. Your pictures of child you are so Miranda-ish. Adorable.

Everrybody poops! Your kids will think it’s hilarious or give a mouse a cookie!

Try putting it in a vice .it will hold it tight for you

I once interviewed a guy who was an expert on dreams and he blew my mind when he said our dreams are our subconscious trying to tell us something. I’d always considered them like turning on the tv and watching a movie. Never occurred to me until then that I was making the movie. My most vivid dream, which still haunts me, is that I’m walking through a neighborhood and the colors are so vivid they should be painful to see, but they aren’t. I walk by a window and my grandmother reaches out and hands me a baby. Then she gets this very old-fashioned metal box with flowers painted on it and motions me to put the baby inside. I do and she closes the lid. I panic and quickly open the box and the baby has turned into a rubber doll. Then my grandma says, "This is your destiny." No idea what it meant but I’ve never forgotten it.

I think the kidnapping dream is a result of the Are You Afraid of The Dark episode with Tia and Tamera Mowery. I rewatched it last Halloween and they chose wrong too!

Book Suggestion for your kiddos that were my babies favorites- “There’s a Dragon in your Book” by Tom Fletcher. Adorably interactive with several spin-offs, Monster, Unicorn, Superhero, Alien, Witch, Elf, ect. Happy Reading to you, Flynn, Wesley & Maisy! 💛

I wonder if you used a smaller chisel of that would help with the shattering of the geode.

Being a musical theater girl myself, I often dream about being pulled into a show last minute and I don’t know my lines, can’t find my costume/makeup/shoes, you name it! Awful! I also dream I’m calling 911 for an emergency and I can’t get through! 😭

Hello Colleen! Good Afternoon; those rocks look good. I really love when you're cooking food. That was cool, what was inside the rock.

Haven't watched the video yet, but I'm assuming she doesn't mean the really weird one where she was with the rock??

Omg Colleen I also have the most intense vivid dreams sometimes!! I go lucid (when you know your dreaming) and I was fully walking around in this other world so confused it’s so scary a lot of the time if it’s a nightmare and I’m lucid I can’t even wake myself up when I try and open my eyes it’s like I’m trapped in a astral projection! The weird dreams could be due to my mental health medications 😂 💊

My favourite book from my childhood was Grandad Pot (Grandpa Bud in the USA) by Siobhan Dodds. It's one i remember my dad reading to my sister and I regularly and my sister and I reciting it back to him. Honestly, such a great book and one im sure Maisy for sure will love 💕

Thank you so much Colleen! You made my year remembering to sing Jewel!!! You freaking rock! 😁💕 So did you or are you going to try the lash lift? I haven't worn makeup in years but my interest was piqued when you mentioned a lash lift. Is it like a mascara or something different?

tortilla talk question: what is your love language?

LOL my ocean/ swimming dreams mean I need to pee. Dreams where I'm being chased are always my PMS dreams

That last geode was amazing! I got some at Michaels that are pretty good but all very similar. The have neat round spikey ball formations of crystals in them. I convinced my mom to open one, and she got, what we found out was, a thunder egg! She was so mad because she didn’t want to do it in the first place. Then, we had an impossible time opening it. I put the pieces in the tumbler!

Hi Colleen, My kids loved "How Many Bugs in a Box?: A Pop-up Counting Book (David Carter's Bugs)" There is a whole series of them. So cute and with Flynn liking bugs these would be amazing!!!

You need a tiny little chisel for the small ones

If you have never read the Froggy books you should! It’s a very fun book series and have fun words to pronounce and repeat.

My favorite childhood book was always the velveteen rabbit, it’s a story about a stuffed rabbit wanting to become real, for some reason this book makes me sob now hahah but it’s always stuck with me and I think you would enjoy it! Also the book Stone soup was one of my all time favorites! (And my families since our last name is stone loll)

❤Take care all.

The dream with "double" parents sounds so terrifying, poor little Colleen 💔

I love when you talk about Rocks and they are so beautiful and unique and amazing ❤❤❤❤

Tom Fletcher of McFly has written a whole serious of books, the first one is called “There’s a monster in your book”. They’re great.

Hi 👋🏻 ❤ Love the cat sweatshirt ❤Edit: Can we see how you style the current hair length??? ❤

The Circus Ship is a fun interactive book ! I have a dream dictionary too it’s fun haven’t looked at it in along time will have to get it out again! I have ocean scary dreams too sometimes! Can’t wait to see the polished rocks from your trip!

You should get the book “Shake your sillies out”

I loved the book In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak. It is a Caldecott honor award winner. I read it to my kids and gave it to my great nephew. He loved the book at age 3 so much he memorized the story and would "read" it as he turned the pages.

You rock. Just had a birthday and wish to meet you one day

"There's a Monster in Your Book" series is a great interative book series that my nanny kiddos always love!

My daughter loved the book “The Turtle and the Moon” by Charles Turner when she was little.

When I was maybe 8-10 my grandma signed me up for swimming lessons at the YMCA. While she was doing the paperwork i was looking at the pool, they had a wall sized window so you could see into the pool. I had my first class the next week. Within that we i had a dream, it was me splashing in the pool with my back to the wall. On my first day the first thing they taught us was how to kick. They had us sit against the wall and kick with our legs. It was the exact image i saw in my dream. Ever since then I’ve believed i can see the future(some other things have happened to me in dreams that end hp happening irl).

Book Rec!! 'The Giant Jam Sandwhich' was my favorite book as a child, and I read it to my girls every night at bedtime when they were little, and they memorized it and still recite it, 18 years later. I think Flynn would love it. ❤️ 🫶

Please wear glasses 7:15

Your vlogs have become my 3 year old and my's favorite nighttime routine. We also love to look for rocks together. Thank you so much for that! ❤️

Yummy Yucky was one of daughter’s favorites when she was around the twins age. Very silly and fun. Also, look up Hooray Heroes!! You make your own book. You design the characters to be like your family and you choose which little stories to go along with. I got it for my husband for Father’s Day one year and he couldn’t get enough of it. Our daughter is now 9 and still loves for us to read it to her ❤

I got waves of goosebumps and shivers when colleen did that long note (before a chomp of glorious buttered bread) of "who will save your soul" 😍 Absolutely sublime! I adore her voice so much! Especially when it's a powerful note! ❤❤

That one rock looked like an alien lounging in it. So awesome when you shone the light on it for the glow.

the magic tree house was an AMAZING series when i was in 2nd-5th grade. it’s a bit of a chapter book

Cat comment: i’m a current vet student and we just learned about cat aggression and the clinician in class said that aggression between cats increases when there are 3 or more cats in a house. Would love for you to be able to get another kitten but would hate for it to cause problems just wanted to inform you and maybe you can talk to your vet about more

Hi! When I was younger I used to have the most horribly vivid nightmares as well and I can remember almost ever single one to this day! My mom is a superhero and did some investigating on my daily habits to see what could be causing said dreams, turns out she noticed I would always have dairy before bed wether it be ice cream, Milk, cheese with dinner etc. so she stopped letting me have those things at a certain time during the day and from that day forward I haven’t had nightmares!! I do have a dairy sensitivity so it does make sense but as I’ve grown up it has gotten much better and now I can have dairy before bed without the nightmares!! Could just be something you are sensitive to that you are eating or a habit that you do everyday. Keep a dream journal and write down what nights you have nightmares and try and recap what you did the day before. I hope this helps!!♥️♥️ love you EDIT!!! I do still have nightmares on occasion like everybody else but not every night like it used to be lol just wanted to clarify

I have constant nightmares but it’s obvious people in real life that cause me stress then are chasing after me or trying to hurt me in my dreams.

Where did you get your shirt I love it!?

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus is an awesome book that can lead you to so many different conversations about feelings, saying “No,” following directions, etc. And it’s great for role playing

I got really excited over your green rocks today! 🥰

Book suggestions: -Elephant and piggy: We are in a book -Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus (all pigeon books) - Do not open this book -the day the crayons quit and enemy pie (these 2 are not interactive but are some my 1st graders love)

I love the lavender rock so much!💜

You got a collander to rinse your rocks that FITS the bucket! Atta girl. 🙂

Uh, this video is AMAZING! Kind of crazy how you still make such amazing content! Um, I wanted to say something else... Let's see... Oh! Every video you make, makes my day better! Love watching your stuff every day! Epic vid today especially! Good work!

Exploding geodes, close your eyes 😂

Tom Fletcher has written a bunch of books that are interactive and they're SO GOOD. My favourite is "There is a Dragon in Your Book" but there are tons in the series. There's a Monster in Your Book was the first I think. You do things like flap the books wings and give the dragon a high 5, blow out fire and spin the book around etc. My almost 4 year old absolutely loves them and has since about age 2. 1000% recommended.

I have to tell you.. my husband brought home a rented excavator from Home Depot to pull a stump and I learned how to use and drive it and I was thinking about your kids the whole time and how cool Flynn would think I am!! ❤❤❤

One of my favorite Jewel songs and you killed! That was so fun! I’m going to see her and Melissa Etheridge in August! I so excited!💕

Book: When I Grow Up: Yankovic, Al, Hargis, Wes

The kids book 'I just ate my friend' is amazing and always good for a laugh!

Been a fan since 2014🙏🏾

The pigeon books!! Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus, the pigeon has to go to school, etc etc We have the entire collection and they are so funny and our kids love them!!

Your rocks would be so cool put on a canvas in those spirals!

Suggestion (that you don’t have to take but you might like!): get into resin art! You can arrange your rocks in the way you’ve been liking to to show us, but preserve it forever in resin and that way you can hang it as wall art or as a paper weight!

Book suggestion: Press Here! Or any book by Herve Tullet - most are interactive

I never comment on videos but this is so weird. I also have dreams of turbulent storms, but so many nightmares of being chased. Also as a kid I had vivid dreams of being kidnapped and I still have dreams of fake like “clones” of people I know and getting tricked or other people not believing me when I say that isn’t the real person. I really wonder what these dreams mean.

BOOK SUGGESTION: There's a UKposts channel called Beth & Coop. Cooper is deaf, and his mom Beth wrote a book about different children with disabilities or illnesses. It's called "The ABCs of Inclusion: A Disability Inclusion Book for Kids" It's an amazing book to teach children about all the different kinds of children in the world.

It's cool that you glue the geodes together but girl you don't have to spend all your time doing that. We would like it either way 😅

You might have this already from a previous recommendation, but The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch is awesome!

Wreak This Journal - Keri Smith The twins are possibly too young but I bought my cousin one when she was thirteen or older. I carry and use one for actual journaling. But it gives me an outlet to not become too caught up in life. It keeps me grounded between fun things and just being slightly silly at times. Life’s too short and some folks are far too serious. It’s my outlet when writing and looking to be creative. I think your entire family would enjoy them. I definitely could see Rachel making videos about the journal and feeling far more carefree. But yeah… Look into them and Flynn would probably enjoy the journals within a few years. It’s an activity book for all ages. Anyhow I hope these maybe helpful. Take care… And journal on.