Meets all criteria

I am pretty sure that Kevin believes that I have lost my mind. In the past 6 months, I have committed to some changes in my family. I have "gone green" in my attempt to preserve the earth for future generations and recycling has become a routine for Kevin and I. It is amazing how much less garbage we have now and I am even considering trading in our huge kirby for a smaller one. (save $ too). Recycling does require some extra effort not only as we separate and sort, but also because we do not have a recycle pick up service available. The local center is not far away, but it is really cold out and drop off is not fun. I have also become more conscious of the foods that we buy. I purchase organic as often as possible and I have researched what foods are locally made. I am also always aware of what packaging can be recycled and try to find products that are minimally packaged. On top of all of this, I am always trying to budget. OK, so this is all leading up to the perfect find today. I was at the store today and found an Aunt Millies (local) Organic Flax Seed Bread on sale. Yeah. I was so excited. The packaging was minimal and it is ultra healthy and actually tasty. When I told Kevin about this exciting find, he simply rolled his eyes at me. Maybe when my children are older, I will find more exciting activities, but for now the grocery store is the highlight of my week.

Daddy's little girl(s)

Imagine a couple hundred little girls dressed in poofy red dresses and hairspray in their hair holding onto daddy's hands and dancing to Hannah Montana songs. What could be better. Haylee's father-daughter Valentine's dance was last night and as you can see, Haylee was beaming. (I think that Daddy was too) As the two of them walked excitedly out the door for dinner and dancing, I felt a little twinge of sadness. I felt sad that Mackenna got all dressed up too because she saw her sister do it, and could not go. "Next year, Kenna, I promise!" is all that I could say. She seemed OK with that, but I was still a bit heartbroken. I also felt sad that my husband is not excited about photography, because it is not likely that I will ever have any pictures of the event itself. I will only have to imagine. ): The most upsetting thing for me, though, was that I knew there were children in the area that probably could not attend because they did not have a dad or other father figure to take them. I know that there are plenty of divorced homes where dad is not a part of child's life and there are some families whose loved one is serving over seas. I really feel for them. We are very lucky girls in this house to have such a great daddy and husband.

Basketball mom

You have heard of a soccer mom, and I am definately one of them, but this time of year I am a basketball mom. Haylee started basketball for the first time this year and Daddy is her coach. This has been a growing experience for all of us. Haylee is truly loving the game, whether it is because coach is also her father or she loves getting in peoples personal space. Either way, she has been aggresive and excited about playing. Her team is called the Nuggets and Mackenna sits on the little chairs that line the tiny elementary gym and yells "Go Nuggets" for the entire 32 minutes of a running clock. Claire believes that all of the 1st and 2nd grade girls running around the gym with the ball must be calling her out to the floor to play, because I spend most of the game holding onto the back of her shirt to drag her back from the court. I was scolded last week by the coach for being a loud fan as I yelled out "suggestions" to the players. Oh well, I know him well and I was much better behaved today. I hope that Haylee continues to love the game and that next year we might also have Mackenna playing too.

Happy Birthday Kenna

We just celebrated Mackenna's 5th birthday. At our a house a fifth birthday is a big celebration. We usually have a large party for our children and this was no exeption. We had a princess party at our house on Saturday with many of Kenna's friends and enjoyed Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake and a Tinkerbelle pinata. Mackenna recieved some thoughtful gifts from her friends and family including this froofy dress from her great grandma. We need to remember to talk to Kenna next year about gift recieving etiquette. She thought that opening cards first was just a waste of time. Maybe next year we will have to practice before her birthday.