Going Green!!!

Going Green has been an obsession of mine for a while now. Jason is not as much on board as I would like but that is okay. I am trying to find ways that I can slowly change our lifestyles to be more proactive in saving the earth. I have always taught my kids the usual things about it. No throwing trash on the ground, turn the water off when you are brushing your teeth and things like that. Now I think it is time to step it up a notch. I recently got some reusuable grocery bags to take with me to the store. I also have been trying to not take a plastic bag when I run in for just a few items. I just hand carry them out. Of course Jason is all about saving money so he was all about changing all the bulbs out in the house. We also had to purchase a new dishwasher so we bought one that was energy star rated and dries the dishes with air and no heating element. We bought a new washer and dryer around Christmas and they are also energy star. I love them. The washer uses less detergent which is awesome. The dryer takes no time at all to dry our clothes. I know there are some ppl who are going back to the old way of hanging clothes out. I am not there yet. I hope to be someday though. I do try to hand wash dishes during the day now, just using the dishwasher for our main meal at night. We also planted some veggies and some strawberries. Although I am sure there are lots more things we can do I feel as if we are onto a good start. I will try to keep updates on here as we do more.

I Blinked!!!!!

And they have all gotten so grown up. Even Rylan is just beyond my imagination these days. He says things that are so funny. Brailyn is almost 8 now. I can still remember bringing her home from the hospital. I think back to those days and smile at how far we have come. She was the light of my life and all I had ever wanted. I felt like the luckiest girl on earth when I had her. Blessed beyond words. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that The Lord would give me four kids of my very own. I was just happy to have one and did not want to seem selfish. Now that I have them all there is not a day that goes by that I do not take just a moment to be thankful for them. Even in the midst of the chaos I find solace and know that I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have them.
Graycin learned to ride her bike yesterday with no training wheels. As I sat on the porch and watched Brailyn "teach" her I felt such warmth in my heart. They are the typical sisters..... Fight one minute and friends the next. Graycin was so proud of herself and Brailyn could not cheer her on enough.
Keagin is playing teeball now and is LOVING it to say the least. Given the fact that ball was his first word I think we all knew he would take to it like a duck to water. He has his dad out there everyday practicing. I cannot wait until the first game. Watching my baby hit the ball and run to base is going to be awesome.
I am going to try to get on here more often and update so everyone can keep up with us and our busy lives.

operation

So tonight we decided to get out one of the games the kids got for Christmas. Kids choice was OPERATION. An old favorite from my childhood so I was excited. Well..... that soon turned to utter embarrassment. My kids who might I remind you are 7,5, and 4 beat the snot out of me and Jason. I think it is rigged. Somehow that little red nosed man knew when it was one of us holding the tweezers. I swear those kids would rub the metal and nothing....Let me or Jason even breathe on it and it was sure to buzz. Of course the kids got a kick out of it. Finally a game that they could win. So as you can imagine we played like 5 times.
Even though we lost it was still amazing. I love making memories with them. I know that it will not be long and they will have no time for their dear ole' mommy. I will have to hug and kiss em' when no one is looking . I am sure that the nights spent playing games will be the last thing on their minds. I hope though that when they come back down from their teenage high they will remember that we always tried to do what was best for them. Even when they did not think so.
For now though I guess I will just enjoy what time I have with them even if they are beating me at all the games....

Happy New Year!!!1

Today is the 6th of January and I know that most of you are thinking that I am a little late. That is only true by society standards. I am actually right on time in my book. I am not one to follow rules so this is just another case in point. I am not really into making resolutions for the New Year. I know a ton of people who do and I think that it is a great thing if you want to participate. I just do not wish to take part in it. I did however ask my kids last night what they wanted for the New Year and their answers were quite colorful. Brailyn wants to get a cell phone and also she said she will try to be nicer to her sister. Keagin said he thinks he is going to play football for the new year and he wants to learn to count to 1000. Graycin was not so eager to set any goals for herself (like mother like daughter i suppose) but when I said I really thought she should think about it she finally said she was going to work on being a rockstar. As all this was going on Rylan was just running around getting into everything so the other kids collectively decided he should try to stay out of things this year. I silently thought that there is no chance of that and the worst is yet to come.
As far as me and Jason go I am not sure what to say about what we have planned for the new year. I know that for myself I plan to take more time for myself and spend less time worrying about people and things that do not matter. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed and unfortunately I think I have let others mess that up for me. I sometimes let other people and their foolishness get me down. So if I were to make a resolution which I am not it would simply be to live my life my way .
Jason says he just wants us to all be happy and he wants to make lasting memories with the kids this year.
I think that is important as well and I know we will do our best.