Happy Birthday Maddie!

Officially 5!! Maddie had such an awesome day dancing, playing, singing, eating,,the list goes on! I cant believe how quickly the last 5 years has passed, yet I cant really remember life without her. Maddie, you bring so much sunshine into my days!! Here's a little birthday poem from mom.

A violet was born one day in March
A flower so beloved I could never explain
A scent that makes my days so sweet
A flower so beautiful I can only stare
Watching it grow is amazing to see
I only wish I could keep it forever with me.

spring..spring..spring

where oh where have you been hiding..i have missed you so!!!!!!!!!!!

Mystery Sweater

My gauge on the top part of this sweater is way off..it looks to have a 10 year old neckline & 5 year on mid/bottom. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Not really enjoying the chenille yarn on the small circular needles..but I'm so far in, it's hard to imagine ripping off all those stitches, so onward I go. This yarn is reminding me of a terrycloth shirt I wore when I was Jack's age. vintage?? vile?? I'll be sure to post the finished beast as soon as it's off the needles.

Views of a castle..

Can you guess who got a great new castle today?? Thanks mom!

Countdown to 5!!

My sweet little Maddie is turning 5!!! Yes, 5!! In just a few days. She mentions it atleat 5 times aday! Birthdays are way cool around here! Thanks Nana for the great dress, matching headband & necklace. She could hardly wait to open the early bday package & had it on just to walk over to get Jack. Since it's still winter here...she'll be wearing this with lots of layers till atleast June.

Listening to..

Loving this group.."carolina chocolate drops" http://www.carolinachocolatedrops.com/
Jackie's Minuet No. 1 Bach. He has worked on this for weeks & played it with his teacher Sunday. They sounded so good together. Wish he could play with her everday.

March March March!!

Brand new month. The green goal this month is to make my own cleaning products. The recipes I've found online are mainly with three ingredients; lemon juice, baking soda, & vinegar. All you need are those & a few empty spray bottles. I'm learning that lemons can be used as a natural antibacterial, antiseptic & bleach. Who knew?? Supposedly lemon juice can be used for cleaning soap scum. This is the one area I am worried about sticking with for natural products..da da da duuumm...the SHOWER. Oh that is a monster to clean. I'm hoping I can avoid bleach & try the lemon juice. It definitely will smell better.

As for January & February's green goals..we are still going strong. John & I have enjoyed trying new recipes & vegetarian food we never knew existed. eg. veggie bologna. John is feeling better digestively..is that TMI:0 I havent missed meat at all. I do feel hungry more often & try not to snack on just chocolate. It's been really easy when we cook at home. When we go do out, we try & eat places we really love. I'm still waiting for my favorite little vegetarian restaurant to reopen..remember my cucumber sandwich blog. Not too long after we discovered, Whole World, they had a kitchen fire & have been closed for remodeling. I cant wait to go back again.

February's gg was no paper towels.,this was alot harder for me at first. I was always really quick to grab a paper towel for just about thing. But I've gotten use to the cloth napkins & have been using old cotton baby blankets..the ones they send your baby home in from the hospital. They work great for cleaning up spills & bathrooms.

We watched a documentary last week, "No Impact Man". A story of a NYC family trying to live without making any negative impact on the environment. It was fascinating to see what they went through & how much they gave up. I dont think I could ever give up toilet paper & electricity, but they did. Slowly over a 12 month period they let go of lots of things. & they even had a young daughter. Made you think about what little things you can do each day to help our little planet.