Delanie's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Delanie is starting Kindergarten today! She is so excited. No hesitation. This girl is ready!

Raleigh 2 Years

Delanie 5 Years

Where Did Summer Go?

I cannot believe that summer has gotten away from me and I haven't updated this! Delanie participated in dance this summer and enjoyed it. She passed level three in swimming lessons and was very proud. She and Raleigh love the water. Raleigh attended daycare two days a week this summer as he really needs to be around other kids. We were sad that our neighbor and her family moved and we no longer can run down the street to play, however we wish them well on their new adventure. Our family went to the Omaha Zoo this summer for a little vacation. We all had a good time.

Brownie anyone!

So I do still enjoy a sweet every so often. I have come up with a recipe for a brownie you can make in a little pyrex 2 cup container. So here it is! 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt 1 tablespoon almond coconut milk 2 teaspoons coconut palm sugar 2 teaspoons PB2 (If you desire, a tablespoon dark chocolate chips) Mix well and add yogurt or almond coconut if the mixture is too dry. Throw it in the microwave for approximately 1 minute 20 seconds. Add 10 seconds at a time until the center looks cooked. Enjoy :)

New Hobby

Lately I have thrown myself into the food fight! I have always pushed healthy eating, but lately I have really tried to make changes. I have been following the food industry and the fact that so many companies are fighting against labeling GMO foods. I side with the fact that they should! I have also just recently found out they will no longer be able to use antibiotics in organic apples. There is so very much to learn. Another thing I have been preparing for is the fact that Delanie is going to be in kindergarten next fall which means lots of packed lunches! I am not a big fan of processed foods. There are a lot of ideas out there online and I am looking forward to the challenge! I have her lunchbots coming in the mail on Tuesday. Delanie and I have been making different "green smoothies". I have found we can make them, fill silicone containers, and freeze them. I can pop those into a lunch box and it should thaw by lunch for her. I am excited to also try some fruit and yogurt recipes. We went through the process of making homemade almond coconut milk, which can be a bit of a process and only lasts three days in the fridge so we are back to store bought. (Blue diamond brand only) One of the things I have learned:) However all of them available in our area have carageenan in it, which I despise. Hopefully companies will start taking this out of food and drink sooner than later. If you are interested in some great websites, check into foodbabe.com, 100daysofrealfood.com, and livingmaxwell.com. These are my main go to sites that I love and trust!

Catholic School or Public School

So today Bruce and I went to our church and officially transferred our membership from the church where Delanie was baptized and we were married to the church we have been attending for the last five years. While we were there we heard about this pretty amazing program that made Catholic school for Delanie a little more realistic for us. You can actually by gift cards at the catholic school for stores like Menards, Hy Vee, and gas stations. You then take the gift cards and use them just like cash. The school writes down a child's name and 5% of the gift card goes to the school. 1.5% of that can go towards a child's tuition. Now whether this was for my child or another child I thought that this was a pretty amazing program. It made me wonder why I wasn't doing this all along while she was growing up! Had I known of such a program, I would have been more on top of buying the gift cards for every run to the grocery store, etc. So here I am again. Where do I send my child next fall for kindergarten? Yes, it would be wonderful to have her at the school I work at. However, I am in two different buildings. I am a bit of a self proclaimed helicopter mom just a little bit! I think that might be hard for me to back off of things if she was right there in front of me! It would be pretty amazing to have that foundation that the Catholic school system has to offer. As for now, Delanie has kindergarten screening set up for March 21st. That is a month and half away. So I suppose I better get on it and make my final decision!