Freegans

If you saw the Oprah show yesterday you probably learned the term freegans. I had never heard it before, but I could totally be one. They go thru trash to get groceries not because they don't have money, but as a way to protest against the waste of food and resources. It really wasn't gross at all. Everything they got was pretty much packaged and clean. It really got me thinking about how much we consume, but specially how much I have changed in this area. When I first came here I was literally offended by the amount of food that was just thrown away. I really had a hard time with it, and just the waste in general. I remember arguing with a friend because she had about 30 t shirts and I told her it was ridiculous. After a few years I finally came to terms with it and realized that it wasn't their fault. People have grown up in abundance and really that's all most people know.
I still never throw food away, I just can't. If I have to eat left overs for 3 days I do it. But I can't throw food away when I know that Jake's little friend in Costa Rica, Roberto only gets 2 meals a day if he's lucky. And sometimes he only gets saltine crackers and coffee for breakfast. I have gotten bad about other things like clothes and shoes, and just stuff that we really don't need.
And I don't think that we should be mindful about how much we consume or how much food we throw away just to go against a system or this lifestyle. But because as Christian we should be good stewards not just of our money but everything we have. I've been studying Matthew and it's interesting how even Jesus after feeding the 5,000 and the 4,000 collected the leftovers. He could have multiplied more food for the disciples later, but He chose to save the leftovers!!

Boring day...

Once again we're stuck at home, it has been a boring but restful day. And since I have nothing else to do, (Mr. Rider is on his way to Oklahoma City) I decided to give a detailed account of my day.
Jake came in our room particularly early this morning, right before 7, too early!! So we did what responsible parents do and sent him to watch TV (he had to wait till 7:30 tough).
8:00 I got up to get breakfast ready, the usual eggs and spinach, it's better than it sounds, and bacon.
8:20 I went back to bed. Kids watched more TV.
9:00 I turned the tv on to watch the today show. Mr Rider advised not to get out so the gym was out.
10:30 I finally got up, I started to get hungry so I went to get some cereal and went back to bed. Mr. Rider took a shower and played games with the kids. I watched Ellen at some point.
11:30 I really got up, and got lunch ready, leftover spaghetti pie. Mr. Rider left to Oklahoma.
12:30 I picked the house up a little, but I had done most of my cleaning the day before. So now I didn't have much to do. My scrapbook stuff was staring at me from the table, but I ignored it.
1:30 I decided to pull the plug, I can't stand watching the kids hypnotised by the TV so I turned it off for a while. And I got on the computer to check my mail, weather of course, etc.
2:00 A friend called and I was on the phone for ever, really only 30 minutes.
2:30 I had had it, I need it to take a shower. Much better!
3:00 I thought I could let the kids stay in pj's all day, but I failed. They had a bath.
4:00 We had some strawberries with cream, delicious!
4:30 I felt guilty about not going to the gym and eating too much (I didn't mention some of the other snacks I had) so tried to do some Pilates. The kids piled on top of me, so I couldn't do it.
5:00 I started making some lentil soup with carrots and potatoes, it was really good.
6:00 We ate, and I'm looking forward to a peaceful nite, not so much restful since little rider wants to sleep with me. Mr. Rider will be back tomorrow. I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow, all I'm asking is to be able to get out!!

KC trip

Just a few pics, it was nice to get away for a while, and speaking about getting away, I had a big blessing yesterday. I was looking for tickets to go to Costa Rica, everything I had seen was pretty high so I was starting to get discouraged. I wanted to go before Jake starts school this summer since after that we won't be able to go until next summer. So I checked for tickets out of St. Louis and I was so shocked when I saw $229 to Costa Rica. I had never seen tickets that low. Coincidence...don't think so, I have always prayed that God will provide for us to go see my family and He always has!

Icy days!

Well, after 4 days of no power and not being able to get out, I'm thankful for several things:
1. our family, we stayed with my sister in law who luckly didn't lose power
2. we don't have a lot of trees
3. the kids are alive
4. I never lost it
5. internet

As for Valentine's, our celebration is just getting started, we leave tonite on a romantic getaway with another couple, wait, that didn't sound right, we're going to KC with some friends. There will be some shopping, poker, more shopping, church, lots of eating of course, and maybe a movie. Anyways, it should be fun.

My mom's birthday

Talking about being a good mom, yesterday was my mom's birthday. I wish I could be there to celebrate, she's an amazing woman. At least we're finally able to see each other on the computer. After years of training, she finally learned to use the internet! she's not very tech savvy.
I'm ready for spring, I miss the farmer's market, fresh fruit and veggies.
Mr. Rider and I will be going on a little getaway next weekend, that will be refreshing.
I also started working on the boy's scrapbooks, I decided to do one for Ethan too. I figured if I do one page a year I'll be done by the time they're 21, no, I actually finished 3 pages but now I need a brake. Hopefully, I'll get motivated again soon.

Why I'm not a good mother

I was visiting with a friend the other day, she has 4 kids and homeschools, so her schedule is very busy, but somehow she manages to keep dairies of all her kids and an organized file of their pictures, art, notes, etc. A sense of distress came over me, I don't keep a dairy for my kids, I didn't keep their baby hair, I don't think I wrote any of their firsts, like first tooth, first word, etc, and all the cute things they say. I do remember Ethan started walking at 18 months but that's about it. I think I have some of Jake's old drawings, but I couldn't tell you where. I'm not a keeper, I hate clutter, and I just throw things away. So I came home and video taped my kids for a while, made Jake paint some pics so I could put them in a folder. I did keep Jake's tooth that we had to take out, I hope he's excited about that when he grows up! I started a scrapbook for Jake but it's not finished, and Ethan's, well, I haven't even started one for him! I'm a little depressed I must admit, I never made one of those clay things with their little fingerprints, and now it's too late!!! Jake will be going to Kindergarten soon and now my time with him will be dramatically reduced. I guess, I still have time to do things like that with Ethan. But I want to know does everybody save their little crafts they make at church? What else should I be saving, writing, knowing!!!
I'm finishing their scrapbooks, actually for Ethan I'm just making a photo album, baby steps...