Animal Photo Dump

It occurred to me that I spend roughly 95% of my time at home. 

94% of that time, I am within an arms reach of one of our many animals. 

So naturally, well over half of all the photos I take are of our animals. I just can't help myself. 

So here's a photo dump of the photos I've taken just this month. This isn't even all of them! 

With love,                                                                                                          Mama Hauck

Valentine's Day

I know a lot of people think Valentine's Day is too commercialized and cheesy.  I don't really care what other people think. 

I am really struggling this year.....

It's Anthony's first year in the High School, and he turns 15 this summer. 15. 

Molly will officially be a teen this summer. 

It's Timothy's last year in the Primary School.....then I will have zero children in Primary School....my brain can't compute that. And he turns 10....double digits. 

There is only so much, so many changes, so many milestones, one Mama's heart can take. And all those things feel so big to me. So I'm trying not to freak out. And trying not to freak out looks like preserving traditions and fun for our family. And that means continuing on with all the silly little things that make my kids happy, and in turn make me happy. 

....Like still making Valentine's with Timothy for his entire class. This is probably the last year he'll want to do this. So I watched him work at putting little stickers on little bags of chips and held back tears. 

......And spending hours thinking and creating the kids and Sammy their own homemade Valentine's like I've done for the past few years now. 

.....And getting everyone a little gift and cheesy balloon that I know is just going to be used to suck the helium out of so the kids can make funny voices. 

I got Anthony a 50 pack of incense and an incense holder. Molly got a volleyball t-shirt and a phone holder. Timothy got a personalized cereal bowl that says "cereal killer." And I got Sammy a little bottle of "pills" that have a rolled up love message in each one when  you crack it open. Hahaha Gotta love Etsy.com. 

.......And then I made my kids' favorite chocolate chip cookies, as well as a dairy free version for myself. I also made dairy free chocolate dipped strawberries. The kids all love chicken fettuccine, so that's what I made for dinner....even though I couldn't eat it. 

I might not be able to keep them little, but growing up doesn't mean you have to stop having fun and taking delight in all the cheesy little things.....like Valentine's Day. 

With Love,                                                                                                    Mama Hauck