shout outs...

...to actually being able to have coffee one morning this week with a friend. May seem kind of silly, but simple things like that get me through rough weeks. And it really is just plain awesome to stop everything and sit somewhere for a few hours. Such great therapy.

...to Kansas for actually giving us a glimpse of spring again today (I'm not going to mention the high winds, trying to be grateful). Will we or won't we stop seeing 30-40 degree temperatures is the question of the hour???

...to 5 more weeks of school. Yes, April's going to be a tough month with a TON of loose ends but it will so be worth it walking across that stage soon.

...to FRIDAY! Not only is it April Fools (which Caleb has been practicing a ton of "March Fools" to prepare), but I get to post our 'favorite' Friday song for you all to get stuck in your head. Good news: Stephen Colbert is going on Jimmy Fallon to make his attempt on singing it. Lucky for you, I'll be posting that as well :)
Enjoy!

peter pan

I am finding that the older I get (please don't give me a hard time, I have always felt older than I actually am), the more I want to get back to feeling youthful. I am careful with this subject because I think aging is a beautiful thing. Don't get me wrong having everything perky and line-free is appealing, but there's just something to be said about growing into your own skin. However, with that being said, I think it's important to remember our youth. What things make you who you are...making you unique and not assimilating into the "mature" people we may have idolized when we desperately wanted to prematurely escape our childhood.

Try this:
hopscotch
neon nail polish
dancing in the living room
red shoes
roller skate
hide-and-seek
build a fort with pillows & blankets
tell a knock-knock joke
red rover
color a picture
blow bubbles
catch lightning bugs
chocolate milk
skip
make smores (and tell ghost stories)
frisbee
wear what you want

or make your own list.

I think it's so important to find that sense of individuality, that uniqueness making you the special person that you are. It doesn't matter if you think your teeth are straight, your hair shines with gray strands, or you have glowing skin...none of that matters when you let your beauty within shine for all others to see. So, Peter Pan may have been some fictional figment of our childhood imagination, but we would all do ourselves some good to think happy thoughts, sprinkle some magical fairy dust and take off and fly~because we really don't need to grow up. 

Mondays...

...something about this beginning of the week ritual has me split on the line between high-flying ambition and absolute laziness. But, nothing like a healthy dose of reality working a shift in the local ER to make one seize the day (er, ambitiously...week). With the vast hodge-podge of cough and runny noses, to the local drunk making the slurred curses at you, somewhere in that arena you begin to find a sense of motivation you need to get through the week. Don't ask me why, or how, but today even with our wintry day flashback I found the strength to get through our first week back from spring break. Maybe I'm completely nuts...we do have a whole four days left to go.

Then again, it could be the quality time Mark and I were able to spend with our kids this weekend. For starters, we have brought back fragments of our youth with getting our whole family new converse throwback shoes. Yeah, that's right, we went retro baby!

Also, we're totally diggin' the helping jar that has become our kids' newest reward/incentive. Every time they do a certain task (cleaning up rooms, putting dishes away, helping out with laundry, etc), they get to put a cotton ball inside our helping jar.

When the jar is filled we do a fun activity as a family...trips to the movie theater, skating, bowling- anything else we can come up with as a fun out of the ordinary activity to get them motivated. Highly recommending it, as we have a cleaner house (ah-hem, ignore the dirty floors), and more helpful kids in the making. 

Now, onto health-related things (this is shaping up to be a fairly productive Monday), because of our family schedule, and all of us going off in different directions during the week, we've started flopping meals. Lunch has become dinner, and dinner lunch, then Sundays we have breakfast for dinner. Confused yet? We are trying out the whole philosophy of having your larger meal toward the middle of the day. It's working out quite nicely, though it has been an adjustment. I find my evenings I don't feel quite so tired after dinner because I have something really light to eat....

like a salad...

then a nice hot cup of tea...

It really works quite well (for us at least), so maybe it's worth a try. It makes sense to have your heavier, heartier meal during the time of day that you need the most energy. In the evening you don't tend to need as much food (energy), and eating lighter makes you less likely to want to lay on the couch after having your last meal of the day (not like any of us do that). 

Well, we'll see how this week shapes up, but I'm hoping for the best. Embracing productivity, positivity and other -tivities that make the best of an interesting start to my week. Nonetheless, if you ever do have to start your Monday off going to an ER (as a patient that is), you don't have to tell the nursing student to "F*** off" when she tells you to have a nice day. Just sayin' :)

I'm tired. Tired of sacrificing health in the name of saving money. Does this make sense, really? I'll buy boxes of macaroni and cheese, cereal, hamburger helper, and pop-tarts, yet I have to think twice if I have flex in my grocery budget to allow us fresh vegetables and fruits? Ridiculous! You know Mark and I have always been the type to say "...somewhere down the road, when we have the money we'll buy organic..." or "that'd be nice to eat that way, but it's just not financially practical right now..." Well, I think it's kind of silly, we preach prevention and a healthy lifestyle yet we, ourselves, don't even do it.

We're now  heading into a different direction. My goal is to buy fresh produce twice a week. Spending $25-$30 each visit to ensure that we always have a healthy selection of snacks for our children and ourselves. Truth is, we could wait months, even years to be able to "afford" the privilege of providing our children snacks other than teddy grahams and animal crackers, but by the time we get to that hypothetical point, our children are going to be knee-deep in poor snacking habits. We just can't afford that, really, with the rise in childhood obesity and diabetes in this country. Not to mention, children look to us (parents) as role models in our eating behaviors. Every time I pull out a processed snack I think, "is this really what I want them thinking qualifies as wholesome food?" The answer is no, and we all should strive to set good examples for our children-the future of this nation.

I decided to chop up our fruits and vegetables as soon as I got home from the grocery store. The worst thing (and this has happened to us on many occasions) is to let healthy food spoil. When you get it out there and ready to go, it becomes just as easy to reach for instead of those pre-packaged foods. Yeah you heard me cheez-its, you're no longer top go-to-grab, so there!

Now doesn't that just look delicious?!

Another part of a healthy lifestyle...get out there, get active. So, we did. Just because Kansas likes to throw us those weather curve balls (grrr), doesn't mean we all can't bundle up and get moving.

With all that running around, we had to slow down (at some point). Had to get photographic evidence, my little girl is actually letting me paint her fingernails. First time was a few weeks ago, just out of the blue she asked me to "make my nails pretty" with polish. Of course I dropped everything and gave her a mini-mani right then and there. Well, today when we were getting groceries we happened to drop by the beauty aisle and I let her pick out her own nail polish. And, what do ya know, she let me paint them again, because of course the "pretty nails have disappeared"      

    

 ...we couldn't let that happen.

Caleb has been receiving an official "allowance" since he turned 7, earlier this year. Well, he actually decided to spend it today (phew, was starting to think he had absolutely lost any of my influence), he bought a scooter and a lego set. Here he is assembling his new police helicopter-all by himself!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday! 

...road trip...

We just returned from a speedy, yet long (confused, yet?)  few days of travel. 32 hours of driving in 60 hours is a lot, even on paper. Just saying, it makes me wonder what we were thinking. But, it was all for good reason.
For anyone that knows us well, or practically anyone that gets us talking for more than 5 minutes, can tell you  that we are trying to move down to Georgia, hopefully after I graduate from nursing school in May. I have embarked on the task of finding a job (which is a lot harder than you think, especially across state lines....lines that are 16+ hours away). I was able to arrange a few meetings with nurse recruiters in the area, and had preliminary interviews/meetings with them this week. It was nice to get to know the area we are wanting to move to, and get the process going with making decisions regarding life after graduation (very hard to imagine right now).
Here's some of our trip in pictures:          

Some of the terrain in Tennessee. Definitely not the "flatlands" of Kansas...yeah, you can't tell we're jealous.

Beautiful downtown Athens, very friendly atmosphere with tables and chairs nestled underneath shady trees, live music being played on the corner by local musicians, and several choices in one-of-a-kind eateries. Not to mention unlimited amount of shopping with businesses supporting local talent in jewelry, fashion and designs.  

Took a little stroll around the University of Georgia. Perfect weather to be outside...mid 70s, light breeze and lots of sun. The buildings on campus are designed with Athens, Greece in mind. Traditional columns with brick and stone. Pair that with the old southern trees, you feel like you're going back in time.

We had to bring back something for the kids- here's "Uga", the University of Georgia's Mascot :)

An overall good trip...fast but fun. Just have to include some Random Thanks....
...to nighttime driving. Less traffic + good music = being able to bring out the inner rock star
...to our awesome tires. Kentucky now ranks, in my book, the worst state to drive through. 1st, being the roads that have managed to retain a record number of cracks and holes, to the point when a sign that is up broadcasting "rough road next 2 miles" brings the smoothest concrete you've traveled in the state. 2nd, it's called counting, when you have a sign that shows 'Nashville 77 miles', then within 3 minutes another 'Nashville 56 miles,' I think we need to go back to 2nd grade. Oh, wait...
...to the man who managed to take over the news as we were leaving Athens. A regular offender of the law who managed to hijack a car, putting the driver into the trunk, driver then escapes trunk to call for help, two officers were shot while apprehending the hijacker, who then managed to escape and hide out in a neighborhood, possibly taking up a hostage or two. The real kicker? All this being done while barefoot.
...to all the gas station bathrooms. I never thought I could appreciate my bathroom back home as much as I do now.

...and in all seriousness, a BIG thanks to my Grandma, Dad, and Uncle Kevin for taking such good care of Caleb and Katelynn while we were gone. They were very well taken care of and we couldn't be more thankful of your volunteering to help us out last minute.

cReATiVity

You know, creativity is a funny thing.
It comes and goes without much warning.
It can be all-consuming, taking up your entire being for as long as you let it keep you.

I get bursts of creativity. Days, weeks, months will go by when I haven't touched anything with that sense of innovation. Then, bam out of nowhere it hits. I wonder why it comes and goes so easily some times, and yet other times I exhaust all efforts and it still won't show its presence.

Despite what you may think, everyone has creativity. It graces us all in some way or another. We wouldn't be who we are if we weren't flowing with creativity to some degree. It's just whether or not you have the chance to share it, to merit its existence.

So here's something neat we've been able to see lately. Our kids~ witnessing their bursts of creativity. I love how when you're a child it's so easy to harness. Almost at a flip of a switch, it's there, and you're off...running.

And so, my dear's, please keep running with that creativity. Wave it like a banner, and never let go of it. When life throws you those inevitable curves, and you have a passageway of creativity in front of you, please run to it. Embrace it, and know that it is part of what makes you the special person you are.

New look, New feel, New blog?

Not really, but it got your attention, didn't it??

Well, in tune with spring (bloom and all), I have decided change up some things to make this blog a little more personalized. It's still our family blog, but I'll probably make it more of a "mommy blog." Hope I don't lose all you male readers :)

Also, I thought I'd point out some things...

The upper right side ~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
features a follow by email option, where you
can receive an email when I post.
Now, I know that right now it seems like
I'm posting a lot, but that's because I'm on
spring break with nothing but time on
my side. But, rest assured, when school/life
starts back up you won't have to see our
blog name in your email inbox as often.

I have made a new tab at the top

(beneath the header ^ there)

called "Things" that pays tribute to

all the items that I can't live without

right now. This should be a popular

new page, I can already tell.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, I have
added music to our blog. Well, if it annoys
you, I'm sorry. Or if you feel so inspired,
please let me know if you have any requests
I'll put them on the playlist (hope that
doesn't sound too DJ-ish).

Well, I think that's all for now....I think.

Amazing blog you MUST follow :)

This is my new obsession:

Enjoying the Small Things

Reading her posts are almost as amazing as looking at the photographs. I highly recommend it :)

(check out the "start here if you're new" tab at the top to her page to learn more)

Spring Break has begun~

We are so excited that spring break is here! We're taking it easy in the Hain house :)

Caleb is having a PJ day, enjoying a lazy start to our break...

Katelynn is enjoying the play-dough and crafts in place of outdoor activities

(we had a 30 degree temperature drop from yesterday)

I picked up my cap and gown yesterday. Amazingly, the end is sight!

Hope everyone has a Happy Friday, and a great weekend! Mark and I are taking off Sunday evening and driving through the night to get to Athens, GA where I've been able to set up some meetings with a few nurse recruiters. The kids are excited to spend some time with family here, while we're away for a few days. We're hoping to have a good trip!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

With it being St. Patrick's Day, I did a little research (and I mean little), to find out more about the significance of this day.

First things first, I am smitten with Ireland...

(pictures not mine of course)

This must be the rainbow and gold we've been hunting for....


A day to celebrate and feast in the name of Irish culture, the customs all began with a religious aspect. Named after St. Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland, who wore a shamrock representing the holy trinity, along with the color green, which became a traditional symbol of the work he did. So, starting out as an Irish Catholic holiday, it has now spread among mass international culture with celebrations in the form of parades and green beer most notably. Not to mention making sure you wear the green attire, for avoidance of the leprechaun pinch (an entirely American tradition).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Sipping on coffee in the afternoon, has become my favorite moment that I would freeze if I had the chance. The sun is bright, and warm. The kids are outside playing their games, mostly "Batman" because he's taken over duties saving the world today, and "Joker and Penguin" must be ran out of town. Their little voices scream with delight as they run and dance in the wind, singing songs made up of silly words and new harmonies. This is the time that I will remember most, of their quickly changing childhood. Of the moments when the imagination had no limits, energy gave fuel to unlimited hours of play, and life needed nothing more than a nice afternoon in the backyard.

We should always remember moments like these...

family days...

Can I just start by saying, family days are great! When life gets too busy, and you feel like you're just getting by, it's nice to take a break- even for a moment, and remember what's important to you. We, fortunately, had more than a moment yesterday to take this much needed break. Mark and I took the kids for an "adventure" yesterday. We went to Newton, KS (my hometown) and found some fun...

We started at the famous "Drubers Donut Shop" and had a wonderful breakfast.

Then went to the park to feed the very hungry ducks!

Started playing at the park, and had a windy picninc.

We had a great day!

What we've been up to lately...

Last weekend we went to Noah and Emma Jittawait's birthday party at Pump It Up! We all had a terrific time, especially the kids!

The kids have also been getting outside as much as possible, starting to enjoy this spring weather!

Katelynn and her favorite lunch :)