~Happy Day at the Atkins...

It is a happy happy day in the Atkins household! The Shockers Men's Basketball team kick off their 2010/2011 season tonight! As in years past we will all be attending the game sporting lots of black and gold. I am really excited to go pick up Madelyn's cheer leading outfit that the WSU bookstore is holding for me! I also had a great friend make her a pair of super cute ruffled socks to go with the hair bow that she also made to complete Miss M's outfit! Less than ten hours until tip-off...the countdown has begun!

~Where oh Where Did June Go??????

I am still trying to figure out where the month of June went?! It seems just yesterday I was waiting for Matthew to get off the bus for the last time as a big kindergartner and now I am reviewing what school supplies he will need for 1st Grade! Which, is sure to be another emotional week for Mommy as was kindergarten. Now, my little man will have to be getting ON the bus at the time he is used to waking up! That is sure to be an adjustment on us all! Then, there is the whole eating lunch at the school for the first time... which again will be quite an adjustment given how picky of an eater Mr.Matthew is. I tear up just picturing him in line, as the smallest of all kids, with his little lunch tray scanning over all the food items he WON'T be choosing while grabbing for his little milk carton.

I just wish the stores didn't put out all the school supplies in late June! It makes it reality that school is really just around the corner! July is set to be another busy month for us...4th of July festivities, Matthew turning the big 7 and vacation once again to Grand Lake with good friends. Looks as if July will probably fly by us as quickly as June did!

Happy Mother's Day

It is today...'Mother's Day' that I take the time to stop and realize how extremely thankful I am that I have the opportunity to be called 'Mommy'. My M&M...aka Matthew and Madelyn have been placed into my life and it is my absolute privledge to be their Mommy. I tear up just thinking about hearing my Matthew thank God during prayer at dinnertime that "Mommy could quit her job to stay home and take care of he and Madelyn". For this I have to thank my wonderful husband!

I worked seven years at the Infertility Clinic and witnessed on a daily basis the struggle that some couples endure just to have a baby and make that precious addition to their family. Having suffered a miscarriage myself in addition to my previous job, I am even that much more thankful for my beautiful and healthy children that God has blessed me with!

Happy Mother's Day to all Mommies and your precious little ones that make you have the best title there is to have!

~My favorite part...

I must admit that my favorite part of actually even having a blog is decorating the page! There are so many ca-ute sites to look at and just when I think I have found the perfect one I stumble onto another one I like even better. I finally changed the theme of my blog to 'Easter' which will be here and gone in a week. Which is hard to believe...maybe because I haven't gotten all the goodies purchased for the baskets yet! I should be in good shape though since Madelyn text the Easter Bunny today! Daddy got a new phone this week and gave her his old one which she of course believes is real! I have already been searching for the new decor that will take the Easter page's place! Thinking I should probably be doing something productive with all the spare time I seem to have =)

~Just call me...the trash lady~

For a little over a week now I have been complaining about all the trash that has accumulated along the sides of the road of 151st street. Over the weekend I thought about going out and picking it all up myself but didn't want anyone I knew to see me and think I was picking up all the aluminum cans for some extra shopping money ;). I'm not a big fan of the dark or wild animals so going to collect the trash at night wasn't an option either. Since I travel the road between our home and Maple many many times during the day I simply just decided to stop being mad about the situation and do something about it.
So, this afternoon I set out with A trash bag in hand to pick up the trash. I only made it half way before the bag was completely full of trash...fast food cups, beer cans, liquor bottles, a used can of aerosol whipped cream (and I don't EVEN want to know why that was lying along the side of the road), and much much more. I turned around to head back home to get another bag clearly not realizing how darn heavy that trash would end up weighing! I dropped off my first batch of junk and set out again.
I passed an older man who was walking and he thanked me for what I was doing. That was right before a car load of teenage boys(driving way too fast) whistled at me as they sped by. I would love for them to know I'm old enough to be their mom...well, maybe step-mom! I filled the second bag completely full in no time at all. What is wrong with people really??? How can one just roll down their car window and throw trash out without feeling a little bit of guilt??!! The good news is I earned some MAJOR recycle points =)

~My sweet and talented friend, Ashlei (who looks like the pretty blonde in the above pic), has been extremely busy today posting tons of awesome give aways on her blog. Check them all out for yourself at http://coupondealsandsteals.blogspot.com.

Well, here I am...posting to the new blog I created that I said I would NEVER have exactly a year after I opened my FaceBook account that I also said I would NEVER have! Never say never!! If it wasn't for another snow day today I probably wouldn't have devoted the time to exploring this new adventure but I can only watch 'Dora' so many times! Everyone was excited to wake up to a lot more snow than I think we expected to get. Everyone except my husband who can't usually work in days like today but I found things for him to do so he wouldn't get bored. He is probably really hoping for some sunshine tomorrow as I am too! It seems long long ago since we have had sunshine for more than just one day at a time!