Romance is dead.... right?

Admit it.  Some days we wives want to know where the romance has gone.  Remember when you and your husband were dating and he would give you flowers or chocolate.  Or maybe surprise you with a special date.  Maybe it was something simple as a foot rub.  Whatever it was it probably happened more often then than now.

I asked my husband about this.  He replied that back then he was trying to get lucky.  Typical.  But it made me wonder.  What if we wives started playing hard to get again?  Then I scratched that idea because how much harder to get can one be when you are exhausted from work and raising a family? Not to mention that you may not have even showered that day or for the past two.

Then you may even go in the other direction and try to be the sex vixen but you end up just feeling silly (that stuff only looks good in the movies) and the moment is lost again.

Romance changes as a relationship grows.  It goes from being flirty to loving and respectful.  Romance can be telling each other please and thank you instead of demanding something from another.  Romance can be a quick kiss while waiting for the water to boil.  Romance can be a sweet text reminding you to pick up some milk followed by "I love you".

No, romance isn't dead it just morphs into something different.  While it is still nice to receive a bouquet of flowers now and then sometimes just cuddling on the couch is even better.

My husband, Jason, goes out of his way to be romantic every once in awhile.  Just last weekend while I was at Camp Ondessonk he came to visit me.  I was walking down the road from the camp's dining hall and saw a man pushing a stroller and walking with  two kids.  I was trying to figure out who it was because they were a distance from me. Then it hit me that it was my family.  I had no clue they were coming.  They were a day early and I was planning or riding home with someone else. I screamed and went running towards them.  Now that was romantic but this is even better.  They had on, homemade matching Camp O t-shirts.  What a wonderful surprise.

Jason had this picture taken on his cell phone then sent it to me with the text, "Like our shirts?"  However, I did not have my phone on me to receive it.  I was still surprised by them about ten minutes later!

It was extremely romantic because Jason and I fell in love as camp counselors.  No there wasn't a violin player or a candle light dinner.  Instead there was sweaty guy pushing a stroller with two other kids running around.  But you know what?  I was giddy and he was probably gonna get lucky!

Better Late Than Never

When I was in high school I was very involved in S.E.A.T, Student Environmental Awareness Team. I was the president my senior year in fact. I had always considered myself green and respectful of the earth. But as I have gotten older and have had more children I stopped being green.

Just a few weeks ago I was thinking about all the things I wanted to do with my life. One of them was not trash the environment. I have always used the kids as an excuse or its expensive to be "green". Well, no more excuses.

Last week I volunteered at the summer camp where my husband, Jason, and I met. Camp Ondessonk. My daughter was spending her first week there. It made me realize that I can't take back the damage that I have done but I can start again.

So I have decided that each week my family will implement a new step towards being a green family.

First step; trying to get my 20 month old son into cloth diapers. I am not sure how this will go. We actually tried this when my oldest was first born. Obviously it didn't take. But we are trying again. I visited "Little Ants" a green parenting store in Evansville,IN and bought a couple pairs of Bummis Super Brite diaper covers. Today, my son hasn't been in anything but cloth diapers. We even had a poopy diaper and survived.

I have been reading about cloth diapering and researching the different brands. True it can be expensive at the start. That $20 pack of disposables is looking really good. But if you buy 3 packs a month that's $60 a month and $720 a year. Cloth diapers can be washed and reused. If you have enough you can maybe just add 2-3 extra loads of laundry a week. And if you line dry that saves you money too.

I think our first step is going well. The Bummis are super cute and come in a variety of styles and colors.

So are you willing to try it out? Take the plunge into cloth diapers. You may be surprised at just how easy they are. Who knows you may even become addicted.

My next step... getting rid of chemical based household cleaners and making my own natural cleaners. This will be really interesting.