Long time, no blog

Janey's first day of school(today)!

Chloe's 1st day of 2nd grade

It has been so long since my last post! I did what I said I was going to do; I took a break from this blog and from being on the computer in general to take the time to be with the girls(and the little man) before they both head off for yet another year of school. Where does the time go? Chloe started second grade last Thursday and Janey started kindergarten today. Boohoo! She was very much ready to go, I just wasn't quite ready to let her go. It is all day kindergarten which is a change since Chloe was in kindergarten and I know she will do great and make friends, but I will really miss her throughout the day.

Chloe and Janey today on Janey's 1st day

Janey at her table in her classroom

On Monday my Grandma(Dad's mom) turned 100. Her name is Cathern. To quote Janey; "That is REALLY old!" Um, yea, that's old. She has been in a nursing home for a few years now, but she is still with it and whenever she sees us, she immediately asks to see Nolan. I think Nolan reminds her a lot of my Dad when he was a little boy, and my Dad was her baby. She is a fantastic women. Her and my grandpa started a business that is still in operation that my Dad and Uncle now own. They celebrated 50 years in business about 6 years ago. She has 4 children, 12 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. We had a cake reception for her on Sunday and *almost* the whole family was there to celebrate. I remember fondly going to my grandparents house and picking beans with her from the garden and then taking them into the house to "snap" beans for dinner. I hope I can have a life has filled as she has. By the way my grandpa(Dad's Dad) lived to be 96 and passed from an infection from a sore. He had brain surgery at 93 and was told by the doctor that he was as healthy as a 50-60 year old. I guess longevity is in my genes!

This lovely lady is my Grandma who is 100.

This above picture is how my son has been wanting to spend most of his days. Shorts, no shirt and his high top Chuck Taylor's. I wish I knew what was going through his head sometimes! The break from being on the blog was nice, but it feels good to be back!

Okay, I am back for this one.......

Amanda at Party of Four tagged me for this meme so I will play along....

*We have to post these rules before we give you the facts

*Players start with 8 random facts/habits about themselves

*People who are tagged write their own blog post about their 8 things and include these rules

*At the end of your blog, you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names.Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they are tagged and they should read your blog

1. I like to watch Drake and Josh with the kids when it is on. I don't really "do" any other kids show and I really find SpongeBob annoying, but I find Drake and Josh amusing.

2. Sometimes I think when people see Tom and I out with the kids they will think we had to get married because we were expecting Chloe. People always seem so surprised that we got married "SO young" at 21 and can't imagine that we knew then that we were meant to be together. I don't know why I care if complete strangers think that, it is kinda weird of me. (For the record we were married in 1997 and she was born in 2000).

3. I have a complete and utter crush on Tyler Florence, Him, and this man. Wowza!!

4. When I walk my tushie off, I like to listen to Akon and Ludacris on "the best invention ever!" It is what gets me a-going!

5. Besides being a mom and more than that a SAHM, my favorite job I have ever had was when I waitressed. I think I like self-torture. But I am a people person.

6. I have a tattoo on my right side of a sun, but I REALLY want another one. I failed French my freshman year at OSU because for an entire quarter I skipped my class every Friday to go to a tattoo parlor that had walk-ins on Fridays. They were a popular tattoo parlor! The one I want means more to me because it represents my family. I would like a sun and a moon)representing Tom and I, a flower(Chloe), a leaf (Janey), a snowflake(Nolan) and two stars for the babies that Tom and I lost.

7. I LOVE road trips(not so much with three young kids). But when Tom and I were first married we would drive to the mountains to camp, we opened the map once and closed our eyes and "picked" a place to drive to for a night or two and ended up in Jackpot Nevada. Oh, and I love to fly as well. I guess it's the excitement of someplace new.

8. I LOVE basil. The taste the smell, the eye pleasing shape and color. If I could bottle it I would wear Eau de Basil.

There ya have it. I don't know who to tag. Everyone I know has been tagged. So I guess I am breaking the rules a bit.

Tonight is Date Night for Tom and I. We haven't had one in a long ass time. We are going to dinner to here and then to a baseball game. The Babe Ruth World Series for 16 -18 years old is in our town and we are going to watch the local team.

Blogged out....

I am going to be taking a little break from this blog. Suddenly, I realized that it is the first of August and the girls start back to school in just a hair over two weeks from today. Where has the summer gone? I want to soak these next two weeks in with them while I can. I don't know if we will do anything special or out of the ordinary, but I want to be outside with them (as long as it isn't 98 degrees!) read to them, listen to Chloe read to me, color and draw with them, and just use our imagination together. Before I know it, they will be gone all day and it will just be me and Nolan. There may be an occasion or two where I will jump on here and blog a little, but for the most part I will be enjoying the remnants of summer with my kids.

Have a great rest of the summer and I will be back soon!!!!

Who IS this person?

Okay, it's only been three days, but I have been getting out of bed every morning between 5:15 and 5:30am. Yes A.M.!!! I put my track pants, a t-shirt and my tennis shoes on and I come down to start coffee while Tom is jogging and then I head out for my walk when he gets back at 6:00am. I walk like there is no tomorrow with the greatest invention ever stuck in my ears and let my mind wander. I never thought I would get my day started this early, but I feel GREAT!!! I feel like I get so much accomplished by 8am. Plus, the bonus, I get to have coffee with Tom before he heads out to work and I get some quiet alone time before the kids wake up(generally, today Janey got up earlier than usual) and I get to shower and get dressed all by myself. Imagine that! Plus, we are getting into bed earlier, which feels wonderful. For a long time we have been up until 11:30 or so, which is rough when Tom goes into work between 6:30 and 7:00. Monday night I was in bed, asleep by 9:45. It was magical. Who knows how long this will last, I hope for a long time because it feels great. I feel great!