I am no longer bent.
I am broken.


- Alesia

Life as Nana

I love being a mom. And as my children get older it gets even more fun.
(OK the fact that they CAN and DO make their own decisions, and I can't ground them for the dumb ones is frustrating, but it is still fun.)

God blessed me with 6 beautiful children, all unique, all perfect.

But now God has blessed me beyond my wildest imagination.

Grandchildren!!!!

I have posted pictures of my two beautiful granddaughters, Emily and Aurora. It was fun when they were newborns; feeding them, burping them, their wonderful baby smell. But now that they are older, they are even more enjoyable.

Emily will be 1 on 9/22. 
I taught her to clap and make, what we call, the vampire face. When she gets made she will scrunch up her face and breath really hard and fast through her nose.  One day I did it back to her, showing her my upper teeth.  She stopped crying and did it back to me. So we sat there making this face back and forth at each other and she forgot whatever she was upset about.  That was a few months ago and she will still make the face when I see her.  Adorable.

Aurora just turned 6 months on 9/7.
Tonight she said her first word, with my coaxing.
Mama.
Her mama is at work so I videoed her saying mama and sent it to her phone.
And then I cried.

I am so fortunate to be able to be VERY involved in my grand children's lives. During their teenage years, there were times I was convinced that I would not be a part of my children's lives when they got older, much less their children. But it all works out in the end.

So I get to start over. Feeding them, changing them, bathing them, AND get to sleep through the night.

Heaven.

Now if they would just get big enough for squeaky shoes. LOL

Back to school

Today was the first day of school..

We all remember the first day of kindergarten.  Walking our "babies" into the school.  Their backpacks filled with new supplies.  They looked so young and vulnerable. Nowhere near ready to face the big world alone. 

I am sure they all handled it better than it did.

Fast forward many years.  My two youngest are juniors this year.

I woke up at 6:15 expecting to wake them up to get ready.  They were already up, dressed, doing their hair and makeup. And they had a friend over. Another showed up later.

They weren't nervous, or scared.
They didn't need me to go with them.
They are apparently over the trepidation of the first day of school.

I am not.

Pin-up girls

I love pin-up girls.
They are cute and innocent looking. Just a smidge naughty.

Like me?  Maybe, maybe not. But they are fun and make me smile.

Cry baby

One of the things about me that surprises most people is that I am a crier. I don't just mean watching a sad movie, or witnessing the birth of a baby crier.

Yes, I cried when I gave birth to my children.
Yes, I cried when I watched both of my granddaughters come into the world.
I even cried at EVERY birthing class, EVERY time we watched a baby being born.

I can't watch some shows on National Geographic. If it shows something catching and eating something else I cry. Even a frog catching a fly.

Poor fly.

My husband and I go to the symphony each month and there have been times when the music has moved me to tears.

My husband laughed at me just 2 days ago when, as a 44 year old woman, I cried when Mufasa died in Lion King. I have seen the movied dozens of times but I can't stand thinking about how much it must have hurt to be trampled to death by the Wilderbeast.

Yes I have a complete grasp on reality - why do you ask. LOL

I cried reading "Decision Points" by George W. Bush.  Him describing 9/11 broght me to tears just like seeing it on tv.

Wednesday night we watched fireworks in our town. There was no music, which is a good thing. When we got home he turned on Macy's fireworks which has acconpanying music and I cried at certain songs. Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" will do it every time.

I am a big old softie.

And YES I cry everytime I watch Steel Magnolias, even though I know what's coming.

Update

Ever since the end of tax season I have thought of many things to blog about, but then I get home and there's dinner and dishes and laundry and kids and grand babies.............have I mentioned how distracting adorable grand babies can be..........and by the time I open the laptop I have decided "tomorrow" would be a better day to blog.

Rinse
Repeat

So I am going to try and get back in the grove even if it just a little at a time.

In case anyone missed the pictures, I now have 2 granddaughters. Emily Payton and Aurora Eden. They are squeezable, powder scented, and perfect. The oldest is crawling and pulling up and the youngest is smiling and starting to coo.  Now how am I supposed to get anything done with all the going on????

On top of that we have 4 new animal family members.

2 fancy mice, whose names change constantly and who my daughter has decided hate her.
2 baby bearded dragons - Mooshoo and Nofeugo.  According the lady at the pet store and everything we have read - they need to be talked to, held, petted. ALOT.  (So does everything else in my house). So that takes time that has to be structured since, apparently, they need EXACTLY 12 hours of daylight and EXACTLY 12 hours of dark according to my husband. And he is very obsessive responsible about making sure they get EXACTLY that. A man who, most mornings, has no idea where is wallet, keys or shoes are; get all bent out of shape if the dragons lights are not on and off at precise times.

(This is the same man who googled why some hair on the back of our -then- year old Rottweiler was wavy.)

Speaking of Nikko (the Rottweiler) and Karma (pit/boxer mix); they might run away if we bring 1 more thing into the house. They are VERY spoiled and enjoyed being our babies.
Then came the cat (Marco)
Then Emily
Then Aurora
Then Mooshoo and the unnamed mice
Then Nofeugo

Do you know what you do when your hug deprived Rottweiler wants to be petted??? You pet him NOW!!

So between the dog hair, dog drool, baby drool, mice, dragons, crickets (dragon food), bottles, dirty diapers, dishes and never ending laundry - life is full.

But very good.

Day Book

Outside my window it is bright and sunny.  Across the street from my office is a Catholic Church and throughout the day I can hear the chimes that mark certain hours.  At noon and again at 5, the chimes play several songs and it is glorious to hear.

I am thinking about the plants that we bought this weekend. Cana lillies, butterfly periwinkles and foxgloves. They need to get into the ground soon, but my husband has been working overtime and that comes first.

I am thankful that God blessed me with children and grandchildren. My life would be so boring without them.

In the kitchen.....tonight we are having pizza bake.

I am wearing my usual office attire. Black pants, red shirt and the new shoes I got last week. They are black, of course. LOL

I am creating..........nothing at the moment.

I am going to the gym with my daughters tonight. It will be our 3rd night in a row. Last night we did a cardio class.  Very similar to Tae Bo. It was fun and I feel it today. She wants to try Zumba tonight but I think I am just going to the pool.

I am wondering about school for the summer. I need to decided SOON if I want to take any classes.

I am reading "The Stone Monkey" by Jeffery Deaver. I am so enjoying the Lincoln Rhyme series.

I am hoping for a nice relaxing weekend of cleaning house. Ever since tax season ended we have been busy. I fear that we may be attacked by dust bunnies in our sleep.

I am looking forward to finally being able to get into our pool. It was a COLD 68 degrees Sunday. I need it a little warmer.

I am learning (again) the wonders of babies.

Around the house there never seems to be enough time to get everything done.

I am pondering a vacation this year but right now I am to tired to even consider one, unless it involves a study of how much sleep is to much.  LOL

A favorite quote for today...."One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak." Gilbert Chesterton.

One of my favorite things is still the smell of my husband.

A few plans for the rest of the week include: the gym, meatloaf, sushi and a movie with my hubby, time on the couch in my pajamas with kids and grandkids and church.

A peek into my day.....This is my youngest set of twins. Heather and Lindsay. I am so happy I get a few  years of just them. They are exceptional young women.

Post your own day book http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com