1st Day of School... and I have 3rd graders.

I remember taking Jenna and Ashley to kindergarten.  I cried, and cried, and cried.  For a solid week.  Today, I took them into their 3rd grade classes, and Ashley was the one who cried.  Poor Ashley, she is not good with change, of any kind.  Jenna, was so brave!  She went right into her classroom, and found her locker and chair, and looked at me like "you can leave anytime mom!" After I took Jenna to her class, I peeked in and looked at Ashley (she didn't see me) and she was fine, working on her "welcome" worksheet.   They are in different classes, but are right across the hall from each other, so I hope they get to see each other some.  Putting them into 2 different classes has really been the best thing for them!!  They each have their own friends and their own identity!!  I think that twins get pushed together so much, I'm glad that they each get to be their own person!!

I can't believe how big they are getting.  Ashley told me earlier this week "You don't have to walk in with us" but today, was thankful that I did.  (and they had WAY to much stuff to carry for me not to help them, AND I'm not ready for them to walk to class without me, on the first day yet!!)

3rd graders.  Ugh!!  I wish time would slow down. 

1st grade!

I hope they have a wonderful day, and I can't wait to go get them and hear all about it! 

This weekend was filled with family!  Brent's mom was here  this weekend, as well as Dad & Gail!  Friday night, we went to eat Mexican food, Saturday Brent got up and pressure washed the deck and driveway, Gail and Dad came over for a visit to give the girls their birthday presents (which they loved!!  They wore their cupcake bracelets to school today) and then we went to the farmers market.

Sunday, we learned how to Can, so we canned Okra, Salsa, and Pepper Jelly!  Yummm!  Next weekend, we want to learn how to can green beans and spaghetti sauce!

 

Here are some more pictures of the girls on their 1st day of 3rd grade!  Thank you Pinterest for the sign idea! ;)

 

(Zombie 3rd graders!)

 

 

Sleepovers and Lunch Dates

The girls talked me into having a friend spend the night after registration.  I really think that we need to start having 2 friends spend the night, that way each of them have someone to play with.  It seems to be harder with 3 girls, but they played really well together.  We made donuts for breakfast (out of canned biscuits) and ice cream sundae's for snack.  Yummy. 

My grandfather had a pace-maker (I'm not sure if that is 1 word or not) put in this morning.  Thank goodness it went well, and I pray that this will fix his "dizzy" spells.   I hate not being there, but I know that he is being well taken care of, and will hopefully get to go home tomorrow. 

Today, we went and  had lunch with Brent at Neely's.  It was nice getting to see everyone from "work" and the girls enjoyed getting to see Brent during the day!  The BBQ was so yummy!!! 

I have been selling some prints on Ebay! :)  It gives me a creative outlet!  I just love this one!! 

Skating Girls

Cordova Skating Rink offered free skating 3 days a week for the summer, and we took advantage of it today!!  I knew signing up for those free passes would pay off, and I'm so glad we got signed up in time!  It's been miserably hot, so hot the girls don't even want to go outside and swim (and I can't blame them!) 

Tonight, we have to go register them for school.  I can't believe they start 3rd grade on Monday!!  I think Ashley is more excited to go back then Jenna is!   Hopefully, this year I won't cry when I drop them off!!  Ha!

I am making Chicken and Dumplings for dinner, it's too hot to cook on the stove, so I am using my trusty crockpot!  I cooked a whole chicken all day (my house smells soooo good) and just added the stuff for chicken and dumplings, plus carrots and potatoes, and will add the biscuits when we get home from registration.   With the other half of the chicken, I de-boned and will use it for chicken-pot-pie later this week!!    I think that menu planning is going to help us tremendously!  I need to look and see what Kroger has on sale next week and go ahead and get next week's menu planned out, complete with Lunch stuff.  Since Ashley can't really eat anything at the school cafeteria, I pack their lunch everyday.  Last year, it was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and lunchables.  Every. Day.  This year, we are going to get a bit more creative! ;) 

I hope ya'll can hear this, because our speakers aren't working!  LOL   I'm loving my new Flip Camera, it's so easy to use and fits SO easy in my purse!!  :)

A day at the park.

Today, the girls and I took a trip to Fletcher Creek Park.  The park just opened near the girl's school, and once the rain shower we had this morning cleared out, we decided to go before it got really hot. 

The park has 2 seperate "play areas" with multiple slides,  and 3 sets of swings.... babies (basket swings), toddlers (lower to the ground), and swings for the bigger kids. 

They have bike trails and walking trails, bridges, benches,  grills, picnic tables, and a covered picnic area.  The only thing I did not see was a port-a-potty, but they did have a drinking fountain.

We did not go on the nature trails, it was just TOO hot, but once it cools off, I can see us spending time exploring those. I love that there are 2 different play areas, and with several families there, there was room for all of the kids to play without running into each other.  I think I counted a total of 6 different slides! 

We came home and swimmed a little (it was little chilly in the pool, if you can believe that) and the girls have been drawing all afternoon.   Ashley drew an amazing Razorback... Go Hogs!

Tomorrow, we are going to take advantage of some Free Skating that we got online for the summer, so that should be fun!!  Anything inside sounds nice to me!!

Day 1 :: Our "new" life

This summer we have had some major changes happen.  I am no longer working full time, only part-time, the girls have been gone all summer (they are finally coming back tomorrow), I've had some female issues, that I am still dealing with, and I've quit smoking.  Whew.  It's so nice to be able to say that.  I've quit smoking.  It hasn't been easy, but I am determined for us all to start leading a healthier lifestyle!  2 weeks today, smoke free. 

Which, begins my next journey.  I want my family to start eating healthier.  So, starting this week, I am going to stop buying so much prepacked foods, no more "junk" foods, and we are going to start drinking more water and tea instead of soda.  I know it's going to be hard, because we are use to things the way they are now.  But, we can do it!

I want us to be as healthy as we can be, and I want the girls to always make good decisions with their food choices, and I don't see how they can, if Brent and I don't show them how to.  The girls are not picky eaters by far, and I know that they eat healthier at their Dad's house.  Jenna asked if we could start buying more fruit, so Yes Ma'am, we can. 

I'm  going to use this Blog to tell our story.  Hopefully, it will keep me motivated to make good choices, especially when I know I have to be accountable here. 

Also, with our income cut down, I'm going to use this to keep up with that as well.  I don't want to be an *extreme* coupon er, but I do want to save money for our family.

This is a blog about us, our life.   I'll post pictures of Jenna and Ashley, I'll probably rant when things don't go my way, and I will probably fail from time to time.  But, this is a place where I will keep up with it all... welcome to our Story.