THIRTY

I'm not the best writer, or blogger. But here it is, my 30th birthday eve. I am still feeling okay with being 30. But ask me again tomorrow. I honestly still feel like the shy, gangly, 15 year old. I often wonder who is going to show up to my house and "catch me" faking grown up life. 30 seems so real. Like for sure, I am a grown up adult. Because all those parents of the kids I used to babysit for were probably 30. And they were OLD. Even now when I call a babysitter, I still feel like I'm the one that is supposed to be the sitter.

But here I am. Finished with schooling. Got a husband, a house, 2 kids. It's me. I'm the grown up. I've accomplished all the goals I have wanted to thus far. And let's face it, birth to 10 (while fun and important) are really, really vague memories. And 11-20 is pretty much awkward and you don't really know who you are, what you believe, or want out of time. Then I (and most people) spend 21-29 finding spouses, buying houses, starting families. So now, at 30, I feel like I can really LIVE. I have my house. I have my family. We have our hobbies, jobs, etc. And since my kids *mostly* can participate in family activities, we can do stuff together.

So I'm excited. Here I am. 30. And Tim Mc Graw and Phil Vassar can sum it up much better than I ever could.
I think I’ll take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now it’s time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

Hey my next thirty years I’m gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things I’ve done
Maybe now I’ve conquered all my adolescent fears
And I’ll do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I’m gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I’m doing here
In my next thirty years

Oh my next thirty years, I’m gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers
Maybe I’ll remember my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years
In my next thirty years

First Day of Pre-K

September 12th was Natalie's first day of pre-k! Well, specifically the first day of 4 year pre-k. Sounds funny since she went last year, but this year she will go MWF from 8:30-11. The extra half hour really does seem a lot longer time to fill. Jacob was so sad to leave her there, he kept saying, "Me too school". Maybe if he stops pooping in his pants...actually with his October birthday he won't be able to start preschool for another 2 years, in 2013 when he will almost be 4 in the three year old class. But, I digress. My friend Meghan's mom always made cute signs for her door for every "first" or special event, so I decided to do that for Natalie and Jacob. Plus, when I'm old and senile I can remember what event the picture I took was for ha ha. She loved it, as expected. I shed a few tears as she marched down the hall (first in line behind the teacher, of course) waving. I didn't think it'd be hard this year. She's becoming quite the little girl - she is so into art and reading. She claims she wants to be a runner when she grows up, and can handle a two mile walk/run with us around the subdivison in the evenings. Love that girl!




To kill some time between the gym and errands, I took Jacob to the park. It's so funny to see him on his own. He's so adventurous and has a lot more to say when she's not filling up all the conversation. He is such a ham, always wanting to cheese for the camera, and then saying "me see picture". You can see how thrilled he was about leaving to go get Miss N from school...love those mean face pictures.