First Day: Day 193

The first day of the school year 2008-09 has begun.

Weird making only one lunch and having only one child to get off this morning.

Taylor and I got up super early..it's funny...I get the same before school jitters that the kids get..I was still awake at 1:30am! We had decided we would head back to Chuck Wagon for a before school breakfast.

Taylor's alarm went off at 5am...and of course, since it is SO LOUD, I woke up too :)

We were ready to head out the door at 6:15am...but had to take the obligatory first day picture of my high school junior!

It was beautiful out this morning...about 52 degrees, the sunrise just starting, and a fog over the fields....a spectacular way to greet the day.

A quick stop for gum at I-Beez (must have fresh breath all day) and then we headed to Chuck Wagon for a quick breakfast of grilled lemon poppyseed muffin....poached eggs (me) and egg white omelet (Taylor).

Back into the car @ 6:50am for a quick ride to EHS...have a wonderful first day, sweetheart!

Breakfast Boot Camp/Part 3: Day 192

Today was breakfast at a brand new spot for us...the Cosmic Omelet. A little funky looking, but it was crowded on a weekday morning which is a good sign. As you can imagine, they specialize in omelets...lots and lots of omelets. I got a fresh spinach, tomato and cheddar omelet..Taylor had the corn beef hash omelet and Joe got a pepper, onion, swiss and salsa omelet. They have a bread of the day (oatmeal) which was yummy toasted. Coffee was excellent too. Believe it or not, they even have a hot dog omelet! (yech!)

These last three days have been lots of fun for the three of us....especially since the three of us will now be the two of us! Sniff, sniff....But I am so happy for Joe..he is ready ready to begin the next phase of his life on his own. It's just me that's not sure I'm ready!

Breakfast Boot Camp/Part 2: Day 191

Today was another early rise...Taylor had to babysit today at 8:30am, so we were up and out of the house even earlier today...heading over to Chuck Wagon this morning. I love it there...it's like Cheers....as soon as we sit down, the waitress brings us over coffee without even asking...gotta love that. Taylor loves CW 'cuz it's the only place that makes omelets with fresh broccoli. So she got a broccoli and cheese egg white omelet with home fries. mmm-mmm. Joe ordered a broccoli and pepper omelet with homefries, and I had 2 poached eggs on multigrain toast. A delicious way to start the day!

"Pre" School Traditions: Day 190

We started our annual 3 day breakfast boot camp here at our house. For three days prior to the start of school, we get up early to get back into the school schedule. To entice the kids out of bed, we go out to breakfast, and chat. It's a nice way to ease back into early mornings. Even Joe got up with us, despite the fact that he doesn't have to start until next week. What a good kid! (of course, it may have been the free breakfast :)

Today's breakfast choice was Rein's Deli. Tune in tomorrow for tomorrow's choice!

Kayaking Weekend: Day 189

It was an absolutely perfect 10 in the weather dept this weekend, and Jim and I took advantage of one of the few remaining summer weekends by going kayaking both Saturday and today. Yesterday we headed to Brattleboro, VT with our friends Lester and Lynnette. We shopped at the Farmer's Market (one of the best ever!), hit the VT Deli for lunch to go, then headed a short distance up Rt. 30 where we started paddling. We explored Retreat Meadows, the West River (where we saw lots of nudists---ewww!) and the CT River. We had a blast.

Today we explored someplace new..East Brimfield Lake in Sturbridge.

We had only been paddling a few minutes when we spotted this Great Blue Heron..Mikko was VERY interested!We were quiet so not to disturb him (or her) but Mikko could not contain herself and barked!







They are such majestic birds!

We headed home after paddling for a couple of hours, finding a hidden river that supposedly goes on for 8-10 miles...we made plans to return for a full day and explore more.

I don't know who liked the tunnels more...us or Mikko!

I think it was Mikko!

Look at my present! Wow! :Day 188

Look at this stash! Lyndsay sent me an early birthday present...wow! I can't wait to dive into paper scrapping again instead of digi scrapping!

Thank you honey!

Double Page Layout : Day 185

Finished the last task for my online class in digi scrappin'! Did a double page layout (saved here in 2 parts, though) which is a traditional size layout (12x24inches). Took a while but it got high praise from Joe!

Here is Page 1...

And here is Page 2....

New BFF? :Day 183

Mikko may have a new best friend..Brownie, the miniature terrier from across the street. Taylor and Erica brought him over to meet Mikko and they were very curious about each other...

Good Friends: Day 180

Janice and her daughter Erica are visiting from Toronto after a 2 year (way TOO long) absence. Our visits are usually filled with laughter, good food, shopping at B&N, and just relaxing.....heading up to Spec tomorrow with Janice while Jim brings Taylor and Erica to his company picnic at Six Flags!

Believe it or not...Day 179

....I will miss having an entry clogged with 18 y.o. boy's shoes. I will miss having a full refrig one day, and then having it mostly empty the next because Taylor and Joe had lots of friends over. Despite the mess, and the $$$ food bill, I love it when the kids have their friends at our house. I'm really gonna miss the sight of all those giant "man shoes" when Joe leaves for college and there are no more marathon RISK tournaments at our house until January break. I know there are perks/a cleaner house/more food/quiet/no shoes to trip over/but I will miss it.

2 Weeks Until....Day 178

these 2 good friends leave for college. I know they are both excited about going off to college...both going pretty far from home. But, they have been friends for years and years, both in and out of school, working together in the production booth for EHS drama for 3 years. It's a change for both of them...a good one, but at the same time, bittersweet.

Iffy weather, but a fun day: Day 177

Esther, Louise and I headed to Spec early this morning and spent the day there. Dabi was already there, and we had a very chatty (as you can imagine) day. Not a lull in the conversation at any time! lol.

The pictures below were taken during the sunny parts of the day..twice we had to run in from the dock because it started to pour. We drove home in the late afternoon, and of course it had been a beautiful day (just slight bit of rain) in CT all day.

Esther and Louise LOVED Spec...I think Louise may even be interested in buying one of the empty lots when it is divided into 3 parcels. All depends on what the price is....that would be nice, wouldn't it?

Daily Wrap up: Day 176

No pictures today...but plenty for you tomorrow...I am headed up to Spec Pond with Esther and Louise for the day..made a long ago bet with them at school last winter, and I lost. I promised them a lunch on me as their prize, so I thought I would take them up to the pond for the day, which would give us a time to catch up on everything before we head back to school. We are SO busy during the day at school we never have a chance to talk...so this is it! Looking forward to a relaxing day, even though the weather might not cooperate. Ah well...if we waited for a nice day we would be waiting a long time...it's like Florida weather around here all the time...nice days that end with rain in the afternoon. Sigh...

Here's an old picture from Spec...will have new pictures in the blog post tomorrow.

Project Redo: Day 175

Started our project of re-doing Taylor's room...it is a 16th birthday present for her. It seems as if we just re-did it to a pink/green color scheme, but that was a couple of years ago, and that was just paint on the walls, paint on her iron bed, and a couple of new comforters. This time we are getting rid of everything (since it is all falling apart and is all hand me downs) except the bed! We are headed to IKEA in a few weeks (saving up for that) to get a dresser and desk and a few accessories. Yesterday we all worked very hard preparing her walls for painting. She decided on a yellow/black/red color scheme after picking out a new comforter. So Jim and Taylor sanded the green/pink walls, dusted, and taped. I came in when it was time to paint (cause that's my favorite part :) and helped roll on a very vibrant yellow called June Day from Behr paints. I think it looks really cool on her walls. Here are her walls before, during the prep, and after. No painting pictures as I was covered in paint the whole time..lol.

Here is a picture of her room before...2 walls green, 2 walls pink.

Dad sanding walls during prep...

Taylor and Dad taping all the windows, baseboards, doors, ceiling...I hate this part, so I took pictures instead :)

And TA-DA! Here is the finished project...3 new coats of paint...and a beautiful sunny yellow room. And you see a glimpse of the new black/white/yellow comforter that was our inspiration piece....More updates on Project Redo in coming weeks.