100 Years Ago....

 My grandpa would have been 100 years old today. He was the best man I ever met. Not because he brought me happy meals and treats to me but because he was so kind and loving and an amazing person. I thought that this year is a big milestone to think that my grandpa was born 100 years ago. I would celebrate in a way that he would love. He used to love to play cards. His favorite candy was Kit Kats, my grandma Rose and I would bring him back one when we walked to the store. I miss and love my grandpa. I wish he and my grandma Rose were able to meet Noah. I am sure they would have loved him.  I see a lot of my grandpa in Noah, especially his love of trying to figure out how things work. I know him and my grandma are smiling down on us from heaven. I make it a point to talk about my grandma and grandpa a lot to Noah. On my grandma Rose's birthday I told him that it was my grandma's birthday. He responded she is 96 I said how did you know that and he responded because she was 95 last year. 

 

So in honor of my grandpa Jim's 100th birthday, Noah and I both ate a KitKat bar.

Green Ostrich Tool Box Review

Noah is just like my Grandpa Jim, he loves to see how things work. So, when I had the opportunity to review a The Recycled Milk Container 15-Piece Toy Tool Set from Green Toys sold by Green Ostrich, I knew it would be the perfect toy for him. Green Ostrich is company that sell products from recycled things. Their philosophy is Make a choice, not a sacrifice. It is a green toy company and it is really cool that they are able to use things that were discarded in to something for a child to play with. Growing up my Grandpa was a diesel mechanic and he had this tool box with all of his tools. After he passed away, his tools were given to my mom and my aunts and uncles. Whenever I use one of the tools I am reminded of him in his garage working on something. Noah likes to fix things and take them apart.

Noah loves the The Recycled Milk Container 15-Piece Toy Tool Set from Green Toys he received from Green Ostrich. About the toolbox: Dishwasher-safe toy tool box, Phillips screwdriver, flat screwdriver, hammer, saw, wrench, pliers, 2 two-hole connectors, 2 nails, 2 bolts, and 2 nuts made from 100% recycled, curbside-collected milk containers. I love that it is dishwasher safe. That way I can make sure it is always clean for Noah and if he is sick I can combat the germs on it.

He will pretend to fix things. Sometimes when I need a tool, like a screwdriver, he will bring me one from his tool box. It is really cute. I love how it says what each tool is on the base of it. It also has screws in it. So, it is just like a real tool box. He loves to carry around his tool box and ask what needs fixing. He also likes to use the tools as other things. He has such a great imagination. We both highly recommend the Green Ostrich tool box or any of the other great toys from Green Ostrich.

For more information and to order please visit the Green Ostrich Website.
Thank you to Green Ostrich for sending Noah a tool box to try out. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

Gramps

17 years ago today, My Grandpa Jim passed away. He was a great man. He was the man that I always looked up to. He was a retired diesel mechanic who would still go to work when someone needed him. His finger nails were stained black from the diesel oil from working on the 18 wheelers. He always had a smile on his face. He would go out of his way to help others. He would instantly make friends with anyone who was sitting next to him on the bench at the mall while grandma and I shopped. He was amazing. He would always bring me Mc Donald’s when I was staying at their house which was very often. I loved spending time with him and we even had our own Cabbage Patch Kids Clubhouse which was his tool shed. My sister and I had fun tying him up while our mom and grandma went shopping. Once my grandpa saw that a shingle was loose on the roof and he had climbed up a ladder and was standing on the roof. He scared my mom by doing that.

My Grandpa Jim was a fighter. He broke his neck and lived to tell the tale. I knew any time I would wake up in early morning I would find him playing solitaire and drinking coffee. My grandpa was famous for his hat collection. His favorite hat was his Electronic Butterfly hat that my aunt and uncle had given him from their business. He loved to take pictures and go out west to California. He loved to travel and go on adventures. He also loved to watch ball games. He was a huge Purdue fan. I used to lie in between the kitchen and family room and watch TV and my grandpa used to pretend to step on me. I was a skinny kid and he would call me Skinny Minnie. I remember a time that I had ate a Lifesaver and I was choking on it. He took me outside and threw me over his shoulder and patted me on the back until the Lifesaver came out. He was my Lifesaver that day. He was truly the best gentleman and many people were blessed to have him in their lives.

I still remember the day he died. I remember when we got the call to go to the hospital right away, since they won’t tell you over the phone. It was an hour drive. It was a very long hour. I remember I cried the whole way there. I remember going in to the hospital and finding out he was gone. I remember sitting in the room and staring at the box of tissue. A family friend’s daughter was a nurse at the hospital. I knew her parents because they lived across the street from my grandparents and her sister was my grandma’s hair stylist and she cut my hair sometimes. I remember I drank a little can of Shasta. I cried and cried that day. They told us that he was laughing one minute and joking with the nurses and the next minute he was gone. There were so many people at his funeral. He was buried with the one thing that was most fitting for him… his wrench.

I think about him all the time. We talk about him often. I hate putting things together and when I can’t figure them out I am sure my grandpa is laughing at me and thinking it is so simple. I wish both my grandparents could have met Noah. Noah’s middle name is James after him. Noah does a lot of things that would make my grandpa smile. Noah has that same urge to fix things and figure out how they work. Noah is definitely his great grandfather’s great grandson.

I am sure my Grandpa Jim is looking down on us and whenever Noah is doing something with wheels or trying to figure out how something works he smiles and says that’s my boy.