Saturday morning with Jack Jack

Jack hung out with me on Saturday morning for a few hours. He was just the medicine I needed for cheering up. I love this little guy so much. It's so funny, I have all kinds of Boy toys but it never fails, he wants to play tea party or....

Yes, these are his sisters & Ivy's dress up shoes. And he can even walk around in them. He cracks me up.
He does like to play checkers by scattering them all over the floor.

He loves the horse that Abby named "Moo". And of course string cheese, chips, fruit snacks, pretzels....all before 11 am.

I have a wooden cookie jar that sits low enough for all the grand-kids to help themselves to what's inside. It is a special wooden cookie jar because it belonged to my mother-in-law, Gram. She always kept Salerno butter cookies in it. My kids loved to take the lid off of the cookie jar and reach in and pull out a cookie, that Gram would put on their finger through the hole. I have fruit snacks or other treats inside and sometimes I do put Grams cookies. When Jack comes in the front door, he runs to that cookie jar and knows there will be something just for him inside. I love to see the look on his face when he lifts up the lid.

So, Saturday morning with Jack Jack was a treat.

I look forward to many more.....

Follow the yellow brick road.....

Abby is in Love with the "Wizard of Oz" and especially "Dorothy". She just had her 4th Birthday and I gave her the whole Dorothy dress up set, from head to toe. She was so excited and wants to dress up every waking moment. She showed up to visit a few nights ago wearing her Dorothy outfit. I think my neighbors must have thought she was trick-or-treating either late or early.

It thrills me to give her things that make her so happy. She told me I'm Glenda, the good witch and her brother, Jackson is the scarecrow. All she wants to watch is the DVD of the movie I got her also. I told her we would go to the Oz fest this fall and she could enter the Dorothy look alike contest. She was thrilled.

Happy 4th Birthday Princess Abigail

Abby loves to make this funny looking face cause she knows it will get a laugh from me.
I am crazy about this precious little grand-daughter of mine. She is unique in so many ways. She is really 4, going on 30. I am amazed at her maturity level. At age 2 she was telling us that she needed her privacy when we would take her potty. She is Miss Independent.
We will celebrate her 4th Birthday at McD's. She loves the inside play ground. I will take plenty of pictures to share. Happy Happy Birthday Princess Abigail. You are so loved!

Great Uncle Randy & Thoughts

My brother, Randy had not been home in 5 years. It was actually on my dad's 75th Birthday the last time he was home.

We picked right up where we left off. I love my brother. My sister and I felt comfort from him being with us. Maybe it was because he reminded us a lot of our dad or maybe it was because he really looks like our dad. The 3 of us were very close growing up. He was and still is our baby brother. He doesn't have kids of his own but always has that way of entertaining the kids around him.

It took a while for Abby & Jack to go near him, but since Abby is a BIG Wizard of OZ fan, he downloaded the movie so she was in Awe and wanted to be near him after that.

I wish he could have stayed longer than 1 week, but I will take that. There will be future visits, I'm sure.

It has not gotten easier for me with each passing day since my dad's death. I have and see so many reminders since I am still staying nights with my mom. Every place we go are reminders. Just this morning we went to our favorite restaurant in town for breakfast and everyone asked where dad was. There was an empty chair. I had to leave the table after I broke down, but returned after a good cry in the restroom. He would have ordered his favorite, Waffle with pecans and banana slices on top and sugar free syrup on the side. All of the servers, including the owner knew what he would order before he even spoke. Everyone in our town knew dad. I face having to tell people all the time when they don't see him with us.

I'm sure as time passes, the grief will get lighter, I hope, so they say.

I just want to make my dad proud and continue the legacy he has left. He was the Best money manager I have ever known. I am so thankful he was so organized, since I am carrying on where he left off. I am so impressed. I feel so honored to be his daughter.

He taught me so much.

No regrets!

You know the saying "Live life to the fullest"? Well, my dad did just that. He embraced life with such a positive attitude and I just hope and pray that I can take on the same positiveness as he had.

Who would have thought that just hours after his 80th Birthday party with family and close friends, he would be gone....in the blink of an eye.

I have dealt with the what ifs and if only's after his passing, but what really matters is the look on my dad's face at his Birthday party. It was meant for us to plan the biggest celebration we could. It was meant for my sister to fly home for this occasion, even though she had to leave her very sick grand-child. It was meant for me to find the perfect decorations and add a bit of humor, which my dad lived for. Who knew that the birthday candles on his cake would be the last he would blow out? My dad lived for each Birthday. He always added 1 year when he would tell people about his upcoming Birthday. I have never seen anyone that loved his birthday more than my dad.

My dad was the most giving man..........

After the party was over and he opened up all his cards and counted his Birthday money, we asked him what he was going to buy with his money. He said he wanted my sister and I to divide it and buy ourselves something. This was just how giving my dad was. I suggested saving it towards the Cruise he wanted all of us to go on. He agreed that was a good idea....Who would have known that when he was moved to VNA Hospice from the hospital, the name of his room was called "The Landeck Room". I immediately thought of the cruise we were going to take. He had arrived on the big ship and was taking his cruise. He cruised right on up to Heaven 2 days later.

There are so many signs that have given our family the Peace we have needed.

I guess my message to everyone would be.....Please don't have any regrets in life. Love on your family and friends. Make today count. Have a party! Celebrate! Like I said....

I have no regrets.

Was it all a Dream?

I feel like I have been dreaming for the past 10 days. One minute we are celebrating the life of my beloved Dad who turned 80 on Feb. 11 and then 5 hours after his party was over, he is struck down from a massive stroke that snuck up on him without warning.

How do I even begin to share what I am feeling right now? I have so many mixed emotions. I have never lost a loved one so close to me. My dad was my buddy. Even though I am 54 years old, I was still daddy's little girl. He called me Baby Doll.

You are never prepared to face death, especially when it is so sudden. I am just so very thankful that our family had time to love on my dad, sing to him, whisper in his ear, rub lotion on his arms, comb his hair, and have our final few days with him before he passed. He was in a coma for those days but I know he heard us.

His service was perfect. He would have been so proud of us for giving him a perfect send off.

At the grave side, the sun was shining down on us and warming us. I can't explain it but I had a feeling of peace and knowing where my dad went was comfort to me.

I told my dad that I will make him proud and carry on where he left off. I will take care of my mom and make sure she does not want for anything.

He is sitting on my shoulder, guiding me. I can feel his presence.

Life does go on...
I miss my dad....
Wake me from this dream...

Blizzard of 2011

I was 10 years old, living in Chicago during the Blizzard of 67 and can remember playing in the streets and my brother getting his boot stuck in a big hole and leaving him there....boy, did my sister and I get in trouble for that.

The Blizzard of 2011 brought back memories. I could not believe how much snow we got. 20 plus inches is a lot of snow. My hubby went out about 4 or 5 times to snow blow the driveway and sidewalk. I got to learn how to operate the snow blower and was excited. I even picked up the shovel and helped. Since I couldn't get my workout at Curves, I got it shovelling.

It was a great day being off work and having a snow day. I have a habit of wanting to be in the kitchen cooking and baking during a snow storm. I started out the morning baking blueberry muffins, put on a large kettle of beef stew & rice for lunch, baked 3 loaves of banana nut bread later in the day. Comfort food! Mike and I even tried to drive some food over to my parents, but couldn't make it. We had to turn around and come back home. I guess that's why they kept saying on the radio "don't leave your house, unless it's an emergency".

I finally took down the rest of my Christmas decorations....I still had my clothesline of cards and my little snow baby Christmas tree up on my piano, so I figured since it was groundhog day, it was time to put all away.

So, this morning, I woke up and the sun is shining so brightly and it is below zero. I do need to go in to work, but going in later, to give the guys time to plow the parking lot.

I am just thankful we didn't lose power during the storm. All in all it was a fun blizzard day. I can say that I survived 2 blizzards in my lifetime now. I still love snow!

Random thoughts

This post should have been about my week 4 weight loss, Power of One Challenge at the shrinking jeans. I don't feel like reporting my 2 lb. gain last week. So there, you have it....I'm still chubby and the bag of valentine's gummy hearts were not worth it. I'm not feeling sorry for myself because I control what I eat and so I messed up. Maybe you will see a post about week 5 next week, until then, I will bore you with my random thoughts.
1. It's been snowing all day, it looks like a white canvas on the ground...I still love snow...
2. My new favorite food is quiche..
3. I am proud of myself for continuing with Curves, even though my eating still needs help...
4. I like going to Zumba at Curves....
5. I like the fact that I can wear house shoes in my office...
6. I am really enjoying this season of American Idol with the new judges...
7. I am hooked on the Housewives of Atlanta, Beverly Hills & Orange County...
8. I love my new box set of Will and Grace from my daughter....
9. I love getting off work at 4...
10.I switched facial cleansers to Neutrogena and am liking it...
11.I still love my Vera Bradley purse I got on clearance for $12...Coach is taking a break...
12.I love watching The Duggars...The Little Couple and Little People Big World....
13.I guess you could say I like reality t.v.
14.Can't wait til Celebrity Apprentice starts again...
15.I love the new Oprah Winfrey Network, OWN...

Saturday at the Movies with 4

I invited my 4 oldest grand kids to the movies to see "Tangled". Abby didn't want her picture taken but I managed to sneak in a few. Aren't these some handsome boys? Noah, Gray & Carter.It was such a fun Saturday with Gray, Noah, Carter & Abby. This was my first try at taking all 4 to the movies. I stocked my Big purse up with treats. The ride over there in my van was entertaining enough. They giggled and made each other laugh and just had a ball. I looked in the rear view mirror and thought to myself, how blessed I am. The cousins don't get together as much as they should. Usually just for Birthday parties or holidays.

After the movie was over I tried to sneak in a few pictures and you can see Abby not liking me sneaking them in.
I treated them to McDonald's after the movie and we came back to my house and played some more.

Abby is saying "hey, don't take my picture". She loved being around her boy cousins and asked me if they could all have a sleepover some time. It was so cute, when we were walking in the theater, her and Gray were holding hands. It was the sweetest thing. I know, my camera was buried in my purse, or I would have snapped a picture.

So, Abby finally let me take her picture. She made herself a birthday cake. She will turn 4 in March...she wanted me to lite the candle and sing to her.

Then it was time to take the boys home. We stayed for a little bit while Abby and Ivy played so sweet together. On the way back to my house, Abby said she liked Aunt Steph's house because it has an upstairs, like a castle. She wants to go back she said. Her daddy & mommy picked her up and I hopped in the shower and called it a day. I loved hanging out with the foursome!

Skype buddies

What's the next best thing when you live over a thousand miles away from family you love? Skype! I am so thankful for Skype. I am able to visit with my sister as much as we want to. This is Aden with his daddy, Rob. (sorry about the distorted picture) They are my niece, Dayna's hubby and son. Aden's brother, Evan loves to Skype with me. He points to their computer and says "Aunt Ronna". My grand kids met their cousins through Skyping. When they come over, we try to see if anyone is on and we visit. One of the things Abby loves to do when she is over is run up the stairs to the computer room and see if Aunt Diane is on Skype. It just warms my heart to visit with my loved ones and watch the little ones grow. Today is Evan & Aden's Birthday party. They were born 1 year and 3 days apart. My niece said she would turn on Skype during the party and let me see what's going on. It's like being there. This is just one of the things I am so thankful for!

The Power of One - Weigh in # 3

So, here we are at week 3 of this Challenge. I have great news to report. I am down another 2 lbs., making my total loss at 5 lbs. It really blows my mind cause my food choices have been very strange, but I have stuck to my smaller portion sizes and No night eating. I have also changed the snack choices and am drinking more water. I am enjoying my Zumba class at Curves and I have been sticking to my 50 sit-ups before bedtime.
I dumped out my candy dish at work that contained my favorite hard Christmas candy and replaced it with dried fruits and healthy nuts. It's a great feeling to know that I can still have chips (baked lays) and desserts (half frozen choc. covered banana's) and still lose weight. The secret for me is giving up the night eating and eating more protein. I feel like the power is starting to come back and I can continue on this journey of making healthier choices and lose weight. Summer is just around the corner!

The Power of One - Weigh in #2

So, I am a few days late in posting this, but I have a good excuse....I thought my Weight Watchers scale was broke but it only needed batteries. When I went to put the batteries in, it still wouldn't work, so hubby fixed it...turned out, I had the batteries in wrong...oops! So, I do have good news to report. I had a 1 lb. weight loss last week, making my total loss at 3 lbs. Hey, I will gladly take this. I had a very rough week foodwise. I found myself wanting to munch at my desk at work. I had some kind of nervous munching thing going on. So, I went to the healthfood store and got some dried fruits and nuts and made a mix. I did pretty good on my portion sizes, but my food choices sometimes weren't the best. I did make it to Curves and even did a Zumba class. So, my goals for this week are:
1. Make it to Curves every day, including the Zumba classes.
2. Substitute my raspberry ice tea for water.
3. 50 sit ups on the exercise ball before bedtime.
4. No night eating! cut off the eating at 6:00 pm.
5. More fruits and veggies.
I hope to report another weight loss on Wednesday at the 3rd weigh in.

New Year's Eve 12/31/10 with A & J

Abby & Jack came over to party with me for a while on New Year's Eve. I wanted Abby to hold up this sign and she didn't want to for some reason. I think she's saying "why are you making me hold this"?

The party got started with the big pink exercise ball. Jack is carrying his cup in preparation for the toast.who knew that an exercise ball could be so much fun?
Ok, so the highlight of our evening was when I passed out rolls of (cheap) toilet paper and said "Go for it". Who knew I would be the one to get all wrapped up. It was so much fun and the clean up was not bad at all. I bribed them by saying we would get dessert as soon as it was all cleaned up. It works every time!

I was a very tired Mimi by the end of the night. They left before we rang in the New Year. I made me a pina colada and relaxed. Grampa was downstairs in his lazy boy snoring the whole time the party was going on. It was a fun party if I say so myself. Thanks Abby & Jack!

We Celebrate 34 Years of Steph!

She's Beauty


She's Babywearer
She's a Teacher, Writer, Encourager....

She's an Entertainer, Chef....
She's a Wife
She's a Mommy
She's a Best Friend
She's a Daughter
She's a Sister

She is Stephanie and we Celebrate Her today. Thirty-four years ago today, on a Saturday at 5:17 p.m. a princess was born. I knew the very moment our eyes met that she was special and God had great plans in store for her. I am so proud of the person she is and my wish for her is a day filled with blessings beyond all measure. Happy Birthday Steph!

Much Love, Mom

The Power of One - Weigh-in Week #1

Drum roll please.....my first week of the challenge weigh-in produced a 2 lb. loss. I will gladly take this number. This has been a very rough week for me all around. I started getting sick last Friday and was on the couch most of the weekend and a visit to the doctor on Monday showed I had a Virus "Bad Cold". But, the doctor visit also gave some great news from blood work results from a month ago I had done. She said my cholesterol was perfect and everything else was great. My blood pressure was even normal and it had been high for so long. I felt like she gave me a clean slate to get this party started in the weight loss area. She was thrilled that I am continuing with my Curves work-0uts and I decided to start doing Zumba along with the Curves. My first Zumba class is Saturday morning. Curves is offering the Zumba classes along with the Curves work-out. I am really excited about this new work-out.

If I could say one thing that was a Challenge for me this week that I overcame was the left over cookies and specialty chocolates that was in my work place that people would bring in. I walked past the Fannie May Pixies and decided that I would choose a yogurt as my snack instead of the little chocolate enemies. This for me was a huge step! I am so proud of Me for this. I kept thinking, what would Nancy and my sister think if I told them I gave in to these little devils? I also pictured the candy on my hips.

Although this was a rough week for me with being sick and not getting to Curves as much as I could have I am still happy with my results.

I do have to say that I did watch my portion sizes during meals. My hubby and I went out to eat one time and I ended up giving him my twice baked potato because I decided that I really didn't want it. Now, that's another step in the right direction. And I ate only 1 slice of the homemade bread at dinner instead of half the loaf.

I feel like the Power in me is back and I can do this. I hope to report another loss next week.