Abby & Jack

Abby & Jack came over last night while their mommy & daddy went out. This was the longest that Jack & mommy have been separated. It was only about 3 1/2 hours. Elsa almost backed out of going because she didn't know if she could leave him. Her and Nate needed time away and when they came back, she said she was so glad they went and it was so refreshing for her to have an adult conversation with her hubby. Jack is 4 weeks old today. He does have a lot of hair but it's mostly in the back. Abby has had a rough time dealing with having a new little person in the house. If you ask her if she likes Jack, she will say "No". I think that is almost normal for a 2 year old to share in the attention. She does like him. She wanted to crawl up in my lap while I was feeding him and share me. Thank God I have a big lap. Grampa helped out some by holding Jack so I could have one on one time with Abby and play tea party. While holding Jack and kissing his forehead, a thought crossed my mind that this just might be my last grandchild. It was a fun night.
Look at those chubby cheeks! The finger sticking up with the pretty nail belongs to his great-grandma who stopped by to see him. He finally opened his eyes for a picture.I look a little tired but I am loving this Mimi thing. Haircut next week....hooray!

I want to play

Here's to a Fabulous Friday! I wish I could say that I know this crazy little girl, but I don't. It was sent to me this morning in an email and I just had to share it. I guess this is how I feel today. I don't want to be at work, I would rather be in Chicago at the Zoo, or taking a boat ride on the lake. I think if I were in school today, I would have to ditch. I want to play today. Since I am a one woman office, I have to be at work....I am dedicated like that. But, I do have something exciting to look forward to after work.....I will be babysitting Abby & Baby Jack. I can't believe he will be 4 weeks old tomorrow already. I will take lots of pictures so I can share some new ones. Until then, Let's get this Friday started.

I'm a Queen!

I was awarded this Awe-Summm Queen of ALL things Award from a sweetheart of a person, mommy boo of two. I have to list 7 things that make me Awesome and pass this on to 7 other Awesome bloggers. Here goes! I hope I don't bore you!
1. I have 2 Awesome children
2. I have 6 Awesome grand-children
3. I make an Awesome Lasagna
4. I have Awesome skinny ankles
5. I have an Awesome Boss
6. I can throw together an awesome dinner quickly
7. I am Awesome at multi-tasking, I am a 1 women office where I work

Now, I am awarding 7 other bloggers.
Michelle at zanes milk machine
Spoonful of Sarah
Lorie at Honey I shrank myself
Sheryl at peanut butter and jelly boats
Carrington at Capri by the Lake
Toni at cheapo Mcfrugal pants
Debbie at Olive U

Land's End Give Away at Beth's

For a chance to win a $100 give away from Land's End, hurry on over to Beth's at I should be folding laundry and enter for a chance to win. Check out all of the Fabulous Treasures they have to offer. I am in need of a new swimsuit for my trip to Florida next month, so I really want to win this. Thanks Beth and Land's End for this Terrific Summer give away!

Memorial Day with Abby

We had no plans today. No cookout. No family planned function. We had wanted to go to the beach but the weather didn't permit us to go. I wanted to just go with the flow and take the day as it happened. I did want to finish planting some flowers. Abby came over for a while today while her mommy & Jack ran some errands and daddy slept, since he worked midnights. We made every minute count and ended up not only planting flowers, but we baked cupcakes too. This is the neatest Kid's Cupcake making kit that comes with everything needed. Don't laugh at my avocado green Sears hand mixer that is almost 35 years old. I love my mixer! It was a wedding gift and works great. I love this little hand working so hard and learning how to mix. Abby is modeling the apron that came with the kit. The frosting is yummy!

Decorating is so much fun!

Hey, Look what I did!

Now for the best part, Let's eat our cupcakes! This was so much fun. Making memories!
This is the pot of flowers Abby planted all by herself, with just a little help from Mimi.
I did sit back today and reflect on loved ones who have left this world. I gave Thanks for the men and women who have or are serving our great USA so that we can have freedom. I appreciate the sacrifice they and their families make every day. I know what today stands for and I am so Greatful.

You Capture/Sweet

Our assignment this week was to Capture Sweet. Now, I could have taken pictures of my sweet grand-children, or my sweet daughter, or my sweet dogs, or my sweet hubby, but I chose my sweet wall hanging shelf that my DIL gave me along with this new sweet dessert I made called "Coconut Macaroon Torte". Talk about heavenly sweetness, I will share the recipe if anyone is interested. Go check out all the sweet pictures over at Beth's , I should be folding laundry.

I should have put more thought in color co-ordinating the plate with the shelf. Oh well, it's the dessert that matters.

For all of you dieters out there, I captured a lower in calorie sweet. These are great, but should be a lot bigger. All you get is 2 bites! These are a tease!

37 days til Paradise

I can't begin to tell you the excitement and anticipation I feel, knowing in just 37 days, I will be with my best friend, my sis! I am just one click away from booking my flight. I will be gone 10 glorious days. 5 days at my sister's house and 5 days in Florida at this exact spot. My sister's job holds their yearly conference at the same resort every year and I am invited to tag along. I break up the day by going between the 2 pools and sandy white beach, which are only steps away from our room. Is this the perfect vacation, or what? We love to walk along the beach at night just before sunset and are usually up to watch the sunrise and dolphins hopping out of the water, giving us a show as we sit on our balcony sipping coffee. I can honestly say, I am in need of a vacation. I have not had much time off from work the last year. So, I am in a big hurry to shed about 50 lbs. which I know is not possible at this point...I will be happy with 10lbs. I do have a really cute cover-up......

Elvis and the girls

Remember the Benefit Concert I told you about last month? These are my gal pals and the best Elvis impressionist around (Doug Church)...and believe you me, I have heard a lot of them. Marcia, on the left is a long time buddy who I use to work with when we both were 2nd Grade Assistants. They use to call us Lucy & Ethel and you can only imagine why. We use to roller skate down the halls on Freaky Friday's. Sharon, in the front is a great friend who we named Little Ricky. Marcia has an Elvis museum in her house and I loaned her my framed original Elvis concert ticket and part of his scarf from 1975 to display. Here's to Great Friends and fun times!

Jack 2 weeks old

Jack is already 2 weeks old. We got to babysit for about 45 min. with him last night while his mommy & daddy ran to the store. His mommy was very nervous about leaving him because he is nursing, but he had just eaten 30 min. before. They made me promise that I would call immediately if he started crying. Well, about 20 min. into it, he looked like a little bird, opening up his mouth looking for his food and got mad. I knew that I had better alert the food supply. I called to see if they were at the check out, which they were. I handed him off to Grampa, who put him in a trance by singing "Jackson row the boat ashore Hallelujah". Within 10 min. Elsa belted through the front door and scooped him up to feed him. Abby slept most of the time they were gone. I was able to snap this picture. Isn't he sweet?

TGIF

Thank God it's Friday! Another busy week and I am ready for the weekend, to relax and unwind. Nothing planned and go with the flow.......What are your plans?

You Capture. Color

I am thrilled to join in on the You Capture this week to Capture Color! Beth at Folding Laundry is so inspiring. Go on over there and check out all of the beautiful Colors. To think, I have the perfect color subjects in my own house, right under my nose. These are some of my favorite that I captured with my little Nikon Coolpix S210 pink friend. This Quilt Block holds so much meaning to me. My Grandma Riddle quilted all of her life and would make sure each of her children and grandchildren had a special quilt she made. After she passed away, my cousin Vicky found hundred's of quilt pieces in our grandma's home. She had the brilliant idea to make a Quilt Block from the pieces and give to certain family members. I was blessed to have gotten one. Vicky inherited my grandma's talent of sewing and has a special sewing machine to create such a masterpiece. When I was looking to Capture Color, this was the first thing I saw to be the perfect picture. Thanks Grandma for Coloring my world. You are not forgotten! This is my favorite Jacket. I love to wear it because it shouts color. My family has laughed at me in the past when I wore this. I am a women who appreciates wearing lots of color!

This oil painting holds a special meaning to me. It hangs above my piano. It belonged to my mother-in-law who passed away. I love the delicate pink and softness, which reminds me of her. She was a "rose" without the thorns. Gee, I miss her.

A simple vase of flowers in my living room. I hope you Capture Color today.

Memories of Mother's Day 2009

My Mother's Day was a great day. Everyone was able to come over except Elsa & baby Jack and my parents. I cooked out some yummy food and we just kicked back and enjoyed watching children run and play. We also celebrated Jeff's birthday with a special Pistachio torte he requested that I make. Here are some memories from the Wonderful Day. Steph and family gave me a really cute Thermos tote bag with the neatest drinking bottle that keeps track of the amount of water or drink you have. I used it on my walk around the lake yesterday on my lunch hour. I was also surprised to get a recorded Mother's Day card from Steph that said I will be treated to a pedicure before my vacation next month. We will go and get one together. I can't wait! I love mother/daughter special time.
Art work from Abby & her daddy.
Ivy is studying her uncle Nate. She has always watched him from a distance, so this was good that she was able to sit on his lap for a few minutes.
Carter says "Cheers"!
Gray's favorite cookies! I think he ate more than just a few!Abby enjoying a cookie and she also loved playing with her boy cousins.
Ivy and Mimi. Look at that sweet face! Not mine, Ivy's! I have on my pearls with my Mickey Mouse T-shirt. I changed after church and left my jewelry on. Maybe I'm making a new fashion statement!
Ivy riding "Moo" the pony. Abby gave him, his name.
The pot of chickens & hens I picked out from my son. I tried to grow them from a starter my sister gave me years ago that I brought home from Louisiana, but they didn't make it. I hope these survive.
These are just a few of the memories. Would you believe I didn't get a picture of Noah, Steph or Jeff? Sorry....there is always next time.

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Our family was blessed when Steph married Jeff. He is a Wonderful Son-in-law. He loves to do the clean up when we all get together at my house for dinner, to free me up to enjoy playing with the grand-kids and visiting. I don't ask him to do this, he wants to do this. It was strange yesterday after dinner at my house, the women and kids were in the living room and the men were in the kitchen, watching Jeff scrubbing the dishes and he even drys and puts them away! (Yes, my dishwasher has been broken for years now). When he gives hugs and thanks me for things, I can feel the appreciation in his hug. It is such a great feeling to know that your daughter and grand-kids are well taken care. I wanted to honor him today on his Birthday....Isn't he handsome? Happy Birthday Jeff!

Happy Mother's Day

I wish every Mom & mom to be a very Happy Mother's Day. I am fortunate to still have my mom with me and I am truly thankful. Enjoy your day what ever you do. I decided to have my family over for dinner. We will cook out and relax and enjoy watching grand-kids running around playing and the adults will play, pass the baby. We will also celebrate my son-in-law's Birthday, which is tomorrow. Don't forget to Hug a mom today!

Winner of the Garden Gloves

The Winner of the first ever Mimi's Toes Give Away is......Drum Roll Please.......
Michelle P. She won the Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Garden Gloves. Congrats Michelle!!!! Happy Gardening!!!!

Jack & Abby

Jack is already 3 days old. He squeaks real loud when he cries. It's the funniest sound.

My son is a proud daddy. I am showing off his art work that he drew and painted free hand in Jack's nursery, of the airplanes. He has one on each wall. My hubby built some model airplanes and painted them to hang from the ceiling. Nate is an artist. He painted a beautiful mural in Abby's room before she was born. He use to sit and draw non-stop when he was a little boy.
Yesterday I took off half day from work for Jack's homecoming. I got to rock him and hang out with my little Abby Do, too. Abby has an adorable little house she got for her birthday from her Pa. She loves to pretend she's cooking in her little kitchen. It has a working door bell and shutters that open and close and flower boxes.

We had fun playing outside while Jack was getting use to his first day home. It was a beautiful day all around.

Jackson Kent Wilson

Let me introduce to you, Jackson Kent Wilson, "Jack", born today, May 2, 2009 at 4:30 pm. Weighing in at 8 lbs. 1 oz. 20 inches long. He is my brand new grandson. Elsa pushed 3 times and he was out. She went in at 7am this morning and had him 8 1/2 later. She is doing very well. Abby was very excited to meet her new baby brother. His name is very special. He is named after my husband, Michael Kent.
He looks like my son when he was born.

Mike didn't know he was going to be named after him until we got to the hospital. He was a proud Grampa!