Feeling the love

I never thought in a million years that being a grandparent would feel like this. First of all, It is still hard to believe that I have been a "mimi" for 9 years already. I have "6" beautiful grand kids who love me unconditionally. I can have my sloppiest clothes on, no make-up and bed head and I am greeted the same way, as if I had on my Sunday Best. I wish we ALL could see through the eyes of a child. They don't see our flaws. They don't see our imperfections.

They love like No other. They get excited over the smallest things. All they really want is our Time, Attention, Lap, Hug, Smile, Eyes to read....tender voice and a praise every now and then. Oh, and I forgot to mention, a purse with little surprises. I have learned so much from my SIX wonders.....they inspire me! They are my heart! I don't want to let them down. I want to create memories that they can share with their kids some day. Life is good.

Before and After - Thank you Mike!

Before

I was on a mission this past summer to find a night stand to match my white provincial furniture that I still have since childhood. I went to furniture stores, antique shops, unfinished furniture stores & checked the Internet. I couldn't believe the prices, so I knew that I would come across something that I liked and affordable sooner or later. Well, it was on a Sunday morning that I was feeling kinda blue and didn't go to church that morning. I needed to clear my head and decided to go for a ride around town and that's when I spotted a yard sale sign. Before I even parked my van I said a little prayer asking God to help me find a nightstand. Well, I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted this lonely, pitiful looking blueish piece of furniture that could be a night stand. I asked how much they wanted for it. The lady said she WAS asking $1 for it yesterday, but today she would have to ask $2, because her husband found the wooden leg that goes on it, so they raised the price. I couldn't believe it, so I said "Sold".

I loaded it in my van (it was a heavy little sucker). Now, you have to understand, I hate to refinish furniture, but I figured a little bit of white paint and it would work for me. When I got it home and unloaded it and showed my hubby, Mike, his wheels started turning. You see, he is a professional, expert at fixing things and making things come back to life. I didn't even ask him to refinish it. He took the reins and away he went, first taking it to work and sanding it down for 3 hours. He covered the top and edges with a material that would reinforce it and make it water proof for setting things on. He matched up the special paint to match my dressers. This was a project that took many weeks. I had to park my van outside while this thing sat in the garage in it's special work space, but that was OK with me. He even took me to pick out trim to fancy it up. We put the original knob on the drawer but I may go get a new gold one. And here is the After.

I love how it turned out. The shelves need a little touch up but I may cover them with something. The cost of refinishing it was minimal. I appreciate so much, the time and effort my hubby put into this project for me. He knew how special this was to me. I can always count on him. I think I will keep him!

Hand in Hand we walked at the Zoo

I held the most tender, sweetest hand yesterday and it made my heart swell with pride. He only extended out his "silly band hand".

Gray's wish was to spend his 5th Birthday at Lincoln Park Zoo, in Chicago. I switched my day off so I could go with. I am so thankful for a flexible job that will allow me to spend time with my family. Be prepared for lots of fun pictures from our day. Gray was the sweetest boy and he was our tour guide. He knew exactly which animals and what order he wanted to see them in.

The Giraffe's were outside eating.
Gray and Ivy were looking for Nemo.
Gray was looking for Mr. Crocodile, who is usually lying on a rock.

Steph & Ivy amazed at Mr. Hippo.
Meerkats are my all time favorite little guys to watch.

I could stand all day watching "Lee" the polar bear swim in this sky blue water. I love the reflection of the tree on him. He always puts on a great show for us.Gray had a permanent smile All day long.
Gray enjoyed his Birthday lunch. Cheeseburger and fries. He later made friends with a squirrel

by sharing his fries.
Gray and Ivy in a log looking in at the chimps. Gray was pretending to be a tree frog the whole time he was playing in and on the log.

I think this is such a precious picture. Gray was taking a little rest.

Little miss Ivy "Lulu" enjoyed her freedom, running around, doing her own thing.
Gray climbing on Mr. Ape at the end of our playtime at the zoo.

After the zoo, we were home just in time for Noah and Carter as they got off the school bus. We loaded up and headed to Designer Desserts
for Gray's special Birthday Cupcake. We each picked out our favorite's from the case of many different kinds. It was a very hard decision. I chose a delicious Coconut Cream cupcake.

Gray chose a chocolate/raspberry cupcake. He just sat and starred at it for the longest time.
He ended up finishing his brother's cupcake and taking his home. I don't think he wanted to mess it up. This was an ending to a perfect, wish fulfilled 5th Birthday. He didn't need to blow out a candle cause he already got his wish. What a Fun Day! And during the course of the day, Gray would say in a soft voice "Mimi, I love you".

Happy 5th Birthday Grayson

Today, we will make Gray's Birthday wish come true by visiting our favorite zoo in Chicago. Gray is such a special little boy. He lights up our world by the things he says. You wonder, how that vocabulary came out of such a little guy. We will celebrate with family on Sunday, but today we will celebrate with Gray's favorite animals. I am so glad I get the opportunity to join him today and make more memories on such a great, sunshiny day...."Gray's 5th Birthday"....... I LOVE this little man!
Happy Happy Birthday Grayby! Mimi loves you sooooooo much!

Babysitting Five and still alive

My house was very much Alive on Saturday night. With the help of Grampy, we had a very entertaining evening with 5 of our 6 grand kids. Little miss Ivy "Lulu" is talking on her play phone and just look at her expression and hand. She has ruby red eyes that are so funny.

Jack is Mr. Police man. They all had so much fun playing in all the riding toys and chasing one another.

Jack thinks he's big stuff now that he can get in and out of the riding toys. Ivy loves riding "Moo" the pony. Abby named him when I bought him a few years ago. Ivy was a little jealous when I changed Jacks diaper. She wanted me to change her too. She even told me she had a poopy, but didn't really, just cause Jack had one.
Gray loved cooking in Dora's kitchen and answering the phone.Gray also enjoyed building Lego's and of course doing a lot of snacking. There is always every one's favorites in Mimi's kitchen.
I must have caught Noah talking or he was just amazed at how fast his brother Carter builds. Grampy saved the night by going to the toy store ahead of time to get some new Lego's. They were actually an off brand that worked just like the real thing. It kept them busy most of the night. Grampy made the comment after they all went home that they were all so good. This was the first time we watched 5 together and It went so smooth. Noah always helps by picking up toys and keeping things organized. He also helped a lot with Jack. And we laughed a lot at Jack's funny expressions. So, I guess we could try tackling 6, since 5 wasn't bad. We will see.....

Care Bear Slumber Party with Abigail

I try as a Mimi to do special things with my grand kids. I want them to remember me when they get older as the Mimi who believed in having fun. Last week I asked Abby if she wanted to have a Care Bears sleepover. Of course she was thrilled and counted down the days. I thought that Saturday night would be a perfect time, since we could get up in the morning and go to church together. I knew how much she loved her Care Bears and I happened to have a few myself, so she arrived with Daddy carrying the huge tote bag of bears. She couldn't wait for her mommy and daddy to leave so we could start having fun. She immediately wanted to put on her play princess dress. We lined the bears up on the bed and she read them a story. She actually found a book that I am giving Jack for Christmas in my closet. I told her we would read it, but she had to keep it a secret from Jack. The name of the book is "Jackson's Blanket".

After story time with the bears, Abby wanted to call her cousin, Ivy, to see if she was feeling ok after breaking her arm. Abby was so concerned after she heard of her accident. It was so sweet when she was talking to Ivy. I could hear Ivy just jibber jabbing away and Abby's face had this concerned look as she asked how her broken arm was and telling her she loved her. Abby is a human Care Bear.

We decided to go downstairs to play with play dough and make care bears. Abby is giving me a silly face.
This is my work of art sitting on his lap. After making care bears, Abby hung out a while with Grampa at the computer. I actually fell asleep on the bed, surrounded by all the care bears and Grampa said he heard me snoring. Abby came in to wake me up so we could put the care bears in their own bed, so we would have room to sleep.

It was a late night of playing and we finally got to sleep around 10:00 p.m. When we awoke at 6:00 a.m. I started making breakfast. I made Abby a Care Bears pancake. One of his legs sorta got damaged. Abby was very happy with her new breakfast buddy. She didn't want to eat his head for some reason.
Abby was a little tired of me taking pictures as she sat quietly eating her breakfast, reading a little book. It was a most eventful evening and I would love to carry on the tradition of doing something special with each grandchild. Whether it be going to a favorite restaurant, zoo trip, beach, orchard, or just playing catch in the yard, I love spending time with my grand kids. We made new memories last night and they will last forever.

Blog Debut

And Now, making it's Debut for the very first time, Mimi's Toes new blog design. Many thanks to my daughter, Steph and very talented, and special friend, Beth for making this happen. Steph knew I was wanting a new design, so for my Birthday, she arranged for Beth to design exactly what I wanted. It didn't take me long to decide. I knew I wanted a beach theme since I feel such peace there. The 6 birds represent my 6 grand kids, which Beth's brilliant mind thought of. The beach chair makes me think of my sister vacations in Florida. My sister had given me a special paper weight with a beach scene inside which gave me the inspiration for the look. Thanks again Steph & Beth....I love it!

30 Minutes

Have you ever thought about how much you can get done in 30 minutes? This morning as I woke up and jumped out of bed at 5:30a.m. and put on my workout clothes to be at Curves by 6:00 a.m., I started thinking, I plan my day a lot of times in 30 min. intervals. It took 30 minutes for my workout, then it was back home to start making lasagna for dinner tonight, which only took me 30 minutes to assemble. (really). I had 30 minutes to get ready for work and out the door. I made it! I allow myself 30 minutes to get to work, which only takes about 20 minutes.
So, what do you get done in 30 minutes?

Princess Abigail

One of Abby's favorite things to do when she comes to my house is "Dress up like a princess". Her and Jack came over last night while their mommy went shopping and daddy was at work. I found this beautiful white flower girl dress at a yard sale for, would you believe, $1.00. I knew it would be perfect to add to my collection of dress up outfits for when Abby comes over. She gasped when she saw it and immediately put it on. It was a perfect fit.

Abby loves to look at pictures of when she was a baby. She took a break from playing and looked through the photo albums. I had to sneak in a picture of Jack Jack. He is growing so fast and changing looks. I took this picture on the run. It's hard to get him to stay still long enough. He is a busy little guy and Loves to eat. We had a fun night. We read books, played tea party, told stories of a princess and prince, ate snacks, watched Nick Jr., watched Wiggles on YouTube, jumped on the bed, And would you believe they were still awake when mommy picked them up at 10:00pm? This mimi fell into bed.....

Ivy LaRue is Two!

Happy Birthday Ivy LaRue! "Two"....already. No one can give a hug like Ivy. She comes at you with full force and you better be ready. I am amazed at the vocabulary of such a little girl. She can already count to 10. I see great things ahead for this lovely lady. A Stage is in her future. Growing up with three brothers do have advantages. She does rule the roost. I am so proud to be her "mimi" and she does not like to share my lap. A funny moment on Saturday when the whole family gathered for breakfast at a restaurant on my sister's last day, I was holding Jack and Ivy was seated across the table from me. As soon as I put Jack down, she rushed around the table to hurry to get in my lap. She eyed him the whole time he was in my lap, as if to say "she's MY mimi". I wish her a very happy birthday today....She's my Lu Lu!