THE NEW MAN IN MY LIFE--HE IS CUTE AND EVER-SO-NAUGHTY

 I have been keeping a secret!

Yes! I have!

If you follow me on Instagram

or Facebook

you already know about IT

but I know 

there are several bloggers

that don't do IG or FB.

So, for those of you that follow my blog-

MEET BUDDY!

He is my new best friend.

An all black cockapoo that is

9 weeks old.

He is a gift from my son and his wife.

He was born in Missouri 3 days after my birthday

in December.

We picked him up a week ago today.

I already can't imagine our lives

without his sweet little 

shark-like biting naughty face.

As you can see he is 

IN STARBUCKS TRAINING SCHOOL.

A teaspoon of whipped cream a day

in his own Starbucks cup.

Ain't life grand?

He has been really good for

MyHero.

John especially likes it when I put him

on the bed in the morning and

Buddy takes his bluetooth out of his ear

and pulls his sleep mask down.

It's a regular circus around here.

On another note we had our 

SECOND COVID VACCINATION

yesterday.  

We followed Dr. Chris's advice and

drank LOTS and LOTS of water

before the vaccine was administered

and lots of water and GATORADE

right afterwards.

I only have a slightly sore arm and 

MyHero has a little "bite" at the

injection site.

Maybe we are all on our way to 

healing and reconnecting someday soon.

I will keep you posted on our

PUPPYLOVE PROJECT.

Bear with me on visiting-

I am potty training "the baby"

and playing NEW MOM again!

A HEART-Y BREAKFAST--(GET IT?)-NANA STYLE with a TUTORIAL

 I thought I would post this for some of my readers

that didn't know me--BACK WHEN~

I came across this in my "to post" list

and I don't think I ever posted it.

IF I did forgive me.

This seems like yesterday but must be

SEVERAL YEARS OLD.

sigh

This is a long post for me-

so grab your coffee, tea, or

drink of choice.

Anyway--Here you go-

How To Be A Good Nana!

1. The first thing you must do

is get some grandchildren.

If you haven't any of your own

SOMEONE SOMEWHERE

will surely be willing to let

you buy theirs...er..I mean

borrow theirs for a day.

We rustled these up and

hauled them home..one

slipped off and went home

with mom and dad though..

Yep--the littlest one escaped

THIS TIME.

2. The second thing you must do,

after bathing the little suckers,

is read them a bedtime story.

This has become a favorite.

If you don't have it-

you MUST buy it..

You CANNOT be a

GOOD NANA

without this book.3. It MUST have pop up pages.

That way it takes twice as long to

read because

SOMEONE must poke

their finger in every hole

in the pop-up and ask

WHUT'S IN THERE?

Yes-Pop ups are a must!

Notice what she is eating?

It has become fondly known

at this house..as..

The Three Bears Cereal!All too soon

6AM rolls around because

THEY find you.

THEY hunt you down

because

THEY know

WHERE you sleep!

Ah~ Yes! They thought the

hour would never arrive..

It is

BREAKFAST TIME.

Time for what?

Are you paying attention here?

It is time for???

Yes..That's it!

Three Bears Cereal

First (I think I have lost

track of the number of steps

it takes to be a good Nana..

Never mind...read on)

First-You must have

a big pot of boiling water.

I got this out of the sewer..

Oh wait! No! I didn't~

It is BROWN because it has

a pinch of salt and

CINNAMON in it..

You might think that

CINNAMON is the

magic ingredient

but it is NOT!

We will get to that

LATER.

Ok- Pot...boiling water..

DUMP the Oatmeal in!

How much? Seriously?

I dunno- I never measure..

I just dump til it looks

somewhere between mucus

and cement. Works for us.Stir for about ONE MINUTE

(providing you are using

One minute Oatmeal-got it?)

THEN you add the secret

ingredient...it is....READY?

Vanilla...GOOD Vanilla..

None of that cheap all-alcohol

vanilla - I drink that but don't use

it for cooking. Kidding...just kidding..

I drink the almond flavor.Boil a few seconds more..Slap 3 Princess dishes on the counter.

If the boys were here you would also

see Thomas The Train bowls!

Oh-yeah...there's a second

MAGIC INGREDIENT too.

It is butter...Real honest-to-goodness

WISCONSIN BUTTER.

All those chubby people you

see when you are shopping?

Yep...all eating Wisconsin butter..

(I resemble that remark)Just one little pat will do ya.

Next up...sugar...good raw sugar..

brown..and wonderful..and?? C'mon~

Sugar is ? Sweet...Yep..Sugar is sweet..

and so are you...

Wait-I am getting sidetracked here.

Make it into a nice heart shape..

To match the heart shaped bowls..

Get it? (that is SweetCheeks new

byline...GET IT?

Yep..I GOT IT!

And then...and then...

To make it

OH SO CUTE..

You take a heart-shaped

cookie cutter..AND

you stamp a heart in the

center of it.
Now, I ask you..

Is that CUTE..or what?A word of caution to the

New Nanas..

DO NOT ADD MILK

It wrecks the

hearts and makes the kids cry.

Trust me on this.

On Saturday mornings..

they eat on their own little tables..

First is Lulu...someone has colored

on her table and she is not too

happy about that fact...but she is

a hearty eater and decides to

forego complaining to work on

the task at hand.Ria very daintly picks at hers.

SweetCheeks immediately eats

the sugar off hers and tells me

that YOU FURHGOTT THE SHUGHAR

on hers.

REALLY..

Yes..Seriously..Nana..Yoah DID!

(Liar, liar..pants on fire)

I didn't forget but I will get you

a LITTLE more sugar.

Sigh...big sigh..OHKAY THEN!Now comes

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART

OF THE TUTORIAL..

You must PACK THEM UP..

and take them home!

Any questions?

Look for more tutorials in

the future.

Next up we will discuss

spit painting on the

breakfast nook window.

Doesn't THAT sound like fun?

And...thank ya for stopping by~

WHAT VALENTINE'S DAY IS REALLY LIKE-A BLAST FROM THE PAST

 If you have been following for a while 

you will have read this before.

If not-grab your coffee and breakfast

because it is a long post!

Oh! To relive those days!

First you must hang a

banner INSIDE..

So that the

GRANDKIDS

will know

which Holiday

they are celebrating.

Just a word of caution..

If you hang one

that looks like

the one below..

SOMEONE

(who shall remain nameless)

will be sure to ask..

Is he

NAKED?

Your reply should be

Absolutely..

That is why he is

carrying an envelope.

This is sure to produce

a giggle from at

least 2 or the 3 grandkids..

The third one doesn't giggle.

She doesn't giggle

because she doesn't "get it".

She is trying to figure out where

HE got that BHIG of an envelope.

Secondly..

You must lay out supplies.

These will cost somewhere

in the neighborhood

of $459.00...and..

after you buy

ALL THAT STUFF,

you will realize that you have

forgotten at least one or

two crucial supplies..

Like...

Elmer's WASHABLE glue.

Lord help you

if you buy the

REGULAR ELMER'S GLUE

because it will NOT

be pretty.

Now that you have

your supplies home

and have signed

the bank loan

to cover the expense..

you must lay out the goodies...

Lay them out nice and neatly..

Sigh over the paper-Oh So Sweet

Next---

Hang a flag outside your door..

A cute little cherub flag

to greet them with a smile.

Isn't it perfect?

Love Mary Englebriet's flags.

Then they arrive...

bringing presents.

Bringing PRESENTS?

PRESENTS

For ME?

Yep-these are for Nana..

and they made them

all by themselves..

Inside are beautiful little

hearts made with love..

One from Ria.

Two from Lulu...

and one from SweetCheeks.

Of course I must put them all on..

I pick up SweetCheeks...

What does this say, SweetCheeks?

That's jus' sumbuddy ehlse's name

on there...Doan't pay eny

attenshun to the name...

just putt it on..

Whereupon I am informed

by Lulu that

"I told SweetCheeks

NOT to give you that one".

Whereupon SweetCheeks says

NOAH.YOHU.DIDN'T.LULU

an' I dohn't care cuz I am ghiving

it to her enyway. Hmmmf.

I start the legal paperwork

to change my name to Allison.

Great.. We are off

to a nice, calm start...

Now where were we?

Okay..girls..

Let's get started...

Who wants to make a

Valentine?

Everyone's hand shoots into the air.

In short order everything

 looks like this.....

All three girls are

Busy-Busy-Busy

Lulu makes this-

 Ria loved the self-stick hearts...

And SweetCheeks has now changed into her third Princess Outfit...

and has busied herself

making th...........

Oh, Dear Lord In Heaven...

Pray tell WHO left HER alone

with the glitter?

There is glitter glitter everywhere..

On the floor and on the chair..

In her mouth and on her hair....

I could go on and on with the

rhyming thingy but I'm afraid

the Dr. Suess police will get me.

An especially nice touch? 

The globs of

glue that dropped here and there

and shine brightly up

from the chair...and the table...

and the floor...and the countertop...

Did I say floor? Ah..yes...

and back to the glitter...

Nothing like glitter on the floor

that can be tracked from

room to room..

Leave NO ROOM untouched

seems to have been the motto

of the day.

I decide I need a bathroom break

to dispose of the 3 gallons of coffee

that I have downed in an effort

to keep up with this

CRAFT DAY WITH THE KIDS.

Lo and behold,

in the small reading nook

(where the old steps used to be)

I see

THIS...

How did all these books get off

the shelf and on the floor?

I ask ever-so-sweetly

between slightly gritted teeth.

Uh-oh---Here it comes...

Welllll...says SweetCheeks..

Ria toohk a few books off

the shellf and then I helped her

and took the rest offf..and

we jus' put 'em there for now.

Yeah? Where do you think

you're gonna put them later?

Wellll...It was Ria's idea.

I dunno how they gonna

get bahck on the shelfs.

Hmmmm...I dunno where YOU'RE

gonna go either if you guys don't put

these books back.

All too soon

hahahahahahahaha

the day ends and we clean up the

mess and they get ready to go home.

As you can plainly see 

SOMEONE has been so overworked

she has collapsed in a heap

using her sisters as pillows.

The pictures and story above are from a few years ago.

But the fun continued for the weekend

Guess what!

This weekend we get to do it all

over again.

If you don't see me by Monday

I will be glued to a seat somewhere

in the house.

I hope it is in a chair in front of

the computer.

Edited @ 6:55 am to add:
MyHero reads my blog and says:
 You SPENT $459 ON THIS STUFF?
(Sheeez...don't ya know a joke when you read one?;>)

PICK YOUR FAVORITE VALENTINE'S DAY TABLE RESULTS

 Well, folks-

You all hated #1 so that has been

LEFT OUT IN THE COLD

like an unwanted house mouse.

Instead-

We are starting seating with:

#2-PINK ROSES

Linda/Life&Linda, Doris, Jan L, Shortbread&Ginger, Laurie/SpruceTree

#3-CHALKY CHARMING RUNNER

bobbie, Kim & Ron the teacher (who is NOT a teetotaler)-just sayin'

#4-RUBY STEMWARE

Lisa(here for the cookie), Ramblings/Linda, Nancy(has the plates in her hutch), Dwena, Rose, Michele, Lorrie, Jan/Jan's Journey, Billie Jo, Debra, JennythePirate-going to#7 for dessert..sigh ADDING-Cecilia (because I missed her name-sorry, Cici)!!!!

#5-SWEET WHITE ROSE

jp/GreenRidge, Ellie, Lisa M, Judy, Cyndi

#6-PINK BOWTIE NAPKINS

Carole/KatieIsabella, Racheld, Ginny

#7-BLACK & WHITE & RED ALL OVER

LindaC, Gert, Woody, Bonnie, Ann, Mevely, Jack & Sherry-(what is funny is that Woody & Jack are life-long friends and both ended up here), Dawn & Louise & JennythePirate for dessert only.

#8-POLKA DOT HEARTS

Jeanie, CHERI, Diane(wearing polka dots clothes..and maybe clown makeup-who knows), Theresa, Wanda, Lis, Bless, Karen, Nellie, Jan/LowCarb, LV, Betsy/Estelle, Sheri, Terri D, 16Blessings (who really has 18 blessings, I think), MA, Catherine, Susie, Pogonip

#9-TULIPS FOR TWO

Missy, Denise, Kris, Jettie, Penny, Marilyn

#10-PINKLY PRETTY

Melanie, CindyJo, Phyllis, Julie, Leena, Carla, Laurie,Cindy/Cloches, Kathy/LookingatLife, PamelaS, Tete, Sandra (said she was waiting to see WHO picked #1--NO ONE DID, Sandra-NO ONE)!

So-wondering now IF I missed anyone but wondering WHO I missed!  lol

I am sure you all will let me know!

Will be back in a day or so with an update on hubby's health. I had originally tagged it onto the end of my PickYourFavoriteTable post but deleted it because I wanted the table choice to be FUN and not have anyone worried about anything.  Thank you all for asking and commenting anyway on John's health.

Thanks again for playing along.

It is worth the work for all the fun!

And Poor #1 that got 

NO VOTES..

NEUTRAL & NICE

Well, baby, sometimes you got it and

sometimes you don't!

Although I did think that

Tom the Backroads Traveler

might find it plain enough to 

sit down...Nope!  

PICK YOUR FAVORITE-VALENTINE'S DAY TABLE!

 Happy Valentine's Day!

Still on break for a bit but wanted

to give you a 

PICK YOUR FAVORITE

VALENTINE DAY TABLE!

How about some luncheon tables?

How about you pick your favorite?

How about you only pick ONE?

#1

NEUTRAL AND NICE

#2 PINK ROSES

#3

CHALKY CHARMING RUNNER

#4

RUBY STEMWARE

#5

A SWEET WHITE ROSE

#6

PINK BOWTIE NAPKINS

#7

BLACK AND WHITE AND RED ALL OVER

#8

POLKA DOT HEARTS

#9

TULIPS FOR TWO

#10

PINKLY PRETTY

I couldn't decide which seven to pick

so I went all out.

You have TEN CHOICES this time!

KNOCK YOURSELVES OUT~

Well, not literally-

I want you to be conscious enough to vote!

I will be back soon with the results.

Meanwhile-I have been doing a lot of sorting

and purging and organizing.

Life is very different right now,

isn't it?

But we will all just keep plugging along

and hope that things soon return

to a 'new normal'--

whatever that is.

OK!

 So-vote now-m'kay?

Go on-

VOTE!

Don't just sit there!!!!