Our Life Is Never Boring-We Celebrate Everything!

I worked in the basement 

ALL DAY LONG YESTERDAY!

I got tons done but didn't have much time to

prepare a post for today.

So--- I thought I would show you

what is normal for the course around here

on a busy day.

Even small things are celebrated

at this house.

For evidence I submit these pictures.

#1 

Waiting for the timer on the microwave

to go off to signal that the 

MACARONI & CHEESE 

is done.

Look at the curls on 

SweetCheeks and Sweet Ria.

#2

The countdown is almost over!

#3

Whoo Hooo!

Hooray- Hooray!

It's time to eat today!

That last photo is what I like to fondly call an 

ACTION SHOT.

Life is a little slow in Wisconsin

when the temperatures are 

40 below zero.

We will celebrate anything!

Almost too much excitement to bear,

isn't it?;>)

I MIGHT have a project to 

share tomorrow----or---

maybe not~

The Blue Man In Our Family

Our family is crazy.

It is not like you didn't suspect it before

so I am just confirming it here.

Our kids & their spouses exchange names at Christmas.

There is a rule about the gift giving.

You have to MAKE it yourself.

It cannot cost more than $25.00.

It must be something well....

the word unique comes to mind.

So-THIS PAST CHRISTMAS

My sweet daughter and momma-to-be,

Mimi got her brother's name.

Here she is with her crazy sister.

Mimi is on the right.

Anyway, you probably DON'T WANT Mimi

to get your name because she has a wicked

sense of humor.

This year she got her brother's name.

Mama's Boy....

You know-the daddy to little CJK.

Mimi invented a game called

The Blue Man Game.

To play you must don a blue suit.

You must stand on the mat provided.

People stand 10 feet from you and throw 

ping pong balls covered with velcro

at the bulls-eyes hoping to hit them.

Points are assigned for dodging balls,

catching balls and assorted other points.

So, Christmas morning at my daughter' house

you see here

 Mama's Boy in the "starting position".

Notice the JAZZ HANDS.

Notice the two laughers on either side of him.

Laughers are optional.

When the BLUE MAN gets a set number of ponts

he can choose any member that threw balls 

at him to replace him.

That person must then don the 

BLUE MAN SUIT 

and take his turn on the mat.

Guess who Mama's Boy picked?

Yes! Yes!

It is MyHero!

Here SweetCheeks is 'splaining

the rules to Papa.

He does NOT get the jazz hands part.

Notice how nicely the 

BLUE MAN suit

shows off his svelte figure.

Now, I might be blond

but I was 

SMART ENOUGH 

to not throw a single ball.

And here you thought I was

THE DUMB ONE 

in the family!

HA!

It's A BANNER Kind Of Winter Day!

Minus 45 Degrees?

Minus 50 Degrees?

They need to add wind chill in there

as if Minus 18 degrees is not cold enough?

Well, it't been a BANNER winter so far

so we decided to pay it homage.

We went through magazines and found

pictures that reminded us of winter.

This is what we ended up with.

Isn't  that cute?

It is made out of squares of white posterboard

with magazine pictures glued on.

Gluing is serious business around here.

I love the way the sunlight highlights the uncombed hair.

 Lulu adorned little clothespins with paper.

Yep-It starts as a mess...

And it gets laid out before gluing and adding letters.

Pretty cute in the end, huh?

SweetCheeks punched all the holes to put the string through.

That was her favorite job.

The door on the letter N
actually swings open
and you look into a 
"room with a view".

So there you have it-

Our WINTER banner

that will hang from their home mantle.

The girls went home late today.

It is quiet here now...

very quiet...

it is so quiet I think I will sneak off to my

WINTER CAMPER

to take a nap.

I got it for a gift last year.

Is that not he cutest cookie jar you've ever seen?

Have a good day- we are still way below

ZERO DEGREES HERE.

Maybe I'll warm my underwear in the microwave 

before I get dressed....

or...

maybe not~

What To Do When You Can't Leave The House -Waffles & Ice Cream & A Secret Garden

We are frozen in.

There are warnings to 

NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE EXCEPT FOR EMERGENCIES

on all the local channels.

I kept the girls overnight because school was closed.

We started the day with waffles.

Our little Ria loves them!

We caught up on homework and  a

SCIENCE PROJECT.

Now

 HERE is something you don't see everyday.

A  KRYPTON ATOM

made out of  ROLO candy,

gumdrops and marshmallows.

See?

I KNEW you wouldn't believe it unless

you saw it with your own eyes!

We finished the day with

bowls of ice cream

while watching The Secret Garden.

Did you ever read

The Secret Garden?

If not you have missed a really good read.

You can click on the picture to read the book review.

SweetCheeks had never seen the movie before.

She was entranced.

Both big sisters had read the book,

and had seen the movie

before but loved watching it again.

It's great to see kids enjoying

a wonderful old movie, isn't it?

So...today we will be crafting while

the winds blow cold and strong.

Pop by  tomorrow and see the hot mess 

we made using these bins....

Speaking of hot messes....

Here's how ONE family member eats

THEIR waffle.  S

Gotta love the hair hanging

in the butter and whipped cream!

Hot Diggity Dog- Look At My New Toy

What's that old saying?

A fool and his money are soon parted?

That IS the saying.

Guess what?

It says HIS money.

It says NOTHING about HER money.

Want to see what foolishness I spent my

money on after Christmas?

Here you go!

Now I ask you

HOW CUTE IS THAT?

MyHero might, or might not have

ROLLED HIS EYES

when I unboxed this beauty.

Umm for the blonds in the group-

the candle just happens to be in the window 

and is NOT part of the 

HOT DOG GRILL.

Don't you love it?

AND the top has a bun warmer.

Speaking of bun warming

I think these idiots that attended

THE GREEN BAY PACKER GAME 

yesterday...

may have needed a bun warmer after the game.

source

It was about zero degrees here and

I wouldn't swear to it but I bet they had 

been warming up for a  little while already

source

Amazing how something so cool going down

can make you HOT!

Yep - Those are two HOTTIES there-

at least in their own minds!

I have three grandgirls here today

because school is closed because of

the below zero temperatures.

COOL, huh?;>)

Prayer Updates! Thanks For The Prayers For Kalea & Our Sweet Little CJK

Several of you have emailed
me asking about our little CJK and
the baby (Kalea) you prayed for.
Here is an update.

A few weeks ago, 

Roxy, Living From Glory To Glory,

asked for prayers for sweet little

Baby Kalea.

Her prayer request was here.

 I also posted about this sweet baby

and the outpouring of prayers was phenomenal.

After a few scary weeks and 

an unsure prognosis

this sweet little girl 

IS HOME!

They are still not sure why she was so sick...
and her parents are scared and a bit nervous.
Please pray for peace of mind for them.

AND
Our own little CJK?
Well, he is doing really GREAT
thanks to two wonderful bloggers
that put a thought into words
and called our attention to
Kawasaki Disease!
You can read the original
post about his health here and here.
He has a bit of stiffness in his joints yet
but his overall health is good .
He will stay on baby aspirin for a few months
to prevent blood clots.
(One of the big side effects of  Kawasaki)
Here he is at Christmas
trying out his cousin's new bike.

Just look at those chubby little cheeks!

Speaking of chubby-

When I told SweetCheeks I was getting 
A LITTLE CHUBBY...
She informed me that only 
BABIES CAN BE CHUBBY...
Everyone else is just FAT.

And there you have it, folks..
The voice of authority!

Have a great Sunday!

I Am On My Way To Africa? Well-To Somewhere!

Yes!  It's true!

I received the following notification

from my new friend,

Mathew Agala

notice the spelling on Mathew/Matthew

We have deposited the check of your fund ($2.700`000`00USD) through western union department after our finally meeting regarding your fund, All you will do is to contact western union driector via E-mail: (western.union_moneytransfer@barid.com),


Your name appeared among the beneficiaries who will receive a part-payment of $1.8 Million and has been approved already as concluded by the (IMF) Chapter based on the agreement reached by the European Union and the World Bank Audit Unit and United Nations Policy Maker Unit under World Bank payment constitution and the World Economic Development Forum Annual Meeting held in London to erase debt of up to $3.5billion owed by African banks and other several international banks world wide:
Director Mathew Agala
Email :(infoubabank_77service@rocketmail.com)
BANKING DETAILS:Required

Here is what I am expecting to see when 

I get there.

image source

After I am set up in my new beach front home

I will send each of you

$10,000. so that you can join

me for a week.

I will set up a spa hut for each of you!

image

I am SO sad that YOU did not get a 

letter like the one above....

so sad.....

Wish me luck!!!!

ps.  I spent all day yesterday
DE-Christmasing-
it's not nearly as much fun putting
it away as it is setting it up!
Of course, winning all this money
makes me feel a whole lot happier.

Oh! What A Beautiful Morning- Care To Join Me For Coffee On The Side Porch

Oh! What a beautiful morning-

Oh! What a beautiful day-

I've got a wonderful feeling-

everything's going.........

What?  

Remember that song from the past?

It is running through my head this morning.

Would you like to join me for coffee on

our little side porch off the dining room

this morning?

I re-did the porch last summer here

So---Come join me, please.

OH-WAIT A MINUTE!

Dress warm because this morning that same

table looks like THIS!

Appropriate dress would be advised...

something along the line of this....

image

Maybe I better change the coffee to 7Up-

that way if you are shivering with the cold

you won't get stains on your white coat when

you spill your drink.

Have a wonderful day!

ps-No!  That is NOT me- thanks for asking.

Hello Dolly-How About Some New Clothes?

You know how I took some time off?

Well, here is one of the projects I completed

while I was away.

Our little SweetCheeks got an 

American Girl Doll, Ruthie,

for her birthday in November.

What does a new doll need?

Why-new clothes, of course!

So, Nana decided to whip up some clothes

for her special girl.

I have always loved

Mary Engelbreit fabrics.

This is one of my favorite pieces.

I have enough left to make SweetCheeks

a matching skirt.

If she isn't doing a casual dress she needs

something a little bit fancier to match 

her cute new shoes.

I made a matching bow and I always

do a finished lining inside the bodice.

For Wisconsin winters you need a skating outfit.

Not in the mood for skating?

Then reverse the skirt and add a fur vest.

This outfit makes use of one of Dad's 

discarded jeans (using material from the leg)

Gotta have something to wear with those sneakers.

Perhaps you like PINK

AND you need a backpack with "accessories".

Christmas Eve we always give the grandkids

matching pajamas.

Ruthie needed pjs to match SweetCheeks 

new pjs.  I think these come pretty close.

I thought I had a picture of 

SweetCheeks and Ruthie in their matching pjs...

hmmm....

Anyway, when SweetCheeks and Ruthie

decide to run away from home

they can do it in style.

This was her Christmas present

from Papa and me.

However, IF she is heading for

Hollywood to make the best dressed list

she might want to leave her socks at home.

LOL- She IS going to hate me someday

you know!

Happy New Year 2014

Happy, Happy New Year!

2014

source

What a year it has been for us.

I was going to list all the 

happenings that took their toll

on our family this past year

.......let's just say it was a very hard year......

BUT

I decided to 

LET IT GO

and think positive thougths

about the possible exciting things

that will happen in 2014.

As of today, we have happy, healthy

adult family members that are all living

independent, productive lives.

We have also been blessed with 

sweet, loving, healthy

grandchildren.

Thank you for understanding that 

I needed a few days away

from blogging..

I got lots accomplished and will

show you some photos later

in the week.

I am looking forward to all

of your blogs and your friendship

in 2014.

I want to leave you with a video of my

granddaughter, Lulu.

She was the only one in her school

that got up and sang solo for a 

Christmas school assembly

held for classmates and families.

She starts off a little hesitantly

and gains strength and confidence

as she goes along.

The entire auditorium roared

with applause when she finished.

I am so proud of her.

She is one of those kids that

NEVER ASKS FOR ANYTHING

but she asked her Mom to post

this for "Nana's blogging friends".

If you have just a moment pop

by to listen to it here.

I think she did an amazing job for her

first time in front of a crowd.

God Bless You

& 

Happy New Year

I treasure each and every one of you.