My Three Boys-The ThumbThucker-The Computer Geek-The Croupy Cougher

Last week I took a few days off and 

went to a Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells.

I met my daughter, Mimi, and her two boys there.

After a long day of sliding down slides

and running under waterfalls we were tired out.

This little THUMBTHUCKER curled into a ball

and snuggled with his Mama..

Ummm...next time we will wash his face

after he eats his macaroni and cheese!

Meanwhile~

This little computer geek can already do things on

the computer that I can't figure out.

Scary, huh?

Yes!  That is his own Ipad (or whatever it is).

His Daddy is an AT&T manager so they always 

have the latest and greatest.

And, last but not least,

I am waiting this morning for our little

CJK to arrive.

Poor baby.

This is what 

THE CROUP looks like!

My Hero tells me NOT to use 

FLOWERED BLANKETS

on him because he is 

A BOY

and we don't want to make 

A SISSY out of him!

No kidding?

REALLY!!!?????!!!!!

Well, wait till he sees THIS!

I'll have this fella standing by with the de-fib paddles just in case

MyHero keels over from the shock.

Shock-Get it?  Shock for the Shock...

never mind...

source

MyHero WOULD get a doctor 

that looked like that.

If I keeled over do you know what kind of 

doctor I would get?

source

You know WHY I would get that doctor?

Because MyHero has a 

BIG insurance policy on me!

HUGE POLICY!!!

 Hope YOU have a good day.

I'll be here holding a baby,

dancing to his tune,

and praying that he feels better

by tonight.

MY YEARLY EXAM- NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH

Yesterday 

My Hero and I had our annual physicals.

I don't know about you but I would rather go to the dentist

than the doctor.

At least I can keep my clothes on in the dentist's office.

Even if I happened to be  young and cute and the dentist was super handsome I would leave my clothes on...yes-I-would.

I go through all the normal procedures...

Vampires suck my blood out into a tube.

Then they put me through the mental torture test

by asking

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WEIGH?

I want to tell them that I weigh their IQ but then

they would think they were REALLY smart...

I mean like SUPER HUMAN SMART.

I am ushered into the 

NAKED ROOM.

There are things to look at here.

I want to reach in and squeeze the cotton balls

but I resist the temptation.

Nurse Jeannie (who is darling)

asks me 3,658 questions.

I answer NO to almost all of them...

except the one that asks me

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?

Finally, I get to see my Doctor,

Doctor Sabina Singh

I want to SING her praises.

(Sing-Singh-get it? They sound alike)

She is hands-down the best doctor I have EVER had.

She takes her time and really listens and 

asks questions.

If you are in the Green Bay area and looking 

for a doctor CALL HER.

Anyway,

She asks- Are you having trouble hearing?

I ask- WHAT?

She repeats: Are you having trouble hearing?

I ask again- WHAT?

She starts-Are you having......

Then she catches what I am doing and laughs.

I like a doctor that laughs.

She asks if I am having any pains.

I want to tell her "just the one I live with"

but behave myself instead.

Finally, it is time for 

THE GOWN

You know the ones-The ONE SIZE FITS ALL

and NEVER DOES

And, once you don the gown you 

lay down in submission.

I endure the pinch, poke, palpitate,

press, push routine with my

standard good humor.

I get two quick jabs and I am out the door.

My Hero is in the doctor's office just down the 

hall from me.

When we are both fully inspected

we meet in the lobby.

How'd it go? I ask.

Fine! He answers.

Did you giggle at any time? I ask.

Very funny! He answers.

I ask him if he REMEMBERED to tell the Doctor

that he was getting forgetful.

I am NOT getting forgetful! He grumps.

Hmmmm...

I guess an intruder came in  and fried up some

eggs (which someone said they disposed of)

AND  Hmmmmmm......

I guess the burner turned itself on and went

to take a nap.

My Hero says he will tell him "next time"

Liar-Liar- Pants on fire-

After this wonderful experience

I treat myself to a Starbucks!

All done!  Yep- all done!

Well, ALMOST all done. I do have

ONE MORE WONDERFUL TEST.

Guess I better get studying for my quiz!

I have a little boyo here today that is not feeling 

well.  Mama & Daddy are both working so he is

HANGING OUT WITH NANA.

I'll check in as I can today.

Happy Anniversary To My Daughter And Son-In-Law

Happy Anniversary to Tara & The Brawny Man.

We were so blessed when he 

became part of our family

twelve years ago.

Didn't they make a beautiful bride and groom?

Sorry- That is one of those "soft" pictures that does

not translate well to the blog.

Trust me-they were beautiful together.

They have had some good times

and some hard times but their 

love has endured through it all.

Fast forward till now.

Those two above produced these three below.....

and our little Anna Bella 

who waits for us in Heaven.

source

Do you want to know how 

my daughter and her hubby 

CELEBRATED THEIR ANNIVERSARY?

Well, Daddy took the three little girls to a

Daddy/Daughter Dance at their school.

I am telling my daughter now...

I guess the honeymoon is over, honey!

(not sure why SweetCheeks head is

pushed forward like that-but-hey-

she is cute anyway!;>)

And..guess what?

My daughter

 wouldn't change a thing about 

that celebration.

Remember Charlies Angels? Well-Charlie IS an Angel....

A year ago today my daughter, Mimi,

and I were driving through a blinding snow storm

trying to reach Pennsylvania before 

my brother, Charlie,

went into surgery.

 He had gone in a couple of days prior and thought 

he had a bladder infection.

This is a man that was never sick a day in his life.

As it turned out, they never did do surgery.

He had gone from hale and hearty to

desperately ill in a few days time.

We got there on February 4th  and he was

very ill.

The dreaded words came from the doctor-

Stage Four Cancer.

Incurable.

No treatment available for this type of cancer.

He died the next day.

February 5th, 2013.

Even now it is surreal.

Even now I think I will pick up the phone 

and hear his 

half-laugh saying,

"Hello, Sister- Dearest"

(a take off on Mommy Dearest- don't ask)

Even now, I can hear him telling me 

how happy he was,

how much he loved the girl he had married,

how much he loved his children and grandchildren.

He was one of the kindest souls I have ever known.

So, when Mimi invited me 

to spend a couple of days

with her and her boys 

while her hubby was out of town

I thought it was fitting to go.

And, as we mourn losing Charlie, 

we celebrate the fact

that she is carrying another little life around.

Another little girl to love.

Charlie loved Mimi.

She reminded him of our side of the family

with her curly red hair and her blue eyes.

He would have loved this baby, too.

You know who else he loved when he was young?

He loved Farrah Fawcett.

I think he may have had a poster or two

of her somewhere.

source

Do you suppose that my brother, Charlie,

finally got to see a REAL angel up close?

Yep- Wouldn't that be grand?

My brother, Charlie, meeting up with one of 

Charlie's Angels!

Imagine That!

I will be gone for a couple of days...

remembering and thinking.....

 AND thankful 

for the life I am living.

Be back soon!

Shower Me Pink And Pretty- A Baby Shower

My daughter, Mimi, is having a

BABY GIRL.

She has two little boys and has

 LOTS of boys' things

but NOTHING for a baby girl.

She has waited a long time for a girl.

Her sister and Mimi's friend, Gretchen,

decided to throw her a shower.

Her friend, Gretchen, is so talented.

Her house is just darling to begin with

and she made it super sweet for the 

BABY SHOWER.

Pink & White flowers in  pink tin carriers

accented the tables.

The tins are from Ikea and they wrote

on them with chalk.

There were pink and white pom poms.

There were pink and white desserts.

There were strawberries covered with white chocolate.

There were sweet cup-cakes.

with a creamy raspberry filling.

There were presents.

I forgot to take a picture of the pile of presents...sorry...

There were sweet girls there,

including SweetCheeks.

How is it possible NOT to have a 

picture of SweetCheeks?
Oh-Wait- I have ONE.

She is ignoring me because I called her
Gappy- as in "missing a tooth"-
Gappy- She was okay with GaBBy-
but not Gappy.
Lost her sense of humor there for a minute.

Here is Ria writing an "advice note" to 

her new cousin-to-be.

Her advice was:

LEARN TO DANCE.

Lulu helped me prepare quiches in the morning

and fluffed the flowers.

What else did we have besides all the food and presents and kids?

Oh! Yes! We had a 

MOM-TO-BE!

I did NOT get very good pictures of Mimi.

As you can see she is wearing a lamp hat in this one...

Hmmm..wearing a lampshade 

on her head might have

been how she got in this 

state in the first place-just saying....

It was a wonderful shower and Mimi 

is blessed with some

truly wonderful friends and family 

that all love her.

What more could anyone ask for?

Oh, yes-One more thing! 

A healthy sweet baby girl.

Six More Weeks To Baby!

Lesson or the day:

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAMERA UNTENDED.

I have several pictures of 

unknown origin and content.

However, I have a sneaking suspicion 

I KNOW who

took charge of the camera...

because a pre-teen kid

just can't resist a "selfie".

She thought the photos she took 

were really funny.

However, the laugh is on her because 

wait until her Dad sees this one.

Notice the MASCARA?

Yeah- well, DAD is gonna notice it, too.

Good luck with THAT, Lulu!!!

SLEDDING And SUNDAES And SILLINESS

We have had quite a weekend so far.

We had volleyball on Saturday morning

and then came home to play in the snow.

Want to know how much snow we have?

We have THIS MUCH snow!

What do you do when you can barely make it up 

THE BACK STEPS?

What do you see there?

How about a SLIDE?

Do you see a SLIDE?

Someone sure did!

After almost THREE HOURS of snow fun

they were ready to abandon their sled.

That gives you a better idea of the drift

in our backyard next to the house.

What tastes good after a cold snowy day?

How about a HOT FUDGE SUNDAY

even if it IS Saturday night.

Eyes Closed Or Open

they sure taste good.

Oh-baby!

AND

After Sundaes it is time for the 

HA-HA GAME.

If you have never played this you MUST try it.

Everyone lays down and puts their head 

on someone else's stomach.

Then the first person starts with HA..

The next person says HA HA.

The third person says HA HA HA.

The fourth person says HA HA HA HA.

This continues and keeps going around.

The first person to start laughing uncontrollably is OUT.

As you can see above,

MyHero IS NOT a winner!

He is OUT.

The line re-forms and continues until there

is only one person left.

If you play try to lay next to

a person with a nice big tummy.

It makes a GREAT pillow.

Oh-isn't that sweet?

MyHero is working on making

his "pillow" bigger just for me!

Now, tomorrow, if you are 

VERY GOOD

and promise not to take tranquilizers

when you don't need them

I just might show you some pictures

from my daughter's

BABY SHOWER being held today.

Guess what color everything is.

You get one guess

as to whether it is a boy or a girl.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Oh, heck-

CELEBRATE with a Sundae.

You deserve it!

Romantic Homes February 2014 Review

I was late with January's review

so I want to be EARLY with this one.

I have been a subscriber to 

Romantic Homes

since their first issue.

I think I have every one ever published-

except for a couple that a 

so-called "friend" borrowed for her daughter

and took them out of the binder they were in

and never returned...and denied doing it.

Not that I remember such stuff.

February's cover is quite pretty.

Is that picture a little skewed or is it me?

Don't answer that!

As bad as I hate to say it,

once again I am disenchanted with the changes

they have made at Romantic Homes.

I had a hard time finding enough to blog about..

Hard to believe seeing that it is their

VALENTINE'S DAY ISSUE!

Once again,
NO BLOGGERS 

are featured.

When I looked at each page I had to try

and figure out if it was a house or 

an advertisement.

However,

This is a pretty centerpiece is

styled and photographed by

Melinda Graham

I'll take more of her, thank you!!

And this is by our wonderful

Jo-Anne Coletti, 

artist and photographer.

Softly-Prettily-Pink

.This pretty home is in France and belongs to

Nathalie Pede.

photos by Jody Stewart/Narratives

And- as most of you know-

 my heart is always pulled back to Florida.

This sweet home belongs to

Doreen Lane & hubby.

I couldn't find a blog or link for her.

Janet Coon/Shabby Fufu 

did the styling & photography

I thought it was pretty and romantic.

Yes- I can tell it's Florida!

Can you?

How do I know?

Because it has a screen enclosure off the room...

and the door slides back into the wall...

(that used to signify a Ruttenberg Home)

AND I can see a PALM TREE

instead of THIS!

Photographed by ME/

STYLED BY GOD!

Have a wonderful day!