Red Balloons

 Little kids love birthdays.

Me, not so much.

Last week was my grandson's 2nd birthday.

 

He wasn't quite sure what a birthday was,

but the way the grownups were carrying on,

he figured it must be something important.

And if something is important,

the best thing to have are

 red balloons.

What else in life could

bring such joy?

It was the best present ever!

A good reminder to all of us.

The simple things 

are sometimes the greatest gifts.

Until Next Time-

Little Sprouts

If I were at home looking at my flower beds,

I'd be happy to see these

 little sprouts  coming up to 

greet the warm spring weather.

If you're Nana,  

you 're happy

to see these beautiful warm spring days

 so these little sprouts can be outside.

We did some creative adaptation

with an under-the-bed plastic storage container.

 Simply add two 50 pound bags of play sand,

a few spoons

 and a couple pails and scoops,

and you have an instant sandbox with a lid.

A happy place for these little sprouts to

play outside.
Nana was enjoying the spring weather too.

Until Next Time-

What's the Whole Picture?

It's said, that a  picture can be 

worth a thousand words,

but a photo can also be deceiving.

Looks like I'm casually marking diagonal lines

to piece

half square triangles.

Are you thinking...

Gosh, isn't she

lucky to have time like that

during the day.

Wait.
Look to the right.

I've got a helper.

Look to the left.

I've got a bunny helper.

If there was an audio available,

quiet spa music wouldn't be playing,

we love Raffi around here.

I had 110 squares to mark and

it took me all day, but 

that's okay.

These two little projects are much more important.

Until Next Time-

Nana

 Life consists of many chapters.

Each chapter can tell a story of 

love, drama, or comedy.

It's been a year since

I started the chapter of my life

affectionately known as Nana.

Or "Nanny Nana".

Many of you know that I am away from 

my home and Running Man during the week

and spend time making memories and helping out

 two of my daughters and 

these two special people 5 days a week.

Before I embarked on this commitment,

there were many considerations 

that were thought about and debated.

It's been a remarkable journey,

for all of us.

(Thank you, son in laws).

Everdeen and Sanford have become

an important part of my daily life.

This extra time for them to be able to be at home,

spending time together as cousins, learning and growing,

and playing with Nana
  has been a valuable opportunity.

My stint continues until the end of May.

 Then I'll  close this particular chapter and 

start another,

but until then

the 3 of us will continue to 

hang out together.

Until Next Time-

I Only Have Eyes For You

Everyone has probably had a favorite

toy that was loved unconditionally.

You slept with it,

took in the car,

it was with you throughout the day.

My little guy, Sanford, 

is in love with

Stanley, 

a bear,

 that was given to him that

was a promotion for Habitat for Humanity.

 

 

To lure Sanford into his bed for a nap,

we take a moment to search for Stanley,

and then, lo  and behold,  

there he is,

 already in bed waiting to snuggle.

It's a great game that continues to work.

 

 

Sanford's newest greeting 

is to chew on Stanley's face.

Must be a special guy kind of greeting.

So it became necessary 

 

 

 

to change 

Stanley's eyes.

 

 

 

But neither the bear nor the boy,

seemed to notice or care.

They're still the best of friends.

Until Next Time-

A Milestone Birthday

All birthdays are special but 

there are certain birthdays that

have come to be known as

milestones.

Yesterday was a very special day.

It was Sanford's first birthday celebration.

It was a simple family celebration,

with a Curious George theme.

It's all about the theme.

Of course,

cupcakes are the dessert of choice.

Monkey cupcakes.

Sanford's own cupcake was a 

snow monkey, no chocolate yet.

We even had the Florida kids here visiting.

It was a special birthday.

Maybe mostly for Nana.

 Until Next Time-

Keep On Spinning

This week is my official week 

of starting to watch both of my grand kiddos.

 Sanford 10 1/2 months

 Everdeen 12 weeks 

Did you ever watch the Ed Sullivan show

and be enthralled by the guys who would do the 

plate spinning acts?

With a few substitutions

that will be me.

 

 Keep on Spinning!

Until Next time-

House of Blue

A couple of weeks ago

 my house was tinted  pink 

when my 2 month old granddaughter, Everdeen,
 came for a visit. 

 This weekend 

we were the house of blue.

 My 10 month old grandson, Sanford,

 came to check out where Nana goes
goes on the weekends.

 Perfect fall weather

 Perfect Fun!

 Until Next Time-

It's Cookie Dough Cupcakes

It confession time.

 How many of us have been caught with our fingers 

in the mixing bowl eating the cookie dough.

Guilty.

With school back in session,

Elizabeth and I decided that we needed

cupcakes that reminded us of an 

after school snack of 

Milk and Cookies

This month we called in a 

special apprentice pastry chef to help

us with our 

 

 

"Chocolate cupcakes with 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Frosting."

The best part of these

delicious treats

was the peanut butter cookie dough frosting.

Guess what,

it's Egg Free.

 

Did I feel guilty this time for

eating the dough?

No, way.

We used the recipe that you'll find

over at 

giveme some oven.

The cookie dough frosting is 

exactly like a cookie recipe minus

the eggs and leavening.

We did find that we needed to add

a little bit more milk to make the frosting

softer and more spreadable.

 

As you can see, we piled it on.

These cupcakes did remind you of

an afternoon snack after school.

They were perfectly awesome and 

we didn't

even have any homework to do.

  Until Next Time-

Labor Day

 It seems like I have been laboring

all day, trying to get a few things done.

Some days are just like that.

One step forward and two back.

I know the excitement has been building

for the announcement of the winner

of my blog anniversary give away.

Sanford was hardly able to contain himself.

The winner is Julie.

 Thanks everyone for your nice comments.

Sanford has also been a winner.

He's done wearing his helmet,

his head is back to it's nice round shape,

and he's looking good.

I guess we are all winners

when you stop and think about it.

Take time to count your blessings.

 Until Next Time-

 

Something To Smile At

 Every kid loves Cheerios.

To keep Sanford entertained 

during dinner his mom has been 

putting a few Cheerios on the highchair tray.

He scoots them around,

moving them from one side of the tray to the other

and then, of course, off the edge.

He hadn't figured out that they were something

to eat and hadn't even tried to put them in his mouth,

although everything else goes there.

Until yesterday....

 "WHAT?"

 Sometimes it's hard to be sneaky

and 

find your mouth at the same time.

 Until Next Time-

Junior Bird Man

 What does Chuck Yeager,

Tom Cruise and Sanford have in common?

 They are made of "the right stuff."

This is Sanford, test pilot extraordinaire.


For the next few months our Junior Bird Man
will be wearing this little helmet.
It looks like he's either ready to play
hockey,
ride motorcycles,
wrestle,
or be ejected from a fighter jet.

With babies spending more time on their backs
they can develop plagiocephaly, or flat head syndrome.

Sanford is being a good sport about
his helmet and

hasn't let it get in the way of anything.

I wish I could be as flexible.

Good job, Sanford.

Until Next Time-