He's Here

My grandson
Donovan Philip

I have 9 grandchildren now. I love them all but Donovan is the first to be a part of me.

He's perfect.

Mom had a lot of support.

This Nurse was so sweet.

She let all of us in to see the newest member of our family.

He quieted down as soon as Dad started talking

Of course the sibs were there to see their brother's first baby

I'd just like to say that I have terrific kids!

Less than a day old and he looks like he's ready to ask for the car keys.

Oh, he was born on his daddy's birthday.
What a gift.

A Very Special Road Trip

I have a very special friend who lost her battle with cancer a short time ago.
I met her on Twitter as @Sprucehillfarm but it wasn't long before I knew her as Sarah.
She has many friends on Twitter and Facebook but there is a small group of us on Twitter that are really very close.
Sarah was the sunshine of our group.

Her family and friends held a celebration of her life yesterday and as some of you know, I love a good road trip. Plus, Sarah and I were in the process of setting a date for me to come visit when she passed so suddenly so how could I not go?

My travel companions were my lovely daughter in law Amy and granddaughter Alyssa.
I dropped them off in Baltimore and they visited with Amy's parents. Worked out beautifully.

I took along a few strays too.
These good friends couldn't make the trip but they were there in spirit.

@kayotickitchen
@LStuart1954
@acranch
@Pinkribbonwendi
@FurryPad
@wearsmanyhats
@Luvschrome
@outdoorsathome

I learned from Sarah's husband Paul that this is where they met when they were kids, the Deer Creek Overlook in Rock State Park. How fitting to hold the celebration of her life here.

And this is Sarah. Such a smile.
There were cards on the table for people to write fond memories or special thoughts. It felt good to write how much Sarah meant to us and to include the names of her friends who cared so much about her.
A few Twitter friends e-mailed their thoughts to me and I put them in the basket. I hope all of the good thoughts and kind words will help her family find comfort and peace.

She was loved by so many.

I Met the most friendly and wonderful people.
Her husband Paul was every bit as handsome as the pics on her blog and I could see why she called him her rock. He's a very special guy.
No pic though, sorry :(

This is Sara (@sstreettcook) and Maureen (@mostreett)
Sarah's Sisters-in-law. (Paul's sisters) Aren't they gorgeous?
I couldn't wait to meet them. They are so sweet. I was able to meet their parents too. Such a friendly family. Turns out the girls grew up less than 2 hours away from where I live and their parents still live there. What a small world!

Sarah's support group.
Fun group of ladies. Thanks for introducing me around and making me feel at home.

Some other people I had the pleasure of meeting. Wish I would've remembered to take a picture!
Keri (@Fab5Momma). Your picture doesn't do you justice!
Betsy (@whoamare2). You made me laugh. Thank you! Didn't you say you were Sarah's 3rd cousin? or did I just make that up?
Molly (@mommycoddle) Yes it was a great afternoon. Everyone was so sweet. I'm so happy I made the trip!

The room was filled with Storyboards, pictures and momentos.

I found the wine table ;) and there was a Starbucks table too.

Those of us who were close to Sarah know she loved her wine.
It had a little bit more meaning for me though. I bought the napkins for Sarah last year while I was on vacation. I was so happy to see them on that table.

And the food!

I got to sample many of Sarah's recipes made famous through her blog. Little recipe cards were near the dishes to take home. Such a thoughtful touch!

See the slideshow?
There were so many thoughtful little touches everywhere.
I felt Sarah in that room. I know she was there.

Activities for the kids. It was so nice to meet Sarah and Paul's three beautiful daughters. They were enjoying themselves and I'm sure their mom was smiling proudly.

The last group of pictures are really special.
Maureen and Sarah put together a scrapbook of her online adventures and it included so much of how we knew her. I wanted to read every word but so many other people wanted to see it that I took these pictures to share.





Just Beautiful.

Sarah has the most amazing family and friends.

The day was so special and you could just feel the love and caring.

I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to be there and I'm blessed to have known such a wonderful, loving, thoughtful person.

We miss you Sarah but we carry you in our hearts always.

May

May was a pretty crappy month.

I lost a good friend to breast cancer.
Another friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.
My dog got really sick.
It took forever for spring to get here.
My daughter is suffering from a severe case of low self esteem.
Mr. had to have a skin biopsy
I've felt kind of lost.

But I have so much to be thankful for.

Like......

Going to Baltimore to visit with family and friends of my friend, Sarah, who passed away.
I firmly believe my friend will kick cancer's ass.
My dog is slowly getting better.
Spring is finally here
My daughter is strong and will work it out.
I have faith in the fact that Mr. will be fine
I realize it's ok to feel lost sometimes
I have wonderful family -- Original, Extended and Blended
My kids are healthy.
My son and daughter in law are expecting their first baby in August.
It's June.

But May was still a crappy month.

Chicago

A few weeks ago my daughter Danielle and I took a train trip to Chicago. We love spending time together and now that she's working full time in a hospital as a registered nurse (so proud! can ya tell?) we just don't get to spend much time with each other. (she still calls me every night though, I love that)

It was our first train trip and we spent the time talking and checking out each others ipod apps.


Hi Baby Girl

She always makes me smile.

Anyway, we started walking the Magnificent Mile the minute we dropped our bags at the hotel.

I never expected to have so much fun. I knew we'd have a great time but we had such a great time that we've already decided to go back.

We went on a 3 hour segway tour of the Museum District and Millenium Park.
What a riot! If you ever get a chance you have to ride a segway.


Buckingham Fountain

One of the coolest attractions in Millenium Park is "The Bean"


Aptly named yes?
The Bean isn't it's official name but it should be.
It looks like a giant drop of liquid mercury doesn't it?

Fun with our reflection



See that purse?
There's a Coach store on Michigan Ave and my daughter fell in love with that purse. She kept going back to that damn store just to "visit" the purse. It got to the point where the sales lady kept it under the counter and would pull it out as soon as she saw us walk in the door. We went back to that store over 5 times just so she could hold it and pet it and call it George.
I'm not going to tell you how much it cost except to say you could probably find a nice used car for the same price.
And like any other good mom would do, I talked her into buying it. Actually that's not completely true. I really didn't have to talk her into it. She just needed the reassurance that it was OK to spend that kind of money on herself.
Hell, she's single, has a terrific job and no bills other than rent! Could there be a better time?
So she bought it and we had to go right back to the room to change purses. And the whole time we were giggling about how we couldn't believe she spent that much money on a purse. A purse! And how the lady at the Coach store asked us if we were thirsty and did we want some bottled water? Water? How about some champagne?
Well that just sent us into another fit of giggles.

God I love my daughter

But I digress.

This is the view from The Ledge at Skydeck
Over 100 floors up.

Awesome view.

One last pic.
Navy Pier

And there's that purse again.

It's was a great trip. Both of us stepped way our of our comfort zones.
 We even decided to get matching tatoos but the shop was closing.
Oh well, there's always next time.

Easter Fun

We love games. I think we have a game for just about every holiday. You can read about Christmas here.

Easter is the best.

We're a bloodthirsty bunch and with over $150 up for grabs well, it can get a little lively.

First the egg hunt. $100 in various denominations split between 200 or so eggs. There's a $20 some $5's and $10's and lots of quarters. With cash like that everybody wants in.

It's very competitive. To hell with an egg hunt being for kids!

Next, the egg roll.

Everyone starts with 3 1 dollar bills.
Roll your egg and hope that nobody who rolls after you hits it because if they do you give em a dollar.
You get to pick your egg up if you get hit until it's your time to roll again, otherwise it just sits there waiting to be hit.

We each have our own technique for choosing the perfect monster egg. Some think a round egg is best and some swear the smaller, pointier egg is the way to go.
With the right egg and a little luck you can walk away with some serious cash.

My family's been rolling eggs for as long as I can remember.
We started with pennies when I was a baby and now we're up to singles.
It's a tradition I know will last as long as there's an Easter.

Later

Just not feeling it.

I don't think blogging is for me. Even though I don't post often, it feels like a chore.

I'll probably post once in awhile but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you ;)

I hope everyone has a terrific Spring & Summer.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

In The 80's

My daughter-in-law, trainer at the gym and a neighbor are pregnant.

I'm so happy for them and love that they allow me to rub their bellies but it reminds me of how things were when I was carrying my 3 and I have to admit I feel some envy.

Lets go back to the early 80's....

These pretty much sum up the maternity fashions back then.

Flattering? Gag me with a spoon!   (80's remember?)

Seriously, look at that. We did everything to try and hide the fact that we had a big belly. It was one step short of being considered sick or incapacitated.

Today women flaunt it and are considered sexy.

I want that.

I want to feel sexy and embrace the changes instead of trying to hide them.

Did I say envy?

I meant jealousy.....full blown jealousy