A Christmas Teaser

I have had a busy week.

Decorating.

Birthdaying.

Getting ready for guests.

So...

What did my son and I get done?

He toted and carried and

I decorated.

Here is just a quick

peek until I can get 

my pictures taken and

processed.

The kitchen counter

sports this....

A Pfalzgraf soup tureen

that I have had for years.

These were taken at night

so the light comes solely

from the candle lamp.

Don't ya love it?

I do! 

I do love it!

I love it so much I want to 

marry it.

But I can't....

because somebody won't let me....

Ah-yes-there he is now...

MyHero

waiting for me in bed with his

Captain's hat on.

Be still my heart~

Happy Happy Birthday SweetCheeks

Warning- Picture heavy post.
Get your coffee and a donut!
You're SIX?

Impossible!

You were born a tad early.

You were no bigger than

a minute.

You weighed in at right

around 5 pounds and

were whisked to the

Neonatal Intensive Care.

You stayed there for 15 days.

I visited you and

put your sweet little

head right against the

bare skin below my neck.

Skin-to-skin

one of the best things

for a newborn.
Then you came home.

When you were three 

you started patting just 

below my neck and saying

Thisss isss my favrut spoht, Nana.

You still do that 

from time to time 

and it always 

makes my heart smile

because I know that 

God gave you that special

spot close to my heart.

Here you are with your

wonderful Mommy.

All smiles.

Can you guess how you 

got your nickname?

Look at those 

SweetCheeks!

Your Mom thought it was cute
to dress you as a chicken.

You were/are the apple

of your Daddy's Eye.

We loved you when you

were dressed as a 

Princess...

and we loved you 

when you were a

HOT MESS!

When you were three you

loved going with Nana for a

STARBUCKS smoothie.

Oh! You were my kinda girl.

And still loved them at age four!

You have always been a 

FUNNY LITTLE GIRL.

You had a Barbie Doll cake

for your 4th birthday.

And were delighted with it.

We thought it was pretty funny

when you licked the icing 

off her butt.

I loved it when you went to the 

CHRISTMAS TREE FARM

with your family.

You had a little misadventure

leaving the farm when you-

were held hostage

by a bush!

I laugh every time I see that picture.

You also saw Santa that day and told

him what you wanted.

You saw Santa AGAIN the next day

and when he asked you what you 

wanted you said.

I  jusssht telled yohu yesturrday

did yohu forgit allreaddy?

You make me smile even

when you are pouty.

And I smile when I 

watch you dance...

gotta love 

A Mouse!

Now I am smiling because

you are

"almost famous"

as the baby face

of Broadway.

And someday, Lord willing, I will see

you as a beautiful bride

with this kind of expression

on your sweet face.

You are growing up fast...

WAY TOO FAST~ 

But~no matter how big 

you get you will always

be my wee slip of a girl-

My Little Princess.

Happy Birthday!

Nana loves you,

SweetCheeks!

Mirror Mirror On The Desk

SweetCheeks

loves to play

PRINCESS.

I know this phase will

soon pass and I am already

mourning the loss.

Have you ever seen

anyone looking this

woe-be-gone

in your life?

I, of course,

immediately assume

something is REALLY wrong....

you know-like a headache,

or upset tummy.

Whatever IS the matter,
SweetCheeks?

I jussht askhed the mirrohr

who's the fhairest one of all

an' now I'hm really sad.

Why?  What did the mirror say?

Nuthing, Nana.

It didn't sahy

NUTHING.

That's the problum!

Uh-huh...never saw that coming,

did you?

You wouldn't believe
what MY MIRROR says
to me...like...
Does your face have wrinkles
or do those wrinkles have a face?
uh-huh
And don't even let me near 
one of those 
Magnifying mirrors.
Oh.My.

Fall Is Over-Winter Is A'Coming

How do I know when

Fall is really over?

We see the last

of the ships that

come in to port

making some of their

final runs.

I love seeing them

but know these will be some

of the last ones till Spring.

Good-bye Ship!

Another one yesterday.

Be careful on the Great Lakes.
They can be deadly.

Winter is a'coming.

The winter birds have found

the seed we supply

them with-

right next to their

heated birdbath.

I'll show you that in a day

or so-it's getting a little

re-do.

How else do I know 

winter is a'coming?

MyHero starts hunkering

down for winter by making

sure we have enough to eat.

He wrestled this bad boy

to the ground

However,

 he doesn't seem to

want to be

boiled OR mashed.

I'm not sure what

I am gonna do with him.
(The potato, that is, 
NOT MyHero)

Any suggestions?

Pink Trees Are For Girls-One Month Till Christmas

Can you BELIEVE it?

Holy Cow!

(we say that a lot in 

Wisconsin being as we are

the Dairy state and all)

One month from today

is Christmas.

I am just dragging

out my Christmas stuff.

I love the sweet little

tree that I set up in

the little girls' room.

Bits and pieces from

a blogger friend...

who doesn't want

recognition.

It sits in their front window

and can be seen from the street.

It makes me smile

when I pull into the drive

after dark.

Don't you just love a

PINK TREE

with iridescent bulbs?

Oh-My!

Only a month to go

and I have SO MUCH to do!

I desperately need 

SOMETHING 

to spur me on.

Hey!  It beats vodka!

SweetCheeks On Broadway

What?

Our SweetCheeks?

On  Broadway?

Well....Here's the SIGN!

Ah-Well then-

You DO KNOW that other cities

besides NYC have streets

called Broadway, right?

Most of you know our 

little SweetCheeks

was just on the cover of a 

local magazine 

(here) promoting

our old downtown area called...

Any guesses?

Broadway!

They had a beautiful, magical

night downtown.

Guess WHO was asked 

to be a 

LIVE WINDOW MODEL.

Any guesses? Anyone?

There she is in

SCAN HOME

an upscale furnishings store.

Pictures are not the greatest-

they are taken through

showroom windows.

Here she is paired up with

MissN.  This is where 

she spent most of the

evening.

This was the pose she held

for most of the 3 hours.

Here they are taking a 

break and getting a snack.

After the evening was over

I asked her how she liked

being a 

LIVE MODEL.

Nana, she said,

All that smiling is a lotta work!

Wow!

She is just like her Nana!

That's what I've been saying

for 37 years of married life.

Billboards are going up 

this week and I will get 

some pictures of them

for you.

Have a wonderful day!

The Date Was

November 23,1979

Friday!
The day after Thanksgiving.

I was so tired from cooking all day

that when I woke up Friday

morning and my back ached,

I didn't think much about it.

Even though it was my

due date,

I wasn't sure I was in labor.

I still wasn't sure when I went to the hospital

even though you were my 4th baby

and you were due.

I'm in labor?

Really?

Push?

Now?

Seriously?

Alrighty then~

You were an easy baby

and got a 10 right off the bat.

Your Dad was so proud to have

another son after having two little girls.

You were an easy baby-

easy-going, happy, sweet.

At one year old you loved

your little rocking horse.

It got left behind when

we moved to Florida.

You were crushed!

You loved the swimming pool

when we lived in Florida.

You were SO sad when we told you

that you were too big for

a sink bath.

One day we turned around

and you were five.

Five?

Five!

At six you loved playing ball.

And although you played soccer

for ELEVEN years..

(yes I was a soccer Mom..

I never missed a match)

I could not find a single

picture of you in your soccer uniform.

You were a rabbit

BY CHOICE

for so many years that I lost track

of how many bunny costumes I made.

The years flew by.

Soon you were a young teen.

A kind young teen.

You were kind to your family,

to kids you didn't know,

to animals,

to your elders..

 just a kind young man.

Then you were driving.

I think this is the Saturn..

you know the one..

the one that Saturn replaced

the motor in twice..

and you had bought it

gently used.

After the 2nd motor was replaced you

sold it and made more on it

than what you had paid.

(because it had a new engine in it)

However, my favorite car story..

entails you taking a Fiero

(that looked no where near as nice

as the one pictured here)

AND you decided

in December..

YES DECEMBER..

that you wanted a convertible

So...you took a SawzAll and cut

the top off...Yes you did..

And you drove it all winter..

then sold it to some

poor sucker that was

even crazier than you were.

We had some wonderful times

in the house on Quincy..

this was taken one Mother's Day..

Boy! Wish I were 52 again!!

I also wish my eyes were open!

We were over the moon

when you married

the girl we all love.

And..as your sisters had

children you became a

wonderful Uncle..

because you still have a lot of

'KID' in you.

But the biggest blessing 
in your life 
(besides marrying your sweet wife)
is that you have a precious

little son of your own...

Now I know

that you are looking forward

to owning THIS someday..

You even give SweetCheeks a ride in it

sometimes just so you can enjoy it...

But-It's not gonna be your birthday present

this year cuz...

I might be OLD but

I ain't dead yet!

Happy Birthday, Son!

You are loved!

(But not enough to get my car)