“The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other.” – Mario Puzo
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Woa! What a busy crazy whirlwind week I’ve had. Too many pictures to post, so here is just a sampling. Happy Monday, my friends.
Yes, Happy Monday!
“The days pass so slowly when you’re a young mother. But, the years fly too quickly when you’re a grandmother.”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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Another fun day with the grandkids, and my first day on Grandma duty. It wasn’t even a full day on call, only starting around noon. Mommy and Daddy are taking a brief two day getaway for their anniversary, and very well deserved after these crazy pandemic lockdowns with a two and four year old.
Feeling blessed. ❤️❤️
“The greatest blessing in the world is our children and our family. And it seems the tinier the child, the bigger the blessing. “
~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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Another fine fun filled whirlwind day with the “wittle ones.” Uh oh! I’m starting to talk wike them too. That’s what Gwamas do. A few photos to show its true.
Ah, finally. It’s Black Russian Friday. No ice cream, but I found some vodka. I couldn’t find a glass, so I used a mason jar, only to find out there were many glasses all right above the kitchen sink. Duh! All is quiet now, The adventures continue tomorrow. Life is good.
Cheers, my friends!
I love music of all kinds, but there’s no greater music than the sound of my grandchildren laughing; my kids, too.
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Another fun and fine day visiting with my grand-babies. Ah, grandchildren laughing.
Today, we played, read stories, colored, painted, played house, tea parties, played on the swings, took a walk, and awesome Chicago pizza for dinner. Life is good.
“Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you’re just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric.”
~Pam B
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Remember “Where’s Waldo?” Who can guess where Miss Toni is. I’ll give you some clues.
Where in the world?….
“Children are the rainbow of life. Grandchildren are the pot of gold.” ― Irish Blessing
Happy Birthday to my beautiful princess Belle. December 5th is one of my three miracle days. A sad memory from 50 years ago became a joyous day when this little angel came into the world. The trilogy of miracles complete.
I don’t get to hold you and smother you with kisses this year, but maybe next year. It was nice to FaceTime with you and sing “Las Mañanitas.”
The rest of my Saturday is a blur. I had a bad headache last night and most of today. I know the reason. I got a stupid flu shot yesterday. But, feeling much better now. I went out to get some fresh air and sunshine. That really helped. I walked over to the pond and sat on the bench with my face in the sun. Nice.
Fresh air, sunshine and a picturesque setting, you can’t beat that.
Now, for another episode of Elvis on the Shelvis.
Happy Saturday, my friends.
“A person who can understand, appreciate, and sing along with a tree has a deeper perception on life.”
― Debasish Mridha
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No Sunday Sermon today. I went to Mass last night, and I’ll be honest, I plum forgot what the Gospel reading was. So this morning, I set my alarm for 8 am instead of 6:45. It was nice to not jump out of bed before the sun came up. I picked up Bella and we went for a long walk around the pond. My phone said we walked around a mile. Then seeing as I didn’t have to rush off anywhere…I went back to bed and slept another hour or two. Nice!
Here’s what Bella and I saw on our walk this morning…
I met Helene for lunch, and we went back to her place to make some chili for the country dance tomorrow. It’s our chili cook-off event at the senior center. She had the ground beef already done, and I brought the beans and tomatoes and salsa and chili powder to add. It made a big ol’ pot, and she was able to share some with a few neighbors. Of course, we had to visit with some of the other friends who stopped by.
I stopped at the store on my way home, actually two stores, but who’s counting? Eggs were on sale 29 cents a dozen, limit 2. Yep, had to get those. I was down to my last egg after my baking extravaganza last week. Shredded cheese 49 cents, got 2. Then Kroger had Red Barron frozen pizza for $2.99. I picked up 6 of those for Mr. Mike. Where can you get an entire pizza for $3? I can’t pass up those bargains.
I scurried home to walk Bella again. By now, the temperature was 72 degrees, so I changed out of my long sleeve sweater and put on a t-shirt and off we went. The sun was setting. Wow! Just gorgeous. I don’t know how God does it, but every sunset is a masterpiece.
Saving the best for last… FaceTime with my beautiful granddaughters. The highlight of my day. They are so precious.
Happy Sunday, my friends!
“If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I’d have had them first. ”
~Lois Wyse
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Well, I knew it was too good to last. After holding sick babies for a couple of weeks, Gamma is officially pretty darn sick. The good thing is, the girls are already sick, so I can’t give them anything they haven’t already shared with me.
Mommy took the baby back to the doctor this morning. Last week he couldn’t find anything warranting medication. Today, oh boy, double ear infection. No wonder she couldn’t sleep and screamed all night. Hopefully, she will perk up soon and not keep Mommy and Daddy up all night again. Not so sure about Gamma getting better soon, 🤦♀️
Doesn’t it seem that everyone gets sick during the holidays or on vacation?
But, even not feeling well, the grandchildren are such a blessing and always able to make me smile. Even the fierce pirate kind.
Day 12~ Elvis on the Shelvis. Serenading “Snoofy” Santa by the fireplace. (The 3 year old calls them Snoofy and Elvie.
Then today, I was delighted when my old friend from high school posted a picture of her own Elvis on the Shelvis. Thanks for sharing Jolene. Keep ’em coming.
Hope you had a great Saturday.
“Love is staying up all night with a sick child- or a healthy adult.”
~David Frost
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The baby still had a temperature this morning, so Gamma stayed home with her today. I love Gamma duty. We spent a lot of quality bonding time. Shortly after Mommy and Daddy went off to work, I gave her some breakfast. She squealed a little, then barfed all over Gamma, all over the high chair, and herself. Poor baby, still with a constant raspy cough. I changed her and wiped her down from head to toe, and did the best I could with my clothing. It was almost time for a nap, so I rocked her and sang a few off tune songs until she drifted off. I was able to get into the shower when she went down, and wash a load of clothes.
She woke up in very good spirits, and we played and talked and sang. An afternoon nap allowed Gamma to finish some laundry, straighten up a little and make something to eat. (Leftover deep dish pizza. Yum!)
When I sat there in the quiet dark room, rocking my beautiful granddaughter, all I could think of was, “Hold her close and never let her go. I’ll blink and she’ll be all grown up.” Mom used to say that to me when my boys were babies, and I thought I’d never survive the trials of motherhood. She was right. Now, my babies are grown, and I’m a Gamma. It’s a wonderful occupation.
Hey, I should remember that. Sometimes people ask me, “So, what do you do?” I should say, “I’m a Gamma.”
Day 11~ Elvis on the Shelvis. “You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog,”
And now, my friends, it’s Friday. Black Russian Friday. Well, not exactly. Gamma has been around the sick babies for over two weeks. Guess what! Gamma has a cold now. No cough yet, but a bad runny nose, watery eyes, and a sore throat. And you know what else? I wouldn’t change a thing. So, I’m doing the virgin version Black Russian. A little chocolate ice cream and chocolate milk always helps.
Cheers, my friends!
“Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you’re just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric.”
~ Pam Brown
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I love this quote. I’m feeling pretty prehistoric. The nice thing about being a grandma is I get to use the “I’M OLD” card. I just put Belle to bed. She just turned three a couple of days ago, and she can be pretty feisty, stubborn, manipulative, hysterical, and downright adorable all in the same breath. Her little sister just started crawling and sitting up, so she doesn’t have much to say, except cute gurgling noises and “da da da.”
Here are some highlights of our busy day…
We all went to Belle’s ballet class this morning.
Feeding the little one small pieces of bread after her dinner. “Line them up, Gamma, and be snappy about it.”
“Let’s read a book. Give me five.”
“I’m getting sleepy. Where’s that bottle you promised me? Stop with the selfies already, Gamma!”
Mommy and Daddy went to the Chris Issac concert tonight, so I was on Gamma duty. They very rarely get a chance to have a real live date night. They only called and texted me to check on things three or four times.
Belle moved the little mouse on her Advent calendar to Dec. 7, and opened up her book for today. I saw on Facebook the idea of a book for each day of Advent instead of chocolate or a little toy or coins. So, I sent wrapped books, coloring books, or little activity sets for each day. This Advent calendar was the one my boys had when they were little. It’s over thirty years old. I sent it to Joe for his children a couple of years ago. Nice tradition.
After the little one went to sleep, Belle and I read some books and had some serious conversations about life events, monsters, making brownies, and where the dirty clothes should go. She said we needed to be quiet because Uncle Matt was taking a nap and Elvis, the dog, was sleeping. This normally fussy bedtime little girl was a perfect angel. That’s where the “Gamma is old card” came into play.
I moaned when I bent down to put on her jammies. She said, “Are you ok?” I told her Gamma is old and stuff hurts. She asked me what hurts and I told her my knee and my back. She said, “Mommy’s not old.” I seriously think the three year old felt sorry for me, so she didn’t fuss or complain, as is her normal routine with Mommy and Daddy.
We read another book, put polka dot Teddy under the covers with her, and I sat in the chair for a little while until she fell asleep in her big girl bed. Oh, I forgot to mention, she just started sleeping in her big girl bed , and it’s a little scary for her after the security of the crib. She had a big smile for Gamma.
“Good night, Gamma.”
Happy Saturday, my friends. Happy Gamma here.
