Kids and Sewing

When Warren was a baby, his comfort item was a flannel blanket made by my sister Ronda. You know how it goes -- one blanket becomes the kid's favorite, and he won't go down for a nap until you find the darn thing.

My favorite picture of this precious boy...with his best B....

Years ago, I saw what was happening -- and I made him several NEW flannel blankets. He didn't like them, of course. So then I started buying flannel blankets at thrift stores...and THOSE HE WENT FOR. Pretty soon, he had a huge collection -- with dozens of acceptable "B"s...

In this picture, he is sick -- but surrounded and comforted by a pile of flannel blankets...

Fast forward. Warren is five now.  Although he doesn't carry a blanket with him everywhere he goes nowadays -- he still does like to have a B with him when he takes his nap or goes to bed.  Last week, he asked me if I could "fix his B"...the edges were all tattered...and I asked him if he'd like to fix it himself? This kid LOVES A JOB...

(He's also learning how to dress himself.)

We took his tattered B down to my sewing machine.

I put him on my lap...and my foot is on the pedal...

But, he is going to control the B going through the machine.

The Clover clips are a lot easier than pins..and he was sooo serious

Frank follows this kid wherever he goes!

And the newly mended B passed the sniff test!!

GOOD JOB, WARREN..!!

The Last SNOWMAN

When you think about it...the truth is, in this life, you don't really get many chances to build a snowman.

If you do get a really big snow, it's often too cold to go outside for any stretch of time...and when it's that cold, the snow is so dry, it won't stick together long enough to make a decent snowball -- much less build an actual SNOWMAN.

Which is why I can remember every snowman I ever built....and there have only been five of them.

It's also why,  when we had our recent Spring Blizzard -- it became MY MISSION to get Lilly and Warren outside to build a snowman.

After some initial snow angels...I bundled myself up to do a snowball-rolling demo...

It was still snowing...but the temp was right around 34 degrees...PERFECT..!!

I worked on the base of the snowman, as Lilly was rolling the middle part.

Of course, the final stage is the ACCESSORIZING.

Pink cowboy hat, fleece scarf, zebra apron. PERFECT.!!

Before we got done, the kids went through every pair of gloves I could find...Warren even wore pink mittens (with NO COMPLAINTS)...

Lilly is 9 years old, and this is her second snowman. Warren is five -- and this was his first.

Number 6 for Grandma Rita...

Snow Day

What's that old saying? If March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion? During these last days of March -- this blizzard was, most likely, our final snow of the year.  The kids always spend the night on Friday -- and Saturday -- we woke up to this...

It pretty much snowed all day long.

It is pitiful that the first thing you've got to worry about is SHOVELING A PLACE FOR YOUR DOG TO DO HIS BUSINESS...!!

Lilly's dog, Sophie, sometimes spends the night, too.

After we took care of our dogs -- it's time for some bacon.

Then, the kids wanted to show me their escape-tricks

I can't remember what this was about

Lilly painted Warren's face -- and I said turnabout was fair play.

Warren was delighted to paint Lilly's face...

It was only later I realized they'd used fingernail polish on their eyebrows...

IT'S SPRING!! No -- wait...!!

So, it's the FIRST DAY OF SPRING...and winter is finally over...I took the kids to the park

John's first flowers were coming up in the yard...

Always the FIRST:  Crocuses...!

Just when I thought it was safe to put the snow pants away...THIS HAPPENED..!!

On Saturday morning, we woke up to a blizzard...

We had about 10 inches of new snow...

Hummm....I don't have any snowpants at my house....TIME TO IMPROVISE..!!

Lilly pulled on five layers of pants...

She felt like Ralphie from the movie A Christmas Story...

Lilly had one white glove, one red glove, and Warren had some mismatched mittens...and a white hat that used to belong to his sister...

But THEY DID NOT CARE. This was not about fashion, or looking good for their friends...THIS WAS ABOUT GETTING OUT IN THAT SNOW...

They were delighted...

The first thing they did was make many, many perfect snow angels...

Lilly's Nine Gifts

This is my last official post about Lilly's Golden Birthday.

First of all, I have to tell you THIS PART. I am the worst gift-giver EVER. Seriously. I'm just no good at it. My boys still talk about the lame gifts I gave them as children. The year Ross was 9 , I gave him a brown parka from Sears. (coincidentally, that was the year he quit believing in Santa Claus).

When Elliott was 16, I gave him a rolling duffel...which he didn't like...but then, I gave him the same thing a year later. Another rolling duffel...which he still didn't like...

And I will NEVER forget the year I sewed an entire ensemble for Lilly, her mother and her dog Sophie.   After many hours of sewing and design work (it even had a little suitcase that matched), Lilly (age 3) said, "Nice Try, Grandma."

That response pretty much set the tone for the Grandma-gift-giving portion of our lives. To make my point -- here are a few pictures from my earlier attempts....

What has changed, BIGTIME -- is not my ability to choose a better gift (I still suck at that) -- but Lilly's ability (and willingness) to FAKE A RESPONSE.

FINALLY!! We're making some progress....

New York City Gif

The BEST REASON TO STAY ON FACEBOOK...is because of the random "memories" that pop up on your page from time to time. I LOVE WHEN THIS HAPPPENS...

The other day, this came up on my page...

Last year, on the very first day we were in New York City, as we checked into the Westin Hotel -- there was a PR company set up in the lobby, doing a LIVE Facebook event touting their luxurious beds...

Thanks, Facebook...

The REST of the Story...

Okay, in the interest of full-disclosure -- in this blog, I only ever write about the HAPPY STUFF in my life. Every word I write is 100% true...you NEVER have to worry about that...

But, I leave lot of things out. That's actually the whole point of having your own blog, people!! YOU GET TO EDIT YOUR OWN LIFE...as you see fit.

So, you only hear about the stuff I do RIGHT...

And I almost never give you a peak behind the curtain...my messy basement and unkempt car, all the times I lose my temper with the kids or have a fight with my husband. Who wants to relive that kind of crap??

Anyway -- as lovely as Lilly's Golden Birthday was -- there was one spectacular bad moment...

As I was making Lilly’s special Golden Birthday dinner -- rushing around in the kitchen (barefoot), the pinky toe on my left foot got caught in Frankie’s wire food dish holder, which then pivoted and slammed against the cupboard, pinning me....but as my body pitched forward, but my little toe stayed behind. Ugh. I tripped and fell, dropping two big empty glass serving bowls...they went clattering to the floor as I caught myself on a chair...which was the only thing that kept me from doing a complete face plant.

OMG...THE PAIN...I thought I tore my damn toe off...

I was afraid to look down, and when I did, the little toe on my left foot was bent at a 90 degree angle.

I was screeching in pain...

And doing a lot of very loud cursing...which sounded like this:

S**&&))(*&^%%   D$$##@%%^^   H((**&&%!!   F((**&))%$##  My four favorite curse words, always in the same order...over and over again...

With all the commotion (falling glassware, and me screaming)...John and Warren came running into the kitchen. Lilly (who was standing next to me when it happened) -- ran to the kitchen door and covered her ears. The kids were terrified. I sat down in the chair to get my breath...and I was crying from the pain....When I saw my toe, pointing West like that...without even thinking, I crossed my right foot over to push my little toe back into the North position...which caused another wave of excruciating pain.

And more cursing than I care to admit...

At that moment, all I could think about was Lilly’s Golden Birthday Dinner. The beautiful porterhouse steaks were already resting, and the twice baked potatoes were on the table. If we go to the Emergency Room, the whole night will be ruined...my broken toe will be the big story...and it will be how she remembers this day.

Besides, I've always heard there isn't anything they can do for a broken toe...

So, I told the kids I was going to be fine...I just needed a minute. Then, I asked John to help me buddy tape my little toe to it’s neighbor...

Within five minutes, we were all sitting down to eat supper. Those steaks were DELICIOUS.

And, sure enough, according to Google, there isn’t much you can do for a broken toe.  I couldn’t stand the idea of somebody touching it....so I used one of those stretchy Velcro bandages to wrap all the toes on my left foot together. I took two aspirins and I propped my foot up with an ice-pack.

I sat in my chair that night, thinking. HOW QUICKLY IT ALL GOES TO HELL. Yikes. I am SO GOD DAMNED LUCKY. I ended up with a broken pinky toe...because that fall could have just as easily resulted in a broken hip. Jesus Christ...how, in just a flash, everything changes. (see what I mean? lots of random cursing...)

That night, I slept in my own bed, but every time I moved, the shooting pain from my toe would wake me up...so it was a restless night. But, finally, about 3:00 AM, I fell asleep...

At 6:30 AM, John got up and let Frankie out. Which he often does. Then, he locked himself out of the house.

That was new.

Apparently, he knocked on the kitchen door for about half an hour. But I didn't hear that.

So, he moved to the front door of the house (which is near our bedroom window)...and he started banging on the metal door with a wooden spoon. THAT woke me up!!

I tried to hobble down the hall...but I couldn't put any weight on my left foot...I was confused and didn't quite know what was happening...

Lilly and Warren were still sleeping, and I was afraid all the noise would wake the kids. By the time I got to the door, John was FURIOUS...but, obviously, I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG...so, after some yelling (both of us) -- I went back to bed.

Later that day,  when Lilly heard what happened, she asked me why Grandpa didn't just use the spare key in the vestibule?

Humm.. I told her Grandpa doesn’t approve of hidden keys, so I’ve never told him we had one...and now doesn’t seem like a good time...

Lilly's Golden Birthday MEAL...

After Lilly opened most of her gifts, it was time for her special birthday meal. As I was busy cooking, Lilly set the table.  She likes to pick out the napkins, and she picked a special plate for everybody.

Then -- the most wonderful thing happened.  Without me saying a word to her, Lilly went to the silverware box that sits in a place of honor in my kitchen...and she set the table with Aunt Rozella's Silver...!!

Spring Glory by International Silver...

The menu has been the same for three years now...and I'm pretty sure this is what Lilly will always want to eat on her birthday.  That's right, folks!!   PORTERHOUSE STEAK...!!

Yes, that's a gold sequins hat she's wearing on top of the giant smile!!

This girl KILLED that steak..!!

And I'm telling you -- there's a lot to be said for a family tradition!!

Lilly's ACTUAL Golden Birthday!

Lilly's ACTUAL Golden birthday was on Friday. She was 9 years old on March 9th. Since I always pick Warren up from pre-school on Friday (at 11:00) -- he was an eager, willing participant in Lilly's birthday celebration.

The first order of business, of course, was to BAKE THE CAKE.!!

He was delighted to help do that!!

Warren's favorite version of anything involves a lot of SPRINKLES.

But his favorite thing in the world to do is to WRAP PACKAGES. He is an expert with scotch tape...and, of course, I had 9 gifts for him to wrap...!!  So he went through a LOT OF TAPE...

Although Warren and I made a special trip into town to buy GOLD FOIL wrapping paper, it's the wrong time of year...so we couldn't find any. But, I have a big stash of wrapping paper, so we went home and Warren picked out this bright blue Happy Birthday paper. (as long as it wasn't Christmas, I decided to call it good...)

I watched him wrap gifts all day long...but I never really took a good look at the paper...

BUT THE MINUTE LILLY SAW HER FIRST GIFT, she squealed with delight!! "Where did you find Happy Hanukkah paper, Grandma?"

Lilly acted like I'd done something deliberate and wonderful...

Lilly's Golden Birthday Report

For the record, when I was a kid I never even heard the term "Golden Birthday". But Lilly thinks it's a big deal -- and I CAN DO BIG DEALS...noooo problem.

Even though her birthday was on Friday -- we started celebrating on WEDNESDAY. Because I wanted to take her to see the movie, The Greatest Showman...

I picked her up from school....

I had the perfect car snack. A Golden Treat...a swirled caramel ice cream bar.

Yep! Great start!

Lilly didn't know where we were going...until I pulled into the parking lot of the theater.

NOW she knows what we're doing!!

We both LOVED THE GREATEST SHOWMAN!! I can't imagine a better movie to see with your 9-year old granddaughter...there were so many good messages....about fitting in,  making friends,  being a good friend, treating people with respect...

After the movie, John and Ross met us at the Texas Roadhouse.  They ALWAYS HAVE A LINE...but, since the theater shares the same parking lot -- I thought it was worth a shot for this special occasion.

John HATES standing in line...but it moved pretty fast...

Having an Uncle Ross sighting is always a nice surprise -- and he wanted to be part of Lilly's Golden Birthday.

What we have here, people, is a WONDERFUL START to a Golden Birthday celebration!!