Things I'm Lovin'!

Daughter had a baby and a friend gave me this

oh-so-cute-polka-dot baking dish to mark the occasion.

 It's great having a friend who knows I LOVE polka-dot dishes!!

Another something I'm lovin' is this face primer by Loreal.

If you use a face primer under your make-up base,

let me recommend this one.  It's just too GREAT not to share.

I love this stuff and would buy it by the bucket if it came that way.
I've been searching for a great primer for over a year and have tried a variety at all different price points.  Hands down - this one is the winner!  No - I didn't get paid a cent to recommend this.  Consider this a public service announcement.  *wink

AND

 if you go looking to buy this Primer be sure to buy the "green" variety rather than either of the others.  The green is actually a little hard to find as many stores are sold out of it, but accept no substitutions - this stuff is "the bomb"!

Something else I am lovin' these days is sweet Haylee Kate,
but I must admit I am also lovin' that her Mom is feeling good again and is back  in "full-time Mama mode",

as I also love a full, good night's sleep.

Nite. Nite.

Sweet Beginnings

Lil' Mama giving Haylee Kate a bath in the NICU

(getting ready to come home)

All dressed in pink gingham and "good to go".

Doncha' just LOVE ruffled baby socks?!

Moi' (YaYa) - and sweet, new, Granddoll.

Mister (YoYo) and sweet, new Granddoll.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lil' Mama has caught a stomach bug (including fever).  We are caring for Granddoll while Lil' Mama stays quarantined in her bedroom.  We are praying that Granddoll will not catch this nasty bug - so far so good. . . At one week check up Granddoll had gained 4 oz, but at 2 week check up she remained the same weight.  Doctor is somewhat "concerned", but all baby's blood work is good.  We take her back for a weight check on Monday and are hoping to see some weight gain.  We'll sure be glad when cold & flu season passes and Granddoll has packed on a few pounds.

Soon, very soon.

Rockin' the Bow

Haylee Kate
is
doing great!

(a poem)

*giggle
Yep - the bow is GINORMOUS,
but this is the south and this is how
baby girl's roll in these parts.  Every baby girl
has gotta be able to "rock the bow", so they  begin
the balancing act in the crib.

10 days old. 

Eating. Sleeping. Filling diapers.

Growing stronger every single day.

Things are crazy, busy, beautiful here.  I'm way behind on laundry.  The kitchen floor needs to be mopped.  

All in due time.  I'm taking time to enjoy all the sweet baby "moments".

Burps.  Gassy smiles.  Wiggles.
She's a bundle of entertainment wrapped in pink.
Confession: sometimes we all sit and simply watch her sleep.

Li'l Mama is doing well.

She has taken to motherhood very nicely, making bottles, changing diapers, and getting up throughout the night.  She seems to delight in every moment, like most new Mom's do.

I know many of you are grandparents so you fully know the joy of having a grandchild.  This is our fourth Granddoll and we revel in all these precious girls God has put into our life.

Feeling very blessed.

Starbucks Card Give-Away WINNERS!

A few weeks ago many of you played along on the "$10 Starbucks Card Give-Away" for the person guessing the closest (without going over) to my soon-to-be new Granddoll's birth date and birth weight.

Here are the stats - and here are the WINNERS!

(this was open to my FB & Bloggy Friends)

Elaine @ Sunny Simple Life and Grace, (a FB friend AND my youngest Granddoll!)

*both these gals guessed March 5, no one actually guessed March 6,

so they were the closest w/o going over, to her birth date.

AND

guessing the closest to her birth weight, (w/o going over) is Karen @ Karen's Korner.

She guessed 6.3oz, just 1 oz less than her actual birth weight.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!

I will get your Starbucks card in the mail
as soon as you send me your address.
And, Thanks to all of you who played along!

*if you find I have over-looked an accurate guess you made

please send me a message and I'll re-check my records.

The stakes rise!

Sweet Granddoll, Haylee Kate!
She and her Mom are scheduled to come home from the hospital tomorrow, a week after this hospital stay began.  They are both doing well now.  Her Mom had a second blood patch yesterday and it seems to be holding.

NOW - more stress!
The baby daddy, his mom, and his sister have been in town all week.

His Mom is not to be trusted and we've known that.
Today she shows up in little Mama's room declaring that she has made arrangements for a paternity test and that she wants shared custody of the baby for her son.  Little Mama called me hysterical.  She and Baby Daddy have an agreement on how they want this to happen and have already talked with a social worker about this.  Now, the other Grandmother (his Mom) steps in and says if Baby Daddy doesn't comply with her wishes she will begin to charge him room & board, etc. etc. and he will not be able to go to college.  Manipulation is her game.
My husband is enroute to the hospital and has called our attorney.

I can't tell you how glad I will be when Baby Daddy and his family go back home - 4 hours away.
Little Mama and Baby Daddy have agreed that Li'l Mama will have custody but that he can come here to visit Haylee anytime he wants, and he will continue with his college plans.

His mom is a "Snake".
Forgive me, but she is.

We'd love to have your prayers
on this issue.

Update

Blogging from my ipad so I will apologize for typos in advance.
I am spending the day at the hospital.

Our sweet new Granddoll continues in the NICU but will probably be ready to come home on Monday.  YAY!!

Her little Mama is not doing so well.  She continues to have complications from having 3 epidurals during the birthing process - she is leaking spinal fluid, which in turn gives her horrible headaches, severe dizziness, and she has fainted 8 times.  Yesterday they performed a procedure on her called a "blood patch".  Have you heard of this before?  This was something new to me.  They actually removed blood from her arm and then gave her yet another epidural and fed this blood into her spine to clot all the previous epidurals.  When she awoke she felt wonderful - headache and all dizziness was gone!  But she awoke this morning to another awful headache and the dizziness has returned.  Not sure what comes next.  I'm sure this can be resolved but in the meantime she is feeling awfully sick.  We'd appreciate your prayers.

Thanks Bloggy friends!!

She's here!

What a Happy Day!

Brand new to the world!

Snoozin'.

She is in the NICU for a few days.

She had some fluid in her lungs at birth

so they are monitoring her and giving her

antibiotics.  They assure us she will be fine after

 4 or 5 days in their care.

We appreciate your prayers!

Here's her Mom visiting with her in the NICU.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

*Starbuck's Card Give-Away*

I have not forgotten the give-away.

As soon as our life slow's down, (which will probably be
when we get .everyone home from the hospital)
I will check the list and announce the Winner's.

Stay tuned!

_ed Le_ _er D_ y

I know every family has the occasional "red letter" day, a day that is significant in the history of a family.  Friday was one of those days for us.

We got up and left the house at 5:15 am on Friday and made the 6 hour drive to Tulsa, Oklahoma to appear in court at 1:30.  The issue was basically to decide what the future would look like for our Mom.  My sister and I met at the courthouse with out attorney.  Mom arrived shortly thereafter with her attorney.  The great news for that day was that my sister and I were made co-Guardians for our Mom. It was also decided that Mom would come to live with my family in Louisiana, but would also have extended visits with my sister and her family at certain times during the year.  This was a win/win, in that it will provide for the best care and also the freedom to move between the states of Oklahoma and Louisiana at will.  Mom has been diagnosed with dementia and our goal is to help her live her best life, with as much freedom and opportunity for happiness as we can make possible.

Now we're about the business of doing just that.
Yesterday we took Mom out for Mexican food.
Today we went to church then drove around our town showing her the sights.
Then of course we needed some lunch, so today it was Italian food.
Tomorrow we'll begin to find some type of routine that is hopefully pleasing to everyone.

Let it be known that I have the best husband in the world.

You can be sure there will be lots of stories ahead as we all make the adjustment to living under the same roof.

"Snaggy, Shaggy, Ratty, Matty..."

Isn't it strange how we get so much of our identity from our hair?!

I look at this picture, taken last week, and it totally does not "feel" like me.  In my minds eye I don't register having hair this short.  I'm still a bit surprised when I look in the mirror.  It's not even a matter of liking or disliking the cut - some days I like it, some days I don't.  Have you noticed when women face life threatening disease/chemo, often the first concern is losing their hair.  I get that.  I don't even think it's based in vanity, but rather in identity.

I've reached a time in my life that I don't want to spend extra time fixing my hair.  Gone are the teen days of sleeping on prickly hair rollers.  Anyone else remember doing that?  Gone are the days of harsh perms that left my hair fried in order to coax it into a curl.  Not gonna do that any more either.  Gone are the days of taking 30 minutes just to simply dry my thick hair.  No more!  Don't get me wrong.  I'm no different than you - I love my hair.  I just think I can learn to embrace having shorter locks that require a minimum of upkeep.  Mister LOVES it short - strange isn't it, as most men seem to prefer long hair.  The truth may be that he's grown tired of waiting for me to wash/dry/fix my hair.  He loves it when I can "get up & go" quickly.

Anyone remember this?

"I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy

Snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty

Oily, greasy, fleecy

Shining, gleaming, streaming

Flaxen, waxen

Knotted, polka-dotted

Twisted, beaded, braided

Powdered, flowered, and confettied

Bangled, tangled, spangled, and spaghettied!

Oh say can you see

My eyes if you can

Then my hair's too short"

'Fess up -

How long does it take you to wash/dry/style your hair?
How long has it been since you made a major change to the length of your hair?

Look & See

Stashia @ 35 weeks.

"Belly Pose"

February 20, 2013

Shower Pretties

H is for Haylee and they were delicious!!

Sweet Friends!

Stashia with balloon!

Stashia and Mom enjoying the evening of fun.

Sweet books to read to a sweet baby.

Someone is hiding behind those lovely flowers.
Could it be Aunt C?

Special Friends who planned this lovely evening.

Cake, Gifts, and Balloons, Oh-My!

Stashia you have lovely friends
that love you "muchly";
You.Are.Blessed.

Guess! Starbucks Card Give-away!

You have two opportunities to win a $10 gift card to Starbucks!

(Two gift cards will be awarded.)

This is open to FB friends as well as to bloggy friends.

Guess the day/date and time (am or pm)

when you think baby will be born

and you could win!

ALSO

Guess the birth weight, lbs & oz

and you could win.

No ties are allowed so the guesses will be listed as they are received.

If you make a guess which is a duplicate, you will need to

change your guess.

Full Disclosure:  Due date is officially March 31.

On Feb. 19th the doctor said she expected the baby

would arrive in about three weeks.

What do YOU think?

edited to add:  Last day for accepting guesses is Thurs., Feb. 28, midnight.

My "Happy Place".

It's no wonder green is my favorite color.
I know most people long to live by water, but not me. I'm a green girl, all the way.
Just yesterday the city was mowing the right-a-way alongside the highway and I caught the scent of freshly mowed grass.  Be still my heart!  Yankee Candle once had a scented candle, "Fresh Mowed Grass" (discontinued now) - I loved it!  When I feel the need to think about a "Happy Place" I picture myself on a large front porch swing overlooking a large span of green grass. I can hear birds singing and there is a bit of honeysuckle mixed with the grassy scent. There's just something about that setting that puts me at peace.

Everyone needs a "Happy Place" in their mind, don't you think?
You know, the place you think about when the stress gets to be too much; the place where your mind's eye settles when you need a break from the "here and now".

Tell me about your "Happy Place" - I'd love to hear.
You can leave a comment OR you can blog about it if you'd like, just be sure to let me know so I can drop by to read about it.  "Inquiring minds" and all the stuff. . .

"puffy" skin?

Geez, I was in front of my TV,
ready to watch the Grammy's
then I got this memo -

"Thong-type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare, fleshy under-curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under-curvature of the breasts is also problematic. . [.the genital region must be] "adequately covered so that there is no visibly 'puffy' bare skin exposure" and "sheer, see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast nipples,".

Is this better?

Given there is no wardrobe "mal-function", I always enjoy the bizarre, and sometimes skimpy clothes the celebs wear to the Grammys.  Just sayin'. . .

I'm thinking you probably disagree with me.

Which is absolutely alright - we can still be friends!

Just sayin' . . .

It was one of those days I woulda, shoulda, coulda, oughta, have had my camera with me.  I was driving down a busy street in our town when I came across a two block area full of . . .

Port-a-pottys.
They were scattered about - different colors, and in varying degrees of "newness".  Randomly spaced, some had been placed on an incline that looked as though they would tip into the tiny creek adjacent to them if anyone set out to really use them.  It takes very little to amuse me, so I found this quite the funny sight as I let my imagination take flight.  A couple of men wandered among them counting and plotting.  Mardi Gras parades were held this weekend so I'm sure this was a holding area before placing them along the parade route for the big day.  Seeing all of these made me think of  -

THIS!

I've heard my parents tell lots of stories about this familiar structure of their youth.  Some of their stories are funny, but none are very pleasant.

I will never again complain when I clean the bathroom.
I will never again complain when I clean the bathroom.

I will never again complain when I clean the bathroom.

I will never again complain when I clean the bathroom.

Just sayin' . . .

The law of 3's

I'm not superstitious.
Not at all.
I will walk under ladders and step on sidewalk cracks with nary a thought.
Black cats can cross my path, circle around me, and do a dance routine - I will scarcely even notice.  That said, it does seem that certain things beyond our control tend to happen in three's.  Does it seem this way to you?  When someone famous dies it seems that you can be sure that two other famous people are soon to meet their demise also. I don't understand it.  I don't explain it.  I don't even know if this is accurate, but it sure seems this way to me.

ALSO, when things begin to break around the house, it seems these things usually happen in three's also.  Maybe this is just the case with appliances in my house - does it ever happen to you in this manner?

Yesterday I left my broken vacuum at the repair shop and am hoping they can still get the parts needed to fix it. The repairman was guardedly optimistic.

A handyman came this morning and installed a new garbage disposal.  Yay!  This is one of those things I don't properly appreciate until it's gone.  Things get messy without a garbage disposal, ya know?!

Then yesterday afternoon I sat down at the computer to read blogs.  Didn't happen.
The computer FROZE.  I tried to reboot it "three" times, with no luck.
Mister bought a new one last night.  Yep, this old dog is having to learn some new tricks on the computer today.  We went from Vista to Windows 8.  I am one of those who enjoy doing things the way I've always done them before, but alas, I am thankful for the new computer and will put my mind to learning how to navigate online in a new way.

1. Vacuum
2. Garbage Disposal
3. Computer

I'm feelin' the joy today as I can count off THREE things that have broken and are now fixed, or in the process of being fixed.  WHEW!

Ready.Set...and patiently Waiting.

A brand new little Granddoll is expected

to "rock our world" in March.

Her Mom has the nursery prepared

and waiting.

The "wait" is part of the fun,
don't you think?

(

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

I'm having a dinner party for eight friends at my house tomorrow.  Since inviting everyone a few days ago, my vacuum has quit working and today my garbage disposal went out.  "HA!", I say.  I can laugh into the wind because it really doesn't matter - that's one of the blessings of being of a certain age; it gives you perspective.

On the flip side...I had planned to go to the store this morning, then come home to make a cake for tomorrow night.  I never made it to the store (long story).  I looked at what I had in the pantry and began grabbing anything that I thought might be a good blend of flavors.  I began with a Yellow Butter Cake mix.  Then, besides the usual eggs and oil, I dumped in a can of mandarin oranges, some orange yogurt, orange juice concentrate, and a handful of Craisins.
It.Tastes.Wonderful!

A good dessert can cover a multitude of "oopsies".
You can quote me on that!

Now, what shall I name my new cake creation?

Suggestions?  Ideas?

Love and Hate.

10 Things I Love About February

1. Valentine's Day
2. Super Bowl Commercials
3. Red 
4. Trees budding
5. Mardi Gras Parades
6. Sonic Chocolate Covered Cherry Milkshakes
7. "Punxsutawney Phil"
8. Feb.15th (31 yr cancer survivor anniversary!)
9. Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies
10. Spring Clothes in stores

10 Things I Hate About February

1. Weight gain from Valentine candy
2. Dreary, long days
3. Lawn Weeds
4. Nasty Cold/Flu Germs
5. No Family Birthdays
6. Pasty, white, Skin
7. Weight Watchers Commercials
8. Winter feet
9. Fluctuating weather 
10. "February" is not spelled like it's pronounced. 

Sound off now!

What do you love and what do you hate about February?