Eleven, Eleven and Under

It's very hard to take a picture of eleven wiggly children.

My newest grandchild has been my unofficial grandchild for the past couple of years. She is AH, second on the back left. She is both cousin and sister to her new siblings.  So left to right, back row- their ages are 11, 11,  9 9/10s,  9,  8, 6, front row left to right 3, 3, 2, 7 months and 3 1/2 months.

Tonight is the first time in years that I have been with them all at the same time. First thing on the agenda was photos. Next was pizza. Then there were birthday presents for two and Christmas presents (the ones that never got exchanged between cousins this past year). Last, there was gooey cake!

A whirlwind of activity can happen in three hours...take my word for it!

Yesterday I Piddled

I never got dressed. I spent the day wandering through the house putting stuff away, washing dishes, playing on the computer and working on some crafty projects. It was a heavenly Saturday.

I made this tag and altered the surface of some advertising postcards that came in the mail recently. I've got plans for them later. 

Today, I will have to make up for the time I "wasted" yesterday. That's okay. I loved every minute of it.

There's Grafitti and Then There's Grafitti

Some people aren't happy if you feel good about yourself. I guess they're just haters.

ps...see my guy in the corner?

But that's okay because I found another one. 

This and That

 I went to a scrapbook class last weekend and I made this cute little board book. I've got to find pictures of the boys to fill it up.

I'm not 100% happy with this sketch, but I'm determined to get back into the lunch hour groove.

Pretty little daffodil, you weren't here when I left this morning, but there you were when I came home this afternoon.

Why?

I'm always curious when I see an old house like this one. 

Who lives there?

What does the inside of the house look like?

Why is the kitchen stuff sitting out on the front porch?

The Eye of the Beholder

One job in the banking industry + President's Day = a long weekend.

It's a beautiful thing.

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

These signs have been popping up all over town.  Graffiti?  I don't think so. I like them.

While You Were Talking.....

I drew something the other day.. It was the first time in a long time. It's not much, but it is something. 

I keep meaning to put a sketch pad in the car, so I can draw at lunch.....like I used too.


ps. the strange head gear was a pair of sunglasses

Seeing Red

I stopped on my way home from work to let Rachel shine a flashlight into my eyes.  Are my pupils the same size?  My head hurts.  Yep, I almost gave myself a concussion for Valentine's Day. 

How you ask?  I fell out of my chair. You know one of those chairs on wheels that you can slide around the office floor.  But, if you lean over too far, sometimes it will slide out from under you.  You know the one?  Yep, I fell out. Banged my head so hard on the desk it stunned me a bit.

I'm okay. Not much harm done. Happy Valentine's to me! 

(before you say it....I was told to go to the doctor if I thought I needed to....I went to Dr. Rachel's...just to get a second opinion)

But, it worked out well, because I got to kiss someone(s) I love. And someone I love had made a present for me.

A handmade card (see the pretty picture and the scribble scrabble handwriting?) from my little buddy and something yummy were in a pretty bag labeled GaGa.  That's me....GaGa. Elijah named me himself. 

He and Mommy made the lollipop together today. I have it from a reliable source that the pop tastes like Ghiradelli white chocolate and peppermints. I'll eat it later. I'm not through looking at it yet.

My Week in Pictures

Monday was pretty. I ate lunch in a new spot.

This lookout is the starting point for Vulcan Trail.  The walking trail follows the old route of the Mineral Branch of the L&N Railroad as it used run along Red Mountain.

 

The parking lot looks out over the south side of the city.



Can you see that pretty brown church in the middle of the photo?  I work about 3 or 4 blocks south and 1 block west of that. (which would be right below the spot where I'm parked almost)

It is located directly below the new man in my week days.





This is what he looked like on Thursday. If you click and enlarge you might be able to see the mantle of snow he was wearing across his chest.

We had a nice dusting of fluffy white stuff over night Wednesday.


Lucky for me, the streets were clear. No ice, so I had an easy drive to work.

Every night this past week I found some time to work on this afghan that I'm working on for one of my sister's children. (Taylor, if you read this DO NOT TELL!)

Twenty years ago, I made one just like this for myself and one for my sister. A few years ago I found out that my sister's kids loved it and fought over who would get to use it. I hadn't used mine in a long time, so I gave it to the oldest sibling.

Now I'm making one for my nephew and then I'll make one for my niece. Believe it or not, I never get rid of any crafty stuff and I was able to find the crochet pattern I'd used for the original ones.

Yesterday, I spent most of the day crafting to my little heart's content. I was inspired by an empty Bisquick box and this post to make Rachel a little Valentine's gifty.

And yes, these photos were taken in a parking lot. I forgot to snap a few shots before leaving home, so I took a few after I'd picked up a big bag of pink M&Ms for her.


Check out this link for a cute green-crafting idea using brown paper sacks as gift bags.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Babies

Spring is on the way....and so are some new succulent babies.

Open The Door....

To Something Exciting....

...And take Me with You!

Gramma's Brag Book

Just a few pictures to show off the babies:

Elijah celebrated his second birthday yesterday. He is all into Cars, so that was the theme of his party.  If the present is an indicator of the future then I would like to make a few predictions about him.

1. He will drive a fast car...probably a red one.
2. He will be an early reader. He already recognizes most of the alphabet and knows many of the letter sounds.
3. He will be artistic. He loves to color, can draw a circle, knows a face needs eyes, nose and mouth,and  tries to draw letters.
4. He will enjoy any type of tinkering that requires the use of tools.
5. He will probably be an inventor or a space explorer. I am extrapolating this from the fact that he loves it when his daddy helps him make robots out of Playdoh.

Okay...so I'm a bit too proud of a Gramma... I feel the same way about the rest of my Grands as well....doesn't being a grandmother entitle you to think yours are the best and brightest? And the cutest?  

Speaking of cute....Emma looked like a cutie-pie in her hair bow yesterday.

 

She is almost three months. She smiles and giggles so I'm predicting she will be a happy contented adult when she's all grown up. That is certainly my wish for all ten of them.

This Is How We Do It

What do we do in Alabama when it sleets and makes the roads slippery?

We get off work early so we can creep home in bumper to bumper traffic.

And what happened to the sleet you ask?

Why, it turned to rain.

Plain old regular rain.

So how long did it take you to make the 30 minute drive home you ask?

Oh, just a mere 2 hours and 45 minutes.

And what did you do for 2 hours and 45 minutes
while your car barely rolled along?

Well of course, I rolled the windows down and took pictures.

A girl has got to amuse herself in whatever way she can find.

No freeways for me....I chose the route with only one overpass or bridge.


The long slow route.

But I did see this pink house.

Don't you wish you were me?