It's a Bumpy Ride with Kids!

This was posted on Facebook by my DIL describing their day yesterday!  I'm so glad I'm the grandma and not the mother.  I found out about all of this after the fact and once everything was calmed down and fine.  I would have been a basket case if I had to deal with this:


What a day! Things started wonderful. Got up and to the gym by 8:30. Ran 4 miles. Came home. Got the baby up so Austin could take her to the gym child watch.  Discovered that she had taken her diaper halfway off and was playing in her poop! Tubby time! Cleaning her with the shower on. She falls. Starts crying. I say "It's ok peanut. You just got scared"   Flip her over and start rinsing the soap off her. Feel the back of her head and there, lodged in her head is the metal hair strainer!  I thought maybe it was stuck in her hair. Nope, there's the blood!   ER here we come! I freaked out. Didn't know what to do, but knew enough not to pull it out myself!  She had to get a staple. She was such a big girl though. We had to put her on my lap to take her to the hospital and she laid on her belly smiling and waving to her daddy the whole time!   The nurses and docs at IRMC were absolutely amazing though! We were out of there in 20 min.   So, then, I think she figures "oh well, I already have a staple in my head... let's see about this walking thing" and she took her first steps! 

Leanna walking

Then she freaking falls... and her head starts bleeding again!!! I am so happy she is in bed sleeping for the night! I need a padded room for this one!!!  It was definitely scary, but I have to say that I have the most amazing family. Austin basically flew us to the hospital and the boys got out the door an d into the car quicker than I could have imagined. My goodness I love my family. I truly am so blessed   As for me, I am loading the dishwasher and hitting the hay! 


My comment later in the evening:
What a day! The upside?! You're not bored and you know your family can work well together in a small crisis! Hope you have a calm Sunday! Love you all!!


Oh My!

Fun in the Sun

It is hot!! But I'm not complaining!  I promised that in the midst of ice and snow and below freezing temperatures last winter, I would not complain when the heat came in the summer. Here we are and I am true to my word.
Little Miss Leanna is visiting for a few days while her Mommy is a week in Pittsburgh for her annual Air Force Reserve training.

She has a good time with Grampy Bobby doing things she wouldn't be allowed to do at home or with Mommy around!

She hates when Grammy Nina puts those darn cute clips in her unruly hair!

Ready to walk any day!

 She's finally taking a nap, so I'm going to try to catch up a little.  I know my blogging has really gotten behind this summer.  This summer seems especially full for us.  I barely have time to write anything and my enjoyable blog reading has really suffered.  A person can only do so much!

Last Saturday, July 2nd, we had our annual 4th of July party.  It was a beautiful day, as most of our summer has been, we had a great attendance of friends and family and plenty of good food.  

My brother in law, John, on the left, was designated grill cook.  He did a great job!  John and his wife, my sister in law Debbie, came from Cincinnati, as did my brother, Chuck, and his wife, Jill.  This is my cousin Fred on the right.  Two days after our party, Fred and my cousin Susie, his wife, became first time grandparents of twin boys!

cousins Frank and Betty

l-r: son Austin, cousin Fred, cousin Steve, DIL Melissa, cousin Betty

Cousin Mark with my brother's dog, Frankie

Look behind Mark in the above picture to the bank on the other side of the lake.  That is where the fireworks were set off that evening.  We have a beautiful front row seat to the fireworks show right in front of us!  

My good friend, Paula, along with her daughter, Marielle, and Marielle's newly adopted twin daughters from Africa.

It was also Leanna's first birthday on June 28, so we celebrated while we had the gathering of friends and family.  I got her a Tinkerbell cake because she sort of got nicknamed "tinks" when she was a very young baby due to the odor that such a cute little thing could put out!

She thoroughly enjoyed her first birthday cake!

And was very happy to share with Big GG (Great Grandpa, my dad)

This post for today is done and she's still sleeping!  It felt good to sit for a while and write in quiet!  Maybe I can even get another load of clothes folded if I hurry up!

Caylee's Law

I have 4th of July pictures and lots to tell you about my fun and happy long holiday weekend.  The weekend was filled with loving family and friends and much laughing.  More on this later.

But today I have to comment on the sad sad life that the Anthony family is living right now.
Being the grandmother of a 1 year old granddaughter and a 2 year old granddaughter, I just can't even imagine what Cindy Anthony may be going through!  Then to also be the mother of the person that is probably responsible for the death of this precious little girl!?  How do you deal with that?
I'm not happy about the jury's decision on this.  I feel there was sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to find her guilty of at least manslaughter.  I also feel sure that Casey will still live a life of hell, whether it be behind bars or not and her judgment day will come in another form.
Something good must come of this and I feel that passing Caylee's Law would be one good thing.  This would make it a crime for a parent or guardian not notifying law enforcement of a missing child in a timely manner:

Caylee's Law, contact your Senator and Representative: there should be a new federal law created called Caylee's Law that will make it a federal offense for a parent or guardian to not notify law enforcement of a child going missing in a timely manner.
Let's keep another case like Caylee Anthony out of the courts.

If you agree, please sign the petition I have posted at the top of my sidebar.  Keep Caylee's voice alive!

Reunion Over

I'm back.  You wouldn't think a little six hour one way trip to Cincinnati and two nights of parties would wear a person out, but  it did.  I guess when it's your 35th class reunion, age makes a little difference to old party animals!  All went very well, though, and it was a lot of fun.  I just don't know how much fun I can take!  I really enjoyed seeing my best friend, Melinda, whom I haven't seen for over five years.  Melinda, her sweet and beautiful 18 year old daughter, Michelle, and I stayed together at a Marriott Towne Place Suites.

  It was very nice.  It was more like a condo than a hotel.  We had such a good visit and talks.  It's just like we saw each other a month ago.  The sign of a true friendship!  We spent time at the mall, going out to eat with our mothers and Michelle, drinking wine and just talking.
Friday night was a get together with our class at a local tavern.

Me on left, Melinda on right

Saturday  Melinda wanted to get her hair done, so we decided to also get our make-up done together.  It was a fun girlfriend time together!  

 Saturday evening was a little more dressy affair.  

Blurry again.  I need a new camera!  What a shame because our make-up looked really good!

We had a good time and it was so much fun to see old friends.  I think because of facebook, I felt like I knew 

some people better now than I did 35 years ago.

We were back "home" by midnight, but I guess we just couldn't get relaxed enough to fall asleep right away.  The next morning I woke up with a start at 11:00!  I couldn't believe it!  I had to also wake up Melinda and Michelle.  We were supposed to meet our mothers again for brunch at 11!  Wow!  I haven't slept that late for years.  We changed brunch time to noon!

Mom and I headed back to my brother's house after lunch, where we had a nice rest, a great dinner with family (my sister in law is a great cook), watched movies and had a good sleep.  Then we got on the road Monday morning back to the woods of Pennsylvania.  When I first got married and moved to Pennsylvania I loved going back to Cincinnati and almost dreaded coming back home to my small little back woods town.  Now it's flipped.  I love coming back to my slower (well, debatable), definitely quieter, calmer little life!  

I entered the gate to my community and drove up the long road toward my house.

It was fun to go back to high school memories, but there's no place like home!

Life This Week

I can't believe it's Thursday night already.  This week has gone by so fast because it's been a busy one.  I'll have to put my Bermuda series on hold for a few days until I get caught up with the present.

Last Friday (wow - almost a week!) my cousin, Brad, his wife, Jane, and their children, Grady and Libby, came up from Harrisburg to spend the weekend with us.  They had a wedding to go to on Saturday close to here.  They arrived here shortly after Hubby got home with our little granddaughter, Leanna.  He had gone to pick her up to spend the weekend with us.  This was the first time we have had her alone without her older brothers.

The weekend went well.  Cousins left about noon on Saturday all dressed up for the wedding.

Don't they look nice?  Grady just had to hold that sword in the picture.  And look at beautiful Libby's gladiator sandals.  She sure has turned into a beauty at only 14 years old!

Leanna was just the best little baby.  She's happy all the time and entertains herself as long as you're in the room with her.  She loves to be in her walker, which is great because she's crawling and standing and I'd be running after her all day otherwise.  We just stayed in the kitchen together with me cleaning and cooking and Leanna motorin' all over opening every cupboard she could reach.

About 7:00 at night it was bath time.  Grandma (me) prefers to give a bath in the kitchen sink while she's still small enough.  Leaning over a bathtub is a killer!  I said she's happy all the time, except when bath time is over  She did not want to get out of that sink!

She goes right to bed with barely a wimper at 9:00 and sleeps sound until 9:00 the next morning.  She's such an easy baby.

I was up early, way before anyone else.  Cousins got in late, so they were all sleeping in.  I made a fresh fruit salad, cinnamon rolls, and coffee.  I decided to use my Homer Laughlin's Virginia Rose dishes.  Most of the set was passed down to me from my and Brad's great-grandmother.  I've added to the set when I find pieces in antique stores or a flea market.

As soon as I had breakfast and the baby taken care of, I started on lunch!  I was having Mom and Dad over for a late lunch for Dad's birthday, which was the next day, Monday.  I was hoping cousins could stay to celebrate with us, but they needed to head back home at noon.
I fixed two pans of lasagna, a salad, and whole grain dinner rolls.  So I cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen from the breakfast crowd and reset the table and had lunch ready for the lunch crowd at 1:00.
Chocolate crunch ice cream cake from  Dairy Queen, with a big "7" candle and a big "4" candle was the co-star, along with Dad!

It was a small party, just me, Bob, Leanna and Mom, but it was nice and the food was good.  Can I say that even if I cooked it all?  And those Dairy Queen ice cream cakes are delicious!

Sooooo, I was exhausted by 3:00!  Hubby and I were going to  drive the 3 hour drive together to take Leanna home, but Hubby was so good in offering to go himself.  I packed up the baby and all that goes with her, along with a pan of lasagna, and then (tired sigh!) I was home alone!  I got the kitchen cleaned up (again!) and sat.  I so much appreciated that right then.

I have to say, I'm still not feeling well.  I just keep coughing, which makes my throat sore and my head is so stuffed up.  I think I have "The Walking Pneumonia and the Boogy Woogy Flu"!  Remember that song?  I think I'm starting to feel a little better, then I do too much, get overly tired, and then I'm down and out again.
But, resting is not much my style.  Monday I spent the day washing sheets, towels, floors and bathrooms.  My normal routine with a little extra.  Monday night I wanted to just sit and cry.  I was so annoyed at not feeling well when I have things to do.

Tuesday still wasn't time to take it easy.  It was voting day and Dad was running for School Board.  Mom, Bob and I were all helping by manning different polling locations and handing out his card as voters walked up to the polling station.  My shift started at 7:00 am.  I woke up at 5:00 to 48 degrees outside and the threat of rain!  At 5:00 a.m., my thoughts were, "Lord, let me die"!  I have to say, though, by 8:00 a.m. I was getting into the whole process and it actually became fun.  I knew a lot of people and got to know the other candidates standing outside with us.  I shared shifts with a friend that was also volunteering for Dad, so I had a few breaks.   When on duty, I was on my feet, in the rain, and talking all day.
Here's the gauntlet line we formed that voters had to walk through to cast their vote.  Most of the day we were all holding umbrellas, but here's a moment of clearing.

Here's Dad, third from the top right with the phone to his ear.

It was worth it, thank goodness.  We knew by 11:00 that night that Dad won the Republican nomination by quite a large margin.  In fact, he only lost the Democratic nomination also by about 6 votes!  Now he'll have to run again in November.  If he had won both ballots he'd be in and would run uncontested in November.   We're all so proud of him.  Now this means we do it all over again in the late fall.  Oh my, it could actually be snowing then!
Right now I just look forward to the day when I feel healthy again!

Linking to Alison's Fridays Unfolded

We Made It To Bermuda!

Wednesday, May 4

We were rockin’ and rollin’ the whole night through!  Very rough waters all night.  I felt OK, it was just a lot of movement and very loud.  I think maybe there was a storm.  All I could think about in the middle of this stormy rocking night was the Bermuda Triangle.  I was thinking we must be getting close to it and I hope we make it.  
We did!  We woke up anchored in the bay of  St. George where those of us that wanted to go ashore were ferried in to the island where we had booked a tour. 

View of our ship from St. George

St. George is the original Bermuda settlement.  In 1609, the English ship, “Sea Venture” was on it’s way to the new American settlement of Jamestown.

 A hurricane grounded the “Sea Venture” just off St. George and the survivors became the first residents.

We toured old Fort St. Catherine,

Dad guarding the Fort

 visited St. Peters Church,

 saw the “Unfinished church”

which was left unfinished due to financial difficulties,  and remains standing that way to this day.

We visited the Towne Hall,

 walked up the narrow winding staircase of the old lighthouse,

Me and Bob with Don and Kay standing at the top of the lighthouse

 and stopped for a rum and coke at an outdoor pub along the beach.

Bob and I with Gomby the pig outside the pub

There are old cemeteries and beautiful flowers everywhere.

 The buildings and houses are built from concrete block and limestone so that they can withstand hurricane force winds.  The limestone roofs are all painted white and the houses themselves are painted  pastel colors.

 I can imagine that this would look terrible in Northeast PA, but it looks so pretty here next to the beautiful bright aqua water!

We did a little bit of shopping before we had to get back to the ship.  As in normal man fashion, Dad and Don sat on a bench in front of Town Hall and ate ice cream.

For the first time on the trip we ate dinner in the Rotterdam Dining Room on the ship.  The food was delicious.  The other evenings we had just been grabbing food at the buffet or the pizza bar outside.  The dining room is beautiful, with a semi circle wall of windows overlooking the Harbor. While eating a first class sit down dinner an orchestra plays soft classical dinner music on the balcony.  It almost reminds you of a scene from The Titanic.

For some reason, The Bermuda Triangle and The Titanic are always on my mind!

After dinner the ship had sailed to the other end of the island in Hamilton.  Hubby and I got off the boat to tour a little bit of Hamilton in the early evening.

Back on the ship, the movie, “The Accidental Husband” was playing in the theatre.  It was just O.K.  I’m still not feeling real well, so it was hard for me to stay awake.  I really needed to just get back to our room and lay down for the evening.  We found this towel sculpture of a turkey waiting on our bed for us!

I was exhausted!  My throat is really bothering me and I’m getting very annoyed about it.  You plan and wait for a vacation like this, and then not to feel well when you finally get there is a little frustrating.

Overall, it was a very good day.  It's so pretty and sunny in Bermuda, even though it rained for a few minutes, it clears right up and the sun keeps shining.

Read about Day 1 of our vacation here
Read about Day 2 of our vacation here

Blogger Interrupted My Bermuda Trip

I posted Day 3 of our Bermuda Trip yesterday, but now it's gone.  It was filled with pictures from St. George and took me a lot of time to write it up.  Gone!  This is so frustrating.  I understand that Blogger is still working on restoring lost posts so I'm hoping it's back up soon.  I hate to take the time to re-write the post, get it all done again, and then they put my original one back up!
So, I worked outside today to get away from this darn computer.  Sometimes you just have to do that!  I have so much to do outside that a little bit each day makes a difference pretty quick.
I'm still dealing with a little bit of a sore throat.  This is going on the second week now.  I would be concerned, but it is actually much better.  Just a lingering annoyance now.
Hubby is picking up our granddaughter, Leanna, to spend the weekend with us.

This is her mother's Air Force Reserve weekend and we thought it would help her daddy out if he only had her two older brothers for the weekend.  So they are having a "boys only" weekend and I get some alone time with my little sweetie pie!
My cousin and his family are also coming over from Harrisburg this evening to spend the weekend with us.  They have a wedding to go to tomorrow and we love having them at our "Lake Château", as they have come to call my home.
Now I can't end the day without commenting on American Idol last night!  I'm addicted to this show and am always amazed at undiscovered young talent and how they progress through the months.  But last night was a total disappointment.  My favorite, James Durbin, was voted off.  How could this happen?  He has so much talent and I couldn't help but be drawn to his back story.  He has turrets syndrome and mild autism, he's married with a young son, and you can tell he just  worked so hard for this and wanted this so bad.  It just broke my heart!  I know he'll still do very well from his exposure on this show and I hope all the best for him. Remember his name, even if you're not an American Idol fan, because I know we'll all be hearing more about him.
Since I have a few more hours to myself before the welcome onslaught of relatives, I think I'll get a much needed shower, get something to eat, and maybe bake some chocolate chip cookies!  I might have to check with Blogger off and on (even though I told myself to now turn off the computer for the night)  to look for my missing post!  My OCD (Obsessive, Compulsive Disorder) is struggling with me again!

Easter Without Kids

This Easter feels a little different than most since none of my kids will be here this year.

 I think this is the first year I haven't colored eggs.

I didn't buy my favorite marshmallow peeps.

I did buy a bouquet of tulips for my entrance table.  They brighten up the dreary  weather Easter weekend a little bit.

Hubby didn't want a bunch of candy sitting around just for us, but I did get some nonpareils with colored sprinkles to set in my candy dish.

My cousin, his wife and children came over from Harrisburg and spent Friday evening with us, so I did make some bite sized, raspberry filled brownies.  They are just a package mix and then I iced and sprinkled them.  They are (were) really good!

Tomorrow we'll go to church with Mom and Dad and then to the Lakeview Restaurant for brunch.

It will be a nice and pleasant Easter.  It's just different without my kids!

I wish a Happy Easter to everyone!