3rd Birthday Pictures and a few more............

Here's Lil' E with her balloons.  You can see the festive birthday decorations behind her. 

As you see, the girls had matching flamingo pillowcase dresses that I made.  I couldn't resist this fabric at JoAnn's.

Lil' E's aunt, one of my other daughters, made the invitations and cupcake toppers.  Some had E's, some had 3's, and some were adorned with flamingos.  Lil' E wanted blue cake with pink icing.  Her mom made pastel orange and green icing, too.  The colors were picked from a striped tray that my daughter has that she likes to use for parties.

You can see that we made and put flamingos on the party hats and on the wall.   Lil' E tries a hat on her favorite doll that she's had since she was a newborn.  (This is really the 4th one of this doll.  Because of Lil' E's allergies, Molly gets washed ALOT, so she wears out quickly.) A yellow one for baby sis has been ordered.                                                                                      

Here's Lil' E using the new gift from her mom and dad.  Her dad is an avid and really GOOD golfer.  They have already taken our newborn grand to the driving range.  So, Lil' E got her own, real, set of golf clubs.  This picture is a little blurry, but you can see Lil' E taking a swing at the driving range.  Her golf bag is in the front left corner of the picture.       

Now, for some other pictures.  Here's Lil' E giving her new little sis her first kiss in the hospital.                                                    

       She looks like a tired little mommy in this picture holding little one.  This chair was losing all of it's little foam beads when I got there, so I made a new INSIDE cover for it.  Now the beads stay put, and with a freshly washed outer cover, it's as good as new.  

In this last picture, Little one is on the quilt that her Aunt Malinda, my cousin, made for her.  It is so pretty and soft.  It is backed with yellow seersucker!  Love it!                                                

New Grand!

 

                            

                                          One day old and ready to go home from the hospital!

Yes, she really was smiling!

In the little bubble suit I made for L(ittle)B(aby)G(irl) while I was there.  Big sis in a dress I made for her hugging her sister.  We had to be careful and really watch those hugs.  Some of them were scary!  Some were just sweet!

I know, I know babies do not turn over when they are only 3 weeks old, but this one did.  She did it numerous times, so it wasn't a fluke!    Her big sis turned over at 2 1/2 weeks.   Do I sound like a proud Granmomma, or what?                                                

I'll post more picts of LBG and her big sister's 3rd bday party in a few days.

Home!

I am home.  Give me a day or two to catch up on my "real" life and I'll post a few pictures, etc.... of the dream life I've had for the past month! 
Tomorrow, it's back to the nursing home.
Then, to my storage part of my basement to get rid of stuff.  That is my number one goal now that I'm home.  I've got STUFF of my mom's, my grand in-laws, my daughters, my husband's store that he sold, my aunt in-laws, etc.........  Gotta DEclutter my life!!!!!!!!!
Then, it's back to the sewing machine for Halloween costumes (there  are 6 grands to sew for this year), J's (almost 8) birthday, R's (not too far from 5) birthday, a Christening gown for a friend, and it isn't too long before I need to think about Christmas outfits for, by then, SEVEN GRANDS!  Yep, we are due another one in November!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm thinking about going back to work part time!  I'm thinking of either signing up to substitute teach (because I can always say no if I'm busy) or to teach GED classes.  I've thought for years that teaching adults who really want to learn would be fun.  Hum.........................?????????????????
It's almost time to repaint the nursing home windows, too.  I think I'll do some PRETTIER fall pictures instead of CUTE stuff like I did for summer.  What do you think?  I think they will like either.

In October it will be time to go to CT for another grand's bday!  Like I said above, J is nearly 8!  Then, back to the NE for a new grandbaby in Nov.  R's bday is in Dec.  We may have to celebrate with her a little early and include that celebration with the new baby visit.  I don't know who all is coming for Christmas, but I know that the desert family is supposed to be here sometime the day or so after.

Party Time!

Tomorrow is Almost 3's birthday party!  Her birthday isn't for a few more days, but Saturday is the best day for a party with little ones.  We are hoping the weather will be okay, meaning not TOO HOT for the little ones to play outside with water balloons, etc... for a little while.  There will be tons of indoor balloons, too.  She wants a FLAMINGO party, so we have made lots of flamingo decorations.  One of my daughters makes invitations and all kinds of party things.  For this party, she made the cupcake toppers.  They are perfect!  I'll get pictures.  Little one wants blue cake with pink iciing.  Her mom made some with pink, but she also used light green and light orange on some of them.  She has these really neat striped trays, etc... that she likes to use for parties.  The colors are matching these serving dishes.  Almost 3 just went to bed, so as soon as her baby sis has been fed, the decorating begins.  We are surprising little one with all the festive decorations.  She has seen none of them!  She will be so excited.  Her best little friends are coming to help her celebrate.
I'll be home the middle of next week, so life will get back to normal.  Well, normal for me.  My sister, husband, and cousins have been sharing the nursing home duties while I've been gone.  My sister is staying at our house while we are here to celebrate this birthday.  She tells me that things are really bad with Mother right now.  The staff is encouraging taking Mother to a hospital to try to get her meds adjusted, or whatever it is that is causing her to have the issues with yelling, crying, etc... that she is having.  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that we did this once already and had a horrible experience, so I'm not so sure this is the right thing to do.  The hospital, (a different one from last time) doctor has said he does not think Mother is a candidate for this program.  I am really scared that the nursing home administrator is going to tell us that they can no longer care for Mother because of her yelling.  She is causing a disturbance, so I understand, but what in the world will we do if that happens?  Please pray, if you are a praying sort of person, that this won't happen and that Mother will find peace of mind. 

Still Here

Hi!  I'm still alive and well.  Once I get home, I will post some photos of a few things I've sewn while I've been here.  I haven't spent lots of time sewing, though.  We've been going to the mall play area (it's too hot to play outside here in the desert) and playing dress up, with baby dolls, etc.....  There's also been lots of diaper changes and burping to be done.  So, as you can tell, I have been a little too busy to sew very much.

News from home has been sad this week.  When my mom was growing up, one of her best friends was this boy who went to church with her.  Later, he married one of her other best friends.  He went to med school and while there got Polio.  Through lots of hard work and determination he finished med school anyway!  He and his wife had 8 children, some of whom were a little older than I and some a little younger.  Actually, a few were a lot younger.  Anyway, his kids and my siblings and cousins all grew up together.  He was our family doctor.  You aren't going to believe this, but he actually made house calls and had an office in his home so that when he wasn't in his main office, he could still see patients at any hour.  He was an amazing man.   He was a real pillar in our community and in our church!  He will be sorely missed!  Since my dad wasn't around when I was a teenager, he became somewhat of a mentor for me.  In recent years he has been so much support when it came to dealing with my mom.  He would go to the nursing home to visit her, even though he was in a wheelchair himself.  A couple of months ago, I walked into the nursing home and found Mother with tears pouring down her face.  She had dreamed that this gentleman had died.  Well, the day before yesterday, he did die.  He had been in the hospital for just a few days.  Tomorrow is his burial and memorial service.  I won't be there since I am in AZ, but I have talked to one of his daughters, and they know how I feel.  My husband, who is still at home, took food out to them today and visited for awhile.  We have decided that Mother doesn't need to know about this right now.  She has really not been doing well at all while I've been gone.  She is on a roller coaster.  We just think that the timing isn't right to tell her right now.  I don't believe in keeping things from her, but we don't think she will understand what we are telling her and that it might make her worse. 
Prayers please for the family of this man!  Also, please continue with prayers for my mom.  For another story about something that happened with my mom this week, go to my other blog.  There is a link at the top of my sidebar to Baby Girl's Observations.

I Must Be Successful!

My definition of success is happiness, so therefore, I must be the most successful granmomma in the world.  I certainly am a happy one!  With grands who are 10, 7, 4, almost 3, 2, newborn, and one not even born yet, I am about as happy as a person can be!  Our new little one is the calmest little one I've ever seen.  I remember when our 2nd one was born, I told her doctor that I'd never seen a calmer baby when we took her for her 1 week checkup.  The doctor was concerned!  But there was no need for him to be worried, she was just a good little baby, who was happy, happy, happy.  So, when this one came along, and she is even  more calm than number 2, I wondered what the dr. would say.  He, of course, said she is just a happy, well fed, good natured little one. 
She got me good this morning.  I had been holding her, and heard and felt through her diaper, a few little "toots", so I went to change her and found out that she wasn't finished.  She just looked very pleased and proud of herself when she let go while granmomma was in the middle of the process of changing her. 
Now, doesn't just prove that she is the smartest little one ever?! 
I've gotten a little sewing going on here.  First of all, I made a new cover for the changing table.  I have a feeling this is going to be needed.  I made a new cover for Lil' E's big girl chair.  I am making an ice pack holder for the little one's car seat.  When you live in the desert, that is a definite need!  I've made one little day shirt and I'm getting ready to make a bubble suit for little one.  I don't have my camera, though, so I haven't taken any pictures.  My daughter is sending pictures to my computer so I can post some when I get home.
Back at home, my mom has had a terrible time while I've been gone.  I don't think it would make a difference if I was there or not.  My husband, cousins, and sister have all been going often to visit and to try to feed her.  She's been very fretful, crying, screaming, and sleeping so soundly that she can't be awakened to be fed.  I just pray for her to find some peace.
My brother seems to be doing better.
Thanks for all your words of congratulations and for your prayers and well wishes.
I am trying to keep up with your blogs, but there's little time for that when there are little ones with whom to cuddle.