Love those grandbabies!

I was just looking at my daughter's blog with the pictures of the babies. I wish they were closer to me. I am missing out on so much of their life! I hope my Isaac doesn't live too far away with his children, I want to know the grandbabies. I worked so much while my children were growing up, I want to see the little ones mature into people.

Working lots this week. Up at 3:30 or 4, at the office at 5. Work teaching people a new application that recognizes your FACE and will let you into your computer. It is neat and exciting, but a lot of work.

The job is keeping me away from the fun stuff in life. I have a bead show in Kansas City next weekend, May 5th. It is usually a fun one to do, we eat at Hereford House the first night, drive to Dean and Deluca's each day for a salad, and the shop at Andre's, the chocolate store across the street from D&D's. It is a great time. We all spend more than we make, but do the show and count it as our 'bonding time."

My grandma quote for yesterday and today:

Uncles and aunts, and cousins are all very well, and fathers and mothers are not to be despised, but a grandmother, at holiday time, is worth them all. Fanny Fern

When we are young our parents run our life, when we get older, our children do. Vicki Baum

Grandma Quote for today

If you think a spanking is not necessary, the chances are you're a grandparent. Evan Esar

Grandmas are like moms, only with lots of frosting. (this is from another day, I love it!)

Patsy Cline's Song: Walking After Midnight

Michelle could sing that song all day long and I would never tire of it. When I got to the bar around 10:00 on Friday to hear her in the final round of PJ Idol, she told me she was sick, had a sore throat, felt hot, then cold, and she was afraid her voice would crack, and she would blow it. She got up on the stage and BELTED out the song, the best I have ever heard her sing that song, it is my most favorite one she sings, although I love to hear her sing Coal Miner's Daughter, too.

The woman that won nailed her song, too. I think Michelle was better, and not because she is my sister. She rocks!

Karaoke Contest Tonight

Michelle will square off for first place tonight in the Karaoke contest. I can't wait to see if she wins. The family will be there in force to see her.

WORK WORK WORK

I seem to be working all the time right now. I am working on a new project at my job, it is exciting new technology, and I love doing it. I have a ton of things coming up that I need to work on, and I come home drop dead tired all the time.

I have a show in Kansas City on May 5th I need to get ready for.

Then I will have a class with a wonderful bead maker named Kate Fowle Meleney www.katefowle.com the next weekend, May 11, 12, 13, 14.

The following weekend I am making pies for my little sister Michelle's party. She has invited people to the "Fly Swat Saloon." Her metal outbuilding will be converted to a saloon, with all kinds of fun things to play, like slot machines, and prizes. Each person is to dress in period clothing, it should be a ton of fun. She and Jason have pretty active imaginations. I plan to go and let my hair down.

I have been invited to a "RED HAT" dinner on the 25th, too. I am excited, the ladies are all a hoot.

50th Birthday Photos

My birthday celebration with my family was on Saturday. My sisters and sister in law planned and pulled off a surprise party for me. Normally, all 5 of us sisters and one sister in law all get together and celebrate the birthday, we all put out a list of our most wanted items, we meet at Deanne's for coffee, gift opening, a muffin or coffee cake, and then we go to the city to eat brunch. Sometimes we shop all day as a group.

This year I decided to not do the birthday gatherings. I love to buy the things off each girl's list and try to get stuff that would suit their personalities. This year I felt like I was in a funk, so I decided to not join in on the sister's birthdays, and I have not been attending the birthdays of all the nieces and nephews. After the sisters did the first breakfast with all of them, I really wished I had not dropped out. Esp. since they got Deanne a digital camera, and she LOVES IT!

So, for the girls to do this for me was something I was totally not expecting.

First, my little sister Wendy, in the green, called me awhile back to set up a date to go shop for her a sofa at the Mart:

She is sitting in the restaurant with my daughter's lifelong friend, Jen. Jen crashed the party, and I am so glad she did, I enjoy her company. She is so fun and happy!

I picked a date in April for the shopping with Wendy. I have been looking forward to it since she called me. The only time I was suspicious was when she mentioned we were going to eat at Rick's Boatyard. I had wanted to go there last year and we didn't. But, she quickly explained it away, and I forgot all about it.

Wendy made up a story to drop off muffins at Deanne's because she was having Mike's sisters over for a sewing bee. (this did not make me suspicious because they do this from time to time, too.) I did ask Steve before I left if he thought they would do something like that and he said no, he would have been told, just so he could try to get me to keep my day free. Here they are, the group of sneaks, from the left, it is Deanne, Dianne (they are twins) and Michelle, the one who sings and got 2nd place:

When we pulled into town, I saw Deanne's house without cars around it and I thought, OK, you are just being weird, Cindy, nothing is going on at all. We entered her house and she visited awhile, she offered me coffee, and we said we had to go, we didn't want to interrupt her time with Mike's family. Well, she ran off to the bedroom to get a new blouse to show me. While she was gone, Wendy and I visited, and then all the girls ran out of the bedroom with a red hat and some gifts, they scared the life out of me. We all laughed, I cried, and we had a good time.

They talked about how they tried to get Karen home with the babies, but Bryan had to work. I told them how much that would have meant to me, but it was OK, I understood.

We took off to go to the restaurant. After the girls called back and forth on cell phones about 4 or 5 times about this and that, and there was a ton of weird activity in the car, we finally arrived at the restaurant to find the family all there. Karen, Bryan, Noah, Olivia, Steve and my son Isaac, you see him in the photo in the green t-shirt. I was so totally shocked, and thrilled. I cried and cried. It was so special to me.

I am so glad I have a family that celebrates birthdays. They are a special time of remembrance. I think of the birth of my own children on each of their birthdays, the time of day they were born, the labor, and the feeling I had the first time I held them. Thank you all for making my day so special to me.

50 TODAY (I hate to admit that)

I have so much to tell you about my weekend, but I don't have enough time. Today I celebrate 50 years on this planet.

When I got to work today, this is how my cubicle looked.

I wish I had photos of this weekend. Off to work in the NICU some more.

WOOHOO! She got 2nd Place

Michelle will be up to win next weekend, so I will be going to the PJ bar, the place that Deanne speaks of on her blog. I SAW the woman that she talked about. I had her pictured as old, fat, frumpy and desperate. She is actually not bad looking, not frumpy or fat. I feel sorry for her kids. Pictures tomorrow, left the camera in the car. I got home at 12, been up since 3am. I know, I am too old to do this!

Water and Fertilizer (care and feeding of the blog)

I wanted to stop by quick and say I am working 5am-5 or 6pm, on a dead run, all week. I want to get home and rest, so I can go see my sis in her sing-off at Karaoke tonight, she is up to be a top runner out of 6 people. I love to hear her sing, and don't miss an opportunity if I can go hear her sing. I love that girl's voice.

I am so looking forward to the weekend, I am going to help the baby sister find a couch. Any excuse to go to the Furniture Mart, I will take it. I need a new floor lamp, may look for one of those.

Sent my daughter 3 cricut cartridges for her 30th B-Day:

I also got her this knife I found at the housewares store, I got me one and I love it. It is small and sharp, a good sub for the large knife I normally use.

I'll let you know how the karaoke contest goes tonight. I hope she wins, she is THAT good.

Easter at my Sister's house

We stuffed eggs on Friday night at Michelle's house. Michelle is one of the twins my mother gave birth to, she had 2 sets, a set of twin girls, Dianne Louise and Deanne Lillian, middle names are a combination of my paternal and maternal grandmothers. Dianne after Louise Coates, Deanne after Lillian Anderson. Both wonderful people in their own rights. Here are photos of the egg stuffing:

Today, the festivities were fun for the kids, they flew kites, hunted eggs in the yard, and jumped on the neighbor's trampoline, and rode their go-cart around the yard all day long:

Michelle is the kind of Mom I wish I had, or was, she lets her kids have pets that I would have never let mine have, she is pretty laid back, and fun to have around, this is the pet, never did catch it's name, but it sure is a cute little thing:

I came home to find that my little sister's ex husband has made the news. It appears he got himself into some kind of trouble with meth possession or use.........which is why he is her EX, and has escaped our local county jail. Funny thing is, the county sherriff's dept. and the local police are so inept, he is probably at his mother's house sitting on her sofa. They haven't apprehended him and brought him back. Go figure, they probably knocked on his mom's door and asked if she has seen him, and she told them no.............this from the woman that has bailed him out of numerous situations. GEESH! He only has 2 places to go, his mother's or his new wife's home. If he isn't there, one of them is hiding him. He'll get put back in jail, get his wrist slapped, get out and do it all over again. Makes me crazy.

This is my little Niece Katie, we call her 411, she'll tell you everything she knows, from the minute she saw you last until today, she cracks me up. She got some kind of weird teeth (I know, can you say REDNECK?) in her Easter basket, and had to show them to me................pretty funny:

Next, a family gathering isn't the same without Bob, he is sound asleep in this photo at the end of the table, snoring, sounds like a miniature buzz saw, funny funny, we sure pick on the poor guy:

Anyway, a good time was had by all, the kids went away with way more candy than they needed, but the sure enjoyed their time. And so did the adults. This is my sister Michelle clowning around with my sister Deanne, who knows what this was all about, but Michelle wanted to know if she could see her tonsils, I think it is just sick and wrong, but it was pretty funny:

Easter Dinner is in 2 hours

I got the jello jiggler eggs started on Thursday night, it takes 4 packages of jello and 2 1/2 c. of water to make one batch. In order to get certain colors, I had to get the regular jello. What a difference, it will make 13 eggs, the sugar free only makes 8. I got an entire bowl of eggs done and decided to not make any more.

Got the tortellini salad made on Saturday, the flavors have to 'marry' overnight, so I did that. Decided to make deviled eggs, so I did a batch of them last night, the 3# can of beans cooked on low all night in the crock pot for baked beans, which is the way my hubby likes them, slow cooked with molasses, brown sugar, onion, hickory smoke flavoring and bacon. I also made green jello with pears, cream cheese, and pecans in it, this has been a salad I have made my whole entire married life (32 yrs in Aug.) for almost every family gathering. Sometimes they eat a ton of it, sometimes nobody eats a bite, but they request that I bring it. I have an old joke I tell the family. Jello isn't something we eat, it is something we HAVE at a dinner. haha.

My daughter called to tell me the stuff I sent them for Easter was a hit. Olivia carried around her fruit stripe gum, sniffing it and asking for a piece every 5 minutes! Noah put on his crocs, his visor and his sunglasses I sent. They crack me up. She said watching them find Easter eggs was pretty cute.

I went to my sister's on Friday night to stuff the plastic eggs for the Easter Egg hunt at her house today. There will be about 20+ kids there, we had so much fun stuffing eggs. It is a hoot, they buy a bunch more eggs each year, and then complain how many we have.............typical! HAHA, got to love them.

Well, I have a turkey to carve and gravy to make, Have a Happy Easter.

Easter Weekend is approaching

The family will all get together for the weekend. Lots of activities are planned, and the place is a bunch of sugared up little ones running around screaming and having a ton of fun. I am going to help stuff plastic Easter eggs. I hope to remember the camera so I can post photos. I'll cook the turkey for Sunday dinner. I saw Michelle at Wal-Mart and told her not to buy a turkey, because I had one in my freezer she could use. Well, turns out I didn't but I got one anyway, and a breast, totaling about 22# of turkey meat altogether. I'll cook them, slice them, make gravy and take it to her house on Sunday. I love these get togethers.


I also make Jello Jiggler eggs, in all the colors of Jello I can find. I think the adults eat more of them than the kids. I make them out of sugar free jello........don't tell. They taste just as good. It takes a LOT of jello to make them, I make about 6 batches, for a total of 36 eggs. Sounds like a lot of eggs, doesn't it? You have to remember, there are 5 of us sisters, and at least one brother always makes it to this. We have our children and spouses, then my brother-in-laws family will attend, also, so we'll have quite a few kids there.

I love to do it, and have done it for a number of years, since my son was little. OOPS, he is going to be 20 this year, has it been that long? I have the jello egg molds that were given away years ago with a jello purchase, I used to see them all the time, but don't anymore. You can order them here.

I am making my spinach salad, the family requests it almost every time we have a family get together. Here's the recipe:

Tortellini Salad

9 oz. refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 c. shredded red cabbage (I buy coleslaw mix, I am LAZY)
6 c. torn spinach leaves
1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/ 2 c. sliced green onions
8 oz. bottle ranch dressing
8 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled (I buy real bacon bits in salad aisle, Yep, LAZY)

Cook tortellini, drain and rinse with cold water. In 9x13 pan layer cabbage, spinach, tortellini, tomatoes, onions. Pour dressing over top, sprinkle with bacon. Chill overnight. Servings: 8 1 c. servings

I love to do this, I think I am going to get some stuff to make a little more, Michelle told me Jason's family is coming, and I think we will need more food.

This and That

I won a bead on ebay, when it arrived it is the coolest thing, but the top was broke off, here is a photo, I emailed the person that made it, I am sure she will make it right, but what a bummer:

I made another pie, this one is an apple, just plain apple, no caramel. The crust is store bought, I have never used it before, but got some the time I made chicken pot pies. It works so nice, and has the audacity to taste good, too. It's not as good as homemade, but it is good anyway, and so convenient. The boys enjoyed it:

Then, I never did post pictures of my lamps I got at TJ Maxx, my favorite discount store. My end tables in my bedroom have a marble-ish looking top, I got them at Mrs. B's, and I love them. We got them on a great clearance. They look fancy schmancy, but really aren't. The lamps were just sitting there when I wandered into TJ Maxx, just like they knew I was wanting new lamps. I hate to buy lamps, I think they are way overpriced. SO, imagine my delight when I got two for the price I was willing to pay for one.

Our bead show was yesterday, it was fun, I got to see my friend from South Dakota. I love to look at her beads, she makes the coolest shapes out of plain colors. They are whimsical. I love whimsical. I don't know how she gets so much done, she had a TON of beads on her table. She is disciplined, I think, much more so than I am. She'll be joining us for a class that will be taught in my friend Sandy's studio in Omaha. That class will take place over Mother's Day weekend. I can't wait to take this one. But, I love to take them all!

Oh, and I found the book: "Fancy Nancy and The Posh Puppy" for my grand daughter's Easter basket, I am so excited to give it to her. They are the cutest books, I love the illustrations in them. Again, they are whimsical.

My calendar quotes:
Sat/Sun: "Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it." Harold S. Hulbert

Monday April 2nd: "I refuse to admit I'm more than 52, even if that does make my sons illegitimate." Lady Nancy Astor