Ahhhhh.....Love at First Sight :)

Wow, what a few days we've had!  Hubby had a conference to attend in Toronto, and I always go along for some R & R...or at least I tell myself that LOL!  Today is no different than any other time we've gone away....I come home exhausted. Too much walking, too much food (which I didn't have to cook...ya!), not enough good sleep/rest on hotel mattresses. Whatever the reason, I'm zonked.
 

Ahhhh....Love at first sight!
What a great big brother Keelan will be :)

  

However this visit was a bit different.  Our youngest son and his wife gave us a new granddaughter last Sunday, the 22nd, and we went over to visit them yesterday once the conference was finished. Little Aislin Zilla was only 6 days old and seemed sooooo tiny :)  It's been 3 years since our last babies arrived in the family, so this was a very special day.
 

Will you just look at that girl!  She's already waving

and she's only a week old LOL!

 

We only stayed for a couple hours as we knew our DIL was tired from having an almost 3 year old running around and adjusting to a new baby in the house, a new baby in the house, as well as losing her grandmother early yesterday morning. She lived a great, long and very interesting life. We should all be so lucky to live until we're 93 :)

This grandma wasn't going to waste any minute of our time together though and I got to cuddle little Aislin for almost 2 hours!  She slept the whole time.  Mom and Dad said she is such a good baby, sleeps through anything and only cries when she's hungry or tired :)  Shouldn't we have all been this lucky? LOL! Let me tell you, her daddy had colic for the first 6 months of his life, so they'd better appreciate this little one's laid back nature....hehehe!
 

 See....I told you, a wonderful weekend :)

   

We won't get to see her for another month when we go down for big brother's 3rd birthday, so we'll have to watch her grow through lots of pictures and Skype. Thank heaven for Skype. Anyone who hasn't signed up with Skype yet, really should. It's free and you can talk for hours with friends, loved ones, even business associates. As Martha says....it's a good thing :)
   
After our visit with Aislin, we drove a couple hours towards home to visit our middle son and his wife. After a delicious Japanese dinner we went back to their place and played cards, getting to bed after midnight.  Boy, it was hard getting up this morning. I am so looking forward to crawling into bed tonight.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. What grandma could ask for anything more? :) Welcome little Aislin!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

One on One....Skating Fun...

Goodness, I didn't check in for a couple weeks, and now I'm writing two days in a row LOL!

 

 
What a great day as grandpa and Hannah went skating with her class.  Hannah likes when Grandpa goes on the bus with her, so he drove to school and they took the short drive over to the arena.  Of course we can't mention skating in a cold arena today without mentioning that it was also -25 this morning, without a windchill. So to say the arena was 'chilly', would be putting it mildly.
    

 
It has been many, many years since I was in that arena, but it instantly brought back memories of having our 3 sons in hockey. Oh the years of having numb bums...hehehe....frozen toes....and fingers with no feeling in them, were brought right to the forefront of my memories!  Parents all huddled in the stands, trying to catch a wee flicker of heat from the too-few ceiling heaters, that very seldom actually worked. Ahhhh...memories :)

Mind you, Hannah was rather warm from her skating around the rink, and just HAD to stop to sit every turn around the ice LOL!  Then she was hungry, then she was thirsty...hehehe....the joys of grandparenting....an awful lot like parenting, however without the need to keep discipline in the forefront.  It's all about what the grandkids want, whether they need it or not, and whether mom and dad would approve of it all...hehehe!  We do have to push the rules once in a while. And having said that, I did pack a cookie and some mini marshmallows for Hannah's snack.  She loves marshmallows..and doesn't hate cookies...so all went well.

Tomorrow morning is swimming classes for both girls, so grandma and grandpa will be there to watch...and grandma will be there to get bathing suits on, off, showers, hair washed, dried, dressed and back in the car to go home with daddy!  See you then guys!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Snow Day.....

There hasn't really been much to write about since the holidays....school is back in, winter has settled in with a vengence, decorations have been put away....back to some sort of winter routine that allows the occasional outdoor walk.

    
All routine, except for today. There was a snow day so no school buses were running. We got hid hard...did I mention that the older I get, the more I "hate" winter? Well I do...ugh :(

The highlight of the day however was having Hannah and Cade over until early this afternoon.  Our son bought our wonderful DIL an air ticket to visit her half-sister out on the west coast, and wouldn't you know it, today was the day they had to drive to Toronto for her to catch her flight.  It took them HOURS and hours, going at a snails pace. Thank goodness they arrived safe and sound.  Once our DIL is up in the air, our son is checking into a hotel as he has a business meeting tomorrow. Hopefully he will be back tomorrow before it gets dark.

  Help me push him Grandpa. He's heavy LOL!

 

Anyway, back to the grandkids....hehehe!  Our oldest, Hailee, chose to have mom and dad drop her off at school. She loves snow days as there aren't many kids who get to school, and the few that do end up doing crafts and having fun. Something they don't get too much of now that they're in grade two :)

The exact opposite from Cade. He wanted to do

it all by himself LOL!

  

Hannah on the other hand was more than happy to not go to school with her older sister, and decided to stay with their little brother Cade, with grandma and grandpa.

From my kitchen window :)

  

We had lots of fun and finally had to give in and take them outside in the blizzard conditions. At least it was fairly "warm" :)  All Hannah could talk about for weeks now was having grandpa give her a ride in the big snow shovel. It's become a regular activity and treat for the kids each winter. It's a good thing that grandpa is in shape LOL!!

Oh my...will you look at those pancake balls!!

Grandma bought herself a Babycakes Baker before

Christmas, and has been experimenting with various

recipes.  The pancake recipe turned out really well....

served with melted Nutella and delicious thick

homemade maple syrup!

  

The time went all too quickly, and grandpa was driving them back home after lunch where Memere would be waiting for them. 

So until Saturday morning when grandma will bring the girls to swimming lessons, I'll say see you later!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

I don't know how too.......

We were lucky enough to have our little grandson Cade yesterday for a sleepover.  Lots of fun...he's a going concern and keeps us in stitches all the time with his one liners.

Last night while laying in bed before he fell asleep...our favorite line...."but I don't know how to fall asleep grandpa" LOL!

Grandma loves you :)
xoxoxoxo

Happy New Year Everyone!

   

   

My gosh, it's been a month since I've last posted, but what a month it's been....wow!!  I tried to get all my Christmas baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating finished before the 1st as our oldest son, DIL and 3 grandkids were moving in for a week.  They had purchased a larger home needed somewhere to stay while painting, packing etc were finished. 
 

Ms. Hannah's new bedroom.

Don't you just LOVE the pink?

  

   We can't forget big sister Hailee's room.

She's been into the color Blue lately!
  

And last, but definitely not least, little brother

Cade's new room. Go Patriots LOL!

  

Well, the week turned into 9 days LOL....and as much as we loved having everyone here, by the end of 9 days it was taking it toll on this poor grandma's body. Having some health issues to begin with, my body was quickly giving out and the week after they left, my body gave out and I was sick/exhausted and soooo happy I'd done my Christmas preps ahead of time LOL!

Our little Ms. Hannah wasn't happy however and said that 9 days wasn't very long....hehehe!  But even the 3 GK's were wanting to be with mom and dad on a full time basis by that time, and were anxious to see their own bedrooms all painted and done up.

We can't forget the girl's Christmas concerts at school.  They were both happy as we originally supposed to be gone for a few days when the concert was being held. Luckily, plans changed and grandpa and I were there with flying colors :)  The little ones are so darn cute....hehehe....and as much as Hannah could hardly wait to find us in the crowd and wave to us as soon as she got on the stage, she would NOT look at us for the rest of the concert LOL!  We couldn't get a picture of her face. When asked afterwards why she didn't look at us when they started singing, she politely told us that the teacher told them they had to pay attention and look at her, no one else LOL!
  

That's her in the Santa hat and Christmas Plaid dress.
Like I said...toooo cute :)

   
And what's Christmas without a Gingerbread House?  It's not Christmas, that's what LOL!  Each year since Hailee was born, I've...um we've....been decorating Gingerbread Houses. Don't get excited, no, I do not bake it from scratch. I did that once when our sons were younger, and realized that the kids don't care what they're decorating, as long as they have icing and candies, lots and lots of candies, in bowls in front of them LOL!  So, Costco houses it will be from now on!
 

      
  

Oh goodness, we almost forgot to mention the dozen

Gingerbread men cookies we decorated. Thanks for

buying them grandpa :)

   

It's become tradition to break the house after Christmas dinner, so that's what we did. Only this year grandma also bought a Gingerbread train so the 'boys' would have something special to decorate and break as well :)
 
We were lucky enough to be able to visit our two other sons and their families the weekend before Christmas....again, adding more fatigue to my already exhausted body, but it was WELL worth it :)) 
  
Our youngest grandson Keelan was so much fun to play with.  Gpa and I bought him a motorized police car (our son is a policeman) and he loved driving that thing, even in the snow, back and forth to the horse barn, and in the barn itself. Cement floors make it a great place to drive....hehehe! Keelan is rather excited too as he's going to have a baby sister in a few weeks :)  And the family continues to grow, which grandpa and I both LOVE!
 

 Move out of the way everyone,

Keelan is on his way to catch the bad guys LOL!

  

     
      
Christmas Eve brought a whole gang over like it has for decades, and as for decades, everyone left stuffed LOL!  I promised next year to not make so much food....sure...uh huh LOL!
We had two gift openings on Christmas morning.  Our middle son and wife were with us for a few days and our step grandkids are older than our others, so they opened their gifts before the younger ones even arrived here.  It was so nice to sleep in late though...thanks Brittney & Austin LOL!  Just as they finished opening their gifts, and got their new laptops hooked up and going, the phone rang and the others were on their way. 
     

Just a wee bit excited when they all opened the Kobo E-readers LOL!

  

We were all quick to pick up wrapping paper, straighten up the living room and start placing the other gifts out!  There was almost not enough room LOL!
 
Our two GD's Hailee (7) and Hannah (almost 6) really, really, really wanted iPod Touches for Christmas.  I think they were worried they wouldn't get them after opening mom and dad's gifts at home, their other grandparent's gifts (they live in an inlaw suite in the new house) and many other gifts they received.   
I'm sure they were thinking on the drive over that we were their last hope...hehehe!  And of course, they would not be disappointed :)  We did make them open all their other gifts first, and then the iPod, but it was worth the look on their faces.
 

     
A little while later Hailee came to give me a hug/kiss and snuggle. She said "thank you for my iPod grandma...I knew you'd get it for me" :)  Does it get any better?? I think not.
 
One of the things we bought for their little brother Cade was a Cars phone.  On their way out after breakfast, Hailee asked if she could see it and he said "no...you already have iPhone, you can't have mine" LOL!! Out of the words of babes :)
 
As we have for the past 7 years, we have our Hailee, Hannah and Cade spend New Years Eve.  It started with Hailee when she was born, then as Hannah and Cade arrived, they also spent the evening with us.  And as per tradition, we had a pizza picnic and lots of junk.  We were very surprised that none of them had sore bellies overnight, and thankful LOL! There was lots of good fruit and water inbetween junk sessions though, so it kind of made up for it :)
  
It felt great to sleep in until 8:15 this morning!  That's a real treat when they're all here, but I think they got tired out yesterday with all our playing, painting, and in particular painting our kitchen door. Yup, you read right. The girls painted our kitchen door LOL!  Cade tried to start but as with most 3 year olds he wasn't up to his sister's standards, so I got the new squirrel feeder I bought a few weeks ago up from the basement and let him have his painting way with it.  The squirrels will be thrilled to know they have the only feeder like it LOL!
   

Special pancakes for a special morning!  Cade decided on orange pancakes and as last year grandma made the year in pancake numbers :)
 

WOW, great job girls!!
The door has never looked better :)

  

We'll have the best decorated squirrel feeder

in the neighborhood Cade. Thanks!

  

Special pancakes, special memories, special traditions...it all makes us into who we are, and there's no better way to do build them than with family :)

HAPPY  NEW  YEAR  EVERYONE!!

    

Grandma Loves you
xoxoxoxo