I’m amazed everyday at how quick the recovery is these days from childbirth. Mommy is amazing and daddy is loving every moment of being able to help out. My afternoon visit allowed me time to bond with this adorable bundle of little baby joy.

The little one is doing what she’s suppose to do.

Be pretty in pink

Melt my heart

And…allow us to stare

So simple. So easy.

Today was Alyssa’s first day at home. So far, so good. Although she’s lost 12oz. off her birth weight, momma is hard at work feeding the tiny little one.

Everything is new. Life is new. Routines will work themselves out. Today, while the two sibling sisters were teaching/learning the pump, I stared at this little one…and clicked away.

Warning: Staring at a newborn baby is contagious. Especially on their first ‘quiet’ day home. Shhhhhh…sleep when you can!

I appreciate my husband a lot. He’s comfortable in his own skin and in touch with his feminine side, not afraid to wear pink and the baby cologne I like to smell (me not a fan of men’s cologne!).

And vice versa.

I like to think he appreciates me because I can do manly work around the house. Like change the lightbulbs, or a doorknob. I can even repair a non-working doorbell. My mother was successful in raising me and my other sisters so that we were comfortable with a screwdriver and could tell the difference between a flathead and a philips tip. A drill and a dremmel.

So, fast forward to our current room remodel which I will make happen tomorrow! I needed to get 230 sq. ft. of wood flooring. We are again ripping off carpet in our soon-to-be TV room and since it’s an add-on room, there are no wood floors to recover. COSTCO provided the best solution and I went there today and put all this in my cart. (We checked IKEA yesterday and I checked out Home Depot last week).

Eleven into the cart, and again into the back of my car.

“Do you need any help unloading to your car?” asked the nice gentleman checking me out. “No thanks, I can manage”. There’s that pride thing again! Rosie the Riveter comes to mind many times.

A couple men asked me if I needed help and I declined. It must’ve been because I wore a DRESS and was careful when I was bending to get the wood in the bottom part of my cart. Silly me! A dress!!

Well – there you go! Job done today and tomorrow we will have yet another newly refurbished room.

As to any and all women reading this – let me tell you how free I feel being able to do many things myself. Things get done and I don’t have to wait for a very tired husband to do this after work. Or take up his precious weekend. He works hard all day ~ and lets me know many times how appreciated he is that I can be a girlie girl..in touch with my inner man.

Here’s to Rosie – you know – the Riveter.

Someone did a good job at work and got a prize for it! Hip hip, a toy! Oh joy!

Good motivating promo! Now HOW to collect all 24 vehicles!

I like the airplane SPECS. The plane will lift almost anything. This plane could carry you, your car, and your whole house! Really? My whole house? Wow.

Wait till Nate gets a hold of this!

I woke up really later than I had planned to today. Serves me right for blocking Newman (our pup) from our bedroom hallway! We have this really neat baby gate that we bought two of. One for Nate (GRANDson) and one for Newman (pet cocker spaniel/poodle mix). It works wonders! Did you ever appreciate how many of the baby widgets can be used for pets too? Hmmm.

Since our puppy is too smart and figured out all the other contraptions we’ve used to block him from waking me up at 6am, we decided he couldn’t get through this safety gate! And he can’t. But guess what! He figured out at 10:00a.m. that BARKING would get me out of the room! Go figure..who’s smarter?!!

Since I had a late start in the day, the morning was rather ‘rushed’ but we got everything done in time for us to spend our 6th weekly Wednesday Walk & Waddle with momma-to-be and the entire gang.

Sweet Alyssa, you need to come really soon because your mommy’s going to pop. She’s got no more room in her belly, sweetheart. We’re ready when you are!

Final touches and accessories from IKEA today. Both Nate and Alyssa’s room(s) will be complete by the weekend. Nathan is LOVING his big boy room and all the trappings that come with play and discovering.

And he IS discovering…and playing!

My home has turned into a doggie day care – for today at least. I’m doggie sitting my son’s two pups – an American Eskimo pup and a yorkipoo who I can’t catch.

So far, so good. But it’s only 9:45am. We’ve been up since 7.

This one’s the baby (Sam) – and the only female. And missing her dad and mom..so she’s on my lap a lot. I have a feeling she knows I’m grammie so she’s been by my side by default. She’s sweet (but she’s a bit wary of other people, including my hubby (y’know..the deep voice one)..so he’s been giving her treats and she’s warming up to him.

Puma is the oldest but the smallest and I can’t take a good picture of him because he’s too fast and always running around. The terrier in him makes him the alpha dog (or maybe his size gives him the quick advantage). He’s terribly loving and this one bonded with me early.

And then, of course, there’s my Newman who doesn’t know what the heck is going on and why his cousin’s are here so early in the morning.

How in the world did St. Francis handle all those doggamajigs! I guess I’ll be headed out to the pet store in a little bit.

Here’s my list for Petco:

• Nylabone…same flavor (the beefy tasting one). Quantity 3
• Kong treats – the big one that will give me at least an hour’s worth of quiet time. Quantity 6 (maybe)
• Tag silencers (quantity 6)

In the meantime, it’s a beautiful Saturday morning in sunny California! Since my home is now ‘carpet free’ the pups have virtually a whole house to run around in.

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend. Ours will be very ‘interesting’ – but I’m game. Heck, grandbabies, remember? That includes the 4-legged kinds.

Woof!!

Our one an only grandchild is soon going to share the limelight. He’s in a good place, though. He is ready to welcome his little cousin – and has declared that he’s no longer ‘a baby’.

In one home, we are putting the finishing touches in a little girl’s sweet bright nursery. Her closet is already full – and the clothes only go up to 3 months. In the other home, someone’s moving on up…to the big boy room – which mommy hasn’t shown him yet (we will be there to carry him over the threshold!). My family likes to celebrate small milestones like these! Love it. Stay tuned for pictures of the Big (Bedroom) Reveal!

We have about 3 more weeks to go. Today was our 5th weekly Wednesday walk and waddle. My kids and the kidlet (and I) spent the day at Santa Clara. Lunch at The Counter and then a little stroll after that.

Baby Alyssa is going to wear the same Welcome Home outfit that Nate wore when he came home from the hospital. New tradition. She’s also going to be baptised in the same baptismal gown Nate wore. Their names and baptismal dates will be embroidered on the gown. It, too, will be a tradition.

It’s nice wonderful to see my own children share and start new important memories and milestones with their families. Sometimes, I get to just sit back and smile.

Somewhere in my past…I must’ve done something good.

Life’s Miracle

We have two years full of memories and precious moments (Nono’s favorite) to fill up more scrapbooks than mommy can handle. You are a joy to behold and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you.

From the looks of it, you can do anything you want and you’ll be great at it.

One more month (hopefully) and you’ll be here. We’re all excited. And ready.

Ready to Love You.

Yesterday, your mom and aunt, your uncle and your cousin (the troop) all went to Babies R Us to order the perfect crib for you, and the safest mattress. Nothing but the best, just like your cousin. We completed everything mommy and daddy needed for your arrival and your nursery. Mommy isn’t nesting yet ~ but your grammie and your auntie are. Funny how that goes.

Last week, your daddy’s family threw the BIGGEST town fiesta style baby shower for you. Lucky girl. Loved by so many ~ already.

Little dancer. We are counting the days.

Until then, stay safe and God bless.

I recently had the opportunity to photograph all our pets. Mine, my son’s and my sister’s. All our family furrballs.

This is my dog, Newman. NEWMAN!! He’s half cocker spaniel and half poodle; a cockapoo but that sounds like a bird to me. The first picture above is right after he was recently groomed. We take anti-depressants everytime we send him off for a trim because he comes back so poodle-y. We prefer his royal fuzz, really. And the hubby ~ well, you know men and poodles.

This is my Gabby and Tifa’s 2nd baby dog. Her name is Samantha and she knows she’s female. She’s really pretty and prissy, but sweet. She’s a pure miniature American Eskimo dog (without the lipstick). She is almost a year old so she won’t be so big. Which is good, because her playmate is really little!

This little! Puma is a Yorkipoo and because he’s dark and frisky (and a Michael Jordan-in-his-prime high jumper) he’s a hard one to photograph! He’s terribly loving and playful and is the smallest of all the pets.

Last, but certainly not the least, is our sweet Oreo . . or as Nathan, our grandson calls him “OWEO”. The most trained of the crew (and the oldest, he’s 2). Naturally, he belongs to my sister! Oreo is a purebred Shitzu and always smells like he just came out of the salon.

Put them all together and there’s chaos for a couple minutes until the owner of the home establishes dominance and sets the rules. Watching them play is priceless – especially when there’s a little boy in the mix.

Unconditional love. Yeah, that’s what you get in return from these furry friends.

Time sure flies by when you’re having fun! But I want it to slow down! I like Nathan’s mom (a teacher) spending the summer with him. I like seeing him at least once a week and doing something together. I loved preparing for the baby shower and then going to another town fiesta-style baby shower. I like meeting my son for lunch and talking geek.

Don’t you?

This last week was one of my busiest. We had a room makeover. My office which was a mish mash of carpet over carpet has not been converted to it’s original hardwood splendor. Thank goodness for old homes. I had originally intended to post before and after pictures but after seeing the transformation, I’m sort of embarrassed. My kids know and getting a “WOW” from them is good enough for me.

And it wasn’t even expensive. I could easily have been in one of HGTV’s Design on a Dime show, really! I’m almost done. I just need to tweak things a little bit and add some of my prints on my walls.

Prints from my new hobby – Photography – which I’m thoroughly enjoying and can play with in bits and pieces of my day and more leisurely in the evenings.

So in this space, I have everything I need for work and my hobbies. I even moved Newman’s crate in here so he can chill with me (he’s doing that as I type). What more can a grand mama love, eh? Well, maybe having the little monster here would be nice but I’ll see him tomorrow.

Fun. So much of it. Time – please slow down.

I love how children view the world.

Ode to Innocence. Ode to Bliss.

Let Them Be Little

We have begun our Wednesday Wait. To make the last two months of pregnancy go by fast, we need every Wednesday for lunch and a stroll. This was our first of hopefully not more than 8 weeks of infanticipation.

We had Nate with us, so we opted for Main Street Burgers in Los Gatos which allowed a child ample room to run and release some energy.

Burger and Shake Nirvana (especially the shakes!)

Crunch french and sweet potato fries (so not greasy!) A must!!

Lots of running room! Someone was happy!

After a wonderful old fashioned soda fountain style meal..we were ready for a stroll on lovely Main Street. We had calories to burn!

We do this again next week, in another location with good eats and a cool place to shop till the mommy-to-be drops.

The last week and a half have gone by so fast and I have much to share.

First off, an update on my warp speed education in photography. I am learning so fast. Right now, I’ve been favoring my 50mm f/1.8 II lens (Canon) and working hard towards saving up for an even faster lens. However for the time being, this affordable light lens is what I’ve been using for these photos.

Danielle’s baby shower was a lot of fun! The event was held at my sister’s home in Belmont and was beautifully decorated. Tiny details were of course handled by my oldest daughter, Joanna…and there were LOTS of them.

Thank You Gifts were Towel Cakes from ThePromoMarketer

It was a very pink party. Fresh hydrangias from the yard.

My sister just returned from a couple weeks in Mallorca ~ so the sangria flowed!

It was great to see family and friends. The games organized by my daughter’s childhood friends were hilarious and very well thought out. The kids did their best homework!

It was a delightful Saturday afternoon. What more can a mom want other than to see her daughter being showered with love.

The last couple of weeks have been quite frenetic for the news media. All of a sudden, all that was important was the strange events in the life of a musical legend who had suddenly died. It was quite sad, from my point of view, that they couldn’t wait until the man was mourned and laid to rest.

I switched to Easy Listening music for the most part. Until the memorial yesterday. For the human being who was a man, a brother, son and most of all, a father.

I could never be a news analyst. The negativity would drive me nuts. I like to surround myself with happy energy and that includes people – music – good eats – clean sheets. I wish there was a channel that just covered Good News and people who go out of their way to make someone’s life a little better. Or some child who overcomes barriers to achieve success.

But no. We’re not that kind of society. We like controversy. We like to built up celebrities, watch them rise and fall. We are intrigued by glitz and glam, hardly realizing that there are hearts and souls behind these mere mortals. And in the end..that’s what we ALL are.

Mere mortals.

In the end, we leave everything behind. Everything but the memories. While we will be mourned by a few or many, that, too, shall pass and life will go on for the living.

While you’re busy doing your daily thing – do you ever wonder what your legacy will be? I will tell you how I want to be remembered in the next post that I’ll be writing. The story of Beverly – how she lived, how she died – and what she left us with. It’s a good story.

I love clear, cool evenings in California. In fact, we can’t complain about the weather here because the Bay Area has the most perfect weather in the world. When it’s hot here, it’s always worse somewhere else.

After a rather fun and busy weekend, we retired and went to sleep early, at 8pm. At 11pm I decided to take Newman (our doggie) for one more outing. Thank goodness I did that…because the sky was so bright! Two days before the full moon, I was able to capture this.

What’s not to appreciate?

While processing the photos, I was listening to jazz music that a friend was posting on Facebook…so that was my way of relaxing last evening before I finally called it a day at around midnite.

So much for going to bed early Another perk of ‘Grandma-hood’ ~ ya gotta love everything about it!