Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Wordful Wednesday ~ Family, Food, and Fun

This post is not much of a rhyme
It is not much of a poem
It's just pictures of my life
Amid my family and my home



We had a busy weekend with a change of plans here and there. On Saturday our son and daughter-in-law had a wedding to attend and we were babysitting Mia, she wasn't feeling well, so we went to their apartment to watch her. Despite not feeling up to par, she was lots of fun and as always very well behaved!


Here's Mia with her ducks that she had lined up for a 'Duck Parade'!

(Now it would take a whole post to tell you all about Mia's duckies and all their names, so I'll save that for another day!)


You wouldn't think that one little girl and one Grandma could make such a mess, would you?

(That's Grandma on the floor back there, I was worn out!)

While Grandma put Mia to bed, Grandpa preformed this miracle!

Before:




And ~
After:


And, Grandma putting Mia to bed is another story. Grandma got herself into trouble with Mommy and Daddy by not following the bedtime rules! But if you heard, "Grandma, I need you!" from your two-year-old granddaughter, could you ignore it?
That's another long story that will have to be another post!

Well, the wedding was a late night affair, and we didn't get home until the early morning hours and I didn't get to bed until 2:00 AM. We were supposed to be having a pool party on Sunday afternoon, but as usual, the weather did not cooperate, we woke up to rain and another storm mess of sticks, leaves, and berries on the deck and in the pool:
(I don't think this picture does justice to the mess that actually greeted us!)





All these throws, tablecloths, cushions, and pillows are supposed to be dressing the chairs, loungers, and tables on the decks outside, but instead I used them to dress the back room. The beautiful flowers were from the wedding that Erik & Lori attended, Lori very generously gifted them to me!





Well, the sun never shone for us, and the rain remained steady, so instead of pool volleyball we played some Trivial Pursuit, and a few family members had their own indoor fun:




It was fun and it was wild at times, and we ate lots and lots, first appetizers, and then hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, and Susie made a great big tin of roasted vegetables.
And dessert was an assortment of cakes and cookies both bakery and home made! That's another post I'll have to do sometime, the many wonderful desserts that my brother-in-law Steve makes for our parties! He's not fond of having his picture on my blog, but I don't think he has any objections to his recipes being here, so that will be a future post!
Susie enjoyed one of his desserts so much that she took it home with her!

On Monday we went to the beach and it was perfect weather! And there were so many beautiful shells, I brought home such a bounty, and I was actually being very particular in the treasures I chose! This was just the first batch that I unloaded onto the beach blanket!



Jayden, Ray, and Donald spent the day body surfing in the waves, and of course, building sandcastles and digging trenches! (The battery went out on the camera, so I wasn't able to get pictures of the antics that went on in the water, but I was hysterical watching Donald tumble over and over in the waves. He didn't think my reaction to his 'drowning' was very funny though!)




Many nice days, filled with many nice Blessings!
But I'm so, so tired and I'm still playing 'catch-up'!






16 comments:

  1. It sounds like a wonderful day...
    First of all, I want to comment on Mia and her ducks! Wow!! That's a lotta quackers...and I bet she loves every one of them equally!
    Next, I want you to give Grandpa a hug from me...what a loving thing to do...cleaning up the l/r while you put Mia to bed. He's a jewel.
    In spite of the rain, it looks like all had a great time inside. The masks are a hoot!...and tell her that I love those glasses...
    Now, I'll have to side with Donald for a while...laughing while watching one drown is not the best medicine for the 'drownee'...:))
    Great post... I'm already thinking about my Wednesday poem....thinking there isn't one.... Help!!
    Smiles and hugs,
    Jackie

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  2. Oh Eileen I really enjoy your post. I love reading about your days and your family. Your weekend looks and sounds wonderful. Mia is beautiful and needs a room just for her ducks, so cute and what about a grandpa who cleans up after grandma played all afternoon...LOL I think you are truly blessed with such a wonderful husband and beautiful children and grandchildren. I am sure they appreciate and think you are the most wonderful wife, mother and grandmother in the world. I know that we all appreciate you as a wonderful blogger friend. All of us have so much to be thankful for, including each other. What a wonderful village we have.....many blessings sweetie and I wish you the best Wednesday ever...you surely deserve it......:-) Hugs

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  3. Indeed a lesson in getting "your ducks in a row!" You have soooo much fun! Poem was pretty good, too! Please journey to my "house." I have a gift for you! And you won't have to put the ducks away! Cathy

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  4. Well, just guess where I flew to immediately this morning??? To Eileen's blog, of course, as I have been suffering through "Eileen post withdrawals" and watching anxiously!

    This was such a delightful post so it really 'satisfied' the void!

    Wish I had known about Mia's ducky thing before I sent you winnings. Tell her that I have a ducky for Mikemal and me in our bathroom. I absolutely LOVE her duck parade and all her duckies. In fact that cute little girl looks like she would be a ducky person.

    I totally understand you're breaking of bedtime rules. Wish that I could just instill in my own daughter the fact that children not only outgrow the stage where they want extra reassurances but that the reassuring itself lets them know that someone DOES care about their little fears and wants to help make them go away. Again, I just want to smooch the living daylights out of that little beautiful girl!!

    Btw, what were you guys watching on the TV? It sure looks strange.

    Too bad your camera went out...think we could have had a chuckle or two from Donal's aqntics. Psssst...don't listen to that fuddy duddy Jackie about feeling sorry for the drownee and all...I'm sure you would have thrown out a piece of driftwood or something for him to hold onto in case of real danger!

    Enlarging the picture does show that you did have some messy stuff from that storm.

    Love trivial pusuit and most game and most card games as well, so I would have been in hog heaven...which reminds me...please let us have some of those dessert recipes too.

    You've got lots of material here for future posts with the ducks, the food and the games.


    blessings and warm hugs,

    marcy

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  5. Ooops...three more things...

    1. Kudos to Ray (I always have said he's such a nice guy) for being such a great cleaner upper!

    2. Looks like you got tagged twice again if you check out my post today (which I finsihed yesterday and scheduled for early this a.m. and it worked!)

    3. Hmmm, what was number three? Was it about how cute Jayden looked at the beach and the fact that the trench thing was so great he had to do it again? Nope...rats and puke! Yah Hoo...I re-read your post and it's the wonderful poem...yes, your poem is so on target and so good!

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  6. Good Morning Eileen I hope this finds you a little more rested! The photo of Mia brought back memories for me of Katie. She was very much into dinosaurs! Daddy would bring one home for her every weekend. And of coarse she would have dinosaur parades! I still have them in a box, I can't seem to get rid of them!

    Jake and I play trivial pursuit all the time. It's one of our favorites! And even though you didn't get to go in the pool it looks as if everyone made their own fun.

    The beach looked wonderful and Jayden sure does enjoy that time doesn't he? Well actually it sounds like the big boys enjoy that time too!

    I'm happy that your weekend turned out well even though very busy!

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  7. Good morning Eileen...Mia and her ducks were so cute and I bet she has a name for most of them, if not all! In my book of grandma instructions it says, on hearing..."Grandma, I need you!" you do what ever your grandchild wants! I would have done the same...whatever it is you did Eileen! :)

    I feel for your cleanup around the pool area...I'll be picking up twigs and small branches myself today, after storms we had yesterday.

    From ducks to swords...You have a fun mixture with your grandkids...hope Mia is feeling better and have fun with Jayden today.

    Take care,
    Wanda

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  8. Jackie, thanks for your comments, and Mia has named all her ducks too! My favorite ones are the 'Spicy Ducks' which she named because they have these tiny little black specks for eyes and she thinks they look like specks of pepper!

    And I can't help laughing at Donald, and I'm laughing right now just thinking of him! And of course he was 'hamming' it up, and then Ray and Jayden were just ignoring him and going about their business of having fun in the surf.
    I just found the whole thing so funny, I guess I have a warped sense of humor!


    Bernie, thanks for stopping by, I appreciate so much your kind words. And I am very Blessed and I know it, despite any trials that have come our way, and continue to come our way, Ray and I have always said that all in all, we have a perfect life. We've just learned to truly appreciate and enjoy all the good times that come in between the trials that life throws our way. And we have a wonderful support system in family and friends!
    And I have the village people too!


    Cathy, I will be heading over to your house after this! Thanks for stopping by!


    Hi, Marcy, I'm sorry, I know I've been negligent! And aren't you getting bored with my boring life yet?
    Seriously, my sister-in-law and I were just talking about what uninteresting lives we really lead, and yet we are never bored! We never go anywhere, we never do anything, and yet, life remains interesting to us! And we never run out of things to talk about!

    Did you notice Mia even had a duck on her shirt! That girl is duck-crazed! If you offered the biggest, brightest toy in one hand, and a little tiny duck in the other, she'd choose the little tiny duck!
    And I agree one hundred percent with you about the security/reassurance issues. And I absolutely would have stuck to the bedtime routine if Mia had!

    Oh, and I don't know what Ray was watching on TV, I wasn't really paying attention. I know at one point there was a nature show on, and after that Mia kept talking about snakes that were going to come and snap at us, and that we had to 'quack really loud' to scare the snakes away!
    I'll have to go back and check the pictures to refresh my mind!
    And you're right, he is a great guy and a very big help!

    Hi, Diana! Good to hear from you too!
    It was a fun weekend in spite of the weather! And we used to play Trivia and other games a lot, we used to have 'game nights' all the time, but then we got out of the habit this past winter. I think we all just got lazy! We usually play guys against girls and the guys hate that the girls take so long to answer a question!
    And Jayden absolutely loves the beach! He never wants to leave! I enjoy it too, but not as much as the guys do! I'd rather go in the evening when the sun is going down and camp out over night, we're talking about doing that one weekend. Evening and early morning at the beach sounds like heaven to me!

    Thanks for stopping in everyone!
    Love, Eileen

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  9. Oh, Wanda, we must have been commenting at the same time! Thanks for stopping in and thanks for the validation! Grandmas United!
    It was a fun weekend, I always enjoy spending time with my family, no matter the weather!
    It's funny though, by this time of year we're almost getting sick of pool parties, but with the weather we've been having, we've only been able to have one so far! And it started raining then too and everyone had to get out of the pool after only one game of volleyball (they are usually in for hours and hours!). Strange summer here this year!

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  10. No wonder you're feeling slightly exhausted! When DO you catch a breath? I can see why you're never bored. The "duck" parade has given me an idea to entertain our grandchildren sometime. I'll just need Ray when it's all over!

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  11. You are one cool grandma!! So all those ducks have names? Yes, please do a post on that. What memories Mia and Jayden will have, complete with pictures!

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  12. Hi EIleen-

    Your life is so full of energy and excitement and variety!! I Love seeing and reading all about your days. I thought the ocean pictures with Jayden were spectacular!!

    Love to you
    Gail
    peace.....

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  13. Wow you have been busy. But what beautiful pictures you posted for us. I can see that family means a lot to you to. Your mind kind of girl. I to like to babysit my grandchildren and have parties with family and friends. And I just LOVE the beach. And your beach pics were so inviting. I want to go now. =)

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  14. Rebecca, I KNOW your husband would help you clean up after playtime! He's a good guy too!


    Gail, thanks for stopping in, and you are right, my life is full of energy, I just wish I was too! It's fun though and I wouldn't have it any other way!


    Anne, thanks so much for your kind comments, I'm enjoying your blogs too, and it's nice getting to know you! I'll be stopping by again tomorrow to try and do a little reading in your archives.

    Good night everyone. I just finished a little post for tomorrow and set it up to automatically post after midnight, let's see if it works! Sometimes Blogger is my friend, and sometimes not.
    I'm off to bed now!
    Love, Eileen

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  15. Oh, Jill, again I missed your comment! So sorry!
    Okay, last but NOT least!
    YES! Mia has names for almost every duck, there is a group name for the little ones with the speck eyes as I said (Spicy Ducks), but most of the others have individual names! I don't know how she keeps track of them all! I'll have to ask Ray if he counted them when we were there, I meant to but I forgot.
    I've really been enjoying all your posts lately too, Jill. I love it when you show pictures of your family (both in the past and now), it's been a pleasure getting to know you!
    And thanks for all the tips!
    Love, Eileen

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  16. Eileen, I loved seeing all of Mia's ducks...that is just so adorable!! I bet she did wear you out!! But I bet it was the good kind of being wore out :)
    The covers and pillows are gorgeous and so are the flowers...very pretty!
    Even though it rained...it sounds like you all had a wonderful time together..it's nice that your family gets together like that..really nice!
    Loved the pictures of Jayden on the beach...I always love your beach pictures...
    Love, Jerelene

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