Everyone knows that you can’t fool Mother Nature, but I didn’t realize that writing her a friendly letter was a no-no too. I wrote her exactly one week ago, and this morning when I looked out the front door I saw this:

I was going to email Father Time about the wrinkles and grey hairs that keep appearing but now I think I’ll leave well enough alone!

Guess what – Teacher and I are grandparents! Are you surprised? So were we last spring when Princess gave us the news that a baby was on the way.

Over the past months we’ve grown more and more excited about welcoming a new baby into our family. After much anticipation she finally arrived around Christmas time! She’s just a little peanut – 5 lbs, 7 oz and 19″ long at birth. Obviously she’s absolutely beautiful (How could she be otherwise with such a gorgeous mommy and grandma?) with lots of soft, dark hair and big dark eyes. She’s got her father’s round face and Princess’s dimpled chin – an irresistible combination!

Princess had lots of support throughout her pregnancy. Once family and friends got over their initial surprise they were quick to offer lots of hugs, unconditional love, and excitement about the upcoming baby. Things were the same when it came to labor and delivery. In addition to the attentive nurses, Princess had Cowboy, Cowboy’s mom and me there to support and help her.

Although I’ve gone through labor and delivery as the mommy before, I’ve never seen it from the other side. Attending Peanut’s birth was awesome… incredible… miraculous… every adjective you’ve ever heard describing the miracle of birth, and then some. Princess was so strong and did an amazing job, but it was very hard for me to see her in pain. As her mommy I wanted to make it all better! If there had been a way for me to take her place I would have in a heartbeat.

Things have obviously been different around here since Princess and Peanut came home from the hospital. Princess is a wonderful mommy but she sometimes still needs her own mommy – especially around 4am when she’s been awake for hours with a fussy Peanut. I don’t mind taking a shift with Peanut in the middle of the night so Princess can sleep for a couple of hours in a row. I remember how desperate for sleep a new mama can be: One night shortly after Jo-Bear was born I was awakened yet AGAIN by his cries. Wearily I got him started nursing yet AGAIN on nipples that were sore from his constant attachment. I sat crying in the dark, “I’ll never sleeeeeep aaaagaaaaaiiiinnnn…” Now that I’m past that mind-numbing stage of mommy-hood I’m glad I’m able to help Princess. This is what Peanut looks like at 4am. Such a wide-awake baby! I don’t look nearly that good at that hour of the morning.

Cowboy is a very enthusiastic dad. In the hospital he did most, if not all, of the care-taking for Peanut. He changed all her diapers, brought her to Princess to nurse, held her so Princess could nap, and shooed away guests when mama and baby were sleeping. He wants to spend as much time with Peanut and Princess as he can so whenever he can he comes over to our house after school to spend time with them before he has to go to work. Almost every weekend he takes Princess and Peanut to his house to spend a day with his extended family. Cowboy is such a proud daddy!

Stepping into the role of Grandma has been more difficult for me than I anticipated. My mom makes it look easy, but I’m not used to being “second string.” I’m used to being The Mommy; the main caregiver, the main decision-maker, the one baby is most attached to. At first it was hard to step aside and let Cowboy and Princess make decisions about Peanut – especially since they’re so young – but I’m getting better little by little. As Peanut gets older and we all adjust to having her in our lives I’m sure it will be even easier. Teacher and Dr. Phil have helped too. From Teacher I’ve adopted the mantra “She’s not my baby” which I repeat in my head whenever I’m tempted to butt in. Dr. Phil’s line “You don’t get a vote” was shared with me by my friend Cindy – whose a big Dr. Phil fan. I”m not fond of that line because I think I should always get a vote, no matter what, but I know he is right.

But being the grandma has its advantages too. I thought I was a pretty relaxed mommy, but I’m even more relaxed as a grandma. The people who say that grandchildren are better than children because you can spoil them then send them home were right; even though Peanut lives with us the relationship is different. I may play back-up for Princess and be Peanut’s caregiver when Princess is in school, but when push comes to shove Peanut is Princess’s responsibility.

Another advantage is that there’s another cloth-diapered bottom in the house! Little Guy has asked to sit on the potty a couple of times and even though he didn’t do anything besides grunt a couple of times I can see the end of cloth diapers approaching in the distance. I was so sad thinking about the end of my cloth diapering days. But now I can look forward to Little Guy potty-learning because I have Peanut to make cute diapers for! Speaking of which, here are some extra small Zany Zebra diapers and covers I made for Peanut. Angel Face helped choose the colors, aren’t they great?!

So join us in welcoming Peanut into our family – I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of her as she grows up!

Dear Mother Nature,

I wanted to let you know how much we’ve enjoyed the snow this winter. Christmas just isn’t the same without snow, and this year you really went all out to give us a White Christmas! Sending snow early enough for Thanksgiving was an added bonus; it really helped us get into the Christmas spirit.

We’ve really enjoyed the large amount of snow you sent last month too; winter is so much prettier when it’s covered with a fresh blanket of snow. The kids and Teacher enjoyed their Snow Days and Cold Day – the wind chills of -30 you sent were above and beyond what we expected.

Wednesday’s snowfall was especially gorgeous; the way the snow accumulated on tree branches is so pretty! And sending such cold temperatures yesterday along with the sunshine was very tricky of you – it looks like spring but still feels like winter.

It’s been a great winter – everything that we could want and more! We really appreciate how you went out of your way to make sure we had plenty of snow and cold every day for the past four months.

But we’re wondering… do you plan for Spring to begin anytime soon?

What a cranky morning! Angel Face and Jo-Bear were at each other while they were getting ready for school. “She stepped on my foot and pushed me into the refrigerator!” “He tripped me – On Purpose!!” “No I didn’t! “You did too!”

Argh, why can’t they just get along?

The little boys have discovered the dubious joy of wrestling each other. “Ow! Owie!” “Waaaaah!” “He bit me so I hit him back. Hah!”

Sigh, where did my sweet babies go?

After the big kids went to school and the little boys got settled with Sesame Street the babies got fussy; whining and waking themselves up whenever they were put down.

Why won’t tired babies give in to sleep?

On top of all this I was trying to tidy up before Grandma came over to sub because I had a dentist appointment.

I hate going to the dentist. I really REALLY hate going to the dentist. I hate going to the dentist so much I’d rather give birth to another baby without any meds if I could avoid going to the dentist.

Since the birth thing wasn’t an option I had to go to the dentist. Happily the verdict came back: no cavities, woo hoo! But two fillings need to be replaced, darnit. He thinks one can be done without numbing – little does he know! I’m too big a baby when it comes to my teeth. Unmedicated birth? Yes. Unmedicated dentistry? No way.

Cranky, cranky, cranky!

Then the mail came.
Hey, there’s a package…
Oooh, it’s for me…
From Little Gems! Woo hoo!
Imagine me doing a happy dance through the living room singing…
I know what it ih-his, I know what it ih-his!
It’s the amethyst pendant with silver “Family” charm that I ordered at Lily Pad Landing last week!

Karen packaged the pendant in a cute little lavender gift bag, tied with a ribbon:

And of course the pendant itself is gorgeous – even prettier than the photo. I love Karen’s jewelry!

I won’t say that the pendant magically made everything better, but it sure helped.
Now all I need are matching earrings! I wonder if Teacher would have time…

Teacher and I didn’t have anything special planned for Valentine’s Day, but it turned out to be a special day anyway.

The day started out wonderfully – for me at least. There was no Saturday Band so Teacher and I planned to sleep in… unfortunately the little boys had a different plan and got up early. But Teacher was a real sweetheart and got up with them so I could sleep more – what a guy! Eventually I dragged myself out of bed and soon Teacher, Little Guy and I were ready to run some errands.

First we stopped at the Pasty Koop for breakfast pasties. That’s pah-stee like nasty, not pay-stee like hasty. If you say pay-stee you’ll be talking about those tassle things strippers wear on their boobies; I doubt they’d make a good breakfast. The Pasty Koop makes egg/bacon/potato and egg/sausage/potato/green pepper breakfast pasties. Although I don’t usually like green peppers I like the sausage ones best cuz they’re spicy!

We started nibbling on the hot pasties as we drove to the Bargain Garden a couple of blocks away. The Bargain Garden is the resale shop where we take our “stuff.” All the profits from the B.G. go to benefit our kids’ high school, FVL. Can’t beat that! While Teacher took the bags in I sat next to Little Guy and fed him bacon pasty. “Yum!” he said, opening his mouth wide for bites.

After a quick stop at my favorite coffee place, Jo to Go, we flew through Babies R Us and Joann’s, and ended up in Penzey’s Spices. Little Guy was an absolute jewel, holding Teacher’s or my hand in the first two stores and walking next us nicely as can be. But by the time we got to Penzey’s he’d used up all his patience and started running around the displays calling “Roun’ an’ roun’! Roun’ an’ roun’! Roun’ an’ roun’!” He’s really big into circles right now – he points to anything circular and moves his finger in a circle crying “Circle! Roun’ an’ roun’! Roun’ an’ roun’!” We distracted him from running roun’ and roun’ with paper and crayons available on a little spice-crate table. While Teacher shopped Little Guy colored “roun’ and roun’” all over his paper, naming each color as he picked it from the basket.

On the way home from Penzey’s we grabbed McDonalds for the kids’ lunch. Little Guy knows those Golden Arches and was very excited when he saw them. He pointed and said “Yummy! Fresh Fry! Choc’ate M-milk!” We dropped off lunch and Little Guy, leaving Princess and Angel Face in charge so we could grab a Valentine’s Day lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant: Solea. Caution, turn down your sound before you follow the link to Solea!

On the way to Solea Teacher took a detour to another of our favorite places: The Wreath Factory. I’m addicted to wreaths and have one in almost every room of the house, including the downstairs bathroom. You should try a Eucalyptus wreath in your bathroom – it smells much better than the usual bathroom smells. Our Wreath Factory is located in two old-fashioned downtown storefronts that are in separate buildings so you have to walk through a little courtyard between the buildings to get from one to the other. There’s a decorative brick path through the courtyard and twinkle lights in all the trees which gives it a magical feel. We took our time browsing – you have to because there are so many treasures that you can look at the same wall three times and see something new every time. Teacher offered to get me a Valentine’s gift if I saw something I wanted… and I did! There it was, peeking out from between two silk plants on the bottom shelf of a dry sink: a shiny silver watering can. I’ve wanted an indoor watering can for years but never found one I liked until now. I grinned from ear to ear and did a little happy dance as Teacher purchased that watering can. Yeah, I know I’m a dork, but I don’t care – I finally have a watering can!

As we were checking out the Wreath Factory guy told us about a fused glass studio just a few doors down: Wild Apple Studio and Gallery. He said that the glass artist makes amazing things with recycled glass, and that the current exhibitor, Melvin McGee, does paintings in a Dr. Seuss-like style. We were intrigued by both so we had to stop in for a peek. The paintings were gorgeous; brightly colored, whimsical, and very fun, but it was the glass cases filled with colorful jewelry that caught my eye. “What do you see?” Teacher asked. I pointed out a couple of necklaces and he said “Go ahead and pick one.” Yippee!! It was difficult to choose between the green with purple and the iridescent blue, but my love of all things shiny and sparkly asserted itself and I chose the blue. Two Valentine’s Day presents – I am so spoiled! Actually I’m very lucky to be married to such a wonderful man.

By this time we were both hungry so we took off for Solea. One of the things I love most about Solea is that it’s tiny – I’ve seen gas stations that are bigger than this restaurant – and the people are so friendly. As soon as we stepped inside the bartender said “Welcome, my friends!” and one of the servers asked “Two, my friends?” I love that they call us “my friends” as in “Are you ready to order, my friends? How is everything, my friends? Ready for dessert, my friends?” Even though I know they say that to everyone I still get warm fuzzies inside. As we were seated another server brought warm chips, salsa, bean dip, and menus. “Something to drink, my friends?” We had to order margaritas (on the rocks) – they have the BEST margaritas I’ve ever had. Except for Teacher’s; he makes killer margaritas! Once I watched the bartender to try and get a peek at what “mix” they use, but they have their margaritas premixed in a huge blue crock on the bar so I was out of luck. We didn’t have to study the menus long to make up our minds: enchilada trio for me (chicken with mole sauce, beef with tomatillo sauce, and ground beef with red sauce) and chicken enchiladas with chipotle sauce for Teacher. Yummmmm!!! After all the chips and salsa we’d munched we could only eat about half of our enchiladas, refried beans and Spanish rice. Sadly, we had no room at all for dessert.

By the time were were finished eating it was around 3:00 and I was feeling pangs of guilt for leaving the girls in charge all day so we headed home. The little boys were quickly tucked into bed for late naps, laundry was started, and we got back into our regular Saturday afternoon routine.

The Valentine’s day that started out with “nothing special” planned ended up to be very special after all, and the best thing was that Teacher and I were able to spend some time alone together – something we don’t get to do very often. What a fantastic Valentine’s Day!

The two little boys slept all the way back to Grandma and Grandpa’s after our big day at the beach and woke up famished. Everyone was too tired to cook so we ordered pizza and Grandpa started a fire in the fire pit. We’re not campers so the kids were pretty excited – not only did they get to have a picnic on the grass they got a campfire too!

About the time we were finishing up Uncle Brian and the cousins showed up – Aunt Kris had to work so she missed the fun. It’s amazing how much fun a bunch of kids can have with nothing more than a big expanse of grass.

Disclaimer – I was too tired to get my butt off the swing so I sat across the yard from the kids and used the telephoto lens. Funny thing about telephoto lenses; if you’re not absolutely s.t.i.l.l. you’ll get some blurriness in the photos. Guess who wasn’t absolutely still. And since the fire was between the kids and the swing where I’d collapsed some of the photos have smoke in them. If you’re looking for great photos you’re in the wrong place.

First they played Duck Duck Goose. Actually I think the younger kids played while Angel Face and Maddie sat and talked.

Then the girls tried to do cartwheels. Angel Face can’t do them – takes after me – but she sure had fun trying! I have no idea why Z-Man has his shirt up and probably don’t want to know.

Since the big girls were showing off Z-Man had to get in the act too. He showed off his somersaults for cousin Jaden. Usually he does great rolls but he was pretty hyped up and ended up flying around.

Little Guy watched Z-Man for a while, then since he has to do everything his big brother does he tried to do a somersault. He was sooo cute – he’d put his head down but then he didn’t know what to do next so he’d just stay there upside down until he fell over sideways.

Teacher and Jaden gave it a try too. Teacher is only slightly better at cartwheeling than I am – that means he actually gets both feet off the ground.

Of course it wasn’t long before the kids started clamoring for S’mores. To be honest, I started it and was the loudest clamorer. After all, isn’t that what a campfire is for? Teacher is the best marshmallow roaster I’ve ever met. His marshmallows are always crisp golden brown yumminess on the outside and melty sweetness on the inside. Just one more reason why I love that man!

Jo-Bear doesn’t have his father’s touch, but he doesn’t care, he’ll eat his marshmallows anywhere from “raw” to burnt. He’s definitely got my sweet tooth.

Princess has my sweet tooth too. Can I have a bite?

Angel Face isn’t big into s’mores – she doesn’t like chocolate – but she likes roasting marshmallows. Z-man looks like he’s about to drop, good thing it’s bedtime!

More vacation posts coming soon…

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