Smart or Smart Aleck??

Recently Miss Dub1, pictured above, was watching "Annie" with her family. She made the following observation (and I quote ...)

"Those orphans think life with parents makes life perfect. That's pretty naive."

Yeah ... she turned FIVE less than two months ago.

Miss DubONE turns FIVE!!

So ... tomorrow (the 25th) is the 5th birthday of my oldest grandchild ... Miss Dub1. This also means that I have held the title of "Nanny" for five whole years. I love that title.

This sweet, beautiful and very smart granddaughter is such a joy. Since I was a newbie at the grandmother thing, she was extremely patient and guided me along, step by step.

Her birthday this year falls in the midst of a move. She has actually been moving (and shaking) all summer long, but in less than a week she will be in her new home (in the Great Northwest.)

I could not be more proud of this young lady. I can NOT believe it's been five whole years! This picture above is her latest, proudly showing off her new 'do.

Kind of reminds of this picture. Kind of makes me sad she is growing so, so fast. Kind of makes me want to seriously cast a spell and hold her back.

Yeah ... that would be kind of bad, huh?

~ Random Stuff ~

So ... I succumbed again at Target. Can you really blame me?

The mornings in my living room are a little bit of heaven. The light through my "wedding veil" curtains is pretty spectacular.

Mrs. Gee and I made this cake for me to take to a weekday meeting at church. I am really, really popular at church now.

Um ... L'il Mr. Gee can fly. (See here for a picture of Miss Dub1 flying. It must be genetic.) Mr. Gee really likes to bowl. And to smile.

I hope you enjoyed this spattering of shopping, glowing, baking and flying. You've got to admit, that is pretty darned random.

~ Sounds of the Season ~

Bah.

Hum.

Bug.

Oooooh ... fa la la la la, la la la ... la.

(It's nice to know that there is more to Christmas than boxes ... wrapped or not.)

Happy Nanny Day to Me!

So ... today marks four whole years that I have been "Nanny". In other words ... today is Miss Dub1's birthday. Her fourth birthday. Four years that I have been the luckiest Nanny in the whole wide world. Happy Birthday to my precious Dubster! You are smart and funny and wise and talented. I. Love. You. I love this picture above which so accurately depicts her "Pippi Longstocking-ness". It seems to say, "I have got some serious moxie going on here."

Since I am celebrating my Nannyhood, let's see what the others have to say:

Miss Dub2: "Yes, I am a lovely fairy princess who just happens to indulge in the occasional marker for a snack."

L'il Miss Gee: "Power to the Babies!"

Lil Mr. Gee: "Seriously ... what IS that smell?!?"

I sure do love being Nanny. Can you really blame me?

~ Seeing the Sights ~

So ... I have been gone for a bit. To the Windy City Environs. The scenery was beautiful, as is rather obvious.*

But I must be perfectly honest and admit that it was the scenery below that particularly caught my eye ... and my heart.

Sigh. I sure do love being a Nanny.**

* These two top pictures are of Lake Michigan, taken from a beach in Wisconsin.

** "Nanny" is what they have named me. I am related to them and have not been hired to take care of them ... although I would do it in a heartbeat for free.

*** While I was gone ... I won another GiveAway!! I know it seems to be unfair that I apparently have a gift for this sort of thing. Just accept it. This particular bit of unexpected bounty is a beautiful coral necklace from Isola Bella. Check out her work. It's yummy.

Sibling Revelry

So ... here are some pictures of my perfectly precious grandchildren, showing some sibling love. In the above pic, we have Miss Dub1 and Miss Dub2 holding hands, with their fingers intertwined. (Mrs. Dub did point out that this pose is likely to lead to Miss Dub2 trying to bite Miss Dub1's hand) ... but for the moment, let's just enjoy it for what it is ... perfection.

And here we have L'il Gee striking a "this is how big my pregnant belly is" pose. For now (and for the next 6 weeks) this is the best kind of bonding I am going to see between L'il Gee and his L'il Sis.

They both make me just a L'il Teary-Eyed. How about you?

Deja - View

So ... remember Twiggy? Here is the new/improved Twiggy for the new millenium. I think Miss Dub1 makes a splendid fashion/popcorn model, don't you? I love what she has done with her makeup.

And if it's new summer swimwear you're looking for ... Miss Dub2 models this dashing little number with flair ... all while demonstrating summer meal ideas.

Hope your summer is going swimmingly.

Tinkerbell is Alive and Well!

So ... I'm guessing that you probably want to learn to fly too. First, you must know that it's all about the Magic Fairy Dust.

Combined with the delightful exuberance of Miss Dub1.

Let there be Light ...

So ... one of the things that I love most about my house is the face that it lets in so much light. After living in the Sunny Land of AZ for over 20 years, light pretty much must be injected into my veins on a daily basis or I am not a happy camper. The picture above is of the Dining Room where I recently removed the heavier toile curtains and replaced them with these white and gauzy beauties.

More light in the Family Room.

Ditto ... my Bedroom.

Oh ... I just found this picture on my other camera when I downloaded it. If that isn't the lightest, brightest bit of sunshine you've ever seen, then I don't know what is.

Here's to a Pastelicious Weekend ...

So ... yesterday a friend brought me this absolutely splendid flowers. And yes, they smell as lovely as they look.

A few weeks ago when the Dub Girls were here, they picked out this scrumptious bunny for me. It's no surprise that she is dressed in pink. That is Miss Dub1's all-time favorite color. Consequently, this is my all-time favorite bunny.


I wish you a sunny and spectacular Easter weekend. That is indeed what has been ordered for my neck of the woods.

Has Spring Sprung??

So ... you need to know a couple of things:

#1) It is pretty hard to get anything done around here what with the beauty and entertaining skillz of these three girlies.

#2) Contrary to popular belief, summer has not arrived in AZ-town. The water that these guys are frolicking in is pretty much free-eezing. You must understand that they are from CHI-town and have not felt the sun on their extremities for quite some time. I am personally hoping that they get over this need to "dip" before someone does a swan dive.

But come to think of it, life has been sunnier since they arrived.

Alphabet Soup

So ... I am fond of the letter "M". Let's just say it's all about Me. Mary. How ... Marvelous.

Last week, while at my friend Renee's house, she helped me make a cover that fits snuggly over a composition book (I bought one with graph paper.) I had admired hers and she stepped up so I could have my own. After I got home, I decided to embellish the front and put pockets on the inside (to be seen in another post.)

I had barely finished it when I received a package in the mail from my favorite "W's", The Dubs. Inside were these precious gifts from Miss Dub1 and Miss Dub2. Their mother helped them pick out the lovely hankerchief, above (I am told they are from Anthropologie) and the engraved mirror in the embellished case, seen below.

Miss Dub1 insisted that it have an "N" on it ... for "Nanny". Miss Dub 2 tried to second the opinion, but mostly she just slobbered a lot and grinned, so ... "N" it was.

I think I have a new favorite letter.

Do you blame me?