~ Proud Nanny strikes again ~

So ... today is Miss Dub2's Birthday. Her second birthday. The fact that she will tell you she is 4 1/2 is of no consequence.

And in true "Dub" fashion she lives up to her name. As you can see in the picture above, she is indeed ... Wonderful.

She is also a Wizard of many talents: making you laugh, getting into trouble, and telling you ahead of time that she plans to get into trouble ... which can only make you laugh. "Don't watch, Mom. I'm gonna be naughty."

And ... Wuving. Miss Dub2 is very, very ... wuving. As you can see, she cares for her young cousin as if there were actually more than just over a year between them. Someday they'll be roommates in college and that 1+ year will make very little difference.

Happy Birthday my sweet Dubster!!

May you have your day in the sun before your mom pops out that new Dubster.

~ 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.)

~ 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.

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?

My Stars!

So ... I got the bright idea sometime in November, to add "Fancy Iced Cookies" to my repetoire of skills. And in the end, I gave myself a day and a half to perfect this particular skill ... which is basically impossible. But thirty hours or so later (+ only 2 advil) I am happy enough with the current product to give it to those friends and neighbors who have shown by prior performance that they will not openly mock me.

But just in case you are stymied by my gutsy ways, divert your attention below and the Spirit of Christmas will return in an instant.

When Miss Dub1 was told they would be seeing Mr. Claus at the mall, (she thought plane tickets had been purchased for a trip to the North Pole) she said, "Oh, I didn't know he had a station there." Miss Dub2 (yes, all 5 months of her) spent part of last week in a hospital crib, entertaining the nurses with her giggly ways and precious disposition. (She is home and fine and awaiting Santa with her big sis.)

Let's face it, I am not blogging again until after Christmas, so let me just add ...

Let Heaven and Nature Sing: Merry Christmas to All!!!

shells

So ... I finally finished my quilt (wallhanging, truth be told) for my precious Miss Dub2. For some reason after I did all the leaf appliques, I took awhile before I threw out the "shells". I liked the way they looked on my cutting board. (Yes, and I like the way all those threads and scraps and what-not look like lying on the floor, in case you were wondering. You can thank me later for not taking pictures of them.)

The letters came courtesy of Carol Doak's 300 Paper-Pieced Patterns that comes with a CD. In. Val. U. Able.

I was very gutsy with the machine quilting ... when I didn't have a right to be ... because it really shows and it really could be better. But I know my little Dubbie loves me no matter what, and will love her quilt just because Nanny loves her.

So there.

Heaps O'Fun

So ... my sewing room (and possibly my life) is reduced to a series of Piles. Projects that are current, but not neccessarily urgent. Projects and Piles that are beginning to make it harder to work on the next Project and/or Pile. I've already show you a peek of P#1 (above) where it's clear I'm having a whale of a good time.

P#2 continues the beachy theme with some seashells gathered at the ... Stash. You might recognize the striped fabrics that later turned up as cupcake papers here. One cannot have enough pink stripes in their life, that's for sure.

P#3 was started just yesterday, although it's really the only P/P with any urgency. These paper-pieced beauties will be part of a quilt (wall hanging) for my beloved Miss Dub2. She is growing so very fast that I must get it done before she is hanging out in her room with her friends and having a quilt with her name on it seems embarassing. And just in case you are wondering ... her name isn't "MOE".

The funny thing is that these piles do not induce pressure ... only delight. I cannot say the same thing about the piles of papers in the Office.

And that pretty much sums up why I do what I do.

grandchildren sandwich

So ... I had a pretty incredible week. As I prepared to go to ChiTown to hang out with the newest member of our clan (hereafter known as "Miss Dub2") I played and had fun with L'il Gee who came over to hang out with PDaddy while I was gone.

I had a week full of splendid fun with Miss Dub1 and her beloved sister, Miss Dub2. Please note that in the picture above, that brown thing is not my arm ... it's the chair.

One of the highlights was taking Miss Dub1 to Kids Snips to have a haircut. As you can see, she was very ... very proud.

Then when I arrived home I had a little more time with L'il Gee. Please note that the red thing is not the couch, it's his Dad.

I am missing those GKids right now, that for sure.

Did you know I have three?