Love In Motion

I spent a chunk of last week at my Daughter2's house in Tennessee while she and her hubs were on a cruise around the Greek Islands. Swoon! 

Let's pause for a quick sidebar-

That now married momma of two pictured above made a trip to Greece when she was 14 years old. The girls loved swimming in the sea, tasting octopus for the first time, shopping in the market, seeing the historic sites, eating their weight in yummy Greek salads, and roasting under the white hot August Athenian sun. 

Such a fun week for all of us. 

Carry on. 

Daughter2 and her hubs had planned their trip as a bit of a mile marker anniversary celebration (5 years), and because of the distance and travel involved their time away was about ten days. When she first mentioned the trip to me I'm pretty sure my first reaction was, 'TEN DAYS!! WHO'S WATCHING THE KIDS FOR TEN DAYS?!!" 

Yes, in all caps. 

Sometimes things come out of my mouth and I wish I could rewind, but there I said it because seriously, who is watching the kids for TEN days??? As it turns out the plan from the get go was her in-laws would cover five days and we'd cover five days. 

Much better. 

You know once upon a time I was a speech pathologist with over 75 students on my caseload and now I panic at the thought of being responsible for two that are related to me for ten days. Ha. True story though. 

Her two littles are, in a word, busy. Also lightning fast, stinkin' adorable, chatty, curious, and lovable. Keeping up with them requires a clear head and the endurance of a marathon runner. These days I have neither, but I am the Nana and Nanas can do hard things for the people we love. Plus hubs is a great teammate and has an endless array of tricks, funny faces, funny voices, creativity, and muscle so all is well. 

Except! Hubs as you know sells real estate on the lake and he's been working with an out of state client for several weeks who, as timing would have it, would be coming to the lake the very weekend we would be in Tennessee. Bother.  

I mean it's fine because he put a lot of work in for the client and needed that in person time with him, but also it meant I'd be on my own for the last two days of keeping everyone in high spirits until mom and dad came home. 

The thought was daunting. This is how you know you're not young anymore. 

As it turned out everyone did great, the kids too lol. Their momma had left a little gift for them to open each day and I brought a couple of things with me so we'd have new things to play with and distract us. 

Hubs and I drove over to Tennessee last Tuesday and we had one night there with the in-laws still in the house. We enjoy them very much and it was nice to catch up with them once the kiddos went to bed. We ordered pizza for dinner because everyone loves pizza and chatted before calling it an early night. 

Sleep is key. 

They left first thing Wednesday morning and hubs and I took the grands to the Creative Discovery Museum.  Wait. First hubs dropped their dog at daycare. Did I tell you we also had their dog? And our dog? And our dog is not feeling his best these days which makes us wobbly. 

If your kids are not yet married, just know one day you'll be taking care of their dog. That's how it works. 

The Discovery Museum is fabulous. We arrived just as it was opening and beat the crowds that my daughter told me come later. It's really well done, organized, clean, child focused, and lots of space for imaginative play.

Sugar would have been happy to feed and rock baby dolls all day long in the housekeeping section. 

We were home for lunch and then rest and I'd planned ahead and made a pan of chicken divan before I left the lake, so dinner just needed heating and eating. 

Thursday morning the kids have swimming lessons and we were almost late because you forget how long it takes to get out of the house with all the things, plus the kids, plus getting everyone into the car seats, etc. But we made it and hubs got in the pool with them so I was able to just cheer from the sidelines. 

One gift my daughter left was a gift card for donuts so we stopped after swimming and got donuts in this lovely shopping center very close to their home. There's a really nice common area in the center and we let the kids run and play and coincidentally one of their neighbors was there too so all the kids had fun together. 

Afternoons were mostly rest and outside play and usually a show watched while we got dinner ready. Friday morning was meet the teacher day at their new preschool and I told hubs to go ahead and get on the road back to the lake and I'd be fine managing this. And I was. Such a sweet school and everyone's excited. 

We left there and I stopped at Publix to pick up subs for lunch and popsicles because August needs popsicles, and then it was home for the afternoon. I'd brought a new Young, Wild and Friedman play dough kit with me (Reptiles) and I cannot say enough about how wonderful these kits are. I brought that out Friday afternoon and they played with it for a couple of hours Friday, twice on Saturday, and again on Sunday. 

There was a lot of rain over the weekend, but we managed to get outside some each day. We went to the neighborhood pool one day and I took them for ice cream Saturday afternoon. We took a walk each evening which they enjoyed and it seemed to make them more ready for baths and bedtime. I know it did me.  

I arrived home Monday afternoon with two broken fingernails, a mystery bruise on my leg, in dire need of a nap, and a full heart. I love that we're able to give the parents a break now and then. I remember how much I appreciated and needed that when I was in the heavy lifting years of parenting and I want to pay that forward now that I'm the grandparent. 

I think it’s important to make memories together as a family, but also to make time for each other as a couple. Getting away from the everyday craziness of work, parenting, keeping up with the house, and everything else gives mom and dad a chance to reconnect and just enjoy being together.

One of the best ways to keep a family happy and whole is to temporarily escape from them, miss them, recharge, and come back refreshed and eager to resume the routines of daily life. Opa!

A Few Days With My Favorites

Hello friends. It's Friday. Yay! 

We're retired so I'm not sure why the fact that Friday's here is still so exciting, but it is. 

I'm going to recap the past few days which definitely falls under the heading of favorite things, and I'm also going to try to meet the Everyday Image photo prompts at the same time. Mine might land a bit out of order (and I may have missed a couple) but I think that still counts. 

My daughters very rarely post their children's faces online so I have to get creative with my blog pics. I take plenty of their faces for our own enjoyment, and all you need to know is they're the cutest humans on planet earth. 

The most recent prompts Kym (A Fresh Cup Of Coffee) posted were-

wildflowers, water, neighborhood spot (quarterly), nature, adventure, favorite, twilight

We've had our Tennessee grands and their momma here this week and the local grands spent most of the week with us too, so lots of noisy fun was had by all. My favorite thing is having all the cousins together. There's a six year age gap between the oldest and the youngest and plenty of personality to go round. 

Daughter2's hubs had an out of town work commitment all week, so she brought her two sweeties, plus her big puppy to the lake for a few days. They arrived around lunchtime Monday and their Carolina cousins were in the driveway shouting their welcome. Did you hear them? I feel like you might have heard them. 

We had lunch then hit the lake. The lily pad is a great thing if you have little ones around open water. Everyone wears a life jacket or some other type of Coast Guard approved device at Nana and Pawpaws, and they all know they aren't allowed on the dock without one. The oldest (aka the mancub) asked me recently how old he has to be before that rule doesn't apply and I randomly said 18 ha! Maybe? 

Anyway the lily pad is great fun and they all love playing sea monster or alligator where hubs shakes it and tries to grab their feet and they try not to fall off. You can literally stand on the lily pad which makes it especially great for the smallest grands. 

Daughter1 took her kids home for dinner, and I'd made cold shrimp with cocktail sauce, cucumber and tomato salad, and crock pot chicken for dinner. Easy peasy is the name of the game with a houseful. 

After Daughter2's kiddos were tucked in she and I watched the second to last epsiode of last season's The Great British Baking Show. It's only taken us three months but we were determined to finish it up while she was in town. We watched the finale Tuesday night and were happy with the outcome. 

Tuesday was a beach and boat day. Let me just say here that getting five kids under the age of 8 into life vests, sun tan lotion applied, toys, drinks, snacks, towels, and floats all safely on board the boat is not for the faint of heart. Oh, and four adults too. Can't forget the adults. 

The weather was fantastic and we had the best day. All the grands wanted a turn as co-captain so half drove us out to the island and the other half motored us home. 

~adventure~

~wildflowers~

~favorite~

This particular island has a nice long beach and everyone swam and dug in the sand and collected shells and explored the local habitat. 

I wonder if this is our beaver's handiwork or one of his buddies? 

~nature~

We had lunch at home, the littlest cousin had a nap and everyone else rested until we were ready for round two, which was a trip to the neighborhood pool. It's literally about ten houses up from mine, but we still took two cars, several bags, and a trunk full of noodles because go big or go home, right? 

~neighborhood spot~   ~water~

We pretty much had the pool to ourselves which was so nice. Our pool is never jam packed because we have a lake in our backyard.  Also, we definitely sound like more people than we actually are. 

Once home the kids watched a show while Daughter2 picked her pup up from doggie day care and hubs and I got dinner going. My son-in-law arrived in time to eat with us, and hubs grilled brats, we had corn on the cob, slaw, and a big veggie tray. 

Then it was time for birthday presents and ice cream cake celebrating the newly minted four year old. His birthday was the week before but we wanted a family celebration at the lake. 

The cousins went home and the two staying here got so excited when our sprinklers popped up. Whoohoo! Ran through in their clothes like it was the best day of their lives. We'd been boating, swimming in the crystal clear lake, and playing in a huge pool but nothing could top running through those sprinklers in their clothes. Life's simple pleasures are usually the best. 

Wednesday hubs played golf with some friends. It was good lol. He's the king of fun and his back needed a rest. To answer your question, yes. Golf is less taxing on the back than slinging five kids in the air and on and off your shoulders into a pool. 

We girls plus their kids hung out in the lake for a while, then everyone changed clothes and the sisters took all the kids to Daughter1's house for lunch while Nana stayed home with the dogs and made sauce for dinner. 

Nana may have also sat on the porch in the quiet for a quick minute too. Just sayin'. 

The oldest two boys had piano lessons late afternoon so their momma took them to that and Daughter2 and I took the three youngest back to the pool. 

I told you grand parenting wasn't for weaklings. 

After piano lessons the boys moved on to baseball practice, but their dad took over there so daughter1 and her little miss could have dinner with us.   

Which brings us to Thursday morning. Hubs had a work meeting so we girls took the kids to our neighborhood playground to play for a while before lunch, and then daughter2 and her crew got on the road to head home. Boo. 

~everything's an adventure when you're two~

I did laundry and managed to get three sets of sheets washed, dried, and back on the beds, along with two loads of towels, then hit the grocery store to grab a few things I needed for company coming on Friday night, picked up dry cleaning and two library books that were on hold and then back home to put away the 'kid gear'-stepstools, a small table and chairs, the toybox, toys and games, books and more.

For the record...it's all worth it.

Linking today with Kym for Everyday Images 

and 

Friday Favorites with Erika at A Little Bit of Everything) and Andrea (Momfessionals)

A Weekend Recap From The Porch

The weekends go by fast, don't they? We like to say every day is the weekend in retirement, but lately not so much. Hubs and I declared Saturday a no-hurry have fun day and although I had to remind him of the no-hurry bit a couple of times, he eventually relaxed and we had a really nice day. A day date if you will. 

Remember when I was counting those here? I'm still counting, just not posting all of them on the blog. 

Backing up to Friday...

Hubs of course had a dozen projects going so he spent most of the day power washing the dock and bridge. We've hired the staining out this year because that is a back breaking job and some years we pay to have it done. They're supposed to be coming on Monday so he wanted it squeaky clean first. 

Power washing the dock is also back breaking so he earned the rest. 

I took care of some paperwork and cleaned bathrooms, then went to play Mah Jong. Not back breaking, but it can sometimes strain the brain. 

Daughter1's hubs was attending an out of town medical thing last week so she and the kids came over Friday evening for a slumber party. The puppy too, because where they go the puppy goes. He desperately wants to play with the Little Brown Dog, but the LBD is not having any part of it. He lets him know too, but they'll get used to each other. 

The weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend long, so we sat outside and played and talked, and hubs grilled burgers for dinner. Little Miss went to bed on the early side and the rest of us snuggled on the couch and watched Hook. Nana might have missed the entire middle of the film due to an unplanned nap, but I'd seen it before so no biggie. That's life in the third act. You fall asleep before the six year olds. 

Actually that has always been me, never a night owl. Does staying awake past 8:30 qualify one as a night owl? 

After some early Saturday morning fishing for the Mancub and Pawpaw, the party goers had breakfast then went on their way. Hubs and I jumped in the car for a drive one state over. We had a lunch destination in mind, then planned to piddle around in some of the shops nearby. 

At our wine dinner this month one of the couples we sat with told us they'd been to a great BBQ place in the little town of Dillard Georgia. I live in the Palmetto State, but the GA border is right down the road. 

We don't often go out for BBQ because hubs makes a mean pulled pork here at home, but the pitmaster at the Blue Hound in Dillard won Season 6 (July 2025) of the Bobby Flay BBQ Brawl and we thought we should taste it for ourselves. 

The drive over was just under an hour, and it's my favorite kind of BBQ place. A small building that sits on the literal side of the road beside a gas station, smoke billowing out of the smokehouse, and already a long line at 11:15 AM. 

I got the brisket sandwich with a brocoli salad instead of chips and hubs had the brisket plate with collards and slaw. He meant to order banana pudding, but forgot. We did get two jars of their rubs to try at home. 

We sat at a picnic table outside and enjoyed every bite. Afterwards we browsed a couple of shops just a few hundred yards away, then headed towards Clayton, which is a cute little mountain town we love. 

We passed this shop on the way to the restaurant and the name forced us to make a stop there on the way out-

They actually had some nice pieces of furniture and then the usual assortment of 'stuff', but we just looked before heading on to Clayton. Which was hopping on a sunny Saturday! Once we got parked we walked to a little shop called White Birch Provisions for a coffee. I think I might like to stay in the White Birch Inn sometime as it looks cute. We browsed the shops on the main drag, but didn't buy anything.  

On the way out of Clayton we popped in to the local distillery there so hubs could get a bottle of their bourbon. I hadn't been in the place in a couple of years and they've expanded quite a bit which was nice to see.

We made the hour-ish drive home and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on the lower level porch. I had a small nap (my sleep tank has been fumes the past month) and we listened to music, read, and chatted. Neither of us were very hungry so hubs ate the leftover burger and sides from Friday's dinner and I had a fried egg sandwich.  Sometimes that is exactly what I'm craving. 

Sunday morning kitchen sink view. 

We went to church, then made an exceedingly and unnecessarily long stop at Tractor Supply for a piece of rope for the outdoor shower mirror (the one we had finally broke) and then had lunch on the porch. After lunch hubs trimmed tree branches or some such nonsense and guess where I was? 

If you said the porch you wouldn't be wrong. It's great to be back in almost summer mode. 

Linking today with Holly and Sarah for their regular Monday morning weekend recap party. 

The Friday Seven

I know it's usually dubbed the Friday Five, but I have a random seven so there ya go. Just a few stray thoughts and happenings from the past week and life lately linked with Andrea and Erika today. 

1. Did I tell you daughter1 and her family got a puppy? 

As my granddaughter loves to say 'he's a basket hound'. Oh my word, it's the cutest, and we absolutely do not correct her. In fact we all now say basket hound and likely will say it that way forever and ever amen.

He's super cute, as all puppies are wont to be. Pretty sure God designed it that way because puppies are puppies, right? As far as puppies go he's a good one. Basset Basket hounds are kind of low energy which is not a bad trait in a puppy. I've read they're sometimes called the couch potato of the dog world, and while I don't think I'd go so far as to say that, he is pretty chill. 

2. Did I tell you daughter2 and her family got a puppy? Their guy joined the family back in the fall but I don't remember mentioning it here and I don't play favorites. This handsome fella was a rescue and nearly a year old when they got him. 

fyi-A  one-year old dog is still a puppy. 

He's a real sweetie and has settled in well. The kids adore him. And because I know someone will ask our little brown dog is uninterested in these juveniles lol. 

3.  We had our monthly wine club dinner on Monday and it was one of my favorites. The food was so good. There was a Spanish theme to the menu and I meant to take pictures, but oops.  

One course was a Salmorejo which I'd never heard of before, but is similar to a Gazpacho. It's made from puréed tomatoes, bread, garlic, and olive oil and I might like it even better than Gazpacho. I found a recipe online I'm going to try at home. It's served cold so will be a nice summer treat. 

4. Tuesday was book club and we read The Indigo Girl. Our hosts had all sorts of indigo details on the snack table including this tea-

Have you ever tried butterfly pea flower tea? It's indigo in color and doesn't have a lot of taste. We added honey and lemon (and in some cases Prossecco) to give it more flavor, but the color was beautiful. I read the tea's benefits are similar to green tea, without the bitterness. 

5. My two oldest grandsons are playing on the same baseball team this season and they're killin' it. I've been running non-stop since April, and until this week hadn't made it to a single game. Hubs has managed a few, but I can't be in two places at once so priorities. 

Hubs and I drove to the field Wednesday night to see them play and the other team was a no-show. Boo.  Hubs had plans Thursday night but I trekked back to the field to finally see a game. 

I love the ballpark vibe. 

6. Thursday morning hubs and I met up with daughter1 to watch grandson #2 (aka Max on the blog) 'graduate' from kindergarten. I love this school they are part of so very much. It's a hybrid, so some days students are in a classroom and the other days are homeschooled by their mommas. The heart of this school is beautiful. 

Each 'graduate' is gifted a copy of Max Lucado's The Oak Inside the Acorn, and the Director's message and prayer were lovely. The kindergartners walked in to Pomp and Circumstance and I don't care if the graduates are six or eighteen or twenty-two, that song always makes me teary. 

As we waited for the program to begin they had a little slide show with a picture of each child in their cap and gown (precious!) and a tag line telling what each little person wants to be when they grow up. They flashed this sign too-

Class of 2038???!!. Can that be right? That date doesn't even sound real. 

They let the students toss their caps in the air at the conclusion of the event and I  guess it's in our DNA because they all knew just what to do. So fun! 

After graduation I drove the hour and twenty over to spend time with my momma and had a nice visit with her. Such a beautiful blue sky day...

I  made a stop at Costco when I left there since I was somewhat in the neighborhood. Not really, but definitely closer than I am when coming from home so it made sense. Plus hubs was out of his peanut butter stuffed pretzels and we can't have that.

7. I made a pot pie for dinner Wednesday night and it was so pretty-

I am all about dishes that make more than one meal these days. Have a great weekend everyone! 

I'll Give You Something To Hodgepodge About

Nothing like blogging for a month straight then dropping off the internet for a week or so. It's been busy here and something had to give. The blog it was. 

It's Hodgepodge day and if you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger there before you. Here we go...

1. What's something you may do this month?

I may get in the lake. 

I'd love to go for a float but the water needs to warm up some. There are people out there paddle boarding, swimming,  and jet skiing, but not me. I don't mind the water being on the cool side if the air is hot, but that hasn't been the case so far this spring. Soon though! Maybe even May. 

2. Hola! Hodgepodge Day lands just after Cinco de Mayo... how do you feel about Mexican food? What's your favorite dish? Do you make it at home or is it a strictly dine out option? 

I love Mexican food and enchiladas are probably my favorite dish. My mama's homemade especially. Guacamole is one of my favorite foods and I like a margarita with spicy recipes. 

I don't make a lot of Mexican food at home, but we do have tacos, tortilla soup, and a salsa style grilled chicken bowl on occasion. I make my own guac and hubs makes a great margarita. Add a bowl of chips and I could call that dinner. 

3. When the children of today grow up what do you think they'll say about this time period? What do you most hope they remember? 

What might they say? 

I think they'll say we were all a little bit crazy with the masking and the incredible isolation we forced upon them at a very important and vulnerable time in their lives.  

What do I hope they remember? 

I'm thinking of my grandchildren as I answer this one. I hope they remember feeling loved and secure, and sheer joy at the kind of  freedom they had that belongs to childhood. 

4. What advice would you give a new mother? 

The internet and complete strangers are full of opinions...trust your instincts. God made you this child's mother by design. 

Don't be afraid to ask for help from those closest to you if you feel overly tired or overwhelmed. 

5. What's a phrase your mother often said to you? If you're a mom do you say it to your own children? 

I wracked my brain, but couldn't come up with a particular phrase my mom said. My dad had a bunch of sayings he used, but we're talking mothers this month.

I think if you asked my girls they could share a few that I said often through the years, and maybe occasionally still do...'no hanky panky', 'text to let me know you made it home', and 'every little thing is gonna be alright' are some of those.  I'm going to ask them because this question has me curious. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Worth the wait...

She finally bloomed! 

The Weekend ReQap

Good Monday morning everyone. Hope your weekend was nice and you're ready for the week ahead. I'm still working my way through the alphabet in the April A-Z Blog Challenge, and will incorporate today's letter into my weekend recap. Here we go-

Hubs and I had a busy weekend on tap. He was working a booth for his real estate office at the local boat show and I had plans to meet up with my sister in the nearby city to shop for the last of the furnishings we need for my mom's new space. 

On Friday we wanted to hit the nursery and get started planting a few things around the yard. Hubs had to pick up a poster for the boat show so first stop was Walgreens. He thought he ordered a poster on a board but it was just a poster so we made a short hop over to Hobby Lobby who said they could fix it in 20 minutes. 

So we went back to the shopping center we'd just left to pick up the dry cleaning and to kill twenty minutes, then back to Hobby Lobby to get the poster.  Done. 

Next stop the nursery. I love a trip to the nursery, especially this time of year. 

Also, I want roses. 

We had a specific area we were trying to beautify on this trip, so we did not get roses. We did get some beautiful plants to put around a big rock that sits beside our cart path, and I made a couple of pots for the upper deck. 

We'll need more, but it's a start. 

I love this blue eyed grass which blooms with little purple star flowers and I especially love this plant, called lime ruffles for obvious reasons-

Insert today's letter...

Day 17-Q is for Quick Change Of Plans 

While we were browsing the plant life daughter2 phoned and asked if they could come for the weekend. Her hubs grandma lives somewhat near us and she's not well so they needed to make a trip our way. Of course we said yes but my brain immediately went into overdrive...are there clean sheets on the beds? are the bathrooms downstairs clean? is there something I can cobble together for dinner? 

Not without a stop at the market so that happened too. 

We got home and worked in the yard and daughter1 called and said the boys wanted to come paddle boarding if that's okay. It's fine. As long as they manage it because hubs is up to his elbows in dirt and I need to figure out dinner and food for the weekend and all the rest. She said they'd take the boat for a ride instead and would come to us after dinner to see the cousins. 

So I wrapped up my gardening and came in and showered and made sure everything was ready for people to sleep and stay for a few days and then about 4 daughter2 arrived with her littles. Her hubs went straight on to his grandparents, but we had dinner and then the cousin crew was all together again. There were popsicles all around and outdoor play in the beautiful evening weather. 

Saturday was a hot one, and after a breakfast of bacon and eggs everyone went their separate ways. Hubs went to the boat show, daughter2 took her kiddoes to her sister's house to play there, her hubs went back to his grandpa's, and I drove into the nearby city to meet my sister at a furniture store. 

We spent the whole day shopping and forgot to snap a picture, so here ya go-

This is us a few years ago, and we basically look the same. 

Saturday night hubs grilled steaks and after the kids went to bed the adults sat up and chatted for a while. We didn't make it to church on Sunday because hubs had to leave before lunchtime to go back to the boat show, and daughter1 and her hubs had spent the night in the nearby city so they could attend my son-in-law's high school reunion. Her kids were at the in-laws so we just had a morning at home...

Then after lunch we loaded up and went to check out the boat show. They had a bounce house which was a huge hit. Sugar has no fear and needs no help. All the little girls who were playing in there wanted to hold her hand and slide down the ginormous slide with her, but she was not having it. "I can do it myself!... her Nana's granddaughter for sure. 

There was a sweet little lemonade truck beside the booth hubs was manning and daughter2 tried the dill pickle lemonade which was pretty good (I love dill pickles) and I had Princess Peach which was a combo of strawberry, peach, and coconut...heavy on the strawberry, but very tasty. 

Hubs grilled burgers once the boat show wrapped up, and we relaxed afterwards before getting the kids settled in to bed and the adults not too far behind. 

We had a lot of plans this weekend and they mostly still happened but there was some shuffling too and that's the thing I want to keep. The ability to hold plans loosely and be flexible when my grown kids call and say, 'Is it okay if we come last minute?'

I want to always say yes to my girls when they need us. One thing about this season of life is my priorities are crystal clear. I don't get to see my daughter2 as often as her sister due to geography and I want to seize the day when the day is offered. 

She is in a busy busy busy whew! season currently with a two year old and a three year old who are always in ON! mode and I want to be a soft place for her to land. Both my girls. Hubs and I have the opportunity to do a million and ten things here at the lake, but I want to hold on to flexibility and embrace the quick change of plans that can happen, knowing above everything else family gets top billing. 

Linking today with Holly (Pink Lady) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books)  for their regular Hello Monday hop. So what were you up to this weekend?