what's in a name . . .

Grandmother is the formal term, but through the years, hundreds of adaptations have found their way into the mouths of babes. From 'Granny' to 'Bibi' to 'Mimsy' and back again; the possibilities are endless.

I have a friend whose children call her mom, their grandma, "Sweetie." The reason is not because that's what they were told to call her, but it's because that's what they always heard their grandpa call her. They thought that was her name! Aside from being a darling, darling grandma-name, it's quite a testimony to their grandpa, as well!

I was the first grandchild to both sets of my grandparents. Lots of times, the first grandchild sets the pace. I called my mom's folks "Grandma & Grandpa" and my dad's folks, "Grandma Willie & Pop pop." Naturally, all the siblings and cousins that followed, followed suit. Of course, that's what I was *taught* to call them.

Sometimes, no matter what you've tried to teach your babies, they say what they want to say. I'm sure that's how tags like "Mawmaw" and "Meemaw" and "Gramma" and "Nana" possibly came about.

Sometimes Grandmas have preferences . . . for example, I know one grandma who goes by "Gigi". But in her mind, that's G.G. for Gorgeous Grandma!

Anyway, all this grandma talk because, well . . . I am one. And about to be again! And therein lies the crux. Sawyer is the firstborn, and is well on his way to talking, and he will set the names for each one of his grandparents! And since he's got a couple of each, as will Everett, I got to thinking . . .

Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those grandma names that is just unique to me?

So I started playing around with names . . .

Grandma
Grandma Denise (mouthful)
Grandma Neese
Grandma Neesey
NEESEY!

So, provided Sawyer goes for it, Todd and I will be Paw-paw and Neesey.

Neesey. It's just who I am!

:)

oh happy day . . .

As always, I enjoyed a wonderful Monday, spending it with my precious peek-a-boo boy!

He had a really great day yesterday; it's like he inherently knows that Santa Claus is checking that list twice!

One thing I noted yesterday was his hands -- they're so big and strong!

And yet they so lovingly touch my face and hold precious puppy for a kiss!

He's really such a good-natured little sport with such a ready smile.

And it cracks me up; he knows that when the orange light from the camera hits his face, it's time to smile!

Yesterday we had lots of play time on the floor.

And he'd move from toy to toy, depending on which one was making noise.

He's funny to watch *and* to listen to as he army crawls across the floor. He really does grunt.

And he makes my neck hurt just watching him crane that head all over the place!

Finally it was lunch time. We had apple/apricots with our cereal for lunch. Listen to me -- I say that like *I* was eating it too! Ugh. Was not. Well maybe just a spoonful, so I could know what he was experiencing.

I love the faces he makes while he's eating.

He's a great eater, too! I've never had him spit anything out.

The only thing about lunchtime is that it's real close to nap time! By the time we're done eating, we're *very* ready for a nap. Yeah, this time I do mean both of us. He's not really crying in the above photo, just letting me know he's ready to be down. It was a great shot of the two teeth!

After cleaning him up and putting him in his crib, he rolls over to his tummy and smiles his little smile; he knew he was tired! He rarely fights napping. He did play around in the crib for about ten, fifteen minutes before falling asleep. It was really cute listening to him chat it up with his animals. He's so sweet!

After his nap and afternoon bottle, we decided to have a hat fashion show.

I love this little hat, though it's a bit big. He kept tossing his head back to try and look at the bill.

So darling!

This one is a cap his other grandma made for him!

It made him happy to wear it! Oh my goodness, how can I resist that darling smile??

For some reason, he didn't like this one . . .

Or perhaps he was just tired of playing 'fashion show' with grandma. Probably.

I wish I could eloquently explain the swell of love that I have for this darling little guy; how precious and dear he is to me. When I watched him on Saturday night, I just wanted to pull him out of his crib and let him sleep on me, because he's so loving and snuggly!

It really excites me to have another one coming; more so because of what I remember about having my second baby. I remember being a little anxious. I so loved my firstborn -- how did loving a second baby compare? And then, after he was born, realizing that I didn't share the love I had for the first baby with the second baby; he got a whole heartful of love that was all his own! My capacity to love truly was multiplied. And that's what excites me -- that once again when grandbaby two arrives early next year, my capacity to love will multiply!!

Ack. I need a Kleenex.

:)

my joy . . .

Sawyer came to stay with us for a couple of hours on June 21st, while his mommy & daddy were watching fireworks at the Freedom Celebration. He and I had such a nice visit! I've videoed him every time I've watched him (and believe me, I watch those videos over and over and over -- just ask my husband!), but this one was particularly sweet and I want to share it . . . well, some of it anyway. I did edit more than five minutes out of it it before I loaded it! :)

Isn't he just the most darling? I laugh every time I hear myself tell him that I'll be watching him over and over, because I have! (My husband inserts a comment every time he hears it, too - LOL!) Sawyer was working *so* hard to roll over, but he could never quite make it. I think if he'd been on a hard, flat surface, instead of on the rounded, soft surface of my couch, he might have been able to. But the next day he did have his first rolling over success. Now he's a roly-poly boy!!

And he is definitely counted as one of my joys!

:)

a stroll with Sawyer . . .

Sawyer, my precious grandson,
what do you think about taking a stroll?

OH! Grandma, that sounds wonderful!

Sawyer, what's the matter??

Grandma, I *hate* being strapped down!

There, there, is that better??

Mmmmmm mmmmm.

Sawyer, are you enjoying the ride so far?

Grandma, could you pull the screen down just a little? That sun . . .

Is that better, darling Sawyer?

Much better, Grandma!

What a pretty day it is, don't you think so, Sawyer?!

Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Well, look who's awake again!

*yawn* Grandma, why'd we slow down so much????

Sawyer, we've been strolling for over an hour;
you slept through most of it!
Now it's time to go in for some lunch!

Good. Cuz Grandma, I really wanna get out of this thing again . . .

Is this better, my darling boy?

Grandma, this is the life!

*sigh of contentment*

Great news! Sawyer got checked today and is done with the bili-bed! Yay! So I got the unexpected pleasure of being able to hold my sweet little grandbaby boy. He was so snuggly and smelled so good . . .

Y'all, isn't he just the sweetest bundle?? I can hardly stand it! I almost passed up the guild meeting to stay and hold him all evening!

Ummm, except I think there are probably limitation to how long a mother/mother-in-law/grandma stays for a visit! I have to say though, my son & daughter-in-law are *very* gracious with their time and home. And I want to be very careful *not* to take advantage of that.

I'm so proud of them.

And being a grandma is so very sweet!

:)

a new pic!

Hey, if I've got 'em, I'm gonna flaunt 'em!

I ♥ being a grandma!

So much ♥!

:)

check this out . . .

Karen, over at Sew Many Ways, is celebrating her one year anniversary of Tool Time Tuesdays. Her Tool Time Tuesday ideas have been invaluable to me as I work to make the back room of our RV as quilting friendly and efficient as possible!

She's doing a *fabuloso* giveaway on her blog with lots and lots of great stuff. Go on over there and check it out . . . go on, now!! Click right HERE! This is a tremendous resource and worth your time, even if for some strange reason, you're not into giveaways. (You know you are!)

As for me? My head's still in the clouds. Who knew grandbabies were this GREAT?!?! Little Sawyer has completely won my heart! (And Todd's heart, too!)


I stop talking about it someday, I'm sure. LOL! Or not.

:)

sawyer graham panter . . .

What? What do you mean I can't use that title for today's blog entry??

I used it yesterday? I can't use it twice in a row?!?

Who says?!?!

LOL! You can certainly tell where my focus is today, no??? Can you blame me?! He's simply perfect & darling!

\

I mean, look at him!!! He's so round and chubby, with the froggie legs, just like his daddy had as a newborn!

He's so serious! His little blue eyes just followed that camera wherever it went.

Safe and sound in the arms of Grandpa Todd!!!

So peaceful and sweet. Not a care in the world; he knows he's being held safe and sound!!

Father, how I praise You for this perfect gift!

Amen & amen.

:)

sawyer graham panter . . .

. . . has completely captivated my heart!

An 8 pound, 4 ounce, 20 inch long bundle of joy.

Life will never be the same again!

:)

good things come . . .

. . . to those who wait.

And keep waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting . . .

Sawyer must be a *really* GREAT baby!

:)

all about Sawyer . . .

10:50 am: Epidural in; Kim's feeling good; waiting on baby! Working on quilt in L&D room!

oooh baby, baby!

See that widget right . . .

<------------------------------------------------------------- there?

I'm dancing, I'm prancing . . .

In my head I'm already holding a sweet newborn . . .

Tomorrow is the DAY!!!!!

And that's about all I'm good for today . . .

Answer what? Quilt what? Dinner what?

:)

dinner and dashed hopes . . .

Todd & I enjoyed a lovely evening with Jocelyn & Jason. Joc has done such a marvelous job of making their house a beautiful and comfortable home. Plus Joc sets such a pretty table!! I love the red chargers with her china. Nice! It felt festive and special!

Plus she served yummy food -- Ravioli Soup, garden salad, and wheat rolls. *And* homemade lemonade! Deeee-licious!

Cute domestic moments . . .

This is Joc's baby. Princess Leia is her name. She is beautiful as can be, but mean as spit! Well, to me she is. But she's so darling! I can't resist {trying to} petting her!

But she's even a bit of a pickle with her mom . . . no kisses, mom!

Ah well. The cheesecake I brought was a hit . . . so good it stayed with them! Much to my husband's dismay. It's okay; I promised him I'd make a whole new one just for us! :)

Here's the recipe for it:

Sugar Free Cheesecake

12 oz. Light Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup granular splenda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups skim milk
*2 packages sugar free/fat free instant pudding (any flavor)
*3/4 cup sugar fruit spread (to coordinate with pudding flavor) (I prefer Polander's)
**Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Beat cream cheese, vanilla, and splenda until mix is creamy and smooth. Add milk and continue to beat until well blended. Add both packages of pudding and beat some more until mixture is thickened and smooth.

Spread scant half of mix into graham cracker pie and smooth surface. Spread fruit spread on top. Pour and spread the rest of the cheesecake mix on top to form third layer. Cover and allow to set for at least four hours (over night is better). (NOTE: there is usually TOO much filling for the pie shell. When that happens I pour the mix into 1/2 cup containers and we just eat the filling . . . who really needs the crust anyway?!?)

Cut and serve with sugar free cool whip and a dollop of the fruit spread, if you like!

*Good combinations are chocolate pudding and strawberry or cherry fruit spread; cheesecake pudding and apricot or blackberry or raspberry (or really, any kind of fruit) spread; or vanilla pudding and whatever. I throw in a little almond extract with my vanilla extract, especially with chocolate and vanilla pudding.

**The graham cracker pie crusts are NOT sugar free. The low fat crust has the same amount of sugar (6 grams per serving) as the regular. I used chocolate with my chocolate. :) You can also make your own graham cracker crust; this may cut down on your sugar.

I play around with most recipes I try, just because that's how I roll. This one is no different--or rather, it's quite different from how I originally found it!

A NICE giveaway I found today is over at A Little Bit Biased . . . check it out for yourself!!

Another NICE (and purple-ly) giveaway is happening over at Lila Tueller Designs . . . oh my goodness!!!

Oh yeah, and speaking about giveaways, remember yesterday when I talked about the offer of a sponsor for a giveaway? Total spam/hoax. I had a lovely lady, Kim from Sherrod Studio, who read my blog yesterday on Quilter Blogs.com, and said she'd had a similar experience from the same company that went bad. Ah well.

I'll be my own sponsor. How's that? I'll do a, "I'm a GRANDMA!" giveaway next month.

Yay! I'll be a grandma next month (in TWO weeks)!

Sweet!

:)

LAZY DAY?

Well, it certainly started off that way. I was not motivated to do much of anything this morning! We slept in late -- it was nearly 7:30 when we got up this morning! Then we lounged around drinking coffee and discussed all the things we *could* do, until about 10:30. The day really did get off to a slooooooow start! But then I wrote my list and headed off to the grocery store, and things picked up from there.

I was reading Hanne's Quilt Corner blog and she has a picture of a beautiful hexagon quilt she's worked on in today's entry. It reminded me that I still have not shared pictures of the unfinished quilt top that belonged to my Grandma Wadleigh, which my aunt sent me last month. Here it is! You can see from the closeups that not only did she hand piece, but she fussy cut a lot of the hexagons. Whew. I'm not sure when I'll get around to finishing this up! I'm a more than a little anxious about it -- I don't want to mess it up! It's very dear and precious to me!



As I was sorting my magazine clippings this week for scanning, I came across a recipe for "Scotties" that looked pretty good. It was a nice change of pace from brownies. I tried 'em out today -- they were very easy and are very tasty. I will send the plate in with Todd for the crew at Station 6, tomorrow! Here's the recipe:


Scotties

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

1. Heat oven to 325°F. You'll need a 9-inch square pan lined with nonstick foil (let foil extend 2 inches above pan on opposite sides).

2. Put sugars and butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, 5 minutes or until butter is melted and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool about minutes.

3. Whisk in egg, then whisk in remaining ingredients until well blended.

4. Spread in prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until sides being to pull away from foil and pick inserted near center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. (Batter will rise, then fall. Edges will be higher than the center; that's okay.) Cool in pan on wire rack.

5. Lift by foil ends onto cutting board. Cut into 6 strips, then cut each strip into 6 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.


Mmmm, mmmm, GREAT!

Let's see . . . what else? Oh yeah. I remembered I have a gift for my Secret Pal this week. I hate spending money I could be spending on my Pal on the gift bags, so I've challenged myself to use things I have here at home to cleverly wrap the gifts I leave for her. She's a big John Deere collector, so this week I pulled out some leftover fabric I had from the Grand Hands quilt and came up with . . .


TaaaDAH! What's the saying? Necessity is the mother of invention!

Last but not least, here's a glimpse of what I'll be taking in this evening and tomorrow afternoon between church services!


October's issue of Quilter's World


The September/October issue of Southern Lady


and the Halloween issue of Celebrate!

Can you say, "Happy Camper!"?? That's me!

:)