Out With The Old, In With The New/Friday's Giveaway

Hoping that you had a Merry Christmas, and that you will have a very Happy New Year--from my family to yours!

I can't believe that it's 2010 already! I can remember when the year 2010 sounded like something from a futuristic movie--and now it's here, and thankfully I am living to experience it!

I am looking forward to another wonderful year watching my grandbabies grow and learn. There are no plans in the immediate future for any siblings for either one of them, so I will be grateful for the ones that God has blessed us with.

Granddaughter, Madison, is getting old enough to play games with me now. I love playing games! She's getting pretty good at the Candyland Castle Shapes game. We also play Lucky Ducks. I tried playing Who Stole the Cookie with her the other day, but she got mad and quit when she had to put her cookies back in the cookie jar! Her mother says she is a "poor sport" just like her daddy!

This weekend's giveaway is a reminder of my past...I saw this game set of pick up sticks and bob jacks and was reminded of my own childhood. These were two of my favorite games--many years ago. The jacks in this set are actually metal like they used to be!

How about you, what was your favorite childhood game? Tell me about it in the form of a comment. That's all that you have to do to be entered for a chance to win the prize. Contest ends at midnight on Sunday night 1/3/10. Winner will be drawn and notified on Monday morning. Have a great New Year's weekend.

Click here to see the entire Giveaway Blog Hop List....

2009...The Year With Two Grandbabies!

What a difference a year makes...and what a year it was! This photo of Madison was taken in January right after her parents caught her trying on hats in bed when she should've been sleeping!

Madison has grown and changed a lot this year--going from a toddler who spoke in broken sentences to a completely potty-trained pre-schooler who can carry on an interesting conversation with you!

The thing that Madison does best is singing. She can pick up a tune with ease. If she forgets the words, she's great at improvising! I still call her the "toddler of 1000 tunes".

In January of 2009, Caden was still practically a new-born. This picture was taken the first time that he ever smiled and cooed at me.

He's gone from that cuddly baby to a sweet little fellow who has learned how to walk, but not without falling yet.

Cade's vocabulary is growing daily. He can say several words. The funniest thing that he says is "Brrrr" (explaining that it's cold outside). He can also tell you what sound the monkey makes--and he calls his "monkey lovie" his "key".

His "monkey lovie" is the top part of a monkey sewn into a small blanket. Cade sleeps with it and loves it very much.

2009 has been a very special year for me. Spending time with these two adorable grandchildren and watching them grow. I can only hope that 2010 will bring more of the same...Happy New Year everyone!

Ho Ho Brought Everything!

Madison woke up early Christmas morning and found that Santa Claus had been to her house during the night. She not only found the two items that she had asked Santa for (a kitchen and a princess castle), but several other gifts as well. She proudly exclaimed to her mother " Look! Ho Ho brought everything!"

Ho Ho is what Madison calls Santa Claus. Last year she couldn't remember Santa, but she could remember Ho Ho. We all liked it, so the name sort of stuck.

We are so blessed to live next-door to Madison so we could just walk across the yard and share in her joy on Christmas morning. There is nothing more special than watching a child find their gifts on Christmas morning.

Ho Ho wrote Madison a note to tell her that he was proud of her for learning to use the potty by herself. Madison's mother says that having Madison learn to use the potty was her best Christmas present! I'll agree with that!

So now that Christmas is over, next comes the task of taking down the tree(s) and packing up the decorations. Madison's mama is working on those tasks. She's also working on the task of what to do with some of the old toys now that there are many new ones to put away...I remember those days...it doesn't seem that long ago.

Christmas Photos

This photo of Cade was taken on Christmas night--after the presents were all opened. That's why he's standing in a pile of "stuff". I loved his Christmas shirt. It depicted a little boy trying to "catch" Santa.

Madison poses for a pic in the penguin hat--which matched the penguin on her dress.

We actually caught Cade wearing his Santa hat long enough to snap a photo. Oddly enough, he kept it on for several minutes on Christmas Eve--long enough to pose for 4 family photos!

This is the most treasured picture of the season. After 4 years of trying, we finally got a picture of Madison with Santa--with a smile on her face! She's always been terrified of Santa.

Thanks for hopping by and sharing my Christmas photos...Have a great day!

Not Me Monday! Grandma and the Reindeer Feel Like They Got Hit By a Truck!

This picture says it all...these poor reindeer kept getting run over by various toy vehicles all during the holidays at MiMi's house! First, it was a tractor pulling a trailer that plowed into them...followed a few days later by a dump truck--ah, the joys of grandchildren!

Seriously, I have to brag that I have the best grandchildren, for a whole month neither one of them really bothered any of MiMi's Christmas decorations--and there were many of them that they could've bothered. Those reindeer were on the floor and just happened to get involved in "floor play", which I thought was funny.

In addition to the reindeer getting hit by various vehicles, the rain wreaked havoc on MiMi's outdoor decorations. It rained so much that water got in the plugs and tripped the circuit breaker! We were without outdoor decor for nearly a week while everything dried out.

Once things dried out, we plugged our outside decorations back up--only to discover that the blow up penguin and snowman were rather dirty from laying in mud for a week! I tried to brush off the poor things with a dry paint brush, but on my second attempt Mr. Penguin went flat!!! I guess the pressure was just too much for him...my hubby, Mr. Ed, finally got him working again--but I don't dare touch him! Dirty decorations are better than no decorations!

We also had a wind storm that took out one of my three spiral trees...and our daughter-in-law bogged her car down in the yard on a Friday evening...while trying to get home .

Christmas Eve found poor MiMi and E-pa wrapping the last of the Christmas gifts until 1:00 in the morning. So much for getting ready in advance! The gifts were purchased weeks ago--just never wrapped!

Christmas Day found Cade's parents having a bit of a spat which caused them to miss out on MiMi's Christmas lunch and gift exchange, but these things happen in every family, as we all know. Unfortunately, they don't always happen at the best of times. We missed them--their empty places at the table were a sore reminder, but they did eventually show up later in the day.

The day after Christmas found poor MiMi in the bed until 12:00pm. She was exhausted! She also took a three hour nap that afternoon. Her poor body felt like those poor reindeer must've felt when those vehicles kept plowing into them...and that was our Christmas of 2009!!!