Our Rainbow Grandbaby

 We are delighted to have another grandson! Wyatt Hunter is so precious; I think we'll keep him! 😍

Who am I kidding? I don't think - I know. All 6 lbs. of him. With 2 grandbabies in heaven, and multiple episodes of "something might be wrong with baby" plus 5 weeks of specialist appointments, we're relieved to have him safely here and healthy. And he has a dramatic birth story too. 

In my experience, waiting through a labor as a grandparent does not get any easier. We lost a lot of sleep this week and couldn't concentrate on getting work done. We're exhausted but he's totally worth it! 

We were privileged to have Wyatt's big sister & brother at our house while Mommy & Daddy were at the hospital. We did fun things to pass the time, like a tea party...

and going for ice cream to celebrate the new baby brother...

and watching Paw Patrol on the tablet while snacking on marshmallows. 

#livingtheirbestlife

When I was little, I had a "fun grandma" and a "quiet grandma". I knew I was loved by the quiet grandma and I have good memories of both, but I always dreamed of being a "fun grandma". That's probably why, if you'd have been the proverbial fly on the wall this week, you would've caught me crawling around on the floor pushing a truck to play "parade" with these little people. And giving them Dino Ranch rides... who needs piggy-back-rides when pretending to be a dino gets more giggles?!   

My knees and back gave out before they lost interest, but what can I say- I'm getting old.

 Let the cuddling begin! 💙After I take a nap.

Valentine's Day

I grew up hearing the saying "You chose your love, now love your choice." 

This was me choosing my love...

This is me, loving my choice. 

Even when we sometimes get annoyed at each other, and we both sag around the edges a bit more... Even when it's a toss up whether one of us wasn't listening when a social engagement was mentioned or the other of us forgot to mention it in the first place... Even when we lose things or forget things with astonishing regularity these days, and we both are positive our kids mumble most the time because we can't hear over the slightest background noise...  We believe in "till death do us part". No matter what.  

We're too old to die young. And too comfortable in marriage to want the extra trimmings of the holiday -like overpriced flowers, eating out in crowded restaurants, and mushy cards. However, I'm not opposed to chocolate... 😁 

 Photo of the week- we had a ventriloquist at the school open house this week.  

An Italian Cena

 In the midst of these dreary winter days, with more grey skies and mud than sunshine and snow, I need to look a little harder to find the beauty. To stay on top of SAD. 

One such jolly evening of beauty was the Italian Cena by the high school students of our school. (We had purchased tickets for this dinner at the school benefit auction.) It was an oasis for the senses.   

Antipasto -known as hors d'oeuvres to the non-Italians 

The bruschetta was perfetto!

Primi or First Course was carbonara (with fresh homemade pasta!)

Secondi or Second Course was Braciole with a Side of Peas & Pancetta. 
The braciole was so tender we could cut it with the plasticware. [chef's kiss]

Then we had lemon Sorbetto to cleanse the palate, in the cutest little dishes. 

We were then 2 hours into the experience and only halfway through the menu. 😲

Interesting that the salad falls so far down among the courses... 

Next was Formaggi E Frutta. The cheeses were paired with the fruit- mozzarella with strawberry, parmesan with apple, provolone with grapes, swiss with raspberries. Very interesting. My personal favorite was the provolone with grapes.  

The Dolce (sweet) was Panna Cotta, which would've been absolutely lovely if we hadn't been so full we felt like we were about to pop!! 

We ended with Cafe. The decaf espresso was so strong it had the effect of an electric fence, thankfully served in a teeny mug.  

And a Digestivo, which in our case was Lemon La Croix, not a traditional Italian wine. 

It was an enjoyable experience- the food was delicious, the service was top notch, the company was fun, the décor was beautiful. But I'm thankful to not be Italian- too much food, too slow of dining. 🤷