June 2019

After much speculation, my sweet girl confirmed she is pregnant again and due June 2019!

I've been asking her for weeks how she is feeling and she's been getting annoyed with me saying she wasn't pregnant, but I could tell. I know they wanted to be careful announcing this pregnancy. 

It's still surreal that I am a grandmother and to know another grand baby is on the way! 

Stink Eye

In all her cuteness glory, my beautiful little granddaughter has mastered the stink eye. A.K.A. a dirty look and she's been lavishly sharing it! lol

That's it sweet girl, let your emotions reflect all over your face. Don't hide it! The thing is, she is giving everyone the stink eye and it's hysterical.

She calls me, "Ma" like her mommy, but I know it's because her vocabulary is limited and she hears her mommy & Brooke call me mom. Though it isn't my forever name for her, I like that I have a name that she calls me.

That stink eye is the best thing ever and I simply have got to capture it in a photo!

Clothing Optional

Raising my girls in an all girls household, clothing was always optional. You just didn't need to cover up and running around without clothes or in a bra and/or panties was normal.

Sofia & I Facetime every day and sometimes a few times a day. Of course I thought nothing of it as I was out of the shower and getting ready and sit the phone on the counter in the bathroom so we are not rushed and can talk as long as Sofia likes.

It was all good until I saw [Mariah took a Facetime photo] flash across my phone. Sofia!

Mariah is cracking up as I am yelling for her to make sure the photo is deleted before my son-in-law by chance (because of course it will happen now) is scrolling through Mariah's photos and God forbid sees his mother-in-law in all her glory getting ready for the day unclothed!

Mariah says, "How much will you give me so I don't give this photo to Uncle as blackmail?"

Note to self: Clothing must be worn when Facetiming.

Boo!

Boo! never looked so sweet and now my autumn decor is complete. White chocolate covered marshmallow sure is tasty. 

My sweet girl loves grandmomma's house! Now that she's walking, investigating is an adventure and treasures await everywhere she looks. 

Sometimes, she likes to kick back in her fluffy chair and enjoy a book and her binky.

The good life.

Patience Pays Off

Patience pays off and it's been an exciting week for Brooke! 

Brooke and Alex got their apartment with all the requirements and pricing she was specifically searching for AND she has been hired as a manager of a restaurant she has liked for many years!

Not to mention, after hiking yesterday, she rescued a kitten on the side of the road abandoned in a box she is bottle feeding.. Bottle feeding because it is so tiny and far to skinny. 

I gave Brooke "the look" and she started laughing, knowing I was questioning her story of finding the kitten on the side of the road. While I know my daughter will go to the grave in an "it's my story and I'm sticking with it" mentality, Alex calls me fearless and when I looked at him and asked the question, the poor kid, shared exactly what happened and by his non-verbals I knew the story was true. 

Brooke will rescue any animal in need, she has a heart for animals. 

Brooke in her adult mind is really reconsidering keeping this kitten, because she has so much going on right now with a new job, moving into their new apartment, and they were more about choosing the 2nd pet as soon as they are established and ready they want to join their family, less spending a lot of $$ on vet bills for a rescue.

She is in heaven bottle feeding this kitten. 

Waves of New Experiences

Every day seems to bring a new milestone and experience.

Sofia is walking all over the place which called for her first pair of shoes and of course she needed a purse. In all the pretty colors we laid out for her, I was surprised she chose the black panda purse, but then I realized, I carry a black purse.

Sofia & I had our longest phone conversation. Now that she is walking, with a chocolate covered face she carried me on Facetime walking around the house talking non-stop with me on the phone for 17 minutes, room to room making me dizzy as she walks and talks. She loves it, I love it. I see a future of many, many, many phone conversations! 

 

I tried a new restaurant as a new 1st I've been wanting to try with really good sushi. 

My favorite grocery store just opened where I live and for the first time ever, I actually stood in line to be one of the first 100 people. My mom & I were #36 & #37. I've never stood in line for anything to open. Ever. We were only in line less than 30 minutes.

The first 100 people were able to pull gift cards out of a basket. I won $10 and my mom pulled the Golden Ticket worth $100. 

Brooke got a job as a shift manager at a restaurant she has loved for years with a strong probability of promoting quickly! She is excited to be in management and bring some money in. It's a good thing because they are waiting for the call the paint and new carpet is installed and their apartment is ready. 

So many positive changes for her and it's so good to see her genuinely happy and excited about life. Once her and Alex are settled in their new place, she wants to start planning her wedding.

So many changes, if I blink another change happens. 

A Friendship Over Decades

I was 17 years old when we met. I fixed up my best friend with his best friend and we all double-dated a short while, then I friend-zoned him. 

My mom always knew who I was talking to over the phone from my laughter. He was so funny, witty and smart and I loved that about him and I quickly learned I loved having him as my best friend. 

He was the guy my boyfriends worried about and I was the girl who scrutinized his love interests, they worried about me. He was also the perfect person to get a male perspective off of as well as the latest and greatest tips he'd experienced with girls. We would meet for coffee, share, laugh and sometimes cringe. 

I was the girl who he had been head over heels for at a young age and after that came a string of girls and relationships that struggled to live up to I think what I was to him.

I confess, we tried a couple of times to see if there was anything more than best friendship between us. Once upon a time, we made a pact that if we weren't married by the time we were 35 years old, we'd just have to marry each other.

He's 52 and I am 48.

Life happens.

Relationships happen.

Jealousy from both our partners and in quest to give peace of mind, we focused on our own relationships. 

It's been about 5 years since I've heard or seen him.

About a month ago, he contacted me. In the past year he has battled colon cancer and I couldn't believe it. 

He called me this morning and we met for lunch. Time is but a vapor and some friendships only need to simply catch up on the latest as if no time has passed.

He smells the same. The olfactory sense is a mystery and I remembered his scent. After a hello hug, we walked into the restaurant to get lunch and catch up with one another, when he made his 1st jab at me when I asked how long it has been? He remembers his role was to always be my memory. That goes back decades. 

I love his wit and banter and it felt good to put all cards on the table in a no-filter needed conversation catching up on life, especially with someone who knew me from my youth. There is a history there that is already known.

After a year of radiation treatments, I wasn't so sure what to expect and I was careful that my facial expressions stayed stoic. He looks great and if you didn't know, you wouldn't know his battle of this last year.

He has slowed down a lot. Cancer puts life in perspective.

I need wit and banter for mental stimulation. He's a worthy opponent. and a dear friend of 31 years.