Pieces of my heart...

"Take another little piece of my heart now, baby."

"Pieces of my Heart"
(Thing #2 and Grand #1)
Cincinnati, Ohio

Fun weekend in Cincy with these two pieces of my heart.  Yes I adore every moment with Grand #1 (Miss Avie).  But I also soooo love witnessing Thing #2 morphing into such a beautiful, patient and loving mother.  It's a relief to see proof that maybe I didn't screw up my kids as much as I thought I did at times.  Feels good to exhale.  So proud of my girl.  But every time I have to leave these two, well...it breaks another little piece of my heart now, baby.  

Here's where I "link up" today 

And what happened then?...

Well in Omi-ville they say...her heart grew three sizes that day.  (disclaimer:  I think it was more!)

Aveline (a-vah-leen) Lillian
nickname:  Lila
aka: Grand #1

8 lb. 11 oz.

August 29, 2016

Cincinnati, Ohio

And then the true meaning of "grandparent-hood" came through.   And the Omi found the love of ten Omi's, plus two!

"And then they were three"
Cincinnati, Ohio

Even tho Thing #2 wanted me to be present at the birth...logistics always taunted me with the possibility I wouldn't make it.  That's what happens when Omi lives in Philly and Grand #1's parents live in Cincy. If we could just eliminate western Pennsylvania (apologies to the 'burgh)  and Eastern Ohio I'd be a much happier Omi.   Luckily, I made it in time!  And took photographs, just to prove it.

"My girls"

Cincinnati, Ohio

"I'm a girl"

Cincinnati, Ohio

(major props to Thing #2.1 who endured sleeping on a hospital bed directly under the air conditioning vent for the duration.  BRRRR!)

Of course I had an impromptu "photo shoot" before Grand#1 left the hospital.  Lucky for me, Thing #2 packed her hospital bag with a few wardrobe changes. She is operating under the mantra "the bigger the bow, the better the mama".

Grand #1, all packed up and ready to head home.  I hope her parents are ready, 'cause I think she's gonna be a heartbreaker.

"Homeward Bound"
Cincinnati, Ohio

So here's the thing.  It's not like I've never participated in childbirth before.  Afterall, I have three of my own.  Full disclosure, I must have had my eyes shut the entire time because I never saw a thing!  I want to thank Thing #2 and #2.1 for asking me to be there at the birth of my Grand #1.  To truly SEE a miracle entering my life was the best gift I've ever been given.  BUT...that doesn't mean the rest of my family needs to give up trying.  Just sayin'.

Here's where I "link up" today

Now she knows...

Dear Daughter,

If I could give you one thing in life,

I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes.

Only then would you realize how very special you are to me...

"Now She Knows"
Good Samaritan Hospital
(one day old)
Cincinnati, Ohio

...And now, I hope you know.

The kind of love you probably thought you understood, 

truly didn't until you became a mother yourself.

The utterly astounding realization that this kind of love couldn't exist...

until your daughter did.

As you look into the eyes of your daughter, 

realize I do the same with you my daughter.

When you see how profoundly special your daughter is, 

trust that I see the same in you my daughter.

You are taking the first steps in sincerely comprehending the magical depth

of a mother's love for her daughter.

Making the decision to have a child is life changing.  

It is to decide forever to relinquish control of your heart.

To allow your heart to wander where it is unprotected, because it now travels with your daughter.

It is joyous.  It is scary.

There are times you are in total control of your heart.  

But there are also times your heart walks out the door, 

and you won't breathe until it returns home safe and unharmed.

It's a blessing we are oblivious to this side effect of motherhood until we are fully committed to the journey.  

It's God's little "gotcha" joke on moms, to remind us of whom truly IS in control.

There are so very many reasons I love my little grand daughter.

But the greatest of these is her existence allows me to give you the one gift I've wanted to give you your entire life.

For you to see yourself through my eyes,
and to realize how extraordinarily special you are to me.
I hope you take the time to look.

You are my sunshine,

Mom

Here's where I "link up" today

Who loves you, pretty baby?...

...who loves you, pretty mama?  (and handsome daddy?)

-The Four Seasons

WE DO!  So we had a little party/baby shower to celebrate the impending arrival of Grand #1. 

"Mommy and Daddy to-be"
(Thing #2 and the hubs)

"Photo Bomb...Grandpop Style"

I do love planning for, and throwing a party.  Especially when it's on the smaller, more intimate side.   Which was perfect for my Thing #2 and her hubs. She doesn't like big shindigs.  Which ironically is perfect for the Better Half, because he doesn't like big dents in his wallet.

So I opted for an "elegant" barbecue theme.  Because it was a co-ed affair, I gave the guys bbq (to offset all the pink!).  And I gave the girls pink (to offset all the bbq!)

I emptied our sunroom of all furnishings, and brought in rustic tables and mismatched white chairs. The Better Half began to sweat BOTH from the physical labor AND from the realization that he now sees this set up for our future Thanksgiving Dinners...it worked THAT well.

Mismatched chairs, mismatched dishtowels for napkins, mismatched silverware, and two different plate patterns. Mismatched glass bottle vases. Mismatches that somehow matched.

Because my sunroom has high ceilings, I was able to hang matching "ribbon thingies" from the ceiling for suspended centerpieces.  If you want to see how to make "ribbon thingies", check it out HERE.

The final touch was lots, and lots, and lots of pink  and cream flowers.  Peonies and hydrangeas. Thank you Trader Joe's.  And thank you alarm clock.  I got up early and JUST beat the lady who followed me into Trader Joe's and was ticked I grabbed all the pink peonies.  Sorry, not sorry.  Tip: don't hit the snooze button.

A few other touches... 

...and cake (thank you to Nutmeg Bakery who took my ideas from my brain, and baked them.)

Of course there was food (lots of food), laughs (lots of laughs), love (lots of love), and presents (lots of presents).  One of my favorites was the one given to Thing #2 by her Pop Pop.  We lost her Nana earlier this year.  We hope she was able to understand she was to finally become a Great Grandmother before she passed.  If she didn't understand that while on earth, I'm sure she is fully aware of it now while she is looking down upon her Grand Daughter.  In the course of cleaning out her closets, this box was found.  And Pop Pop brought it with him.

This is the same man who told me, when I was nine months pregnant with my first child and lamented that I couldn't WAIT til my life got back to normal..."your life will NEVER be 'normal' again".  How right he was...  

"Waiting for the 'new normal' "

...but the NEW 'normal' was even better!  And that is what we celebrate.  The arrival of a new generation.  The arrival of a new normal.  

Who loves you, pretty baby? We do!

Here's where I "link up" today

When fantasy becomes reality...

Fantasy:  The bride carefully selected a bridesmaid dress that will actually be able to be worn again!

Reality:  Welcome bridesmaid dress, to your permanent residence in the dark, deep recesses of my closet...behind those jean I swear I'll fit into again...someday.

"Fantasy"

Can I tell ya how much I love living in a fantasy world at times?  Seriously, ask the Better Half.  But what's even better is making that fantasy a reality.

It's been two years since Thing #2 got hitched.  Yikes!  Which means it's been about two and one-half years since I first saw the bridesmaid dresses and Thing #2 uttered those words of fantasy "I love these dresses and I really think they can be worn AGAIN".  Yep, I loved the dresses too.  But I also was thinking "I agree..IF you have a little girl someday".  Because if nothing else...I'm always thinking.  And I was thinking those dresses would make a dang cute dress for a little girl.

"Reality"

Two years later, and Thing #2 is expecting our first grand child (hereto forth known as Grand #1) in August.  As luck would have it, it's a girl!  So I dug one of the bridesmaid dresses out from the back of the closet.  And thanks for asking, but no...I still do not fit into those jeans. 

And just like I always do when I'm trying to turn an inspired idea into a reality...I headed to MY mom's house.  Because it's hard when you don't have the talent to turn fantasy into reality yourself! I have put my mom into this position before.  So when I walked into her home with a smile and carrying my hanger of pink satin, tulle, sequins and beading...she rolled her eyes...again.  And proceeded to tell me she was so busy, and didn't think she would be able to have it done in time for Thing #2's baby shower.  Another total fantasy!

Because reality is...

...I never had a doubt she would say "yes to the dress" and it would be done with plenty of time to spare.  AND, I think she enjoys "complaining" to me about all the sequins she has been finding in her carpet ever since she took out her scissors and started morphing this fantasy into reality for her soon-to-be great granddaughter.  Someday, she MIGHT even thank me for my ideas that need help in morphing from fantasy into reality.  Because I certainly thank HER!  And I know Thing #2 does too. Her daughter will have a piece of her wedding day.  Made for her by her great grandmother. With a little help from her Omi (that's MOI!).  Total reality.

(The baby shower...apologies for the poor quality photo...I promise BETTER quality in a future post)

My next attempt at morphing fantasy into reality?  I spotted a BMW 428i white convertible in the parking lot of Target yesterday.

Here's where I "link up" today