Friday, October 30, 2009

Mason's First Haunted House

The DeWitt Family who live in the Trails of Montverde really go all out when decorating. This year they did a Haunted Walk Through.

So, Mike, Joanne and Mason invited Gary and I to go with them. We wanted to see how Mason would react to his first haunted house, so we were happy to go. We made sure to ask if it was really scary as Joanne and I said that we would sit outside with Mason. They told us that it was made for families and it would be fine. It was truly amazing and they had quite a crowd! Outside, they had games for all the kids and they even provided everyone with hot food and desserts. Had we known that we would have not met for dinner first!


Mimi and Pop Pop having fun with Mason.............


It was hard to get photos, but here are a couple that were okay. The black lights were great!









Once outside, Mason was fascinated with the pumpkins.



Bye Bye, Mr. Pumpkin. I will see you next year when I am a little older and just maybe, I will bring my cousins with me.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Beware of sharp objects..... and daughter in laws!

Happy Halloween
How much can 1 costume cost?

For us........
Scissors $35.00
Material $ 6.00
Emergency Co-Pay $30.00
Time (purchasing materials,
Dr. visit and sewing) Approx. 8 hrs
But, after all is said and done......


Mitch carved this pumpkin for me, Thanks Mitch

Cost of Costume........PRICELESS!



Trust me! These Scissors...........









And the Klutz....Uh, sorry Joanne...... I mean the Daughter-in-Law, DON'T MIX!


It started out very innocently..... Joanne sent me a picture of a cute costume that cost $30.00 on EBay. She said; you have a sewing machine, don't you? Do you think that we could make one of these? I said; SURE!


Afterwards, she bought the material and I bought a new pair of sewing scissors. (Which, by the way, I needed anyway)


So, the plan was this. Michael was working at the fire station, I was going to order pizza; Joanne and Mason were coming over to eat and sew. The first part started out great. The pizza was delivered, Mason and Joanne came over, we enjoyed the pizza and the Pop Pop and Mason went into the living room to play. Joanne and I had just started to cut some things out; we were passing the scissors back and forth to each other. We were only 30 minutes into the project when I asked her for the scissors. When she picked them up, they fell and she stabbed herself in the forearm. (At least, I wasn't handing her the scissors...... or she could have said that her wicked Mother-in-Law stabbed her) We left Mason with Pop Pop and met Michael and his partner, Brian at CentraCare. (Fire truck and all)


Four stitches later; along with a $30.00 co-pay - Joanne had a new costume too!



















She was a trooper; even as the doctor was telling her she was lucky to have a medic as a husband. Why? Because, he could keep an eye on her arm to make sure that it was not getting infected. You see..... she was too embarrassed to tell him that she was a Nurse Practitioner and for that matter; she could have stitched herself up if it had been the other arm!




Oh well, it was an interesting evening! Her first time getting stitches and Pop Pops first time babysitting at home by himself. He survived and Mimi made the club, bone and the hat for the costume, that night. The next day Joanne, Michael and Mason came over and we finished it up.


As for the costume, it was PRICELESS!


Bamm Bamm!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Firefighter Mason is turning ONE!


With no time to even breathe, another grand baby is turning one!




Just as I did for Haylee, I took a day off to bake a cake and some cupcakes. With daddy being a firefighter, what other theme could we go with? Here are a few pictures of the cake and cupcakes that I made.....




















Mason is not big at eating sweets, so he was not very happy with the thought of eating or even touching the cake. We tried; but it just wasn't happening. That's okay, Mason; Mimi had fun making it for you, anyway!










You had presents galore and let me tell you; if you keep getting things to ride and drive, you will need your own garage. Here you are nice enough to let your cousin, Haylee, do the driving. Let's see if you do that when you get a real vehicle.......





Of course, since you liked Haylee's pink coupe so much, (see below) Mimi had to buy you a fire engine coupe. Your daddy wouldn't have liked it very much if I bought you a "pink" one!


So, little man....... sound the alarm; grab your firedog, Louie and hurry to those fires! You have some big shoes to fill to be like your daddy! Wooooo.....wooooo Mimi loves you!

Monday, October 19, 2009

My Little Firefighter



Aren't these pajamas the cutest? He is such a little Mini-Mike! Not just in looks, but actions as well. Sometimes I catch Gary tearing up when he is playing with Mason or just watching him play. It sure makes you wonder where the years have gone!

On Saturday, Mason spent the night with us. His mommy and daddy took a much needed break and went to dinner and a movie with some friends. I told them since it would be so late when the movie was over that I would just keep him overnight.

His first sleepover and he thought that he could wrap us around his little finger..... he was right! Normally, he is in bed by 8:00. Well, at 11:00, he was still going strong!



He was excited about a new toy telephone. He would push a button and it would sing about the ABC's. Each time that it stopped, he would clap and then hit another button. Eagerly awaiting to clap again. I know, it doesn't take much to keep Mimi and Pop Pop amused!



Finally, I had to just put him in the pack-n-play with his blanket and turn off the lights. Then, he was out like a light! Sleep tight my little fireman, Mimi loves you!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Our little Haylee is turning One!

It is hard to believe, but, Haylee is one year old! She had a birthday fit for a princess! On Friday, I took a vacation day and worked hard at baking cupcakes, cakes and sewing a tutu for her highchair. On Saturday morning, Aunt Jo Jo and Mason came over to decorate the cupcakes while I decorated the Princess Bear cake. Thanks, Joanne, I couldn't have done it without you! Afterwards, it was off to the Robertson Castle to set up the display of cakes and to decorate the highchair before the guests arrived.

















Haylee was so excited to see the cake. She wanted to attack it right away! Hold on Hay Hay, you have to wait a little longer! Mitch and Amy were expecting 60 guests and had prepared a feast fit for a king...... wait...... a princess!

Once all of the people came, Haylee went into her shy self and did not want anything to do with anyone! She does not like to be center of attention.... at least with strangers. Once we started to sing Happy Birthday to her she quickly hid her face. I think that she was probably praying for us all to disappear when she lifted her head back up.




Daddy helped her to start eating her cake. And being the daddy that he is, he let big sister, Rylee, help out. With mostly pink and white icing, wouldn't you know that she would go for the black eyes and nose. What a mess!




Pop Pop was a willing participant. Haylee enjoyed feeding the icing to him and he enjoyed seeing her have fun!
All that work........ and this is what was left of my masterpiece!










But, it was all worth it! And just to make it more exciting for her, Mimi and Pop Pop bought her a little pink coupe; which she loved! Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! Vroom... Vroom...


Saturday, October 10, 2009

I am my own Grandpa - The Final Chapter

Okay, before I finish up this year on my blog, I want to finish my final chapter on why I could be my own Grandpa.



Although my family might seem really screwed up to you...... just look at this face!  I thought that it was how everyone lived!  And no matter what happened..... looking back we had a lot of good times as well!


Remember that I talked about growing up with my husband, Gary's family? After his family moved to New Smyrna, I would spend weekends and some weeks in the summer, at their house. They had a home on Spruce Creek and the whole family enjoyed boating, fishing and hanging out there.


As young girls, Shirley (his sister) and I would drive their other sister, Barb, crazy. After their mother died, Barb became the woman of the house. We were always very close and loved spending time together. Their house was located quite far from town and nothing was within walking distance. Several times, we thought that we could walk to town. But, we never made it. We would either give up and walk back home or we would just wait for their father to come pick us up on his way home from work. Sometimes, we would ride into town in the morning with him and we would just hang out in town while he worked at the dry cleaning plant. There weren't a lot of things to do there, but, we made the most of the day. Rarely, we would go to a  a movie, but, mostly, we walked to the park and just hung out.

Looking back on it now, we did not give Barb much time to spend by herself. She always had the little "tag alongs" with her. And as you can imagine, when she got her drivers license and a car...... she became our chauffeur as well. We then started going to the beach to hang out. We thought that we were cool in her little yellow, Opal. Shirley and I went to the beach to play in the ocean. Barb and her friend, Sherry, went to look at the guys!


But, the weekends and holidays were always a busy time over there. Everyone would come and bring friends and family and we had a great time.  That is really how both Barb and Shirley met their husbands. Barb was first. David worked with a guy named Charlie. We were always amazed at his musical knowledge and loved to hear him play guitar and sing. After many visits, Charlie and Barb started dating and eventually married. They are still happily married today and live right around the corner from Gary and I. And although they never had any children of their own, they babysat for us and have always said that our boys are their boys!

As for Shirley, my mother's brother (my Uncle Dennis) spent time over there a lot. He became good friends with them and before you knew it..... Dennis and Shirley got married. As you might imagine, that did not go over very well with Shirley's brothers. After all, it was their baby sister and she was marrying someone that was 20 years her elder....... But, all in all, it worked out because they are still married today as well.


So, think about it..........when she married my Uncle, my sister-in-law became my Aunt and my Uncle became my brother-in-law.


I told you when I started that it was a crazy tale! But, keep in mind........ no one ever married a blood relative. So, I guess that makes us a little less like rednecks!

That's all for the grandpa saga.  But, I will post other childhood stories later!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

I am my own Grandpa......The house with so many memories!

Our family home was a modest home located off of Edgewater Drive in Orlando. We lived on a dirt road where houses were far apart, as most of us had rather large yards. Most of the families had lived there for quite some time and everyone knew who everyone was. Back then, the neighbors watched out for each other’s children and if you did anything wrong, your parents heard about it.

My best friend, Faye, lived halfway down the road and we would spend our afternoons walking to and from each other’s house. The Freelove's were a large family and they treated me as one of their own, the same way that my family treated her as one of their own. Her family was Jehovah Witness, so she celebrated holidays with us as she loved the gatherings that we had. My mother would bake her birthday cakes and she loved that because they did not celebrate birthdays at her house. It has been over 40 years and we still keep in touch. We have shared both pain and happiness over the years.

Another family that we grew up with was the Robertson’s. Their backyard was located on our street, as they owned and operated a dry cleaning plant located on Edgewater Drive called Connie’s Cleaners. The father, Connie, built the building and made it so the family could live upstairs. He and his wife, Marie, operated the cleaner’s during the day and lived upstairs after the workday was over. My sister, Brenda, married into their family when she married David. They were high school sweethearts and after finding out that she was pregnant, they were told that they needed to “do the right thing” and get married. Because they were under age, we drove to Georgia to a Justice of the Peace.

My mother, father and my brother, Ronnie and I accompanied them. I was little and did not realize that it was not your “normal” wedding. It seemed happy to me, after all, they had been dating and I liked David a lot. It made them grow up fast…… They rented a small place and David took a job so that he could raise his family. Before long, Cynthia Marie Robertson arrived into this world. And even though she was not a “planned” baby, she was the light of all our lives. After all, she was the first grandchild for my family.
My mother had become friends with Marie Robertson, and our family kind of meshed with theirs. I did not know it at the time, but Marie was an abused woman as well. So, her and my mother had a lot in common. Their youngest daughter, Shirley was my age and we became very good playmates. Shirley and I went to the first year of school together before her mother passed away and the Robertson family sold the dry cleaners and moved to New Smyrna. We still kept in touch and saw each other on weekends, summers and during the holidays. Gary, their other son, was a senior in high school. Because he wanted to graduate with his class, he moved in with David and Brenda. On the weekends he would go to New Smyrna. As a matter of fact, we all spent a lot of weekends there because the house was on Spruce Creek and we like to go fishing.


My other sister, Linda finished school, but, she too ended up getting pregnant. Times were a little better for my family then and she was given a small wedding and reception.
I was so excited at her wedding. She was marrying Eddie McDowell. While they were dating, I always thought that he was so cool. He drove a purple 57 Chevy and was always fun to be with as he was a big kid himself. As it turned out, both my sister and my mother were pregnant at the same time and both delivered baby boys just four days apart. My sister had Greg and mama had Glen.

Both of my sisters marriages lasted for over 16 years and each of them had 1 more baby before their divorces. Brenda had another girl, Connie and Linda had another boy, Shannon.

As for me, I ended up dating, Gary Robertson. I, too, ended up pregnant, but decided not to get married right away because I wanted to finish school. Thank God, my mother and step father agreed to let me have the baby and live with them while attending school. Looking back on it, it is funny, because growing up with him; I never dreamt that I would end up being his wife. After all, he was 10 years older than me.

My mother once told me that she thought Gary liked me because one time we were all at a Halloween party given by my sister. I went to the party as someone else's date. Gary was there solo and my mother said that she saw the way Gary kept looking at me. She knew before either he or I knew. I told her that she was crazy and besides he already had a girlfriend. In fact, they later became engaged and I often would ride with them to New Smyrna. And don’t forget, at that time, his brother was married to my sister. As it turned out, Alice and Gary broke off the engagement and he dated a few more women, before coming to his senses where he finally realized that I was the girl for him. I still remember the night that he called me for our first date. He said that he had just got back into town and was going out to get something to eat and wondered if I would like to go with him. I told him that I had already eaten. I thought that my mother was going to punch me! When I got off the phone, she said that I could have at least gone and gotten dessert. Playing hard to get must have gotten to him because the next day, he called to see if I wanted to go to the movies…. And that my friend is how it began.

Now 32 years later, we are still married and have 2 great boys, Michael and Mitch and 2 beautiful daughters in laws, Joanne and Amy and 3 wonderful grandchildren, Mason, Rylee and Haylee. The funny thing was, my mother loved Gary while we were dating, but, the minute we announced that we were getting married, she did not like him anymore. I really think that it was because she was not only losing me, she was losing Michael as well! You see, when I was pregnant with Michael, my mother was also pregnant. She ended up losing that baby as she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. For that reason, when he was born he really was "our" baby. Thankfully, although Gary and my mother didn't love one another, they put up with each other for my sake. Crazy, how things work out!


So, in my defense about being my own grandpa…… even though I grew up with him and his brother was married to my sister; there is no blood relation between us. But, think about the blood line of our children, could their blood match? Hmm… it is something to think about.

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Wife, Mother & Mimi....I am a wife, proud mother of two wonderful men and Mimi to three beautiful granddaughters and one handsome grandson who amaze me with their ability to make me laugh!

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