Life as Mimi and Pop Pop

An "Annigrocery" to Remember

2012-02-12T08:28:00.014-05:00

It is amazing how technology is changing our children! My 3 & 4 year old granddaughters can work an iphone or an ipad with such ease. Here lately, every time I see them with the ipad, they are watching Betty Crocker tutorials on decorating cakes. They take turns choosing the cake and both sit and watch together as another creation is made. They would sit for hours if you let them.

I have always enjoyed creating "dream cakes" for my grandchildren and they love being able to tell me what cake they want for their next birthday. So, now you can just imagine how that changes from one day to another.

Pop Pop and Mimi are celebrating their 35th anniversary this weekend and the girls wanted to come over and bake a cake to celebrate. After looking at all of the cake pans to choose from, they decided that a "princess cake" would do the trick. Really, it is a barbie cake, but, I guess Barbie can be a princess too!

After baking the cake together and letting it cool. I prepared the icing bags and let them each have one. What a great time they had!

It is a good thing that we were the only ones eating this cake! Because fingers and licks were all over it! But, that just made it sweeter to me!

I think that we have finally finished the icing.....

But, we are not finished yet..... Everybody knows that a cake is just not a cake without some SPRINKLES.

When finished, their daddy, Mitch asked them why they made the cake and Haylee (the youngest) said..... Happy Annigrocery! And, as far as I am concerned.... the cake along with these flowers from Mason and Mia....

made it the best one yet! It is such fun to be Mimi & Pop Pop!

Girls Pajama Party

2012-02-11T13:07:00.000-05:00

Friday afternoon, I was walking in the door after work and Pop Pop handed me the phone. It was Rylee calling me.

Here is how the conversation went....

Mimi: Hi, what are your doing?

Rylee: Nothing.... Do you have plans?

Mimi: No

Rylee: Well, you do now!

Mimi: I do.....doing what?

Rylee: We're bored..... we want to spend the night.

Mimi: It's okay.... when can daddy bring you?

Rylee: Now

So, let the pajama party begin.......

We rolled our hair in socks to see if it would work. Mimi saw it on http://www.cutegirlhairstyles.com/ under sock rollers. It worked, but, the curls did not stay long because we did not use any curl enhancers like the website said. But, it was still fun!

We popped popcorn, watched Mr. Popper's Penguins and woke up and made heart pancakes for breakfast. Time went by so fast that we forgot to take pictures of our hair!

Oh well, that just means that we will have to do it all over again!

Don't let life pass you by!

2012-02-08T09:59:00.004-05:00

Surprise..... I am back! Life has been and continues to be crazy! But, as crazy as it is, you never know what is coming your way. One thing after another is always being thrown your way and if you are not careful..... hours, days, weeks, months or even years pass you by. That is what happened to me and now I realize that I need to get back to my blog. So much has happened and I have captured pictures along the way, but, never have taken the time to post them. I have a new grandaughter and have not posted the first picture of her. What kind of Mimi is that? My grandkids are growing up before my eyes and I want to have this blog be my scrapbook of events in our lives. So, I vow to go back to my pictures and start posting my past items! But, from this day forward, I will post current items in a more timely manner. Keep checking back!

Mason, Pop-Pop, Mimi & some Cool Cars!

2010-06-06T09:58:00.004-04:00

Pop-Pop and I got to spend the day with our #1 “little man”, Mason. His dad and mom were going to a wedding so we told them that he could come with us to Old Town in Kissimmee. Every Saturday they have classic cars come from all over and park. It’s a lot of fun to just walk around and look at the cars, eat dinner and then watch all the cars parade down the main street. So, we went prepared with a stroller and lots of goodies to keep him entertained. Pop-Pop had bought Mason a shirt at another car show that we had gone to. The shirt has Dirty, Loud and Fast printed on it. The minute Pop-Pop saw the shirt he told me that we had to buy that for Mason. Fittingly enough, Joanne had him wearing that shirt today.
There were lots of nice cars to see.....

And then some not so nice "Rat Rods" to see. I truly enjoy seeing the Rat Rods the most. It is neat to see what unique ideas people come up with in their designs.

One thing is for sure.....Mason is truly going to have Pop-Pop's love of cars as he would point to some of the cars and say whoa….. And it didn't hurt if the car just so happened to have Elmo as a passenger!

Even in the heat, he was a trooper. But Pop Pop helped out with that.... well...... Pop Pop's way! At one point I went into the bathroom and when I came out Mason was really enjoying his sippy cup and I found out why. Pop Pop had filled it up with ice cold Pepsi. Mason smiled and said "Um mm"........

I guess that was better than Bud Light!

While sitting in our chairs as the cars passed by, he just watched in amazement. But in the end, it wasn’t because he was so intent on the cars passing us by. It was because Mimi was letting him do what he loves most. Play with a stick!

So, what’s wrong with that? Isn’t that what Mimi’s and Pop Pops are for? What is the harm with a stick and a little Pepsi?

Mimi's Salon....Where Pedicures and Manicures are done with Love!

2010-05-20T19:54:00.001-04:00

Can I just say that I admit it………. I spoil my grand kids! And let me just say one thing about that…….. It’s Fun! My granddaughters cannot come to my house without wanting me to paint their nails. It started with Rylee at a young age. She would go to my dresser drawer and pick out her color. She would tell me that she needed her nails done. So, I have purchased a variety of “cool colors” over the past 3 years for her to choose from.

As for Haylee, I had to coax her into it. She was a little scared at first, so I didn’t force the issue. Then one day, she wanted one toe done. She went home with just her big toe painted. But, she was proud of that big toe! Then the next time that she came over, she let me paint them all. Now…….. I have created a MONSTER! Every time I see her, she points to her toes and says MIMI.

Even at swim lessons one day. I came in after they had started the lesson and she spotted me. She lifted her foot out of the water and pointed to her toes saying MIMI.

Is that the cutest thing or what?

So, today, we did the girl thing! We painted our toes and Rylee also had her nails done. Trying to get a good picture is almost impossible! But, we had fun trying! Did I tell you……. I love being a Mimi!

"Sweet" Family Traditions

2009-12-21T22:07:00.001-05:00

Family traditions tell a lot about us. They are the tell-all signs that show what kind of a family you come from. It can bring great memories of those that started the traditions and it gives us something to look forward to around the holidays. As a child growing up, holidays were all about cooking and getting together as a family.

When my mother was alive, we always had a family get together on Christmas Eve. As children, we were always given one present on Christmas Eve morning. It was always an article of clothing to wear to dinner later that evening. Knowing that it was clothing never put a hindrance on the event, we loved the fact that we got to open something early and our mother loved dressing up and going out to dinner on Christmas Eve. I remember that getting into some restaurants, even with reservations, was tricky. They were either busy or they closed early. But, she loved the hustle and bustle of it all and the crowds made it even better for her. That was truly one enjoyment that she had each year. Afterwards, we would go back home and have a little party. There were always plenty of appetizers and sweets to eat. One of the staples that we always had was punch with ice cream sherbet in it. The adults usually had alcoholic beverages. Come to think of it…that was the only time that I ever saw my father drink alcohol.

On Christmas Day, we never had to decide who was hosting the dinner, we knew! My mother cooked for everyone that would come, so we always had a crowd. But after her death, my brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles all started their own family traditions. It is funny how one person seems to hold the family together and once they are gone, everyone just goes their own way. One of my biggest hopes is that my children, my grandchildren and their children will cherish family traditions. I want each of them to be part of that "glue" which holds our family together.

As for me, I also love cooking and I like to think that for my immediate family, I am the one that pulls everyone together for the holidays. Luckily for me, my daughter-in-laws also love the holidays and I know that they will keep the traditions going, even after I am gone. Cooking was always exciting for me. From an early age, I would pull up a chair and watch my mother cook. Mama never told me to get down and never seemed to mind that I slowed her up or made a mess. Also, to my amazement, she never used a recipe, she would just pour things into a bowl or pot and everything turned out great. Even my grandmother on my fathers side, who we called “Mother” was a great cook. When we would visit her in Mississippi, she was always up early cooking biscuits and gravy. I would always watch her roll out the dough and cut the biscuits and today I am glad that I took it all in or I would not have any recipes to go by.

I consider myself a good cook and have always encouraged my boys to help cook and do the dishes. They always seemed to like it and when they were little, they loved to help wash the dishes as well. Even though sometimes it was irritating to have to clean up the mess after we finished, I don’t think that they ever thought that I found it to be a chore. One tradition that I had with them was to bake and decorate sugar cookies at Christmastime. I would make the cookie dough from scratch one night and put it in the refrigerator. The next night the cookie cutters, colored icing, candies and sprinkles of every color would come out. We would cut out the cookies, bake them and decorate them as they cooled down. It was messy, fun and we certainly ate our share of warm cookies!

This year, I started that tradition with Rylee, my 2-year-old granddaughter. I picked her and her sister, Haylee, up from daycare and told them that we were going to Mimi’s to bake cookies. Rylee was so excited! Actually, my plan was to do this with both of the girls and then bake enough cookies to decorate with Mason at his house on Christmas Eve. Well, I soon found out that a 1 year old only wants to eat them. Everything goes into their mouths!

So, I put Haylee into the highchair and let her eat while her big sister and I did the decorating. I then decided that I would wait another year for Mason to try. Besides, he doesn’t even eat sweets anyway.

Being in the kitchen with Mimi is not strange for Rylee. From the time that she started walking, she has always helped me out. She pushes a stool up to the counter and climbs up. So, she loved the task of making cookies! The funny thing was that she had to have every part of the cookie covered with icing before you took it away or she would say “No, it’s missing” and grab it back so she could finish covering it.

Here are a few of our finished cookies………

And a video of our fun........................

Next year I will attempt it with all 3 of them. Now that is something to look forward to!

Dear Santa

2009-12-14T13:20:00.003-05:00

Rylee, Amy and I went to the Children's Repertory Theatre to watch the production of Dear Santa. Since she did so well when we went to see Charlotte's Web, I decided to go again at Christmastime. Once again, she was a little lady and loved the play. I think that it is so important, at early ages, for children to be taught how to act appropriately in different settings.

It is obvious, that Rylee has caught on! This will carry on in her education and hopefully it will ignite her creative side as well!

After the play was over, all of the characters lined up outside for a "meet and greet" and they would sign your playbill as well. This time Rylee was all about getting her book signed. She went from one person to the next and even though she did not talk a lot....... she would hold the book and pen out and have them sign it. It was really cute.

She has always been a little afraid of Santa and had not been very good about sitting on his lap. However, Amy and I had to laugh, because when it came time to have him sign, before either of us could grab her, she walked right to the front of the line and even posed for a picture. No one seemed to mind as she was the youngest child in the line.

As you can see, we all had a great time.........

After the play, we went to our favorite ice cream place and ate an ice cream cone. I love being able to make these memories and absolutely love getting her started with the "arts". That is something that I never did with my own children, but as a grandmother, I plan to get them all involved with music, art, dance, museums, plays, etc. I think that you should see and appreciate the finer things in life, just maybe they will continue this with their children and grandchildren. And besides....... what else are Mimi's for????

Annual Robertson Christmas Party

2009-12-06T14:14:00.002-05:00

This year David and Lynda hosted our family get together at their house. We drew names and for the first time ever, even the kids drew names. This was a big change for them. But, we have so many little ones to buy for, we figured that the new generation would not know any difference. It all worked out well as Lynda placed a rocking chair in the middle of the room for you to sit in while opening your present. What was unique was that she had both the gift giver and the person receiving the gift come up. This way the children could see what cousin was getting the present that they brought. Most of these children only see each other once a year. So, it was a way of getting to know one another.

One thing is for certain........ the Robertson Family had a population explosion. There were a lot of little kids! There sure was a lot of joy in the room as the kids enjoyed the festivities.

Here are some of the children. As you can see, most are under the age of three and all of them wanted their time in front of the camera!

Mason (Mike and Joanne's son)

Haylee (Mitch and Amy's youngest)

Rylee (Mitch and Amy's oldest)

Justin (My brother, Glen's son)

Donovan (Gina & Nelson's oldest son)

Lana Grace (Gina & Nelson's daughter)

Caden (Lynn Ann & Lonny's youngest son)

Leah (Lynda's niece) holding baby Daynen (Gina & Nelson's youngest son) and Kaytlynn (Lynn Ann and Lonny daughter. Also, Frank Jr. (Connie & Frank's son)

Haylee loved the rocking horse that Uncle David made for his first granddaughter over 20 years ago.

And she loved her Pop Pop's lap as well.

That made Pop Pop happy! Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Things that I am grateful for.......

2009-11-25T13:38:00.018-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a holiday that brings back so many memories for me as a child. As I have said before, we were not the richest family and there were many nights that we just ate beans or potatoes for dinner. But, no matter what, on Thanksgiving Day, my mother would always find a way to prepare a Thanksgiving Feast! So, for me it was always a happy time for a very dysfunctional family.

For me as an adult, this day brings families together to share a little time together, to share the thanksgiving dinner, to reflect on the past and to create sweet memories for the future. It is also a good time to remember all that we have to be grateful for.

So, today, I am most grateful for the good health that my family has been blessed with.

Next, I am very grateful to have a good marriage and to be able to share my memories and future plans with such a caring man!

And although we are not rich by any means; I am thankful to have been able to break the "chain of poverty" that I grew up in and to know that my children look to the future with better goals and the know how to push their children to even better goals. So, I am grateful for my two sons and their families.

I am also thankful for this mug! Woof Woof.....

Our dog, Dixie greets us with love each night when we get home. She is so happy to see us, but, most of all, she is happy to get treats and be able to get on the couch!

Next, I am happy that I have three grandchildren that call me Mimi. And just as my mother prepared feasts for us, I love being around to cook and clean up after these messy eaters. Any day at Mimi's is like Thanksgiving for them.....

So, to all my friends and family......... Happy Thanksgiving! Take time to enjoy the day and although we are not "rich" with material things..... we are "rich" in the way that counts! We are all "rich" with health and love!

Trick or Treat..... Smell our Feet! Give us something good to eat!

2009-11-01T13:22:00.000-05:00

Oh what fun Halloween is when you have little ones around to enjoy it!

Mitch and Amy brought the girls by so that we could see their costumes before going to a Halloween Party at a friends house. Haylee was a Pirate and Rylee was SuperGirl. They sure looked cute and were so excited to go trick or treating.

Here are a few pictures of them trick or treating. Looks like they had fun! Haylee looks like such a big girl.

Michael, Joanne and Mason came over to trick or treat in our neighborhood. So, we got out the wagon and had some fun in between the rain going to a few houses. Mason was Bamm Bamm and wasn't sure what we were doing, but went along for the ride! Oh yes, did you notice that his dog, Louie, was in costume too? I told you before, that dog will let you do anything to him!

Watch out for the Ghosts and Goblins........ Happy Halloween!

Mason's First Haunted House

2009-10-30T22:42:00.005-04:00

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.

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

2009-10-29T19:28:00.000-04:00

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!

Firefighter Mason is turning ONE!

2009-10-25T13:50:00.011-04:00

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!

My Little Firefighter

2009-10-19T22:00:00.001-04:00

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!

Our little Haylee is turning One!

2009-10-12T19:16:00.004-04:00

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...

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

2009-10-03T15:57:00.006-04:00

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.

Charlotte's Web with Wilbur the Pig

2009-09-30T22:30:00.007-04:00

For my grandchildren, I am determined to have a close relationship with them. I want them to feel close to me. Not by spoiling, (well some spoiling) but by having some quality time with me as they grow up.

With Rylee, Pop Pop and I took her to see Elmo Live and it went very well. So, I decided to make a "girls night out" and got tickets to the Orlando Children's Repertory Theatre to see Charlotte's Web. Now, I know that she is only 2 years old. So, I spent time before the day of the show explaining Charlotte's Web to her and reading her books. But most important, I wanted her to realize that we would be seeing people dressed as characters. Not seeing a real pig or spider.

Plus, we played up the "girls night out" because it was only Mommy, Rylee and Mimi going to the theatre. Not Sissy, Daddy or Pop Pop! She was so excited that when it was time to leave, she told her daddy that he couldn't walk her to the car, because he couldn't go!

Upon arriving to the theatre, we met one of my co-workers, Kathi. She had also brought her daughter, Amy, and her grandchildren, Olivia and Donovan. Donovan was so sweet that he gave Rylee his pig puppet; which she loved!

Then it was time to find our seats. We bought our tickets early; so we were only in the second row, center stage. Great seats and one very excited little girl. Amy and I sat with Rylee in the middle.

As the lights started to dim, I whispered for her not to be afraid that they would come back on. She was fine! Then a spotlight came on shining on Templeton, the rat, who was coming down some stairs. She did fine, UNTIL...... he jumped off the stairs and started scurrying across the stage. THEN...... she did it........ she screamed......LOUD and jumped into my lap! At the same time that I was looking for an exit, I reassured her that he was not coming off of the stage. She said okay and got quiet! And although she sat in my lap for the entire performance, she did great! Afterwards, I made sure that each time a new character came out, I would tell her who it was and reassure her that they would stay on the stage. All in all, she enjoyed it.

After the show we took some pictures and then left for dinner at Johnny Rockets in Winter Park. She loved that when the waiter brought out her chicken nuggets and fries, he also brought her a little bowl that had a happy face made out of ketchup!

We had such a good time, that in December; we are headed back to see the play, Dear Santa. This time we have front row seats!

I am my own Grandpa - The video

2009-08-24T16:05:00.002-04:00

Okay, before I go on with my crazy life and the intermingled marriages of my family, I won’t keep you waiting for my funny video.

Remember that I told you that a co-worker of mine sent this to me. We always talk about our lives and they can never keep up with my family. So, we had a good laugh over this.

It is a video of a guy playing a guitar and singing about his family. How he married a widow and became a father to her grown children. Then his own father fell in love with his step daughter and married her. That made his father become his son-in-law.

Then they had a baby son. That boy was really his fathers grandson, but he was also his brother in law……

You get the idea of the song!

As I go along and explain my family throughout this blog. Its okay, go ahead and laugh, so do I!

Enjoy the video!

Lost in the split..... My brother, Ronnie

2009-08-24T16:00:00.000-04:00

While growing up with my brother, Ronnie, we were typical siblings. We fought like crazy, but would fight to the death to protect one another. And although he would get into normal boy mischief, he was a good kid. When I say normal boy mischief, I mean getting into trouble for not listening to my mother or father, or not doing his chores, etc.

Looking back, I think that the worst thing that he ever did was when he stole a pack of cigarettes from my father’s carton. Then, one night while our parents were away, he brought it out and together we took one cigarette out of the pack and lit it up. We really did not know how to inhale, but, together we “smoked” it and then hid the rest of the pack, behind the refrigerator.

Well, wouldn’t you know that over the weekend, my mother decided that it was time to clean under the refrigerator? Low and behold, when she pulled it out, the pack of cigarettes with one missing, fell down. She started screaming for us to get into the kitchen and when we admitted to her that we had smoked the one that was missing, we were in trouble. My mother grabbed the flyswatter and spanked us both.

And let me just say that if you have never been swatted with a flyswatter before, count yourself lucky. It hurts!

That was all it took for me, I never tried it again. As for Ronnie, he did it again and this time my father caught him and made him eat some cigarettes.

That took care of him until…….. the big split up and my father took him from my mother. As I said, he did not want him; he just wanted to get back at my mother. So, he started letting Ronnie smoke, swear, skip school, pretty much do whatever he pleased.

Moving back to Orlando was a happy time for me. I was eager to be closer to my sisters and was glad to get away from the troubles with my aunt in Jacksonville. My cousins (or step-brothers) and I were enrolled in Milwee Middle School.

All went well for awhile; I had made new friends and liked the school. But, one day while switching classes, I noticed some kids “dragging” this kid around. He was completely stoned and when I got closer, I saw his face. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. It was Ronnie! I did not want anyone to know that he was my brother, so I literally dove into the lockers to hide my face. From that day, I did everything possible to keep away from him. Everyday was the same; he would be so stoned that he could not walk. How he was able to remain at school is beyond me.

I knew that it would happen eventually; one day they came into the lunchroom and he spotted me. That day was a good day for him, he wasn’t near as stoned. However, for me it meant that my secret was out. I quickly got up and went outside, only to be followed by him. I told him that I was ashamed of him and that he needed to get his self straightened out and until he did, I didn’t want him hanging around Alvie, Billy or me. My friends seemed to understand and did not “shun” me from our circle of friends.

Shortly after that, he went to live with his biological mother, Marie. She had married and had a son and was trying to turn her life around. She had been out of the picture pretty much his whole life. A few times when we were little, we would go and meet her so that she could see Ronnie. He always called her Marie and my mother was mama. And Marie was fine with that. She always admired my mother and later on in life they became good friends.

However, she worked in a bar and although I never saw her drink, she hung out with men who did. And for that reason, my father did not allow her to take him for any period of time.

I might have said a lot of bad things about my father, but, one thing good about him was that he never allowed drinking and swearing around us. He never drank except for Christmas and New Years. We always had family parties so he would have a social drink. However, I never saw him drink too much.

Boy, did I do it? Did I just pay him a compliment? I guess so, but believe me; they will be far and in-between!

So, I pretty much blame my father for Ronnie “going bad”. Ronnie grew up hating our father; he hated everything about him! But, the sad thing is, he turned out just like him. If you can imagine, he turned out worse.

At least our father was a hard worker and brought money into the household to keep a roof over our heads. Sometimes we had no food in our house, but we were not homeless. The empty cupboards were not because he had no money, he just would give my mother 20.00 for groceries and expect it to last a few weeks. So, she always seemed to get by with beans and potatoes. And at the time, we did not know any different. We were kids and our bellies were full. We were lucky, not all kids are that fortunate!

I am my own Grandpa - A window of opportunity....... part 2

2009-08-21T15:22:00.000-04:00

Finally, the day came where she made her break. My mother had not given my brother or I any advance notice. She got us up that morning, fed us and sent us to school as normal. My guess is that she did not want us to talk her out of it or just wanted us out of her way so that she could get it done quickly. She had it all planned out……. My father had just left town on a week long trip. She rented a U-Haul trailer and moved a few things into it. She left behind any big furniture and instead just took our personal belongings and any sentimental items that we had.

For her, along with her brother, Porter, and his wife, Diane, it was a busy day. Their goal was to get everything into the U-Haul and get to our schools before the school bell rang at the end of the day. They had all decided to move to Jacksonville. We would be closer to my grandmother and we would be able to make a fresh start.

So, in the afternoon, before the bell rang, I was called up to the front office. Although, I thought it was strange, I knew that it was not because I was in trouble as I was always the good girl or the teacher’s pet. When I got to the front office my mother was standing there and told me that she had taken me out of school for good as we were moving to Jacksonville. I was allowed to go back to my room, gather any personal belongings and say goodbye to my teacher. Having to say goodbye to him was hard. I was in the 6th grade and Mr. Holbrook had been my favorite teacher since I started Lake Weston Elementary in the 1st grade. The year was almost over and I had no idea what school or what teacher I would end up with to finish out the 6th grade.

Needless to say, I was not happy and neither was my brother, Ronnie. When we got to the car, my two brothers, my aunt and my uncle were waiting for us.

Upon arriving in Jacksonville, we stayed with my grandmother for a couple of nights, but, were able to rent a 2 story house on her street during that same week. My brother and I were enrolled in new schools and I was even chosen as a school patrol, which I loved!

To be able to afford the rent, we all lived together. And also included in the bunch was my Uncle John. My Uncle John had been married to my Aunt Kathleen, who was my mother’s sister. Growing up, we had always been close to their family and I had four cousins that I grew up with. However, they had just divorced, he needed a place to go and we were all short on money. So, we all lived together and split the bills.

For that week, although it was hectic, I felt like our family was getting back to normal and we had peace. But, that was the CALM BEFORE THE STORM……..

On Sunday morning, my father came in from his trip and found us gone. My mother had left him a “Dear John letter”, so he knew where we had gone. Now keep in mind that my mother had never married my father and had never legally adopted my brother, Ronnie.

Sunday afternoon, my father brought the police to my grandmothers house to get all three of his children. My grandmother told them where we lived and after a big fuss between my mother and father, the police told my mother that she would have to give up my brother, Ronnie, or she would be charged with kidnapping. As for Glen and I, my father was told that since my mother had possession of us, she could keep us until a judge decided on custody. My father told my mother to enjoy the time that she had with us, because in the end a judge would give him custody. He told her that she did not stand a chance of keeping us because she could not provide for us on a waitresses salary.

My mother was hysterical because she had my brother, Ronnie, crying for her. She was the only mother that he had known and as far as she was concerned he was her son. As children, we did not understand the law. The only thing that we knew was that we were being torn apart! And the stupid part of it all was that my father really did not want my brother. He did it out of spite for my mother!

After he left, my mother was crying uncontrollably, she had lost her son and stood the chance of losing both of us as well. She felt like a judge might decide that because my father made more money and could provide a housekeeper to watch the children that she would lose us.
Uncle John (my Aunt Kathleen’s ex-husband) told her that it would be a cold day in hell before he let my father get us. Shortly after, he and my mother married.

Okay, this is where things start looking like “I am my own Grandpa!” ---- Stay with me now!
This did not make my Aunt Kathleen happy and therefore we had a family feud going on.

Not to mention, that my uncle was now my step-father and my cousins were now my step-brothers. But, as for us children, we thought that it was kind of neat, we were always close anyway, so now we just teased about being brothers and sisters. John, (what I called my uncle, now) was always very good to me. You see, he had boys and had never had a daughter, so he was happy to call me his daughter. Glen was young and craved the love from John. In this picture that I found in my mothers personal items, Glen and John could pass for father and son. You can see that Glen admired and wanted to be like John.

Although, my mother ended up getting custody of us, our home life went from a wife beating father to a CRAZY aunt stopping by at all hours of the night to fight with my mother and John. She worked nights as a dancer and she would get off work and come by in the early morning hours. I would awake to her screaming. If we ran into her in town, she would literally start beating up on my mother.

So, we ended up moving back to Orlando. For awhile, my cousins Alvie and Billy even came to live with us. We went to school together and told everyone that we were brothers and sisters. John always said that he really cared for my mother and that if they had met years ago, their marriage would have probably survived. However, it was doomed from the start and in a few short years, they divorced.

As for my brother Ronnie, it is too long of a story to start……..

I will let this sink in and then I will tell you about Ronnie. You won’t believe what happened!

I am my own grandpa...... In the beginning.......

2009-08-10T22:00:00.000-04:00

No, I am not a grandpa! But, I got a kick out of a joke that my co-worker sent me. It truly made me think of my family (although we are not quite as bad) and I thought that I would post a few chapters on my mixed up family!

After I totally confuse you, I will post the joke so you can have a good laugh! My co-workers are always trying to figure my family out. I told them to stop trying because we can't even keep it straight! Let me try and explain a little (and some of this, my co-workers have not even heard).........

Before my father met my mother, he had been married a couple of times. His first marriage to Verta May produced 3 daughters - Linda, Brenda and Judy. Upon their divorce, my father got custody of Linda and Brenda. Judy had not been born yet and my father did not even know that a baby was on the way. Their mother stayed away and eventually remarried. So, we did not know about or grow up with Judy. She came along when I was around 15 years old.

Then he married Marie and they had my brother Ronnie. Upon their divorce, he won custody of Ronnie as well.

Stay with me now...... I am just beginning. Finally, he met my mother. They were never married but stayed together for 13 years. My mother was glad to raise his children because she was told that she was unable to have children of her own. However, during the time they were together, my mother's prayers were answered and she gave birth to me (Barbara) and my younger brother, Glen.

Those years were hard on my mother but she raised all 5 of us as "her" children. No one was thought of differently in her eyes. Looking back, even though she went through pure hell with my father, there were a lot of good times as a family. And believe it or not, not all my memories of my father are bad ones. Sisters got married and had children of their own. In fact, my mother was pregnant (with Glen) at the same time that my sister, Linda, was pregnant with her first son, Greg. They delivered just 4 days apart and as my sister was leaving the hospital, my mother was being admitted.

In spite of my father, we had a close family. However, it was always thrown in my mothers face that if anything ever happened between her and my father, he would get custody of Glen and I as well. After all, he had gotten custody of all his other children before. Why wouldn't he be awarded custody of us? And deep down my mother was afraid that it just might happen. So, she stayed and stayed and stayed, taking all of the abuse that went along with it.

A couple of times my mother planned to leave him. So, she had our suitcases packed and when my father came home from a trip (he was a long distance truck driver) and got into the shower, we threw our suitcases in the trunk and took off. Both times, before we got a mile down the road, my brother Ronnie and I were crying and pleading with her to go back home because he would come and find us. We were afraid of what he would do to her. So, we would go back and sneak into the house before he ever knew that we were gone...... Looking back on it now, I really feel bad about making my mom feel guilty, but those times happened even before Glen came along. So, it was meant to be....... or we wouldn't have Glen.

When Glen was about a year old my father and mother got into a huge fight. My mother had enough, she didn't even take anything with her, she just grabbed us 3 kids and left walking down our dirt road. Before we even got out of sight, my father came down the road in his semi truck and tried to run us over. My mother threw us in a big ditch and jumped in after us. Once again, he drug us home and gave my mother a beating.

So, that is the story of what sister or brother is from what mother........ I will give you time to let that sink in! Stay tuned for part 2.....

Half of a Century!

2009-07-20T23:19:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it? I have been alive for half a century!
50 years old, think about it…..
that is over 18,000 days…… 438,000 hours……… 26,280,000 minutes……..
1,576,800,000 seconds……. OKAY, STOP…. Now I really feel old!

Looking back on it, I can’t believe that 50 years have passed. However, as you are working and raising your children, you get caught up on the hustle and bustle of it all. It is hard to stop and smell the roses; you are too busy with the day to day grind of things.

Recently, we did some training at the school board and we showed a movie clip to our Coordinators, who have a lot on their plates as well. The movie clip was called “The Mom Song” and while watching this again, I thought, this is life…… not only for moms, or parents, but for people in general, this shows us how busy we are and how easy it is to see time fly…. Enjoy……

No, honestly, I feel the same inside, I am just older on the outside. I can’t let 50 get me down!

Besides that, I am not too worried about getting old, when senility finally hits me, I won’t know it anyway! But, I like to think of it as not older, but better. Let’s just say that I have turned from a glass of red juice; to a glass of good red wine! Here’s to hoping for 50 healthy more, after all, this glass of good red wine, has to age to a glass of fine red wine!

My family surprised me with a party for my birthday.

Although, I thought something was up when I was awakened at 5:30 in the morning on Saturday, by the sounds of Gary, my husband, cleaning! I couldn't be mad at him, I am lucky to have a husband like him! I love you, Gary!

So, I just got up and joined in and even if I was wrong, at least the house would be clean! Early in the afternoon, we went to a movie and then did some shopping. Upon returning home, I had a bunch of family members and friends shouting “Surprise” and my little granddaughter, Rylee, running to me, shouting, “Mimi, come see the cake!” My boys had come right after we left and cooked a feast for everyone to enjoy! Did I raise them right, or not?

On Sunday, which was my real birthday, we went to Disney with Mitch, Amy and the girls. Although it was hot, we had a great time. And I have to give credit to Gary. When our children were young, he always said that he would not go to Disney until they were able to walk “all day” by themselves.

Well, having grandchildren certainly changed his outlook. He can push the stroller and carry the babies with the best of them, maybe a little more sore than most, but the bottom line is...... he can do it!

Ahh, it is so nice to be Mimi and Pop Pop!

American Idol Auditions

2009-07-10T02:16:00.000-04:00

And here is the next American Idol.............

My brother's fiance', Nanci, wanted to live out one of her life long dreams and audition for American Idol. So, she signed up and they went down to the Amway Arena in the middle of the night to get in line and hopefully have a good spot!

WRONG.......

Our family has always loved American Idol and believe me after seeing what really happens, it makes you see it in a different light. We came to this conclusion, at lunch time, before she ever auditioned. I work across the street from the arena, so, they came over and had lunch with me. She was ready to call it quits! But, we told her that she had come this far, she needed to go all the way or she would always wonder, what if.......

I guess that I always thought that the three main judges saw everyone. Not true.... The only one that I saw was Ryan Seacrest and I guess that he just shoots out takes for the main show. But, what they do is divide you up into groups and the producers listen to you or if they like how you act, CRAZY, you may get in. They only let so many from each group in. So, by the time that Nanci got up to sing, the guy in front of her jumped in the air and did a split, did not even sing, but, he got in. She sang for about 4 seconds and was told thanks anyway. But, she felt like she had at least put out the effort. And if I had to choose for her to be turned away or be one of the "crazies" that were put through. I am glad to say she tried and didn't make the cut. At least she had my brother encouraging her all the way. Way to go Glen and Nanci. Nanci, let your heart keep singing!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T02:15:00.000-04:00

I love my country and what it stands for. I love the idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I feel blessed to have grown up in a country with human rights, which is so much more than what many people around the world get. I cherish the right to speak my mind when I want, where I want, and on whatever subject I want it to be about. At the same time, I am glad that other people have the same rights, even when what they say may infuriate me. I am so grateful to have my privacy. I am thrilled to be able to experience and appreciate all the beauty and splendor that we have right here in the United States. I long for the time and money to travel and see many of these wonders.

I hope my children and grandchildren have the same pride for their country. I pray that they set their goals in life high and will follow their dreams. But, most of all, I hope that they realize how lucky they are to live here and raise their children with the same ethics as they were raised with.

We went to Lake David in Groveland to watch the fireworks and we got a kick out of watching our nephew, Justin (my brother, Glen's son) join in on all of the festivities.

That is........ Until the fireworks started!

He quickly retreated to the car to watch a movie on the DVD player which is once again a choice that we have with our freedom. We can drive what we want, where we want and with modern technologies, watch what we want! What a GREAT country we live in!

Who needs a fire hose when you have this.......

2009-07-04T12:58:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed having Mason for the 4th of July weekend. Joanne was on call at the hospital and Mike worked at the fire station.

So, how it usually works is that Joanne drops him off on Saturday morning before work and then she picks him up afterwards. Only to return bright and early the next morning before returning to work. On Sunday, when Mike gets off of work, he comes to pick him up. Sometimes it is only an hour or two before daddy shows up. Mason doesn't seem to mind being passed around and Mimi and Pop Pop will take any time that we can get with him......

Today, (Saturday, the 4th) Joanne got off of work a little early and called to say that she was coming to pick him up. I told her that we would keep him so she could have a little "alone time" and we would bring him home before going to see the fireworks. On the way to take him home, I sat in the backseat with him. Let me tell you, his daddy must be teaching him how to put out fires, who needs a fire hose when you have him around.

Here he is in the car seat thinking about what he could do to start trouble........

Then the waterworks start.......

Watch out..........

And at last, he is so proud and eager to do it again. Oh my, what a big mouth you have!

Boating on the Butler Chain of Lakes

2009-07-04T02:00:00.000-04:00

Because the 4th of July fell on Saturday this year, we had off on Friday for the holiday. So, Mitch, Gary and I decided to take the girls and go boating on the Butler Chain of Lakes in Windermere. It was our first time ever going to that chain of lakes. We will definitely go back!

Our day started with my little mishap of shoes. (see my previous post) When I stopped to buy a new pair of flip flops, I also bought a potty chair to take along on the boat. Rylee, our 2 year old granddaughter is potty training and I did not know what we would do when she anxiously yelled; "I gotta go potty!" However, I was really unsure IF she would even use that potty because she can be picky on what toilet she uses. Well, it was not an issue for her! The minute that she saw it, (luckily, at Gary's shop) she had to put it down in the parking lot and go pee pee!

From then on, it was all we could do to keep her off of it......... Any time we slowed down, she would want to take her life vest off and sit on the potty. It was nice to have it, but I created a MONSTER!

We toured the canals and lakes and enjoyed looking at all the beautiful homes on the Butler Chain. Here is Shaquille O'neal's house.

It must be hard to be so poor! I wish that I could have been a basketball player. I could get use to making 2 million or more a month. (At least that is what was reported as his salary when he divorced.)

The girls enjoyed the sun. Rylee is totally comfortable with having her life vest on and really likes the boat.

Haylee is getting better...... her life vest gives her problems and she likes to hide her face when you go fast. She just snuggles into your neck and chest and hangs on. But, when you slow down she will look all around and puts up with it!

I took a picnic lunch and to give the girls a break from their life vests, we sought out an empty or foreclosed home and tied up to their boat slip to get a little shade. Both Rylee and Haylee were glad to get the hot and bulky life vests off and we enjoyed a nice lunch.

Afterwards, we did a little more boating and then headed back to the boat ramp to take the boat out of the water. We want to make plans to come back and maybe this time we can bring Amy with us. It is hard for her to find the time as she is busy with college classes (to become a pharmacist) and photo shoots from her photography business. Check out her website at http://www.amyrobertsonphotography.com/. Her full time job is a crime lab analyst. No wonder, she doesn't have any time on her hands! So, while she is busy, we don't mind stepping in and having FUN with the little ones!

Okay, my mind is going!

2009-07-03T20:47:00.000-04:00

Could it be....... early onset of Alzheimer's????? This morning we are getting ready to go boating with Mitch and the girls. Gary and I get dressed, get our flip flops on and out to car we go. He says that his flip flops are scratching his toe. So, we go back in. Meanwhile, while he goes to the closest to get another pair; I put on one of his flip flops to see what he is talking about.

And here is my excuse.......

The phone rings and it is Mitch. I talk to him for a couple of minutes and then out the door we go. First stop is at Publix to get something for lunch. Gary and I walk through Publix, pay, go to the car and when I get into the car............

I see this...............

Oh my God, Gary and I laughed so hard! No one was looking at me strange and my number one person, who is supposed to take care of me..... never even noticed!

So second stop is KMart.... I run in with my mixed pair of shoes and buy a cheap pair of matching flip flops to wear for the day. When we get to Gary's shop, Mitch and the girls are there and I got out to show him what I had done and to take a picture for my blog.

Ahh.... much better, now my family can walk beside me again.

And Rylee wanted a picture of her feet too. So, here are her adorable feet!

I don't mind her trying to follow in Mimi's footsteps. Let's just hope that her mind stays intact!

Long Lost Cousins

2009-07-03T02:39:00.000-04:00

Tonight when I got home from work, the phone was ringing. I ran in to pick it up and this person said; "Is this Barbara?"

To make a long story short, it was my cousin, Alvie, from Jacksonville. It is funny how when we were growing up, we were super close. More like brother and sister during those times. He and his family even lived with us on a couple of occasions when we were young. I spent time during the summer at his house. But, then family feuds and stupidity got in between our families and before you know it; 35 years have come and gone.

We talked for awhile and I told him that I would have to call him back as Gary and I had purchased movie tickets and were running late. However, I am eagerly awaiting to hear all about his life and about his brothers.

My cousin Billy and I are the same age and Alvie is one year older. My other cousins, Joe and Johnny were older than us, so I didn't play so much with them, but remember being close to them as well and have nothing but fond memories. Actually, I exchanged letters with Johnny for quite awhile, before his death. During the early years, when our parents were still getting along, we had a lot of good times and made many family memories.

After the movie, I started pulling out all of my mother's pictures and looking back, so many years ago...........

So, thanks, Alvie, Billy and Joe for looking me up! I know that we are all "older" now, but, we need to get together and make up for all the lost time. I love you, all.

Bath time for Mason

2009-06-28T00:21:00.000-04:00

Funny how
the simple
things in life
bring you
such joy......
We called Michael and Joanne today and offered to keep Mason while they went to the movies. It is hard for them to get the time and the day off together to go. Not to mention, it gives us time to spend with our little man!

They brought him over around 5:00 p.m., so we spent some time playing with toys on the floor, keeping Dixie (our basset hound) from licking him in the face, went for a walk and pulled Mason in the wagon, ate supper, played a little more, had bath time, read some books and fell asleep! Ahh..... a perfect afternoon!

After getting in his PJ's, I put him in a walker while I mopped up the floor. He was happy and immediately started blowing bubbles (or spitting), whichever way you see it...... Either way, he is too darn cute!

I tried very hard to keep him awake until they got home. But, it just wasn't happening. Hopefully, he wasn't wide awake by the time he got home. I hope that he had half as much fun as Pop Pop and Mimi had!

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-21T15:04:00.000-04:00

Fathers are the biggest source of strength for a child. The innocent eyes of a child perceive their father as the all-powerful, most knowledge, truly affectionate and the most important person in the family. Don't you remember being told, Wait til your father gets home?

For daughters, fathers are the first men they adore and fall in love with. While for sons their fathers are the strongest person they know and someone they aspire to emulate. Of course this is pre-teen years......

Even for the grownups, fathers are someone whom they look up to for the most experienced and honest advice. And you know that the advice is always with our best interest in mind. For this great figure in our life that we know as father - it becomes our utmost duty to pay our humblest tribute on the occasion of Father's Day.

This is the first father's day that both of our boys are father's themselves. It really makes me so proud to see both of them taking on the role of "daddy". It is plain to see that they would do anything for their children.

But, I would not expect any less of them. After all, they learned from the best! No, I am not talking about me, although, I helped! I am talking about their own father, my husband. I so appreciate the kind of man he was and is, as a father and as a husband. I love you, Gary!

In the early years, when our children were growing up, he did a lot of out of town work in South Florida. Most men would take advantage of being away from the family and go to the bars to drink. Not him, he has always been a family man and put his family first. Each night he would call from the motel room and talk to us on the phone. A few times, when school was out, Michael got to go with him. Gary carried around a little cassette recorder with him from job to job and I remember one time when Mitch was around 2 years old, Gary was playing with him over the weekend and asked him what he had done while he was away. Mitch told his daddy that he had gone to the doctor and had gotten a shot in his ear and in his mouth. Gary taped this and we have the tape still today and laugh as we hear his little voice. Mitch has always been so passionate and continues to show that passion to both of his girls and his wife, Amy.

Michael has always had a zest for life and he gets anything that he sets his mind to. I still see him using that zest for life as he works side by side with his wife, Joanne. He has never been real sentimental as that was not the "manly" thing to do. However, he surprised Gary this Father's Day with a typed letter, instead of a card. I will not type the whole letter but, I really feel that this sums Gary up in a nutshell!

He said that as he was a father himself now, he had been thinking about all the life lessons that he was taught over the years by Gary. These are a list of values that you taught me, in addition to some that I plan to teach my children, along with your values.

Yours: (Gary's values)

1. You can accomplish anything you put your mind too.
2. Nothing comes easy.
3. Your family always comes first.
4. Lead by example.
5. There is a time and place for everything.
6. You must earn trust.
7. Work smart, not hard.
8. Hard work pays off.
9. Don't be in a hurry to grow up.
10. If you get arrested, don't waste your only phone call on me.

Mine: (Michael's values)

1. You can always come to me with any problems that you have.

2. Your job is to make mistakes and mine is to help you figure out how to fix it an learn from it.

3. Always show respect to your mother and myself.

4. Live life to the fullest.

5. You get out of life what you put into it.

6. Find your passion in life.

7. Set your goals high and always move towards them.

8. My job is to work hard and provide you with everything you need to get a good education; your job is to put that education to work for your future.

9. Enjoy your childhood but stay young at heart as your age.

10. Always think before you speak, trust me, this is the hardest item on the list!

I am so proud of all the "Robertson Men", for who they use to be and the men that they are today. Happy Father's Day!

Haylee's first visit to the hospital!

2009-06-11T13:59:00.000-04:00

Hooray............. hopefully, we can say goodbye to ear problems.

Since birth, Haylee has had one ear infection after another. To be honest, she never has been a very happy baby. She did not cry all the time, but, she was not eager to go to anyone and play. It was probably because she was in pain all along. Imagine....... almost 8 months of not feeling good!

Well, today Mitch, Amy and myself took her in for out patient surgery where they put tubes in her ears for drainage. We all thought that she would be hard to deal with in the morning because she could not eat or drink after midnight. So, Amy nursed her just before midnight and she fell asleep. She was still sleeping when they arrived at the hospital and fortunately, due to her age, she was the first scheduled surgery for the day. They came and carried her out and said that they would bring her back into the room for Amy to nurse her as soon as she woke up in recovery. In no time, she was alert and back in the room.

We noticed right away that her hearing was better, because as she started nursing, Mitch and I began to talk. She jerked her head around to look at us. Even though we were using low voices, they were loud to her.

Hay Hay, you are Mimi's little doll baby. You did such a great job!

Now, everyone comments on what a good baby she is. She smiles all the time and will even let Pop Pop and Grandpa play with her now! We cannot believe the change, it has been like Day and Night!

We are so glad that you are off to a whole new start!

Night out for Rylee, Mimi, PopPop

2009-06-10T02:27:00.000-04:00

Here we come, Elmo.....

Rylee has always loved Elmo. For one of Rylee's birthday presents, I bought tickets to the King Center in Melbourne for the Sesame Street Lives performance of.........

I got off early from work and went and picked both girls up from daycare. Rylee was very excited to tell all of her friends at daycare that we were going to see Elmo. I don't think that she really understood that we were "really" going to see Elmo. We dropped Haylee off with Mitch and picked up Pop Pop from work. Our first stop was dinner at Cracker Barrel. She ate good and spent a little time rocking in the rockers on the front porch. Then, it was off to see Elmo.....

No cameras or camcorders were allowed. Darn it!!! What's the harm in taking a couple of pictures?

When we got inside, we had front row seats. Actually, they were second row, but, no one was sitting in the front row. So, our seats were great! The show had just started and Elmo was onstage with the other Sesame Street characters. Rylee could not believe her eyes, she told me the names of some of the characters as they came onstage. (PopPop and Mimi aren't up on all of that) It was fun to watch her, watch them. Pop Pop pointed out to me that she was doing the hand motions to the Itsy Bitsy Spider as they sang it. She loved it!

I did not know it, but, Elmo is only 3 years old and the performance was about what he wanted to be when he grew up. Maybe he would be a fireman....... (Like Uncle Michael, Oh wait, is that Uncle Michael driving the firetruck?)

At intermission, we did a "potty run" and of course had to hit the Sesame Street souvenir stand. Rylee picked out an Elmo hat that had Elmo's face on the front. The lines were long, so, we rushed back in just as they were about to take the stage again. Pop Pop said that he knew Mimi would come back with something...... Does he know me or what??? I did manage a couple of pictures at home with Rylee and the hat. Don't mind the oreo cookies, but it made it all the better!

After the show was over we stopped to buy her an Elmo mylar balloon. It was actually only the head of Elmo. On the way home, we had the radio off and playing with her. The traffic backed up and Gary and I were talking to one another. Then, we heard her saying something. I looked back to her car seat and she was holding Elmo's face up to her face and saying......

Elmo, look at me.........You are not listening........

Do you want to go to the corner?

Gary and I about died. I guess we know what her mommy and daddy say to her! Watch out Mitch and Amy, once you have kids...... anything you say can come back to bite you!

All in all, it was a terrific night out for us all. And here's to hoping that we are around for many more nights like that! It's great being a Mimi and Pop Pop!

Our "little girl" is turning 2!

2009-06-06T14:12:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it?? Our "little girl" is turning 2! It is so hard to imagine that two years have passed since the arrival of our first grandchild. And what is even harder to believe is how smart she has become during those two years!

Today, Rylee had her 2nd birthday party at a bounce house in Clermont. She loved going on all of the slides, eating pizza, popcorn & cake, having fun with her friends and really enjoyed opening all of her presents. At first, I think that she was a little "shy" (being the center of attention) while everyone sung Happy Birthday to her. But, she soon got over that!

It was exciting to see her open up each gift and show just as much excitement whether the present was a toy, shoes or a new dress! It was cute to see her hand the "special" gifts to her Pop Pop for safe keeping! For our present to her; we got her a few outfits and Pop Pop bought her some light up sandals where the heels light up when you stand on them. She calls them her "flashy" shoes.

Also, this week, we are taking her to have a night out with Mimi and Pop Pop. She loves Elmo, so we purchased tickets to see Sesame Street Live in Melbourne, Florida. The show is called "When Elmo Grows Up".

I can't imagine my life without our grandchildren! Here are Mason & Haylee about to turn 8 months old.

We had a great time at the bounce house and even Mimi went down the slide a few times. But, most of all it was fun to see how happy she was. At only 2 years old, she has experienced so many joys. And just think how many more are headed her way? When we asked her how old she was, She would say; "I, Five".

Slow down, my sweet little girl, before you know it, you will be 50 and wondering where the years went???

Memorial Day 2009 at the Island

2009-05-28T13:41:00.000-04:00

Our whole family decided to go to the island (Grant, Florida) for Memorial Day weekend. Gary and I took a couple of extra days and were looking forward to a little sun and relaxation. It was nice because Michael went early and had the grass cut and everything in order. If only everything else would have cooperated as well. Actually, after reading this post, you will think that it was the weekend from hell....... But, all in all we enjoyed a little family time and managed to get a little boating and swimming done too. It rained off and on and the nicest day was the day we left. Enjoy the stories and the pictures....

1st set back..........Our plan was to go over early Friday morning, however, we had problems with the burn table at Gary's shop. It took us the better part of the day getting support and shipping the controller off to be repaired. We let Michael know that we would come with Joanne on Saturday morning.

2nd set back............Joanne got to our house early and we were ahead of schedule...... until we had a tire blow out on the boat trailer. We could literally see our exit on 95 and Michael was waiting at the boat dock to help us unload. So, Gary and I changed the tire while Joanne sat in the truck and took care of Mason, our dog Dixie and their dog Louie. Can you imagine? It was no picnic for her. LOL But, after a little bit we were on the road again. Of course Michael had no phone with him and was wondering what was taking us so long!

3rd set back............Mitch and Amy came over on Saturday afternoon because Amy had school in the morning. When they arrived, Rylee was sick and running a fever. So, we did not do a lot that day. The guys did some fishing and Michael was convinced that we jinxed his fishing because he had a few big fish that he caught before we arrived. After we came, his luck stopped. Maybe he just bought the fish???????

4th set back.............. On Sunday, we woke up and Rylee was still sick and Pop Pop's face was swollen on one side. Gary was supposed to have some oral surgery done a few weeks back and had some complications so it was postponed. It just happened that it decided to act up again and off we went to find an centra care. So, Sunday morning was spent at centra care and WalMart getting medication for him. When we got back to the cabin, Gary went to sleep on the couch, Mitch, Amy and Rylee were sleeping in the bedroom because they had been up all night with Rylee. Needless to say, Mike, Joanne, Mason, Haylee and I got our bathing suits on and left the sick people home and went boating and swimming. The weather cooperated and we had a nice time. Haylee was trying to eat all the sand and shells and Mason was drinking all the salt water that he splashed in his mouth.

5th set back............ When we got back to the cabin, Michael went fishing. Joanne was in the bedroom and started yelling for me. I ran into the room just as Mason was projectile vomiting all over the place. He really scared us, but, we managed to get him calmed down and everything cleaned up. The only thing that we could think of was it was too much salt water, sand and shells.

Are we having fun yet??????

Thankfully, that evening everything got back to normal and the next morning (the day we were leaving) the sun was shining, everyone was feeling better; so off we went in Mike's boat to enjoy some sun and water. Needless to say, Mason's water, sand and shell consumption were watched closely.

After all of that, looking back..... It was a great weekend, we were together as a family!

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-11T01:18:00.000-04:00

Today is Mother Day, so here I am with two of my favorite men...... my sons!

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down. I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do test...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never got gloriously happy over a simple little grin. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew that I would love being a Mom.......

We celebrated by being together as a family at Mike and Joanne's for some swimming and a cookout.

I know everybody says that they have the best mom- so I won’t venture to say I had the best mom in the whole world - but, I will say that in the whole world, I had the best Mom for me! It’s so amazing to me how mothers shape our lives. Everything they say and do, from our earliest years - teaches us something about ourselves, our world and who we are and what we are going to be as we grow. My mom was no exception. From making my bed properly, washing clothes, baking bread, cooking or to having a good sense of humor, she’s taught me more than I’ll ever probably realize. She certainly taught me what it was like to love and be loved. And she taught me how to be the mom that I was to my two boys...........

Thanks mom and I will forever miss you!

Enjoy some pictures from our day........

The "little mama" had fun with her sister and cousin. Rylee, they are so lucky to have you to show them both the ways of the world!

On this day, as I watch my two daughter-in-laws interact with their children, both of my boys did a wonderful job in choosing partners for themselves and mothers for their children.

Both Joanne and Amy each have their own traits that make them special. However, they are each loving, kind, generous, funny and are both the kind of women that I hoped my boys would end up with. I am proud to have them in my life and consider them both the daughters that I never had. I love you Joanne and Amy!

I have my father's heart!

2009-05-02T01:00:00.000-04:00

The test results are in....... I have a clean bill of health for my heart! It seems that I have my fathers heart after all! After the scan, I was told that my score was zero. That means that absolutely no plague or coronary heart disease has started. Now let's hope that all my other traits come from my mother!

It was explained to me that some women always have abnormal EKG's and stress tests, due to having thick tissues in the breast area. So, bottom line is, I don't have to worry. Lookout, Mike and Mitch, if the lord is willing, Mimi will be around for quite awhile. I can do a lot of spoiling! And Mike, you may just have to slap the hell out of me when I get older. LOL

My mother is on my mind......

2009-04-30T20:30:00.000-04:00

My mother has been on my mind a lot lately. You see she died of heart problems when she was only 58 years old. Her side of the family has a history of early deaths and heart problems. On Valentine's Day in 1990, she gave up her fight for life. She was undergoing a simple procedure on her heart, when the left side of it stopped working. I don't want to follow in her footsteps!

With my family history, I am doomed! Heart issues on my mother's side and cancer on my father's side. God knows that I would never want to be like my father, except for one thing! His heart health! Even with all of the cancer and lung problems, his heart was always strong. Please God, let him pass that on to me. He owes me that much!

Today, I underwent a CT Scan of the heart. Thank God for my daughter in law, Joanne. She is a nurse practitioner for my cardiologist, Dr. Maniar. Because she knew that I would be paranoid to have a heart catheterization done, she and Dr. Maniar went to bat with my insurance company so they would agree to pay for a CT Heart Scan instead. I had this done because I was having abnormal EKG's and did not get a passing grade when undergoing a nuclear stress test.

The test wasn't all that bad! Scary, because as I learned from my mothers death, any time that they are doing something with your heart, something can go wrong! The only thing that caused me any pain during the procedure was when they inserted the I V. And even that wasn't bad. The weird thing was the feeling that you get when they inject you with the dye during the scan. You can feel it travel from the top of your head, all the way down to your toes. It gives a hot sensation as it travels through your veins. The worst part of all of it, is the wait for the results. Although, I know that it will be quicker than most, because, Joanne will be on the look out. And no matter what turns up, I am sure that I will have the best doctors available.

Tomorrow, Gary (Pop Pop) goes in for some oral surgery. This week is strange for us as we are usually not having health issues that require hospital visits and surgery. But, it could be worse! I will be keeping my fingers and my toes crossed!

Looking back on my childhood

2009-04-28T23:30:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, I was never really close to my real father until the end of his life. Growing up, I was never physically abused by him. However, my older brother and my mother were. Many a nights as a child, I would have to make the mad dash to our neighbors house. Screaming at the top of my lungs for someone to help my mother. It only took a couple of minutes for me to make that run, but, for a child in trouble, it seemed like an eternity! And each time before I took that run, my father would yell for me to stay put. Thankfully, for my mother, I was brave enough go for help. And looking back on it now, what seemed like an eternity for me, must have been pure hell for my mother, as she was the one being beaten and choked.

In those days, the police did not get involved with domestic problems. And when looking back, I think that for the most part, many believed that the woman must have deserved the beating. Thank God for our neighbor, he would come running and could talk my dad into stopping. What did my mom really do to deserve those beatings?? She worked (when he told her not to) while he was off truck driving. If he came home early and found her working he would make her pay. She did what she had to do to put food on our table and clothes on our backs. Back then, we had an angel, by the name of Kitty, helping our family. Kitty was the manager of the truck stop and she would allow my mother to work in the restaurant when my father was driving and be off when he was home.

To make a long story short, my mother, who had every right to hate my father told me to take care of him because he had lived a life of hatred and had already paid for what he did. As she lay dying, I knew that if she could forgive him, then I too could be that kind of person. You see, she knew that cancer was taking over him and that he would need someone to care for him.

Day Cares

2009-04-24T14:15:00.000-04:00

Well, it is official! All of my "babies" are in daycare. They don't go to the same one, but both day cares are very good.

Mason started in Imagination Station the week after his mommy, Joanne, returned to work. The first week back they were fortunate to have her mother stay with them. Joanne was not excited about daycare because she always thought of them as having "snotty nose kids" and "germs". Because I used to run a daycare, she knew that I thought differently about them. I think that she wanted to please me, so we had a couple of day cares lined up and a couple of private sitters to interview as well. So, I took off for the day and we went looking. The first day care that we went into was Imagination Station. It was a new facility and everyone was great! We ended up putting up a deposit to hold the spot and went on with our search. After a day of searching we knew that we were going with the first one! They have been so good with him and Joanne says that he is so smart because every day he has pictures that he has colored, pasted or painted. She laughs and says that she feels like a "bad mother" because she can't give him that much attention at home. LOL And, oh yeah, as for the germs...... this is the first week that he has been out sick. So, he made it several months in good shape!

As for Haylee and Rylee, they were blessed to have a private sitter, Sara, watch them since they were born. She has been outstanding and I believe that Rylee is so smart because Sara spent so much time with her. Not to mention that she also has older children of her own to show her the ropes. And Haylee is following in her sister footsteps. But, with some personal issues going on her life it is hard for her to continue to babysit. Mitch and Amy chose Collina Kids for their girls to attend. This was the 2nd daycare that Joanne and I checked into. It was also a top notch daycare and is closer for Mitch and Amy. Plus the fact that Amy's friend Sarah is the Assistant Director there.

This is the first week in daycare for them and for Haylee it has been great. She seems happy and can adjust. Rylee is having a little separation anxiety when she is dropped off. But, the teacher says that she is doing good during the day. She hasn't had any "potty accidents" and seems to love all of the activities.

I am sure that in no time at all it will be like a second home for them. No, scratch that........the second home is always at Mimi's! It can be their third home!

Kids can make things go from bad to good.....

2009-04-18T14:46:00.000-04:00

Today, I was on my way to Gary's shop. It's Saturday and he went in early to work on his 55 Chevy. I figured that I would stop at Burger King and pick up a couple of sandwiches for us to eat. The drive thru was lined up so I parked and went inside to order. Surely, the inside would be faster......I opened the door and good deal, there were only a couple of people in line. For once, I was right! Or so I thought....... The order went great, but, what can be hard about ordering 2 chicken sandwiches and 1 cheeseburger (the cheeseburger was for the dog who was with Gary). Then the waiting started......

I was growing madder by the minute and if I had not already paid, I would have just left. There was a woman and a little boy standing beside me. He caught my eye when he came in the front door with her as he was very cute, but chubby. I would guess that he was around 7 years old. (He reminded me of my little brother, Glen, when he was that age. Glen hates looking at pictures of him as a little boy as he too was on the chubby side.)

The minute the little boy got up to the counter, he started saying that he wanted 6 chicken nuggets, fries, a milkshake and don't forget the butterfinger pie! The woman he was with asked him if he could eat all of that and he said yes and then he asked her if he could play on the inside playground. She said that since she could see him from there that it would be okay. I watched him as he ran in the door and removed his shoes and socks and began playing.

I began to think of my mother and how she would have ordered that same meal for my brother and I, had we asked for it. After all, the diet could start tomorrow. Which is probably why Glen was heavy as a child. I was never heavy as a child, but, it caught up to me as an adult!

Then all of the sudden, he jumped down from the slide and came running out. There was such an urgency that I thought that something had happened to him. But, when he ran through the door he yelled "Maw Maw, a hummer", She laughed and said, "Where"? He pointed out the window and sure enough, there was a hummer making a turn at the intersection. He then laughed and said that he was winning now 10 to 6 and then ran back in to play. I had to laugh and told her that I used to play that with my sons. Only we were looking for Volkswagen's, not hummers! It made me think back to when my children were little and how the smallest things would make their day! I loved playing games with them, reading to them or just admiring their wild imaginations. Children are always full of energy and I believe that they keep you young, as long as your not afraid to act silly with them!

Then, my number was called and I realized that kids can make things go from bad to good in no time. That little boy had kept my mind busy and brought back a few memories while doing it.....

Easter with our bunnies......

2009-04-13T21:43:00.000-04:00

Easter was fun for us this year as we prepared baskets and colored Easter eggs for the little ones. It was impossible to get a picture of all the "bunnies" together with everyone happy. Even Mason and Haylee were tired of trying. So, I will just show a few separate pictures of each.

Pop Pop made sure that each had their own egg specially made by him.

Michael and Joanne had us all over to their house for dinner and festivities. Joanne is getting to be quite the cook, she put a lot of hard work into everything and it tasted great! And not the first tamale!

Mason (top) & Haylee (bottom) both liked the baskets, as long as they were in them alone........

Rylee loved the Easter egg hunt and especially liked the candy that came from them!

Rylee is very good about getting everyone involved in some kind of play! She had Mimi playing the "Poky Hokey" and Pop Pop playing a little Simon says....... Unfortunately for Pop Pop, Mimi had the video going. Enjoy...........

Next year will be even busier for us, as all 3 grand kids will be running around. Our Easter blessings were abundant. Thank God for our family. We are blessed to have 2 fantastic sons and they married 2 great women. We couldn't love them anymore.

A Life Remembered

2009-04-12T07:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we celebrated the life of my stepfather, Kelly Carver, shown above with his current wife of 8 years, Maria. He was a christian man, so there is no doubt in our minds where he is. I am sure that he was welcomed into heaven by my mother, Betty. I am sure that he once again aggravated her by pulling his pants up high, turning his cap backwards and saying "Give me a Kiss", which is something that we witnessed numerous times. He is no longer in pain and will never again have to struggle with his memory.

In the years that my mother was married to him, one of the things that we all admired about him was that he could remember things from way back, names were never a problem and he always had a story to tell. He was an old "Georgia Boy" and loved to farm and raise animals. Both he and my mother had been married a few times before finding each other. And although I never had problems with stepfathers, my little brother Glen had many. That all changed when Kelly came along. Sure, there were many times that Glen said he couldn't stand him as he did the various chores that Kelly made him do. But, Kelly never treated us as stepchildren. Instead he always told us that he couldn't love us any more if we were his "real" kids. Glen & I both say that we always think of Kelly when we hear the song, Half the Dad that he didn't have to be, by Brad Paisley. My children also loved him and he was their "true" Grandpa. My mother and Kelly moved from Georgia and bought a place two houses from us, so our boys were very close to them growing up.

It was very touching to listen to my stepbrother, Terry, speak at the service. He said that he wished he could stand up and tell everyone a lot of happy stories about growing up. But, there wasn't many. Back then, his father was a hard man to deal with and was not very happy with life. Terry said that he believed that his father's life truly began when he married my mother. My mother brought the family together and changed his dad for the better. After my mother died, Terry remained close to his father and talked to him on a daily basis. Even after Kelly remarried and moved to Ecuador, his wife Maria said that he waited each night for the call from his son. So, for Terry that is what he will miss the most. The daily talks with his dad.

As my mother was a peacemaker, so was Kelly. Before he came along, my real father, Chet, hardly came around. But, Kelly wanted him in our lives and there were a many Sunday dinners that my father was also included at the table. They were both long distance truck drivers and had many roadtrips to talk about. Kelly was also an honest man, he raised his children by telling them to never lie. He said that if a man would lie to you, he would steal from you to. As people, one by one, got up to share stories about him it made me think about life in general. My mother always used to tell us not to wait for someone to die to send flowers or tell them how you felt. Instead, make sure that they knew how you felt and cherish them while they are here with you. But, as each person got up to share their story, it was clear that Kelly touched each and every one of them during his time on earth. Some even shared songs that he had sung, as he loved to sing. In fact, as we unplugged the life support and stood around his bed, we all sung songs to him. Some church hymns, but, also his favorite song, You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille, by Kenny Rogers.

Saying goodbye is always hard for those left behind. And sometimes, in death, I think that it is the hardest thing for the person dying to deal with, those that they are leaving behind. Kelly died doing what he did best. He was fighting for life. He did not want to leave us and most importantly his wife, Maria. They married very late in life and she had never been married before. He was the love of her life and she came along when he needed her the most. Maria is such a strong woman and as his health was going downhill, she was there to nurture him, clean him and love him. He was a very appreciative man and expressed his feelings well. He told her daily how much she meant to him. As he lay dying we all promised that Maria would be taken care of. Although she may not have ever given birth to children, she has many stepchildren that love her and will be there to support her.

Goodbye for now, Kelly. And as the song goes, There's a better home awaiting, in the sky Lord, in the sky..........

Ahh.....Spring Break, some time with my little man

2009-04-02T22:16:00.000-04:00

For Spring Break, I took 3 days off. I really needed to take care of some appointments that I have been putting off for awhile. However, I also had some fun time scheduled as well!

I had a lunch meeting with my co-workers and a secretary from our office that retired several years ago. Kathi also took off and we decided to bring along the grandchildren. She has two older grandchildren and brought them both. They were both very well behaved and made their me- maw proud! I have to say that I was reminded of Rylee because after we sat down to order, Olivia, Kathi's 3 year old granddaughter said, Barbara.......Play! She had brought some toys along and wanted to play. I thought that she was cute and did manage to play some with her as well. Donovan, her 5 year old grandson, showed off his reading ability. He really did a great job!

I am not that brave to try and take all 3 of mine. I guess that I need to give myself a little credit as mine are very young with two being only 5 months old and one being 22 months old. So, I decided to bring along my little man, Mason. My co-workers have seen my girls before and this was their first face to face meeting with Mason. As soon as we sat down, I decided to feed him his peas and give him a bottle. Afterwards, he was content to just sit with me. Even though he was full, we all laughed as every time I put the fork to my mouth he looked at me as if to say, hey, what about me???? He did great and never cried or got fussy once.

After, leaving the restaurant, we went to the car dealership to have my oil changed and new tires put on my car. When I bought my car, I received tires for life. It is a great program, but, you really have to be ready to fight for your tires. After a little hassle, I got my new tires.

But, had a little wait. Again Mason was a trooper. I keep a stroller in my car and we walked outside and inside looking at everything. Then we went into the lobby and played. He is starting to really "jabber" and loves everyone stopping to say how cute he is. Boy, he really is just like his daddy! My salesman, Mike, was there and he kept coming over to play with him. Mason just laughed out loud at him. Of course, Mike was sure that it was the color of his skin and his bald head. But, it was because he was crazy and loud. After he left, I am sure that everyone thought that I was crazy as I sang, Five little Monkey's jumping on the bed and other little songs. But, for that moment...... I was making his day and he was making mine!

We met mommy at Pop Pops shop and spent a little time playing there. While walking him to the car, Michael called Joanne to see if we made it back from our little adventure. Always being the funny one, he told Joanne to check Mason for scratches and bruises before she left. After all, remember, I am that "mad woman" that raised him! Don't worry, Michael, he is safe for now. I am sure that the time will come when he sees the "mad woman" as well!

Mimi, Play!

2009-04-01T11:07:00.000-04:00

We had Mitch, Amy and the girls over for dinner last night. We had just finished dinner when Rylee Jo, my oldest granddaughter, who is not quite two went in to the living room to play with her doll house. No sooner than she laid down on the floor, I hear....... Mimi, play! Pretty soon, I hear.... MIMI, PLAY! We had a chuckle and somehow..... the dishes did not seem to matter to me. They would be there after she left! Life is too short and you need to enjoy the moment! She is so funny because every time you lay on the floor to play with her, she just scoots back to watch you play. She really gets enjoyment out of seeing how you react and play with the dolls.

One weekend we were babysitting the girls and I was busy doing something. So, Rylee got Pop Pop to play with the doll house. They played for quite sometime and Gary took the grandma doll and gave her a ride on a car that goes on its own, after you pull it backwards. Rylee did not like seeing grandma race across the floor and fall off. She jumped up to rescue grandma and told Pop Pop that he was BAD!

Haylee Jayde just turned 5 months old and she is just starting to play with us. She doesn't quite know what to think about Pop Pops beard. Sometimes she sits with him and rubs the beard, but most times she puckers up her lip and cries for someone to get her. I guess that he has tickled her on the neck, one too many times!

Before they left, we all colored at the kitchen table and I decided to let "Hay Hay" finger paint with me. That was short lived and messy! I gave up the finger painting and went to feeding her bananas instead. We enjoyed the quality time together and I know that the girls had a good time.

It is so nice to be Mimi and Pop Pop! Our little angels....

My Grandparents

2009-03-27T14:57:00.000-04:00

Growing up as a child, my father's parents lived in Mississippi. So, needless to say, we did not travel a lot to see them. Daddy Dewey (my grandfather, Dewey Howard) died when I was young, so I don't have many memories of him. Mother Howard (my grandmother, Dolly Howard) used to come and stay some with us or my Aunt once in awhile. I can remember her biscuits and red eyed gravy! They always had fresh vegetables from their garden, so food was plentiful and good. But, after my mother and father split up, we really lost touch with her as well. She has since passed away.

My mother's parents were already divorced when I was young. My grandfather, Porter Barnard, owned a fish camp called Porter's Fish Camp, in Fernandina Beach and was remarried. The times that we did visit him were slim as his wife, Dora, did not get along with our family. My grandmother, Georgia Herring, lived in Jacksonville. She had a 2 story house but only lived in part of the upstairs. The other rooms and apartments were rented out to borders. We visited Jacksonville a lot and even lived there for awhile after my parents split up. She often drove to Orlando, bringing some of her borders, to see us. She was truly my closest grandparent. She took me to Macy's when I was around 10 or 11 and bought me a canopy bedroom set. She told me to pick out whatever bedspread and canopy cover that I wanted. Another time, she bought me a fancy new bicycle, it was a brand new type that had high handlebars and a psychedelic banana seat. (now I am telling my age) For me, those two instances stick out in my mind. We were a poor family as we were growing up, not destitute, but did not have any extravagances. My grandmother was not rich but always wanted to give what she could. Each trip that she made to Orlando, her trunk was full of items that she purchased at Goodwill and she would open it up and pull out anything that she thought you could use. Most of the time, I would take the items and thank her and give them away after she left. It made her feel special and I never wanted to hurt her feelings. She always gave me grandmotherly advice and I am sure that you will hear more stories about her later.

As I look back on the memories of my grandparent's, I realize how much I want it to be different for me and my grandchildren. I want to be involved in their everyday lives. I don't want to just be around on the holidays. My mother was a "great" grandmother to both of my boys and was always around for them and me. I will talk more about her later.

I think that the extended family is so important for children growing up and now days it seems that people are getting away from that. Times are changing! But, with the economy, I think that you will see more and more families pulling together to make ends meat! I always say that things happen for a reason and you have to look for the good in everything. Well, with the bad economy, families are becoming closer. That's not a bad thing!

Two important items on raising our children.

2009-03-25T07:09:00.000-04:00

There were a couple of things that we felt strong about when it came to raising our children. The number one thing was to always eat dinner as a family. We sat down together at the dining room table to eat and talk about things going on in our lives. Sure, there were times when we would be busy and grab dinner at the ball field or run through the McDonald's drive thru. But, for the most part, it was family time.

The second thing that we did whenever we could was to have our children's friends over to our house to play and swim in the pool. Sure, it would give you peace and quiet if you let them be the ones to run off to play. But, I always felt like that gave us control to know what they were doing. And most importantly, who they were playing with.

My mother always used to say that we were to strict on our kids. And she would often do things to spoil them. Some of those things I didn't even know about until later on in life. For instance, Michael (our oldest) decided to "moon" the school bus after being let out at the bus stop. Needless to say, he was suspended from the school bus for a week. I was so angry that I told him that he would have to walk to and from school every day for that week. I was proud that I stuck to my word and made him do it. Well, later on I found out that Grandma picked him up every day and drove him to and from school. After all, she couldn't let her baby walk all that way! I am sure that in her eyes if someone on the bus caused him to moon them, they must have deserved it! Ahh, it is nice to be a Grandma.

Becoming Parents

2009-03-20T15:24:00.000-04:00

When we became parents, it was an exciting chapter in our lives. We vowed to stick together on parenting and even if we disagreed on how to do it, we would never let the boys see us argue about it. Many times there were "discussions" behind closed doors, but, all in all we did what was best for our children.

Our boys did not really play mother against father. Yes, once in awhile they would give me a look when they were told no by daddy and I would talk to him and he would change his mind. But, that did not happen often. I was never a mother that said; "Wait till your father gets home!" In fact, my oldest son, Michael says that I was a "mad woman" when he was growing up. (I'll tell you about some of those stories later) Our youngest son, Mitch saw his brother get into lots of trouble and knew what to do to stay out of it!

In this blog, I plan to share photos and stories about my grandchildren and also reflect back on the days of raising our children. Hopefully, it will provide some good memories for my family and also make some memories for my grandchildren.